Reactions Define You (Please Read This!)

An exerpt from Debi Pearl's book: Created to be His Helpmeet

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Reactions Define You

"A wise woman does not dream of what "could have been." She does not see herself as "God's gift to men;" therefore, she is joyful and content in her present circumstances.

Your reactions break you loose from your social inhibitions and manifest who you really are indside and what you really believe at your core level. We lose our carefully preserved "front" when we are pressed beyond calculated thinking. Then, who we really are is made manifest.

You can control your future reactions considerably by changing the way you think you feel, and it will determine how you will react in stressful situations.

Researchers have determined that the average person thinks over 40,000 thoughts each day. The heart is filled with thoughts, and it is out of that reservoir of thoughts that the mouth speaks words of praise or bitterness. When the pressure is on, and tha dam of reservation breaks loose, you cannot control what you say, because you will speak from the abundance of your heart-from the 40,000 thoughts you had that day, and all the days before. "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh." (Luke 6:45.) If you, as a wife, are going to change the way you have been speaking, it is not a matter of willpower; it is a matter of thought power. "For as he thinketh in his heart , so is he..." (Prov.23:7). You must bring "into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (II Cor. 10:5). "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts..." (Matt. 15:19). As Paul says, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil.2:5). You will be "transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2), not by the strength of your will to hold your tongue. God tells you how to think about your role as wife and help meet. If you believe him, you will think differently.

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This text can be applied to male or female, child or adult. In family situations or on the job, church, friends, grocery store, anywhere. Really pay attention to the thoughts that you allow to run through your head in a day, and you may be really surprised...and not in a good way. But, with the Lord's help, you can change that, and be a much happier, and better person.

Weight Loss Wednesday

Well, I hate to dissapoint all of you, but I will not be standing on the scale today. We have been having Revival services this week at church, (hence the silence on the blog) and God has asked me to focus on my heart and spirit this week, and not my weight. Great and wonderful things have been happening in the services so far, and I am so excited to continue. God has spoken through these Preachers, and the Spirit has MOVED! Praise God! I am still just so excited about tonight's sermon, especially. I REALLY needed this right now, and I am being blessed! So, I will report back in next week, or as the Lord leads. I am still eating healthy and walking as I can, but what I weigh is not of importance this week. I hope you all have a great week. I'm going to try and do a Thankful Thursday post about the meetings, and what's been going on in my heart, as time leads!

Weigt Loss Wednesday

Well, I type this post this morning with mixed feelings. I'm sad, because the scale is only showing a .08 loss for the week. That's 2 tenths from being a pound....it's still a loss, but it's not what I want it to say, and it's not accurate. I'm optimistic though, because I know it's only reading that because of water weight. I stepped up my exercise into high gear, from almost no gear, and that's going to make your body temporarily hold onto water. As soon as my body gets used to the exercise and the water I'm drinking, it will let go of the excess water, and that number on the scale will go way down, and my loss number will go way up!

This week is going to be a challenge! I have to lose 3 pounds by next Wednesday to meet the goal that I had set for the month. That's more than I've lost in any given week so far this month. But, I think I can do it. I'm going to have to stay focused, and keep my eye and mind on the goal, but I really think I can reach it. I think I'm holding at least half that in water weight right now, so if my body will let go of that soon, I'll just have a pound and a half to lose. Plus, I am on a good exercise routine now and even though I'm not specifically counting calories, I am paying attention to about how many are in each meal and snack that I eat. Along with that, I have now set low, moderate, and high caloric intake days. This keeps my body guessing as to how many calories it needs to burn, so it won't shut down my metabolism. I've been very successful with this in the past! So, here's to 3 pounds and an awesome post next week!!

Move It Monday

Okay, I guess we'll start with the after pictures for my project organized home post from last Friday! I disciplined myself and got it ALL done! Very happy and proud of myself!

Hallway is clean! I was going to bring up some magic eraser and take the markings off the walls, but we're thinking of painting the hallway, so I'll wait until we decide.

