2/27/17 - WORTH REPEATING

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What it means to live a whole life of repentance is to constantly be asking, "What in the Scripture do I not want to hear?" As I come to the text of the Bible, as I'm reading the Word of God, I am asking myself, "What in this text do I not want to believe?" Because if we don't know the answer to that question it means we are not having the Word of God diagnose us in our sinfulness.

Russell Moore in Signposts: How to Be Changed by the Word of God at Russell Moore

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It's better to learn that wet pavement is slippery when you are running, not when you first get behind the wheel of a car.

~ Dr. Mariana Brussoni quoted in Pushing Limits, written by Jennifer King Lindley in Family Fun - October 2016 (speaking of the importance of kids having the freedom to take risks)

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Salvation is an event, but deliverance is a process.

~ Levi Lusko on Air 1


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A good day is a good day. A bad day is a good lesson. At the end of the day ... it's all good!

~ Shandell Clapson quoting someone else.


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“I wish I could be involved in some mercy ministry. That would be more meaningful.”

Ah, but you are. Mothers have so many opportunities to extend mercy that they all run together. What is a hot meal on the table but a huge mercy? What is a clean pair of socks but more mercy? What is changing a soiled diaper on a child who can’t even say, “Thanks, Mom” but mercy upon mercy? What is baking a pie to serve to your people but pure, undefiled mercy? I hope you get the idea. The mercy you extend to your family is very meaningful for them. You are blessing them. And once you determine to see it that way, you will find the blessing that is waiting for you in it as well.

~ Nancy Wilson in Thinking Thoughts at Femina Girls quoted by Tracy Grossman in Take Mealtime From Mundane to Ministry at Mom on Purpose

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A PHOTO HISTORY OF OTHER PEOPLE

I've talked about our wall of love before. Originally it was a temporary display of pictures we put up during Christmas every year, like in this old post. Several years ago I put the pictures up permanently in our apartment hallway. Then they went up in the house we live in now. The wall of love has moved around our home a few times, but it's currently in our kitchen.

At some point, I don't remember when, we started adding school pictures, graduation announcements, missionary prayer cards, pregnancy and birth announcements, engagement and wedding pictures ... pretty much any picture people give us. The wall of love is one of my favorite things about our home!

I replace old pictures as updated ones come in and take down any that are a year old, even if we don't have a newer one. I never want to throw the old pictures away, but I definitely lean toward minimalism and don't like to keep things that aren't earning the space they take up. That means I can't just shove them in a box to store for years on end. So I came up with a solution a long time ago. All old pictures go in this basket, which stays in our living room.

I guess you could call it the basket of love. It's filled with years and years, probably close to 15, of pictures the people in our life have given us. It's a friend and family history of sorts. Some people we talk to on a regular basis, others we've lost touch with. Neighbors, midwives, and former teachers. People who have faced serious health problems, significant parenting challenges, and other overwhelming circumstances. Families that have grown through birth and adoption, households that have shrunk when their kids moved out or died young.

People from all over America and some who live internationally. Individuals who got married, marriages that have ended in divorce. Kids and adults who are excelling in their positive endeavors, others who have made headlines for various crimes. A myriad of family sizes, career paths, religious beliefs, schooling choices, and lifestyles. Some fighting addictions, others finally clean and sober. Friends from childhood, high school, and college. People we met after Tim and I were married. A total hodge-podge of people we've known and loved over the years.

The wall of love is a fun way to be constantly reminded of the people in our lives right now, but the basket of love has become a neat way to remember the past.

KEEPING TRACK OF CLOTHES

If you have kids of similar sizes, particularly if they're the same gender, then the person in charge of laundry may have a difficult time keeping track of who different articles of clothing belong to. We solved that problem when the big boys were still really little by putting a dot on the tag or collar of everything that belonged to Silas, as he's the oldest, and two on the stuff that was Devon's. Some people use initials, but that doesn't work for passing clothes down among kids who share initials and it gets messy and/or you run out of room if you have to cross out old initials and put in new ones each time clothing changes owners. Dots are small, simple, and effective.

We just added a dot to the things Silas outgrew and passed along to Devon in the early years. They've been about the same size for most of their lives and don't pass things back and forth very often, but the dots always help whichever kid is on laundry duty to know which brother's stack of clothes a particular item goes on. Teebs is so much smaller than the big boys that we don't put dots on his clothes, but we'd simply add a third dot if he was close enough in size that his clothing made doing the laundry confusing. 

