Forgiveness Is Key

Last night I was watching 19 Kids and Counting (I know many of you have issues with the Duggars, but I like their show and enjoy watching how they handle day to day activities, etc.) and part of the focus was on Anna's family visiting different prisons to have bible studies with inmates and to help bring God's word to those need/want to hear it.  Given that many of the inmates have at one point or another suffered abuse of some kind, one of the things that they teach is forgiveness.  They explain to the inmates that you can not move on with your life and have a joyful heart without forgiveness to the person(s) that put that hurt there. 

Anna's father was explaining to one group of women that without forgiveness, they would eventually become who/what they most resent and I believe this to be true.  I think that the anger and bitterness that lingers in our hearts leads us to being unhappy and sometimes unkind people.  I believe that as long as we hang onto these bad bits that Satan has a hold of our souls in a bigger way than he would if we gave complete forgiveness. 

The act of forgiveness is hard, I get that...I've been there...but the part that made the forgiveness easier for me was realizing that my hurt and anger was generally only affecting me.  Most of the people that hurt me or that I was angry at were completely unaware of it.  They were living their lives, enjoying themselves, having fun...while I was stewing (and sometimes plotting and planning imaginary acts of revenge LOL).  Once I realized that it just made it easy for me to forgive them and move on. 

Not every one that I've forgiven is someone that is still in my life, but that didn't matter.  You don't have to bring someone back into  your life for forgiveness to occur.  For some it may even be easier to forgive and forget and not have the reminder in their face.  But the point is, just because a person is no longer in your life or an event is long over with, that doesn't mean that we can't, and shouldn't, forgive. 

It's taken me a long time to figure this out.  But it was SO worth the journey.  Because with forgiveness I can hold my head high and not worry about watching my back.  God has me protected there because I've done what He wants me to do.  And it really feels nice to be here.  :-)

I love to FROG!

Ok, before I start, a quick definition...

Fully
Rely
On
God

After spending part of my day stressing myself out over something that is completely out of my hands, a thought occurred to me.  Since this IS a problem that I can't control, I simply needed to FROG that He would take care of things.  For a lot of years my Mom and I have always said the saying, "Let go and let God".  Meaning give it to Him to take care of.  She and I have ALWAYS had a strong faith in God that he would guide and protect us, give us strength we never knew we had and also make us weak enough at times to remind us to ask for help.  He has always taken care of us and we both believe it is because of our faith and our believe that He will provide.  We may not always have what we want, but He always gives us what we need.  It's really kind of funny because generally after giving a problem over to God I also ask him to give me the patience I need to wait for him to respond.  LOL

And wouldn't you know...He rarely makes me wait very long when it's something that's really bothering me.  It may SEEM like a long time, but it's not.  And of course it took about an hour and a half for Him to respond today.  :-)  But alas, as things go I found myself stressed and worried again this afternoon.  So as I sat at the computer with tears running down my face and my brain in scrambles as I tried to think of a solution it hit me, "Well DUH!  You're not taking your own advice!".  So again, I decided to FROG.  I KNEW, without a shadow of a doubt that if I put my faith in Him, He would again provide an answer.  This time I think it took 10 minutes for the answer to arrive via the mouth of my hubby.  (I love when God gives him the words to provide the answer I need!)  So now, with a great big THANKS to both God and my Husband, we will again get to spend both Thanksgiving and Christmas with our family.  :-) 

Speaking of...that's just one more thing to give thanks for this year.  God has never left us alone for a holiday since we've been in Texas.  The first year we were here the holidays were spent in the company of friends and each year following has been celebrated with family around us.  Who could ask for more when living 600 miles from home??  :-)  Thank you, God, for providing us with such caring, loving family and friends.  We wouldn't have made it without them!

The neighbors baby tried to make off with J's new hat!

So today while he was outside doing some woodworking, I hear J talking to our neighbor and her daughter.  So I walked out because the baby ALWAYS wants to see Spencer (see...not touch) and I of course want to see them.  We stand around for a while chatting about this and that, making faces at the baby and trying to get her to say "Bow Wow" in German (which sounds something like Vow Vow or Vow Bow...anyway).  She of course refuses to say anything to us (never has even though we see her a few times a week) but will definitely let you know that she wants to watch Spencer.  She laughs when we laugh and makes funny faces at you if you aren't paying attention to her and is generally a happy baby.  She turned 1 near the end of September and was walking before her birthday so naturally she doesn't like being held all the time.  Her mom will put her down and we all make certain that Spencer doesn't 1.) lick her face and 2.) doesn't jump up on her or knock her over in some way because we are generally in the driveway while visiting.  M (not me, the neighbor), like us, loves to be outside most of the time.

