Out on a Limb

So I have decided that I would start making Crochet Items to sell.  This is something I talked about last year and sold a couple things but never really took it seriously.  Now is the time.  I figure that I can get started on working on some projects that people may like for the fall or Christmas.  Now to get started, set up a Facebook page and decide what to sell the items at….eeek.  I’m calling it Crochet with Love…so stay tuned.

 

Here are a couple of items that I made last year. Currently working on a Giraffe Hat, a Sock Monkey Hat and an Afghan.  Wish me luck!

  

SMART Goals

After my last post about setting goals that I will not be flying by the seat of my pants, I received some sound advice from my mother.  Yes I still take advice from my mom.  It helps that she is a smart, loving fully, devoted Christian, so I know that her advice comes from her heart!  Love you Mom.

Anyway… her advice was to set SMART Goals.  So I am going to take my 5 goals that I set out and review them with the following in mind.

Goal 1 Eat Healthy and Exercise.  My SMART Goal is to lose 20 lbs (specific) by following weight watchers (measurable) by Sept 2 (Time Bound)which is the first day of school.  2 lbs a week from now until then would be 14lbs so I think 20lbs is Attainable.  I will also commit to 10 minutes of exercise a day (not a lot but it’s a start)

Goal 2 Work Towards being debt free.  Step one in dave Ramsey’s Debt Snowball is to put $1000 into savings.  So to do this I will put $100 per pay away in a Tangerine Savings account.  This will be done by October 1.

Goal 3 Crochet an Afghan.  The pattern I have chosen has 378 squares.  This means to have done by Christmas I need to do approximately 16 squares per week which i think is attainable.

Goal 4 Keep a Semi Clean House.  To be specific I will follow a daily schedule that is posted on my fridge.  This one being Time Bound is hard as it is something i want to keep going but for now I will set the date of Sept 2 to be in the habit of doing the schedule…before the kids go back to school.

Goal 5 Spend Intentional Time with God.  I recently purchased A Women’s Guide to Reading the Bible in a Year: A Life-Changing Journey into the Heart of God.  I like the way it is laid out and will be doing this every morning.

One of the other pieces of advice I received was from a friend.  To read the book, The Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley.  I have started reading it and it has been very clear to me that some of the directions I have chosen have taken me down the wrong path.

our direction, not our intention, that determines our destination. In other words, we can say where we want to go in life, and want to go there, but unless we make the right choices, we will end up someplace else.

This is so simple yet so powerful.  How many times do we say How did I get here, when here is not where I wanted to go?  Choices and if I don’t acknowledge that the choices I make put us on specific paths then I will continue to believe that what I want will happen whether or not I’m headed in the right direction.

Three questions to ask oneself to stay on the path you want to.

1. Why am I doing this, really?
2. If someone in my circumstances came to me for advice, what course of action would I recommend?
3. In light of my past experience, my future hopes, and my dreams, what is the wise thing to do?

If I had asked myself these questions when I made certain choice, whether it was eating junk food, buying something I really didn’t need, playing games on my phone, etc., I might be closer to my goals.  I will be printing these on a card to keep in my wallet.  I want them to become second nature.

So here’s to choosing the SMART Path.

 

Crystal

“Believe that Something Great is About to Happen because God Can do Anything”

Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

Help! I’m Flying by the Seat of My Pants

So I was sitting at work with the network down and pondering many different things today.

I was reminded this week why getting healthy was so important. Heart disease is in my family’s history and reappeared this week with my uncles heart attack. This uncle is the one who walked me down the isles. The one who drove on the wrong side of a country road talking with a British accent. The crazy uncle that we all love immensely. So it hit home pretty hard.

So I am trying to figure out what some goals I would like to achieve this year. This is tough for a fly by the seat of your pants kinda girl.

Fly by the Seat of Your Pants
to proceed or work by feel or instinct without formal guidelines or experience

I have things I want to do and I know they are in my brain but really what are they. So here I sit contemplating goals for the next 6 months…

Goal 1
Eat healthy and exercise. I know I have said this numerous times but it hit pretty close to home so I need to do it. So no more diets. I’m going to eat well and move more!

