Happy New Year everyone! 🎉
Please check out my new blog and website at http://www.theartofamessyhouse.com
Scroll to the bottom of that site to find where to subscribe to the new blog.
There will be a new series coming out in February.
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Thank you so much for your support. Have a wonderful day and year!
Ahoy! I see treasure
better than any ruby or gold
It is the boldness beauty
of such truth to be told.
Ahoy! I am in wonder
for such innocence lights the start.
Ahoy! I see treasure
alive in the heart.
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” ( Matthew 6:21 NIV)
Let’s talk treasures. 🌟
Kids like treasure boxes and hunts. Maybe it’s because their hearts are aligned to see and appreciate the beauty in such simple things. Maybe it’s because they are always up for an adventure. Maybe it’s because they themselves are such treasures.
Walt Disney once said, “There is more treasure in books than in all the pirates’ loot on Treasure Island and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life.”
Of course, children are treasures.
But books are treasures too. And together, they make for a powerful combination.
Children are beautiful and genuine. They are honest and fearless in their thoughts, actions and creations. They are natural at loving, forgiving, and teaching. They amaze us at their depth, yet innocence. Together, children and books ignite such creativity, questions, wonder and adventure! They unleash curiosity and possibility. They see the beauty and fun in each page and part. They believe that the possibilities are endless! So imagine then, when we embed God’s word into that too.
Let’s raise readers! Let’s raise leaders. Let’s raiser believers. Youth are inspiring. It is amazing where their minds go in a good book. It is amazing at how naturally they can lead. It is amazing at how easily they trust and believe in God who makes all things possible!
Let’s do our part and fill their minds, aka their precious treasures, with diverse and everyday stories of kindness, inclusion, leadership, faith and Jesus! And while we’re at it, let’s be more like children… seeing the treasures for their imperfect, yet boundless beauty.
What is your treasure today? Where is your heart today? Let’s be like children. Let’s love like children. Let’s see the boundless beauty all around us.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:5-9 NIV)
“And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3 NIV)
Dear God,
You created beauty. You are our treasure. Forgive us when we do not see it. We repent the times we selfishly see past the beauty and treasures right before us. We love you. We trust you. We know there is beauty all around. Speak to us today through the greatest book ever written, the Bible. Fill our minds and hearts with treasures words that overflow to others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
So much is discussed about Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, and Good Friday but what happened between?! I read a great teaching about it today by Pastor Roy at Evangel Church that connected it to a game of chess. It spoke to my heart in a way I had no choice but to reflect on.♟
Let me start by saying, while I love games, I don’t play chess. I respect it and am intrigued by it; however, I myself have never learned to play. (If I’m being fully transparent, it is a bit intimidating… much like life sometimes…) However, after rereading what happened two days after Palm Sunday and relating it to a game of chess, a better way to describe it is ~ I’m in awe.
So let’s go back to the days that followed Palm Sunday, Jesus was questioned as he entered the temple courts. The chief priests, teachers of the law and elders questioned who gave Jesus the authority to do what he was doing. The authority of Jesus was challenged! However, Jesus responded back with a question, “John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!” (Mark 11:30) The elders came back for their turn with their answer of “We don’t know.” They were torn. They did not know what move to make. However, their indecisiveness or unwillingness to believe did not stop Jesus who said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.” (Mark 11:33)
Much like the game of chess (or so I hear) there are rules and boundaries that cannot be broken. They do not change because we question them or try to overpower them with our own versions and adaptations. They do not change because we are indecisive and unready. The pieces don’t lie much like God’s words. His words only speak truth. The board doesn’t adjust to our own liking. Instead, it remains constant. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8 )
His words, hope and truths do not bend for us. Instead, they help to guide our every move. Therefore, my prayer is that no matter what I am up against, I play alongside Jesus and not against. He will always have our backs. He will provide the best moves in and through everything. And for that, I am forever grateful and in…such awe. ♟✝️
(All rights reserved. @theartofamessyhouse )
This rainy day got me thinking of… Umbrellas!!!
One of my son’s first words was umbrella. Yup, umbrella! It was his third word.
I remember thinking, or hoping “Mama” would come next after “Dad.” However, Elmo came second and then… umbrella 🧐
I was stumped. I barely used that word. In fact, I barely used umbrellas! Had my son even seen a real umbrella? At that time, I was unknowingly battling with PTSD after my son’s anaphylactic reaction and learning of his MANY food allergies. So if I’m being honest, I avoided going anywhere really at that time.
Therefore, it was was sooooo bizarre to me that he would learn, and say such a word so early on. Umbrella!?!?
Recently, almost six years later, I was sharing this with my son and we were laughing at the randomness and silliness of it. We thought maybe it was because we love the beach and he learned it from beach umbrellas.
Then, I thought about it more…
What we see is what we learn. What we turn our eyes to and fill our days with becomes what our minds learn, whether we like it or not, where it’s true or not. It is why it is so important for us to spend time filling our minds with the hope and truth of God‘s word. It is why reading the Bible transforms and renews us. It is why we must fill and teach our children this too.
