To Find You...

My faith in Jesus defines me. I know this. It's who I am, to the core of my being. He changed me...and in still in the process, but without a doubt, I cannot for one second deny the change He's done.

I know who I was. And I know who I am now.

When someone close to me, whom I love immeasurably, walks away from that same faith...it hurts in a way I can't explain. Sometimes they're aware of what they're doing, and sometimes...not.

Last night, as I was driving to a friends Tupperware party, I was stewing about the situation with this one I care about so much. Playing conversations in my head, over and over. Some of the conversations were real...others were imaginary...you know the ones...where I'm all tellin' them what they need to hear, and they're all listening and responding positively...funny how it goes perfectly in my head and never that great in real life :)

Anyways, I was also making a mental list of all the possible reasons they were turning their back on a God who is so obviously trying to love them, and WHY this was such a bad, bad move.

I came up with a pretty good list.

But the list...it didn't make me feel better. It gave me a sense of hopelessness.

I happened to be listening to a CD that I've listened too since I was 15. It's an Audio Adrenaline Greatest Hits, and a song came on.

This song, in particular, I've never cared for. Something about the style of it makes me skip over it every. single. time. But last night, I know without a doubt God meant for me to hear the words to that song, because as I moved to push the skip button, I suddenly knew I needed to hear what that song said.

And, like so many other things in my life, something I didn't care for at all has now become one of my favorites.







I'm lost and broken all alone on this road
The wheels keep turning but the feeling is gone
when I fear I'm on my own
But you remind me i am not alone


You say..


I'd leave ninety-nine
Leave them all behind
To find you
(For you alone)I'd leave ninety-nine
Leave them all behind
To find you



It's dark and lonely and the path is unclear
Can't move my feet because I'm frozen with fear
And you say, my child, my child
I am always here, I'm by your side


I'd leave ninety-nine
Leave them all behind
To find you
(For you alone) I'd leave ninety-nine
Leave them all behind
To find you


You're never too far down
I promise you'll be found,
I'll reach into the mud,
the miry clay
pursue you to the end,
like a faithful friend,
nothing in this world,
will keep me away,


I'd leave ninety-nine
Leave them all behind
To find you
(For you alone) I'd leave ninety-nine
Leave them all behind
To find you... to find you..



I was filled with peace. All of my own words were washed away with the truth this song brings out of scripture. The song reads like a love letter from Jesus. He pursues us, because He loves us...and He knows where each one of us is at today, the good, the bad, and the ugly in each of us. He's not intimidated when we run from Him...and some of us know we've been running for a looooong time.



And He PURSUES us. Nothing in this world can keep Him away. Nothing.

Pin It

We Have a Winner

I am so excited to give this book away!

Without further ado, the number that the random generator chose out of 94 comments is..... *drum roll*

#3, Cindy @ Simply Cindy...YAY!

I used this generator (because I couldn't find the one everyone else seems to use...someone let me know what the link to that one is for future giveaways;)

Now Cindy, you're gonna totally have to let us know how it goes, OK?!?

And for those of you who've already ordered the book, you must MUST let me know how it goes.

Pin It

Progress & Giveaway

I really am on a tangent here.

It consumes my thoughts and conversations and has completely taken over my blog.

The House That Cleans Itself. Good book. Very good book. Gonna give-away a copy for anyone interested ;)

But first, I must force you to look at pictures of my progress. Because my friends...I have earned it. Organizing...it's hard work. HARD.

I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The big fat mess that comes when you start going through stuff has pretty much disappeared...except for the attic storage room, which I don't want to talk about now...I'm pretending it doesn't exist for at least a few weeks. A girl can only take so much, ya know?!?

Pictures. I promised them.

I'm trying to use the principals that I talked about here.

Let's start in my mud room. I LOVE my mud room. Before the book, I had thought that it was fairly organized, yet I was ALWAYS frustrated with the boys coats and shoes left all over the place. After all, there were hooks! After taking a different view of the room, I realized that the hooks were actually too high for the boys to reach, so they didn't bother. Easy fix. We moved the top hooks higher and then placed 3 hooks at little boy level. Each boy has their own hook and boots go underneath their hook.

