Coming out of the closet

Hi. My name is Jennifer and I am organizationally challenged. Further, I am the reigning queen of procrastination (watch the crown, eh) and I am highly distractable (who else can play hours of solitaire when you're supposed to be doing laundry or writing or sleeping even...)

Several years ago I realized I needed help. You could hardly walk in my house and to be honest, I had no idea how in the world to keep a house clean and organized. Nor did I have a clue how to cook meals and keep up with the demands of having a husband and kids.

I complained constantly that no one ever helped and the reason my house was such a mess was because no one cared. I pouted and whined until I made everyone - myself included - miserable.

But I found help.

A wonderful lady in North Carolina had started a website and yahoo list called FlyLady. You can visit her website at FlyLady.com.

I have flutter and stumbled and twittered my way along over the years. But only rarely have I have spoken of my deficiency and nor the antidote I found.

FlyLady doesn't tolerate my whining or stinkin' thinkin' as she calls it. She teaches that the most effective way of showing our families how to manage a household is to be an example. She encourages babysteps and not one day life makeovers. Real change takes time and babysteps. Babysteps are principle that can apply in almost every area of life.

I love the system. Even though my inner brat sometimes rebels and things get a little ragged around the edges, for the most part, my house is never more than fifteen minutes worth of messy. My meals are planned, bills paid on time, and usually I can tell you the last time I vacuumed. My dishes are always done and put away and my kitchen sink sparkles almost all the time.

I've discovered through using her system that without an external routine placed on me, I am terrible at establishing my own schedule. I just can't do it. I find myself aimlessly wandering the internet or watching tv or vainly scrubbing a tiny spot of my house while the rest of it falls down in shambles around me.

Slowly I am getting better. I still have yet to master aspects of her system but it's worth the effort. Besides housework done incorrectly still blesses my family (another FlyLady-ism).

And to keep me from getting distracted FlyLady uses a timer. I could write a book on the virtues of timers - especially for distractable kids! God bless timers! For one thing, without them I could never do a load of laundry.

FlyLady also has a wonderful member of her team named Leanne who talks nutrition and food. Leanne's website (savingdinner.com) offers a menu mailer. Each week a new menu is emailed to me with a six complete meals and a shopping list to go with it. I love it. It has forever changed the way I cook and plan meals. No more macaroni and cheese, unless it's a special treat. (how cool is it that my kids think KD is a special occasion? It costs like what? $.50 a box?)

Leanne has menu mailers for all kinds of special diets - including heart healthy or low carb or her latest body clutter (for those who are looking to lose weight). The cost is minimal when compared with how much of my sanity is saved every week. And I never face that dreaded question: What's for supper? without knowing the answer ahead of time. It's like a pop quiz and I've got a cheat sheet in front of me!

Now I look forward to planning meals and cooking each night. I see it as a way to protect my family and bless them.

The best part of FlyLady is the insistence that members love and respect themselves. Fly = Finally Loving Yourself. The best reason to have a clean, tidy home isn't so your neighbours will like you, it's because we deserve it. We deserve to have a house that sparkles because it's our own private retreat - our family's oasis from the world.

I know for some organizing and managing a household can be done with their eyes closed. But not me. I need the encouragement of FlyLady's sage wisdom. And I thank God for her every day.

I just wanted to say how thankful I am that God brought me to FlyLady's website.

Check out FlyLady's and Leanne's websites. You might find something that helps you truly FLY.

Thoughts

I recently came across a statement that made me stop in my tracks. Here it is for all to ponder...

Jesus said to pray for your enemies. He never said you wouldn't have any.

The Afghan mission

Graeme Smith is a reporter with the Globe and Mail. He recently returned from Afghanistan and filed this audio diary. The pictures and his message will make you proud of our soldiers and proud to be Canadian.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/special/audio/smith4.html

God bless our forces wherever they are serving. They are a credit to our nation and they deserve our undying respect, gratitude and praise.

God bless their mission.
Grant them eyes to see the enemy.
Give them wisdom to discern traps and dangers.
Guide them to those who need help and not shy from the danger.
Bless the troops as they bring healing and protection to those who are vulnerable.
Grant them compassion to show mercy when the opportunity arises.
Let them know how much we all appreciate their courage and devotion to duty.
And above all, God, speed them back home to us safe and sound.

I'll say the same prayer for all those who serve in God's army.

Being enough

I fell into the pit of despair last week.

It's hard not to. For one thing, the weather around here has me seriously contemplating my boat-building skills.

If I wanted to experience rain like Vancouver, well, I'd live in Vancouver.

My kids are so disappointed each morning when they wake up and it's raining again. And no matter how times I tell them it's not my department, they continue to file their weather complaints with me.

Add in normal stress and strain of life and it's easy to see why I found myself at the bottom of despair. Sadly, I didn't have the energy to drag my sorry butt out of it, so I chose to remain there for a while.

Slowly, I feel like I am returning to myself. My optimism even made a cameo appearance this morning.

When you look around our society, it's so easy to feel bad about ourselves. Through music, ads, television, movies, news... our society constantly reminds us that we aren't good enough. We aren't young enough, smart enough, funny enough, savvy enough, pretty enough or thin enough.

Further, we don't have enough of this or enough of that. Our house isn't big enough, or our car isn't cool enough. And on and on...

It's hard to just be thankful and content. We have to tune out so much (not to mention act against the inner man Paul talks about in Romans) in order to find joy and contentment in our present circumstances. Most days it's a struggle.

But isn't it encouraging to know that God thinks we're enough. He loved us enough. In fact, He loved us enough to send His only Son to die a tormented death that we could truly live.