BOOKS I FINISHED - FEBRUARY 2016

The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are, written by Brene Brown

Shelley regularly asks her Facebook friends what they're reading and this book was mentioned by someone. While some things I didn't fully agree with and others I couldn't relate to, Brown has a lot of good thing to say in this book.She spends ten chapters on different qualities to cultivate in our lives and pairs them with the ones we need to let go of in order to cultivate what's worth having. Some examples of things to cultivate are gratitude and joy, creativity (that one kinda hit me between the eyes), play and rest, and a resilient spirit.

p.13, Heroics is often about putting our life on the line. Ordinary courage is about putting our vulnerability on the line. In today's world, that's pretty extraordinary. 

p.56, Perfectionism is a twenty-ton shield that we lug around thinking it will protect us when, in fact, it's the thing that's really preventing us from taking flight.

p.61, The line is, "There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." So many of us run around spackling all the cracks, trying to make everything look just right. < snip > It reminds me that our imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we're all in this together. Imperfectly, but together. (Quoting Leonard Cohen's song "Anthem".)

p.67, Over the past two years I've become increasingly concerned that we're raising children who have little tolerance for disappointment and have a strong sense of entitlement, which is very different than agency. Entitlement is "I deserve this just because I want it" and agency is "I know I can do this."

p.79, It seems that gratitude without practice may be a little like faith without works - it's not alive.

p.96, "I'm not creative" doesn't work. There's no such thing as creative people and non-creative people. There are only people who use their creativity and people who don't.

p.102, If we want to live a Wholehearted life, we have to become intentional about cultivating sleep and play, and about letting go of exhaustion as a status symbol and productivity as self-worth.

p.115, "Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is more people who have come alive." (quoting Howard Thurman)

One of Us Must Be Crazy ... and I'm Pretty Sure It's You: Making Sense of the Differences That Divide Us, written by Tim and Joy Downs

Susan let me take what I wanted from their book supply and this is one of the books I grabbed. It's an easy read that's based on the premise most marital conflicts boil down to one of seven key issues - caring, connection, loyalty, order, openness, responsibility, and security. In addition to explaining each of these issues and giving examples of how they manifest in conflicts that appear to be about other things, they also give tips for spouses who value these things and for spouses who are married to someone who values them.

Black-Eyed Susans, written by Julia Heaberlin

Sharon mentioned this story in a recent post and I enjoyed it. It's about a woman who survived an attack by a serial killer and many years later thinks the wrong person was convicted for the crime.

Lovable Livable Home: How to Add Beauty, Get Organized, and Make Your House Work for You, written by Sherry & John Petersik

This is the second of the Petersik's books that I've read, but it appears I never mentioned the first. Young House Love: 243 Ways to Paint, Craft, Update & Show Your House Some Love and this book are both full of simple ways to make your home fit your needs, interests, and personality. The second book also gives glimpses into several other homes, all of various sizes, styles, and needs. As with their blog, which they don't actively post on anymore, both books are fun to look through, have ideas that are easy to implement, and are very real world (save for big things, look for ways to cut costs, learn to do things yourself, embrace imperfection).

PICTURE BOOKS ABOUT REAL PEOPLE

The House that Jane Built: A Story About Jane Addams, written by Tanya Lee Stone and illustrated by Kathryn Brown

This children's book is the true story of a wealthy woman who moved into a poor area of Chicago and took her home, which was donated to her by a woman who believed in her cause, and turned it into a community center where rich and poor worked side by side and people learned skills that would help them move forward in life. The initial building, names Hull House after the woman who donated it, eventually morphed into a thirteen building complex. Addams was the first female to be awarded the Nobel Peace Price.

Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave, written Laban Carrick Hill and illustrated by Bryan Collier

The story of a gifted potter from the 1800s.



The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever, written by H. Joseph Hopkins and illustrated by Jill McElmurry

San Diego was forever changed by this woman.



A Passion for Elephants: The Real Life Adventure of Field Scientist Cynthia Moss, written by Toni Buzzeo and illustrated by Holly Berry

Over forty years dedicated to elephants.



Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Suite, written by Anna Harwell Celenza and illustrated by Don Tate

Turning the music of classical ballet on its head.

The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton Poet, written and illustrated by Don Tate

A slave whose poetry allowed him to live on his own for a while, tried to buy his freedom, and who eventually was freed by law.



BOOKS THE KIDS LIKED

Sidewalk Flowers, written by Jon Arno Lawson and illustrated by Sydney Smith

A wordless book that shows the joy of looking for the good things in life and then sharing them with others.



The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, written by Christopher Healy

Shannon said one of her sons recommended this twist on well-known fairy tales, so we got it from the library. Silas and Devon both enjoyed it.

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STRAWBERRY STOCKPILE

Although we've spread the word about the Rotary berry sale for three years, we haven't bought any for ourselves the last two. We were on food stamps those years, which can't be used for the berries, and didn't have enough cash of our own to make the purchase. This year we're back in the berry game, though!

We started off with two thirty pound buckets of berries that were picked, washed, hulled, and sliced today, and we only spent $1.60/lb for them. 

My plan was to make a quart of freezer jam for each month of the upcoming year and freeze the rest for using in smoothies, for desserts, on oatmeal, or whatever. I usually smash berries with a ... I don't know what's it called ... a smasher. I think it's actually for potatoes. Anyway, this time I threw the jam berries in the food processor and that sped up the process. Then I dumped them in our biggest mixing bowl and mixed in an absurd amount of sugar.

It was about that time when I realized that there was no way in the world that I'd be able to add in the water and pectin that was necessary for turning that bowl of sugary berries into jam without the bowl overflowing. I still had about 1 1/2 buckets of berries left, so I dumped the half bucket into another large mixing bowl, then poured the jam berries into the now empty bucket. Perfect! I added the water and pectin with room to spare.

All of those berries went into the twelve jars I planned on, plus we ended up with two extra quarts and an extra pint. I like it when I end up with more food than a recipe estimates I'll get! We'll stick with one quart a month, as planned, but have a little extra to share or indulge in when the mood strikes.

