What to wear...or not

The sun has been shining and the weather has been warmer. In this house that means it is time to go through spring/summer clothes and put away winter. I did this last weekend for my two younger daughters. This is a chore that I despise with a passion. I am very thankful for the tubs of clothing that I do not have to buy this season but I really don't like the process. The girls however LOVE it. They loved trying on "new to them" items and showing them off, looking in the mirror and admiring themselves and their new finds.

I also did this for myself. Did I enjoy the process? Not so much.

Where are Clinton and Stacy when I need them?


My friend Beth once told me that she equates name with certain styles. For example, Beth and Jill remind her of khakis and denim. I equate that with sensible and boring. After a look in my closet though I think she may be right. Not much excitement there. No little black dresses, no shimmering or embellished tops, No glitzy jackets. But I do have 5 pairs of khakis, 5 pairs of jeans, one denim shirt, two denim jackets, and 3 denim skirts. Not to mention the several pairs of khaki or denim cropped pants. Or how about 24 t-shirts, all solids, no stripes or patterns. 7 of them are white. I also have about the same number of long sleeved t-shirts. Can you say dull?

This weekend I purchased 2 button down shirts. Exactly the same. Different color. Both solid. They came in gingham prints and floral prints but I chose solid. Predictable? I think so. I tried the print and it just didn't feel right. I was uncomfortable. Weird, I know. My closet kind of looks like a big girl version of granimals. Remember where you just match the animal and the outfit matched? Blue shirt & khaki pants. Pink shirt & jeans. Sometimes I get a little wild and add...who am I kidding? I never veer off the equation.

My sister-in-law always knew just what to wear. She always looked amazing and well put together. Accessories, shoes, purse, the whole thing. I would take my cues from her on what was "fashionable". Not that I followed her lead, I was just a little bit knowledgeable then.

I want to be that woman who wears hip clothing and always looks in style. I would love to be like Beth Moore in the fashion area (as well as others) but that takes time, effort, knowledge and money. I don't have much of any of that. Is it OK to settle for clean and sensible?

What are your thoughts on keeping fashionably current? Do you put effort into it? Or do you hold to the clean and sensible opinion too?

Lack of inspiration

Wow, mid March! As you can see from the lack of posting I have had a lack of inspiration. Life has been super busy which seems to spiral into lack of time, lack of energy, lack of inspiration. Whenever I have thought of something to post about it was not really positive...so I decided I best not. If you can't say anything nice...

I am still reading through Crazy Love and I find myself asking the question "What does this look like lived out in MY life?" I know God is up to something. Trying to teach me, talk to me, direct me. I know that we have had "Crazy Love periods" in our family from time to time but I don't want to live my testimony in the past. I want it to always be present. So I keep asking myself and the Lord what does it look like in the midst of making dinner, grocery shopping, doing laundry, going to church, homeschooling and working part-time? Or is that it? Is this what it looks like? I am not sure. I will keep praying and seeking.

Fabulous Forty update

Like Jamie I can hardly believe that February is over. I heard a quote this weekend that said 'the days go slow and the years go fast' but I think the days are going fast too. I spent much of February just trying to keep up with all that needed to be done. For a girl that likes to be one step ahead it was not fun. March looks to be another very busy month. The calendar is already filling up with dates to remember, meetings to attend, retreats to plan, and deadlines to meet. There is one weekend in the middle of the month the we have a little get-away planned and I am hoping to do a little reflecting on the busyness of life and see if there are some things that should be eliminated for the sake of sanity. When it is all 'good' things that need to be done it is difficult to chose the least of the good.

Here are the things I did manage to get checked off my list in February.
*Make Eden's birthday special. Eden turned 12 and had a friend sleepover. Decorations, invitations, pizza, games, movies. Whew...

*Make Ella's birthday special. Thank goodness Ella turned 4 and a simple little morning tea party with one little friend was enough to make the day special.

*Dinner with girlfriends. We even tried a new restaurant!

*I am continuing to read through the New Testament, but I did fall a few days behind this month. Thank goodness I only have to read a chapter a day so catching up is much more attainable than when I fall behind on reading through the entire Bible.

Here in the Northwest the weather has been wonderful! Sunshine and warmer temperatures make me excited about Spring! I am looking forward to planning my garden this month and starting some yard work.

