If I Have To Be In The Corner... I Might As Well Look Good Standing There

Over the weekend, here in Maine, we had a hurricane of sorts. Actually, by the time it got here, it was downsized to a tropical storm.  Downed trees.  Damaged cars, houses, and the like.

I however was a hurricane in and of my own self.

I did it.

I screwed up.

I over stepped my boundaries as a mom with one of our boys, and put my nose into his 19 year old business...

I downed a branch on one of  my most valuable trees... The tree I call  " My Baby Boy."

My mothers heart was saddened, when I saw the damage that my hurricane did.  To know I ripped at my precious tree.  The damage was visible, for all to see.

Especially me.

He of course was upset.  Understandable.  Reasonable.

Did I mention he doesn't even live with us anymore.  Well he doesn't. Which makes my intruding even uglier.

I have since, apologized.

It's not the end of the world, and all is well enough... but I was reminded of a thing or two.  Or three. Wait. Maybe four.

1. Blue Eyes and I have raised our boys to be strong, intelligent, capable young men.  They have within them whatever is needed to handle every situation life brings.  
2. I can not fix their life, even if I think I have the answers. It's just not my business.  That simple. 
3. Their life is between them and God.  
4. I need to respect them enough to learn to listen more and NOT react.  

I'm grateful that God has a way of showing me what I do wrong.

I'm even more grateful to have "kids"  who know their mothers heart and go gentle on me, when I do over-step and screw up.

I'm not one to live in guilt girls.  Just never have been.  I do try to learn from my mistakes, and go forward.  Sometimes the same mistake is made more then once... but I keep trying.

It's a new day.  The storm has passed.  In our state, and in me.  This mothering thing... 

Yeah, they never reach an age, where I stop needing God.     :)

Hugs From My Heart

Reassurance...

Friday and Prayer

I've been trying to get back in the routine of praying God's will, His word, for our children ( for their future, and for Ben who is already married, spouse(s).

Like most of us, I talk to God all day. In the car, shower... doing dishes, laundry.  Whatever.

I hear from Him clearly, when I take the time to sit quiet and actually listen.

Dahhhhhhh...

One thing I learned 5 million years ago was the importance of praying for our children according to His word.  What His will is for their lives, knowing that God has, in His Word, covered everything I could possibly imagine.  And things I don't even know they need. Imagine THAT right?   :)

"What is praying Gods Word for our children?"

Glad you asked.  :)

Well, it's Scripture, the Bible, put into prayer form.

It's that simple.  Nothing complicated about that right?

I know what your thinking, and doing right now.  Let me take a stab at it.  Your saying to yourself, and me...

"I don't need a book to tell me how to pray."

And you know what? Your right.  You don't.  I don't.  But I'm glad I have one.  Let me tell you why.

When I take the time to pray Gods word over and for our children, it changes... me.

Yeah, ME.

And girlfriend, let me tell you right now, thats a good thing.

"Guide me  by Your Spirit as I pray for our children according to Your will.  I release them to You so You can accomplish Your will for their lives.  I will not try to live my life over through them.  Keep me from binding them by my needs, wants and ambitions for them.  Get me out of Your way, so that You work the life of Christ in them and give them Your best.  Give me the grace to wait on You, for Your timing is perfect."

Good stuff huh?

There are many resources available to us moms that all we have to do is grab and go.

One of my favorite authors is Stormy Omartian.  She has many books on prayer.  They are simple, accurate, scripture based prayers that anyone can use.

Heres a review for ya...
This review is from: The Power of a Praying® Parent Book of Prayers (Power of a Praying Book of Prayers) (Paperback)
In The Power of a praying Parent, Stormie Omartian writes, "I don't know how to be the perfect parent for my children," I said to God in desperation one day. "I need You to help me raise them."
"God responded by impressing on my heart the following words: 'If you are not covering your children in prayer every day, you are leaving their lives to chance.'"
"What a frightening thought!"
"Then teach me how to pray for my children the way You would have me to, Lord."
"I learned I didn't have to be a perfect parent; I just had to be a praying parent. That was something I COULD do."
In her book, Mrs. Omartian, shares specific prayers that God taught her to pray for every area of her childrens' lives. By doing so, she encourages other parents to do what they CAN do for their children--PRAY! A Bible verse and space for prayer notes are included with each prayer so that the reader can include specific prayers for their children. I found this helpful not only for me to pray for my adult children but for my grandchildren as well.

