tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79251852646942077712024-03-05T01:27:43.135-08:00Moms for Lowered ExpectationsMy journey from an angry overachiever to putting my faith and trust in GodMisty Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18098831236272332331noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925185264694207771.post-62042764114118100012013-03-23T22:58:00.001-07:002013-03-23T22:58:24.325-07:00Winners of the Debt Free Giveaway <br />
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YAY! YAY! YAY! O Happy Day! We have some winners!<br />
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The winners of the Debt Free Giveaway are:<br />
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Prize Package #1-Julie Alicea<br />
Prize Package #2-Regan Garner<br />
Prize Package #3-Tana Hostetter<br />
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Congratulations to the winners! Thank you to everyone who shared my post!<br />
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Have a great night! (or day, depending on when you are reading this. I guess you can have a great day and night........)Misty Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18098831236272332331noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925185264694207771.post-39101614227311866262013-03-17T14:08:00.001-07:002013-03-23T23:18:08.724-07:00Our Debt Free Anniversary<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJOaSPKJ8w_dLsNICb7wmxZVNd-JGFaZRJ9mOFPt8vA-SWDxeAAfyi1BG75f7YYFcKWjIee_ECYJ5aHl3ZZFxaa-FK37mAQSv-3zZk3XUnYt_x1UkP_xWNBVc5Dlbm5jZsALfXz1N-Rn5R/s1600/047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJOaSPKJ8w_dLsNICb7wmxZVNd-JGFaZRJ9mOFPt8vA-SWDxeAAfyi1BG75f7YYFcKWjIee_ECYJ5aHl3ZZFxaa-FK37mAQSv-3zZk3XUnYt_x1UkP_xWNBVc5Dlbm5jZsALfXz1N-Rn5R/s320/047.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I love this sweater. This sweater represents financial freedom to me. Let me explain....<br />
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In 2004 I had a lot of consumer debt, around $30,000. I starting dating Matt, my husband, and attended a budgeting class he was facilitating. I did not want to tell him how much debt I had...he was too cute:)<br />
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I finally told him and started budgeting. After we got married and had a joint budget I thought it was really boring. I like surprises and budgeting did not provide any surprises. Everything was perfectly planned out-blah.<br />
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The day that got me hooked on budgeting was the day I bought this sweater. <br />
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That morning, I put on a black sweater I had purchased it at a yard sale. However, soon after I arrived at work, I realized there was a huge hole in the armpit. Sometimes you can hide those kind of things or just try to not raise your arms all day:) There was no hiding this hole. I do not know how I missed it when I was getting dressed, but I did.<br />
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I needed a sweater and fast. So, I went to the mall. I saw the blue sweater in the picture above and wanted it so bad. But, it was around $40. I thought, "There is no way I am spending $40 on a sweater." I looked at other sweaters, but kept thinking about this one. <br />
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Then, I remembered I had money in my clothing account. I could buy that $40 sweater and feel no guilt because I am supposed to spend my clothing account on.......clothing! That was when I started liking the fact that we were living on a budget. <br />
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Within the first three years of marriage we paid off $28,000 in consumer debt, paid off our home ($72,000) and put away $20,000 for emergencies. A $120,000 turn around.<br />
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March 17, 2008 is the day we sent our final payment in to pay off our home making us officially Debt Free. So, on the day of green, we celebrate our accomplishment. It was a lot of hard work but it is totally worth it now. <br />
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We followed Dave Ramsey's 7 Baby Steps. The final step is Build Wealth and Give. So, we are doing a giveaway! If you share the link to this post on your Facebook page you will be entered to win one of the following prize packages:<br />
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1. Dave Ramsey's Envelope System, Total Money Makeover book, goal thermometers and 2 letter openers<br />
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2. Dave Ramsey's game Act Your Wage, goal thermometers and 2 letter openers<br />
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3. Paid tuition to Financial Peace University (If you are currently taking a class or have taken the class before, we will reimburse you for the cost of your kit up to $100.) Plus, goal thermometers and 1 letter opener.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Giveaway ends on Friday, March 22, 2013 at midnight PST. The winners will be announced Saturday, March 23, 2013.</span><br />
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<u><strong>Here are some links to get you to your Debt Free Anniversary:</strong></u><br />
Dave Ramsey's Quick-Start Budget <a href="http://a248.e.akamai.net/f/1611/26335/9h/dramsey.download.akamai.com/23572/daveramsey.com/media/pdf/forms/fpu_qbudget.pdf">http://a248.e.akamai.net/f/1611/26335/9h/dramsey.download.akamai.com/23572/daveramsey.com/media/pdf/forms/fpu_qbudget.pdf</a><br />
Dave Ramsey's Monthly Cash Flow Plan<br />
<a href="http://a248.e.akamai.net/f/1611/26335/9h/dramsey.download.akamai.com/23572/daveramsey.com/media/pdf/forms/fpu_monthly_cash_flow_plan_forms.pdf">http://a248.e.akamai.net/f/1611/26335/9h/dramsey.download.akamai.com/23572/daveramsey.com/media/pdf/forms/fpu_monthly_cash_flow_plan_forms.pdf</a><br />
Dave Ramsey's Irregular Income Budget<br />
<a href="http://a248.e.akamai.net/f/1611/26335/9h/dramsey.download.akamai.com/23572/daveramsey.com/media/pdf/forms/irregular_income_planning.pdf">http://a248.e.akamai.net/f/1611/26335/9h/dramsey.download.akamai.com/23572/daveramsey.com/media/pdf/forms/irregular_income_planning.pdf</a><br />
Dave Ramsey's New Guide to Budgeting<br />
<a href="http://www.daveramsey.com/tools/guide-to-budgeting?et_cid=2422371&et_rid=0&linkid">http://www.daveramsey.com/tools/guide-to-budgeting?et_cid=2422371&et_rid=0&linkid</a>=<br />
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Someone once said, "It's so funny how lucky hard working people are."Misty Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18098831236272332331noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925185264694207771.post-36775203766275812562013-03-08T10:35:00.002-08:002013-03-23T23:28:04.448-07:00My First Guest PostI wrote a guest post on Bernice Seward's blog. Check it out here:<br />
