Listening to Wilson

Even though the alarm goes off at the same time everyday, some mornings are just more rushed than others. Thursday dawned one of those. Because of early morning appointments where I needed to look presentable, I wasn't able to sit down and leisurely sip my coffee and read my Bible. Instead, I ferried my computer and my coffee down the hall to my bathroom.

Most of you can understand the coffee making that trip with me, but the computer?

It was one of those times for Wilson (what I have affectionately named my MacBook Pro) to do one of the best things he can do.

He read God's Word to me. 

I have a long time habit of starting my day reading the Bible. Not doing so throws me off. Sitting down - slowing down - to pray, read, think in the mornings is something I look forward to and need desperately. So when I don't plan well, or unexpected things happen, and I don't have that time that I normally do, I do what I can do, and what Wilson can do for me.

This morning, I didn't have any particular scripture in mind, but I knew I wanted to start out hearing words that praise God for how great He is. The "high number" Psalms are known for doing just that, so I very randomly picked Psalm 136, clicked the "listen" icon, and heard the following life giving words.

Psalm 136

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.

4 to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.
5 who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.
6 who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.
7 who made the great lights—
His love endures forever.
8 the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.
9 the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.

10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
His love endures forever.
11 and brought Israel out from among them
His love endures forever.
12 with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
His love endures forever.

13 to him who divided the Red Sea[a] asunder
His love endures forever.
14 and brought Israel through the midst of it,
His love endures forever.
15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
His love endures forever.

16 to him who led his people through the wilderness;
His love endures forever.

17 to him who struck down great kings,
His love endures forever.
18 and killed mighty kings—
His love endures forever.
19 Sihon king of the Amorites
His love endures forever.
20 and Og king of Bashan—
His love endures forever.
21 and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love endures forever.
22 an inheritance to his servant Israel.
His love endures forever.

23 He remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever.
24 and freed us from our enemies.
His love endures forever.
25 He gives food to every creature.
His love endures forever.

26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever.

Those first 9 verses are pretty amazingly perfect for this time of year, aren't they? 

Another thing you may have noticed is a few words repeat - not just few times - but a lot of times. In the spirit of full disclosure, I have to confess that after I read the repeating words 3 or 4 times, I was like, "Ok, enough already." Then my next thought was, "Really, Shelley? You gonna correct God on his inspired words?"

Then I remembered a quote my kids have heard me say over and over: "Repetition is the key to learning." 

I think God wants us to know - remember - learn - never, ever forget - that "His love endures forever."

We definitely have a consistent thread running through this Psalm with those words, but we do, at verse 10, see the Psalm take a bit of a turn from praising God as creator, to praising God for what He has done in Israel's history. Noticing that, I thought about how His love has endured throughout my history. And I might have started mentally reciting some of my history, followed by "His love endures forever."  

To him who gave me a firstborn 

His love endures forever.

and gave me 5 more to love

His love endures forever.

To him who led Lou and me to Bolivar

His love endures forever.

Who continues to guide and help us everyday

His love endures forever.

You were with us when Lou flew over the bike handles.

His love endures forever

You'll be with us to the end

His love endures forever.

I know there will be times when I'll be in the thick of living this busy, messy, happy, hard life we all lead, and I'll tend to forget just how sure God's love is and how long it will last. When that happens, I want to turn, this time not so randomly, to this Psalm. 

Psalm 136.

It will remind me of how great God is and that His love endures forever.

A Little Lesson from Lou

I've been spending a little extra time with my man the past couple of days. We are at KAA for his week of volunteering as camp doctor. Thankfully, it's been less eventful than last year.

But what is the same as last year, and what occurs many days of my married life is this: Lou B. Harris has taught me something.

I've learned a lot from him over the years. I won't list for you the "a lot" because, well, because I'd like you to come back and visit my blog sometime. But I do remember one of the first things he tried to teach me about.  How to cook hash browns. I'd like to say that moment in time was a rip roaring success, but the attempt at conveying culinary information from him to me in our garage apartment at 2101½ S. Madison, Tulsa, OK, that day culminated in another first for us - our first fight as a married couple.

Of course, we laugh about it now. I'm smiling as I type. Hash browns. Really? So silly. So young. So real. And so not about hash browns at the core.

After almost 26 years of marriage, we've become better at conveying and hearing what at least one of us feels needs to be said to the other. I won't say mastered, because we haven't mastered that skill. At least I haven't mastered that skill.  Sometimes, even when we are both trying to maturely discuss an issue, words twist, feelings get hurt and I end up wanting to knock him into next week.

Also after 26 years of marriage, we've learned to let some things go. We've learned what's worth discussing and what's not. Lou used to try to encourage me to exercise when we first got married.

