Dancing with Simplicity

Simple Living, Walking by Faith
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Tangles of Weeds: Can I Conquer Life’s Clutter?

  • January 25, 2020 9:47 am

Conquering Life’s Clutter

Tangles of Weeds: Can I Conquer Life’s Clutter?

Every year I say I am going to …de clutter my house, journal,
read more, bake, learn a new craft, and organize paper clutter in my office.
Sound familiar? You too? And every year it does not happen. Well, not most of
it anyway. It’s like the view from my kitchen window. Our window looks out on
our long, narrow yard. Our dogs have seen to it that no grass remains. Instead,
we have a lot of odd trees and weeds that like to keep coming back every year. A
tangled, hot mess. One year we finally paid to have the overgrowth removed. Everything
was pretty, though still not grassy. The yard cleaned up nicely. My view from
the kitchen window revealed a conquered yard! Despite the lack of much greenery,
it was something to behold… for a season. A very short season. Yard clutter.

So it is with our yearly, weekly, daily, goals, and plans. The
space is cleared. We make room in our homes, our schedules our lives, for all
sorts of things (including some me time.) Unfortunately, before we know it the
whole mess has grown back again. Weeds start filling the schedule, our
thoughts, our plans, choking out our attempts to dream some big
dreams. Bottom line, our attempts to simplify, declutter, get rid of the weeds,
are thwarted every time. Life clutter.

Now you might think this is a bad thing, but it really is no
surprise to God. He knows we have no good thing in us, and He knows our sin
entangles. A manicured yard doesn’t last long in a fallen world. The weeds will
come back. Cluttering tangled messes like anxiety, addictions, stress, depression,
pride, stubbornness, disobedience. Notice these are not all blatantly sinful things.
Sometimes, they are time robbers. Sometimes they simply drain you and zap your
energy. They grow in like those weeds, quickly, subtly, unnoticed. Just like in
my backyard. Creeping clutter.

Maybe, it’s time to
remember the weeds and clutter are simply going to be there. Instead of
being caught off guard, pluck them up and move on. If they grow back, tear them
down again. If it takes some repentance and confession, so be it Let
God’s presence fill up the overgrown messy weedy places. You may find
opposition coming back, and taking over. Opposition to your plans, dreams, and
choices comes in all sorts of forms. Though it is a battle you may deal with
every single day for the rest of your life, in the end He has conquered it all.
For now, try planting His Word in the barren yard. Do not let the yard take you
by surprise. Recognize it, expect it, and conquer it. Tear it down. Deal with
it when it grows and better yet, let Him be the gardener. Simplify your
life, by anticipating the opposition. Be prepared for it, and keep moving
forward. Behold the view from the window. He is making all things new.

II Cor 4:16 (MSG) So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the
outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside,
where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace.

July 4th: Crafty Ideas for Holiday Celebrations

  • June 22, 2015 9:40 pm

fourth-200x246Summer is upon us here in the U.S., and the holiday we’re focusing on is July 4. Many Americans see this as a day to gather friends and family together for a summer meal. Whether before or after the fireworks, there will be hungry mouths to feed. Many of us fill the day with traditional meals and activities. Some face the stress of trying to find things for the kids to do, while they await sunset and fireworks.

This year, why not provide the excited tots, teens and tweens with some new options? Plan your usual holiday dinner, but incorporate some crafty projects. Give your family the task of inviting friends to your family holiday meal. Ask them whom they would like to invite. Then, consider involving your children in some artful ideas for a Fourth of July theme. Crafts are an excellent way to shift the focus from the waiting and anticipation of those fireworks, over to a special meal designed for family and friends. Take a look at sites such as Better Homes and Gardens for a wealth of ideas via slideshow, or The Crafty Crow for children’s food and craft fun.

  • Start with invitations. Card making is all the rage, and it shouldn’t take you too long to come up with a design. Even if you have never made cards before, an online search will lead you to all sorts of ideas and projects. Deliver the end result to your invited guests. Help children personalize the invitation for the people they are asking to dinner. You can take this activity as far as you want to go, but it’s guaranteed to delight someone! Your kids will be proud when invited guests respond to their invitation.
  • Next you’ll want to create a focal point for your dinner table. Look online for ideas that go beyond the holiday table and include yard and porch decorations as well. You won’t go wrong conducting an online search for holiday yard and house decorations.

