And The Soul Felt It's Worth

I read this wonderful book that was recommended to me this past month and even had a lovely book discussion with a wonderful young friend!
We had tea while the children played and a nice lunch together!
It was such an enjoyable time! 
The wonderful book is titled Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27840585-present-over-perfect

I loved so many things about this book and I highly recommend reading it but my favorite part by far was the chapter titled, The Soul Felt It's Worth based on the Christmas hymn 'O Holy Night!'
Like the author, I have always loved this beautiful song and sang along with the beautiful lyrics but never fully comprehended the deeper meaning of the words until Shauna pointed them out in the book!

O Holy Night
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till he appear'd and the soul felt it's worth.
A thrill of hope the weary soul rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!

Till he appear'd and the soul felt it's worth!
The soul felt it's worth! When Jesus appeared! The soul felt it's worth when He appeared!
Wow! 
Our worth is in Him alone!
Not in anything this world has to offer!
Not in the hustle and bustle of life, or getting it all done or looking Pinterest perfect or striving and driving and doing and building and dieting and exercising and cleaning and shopping and buying more and more and more! Or wearing the latest fashions or trying to fit in with this or that group!
Or whatever it is we're doing!
Ahhhh! The madness can stop right now!!
Because when He appeared our soul felt it's worth!
We can breathe a sigh of relief with this TRUTH!
So beautiful and perfect!
My soul felt it's worth! My soul felt it's worth!
May the knowledge of this truth set you free this Christmas and all the days ahead!
The soul felt it's worth on that first Christmas long ago!
I wish you a Merry, Beautiful, Blessed Christmas!

Still Singing About My Closet!

Yes, I'm still singing about my closet one whole year later!
If you haven't read this book yet, you'd better get going! 





















It will change your life for the better!
It will free you up in ways you never thought possible!
What are you waiting for?
Short read. 
New closet/life in one weekend!
Here is the post from last year






















Here is my closet today:





















Easy peasy.
Never messy. 
Always stays the same!
Amazing but it works!
You'd be crazy to not try it!

Once On This Island

Our little homeschool just finished a wonderful children's book series by Gloria Whelan!
The first book is called Once on this Island and it takes place on Mackinac Island during the War of 1812!
The other books in the series are, Farewell to the Island and Return to the Island.
We met wonderful, interesting characters and learned so much about what life was like for those living on Mackinac Island during the war between Britain and America.
The second book takes the main character all the way to London which gave us a glimpse of a very different way of life than here in the States during that time and then, of course, the last book is back on the island with more adventure involving a fur trading company and the local Indian tribes.

The little girls were playing Indians all day today in the woods with braids in their hair, beaded necklaces and scarves over their shoulders.
If I were on the ball I would have taken a picture or two!
Anyway, perhaps you'll check these books out from your local library like we did!
LOVED THEM!

Singing About My Closet!

Has anyone ever wanted a beautiful, streamlined closet?
Where you can find something nice to wear no matter what kind of day you're having?
I've always dreamed of having a beautiful closet thinking I'll get to it when the kids are all older, when I'm not so busy, etc, etc.
Ahh! Wouldn't it be wonderful to feel HAPPY when you opened your closet?
Thankful, even, and so excited that you felt like SINGING? 
Well, let me tell YOU 
I'm SINGING!
My closet is ORGANIZED!
AND BEAUTIFUL!
AND I THINK IT'S A MIRACLE!
It IS a MIRACLE!
I'm so EXCITED!
I CAN'T STOP SINGING ABOUT IT!
I told you my New Year's resolution was to have more fun 
and I AM HAVING A BALL!
I have a clean, beautiful and organized closet!
And it has stayed clean, beautiful and organized for over a month already!
Believe me, there is nothing special about me!
I have never been the most organized person know matter how hard I try!
I plan on keeping the house neat and then before I know it, POOF! 
Back to a mess!
Constant cleaning and maintaining.
You all know what I'm talking about!
So, Here's the SECRET!

