What is this thing called blogging anyway? That was my thought several years ago when people started mentioning that they read a blog. Nowadays there are so many blogs, and YouTube channels, social media platforms and other ways to spend your time it makes my head spin.
Are we using all of this technology wisely, or is it using us? Does your smart phone help you work smarter or is it a temptation to check out of reality and play another online game? These are real questions we need to ask ourselves often. None of us wants to end up with a technology addiction, yet very few people actually want to live off the grid. Finding a balance is crucial.
Like all areas of our lives, we need to look to God for guidance when using technology. Right now it is the depth of winter here. For the past week it has been below zero degrees Fahrenheit for a part of almost every day. That's not the type of weather to lure me outside to hike or garden. So I needed to make an extra effort to not let technology take over. I've made a conscious effort to limit my time online. Setting a timer is good for me. It reminds me there are other things to go do. . . like love on my kids or talk to my husband!
Right about now I need to finish up my musings and go sort some paperwork. I can sort receipts and think about ideas for the blog for next week. In the meantime, know that I enjoy having you stop by and read this blog, and I hope you receive some encouragement from something we post!
Whatever the weather is like where you are, and whatever your circumstances, know that God is there with you. Spend some time this week away from the technology and with God.
Do you use Pinterest? Do you find it interesting? Pinterest is still fairly new to me, but I'm finding ways to make it work for me. Like any other tool, we need to have a plan, and hopefully some instruction when using Pinterest. Several of my friends (and many fellow Crew bloggers) have been quite helpful as I learn this new platform.
I'm trying to be selective about my pins on Pinterest, because I don't like messy. Please don't misunderstand me, I like to DO messy things: like bake, garden, or work with pottery, but I don't like a mess just to say there are more things there than were there yesterday. So if you pop over to Pinterest and look at my boards you'll see there are only a large handful. Here are a few of them:
I'm trying to sort out what I want to pin into realistic categories. There is a board of "Elementary aged ideas to share" because I have so many friends with littles. Even though I don't need any ideas for this age anymore, I want an easy place for my friends and readers to find them. (Hope you find something YOU like there because there are SO MANY cute things to do with your kids...and they have instructions and pictures... unlike when our girls were little and you just hoped it turned out right.)
There is a board of recipes I want to keep, and another board for sweets - because, well, no matter how much I like sweets - they're not a necessity. I've also added one more recipe-ish board - this one for household things or other non-food recipes. . . things like play-doh, essential oil blends, and beauty care items.
Pinterest can be interesting, if we remember that it is a tool, and that we need to step away and spend more time with our family and not very much time online. You'll need to set your own limits on using Pinterest. What works for me may not work for you.
Oh, don't forget. . . your home and projects do not to be "Pinterest-worthy" looking to be great. Get some ideas, and then get to work making messy memories with your family!
Have a wonderful week!
My friends Michele and Kemi have challenged. . . umm, invited us to join them in "34 Weeks of Clean" over at Michele's blog. Did you join in with us? I'm going to try to keep up with it for the whole 34 weeks. The girls and I spent a large part of the last 3 weeks of 2014 de-cluttering our house, specifically their rooms and a couple of book shelves. I want to join my friends (and encourage my readers) in this plan to keep the stuff from taking back over our homes.
If you haven't done any cleaning or de-cluttering yet don't worry. Michele's plan is for us to each work on one task a week, and then check in each week for a new task. By the end of the 34 weeks, we should each have a cleaner, less-cluttered home. This week's task was organizing and storing the holiday decorations.
If you'll think back, we didn't put up a lot of decorations this year. . .but we still had some de-cluttering to do. The girls brought our totes back up from the basement, and we went through the other decorations first. We came up with a small bag of things to donate, and a medium-sized pile of things to throw away. Once they were organized, we took down the decorations we used this year, and packed them into the totes. The ceramic tree went back in its box and we returned them to the little spot in the basement.
Since we didn't put up our artificial trees this year, stow-away was easy. Now that the ornament are organized, and the stockings are on top, getting everything out again in December should be easy too.
How did you do this week? Feel free to leave a comment and tell us what you did!
This week I've gotten back into being my alter ego of a work-away-from-home-Mom as the new year takes off and my vacation is over. It's a different life than many lead, this being a home-educating Mom and a Mom with an outside job. This week God had plenty of wonderful surprises in store for me to show me I am right where He wants me to be.
I am thankful for God's small reminders that give me hope and courage for each new day. On the way to work Monday morning I saw a rainbow. No rain here, it was too cold for that, just ice crystals in the air making a rainbow. :)
On Tuesday evening, as I was returning home and getting ready to make dinner, there was this wonderful sunset. Another reminder that I was exactly where I needed to be.
On Wednesday, I got to enjoy a clear, cool sunrise (from inside the house) while I was getting ready for work. Today, I get to spend most of the day inside a warm house, while the windchill outside is terrible. My out-of-home work is done for the week and I get to spend more time with our girls.
God is so faithful to provide just what we need. I am thankful beyond words for His loving care of our family!
(Just in case you're wondering how this can all work and still homeschool, right now Kurt is working nights, and I'm working days, the girls ARE getting their schoolwork completed, and God is working out all the details. We try not to stress out about it, we just go with whatever curve life throws our way for this season.)
It's never easy being a parent, but God is always here working out the details - for that we will be eternally thankful! What do YOU have to be thankful for today? Need some help keeping track? My friend Marcy over at Ben and Me has a freebie for her subscribers, a printable 2015 Grateful Journal. You should pop over and visit her - and tell her I said "Hi!"
Now that the New Year is here, do you find yourself staring at your house and wondering "Just what happened to make this mess?" If you're wanting to get a handle on your house, and clean it up to make a home, it always helps to get a plan and follow it.
My friends Michele and Kemi have teamed up to help us all keep on track to getting a cleaner, more organized home in 2015. Michele is hosting 34 Weeks of Clean over on her blog, and Kemi (a true queen of organization and printables) is making sure we all have the tools/ checklists we need to figure out what we have once it is put away.
I'll be following along with Michele's weekly tasks, and invite you to join us. I love the idea of one task a week. That means if you've already done the task, you're done with heavy cleaning for the week and just need to maintain your home. This week's task is to put away your holiday decorations. I invite you to pop on over to Michele's blog and read about this week's task and her great suggestions for decoration storage.
Our family only put out a few decorations this year, so it should not take us long to get this week's task completed. I hope to see you on Friday, when I'll post up a photo of our completed task, plus perhaps a couple tips of my own.
We've spent the past three weeks de-cluttering our house, but there is still a lot left to do. I look forward to joining with my friends and getting our house better organized. Who's going to join us?
Today I am thankful for a New Year! 2014 had a lot of challenges, and many struggles. Through it all God showed me again and again how He cares for us, how He is faithful to provide for us, and how much He loves us!
Early in 2014 God really started talking to my heart about transformation, and about how transformation is something that only HE can do. He has been working on my heart. While I can feel the transformation beginning, I know He has so much more to do in my life.
I do not know what 2015 will hold for my life or my family, yet I have learned that God will always be there with us!
It is traditional to wish people a Happy New Year, but because happiness is so fleeting, I want to change that greeting this year. I want to wish you a joy-filled New Year! May your hearts be open to being transformed by God's love, and may your lives be overflowing with grace and peace.
Have a wonderful 2015! Thank you for reading along with us on our journey!
