Happy Homemaker Monday

I'm typing this up on my Tuesday morning...but here it is!  

 

The weather:  Cool (well, cool for summer) and rainy...though I did manage to get a sunburn at Bones' baseball game on Saturday.  They say the heat is coming...we'll see I guess!

 Right now I am:  Waiting on my food to settle a bit so I can work out, getting ready to plan my weekly menu and make my grocery list, ans staring down a mountain of laundry to be folded.

 Thinking:   That in this moment, I'm glad to be here in Misawa.  :)

 On my reading pile:  Still my Romans Bible study...I'm starting another Romans study with the women at church on Thursday.  I rarely made it to the studies at our last church because it was just too inconvenient...but at this church there's childcare and it's during the day, making it MUCH easier!

 On my TV:   Nothing here.

 What I found while surfing the net:  Learning a lot about "clean eating".  I thought it was going to be hard, but I didn't realize that we already essentially ate "clean".  I just need to switch back to using all whole wheat/whole grain things instead of using white flour.

 On the menu for this week:    Haven't had a chance to make my menu yet...I'll post in when I do.

On my to-do list:  Some homeschool planning (I think we're going to switch our Science studies...but I'm not sure yet), folding laundry, and general upkeep.  I did get the house really good and clean, here's hoping the kids let it stay that way!  haha!

In the craft basket:  Still nothing.  I'm still working on getting everything into my day.  We'll figure it out in time!

Looking forward to this week:  I start working with a personal trainer this week!  It's something I swore I'd never do, but I'm really looking forward to it.  I met with her on Saturday to chat about health history, fitness goals and whatnot.  She's great and I'm really looking forward to lifting weights. Also really looking forward to Bones' baseball pictures/game on Saturday.  This past Saturday he got a hit every time he went up to bat!  He's never even managed a hit in practice before so he was SO excited!  Even made it home off of one hit.  So proud of him! 


Looking around the House:   It's MUCH cleaner now.  I even got on my hands and knees and scrubbed the kitchen floor yesterday.  I have a couple baskets of laundry to fold today, but other than that things are good.  I do want to rearrange the living room...but we'll have to see if I can talk The Hubs into that. 

On my prayer list: A few friends going through some things, a friend having marriage issues, my parents, my children (Bones is asking to be baptized.  He has been for a couple years, but now he's ready to talk to the pastor about it.  It's his decision alone to make...so we'll see what happens.), my church's upcoming "Youth Rally"


Bible verse/Devotional: 
Women of faith
Dorcas…was full of good works and almsdeeds…and all the widows stood by [Peter] weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them– Acts 9:36,39
Very soon Dorcas would be raised from the dead by the apostle Peter. Doubtless this is at least partially why Luke includes this story in his inspired narrative.
However, at least half the story here also seems to be Dorcas’ life, as much as her resurrection to life. Dorcas, as much as the apostle himself, is the focus of Luke’s narrative. Why?
Not because of the many good works which she had planned to do, but that she had done and, in fact, “was full of.” How many of us have noble desires, charitable plans…but they never find their way into actions which help or encourage others?
It is easy to have good intentions, but it is another thing to serve and sacrifice for other people. Dorcas did not know the time of her death, but she did know the purpose for life — to honor God by seeking the lowest place in His kingdom.
What a testimony to this woman’s faith, that she is fervently missed and publicly mourned by the very widows to whom she had labored with such faithfulness! She was not surrounded by the rich or mighty or well-connected, but by the lowly and helpless and castaways of society. Yet Dorcas had  a full life — full of the good works that she had done in the name of her Lord.
What and who will you leave behind you? A lifetime of good works or just a stream of good intentions?
(via BBH)

Consumed

UGH.

Lately I am just SO burnt out.

I know without a shadow of doubt that God has called me to be at home discipling these young people He's let me borrow for awhile...but Oi!

Terrible two's--schmerible shoos (or something to that effect).  5 year old KK is giving me a run for my money lately.  I know she doesn't mean to do it, and for some reason my nerves are 10 different kinds of frazzled right now so that's not helping. 

We intend to do school year round, but this summer has been crazy!  This is the busiest summer we've ever had I think.  With KK in two dance classes, Bones playing baseball and wanting to sign up for every camp under the sun (arts & crafts, paintball, archery, etc) AND starting football soon, carting the kids to and from VBS repeatedly, The Hubs playing softball, us helping out friends with lots of things, finding a new church, and me diving head first into working out--it's exhausting.

I tell The Hubs all the time that I'm great at multi-tasking, which is a bald faced LIE.  If I get focused on something, it tends to consume me and everything else falls to the side.  Lately it's been working out.  I am consumed with getting healthy (which is going to take quite a bit of work on my part!) and tracking food.  I work out at least an hour a day-which is totally fine...but then I go to log my food or workouts and get caught up in the message boards and "social" aspects of MyFitnessPal.  Or I start to make my menu and look for good tasting but healthy recipes that will satisfy the whole family...and I get sucked into the internet.

While I'm sucked in there my household duties fall to the side, laundry starts piling up, dishes aren't being done in a timely manner, and homeschooling isn't happening as often as I would like.  Same happens if I focus on homeschooling 100%...then I stop working out, we eat out too much, chores don't get done. 

I really just need to prioritize and give it to God--which is yet another area I'm slacking in.  I've not been reading my Bible nearly as much as I should.  I'm serving others first, then myself, and nearly forgetting to serve the Lord in there.  It's supposed to be the complete opposite!  JOY!  J-esus first, O-thers second, Y-ourself last.

It's really a matter of self-control, and I'm seriously lacking there.  Funny (or not) because that is exactly what we were studying in Titus in Sunday School, and then the pastor touched on it in his sermon regarding "Conduct of a Christian".