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<a href="http://www.berniceseward.com/let-the-lord-heal-your-wounds-so-you-can-help-the-wounded-guest-post-by-misty-clark/">http://www.berniceseward.com/let-the-lord-heal-your-wounds-so-you-can-help-the-wounded-guest-post-by-misty-clark/</a><br />
<br />Misty Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18098831236272332331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925185264694207771.post-90248205142199503152013-02-26T22:46:00.001-08:002013-02-26T22:46:13.525-08:00The KitchenAid Dough Hook Does NOT go in Your Underwear!<br />
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Last week I got in the mood to bake. I wanted to make homemade bread. I figured the boys would probably want to help me so I got all the ingredients out the night before and got everything prepped the next morning before breakfast. <br />
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When it was time to start, the boys didn't care to help me so I got started while they were eating breakfast. I was showing them the ingredients as I added them to the KitchenAid bowl. Right before I heated the wet ingredients, Wayne was done eating and wanted to help. He washed his hands and we brought a chair over to the counter. <br />
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I heated the wet ingredients and added them to the KitchenAid. Then, Bruce decided he was done eating and wanted to help. So as I am wiping off Bruce I look over to see Wayne with the dough hook in his underwear. I said, "Uh, we don't put that in our underwear. That needs to be clean." I took it from him. He looked so disappointed. I asked, "Were you trying to hang it from your underwear?" He said, "Yes." "Okay, that would be pretty cool, huh? I can wash it when you're done." He was so happy as he hung the dough hook from the bottom of his underwear. It did make me laugh:)<br />
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I called my mother-in-law to ask a question about the dough. I told her about the "underwear hook" and how I never thought I would have to remind my children to not hang the dough hook from their underwear. (Just like I never thought I would have to say, "Don't play with the poopy water after you have used the restroom" or "Y'all stay in your beds and quit spitting at each other") We talked about how instruction manuals include warnings in different languages. I think maybe I need to write an addendum to the instructions with "Toddler-ese".<br />
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It would read something like:<br />
The dough hook is not intended to be a hanging device from your underwear. Please do not attempt to "dig for gold" with the dough hook as it may get stuck or puncture your sinuses. To prevent injury, do not use dough hook to act like cartoon characters, Captain Hook for example, as you may hurt someone or possibly yourself. Should you hurt yourself or someone else with the dough hook, call for your mom. She will know what to do with you!<br />
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And here is our Allison. She helped by sleeping through the whole thing and then giving us a bunch of smiles when she woke up:)<br />
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Misty Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18098831236272332331noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925185264694207771.post-47093141561311653312013-01-29T05:25:00.001-08:002013-01-29T05:25:25.534-08:00Oh The Throws of Parenting!Last night I was on the floor in me and Matt's bedroom with the boys. We were reading a book together when I heard Allison crying. I asked Matt if he wouldn't mind bringing her to me since Wayne was in front of me with the book and Bruce was on my lap. He said he didn't mind and went in her room. <br />
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The boys and I kept reading and then started playing with a really big sticker. We were laughing, tickling each other and throwing the sticker when Matt asked if I was ready for sister (Allison). I told him we were and he told me to get ready to catch her. <br />
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Now, I thought he was just joking. I figured he would act like he was going to throw her. So, I was expecting him to come to the bedroom door, swing her in his arms and act like he was going to let go. That's when I saw something flying in the air. I thought it was her but it was actually this:<br />
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I caught the fake Allison and just held on tight because I really thought it was her. I kept thinking, "I can't believe he actually let go!" Of course it didn't take long for me to realize I was holding a sleeper full of a blanket. It reminded me so much of a chicken when you are cleaning it before baking. <br />
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I started laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. Matt was laughing so hard he couldn't breathe. The boys didn't know what to think because they couldn't tell what we were doing. All Allison wanted was to be held, so I held her......after I took the picture! Misty Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18098831236272332331noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925185264694207771.post-63962264670751333892013-01-26T07:54:00.001-08:002013-01-26T07:54:23.038-08:00Yes. She is my kid.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am not one to remember to take a picture of my child’s
milestones. In fact, a few days before Allison turned 1 month I remembered and
thought maybe this would be the child I would remember to take pictures of. But
on the exact day I totally forgot. Then about a week later I was telling someone
how old she was and finally remembered that I had forgotten to take a picture
on the day she turned 1 month. Oops!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">However, despite my forgetfulness of my children’s ages I
have never had someone ask me if the child with me is my child…..until now……</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Last weekend, Matt & I were on a date at a restaurant
here in town. Matt went to wash his hands and the waitress came over to see the
baby. She asked how old Allison was. I couldn’t remember right away, so she
asked me if Allison was my baby. I said, “Yes. She’s mine.” (I’m thinking, ‘I
know she turns a week older on Mondays. What day is it today?’) </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When Matt returned from the restroom I told him about my
conversation with the waitress. Matt said I should have said, “No, it’s not my
baby. It’s my husband’s. We haven’t figured out who the mom is yet.” (I thought
he came up with that all by himself but he admitted he stole the line from a
movie. It was still funny!!!!) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then, later in the week, I was at the store. As I was
leaving a lady had that look in her eyes like she really wanted to see the baby.