The girl's bedroom is all clean, organized, and the decor on the walls is fixed. I wish pictures did justice for this room...this is my favorite room in the house to be in...it's just beautiful!

And lastly, the girl's playroom is finished to. This is the one that I really had to discipline myself on. I did it last, and it was sooooo messy because we threw everything in here from the other rooms. Once I got in here, I had to decide what was trash, what was to be donated, what we were keeping and where we were going to put it! I should have taken better pictures because it turned out nice as well. It's a purple, pink theme with hot purple and pink curtains, hot pink and green flowers on the wall, and hot pink and purple storage drawers. It's cute too. But, now the girls have a wonderful place to play again, and they've been up there ever since. One of my girls had company over the night I was doing this room, so I paid Mr. Pure at Heart $1.00 to help me do clean the room! He was such a big help!

Well I certainly moved it this weekend! Now, let's hope I have some left in me for today! I am going to go make my favorite and special Monday breakfast and treat myself to some decaf coffee this morning! YAY! Then, I plan to:

*Wash dishes_DONE

*Scrub cabinets & counter tops_DONE

*Sweep and mop kitchen floor_DONE

*Sweep and mop living room floor

*Put the girl's laundry away that I washed and folded on Saturday

*If time allows, I want to move around some things in the closets upstairs

What are you doing to make Monday special, start off the week on the right foot, or keep yourself moving?!

Project Organized Home-Taking back the upstairs

Okay, so this is going to be very hard to post...very embarrassing. But, it's time for a wake-up call. Upstairs is pretty much the kid's domain. The boys share the large room up there, and the girls sleep in one of the small rooms, and their toys are in the other small room. We call them the "purple and pink room" respectively. Now we only have one full bath, and that's upstairs, so my hubby and I do have to go up there to shower. But, for the most part, the kids rule all up there. Now, I have unfortunately let things get out of hand. They are supposed to clean their rooms daily, but I do not always check up on them. I forget myself, on really busy days. Sometimes I don't go up there at night either, because we read stories downstairs, and then the kids put themselves to bed. My husband goes up there everyday to shower after work, but I have been really stressed out lately, and he has been kind enough not to say a word about the condition of it up there. The kids seem to have it fairly descent, although not what I really want, when I go up in the morning to shower. (or they have their doors shut) But during the day, tornado's must happen, because this is what I went upstairs to this morning....brace yourself....

AAAHHHHHHH!!! It's horrible, I know. We've been on spring break the last two weeks, and I think this was slowly developing without me noticing the severity of it. When we aren't doing school, the kids have a lot more time on their hands during the day to make big messes like this. Hubby and I have been working so hard on the outside of the house too, that we must have just turned a blind eye to what was going on up here. The grass from the Easter baskets has overflown and is all over the floor of every room upstairs except for the bathroom. Toys and clothes are EVERYWHERE! The boy's room wasn't too bad, but I noticed at least half of the stuff in the hallway was theirs. Goodness gracious! NO LONGER!

I AM TAKING BACK THE UPSTAIRS!

I have already started working on it, and will continue on it all weekend until it's just the way I want it! Then, I will disciple myself to check up on their "cleaning" every night. Needless to say, we are going to be making a couple trips to a donation drop-off! Come back Monday, please, please, so you can see the clean, organized rooms I once had, and will have again!

I AM WEDNESDAY

I am...

...very strong willed.

...in love with my husband of 11 years.

...stubborn and thick headed at times.

...ALWAYS very, very emotional. (thanks mom)

...a procrastinator.

...loving, and kind.

...compassionate, and empathetic. (thank you Lord, thank you)

...not self-disciplined, but I'm working on it.

...horrible at keeping up with laundry.

...a Pizza fanatic!

...a perfectionist. Although I'm starting to believe it may be mild OCD!

...a proud mother of 4 beautiful children!

...a child of the King! Looking forward to my home in Heaven!

...a sucker for fudge brownies, and donuts.

...ME!

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Go to The Simple Woman's Daybook for more Daybook posts! Peggy would be happy to have you!