I often hear people say that they stocked up on some sort of produce in the summer with the intention of having it last a while, but ended up scarfing it up in no time flat because it was so good. I totally understand that and have a tendency toward compulsive eating myself, but every time I stock up on some sort of food I have a plan for how long it has to last. I need, not want, these strawberries to last until next year's sale, so I grabbed twelve bags and wrote a date on each one. The remaining berries got split evenly among those bags, so we'll definitely have strawberries all year long because the dates help us pace how quickly we eat them. That's the same way I dealt with the bargain blueberries we got a few months ago.

The plain strawberries are in the freezer and the jam has to stay at room temperature for 24 hours in order to set up before we pop it in the freezer. Twelve bags of plain berries and fourteen quarts plus one pint of freezer jam ...done!

As a sidenote, do an online search for Rotary berry sales in your area. I know other places have them, so check it out and get on a mailing list for next year's pre-orders!

4/21/15 - TEN ON TUESDAY

Dad - My dad came for a visit a few weeks ago and we took him with us to OMSI for several hours. He hadn't been there since they were located at the current Portland Children's Museum. He did a few blog posts about his visit, each with a bunch of pictures - an awesome surprise he gave us, dinner at Abby's, and a day at OMSI.

Fishing - Joel has taken Tim and the bigs out fishing a couple of times recently and they caught a salmon on Saturday. Half of it went in the freezer, but we've tweaked our menu for the week accordingly and will be scarfing some of it for dinner tonight.

Friends - Someone recently asked on our homeschooling group Facebook page if they could come without being judged. The following was my response.

As for being judged ... well, that's the first time I've ever been asked that.  I don't think any group of people see themselves as judgmental, but I've never heard anyone complain that we are. Of course, those types of complaints usually happen to other people, not actually to the ones who have hurt someone, so .... I don't know. 

What I *do* know is that we're all doing life and homeschooling a little differently from each other, but still have lots in common. We've gained insight into other perspectives as we've all shared our experiences, but we're fine with agreeing to disagree or to simply not understand. The introverts and extroverts are both comfortable, the newbies and the veterans get along, we help each other out when life is hard ... and we laugh a lot. 

Typing that out made me smile because I'm so thankful for our little group, both the individuals in it and the group as a whole.

Lids - Devon cleared up some shelf space for me by hanging these lids on the wall and door of the cabinet. The door one will need to be moved or get a different nail to hang from because it wasn't secure enough to handle having the door opened and closed multiple times a day, but I'm really enjoying having the lids off the shelf.

Mowing - This is a sight usually only seen when I'm eight months pregnant and simply can't mow the lawn anymore without painful repercussions, but Tim offered to take care of it the other day after replacing a spark plug on the lawnmower. He did the "lawning", as Teebs calls it, while I took care of a bunch of other stuff.

Recital - I completely forgot to post about this last month! Oops. Silas has been taking piano lessons for a little over a year and his teacher had a casual recital in her home in early March. It was a fun evening spent listening to her students play some songs and visiting with the other families once the kids were done.

Roses - First one of the year!

Science fair - The little Ws recently had an opportunity to participate in their first science fair. All three bigs enjoy science and are constantly doing various experiments, but I left participation up to them. Naomi opted out, Devon decided about five minutes before we walked out the door to do a quick demonstration, and Silas spent a few days preparing for a presentation on the nervous system, often getting Teebs involved in the work. Silas had taught a class on body systems a month earlier and hadn't had enough time to cover the nervous system, so the science fair ended up being an extension of the class he'd taught. We all enjoyed eating soup and bread with the other families who were there, then listening as each of the eleven participants shared their contribution with the audience.

Weather - I love the mixture of weather we get this time of year. A week of sunshine and temps in the mid-high 70s with shorts, tank tops, hanging out at the park with friends, and doing school while sprawled on the lawn. A week of grey skies and rain in the 50s and 60s with hoodies, slippers, curling up in a blanket to watch a movie, lighting candles, and eating soup.

Yard - We love our home and yard, but there aren't many options for places to have a garden. The place with the best sun is a narrow walkway on one side of our house and the previous owners planted tomatoes there. It's not ideal, but we're copying them this year, along with doing another run of peas like we did last year.

We also moved things around on the other side of our house. The compost used to be along the fence to the left of the tree with the rails lined in front like a wall. I moved them to the other side of the corner, making two distinctly different piles, moved an azalea that needed more sun to the old compost area, and planted some bulbs. That side of the yard is a work in progress and looks pretty ugly right now, but I think we're finally figuring out how we want to use the space.

CLOTHING BINS

I love hand-me-downs, whether we're getting the clothes someone else is done with or passing our outgrown or unworn clothes along to someone who could use them. My love of hand-me-downs, the changes of seasons, and growing kids means I have to go through our bins periodically. Today was that day. I've usually kept clothes in plastic bags labeled by gender and size, then put the bags in bins according to gender, but things have gotten a little crazy lately with clothes coming in at different times from various people and the bag system wasn't working well anymore. So I restructured the bins a little bit today. 

Here's the "before". 

