Feelin' Dusty

I understand that no one will ever be bragging about my housekeeping skills. And it's not because I wasn't raised in a well-kept home. My mom was very disciplined about her weekly cleaning and we were expected to help. I even subscribe to the Flylady's website and have read her book. I love her ideas and principles, just haven't implemented them very well...yet (I am optimistic). I do not like to clean. I try to keep the house from getting buried and I pull the vacuum out when my mental buzzer telling me how long it has been since I last vacuumed goes off. I know I need to be teaching these life skills to my three kids because they will have homes of their own someday and I don't want them to be the roommate everyone talks about...and I am working on the plan for that.

What always surprises me and convicts me, though, are the unexpected places where I find dust. This may be where my mom let me down in the training arena. For example, in the bathroom, we had to shake the rugs, clean the sink, tub, counter, toilet and mirror, dump the trash and sweep the floor (let me know if I am forgetting anything, Falula). But not once did she have me dust the top of the TP holder. Imagine my surprise on the day I found dust on the TP holder in my own house. I had never even thought to clean that. And those six panel doors that sounded like a great idea when building our house? Well, those six panels have 24 corners that can hold dust. I really am seeing the practical reasons for going with a very modern decor -- flat surfaces, minimal stuff to dust, no grooves or ridges.

So, I know where some of my dust is but I am always finding new places where it hides. It is the same with my life. I know, generally, what areas of my life need some polishing...but sometimes I am surprised when a new issue pops up. This past week, a girlfriend who I respect immensely as a wife/mom/friend, paid me a wonderful complement in regards to my parenting. My heart was instantly convicted because I know that I am still a work in progress in that area of my life. I know that I would be embarrassed for others to see my moments of impatience and frustration with my own children. And if I would be embarrassed for others to see it, shouldn't I be embarrassed for my children to see it? I am...but it still happens. Perhaps there's dust bunnies in the corners of my role as a wife. They show up as a poor attitude or an uncooperative or unsupportive spirit...maybe a flash of martyrdom because "he doesn't understand what I do all day". Well, that's when I need to cry a river, build a bridge and get over it. I am a blessed woman because I get to stay home and spend these wonderful years with my daughters...and it is thanks to him and his sacrifice.

Just as furniture needs to be repeatedly dusted, so do my skills and attitudes relevant to my various roles as wife, mom, teacher, friend, daughter, sister, etc. I have to be regularly reading books or listening to CDs that help me in these areas. I also need to be associating with those that have the fruits in those areas so that I can learn from them. I am blessed to have my mom, mother-in-law, sister, sister-in-laws and friends that I do, because I am able to learn from each of them.

There is one other key ingredient to effective dusting. As this post was coming together for me mentally, I pondered that we don't have any cleaning solutions, like Endust, to keep the dust away in our lives like that product does for furniture. But then I realized I do. I can read my Bible...I can pray...I can hand over my dust to Jesus and he will help me clean with the aid of the Holy Spirit. Any day that I can start out with some quiet time...reading some Scripture...a devotional...writing a prayer out in a journal... that day is going to go much smoother. I can ask that my dusty spots be revealed to me and for the help to clean them up. That is way better than Endust.

Favorite Invention Friday!!!

Today I am celebrating one of God's best inventions EVER....GRANDPARENTS!!! I could spend my whole day describing why they are awesome. Here's my evidence, though, just for this week

We have a grandma, who is out of town taking care of my grandma, writing multiple letters each week and sending treasures to the girls. This week, the grandpa, that goes with that grandma, let the girls hang out with the him for a few hours while I had an appointment. He took them all on a date to McDonald's, made sure there was treasure in the treasure boxes that grandma usually maintains and had the Power Wheels jeep battery charged. And finally, my in-laws are taking all of them away for the annual Torch Lake weekend with their cousins. They celebrate special days...such as backwards day (have dessert for breakfast, pancakes for dinner and wear their clothes backwards) and everyone's birthday...they swim...enjoy the special menu that their grandma planned just for them...go fishing with grandpa...enjoy adventures unforeseen at this time. The kids have so much fun that they start counting down to the next year's trip the moment they return from this year's excursion.

They all set a very high bar for grandparents. And they each are blessing in our lives.

Back to my material enjoyments next week!

So, You Had Spaghetti For Dinner

Just have to reveal another of my superhero powers...I can communicate to you what I've had for dinner without even saying a word...because it is usually all over my shirt. For now, my story is that it's to communicate empathy to my kids for when they get something on their shirt...but what will I do when they have moved out?

3-Years-Old Going On ...?

Today my dad was going to let the girls hang out with him while I had an appointment. The 3-year-old insisted that she wanted to sleep at his house. I told her that they would not be sleeping over.

"I want to take my bag."
"What bag?"
"My pink bag with the jammies in it."
"You don't need to take your bag because you are not sleeping over."
"You're not my friend!"

As my sister noted...I'm not her friend, her dad is her boyfriend...she is acting like a 13-year-old already. She certainly adds some spice to my life.

What WOULD That Look Like?

My 9-year-old often asks me if she can get her hair tie-dyed. This has been her term for a couple of years, so I think she just means colored or highlighted. While the answer for her remains "No"...I am curious what the literal interpretation of her term would look like...on someone else's 9-year-old.

Are You the Imp in Impatience?

From "Morning Jam Sessions" by Betty Malz...

If the devil can't get you to be immoral, drunk, profane, backslidden or a cheat at business, he will rally his imp guerillas of impatience and cause you to wound someone's spirit and bring guilt to your own inner control.

Morning Jam Sessions

Years ago...in a galaxy far, far away (just kidding!)...a dear friend gave me a devotional titled "Morning Jam Sessions" by Betty Malz. I really wish I knew when I had received it...it was definitely 1994 or later. This book has been a daily treat. It is formatted as a page per day for the year. I started writing in the year that I visited each page in 2005. Sometimes I make a note on the page if that is the anniversary of a significant event in my life. And I made a rule for myself that I can never visit a missed day. It is interesting to reminisce about what may have been going on in my life on a missed day...camping or just off track (and why?). I totally envision this being a treasure to one of my daughters someday.

The author is funny...relatable. Sometimes she makes me smile and sometimes she opens my eyes to my stumblings. I tell you all that to introduce this series of blog posts, where I will share tidbits from the book. The ones that I share will be the ones that I needed...so don't be offended...I wasn't thinking of you. But, I figure if I needed the reminder or education, maybe someone else does too. ( I hope so...otherwise it is just me with all these issues.)