Beautiful Monday

today.  Wow, the sun is shining and it’s so pretty outside, I really shouldn’t be cooped up in this house today, but the house is quiet and  all my chores are done, and thought I would take this opportunity to get caught up on my blog and blogging.  I can’t  believe I haven’t posted since the beginning of the year….but it has taken me awhile to get settled in after the holidays and such.

As most of you know Michael and I spent the holidays on a cruise, and I promise to share some pictures with you…maybe I will get that done tomorrow…but since getting home, I have had to put all my decorations away.  That is one heck of a job.  Not sure why it takes me so much longer now than it use too, but it was a three day process and then the weekend came and we had to declutter and organize our garage to get the crates back on the shelves.  So glad that is done, and the garage is looking much better now.  You can ALMOST get a car in there again.  Hopefully soon we will be able too. 

Also since getting home we have had some deaths to deal with.  Last week we had three special people to us pass away.  Needless to say it has been a tough week.  Certainly hope we don’t have to go through that again anytime soon.  It is so hard to say goodbye to those we love but even harder for those left behind.  My prayers are with these women because they all lost their husbands.

I have also been trying to put myself on some kind of a schedule and working towards getting myself better organized.  Seems this is always a January chore for me.  Last year I diligently put together my Homemakers Journal,so that I could stay on top of all the things that I want to do. 

Below photo is of me sorting through folders, magazine, calendars, charts, etc.

Getting pages ready to put into my binders

Saving pictures for my ideas folder

Deciding which magazines to keep and grab ideas from

My little binder that can easily be dropped in my handbag to jot down ideas

Now the finished product….

All this to tell you after all that work, guess what?  It is in storage in a box far away from me and I can’t even use it.  UGH!  But I am sure once I can get my little hands on it in the future, I will be so ecstatic. 

I have also been trying to get myself back on track with studying the WORD!

So as you can see I have been busy since getting back home.  I am hoping to get better at my blogging.  I always feel so overwhelmed at the start of a new year.  I always have great plans to do better, but always get sidetracked.  I hope you will hang in there with me, as I have lots of things that I want to do now that I am no longer working.  I’m so excited and feel blessed to have this time to do all those things that I have wanted to do.

Hope you have a blessed day!

Hugs,
Cindy

Disorganized Life Syndrome?

I'm back! Bet you didn't even miss me huh? Last night, I worked on my living room. Woo Hoo! Glad I can see the floor in there now. Before, you couldn't move in there. Hubby did a awesome job on the new floors. Love them!!! The room is put back together, but I have little trinkets filling up my dining room table until I find a new home for them. We still need to hang some blinds in there, but that isn't a major deal. Other than that, I think it is done.

We also had a bunch of boxes that need to go to our storage unit sitting in the middle of the floor, and we moved those to the garage as a holding station until we have enough stuff to warrant another trip over there. We also had several bags and boxes for goodwill. I am thrilled that we moved them out of the living room, so now I have a little more space to move now. When my house is unorganized I feel terrible, and now I know why...I have DLS! Do you?

Awhile back I found this article at Refining Life!

Do You Have DLS: Disorganized Life Syndrome?

By Jan Hayner

Symptoms: messy tendencies, packrat feelings, mental confusion, lack of order, constantly losing things, loss of control, depression, high anxiety, feelings of hopelessness and a massive feeling of the world closing in on you. (Boy can I relate to these symptoms)

Sound like you? Almost all of us go through this several times a year - especially around spring and fall cleaning times.

What is the remedy?

1. Make a list of your problem areas
2. List why they bother you
3. Decide what you are going to do about it and at what level are you going to be happy with the outcome?

The first two items are easy to do, but what about the third item on your list?

That is the one that gives us the most problems in completing the task. We become so over-whelmed that we give up.

For some reason we always tend to think that if things aren't done like Martha Stewart, it isn't good enough. This can lead to projects being in a constant stage of organization – never quite done to what we think is expected. We need to lose those expectations we’ve buried ourselves under. Our goal at that point to should be to get it under control and keep it there. Take things down to the simplest form and decide how you will organize it so that you are happy with the outcome for this particular time in your life.

This same theory can be used in every project that you do whether it is at home, in the office or any recreational hobbies you may have.

Always remember that once you have something organized to the point of satisfaction for you, it will relieve the stress and anxiety and make life brighter and easier to cope with. Not to mention a lot easier to keep up and to re-organize later!

Do you have DSL? If so, I hope this remedy will help you too!

Hugs,

Cindy

Compeled to Share!

"All things are possible through Christ who strengthens me!"

Amen! Definitely with me this is the case. I have to have my coffee in order to do most anything these days. Today is a work day and because of the weather, I got the unexpected treat of being at home. So here I sit sipping my coffee and enjoying my morning, still in my jammies.

Seems like since Christmas my heart has been heavy with getting my priorities straight and working to maintain some balance in my life. I am on a quest this year to get my spiritual life as well as my home life in balance so that I can feel the constant peace and contentment that God gives so freely when we are in sync with him. God has bless me abundantly with a wonderful home, and it is high time that I take the pride in keeping it in a manner that is fitting for Him and his glory. Also, he has laid on my heart to be more hospitable to others. I love having friends in my home and making them feel special. Unfortunately over the last several years this has taken a back seat to other things, so trying to get back in the swing of that. It is a great opportunity to make special meals and share it over great conversation with friends. I know that is one of the talents that the Lord has bless me, and that is a giving nature. So what am I doing with it if I am not sharing it with others. So Michael and I are trying to incorporate this into our lives at this time. Last month we had friends over for just a simple meal, nothing elaborate but they were thrilled to be invited and continually thanked us for the hospitality.

Not sure about you, but my home is my haven. I love being here and making it inviting to my family and friends, but in saying that, I want it to be a place that shows that God lives here too. I want others to feel it when they are here. I want them to feel the spirit of God in my home. Hence I have been on a mission to get some Christian help from others. There are some awesome homemaking sites out in blogland if you are feeling compelled to have this in your life too. Check out some of the homemaking links to the left.

Have you looks at any of the e-books that are out there. I love e-books and have printed several this year. I have also joined several Christian homemaking groups to help me keep my focus. This has been helpful for me. Maybe you would want to check out some of them too? I would be glad to share some of the groups that I joined.

Check out Sheri's site for some wonderful Godly e-books.

Hands to Work and Hearts to God,
Cindy