Have You Ever Felt Like a Failure? LINKUP #12

Have you ever felt like a failure?? Totally?? I have!!

There are times that I look back over my life and my mind starts to reminisce over events and people that bring sweet memories to my mind.

There are times that the memories aren't so sweet and I find myself

meditating on the situation and issues 

as my emotions begin to spiral like a crashing plane. 

Crash and burn!!

Last night I started to mess with the background of my blog

as I was soooo inspired by Naomi's challenge over at

"What Joy In Mine" to decorate for Fall.

Since I didn't have any pumpkins to spruce up our home,

I decided to spruce up my blog with warm Fall colors.

I was inspired.

I was challenged.

Challenged in more ways than ONE!!

I am technically challenged.

Last night was NO exception!!

If you have noticed, 

my beautiful background is GONE!!

If you were trying to read my blog yesterday,

You might have found the most interesting conglomeration

of templates and mess-ups as I frantically fiddled

to make order out of the chaos.

My thoughts started to spiral.

I thought about my failures as a mother.

I spun into a fatal tail spin.

Then I thought, "Yes!! I am a failure; 

Jesus please turn my failure into something beautiful to glorify Your Name. 

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, 

because his compassions fail not.

They are new every morning: 

great is thy faithfulness.

The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; 

therefore will I hope in him.

The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

It is good that a man should both 

hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.

~Isaiah 33:21-27~

I hope you have patience with me as I continue to work on my blog.

Thank you to all those sweet ladies who joined my community last week!!

FEATURED FAVES

There were 32 Links in last weeks Linky Party!!!!

This was HARD to make two selections!!

I encourage you to read these two posts and leave a comment

to lift both of these ladies's day!!

Lori over at Be Not Weary posted, Are You Roommates or Lovers

Naomi over at Titus 2 Homemaker and Mommy posted:

"Rejoicing in Motherhood"

I'd LOVE you to leave a comment!!

Since I live out 'in-the-sticks'... friends, like you are a long ways away!!

Sooo, I'd love you to follow me on: 

Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.

In Christ Alone,

~Judith~

WholeHearted Home Wednesday 

Linkup #12

Time has flown by and it's time to share again!!

I love reading the posts you link, so hurry, hurry, hurry and linkup.

Keep your posts family-friendly on topics such as:

Mothering

Marriage is for Keeps

Homemaking

Homeschooling

From Your Kitchen

Organizing your Home

Gardening

Mom's Sharing Jesus

And any way you have

WholeHeartedly served Christ in your Home

1. Post as many posts as you'd like.
2. Remember the purpose is for community; and women love conversation!! So, please visit at least one blogger who posted on my Linky Party :-)
3. Keep each post honoring to God.
4. Be sure to link back using a text link or use my button below.
5. You may use a 'word' link or my WholeHearted-Home Wednesday's button or link back to WholeHearted Home on your blog or post :-)
6. This Linky Party is open until Saturday, 10/13/12 at 11:59pm
7. Thank you from the bottom of my heart as each of your posts are always such an encouragement to me and other ladies. Happy linking!!

Thanks for dropping by!!

Grab My Button!!

Please make sure to Update my blog name to:

WholeHearted Home

I have repaired the button's link,

So you may want to replace your button because

I found it was still linking to my other blog!!

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Watch Your Step: Listen Intentionally!!

I came into marriage with expectations of what it would be as did my husband. I had learned that communication was important to marriage, yet, it is easier said than done for some couples!!

Somehow, you can talk and your spouse understands you to be saying something totally opposite. If I had never had any problem communicating, I probably wouldn't be writing this post. It is through my failures in this area and efforts to improve that I share with you.

Being able to talk a lot with my girlfriends is sure different that talking with my husband!! First of all, I can drive him crazy if I talk at a rapid rate with disconnected sentences. Isn't it funny how a couple of moms can follow each other's incomplete sentences as they banter back and forth with each other?!

God created our husbands totally different than women (praise God!!) and men are wired differently. It is so important to understand our men more fully so that we can learn how to listen and communicate with them without overstepping the bounds of respect and honor in our relationship. I can too easily chatter too much about 'things' and realize later as I reflect on the conversation how I unintentionally hampered my husband's leadership. How about you; have you ever realized you had done this?

Why is it so important to improve on communication in marriage? Divorce rates even among Christians is extremely high. It is reported that one of the main reasons is due to poor communication. If you have ever had an argument with your husband, you know how easily communication breaks down and then how difficult it is to correct the problem.

Communication involves:

• Talking on the part of the husband or wife.
• Listening on the part of the other.
• Honest, loving responses.