Well today in our conversation, J says something about his knitting.  M looks at him with the lopsided grin of someone trying not to laugh and says, "Oh no, take that back!".  LOL!  She could not believe a guy would knit!  M is our age but originally from Germany.  She grew up with her grandmother and great grandmother teaching all of the girls that it was vital that they know how to do "Woman's work".  She needed to learn to knit, crochet, sew, cook, etc.  M of course had no interest in any of this and never learned any of these skills.  So to hear that a MAN would be doing this willingly, WOW, she was floored!  So I go grab the hat and scarf that J knitted for me as well as the hat that he knitted for himself and bring them out for M to see.  Baby was still "playing" with Spencer...i.e. watching and pointing and running away laughing if he came too close. :-)  M was thoroughly impressed with J's work!

So I sit down on the driveway and immediately baby comes to me, grabs my hand and crawls into my lap.  This is definitely a first as she normally shies away from us if we get too close.  So in the year and almost 2 months that we've been seeing her, this was the first time I'd "held" her.  Well she is feeling the different materials of the two hats when she grabs J's hat and takes off!  She literally stands up, grabs her mom's hand and headed down the driveway.  LOL  So I laughingly told J that he needed to make her a hat of her own.  By this point, she was trying to put it on her head.  ;-)  So J asks her if he could have his hat back and she shook her head no at him and put the hat down at her side, apparently trying to keep him from getting to it.  LOL  M tells baby in German that she needs to give the hat back because it wasn't hers, so baby kindly brings the hat back to me, the person who she took it from.  M explained that she was learning if you take something from someone that you have to give it back to that person.  (Sharing is caring!)  So I get J's hat back and baby bends over to touch the super fuzzy hat that is mine and I asked her if she wanted to see that one.  She did...and she again takes off with it.  LOL  So I told J, "that's it, you HAVE to make her her own hat".  And wouldn't you know...when M and baby were leaving to go back home, baby kept saying, "Bye!" over and over again to us.  LOL 

I really think baby likes J's hats!  And she sure as heck knows how to suck up to get one!  ;-)

Hello Blog!

I've missed you! 

I've been busier than I've let most think because I'm preparing for the GOOD holiday season that is now upon us.  I say good because while I do like Halloween, it just doesn't hold a candle to Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year.  ;-)

As most of you know, I'm a very crafty kind of gal and I've always got my hands in something.  Well, once the day came that I realized I was a real live grown up and that I could do things MY way, in MY home the holidays have become, well, an undertaking.  LOL  Now I've not gotten to the point that it's overwhelming, a pain in the butt or something to dread (it's not like going to work, people!), but I have definitely made it my own by going bigger and bigger each year.  J and I have a tradition (handed down to me from my Mom) of always buying a new ornament each year to symbolize a significant event from the year.  This year we'll of course be on the hunt for a dog ornament since it was January when we got Spency.  But some years there are a few ornaments to buy which of course is always a great thing.  Who doesn't love having lots of great memories to look back on at the end of the year?  But we also add to our other Christmas decorations each year.  Even if it's as small as buying a few more strands of lights, we add to it. 

Well along with all of the food cooking, house decorating and shopping that there is to do, I also spend a lot of time getting things ready to sell.  It started off with craft fairs and has now reached the internet.  I'll soon be posting lots of new (and different!) items on Etsy in the hopes of sharing my love of creativity with others.  I LOVE knowing that something I created is being given as a gift to someone else or is gracing someone elses home (or person if it's jewelry they select!) because they found my work to be beautiful and/or interesting.  I have this dream of owning a home with a TREMENDOUS work space for me to lay out all of my crafting materials.  I'd have "stations" for each type of work and a wide variety of options, so that no matter what crafty mood you were in, you would have something to work with.  Instead I've been slowly working on my projects in one of our spare bedrooms, trying my best to get and keep organized as I do.  :-)  I am really looking forward to getting these new items up on Etsy and sharing them with you all.  And before long, it'll soon be time to start adding pictures to each blog post so that you can all see the progress that is made this holiday season.  :-)

I hope that you, too, are getting in the holiday mood!  To me this is truly the BEST time of the year.  :-)

Poor Spence, his day isn't going so well

What's really sad is that he THOUGHT this was going to be a good day.  Last night he was promised a trip to the dog park for this morning (cue intense whining, jumping and running around like a mad dog).  However, instead of just going to the dog park he first had to endure a trip to the gas station (oh the HORROR!) and worse, a trip to PetSmart that resulted in a nail trimming instead of a toy.  LOL  Finally, he was on his way to the park!  He got to play for an hour, had a great time and was a happy camper.  And then we came home and it was into the shower for him.  :-(  Poor puppy.  He really did think he was going to have a good day.