Next was the kitchen rug. It was a cute red one that looked adorable...only RIGHT after being vacuumed, otherwise it always looked dirty. Drove me nuts. I figured that I needed a rug that cleaned itself, so to speak. So I got this little number.It's woven bamboo and it hides all the junk. Looks clean even when it's not. Perfection.

The next project is painting the kitchen. I love the current shade of green, but I think I'll love a deep bright yellow even more!

Plus, the kitchen is the easiest room in my house to paint. It wins.

On to the bedrooms. Yikes. I have currently hauled 6 garbage bags of stuff to Goodwill. After cleaning out my closet to just the stuff I actually like, I also have two containers to go to consignment (which I've never done before)

Oh yeah, I labeled them. Little trick I like to use: Clear packing tape over the label, helps it stay better. Genius, I know. *cough*

Noah and Eli share a room. It normally looks like this:

Now, it looks like this:I know...miraculous. They actually gasped and jumped up and down when they saw it...mostly because they could actually get in the room now. In the far back corner you'll see the plastic drawers (with labels) that became their entertainment/Lego center. These had been in Jake's room, but he didn't really need them. Now they actually KNOW where stuff should go. I thought they did before...but really, how could they?!? I was expecting too much.

Simplified. That's all. These hooks are behind their bedroom door. It used to be stuffed full of sweatshirts that neither one knew whose was whose (thanks to hand-me-downs) I hung up the ones they didn't like as well and then gave them each 2 hooks.

My closet. Yesterday I mentioned my excessive amount of clothes mixed with my lack of closet space. Something had to give. The clothes I don't really love had to go. And it feels GREAT! I forgot to take before pictures, but here's the after:

The best thing is...I can actually see what I've got now, and it makes it a lot easier to put outfits together.

*PHEW*

Now, if you're like me and you want some PRACTICAL help with organizing...leave me a comment and let me know and you'll be registered in The House That Cleans Itself giveaway (and an email to reach you if you're not a blogger.)  It's only the book. I can't come help you. I've got my own mess.

Oh, and even if you don't want/need the book, you can still totally leave me a comment, just let me know :)

Happy organizing friends...A winner will be randomly generated tomorrow!

Pin It

It's the Little Things...

What does one do when you live in the land of frozen tundra? You find little ways to brighten things up a bit...at least I do anyways.

Here's the latest.



This cupboard used to sit in the hallway upstairs. It held 1/2 my clothes. Apparently, when they built houses 100+ years ago, they didn't have a ton of clothes that they stored but rarely wore. Interesting. Makes me think maybe I don't need to have them either....more on that tomorrow...back to my point...we moved it from upstairs to the living/dining room and it's gonna get some paint, I just have to decide on a color...probably will be black. Open it up and:

and notice the fantastic labels :)...I know, I know, it's a tad excessive...but you know me, it's all or nothin'. I even used recycled containers, which makes me a little light green I think :)

I added these to the table, and you know what...they make me happy. And the boys have only destroyed a few of them thus far. Considering our record around here, I think that's pretty impressive. (yep, they're real)

The next project was the bathroom. It needed some happiness.

Before: Shower curtain

The after, much happier version:

It was out with the brown and taupe towels and in with the yellow and green.*sigh* It really does help. I'm not done yet though...more to come...when I figure it out :)

And last but not least, tomorrow will be more on my organization tangent. And in honor of my love for the book, and the fact that pretty much everyone that commented said they NEED it, I'm gonna do a give-away...OF THE BOOK! YAY! But ya can't register to win till tomorrow...see you then!

Pin It

It Makes Sense

So, I've been throwing around the title of a certain little book that has now become my newest friend.

The House That Cleans Itself. It does not, in fact, mean that it will clean itself (disappointing, I know.) But it is a sort of system for setting up/organizing rooms in your home in a way that helps them to stay more clean more easily.

The author, Mindy, who I like to refer to as Mindy, since the book and I are friends and all says it like this...

By adapting the environment to compensate for and/or eliminate the behavior, you house will stay clean longer and with less effort than you ever imagined.

Makes sense to me. I have no idea yet if this will work because I'm still in the stage of making and even HUGER mess while I try to sort/organize/clean/purge etc. It's a big fat mess around here right now.

