My New Home

I had originally planned on blogging my most intimate thoughts here and posting about our farm, homeschooling, and everyday life at our new website.  But after lots of prayer I have realized that "hiding" my most intimate thoughts here is not sharing my story like I have been called to do.  So in the future I will be only blogging at our new site.  Feel free to visit us there.

be Fresh be Simple

Circle of Life

Our church is doing an amazing study on how your life would change if you only had 30 days to live.  I believe that we all have moments when we feel more connected to the reality of our death, but most of the time we are just living life (eating, pooping, sleeping, driving, working, talking on the phone, searching the web, watching tv, planning our next day).  

My mother and I were very blessed through the pain of her illness and healing of our mutual survival.  She has been given 6 months to live so many times that when we speak those words we do it with a chuckle.  But the truth is that when you hear a doctor tell you that you may die, will probably die, in the next 6 months you begin to evaluate your life.  Praise God that I was given this wake up call early in my life because it gave me a realistic view, Godly view is a better description, of my time here on earth.  I have always viewed my time here as very short, like a vacation to a wonderful place, but not like home.  And that realistic understanding of our time on earth can only come through the holy spirit as a gift from God.

As a young child we believed the doctors, always question what you believe to be true, and we were always evaluating our circumstances and discussing what we would do if mom died.  I learned to dial 911 early in life in case I found my mother not breathing.  If mom started to appear like she was having a brain bleed I had specific things to do to take care of her.  There was talk about where I would go if she was in the hospital, went into rehabilitation or died.  I remember at the age of 6 my grandparents came out to California, stayed a week, gave me all of these instructions and then went back home.  Truth is that there were days that I prayed God would let me go to heaven with my mom or that he would go ahead and take her so I could find a permanent home here on earth.  

Between the ages of 10 and 20 my mom refused to go to the doctors.  She just believed that she would live and I believed that too.  Talk about a faith that works!  She decided that she was going to focus our lives on God and that we both had specific work that needed to be done for him.  She would tell others her story and they would say the same.  There were days that I just wanted to live like everyone else around us, just be.  But most of the time God would intervene and remind me that we are not here just to live, we are here to save.  And because I have to be reminded of this often and in substantial ways, I faced my own doctors and talks of death when I was pregnant with Carter.  How odd it is that I grew up praying I would not have the same illness as my mother and was always reassured it was not genetic.  And later found out that it was genetic, that I had it and that the doctors did not know what to do.  Of course, God heals and new studies proved that a baby aspirin can and does save.  How amazing that when the fears of my childhood became reality God filled me with an overwhelming peace so powerful that it saved my husband.

I was reminded of all of this today on a visit to the butterfly house.  There was a butterfly caught in a spiders web.  Carter asked if we could save it, take it out of the web.  But as I looked at the butterfly and noticed his legs were broken I knew that taking it out of the web would not respect the circle of life.  What an awesome visual to teach how fragile life is and how the circle of life,  created by God, is beautiful.  We talked about it again this morning.  How God created that butterfly for many things.  Our enjoyment in watching those beautiful creatures emerge from a caterpillar is an important part of their life.  But feeding spiders is another very meaningful part of their life and, of course, death.  I share this with my children because I do not want them to fear death.  For if they fear death they will not live.  If they do not live, they can not save.

The Ritual

If there is one thing that I wish I had done before I was married and had children it would be learning to cook, sew and knit.  How easy it would have been to learn to do these things before I had to do these things.  Okay, I do have to cook, but maybe I don't have to sew or knit.  Well there are times that knowing how to sew on a button would be handy, but maybe not necessary.  But there are days that I would really like to know how to knit.  And not just scarfs but other things like baby hats, blankets or a really cute sweater...

Thankfully I can learn and it will just take me a little longer.  Since I rarely watch TV I plan on using Nathan's tube time to learn to knit.  And because God is so good our church has started a knitting group and I was invited.  Okay, everyone was invited, but I can not tell you how excited I am to be learning aside knowledgeable knitters! 

We have had our first meeting and I just have to share our first lesson.

The Ritual

At the end of each row you perform your ritual.  You go back over every loop and make sure they are properly aligned.  That you didn't get lazy at the beginning, middle or end.  That they are all the same size.  That the yarn is in tact and not frazzled.  You basically make sure that what you just spent your time doing was spent well.

Is that a great metaphor for life?  I am going to love this knitting.

A Rambling about God and his Existence

I know that there are a lot of really amazing people who are strong in their faith, but still question whether God exists.  It is a part of the process for them, a meaningful and necessary part.  But I sit here praising God that I have never had to do that myself.  Since I was a very young girl I have known that god exists.  He has revealed himself to me in very substantial ways.  He spoke, drew me near, comforted me.  So questioning the existence of our maker or wondering if HE could really be logical was not my starting point in my faith.  