I stopped so she could see her. She asked how old she was. I said, “Uh, I don’t
remember. 5.5 weeks. Yeah, that’s it.” She said, “Is she your baby?” I said, “Yes,
she’s mine.” I was thinking, ‘She’s fed, breathing and not naked. What do you
people expect?!’ Again, I couldn’t even remember what day it was.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In our humanness, we have limits. Sleep deprivation can
cause us to forget things. But I am so thankful to have a heavenly Father who
is limitless. I may not remember off hand exactly how old my children are, but
He does. He knows everything about us. He has so many children yet he knows all
of our names (John 10:3b), the number of hairs on our heads (Matthew 10:30),
the number of days we have been here on Earth and the number of days we have
left (Psalm 139:16). The title of Psalm 139 in the NIV Bible is “God’s Perfect
Knowledge of Man.” Maybe next time I should say, “God only knows how old she
is!”</span><br />
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Misty Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18098831236272332331noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925185264694207771.post-35102734331821298972012-12-25T23:50:00.000-08:002012-12-25T23:50:04.108-08:00Allison is Here!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Allison Ann Clark entered the world one week ago at 8:37am on Monday, December 17, 2012! She was 7 lb, 12.5 oz and 20 in long. We just love her so much. Although tired, we are having a great time with the new addition to our family. <br />
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I love to hear labor stories so I'll tell you mine. With our second child we prayed that my water would not break before we got to the hospital. Our reason was because with our first child my water broke and I did not have him until 36 hours later. Yes, 36 hours. Not all of that was hard-core labor, but we still had to pay for the whole 36 hours....<br />
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Well, I kept having false labors with this pregnancy so on Sunday, December 16 I was praying and asked the Lord to please have my water break so I would know for sure that we needed to go to the hospital. On Sunday night we went to bed around midnight because Bruce was not feeling well. Matt had been at the ER with him that morning because he was having trouble breathing. I got up to use the restroom around 2am. Then, around 2:50am my water broke. Yay! <br />
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We made it to the hospital and once they got me in the bed I could not get out. I wanted to go through labor without an epidural so my recovery time would be shorter. However, I was so tired that all I could think during each contraction was, "I want that epidural!" I remembered that the contractions did not hurt so badly with my second child, whom I also delivered without an epidural. Then, I remembered that I was also a lot more rested and positive when I delivered him. So, I started telling myself, "I WANT to do this." That did help them to not hurt so badly. <br />
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I also began motivating myself with a visual. My son Wayne had his first preschool Christmas program on Tuesday morning. I thought, "If I can get through this labor with no drugs, I can probably get out of here by Tuesday morning in time to make it to his program." I kept picturing him on the stage and telling myself I wanted to suffer through the pain. <br />
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It's funny to me how each delivery is so different. One of them I wanted to hang off my husband, but did not want him to give me a back rub. The second one I had pump up music in the background and was moving around the whole time. This time I just wanted to be pampered and I wanted to see my husband the whole time. It was great because one of my friends, Bonnie Smith, came to coach me through labor so she was able to help my husband keep up the back and foot rubbing! The nurse jumped right in to rub my legs and I was feeling pretty taken care of.<br />
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One of the ways that I felt God in the room with me was through the contractions at the end of labor. You know how usually the contractions get so close together that you can hardly catch your breath? Well, my contractions got farther apart. I even fell asleep between some of them and was then woken up by the feeling of another one coming on. It was like I got a bunch of little naps in between to give me some energy to push her out because I was nervous I would not have the strength with such little sleep the night before-2.5 hours or so. I had my eyes closed most of the time through labor and did not talk much. I was just trying to save all my energy for the end. <br />
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When it was time to push, I was pretty alert. That kind of happens when you have almost 8 lbs coming out of you! I ended up pushing so hard I pooped as I was delivering her, which I totally didn't care about at that point. When I was delivering my second son, I was coaching him saying, "You can do it Bruce. You can come out." And more positive phrases like that. This time I was screaming, "Get her out of me!" With my sons I had ripped so they just shot out like a bullet out of a gun. However, I did not rip with her so her head was stuck and I got to experience the "ring of fire". I think that's probably when the screaming was the loudest. <br />
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Funny thing was my husband shushed me. Yes he did! I looked at him and yelled, "Don't shush me!" He told me later that he thought, "Well, who is shushing a woman in labor?!" Then, without thinking-obviously, he shushed me again and realized that he was the offending shusher. He could not believe himself. It was actually pretty funny.....AFTERWARDS, when we were talking about it:)<br />
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After they got us all cleaned up they were trying to get me to use the restroom. I couldn't and I heard the nurses discussing when they thought I had last peed. I interrupted them and explained that I was pretty sure I peed myself in the bed. I told them I was thinking, "This bed is going to get really messy. A little pee is not going to make it much messier and I am not getting out of this bed to go to the toilet. So, I peed myself."<br />
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They got me over to the post partum side and things went great. The after pains were horrendous, but other than that I was feeling pretty sore and tired but also so happy and blessed. We expressed our wishes to get out of the hospital the next morning and the staff was so kind to get our paperwork moving along. <br />
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The next morning, we were at the doors of the hospital with 9 minutes to get to Wayne's Christmas program which was just around the corner at a local church. Two nurses helped us load the van so we could make it on time. We got there with a few minutes to spare. Everyone was telling me how crazy I was for being there and what a supermom I was. I explained that I was high on drugs-I had just taken a hydrocodone right before leaving the hospital-and I would crash like any other mom after the program. <br />
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So, what crazy labor stories do you have?<br />
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<br />Misty Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18098831236272332331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925185264694207771.post-82142477811294711902012-11-27T22:37:00.000-08:002012-11-27T22:37:18.444-08:00O Sleepless Night<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This song is a parody of O Holy Night. When I first thought of writing a parody of this song, I wanted to write about how I thought Mary's first night with Jesus really went. (Him crying, being hungry and her not getting much sleep, etc.) However, I couldn't figure out a way of doing this without being irreverent. So, I decided to base the song on my own experience. Besides, who knows, maybe he was a perfect baby.<br />