I need to be consumed with Jesus.  Be consumed in my Bible.  Be consumed in serving my family.  Everything will fall into place as long as I give it all to the One it belongs to.  :)

How do I study my Bible, teach my children, serve my husband, clean my house, and workout all in a day?  Any tips or suggestions on how to make it all work?

Blessings to you!  <3>

Happy Homemaker Monday

First of all, WOW!  I haven't blogged for the sake of blogging in a LONG time.  And it has been years probably since I have linked up to my sweet friend Sandra over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.  She is living the dream now, and I am trying SO hard not to be jealous.  Just have to keep reminding myself 10 years and I'll be in her shoes!  :)

 

The weather:  Well...let's just say the weather in Misawa so far isn't as horrible as we'd expected it to be.  People made winter sound absolutely awful--and while the weather systems do come from Siberia and leave us with a lot of snow, it isn't as bad as we expected.  Summer isn't either.  It's mostly rainy and cool.  On the days it does warm up (into the 70's) and the sun is out, it can feel pretty darn hot.  I'd say we've acclimated quite well.  

 Right now I am: Typing up this post before I take a shower and head to bed.  It's been a busy day.  KK has 2 dance classes on Monday, and the house has been in shambles so I've been trying to get it cleaned up.  Worked out hard too, so now I'm tired and ready to hit the hay!

 Thinking:   I've been really homesick lately.  Summertime tends to do that to me no matter where we live.  I seriously miss America though...and feel like Oklahoma is calling my heart home.  I'm so ready to just settle down, have a little farm, and get on with life.  Today I was thinking about it though and it dawned on me that even that will be temporary.  Someday my Father will call me home, and that is when I'll finally truly be settled.  

 On my reading pile:  So many things! For Bible I'm reading through the book of Romans for a study on my own, and now I'm reading through Job for Sunday School.  Job can be so depressing though!  As for other books, I'm reading "Made to Crave" by Lysa Terkeurst, and "A Perfect Mess" by Lisa Harper.

 On my TV: Well, if you know me you know I don't watch much TV.  Nothing really.  The Hubs and the kids are hooked on "Take Home Chef" right now on Netflix.  So if I'm watching TV, that's probably what it is.  Bones is really loving "Leave it to Beaver"...probably because he has that same mischievous streak.  KK is just convinced that people really used to be gray.  ;)

 What I found while surfing the net:  Nothing really...I've not been doing much "surfing" lately.  If I'm online it's mostly Facebook or MyFitnessPal.  

 On the menu for this week: I've been trying to prove to a couple people that I'm not "dieting"...I'm still eating perfectly normal foods--just making better choices in doing so.  I'm cooking things differently, and weighing everything I use right now...but in time I'll know what's what.

Monday - Sweet and Sour Chicken with rice
Tuesday -  Mexican mac-n-cheese with salad
Wednesday - Leftovers
Thursday - Chicken broccoli noodle casserole and salad
Friday - Taco salad
Saturday - Pizza
Sunday - Leftovers

On my to-do list:  Finish organizing the homeschool stuff, laundry (gotta fold Mount Neverest.  Oi!), vacuuming, making BBQ sauce, and working out.  Also need to return all the library books.

In the craft basket:  Nothing at the moment, but I did realize tonight that july is nearly over.  Winter will be here before I know it so I need to get my yarn and hooks out and get some scarves and hats made.  Sandra also has some really cute dishcloths, and I think I want to make some...not exactly like hers...but find a cute pattern and whip some up.  (I'm a copycat, can you tell?)

Looking forward to this week:  The Hubs graduates from college on Wednesday, and we're going to the ceremony.  I'm excited for him!  I'm also honestly looking forward to getting this house back in order.  Looking forward to weighing in and taking measurements on the 28th, another month down!  Really looking forward to Sunday School and service at our new church.


Looking around the House:   It's a big ol' messy mess.  Seriously.  I'm terrible at focusing on more than one thing at a time.  I've been so focused on working out lately that I've been neglecting my chores, and it shows.  On top of that, last week was VBS, plus it's summer...and we've been busy with "lifeschooling"...excuses, I know...but I digress.  Tomorrow is a slow day for me, so I should be able to get mostly if not all caught up.  Then I need to find a way to fit everything back into my day.  Prioritizing is not my forte.

On my prayer list: Several friends who have made their needs known to me are on my list, a sweet friend whose father passed away needs lifted, family and their health, my parents as they go forward with their divorce, our church and their upcoming Youth Rally outreach to Japanese youth, our leaders in DC as they make choices for our country, myself for self-control and contentment.  


Bible verse/Devotional: 
Facing Temptation
I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?– Job 31:1
A lustful look is the beginning of most sins. It was an unguarded look which led to the fall of Achan into covetousness, and David into adultery. A covetous glance soon leads to covetous thoughts, which soon lead to covetous plans, which soon lead to covetous actions.
Job, therefore, had determined to cut off the sin of covetousness at its root, by promising himself never even to look at a single woman in a lustful way. This covenant with his eyes, he rhetorically asserts, will inevitably guard him from lustful thoughts about other women.
Job’s personal commitment to overcome a besetting sin of almost every man is convicting. But it is also encouraging, because the fact that he made such a covenant means that it is possible to fulfill his end of the agreement. Believer, know this: it is possible—although it will require self-crucifixion and constant self-watch—to overcome the sin of lust.
Will it require a sober and self-searching covenant with your heart, before God? Yes. Will it mean giving up casual glances and lustful thoughts? Yes. But it is possible!
So the question that Job’s integrity puts before us is this: do I love God enough to forego the temporary and deceitful pleasures of lustful stares, in order to fix my gaze upon God? Am I willing to enter into a personal covenant to that effect today?  (via BBH)