There's a light at the end of the tunnel....

Today I was completely planning on posting a follow up to
Monday's Margin in the Rat Race of Life, but since I am frantically packing for a conference that I am going to (yes, I am now an official blogger when the thought of leaving for four days without a computer is mortifying...I am bringing my hubby's:),
still have to finish the talk I am giving (shhhh, don't tell them....Procrastinators Unite...tomorrow),
still need to make meals for the kids (oh, forget them...I've trained them, they can cook),
still need to buy a strapless bra for the awesome dress I bought (can you guess from where...with the tags still on),
still haven't gotten out a suitcase yet....
Ok, enough already, you get the picture.
I am sure you're asking what I am doing in front of the computer.
Good question - pull away, Jen. Come on, you can do it. Remember balance is good!!
But I wouldn't feel right with out leaving you a point to ponder.
(You may be wondering where my beauty and bedlam moment is today....trust me....it was good, and includes my sis-in-love...mom who has born ten...yes, all hers... is that bedlam enough for you? That moment will be shared:)

Here's the deep moment to ponder. Since we now are all rethinking our fall schedules, adding a little margin to our life, and hopefully "cleaning house" with some of those unrealistic expectations that we put on ourselves. I want to encourage you that when we really realign our priorities, there is a total light at the end of the tunnel....just ask him. He's cleaned out, and he's free... yes, free indeed.

Ok, I have just been informed that some people can't see the picture. Then the post makes no sense....bummer. It's a funny one!

Next post...straight from Dallas! (If you don't know, I live in NC, so this is a big deal for my first time "cross country blogging."

Finding margin in the rat race of life...

I have been doing a lot of pondering about my upcoming fall schedule.
What is truly important,
enhances our family time, builds the Kingdom, and what distracts?
My typical year falls into a few categories. Right now, I capture the true essence of "lazy days of summer" living life to its fullest,
while celebrating the simple moments.
Yet from Sept. - Dec. 1, I am crazy busy.
I am in the rat race of life (or quite literally...I am the rat race),
and struggle to balance it all. Then blessed December comes where my hubby and I make a conscious decision to wipe our calendars clean.
While others are dizzy busy with the harried holidays, we seize the opportunity to focus on our Savior's birth, delight in the making of memories, treasured traditions, and capture intentional living at its finest.
Savoring our Decembers came through much prayer,
and pinpointed examination of
balance issues that needed to be dealt with,
and wow...what a new delight it has been.
But the problem lies here....
the lady below portrays how I live the rest of the time,
and I am brainstorming ways to avoid the trap.

ShockingStatistics

80% of our medical expenditures are now stress related.

90% of the population claims there is never enough time.

Stress impairs our ability to think clearly and make good decisions.

375,542 books have been published on stress management.

What is happening with in our society to get us to this point?

I have a lot of 'opinions' about this from some of my research, but here are just a few little bullet points to wet your whistle. More posts on this topic will be coming. I know you are marking your calendar. :)

I know that Satan uses the bondage of busyness
to keep us from the truly important things in life.
There are SO many "good things," but not all of them are necessary.
When Jesus announced to his disciples that it was time for Him to go and be with His Father, do you think they were very happy about that little announcement that He shared?
No way!
If I had been there, I can just envision the lively debate I would have with Him.
"Lord, Seriously, you can't mean this.
I mean, come on....there are sick people to heal, blind to see, hospitality issues to be carried out. Do you think I can turn that water into wine without you? I have fabulous feasts that need to be prepared for our time together, and the people are coming to see you...you're the drawing card.
(Now, quite honestly, there would be definite relief over the fact I wouldn't have to clean for that fabulous feast, but that's beside the point...hee hee).

Let's take a closer look into the scripture,
Jesus responded in John 17:4,
"I have glorified thee on the earth:
I have finished the work
which THOU gave me to do."

Excuse me? But what about me? What about my "to do" list?