I pulled all of the plastic bags out of the bins and sorted them by gender and size, tossed all the coats on the couch and shoes in a box, then sorted through a mound of new and old clothes that hadn't been bagged yet and put them in the appropriate piles. Then I went through each size and had people try on things that might fit. We tossed a bunch of clothes that were too small, a style the kids don't like, or something we had too many duplicates of (one only needs so many pairs of black leggings, for example ... and that "so many" is not 5-10) into bags for the two families we give clothes to (one family for boy clothes, another for girl clothes). The clothes that fit right now were put away in bedrooms as soon as an equal number of clothes were pulled out and put in the give away pile. One thing in, one thing out.

Everything that was left got folded and sorted by size, then stacked - jammies, pants, shorts, skirts and dresses (for Naomi, obviously), long-sleeved shirts, short-sleeved shirts, and tanks. I like stacking in the same order each time because it makes it easier for me to find things when I need them later on. Once everything was sorted, purged, and stacked I started putting it in bins.

Here's the "after".

Six bins - one of shoes, one of coats, two of boy clothes, and two of girl clothes. I know the boy vs. girl bins don't match up with the number of boys and girls in our family, but I think a lot of people buy more clothes for their girls than their boys. The excess we have whenever Naomi hits the next size up just get passed along to other girls.

Here's how I labeled the bins.

Each label, which is made from scratch paper, has a "G" for girl or a "B" for boy then an arrow indicating which size is on which size of the bin. If a bin has more than one size on a side, then I stack the sizes on the label in the same order their stacked in the bin. The two bins on the left just say "coats" and "shoes".

I'm thankful that our kids have clothes to wear right now and clothes to wear later. I'm thankful that these bins of clothes for the future have allowed us to help people who were in a crisis and lost all their clothes or just had a little random need that we were able to meet. I'm thankful for bins that make storage easy and room in closets to put them. I'm thankful for the people who have generously shared with us and for those who gratefully accept what we share with them.

And now I'm going to go toss all the ripped plastic bags and shove the rest in our bag holder for garbage bags.

CONSUMABLE GIFTS

I'm playing the Minimalist Game for the second month in a row and something that's come up in both groups is that people struggle with getting rid of things they received as gifts, even if the item is no longer used. The sentimental value is still there and there's a sincere appreciation for the time and/or money that was spent by the giver, but the item itself is no longer a blessing in the recipient's life.

In my opinion, a gift (or any other item, for that matter) that is no longer earning it's space in your home needs to go. If it's simply a matter of not taking the time to use it (maybe a game you haven't played in a while or a kitchen gadget you haven't used lately), then wait a month or two and make an effort to use the gift during that time. If you already know it won't get used or if you give it a little extra time and still don't use it, then pass it on. Give it to a friend who will be thrilled to have it, donate it to a thrift store whose cause you support, or sell it and use the money for something you need.

Please understand that I'm a big fan of non-consumable gifts. I happily wrap myself in blankets people made for me, enjoy playing games I was given, have a bunch of Ws on my wall from friends and family that make me smile, and so on. The rest of my family members have also received gifts that they love wearing, playing with, reading, or using in other ways. We're not anti-stuff.

However, one type of gift that I love giving and receiving is a consumable gift. I don't have to wonder if the recipient will actually use it and they don't have to store it or feel obligated to hold onto it longer than they want to. In light of the conversations in the last two Minimalist Game groups, I'm going to list some consumable gifts that we've given or received and some that I've seen others give or receive.

* 24 hours (or however long you want) of unlimited screen time
* individual/family membership to an art museum, zoo, children's museum, gym, science museum
* gift card for a place to eat (restaurant, ice cream) or drink (coffee or tea shop)
* Netflix subscription
* sidewalk chalk (yes, you have to store it ... but not for long)
* toiletries (fun soaps and lotions, razors for someone starting to shave)
* one time pass or a gift card for an activity place (miniature golf, trampolines like Sky High, inflatables like Pump It Up, movie theater, or the places listed under memberships)
* snack pack of foods, whether healthy or treats, the person likes
* iTunes gift card
* tickets to an event (sports, concert, circus, play)
* acts of service that you do yourself or pay someone else to do (house cleaning, childcare, oil change)
* seeds to plant in a garden or pot
* outing together (day at the beach, getting manicures, hitting balls at the batting cages, hiking)
* giving to a charity in the recipient's name/honor

This list is obviously not extensive, but hopefully it will help you start thinking of some consumable gifts that would work for you to give to some of the people in your life. Bonus points for the fact that some of them are free.

As for non-consumable gifts, don't stop giving them. Both consumable and non-consumable gifts can be a blessing!

THE MINIMALIST GAME

A friend posted a link to The Minimalists on Facebook yesterday and I love the Minimalism Game that the site encourages people to play.  Love it, love it!

I believe less is more. I despise clutter and lack of organization. I like to own my things, not have my things own me. I believe you will fill whatever space you have, so I think it's important to let your space dictate how much you own, rather than assuming your ever growing accumulation of things means you need more space. I used to be really good about enforcing a "one thing in, one thing out" policy on toys, games, and so on, but I've slacked off on that the last few years. I share space with five other people. I have kids in various ages and stages. I've been meaning to purge our books, games, and garage for a while, but haven't gotten around to it.

