Spirit of the Disciplines… some thoughts

I’ve been reading “The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives” by Dallas Willard lately. It’s a good read.

Willard talks about how acting like Jesus did “on the spot” is impossible if not burdensome if we haven’t spent the time preparing ahead of time… not just in knowledge, but in word and deed… that if we just try as we might to “do the right thing” we have failed, we need to reach the point where “doing the right thing” is the only option for us, when loving an enemy is the natural thing to do.  Ahhh if the right thing to do was the natural option. All the time. I’d have much less things to apologize for/ backtrack/ try to remedy. MUCH LESS.

Willard discusses the overall lifestyle of Jesus and ways in which we grow through spiritual disciplines like prayer, solitude, fasting, study, fellowship, etc and how it really is the “behind the scenes stuff” that we’re really made of.

You hear stuff like this all the time, especially if you go to church. Read your bible. Pray. Serve. Listen to God.

But what does that look like fleshed out? In your season of life?

Here’s an excerpt from my prayer journal last week:

“Up all night with the kids. I am so tired today. Attempting to drop (Luke’s) morning feeding.

For some reason I don’t picture great theologians reading their bible while sitting on top of the toilet supervising morning bath time… being pelted occasionally by a bubble covered bath toy.”

It seems my only time that I’m truly alone is when I’m on a run.

I am grateful for the ability to run, to exercise. I am grateful for the things that God teaches me as I work on disciplining my body to run longer, faster, lift heavier weights. I love the parallels between faith and fitness.

You can’t show up for a marathon having only done wind sprints. You can’t expect to persevere through 26.2 miles being a sunny day runner (particularly in Buffalo!) You’ve got to put in the time, the mileage, the pain. Day in and day out.

So I’ll continue to sit in the bathroom supervising the bubble fights after a sleepless night, gleaning what I can from that which God graciously shows me in his word. It might not be pretty, but training isn’t always pretty.

 

 

On hearts and such

This was the year that Valentine’s Day crafts and projects happened. My daughter is finally old enough to craft and bake with me. Ahhhh!!!! (girly shrieking)

We made hearts. We used stickers. It was awesome.

And yes, that is my serrated bread knife on my table that I used to cut a large piece of foam into a heart shape.

We baked heart shaped cookies.

And “x” and “o” shaped cookies.

We learned about self control while frosting cookies. Can you see how much she wants to just eat one cookie? Or the entire container of sprinkles? This cookie-frosting-session went much better than Christmas cookies.

And I finished a new apron! I’m always cooking something in the kitchen, might as well have a fun apron to wear!

Simplicity 3752 Sew Pattern MISSES’ APRONS 6 Styles Vintage Style SIZE S, M, L

This is a great apron pattern. Lots of versatility. I’ve made a few of these, mostly for gifts. This was a first keeper for me!

Keith and I didn’t get to go out on Valentine’s Day, but we did get to spend our “date day” on Saturday on the slopes at a local ski resort. He got me new running gear instead of chocolate. Smart man!!!

Sewing Class

I met a friend through a local MOPS group a few years ago who SEWS! Imagine that? This friend, Michelle, ended up buying a house a few blocks from me this past year! A sewing friend that lives close by! How fun! Someday when we are not imprisoned in our homes due to our offspring’s napping schedule, we might be able to craft and sew together. Someday.

But for now, we took a class at Joann’s together.

Viola! Simplicity 2599:

The techniques we learned were handling delicate fabrics, making neck facings, darts, and RUFFLES! I didn’t think I was into the whole ruffle bit, but now I have seen the light. It’s fairly easy and it’s something that I can use to add a feminine touch to garments for both myself and my daughter. Come to think of it, you can probably put a ruffle on most anything. Purses, wallets, headbands. I think I could even make a really wide and long “ruffle” to create garland for Christmas or a birthday decoration.

I highly recommend taking a sewing class. It’s always a good idea to get some help from a friend or teacher- in all areas of life!

Sadly, this doesn’t fit me. It’s huge. I need to either rip it apart and take it in, or start over and scrap this one.

Decisions, decisions.

February Lady

Well, it’s February. A year later than I originally hoped to wear my February Lady Sweater, but hey, it happens!!!

As it seems to be happening lately, my plans do not always equal reality. Wearing this to church & having Keith take the pictures didn’t pan out- kids were too sick and boogery to go so we stayed home. Neither did having my friend Michelle take a pic at sewing class. Her daughter was throwing up for days on end and she didn’t make it to class Tuesday night. Then I thought I could wear it to MOPS (which I did) and have a friend take a picture, but my son was super sick and his pediatrician’s office said they wanted to see him….. so I had to leave early in order to take him to the doctors and be back in time to pick up #1 from preschool.

Flexibility is something you need as a mom I guess!

I had to make do with my self timer and stacked a couple books to put the camera on. Excuse the “vogue” pose. I took a ton, but it was one of the only ones I didn’t look frumpy in!

