PEACEFUL? SIMPLE?

So my life-theme over the last year and half has been peace and simplicity.  I try to make decisions based on both of these concepts.  Sometimes I succeed...

...other times I do not.

Take for instance the "beings" that inhabit our home:

First off, there's Scott and me.  We sort of started the whole thing...way back in 1993.  I like where the journey has taken us.

Then, of course there are these two.  The two we waited, prayed and longed for and who blessed our lives with their arrivals in December 1998 and October 2003.  They are the light of our lives.  Each unique in their own ways and both beautifully and wonderfully made by God.

Then in November 2005 we added "Player" (left), followed by "Max" (right) in June of 2007.  These two guys are beyond spoiled and loved by their humans.  Our favorite pets...but don't tell our other pets this...we don't want any hurt feelings.

In 2010 we added a parakeet named "Hiccup" and shortly there-after another parakeet named "Rainbow" (because parakeets are social birds and certainly must have friends of their own-kind to grow with).  I don't have a photo of these two because they just don't photograph well through their cage.  But just so you know..."Hiccup" is green and "Rainbow" is blue.

If that wasn't enough, this weekend we added two more to the Johnson household.  Two female Betta fish (again...too difficult to photograph)...one named "Bubbles" and the other named "Sparkle".  We were told that two female Bettas can share a bowl but got them home and feared that might not be true when "Bubbles" looked as though she was going to take the sparkle out of "Sparkle".  Apparently it was just a showing of who was going to be "queen of the bowl" and this morning we woke to both of them swimming happily together.

So what does this have to do with my life-theme of "peace" and "simplicity"?

Absolutely NOTHING...because adding these two more pets to our family defies any peace or simplicity that I strive for!

The humans are not my problem.  They clean up well after themselves...for the most part, anyway...and my heart is beyond bursting with love for all of them!

But the non-humans...(other than the dogs)...not so much bursting with love going on there.  By adding two more pets I have created two more...well, I'll just say it...poop-cleaning jobs...to my already fairly hefty list of tasks.  It's not really anything that falls into my categories of "peace" or "simplicity".

However, my life-theme is not only about me.  I KNOW...go figure!  Life is not all about ME?

Nope...it's not.

My life is about peace and simplicity for those humans pictured above that I love so very, very much.  Each of these pets adds joy and happiness to the lives of my family...mostly the kids because Scott could really do without the birds and the fish (and he's put the ka-bosh to adding a kitty and has held strong against Faith's pleading and tears that she NEEDS a kitty).

So yes...every pet added to our household is just basically another task added to my list...which does not bring me a whole lot of peace or simplicity...but it's worth it to see the smiles on my kid's faces and the joy in their hearts for the animals that God created especially for our pet-loving family.

And just so you know...Scott may have nixed the kitty that Faith wants...but I have hands-down nixed the snake that Parker has requested!

Here's wishing you a peaceFULLYsimple day...and all the joys that accompany it!
Jeanine

NEW NEIGHBORS

This is our front porch.

Welcome!

This is the artificial...note I said, artificial...tree on our front porch.

This is what I discovered this afternoon in the artificial tree on our front porch.

 Looks like we have some new neighbors.

Cool, huh?

Here's wishing you a peaceFULLYsimple day.

Jeanine

UNTANGLED

This weekend I attend my first ever Beth Moore conference.  It.was.AWESOME!  I laughed.  I cried.  I prayed.  I worshiped.  I sang.  I left a far different person than when I first walked through those doors!

Beth's "words" for the weekend were "tangled" and "untangled".  Every scripture message we talked about throughout this event described these words.

She talked about how our lives can become so tangled and knotted up.  Each challenge or difficulty is a rope or chain that is bound around us, tightening it's grip on us.  Soon, many challenges can intertwine themselves and we get so knotted up we feel as though there is no way to escape.  But there is.  And she gave us nine points to prove it.

1.  God can untangle us when life's about to kill us.

2.  God can untangle us when we're tangled up inside.

3.  God can untangle us when our motives are in tangles.

I liked this one.  Mixed motives can twist life into tangles while pure motives take you straight down the road.  I've learned this the hard way.  Convincing myself that I'm doing something with pure motives, trusting God all the way, when really, I'm following my own path and justifying it to suit me and what I want...not what God wants.  Sometimes things in life get mixed up because our motives get mixed up.  We wonder, "How in the world did this happen?"  The answer:  We started out doing something in the Spirit...but we ended up in the flesh.  But my "mess-ups" cannot mess up God.

4.  The Cross already cut the ropes of entangling sin.

Jesus.  Jesus on the Cross.  That untangles anything...but I have to be willing to accept it.

