Praying Like Breathing

My husband and I are reading a book right now called The Power of a Simple Prayer by Joyce Meyer. We have only read a couple chapters, but I have already seen a change in my life after implementing what we've read.

Ephesians 6:18 says to "pray always" and 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to "pray without ceasing." I've known these verses for a long time but I have never truly put them into practice. I've always had the mindset that I don't have enough time to pray all day. I've learned from this book just how powerful a simple prayer is (hence the name of the book). Prayer is not only effective if a person is on his/her knees with his/her eyes closed spending at least fifteen minutes in prayer. This season in my life that is usually not possible anyway. A person can say an effective five word prayer  while standing with his/her eyes wide open. God looks at the heart of the one praying. When we speak from the heart, whether it is fifteen or five thousand words, God hears us. 

Instead of waiting to pray when I have time, I have been spending my whole day praying. While I am making the kids' breakfast I thank God for another day with my family. As I go throughout the rest of the day, while folding laundry, picking up toys, etc., I let God know that I am dependant on Him to be a good wife and a good mother and I am constantly thanking Him and asking Him for help as I go from one task to another. Just a simple I love you Lord means a lot more to Him than I think we realize.

The whole atmosphere in my house has changed since I began saying these short simple prayers all day. I've been getting more accomplished than before. I believe that keeping this constant communication with God makes me more sensitive His promptings, letting me know what I should or should not do as I go throughout the day.

If you are constantly struggling just to make it through the day everyday, try this. It works.

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Maybe not

Remember my post the other day about wanting more kids now? I am so completely and totally over that. I might want one more, just not right at this moment.

Isaiah had a cold last week. Isaiah could not sleep while he had this cold. His poor little nose would get too stuffy when he laid down, therefore he refused to lay down  all night for a few nights in a row.

No sleep for Isaiah = No sleep for me.

I forgot what it felt like to go a couple nights in a row with only three or four hours of sleep a night. I'm not so sure I want to go through that again so soon. If God has other plans for us I will take it, but it's not what I would choose for the time being.

Good bye baby fever......probably until I see another newborn.

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I Love Him

I woke up this morning to empty laundry hampers. And not because all of the dirty clothes are thrown about the floor. Every article of clothing in our house (besides what we are currently wearing) is washed, folded, and put away.

Monday morning mounds of clothes came flying down the stairwell. With all the sickness in our house last week, the laundry was neglected. Al the dirty clothes in our house were thrown down the stairs and separated into piles.....in the living room. I wanted to scream. My husband chose to help out and do all the laundry in one day, or that is what he claimed he was going to do. When he does laundry he brings it all downstairs at the same time instead of separating the clothes upstairs  and bringing down one pile at a time when it is ready to be washed, like it is supposed to be done. I kept telling him there was no way he was going to get all the laundry done in one day. Plus, he was doing it all wrong. Keeping piles of clothes in the living room all day is not the correct way to do it. But I kept my mouth shut and went grocery shopping while he tackled the ten piles.....that were in our living room. Can you tell the clothes in the living room were bothering me?

By Monday night all the clothes were washed. I thought to myself, Sure he can wash the clothes in a day, but not all of them are put up. I told him so. Just in case you didn't know, laundry is not complete until it is folded and put away in its proper place. I still kept my mouth shut and let him do his thing.

Before my dear husband left for work on Tuesday, all of the laundry was washed and put away. I have to say I was completely shocked. I think he was just trying to show me up. Maybe his way is more efficient, but my way makes the house look neater.

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Mop Head

Dear Mop Head,

Please come back. Wherever you found yourself after leaving the washing machine is not your home. You will never be happy away from your handle. Your true destiny cannot be fulfilled without it. When you do decide to come home there will be a  fresh bucket of water waiting just for you. I do miss you dearly.

Yours truly,
Mopheadless Housekeeper

Picture above of runaway mop head. There is a $10.00 reward for any information that leads to its recovery.