In other words, I'm playing the game!  You can obviously start whenever you want, but I'm starting today. Would anyone like to join me?

7/15/14 - TEN ON TUESDAY

Clean towels - We have white towels that get grubby pretty quickly from little hands that didn't get washed thoroughly and I recently found a way to get back to super white. We wash laundry in cold water and neither bleach nor Oxi was getting them totally white. Now I toss in a cup of vinegar and a cup of baking soda with the detergent and they come out white as snow. I'm not sure if it's more of a bleach alternative or a stain remover, as I haven't tried it on any non-white laundry, but I'm happy with the way it's working on our towels!

Dad & Debra - These two came up to celebrate the big boys' birthdays last month and we enjoyed having them here. I'm pretty sure God wants them to move near us, but they're in denial. Or something. It couldn't possibly be that they prefer living where they're at. Nope, not possible.

Father's Day - I know I posted a picture of Tim and the little Ws on Father's Day, but you didn't see how many pictures it took to get that one. It was a lot. We started with one in tears over something ridiculous and ended with one hamming it up so much that they were never looking at the camera. It was hysterical! I present Evolution of a Father's Day Picture.

Abortion signs - Some person or organization put up anti-abortion signs along the freeway in our neck of the woods. Some other person or organization cut all the text out of them and/or wrote comments over the top. I am confident that both groups have good intentions and truly believe they're doing the right thing, but I'm pretty sure that few, if any, people are going to determine their beliefs about abortion because of a poster a stranger displayed on the freeway or because another stranger destroyed the posters. I'm all for standing up for what you believe is right, but neither of those approaches seems like it would be particularly effective. I could be wrong, though. Have you ever changed your views on an issue, not necessarily abortion, because of a poster or someone's response to a poster?

Last birthday - My 38th birthday was last month. That's the last birthday my mom had. I'm not emotional about it or anything. In fact, my neurotic junk that's related to her death stopped once I passed her diagnosis age. I find that's how most things related to it go - the anticipation of a milestone is often harder than the milestone itself. Anyway, I'm fine, but it is a little strange to wonder what it would be like to know this was my last year of life. Perspective.

Garden flop - We had a huge (well, at least for a residential lot) garden when we lived in Beaverton and I've missed it. Our current lot is smaller and doesn't have such a big sunny spot, but I planted a small garden this year. Twice. Things either didn't grow or got eaten by critters shortly after sprouting. So frustrating! We do have some tomatoes, thanks to a friend who had three starters she didn't need and some volunteers from the compost that I transplanted, one zuke that survived, some pumpkins from a friend's starters, three wimpy kales, three wimpy basils ... and that's it. I'd planted tons of cukes, zukes, basil, kale, spinach, lettuce, beets, and green beans ... but they flopped. I don't know what we'll do next year, but I really miss having a nice garden. Maybe I'll just make my own starts.  Meanwhile, we've been given some goodies from friends' gardens and that's been a treat!

Hedbanz - Some friends recently gave our family Hedbanz. We've had fun playing, but it quickly became clear that the game can't be played with Teebs in the room. In case you're unfamiliar with the game, you stick a card in a band around your head. Everyone can see each other's cards, but no one can see their own. The object of the game is to guess what card you have.  Like this.

Unfortunately Teebs thinks it's great to answer everyone's questions by identifying what's pictured on their cards. Stinker.

Humility - It's good to remember that no matter how powerful, knowledgeable, experienced, or influential that we are, the world wouldn't stop revolving if we were to drop dead.

Sometimes, when you're feeling important,
Sometimes, when your ego's in bloom,
Sometimes, when you take it for granted,
You're the best qualified in the room,
Sometimes, when you feel that your going
Would leave an unfillable hole,
Just follow this simple instruction,
And see how it humbles your soul.
Take a bucket and fill it with water,
Put your hand in it, up to the wrist,
Pull it out, and the hole that's remaining,
Is a measure of how you'll be missed.
You may splash all you please when you enter,
You can stir up the water galore,
But stop and you'll find in a minute,
That it looks quite the same as before.
The moral in this quaint example
Is do the best that you can,
Be proud of yourself but remember
There is no indispensable man.

~ Anonymous, quoted in Finish Strong: Living the Values That Take You the Distance, written by Richard G. Capen, Jr.

On the roof - Devon had to get on the roof to clean off some things that were up there. Dream fulfilled.

My thoughts - Your difficult circumstances can explain your feelings, but they don't justify your bad behavior.


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BOOKS I FINISHED - MARCH 2014

Once again I can't get Blogger to cooperate when I try to include pictures of the book covers, so I'm just not going to try anymore.  Back to picture-less book posts we go!

The Boy Who Dared, written by Susan Cambell Bartoletti
Historical fiction/YA. A mix of fiction and fact, this is the story of a real person, a German teenager who struggled to find the balance between upholding the teachings of the Mormon church that were important to him and standing against things Hitler was doing that he believed were wrong. The end of the book includes photos and information about the characters in the story.  A pretty quick read that I enjoyed, especially knowing it was (basically) a true story.