5.  Those untangled once can be well entangled again.

Whoa!  This one snapped me into focus.  I can finally become untangled from something, and easily get tangled up in it again...and the consequences the second time around are more significant than the first.  I can't just clean up my life, I need to FILL up my life.  When I'm untangled...free...from something that has had me held so tightly and confined, I need to fill up that free space with something good...something solid...something healthy.  Because if I don't, the enemy will come to claim that space again...and he'll bring friends this time...and the consequences will be far worse than the first time I was held captive.

6.  A grudge can entangle us where we need untangled most.

As long as we hold a grudge against someone, we are subject to them.  They are tied to us and us to them.  It takes a lot of energy and time to hold a grudge.  By holding a grudge against someone, we are forever tied to that person because we need to maintain that grudge.  If we decide that we are going to let go of that grudge...stop nursing it...we'll be free of it.  Untangled from it.

7.  If destruction fails to entangle us, distraction will do its best.

Distraction = entangled.  Pure distraction can entangle us.  If I decide that I'm going to distract myself with something so as not to have to do what really needs to be done, I'm entangled.  I say, "I'm SO busy."  I say, "I just don't have time for that because I have to do X, Y, or Z."  Yes...sometimes that's true.  Things need to get done.  But if I find that I'm using something to keep me busy...to distract me...from what NEEDS to be done, then something has to change.  There is a difference between "doing" something and becoming "entangled" in something.  Beth used the acronym S.A.D.D. - "Spiritual Attention Deficit Disorder".  When we find that we have quiet time...unaccounted for time...we fill it up with distraction so we don't have to be alone with our own, broken selves. 

8.  God can make a mighty soldier out of ANYONE willing to get untangled.

A.N.Y.O.N.E.  Even me.  Who knew?!  A soldier does not live a civilian life.  He lives his life serving his Commander.  I am God's soldier...He is my Commander.  Beth gave an example of this point by asking two women with long hair to volunteer.  Beth then braided the hair of the first woman.  She explained that oftentimes we separat out our spiritual life, our work life, our home life, etc...and attempt to intertwine them with each other.  Try as we might to do this...it all gets tangled (or braided) together.  Trying to entangle our world and our spiritual world, however, creates zero effectiveness.  The second woman, Beth gave her a pony tail.  Then she explained that we need to take everything in our life...spiritual, work, home, etc., and bring it all together in one place.  We need to "pull it all together into one rubber band!"  We need to pull it ALL up and and hold it ALL together with God.

9.  Whatever tries to tangle with us, tangles with God.

This might be summed up best by saying, "You mess with my kid, you mess with me!"

Prior to this event, I had been entangled.  Not just by one thing, but many things.  One rope wrapped around and through another rope, wrapped around and through another rope...all binding me to sometimes near immobility.  One rope was fear.  One rope pride.  Another, self-doubt.  Yet another, guilt.  Another greed.  Then there's always the cancer chain that has tried to strangle my husband and children.  There are too many ropes and chains to name.  For the last several weeks, fear and doubt had me in a stronghold.  I was fine during the day because I was busy.  Busy with "have to" things and busy with stuff to "distract" me from the "have to" things.  But at night, when my head hit the pillow...my mind would spin and swirl and fear and doubt would rear their ugly heads and keep me awake.  I was needing to take Excedrin PM pretty much every night to fall asleep.  If at the end of the day I was so tired that I thought there was no way I wouldn't hit the pillow and fall straight to sleep, I would skip an Excedrin PM only to lay there for hours before finally falling asleep, and then only restless sleep.

But on Friday night, I came home after the first session of the conference, visited with Scott a little, checked on each of the the kids (because it was pulling on my heart that I had not tucked them into bed...very rare for me not to do this) and I went to bed.  No Excedrin PM.  And I fell asleep.  Almost immediately.  And I slept all night.  On Saturday afternoon I returned home at the end of the conference and we enjoyed a relaxing rest of the day.  The kids were playing with friends.  I was happy to have gone to the conference but very happy to be back home with my family, too.  We decided that we would have a camp out in our room that night.  Faithy on the loveseat, Parker on the air mattress, the dogs snuggled up next to their human of choice.  My head hit the pillow and again I fell right to sleep....with no sleep aid necessary.  Sunday night, was the same...minus the camp out...but right to sleep with no assistance in the form of a little pill was necessary.  Could it be that understanding my tangles and what God wants to do with my tangles...and allowing Him to do it...that I was becoming untangled from the chains and ropes that bind?  Yep.  I'm pretty sure that's it.  I'm sure that I will still have my moments...my Excedrin PM times....but for three nights in a row, after many, many, many nights and weeks otherwise...I felt free.  Less burdened.  Less fearful.  Less doubtful.  Less guilty.