Now, how does this relate to umbrellas and TJ learning it as his 3rd word?
Well, in our old house, we had cave crickets, what we called jumpy bugs. Once a week one would get into his toy box in the basement. At the time not being a fan of insects, I would take an umbrella from the closet and trap them that way. That way I didn’t need to touch it or risk touching it.
As I laughed at the process back then, I had no idea that my son, barely only 1, was watching too. He was watching enough to even learn the word!
Kids learn what we show them. They learn what we feed their minds with. They learn what they see. However, we learn that way too.
We must feed our minds with God’s truth…and the rest will follow.
“The Art of a Messy House” series is one way to do this, starting with book 1, “How to Be Kind.”
I’ve never been a big Science person. Sure, I find some of the information and discoveries to be amazing; however, reading, writing, math and even art have always been more of my thing. But now I have a son who has a mind fascinated by science and engineering. So these concepts that I once found little interest in, I now find myself wanting to learn.
One concept that I read and learned more about this past year was the fact that planes take off against the wind.
My reading was inspired by Henry Ford’s quote, “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.”
Most people, including myself believe, it has to do with resistance. However, after some reading, it has to do with this being the way it requires less acceleration to get to a certain speed.
Basically it is the way to higher altitude using less time and less speed.
For many of us though, and figuratively speaking it may seem like a paradox. Taking off against the wind seems to be counterproductive.
But this brings us back to the biblical concept of leaning on God against the trials,
against the challenges,
against the changes,
against the discomfort…
against the winds.
“But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”(Matthew 14:24, 27 NIV)
God wants us all to do this. He doesn’t expect us to have the strength ourselves. He doesn’t expect us to have the momentum and power to take off alone. He wants us to lean in and allow Him to do His thing.
So today, no matter what we are up against, let’s praise God for it. Let’s be thankful knowing that he is using those very challenges, those very winds… for beauty… for strength even if we can’t see or feel it yet. For suffering is a moment compared to what eternity holds.
“Lean on me against the winds of each day. For true strength is built in this way.”
Therefore, today …
I am thankful for the winds.
🤍 For more imperfectly perfect posts, follow me ➡️ @theartofamessyhouse
Happy Wellness Wednesday!
The past year has changed a lot! And yet one thing that remains through all seasons is the importance of self care.
If you are anything like me, the year has shifted and made us reevaluate a lot including this area. It has encouraged me to try out new activities like #walking, forcing the #runner in me to slow down.
But it has also added back some old favorites such as …
PUZZLES!!!!
We did puzzles and puzzles and more puzzles. And even if we lost a piece or two along the way, they were a great outlet.
Self care is not selfish. It is necessary. We are not created to be robots. Without caring for our own health, our bodies and spirits grow weak. Our hearts can harden too. We cannot serve others if our cup is empty. Start by filling your cup today with God’s word. Then, add in other activities that take care of you…. like a walk or a puzzle.
What kind of self care did you lean into this past year? What do you plan to continue into this new year? Better yet, what will you do for yourself today? ❤️
A few days ago I searched and found an old picture of the Golden Gate Bridge to show my son after he completed building a lego of it. It had been over 7 years since that pre-kid trip to San Francisco. (And probably just as long since I looked at those images.)
Then tonight while putting my daughter to sleep, I thought about that image. I thought about bridges and everything going on.
I thought about how bridges represent connection. I thought about how they represent unity between places and people. I thought about how … while bridges are all around us connecting location to location,
there are other #bridges too.
They are the bridges we build in our lives with our actions and #words .
They are bridges we build by speaking up and using what we have right now … to do what is right.
They are bridges that bring #hope.
Whether we like it or even know it, we are always building something. But it’s not always a bridge; sometimes it is a wall.
In order to build bridges, we must tear down the walls. We must halt the construction of those things that divide.
So tonight even if I do not spend hours building #Legos like my son, I pray and continue to pray I am building bridges and not walls. I pray and continue to pray for a country and world where more and more people do that too.
“Like an expert builder I built the foundation of that house. I used the gift that God gave me to do this. Others are building on that foundation. But everyone should be careful how he builds. The foundation has already been built. No one can build any other foundation. The foundation that has already been laid is Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:10-11 ICB)
For those who know me, I am not one to rest. In fact, it is a challenge for me to sit still. But resting is one thing I am investing in this year.
Resting isn’t being lazy. It is not a waste of time.
Rest is a gift.
In fact, we are all called to rest. It is part of self care. It is part of caring for the physical body. (I learned that the hard way with my recent knee injury.) But it is also part of caring for the body mentally.
It is even asked of us in the Bible.
“Remember to keep the Sabbath as a holy day. You may work and get everything done during six days each week. But the seventh day is a day of rest to honor the Lord your God.”(Exodus 20:8 ICB)
But I don’t know about you, but that’s where the questions arise. How will I ever get it all done in six days when I can’t even figure out how to do it all in seven?
God doesn’t expect us to understand it fully. He doesn’t expect us to figure it out. He just calls us to trust Him to hold true to His promises.
