Hidden Blessings

This week's Five Minute Friday topic: Perspective

Some days I could let the clutter and chaos consume me but I have to choose my perspective wisely and find the blessings in it all.

• That overflowing laundry basket means we have clothes to wear.
• The pile of shoes by the back door means we have protection for our feet.
• The dirty dishes multiplying in the sink means we have food to eat and our bellies are full.
• The fur that gathers on the rug before the vacuum cleaner is put away means we have furry family members to love and who love us more.
• The stack of bills to pay means we have electricity, heat, a roof over our head, a car to transport us...
• The girl who grows all too quickly before my eyes means I have a daughter to call my own, to love, to inspire...
• The diapers and bottles and tiny hands reaching long after we passed that stage means that a fellow mama trusts me enough to let me guide, love and teach her baby girl while she is off helping to support their family.
• The full boxes on the calendar mean I am living life and have friends and family to live it with. 

On the days that it all just seems too much...I need to step back and remember that really, I've just been BLESSED with more than enough.


Linking up with The Gypsy Mama for this week's

Mothers Day Recap (with a little news rolled in)

Things have been routinely chaotic and I haven't been very inspired but I thought I'd pop in briefly to recap my Mother's Day. I can't believe that I have celebrated 11 of them with my very own precious child.

The day started out with delicious waffles homemade by Ben & Emily and decorated with a strawberries & whipped cream heart and french vanilla coffee...

(Yes...the life of a mother. That WOULD be a rubber snake in the corner of the picture! And I'm not even the mother of a boy! HA!)

Pretty pink tulips in a mason jar vase hand painted by my little princess...(they look purple here, but they're pink!)

After breakfast, I snuck in a little time working on my brother-in-law, John and his wife, Tamara's webpage (they are missionaries heading to Ghana and I agreed this past Friday to be their volunteer PR/Marketing Manager which includes re-design of the website, creation of a blog and much more) while I had a captive audience to provide opinions.

After some great input (and a little praise-always nice) and a few minor changes I signed off the laptop for the day and we all got around to head to my in-laws.

We enjoyed a cookout of grilled steaks with potatoes and tossed salad for sides and we had cake that Emily had picked out for dessert. Hours of visiting later, we ordered pizza and wings. It was a full day of visiting and fun...most likely one of the last times we'll have that with John & Tammy as they are heading to Ghana on July 6th and will be gone for four years.

After years of preparation, it's a little hard to comprehend that they are actually boarding a plane and moving to West Africa in just weeks!

Aside from the memories of Mothers' Day picnic and pizza, Tammy gave me a gorgeous gift that I will truly treasure...it's a tote that a friend of hers crafted for her using fabric she had gotten on a previous trip to Africa. It will serve as a great reminder of  the work she and John are doing on behalf of the people in Ghana and be a little piece of my partner in family crime and other half of "those Erway girls" here at home while she's away!

Of course, I also had some visiting with my mother at either end of the day. I couldn't forget her. Since I see her every day, I gave her something to enjoy: a day of quiet! :)

Hope you all had a blessed Mother's Day as well, whether you were celebrating, being celebrated or both!

Bloom Where You are Planted

You've probably all heard the phrase, "Bloom Where You are Planted".

While I'd like to think that's how I live out my life, I often don't. I wonder, "why am I here"..."why this?"..."this is not what I had hoped for". For each time I remind myself that I should let my life blossom and be a sweet fragrance to others around me and to make the most of the here and now, I forget twice as much.

It's often hard to see the beauty amidst the storms and to start feeling sorry for yourself. Especially when your circumstances threaten to cut you down. But beauty can rise.

Nearly 14 years ago, my husband and I purchased our home: a TRUE fixer-upper. Although it needed work (and still does!), it was ours! We quickly went to work making improvements inside and out. Included in the projects we tackled that summer was some serious yard work. Back in it's glory, our house had been surrounded by gorgeous blooms and beautifully tended flower gardens. The flower gardener had long since gone and years of neglect and lack of knowledge had destroyed what once was.

Being young and somewhat ignorant about flowers and landscaping, we noticed a patch of weeds in what we could only imagine to have been a lush flower bed outside our kitchen window. We quickly went to work chopping down those "weeds". The next spring, those weeds made a return appearance, and once again, my hardworking husband went to work cutting them down.