Red: The Next Generation of American Writers -- Teenage Girls --- On What Fires Up Their Lives Today, edited by Amy Goldwasser
Non-fiction. This book is a compilation of essays from teenage girls all over the country, talking about all parts of life. Content, hurting, angry, passionate ... a little bit of everything.

p.217, ... if we're too impressed with someone else's life, then our own will just pass us by.

Keeping House, written by Margaret Kim Peterson
Non-fiction.  I have no idea where I heard about this book, but it was on my TBR list.  The point of the book is that the routine tasks of maintaining a household can be seen as ways of expressing one's faith. Sometimes boring (to me, anyway), sometimes insightful, sometimes practical.  One idea she mentioned, given in the context of nuns, but that I believe could be good for all of us, is to take a household inventory every year - count how many pairs of shoes, plates, books, games, shirts, and everything else we have. Whether or not one does an actual inventory of their possessions, I think it's important to be aware of what we have and deal with any excess (and I know that's subjective) in whatever way seems fitting. On page 87 she says, "It could be that we have more things than we need and can conveniently take care of and find room for." I totally agree! I firmly believe that our belongs should be blessings in our lives, not burdens.

p.3, There is a tendency, I think, on the part of those of us who are well fed, clothed, and housed to imagine that the needy people to whom Jesus refers in Matthew 25 are people we don't know - the sort of people who are served at homeless shelters and soup kitchens, at which we ought therefore to volunteer at at least occasionally.  But housework is all about feeding and clothing and sheltering people who, in the absence of that daily work, would otherwise by hungry and ill-clad and ill-housed.

p.18, If we are feeling the ill effects of being spread half an inch thick and going a million miles an hour, the solution is not to go even faster and be spread even thinner. The solution is to take a deep breath, identify what really matters, and do more of that and less of other things.

p.29, There remains, however, a lingering cultural suspicion that a real household, the kind that requires housekeeping, is a household with a marriage at its center.  Consider the ritual of the bridal shower.  The typical bride and groom of today have been out of their parents' house for years and have no need for household equipment; the challenge they face is how to dispose of their duplicate kitchen appliances.  The people who really need showers are the people leaving their parents' homes for apartment or dormitory life, but do they get them?  Not as long as they remain single. The operating assumption apparently is that as long as there is no marriage, there is no household and consequently no need for gifts of electric frying pans and sets of monogrammed towels.

p.45, Instead of nurturing dissatisfaction with the shortcomings of our present home, whatever we may perceive them to be, perhaps we can turn our energies toward receiving as gifts the homes we have and to creating in them enough order and tidiness to promote convenience and peace and hospitality.

p.164, But we all need homes in which the housekeeping is good enough, in which basic needs are provided for rather than neglected and in which welcome and care are routinely and cheerfully extended to both members and guests of the household.

America Through the Lens: Photographers Who Changed the Nation, written by Martin W. Sandler

Non-fiction.  This book is not only about photographers in history, but about photographers whose work changed the way people lived. The chapters are short and focus on one photographer at a time, showing some of their most famous or powerful pictures. It almost seemed more like a book about history than about photography and I enjoyed it.

Crazy Busy: A (Mercifully) Short Book about a (Really) Big Problem, written by Kevin DeYoung

Non-fiction. Excellent book for people who describe their life as "crazy busy".  I had started to make a list of quotes to share, but finally gave up because there were too many.  Just read the book.  It's a quick read and I was able to finish the whole thing in less than two napping sessions for the littlest Ws.  

The Year Money Grew on Trees, written and illustrated by Aaron Hawkins

Fiction/YA. It's the story of a 14 year old boy who has to figure out a way to earn $8,000 selling apples from a neglected orchard. I enjoyed it and had the big boys read it (one thought it was fine, one thought it was boring).

Elaine's Circle: A Teacher, a Student, a Classroom, and One Unforgettable Year, written by Bob Katz

Non-fiction.  This is a neat story of a ten year old boy with a brain tumor, his teacher, his classmates, and how they all turned what could have been a year of secrecy (some people think kids should be kept from knowing about hard things in life) or mourning (focusing lots of time on what was going to be lost) and made it a year of open communication (death is part of life) and just living life (focusing on the present, not the future).  I really enjoyed the book and think it would be a good read for anyone who is around kids a lot.

p. 115 - A better lesson, and one perhaps truer to King's (speaking of Martin Luther King, Jr.) spirit, was to stress how one person's deeds - a  person who is unheralded yet virtuous - can have a profound impact.

Smokey the Cowhorse,written and illustrated by Will James

Newbery, 1927. I liked the story well enough, but this book seemed to go on and on and on.


THE BOOK I BAILED ON

Gay-Neck,The Story of a Pigeon, written by Dhan Gopal Mukerji
Newbery, 1928. I have been slowly making my way through the Newbery books, but I changed my plan of attack this month.  Some of these books are a chore for me to work through, I just can't get into them. Rather than continuing to plow through them anyway, I'm going to use the 50 page rule I use for other books. If I'm 50 pages in and still not enjoying it, then I'm going to move on to something else. I have too many books on my TBR list to spend a bunch of time on a book I don't really like just for the sake of saying I read every book on a list ... even if it is an award winner. I read more than 50 pages of this book, but I eventually closed it up.

