As I pull the boxes from under my bed dust settles on my hands and face. I blink and sneeze again, pushing away the annoyance to dig through a box of shoes for the pair I’ve been thinking about. I’m getting ready to teach at a women’s conference and my cowboy boots just won’t do.

Where are those cute cream flats?

My class is on living frugally. And I have to confess to the class my struggle between God’s call to live generously and my need to salvage, repurpose and save everything.

I’ve got a bag full of holey socks to show the class how to upcycle and make dryer balls to cut the time and reduce electricity use.

Ah ha!

I find the pair of shoes I wanted and shove the box back into the recesses of my under bed-closet for another day, probably in a year.

My co-teacher and I discuss the challenges of living on a food budget of $400, then I open another email…

***

In another city a mother of eleven smiles timidly from my computer screen. She’s joined by her daughter Sara. Two beautiful women, also struggling to find perspective in their taxing lives.

Read Melissa’s original post “Every Mother is Important” here.

But these two know nothing of dusty boxes full of unused shoes.

This beautiful woman, wrapped in a shawl, with her arm around her young daughter doesn’t worry about the food budget or teaching classes or upcycling used clothing. This woman is wearing all that she owns and it doesn’t include a single pair of shoes.

Click picture to read more about this family.

She makes beautiful, handwoven baskets. A talented and diligent worker. She sits and weaves, maybe shoe’s her barefoot children outside to play when the come to her, eyes pleading, for a morsel of food. The basket, the straw and the work of her hands is her only hope.

“Shhh, I must weave. One more day until I can sell it and purchase some Teff to make Injera.”

The basket she’s worked two days on sells for $1.15

This family being recommended by her pastor for sponsorship through the Adoption Ministry 1:27.

It costs $40 to sponsor this family.

Can I make a difference? Can you?

***

I lay awake last night thinking about this family and my stupid box of shoes, thankful the the Lord has opened my eyes to see as He does but struggling over how to help. God doesn’t asks us to change everything but to be obedient to impact the ones He puts in front of us. I wonder how I’ll be used to impact this sweet family.

Does anyone want to buy some shoes?

Double dog dare you to write on Perspective!
Five Minute Friday
at
The Gypsy Mama

Here’s another Dad blog by my hubby! I hope you’re enjoying this series. Be sure to comment, it helps me to talk him into doing more! I love his tips and his heart for family. Do you have questions you’d like him to address in these posts? Leave a comment or email me.

Share this series with anyone who needs a little encouragement from a dad’s perspective.

Previously on Blog Schmog, Dad’s Top Three Tips for Fun with Kids

“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35 NASB)

There are times when my God given role of spiritual leader can be overwhelming. I can’t seem to keep the papers on my desk organized,    struggle to put a dent in the proverbial honey-do list, and don’t have that self control thing figured out yet. It seems to me that God must have a great sense of humor. What was He thinking when he blessed me with a wife and 5 firecrackers that I’m supposed to lead spiritually or in any other way?

I still wonder about this regularly, but have decided in the meantime that I’ll have to do cause there are a shortage of other candidates interested in my position. I’m the one He trusted with this family for better or worse.

Though I am still intimidated by the challenges of family devotions and other strategies that I’ve heard of. There are 3 tools that have helped me step up to the task of family leadership without feeling overwhelmed.

Step 1 Pray for them – Jessie has gotten in the habit of texting me when things are going haywire at home with the pre-school bunch. When I first started getting these texts about a year ago I felt like it wasn’t fair for her to dump on me while I was busy at work. I defaulted to problem solving mode and felt like I had to lift her burdens by somehow coming to the rescue. I am so ridiculously practical that I felt trapped by the need to fix her issues and do my job simultaneously.  Somewhere along the line The Holy Spirit nudged me to trust Him and pray.  So, my response texts have gotten shorter and are often just “ Will pray”.  He does a better job intervening than I do.

Step 2 Include your spouse and kids – We’ve often discussed that the our family must be pretty boring because we don’t do anything. Now, we are rarely sit around and do nothing, but it is also rare that we fill our schedule full of entertainment and events. Many of the things we spend our time doing are plain everyday necessities that don’t seem inspiring. Today I piled up the kids in the the truck and and made the ½ hour trek to get chicken feed. We don’t plan our schedule around our kids but try to include them in almost everything we do. They come along to “help” however they can, even when their “help” means I have to stop at Wendy’s on the way home. Spending time together is a key part of building strong relationships and doesn’t always need to be trips to the movies.