Goal 2
Work towards being debt free. We are no where near being able to do this in 6 months but I know I need to get better with our finances. I saw a post from a friend recently that they bought a new to them van with cash. They did the total money makeover by Dave Ramsey and they are proof it works. Way to go Amu and Dave!

Goal 3
Crochet an afghan. I know this may seem silly but I always seem to do small projects because they finish quickly. I want to work on a long term project and stick with it.

Goal 4
Keep a semi clean house. I say semi clean because I am not a neat freak not to I have any type of OCD. I would like to have a schedule and stick to it. Something doable everyday.

Goal 5
Spend intentional time with God. I need to be better at setting time aside to spend time with God. Whether it’s doing a devotional, sitting listening to some music, praying, I need to be more consistent. I let everything else interrupt me and take away from the time I should be using to sit quietly in His presence.

Ok so I just noticed a theme in all of these. I have a hard time doing something consistently. It’s the fly by the seat of you pants girl that is trying to focus on particular areas. Even in my job everything is project based and changes month to month, week to week. So how do I settle my spirit and focus? If you have any suggestion please let me know.

Crystal

When things don’t go as you would like…

So since the end of January I have been really trying to get Healthy.  Read the Daniel Plan and worked on that with a friend.  Started doing Weight Watchers Online again to keep myself accountable.  I was down 18 lbs.  My weigh in day is tomorrow and I am honestly not looking forward to it.  It’s PMS week and I could have eaten a horse.  I have used all my extra points and then some.  thankfully I have been walking to earn activity points but still.  So this morning I was beating myself up and then I read this for my devos.

So I choose to Rejoice in what HE is doing in my life!  I have made great strides and a few days of mistakes does not change all the positive steps I have taken.

1 Peter 5:6 The Message (MSG) 6 So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you;

 

“Believe that Something Great is About to Happen because God Can do Anything”

Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

Life.  Well lots has happened since my last post in November.  Christmas. New Years. Chloe turned 14. Emmy turned 12. Mark turned 41. Both girls are in Braces. Chloe received NBCC Performer of the Month for basketball NB.  Emmy started playing volleyball, joined the Roofers and she is Loving it.  I am working away at my new (not so new anymore) job and LOVING what I do. I am also re-focusing on getting healthy (how many times is this now?).  What has made me not beat myself up about the rollercoaster ride of trying to get healthy is this quote. If you keep trying, you are not failing! ~Mark Batterson, The Circle Maker  I have quoted it before and will quote again!

So I am on Day 28 of The Daniel Plan.  The principles of the plan are Faith, Friends, Fitness and Focus.  Today was a great reminder of why I am on this journey and that I am not alone.  I am trying to do the Daniel Plan journal everyday and read Jesus Calling as my devotions.  This is what I read today.  God’s perfect timing!

Why was this just what I needed today?  Well I felt FAT!  I felt like all I was doing was for nothing!  I felt like saying “Who cares”  Have you been there?  Working hard at making changes but feeling some days like Why am I doing this, Is it really worth it, Is it working?  We really beat ourselves up along this journey.  No wonder so many people fail.  There are so many changes that I can already see:  I feel better, clothes are fitting better, sleeping better.  Yet when the scale doesn’t move we start thinking the worst.  I can preach that it really doesn’t matter but deep down it’s still something I struggle with.  I do not have the willpower to do this on my own, but with God’s help anything is possible!

I have prayed about this.  I feel like God placed a number on my heart of where I should be…what I haven’t done is let it happen in His time.  He did not say “It will be done by June 2014″  He just gave me the number and said He would walk the journey with me.  I cannot do this alone.  I know that He is with me and I have a friend that I am travelling this journey with as well.  God knows there is strength in numbers and I am blessed to have a friend to walk down this path with.

One of my biggest struggles right now is fitting in fitness.  My excuse for the longest time was how tired I was.  Well now that I am feeling better I think it’s time.  So I am going to start with Walking and trying to get it in on my lunch hour.  I will find someone to go with so it keeps me accountable.  Already have 2 days planned!