For Today~April 13, 2010

Outside my window~GREEN! It's beautiful! The leaves are back on almost all of the trees, and the beautiful green color that Georgia is known for, is finally back! I moved my computer to a desk in my bedroom, and literally all I see out my front window, is green trees of all sizes and shapes, green grass, sunshine and birds! How glorious!

I am thinking~that I really need to finish painting the front deck now that the wasps and pollen have settled down a bit!....I can see part of it out my window too...needs to be finished!

I am thankful for~God's beauty outside, and wonderful Christ honoring music that can lift up my spirits and make for a great day, even when I wake up grumpy.

I am wearing~a nightgown still. Does that surprise you? I'm working on some daytime clothes, I really am.

I am going~absolutely nowhere today! I am going to enjoy Home Sweet Home today. No piano lessons for two weeks, no doctors appointments, no plans....except to enjoy our home, get caught up on schoolwork and housework!

I am currently reading~my spare time is limited to Bible reading, and learning more about the supplements I am selling, and using.

I am hoping~to get a lot of laundry done today...hubby really wants it all caught up.

On my mind~I think I may have a cavity that is going to be a hole in my tooth if not taken care of. We still don't have insurance, and can't afford a filling without it...so the tooth may just have to be pulled out one day. I'm trying to leave it all in the Lord's hands, and not fret. I just keep thinking about it, because I've had a hole in my other back tooth before, and it got infected and caused me GREAT PAIN. I just don't want to go through that again.

Noticing that~what we did in the front yard this past weekend really made a difference. I'm still shocked every time I step out the door or pull up in the driveway! A nice shock!

From the learning rooms~getting started again this week, after a long spring break. Only 6 more weeks to go to finish the school year!

From the kitchen~nothing exciting. Just some BBQ chicken today, and some cornbread...wait...that is kind of exciting!

Around the house~so much to do. Laundry, moping, dusting, sorting. One step at a time!

From my picture journal~

Move It Monday

Hooray! Monday is here!

Well, I have decided that every Monday morning, I am going to make myself a special breakfast. I am now having Reliv Slimplicity shakes every day for breakfast, and I very much miss my whole wheat toast, 2 eggs over easy, and decaf coffee. So, to make Monday's special for me, and to start of my day with enthusiasm, I will have my special breakfast every Monday morning. Following breakfast today, I am going to:

*Wash the dishes_DONE

*Sweep and Mop kitchen floor

*3 loads of laundry_DONE

*Clean fish tank & Add new water_DONE

*Move bookshelf from bedroom to living room

*Sweep and Mop Living room floor

*Clean bathrooms_DONE

I think that will be enough to keep me moving! And if I accomplish it all, I will be well on my way to a fully productive week, and a beautiful house! We worked all weekend on the front yard, and I can't wait to show you a picture! It's sooooo neat and tidy! So what are you doing today?

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for specific answered prayer! God answered my prayer today, and we found out some of the things that my son is allergic to! The appointment went very well. We found out that he is allergic to dogs, cats, dust mites and alternaria, which is a type of mold. So, our dogs have to go outside now, which is heartbreaking, but, we'll live. I had to buy him allergen matress and pillow protectors, and his comforter has to go, or be washed in hot water twice a week. Plus, the curtains had to come down and be replaced with blinds. When he's old enough to do a more in-depth test, we'll know if we need to replace the carpet with wood or vinyl flooring, or treat the carpet with an allergen spray. The good news is...no food allergies! YAY!

The doctor said that he's too young for shots if we can avoid it, so for now he just put him on a stronger daily medicine and kept the nasal spray. He also believes he has more going on than just allergies, but he's still too young to find out exactly what. Possibly asthma, or something else. He'll have another appoinment in 4 months. I'm just so happy and thankful to know exactly what he's allergic to so far! And what he's not allergic to! We'll be starting his supplements tomorrow.

Weight Loss Wednesday

Well, I lost another 2 pounds this week! YAY!