Step 3  Have a family purpose that you talk about often – I don’t want to be simply the parent that comes in to do discipline and punishment when things go wrong. So, in an effort to lead our family in the right direction we have decided that our family will love God and love others.  I talk about loving God and others with Jessie and the kids, pray about it with them, and try to ask them how we can live it out. Now we have something positive to discuss together at any time.

I’m still concerned about the size of the discipleship task in front of me but have had success with these simple steps.  I hope that you can find something here that will lighten your load too.

What helps you lead your family or how have you seen your husband lead well?

Winds of Sonoma by Nikki Arana is one of my favorite books and it’s FREE right now (if you are an Amazon Prime member)! FREE promo starts 5/16/12 and goes through 5/19/12 for everyone else.

Not only that but Nikki is running a Kindle contest on her Facebook page. Even though I’ve got this book I’m loading them all to my laptop-for a future Kindle - and sharing my hard copy with everyone. It’s that good!

This story is inspired by a true love story. It’s inspiring and challenging. I like a book that makes me think even maybe changes me. This is one of those. It deals compassionately with the issue of illegal immigration and the heart of our God for all people.

From the back cover:

Angelica Amante at twenty-four must make a career-ending moral decision when the high-profile New York law firm she works for demands that she use her brilliant legal talent to protect the wealthy by exploiting the poorest of the poor.

Blackballed in New York, she returns to her parents’ California wine country estate, Regalo Grande, determined to start over. There she meets Antonio, an illiterate stable hand who cleans the stalls of her father’s Arabian horses. He has an inner strength, integrity, and peace that she longs for in this time of turmoil. And soon she is drawn to him in a way she cannot deny.

As she gets to know him, Angelica discovers that Antonio has left the abject poverty of his home near Guadalajara, Mexico. Immediately her compassion is reawakened.

Angelica finds herself fighting her mother’s prejudice and her father’s insistence that she follow the lifestyle she was groomed for. With her mother seriously ill and her father on the edge of financial ruin, must she betray her family to be true to herself?

One decision will change her life forever.

 *DETAILS*

Free books on Kindle and a FREE KINDLE to read them on. The Kindle contest runs May 14 – June 4. Click here for details! Starting May 15 Nikki’s award-winning Regalo Grande series will be Free on Kindle. Each week one book of the series will be available on Kindle FREE! The first book, The Winds of Sonoma won the Carol Award and was selected one of the Top Twenty Books of the Year by Christianbook.com. Click here to buy it. And then go to the News! tab on her website www.nikkiarana.com to learn how to download other books in the series free.

Don’t forget to upload your pics today on the Facebook page. How about some Mothers day smiles? Real life isn’t always mud.

You’ve heard me say before that I wished socks were disposable. But I came up with something better. Holey socks turned frugal. Now I’m obsessed with saving holey socks. Somebody stop me!

Before I reveal my sock upcycle let me tell you about my weekend.

I spoke at a women’s conference for the first time, co-teaching a class called Frugal, Thrift and Thriving. My friend Danna and I had a great time. She gave away coffee from her Toddy that tasted better than my favorite barista’s and I gave away holey socks.

My favorite tip from Danna was to batch tye dye old white clothing to create new fun clothing! I can’t wait to try it.

Okay here’s the truth. My holey socks were upcycled into wool dryer balls.

These cut drying time and replace the need for dryer sheets. I’m excited to give this set to my friend Mindy Peltier.

What was your mother’s day like?

I spent mine basking in the sun, smelling the BBQ and visiting with my mamma, dad and grandma. In the evening I got to  help consult for my chicken tractor project. That’s what this ugly beast is, a movable pen for meat chickens so they can forage on green grass, bugs and seeds.

We’ve got 100 broiler chicks on their way. Yikes! Chicken farming, here I come.

And my favorite part of the day was the time I got to spend with my girlie, Little Miss Colonel. We tried cornrows in her hair. Secretly I was trying to cover up the chopped hair that’s still growing out. She looks so cute!

I learned that it’s all in the part.

Giveaway Winner!

Last week I ran a giveaway for my good friend Gina’s recent book Cherry Blossom Capers. You’ll want to pick this one up to read this summer. But one lucky winner won’t have to purchase it.

Ladette, you’re the winner! Thanks for entering.

Here’s some thoughts for dads across the country who are looking for ways to give their wives a break for Mother’s Day.

