If I have not love

I think about the person that I am and I usually think I'm not an overly confident woman. I have insecurities. The little things throw me. I take things too personally. But sometimes I don't come off that way. I hide behind a lot of talk and it's easy to take me the wrong way- meaning: sometimes I come off as thinking too highly of myself or being just a little bit better than you.

That's a problem.

If what I am meant to do (which we all are) is share Jesus with the world, I need to be evidently loving. So that's my latest hill. Love more. Especially here in my little blog. I want you all to know that this is a no judgement zone. If I were to list my failures and mistakes and shortcomings.. well.. this list would be long and shameful.

I get it. Life happens. We sometimes jump into things heart first and then think about it later. Or, if you're anything like me, you decide that rules and logic don't apply to you and expect to be the exception. I'm not about perfection, because if that were possible God wouldn't have made the straight a narrow with lots of grace along the path. I'm about growth. I'm about relationship.

Just as I was pondering the fact that maybe  I come off a little harsh sometimes, the passage I know all too well popped into my life-

If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

I Corinthians 13:1-3

entire chapter

That hit it right on the nail for me. Love. Love. LOVE!

Slipping off my soapbox (headfirst) now-

Lindsay



The In Between

From the time Allen leaves the house to the time he gets home, I run the show around here. Every diaper, every meal, every tear, every correction- they're my responsibility.

I love that I get to be at home with my boys. It's what makes sense for us, and I feel really blessed to do it. But sometimes I do feel a little less than appreciated. Like when my family comes home and says "this house looks the same as it did when I left." Not realizing that I had to work on keeping it that way. They didn't see the pile of toys Ira dumped out that I helped him clean up, or the crumbs he left all over the table that I had to wipe off. The loads of laundry that have been washed, dried, folded and put away. They sometimes don't see what goes on in between.

It's not a complaint. I understand that nobody can read minds or know what happened when they weren't there. My point today is what we mamas do in that time. Do we shrug it off and think "he'll never know the difference," or take our sweet time getting around to things because no body's watching? Or do we rise to the occasion to excel in our daily lives, knowing that it's important work and God can still develop our character at home, doing housework and caring for children?

The in between is important. Listen to what God said to Samuel in his search for Saul's replacement, "...Man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." I Samuel 16:7b
1 Samuel 16:7

These are the teaching moments God has set in place for us. I know He's got big plans for every one of us here- reaching the World for Christ is no easy feat. So let's make it count. Even if we don't get the recognition, God sees it all. The servant hood, the perseverance, the giving of yourself joyfully. It all counts for something. When we change the way we look at it, and forgive our families for their humanity, we will start having better days and truly enjoying what we do.

Because today is what separates my past from my future-
Lindsay

5 Ways to Cut Calories

I have really been working on my health. My biggest vice is sugar. Recognizing that, I'm trying to work a lot of it our of my daily diet. Here are a few things I have applied (at least most of the time) to help keep my calorie intake within a reasonable range.

1. Sit at the Table. Have I already gone on about this? Probably. The point is, eating while standing around, walking through the kitchen or watching TV means your not seeing how much you're actually eating. It also convinces you to eat more things like chips and cookies because they're easy and give you a quick fix. Bad plan. Those carbs leave you longing for more. Couple that with inactivity and you can say goodbye to your skinny jeans.

2. Drink more water. When we go out to eat, I usually get a soda. And then the server refills it twice while I'm not paying attention and 500 calories later... my day is sabotaged. Replace it with water with lemon. Easy and cheap!

3. Toughen up your drinks. Instead of a Venti Caramel Frappuccino, go for and Iced coffee with skim milk. I'm still working toward eliminating the sweeteners all together. Alcohol is another place you can spare the sugars, beer and mixed drinks are usually loaded with calories. Check out calorie king to see how many calories are in your drink (or anything else for that matter.)

4. No More Seconds. If you're really not full, ok, get some more. If you don't you'll be feeling snacky all day. But when you've eaten a good portion, stop. your body will never learn to feel satisfied on less unless you cut your portions down even when it's hard.