Now, I'll be honest with you...I'm not a very messy person. I like stuff picked up and fairly organized, because when it's not, it makes me feel CRAZY inside. It just does. But the way I had mine set up, it was completely wearing me out trying to keep it looking somewhat neat. A clean house is relative for everyone. Mine was feeling VERY cluttered and out of control, thus the need for the book ;)

Two things in it have really helped me in this process.

1. The whole organizing each room so that everything has a place that is EASY to put stuff away.
2. Everything in my home, no matter how tiny or big takes my time. This was HUGE for me. If I have to keep touching something to move it, haul it, pick it up, clean it, etc then that is MY time. Only stuff that is worth it should stay. This seriously was a revelation for me. Why do I keep moving stuff season after season and even day after day that I don't really even like?!?

New perspective. I love that.

I'm also eagerly anticipating getting organized so that this system can start working. Right now, it's just a big disaster that's making me crazy.

More on Monday... :)

Have a great weekend, friends!

Pin It

Last Day

Hard to believe 2008 is going to be over soon.

For the most part, years go by and they all seem to blend together. But 2008 held a lot of joys, and a lot of tough stuff. I have a feeling this past year will stay around in my heart for awhile.

The good...the bad...in bullet form (with pieces of it missing because I'm too lazy to spend more than 15 minutes on a post ;)

• February I started blogging...on a total whim. I had no idea the amazing friends that it held in store. It is so much fun to peek into each of your lives.
• Winter here felt like it would never end. In March my Ladies Bible study began the Seeking Him study. God used it to make my walk with Him so much deeper, closer. It was harder than I had imagined...in ways I can't explain, and many times I wanted to just give up and run back to where I felt comfortable...even if it did make me miserable inside. That's when I realized that that temptation, to give up and not trust where He's leading me...it will always be there...always. I can't run from it, or hide from it. I've got to acknowledge it, and then cling to Him for the help I need to keep pressing on according to His will...not mine. I also realized that pride: it's an issue for me...just a little bit ;)
• Spring finally came. It was blissful. I even ran my first race (since highschool)...then the EF5 tornado came to tiny-town. Exactly 2 weeks later we were evacuated as our entire little town filled with flood water. Summer turned out to not be quite what I dreamed of all winter long...but amidst the tragedy and the tears, there was joy and fun, and I saw once again that life keeps going on, one day at a time.
• In June Ben and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary with a little getaway/conference. Only we would think a get-a-way to our church's state conference can also be romantic...explains a lot doesn't it? :)
• By fall, tiny town was in recovery mode, and while much still needs repair, so much has also been restored. Tiny town is forever different and forever the same, all mixed together. I love this place...even without a gas station.
• Friendships have grown and deepened this year. Reconnecting with old friends, who I share a history with, and making new friends who can easily see me for who I am today, has been such an encouragement to me...and well, just FUN!
• My boys have grown so much in this past year...I can hardly write about them without getting choked up. I tend to get lost in the madness of each day...the craziness, and then before I know it, I'm looking back over the past year. They are amazing, and each completely unique. This next year, it's the cry of my heart to enjoy the day...not get lost in weariness that comes along with it.

Looking ahead...

• January 6th, we will be starting this Bible study. Can I tell you how desperately I need it?!? I'm giddy with anticipation...anxious to continue this journey with Him.
• Dis-cip-pline. Need me some. Need me A LOT.
• Organization: I mentioned a book yesterday. It's great...really. I'm gonna post about it on Friday. There will also be pictures of the huge messes I've made in an attempt to get organized...because seriously, its therapeutic looking at someones elses mess, no?!? It is.
• Blogging: I'd like some new vocabulary, ya know...to replace: hilarious, crack me up, cute, totally, fabulous...you get the idea, I don't need to tell YOU that I use the same words ALL the time. If ya'll have any suggestions, do tell.
• I can't possibly anticipate all this next year will hold...but I know Him who holds it in His hands...and that makes it ok.

Happy New Years Eve!!!

Pin It

I See...

Better late than never...right, RIGHT?!? Actually...I know I said this last time, but for real...this is my last video post...until I get a different camera. A girl can only take so much...





Someday...I'm going to actually make mine interesting. Someday.

Head on over to 2nd Cup to see more lovely "vlogs" and maybe even join the party. You know you want to.

Pin It