For a special table design give this a try: Grab some special ribbon and tie a few sparklers together; add some custom tags labeled with each guest’s name and you have an inexpensive fun decoration. After dinner everyone will have his or her own fireworks to light. An online search will provide you with nametag ideas. Placeholders are a fun way to make guests feel welcome. Tags are readily available and easily decorated.

  • Have some fun planning your tableware. Yes, you can just go to the local party shop and buy things but why not add some creative touches of your own? For instance, white cups create a blank canvas for your family to decorate. Purchase a white paper tablecloth, supply markers, colored pencils or crayons and have everyone doodle some patriotic art. Throw in some fun stickers for an added artistic touch. Remember that adults love to color too! This makes a great activity while waiting for the meal.
  • Last but not least, create some food related crafts using your traditional recipes, or new offerings. Barbecued meats may not inspire you, but summer is an excellent time to be crafty with fruits, and vegetables. Take a trip to your local grower’s market for colorful seasonal offerings and turn them into table art. Use small American flags for patriotic touches on your food items.

This year, engage your family and friends in the preparations. Besides drawing everyone into healthy activities, you might possibly establish some new traditions for future celebrations. Bookmark some web sites for project ideas for future events and keep in mind; there are no mistakes in crafting! Don’t worry about your talent or lack of.

The arts of cooking and crafting go hand in hand.Pencil Crayons 1

Family, food, friends and a little crafty touch! You’ll find the resources to be endless, and the rewards to be great.

 

 

Are You Walking in Faith?

  • March 25, 2015 11:51 pm

Walking in faith. It’s the other half of this blog’s title, but last doesn’t make it least. It is the key. It’s the missing part of the equation. It’s the piece of the puzzle that you may struggle to place. When it is placed correctly though, you see the whole picture as it was meant to be.

Faith is inexplicable, but without it, it’s impossible to please God.

Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV)
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Faith requires you to step out. It requires you to walk forward when you cannot see exactly where you are going.

Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV)
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 

You may have faith that a chair is going to hold you up. Do you have faith that God is going to do the same? You may have faith in the love of a parent, friend, child, or spouse. Do you have that confidence in the one who died for you? Maybe your faith is in a weekly paycheck, your health, even your location.  What if those things crumble?

Hebrews 11:13-16 (NKJV)
13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland.
15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.
16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

If you need to know more, please visit my page Steps to Knowing God (click on the sidebar). Read Hebrews 11 for a glimpse into the heroes of the faith.

In addition, if you want some help on the journey, Proverbs 31 ministries is currently registering women for the next OBS (Online Bible Study).  All you need is a book, and your internet connection. You decide how many activities you want to participate in, and it’s all free of charge (except for the book.) Did you notice the title of the book?

Note: They have registration open now for the study’s conference call series (available for a small cost) and Facebook small groups.  The groups may be full, but they do keep a waiting list.  I’ll see you over there when the study begins.  Visit the OBS link for all the latest news and registration.  #WalkInFaith #P31OBS

 

WIF_Inbound_Book_Cover

Keep walking in faith.  And as always, I welcome your questions and comments.

Quick note: It was a great study. There are archives available, all you need is a book to follow along. This quote from Lysa really moved me:

However distant your dreams may seem, God is working things out & today is an important part of that process.

Lesson Learned:  there is a place between now and my dreams. A place of growth. The waiting is often long, but the now moments need to be utilized, nurtured and not wasted. Between here and the dream there is much to do and accomplish.

 

 

 

What’s So Simple About Diabetes?

  • March 13, 2015 11:26 pm

When I started this blog, my theme was simple living, and living by faith. My desire was to get myself and others back to a more simple life. That life was to be centered on God, and the study of His Word. Along with that, my thoughts were toward family, crafts, cooking, and things that just felt less techno.

Of course, it was pointed out to me that blogging is technical, and so was owning anything like an iPad, Kindle etc. Social media was not simple.  Oh well. So I did not entirely make the transition to simple living. I’m still working on what that looks like.

