Living Right Now

I tend to be the kind of person that thinks that such and such will finally happen down the road. Actually I secretly, and falsely believe that perfection for me, my marriage and my family is going to happen down the road, and I am just waiting for that one magical day when I will wake up and I will have attained said perfection. Foolish, I know, trust me. But I still live like I believe it will happen. So, this one thousand gifts thing has been good for me. It is amazing how much I am finding that I have to really train my mind to recognize the gifts that are around everyday. Example:

Our marriage, of almost 5 years, has never been an overly easy one. If we believed in divorce, I am pretty sure it would have already happened. BUT we do not. Our motto is that we either live happily together, or miserably together, but always together.

So we work hard for the happily together part, and sometimes we succeed and sometimes not. I know this is maybe a bit personal, but I am going somewhere with this, I promise.

I usually think in my mind that one day, when we can go to counselling or when one of us changes this or that (well mostly I think when Brian changes, but of course that is very wrong thinking, cause there are many things I could change) our marriage will be wonderful and we will always feel in love etc. In this train of thinking however I am missing what is great about our marriage today, because there are great things. And this one thousand gifts actually started as a desire to start making a list of all the things I appreciate about my husband today in order to train my mind to be thankful for him all the time.


All that to say that it is amazing how simple and yet how uncommon it can be for us to notice the ways that God blesses us through our husbands, our children and our friends and so many other things in everyday life. So I just want to challenge you that even if you never do the one thousand gifts, to start paying real attention to all the things that God has blessed you with throughout the day today!

I was thankful this weekend to get to go to an ice festival a little ways from here. Actually 7 1/2 hours total in the car with four adults and two kids = long day, but I loved every minute! Oh the beauty of winter. I can't say I love freezing cold days upon end where you feel house bound. But the days of warmer temperatures and getting to enjoy the snowy outdoors are lovely! Here are some more pictures of our fun day!
Theo with a bear eating a fish...


This was going to be a bunny when they were done, no ears yet...


I liked this snowflake..


Not sure what was with Theo sticking his tongue out for every picture.. :)


Family picture at the ice castle..

Thankfulness

Hubby and I are going to take on the one thousand gifts challenge. (If you haven't heard of it google it, or check it out on amazon.com, you can look inside and get an idea of what it is about) I have been thinking about it, and decided to see if he would do it with me. I don't mean that we are going to add to the same list, just that we are each going to do our own, and our goal is to each have one thousand by the end of 2011. I am so excited about this, and to do it with my husband.
I haven't read the book, although I would love to, I have only read the pages your are allowed to see when you 'look inside' on amazon.com. But I feel that it will be a wonderful exercise in recognizing the gifts and presence of God in our lives everyday, right here, right now.

I have also decided to make a missions statement for myself, inspired by Lindsey at PassionateHomemaking.com. I think this will give my days, years even, a sense of purpose, and really be like the whole 'new years resolution' but on a much more focused larger scale. I feel the need for myself to have focus and goals, otherwise my days slip away and important things are overlooked. God has been doing some real pruning in my life and I believe is doing something in the life of my husband and I feel that this is a critical time for us. There's some things that really need to change and as we are slowly moving forward into those changes I feel like we gain momentum and encouragement in the ways that God is calling us to be more like Him.

I am excited for this year and for the opportunity to be more like Christ. I am excited that He loves us where we are as He calls us to change at the same time.

Outside

So the last thing I felt like doing today is going outside, BUT I knew that we all needed to. T was trying to climb up furniture by 9am, so I thought that no matter how much work it was to get us all out the door, the sun was shining and it needed to happen. So here are some fun pictures from our morning, a few from inside and a few outside...

Some fun at the mirror where Soren jumps....



T in his oversized snowsuit kicking the snow on our walk..


T's favourite thing to do with the snow... shovel




Rosy Cheeks from playing outside...


Soren happy to be back inside and be able to move, cause he certianly can't in his snowsuit....



And I just have to add that I finished this puzzel recently, shortly after the Mt. Rushmore one (I don't think I had added a picture of that one before), which was only 500, (this was 750) but I think it was easier, and I enjoyed it more...




Next up, 1000 piece one (gasp, I hope I finish it, never attempted one this big on my own.)
Anyway, it's been a mostly fun day, and last night I discovered the joy of needle felting thanks to Missy's willingness to share and teach! I think I am sold and can't wait to invest in some of my own supplies. I will put up a picture of the ball I made (with all it's imperfections) when it is done going through the wash.

Happy Wednesday!

Struggles

So this motto of mine for the New Year - How you live you day is how you live your life - has equaled out to life this year not being so great so far. I have had lots of rough days lately and don't feel that I am doing too well emotionally.
I think it all comes down to living life in my own strength. Sometimes I just don't know what it looks like to be doing things in the strength and grace of God, I don't know what that looks like in parenting, keeping house, as a wife, I think I have always tried to do it in my own strength and float by on just my 'knowledge' of God and what I should be doing and how.

I just read the most convicting passage in my new book Heaven at Home. Ginger Plowman is the author but she had Valerie Shepherd (Elisabeth and Jim Elliot's daughter) share a passage about parenting. I can't type the whole things cause it is almost 3 pages long and in small print but my heart could SO relate to what she shared. Here is one part..

"I loved my ideals more than I loved God. I thought if I just had enough discipline and routine, the children would all want to be sweet, loving, and obedient. But I couldn't follow my own rules! I berated myself regularly because I couldn't, and I began to feel like such a failure....My own ways had not been working, because I had been dependent on my own strength and my own ideas. I had to repent of focusing on my ideals, which had become idols."