I remember back to a point in my very young childhood when I heard some adults discussing if there really is a God out in the cosmic somewhere.  And at that point I realized that God did in fact exist.  And here was the theological mind of a six year old.  God had done some pretty amazing things in my little mind.  Some amazingly good things that could not have come from me.  And how did I know that they didn't come from me?  Because I knew me.  I knew the terrible, scary thoughts that were also in my mind.  And it just couldn't be possible that the same mind that could think those terrible thoughts could also be filled with the love and blessings I had thought.  

As an adult God still proves himself to me.  Not very long ago I prayed that God would speak to me when some dear friends started their labor.  I wanted to pray diligently for them and did not want to bother them with calling me.  At 2 in the morning God woke me up from a deep sleep with a racing heart and an ache in my abdomen.  And I knew to pray.

That is God.  

The End.

Does Satan lie to you too?

I believe that God wants me to draw close to him and the best way to do this is through his word.  I feel closest to our Lord when I am reading his word.  He reveals himself to me in ways I never thought imaginable.

Have you ever been in a routine of reading your bible and God reveals his perfect will in a very significant way?

Did you ask yourself why you aren't always reading your bible every day?

Did you commit to faithfully reading your bible from that point forward?

Did you stop reading your bible the next day?

So why do we step away from the very word of God when we know it is the single most important step in our relationship with him?

SATAN

I believe in Satan as much as I believe in God, because the bible says he exists.  If he lied to Jesus Christ, then I better believe he lies to me, and he most certainly will lie to our children.  And because Satan wants me to believe his lies he will do his best to keep me from reading, knowing and believing God's words.

Here are a few of the lies Satan has recently told me about reading Gods word:

~My big bible is too big, heavy and bulky to carry around.

~My little bible is hard to read and the pages will tear too easily.

~Being a mom is a good excuse to get out of reading the bible.

~Daily devotionals are just as good as reading the real thing.

~The King James version is too boring and hard to read.

~The NIV is too watered down and has lost the true meaning of Gods words.

~I must be a theologian to read and understand the bible.

~When I get a few minutes of quiet time I can just use it in prayer and God will reveal himself to me (reference my point about being a mom)

~If I can not read an entire chapter then I might as well wait until I can.

~As long as I go to church, go to small group, et cetera et cetera then I will get what I need.

~I will read it when the kids are older, the chores are done, I have spent quality time with my husband, God reveals what he wants me to read, I retire................get the point?

The truth is that God did meet me where I was and my faith was strengthened even when I did not read his word.  But Satan knew that the place where God reveals his WILL, STRENGTH, and GUIDANCE so that I may live for him only comes through time spent in his word.  Praise God that the truth does set you free!

The photo is one of our weekly watermelon tastings after picking for the farmers market.  Carter thought the cross was so cool and that God put it in there just for us.  Just wanted to share!  Sorry I can't share the watermelon via the web.

The Boys Shoes

When I was growing up we went from moments of plenty to moments of great need.  Looking back I never viewed myself as needy or "at need" as we call it today.  When there was something we needed my mother would pray and we would get it.  And I mean this as seriously as I possibly can.  She would pray and the door bell would ring and there would be clothes, food or a ride to church (I will admit that there were times that she would pray and we would not receive-like the time she handmade me a cabbage patch doll that the other kids made fun of-we prayed-but God didn't send us a cabbage patch doll).

As we are raising our children to be good stewards of God's money and stuff, I am reminded of the impact my mothers prayer and Gods answers shaped my mind and heart.  

It is just something that changes you forever, for the better.

Nathan and I have made a conscious choice to live a slower, simpler life.  And with that we find ourselves living on a fairly tight budget.  All of our basic needs are met very well, but we have to be careful with extra purchases.  I've written about how we do this before, but today I want to share how this choice is already blessing my dear sons heart.

There are two times of year that you can expect my home to look like it has been picked up and shaken.  Our semi-annual Lil' Angels Attic sale moves me to start thinking about what clothes my kids will need for the upcoming season.  They are all still in that growing at a rapid pace stage and require new clothes each new season.  And what things we no longer need.  This is the first year that Carter has recognized that stuff costs money.  So he has been asking a lot of questions about how we will buy new clothes.  Let me start by admitting that there was a fleeting moment when I wondered if I should allow my precious little boy to ponder for a minute over our clothing.  But the truth is that not only would God work wonders in my life, but also in his.