Sometimes  you just need perspective.  Now I am not belittling anyone but when I was out at lunch it made me realize that I could be a lot worse off than I am.  I have a God that is Greater than this.  The means to do it. No ailments that keep me from getting healthier (I say healthier because I am relatively healthy just not fit!). Friends to help me.  Family surrounding me and supporting me.  And last but not least, Myself.  I do not have my head in a cloud and I recognize that I need and Can do this! So here’s to the positive.

So as of Feb 9 which was 20 days into 40 days of the Daniel Plan I was down just over 9lbs and had lost 4” in 10 days.  No matter how fast or slow this goes, I will celebrate the victories!

“Believe that Something Great is About to Happen because God Can do Anything”

Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

Pondering

I feel like I have changed since the last time I posted.  I have changed mentally,  spiritually and occupationally.

This year was my first time going to Women of Faith.  Words can not express fully how this weekend inspired and changed me.  I felt the Holy Spirit working in me like never before.  My challenge now is to keep this momentum/feeling going now that I am back living in the real world.  How do we translate our excitement, our spark, the je ne sais quoi in the drudgery of every day?

The first thing I need to do is look at every day as a gift.  It’s not drudgery.  We may repeat some things everyday but it is making the best of those and making sure that we see God  in every detail. A friend sent me this verse yesterday . 1 Corinthians 2:9 NCV “But as it is written in the Scriptures: “No one has ever seen this, and no one has ever heard about it. No one has ever imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.””  WOW.  If we don’t see God in the details of our everyday life, will we every really see what He has prepared for us on earth let alone in heaven?  He has GREAT plans for each and everyone of us.

Second thing is keeping my mind focused on Him.  I have made the decision to listen to only Christian music.  My new favourite right now is Natalie Grant’s In the End. 

I am also choosing to read books that are helpful and instructional for my faith.  I do still read fiction but I am trying to make sure I always have something that keeps me close to God.  I recently finished reading The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson and I am currently reading god’s at War by Kyle Idleman and The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian.  Let me just say the Power of a Praying Wife is stretching me…it is a good stretch  but a tad out of my comfort zone because I have always been an independent female.

Third I am trying to change how I pray.  I want to pray more, about all things that are on my mind and I want to pray differently.  I want to talk to God and not just pray words that I think I am supposed to say in a way that I would never talk to someone normally.  I want to pray like I am having a conversation with my best friend.  I want to pray like I do when I discuss and ask for advice from my mother. I also want to listen more.  To be open to His promptings and really hear what it is He wants me to do or not do.

I am still trying to get healthy.  It is a struggle.  I know that I can only do this with God’s help.   A friend posted on Facebook this reminder:  If you keep trying, you are not failing! ~Mark Batterson, The Circle Maker  It reminds me that I need to keep trying and giving it to God.  I am not the food I eat or the emotions that Satan uses to tease and entice me into eating things that “make me feel better” but really only make me feel worse.  I am Trying, I am NOT failing!

So what keeps your Faith Alive?  What are the things you do to keep yourself in the spirit?

 

“Believe that Something Great is About to Happen because God Can do Anything”

Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

Why I Choose to be a Working Mother

So lately I have seen a lot of articles about stay at home moms getting a bad wrap.  Now let me start out by saying I believe everything that they say…it’s a full time job and a hard one at that.   What I don’t get is why can’t we accept the fact that we are working mothers, stay at home mothers, single mothers, etc without having to judge each other.  No matter what, they are all hard work.   This is personal…not about other working moms or saying that stay at home moms get to do or not do all these things.  It’s just my reflection on why I choose to be a working mother!

I choose to be a working mother.  Yes I said I choose to be a working mother.  It is not totally for financial reasons.   Could we do it financially if we were strict with our finances and cut back on things?  Yes.  So why do I choose to work?  Here are a few reasons.

1. Cherish the time we have- I realized after I had my first daughter that I am a better mom because I work.  Yes you read that right! I love my girls dearly  and love spending time with them and my husband.  I try to enjoy all the moments we have together.  But here is the thing…when I was home full time on mat leave I always felt like I had time to do this and that with them later and then time would get away from me.  When they were small, we knew we only had a small window between the end of the work day and bed times, so we made the best of those moments.  Don’t get me wrong.  It’s not all roses but I try to make the best of the moments we have.

