Simple Simplification

So far my summer has consisted of decluttering the house and simplifying life. First it was the kitchen. Dishes i no longer used and utensils i no longer needed were boxed up and given to someone who has need of them.

From the kitchen i moved to the closets. Clothes were taken from the kids' closets as well as mine and Jeremy's. By the time i was done we had several large bags of clothes to take to the church's Appalachian Clothes Drive.

Throughout the house papers and magazines have been thrown away. Toys have been bagged for Goodwill. Drawers and cabinets have been reorganized. Just when i think i have done all that i can do i find more to be done! But i guess that is to be expected in a house of six.

My latest project, and one that will take some time, is my blog.

Before i started Charis-ma i had my blog, Mosaic of Grace. Mosaic is where i learned the basics of blogging and have had lots of fun with it. Now most of my attention is focused on Charis-ma. Keeping two blogs has been more of a challenge than i first thought. I had different ideas for both blogs but now i have decided to combine them-simplification!

This all started on Sunday. Since then i have tried to move at least one post a day. So far i think i have added five posts. "The Father's Love", "Missing You", "The Morning Symphony", "What I Cannot See", and "To the Dreamer", are some of the first pieces i published on Mosaic and it has been fun to read them again and share here on Charis-ma. It is my hope that anyone who reads these posts will enjoy them too.

I don't know how much longer this process will last. It is kind of a sad task because when it is done i will no longer use Mosaic. However, it does help to know that i am continuing to simplify my life and that is a good thing!

Weekend Challenge: #4

"Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." Galatians 5:25I used to wonder why it was so hard for me find and maintain friendships. It confused me why so many seemed to think of me as an odd combination of June Cleaver,Martha Stewart and Mother Teresa. As a wife and mother they thought i cooked every meal from scratch and kept an immaculate home while raising children who resembled the Brady Bunch. As a homemaker they figured i was creative and organized. While doing all of this, it also seemed i had the patience of a saint. Nothing could have been further from the truth. So where were people getting these ideas? I asked myself this question so many times, it didn't seem i would ever know the answer. Then i prayed and asked God to show me where the miscommunication was taking place. As it turns out I was the one giving everyone that impression! In my eagerness to have friends and to be a friend i was trying hard not to appear needy or too weak. I loved to listen to what others were saying about their lives and families but shared very little about myself. It is a fear thing but it is also very arrogant. Where i had sympathy and compassion for others and their struggles i had none for myself. What i finally realized i was saying was that it was okay for everyone else to struggle but i was supposed to be different somehow. This has not been a fun lesson, no one wants to think they are so arrogant but that is exactly what i have been. So instead of beating myself up, which has been the practice all my life, i am working on my communication skills. Sometimes it is the hardest thing for me to admit that i need help and then ask for it. But with much prayer and God's help i am learning. That is one item on on my list of areas where i am working to improve. Second on my list is getting exercise daily. This one just got a lot easier with the gift of a Wii Fit. Now i try to walk in the morning and in the afternoon i do a few minutes on the Wii. The kids and i are all enjoying it! Number three is getting to bed earlier and the last three nights have been successful. That makes it a lot easier to get up in the morning for my "quiet time"(something else i am trying to work at) and a walk. By the time i have taken my shower and had my breakfast i am in a much better frame of mind. There are other items to add to my list but for now i feel this is a good start.

Improvements Needed

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." Hebrews 12:1 What areas do you need to improve upon? I have to admit when i got to this part of the challenge i lost some of my enthusiasm. In my stinking perfectionist thinking i hear the word improvement and my first thought is, "You're no good.". Now perfectionism can affect a person in one of two ways: it will either push you into over-achieving or cause you to shrink in fear that you will never be good enough. I fall into the latter category. So number one on my list of improvements to be made is my way of thinking. Instead of looking inward i need to be looking upward. Number two on my list involves the use of time. I can be very selfish with my time. After homeschooling in the morning, cooking and cleaning in the afternoons and washing throughout the day all i want to do with whatever time is left is check my email, look at Facebook or blog. Most days that is how i "connect" with others. When i feel lonely, anxious or depressed i turn to food to numb these emotions. One way or the other i feel like i am going to explode. At least an escape to the computer keeps me out of the kitchen...for awhile. Guess you have figured out number three! Number four would probably be learning to be still. That's another hard one for me. I have been accused more than once of having ADD and OCD. What does that tell you? Organization also comes to mind. I have never been accused of being organized. People with organizational skills astound me. How i wish some of that skill would rub off on me! And number six? Getting to bed earlier! All these improvements require discipline-number seven. This is where perfectionism can kick in and i can throw my hands in the air and say, "I'll never get it!". But i don't want to do that anymore. Instead i will refer to a church sign i spotted yesterday as i drove home from an errand, "When you are through improving, you are through". Could this be what the writer of Hebrews was talking about? If we are to finish this race on top aren't we continually making the necessary improvements to get there? Life is about improving but we can not make those improvements on our own. God shows us where we need to improve and then He says, "Let Me help you." Thank you, Father, for showing me, Your child, the areas of needed improvement in my life. Help me to run this race with endurance.

From the Front Porch

This week our classroom has been transformed due to a little work and a few changes here and there. We now have a reading area and an arts and crafts area. I am slowly working on getting everything organized. Because i am organizationally impaired, this is taking more time than it probably should. The good news is the room is looking great! With this transformation comes a name-Front Porch Academy. The name comes from the fact that the room we occupy used to be a front porch and there are windows across the front. The view from here can sometimes be distracting but it is beautiful. As the house and even the yard undergo change, the process is slow and takes patience but in time i do promise to share pictures to document the progress. Please stay tuned.