Ponder that verse, my over committed friends, and yes, even those of you who are about to stop reading since I mentioned Jesus.
You don't have to be a bible reader to receive
freedom in that revelation.
Jesus' secret was He was concerned about one thing.
What His father called Him to do?

Ladies - dismiss the lie that "we can do it all."
We can't, and it's OK.
The "big guy", the man of the hour, our Lord and Savior didn't get the disciples "to do" list done, did He?
Yes, you type A ladies, take a DEEP breath...it's OK, we're all in this together
(belting a little high school musical here).
The disciples "TO DO" list was left UNFINISHED!! GASP!
He didn't finish everything the multitudes wanted him to do. BUT He did finish the work that God had given Him to do.

So, I look at the picture below and deliberately assess what is keeping me from having margin in my life? What activities are consistently standing in the way of having a shared family meal around the dinner table? How am I engaging my teens' hearts, and not just passing time with a check list?
What "good" thing is tipping my balancing act, so that it's inhibiting the family life that God is calling me to have all fall long? Do I really need to fill the calendar with kid's activities to the detriment of God's to do list?
These are hard questions for me.

I challenge you to ponder this with me. As you're planning your fall calendar,
what can you do right now that will give you margin,
and allow you to be the cat, instead of the mouse, in this rat race of life?
What initiative can you take to balance the beauty and bedlam that arise in your life?
I can't wait to hear. Iron sharpens iron, and I invite you to sharpen me.

One of the things that I passionately pursue is a legacy of living life to its fullest with purpose and intentionality. In order to do that...I must have margin, and prioritize His checklist in my life.
I commit to remembering it's the little things that are the big things.
Visit me often on my journey of "balancing it all."
We can encourage each other together...the good, bad, and ugly. :)

Thank you ...to the third power!!!

Third power? Do you remember what that means?Just a little math to get your fuzzy brains thinking this weekend. If you don't want to think, you can scroll down for the yard sale treasures.:)

I am excited to say that I have received my first ever web award, and I thank Lauren 100 times over. She used to baby sit for my kids. We lost touch through the years, but found each other again through the web...isn't technology amazing? She is getting married in Dec. and is the sweetest, cutest thing ever...oh, to be young and in love (clarify...I am very much in love, it's the young part that is debatable).
Now, a little math quiz for you.
If Jennifer P (who is 'famous' in blog world) nominated Lauren (who will now be famous in blogland), and then Lauren nominated me...does that make me famous?
Remember....if A=B, and B=C, then C=A.....
Anyone remember which property that is?
This home school mom needs to dust off the summer cobwebs.

Now, I nominate a few other blogs that I have enjoyed getting to know, they save this great award to their blog, you mention who gave it to you (me:), and then you pass on the love.
I begin with Notes of Sincerity. Tricia Anne is also new to blogging and we have SO many things in common. I am sure we'd be fast friends if we lived close by.
Savvy City Farmer is just the neatest lady with more 'know how' in her little pinky than I could ever hope to have, and I still mourn the yard sales to end all yard sales that she had and didn't invite me to. So what if I stumbled onto her blog after it had taken place...I can still dream, can't I?
New Every Morning is a fellow NC gal with such a sweet heart, and amazing taste to boot.
Just a girl has taken blogland by storm, and posted the sweetest tribute to her son for his birthday. A momma's heart ranks high in my book.:)
Last, but not least, Pages of our Life. She has let me plagiarize one of her home school posts on my other blog and I wish she could join the CC group that I direct.:)
Thanks ladies for making my entry into blogging this month so enjoyable. When you're famous, don't forget the little people....hee hee.

What would a Saturday be without sharing my amazing finds...I have to save the best of the best for another post because I need help from you all, and want to have the time to solicit it.:)

Whenever I find little baskets, cute container or trays, I pick them up for when I bring meals to people or if I want to give a friend a "I'm thinking of you" expression of love. I will paint this metal tray black and it will be perfect to give to someone "just because".
There's a beautiful crystal doorknob that you can't see very well....for the girls' room, a few "classic" movies. After our "singing in the rain" experience/post, this is a must see for the fam. Cute swim suit for next year, and balancing on their cute booties is a clip rack to hold my Homemade Gourmet products when I do booths. That is a find for me.