This little book is all the rage, you know.
It really is life-changing!
The author, Marie Kondo, is a tidying expert!
Her philosophy is to gather all your things by likeness, clothing, for example, and deal with it all in one go.
For example, she has you start with clothing, so I gathered all of my clothing from all around the house from winter coats that were hanging in various closets and in the basement to summer sandals stored in a bucket on a basement shelf~
All hats, scarves, shoes and dump them all on your bed or bedroom floor.
Then she advises handling each piece individually and asking yourself if it sparks joy!
I LOVE IT!
If it doesn't spark joy then OUT it goes!
I got rid of bags and bags of stuff that didn't spark joy:
shabby looking t shirts, shoes that really weren't that comfortable, hats, scarves and coats I never wore anymore because I had too many and they were just taking up space!
It felt SO GOOD to get rid of stuff I could hardly believe it!
I threw a bunch of shabby things straight in the garbage and bagged up everything else and brought it to the local thrift store.
I figured someone else could find real joy in the things that no longer sparked joy for me!

Another thing that the author suggests is keeping everything you wear in one place!
So no more storing things in the basement or downstairs closet!
EVERYTHING I own as far as clothing goes, FITS IN MY CLOSET!
All my shoes, boots, hats, scarves, purses, workout wear, swimsuits and cover ups, camping shorts and flannel shirt, socks, underwear, hoodies, jackets, fur collared coat, fancy hats, gloves, winter ski pants.
EVERYTHING!
Isn't that MAGICAL?
Here is my closet!

One hanging bar with shelf on top, a set of four wire drawers, and 4 shelves tucked into the side where I keep all of my shoes, purses and a few hats- right side of photo.
Hanging are all the dresses I chose to keep, jackets, shirts, blouses, pants and skirts.
The drawers hold all my pj's, underwear, socks, nylons, tights/leggings, 2 hooded sweatshirts, 2 swimsuits with cover ups, 2 pair shorts, t shirts, tank tops, camis,
 workout clothing, even my painting clothes!
The TRICK in getting all this stuff into the drawers is Marie Kondo's magic folding method!
Basically, you fold everything into a narrow rectangle then fold in thirds. Then she has you file them standing on end rather than stacking on top of each other.
Check it out here: http://goop.com/the-illustrated-guide-to-the-kondo-mari-method/

She suggests you use little boxes that you have hanging around the house to hold accessories and as dividers for socks, underwear, etc, as seen in the photo above. 

I keep extra hats, accessories, and off season clothing in these pretty boxes I bought from TJ Maxx for $8-$10!
I love them!
You can see them in action in the first photo above.

Here is one box with a few fancy winter accessories that I keep on the shelf!!

Can you see why i'm singing?

After you tackle your clothing, Marie suggests tidying your books.
And being a homeschooling mom, I LOVE MY BOOKS!
But somehow she has you happily going through all of your books and asking yourself if each one is still bringing you joy!
I got rid of over 400 BOOKS!
I'M NOT KIDDING!
PHOTO PROOF!
These all went to our beloved local public library who were more than happy to receive them!
It's going to help fund their summer program!

All of a sudden our home has so much SPACE!
After implementing Marie Kondo's Life-changing magic to your home, you will find your home is so much bigger than you realized!
You don't need a huge walk in closet, but if you have one. you'll soon be able to use it as a valuable space for so much more!
You don't need more square footage!
You just need to start TIDYING!

Life just got more FUN!
Get the book from your local library and start right away!
Your whole life will change just like mine did!
Pretty soon you will be singing about YOUR closet!

I hope you have a wonderful and blessed day!

"O sing unto the LORD a new song.." Psalms 96:1

A Good Book and Barbeque Chicken

I just finished reading one of our favorite children's book to my 'students'. "The Bronze Bow" by Elizabeth George Speare. It is a wonderful book about truly learning to forgive.

