Beauty

       I'm working on myself this month both inside and out.
  I've joined a fitness club and am doing water aerobics and tai chi in the water. (Fun class!) I'm also reading Dr. Andrew Weil's book on Healthy Aging.

      Let's face it, we're all aging every day. It's interesting because his first few chapters are on ACCEPTING aging and the changes it brings to our body instead of fighting them.
       As for the "inside" I've given up being snarky with my hubby and kids, at least for Lent. I'd like to say I've given up getting mad at them, but it's more realistic to say I'm trying not to comment in a rude way when they I get irritated at them. :-)
        So....working on being more beautiful.  Glad I have the grace of God to help me out! :-)

Resolutions? Nope - it's More of a To-Do List!

     I have taken on the task of being princess of my castle.
     I usually work at my writing job quite a few hours per week but I've realized we are drowning in clutter and disorganization and perhaps for a short while my time would be better spent bailing us out.   So I've made a check-list of things I want to do to help my family. (These are NOT New Year Resolutions. Been there, done that.)

         1) De-clutter the house.  This is harder than you might think. I've found I have an emotional attachment to certain "things" and that makes it difficult to part with them. But... I gave eight garbage bags of clothes to charity and transformed one of my closets into a new work space. What do you think?
         2) Make a meal plan.  I used to do this, coupled with a weekly grocery list.  I've re-started by making a meal plan for the month of January and actually put together several meals and froze them.  I feel AWESOME about that!
          3) Get our finances in order.  We've always worked off of a budget, but I'm thinking of getting one of those fancy computer programs that tracks your every dollar.  ( I have to be diligent about entering all my expenses.  Am I expecting too much from myself?)  What programs do you like best?
          Empowered by the King of Kings, and a whole lot of prayer (will you pray for me 'cause I need it!) , I strive to be a more organized and calmer woman by the end of the year!
     

Guilty

              So I blew it yesterday.
              I'm working on being more humble this month, and mostly I'm working on keeping my mouth shut. As my mom says "If you don't have anything good to say, it's better not to say anything at all."  Or my grandma, who used to say "You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar."  Not sure if those two relate, but you get the point. Anyway, the family was driving me crazy, I was sleep deprived, and I had a HUGE scheduling conflict I was trying to resolve that was going to make me lose $45 if I didn't get it resolved.  Plus, I was trying to wash dishes and the faucet has this annoying whine to it that hurts my ears when the water runs. (We really need to get that fixed.) People wouldn't stop complaining and asking me for things and I finally got really upset and told them all what I thought about them.  In a not-so-gentle voice.
              (To be fair, though, I did warn the kids several times they had pushed me to my boiling point and Momma was about to explode.)
               But really, is that anyway to handle things?  When a princess loses her cool doesn't that make her look weak? (And scary!)  I don't want to run the household by fear.  Yes, it works, but no, it isn't fun - for any of us.
               I'm just thankful I get a redo.  Here's to a better day and a bit more self-control, while at the same time giving myself a break.  I am, after all, imperfectly human.

Princessing....

It seems I get carried away with the princess thing in the summer.   I've been hanging out at the beach, writing fiction, playing with the kids, and basically NOT posting to my blog!  When my mom called the other day my husband (my earthly prince) was cooking dinner and I was on the porch swing, reading.  "I'll tell the princess you want to talk to her," he said.  Hmmm.
     In all truth, I am the carpool queen and have been driving various kids to various events, cooking (most) of the dinners, and worn myself plum out.  But it has been fun to slack off of work a little bit (except for my clients - you I haven't slacked on!) and be a princess.  So all of this to say why I haven't posted more on Mary M.  Working on it.....at the beach. :-)

Pondering

We've had a few family crisis this past month so I  didn't get a post up on Monday.  One of my readers (and a cousin!), Jon Ventura, sent me the below write-up and asked me to post it.   I really enjoyed the content and it reminded me to appreciate the little things, even in the midst of what I have going on in my life right now.
        I also think it fits in well with our March topic:  Beauty, Inside and Outside.
Thanks, Jon!

                                                         FORTY

Forty , I have been pondering on that number for several days now. Why? Because my daughter Ann Marie is turning forty March 8^th. As you ponder, several things go through your mind, did I do everything I could in the past forty years to help get through her first forty years?  Did I provide the best guidance?  Did I spend enough time with her?  

A cousin of mind recently wrote a book entitled “ Why is there a Lemon in my Fruit Salad”.  On the cover of the book she has a picture of herself (looks about 40) holding a lemon and a salad. She is wearing an apron covered with the words from Galatians 5 -  Fruits of the Spirit- “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control ”.  She ponders on these words to help her get through life’s difficult moments and struggles   

Then I  pondered in the pew at Sunday morning worship service, Transfiguration Sunday.  This is when Jesus took Peter , James and John up to a high mountain top and where he was transfigured before them. They were so frighten that he said to them “fear not” to assure them.  They were so changed by that experience that they went and literally changed the world,   even giving  their lives so that others would know about the “Fruits of the Spirit”. Paul, the author of Galatians 5,  also had a similar transforming experience for which he gave his life to uphold his beliefs. So what does that have do with forty?  It is said that life begins at forty.  What life?  Maybe a transformed life. A life that does not dwell so much on materials things but a life more in tuned to the Fruits of the Spirit. After all, after 40 years, most of our materials things are worn out and need to be replaced.

Then we have the Sunday’s hymn –( also a song sang at Ann Marie  wedding) “It only takes a spark to get a fire going, and soon all those around can warm up to its glowing, that’s how it is with Gods love once you experience it,  you spread his love  to everyone, you want to pass it on”. March 8^th, spring time, “What wondrous time is spring when all the trees are budding, the birds begin to sings the flowers start their blooming, that’s how is with God’s love once you experience it, you want to sing (joy), its fresh like spring, you want to pass it on.   Third verse  “I wish for you my friend this happiness I’ve found, you can depend on him, it matters not where you’re bound (lemons in fruit salads),  I’ll shout from the mountain-top, I want the world to know, the Lord of love has come to me, I want to pass it on”.

When I wake every morning, I wake up to a sunny morning, a sunrise looking out over the Atlantic Ocean.  It is an original oil painting painted by my daughter Ann Marie, I ponder over all the hours she must have spend painting it (patience)and what inspired her to paint this scene of peace.

 

For year to come, each morning as I view the sun rise,  I will ponder how we will relate to such words as “mountain top, transfiguration, fear not, fruits of the spirit, it only takes a spark, and passing it on”.   

Our Sunday’s response to the benediction, “This little light of mine I going to let it shine”. I pray  my light did so shine and was it the necessary spark.