I picked up these four pictures for $1.
They are in great shape with beautiful mats/frames that I will paint and re-purpose.
Cute black planter...definitely change that out, and this 'American Girl' doll sofa for $1.
Yes, that's right...a BUCK!!
Please SIT DOWN...
if you have any girlies in your home because I may make you covet, and that's definitely not my intention.
At another yard sale, I also purchased SAMANTHA in mint condition with 6 Pleasant Girl outfits....yes, 6 PG American Girl doll outfits for $30. That is a find of the century!
I have been trying so hard to sneak and get a picture but it will be for this cutey for Christmas. Every time I get near the closet with the camera she wants to know what I am doing.:)
Just imagine that we've already purchased our great, new camera...are you imagining? Good...remember that I am redoing the girls' room (yea, yea....I've been saying that forever, but do you know how hard it is to get around to painting all by yourself?)
Sorry, I've tangented....look closely, there's one of those cute crystal beady type things and great green fabric...$2. Don't worry...that is not a mistreatment. It's just been thrown up there so you can see the "Before." (ha..that's a good one, they'll never know).

A cool wall hanging from the Bombay Company. Do you know how much that probably sold for retail? My price - $1. I am going to lightly wash it out with some black. Yes, I know it's not rotated...couldn't figure it out....turn your neck and deal with it.:)
So cute...the flipflops, not the pedicure.
My daughter couldn't schedule me in for an appointment yet.
Cute chair pads, table cloth and cool plastic dish (one that I can leave at someone's house)
$2 total.
Can you tell my girls are loving this. They insisted on every picture.
Candles....I LOVE CANDLES!!
I have an entire cabinet devoted to candles, and candle holders.
You think I am joking...no. Why don't people burn candles? Too expensive? Not when you pick them up second hand.
I NEVER pass up a candle and many times they are brand new.
All of the ones in this .69 basket (hee hee) are brand spanking new and were in the boxes.
We eat every evening meal by candlelight even if it is pizza or mac and cheese.
I am going to do a whole post about atmosphere
at the dinner table because that is one thing I do right.
It sets such a soothing atmosphere....oh, I could go on and on....I'll wait.
I can't wait to use those candy cane candles....everything in the basket...$3
(including the adorable glass butterfly holder which is much cuter in real life).

I bet you all thought I had no bedlam moment to share....you're wrong.
Look what I happened upon in my front yard.
For all those of you who aren't rocket scientists...this is one of my outside plant stands.
Do you see any flowers? Anywhere?
This is a planter....an empty planter.
Do you see a few dead flowers in there somewhere?
I won't bore you with more pictures, but my flowers are scattered through out the yard.

Meet Rex, and his son, Jack.
Jack lives next door with my brother, but he decided to come and "play."

Like Father like Son. Is it all about them?
Have they no respect for all the work I put into my poor little pitiful flower attempts....grr...I choose joy...really.:)
God saw fit to grace me through this lesson.
Walmart just put all their hanging baskets on sale for $2/piece!:)
Come back when I reveal my really amazing find...even better than the AG doll.

Beauty and the Beast

If you're new to my blog, each day I share my experiences of beauty and bedlam.
First - the beauty,
but keep scrolling down because the bedlam is priceless.
There was a terrible thunderstorm that swept through the area while we were at church.
Many people lounged around waiting for the lightening to pass,
and when it did we were greeted with a site to behold.
No, our church doesn't overlook the Grand Canyon,
but it was a full rainbow that went from one side to the other, just like this one.
I have never seen a complete rainbow, and it was glorious.

"The heavens declare the glory of God,
the skies proclaim the works of His Hands."
Psalms 19:1

This picture below overlooks the parking lot as the storm cleared.

These are the pictures I took.
I couldn't capture the full rainbow (and thus the stock photo).

How can anyone doubt a creator?
This magnificence speaks volumes of His majesty!

