June 21 2014

June 21 2014 Greetings My Friend, I’ve got one more tempting play toy that isn’t really a play toy dealt with. Last night I walked into the kitchen as two of the fur children were opening up a box of tin foil and making a mess of it. Today I found an organizer and put the stuff on a higher shelf. I put the cookbooks where the tin foil was and the oatmeal is now behind a cupboard door. I don’t have a lot of cupboards at present so I use shelves and what have you. Instead of having my shoes in a box near the front door I now have them in baskets and set them up on a bookcase near the front door. It is like having toddlers all over again. These days I rarely get angry. Sometimes I do tend to get tired of messes they make but in short order I am laughing at their antics and learning again to keep things out of their reach. I am getting rather creative with keeping things away from the fur children. Junior commented again on how I am keeping the floors swept. He liked getting up early one morning and there wasn’t a dog mess strewn around. That made my heart smile. He may like clutter but order also is pleasing to him. At times I see us both blending our preferences into a unified look. I like that. As a woman I want to make our home a comfortable place for my family. I don’t want it to be so clean that people are afraid to move about but I like it to see the floors and the tops of tables and such. I got up and did some rearranging of furniture. I’ll be happy when things will live more permanently where I place them. For now though it is figuring out the right spot for the way we live. We had the sewing machine in the spare bedroom and I was not going in there to work. Today I brought it to the sitting room and I believe I will work there. I moved an old game table into the area and moved an end table elsewhere. things look pretty good. Junior is napping as I write. The dogs are inside taking their afternoon nap as well. Alex seems to be hanging outside on the deck today. I went to the porch to say my prayers and enjoyed the shade and the breeze. I came in when Junior was ready for lunch. Even in this mundane moment of life I find joy lately. My younger self would have hated it. Relaxing meant a nap or a book and then I had to keep busy doing something although there were times I could only clean so much and run so much. These days I am very comfortable with the mundane. I move from project to project with ease. God wants my heart is the theme playing through my thoughts. I think I have always wanted to be that “good person” and what does it really mean? God has taught me to look at my heart the real reason why I do things. Keeping a spotless home does not mean you will have a perfect family and yet I believed this for years. Baking cookies does not mean content children if life in general is a mess. The warm smells does not mean the home is content. They are all good things in of themselves but are not an “we’ve arrived” moment. Right now baking in a renovating kitchen mess is too much. I use wax melts a lot these days because I love the smell of baking things. Most of the scents are baking smells. Junior and I are content in our relationship and moving about doing the mundane things is really a joy to me. With this heat I’ve started putting my hair up in little pony tails. Junior comes in and comments on how cute I look. I’ve bought a couple of tank tops to wear when the weather is very hot. Junior comments about how cool I look I find myself loving it. I am heavy but he finds me cute? I love it to be honest. At the end of the day I have things checked off of my “to do” list. I feel like I have accomplished something. For me seeing the house in order again feels good. As it cools down I’m sure the fur children will be more playful and out will come their toys, their finds that I did not put up and such. More than likely before bed I will sweep through the house once more putting things away. Since I tend to stumble rather easily these days it helps to put things away. When I get up and down at night the fur children are sleeping and their toys are not out again. It works. I strive to live my life for God. For the longest I thought it meant being on the go constantly. I needed to volunteer and be involved in projects to the point of exhaustion. As I learn to slow down to work steadily I sense God teaching me it is not how much, how fast but rather how I handle the little things in life. Some people have more energy. I don’t and God is good with me working at a pace that fits my capabilities. I learn this lesson over and over. God is patient with me as I relearn the same lesson. At some point I find I am not where I was and I am moving forward. Thank you Lord for Your patience. May God bless you and keep you make His face shine on you. Love Janet