"You should go for a run now. The weather's perfect."

"It's amazing outside today! You gonna exercise??"

Even though I've been fairly athletic my whole life, I was not a regular exerciser at the time he made those sweet little suggestions. We discussed I told him that I really need to come to the whole exercise conviction on my own. While he thought he was looking out for my health, I took his nudging as, "Get off your duff, you slug." Once he realized that's what his words said to me, he honored my request, stopped the nudging, and modeled good exercising behavior.  I was eventually won over to his way of good thinking and started exercising regularly.

Another area that he's been wise to not nudge is in the neatness/orderly category. I might as well just confess it now. He's neater than me. I'm not a complete slob, mind you. It just comes more naturally to him than it does to me, darn it.

Which brings me to the Lou de jour lesson. When I returned to our room here at KAA today after exercising (had to throw that in there), I threw off my shoes and jumped in the shower. When I was ready to put my shoes back on, I looked on the floor and saw something I hadn't noticed until just then:

Those shoes (and socks) in the floor that everybody has to walk around and trip over? They are mine.

Those shoes that are easily found and neatly put where nobody has to walk around them or trip over them? Those are Lou's.

Lou, wisely, I might add, has not and does not say anything to me about any of my untidy little habits. He typically just does his orderly thing. If there's one thing I've learned after living with him for these 26 years, it's he has a reason for everything he does. He's the son of an engineer and it shows. It's one of the things that used to drive me crazy, but now one of the things I like most about him. He's purposeful.

Even down to how to store his shoes in our very beautiful, comfortable, but closetless room here at KAA.

So, there it is. A little wordless lesson from Lou that he was completely clueless about until now.

Wordless are pretty much the best kind of lessons, aren't they?

2,013 in 2013

I promise, I have not reached "Hoarder" status.

No where close.

But I have lived in the same house for 16 years with 7 other people. And we've gradually accumulated "stuff." You know what stuff is - those things that you, at one time, did need or want. You used it, but then it fell by the wayside. Our house is big enough that it can handle a decent amount of stuff.

But now, my stuff - my clutter - is really starting to weigh me down! I find I live more in what the Flylady calls CHAOS (Can't Have Anybody Over Syndrome), because I need to store, rearrange, clean around, and neaten up our clutter. I wish I was one of those people who is naturally very organized and purges on a regular basis, but I'm not. I have to work at it.

I need a plan and accountability.

Sometime in the last month I read a blog (can't find it now!) that suggested a fun little plan that struck a chord in me.

In 2013, get rid of 2,013 things.

Desperate times call for desperate measures!

That is a lot of things. Do I have that many things to get rid of? I guess I'll find out. I know we are already almost 3 weeks into January, but I'm gonna try and do this thing! When you do the math, it comes down to 40 things/week leaving my house.

Simplify!!!

My plan right now is to count everything that is getting the ax with the exception of daily mail and papers. I am literally writing down everything. Gulp.

I mentioned above that I need a plan and accountability. This blog will be my accountability. Not only do I hope to report on my progress every once in awhile, but at the top of the blog, directly under the title, is my "Pages" bar. Click on "Clutter Count: 2,013 in 2013, to see how things are going. I'm hoping this helps motivate and celebrate!

I also mentioned above that one of the reasons I want to do this is so I no longer live in CHAOS. For sure, that is one. But some of the others are as follows:

1. Spend more time with God.
2. Spend more time with Lou.
3. Spend more time with my kids.
4. Spend more time writing/creating.

As you can see from this list, I want to have more time to be in relationship with people and less stress over taking care of clutter.

I'm not gonna lie - I'm a bit nervous about this. Naming a goal and numbering a goal and writing about a goal makes it very real. It's much easier to talk about what you are "gonna do" someday...

Nevertheless, here I go. The journey of de-cluttering of 2,013 things begins with the first 40!

And for this week, January 13-19, 2013,  I have met my goal. The first 40 things have left my house!

Woohoo!

I feel better already!

15 Minutes

True confession time.

I can be busy all day long and not get much done.

How frustrating is that? I'll tell you - very, exceedingly, intensely, decidedly.

The above happens when I spend the day reacting to the many "fires" burning in my home. I respond to them, but usually, they don't get resolved. And I really have no plan to put them out. I just walk from room to room  - reacting. I used to think this happened because I just didn't have enough time to get everything done.

But I'm becoming more and more convinced that the reason I don't put some of the fires out is because I lack focus. I don't want to concentrate on a particular fire - usually for one of the following reasons.

     1. I'd rather be doing something else

     2. I can't do it perfectly right now, so I'm going to wait until later when I have the time to do it

         "perfectly."