Listen.  I'm no Holier then tho, I know God better than anyone, do as I say Christian.  


I'm just a wife, friend, sister, and a mother.  


Just like you. 


I drink too much coffee, (sometimes wine), get angry at people who cut me off when I drive down the road, and curse more then I wish I did.   :(


My kitchen floor is always dirty, and sometimes, mostly, I don't even make a good dinner anymore.


I say things I shouldn't and don't say things I should.  


I make so many mistakes in one day... I don't think I could even count them all if I had too.


And, my dogs smells.


But, I love God, and am so grateful for His son, Jesus.

And when I pray,  it centers me like nothing else does.  


I don't know about you... but I need that.  


So, take from this post what you want.  Leave what you don't.  


But know, know from the bottom of your toes that He is there.  


Grab a fresh cup of coffee.  Go someplace quiet.  And sit.  


Talk to Him.


He's listening.


Hugs From My Heart

It's Already Thursday...

"I pray that our children will be built solidly on the foundation of Jesus and grow in Your grace with a conscious sense of Your presence conforming them to be like You.  May they continue to be built up with Your wisdom, favor, truth, love, faith, strength, and thankfulness. "  Luke2:52, Eph.4:15, Col.2:6-7

Thought I'd share one of my prayers for our peeps today.

Hope your Thursday is filled with His spirit.

There is no other like Him.

Hugs From My Heart

I Thought Today Was Monday...

Everyday I am trying too...

• Not rush no matter who, or what pushes me to do so.
• Pray for my children.  Specific, biblical prayers.
• Enjoy my coffee.
• Stop whatever I'm doing and give my husband a kiss, like he is still my boyfriend, when he comes home at the end of the day.  :)
• Enjoy this day for what it brings, and take care of myself so I can take care of and be there for those I love and who love me most.  
• Not live in guilt.
• Oh yeah... and do MORE, much more, of what makes me happy.  :)

Hugs From My Heart

Hugs From My Heart

"We are at our sexiest when we feel the most confident. We are at our least attractive when we are sure of our inadequacies and practically cave in on ourselves to conceal them… We all handicap ourselves with insecurity, and it’s up to us to reset the self-worth scale and alter the message we sound out into the world… So how do we remind ourselves of our fabulousness without letting our self-doubt or the criticism of others drag us down? Triggers. We wear heels. We get waxed. We do things that make us attractive to ourselves and, therefore, able to allow others to do the same. And they work… Confidence is a state of mind, but sometimes we need to give ourselves permission to realize it. There is nothing wrong with embracing the tools that allow us to get there; heels, bikini waxes, whatever. As long as we’re aware of the fact that we are worth the same with or without these tools…"

Olivia Wild

I hope this helps... it does me.

Hugs From My Heart

Ahhhhh... Friday

 I am so going to make this. 

Well, with Blue Eyes help of course.

We work well together.

Happy Friday.

Hugs From My Heart

Hugs From My Heart

On Hugging...

"Hugging is good medicine. It transfers energy and gives the person hugged and emotional lift. You need four hugs a day for survival, eight for maintenance, ad twelve for growth. Scientists say that hugging is a form of communication because it can say things you don’t have the words for. And the nicest thing about a hug is that you usually can’t give one without getting one."

 Alexandra

~My Babygirl, she is a good hugger.~

Hugs From My Heart

Just A Little Softening...

Thought I'd soften up my last post, with some beautiful photos... enjoy.

So me.

Hugs From My Heart

I feel like crying today.  Ever have one of those days?  Nothing is wrong.  All is well actually.  It's a physical, hormonal, my body is 46 and just in case I had forgotten, my left, very unhappy ovary, is reminding me.  :)

I've never had a problem with growing older.  I remember being excited to turn 30!  Yup, couldn't wait.  Age never has bothered me.

And I know that this hormonal crap is part of the process I must go through.  I'm good with it.  I am learning to recognize and be more aware of what my body is telling me, and adjust my day accordingly.  Ripping someones head off, does NOT have to be part of it.  :)

I can do this because of Him, who gave me the gift of him... The handsome dude on the right.