2. Adult conversation – When the girls were little it was nice to be able to go to work and have adult conversations.  Many stay at home moms join Moms groups so that they can do this.  I needed to be with other adults and work filled that.  Now that they are in their tween/teen years the conversations with them are becoming deeper which is nice…at times :D.

3. Brain stimulation and fulfillment  – I need to keep my brain active and not just active with baby Einstein.  I love what I do for a living.  It gives me satisfaction and keeps the creative juices flowing.

4. Finances – This is not the make or break of why I chose to work.  It has however given us opportunities to do things that otherwise would have never happened.  Trips south with Mark and the girls.  Travelling for provincial basketball.  Having a camper and camping all summer. Both girls having braces. Girls working at a Christian Summer Camp and not worrying about getting paid.

5. Role Model – I want my girls to know that they can do anything that they put there mind and effort into.  That nothing will be just handed to them and that hard work pays off.  My mother did not have a choice.  Being a single mother she had to work.  But she chose what worked best for her and us.  She taught kindergarten in the mornings while my sister and I were at school.  She definitely taught me work ethic and how to be a great mother!  If I can be half the mother she is I will say that I have succeeded.  I will be proud of my girls whether they choose to work or be a stay at home mom.

6. My girls will learn independence – My girls have learned how to do laundry, dishes, clean the house, make their lunches for school etc.  Why because it is important that when they are old enough they will have enough independence that they can function in society without a parent having to hover over them.

All that being said I still have to get groceries, do laundry, make supper, clean, bake, eat, shower and sleep.  Sometimes it is not easy.  Sometimes when I see other parents picking their kids up from school and going home with them I have a second of envy.  Only a second.  I know that this choice that I made is the right one for me.  Bravo to the mothers who make the choice because it’s the right thing to do for their family and themselves.  Bravo to the stay at home moms for the same reasons.

So no matter where you are in your stage as a mother, remember  that we all have different reasons for what we are doing.   God created us all differently and therefore make different choices.  Encourage one another to parent the way they feel they are being led to parent.  We have been given a gift from God to raise these precious kids.  Let’s do it with all we have and lift up ALL the mothers around you! Proverbs 31:26  She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

 

“Believe that Something Great is About to Happen because God Can do Anything”

Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

 

Waiting

* Note I typed this but did not publish before I knew whether I was offered the job.  I am pleased to say that I was and have accepted.

Why is it that when we know that God has spoken to us with regards to events happening, do we still question his timing? Jeremiah 29:11  For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”  I know that anything that He has planned for me can only be better than what I have in my own mind.  I truly believe that God speaks to us through many different ways.  We need to be in tune and be listening.

I have been waiting to hear about a job opportunity for over a month.  There has been back and forth.  I felt God’s peace that this was the right choice and it’s ok to leave where I am.  So now I wait…

Not so good at waiting.  I feel like a kid.  Waiting for the boy to ask her out.  Waiting for my exam marks.  Waiting to hear whether I was accepted to University.  Waiting to see the pregnancy test results.  We as humans try to take so many things into our own hands.  We have been watching a series by Steve Furtik in our small group and this week was about Control.  God has given us all some control.  We can control how we study to help us when it comes time for exams.  We can work hard in school and get good grades to help us get into university.  We can…well you know what you need to do to get pregnant, sex (which is a gift from God…intended to be included in a loving marriage).  So many things we have control over  but it is when we have done all that we can do and then  have to wait.  This is where we truly need to rely on God to give us peace and understanding.  Sometimes it’s a quick answer.  Yes or No or Maybe.  Sometime we can wait a while or a long time.  Some of these things may not be big deals for you and some may be huge.   If you are sure that you have done all that you can then simple wait for His help!

Here are some of the verses I found that help me when I let my mind go and get antsy.

Isaiah 30:18 (NLT)

Blessings for the Lord’s People

¹⁸ So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God.  Blessed are those who wait for his help.

Psalm 25:5 (NLT)

⁵ Lead me by your truth and teach me,  for you are the God who saves me.  All day long I put my hope in you.

Lamentations 3:25(NLT)

²⁵ The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.

Isaiah 64:4 (NLT)

⁴ For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!

God is a faithful God and I know that what is coming is greater than I can imagine.