     3. It will take too much time.
     4. It will take too much energy.
     5. I might do it "wrong."
     6. I have a lazy bone.

Wow. That was cathartic.

So, what do I do when I find I'm having those kind of days more often than not?

I remember The Flylady.

A few years ago, I was introduced to The Flylady. It was there I learned a little habit that helps me focus. Why I don't do this on a daily basis, I don't know. Every time I employ this little trick, I always sit back and admire what I've done.

The trick?

SET A TIMER FOR 15 MINUTES and work at a particular task like your life depended on it.

Talk about focus. Whenever I do this, I have tunnel vision. I work like I'm about to have a visit from the President of the United States - complete with camera crew - and I need to be ready!

That kind of little game/competition works well for my little competitive spirit.

And when that timer goes off, I stop. It feels good to have gotten something done. It also feels good to know you have permission to stop. You had a goal (work like a crazy person for 15 minutes), and you completed that goal.

I promise that if you do this little exercise, you'll be amazed at what you've accomplished in such a short time.

I'd also encourage you to check out The Flylady's website. There's all kinds of helpful habits there. I haven't been there myself in a couple of years. Revisiting it in preparation for this post inspired me all over again to not live in CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome). I know I'll be heading back over there!

And a kind of interesting last note:

I started this post on Tuesday. I didn't finish writing it that day (yesterday) and on Wednesday, my hubby and I spent the day in Springfield. We stopped by Barnes and Noble and as I was glancing over the books on the  "New Releases" table, this caught my eye:

I haven't read this book, so I can't wholeheartedly recommend it, but I thought it was so funny I'd see this with my unfinished "15 minutes" post simmering in my brain.

So, I guess I'm not the only person who struggles a bit with this. I'd love to hear some ideas any of you have that help you focus and get things done.

I want to be busy, but not frustrated, and I want to get the right things done!

InstaFriday - Timing is Everything

The word that comes to mind when I think about this past week is "time." We had a little extra...Yay, teacher work day! Yay, Snow day! And, I brought something back into my life that I never should have let leave...the time-r! Good grief! What I got done when I set that baby for 15, 20, even 30 minutes to accomplish a specific task! I focused! I raced that crazy clock...and anybody who knows me knows how a little competition spurs me on to love and good deeds. I've got a picture to illustrate that principle below.

But before I get to my 30 minute room rescue picture, we had a little fun.

Girls & I saw "The Vow" on our day out of school

Saw this lovely front door while running errands...I like!

Lou and co serving up his Chili Blanco at the Cook-off on Saturday

Reading this powerful book right now...very convicting

That line that looks like mountains? Clouds bringing us snow

The growing cloud bank. People were putting pics of this all over fb

Faith enjoying the fire that we had to have on our snow day!

I'm surprised you all didn't hear me squeal when I opened the package the book shown below came in. My dear friend, Sue Roweton, gave me a gift certificate for my birthday to get all my tweets printed.

I'm published! - Not really, but kinda. Ok, just humor me.

Why do I keep showing pictures of how messy parts of my house are? I did it here, and now I'm doing it again. The redeeming thing about the picture below is it shows the power of the timer. I was trying to get a lot of different tasks accomplished on our snow day, and couldn't block out a whole day for any one of them. So, I decided to do something towards all of them, just for set blocks of time. I set my timer, worked like a crazy person, and then stopped when it went off. This area in the basement was allotted 30 minutes. I did enlist the help of 2 of my girls for that 30 minutes too. They weren't thrilled about that, but on the other hand, it was only 30 minutes. And they knew they were done when they heard the ding. They sat on the floor and put the papers I handed them in the appropriate tub. Did I kind of cheat? Was that like one person working for an hour and a half? A desperate procrastinator who lets areas get this bad has gotta do what she's gotta do.

Before and embarrassing

After and better, but still not done

Speaking of procrastinating, that is exactly what David is NOT doing here. He spent one morning this week filling out scholarship applications that are not due until March. Impressive.

Meals, homework, scholarship applications...life - it all happen at the kitchen table 

Imagine our surprise when we opened up our local paper to see that Harrises were on the front pages of both sections of the paper. That was kind of fun. And probably won't ever happen again...

Bolivar Herald Free Press 2-15-12

And last, but not least, Lou and I took advantage of a basketball game in Reeds Spring to grab some amazing pizza. Seriously, if you are ever in the vicinity of Branson, Missouri, you have to visit the Reeds Spring Pizza Co. Yum. Yum. And double yum. It's got just the atmosphere you'd expect in that neck of the woods, but the pizza is anything but old timey. Lou and I had the Green Acre, which is made with pesto, mozzarella, tomatoes, chicken, feta, their specialty herbs, and topped with fresh basil.