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Only A Moment's Time

I have too much on my mind today for Not Me Monday. It seems like for the past week or so every time I turn around there has been a reminder of how it only takes a moment's time for an event to happen that causes a person's life to change forever.

There was the earthquake in Haiti. That day people were just going about their everyday lives not knowing that they were about to experience a dramatic life changing event. I've seen footage of the aftermath that I would rather have not seen. There are so many people there who need medical attention but can't get it, so they are just having to suffer day in and day out. We take so many things for granted, like being able to pop some Tylenol for our minor aches and pains. Imagine losing your arm, and due to the lack of medical help, an infection sets in where your arm once was. All day you experience excruciating pain but have no pain medication to help ease your suffering. This is what many in Haiti are going through right now. Similar stories happen everyday all around the world in third world countries.

One night last week my husband came home from work early because he couldn't get in touch with me and thought the worst. When I quit working we disconnected our home phone so we rely solely on our cell phones for communication. This particular night my cell phone died and I forgot to plug it up. We were fine, but everyday someone has an experience like this where their loved one is not fine,..

We had a tornado last week where I live. It wasn't bad and there weren't any serious injuries, but there have been many tornados here that did result in the worst outcome possible. This tornado the other day was very unexpected. There was not much warning resulting in many being unprepared. My brother, like many others, was stuck in traffic right next to the tornado. I thank God that he was not harmed, but it was another reminder that it only takes a moment.

A girl that I went to school with and played basketball with just died a couple days ago of cancer. She was only a year younger than me. I just saw her last August. If it wasn't for her not having any hair, there was no way to tell that she was sick. She looked as healthy and happy as can be. After seeing her in person I just knew the cancer wouldn't take her life and she would be healthy again soon. God's plan was for her to be with Him sooner than those who were close to her would have chosen.

In a moment's time an earthquake, a tornado, a car accident, or an unexpected sickness can occur and change the course of a person't  life forever. We don't always see or understand everything that God allows to happen. We just have to trust Him in everything. I am seeing now more than ever the importance of that personal relationship with the only One who will always be there to comfort those in need during hard times.

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Another baby

No, I'm not pregnant, but I am contemplating the idea of adding another baby to our family. There are so many things running through my head concerning this I really don't know where to start.

I am supposed to start grad school this fall. Grad school and pregnancy don't seem like a good mix. I'm not working right now and I don't want any of our kids in daycare, so on the other hand now would be a good time to have another one. Then there is the medical bills that would come from having the baby. Those wouldn't fit into our one income budget. I always wanted to have our children close in age so they can be best friends, but being pregnant while chasing around a very active toddler doesn't sound like a lot of fun. Especially while I am studying, cleaning house, taking Jazlyn to and from school, and taking care of my husband. God would have to give me the grace to handle all of that if another baby is what He wants for our family.

Babies are a blessing. I know that because the Bible tells me so. My husband wants twelve kids. No really, twelve. I'm not too fond of that idea. I've always said that three is my absolute limit. I know I'm not really the one that controls whether or not we have more kids, but I can at least know what I want. We were talking with some friends one night about how God probably laughs at us when we make "our" plans concerning how many children we have and when.

I do have the desire right now to have another child though. That desire could have come from God because it is His will, or it could just be my own desire that is a million miles away from what God wants for us right now. Maybe I should talk to the One who created the earth and find out what He thinks. I'll let ya'll know what He says.

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My New Job is Hard

In case you are new here, my job is being a stay at home mom to my two kids, while at the same time making sure my husband is happy.

Let me clarify, to begin with, that I am not in the least bit complaining about my new job. I do still love the fact that I get to stay home with my two kids, but this is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I literally have not sat down all day except when I was nursing Isaiah and when we did Jazlyn's schoolwork. When I stopped working, I thought this was going to be a breeze. I thought it would be just like every Saturday was when I was working. Wrong.

