As much as I enjoy a tidier house, I can't wait to see twice as many shoes on my floor! I have two more HOT weeks in this boot....
Friday, July 29, 2011
One shoe on, one shoe off
Lately I've realized that having a casted/booted/no-shoe-wearing foot creates less of a mess around my house because I only leave half the number of shoes lying around as I used to! I noticed three lone shoes in my living room this morning. Can you find them? (Hint: that white thing is Molly's bone, not to be confused with a "bone" colored shoe)
As much as I enjoy a tidier house, I can't wait to see twice as many shoes on my floor! I have two more HOT weeks in this boot....
As much as I enjoy a tidier house, I can't wait to see twice as many shoes on my floor! I have two more HOT weeks in this boot....
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Content in Christ
Recently, a sorority sister of mine blogged about discontentment, particularly the kind that comes from struggling to control everything so as not to make mistakes in an effort to look like you've got it all together. I'm very familiar with that kind of discontentment, but God has really worked on my heart in the last year (especially through a tough time at work) and I responded to her post with the following (long) paragraph. I wanted to repost it here because I hope that it will be helpful to others, and it's a good reminder to me.
I know how exhausting it can be to feel the need to control everything so as not to make mistakes. I was particularly good at trying to do that at work. Unfortunately, I found that I continued to make mistakes, no matter how hard I tried to avoid them, and it made me very angry and discontent. After sharing my anger about this issue with a wise older woman at church, she said she used to be the same way, but she had started praying at the start of each day that God would help her to trust that everything that was going to happen that day was under his sovereign control, even the mistakes. That was very comforting and it helped me work through some of my issue. What has helped me overcome it, though, is to realize the reason I wanted to control things and why it made me so angry when I made mistakes. I wanted to look like I had it all together. I wanted worldly praise for how great I was at everything. But the thing is that God's goodness to me is the only reason I have any skills to do anything well, and my efforts in life should be to glorify him and work diligently at all things as if working for the Lord (Colossians 3:22), not seeking worldly praise. After days, weeks and months of consciously focusing my efforts on doing my work excellently so as to mirror Christ's excellence (and not try to conjure up my own look of excellence) and realizing that the mistakes I made were already known by Him and He was not disappointed in me because HE was in control and He knew I was working hard to glorify Him in my work, not to glorify myself, I began to feel more content. That shift in mindset has really helped me find more contentment in all areas of my life, knowing that it eternally does not matter if others think I have it all together. I won't lie, though. It's a struggle every day to commit to working to give God glory and not myself because that's so contrary to the world. However, it's worth it (God deserves it) and it helps me find contentment in Christ. I hope you, too, can find comfort and contentment in this!
I know how exhausting it can be to feel the need to control everything so as not to make mistakes. I was particularly good at trying to do that at work. Unfortunately, I found that I continued to make mistakes, no matter how hard I tried to avoid them, and it made me very angry and discontent. After sharing my anger about this issue with a wise older woman at church, she said she used to be the same way, but she had started praying at the start of each day that God would help her to trust that everything that was going to happen that day was under his sovereign control, even the mistakes. That was very comforting and it helped me work through some of my issue. What has helped me overcome it, though, is to realize the reason I wanted to control things and why it made me so angry when I made mistakes. I wanted to look like I had it all together. I wanted worldly praise for how great I was at everything. But the thing is that God's goodness to me is the only reason I have any skills to do anything well, and my efforts in life should be to glorify him and work diligently at all things as if working for the Lord (Colossians 3:22), not seeking worldly praise. After days, weeks and months of consciously focusing my efforts on doing my work excellently so as to mirror Christ's excellence (and not try to conjure up my own look of excellence) and realizing that the mistakes I made were already known by Him and He was not disappointed in me because HE was in control and He knew I was working hard to glorify Him in my work, not to glorify myself, I began to feel more content. That shift in mindset has really helped me find more contentment in all areas of my life, knowing that it eternally does not matter if others think I have it all together. I won't lie, though. It's a struggle every day to commit to working to give God glory and not myself because that's so contrary to the world. However, it's worth it (God deserves it) and it helps me find contentment in Christ. I hope you, too, can find comfort and contentment in this!
NFD Take II
Levi's been told by the chief of the Norman Fire Department (who conveniently works out at our gym and Levi's gotten to know him) that they are going to start taking applications on Monday. MONDAY, people! We've waited a long (mostly for Levi) 14 months since Levi found out he was only one spot away from getting hired with the Department last year, and we can hardly wait to start the process again!
The process usually takes about six months, but the chief told Levi that they're going to hurry through the this time, with the written test in August, physical test in September and (I assume) the interviews in October. That means that Levi could be a Norman firefighter by the end of the year (Lord-willing)!!
Please pray for Levi during this process that, as much as he wants this job, he would trust God and HIS plans for his life. We can only pray that our will would be the same as God's will, but whatever the case may be, His will and not ours be done.
The process usually takes about six months, but the chief told Levi that they're going to hurry through the this time, with the written test in August, physical test in September and (I assume) the interviews in October. That means that Levi could be a Norman firefighter by the end of the year (Lord-willing)!!
Please pray for Levi during this process that, as much as he wants this job, he would trust God and HIS plans for his life. We can only pray that our will would be the same as God's will, but whatever the case may be, His will and not ours be done.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Balloon Love
I have to brag on my sweet husband. He knew I was going to have a particularly stressful week this week executing a two-day overnight event that I had been planning for months, so he put balloons all over the house to make me smile. They are funny balloons like cow and tiger print ones, as well as polka dots and a smiley face. They really lifted my spirits, and as a bonus the event went off without a hitch! Now it's time to settle in to my 4-day weekend....ahh.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Burlap Pillows
I'm happy to report that the burlap pillows I've been working on trying to find motivation to finish are finally done! I wanted a pillow for each green chair, but I didn't want them to cover the beautiful channel backs (that I paid so much to preserve), so I opted for a lumber pillow in burlap with jute-stitched sides and down inserts. They were fun and satisfying to make and I love them! Side note: ignore the still-unfinished dresser. There are now so many layers of paint that I can't push the drawers in all the way. I see some sanding in my future!
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