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I wrote the first two verses of this song based on a real night I experienced with my 2 boys shortly after my second son was born. I kept racking my brain trying to think of words to the third verse. I finally wrote the third verse when the insomnia of my current pregnancy hit me. <br />
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Funny thing is, I'm due with our third child in 2 weeks so I will most likely have a lot of nights like this in the near future. At least I'll have something to sing to myself to maybe make me laugh instead of cry.....<br />
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I hope you like it! Let the Christmas season begin!Misty Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18098831236272332331noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925185264694207771.post-81933917899646610352012-11-15T06:37:00.001-08:002012-11-15T06:37:55.750-08:00Constantly Abide<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="woj"></span><br />
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<span class="woj">I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and
I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing – John 15:5</span><br />
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This last spring, a mom's group I attend went through a shortened version of The Freedom Series by Neil Anderson. Each of us went through the material individually. As we were going through the series I found a book we had at our house titled "Ridding Your Home of Spiritual Darkness". The author talked about things in our home that we may not even realize hold demonic power over us. <br />
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Through reading the book, God revealed that I needed to get rid of some things in my home. I had been working with my counselor on my self-esteem and I felt God wanted me to get rid of things I had earned that had either raised my self-esteem to where I thought I was better than others or had lowered my self-esteem by reminding me that I was not as successful as I had once been. So, I began throwing things away. It felt great. <br />
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God also had me give up a position I held in a local ministry. I thought He had me give up the position because He wanted me to focus on the things I was working with my counselor and to give more time to my family. However, recently He is showing me that He had me give it up because I was finding my identity in it. <br />
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Instead of being a servant leader I was striving for respect from others, recognition for the things I was doing, and just plain focusing on the way others thought of me instead of what part I needed to play in God's plan for the ministry. <br />
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When I thought God was taking the position away because He wanted me to work on other things, I was fine. When my heart hurt because I wasn't as involved I thought he just wanted to fill that space with the other things he brought into my life. I thought, "I need to do those other things he wants me to focus on and my feelings of being left out won't be there." I was wrong.<br />
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God doesn't want me to do anything. (That is not a call to be lazy and do absolutely nothing.) He wants me to rely on Him for my identity and to constantly abide in Him. He wants me to not seek after things that I can do to make me feel worthy. That is His doing. He did it on the cross. I am a new creation and special because I belong to Him. It's not because of anything I can do. It's only because of what He has done. And I can only be helpful to His plan if I stay connected to Him and let Him work through me.<br />
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As I focus on God and others I am able to see more of God's plans unfold. And His plan is always better.<br />
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What struggles keep you from focusing on others?Misty Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18098831236272332331noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925185264694207771.post-54428599132422130352012-10-31T06:55:00.000-07:002012-10-31T07:16:47.952-07:00Only 6 Weeks To Go!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This week has been one of THOSE weeks. I realized this last weekend that I have entered the stage of the pregnancy where I am done being pregnant. Not that I want to have her early, I just don't want to be pregnant anymore. As I'm telling my husband this Monday afternoon on a "can you please come home a little early" phone call about how I am starting to think, "What in the world were we thinking getting pregnant again?!" He says, "And we want another one!" I said, "Don't you even mention that right now!" Of course, I am kidding. I already love Allison, our baby's name, and am so excited to meet her. And, yes, we want a fourth child. However, I will be excited when I can stand on my own two feet again without being in fear that I will fall. Speaking of falling.....<br />
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I have not had such a hard time keeping my balance in any other pregnancy than this one. If you've seen me in person, you know I don't move slowly. I am a fast walker...and a fast talker:) Not even including falling in the tub, I have fallen the last 3 Mondays. Not sure what it is with Mondays. I really do love Mondays. It's like the slate has been wiped clean and I get another week to do my best. I guess I get a little too excited and forget to slow down. <br />
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It's also frustrating when things seem to be going really great and then something just sets me off. I woke up on Monday feeling pretty anxious about a few different things. I was journaling and the verse "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7) popped into my mind. So, I listed all my "anxieties" and gave them to Him. We had a great morning. I was able to get some cleaning done, read to the boys and play blocks with them. I was feeling pretty tired right before nap time and thought, "I just need to get through reading them stories and then I can lie down on the couch." I had also been in the bathroom, somewhere I am often since there is only 6 weeks to go in this pregnancy, praising the Lord for such a great morning and how He had helped me.<br />
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Then, Bruce pooped his diaper. Okay, not a big deal. I'll just change it. As I'm changing that diaper, Wayne announces that he needs to poop. Okay, not a big deal. "Wayne, go get on the toilet and don't play with the water," I say. "I won't mom," He says. (Yes, I have to give that warning because last week he had pooped and was wiping before I got in there. However, he wasn't totally wiping but had toilet paper half in the poop water and half wiping himself. Have I mentioned that potty training is my current torture chamber?)<br />
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After changing the diaper and getting in the bathroom with Wayne, Wayne realizes that Bruce is playing with his blocks. I try to reassure him that he can fix anything Bruce messed up when Bruce goes to a nap-Wayne doesn't take naps anymore. I thought that calmed him, but it didn't. Long story short, Wayne had a total meltdown, got poop on his face and when I tried to clean it off with soap and water the poor kid was gagging because he had his mouth open and I wasn't watching too closely, and honestly quite perturbed by this point. He did start laughing, but I accidentally squirted soap on him when I was washing my hands, because I was pushing the soap dispenser a little harder than needed, which sent him into another meltdown. I let him out of the bathroom and I just sat there and cried. <br />
