a prayer

My mom shared this ancient prayer on her blog not too long ago ...its is appropriate for her and my dad because they are making radical movements towards a new life in Singapore! 

Regardless of where you spend your days and minutes, at home with little ones or ministering our brothers and sisters in another country ...may this prayers belong to each one of us.

Jesus, I am a humble, lowly servant.

Take me; all of me.

Adding anything, take anything away; 

at any cost, with any price, 

Make me yours completely ...wholly.

May I not be remembered for the way I wear my hair,

for the shape of my face, or for the people I know,

or for the friends and crowds I have addressed. 

May be known for loving you, 

for carrying a dream,

For building bridges to the hurt, to the broken,

and to the lost in the world.

Make me what you would be

if you lived in person where I do.

Make everything accomplished through my simple life 

bring honor and glory to you.

Take my human flaws and failures, 

and use them to remind those who know me

That only YOU are God, and I will always be {me}

and..WHOLLY YOURS.

amen. 

Why..?

During this time when so many of us are ready hit the ground running making ourselves better moms, wives and women, I think its a good time to really question what our motivations are for doing that.

Motivation has a TON to do with how we will suceed those goals, and if we should even adjust some of them!



When making your new years resolutions this year, ask yourself why?  ...it will help determine how you are going to use your resources to get there.

We are called to "do everything as working for the Lord, and not for man" Colossians 3:   ...if we are truly doing that, then we just changed how we distribute a good portion of our mental, emotional, time-focused and physical resources.

Why are you trying to lose weight?  ...to fit into a cultural norm that says we need to be this BMI to be "healthy"? Or so that you can take better care of your physical resources?  ...on one hand you may use misuse resources God gave you to overly focus on your body, on the other you may find every area of your life more balanced and God glorifying.

The difference in motivation may be the difference of 20 pounds ...because I could probably get down to a perfect little 135 ..but I would have to focus 100% on that area of my life. But, I may learn to be content with (ahem...) a higher number, so that I can give only its due in that area ..making sure I am giving what God needs to be in every area of my life.

The difference in motivation may be a spotless house, and one that is organized enough for my family to function well. The difference my also be being happy with just enough, rather than more than I need in the way of new clothes or new stuff. 

Does that make sense?

Only when we couple our resources with the right motivations, can we trust that we will be appropriating our resources the way we need to be.

HOW do we do that..you may ask? ..I am glad you did :)

To answer that, we have to look at anothers' motivation.

Lets take a look at John 16 ...During the last evening of discussion of Jesus and his disciples Jesus assures and comforts his friends by saying, "...I tell you the truth: it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you. But, If I go I will send Him to you." 16:7

Without Christ's death, the Holy Spirit could not come ..but why do we need that? 

"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I love with you, my peace I give you."  15:16   and again in 16:13"..when he, the Spirit of Truth, comes he will guide you into all truth."  

What does that mean for us, and what we do with our days? ..."His divine power {His Spirit in us} has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world, caused by evil desires." 2 Peter 1:3-4
 

 His motivation ...Ephesians chapter 1, vs 4ff ..."for He chose us in Him before the creation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ in accordance with his pleasure and will."

I am so amazed that the Spirit in me knows all of God ...that same Spirit guides me in Truth. The Truth guides us to bring pleasure to God!  ...and I have everything in me to do that already!

  

This year, as I plan my goals and hopes for myself I desire {as I am sure you do} to bring pleasure and glory to God! I can only do that by allowing the Spirit in my to guide my motivations, my use of resources, my plans and my days.

That may mean my BMI is higher than the Wii Fit is happy with ..but I am okay with that :)

{Welcome ifellowshippers ..I am blessed by your being here!}

Tips on Tuesday: Hot Spots

I have mentioned before that I really like to use many of Flylady's ideas for destressing my home.  One of her ideas that I have used for years is the idea of Hot Spots.

Hot Spots are those places in your home that are often the starting point of your house being taken over by the clutter. They are also the spots, if they are kept under control, that are the starting point for getting control regained.

According to Flylady, Hot Spots are  an area, when left unattended will gradually take over. My favorite analogy is of a hot spot in a forest fire, if left alone, it will eventually get out of hand and burn up the whole forest. This is what happens in our homes. If left unattended, the hot spot will grow and take over the whole room as well as making the house look awful. When you walk into a room, this is the first thing you see.