The last few days have been pretty busy ones for us.  We are preparing to have company up next week and have already start making our Thanksgiving plans.  We like to be prepared ahead of time so that we have as much time as we can to visit and enjoy the company.  But the last couple of times it hasn't worked out that way for us, so now we are REALLY thinking ahead.  ;-)  We've also been discussing our (hopefully soon!) move back home.  There is a LOT to prepare for, a lot to do and a lot of work for this, but we are looking forward to it and we know that with God's blessing everything will work out for us.  I must admit though, I am a bit overwhelmed by it.  Until J and I's discussion last night, I didn't realize HOW much was going to be involved in this.

One of the things we talked about is getting a storage unit back home just before we move.  We'll of course be listing the house for sale (there's no way we could afford to keep it and we don't want to deal with renting it out) but when we list, we also have to clean out a LOT.  So rather than putting everything in storage here and having to do two stops to load up on moving day, we'll just rent a UHaul and bring down what we can ahead of time.

When we move home we know we'll be renting.  As much as it sucks to have to rent, we do NOT want to live in the area forever and we know that home prices are going to (unfortunately) decline in that city.  So rather than losing money and/or possibly being saddled with a house in what turns out to be a bad neighborhood, we'll rent until a few things happen that allow us to move a little further north.  :-)  And not to worry, we'll definitely keep everyone informed of our time line once we know it for sure.  Right now all we know is it won't be until at least February when J graduates.  :-)

Apparently my version of broke isn't the same as others

When I say I'm broke, I'm broke.  That means that I have no extra money beyond bills, gas & grocery money.  To me, these are the necessities.  And sometimes, I don't even have money for those things.  That's broke.

However, when some people say they are broke, they still have money to buy and do the things that are not TRULY necessities.  My version of broke does not include getting my nails professionally done, going for a hair cut (and color, etc.) every 4-6 weeks, or buying a new TV or digital camera.  It does not include a daily run to a fast food joint or to buy a cup of coffee, nor does it include cigarettes and beer.  These things are NOT necessities.  

So here's the deal.  If you can buy high end material items, pay someone to do anything in the realm of filing your nails, brushing your hair or cleaning your house, drink a cup of specialty coffee each day (I don't care if it came from Starbucks or a gas station, it's still more expensive than brewing a pot at home), smoke cigarettes daily, have the full and complete package that your cable or satellite provider offers, including game packages that cost extra, and if you can actually pay real money to play virtual games online, you, my friend, are not broke. 

Does anyone appreciate handmade/homemade anymore?

I'm sitting here typing this as I look out the window and at the neighbor's Halloween decorations.  She has numerous items up and did a pretty darn good job decorating, but three of the things caught my attention.  The other day I had a discussion with J,, and then a second with my mom about the cost of making things yourself.  I.e. furniture, blankets, clothes, etc.  J and I have been very much into doing our own thing lately rather than having to continue to buy from stores like Walmart and Target and we've really been enjoying creating these items, but there's a hitch.  It's EXPENSIVE!  So the two conversations revolved around the why of this.  Why is it so expensive to make your own stuff these days?  J's perspective is supply and demand on the part of items necessary to do it yourself.  Wood for instance is incredibly costly.  He thinks the cost is so high because there are so many people buying wood for do it yourself or craft projects that suppliers can demand a higher cost and they get it.  My mom and I however, believe that it is all strictly due to mass production.  Why would you spend $15 on yarn to knit or crochet yourself a scarf when you can go to the store and buy it, already made, for that cost or lower?  Is convenience the catalyst here?  After all, convenience has made us fatter, lazier and more demanding/expecting of everything, so why wouldn't it make us unappreciative of goods that good old fashioned hard work went into?

The neighbor across the street has in her yard a little ghost sign on a stake as well as Lucy and Linus cutouts.  These are the types of decorations that are made on thin sheets of plywood, cut out to the shape of the character and then painted to look like them.  Something that I've only ever seen sold at craft fairs.  I thought to myself, "I love buying stuff, especially holiday decorations, at craft fairs.  Sure, it's more expensive, but it's so much cooler to have something that was handmade rather than mass produced."  But given the vastly large numbers of mass produced items today, it really made me wonder, does anyone appreciate handmade/homemade anymore?  While walking around our neighborhood it's obvious that most people (probably 99%) have only decorations that have come from a store.  Hardly ever do you see anything that came from a craft fair.  To me, there is nothing better than handmade/homemade goods because you know they were crafted with love and passion. 

Whether it be a piece of furniture or a loaf of homemade bread, I'll take the handmade/homemade any day.