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I was crying so hard I was just about hyperventilating. (Did I mention I'm DONE being pregnant with all the emotional swings that go with it?!?!?!) I could not believe that no less than 15 minutes ago I was praising the Lord for all His help and now I am on the bathroom floor having my own meltdown. I would have left the bathroom, but I couldn't quit crying. Okay it only lasted 5-10 minutes, but it felt like a long time. I was thinking, "What is going on. Do I need to get a part-time job, a housekeeper, more counseling?" Then I realized that I have not been taking care of me. Not in a selfish way, but in a healthy way. I have not had a break, a real break in a long time. It's funny how us moms can forget to take care of ourselves. It's not like we are "out of sight, out of mind." I'm always with me!<br />
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Well, Bruce finally gave up on being read to and put himself to a nap:) Wayne came to the bathroom door and told me I needed to be quiet with my crying because Bruce had fallen asleep. (Thank you, Wayne:) I got on the computer and hired a babysitter for Wed. I am going to go be by myself for 3 hours. I was so excited! So, I went in the living room with Wayne to relax. As I am standing in front of the TV, I lose my balance and fall hard enough to hurt my hip, back and give my knee a carpet burn through my pajamas! So, I definitely think getting excited and falling are linked together for me. So, no more getting really excited for the next 6 weeks! I will lower my expectations on being excited and just settle for expressing my happy emotions with my words only and not my body!<br />
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As I woke this morning a word picture came to my mind. I drew it and would post it, but you don't need to see anymore pictures that look like a preschooler drew them:) The picture was of a fire with lighter fluid on one side and a fire extinguisher on the other. The fire represents my emotions and the emotions of others: children, friends, other family, etc. My prayer is, pregnant or not, to be the fire extinguisher to help calm the situations more than allowing my emotions to get out of control and make the situation worse. The first part of Proverbs 15 says, "A gentle answer<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16809A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)"></sup> turns away wrath,<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16809B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)"></sup><br />
<span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Prov-15-1">but a harsh word stirs up anger." Lord, please help me to be a gentle pregnant lady and not a harsh one. </span></span><br />
<span class="indent-1"><span class="text Prov-15-1"></span></span><br />
<span class="indent-1"><span class="text Prov-15-1">Now, I wonder if they have anymore fireman outfits since it's Halloween. If I wait until tomorrow I can get a discount.....</span></span><br />
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<span class="indent-1"><span class="text Prov-15-1"></span></span><br />Misty Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18098831236272332331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925185264694207771.post-30146889702814723232012-10-25T07:37:00.001-07:002012-10-25T07:37:02.514-07:005th Day of Preschool<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I know this post is long overdue, but what would you expect from a blog titled "Moms for Lowered Expectations"? </div>
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So, I took a picture on Wayne's first day of preschool. Of course Bruce had to have a backpack on too. They look so adorable....okay, I'm a little bias:)</div>
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Then, my husband came home and happened to be browsing on my Facebook page before bed. He commented on all the "first day of school" pics that were posted. I told him I also took a picture of our kids. He said, "Yeah, but did you see the cool picture of the kid holding the sign that it was his first day of Kindergarten?" I replied, "Yes I did and no I did not do that." He thought the sign was really cool. (Thanks a lot Amber Bray for raising the bar!)</div>
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We decided it would be funny to do a 2nd day of Preschool sign. Well, it was taking me a while to get used to getting the boys ready and out the door so we ended up with a 5th day of Preschool sign. Now, I thought it shouldn't be too hard to get him to just stand there with the sign. However, he had another piece of artwork he also wanted to hold in the other hand and we had to shake them in the air. </div>
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Below is the pic where I was looking at him with my serious face saying, "Please just hold the sign up so I can see it." He was giving me his serious face back:)</div>
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Then, the boys had to fight over the sign because it is such a cool toy:)</div>
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Here is the sign, since I realized after taking the pic that you can't read anything on it:</div>
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The bottom part reads, "Mom finally got us all ready on time so we could take this stress-free pic with this really cool sign!" "Stress-free", that's funny.....because all mornings before school are stress-free, right?</div>
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So what kind of funny getting ready in the morning story do you have?</div>
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(I think I fixed the settings on the blog so anyone can leave a comment, if you want. You don't have to have a Google account anymore. Just to let you know:)</div>
Misty Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18098831236272332331noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925185264694207771.post-21938712042642734222012-09-30T23:50:00.003-07:002012-09-30T23:50:52.301-07:00I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Yes, that is me upside down in the bathtub. I realize most moms post pictures of their children in the bathtub that are cute and sweet. Well, my picture has two cute, sweet boys and one klutzy mama!<br />
<br />
Since I am almost 30 weeks pregnant, it is uncomfortable for me to sit on my knees and bathe the boys. So, I was standing up, leaning in the bathtub to wash Wayne when the rug started slipping from under my feet. In the tub I went! I said, "Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" Wayne pulls the hair away from my face to see my facial expression--is she really hurt or just being a Scarlet O'Hara? I just started laughing so hard. Bruce was still not totally convinced that things were okay. <br />
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Wayne and I both call for Matt to come in the bathroom to help me get out of the tub. He comes in the bathroom and is immediately laughing. He asks me how he can help. I say, "Help me out of here!" Well, he thought, "If I push down on her legs she'll just pop right out of there." So, he proceeds to push my legs down bending my legs backward. I ask him, in a rather loud voice, "What are you doing? I'm not a see saw!"<br />
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I did NOT pop out of the tub but instead kind of slithered out, as I was trying to save my knees at this point:) I turn around to see that he has an orange in his hand! I said, "Next time take the orange out of your hand and really help me!" He said, "Well, I thought I could save you and eat my orange." He was lucky I didn't have any sharp objects in my hand. We both just died laughing. It was so funny. <br />
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This actually was the third time I fell today. A new record for me! Although my belly has felt tight-not sure if it's Braxton Hicks or from all the laughing-Allison has been moving. I thank God me and the baby are fine. And, that I didn't smash my little boys in the process of falling:)Misty Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18098831236272332331noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925185264694207771.post-59225513788800450852012-09-17T07:59:00.001-07:002012-09-17T07:59:26.682-07:00Is Candid Camera Following Me Today?<br />