I am so proud of the choices I have made this week, and with every good choice, comes the motivation to make the next one! We had a church dinner this week, and ate out once this week, and I ate good foods, and had just a teeny tiny portion of a dessert. The results speak for themselves! I am finally starting to feel like I may actually achieve this goal that I've had for so long now. I am going to start taking a weight loss supplement, and am anxious to see how much that will help me! It's not what you think...it's a healthy supplement full of vitamins that is intended to replace lunch everyday. It's from the company Reliv and I am now a distributor for the company. I really had to be, in order to afford it for our family. We all have our own health issues, and they have something that will help each one of them. From arthritis, to allergies, to hormone and weight issues, all of it.

My aunt has been in the business for 3 years now, and takes the supplements herself. They have given her increased energy at 50 something, and gotten rid of all her joint pain. My mother has been taking the supplements now, at 3 times the dosage, and it has drastically improved her MS. She is walking better, has more energy than she has in years, and she just got an MRI done, and there is no changes in the disease right now! Praise GOD! So, I am excited to see what these supplements will do for our family. I am starting off with the Slimplicity for myself, and the Kids Reliv, and Innergize for my least healthiest son. (The one whose going to the allergy specialist tomorrow) Then, when money allows, we will move on to hubby's joints. I will certainly share with you how we do on our health journey, just as I always have! And do please pray for Mr. Pure at Heart's appointment tomorrow.

Move It Monday!

Okay, so here's the new post I'm working on! I will eventually have a button and may or may not ever decide to hook up with Mr. Linky. But, feel free to post your own, and put your link in the comment section, or just let us know what you are accomplishing for the day! And if you are having the Monday, Monday..kind of day, just congratulate me on my day! HeHe

I LOVE MONDAYS!! Even on the days I start out a little slow, I'm still looking forward to the day itself! I am back on a routine, I am in charge of my house, and I just feel on top of the world, ready to conquer it...even if it's just a load of laundry I'm going to conquer! Monday is the first day of the week, and I just don't like starting off the week on the wrong foot. I don't want to wait until Wednesday or Thursday to start thinking positively about the week. I want the WHOLE THING to go as well as possible. So, if a conscious effort can be put forth the beginning of, on the first day of the week, it can really make a difference. I refuse to let the Monday "curse" get to me. Even if you have to go off to work, at a job you don't like, you can still put your best effort and a good attitude forward. Do something special only on Mondays. Treat yourself to Starbucks on the way to work, only on Monday...eat a special lunch at your favorite place, or take your favorite lunch, only on Mondays. You get the idea...find SOMETHING that will be special enough to give you something to look forward to every Monday. Something that allows you to turn to a "Move It Monday" attitude rather than a "I Hate Mondays" attitude. You never know, it could change your week! And it will certainly improve your Sunday's, because you won't spend them dreading the next day!

So, let me know what you are going to do to make Monday's special for you, or let me know what you have on the agenda for the day. Since I work at home, and already love Mondays, every week, I will have a list of what I intend to do that day to keep myself moving, and start out the week NOT behind schedule! And I assure you, some days start out slow...I don't always wake up wanting to conquer everything...but positive thinking eventually takes over, and leads to positive doing!

Just What DID We Do?

Great job everyone! We did hang something over the door. We've had it ever since moved into the house. We've had it for three houses now, actually. Thanks to hubby delaying FOREVER (love you honey) in getting it up, I actually had to paint it again, because it had began to rust. I love it though. The house was so "boxy" and as most of you know, I'm not a boxy person! It really breaks it up, and I'm very happy with that. Plus, there was all that dead space in between all 4 windows. Our neighbor said that one family had a large wreath hanging there, but I'm not much for wreaths unless it's Christmas....on the outside.

And yes, we took down the tree. There were two there when we bought the house, and hubby immediately took down one of them. I was able to spare the other one's life, but we soon found out the next year, that we cut down the wrong one. The one remaining wound up being a SweetGum, and they grow very fast, very large, and have branches that fall down easily. Not a good idea for 3 feet from the house, and over the front deck! So, it had to go. I thought I was going to hate it, but I LOVE all the open space! I love not having to duck under a tree to get to the van! And, it looks much better from the curb, it really does.