Now, the drum roll please.
The moment you've all been waiting for.
Meet the BEAST of BEDLAM
I had just declared to my older children that we were having such a smooth day...not even a bit of bedlam to report. Then we pulled down the driveway to THIS!
"There's a deer in your yard," exclaimed one novice to our bedlam.
Meet Mocha the Menace, I mean, our goat.
You better get out of the way!
Do you notice anything odd about these pictures.
Do you sense something is just a bit 'off?'
NOTICE MOCHA PULLING THE BIKE!!
She had been hooked up around a tree in the back woods.
(Please no PETA emails...she is a happy goat...eating lots of poison ivy, and undergrowth).
You see, Mocha's sister had a sad demise and so we have only one goat.
Now, this may not mean something to most of you,
but let me give you a brief animal husbandry fact...goats are pack animals.
That means if they don't have another goat friend,
they pack to something else,
and in this case...it's been us.
Get out of the way...she will head butt you if you ignore her.
She wants to be by us, and uses any means possible.
My nephew had dropped his bike right where the tire popped.
This happened to be in the general vicinity of Mocha.
Mocha tangled the cord around the tree, the bike, and then ripped the branch right off the tree.
I drove down the driveway to a lone goat
dragging a bike and parts of a tree all around the front driveway.
Please try and imagine that.
Goat, bike, tree...all in one!
Can you imagine what the neighbors thought?
Oh, that's right, the neighbors can't see us - rats.
Get away from my Hostas...
I am going for the drive by look, right Nester?.
(If anyone could drive by..which they can't,
and therefore the dead grass everywhere.)
Oh, please notice in the background the fallen trees on...(I mean) near shed.
Yep, definitely curb appeal.
Do you know how many trees we lose each storm?
It gets exhausting.
Yep, this is my life!
Sheer Bedlam, I tell you....
The END!

Snakes, boys and things that scream "ahh" in the night

BEDLAM

I begin today with my bedlam moment.
My husband and sons were coming home from golfing when they eyed this lovely piece of God's creation (remember...choose joy). It was enjoying a leisurely sun bath by our front stairs.Isn't it beautiful...look at those gorgeous markings.
Only a God of extreme creativity
could create a color palette like that.
(I put that comment in for those artsy ladies out there).:)

Here is our cat, slowly stalking this glorious creature.

I have a feeling this may not end pretty.

I am now screaming to get a shovel or something.
We need to kill this thing...I mean glorious creature... before it kills the cat.
So my man's man, on a blaze of glory,
challenge the little men of the house to fight for the honor of their women...

BEAUTY
I GOTCHA!!
I bought this snake for .25 at a yard sale and we have had more fun than a person should have. (It's ok, you can laugh at us instead of with us.)
It is one of those snakes from a specialty toy store,
so the detail and believability is incredible.

There is truth to that story.
The guys were coming home from golf and came across a copperhead.
They did kill it...with the wheel of the car...lol.
I did have a baby copperhead come up to my patio...last year. I did kill it...with a shovel.
It's a good thing that I have a strong heart because my sons keep hiding it in peculiar places.

Even though they have done it oh...a dozen times...
I keep jumping.
AHH...such a girl, and I am not even afraid of snakes (for the most part).

This is the one that really got me.
They tucked under all the sheets so that when I got in bed,
I felt something hard....they think they are so hilarious!

TRUE STORY!
If you've read this far, I will tell you the best use of our .25. My dear sis in love with the ten kids who lives next store to us, and is DEATHLY afraid of snakes came down. So, so, sorry dear one. It was just too tempting.
We hid the snake in the kitchen and I walked through how to act this out with the kids. I wanted Academy Award nominees for this one. Well, they were just too excited (it was the little guys, not my older ones). Instead of waiting till she saw the snake and then screaming and pointing (which is how the director...me...coached them), they just started screaming and jumping up and down as soon as she walked into the kitchen. As much as the director wanted to "take two" with live...umm....live, you just can't do that. It played out perfectly. She went screaming into my great room, and jumped up onto our ottoman yelling..."what, what." I am laughing out loud just reliving it.
Ahhh...joy in the little things.
We checked to see if the old pace makers were still working, and then we laughed - oh we laughed.
She declared, "Well, I didn't even see the snake but I knew it had to be bad if you were screaming."
Thanks for being such a great sport. It makes me and the kids love you even more. This is one of those moments that you think you'll never forget, but unless you "write" it down, it does slip away. I have had too many of those memories lost, and didn't want to miss this one.
Beauty and bedlam...what a beautiful balance!!