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Have you ever had one of those days where you feel like Candid Camera is following you around and you are not finding it very funny! Well, Monday was one of those days for me. <br />
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It started out pretty calm. I was able to get up before the kids and have devotions peacefully. I was feeling kind of stressed over the weekend so I was going to try to take it easy on Monday. <br />
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After breakfast, the boys and I started to organize some of the girl's clothes I had bought at some yard sales. While we were doing that I had a load of clothes in the washer. Next thing I know, water is on the floor underneath the washer. "Aut Oh", I said. "There's some water. Okay boys help mom clean it up." So, I went to get some towels to soak up the water. <br />
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Our washer had not drained properly over the weekend so I knew I needed to call someone to fix it. While I was on the phone, the boys just had to fight because, as we all know, as soon as we get on the phone that's when the pestering really begins. So, I told them to go to their beds. That gave me a little peace and quiet while I was on the phone. <br />
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I had to move the washer and dryer to clean up the water. Part of the time the boys were helping me soak up the water. The other part they were climbing up on the washer. I don't mind if Wayne is up there, but I don't want Bruce and I especially don't want them both up there together. Then, I was trying to get the vent back on the dryer.....yeah, that was interesting. While I am fussing with it Wayne is explaining to me how it needs to be done. <br />
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I realized I needed some coffee so I made a half caff. (I usually just drink decaf) However, the half caff didn't feel like it was working. I thought, "Am I really that tired? Guess so."<br />
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Tried to move bookshelf-got everything off shelves and couldn't get screws out of the wall. How hard is it to figure out a drill. I mean, our husbands do it so it can't be rocket science! (haha. I totally love me SMART husband:) As I'm moving the bookshelf from the living room to the bedroom I'm thinking, "Should I really be doing this being pregnant and all. Am I going to pull something. Nah, I'm fine. I did stuff like this during the other two pregnancies." (I probably should have listened to the voices in my head because as you will read I started having Braxton Hicks contractions that night.)<br />
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Had lunch, the boys would not eat. It was even hot dogs and corn. What kid doesn't eat hot dogs. They usually love them! Next, was nap time. Bruce went down pretty easy but it was taking Wayne longer to fall asleep. Then, the guy to fix the drain called. He was coming early. "Oh great!" I thought. "Now Wayne is never going to be able to fall asleep and I will not get a nap at all. Oh well." <br />
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When the guy came to fix the drain I still had pajamas on, black makeup under my eyes and had just thrown my hair up. I looked price sensitive. So, he hurried up and only took 1 hour to fix it. So, that worked out for the budget:)<br />
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Wayne wasn't able to fall asleep until after the guy left, but I was able to lay down with him too. I slept for about and hour. Then woke up from nap time to Bruce trying to climb into the bed with Wayne and I.<br />
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Next, I set out to cook the meat for dinner while doing the dishes. I was stirring the meat and one little piece of hamburger flew out of the pot, a tall stock pot I might add. I found it on the ONLY toy in the kitchen. Now, what are the odds of that?! As Wayne and I are doing the dishes I hear a crackling noise. I thought, "What is Bruce doing in there? Oh man, is that my meat?" It was. And it was burnt.....black and serve again! So, I decided to order a pizza.<br />
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At the pizza place, the guy asked me how my day was going. I said, "One of my kids has his pajamas on, one has his shirt on backwards and I am in my 'Walmart outfit'. That's how good it's going!" <br />
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I was telling Matt about my crazy day and how I drank a half caff coffee but it didn't really affect me. He asked me how I had drank a half caff because there are no caffeinated pods in the house. (We just bought a Nespresso espresso maker earlier this summer) I said, "Well, that explains a lot. I wondered why it didn't work. My eyes were practically closing themselves by naptime."<br />
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I told Matt that evening that I would like to take all the girl clothes back out to the van. I had separated them by size so we had about 8 garbage bags and 2 boxes of stuff taking up room in our bedroom. After getting all the bags and boxes in the van, I went back outside to do something in the shed. (I don't even remember now what I was doing) I had locked myself out of the house. So here I am knocking on the door thinking, "Yup, this is the kind of day I have had. Lord, please help us get to bedtime fast."<br />
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I did get a lot of practice praying for patience and doing breathing exercises, but it was such a stressful day that I started having contractions that night. (Braxton Hicks) Oops. So, I took it easy on Tuesday. I want to hold my baby but we still have 3 months to go. I gotta calm down. <br />
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What kind of crazy day have you had lately?Misty Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18098831236272332331noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925185264694207771.post-56067904821561019832012-08-24T09:27:00.003-07:002012-08-24T09:33:06.632-07:00Be Alert!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I felt God speaking to me a while back that I needed to stop defending myself with others. I didn't totally understand what He meant at the time. I felt Him saying that if I had a problem with something someone said or I wanted to snap back, I needed to come to Him with the issue and figure out why it was bothering me so bad or just why it made me so upset.<br />
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Recently, I realized my first form of communication is to fight, to defend myself. Some of those who know me may say, "No way. You're being dramatic." However, if you ask anyone who has ever lived in close quarters with me, most of them will agree with me. I will think through conversations and come up with my "comeback" if the other person starts to give me attitude.....as if that is going to solve the problem!<br />
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I have felt like it has been hard for me to "come into" who I am as a mom. The authority I have as the mom and wife of this house. My husband kept telling me, "You are the woman of this house." I thought I felt that way because I am much younger than him, 9 years, and still kind of felt like I was "playing house" instead of actually "living house". But my defending tendency partly stems from low self-confidence in general, something I'm working on. <br />
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This week I realized I do it in my parenting. One of my sons disobeys and my first thought is, "Oh yeah, how about this...I'll just reprimand you. And, I guess if this is what you want to do all day I can play that game." I'm realizing it's not a fight with them. I am the parent. I am in charge. I can say, "No you do not behave that way," and then discipline without getting so emotional.<br />
