Give away

Joyful Mother is giving away copies of Amy Grant's book, Mosaic, Monday morning, so go by and get your name in the drawing. I did.

Contentment

Contentment-when someone is contented they have a feeling or behave in a way that shows satisfaction with their possessions, status, or situation. How often in our society do we experience these feelings? We live in society that is constantly wanting more. More things, more money, more friends, more houses, more clothes, more food, more pleasure, more entertainment, more, more, more... The media tells us that we need more things, newer things, newer versions of the same things we currently have. Nothing is actually made to last for long in our world. Most things are disposable. Our attitude is "throw it out, get a new one", "easy come-easy go". We are driven by consumerism. If you don't believe me then all you need to do is sit down for an hour or so and watch television (strictly for research purposes), flip through some magazines, get onto the internet, go through your mail. Believe me, I know about the mail... I deliver hundreds of catalogs, fliers, and sale papers every week. All of them are trying to sell you more, more, more. And we are buying into it. Literally, buying into it...The numbers of people in America suffering from debt are staggering, and growing larger everyday. We no longer own our possessions, they own us. We buy new things and spend our lives trying to pay for them. We work so many hours that we never enjoy our things, however, we are compelled to buy new things. Continuing the cycle of debt. At the rates that Americans are going into debt, the new retirement age will be Death, because we will never be able to afford to retire. I see this cycle in my own life and am trying to put an end to it. I see the lessons that I have taught my children through the years, and cringe. I have often quoted the saying, "youth is wasted on the young, and wisdom on the old." The youth are strong and healthy but have no sense, and when you get older and gain the wisdom then you are to broken down to use it. I would love to think that we could live two lives, one in which we learn and the second one in which we use the wisdom gained in the first life to live the way we should. But I do not believe this is so, and I must try to undo some of the ill that I brought about by making poor choices.

Philip Gulley, a wonderful writer that I enjoy reading, and I highly recommend, has a segment on WFYI, Indiana's PBS station called "Porch Talk". One of these segments was called Contentment. I highly recommend you follow the link and listen. We could all stand to be a little more like the lady he is refering to in this piece. If you are truly caught up in consumerism, then take a break from it for a week. Don't buy anything, except what is absolutely necessary for your survival that week. If you succeed that week, try another one. Soon you will realize that more things won't bring the happiness or contentment you are seeking. Things will just add to the clutter of you life and the stress of your debt load. Lets all just try living with less and on less and maybe just maybe we will find more, more contentment, more joy, more true happiness, and more time to do the things we truly enjoy in life. Maybe the saying is true, "Less IS more".

Today's insiration

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” ~epicurus

“We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.”~Fredrick Keonig

"Mini-Vacation"

Five Minute vacations...Several years ago I read about this technique. A way to unwind, rejuvenate, and calm yourself is to take 5 minutes and visualize something wonderful, look at a beautiful photo or landscape, listen to beautiful music, and for 5 minutes in the middle of your hectic life you can be on vacation. I was skeptical at the time, thinking that 5 minutes couldn't possibly make that big of a difference. However, I have since learned how important these little "mini-vacations" can be in my life. I have one "mini-vacation" on my way to work. As I am driving on 430 which takes me to my job, there is a point as I round a curve and look ahead, and the river comes into view. Small swells of hills lie on either side of the highway and as I approach the bridge, the sun is usually just rising into the sky and reflecting on the water. A fine mist floats just above the river and I can look around and see Pinnicle Mountain in the distance on one side, and The Big Dam Bridge on the other. Houses are perched upon the highest points above the river in my rear view mirror and they remind me of photos I have seen of distant places, and for those few moments I am on vacation. I soak up the sunshine and feel the excitement of something out of my normal routine. For that moment in time, I forget where I am going, all the worries that may have kept me up the night before, and I forget what lies ahead. I am in the moment. Taking in the sights and the smells coming in through my opened window. Making note of a boat on the water, or a bird swooping down to catch a fish. I feel all the feelings of a child looking onto such a scene, and try to draw in as much as I can through all of my senses. And then it is past, and I pull into the turn lane to take the exit to my job. But I am different somehow. I feel freer, lighter, that anything could be possible now. And no matter what I face after that, I can deal with it much better. I feel calmer when I get to work and can enjoy the day in a way that I couldn't have otherwise. So I have found other places, and ways to experience that same feeling of a "mini-vacation". One of them is listening to music. There are some pieces of music that give me those same sensations. Try it sometimes. When you are completely stressed out and ready to stroke, find something that appeals to you and take a 5 minute vacation and see if you don't feel better afterwards. Let me know what you would appeal to you and cause you to feel as though you were away on vacation. I would be interested to hear how you spend your "mini-vacation".