There is an endless amount of dishes now because I cook pretty much everything we eat. I run the dishwasher at least twice a day. I know I could make that less if I would handwash something, but I do refuse. I don't want my dishwasher to think that I don't like it anymore. At least, that is my story and I'm sticking to it.

There is also an endless amount of toys. Everywhere. I find them in every space imaginable in our house. When we were away from the house five days a week, the house didn't get as messy. When I was working, if I could have the house clean by Sunday afternoon then I knew it wouldn't get too messed up during the week. Now I have to clean up the house daily.

Isaiah is spoiled. Rotten. He screams if I leave his sight. Sometimes he screams if he is not being held (like right now). If he is in a good mood I can at least put him down to do something, as long as it is in the same room. If I leave the room, he sounds like he is being tortured. Someone came over the other day and parked in the street in front of our house. She said she could hear him crying before she even got out of the car. Have I mentioned how ridiculously close the houses are in my neighborhood? So yeah, I'm pretty sure the neighbors do think he is being tortured. I'm glad they don't care.

Jazlyn is officially a teenager. That's all I have to say about that.

I do feel like I am finally getting into the groove of being a stay at home mom. The holidays messed up my routine, but I have it back now. Staying home is helping me lose weight. Booyah fat! Instead of sitting at a desk all day I am up chasing two kids around all day. It is great exercise. I might just start exercising for real and watching what I eat to get the last little bit of this weight off. The beach this summer is a good motivation for me to go ahead and start that. I'll have to check with my son first and make sure he approves since he runs things around here.

Although this life is a lot harder than I expected, I wouldn't change it for anything. Who wouldn't want to spend the whole day looking at this precious face?

I love cooking three meals a day. Ok, maybe some days it is only one meal.

I love washing dishes numerous times a day.  Ok, all I do is load and unload the dishwasher.

I love picking up two hundred sixteen toys a day. Ok, maybe only fifty-six.

I love holding Isaiah all day, while cooking, doing dishes, picking up toys, and everything else my day pertains of.

I love the conversations I have with my new teenage daughter.

I love playing Candyland and Chutes and Ladders twelve times a day.

I do love my new hard, but fun life as a stay at home mom!

On a totally unrelated note, if you notice in the pic there are lines (or whatever they are). My camera does that, but only sometimes. Anyone know what could cause that?

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Convo with Jazlyn

Me: Why are you crying?

Jazlyn: I'm not crying.

Me: Yes, there are tears running down your face. Why are you crying?

Jazlyn: I'm not crying. My eyes are sweating.

Apparently, she was drinking something too fast and it made her eyes water. I love our conversations......sometimes.

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You Know You're a Parent When....

You know you're a parent when...

You wake up in the morning with a cheerio stuck to your forehead.

You  use the phrase "I have to go potty," even when speaking to other adults.

There is no need to buy paint for your walls because they are already colorfully painted with crayons and markers.

The floor in your car is never seen due to the mounds of toys and cheerios.

You find stickers stuck to your socks all the time.

There are five different types of fruit juices in your refrigerator at one time.

You are too busy to think, but too full of love to care.

A smile on a sweet baby's face makes two hours of sleep in one night okay.

A simple "I love you, Mommy" can make any problem go away.

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Bloggers Uniting for Haiti

I know I just blogged about Haiti yesterday, but Crystal at Money Saving Mom is calling people into action and I had to join in. She is calling anyone who has a blog and has done anything for Haiti to blog about what you have done and link up at her blog. Her family is donating $10 for every person who links up there.Crystal is also donating $.30 for every comment left.   Others are also donating for every link or comment on their blog.

My husband and I were given some money for Christmas that we haven't yet spent. When I asked him about donating to Haiti he didn't hesitate to donate all of his Christmas money (I love him!). We both donated our unspent Christmas money to Compassion.

I know everyone doesn't have extra money to donate, but everyone can pray for them. Whatever you can do, go here and leave a comment, or if you blog about what you have done leave your link. You can donate through Compassion by clicking on the banner above. If a lot of people do a little it turns into something big.

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