This guy loves me like there's no tomorrow.  Always has.  To the very bottom of his being, he wants me happy.  So if I'm having a day that consists of screaming ovaries, weepy eyes, and just plain yuck... he will be the first to say,

"Take it easy today honey. Just relax."

Opppppsssss... did I just put that up?  ^

This is me, being real. 

Take no offense. 

Enjoy your Thursday friends... whatever it means for you.  I am grateful today.  For so many things.

I'm sure I'll cry about them.  Just give me a sec.

Hugs From My Heart

"By the grace of God, I am who I am."  I Corinthians 15-10

This truth, comforts my heart.

Eases my mind.

Brings peace to my soul.

I hope it does you.

Hugs From My Heart

E-Magazines...

Any of you that have known me know that I have had a love affair with Country Living, Country Home, and other home inspirational magazines for... YEARS!!! I have neatly stacked issues in my hutch just because I use to love spending time looking through them with a hot cup of  Joe and a cozy blanket on any given evening.

But I have to say, I have changed. Yes, I too have fallen for, and am so caught up in, online magazines, Pinterest, Tumblr, etc...

I now spend hours going through the many options which are available online for inspiration, the way I use to with my magazines. I don't think I've bought a magazine for months. Kinda sad.

However, it is what it is, and I now understand the "why" behind publishers closing the doors on some magazines recently.  If I have lost interest in buying them, others like me must be too.  The sad part is that I'm sure many hard working people are now losing their jobs, their livelihood, and are facing new challenges that go along with the end of an era. 

So that brings me to an E-magazine that is available, FREE!  It is Gatherings Magazine.

Radostina, over at 79 ideas discribes it as...

„Gatherings Magazine” is hot off the press. The person behind it is Heather Spriggs and there are few other inspiring people like Rachel Follet, Jennie Prince, the photographer Monica Charbeneau and Ginny Donovan. Decorating, handmade things and many inspirations with awesome vintage touch and of course delicious recipes you can discover there. And all this comes with the feel of warm and romantic summer."

-So there you go.  She also shares quite a few more magazines available on-line that you might like to check out.  Gatherings was one of my favs.  

Click on over to Gatherings, 79 ideas blog, and get your feet wet with online E-Magazines.

But let me just suggest one thing first if I may.  

For those of you that have little cutie-pies at home needing your attention, maybe even lunch, do what I would often do with my own... feed those precious bellies right up full, put them in a cozy corner with a ceiling high of books of their own, maybe some quiet sweet music for their spirits in the background... then, and only then,  give yourself permission to enjoy.  

I say this because if your anything like me, once you click, your gone into another world, hard to come back from. 

I think you'll like it.

I certainly do.

Hugs From My Heart

Thinking about doing this study.

Kay Arthur knows how to do it.

I read the first 15 pages online.   :)

Definitely a woman who knows and loves the Lord.

Interested?

Hugs From My Heart

I would love to see one of these on my kitchen counter.

It would be like waking up to fresh flowers every morning.

Hugs From My Heart

 

"When you learn to accept instead of expect, you’ll have fewer disappointments."

 The Knight in Rusty Armor, Robert Fisher
 _________________________________________________

So grateful to have gotten this before I spent a lifetime being disappointed.

It makes life so much simpler.

More enjoyable with those I love, and love me back.

Let's just hope I remember it.

Like I remember to brush my teeth each day.

Hugs From My Heart

Monday Mornin...

Hugs From My Heart

Hugs From My Heart

DIY Lemon Scrub What you will need

• 5 tablespoons sea salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 lemon

Instructions
First mix the olive oil and sea salt together. Once the salt gets coated by the oil, the lemon won’t dissolve it! Next cut the lemon in half and squeeze over the salt + oil. Mix and mash. (Feel free to adjust the recipe to your liking.) Then scrub away!!

Hugs From My Heart

Hugs From My Heart

Happy Sunday...

 

"You know I’m old in some ways- in others- well, I’m just a little girl. I like sunshine and pretty things and cheerfulness- and I dread responsibility. I don’t want to think about pots and kitchens and brooms. I want to worry whether my legs will get slick and brown when I swim in the summer."

This Side of Paradise, F. Scott

Hugs From My Heart

Saturday...

Hugs From My Heart

The Weekend Is Upon Us...

Naked.