With that being said, He promises us that He can do abundantly more through us with our six days than we could ever do alone in seven.
So yesterday I started, I rested. Or I tried… but it’s a start! 😉
Do you take one day a week to rest? If not, join me in investing in this principle this new year.
2020 was a lot. A lot of discomfort, change, loss, pain, challenges and the unexpected for so many. It was a lot.
Throughout #2020, I’ve learned a lot too:
⁃ A lot of people had struggles and experienced loss this year. I learned that even when I don’t know how to comfort someone or the right words to say, #praying is something I can always do. It is something we all can do. #alldayeveryday #everydayfaith
⁃ I learned that I #love and miss hugs more than I thought. (Guess I am a hugger at #heart.)
⁃ I learned that #healing is possible. I saw miraculous healing and protection this year in family and even in myself. I saw the #powerofprayer !
⁃ I learned that waiting is not time wasted. Instead, it is time to grow. (I learned #patience is still an area I’m working on.)
⁃ While on the growth topic, I learned that we limit ourselves when we stay inside our comfort zones. Growth often happens in the discomfort.
⁃ I learned different ways to connect through virtual teaching. I learned different programs, techniques and platforms to use. I learned a lot of technology that I otherwise would never have learned! (My eyes may argue that it is too much #technology though.)
⁃ I learned how to connect with loved ones on a different level and also that it is okay to need space and quiet time too.
⁃ After 15 plus years, I learned to not be addicted to #running and that stretching and core is so important too. I learned to not be reliant on working out (even if it took a knee injury to get me there.) @ thanks for helping with your great videos and workouts too. And for helping me think outside the box.
⁃ I learned that when a dream is on your heart and won’t go away, chances are- it’s waiting for you.
⁃ I learned that even a baby step is a step. Each step is important to the process even if it involves some backward steps too.
⁃ I learned to appreciate quiet moments, and the loud ones. I learned to appreciate the small moments and the big. And that sometimes the quiet, small moments turn out to be the greatest.
⁃ I learned how to #selfpublish a #book! Thanks to @ helping me through. #illustrator #talent
(❤️ This book is now available on Amazon here: Book 1: How to Be Kind
⁃ I learned to lean in more and #trust #God!
⁃ I learned that while our world and country needs a lot of work still, I learned that there are really a lot of #good and good people all around.
⁃ I learned that while I still have a lot of work I need to do, I can do my part here and now (just like everyone can)… despite the mess… despite the imperfections.
So 2021, I pray you bring blessings, laughter, health and love to everyone. I pray and believe for God’s hope and joy !!! I pray and believe. ❤️❤️❤️
#dreambig #hope #bethegood
#howtobekind #childrensbook #bookone #series
#speakup #bekind #faith #christianity #children #kids #parenthood #motherhood #authors #authorsofinstagram #writers #author #writersofinstagram #books #writer #bookstagram #writing #writingcommunity #writerscommunity #reading #book #write
#theartofamessyhouse
#happynewyear
My hope once jumped at the chance
to find such purpose
a way out of the old dance.
So you said wait here
Don’t grumble
For what I hold is more than just one glance.
For all the delays
And all the missed boats that sailed away
I trust you Lord
I trust my purpose in You
I pray, I pray, I pray.
For my hope is in you
I praise, I hope, I pray.
I recently read a powerful story in another devotional that a beautiful friend sent. It was about someone who had been disappointed that as they were leaving Slovakia to come to the United States, they were stopped in France. Her great great grandmother had been coughing and they were afraid of her possibly having tuberculosis. So because of their delay, they missed their ship, the ship that held their hope. They had to have so disappointed in the delay and deflating hope of that boat changing their lives. That was until they learned of that boat’s sad fate.
That boat was the Titanic.
Often we put our hope in things that are not God. In doing that, our trust goes into material things or boats that we really know nothing about. Our promise is in the Lord. Therefore our hope is in the Lord. God is using delays like the story above to save our lives, to protect us, to guide us to the paths he wants us on. God is our hope. Therefore if we put our hope in him, we can trust the delays and even the missed “ships” as blessings.
Why am I reaching for the things that are not my meant to be? Why am I reaching and trying to jump onto boats I have no business being on? God knows where he wants me to be. Therefore, I know and trust that he also knows the best and safest way to get there even if it includes some delays and road bumps along the way.
““But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.”
Psalms 39:7 NIV
Reflection:
Am I still holding my hope on any missed ships today? If so, I pray to put my full hope and trust in the Lord.
Prayer:
Dear God,
You are my hope. Forgive me when I try to jump on boats that I have no business on. Forgive me when I put my hope on material things. Empower me. Use me. I pray that my gifts are used for your purpose and for your glory. Show me the way. Despite the delays, open up my eyes with the Holy Spirit and guide me on the path you want me on. Help me make the connections you want me to make and bring your good news and promises to the world. And may I never be quiet of how glorious you are through it all. In Jesus’ name. Amen
#theartofamessyhouse
Book 1 of the children’s series is out now all over including on Amazon:How to Be Kind
The Art of a Messy House 