Since this is for you ladies and not your husbands, this week: practice the skill of listening when your husband talks. It is too easy to be selfish and do too much talking. As a woman, it is just simply too easy to talk too much. How on earth am I going to listen while talking?! This week, I am going to commit to doing much less talking and much more listening.

Good marital conversation involves the following aspects while the other listens sympathetically:

• Shared thoughts
• Feelings
• Experiences
• Values
• Priorities
• Judgments

I am going to listen this week, ask questions, and without judgment and comments that could be critical, shutting down my husband's communication instead of opening him up for the intimate conversation I so desperately desire. I just might find he listens more intently to me after he has learned he can more fully trust his heart to me. Will you join me in listening this week to my husband?? This just might work wonders with our children also. 

I am a failure in this but the most amazing thing is, God has given me a new chance today!! Watch your step today: Listen intentionally!!

I'd LOVE you to leave a comment!!

Since I live out 'in-the-sticks'... friends, like you are a long ways away!!

Sooo, I'd love you to follow me on: 

Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.

In Christ Alone,

~Judith~

Pressed

I found this poem in a little book called "The Disciplines of Life" by V. Raymond Edman.  This book has a copywrite of 1948; a date before my time and yours. 

There is so much written back fifty to more than a hundred years ago that goes unread in a day of 'connecting' and 'blogging.' I am going to make an effort to spend time this week reading the wisdom shared through a book written more than thirty years ago. I don't mean a novel but a book that will encourage my walk with the Lord.

Pressed out of measure and pressed to all length,

Pressed so intently, it seems beyond strength,

Pressed in the body, and pressed in the soul,

Pressed in the mind till the dark surges roll,

Pressure by foes, and pressure by friends,

Pressure on pressure till life nearly ends.

Pressed into knowing no helper but God,

Pressed into loving the staff and the rod,

Pressed into liberty where nothing clings,

Pressed into faith for impossible things,

Pressed into living a life in the Lord,

Pressed into living a Christ-life outpoured.

                                             ~Selected~

This poem ministered to my heart as I hope it does yours. 

Have you picked up an actual book this past week? If not, will you read something this week that will encourage you spiritually? 

I'd LOVE you to leave a comment!!

Since I live out 'in-the-sticks'... friends, like you are a long ways away!!

Sooo, I'd love you to follow me on: 

Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.

In Christ Alone,

~Judith~

Menu Making Made Simple: Baby Steps!!

Baby Steps, Baby steps, baby steps, baby steps, baby steps, is what FlyLady is always reminding her readers to do when it comes to any household adventure. My last post about the kitchen could certainly overwhelm any friend reading my blog. If THAT is YOU, I want you to do what my children sometimes tell me (not so often now, have I finally made progress??) Mom's RELAX!!

Keep Menu Making Simple!! Baby Steps, Remember?!

• Don't stress over a WHOLE month; WholeHeartedly do just ONE week!!
• Make the same thing EVERY SINGLE Saturday. We have made pizza for years on Saturday, making Saturdays a no-brainer.
• Then you only have 5 weekdays and Sundays.
• Look at your calendar each week and pay attention to nights where something is scheduled. Make an easy peasy quick meal. You might want to prepare it ahead or use the crock pot. 

Never Follow Me!!

• When my children were young and I was too (no comments please) I would make a shopping list...BUT...I would either forget it at home or leave it in the car!! No joke!! Don't laugh!! 
• Frequently I cook supper and forget to thaw what I planned to make or to look at my fridge in case the list was there!! No joke!! Don't laugh!!
• Recently, it was an easy peasy quickie night because we had brass band and prayer meeting at church. I thawed some sausage, cooked up onions and the sausage, then decided to boil some eggs for my husband's lunch (threw in a few extra eggs), then opened a can of corn (then realized it wasn't creamed corn), opened up the fridge only to find leftover Creamed Corn from the other day (perfect!!)....BUT I forgot to look at my menu I posted so faithfully about!! I had planned, Sausage Egg Casserole!! I suddenly realized I was cooking sausage, onions, and hard boiled eggs. All I would have to do is to assemble them and voila!! My man would be happy!! 

The best laid plans of Mice and Man!! 

Do you have blond moments like this?? 

Menu Planning and List Making is an excellent discipline and sure helps you to remember to buy milk at the store. Whatever you do, don't over-stress over the process and try to get everything done at once, and if you can only do part of it right now because of the stage you are in, that is just fine!!

I'd LOVE you to leave a comment!!

Since I live out 'in-the-sticks'... friends, like you are a long ways away!!

Sooo, I'd love you to follow me on: 

Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.