Apparently I’ve learned a few things about being dad over the last ten years. At least I have my wife fooled. One of the most roadworthy things I’ve picked up since we became a family of three, and now seven,  is the value of simple things in the relationship between my children and I. Heading toward the summer season I thought I would share three of the uncomplicated strategies that have not only passed time but helped draw us closer.

1. Tell a joke, tickle an unsuspecting son/daughter, sing a silly song, turn you son upside down – I know that impromptu silly songs might not be your style and maybe your kid is not ticklish. The strategy here is laugh with your kids. Life is full of honey do’s and tasks to be accomplished but no time is a bad time to laugh together with your kids.
2. Build something- you do not have to be mechanical or gifted in design to build castles out of a box of popsicles or stack wood blocks to make a tall tower. Consider if you have any hand tools that you can teach a son or daughter to use. They love the privilege of using dad’s tools and that makes them feel special. Even if they don’t become a master carpenter over night, they will bond over tools or hands on activities. Jessie loved to work on cars and build with her dad.
3. Go for a bike ride, walk, or hike together – This always seems like an adventure to my kids and helps break up the day. It is even more fun if you can plan a trip (15 minutes can be a trip in the mind of a kid). My kids always love it if we get to bring water bottles or a snack on the trip. Often times on longer trips, our break part way through or at the end is a great chance for a meaningful talk in an unusual place.

It seems like the most effective methods for building relationship and having fun with my kids are always simple. It’s fun to go on vacation together, see a movie, or visit an amusement park but many of the best moments I’ve had with my children were far simpler than that.

Read the next in this dad blog series. Family Discipleship Simplified

I don’t want to miss these chubby hands.

And I don’t want to miss their little quips.

Loud Kiddington told me “I’ve learned everything I need at home kindergarten so now I’m ready to go to real preschool.”

Ah, gotta love him. But I don’t want to send him to school, even if he mixed up K and Preschool, and I already lost that battle with the Lord and my older two. *for now*

I don’t want to miss preschool, matching colors and the smell of wax crayons.

Even picking up all the little paper peelings and a frig covered with scribble art.

How bout you?

What’s your simple joy today?

Something’s been growing in my heart and I’m not yet sure of its purpose but I definitely recognize the source. It’s God challenging me to change yet again.

How do I know?

Well, I’ve had a bit of experience. Some experience from the “I’m not listening camp.” Some from the “I hear you but I won’t change department” and then those times when I’ve actually listened to the spirits prompting.

I hesitate because these words tend to be foreign even to Christians. The experience of listening to God lies within that grey area of things we can’t fully explain and sometimes argue over. Trying to explain seemed futile and so for too long I’ve kept it to myself. Fear of being unacceptable to the normalcy that we call life.

The thing is I know when it’s God.

He challenges me on things I would never consider.

Like the time he prompted me for weeks to introduce myself to a neighbor I’d never met and offer to read to her husband. That story begins HERE. I ignored the thoughts, rationalized and tried to explain away my nagging feeling. Over and over, God confirmed that it was Him. I guess that’s key. He is consistent and persistent. When a crazy thought is just mine it’s usually fleeting and inconsistent. I press ahead irrationally and choose to act without patience. So there’s a dance when you’re learning to listen.

I know something is growing that I’m not yet ready to share but it’s there and I’m shifting my perceptions to allow Him in to rearrange that part of me. While I wait, I’m praying, reading my Bible and having regular conversations with my husband. Because those are the ways I’ve learned that the Lord confirms His voice.

How I Know it’s God:

1. Consistent with his Word
2. Confirmed through Godly relationships
3. Often opposed by well meaning people (mostly out of fear and/or misunderstanding)
4. Not my idea and rarely what I would have done. His way usually requires sacrifice– if only of my pride.

To be Continued…

Please subscribe to Blog Schmog, you won’t want to miss the upcoming blogs by my husband on intentially leading a family and engaging with children of all ages.

Read Part 2 HERE!

Linked to Whimsy Wednesdays 10

Four reasons you must read Cherry Blossom Capers by Gina Conroy, Frances Devine, Cara C. Putman and Lynette Sowell.