It's set in the time of Jesus when the Romans were taking over Israel. A young boy has only one purpose: to avenge his father's death by defeating the hated Romans.

It is full of action, determination, tenderness and hope.

Parts of the story correlated with our Sunday School lessons, which made it come more 'alive' to us. We were hanging on every word and couldn't wait to find out how it ended!

We highly recommend it as a read-aloud book for the children, but would be great for silent reading for older children and adults, alike.

Now, while we were reading, we didn't want to worry about what to have for dinner. I threw a whole chicken in the crock-pot with homemade barbeque sauce. We served it with rice and a salad.

And we read chapter after chapter!

Homemade barbeque sauce:

~2 x 14 oz. cans chopped or diced tomatoes

~1 onion, finely chopped

~1 tablespoon black molasses

~3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

~garlic powder, as desired

~Mix all together in a bowl and pour on top of chicken in crock pot.

~Set crock pot on low and cook for 8-10 hours.

~The sauce gets nice and thick on the chicken and enough left over to use as a gravy on rice or potatoes.

Have fun reading!

The Simple Living Guide's 28 Secrets to Happiness

I spied this book on the table of a very resourceful young wife one year when a friend and I popped in on her for a quick visit.

It was the very first time I had met her.

She had a table full of canned applesauce and fresh bread warming on the counters.

Hmmm.

I liked this girl already.

She didn't even have to say a word!

So, next to the jars of applesauce, I spy a book:

"The Simple Living Guide" by Janet Luhrs

I searched for it at the library, checked it out, read it and bought it at Border's when I got a 40% off coupon.

It has chapters on:

Time

Money

Work

Simple Pleasures and Romance

Virtues

Families

Gardening

Holidays

Etc.

In the introduction it lists 28 Secrets to Happiness.

1. Live beneath your means and within your seams.

2. Return everything you borrow.

3. Donate blood.

4. Stop blaming other people.

5. Admit it when you make a mistake.

6. Give all the clothes you haven't worn in the last three years to charity.

7. Every day do something nice and try not to get caught.

8. Listen more; talk less.

9. Every day take a 30-minute walk in your neighborhood.

10. Skip 2 meals a week and give the money to the homeless.

11. Strive for excellence, not perfection.

12. Be on time.

13. Don't make excuses.

14. Don't argue.

15. Get organized.

16. Be kind to kind people.

17. Be even kinder to unkind people.

18. Let someone cut ahead of you in line.

19. Take time to be alone.

20. Reread a favorite book.

21. Cultivate good manners.

22. Be humble.

23. Understand and accept that life isn't always fair.

24. Know when to say something.

25. Know when to keep your mouth shut.

26. Don't criticize anyone for 24 hours.

27. Learn from the past, plan for the future, and live in the present.

28. Don't sweat the small stuff.

I like this list.

I would like to add forgiveness to the list.

~To forgive and to be forgiven.

Life is way too complicated without forgiveness!

Other than that, I think it's a wonderful list!

Does anyone have any other ideas?

Things To Do This Spring

It's exciting to have a new season, especially one that is getting warmer and brighter after a long, dark winter.

Here are some simple things to do to make Spring fun and special.

1. Read "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett. One of the best books I have ever read. It is wonderful to read it a little at a time to children, but just as good reading on your own.

It is a story about hope and friendship and when you are finished reading it, you will want a 'bit of earth' of your own.

2. Plant a garden. If you have never planted a garden, do not be afraid to start one this Spring! "The Square Foot Gardening" book by Mel Bartholomew is absolutely for everyone, whether you are a beginner or an ol' pro! You can visit the website at http://www.squarefootgardening.com/
I was overwhelmed just thinking about a garden, though I always wanted one, and this was the book that set me free.

We have 8-4 feet by 4 feet squares-1 for each of the children and the point was to have each take care of their own square.
You can make as many squares as you need.
You can have a square full of wonderful food even if you have limited space.