Today's Inspiration

Stress is the trash of modern life - we all generate it but if you don't dispose of it properly, it will pile up and overtake your life. ~Danzae Pace

Friday Felicities

My Friday Felicities

~cool mornings

~spending time with my honey

~laughing with my kids

~feeling content

~walking barefoot on the beach

~watching the sun rise over the mountain

~snuggling

Arkansas State Fair Time

I am in a real funk today. I don't know what it is, maybe hormones, who knows these days. But for some reason I just couldn't get going today. It is 3:30 in the afternoon and I am still in my pj's. I don't know what happened today. I folded a couple loads of laundry, did some dishes, made the bed, but not much else. I did manage to feed the kiddo's and the pups, but don't ask for much more than that. Tomorrow is work day for me, so I just decided to go with the funk and relax today. I will however, have to get up in a few minutes and start supper. I think it will be crawfish fettuccine with alfredo sauce and a veggie. That is fairly easy to throw together.
A week from today, my surgery will be over and nothing left but the crying. Hopefully the pain won't be to bad. I figured that I carried and delivered three children, surely I can deal with this. It isn't like they are pulling a watermelon through my nose or anything. We shall see...I will post before, during, and after photos for those of you who can handle it.
Fall, maybe here... This is the Arkansas State Fair time. I am not sure when we will try to go. But I do want to go at least to see the exhibits. I want to see the livestock; especially the goats; and I enjoy the arts and crafts. Tuesday Megan, Noah and I went to the farmers market and we met a lady there with goat milk soap. I bought the lemongrass and honey soap. I love the smell of it! Anyway, she is going to be at the fair with demonstrations of her soap making. So I would like to see that. She invited us out to see her at her home and she would show us how to make it. I just might take her up on that. I have wanted to make goat milk soap for so long. Anyway, she is at http://www.arkansassoapcompany.com/ if you want to stop in and buy some soap. Her name is Kelli, tell her that Deidre' sent you. And if you are interested in the Arkansas State Fair follow this link.

I have been thinking about people that are very special to me and have made a lasting impression in my life. I was thinking of doing something to honor them. So starting in a couple of weeks, I am going to take a few moments to pay honor to one each week. So stay tuned for future developments in this new endeavor.
Thought for Today

The miracle is this – the more we share, the more we have.

- Leonard Nimoy

Photos

Here are the photos that I promised. They are from Noah's birthday and the puppies. They were born on his birthday. I will take current photos, (they are now almost 4 weeks old), and post later.

What's cooking?

What's for supper? Don't you hate when you can't decide what to fix for supper. I get so tired of coming up with meals for my family. We have such different taste in our household. Yes, I am one of those that will cook different things for each child because of their likes and dislikes. If you make your kids eat whatever you cook and they do it, well, congratulations! But mine won't. Yes, when they were very young, they would eat what was cooked, but now that they are older...It is a free for all for meals. There are a few things that I cook that we will all eat, very few. But I can't cook those over and over again. Most of the time there is a main item; say pasta; that everyone will eat, but the veggies are different and the meat is different for someone. Like when we eat salmon, Megan eat fish sticks or chicken instead of the salmon. So you get the idea. So deciding what to cook can be a pain sometimes. I enjoy cooking when I am inspired, but on a day to day basis, after the laundry and school work is done and I have had a crankie toddler pulling at me all day, well, let's just say, I am not inspired to cook. But I still have hungry mouths to feed. And hubby comes in wanting to eat, so I suppose I need to find something to cook. Hummmmm....lets see....

Well, while I am thinking about that I will leave you with this this:

Today's inspiring words

William A. Ward

Four steps to achievement:

Plan purposefully.

Prepare prayerfully.

Proceed positively.

Pursue persistently.