Flylady encourages you to identify those areas, and purposefully plan on several points in the day where give attention to them.  Her email reminders throughout the day prompt you to take care of those Hot Spots.

Your Hot Spots may look like this ...

{yikes..I am embarrassed to show this one!}

Or this...

Or this....

For me, taking time to pay close attention to these areas specifically, I can keep an general feeling of control over my clutter. They are also a great starting point when you are in that "where do I even start?!" mode. I am there often, so I speak from experience :)

One other thing that I do for myself, is to "yay me!" with a candle in that spot. Because, lets be honest..really, I may be the only person who even noticed that spot has stayed decluttered all day :) I like to "celebrate" my accomplishment with a tea light or a scented candle, which also helps me keep that spot decluttered for the rest of the day. 

What are YOUR Hot Spots?  Mine are the island in the kitchen (clearly), my entry way table, my kitchen table, my end tables in the living room and my dresser in my bedroom....

Hot Spots Work For Me! 

Less Stressed Dinner: Creamy Chicken Casserole

Having dinner taken care of is a HUGE weight off on any given day ...yes?

I am all about {Less Stressed} Dinners ...because they are planned in advance, made from staple items I typically keep around and (if its a good one) I can kill more than one bird with one stone.

I have two go-to extremely versatile recipes that fit all those qualifications ..they are actually kinna similar, but both easy peasy and totally adaptable for what you may have in the house.

The first one I stole and adapted from my friend, Kim. Hers was a simple creamy chicken casserole. I adapted it a bit and added a veggie to make it a one-dish supper, leaving adding another vegetable or bread totally optional (at least in my book).

Its also a favorite because just about every ingredient is part of the sales cycle at my local grocery stores. I can get most of these things on sale somewhere just about every week, or I can stock up on it for later.

It also makes a great make-ahead, make-alot, take-to-someone meal. ...So without further adieu...

{Creamy Chicken Casserole Dinner}

4 Chicken Breasts, cooked and shredded

{or chicken from a whole chicken, or leftovers from a rotissourie chicken, etc)

1 can of cream of "something" soup

{I have used cream of chicken, celery or mushroom ..whatever I have}

8 oz sour cream

8-15 oz of a veggie ..canned or frozen

{I use french style green beans, corn, or mixed veggies}

1.5 rolls of Ritz crackers, crushed

{I really like the veggie flavored ones!}

1 stick of melted margarine

I just throw my shredded chicken in a 9x13 casserole dish; mix in the soup, sour cream and veggies. Then, I crush the Ritz crackers, pour them into the melted butter, mix until all the crumbs are coated well with butter. Then, place the buttered crumbs on the top of the chicken mixture.  Pop in the oven for about 350 degrees, until the top is crunchy and the middle is bubbly. 

Since stealing this from Kim, it has become a Steed family favorite ..hope you can use it to make a Less Stressed Dinner soon!

Happy {Less Stressed} New Year!

I LOVE the New Year!

 {this was taken in Nashville, Tennessee where me and my family spent a white Christmas!}

I know it has a remarkable amount to do with my type "a" personality, but I love the newness of it. I love the vast openness of 12 unadulterated months of the year stretching before me. It holds so much potential..dont you think?

I have to stop myself from going overboard with "newness" though - I tend to want to scrap everything that is frustrating (my routines, my clutter, my systems) or not working well. I trend on the side of "get rid of everything and start over again!"  ..but this year I have determined to do no such thing.

I had a good year last year. I feel I grew in ways that I feel blessed and want to grow on those, instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, so to speak. I feel like I got some momentum and just want to carry that through to 2011 and keep a good thing going.

As a christian woman and/or wife/mom, you probably have similar goals as me - better care of my house, and my body, and to move towards a better relationship with God.

Those three things are really encompassing of several new and old (needing freshened up) habits, and will no doubt be the same ones I desire for next year :) ..but they are no less a great start.

With these thoughts in mind I have been mentally planning some things for LPLS in 2011 - posts reflecting my own desire to live peacefully with less stress in the areas of my life that I dwell the most. I hope to use this place a grounding place for my own challenges and efforts, and hope you will join me in that quest to being more what God wants me to be!

Lets get started ..its going to be a great year!

What great things are you feeling hopeful for in 2011?! I cant wait to hear!