What I didn’t do this year & what I did

December 30, 2014December 30, 2014 / kstrick7 / 2 Comments

How was everybody’s Christmas?? I can’t believe it’s the end of 2014. This time of the year we all begin to reflect. We reflect about the year that has past. We think about the things we did well & the things we could have done better. Here are a few things that may or may not be a complete list of how I did not accomplish everything I set out to do in 2014.

1. We did not go on vacation. Vacations take money. Having food, clothing, shelter & transportation takes money. Can I hear an amen?? Sometimes you have to think about it,

“Shall I eat crumpets on the terrace in a Parisian like setting, sipping tea from a bone china cup, with my pinky up in the air, speaking in a British accent or keep my power on at home?”

Decisions, decisions.

2. I did not get a publishing deal for writing the most empowering & inspirational blog articles. Doesn’t everyone, who has a blog, feel like one day- a major publisher is going to be scanning the blog world for awesome content & stumble upon their blog? The said publishing company will automatically want to strike a deal & sign the blogger on. From that point on, all their writing dreams will come true. You will get paid enough for your writings that you can quit your day job & sit at home in your pajamas all day long, hammering out intriguing content, & eating bonbons. What?? Am I the only one that thinks about this??

3. I did not physically assault anyone. Even though, I have been tempted to flog a few folks. Not saying that 5^th grade is hard on me, this year. My Miss Neenee takes it all in stride. However, I have had thoughts of telling off a few folks for being rude to her, embarrassing her, & humiliating her. I have exercised my ability to keep my mouth shut & control my emotions. Mainly because my husband says this is all a part of her growing up & establishing character. I however do not always see it as such. People are just hateful sometimes. And when it’s to one of my kids, I take it SUPER personal. However, I have done my level best to not become a hater, as well. And too, I don’t want to be remembered as the crazy mama. That can have a reflection on your kids, as well. Also, I am quite convinced, at this point in my life, if I give someone a piece of my mind, before long, I may actually need it back. I’m not as young as I used to be. I don’t need to be giving away pieces of my mind. Especially the parts that remember stuff. I have become quite the good forgetter. Just a thought. ***On a side note, I did not have pounding someone on my to- do list for 2014. It’s just a mention.

4. I did not do as many 5k races as I normally do. Something was always happening when the races were scheduled. I did register for a 10k & got mono that same week. So, I didn’t get to go with my race companion Jen, to it. As my daddy says,

”Those who want to find an excuse, can find all kinds.” And he’s right.

5. I did not make any major exercise equipment purchases. I really had planned to. I really had wanted to exercise more. I want to be healthier & make my family healthier. That is something I will put into action this coming year. Right now, I am all about seeing how quickly I can get my pajamas on, when I get home from work. That is all. No excuses. Refer to Daddy’s comment on #4.

Now, for the things I did accomplish this year:

1. I began couponing. Not extreme couponing, but paying attention to what I buy + finding coupons = saving money. And who doesn’t want to save money? I put the Kroger app on my phone. I can use my Kroger card & you know what? Kroger gives you free stuff. You should know every Friday, Kroger has this thing, my favorite Kroger Crazy blog lady calls Kroger Friday Freebie. You go on the Kroger website, go to coupons, & type free in the search box. Then, just download the digital coupon. Freebie Friday is a life changer. Realizing that, my old grocery store never wanted to give me anything free. Or $.10 off per gallon of gas. Oh & sometimes Kmart does double couponing. That can get pretty ridiculous. But, free stuff from Kroger? That’s the cat’s pajamas or totally cray cray. Whichever you prefer.

2. I read the New Testament in the Bible. I have done this a couple of times. Every time, I am proud I took the time to do it. I find something different, I had never considered before, with each reading. You can actually read the whole New Testament in a month with reading only 9 chapters a day. Or here is a schedule to read it in 90 days. I usually opt to do this between Memorial Day & Labor Day. Probably gonna do it again, soon. It’s so worth it.

3. I prayed. A lot. And you know what? That’s a bigger life changer than the Kroger Friday Freebie. I started judging less. Paying attention to what others were going through more. Forgave quicker. And realized more & more that being thankful is where it’s at. Everything else just kinda falls into place after that. My One Word for 2014 was Pray. That was a wonderful focus to have for this year. I sure did reap the benefits from it.

4. I became a Grand, again. My sweet granddaughter was born in March. She is such a blessing. I have loved being a part of her 1^st year of life. As chance would have it, Mr. Sweetie Pants, who is now 3, is pretty much o.k. with her being around. The only time he gets a tad disgruntled is when I keep them at the same time. He will firmly suggest I put her down. Other than that, it’s all good. He just don’t like sharing. But, that’s ok. We work it out. He gets lots of chocolate when she’s around. Unless his dad is reading this, then, I mean he gets lots of milk & vegetables.

5. I have been able to serve my family & Lord. I have been blessed with my earthly family & church family. My family is just getting bigger & bigger. I love it. I have always wanted a big family. We all get along & take care of each other. I just can’t imagine it being much better!! I am so thankful for my church family, too. I have a Bible Class that I totally adore. I cannot tell you how much I look forward to being with those kids each week. They are precious. I never take these things for granted. When my mama got sick, one of the things she missed the most was being able to serve others. For once, she was the one being served. That was hard for her. So, I try my best to realize being a servant is a privilege. I don’t have to do it. I get to do it.

So, there’s my lists. I will be working on my goals for 2015. If you know of anything I need to be doing or need to stop doing, let me know. I’m always up for suggestions. I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week. As for me, I have to be going because I should be washing clothes.