“Believe that Something Great is About to Happen because God Can do Anything”

Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

 

Believing Something Great is About to Happen

Believing that something great is about to happen.  I have been spending more time in the word, reading books based on the word and spending time with Him in prayer. I have never felt closer to God or felt like I am going in the direction that I am supposed to be.  I feel FREE!  Yes Free.  Free in Him to be the women, wife, mother, friend, sister, daughter, mentor that God truly created me to be.  I am stepping out of my box and working on the things that matter!

On Sunday Pastor Jerry’s message was  “Be Part of Something Great” in the series “Great by Choice”.   Pastor Jerry Challenged us to journal.  I have said that I do not journal but realize I do just not in the normal format. For me to Blog is to Journal. So I am going to try to blog about what GREAT things are happening!

I started reading Becoming Myself by Stasi Eldredge yesterday (i’m already halfway through).  Today part of what I read was about loving yourself.  Not just in yeah yeah I love myself but Really truly loving myself.  Loving my stomach because it is where I carried my beautiful girls. Loving my hands because they help me create.  Loving my legs because they enable me to go where I want/need to go. AND on and on it should go.  I cried when I looked in the mirror and said those things because for so long I have focused on the I don’t like or I hate this part of my body or myself.  But God Loves every part of me and gave me all those parts for good! My prayer is that I continue to BELIEVE that!

The other part of what I was reading was about was Dreaming.  Dreaming big.  What were my dreams?  How does a dream come true if we don’t dream or dream big?  So I have started to write down my dreams.  Big and small.  Current ones and future ones.  If I truly BELIEVE that something GREAT is about to happen then I need to start dreaming BIG and listening to God about where He is calling me.

I am about to turn 40 and truly Believe that God has something great planned for this year.  I don’t think it is a coincidence that I am going to Women of Faith this year and will be there with my closest friends to celebrate my 40th birthday.  The event this year is called “Believe God Can Do Anything!”    I am so excited about what God has in store for me in those few days.  I think I had better bring some Kleenex.

So this is my creed for my 40th year!

“Believe that Something Great is About to Happen because God Can do Anything”

Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

 

Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone

So the weather here is rainy and Blah!  I started a walking group with some friends and we have committed to every Wednesday.  Although I am hoping to get out tonight, I have to plan for the event that we can’t due to the weather.  So what is my alternative?  THE GYM.

The gym

The gym for many of us is this dreaded place that we hate the thought of going too.  We make excuses like “I’ll go there when I am in shape” or “I don’t know what to do with those machines”.   I am one of those people that worries about what the other people are going to think of me…and to make it worse the gym that I am thinking of using is at the University I work at and will have in shape students working out there…20ish young and in shape ugh!  Now I know that now is not going to be busy (there may be no one in there at all) because school is out but it is still nerve racking!  I envision them snickering and saying “what is fatty doing in here??” and the thought of them seeing me workout already puts me in a sweat.

But I need to do a mind change here.  Isn’t that what the gym is for. To get people in shape and keep them that way.  Most people who are struggling with getting healthy have a low self esteem in the way they look so going into a gym where everyone is buff is pretty hard to wrap your head around. Maybe if gyms would have a specific orientation time and day for those wanting to lose weight so that they know they are welcome.

I read an article (I wish I could find the link because it was a great read.)  recently about how we as North Americans are saying accept who you are and it’s the new normal.  Well it shouldn’t be…on so many levels.  It is not Healthy being the most important reason why it’s not OK.  Yes we do need to accept ourselves and know where we should be…and we should be healthy.  Not to Skinny and not to Fat.  You can also be Skinny Fat (those that eat everything they want and stay a size 0)which is also unhealthy they just don’t display it for everyone.

So on that note let’s cheer on those that are willing to step out of their comfort zone and head to the gym.  Encourage one another and help them out if you see them struggling.

For me I just need to come to terms that there are some things I need to accept, I need to try,  I need to get over and may times all three.  So I am heading to the gym at lunch to walk for 30 minutes on the treadmill.  It’s going to be scary but like I said it is there to help me get in shape not to mock me! If I get to walk with the Girls tonight then that is bonus.

Here’s to no one in the gym my first time and to stepping out of my comfort zone.

Crystal