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Also, that form of communication puts me at odds with my kids. I get frustrated that they won't just obey so we can have a good day. When really it's the devil I am fighting because he would love nothing more than for our family to not be happy. He would love nothing more than for me to think my children are the problem. He would love for me to not gain self-confidence in who I am as their Christian mother and my husband's Christian wife. <br />
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As I journaled about this the other day the Lord brought to mind the passage in Ephesians about putting on the armor of God. <br />
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Ephesians 6:10-18 says:<br />
<span class="text Eph-6-10"><sup class="versenum">10 </sup>Finally, be strong in the Lord <sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29348M" title="See cross-reference M">M</a>)"></sup> and in his mighty power. <sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29348N" title="See cross-reference N">N</a>)"></sup> </span> <span class="text Eph-6-11" id="en-NIV-29349"><sup class="versenum">11 </sup>Put on the full armor of God, <sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29349O" title="See cross-reference O">O</a>)"></sup> so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.</span> <span class="text Eph-6-12" id="en-NIV-29350"><sup class="versenum">12 </sup>For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, <sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29350P" title="See cross-reference P">P</a>)"></sup> but against the rulers, against the authorities, <sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29350Q" title="See cross-reference Q">Q</a>)"></sup> against the powers <sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29350R" title="See cross-reference R">R</a>)"></sup> of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. <sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29350S" title="See cross-reference S">S</a>)"></sup> </span> <span class="text Eph-6-13" id="en-NIV-29351"><sup class="versenum">13 </sup>Therefore put on the full armor of God, <sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29351T" title="See cross-reference T">T</a>)"></sup> so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.</span> <span class="text Eph-6-14" id="en-NIV-29352"><sup class="versenum">14 </sup>Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, <sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29352U" title="See cross-reference U">U</a>)"></sup> with the breastplate of righteousness in place, <sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29352V" title="See cross-reference V">V</a>)"></sup> </span> <span class="text Eph-6-15" id="en-NIV-29353"><sup class="versenum">15 </sup>and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. <sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29353W" title="See cross-reference W">W</a>)"></sup> </span> <span class="text Eph-6-16" id="en-NIV-29354"><sup class="versenum">16 </sup>In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, <sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29354X" title="See cross-reference X">X</a>)"></sup> with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. <sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29354Y" title="See cross-reference Y">Y</a>)"></sup> </span> <span class="text Eph-6-17" id="en-NIV-29355"><sup class="versenum">17 </sup>Take the helmet of salvation <sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29355Z" title="See cross-reference Z">Z</a>)"></sup> and the sword of the Spirit, <sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29355AA" title="See cross-reference AA">AA</a>)"></sup> which is the word of God. <sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29355AB" title="See cross-reference AB">AB</a>)"></sup> </span><br />
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<span class="text Eph-6-18" id="en-NIV-29356"><sup class="versenum">18 </sup>And pray in the Spirit <sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29356AC" title="See cross-reference AC">AC</a>)"></sup> on all occasions <sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29356AD" title="See cross-reference AD">AD</a>)"></sup> with all kinds of prayers and requests. <sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29356AE" title="See cross-reference AE">AE</a>)"></sup> With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying <sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29356AF" title="See cross-reference AF">AF</a>)"></sup> for all the Lord’s people.</span> <br />
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Being alert. I like that.Misty Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18098831236272332331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925185264694207771.post-61821358033508608072012-08-08T22:50:00.002-07:002012-08-08T22:50:37.716-07:00God speaks through Duplos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Kids do and say some of the cutest things.<br />
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I remember when I was little, years ago now, I would listen to shells and try to hear the ocean. We've all done it. It's so facinating to listen to. Well, my oldest son, Wayne, went to Preschool Camp last week. They studied the ocean and were listening to some shells. On the last day of camp, Wayne showed me the shells and wanted me to listen, so I did. <br />
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The next morning, he comes to me with a Duplo (big Lego block) up to his ear. He says, "Mom, I hear Jesus." He hands the block to me so I can take a listen. I said, "Oh, what is He saying?" He said, "I don't know."<br />
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After taking his picture tonight for the blog, we were trying to get him to do a video about his "Jesus speaking to him" experience but he was doing the potty dance and didn't want to do a video. His dad said, "I think Jesus is saying, 'Wayne needs to go potty.'" Wayne looked at him as if to say, "Really? He knows I need to potty?" It was so cute!<br />
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So, if you feel like you're not hearing from the Lord, start playing with blocks. He will speak to you!Misty Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18098831236272332331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925185264694207771.post-59468337233752702312012-08-07T23:07:00.001-07:002012-08-08T06:37:54.618-07:00Chocolate Doesn't Solve Everything?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The other day I was stressed about a situation. After dinner
I told my husband I needed a dessert-when a pregnant woman says this she means
business! He mentioned that he had just had a handful of chocolate chips and
maybe that would take the edge off for me. They did. We went to the store and
were driving back home when I told him I still wanted something sweet. It could
have just been the food yearnings of a pregnant woman, but I wanted it like my
next breath depended on it. </span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, we decided to have me go into the grocery store and get
some frozen yogurt and whatever toppings I wanted. I was on the lookout for
that Reese’s or Reese cup shell stuff. You know the chocolate goodness that
hardens not too long after pouring it over your ice cream. (or frozen yogurt</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">) I wanted peanut
butter and chocolate. </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As I was looking for the shell goodness I felt the Lord
speaking to me that I really just needed to go home and pray. I felt Him saying
that what I was really craving was something to fill the hole I was feeling
that the stress had created. I thought, “I don’t have time for that. There is
so much to talk about it will take forever for me to work through my stress.”