SSSOOOO EASY, and cute ta boot!

"MMOOOOOMMMMM, I want to do that!
Mom, can I please paint....Mom, it's my turn now."

I am going to make a sweeping statement and assume that my household is not the only home where these words ring true.
Just when you are in that sweet spot with a project, the kids want to be the best helpers every imaginable. How is that?
Where was that help when you were begging for it two hours ago?
Again, I am trying to find the balance. This time the balance of making my 'haven' a little homier, without completely excluding the kids (namely...the girls).

So...I went here, and bought these fun things. (Each project runs less than $1.50.)
And then broke this funner thing...grrrrr!
And had way too much of this thing (paper, that is).
Please tell me I am not the only one who collects beautiful scrapbook paper?
And in about one hour....with some guidelines....
we had two "Pottery Barn" masterpieces,
one happy mommy, and some sweeter than sweet girlies.
Due to the lack of details on my camera, you can't quite see the glitter, but we added it on the body of the butterfly. It adds a really nice touch.
I also used a pop up dot to give the 3D look (which you can't see.:)
Since so many of our "crafts" are ones that end up in the garbage, I really wanted these to be something that the girls could put in their room that would add to the new decor.
With the Pottery Barn theme in mind, I said they had to paint the frames and hooks in solid colors (yep...smart, I know). I let them pick from the color palate that we are working with. After they accepted the fact that they couldn't do the frame in all 5 of the colors, they got to work. :)
We choose all coordinating scrapbook papers.
Again, just a little clear crystal glitter on the end of the knob and center of the flower.
We added ribbon to hang it.
This was fun! I had just picked up this pink crystal fringe at a yard sale on Sat. What a timely find and it added just the right touch. I also used it for the hanger.
The girlies were SO exacted.
"Ohhhh.....momma.....F-A-N-C-Y" they exclaimed...really dragging the fancy out.
Again I used the pop up dots behind the picture for depth. I think I may take the girls picture off and just give it a little colored mat under it...shhh....don't tell. Do you think they'll notice that I messed with their masterpiece? Ya, right.
We are going to do two more rectangle frames so that I can hang them in a grouping of five with this one in the middle. It should be very cute. Best of all, they did these all by themselves (including the 5 year old) and I love it as well...seriously. Not just in a "mom has to love it because they're my daughters kind of way." But, I really like them. This could be done for boys rooms with sports paper or even with more adult looks. This definitely isn't just a kids craft, the possibilities are endless.:) Best of all....I was being an intentional mommy.

MY BEDLAM MOMENT
I am not exaggerating when I tell you that we have a bedlam moment every day.
If I had been blogging for a long time, and you all "knew" me well, I think I could tell this one. BUT for all ten of you..I really, really, really want you to come back and this would definitely be a stopping point.
Since I want to be real, let me say it was gross.
Gross enough that I lost my cool with our oldest son, and then when all the kids came to see what the commotion was all about, reality set in and we laughed so hard we were practically crying. It was one of those moments, but we did find the joy in it. When I told my hubby, even he just shook his head and chuckled.
AH - life is never dull.
Just imagine one dehydrated dog...
I mean so dehydrated that when we opened the door,
he charged into the bathroom looking for water.
So, one dehydrated dog, a really gross unflushed toilet, and throw up....need I go on?
Once you get to know me better, come on back and then I will share.:)
BEDLAM I TELL YOU...sheer bedlam!:)