1. Value: FREE here if you comment and win. Winner will be picked Sunday, May 13, 2012 and announced Monday the 14th. See the end of the post for further details! When you buy Barbour’s Romancing America series you get four novellas in one for only $7.99. That’s a price almost anyone can afford
2. Great Read: All four authors are all talented ladies who spin tales that will keep you laughing and cheering, even sitting on the edge of your seat for hours. The stories are full of real life characters, experiencing humorous and sometimes challenging trials. Each of the novellas is fast paced and an enjoyable read.
3. Fun to Share: These books are fun to pass around to friends and are a nice length for summer reading. But I’m warning you, you might not get that nice even tan because I’d bet you’ll get lost in these great stories.
4. My Bias: I’m extremely biased but I love Gina Conroy and if nothing else, am thrilled to see her career launch. You’ll want to get familiar with her writing style and watch for future releases from this author and one of my dear friends. She was my first “internet” friend and I’m happy to say, did not turn out to be “the axe murderer” like my older family members feared. I got to go cross country with her and visit Yellowstone National Park.

From the back cover- Lovers and Law-Breakers Collide under the Cherry Trees

Encounter mystery, mayhem, and murder near Washington, DC, alongside four professional females. White House assistant chef Tara Whitley works with an old flame, FBI agent Jack Courtland, to stop a plot to sabotage a state-dinner. Attorney Ciara Turner and her nemesis Daniel Evans have trials tracking down a judge’s murderer. Archeologist intern Samantha Steele and security guard Nick Porter are on the heels of a dangerous forger. Shop owner Susan Holland and renovator Vince Martini turn upside down her late uncle’s mansion while investigating a string of mysterious accidents. Will these sleuthing couples’ machinations move them into matrimony?

Giveaway: Enter to win by leaving a comment below and answering the question. Winner will be picked Sunday, May 13, 2012 and announced Monday the 14th. Sign in to leave your email address or include it in the comments. Any entries without an email are disqualified. USA only please.

What is your favorite summer past time?

Thanks for entering.

Ladette is the winner. Congratulations!

I’ve barely finished my coffee. The big ol’ cup I drink from each morning has a picture of Grumpy the dwarf and says I hate mornings!

I close my Bible after reading Psalm 102. The heading said A Cry for Help.

Yes Lord, I need that.

And it hits me, in verse 18 king David is praying for me, he’s praying for you. Incredible.

That’s when the siren’s start.

“Wee-ooo, weee-oooo!” And sock clad feet come tumbling down the stairs.

Excuse me while I kiss a freckled face little man, er’ I mean fireman.

And following shortly after him I hear the clomp of dress shoes and she emerges, a pair of pretty shoes, swishy workout pants and a pajama shirt. Her hair tousled, several unruly curls standing up on end and a mat of fuzz in the back where she lay on her pillow.

Oops, I delayed and now she’s streaking through the living room and the baby knows he’s been left, clinging to the rail of his crib.

And the questions begin and the barage of random conversation. He is the reason I need to start the coffee early.

“Mom, I know what will happen if you break a chord.” He stares into my tired eyes with wonder. ”It will like, lightning your hand or something.”

I raise my eyebrows and wonder where he’s going with this.

“Speaking of. Can I have a peanut butter rice cake?”

Ah ha!

That’s my cue.

She is back upstairs trying on something new, crowing like a rooster, then singing a “Got It” song.

This is my real.

This is my glorious life.

Joyfully participating in Five Minute Friday at The Gypsy Mama!

I’ve got my rocking chair pulled up close to the window. It’s the one gifted to me by a dear friend after I shared my frustration at being up all night, pacing the floor with a sick child. Through my tired, bleary eye’d pleas God met me. He put it on her heart to bring the chair that had rocked her dear children in years past.

That same week I’d made a conscious decision that surprised me. I’ve been doing a lot of that lately, surprising myself. Jesus has a way of changing ones priorities. I told my husband, “I just discovered, I’m a lifelong mom.”

It took me nearly eleven years but I know now that I won’t be “growing my kids up and getting my life back”. I used to plan for what I’d do when they were gone. Dream of the freedom I’d someday have again. But I no longer want to be free, subject to my own devices. I want to belong to Jesus. His ways are so much higher than my ways.

*Scripture for you to Pin!

So I sit and I rock, my face turned up to experience the sun rays between rain clouds. On the table beside me is a list titled, “Things Driving me Crazy” and another titled “Must Do” but neither list matters.

My littlest is still fighting some kind of crud and he is crying again. I’m exhausted. My forehead scrunched tight against a nagging headache. But I want to be in the moment. I want to rock babies and sing. I want to look strange to the world because I’ve chosen to get out of the river.

There’s been a break in the rain so my five year old is jumping on the trampoline, trying on his new age and the privileged of not having to sleep when his younger siblings do. He is content boinging and springing, arms out wide. That’s what I long for. That’s what I need. A contented heart.

Pray for me. I’ll pray for you! We need each other.