Less tangled.

Here's wishing you a peaceFULLYsimple...and untangled...day!

Jeanine

LET'S CHEER THE DAY!

Gimme a "G"!
Gimme an "O"!
Gimme an "R"!
Gimme an "G"!
Gimme an "E"!
Gimme a "O, U, S"!

What's it spell?

"GORGEOUS!"

What?

"GORGEOUS!!!!!!!"

"GoooooOOOOOOOOO, WEDNESDAY!"

Okay, so that's me cheering for this absolutely gorgeous day in western Twin Cities metro area! Can you feel the excitement?

After a horrible night's sleep...or maybe a better way to say it is, "after a night of non-sleep", we woke this morning to another beautiful day. Yesterday I ignored inside tasks and headed outside. I walked, I planted, I weeded, I raked and I got a slight sunburn. It was awesome! Today is looking to be the same weather. After a very, very long winter here in Minn-e-sOOOOOOta, this is what we've all been waiting for.

This morning on my way to taking the kids to school I was awe-struck by the beauty of the day that God has set before me. The greens seem so much greener. The blues are crisp. The water like diamonds shimmering in the sun. The birds are singing songs of joy. The air is fresh and clean and fragrant. The sun is warm on my skin, even in the early morning hours. My children were playful with each other instead of nagging each other. An absolutely G.O.R.G.E.O.U.S. day!

Looking out my window today, hearing the sounds of nature and breathing in the smells that surround me completely summarizes, for me, anyway, my favorite Bible verse:

"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

Here's wishing you a peaceFULLYsimple day!
Jeanine

TO CURVE OR NOT TO CURVE?

Earlier this year I joined Curves. I like the fact that I can be in and out of there in a little over 30 minutes with just about every muscle in my body being affected. Three days a week is what will show results. That's not bad. Three days. So why in the world is it so difficult for me to get there? Lots of excuses...I mean reasons.

* My plan was to go after dropping the kids at school. Get in...get out...get home and shower and then move on with my day. Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Well guess who exercises at that time of the day. I hate to say it this way, but no sense beating around the bush. The little old ladies exercise at that time of the day. Yep...little old ladies...pretty much ranging from 70s to 80s. They prefer to chit-chat more than anything. They forget to get off one machine and move to the next because they're so busy visiting. They come in wearing their little orthopedic shoes, slacks, jewelry. I even saw one wearing a little plaid blazer. It makes me giggle. But it's not very motivating to exercise. So...8 AM to about 11 AM...not so good.

* I've tried 11 AM. This is better, but still not the most motivating group of people.

* My best option is between Noon and 3 PM. These are unstaffed hours so I use my key-code to get in. If I go anytime during these hours I usually find myself there by myself...or maybe one other person coming or going at some point. I like this better. I can focus on the task at hand without having to worry about chit-chat or gossip and I can be in...out...done in about 40 minutes. But sometimes it's a little lonely. I wish I had a friend that could join me and motivate me...someone to be accountable to during these exercising sessions. But my friends are all members elsewhere. Guess I should have thought of that, huh?

* I realized I was setting myself up for failure when I told myself I would go EVERY day. That way if I missed a day I would have it in my head that I would be going the next day, anyway so no biggie. Bet you can guess where that got me. I didn't go the next day. I was stressing myself out over going every.single.day. Then when I didn't go every.single.day I would beat myself up over it and it all just fell apart on me.

* I've decided that I will go back to my original plan of Monday, Wednesday, Friday. I will have to just suck-it-up and know that to go in the mornings I will be there with the little old ladies or if I go early-to-mid afternoon I will be there by myself. Early-to-mid afternoon, it is, then.

* The other days of the week I will do my own thing. Like today, for instance, I am going to go for a walk. I'll put on my pedometer and go. It's a beautiful day and I'm looking forward to spending some time walking with God and enjoying His creation. At some point I will also need to break out my roller blades (YES...roller blades) and see how far I can make it down the sidewalk this year. I only learned last summer how to do this and I'm not very good at it yet. Let's just say my little 7-year old daughter is quite the little roller blade pro and makes her mom look ridiculous. Especially when I wildly flap my arms in an attempt to regain my balance and keep myself from falling. Yep...it's an America's Funniest Home Video in the making.

So today there will be no visit to Curves. It's Tuesday. Tuesdays will be for walking or roller blades or whatever else I can come up with to get my body moving (but don't ask me to run...that's a whole different story). Tomorrow, however...Wednesday...I will force myself to go to Curves and giggle about the fact that in thirty years I could be opening up someone's blog to find that they have written a post about exercising with little old ladies, only to find that one of those little old ladies is me.