Just Kidding.  :)

Hugs From My Heart

Happy Friiday!!!

I get to spend the day with two of my very favorite sisters.

I only have two sisters, but they are my favorite.

And their here to pick me up.

Hugs From My Heart

Happy Thursday!

It's NOT part of God's plan for your life anyway.

Love Eleanor.

Love this song.

Take a moment to sit, close your eyes, listen. 

Hugs From My Heart

I'm grateful that I can now say, Yeah.

Hugs From My Heart

THIS... Is Real Beauty To Me

Every line on her face.

Every wrinkle on her leathered hand.

The gentleness in her eye.

Her soft, wispy, baby fine hair.

The many rings on her fingers.

The bracelets stacked on her wrist. 

This woman has lived a life worth telling about. Worth listening too.  She has probably lived more life, in her lifetime,  then many of ours put together. 

Hugs From My Heart

Painted Door Love...

Since I was a little girl, I've had a love...

for old,

wooden,

painted doors. 

I think it's because...

my grandmother use to have one. It was painted green and connected her shed to her kitchen.  Memere was, to put it nicely, a clean freak.  Everything was simple in her house, it was always spotless,  and everything had a place.  Nothing moved from the spot it was put in.  EVER.  Well only to be cleaned that is.

Each time anyone went for a visit she would always say, "Ah, don't bother to take your shoes off."  But you knew she didn't really mean it.  :)

I remember in the dead of a Maine winter, seeing her stick her head out the shed door, just to sneak a few puffs of her cigarette. Always so careful to blow every bit of smoke into the shed, not the kitchen.  She never smoked the whole thing at once, she rationed it like it was a precious gift, only to be enjoyed sparingly.

Living upstairs from her meant that we were all, (my six siblings, mom and dad), suppose to pretend that we never saw cigarette smoke coming from the barely opened crack in the shed door.

Because after all, Memere had a pacemaker for years, and she wasn't allowed to smoke... according to her heart doctor.  And she didn't.  According to her.

My grandmother died in her sleep, peacefully, about 20 years ago now.  When her house was bought, before it was completely remodeled, I was able to bring her shed door to my home, where it now stands in the corner of the dinning room. I consider it one of my dearest treasures.

It brings me back to my childhood on King Street, and my grandmother.

It's all good.

Hugs From My Heart

Tuesday Truths...

I'm realizing a few things lately.  Well maybe in the last year or so.  I don't know if its because I'm in my forties and things start to look differently.  Because somehow, they are.

If it's our boys growing up and moving out of the house.  (Wow, I could cry right now just thinking about our boys NOT living with us anymore.  Stupid hormones. Stupid boys. ) 

I don't know if it's the reality of our last child, our only girl, so close to taking that door her brothers before her have taken... You know, the one marked, in permanent marker, huge capital letters, " I'M AN ADULT NOW, I MUST GO THROUGH".  There are times when I see her put her hand on the knob of that door, just to see how it feels.  I gently remove it and remind her that she has a couple of years still.

Nahhhhhh!!! I hear that internal motherly alarm ringing loudly,  I run from wherever I am in the house, grab that soft inexperienced 16 year old hand, with my ruff, wrinkled I think I know whats best for you, 46 year old hand, and tell her firmly, "You are mine for another 2 years. BACK AWAY FROM THE DOOR !!!"    :)

Or if it's the left over emotions of pure gratefulness and relief,  that our oldest son has spent a year in Afghanistan, and come home safe and in one piece, when so many have not. 

I think it's all of those things, and so much more.  I am understanding more lately God's rhythm in my life.  In my families lives.

And I'm good with it.

I'm learning to slow down some.

Simplify my life.

Enjoy the day, and not get to far ahead of myself with tomorrow.

I'm learning to do what I need to do for myself and not feel guilty about it, but good.  Knowing that I will then be the best me,  for those I love.  It's a win/win.   :)

And mostly, I'm learning to walk in a deeper place of gratefulness.  A seed I know that was planted in me as a young child.  A place that I was born in.

Gratefulness. 

For all He has given me in my life.

For all that He hasn't.

~Hugs From My Grateful Heart

~P.S... I know your probably sick of this song already. Sorry, I can't get enough of this song. I love Connie Frances' voice, the beautiful instruments, all of it.  Bear with me. ~