One thing that isn’t so simple is my life with Type I diabetes. Diabetes is not simple or easy. After being diagnosed in 1970, I can honestly say that while technology has helped tremendously, it still has not been an easy journey. Where an insulin pump has made life a tad easier, it still requires patience and a life of constant adjustments. It gets in the way of some of those simple things I want to be doing. Diabetes presents a constant invasion of numbers, and musts and have to’s. It is not simple.  It marches in and over anything that requires my attention.  Activities and moments of real creativity and fun, end up trampled on at times.  Because diabetes is a real time snatcher, but that time is a necessary investment.

I hope if I toss this into my journey of faith, dancing with the simplicity of Christian living that you won’t pass by my blog. If you are a PWD (person with Diabetes) of any type, you know it isn’t simple.  You might shake your head, and walk away. Upset that such a topic might even make it into this kind of blog.  You might be angry with God, or with your circumstances. I for one believe that many people live in countries where diabetes care is less than perfect, and technology is not there to assist.  I don’t ever want to forget that.

I could not make the journey of faith without God, because I could not do the diabetes thing without God.

Psalm 119:114 (MSG) 114 You’re my place of quiet retreat; I wait for your Word to renew me.

My constant rock and source of strength through all that is diabetes, is God.

I can’t give you medical advice, but I can listen and share my own story. Yes, even in a blog about simple living by faith.  Diabetes can show its face, but it cannot win. It can build courage and determination, but it cannot take over.  It can cause your focus to shift to numbers, and meds, and carb counting and the like.  But your ultimate goal and focus can be built on faith in God and His call on your life.

We may live in different parts of the world, and our resources for dealing with diabetes may be quite different.  I hope to see you on the path of hope and faith.  He’s got your back through it all. Feel free to comment……..

Sprinkled Hearts

  • January 28, 2015 11:34 pm

tmd4Hebrews 10:19-23 (NKJV)
19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,
20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,
21 and having a High Priest over the house of God,
22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

What Are You Seeking in 2015?

  • December 31, 2014 6:14 pm

Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV)
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

There is no greater goal, no greater resolution than to seek God more in 2015. The world is obviously a little bit stressed out lately. 2014 saw a whole bunch of chaos. No matter what your political views, there’s no denying the chaos was and is there even on this last day of the year.

You may have had a wonderful year, or one filled with struggles. In any event, the new year brings a new opportunity to set some goals and work toward some changes. Now you probably know from the past that most of these changes  just do not get done. It’s like decluttering your house.  How many times have you vowed to do it, and how many times have you failed? That’s what I thought…me too!

The only thing I can guarantee you and myself, is that seeking God first is the real solution for everything. Check out the following:

Matthew 6:25-34 (HCSB)
25 “This is why I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?
26 Look at the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?
27 Can any of you add a single cubit to his height
by worrying?
28 And why do you worry about clothes? Learn how the wildflowers of the field grow: they don’t labor or spin thread.
29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these!
30 If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t He do much more for you—you of little faith?
31 So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’
32 For the idolaters
eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
34 Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Notice how the seeking part, is buried in the worry and the stress? Matthew has it smack dab in the middle of the mess.  Why? Because it works. The emphasis though, is on what to seek first. In the middle of 2014 and 2015, lies the chance to do some serious seeking. One day at a time.  It may be a little late to recover the time from 2014, but tomorrow is just a few hours away.  Start now, seeking Him in prayer as you offer Him your new year.

If you don’t know how to seek Him, or what it means to have a true relationship with Him, visit the Knowing God page on this blog. Feel free to research and discuss what it means to seek both His kingdom and His righteousness.

If Christmas taught you anything, it’s that all the stuff you may have been seeking either didn’t show up under the tree, or it didn’t make you happy.  I write from reality and I can tell you you will always have struggles and chaos in the midst of peaceful days. Happiness is never lasting. The choice though, is to seek Him through every year you have on the earth.  There is no other way. Seek Him first. Not Facebook friends, not alcohol, not drugs, not money. Seek Him first. Not status, not the perfect career, not toys and the fastest greatest car. Him. First. Above all. Right now before you land in the middle of a new year. And for the record, can you believe another year has come and gone already? Start now!

Ephesians 3:20-21 (HCSB)
20 Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us—
21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Simply the Best Sugar Cookie recipe….