5. Exercise. Stop making excuses. I'm at home all day with 2 little guys and I have come to accept that getting out for a walk or a run everyday just isn't going to happen. So I play Hide-and-go-Tag with Ira. (It's our own game, the rules are still a little fuzzy..) It get's me moving. I also try to get some yoga or a workout in at home when the boys are calm. I love this site for yoga videos! She posts new ones every week.

So that's that. Hopefully we can all make some adjustments and soon be a little healthier!

Losing it-
Lindsay

No Big Deal

Today was such a different day for me at church.
The music began and I started clapping my hands and singing, believing every word
"there may be pain in the night, but joy comes in the morning..."
I almost felt like I was missing something, though. There wasn't a problem in my mind that I was relating this to. I finally felt a selfless type of worship that I have not felt for a LONG time.

Does it mean my life is perfect? Nope.

There are a lot of things that I could easily be upset about right now. I could be hanging on every word from God hoping He'll come through again. But I'm a little tired of that kind of relationship. A take-take relationship.

Cast your cares on the LORD

and He will sustain you;

He will never let the righteous be shaken.- Psalm 55:22

What has all the worrying, the trying to fix things myself, the nagging, the blaming, the confusion brought me? Nothing. Well maybe something over time. Stress, perhaps? 


So I've decided to stop freaking out. God will open doors for changes when He sees fit. 

Changes in my circumstances, changes in the people around me and changes in myself. But it's insulting to God, for me to think that the Orchestrator of Life has everything all wrong. 

Another load of laundry. Someone made another mess. Something just broke. I'm tired. I'm frustrated. Oh well! My attitude determines whether or not I have a good day. Not the things I have no control over. 

Even though things aren't perfect, I still sang out today with joy because I realized something. 

Even if everything in my life were perfect, I would still want God just as much. I need Him to have joy and peace and love. And even if He never gave me anything else in life, what I have is still worth praising Him for. 


My suggestion to you, friends, is to learn from someone else on this one. Because I'm the first to say I don't always take someone else's word for it. But I wish I would have learned to sooner. Choose not to blow things way out of proportion. Cast your cares. 


He might shake things up, but you'll never be shaken-
Lindsay 

5 Things to Make Your Life Easier!

I'm all about making things from scratch. For one, it usually comes out cheaper. It also makes me feel like I can handle just as much as women from the past that didn't have the conveniences we do. But.. HELLO! It's not like I'm willing to go hand wash my clothes in a bucket or draw water from a well. It's ok to enjoy things that we have that they didn't. They would have. Not to mention that we have a lot going on in our world.

We have created for ourselves busy lifestyles. Bigger houses means more cleaning. All the smart phones and ipads and ways to be everywhere at once means being everywhere at once. We've got our own challenges. So here's what I'm proposing:
GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK!

Here are some things we keep in our kitchen, and I use them happily. Guilt free.

1. Bisquik- I was all out this morning and decided to make biscuits from scratch.. I missed my bisquik. It's just so simple.
2. Par-Boiled rice. I hate cooking rice. I never get it right. Too hard, too soft.. It drives me nuts! Par boiled rice seems to be that perfect balance between minute rice and raw.
3. Pressure cooker! Oh how I love my pressure cooker. I will now sing the praises of it:
CHEH CHEH CHEH, CHEH CHEH CHEH, CHECH CHECH CHEH CHEH... (that was to the tune of Shake Your Booty..) No, but really. I can cook a pot of beans in about an hour as opposed to the all day venture using a crock pot. If you don't have one, buy one. Just respect the pressure cooker. Don't be afraid.. just respect.
4. Salad Mix. Ok I love the Caesar salad mix from walmart. It's so easy to just open the package, toss around the lettuce with the Parmesan cheese and dressing and then top it with the croutons. No hassle. It's the perfect impromptu side dish.
5. Food processor. When I was killing myself trying to dice little grape tomatoes I had this "Aha" moment. Just use the chopper! plug it in, chop, rinse. Done. I can totally avoid: my fingers having a near-death experience, my eyes tearing from onions, and the hot chile stuff seeping into my skin (and then my eyes.)

So there you have it.

Go forth and Chill Out-
Lindsay