I love the sweater! It’s the best fitting sweater I have ever knit. Pretty flattering too- as handknits can tend to make you look a little plumper than usual. At least the ones I have made. The design was awesome and you can’t beat a free Raverly download! I enjoyed the lace repeats, once you get in a rhythm it’s no work at all.

Now, how many variations can I wear this in the month of February?

Friday FO* Sneak Peek

(For my non-knitting friends, “FO” is knitting-speak for “Finished Object”)

This green beauty was over a year in the making. Not that knitting a sweater should take that long, but when you start a sweater when pregnant with #2 and chose to focus your little post partum time on survival, well, this sweater sat untouched on the needles for a very. long. time.

Knitty friends, do you know which pattern this is?

I’m very excited to have finally finished it! It feels so good to be creating things again. A sense of accomplishment in my daily repeats. I am planning on wearing it to church on Sunday and have Keith do a proper photo shoot of my finished creation!!!

Perfect, just perfect

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” – 1 Corinthians 10:13

I’ll just be straight up, because that is generally the way I am.

I struggle with perfectionism. BIG TIME.

I read a really awesome book about it called Perfecting Ourselves to Death: The Pursuit of Excellence and the Perils of Perfectionism by Richard Winter. (My  husband gave it to me after hearing the author on Focus on the Family.) If you struggle with perfectionism, even a teeny bit, or have a friend who’s really off their rocker, I highly recommend reading this! It will give you insight into why you, errr, I mean your friend, acts so weird and gets to mad at themselves for not achieving SUPERMOM status, and offers practical guidance to realign your thoughts with sound biblical ones.

I guess you could say I am a recovering perfectionist, laying my sinful and prideful tendencies sometimes moment by moment before the Lord

Like the other day, for instance. I planned in my head to take my kids to a playdate (which I am sloooowly starting to get used to the idea that playdates are good for the kids and that I should be more social instead of just getting my household to do list crossed off). I planned, of course, for them to nap for 2-3 hours while I prepped the house for friends to come over for dinner. I already relinquished dinner and told everyone that I was ordering pizza instead of cooking something. Fellowship and pizza is ok right?

But the little angels did not nap. They screeched all afternoon, necessitating multiple trips up and down the stairs, tucking back in, changing diapers, nursing, ugh! And the house is not squeaky clean.  And my friends that were coming over? Their houses are ALWAYS spotless when we come over. I got the toilets done and did a shoddy job mopping up the salt/mud/snow prints everywhere, but the place was no Pottery Barn catalog.

And Pottery Barn is what I sinfully crave. Not the store exactly, but that perfect, clean, beautiful, restful look. You know what I mean?

See, perfectionism is seductive. Very seductive. Sneaky too. Masquereding itself as just “trying to be the best I can be”, “giving my family the very best”, “reach for the stars,” and all those other one-liners that sell.

Motherhood is the master guilt trip and it is here that the negative aspects of perfectionism can really rear it’s ugly head. Everybody always thinks that EVERYBODY else is doing it better than you are. That the grass is greener on the other side. That other people’s toilets are cleaner, their to-do list more manageable, their children more obedient, yada yada yada. You should be doing a better job than you are doing. You must be perfect, or your children are missing out/being ruined/ will grow up to be less than they could be. And then you will be labeled publicly as you have always feared : a failure.

Stress. Pressure. Self-inflicted guilt. Unrealistic expectations. Failure. Pain. Sorrow.

But!!!!

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.

When you are really honest with a friend, those myths of perfectionism fade away.  You’re not alone in the struggles you have.

And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Any other perfectionists out there? That are willing to admit it? What are your ways out?

 

Kid Couture

Did you know that “haute couture” means “high sewing” or “high dressmaking”? A little tidbit I learned today…

I delved into making a dress for my Sweet Pea. Simplicity 2320- a fun Project Runway inspired pattern with many variations. I used some (what looks cute in person) multi colored courdory that I found in the remnant bin at Joann’s.

She’s not used to modeling yet, so please excuse the deer-in-the-headlights look!

In the midst of making this jumper, I was taking a class at Joann’s with a friend and learned more about facings, pleats, and ruffles. This jumper was a great learning experience and I plan on sewing a different variation with sleeves.

Next up… the February Lady Sweater! Yes! I finally finished it!!!

 

One Year

So. A whole year. Wow.

I have missed the fun craft blogging community… and I’ve also noticed that some of the blogs that I regularly followed before I had children dwindled in posts because, well, your time dwindles when you have little ones!!!

I am breathing a bit of a sigh of relief right now, my eldest recently turned three and the baby is now one, so there is a bit of a reprieve. A two year old and an infant is exhausting! But just today, I was able to, GASP!, leave both of the kids downstairs while I took a shower! The Mickey Mouse Club gave an assist, but no playpen/ jumper was required in this endeavor. Hallelujah!

I have recently started knitting more regularly again and even signed up for a new sewing class with a friend. Hopefully some pics will soon follow.