What did you all miss?.....We put up house numbers! On the rare occation that we have pizza delivered, I get the third degree from the pizza guy that he can't see the numbers on the mailbox, or the one's I have on a stone under our front tree, so these were just for him. They break up the "boxiness" of the house even more, and we really like the way they look with the other changes!

We have soooo much more to do out front, and I can't wait to show you when we are done. When it's finished, I will have to scan the pictures of the house when we first bought it, and show you the real before and after! We've chopped bushes down, enclosed the carport, added buildings, it will be a great comparision! Thanks for playing along!

FYI~Music

I just wanted to write a quick note on the music on this blog. I added a few new songs, so as to not get to bored of the 3 I had on. The songs by Third Day, do have drums in them, and are considered to be Christian Contemporary music. If this offends you, I am sorry, and you may scroll down to the bottom of the blog, and choose songs that are not by them and are strictly Gospel songs, or you may turn your sound off. There is a scroll bar on the side of the music box, that allows you to scroll up and down through the songs listed. There is also a little icon on the top of the purple music box, that will turn the shuffle off, so that the songs play in order. All the Third Day songs are on the bottom of the list. I know that there are a wide range of people who read this blog, and I want it to be a blessing to everyone who visits regardless of where they are in their walk with the Lord. Whether they don't even know of Him yet, are as close to Him as humanly possible, or are somewhere in between. I chose songs that have been a blessing to me at some point in my life, and I hope they will be a blessing to someone else as well. Music has always been very important to me and God has spoken to me through music on oh, so many occasions. I know some don't like music on blogs, but I feel led to have it on mine, so I hope that won't deter too many people from visiting! Okay, thanks!

Project Organized Home~Before and After

YAY! I finally get to show you some pictures of what we've been working on! I'm going to start with a picture I promised you several weeks ago...sorry bout that...the picture of my kitchen with the new matching stove. But of course we must do a...

Before...

After...

Isn't it beautiful! For the first time in my whole adult life...I have matching appliances! And the new, high table and stools have just made this almost a dream kitchen for me! I'm still hoping hubby can make me more cabinets and counter tops against the fridge wall someday, but I'm not anxious...I love what I came up with for that wall, and it will do for however long!
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Now, on to the very present. Since hubby didn't get his shop done yet, and I couldn't start the spring cleaning projects I wanted to start, I found something else to do. All it cost me, so far, is $20.00 and a WHOLE LOT OF TIME! I wish I had better pictures to choose from for the before, but this is the only one I have on the computer, so I'll show you the before and after, and give you a chance to figure out what all we did!

Before...

After...

Well, one of the obvious things is, I am painting the deck white! By the way, sorry about the hazy photo, it was early and my lens kept fogging up! The planters have been there, but now they "pop" and I can't wait to see how they look when the flowers grow and hang over the edge! Right now I have pansies and petunias in them, but soon I will replace the pansies with some green foliage of my choosing...I haven't decided what yet. I've done vinca vine, fern, and ivy in the past. Last year I put impatiens in these planters, and they were spectacular! They grew so huge, and full!

I only have one coat on most of the porch so far, and some of the lattice isn't even painted yet, but I've gotten a great start, and couldn't delay showing you some pictures! I love how my Easter flag matches so well!


These two pictures (above and below) show you why this is taking me so long! I have to paint all the different angles of the lattice, and I have to paint around all the ivy! I'm trying not to paint the ivy, because it's beautiful and I love it. I think it will really look pretty when it grows out again in front of that crisp white color, instead of the brown wood stain. But man, is it taking forever. Plus, it's warm enough now, that the wasps have come out in full-force and I have to paint in the early morning and late evening to avoid them. There are over 50 if them during the day, trying to nest in our shudders. We spray them, kill a bunch, and then more come...aahhh!

So, did you figure out what all we did? ..other than take down the Christmas lights! I'll give you a hint, we added things, and took something big away! Let me know in your comments what you've noticed, and I'll tell you tomorrow, just what all we did!