Skip to main content

673-682

My entire list this morning is an Ugly Beautiful list. My house is disgusting and I'm having a hard time feeling "blessed"...but I'm going to try. First I am going to write all the things that I find discouraging. Then I am going to go back and come up with something beautiful about it.

673. I can hardly walk across my living room because so many toys were left out
674. All my dishes are blue and covered with wax because one of the boys put a crayon in the dishwasher
675. I can not see the surface of my desk because it is covered with unopened, unpaid bills
676.The boys are up WAY earlier than usual
677. Their is a layer of grime in my toilet
678. My floor is dirty
679. There is no food in my fridge - and barely any in the pantry because I haven't had time to go
680.There are piles of Avonleas "organized" clothes in the hallway that need to be put away in her room shopping
681.I don't feel like writing this list
682.My husband is nagging me about turning off lights

673. I can hardly walk across my living room because so many toys were left out
- I have three beautiful children who love to play
- Our friends and family love us and have given us wonderful toys
- We have had so much fun yard sailing as a family
674. All my dishes are blue and covered with wax because one of the boys put a crayon in the dishwasher
-My boys will sit down and color for long periods of time
-They are talented (at least in my opinion)
-I have plenty of dishes
-I have a dishwasher
-I have running water
-My grandmother and step mother picked out most of my dishes especially for me
-The blue willow dishes they gave me remind me of my wedding
-I love being married
-I have a wonderful, loving, hard working husband
-I have served many true, dear friends on my dishes
675. I can not see the surface of my desk because it is covered with unopened, unpaid bills
-I have the money to pay them
-We have three businesses
-Because of the businesses I am able to stay home with my kids
-The bills represent - lights we can turn on, phones we can talk on, heat and air conditioning...I could go on and on
676.The boys are up WAY earlier than usual
- They read books quietly in their room
- They interact with each other and entertain each other
- Nap time wil be earlier than usual
- They are simply precious
677. Their is a layer of grime in my toilet
-We have plumbing
-We are all healthy and have no digestive problems
-Their are lots of cleaning tools that make cleaning it easier
678. My floor is dirty
-The crumbs represent food we can afford
-I have a sweet steam vac that my mom and I got on sale for $30
-I don't have to go anywhere today so perhaps I'll have time to get it clean
679. There is no food in my fridge - and barely any in the pantry because I haven't had time to go shopping
-I have the money to go shopping
-We have a wonderful grocery store with lots of healthy choices
-I have learned so many new things to make at the Food for Life cooking class
680.There are piles of Avonleas "organized" clothes in the hallway that need to be put away in her room
-I have a little girl!!! She gets to wear dresses and boys :) :) :) :)
-My friends have been so gracious in passing down beautiful clothes
-I love Avonleas' room
681.I don't feel like writing this list
- My husband encouraged me to do it anyway
- Adding the "beautiful" aspect to the list has truly reminded me how AMAZINGLY blessed I am. I could add thousands of more items to the list (that stem from the so called ugly) if I had extra time
682.My husband is nagging me about turning off lights
-He turned them on for me so that I could see
-He loves me
-He will always love me even if I never remember to turn them off
-His love reminds me of our Fathers love - unconditional and forever!

Comments

  1. Hey... I love you.
    And I loved this so much that I linked to it in my "Make Me Think Thursday" post, here:

    http://journey2authenticity.blogspot.com/2011/08/make-me-think-thursday.html

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The second half of the serenity prayer

I think I've heard the serenity prayer a million and one times, but I just recently found out that it is never quoted in full.  The second half is wonderfully encouraging! "God grant me the serenity To accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; And wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world As it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right If I surrender to His Will; So that I may be reasonably happy in this life And supremely happy with Him Forever and ever in the next"

I'm just not feeling it

I have noticed something interesting about myself when it comes to opening the doors of our home. I am the first to admit that fifteen minutes before our guests arrived the place was a mess. I was barking orders to my kids, scrubbing our toilet, stuffing things in drawers and searching for underwear (yup, probably dirty) that pop up in the most random places. I don't mind admitting that I don't have it all together, but I have a hard time letting anyone see it. I am the same way when it comes to my emotions. If I'm really struggling I tend to pull away. Just last night I found myself tempted to postpone a scheduled visit with a few close friends because I had no desire to admit to them that I felt like I was coming apart at the seams. Praise God, I dragged myself there and they gently began the process of gluing me back together by simply listening & loving me - despite me. And then there's "grace in the midst". I love passing along thoughts, ideas an

Star Wars, Frozen & Scissors

      I make a grunting noise as I toss another lego into "toy jail". I step away and trip over one of the kids light sabers.  Glancing over at the breakfast crumbs (we could seriously feed a family of refugees , not that I struggle with the idea of how much we waste or anything), I feel my eyes well up and think "I could use some of 'the force' about now. Trying to determine if I should pull the kids from their happy game of Zingo or tackle the breakfast fiasco on my own, I decide on the latter. What was my dear friend's quote, I ponder. Oh yeah, "a little and often". She was referring to home maintenance (along with other things). Gently, she was reminding me to stay on top of things rather than let them build into tougher jobs. "This isn't a little and often", I sarcastically mumble "this is 'a lot and always'." Seriously, if I'd simply pray every time I pick something off the floor, I might actually get a gras