Happy happy happy!

I have many things in my life that make me happy.  The days that I am tempted to feel sorry for myself are days when I forget about all the things I enjoy and all the ways God has blessed my life. So, for when I forget again, here are a list of things that make me happy/grateful/blessed:

1. I love and adore the God of the universe, the one who made heaven and earth for me.  The One who sent His Son to die in my place so that i could have eternal life and have right standing with Him when I deserved no such thing.  I love that because of the personal relationship that I have with my Savior, Jesus, I now have bold and confident access to the throne room of grace and as a daughter of the King, have every right to be in His presence.  He has redeemed me and changed me.  Because of this, worship and prayer are a couple of things I love to do!

2.  My husband.  When I became single again, I didn’t date. I think when you have kids, dating is something you really have to use some caution with.  I didn’t want to drag people through my kids’ life, they already had been through one divorce.  Before I met my husband, I made a list of all the things I really wanted.  For instance, I happen to really appreciate manly hands. It’s okay with me if they are rough.  Soft, girly hands on a guy are kind of weird.  It’s honestly one of the first things I noticed about any guy I met. So, that went on my list. Also, I wrote I wanted a man who could fix stuff, that was a hard worker, and that loved God.  I also wanted him to love my kids and maybe be open to having more (I already had 4!).  Probably 90% of the list are things that my husband “checked off”.  I really should have put “millionaire” on that list while I was at it :).

3.  My kids.  After I got remarried, we did end up with one more baby (for a grand total of 5).  I have got AWESOME kids.  They are a joy and a blessing. I have a 19 year old boy, 15 year old girl, 13 year old boy, 11 year old boy, and a 5 year old boy. 

4.  I love my parents. They have been very supportive and helped me get through some really hard times.

5.  Church.  I love my church. Sure, it’s not perfect, but they love Jesus. And people.

6.  I love making things!!!!!  I went to culinary school, I love food!  One of my favorite things to read are really, really old cookbooks.  I also love sewing, crochet, polymer clay, and crafts.  Really, I am up for almost anything crafty.

7.  Pinterest!!!!! 

There are a lot more things I know I love but these are just a few. It’s enough to give you some insight into what makes me tick.  I think it’s good to know what makes you happy. Its so easy to look at all the things that aren’t good, right, or happy in life and be overwhelmed by it all.  I know that I sometimes tend to forget all the blessings God has me.  That is when we need to take our eyes off of ourselves and start thinking on things that are positive.

Ideas to write about…..

Pardon me while I think out loud here….

Things to maybe write about:
-who God is (how I see Him)
-failure
-success
-teach a sewing project or recipe
-my kids/husband
-how I met my husband
-divorce
-what is the call of God on my life?
-a future dream
-a poem maybe?
-a short story?
-a Bible study: theme, exegetical, personal experience
-favorite holidays
-book review
-restaurant review
-website review
-farm life

Any other ideas??

Day 1

WordPress. WordPress…. the scary blue button with the white “W”. on my tablet’s app menu… that goes to an account I set up a solid 4 years ago. And only uploaded 2 posts to, which I deleted. Why do I keep this app? Why is my account still there? Why do I think I have anything to say that any other “mommy blogger ” hasn’t already? What would happen if I actually pressed the dreaded white “w” on the blue circle? Would it matter, make a difference, or would the world fall off of its axis and all humanity descend into mass weeping and gnashing of teeth? I have no idea. Not a clue.

It could be nothing would happen. Nothing at all…

No one will read a single word of anything I write. Or, they’ll read it and be shocked and horrified (but not surprised) to hear that I have a public high school education. Even some community college.

I suppose it’s possible someone might read it and identify with/resonate with/enjoy what I have to say.

It’s possible.

I just need to figure out what to write about. I need to see what’s lurking in my little brain, waiting to work it’s way onto paper. I’m sure there are some insightful, thought-provoking, inspirational, instructional, mind-blowing ideas in there. I don’t need an audience. I don’t need my ego petted. But it would be nice to think I could make a connection with someone.

I’ve always felt like I have something to say. Whether or not it’s worth hearing is yet to be decided. I know a LOT of stuff. I would say I’m a pretty smart, well-read person. I have a substantial vocabulary, and I can spell most of those words. I’ve lived a variety of life experiences, all of which I’ve walked through to varying degrees of success. I think the key is filtering all of those things into a cohesive thought that has a well-executed plan, start to finish. Even this, writing 500 words with no editing, is hard! I always seem to feel like things I make, write, or create aren’t good enough for other people to see. I am VERY judgmental when it comes to things I’ve created. All I can see are the flaws and mistakes. Someone once told me that the flaws are what make art interesting. I feel frustrated when all I can see are the flaws. I am so worried about it not being “good enough” that it prevents me from taking any action at all. It seems like the fear of failure is a more powerful motivator than the desire to create.

So how is that overcome?
How do I conquer the WordPress button?

I guess by just doing, regardless of result or level of “perfection”. Consistently pouring thoughts on paper even if I think them unworthy. Ideas need to be able to grow and develop, judgment free.

My 500 Words- a 31 day challenge

So…….

I’m gonna do it.

I’m gonna write.

Today is the first day of a 31 day writing challenge,
http://goinswriter.com/my500words/

Today I wrote my first 500 words.  Be warned- it’s not pretty.  There’s a lot of editing errors and grammatical stuff that I know need fixed. But that’s not the point of this exercise. The point is to gain traction and get the pen (or keyboard) moving. Pretty will come later… hopefully.