As God always does he has challenged Nathan and I to become even better stewards of his money.  And I must admit that every time God does this I think we have been stretched to the limit and met our breaking point.  But once again he reminds me that we are being shaped for eternity.

Our living with less challenge to limit purchases as much as possible (and focus on trades and thrifting) has really challenged my thinking when it comes to my childrens clothing.  I had decided that I would sell their gently used items and re-invest that money to purchase more gently used clothing.  I still may do this, but God has shown me that his way is always more amazing!

Carter and I have been going to Goodwill every other week and have found some amazing clothing that he loves.  We have also met some wonderful people that God placed in our path.

Neighbors sent us clothing that we were both thrilled to get (lets just say that it is much nicer than I would have purchased myself).

As I surfed ebay and Craigslist for used tennis shoes our door bell rang and it was our neighbor with a bag of tennis shoes he had outgrown!  Praise God, isn't he amazing?

So this morning Carter and I went through his wardrobe and talked about how amazing God is for providing us with such nice stuff.  And we both decided that there were two things that would be great to have.  A pair of blue crocs and a pair of brown dress shoes.  On a post it note I wrote those two items down and put it on the computer so we could search later. 

On the way to the store today I stopped by Goodwill by myself.  I found a few very nice shirts for the girls (that I will be upcycling later-photos to come).  And before I went to check out I decided to check out the shoes.  On the floor was a pair of very nice blue crocs and I was instantly filled with the holy spirit!  And I knew that there was a pair of brown dress shoes for us too.  I went to the back of the store and there they were.  A pair of brand new Gymboree shoes in size 13 waiting for Carters precious little feet.

When I showed them to Carter he took them and went out on the porch by himself.  He sat in his blue chair for a long time wearing, touching and looking at his shoes.  The truth is that these shoes fit his heart just as well as his feet.  

~I took this photo through the front glass so not to disturb his moment with the Lord.

Living Light~With Less

Not sure why I haven't documented this here yet, but wanted to share our latest journey.  We have come a long way since I wrote this post for the local BG Green blog.  And while we still have a long way to go, we at least feel as if we are on the right path.

We are in the beginning of making the transition towards living lighter through buying less.  What that looks like for us may be different from what it looks like for you, but we feel like it is a necessary change.  The Compact was one of the original groups to actually challenge lasting change.  Here is a quote from their site.

1) TO GO BEYOND RECYCLING IN TRYING TO COUNTERACT THE NEGATIVE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS OF U.S. CONSUMER CULTURE, TO RESIST GLOBAL CORPORATISM, AND TO SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES, FARMS, ETC; 2) TO REDUCE CLUTTER AND WASTE IN OUR HOMES (AS IN TRASH COMPACT-ER); 3) TO SIMPLIFY OUR LIVES (AS IN CALM-PACT)

What started as thriftiness has evolved into stewardship.  

STUFF

After reading this book I began to question where my stuff came from, who made it, why I bought it and if I really needed it to begin with.

The first step for me has been to bypass Target and head over to local or handmade vendors like you may find at SKY Farmers Market, ETSY, and the Kentucky Guild.

The library is a great way to borrow things and then give them back.  

FOOD

Re-thinking our food is another way to live lighter (possibly literally).  Not only is a large amount of the food we purchase wasted and even thrown in the trash but it is often covered in tons of paper and plastic.  Then we wrap it in more paper and plastic to take it home.

Buy Local-when you purchase food directly from local farmers and producers you most often take home just food without the trash.  Or they will most likely be packaged in recycled materials. 

Buy Fresh-The more processed a food item is the more waste goes into producing and packaging that item.

Upcycle-You can do this yourself by creating something new from your trash (the kids and I are working on a large play house made from recycled items) or visit Terracycle for ways others can re-use your trash.

Re-usable Bags-you can get these everywhere now and they make a huge difference.

THRIFTING

Clothing-Repets Thrift and  Lil' Angels Attic are a few of my favorites because their mission is bigger than just offering STUFF. 

Gifts-See if you can find others to trade with you (it may be easier than you think), learn a craft and make something rather than buying something new.

Cloth Diapers-There are so many reasons to use cloth diapers.  Besides the multitude of envionmental reasons you can also trade or sell your diapers for other things.

GIVE

There is so much stuff out there that we are hoping to trade or give away.

As you begin to evaluate your stuff you realize how much you have and how much others need.  You begin to realize what is really important in life:  family, friends, our world.  Here are some great organizations to give your stuff to.

Bowling Green Refugee Center

Repets Thrift

Newborns in Need

Please leave a comment with your links and tips to living lighter.