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FOUR RANDOM HOUSEHOLD IDEAS

These are not particularly amazing ideas, but sometimes I get inspired by little things other people do around their homes (including one of the things in this post) and I figure someone else may be able to put one of these ideas to use.  

Drinking Jars - Each person only gets one cup each day around hour house and we used to go with a "dark cup for the dark boy, light cup for the light boy, different color for the girl" method of keeping track of kid cups.  Eventually the big boys started needing bigger cups and we added another person to the mix, so we needed a new plan.  

Tim and I use quart-sized jars for drinking, the big boys use pint-sized jars, and the two littlest Ws still use the same plastic cups we've been using for over eleven years or so (love those cups!). The problem was keeping track of which jar belonged to which W.  I was over at Faith's house a couple summer's ago and she had everyone mark their jar with a Sharpie.  Brilliant!  We've been doing the same thing at our house ever since.  I just initial four clean jars each morning and we're good to go.

Warnings - This old Ziploc box is now being used to hold bag clips, which I guess is an idea of its own.  The box fits nicely in the drawer with other bag boxes, foil, saran wrap, etc. and we just replace it as needed. However, the real reason I posted this picture is because of the words "last box" written all over the box.

One of the household things that drives me crazy the fastest is when people don't tell me they've pulled the last bottle/box/bag of something out of our stockpile and I don't discover we're completely out until I need the item.  One day I opened the drawer with bags in it and found that Tim had written "last box" all over this one.  Perfect!  He had just opened the box, so it was almost full and there was no rush to get a new one, but it was now on my radar that I needed to get more and he didn't have to worry about remembering to tell me when he saw me later in the day.

Bag Storage - We use old produce bags for various things and I used to keep all of them in one produce bag, but they always got in the way of other things and it bugged me. One day I started shoving them in cardboard tubes and now that drawer is tidy again!  You could use wrapping paper, paper towel, or toilet paper tubes, cutting them to the right size if you need to.

Wet Gloves - I don't like to run wet gloves through the dryer, but it can take a long time for the inside of all the fingers to dry out.  My solution is to put one of my cooling racks from the kitchen over a heater vent, fold the wrist part of the gloves back as far as I can, then spread the open part of the glove as wide as possible and set it on the rack. 

Do you do any of these things?  Have any random ideas of your own?

6/11/13 WORTH REPEATING

The only predictable thing about humans is their unpredictability.

~ Ted Burdett


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The whole point of Christianity is realizing that you will never be good enough on your own. It's not about following the rules, it's about realizing that no one can ever follow all the rules. That's why we need Jesus.

~ Leanne Brown


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Owning less is far more beneficial than organizing more.

~ Joshua Becker in Don't Just Declutter, De-own at Becoming Minimalist

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The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night's sleep.

~ E. Joseph Cossman


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There are people who say this to me:

“You should enjoy every moment now! They grow up so fast!”

I usually smile and give some sort of guffaw, but inside, I secretly want to hold those people under water. Just for a minute or so. Just until they panic a little.

If you have friends with small children — especially if your children are now teenagers or if they’re grown – please vow to me right now that you will never say this to them. Not because it’s not true, but because it really, really doesn't help.

We know it’s true that they grow up too fast. But feeling like I have to enjoy every moment doesn't feel like a gift, it feels like one more thing that is impossible to do, and right now, that list is way too long. Not every moment is enjoyable as a parent; it wasn't for you, and it isn't for me. You just have obviously forgotten. I can forgive you for that. But if you tell me to enjoy every moment one more time, I will need to break up with you.

~ Steve Wiens in To the parents of small children: Let me be the one who says it out loud at The Actual Pastor (The whole post is great, and funny, so go read it.)

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2/17/13 WORTH REPEATING

What motivates me to keep simplifying and keep reducing when I hear the siren song of shopping calling to me is the very real experience I’ve had in the last 3 years cleaning out my deceased father’s storage unit. I’ve realized that the promises of security and abundance made by advertisements are false and hollow. Having all of my father’s stuff didn’t make me feel secure, it made me feel burdened. And I’m very motivated to make sure that no one is ever put in that position with my belongings.

~ Sarah Fertig at Project 333


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The reality is that we become what we think about most of the time. With that in mind, we may want to focus on living the heart of God and doing right rather than the avoidance of sin. If we set our eyes and heart on God and living His will, sin avoidance will happen naturally.

~ Rondall Reynoso at Faith on View


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Our price range of rentals we are looking at run the risk of landing us in a slummy neighborhood. I fear drugs, violence, but also the sense of entitlement I carry thinking I deserve a certain status of living any more than others who live in these shady areas.

~ Maryanne Gobble at Maryanne Gobble Photography


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You never know when you’re looking at someone if it’s the last time you’ll ever see them. It’s not an excuse to live in fear; it’s an admonition to live in love. It’s a call to treat people — in traffic, online, in service industry jobs like Whitney’s — like gifts from God, not objects, robots or a means to an end.

~ Marcus Hathcock at East Hill Life


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Christian woman, don't get caught up in thinking that because someone else does something a certain way that you must emulate her form!