In Christ Alone,

~Judith~

Flexi Clips from Lilla Rose

Just the thing to keep hair controlled

without the discomfort of claw clips

Flexi Clips of the month

Order while supply lasts!!

Heritage for Our Good & Linkup

Spending time with my mother (and dad) in sunny Florida!!

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

~Romans 8:28~

I was born at home while my parents were missionaries to Japan. As the story goes, the next day, the doctor arrived and was disappointed that I was already named. He was accustomed to being part of the Japanese 'naming ceremony.'

In the days following my birth, boiling water was poured over my little body when I was given a bath. This was part of Japanese culture at the time. My mother was supposed to rest in bed to recover after the birth of a baby. Needless to say, my mother started bathing me so that my leathery skin would soften. 

By the time I was three years old, my parents were able to serve in Hong Kong, which is on the coast of China. At the time, it was a crowded British Crown Colony with a population of four million people. 

Some missionary kids do not have a good attitude about growing up on the mission field. They  have much 'baggage' and often do not follow the Lord, having a very negative outlook on their heritage. 

Two children raised in identical circumstances can have opposite attitudes about their upbringing. Their home doesn't really have to be bad at all. It simply is the choices in life that the two children make.

We all are giving our children an heritage of some sort. What heritage are you giving your children? You don't have to be raising your children on the mission field to make an impact on your child's life. Take the circumstances you have and be diligent to live out your faith before them.

More is caught than taught. Read Bible stories to your children and don't forget to read to them right from the Bible, but remember that how you act speaks louder than words. I failed often, but I am thankful that God is able to turn everything around for the good since 'all things work together for good to them that Love God.'

If you are faithful in teaching your children about the Lord, even a child who chooses the world, will not ever be able to forget what you taught them. Your children are like arrows that you shoot as light into a dying world. So, look back on your heritage. Whether your circumstances seem good or bad, ask God to show you how to use it for good in your children's life and in those who are without Christ.

Do you see your heritage as a gift from the Lord? How are you impacting your children and giving them a good heritage?

I'd LOVE you to leave a comment!!

Since I live out 'in-the-sticks'... friends, like you are a long ways away!!

Sooo, I'd love you to follow me on: 

Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.

In Christ Alone,

~Judith~

WholeHearted Home Wednesday 

Linkup #10

Time has flown by and it's time to share again!!

I love reading the posts you link, so hurry, hurry, hurry and linkup.

Keep your posts family-friendly on topics such as:

Mothering

Marriage is for Keeps

Homemaking

Homeschooling

From Your Kitchen

Organizing your Home

Gardening

Mom's Sharing Jesus

And any way you have

WholeHeartedly served Christ in your Home

1. Post as many posts as you'd like.
2. Remember the purpose is for community; and women love conversation!! So, please visit at least one blogger who posted on my Linky Party :-)
3. Keep each post honoring to God.
4. Be sure to link back using a text link or use my button below.
5. You may use a 'word' link or my WholeHearted-Home Wednesday's button or link back to WholeHearted Home on your blog or post :-)
6. Thank you from the bottom of my heart as each of your posts are always such an encouragement to me and other ladies. Happy linking!!

Thanks for dropping by!!

Grab My Button!!

Please make sure to Update my blog name to:

WholeHearted Home

Making a Grocery List: Baby Steps!!

Baby Steps, Baby steps, baby steps, baby steps, baby steps, is what FlyLady is always reminding her readers to do when it comes to any household adventure. My last post about the kitchen could certainly overwhelm any friend reading my blog. If THAT is YOU, I want you to do what my children sometimes tell me (not so often now, have I finally made progress??) Mom's RELAX!!

If you shop for your food through a food co-op like I did for years, or through a buying club like Cosco or Sam's Club, you are buying in bulk. You wouldn't be purchasing individual items needed on your menu. You would take a different direction, than say me, now that I don't need the astronomical amounts of food I once needed when children ate-me-out-of-house-and-home.

I used to buy meet in bulk too. All my beef was grass fed and my chicken was antibiotic free. I would travel a distance to buy a quarter cow since I only had to do that a couple times a year. My young children really had a wonderful time as we would make a fun outing out of the trip.

Baby Steps to Grocery Lists:

• Make a list for each store you shop at (don't sit down and make all the lists alllllllllllll in one day!! Baby Steps, remember?!
• Make one list a day for a week until they are done (choose nap time??)
• Use your grocery receipt to jog your memory for what could go on the list.
• Cheat (shhhhhhhhhh!!) Yes, cheat!! Find your favorite Master Grocery List on a blog and adapt it to your needs and family.
• I have a Master Shopping List and then lists for each store. Well, to be honest I am redoing them...thus posting this is relevant to me and you!!
• THEN, I make my menu for the week.