Facebook

Facebook just baffles me. I am sure that Sociologist have lots to say about the whole social networking thing. I have a love-hate relationship with the site. Truth be told I have become a sot of lurker on the site. I kinda like that.

Things I love:
I love seeing pictures of people
Especially people from my past. Some who haven't changed at all, some who have changed much. I like that I can check them out without being their friend.
I also love seeing pictures of my kids friends; goofy, silly and what they are up to.
I love seeing nearly daily photos of my new great-nephew.
I love knowing what people are up to. Example: "Going to Hawaii tomorrow", "Starting a new job", "Reading a great book"
I like that I can get a sort of insight into my kids world view, see some of their conversations, and use it to spark conversations at home.

Things I don't like:
I hate too much information. I really don't need to know EVERYTHING. Example: "I am having trouble relieving myself" (yes, I really saw this one)
This also goes for pictures that show things or situations I don't want to see. I have been surprised several times by people I know in situations captured for the world to see on FB.
Saying 'ignore' to anyone who tries to friend me
It makes me feel bad. Even if I have not seen that person in 25 years.
Bad spelling or short text form spelling.

Things I just don't get:
Farms, Fishtanks, and Mafia Wars? Never tried 'em.
Sweetshop? How does me accepting a chocolate cherry give money to St. Judes Hospital?
Becoming a fan of things like 'I stubbed my toe and then said Ouch' ???
Telling the world so much information.

I have noticed that FB makes me more judgmental or critical of people too (which comes so easy to me anyway). When I see what they are a 'fan' of and I don't agree with it, when they post a bible verse that is not backed up with their actions, or even a sappy comment to someone's struggle when wouldn't it be better to give that person a call? Maybe this is the new way. But I would rather get a phone call or a card than have someone write on my wall. Of course not for all situations. Little struggles like a cold, that would merit of FB message. But the big things need real contact.

FB is so strange in the fact that it connects people from all areas in my life and all ages into one neat little package. But all those people can see me and hear my same thoughts. Although I don't believe this to be an issue for me myself I can see huge implications when a friend and a colleague see the same information. When the professional and the recreational meet. When the secular and religious connect. Oh wait - there shouldn't be anything different for that last one. My bad.

So, what are your thoughts on FB? Love it? Hate it? Or are you like me and feel both?

Oh yes, I do have an opinion

Jamie asked us to read this article over at 5 Conversations That You Must Have With Your Daughter Blog and then asked us what our thoughts were. Oh yes, I do have some thoughts.

My husband has been a Youth Pastor for 10 years and we have seen a lot of kids come through our church. These kids consist of traditional family homes, divorced, single-parent, grandparent, aunts/uncles, group homes, etc. We have come to the conclusion that if mom and dad profess to be Christians yet do not live it out in their lives the kids have a very slim chance of living it out themselves. They have been taught it really doesn't matter so it really doesn't matter to the kids. The exception has been when a kid from a non-believing home chooses to follow Christ. That situation is difficult for that child, but they are not getting conflicting messages at home - "do what I say, not what I do". I thought I give you some of the thoughts that parents have shared with us through the years.

"Make church fun so my kid wants to be here"
"Can you make church not so 'church-y'"
"Kids can't absorb Bible study after being in school all day, so just have fun"
"My kids need something 'deeper' than what you offer"

I love the "deeper" comment. More often than not that kid is on his way out the door and usually not to another church. The pattern usually goes like this: Discontent with our youth group, shops around for another for awhile, quits going to church all together.

Question: If your kid didn't like school would you give them the option of not going? If they wanted to join the basketball team but didn't want to run at practice would that be OK? If your kid wanted to drive but didn't want to follow traffic rules would the police let that go? There are some things in our culture that are non-negotiable like school and following the laws yet when it comes to Christianity we don't want to take the whole truth. I am not talking about church attendance, I am talking about living out our commitment to Christ. We as parents set the standard. I am reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan along side of The Pursuit of God by AW Tozer. This is not a new problem - Tozer's book was written in 1948. Both books state the same issue of not really being a committed follower of Christ.

It starts with us.

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a little pass along

I just wanted to pass along a new to me online magazine. It is called Exemplify:Women living lives that glorify. There is a little feature I am going to try: You can print out a copy of the magazine which is good because looking at it online doesn't do the same thing for me as thumbing through a magazine on the couch with a cup of coffee. I hope you enjoy!