This is sadly true for me. It is very easy I am finding to create idols for ourselves. She shared a passage in Isaiah and I liked these verses, "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength" Is. 30:15

I feel like so many moms I know have so much fun in their day and with their kids, not that they don't have stresses and hard times to, but they have FUN. And I feel like I get more stressed about trying to be the perfect person and do all these things, and I do more of that then have fun. I am missing living life and enjoying it and striving in my own strength which is not, I feel, how God intended it to be.

"The gospel has to make a daily difference in our walk through whatever circumstances or weaknesses or personalities we have. I saw how I needed to walk in repentance throughout the day. Some people are more disciplined than others, they seem to have the will to persevere and discipline consistently, without the struggle that I had of forgetfulness or giving in to the children's desires. I couldn't compare myself to those people, but rather, I had to accept who I was in the Beloved (Ephisians 1:6) because he accepted me! I found that God's grace is sufficient for all my failures, my inconsistent training, and that it was his grace that would draw my children to himself. I could not make my children godly simply by loving them or training them perfectly, but it was God's ultimate responsibility to change their hearts into desiring his righteousness." - Val Shepherd
This about sums up what God has been teaching me these last two weeks.

A few of my favourite things...

So this Christmas we did a few things differently in an attempt to make the day more about the birth of Jesus and less about presents. To a child I think that no matter what presents are going to be a big deal, but we wanted to try and switch our priorities around a bit and we did presents at the end of the day. We both loved it, and I think this may be a long term thing. The morning was spent very slowly having a big breakfast and then acting out the Christmas story which Brian's parents so graciously participated in as well. So as we read we acted. It felt like a bit of a gong show, T wasn't really into it the whole time, at one point we found him stripped down from his shepherds garb to nothing, another moment throwing his sheep across the room, but it made for some good laughs and I think this is also something we will continue to do. I think he will get into it the more years we do it. We also tried to simplify gifts, not buying much for each other, trying to buy more local, (although getting Theo Lego's is still not something I am ready to give up) and with my family we drew names. It worked well, and as I hoped T wasn't overwhelmed with 'things'. So here are some of my favourite's that have been added to the house...

First is Soren's lambskin from the local sheep farm. Such good quality, warm in the winter, cool in the summer, we use it for everything now. And don't you just love those toes. :)


Games have always been a big deal to me I love the interaction that happens, the sharing of laughter and competition, but Brian didn't grow up in a family that played games. So we have had to work into it as a couple, finding games we both like, and Ticket to Ride has been an instant favourite. So I was excited to find this under the tree from my thoughtful husband...


Next are a few little things combined, Emma by BBC from my sis-in-law, also the cake book is from her as well. I am really excited about both. I LOVE BBC movies and am excited to add this to my collection as I hadn't seen it yet. Also the sheepskin mittens from the same place we got Soren's gift, so warm, I finally found a pair of mittens I love. And last but not least Heaven at Home from my sweet Mother in law. This book is SO good, I will write more about it another time, but I am almost done and have really enjoyed the reminders and challenges in it.


And last of all, my in-laws got me a pair of slippers (also from the sheep farm, seriously love this place, can you tell):). My first new pair in 5 years. My other ones were so done and I am so happy to finally have a new pair.


There you have it. I love taking pictures of random things and this has been one of my favourite Christmases (sp?) yet and I thought it would be fun to post about it.

New Days, New Year

I have been thinking a lot more this year about resolutions. Last year I only hoped to read through the Bible in a year again and learn how to really pray. I was too preggo sick to think of anything else. And neither of those things happened by the way. I hardly read my Bible (blush) and my pray life is just as much a disaster as it ever was. But my quote for this year is......

How you live your day is how you live your life!

One thing I am learning is that I can make all the resolutions I want to happen in the new year, but it comes down to all the little choices I make every hour every day. I realize that this is of course and logical thought, but how often do we live the things we know? I want to make today a great day. I want to make the right choice today to spend time with the Lord instead of getting on the computer, to write someone back right away instead of later (when it never happens for weeks) to just call and invite someone over for dinner instead of waiting for the perfect time or day, to deal with T's behaviour right away instead of waiting until it annoys me, to choose to eat the vegetable instead of the chip. :) So anyway, these are my resolution, but really my only real resolution is to make good choices each day, to walk in obedience to God and live a life that honour's Him.


The first being getting back on a Bible reading program. I did this last year (2009), and it was great, but this year(2010) has been not so great for making time for God. I find I do better under a structured reading schedule. I don’t plan on reading through in year, I find it is too much and I am so busy getting through the chapters I miss the point. So I will try and spend 2 years reading through.

Second I want to work on cooking more/better. I really struggle, like really struggle with cooking. It's not that I can't do it, cooking isn't hard when you put your mind to it, I just struggle with wanting to make the time for it. I LOVE good, healthy, well made food, I just don't want to be the one putting the time in to make it. Big weakness, want to take small steps this year, and work on that

On that same note I want to have more people over. This is an area that SUPER stresses me out, it is really hard for me to have people over, I stress about the meal like I don't stress about anything else. (see above) :) But I need to just do it, it will get easier I am sure.

And the last is to be a better friend. To call people back, the same day they call, and to write people back the same day they write.

There you have it. Sorry there aren't any pictures to make this a less boring post. :)