3. Go Fishing! We have a young fisherman in the family so we always make a point to get to Kensington Metropark to go fishing!

4. Make or buy a Spring wreath for your door. I've done both, but last year I found a beautiful one from Wal-Mart!

5. Buy a Bird's nest and use it in your decorating. We have a real one that was abandoned last fall, but you can get one from the local craft store.
Buy a little fake bird and some eggs to put in it and then find a green sprig from your own
yard and stick it into the nest, too.
It makes a beautiful centerpiece or decoration for a shelf, mantel or a bedside table.

6. Put some lemons and limes in a clear glass bowl and leave on the counter to use for your water, tea and for cooking.

7. Buy new kites and fly them with a loved one.

8. Find some good Middle-Eastern recipes, like tabouli, falafels, non-leavened bread, etc and have someone special over for Palm Sunday, which is this coming Sunday.

9. Make a terrarium. See www.bhg.com/terrariums.

10. Visit the local public gardens and butterfly house. Usually the Universities have these.

11. Go on a picnic.

12. Visit the farm to see the baby animals.

Have fun!

Trying For Consistency

Another one of my New Year resolutions this year is to try to be consistent.

1. Consistent with my exercise:
~3 days a week of weight training.
~I have been using Joyce Vedral's books for over 20 years now. Bottoms Up and Definition are my favorites. http://www.joycevedral.com/
~3 days a week of cardio. I love interval cardio where you vary your speeds from low to high to low to high, whether walking, running, swimming etc.
~2 days a week of yoga/pilates. Check out free yoga at www.yogatoday.com


2. Consistent with my clean-eating.
~meaning eating foods as close to their natural source as possible. No white flour, sugar, processed foods etc. Check out Clean Eating magazine at http://www.cleaneatingmagazine.com/



3. Consistent with reading to my students.
~By far, my favorite part of the day. Nothing is better than reading a book that we all enjoy. We are currently reading "The Greatest Story Ever Told" and "Prince Caspian" from The Chronicles of Narnia series. Very Exciting!



4. Consistent with my cleaning routine.
~I am still trying with FlyLady! http://www.flylady.net/



5. Consistent with keeping track of our finances.
It just feels good to be able to keep track. When we were unemployed there was NOTHING to keep track of! http://www.daveramsey.com/

So consistency is the name of my game right now. Just a little at a time. I am not trying to make a big deal about any of these things~just trying to get them in if even for 15 minutes.

Have a great day!

Who's Throwing Money At Me When I Run?

Okay, I know this isn't a big money-making tactic, but after reading "Five Lessons A Millionaire Taught Me About Life and Wealth", I couldn't help but think that this might be a small way of 'winning in the margins' like the author mentioned. What am I talking about, you may be thinking? Well, I run down our road a few times a week and I always find money along the way. It is like someone is paying me to run. Now, I am not a professional athlete or anything, because they are not paying me much, but it never fails-I find money EVERY time! It is in the form of returnable aluminum cans. I have to bring a plastic grocery bag for all the 'money' I collect along the way. I come home from my run and tell the kids that someone is throwing money at me when I run. They are all amazed. I then put the 'money' in my 'returnable' bag in the mudroom until it is full. Free money for doing nothing but what I was going to do anyway! Amazing!

What would happen if I invested that money? Free money + investing = more free money. I do not know much about investing, but I am hoping to learn more. It is a brilliant idea!



Now, about that book! It did open my eyes to many things. It is a short book that is easy to read. The author is Richard Paul Evans, author of "The Christmas Box." I would recommend reading it. These are the 5 lessons he talks about:



1. Decide to be wealthy.

2. Take responsibility for your money.

3. Keep a portion of everything you earn.

4. Win in the margins.

5. Give back.



I hope you find some free money on your daily walks. We definitely have a lot to be thankful for!