  • December 22, 2014 11:05 pm

thCAU05SA1Well, despite the fact that I have not had time to make these this year, these are my favorite holiday cookies. If you double the recipe, you’ll end up with about six dozen. It’s lot of work to cut them out, but the fun of decorating and the final product makes it all worth it.

Take time this year to enjoy family and friends around some favorite holiday foods.  Feel free to share your recipes here on site.  Merry Christmas!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 egg

2 1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Cream sugar and softened butter. Mix in egg and flavorings. Sift dry ingedients together and blend into the other mixture. Chill dough two or three hours. Lightly flour and grease a baking sheet and roll dough to desired thickness. (1/4 inch seems to be preferred among most bakers.) Bake cut out shapes at 375 for 7 to 8 minutes.

Frost with a buttercream icing.  Decorate and enjoy!

 

Struggling with Prayer?

  • December 10, 2014 9:18 am

I’m a bit behind in my study of Max Lucado’s new book.  Proverbs 31 Ministries has been doing the study in the online Bible study (OBS) format, and it has been a real blessing. Lucado offers a very concise prayer model, that you can utilize and modify for your daily prayers. I wanted to make you aware of a different site, so you don’t feel like you have to fit the time frame of the OBS study. This is the last week of that study, but these resources have no time schedule. Take a look, read the book and let me know what you think.  I find Lucado’s style to be very warm and encouraging, and I think his model prayer is a great place to start, or continue your prayer life from. Just as he suggests, his pocket prayer will provide you with something to focus on the minute you get out of bed in the morning.  Instead of running to tune in to the news, take time to pray

Visit the site for more information and sign up for a four week prayer challenge. While there, take advantage of the free sample chapter, free worship song download, and sample video.

Links and Lists

  • November 11, 2014 11:56 pm

Pencil Crayons 1

Someone laughed at me when I said I was a blogger, interested in simple living.

Yes, I have a lot of technical stuff.  And yes, I want to simplify my daily living. More than that, I want to learn new hobbies, and use my creative giftings.

I’m sure you can think of ways to make your family or personal non-working hours more simple and fun.

Here’s a few suggestions:

  • Visit a library. When was the last time you ditched your Kindle for a real book? Do your children know what a library is?
  • Color. Yes, color. Grab a coloring book and some pencils or crayons and go for it. At your next holiday gathering put out a white paper tablecloth and let the guests have at it with crayons, pencils, markers. Not for kids only.
  • Sketch. My Dad had me hooked on sketch pads and pencils. Send your kids out, or yourself, to the yard or a park or somewhere interesting and try sketching what you see.
  • Bake Bread. Does anything smell better than baked bread? You have no excuse for not finding a recipe, and some instructional videos if you are reading this online.
  • Sew. Knit. Crochet. Weave. How much do you have hidden in that fabric or yarn stash that you meant to use one day? Go get it. Now!
  • Play with paper crafts.  Don’t get me started.  As the owner of a new Cricut, and vast amounts of supplies, I am in love with the art of card making.  See the blinkie on the side bar? The Stamps of Life has a wonderful stamp of the month/die of the month club.  Visit your neighborhood craft store for free idea sheets.  Warning:  Can will be addictive. Instructional videos, paid and free online classes are readily available if you have Web access.
  • Board Games. If you don’t know what these are, you are too technical. Monopoly, Clue, Pictionary. Card games.  Something you can do if the power goes out. Really…..
  • Fill in the blank….how have you escaped the technical world for some family friendly, fun time?

Lucado’s New Book on Prayer and a New Online Study

  • November 4, 2014 10:00 pm

before-amen-bookProverbs 31 Ministries is offering a short study of Max Lucado’s new book on prayer.  The study details can be found at the OBS (Online Bible Study) site. All you need is a book.  And this time they are throwing in their special study conference calls for free. If you’re like me, you are always looking for something new on the topic of prayer. This probably won’t disappoint.

One of my goals with this blog is to make information available regarding online studies and resources. I’m a huge believer in seeing the Internet used for good, and a huge believer in Bible study. God’s Word and the study of it, is crucial to walking by faith. Perhaps this is your time to jump in? The days before Christmas could benefit from taking time to slow down and spend a few moments with Him and with other believers online.

See you there?  Visit their Facebook page for further info…

And…if you have participated, share your thoughts here!

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