…Forgetting those things which are behind & reaching forward to those things which are ahead. Phil 3:13

photo credits: mymcbooks, myfrenchcountryhome,BlogSpot.com,keepcalm-o-matic, humblepiety.BlogSpot.com,aletheiaagape.BlogSpot.com

Tired of waiting? The Lord has a remedy for that & my sewing project

October 9, 2014October 9, 2014 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

How many of you love to wait? Ok, why is no one raising their hands? Probably because you are like me & do not care very much for having to wait. We live in a society that, the quicker we can have results, the better. Our time is too precious to be wasted on waiting. However, there is a wonderful virtue to be had by learning to wait. That is the characteristic of patience or sometimes referred to as longsuffering.

Galatians 5:22-23 New King James Version (NKJV)

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law

God has patience. So it must be a good thing. He doesn’t ask us to do things He wouldn’t do himself.

Psalm 86:15 New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁵But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious,
Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.

The Lord is very patient with us. He wants everyone to have a home in heaven.

2 Peter 3:9 New King James Version (NKJV)

⁹The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us,^[a] not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

If you get tired of waiting, you should know it’s ok. It’s a work in progress. God wants us to discipline ourselves to wait. This leads to being righteous & will finally give us a home with Him in heaven.

Romans 2:6-7 New King James Version (NKJV)

⁶who “will render to each one according to his deeds”:^[a] ⁷eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality;

Life gets hard sometimes. You want an answer. You don’t want to have to go through a rough time. Nobody does. God’s patience even runs out.

Jeremiah 44:22 New King James Version (NKJV)

²²So the Lord could no longer bear it, because of the evil of your doings and because of the abominations which you committed. Therefore your land is a desolation, an astonishment, a curse, and without an inhabitant, as it is this day.

But we must realize if we are patient, there is a reward for it.

Galatians 6:9 New King James Version (NKJV)

⁹And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

Matthew 25 : 46 New King James Version (NKJV)

⁴⁶And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Psalms 62: 1 New King James Version (NKJV)

Truly my soul silently waits for God;
From Him comes my salvation.

Being patient, waiting & wondering if God is even listening can be disheartening. But God is good. He is right on time every time. When your patience is being tried, & you’ve prayed & prayed & waited for an answer, remember- there are 3 answers to prayer.

Yes

& wait

God’s not being mean. He’s trying to mold you into what He wants you to be. And goodness gracious who does not need some improvement in their lives? We just need to understand waiting & patience is necessary for our walk with the Lord. So, you see my friend, patience is something we must have. We have got to condition ourselves to wait on God. We have to empty ourselves of doubt, fear, & gloom & doom. Then we can fill ourselves with the things of the Lord, like faith, hope, & love.

And talk about somebody needing patience. I made this little dress for my granddaughter. I may have had to re-do some certain parts a time or two. Me & bias tape have this love/hate relationship going on. Oh well, it all worked out. She’s going to look so sweet in it!

I am so glad you stopped by today. I hope everything is going well for you. With fall in the air, I think everybody is in a little bit better mood. We will be making our annual trip to Ames Plantation this weekend. I can’t wait. You can read more about this fun festival here. As for now, I have to be going because I should be washing clothes.

photo credit: http://www.theladiesfeed.wordpress.com,www.ninapaley.com,www.art-of-inspired-living.com,www.curiositesbydickens.com

My one job & why we love to pat a cake

August 5, 2014August 5, 2014 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

Have you ever been given an important job? A task that you knew had to have all your attention. You knew you could not do anything to mess up. You had to be on your game. No excuses. Well, I have got one of those big important jobs today.

I am picking up my new granddaughter from daycare.

She will be going home with me for a visit. Her mama has some work stuff to tend to. And her daddy’s at work. So, me & Miss Neenee are making our way over to the daycare later on today. I am so excited! I just can’t wait to get that little bundle in my possession. Oh we have a big time, anyway, with her mama & daddy around. We sing Sunday school songs. We pat a cake. She loves pattin’ a cake. For no other reason, she gets to eat it up at the end. And she is like her Grand, she loves to eat, too.

***On a side note- I was looking on line to put a cute pat a cake picture here. There were some with the pat a cake rhyme on it. None of them had the words on it that we say. A long time ago, my mamaw taught me how to pat a cake.

Pat a cake, pat a cake baker’s man. Bake me a cake as fast as you can. Roll it up, roll it up pop it in the pan. Eat it up, eat it up as fast as you can!

I’m not sure where this version came from. Mamaw may have made it up. But it’s the one that was always sung to us & we have sung to our kids.***

We have some talks about how everyone is treating her. And she rides the airplane. Which is really just me holding her belly down & twisting around some. Which right now, that’s as high as she needs to be flying. So, some of that stuff will be probably be going on this afternoon. Only, unsupervised. Meaning, I’m not supervised. Oh, the things we enjoy in life! I just know as this precious angel continues to grow, we will have a special bond. Why, she already thinks I am the funniest thing ever. I only have to make faces, noises, & baby talk to her. Her whole face just lights up in a grin. She just turned 4 months old. Time quit flying!!

Luke talks about a special bond the early church had.

Acts 2:44-46 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need, So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart. (NKJV)

Those folks had love for each other. Just like I have a special love for this 1^st granddaughter of mine. Jesus wants us to have people in our lives that we love & love us. He never meant for us to be an island. That is why it’s so important to have a good church family. And I have the best! I have their support & love, as we all go about in our daily walk with Christ. Thankfully, many of my family members are a part of this wonderful church, as well. That makes me have a gladness of heart!

I hope you are having a wonderful day today. It’s getting closer to time to picking up the sweet baby! I know I keep saying I am so excited, but I am so excited!! I just hope we can get all of our playing in before her mama gets there to pick her up! As for me, I have to be going because I should be washing clothes.

photocredits:pinterest, etsy,helenatyce