This might possibly be the first pioneer photo bomb! 

I'm especially thankful this week for the reminder about time and its preciousness. We all know it's fleeting and to be redeemed, we just forget sometimes. It's time to remember.

 So teach us to number our days

that we may get a heart of wisdom.

(Psalm 90:12 ESV)

My Word of the Year

We are all only 16 days into 2012. Does the year still feel new to you? It was losing that fresh, new feeling to me until I saw a challenge on a beautiful, inspiring blog I follow. Over at The Lettered Cottage, readers were encouraged to pick a word of the year - something that inspires you to be, well, inspired and inspiring!

Isn't that how all good things are? Good for you and good for others. My dad used to say that you knew a deal was good if it passed that criterion. Good for you. Good for them.

Hopefully, my word will fit that bill. I wish it were a more flowery word, with a bunch of syllables, but it’s not. But it packs a punch for me. And since I decided on it, it has already helped. My word for 2012 is 

As in, do it now. Whatever it is.

Speak the encouraging word now, when you think of it. Or call, text.

Go through the mail now. Don’t let it pile up.

Make the decision now. Procrastination limits your options. Is it really going to be easier to think about and make the decision later? Are you going to have any more time later?

Put the item in its place now, instead of on the dining room table.

Return the phone call now.

Make the menu for the week now instead of “winging it.”  

Eat healthier now.

Spend time with your kids now.

Finish ____ now.

You get the picture. I have major tendencies to procrastinate. Procrastination births regret. And I’m tired of nursing that baby. So I'm stopping that bad habit now.

Now also carries the sense of being fully engaged in the present. Bloom where you are planted. Glorify God where you are.  Most of you have probably heard the quote: "Today is a gift. That's why it's call the present." That's cause for fully engaging and for saying "thank you." Now.

So now, I'm out there with this word, this goal for 2012. It feels good. And I think know my dad would like it. It's good.

Beautiful/Workable Spaces

As promised in my last post, some inspiration! I asked three sweet friends if I could have some photos of their craft rooms to share on my blog. They graciously, but a bit shyly, agreed. I enjoy looking at pictures of how people organize and arrange what they have - how they make what God has blessed them with beautiful and workable. These women inspire me in that way, but that's only scratching the surface of who they are. I admire all these women and am thankful that God brought us all to a town in Missouri to do life together. Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." They have sharpened me. They have helped me love God more.

Suzie Evans was the most ambushed of the three in regards to photographing her space. I happened to be at her home for another reason entirely when I remembered that I wanted to ask her about her craft room.  I always have my camera, so "do you mind...?" was out of my mouth before she knew what hit her. She felt like it was a mess, (it wasn't), but let me snap a couple. Her room, her house, make you feel like you're at a retreat in the mountains. She says her blood pressure drops and she relaxes the minute she walks into her craft room. Mine did too.

Next on the hit list was Sue Roweton. There's a reason her nickname in college was "Super Sue." Sue is one of the most organized, efficient women I know (and well read, well written, well spoken...).  She could give Frank Gilbreth, the dad and efficiency expert of  Cheaper by the Dozen fame, a few pointers.  Mary Grace has enjoyed crafting in Sue's open, always welcome, space.

And last, but not least, is Cheri Jones. Cheri made a statement one time, that gave me a lot of freedom. I'll be surprised if she even remembers it. When she and Jim were building their house, she talked about how the decor in their new house was going to be completely different from the house they were in. She was tired of it.  Ridiculously, I wondered, "Can you do that? Can you just admit that you were tired of what you had picked and go to something polar opposite?" Before I heard Cheri say this, if I admitted I didn't like something I had chosen anymore, it felt like I didn't have good taste in the first place. But since Cheri's statement, I know it didn't! It just meant I was tired of it. Cheri, a decorating expert, said so. Freedom! Thanks, Cheri.
I don't know if Cheri thinks her room has a Mary Engelbreit feel or not http://www.maryengelbreit.com/, but it reminds me of her style. Maybe it's the black and white polkadots scattered here and there:)

The definition of inspire is "fill (someone) with the urge or ability to do or feel something, esp. to do something creative." The something creative will look different in each of our lives. And if you have little ones running around, you are probably happy just to do something, let alone what is typically thought of as something creative. But here's the deal. We all have our days filled with a lot of somethings - and a lot of it we don't have a whole lot of say about. But our creator God can help us take our every day somethings and create a beauty around them and in them. 

Thanks again to my three friends, who, because of the beauty in them, created some beauty around them. That's inspiring.