So, take Baby Steps, do a little each day for a week and you will never get overwhelmed and discouraged. When my children were little, this saved time and money. When I neglected to make a list, I was more apt to buy items that would attract my attention rather than what I needed.

Do you have a grocery list or do you think this is too time consuming for the season you find yourself in right now? Do you have any tips for making grocery lists? 

I am sure mine is not exhaustive!!

I'd LOVE you to leave a comment!!

Since I live out 'in-the-sticks'... friends, like you are a long ways away!!

Sooo, I'd love you to follow me on: 

Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.

In Christ Alone,

~Judith~

Linking Up With Some of my Bloggie-Friends:

What Joy Is Mine

Simply Better

Heavenly Homemakers

Quiet Time: Part 1 & FAVES

And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.

And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord. ~Genesis 12:7-8~

Abraham had an altar, a place where he talked to God. He had built a special place where he spent time alone with God. He was known as a man of faith but he wasn't always filled with faith (remember Sarah and Abimelech), he strengthened his faith through time spent with God, alone, at the altar.

So, I am going to gather some of the many (many) rocks in my woods and build an altar. Probably not. Slowing down to read this passage more closely gives me some ideas. Abraham built an altar. Having a special place prepared to meet God each day is a great idea.

Do you have that special place to spend time with God?

When my children were young, I had a desk in our basement near the girls' room. I had my Quiet Time where any of my children could easily find me. I had everything (Bible, pens, notebook) that I would need. This was not the time in my life to shut myself off behind a closed door. That thought was inconceivable to me. I wanted to be accessible to my children.

Some people have a special chair in their bedroom. A few years ago, my bedroom was not an option as a baby slept in a crib there too. 

Now, I have a bamboo rocking chair in a corner between two windows looking out into the woods. A little bed-side table sits beside the chair with all the books I might possible need to use for study. I don't usually use them. I like to just read and copy Bible verses. I am no theologian. I will leave that for someone else.

(I made these pillows for my mother's 90th birthday)

In the morning, I get my glass of water (no coffee for me, ladies!!) as I come freely to the Living Water. I also have my list of To-Do's in case my mind wanders to the urgent things needing to be done.

I can read my Bible anywhere. I don't mind being in the kitchen, living room, or reading it on my phone (should my phone just happen to cooperate) or read God's Word on my laptop. I can listen to Alexander Scourby but there is NOTHING equal to reading the actual pages held in my hands. 

God's Word is Living and sharper than any two-edged sword. It convicts of sin and gives me a light to follow through my day. So needed!! Spend time alone with Jesus today, this week. Try to be faithful like Abraham and make a special place for your altar where you bow your heart before the Maker of the Universe and our Creator.

Do you have a special place that you have prepared to spend time with your Lord? Do you share your time with a child (or two) if they should wake during that time set aside for God?

FAVES!!

I am sharing my favorite posts from last week's 

WholeHearted Home Wednesday's Linkup Party 

TODAY because I am going to FLORIDA 

where it is 

NICE AND WARM!! 

I'm thinking that Monday's would be a fabulous day for FAVES anyhow!!

I carefully read and enjoyed each one of your posts and had a really hard time choosing (isn't that what I say each week?!)

I hope you visit me again on Wednesday and LINKUP??!!

If you want to get me to read a post of yours;

that is a sure fire way of getting my attention!!

Take the time to read these posts if you didn't already.

Leave these sweet ladies a comment, 

and, or join their blog following 

to let them know how much you appreciated them.

Don't you just love that face?!

"How to Have a Joyful Heart"

and

"What is a Spirited Child?"

This post is worth the Pin or Print 

so you remember it when you most need the encouragement!!

Jenni Mullinix will love your visit!!

Kayla over at Whatsoever Things Are Lovely

shared a post she called:

Basket Case

From time-to-time, we all feel like we are a 

'basket case' 

when it comes to laundry!!

Kayla shared a wonderful tip of 

staking laundry baskets.

For those of you with larger families, 

(give Kayla time ;-)

you can stack-em six high, one for each child or family member!!

So, if you are climbing Mt. NeverRest have no fear, 

just read Kayla's post for an excellent solution :-)

Also in my Faves:

Pages of Parchment by Maria Egilsson at Words for Living

Flip It! by Gail Purath of Bible Love Notes

I'd LOVE you to leave a comment!!

And I'll reply from Sunny Florida this week!!

Since I live out 'in-the-sticks'... friends, like you are a long ways away!!

Sooo, I'd love you to follow me on: 

Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.

In Christ Alone,

~Judith~

Places I Linkup:

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