It wasn't until the following spring that something happened. Again those pesky weeds started to sprout. But, in the chaos of life, busy schedules, and perhaps inclement weather, we weren't so prompt in clearing them away. It was then, that we saw the true beauty.

Though we had cursed them and cut them down repeatedly they rose up again and again and eventually...blossomed. In fact, what we had thought were nuisance weeds turned out to be one of the loveliest flowers we have here: a bed of Oriental Poppies. We just needed to allow them to grow.

Just this weekend the first bloom of the season opened.

As I looked out this morning, the beauty had multiplied and several more had come to life overnight.

What a great reminder that even when things are looking dark and worthless, circumstances are threatening to steal joy and feelings of loneliness creep in: beauty can rise if we let it and other "flowers" may even sprout by your side and join your garden of life. Sometimes we just need  to sit back, weather the storms and live in the present while allowing the beautiful buds time to grow.

REAL

I decided to link up for 5 Minute Friday with Lisa Jo over at The Gypsy Mama. Each Friday she encourages her readers to take a mere 5 minutes and JUST WRITE. She provides the topic each week and the only "rules" are:
1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking
(This is a tough one for me, "Ms. Red Pen"

2. Link back here and invite others to join in.

3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments.
  (Love this part! We can all use a little encouragement and love in the comment section!)

This week the prompt was to write about "Real"...so here goes...

Real has some of the following meanings:
True, actual, existing or occurring from fact, genuine, authentic...

As I think about those defining words, I can't help but wonder how often I fail to be real. How often am I real with others? How about with myself? I hate to admit that all too, just as I attempt to rid myself of those dark circles under my eyes, so do I apply "concealer" to other aspects of my life.

A simple, "I'm fine," when in reality my heart is broken, my world seems to be spinning out of control, or I just don't feel quite 100%. Would they really care if I told them like it was? Worse yet...what if they think less of me because of my struggles.

It's so much easier to be that pretty little package wrapped tightly with a fancy bow than the overflowing wastebasket...the sunshine and blue skies rather than a thunderstorm.

But what if I chose to see the REALity: we all struggle. What if by being "real" I might not only feel better myself but be an encouragement to another?

Am I a Real Life Madame Blueberry?

Several years back, while serving as "Mentor Mom" to my former MOPS group, I stepped out of my comfort zone and agreed to share a piece of my own story as the featured speaker. My talk dealt with my depression, trying to fill the voids in my life with things and the cluttered, empty life that resulted.

Sadly, I wasn't the best at backing up my data in case of computer meltdown. After repairs and prayers and more than the nine lives that a cat has, my dear old laptop finally died a year or so ago. It took with it what I had written for that presentation. I've been thinking about the theme of what I spoke on and am not so happy to report that some of the same issues have come creeping back. While in some ways I wish I could get those words back on the page (computer screen), maybe the loss of that document is an opportunity to really consider where I am at now rather than where I was then. Perhaps malfunctioning technology's theft of my written words was the reminder I needed that although some things have stayed the same, my story is ever changing and evolving (and to back up my computer files regularly!) Rather than dwell on the past and what was, I need to center my thoughts on what IS and set my sights on all that CAN BE.

Lately it seems that I am, to some extent, searching and roaming without a set direction or destination. My house and my schedule are filled to the brim with things of little long-term significance. I'm feeling an urge to take a step back and regroup, evaluate and refocus on things that truly belong and matter in my life and in my home.

I wrote back then of feeling a bit like Madame Blueberry from the VeggieTales (any of you with children probably get this reference). At times I just keep going to the "StuffMart" thinking that possessions will make me happy and that having that latest and greatest item or that one thing that "she has" will be the thing that will make my life complete. For those of you familiar with Madame Blueberry, eventually her house got so full of stuff that it tipped over. My house isn't literally tipping over like hers, but things are out of balance and rather than feeling contentment with all my possessions, the possessions are starting to possess me. I have an empty wallet, a full house and still haven't found the one thing I've been searching for and craving: JOY!


What I thought would bring happiness has brought a cluttered house with too much and has left me feeling boxed in, overwhelmed and downright miserable. So...I have decided to put an end to the madness! I've got a plan. Stay tuned...