Here's wishing you a peaceFULLYsimple day.
Jeanine

IT'S BEEN A WEIRD EIGHT MONTHS

Like most of you, we're at the tail-end of the school year around here. Seventeen school days left, to be exact. Parker is counting down with much happiness. Faith is counting down wishing the school year wasn't coming to an end. I've finally figured out why the past eight months have been so...weird.

I'm not sure why it took me so long to figure all this out. I'm a fairly smart person so why this didn't dawn on me sooner, I have no idea. Denial, maybe? What am I talking about, you might be wondering? Well...I'll tell ya'.

When I was a child, my mother was a stay-at-home mom. Back then they were called "homemakers". Before my school-aged days, I was always home with my mother. When I began my education years, my mother was home when I left for school and she was home when I got home from school. As I approached my teen years, of course there were times when I would be home alone, but never on a daily basis. Mom was home and that's how I liked it. When I went off to college, I had a roommate. These brought times that I was more than happy to be in the dorm room by myself but when I went home on weekends or breaks I was never alone for long periods of time.

When I was done with my education years and had entered into the working world I would spend my days at work with other people. For several years I worked a part-time job five or six evenings per week after spending my weekdays at my "real job". I would come home to my apartment or eventually a few years back at my parent's house to being home alone, but never for long as I was usually going out with friends or eventually my boyfriend-husband-to-be doing the fun things that one does when they are in their twenties.

When Scott and I got married we both worked every day. We would come home to our house at the end of the days and be happy to be there together, starting our new life and desperately trying to start a family.

After what seemed like forever (which was really only five and a half years), Parker was born! Me working outside of the home was no longer something that Scott and I desired for our new little family. I became a stay-at-home mom and happiness beyond measure filled my heart! When Parker was nearly five years old, Faith was born. Again, my heart was bursting with love for my children and staying at home with them is the only place I wanted to be.

Let's jump ahead now to the past eight months. Parker is in 6th Grade and Faith is in 1st Grade...her first year of all-day school. Still, this stay-at-home mom job is the one I desire. I want to be there when my kids go to school in the mornings. I want to be able to volunteer in their classrooms or on their field trips whenever I can. I want to be there when they get home from school...sitting on the front porch waiting for them to get off the bus, ready to hear about their days.

But this is where the "weird" set in. Between taking them to school in the mornings and them getting off the bus in the afternoons, it was just me. At home. By myself. Oh sure, I'd run errands, go to school to volunteer, have coffee with friends, etc. But for the most part, when I was home...I was home alone. No one needed me to care for them. I sort of found myself floundering around like a fish out of water. I wasn't sure what to do with myself sometimes. Oh sure...there was ALWAYS stuff to do...like laundry, cleaning, dishes, picking up doggie gifts in the yard...but who wants to do that ALL THE TIME? Not me.

So now I find myself at the end of the school year and finally figuring out why this was such a weird year for me. I was alone with myself and I had forgotten who myself was. I had to get to know myself again. Let me tell ya'...I learned a lot! I learned that I enjoy the quiet of the day...but I have to allow myself to enjoy it without feeling like it has to be filled up. I learned that I'll take a really good book, coffee with a friend, volunteering at school or instant messaging with a far-away friend over a little bit of dust on the furniture. I learned that sometimes you just really need a little nap. I discovered just how very excited I get when I hear the bus coming down the street to bring my children home at the end of the school day.

My season of mothering may have changed over this past school year, but my heart is still here...at home...with my children. I have no desire to push mothering aside for something "more". Sure...other things will start to fill in as my children continue to grow and become more independent...but at the end of every day...no matter how old they get...I will always and forever more be a mom.

Here's wishing you a peaceFULLYsimple day.
Jeanine

peaceFULLYsimple DEFINED

Peace ~ Freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility.
Fully ~ Completely or entirely; to the furthest extent.
Simple ~ Easily understood or done; presenting no difficulty.

peaceFULLYsimple ~ a complete and entire experience of quiet tranquility that is easily completed and understood.

Here's wishing you a peaceFULLYsimple day!
Jeanine

FRESH START

Hi!
Welcome to my peaceFULLYsimple blog.
Some of you are old friends. You've followed my previous blog for quite some time. Some of you are new friends and this is the first you are visiting me. Whatever the case, I'm happy you're here!

In case you're wondering, you can click here to view my previous blog: sjpfjohnson.blogspot.com

But at this new site...this is where I'm making a fresh start. I'm trying to rekindle my joy of writing while renewing my spirit, as well.

I hope you stop by often for a visit.
My blog door is always open.
No need to knock...just come on in.

Wishing you a peaceFULLYsimple day!

Jeanine