Focus on the heart... if you find someone you look up to, imitate what is godly about her heart... her motivations... her character. But eschew ways of thinking that would convince you that you need to follow and subscribe to the specific details of someone else's life (the curriculum she uses, the time or method of her Bible study, the cleaning schedule she follows, her convictions about intimacy/ food/ birth control/ etc.).

~ Jess at Making Home

BOOKS I FINISHED - JULY 2012

The City Homesteader: Self-Sufficiency on Any Square Footage, by Scott Meyer

The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-Sufficient Living in the Heart of the City, by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Urban Homesteading, by Sundari Elizabeth Craft

All three non-fiction. I read The Urban Homestead a couple years ago, but thought I'd skim through it again now that we're in a house.  As I was searching the library site for it, I came across the other urban homesteading books and decided to check them out too.  I have no desire to raise chickens or remove all non-food producing plants from my yard, but I thought I may find some ideas to try.  Several of the things in these books are things we already do, though urban homesteading was never on our radar and certainly not our goal.  The recent change inspired by these books?  Using grey water from the master shower for flushing the master toilet.  The future project?  A solar food dehydrator.

Li Lun, Lad of Courage, by Carolyn Treffinger
Pre-read for Silas and Devon.  Fiction.  A young boy, afraid of the sea, is sent to grow rice on the top of a mountain as punishment for not going on a fishing trip.  Good lessons in perseverance, valuing the different strengths people have, being resourceful, and what it means to be courageous.

Hudson Taylor: God's Adventurer, by Phyllis Thompson
Pre-read for Silas and Devon.  Non-fiction.  The story of a man's journey to China and over 50 years spent living there as a missionary.   Good lessons in trusting God for provision, being willing to give up your own ways of doing things when doing them another way is for the greater good, and perseverance.

Confections of a Closet Master Baker: One Woman's Sweet Journey from Unhappy Hollywood Executive to Contented Country Baker, by Gesine Bullock-Prado
Non-fiction.  Bullock-Prado was the head of her sister's production company, but the glitz of Hollywood didn't outweigh the superficiality of the scene for her, so she and her husband moved to Vermont and opened a bakery.  The chapters of this book move through the hours of her day and are filled with recipes, funny anecdotes, and a little bit of sarcasm.  I enjoyed this book, but what I'd really like is to eat some of her treats.

Silkworms, by Sylvia A. Johnson
Pre-read for Silas and Devon.  Non-fiction.  The title says it all - just a bunch of information about silkworms.

PRACTICAL PURCHASE

We had a huge clothesline when we lived in Beaverton, but since moving from there, both in our apartment and in our current home, we haven't had one.  We'll eventually get a clothesline here, but I'm not sure where I want one yet. 

I try to keep dryer use to a minimum, so I've spent the last couple years putting wet clothes on hangers, then hanging them from doorframes and shower curtain rods.  It's inconvenient at times, but it gets the job done.  And when I'm not in the mood, I just toss stuff in the dryer and go on with my day.

I've looked at various wall-mounted drying racks online, but none of them will work in our laundry room.  So I was thrilled when a friend and I stumbled across these foldable racks at IKEA a couple weeks ago.  I bought two and I love, love, love them!  Not only can I hang lots of laundry on them, but I can put them anywhere that's convenient at the time, whether inside or outside, and they fit perfectly into a little space between our dryer and the wall when not in use. 

Check them out.  Here's one doing it's job.

Can you see them here?  The tops are sticking up just a bit above the dryer.  Perfect storage spot, isn't it?

I realize purchases related to laundry aren't the most exciting thing in the world, but sometimes it's the little things, the stuff that makes the daily grind a little easier, that are worth posting about.  Who knows?  Maybe one of you has been looking for the perfect drying rack and now you know where to find it.

What practical purchase have you made lately that you've been pleased with?

3/7/12 - WORTH REPEATING

Oh, and one more last piece of advice: Never apologize for the state of your house. Your friend didn't come to look at your house, she came to visit YOU! If you apologize for how your house looks you either place your friend in the awkward position of lying that it doesn't look so bad, or your attract her attention to all of the stuff she didn't notice before. So, do both of you a favor: Smile, graciously invite her in, ignore any mess there is (unless your son has left his underwear in the middle of the floor!), and enjoy the time with your friend!

~ Vinae at Worth More Than Rubies


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Great things happen when normal people step up to do the challenging things and are faithful to do the menial ones.

~ Brett Meador from Athey Creek Christian Fellowship (2/26/12)


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If you wait until you have money to decorate and make your home your own it will never happen. If you wait until you can afford to go buy everything new you are missing the point. It is the old, the new, the made, the hand-me-down, the collected, and the worn out but loved things in your home that make it yours.

So no matter what your home looks like, love it. Love it for the fact that it is the place you share with your loved ones. Love it for the memories that are made there. And if you are reading this and thinking “I DON”T love my home”, then sit down and think about why. Why don’t you love it? And whatever the reason, whether it is the space itself OR your attitude, do something to change that. Because a home should be a place that you love. A place where you feel happy. And you shouldn’t have to wait until you have the money to do it.

~ Stacy in Loving Your Home at Not JUST a Housewife


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Love trumps organic every time.

~ Brianne Happel, discussing whether a family that eats almost all organic, local, free range food would be comfortable eating a meal prepared by someone else if it wasn't organic, etc.