I’m not sure what this blog with turn into, and evolution of my interests… which used to be God, my husband, knitting and crafting, running, yada yada yada… Now there’s so much more that I think about in addition.

My kids- do they eat enough? Do they play enough? Am I teaching them well? Are they safe? Loved? How much do their little minds understand the divine?

Fitness- oooohhh how I have developed an affinity for this. Slightly vain at first glance, but those pregnancy pounds really do a number on your physical, emotional and mental health. So I started working out with my sometimes destructive “all or nothing” perfectionist philosophy. Hit the weight room. Worked on nutrition as never before.

Spiritual Disciplines- a newer one… I have been a Christian for the past decade and gone through the regular “prescription” for Christian living… but have recently found myself yearning for more knowledge of Christ and attaining more Christlike character. If you know me, you know how MUCH ROOM I have to grow!!! But I have begun reading some great books on the subject- a departure from my usual dose of Surviving-Motherhood-All-I-Want-Is-Sleep-And-a-Housekeeper type devotional.

All in all, I’m still in pursuit of an abundant life in Christ. Some things have changed, but the main pursuit remains. Who’s in for the ride?

Cloth diaper plunge

I have taken the cloth diaper plunge. Sweet Pea, my two year old, has been in and out of cloth diapers since late October… which is partly why I haven’t posted in so long! Lots to get used to! Well, that and, YOU KNOW, getting ready to have another baby, coordinating a MOPS group, working out,  making homemade bread and yogurt and all those other crazy things I do.

The cloth diaper endeavor was challenging at first, as is anything new, but I had some great long-distance support from some friends and I stuck it out! Now, Sweet Pea is pretty much 24-7 in cloth, I just haven’t taken the leap to ask the nursery at church if they would be ok with her being in cloth. I hate to ask those volunteers… there are so many different people who serve and I don’t want to become “that mom” who insists upon cloth or makes things inconvenient for them. I am SO thankful that there are loving people who WANT to take care of my baby and teach her bible songs and help her make a little baby Jesus cradle while my husband and I are able to worship with the rest of the adults!

And it’s not necessarily a philisophical thing, like I feel that she’d die if she had on pampers- I mean she had pampers or whatever on for almost two years, but I’ve made a financial investment in the diapers so I would prefer to stop buying the occasional disposables.

And let me tell you, my least favorite mom-task was taking out the diaper champ. Ugh. Yuck. I didn’t like it! It stunk. Bad. Now I store the used diapers in a diaper pail liner IN the diaper champ (it won’t swivel but that’s ok) and when I go to get the bag on washing days I’m, like, excited. Weird, I know. I don’t have to dump it in the trash. I get to clean them and reuse them. Take something soiled and make it fresh and clean.

Kinda like what Jesus does for us – “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow”- Isaiah 1:18. Can I get an amen? 🙂

I’ll have more on cloth diapering some other time.

But for now, all is well, we’re prepping for baby #2, I’m still baking a ton of stuff, still working out, still hanging in there. I even started knitting the baby a sweater!

Just in case you’re interested, there are a several of giveaways to enter to win free diapers/ cloth diaper accesories:

Check out Clothdiaperblog.com for their super-sized-giveaway!

Sweet Deals for Moms has a diaper cream giveaway here.

Until next time… 🙂

Organic Carrot Gardening

Organic Carrot Gardening- not for the faint of heart.

I started out with some carrots pulled fresh from the garden.

Then, I cut the tops off, leaving a little bit of green, but not too much. Supposedly this prevents wilting of the carrot during storage and it worked for me. Previous attempts this summer to store the carrots with the pretty, leafy tops failed. 😦

Then I had a sink full of carrots, with lots of soil still on them.

So I lighty scrubbed the dirt off, using no water. At this point the carrots were still somewhat wet from the garden soil, so I put them in a big bowl and stuck them in the fridge to dry.

A couple days later I started scrubbing, and scrubbing, and scrubbing some more with a bristle-y scrub brush.

Then I peeled the carrots.

Trimmed them.

And sent these three with Keith to work. They were the best looking ones. I blanched & froze a few bags and have some more sitting in my sink to be peeled for dinner tonight.

The variety we grew was “Short N Sweet“- and they are only supposed to grow to be 4 inches. Next year I think I will try a different variety- these taste great, but the smaller specimens are a bit of a pain to scrub and peel without losing some of your own skin. Ouch. We also planted the seeds too close together, which may account for why we had so many itty bitty carrots.

And of course, we got a mutant carrot or two…

So here’s the thing about growing root vegetables, organic or not…

You will end up with, err, organic material in your kitchen. As in dirt. Soil. Rocks. Bugs. Spiders.

And guess what happens when you clean up? And add water to the dirt?

You guessed it, MUD. On your countertop. Yay.

And picking, cleaning, trimming, scrubbing, peeling and cutting carrots takes a considerable amount of time.

But I think it’s worth it. Just be forewarned.