That's enough to give me goosebumps. That the God of the universe, who spoke everything into existence takes a remote interest in me, blows me completely away.

Focusing on that may be the key to finding a small slice of contentment this side of heaven.

Writing Slump

As always happens during the summer months I've hit a writing slump. OI! I hate it. I'd rather be snowed under with barely time to breathe than have nothing to work on.

So I created a new contest for myself.

I've been doing a lot of reading on anxiety disorders (something I've struggled with since childhood). One of the books talks about Embracing the Fear (actually that's the title!) and encourages anxious people to seek out situations that make them nervous - to embrace their fears.

The idea is that anxious people somewhere became uncomfortable with feeling uncomfortable. Being nervous or scared in a situation meant they had to run away and escape. (That pretty much describes me!). To fight this dreaded cycle, the book suggests seeking out feared situations in order to gain more comfort with the unwanted feelings.

So... as I have this major fear of rejection (and it's an occupational hazard when you're a writer), I decided to have fun with this for the summer.

My new goal: over the summer I plan to rack up as many rejection slips as possible. I'll even print them up and post them somewhere. So far I'm up to one. I'll let you know how it's going...

With the first rejection under my belt, I admit, it wasn't nearly as scary now that it's my goal to fail. Kind of takes the sting right out of it!

Should be fun!

Terror arrests in Toronto

I always knew this day would come. Thank God it came BEFORE any innocent lives were lost.

CTV story... click here

CNN story... click here
Under banner reading: Canadian police say they have foiled a major "al Qaeda-inspired" bomb plot against targets in and around Toronto.

Twelve male adults and five youths have been arrested. Along with chemicals for explosive production and other weopons they found 3 tons of ammonia nitrate (a common fertilizer). For comparison the Oklahoma City bombing used 1 ton of the same chemical. This group was preparing to attack targets in Toronto.

God bless our police services all across Canada for being so vigilant.

I'll be be on my knees thanking God an awful lot today...

Update: I'm listening live to a news conference on CKOM.com.

Lessons in the dirt

I've spent the last two evenings in my back yard pulilng weeds and cleaning up.

Here are a few things I've learned:

1. Neglect breeds bad weeds and means more work.
Our yard was neglected last fall and this spring. As a result many of the weeds had formed a green jumbled mess. A few small weeds band together quickly to form a stubborn weedy-bush that can only be ripped out with lots of effort. A small amount of work daily, would have prevented this jungle-tangle disaster.

Spiritual principle: Don't neglect studying God's word. It helps in the picking of a few small weeds, as opposed to a complete back-breaking overhaul to remove a deep-rooted problem. Like everything, creating a simple daily habit keeps things looking fabulous without a lot of work.

2. Weeds spread.
Our neighbours moved out of the rental next door and the owner hasn't been able to find anyone to move in. As a result their once well-mannered yard, puts it's feet up on the table with it's work boots on, while it belches and makes other rude noises. The weeds on their side of the fence have contributed to the problem on our side. It took about 45 minutes just to yank out the large weeds on their side.

Spiritual principle: Our lives affect other lives. And other people's sins affect our lives. In fact, their sin can even breed sow sin in our own lives if we let it. Tending our own garden, by dealing with things before they become a big problem protects those around us.

3. It's hard, yucky messy work, but it's worth it.
I am lucky enough to have a wonderful climbing vine that loves the chain link fence in my back yard. The bad part is I rather it didn't grow where it's growing. But for the most part I let it grow and creep and climb in relative peace. Last fall I neglected to yank out all the little vines. It took at least an hour just to rip out all the dead, dried brittle vines from between the metal links of the fence.

Each snap of a branch catapulted a rain storm of little seeds all over me. It was like being sprinkled with thorns. My hair and clothes were coated and my bare arms quickly became itchy and uncomfortable

But the result? A yard that looks infinitely better than it did. Two flower beds are ready for planting and our downstairs tenant can now get to his parking space in the back without the use of a machete.

Spiritual principle: Working on our own sins and bad habits is hard, uncomfortable work. It isn't easy. In fact it's downright difficult. But the end result is so worth it. I reclaimed a yard I can use to relax and enjoy the great outdoors (and grow a few plants). The difficult work we do in our lives creates a life God can use.

4. Mosquitos eventually become bloodthirsty enough to bite despite the bad taste of incest repellant.
Disturbing the grass and other vegetation in my yard was like flicking a switch on a neon sign reading: all you can eat buffet. I had prepared for this by wearing pants and spraying myself with repellant. But the pesky critters eventually worked through my defenses and found a few tender spots - like my ankle (ouch!).

Spiritual principle: Getting rid of sins and bad habits can stir up resistance from those around us and even from the elements of darkness. Satan would love us to continue with our faith gardens a twisted mess of neglect. So don't be surprised when you hear a faint buzz...

5. Getting rid of weedy problems is much harder alone.
Dear hubby was working tonight so I did much of my work by myself. The work was extra exhausting. Although I love the time for introspection it is much more fun when he's helping. Last Saturday we worked together to pull weeds between the concrete blocks that form our patio. We laughed and helped each other. And whenever a large incest freaked me out, I could count on dear hubby to relocate it.

Spiritual principle: The body of Christ is a powerful team. Too bad we often turn on each other, rather than offering a helping hand. Perhaps we are too scared to get smudged and dirty. Perhaps the creepy crawlies in our own yard scare us too much to venture into another's yard and help. So sad, isn't it? When God's family doesn't operate like a family - but a club steeped in superficiality.

That's all the lessons for today. I've shower and lathered lotion on my poor irritated skin. Tomorrow I get to plant flowers and veggies. I'm so excited to have a real live garden this year. I'm praying God will continue to teach me lessons in the dirt.