So, I went ahead and bought the frozen yogurt. I got some fudge topping too
thinking I would have that with a little peanut butter. </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well, I did put my sundae together. And, it did not taste
good at all. I mean, at all. I realized I was trying to find a substitute for
time with God and it was not measuring up. Sadly, I still didn’t ask for prayer
time that night. My husband was getting ready for a big project at work and I
didn’t want to interrupt. </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">However, the next morning-a Sunday, I woke up about 6am. My
children do not wake up until around 7:30a. At first I thought, “Seriously. I
just want to go back to sleep.” Then, I realized that this was the time I could
do that praying I so desperately needed. It was great. The Lord showed me some
areas of my life I was letting fear creep back in. I was on a spiritual high. </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then, I totally manipulated my husband. I hate it when that
happens. I blame something on him only to figure out later that it was really
all my fault. Oops. That’s why God woke me up on Monday around 6a. He knew we
had more work to do</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thank you Lord for your wonderful grace. Thank you for loving me enough that you don't just leave me the way I am but you mold me into who you created me to be. The taste of your
love is much better than chocolate. (and peanut butter)</span></div>Misty Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18098831236272332331noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925185264694207771.post-7431686171731607762012-07-27T16:52:00.001-07:002012-07-27T16:55:39.166-07:00I'm a Walmart Thief<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv0APMgBlUkHD191muc6cFlxuFQCpqkwU_Z7ugaaGHBismi6dlm6xcTHR2clim66WAbqgcYXRtCPfsr0kKp9Jnqb3PARxlRMlUBbX_vXF-0JTocuwC4rg7bPXSzyeCddD_RuVNfusb1p1c/s1600/114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv0APMgBlUkHD191muc6cFlxuFQCpqkwU_Z7ugaaGHBismi6dlm6xcTHR2clim66WAbqgcYXRtCPfsr0kKp9Jnqb3PARxlRMlUBbX_vXF-0JTocuwC4rg7bPXSzyeCddD_RuVNfusb1p1c/s320/114.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
Yes, I stole batteries at Walmart yesterday. <br />
<br />
You might have a similar story. I was at the checkout line with both boys. Wayne spotted a piece of plastic from a bag and thought it would be funny to get down on the floor and blow on it. He proceeded to act like a dog and a frog, hopping around. With one eye on Bruce, still in the cart, I was trying to get Wayne's attention to get him back by us. He finally came back there. Meanwhile, the people in front of us got a good laugh:) <br />
<br />
I got his attention back on our cart and helping me put things on the belt to pay. Well, because Wayne was helping Bruce decided that he needed to help. I had him in the seat of the cart. He was standing up handing me my Gas-X, something every pregnant woman needs. (Or should I say, "something everyone else hopes she is taking at least from time to time!") I took it and put it on the belt. He wanted to help more....so I put him in the back of the cart and told him to hand things to me and Wayne. Things were going somewhat smooth again. <br />
<br />
After everything was loaded on the belt, the people in front of us were taking a while to pay. Not a big deal, I just knew the boys were not going to last much longer. Wayne was over playing with another cashier's bag holder turnaround thingy. I got him back over to our cart where he started to play with our cashier's bag holder turnaround thingy. Of course I tell him, "No, no. Let's not play on that. When she fills up the bags we can put them in the cart." So he helped me load the bags. <br />
<br />
However, as I am putting bags in the cart I realize there are still items in the cart. I had left the cart back far enough for Bruce to pull things off the belt and back into the cart. Oops. So, I got all that stuff out and moved the cart farther down. (I thought I had gotten everything out:) But, Bruce did not want to part with the water we were purchasing. So, I had the cashier scan it so he could just hold it. <br />
<br />
Well, seeing Bruce with the water made Wayne really thirsty. I told him we would drink some of the water after mommy paid. We would drink it on one of the benches at the front of the store. (I knew if we started to drink it right then it would be all over him and the floor.) He thought that meant, "Go to the bench right now." So, he goes over to the bench. I go retrieve him only to return to my cart with Bruce standing up again. (As I am writing this I realized that is probably why they have those little belts for that seat, DUH! I should probably use that next time!) Wayne is now frustrated and fading fast. <br />
<br />
The cashier scans the few coupons I had and says she didn't see any batteries come through. I ran my fingers through my hair and said, "Well, they were in the cart. Maybe they fell out. If I stole them, I'll come back and pay for them." I pay for the items I didn't steal and we proceed to the bench to have some water. Poor Wayne still spilled it all over his shorts and I ended up opening one of the napkin packages we purchased to clean him and the floor. <br />
<br />
We get to the van and as I am unloading things, with the boy's help-they are good little helpers, I find the stolen batteries. I thought, "There is no way I am going back in there today!" By the time we got home it was a 2 hour Walmart trip!<br />
<br />
The batteries are sitting on our dryer and I will go back and pay for them. Maybe I'll do it next week while Wayne is at Preschool Camp and I'll just have one little monkey with me:)<br />
<br />Misty Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18098831236272332331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925185264694207771.post-82002672940308503122012-07-19T14:37:00.001-07:002012-07-19T14:38:10.897-07:00The way a recipe should be written......<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">At the height of my frustration with life with 2 little ones, I would
read a recipe and get so angry. Prep time: 30 minutes. Hah! Try 2 days. I was
thinking, “There is no way I can get all that prepped in 30 minutes. Have these
people never cooked with little ones in the house?” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Then, you read all the parenting articles that tell us to “never cook
with little ones at our feet.” Really?! Do they make some sort of “don’t bother
me while I’m making dinner” straight jacket for kids that I’ve never heard
about? Because at my house there is no way, unless my husband is home watching
the kids, I am going to get through dinner prep without one of them being at my
feet at some point.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">So, the other day I was making lasagna and thought it would be funny to
write the recipe the way I think it should be written for moms with little ones
at home….maybe even for moms with bigger kids</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">6 lasagna noodles-get these cooking at beginning-<span style="color: red;">make extra because somehow some of them turn out kind of
funky</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">1.5 lb Italian Sausage (you can use hot or mild or a mixture…whatever
you prefer)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Brown meat, drain fat-<span style="color: red;">take one of the kids to
the bathroom and wipe the other one’s nose. Wash hands. Replace the now BLACK
meat with fresh meat….oops, it burned.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Add next 5 ingredients. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt;">Be ready for the kids to help with the next step because when
they see you getting out the measuring spoons and cups they are going to be on
a chair begging to help. Which I don’t mind, but does add time to the prep.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">1.5 Tbs whole basil, chopped<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">2 ¼ tsp salt <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">1.5 lbs canned tomatoes (stewed tomatoes or diced) <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">3-6 oz cans tomato paste <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt;">Let the older child take the paper off the cans. Wayne loves
doing this. Give the little one a job because if you don’t he will be up on the
chair trying to “help” which the older child will not appreciate and try to
knock the smaller one off the chair. (Make a mental note to start saving for
emergency room visits. We might be on a first name basis by the time they all
graduate</span><span style="color: red; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt;">)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Simmer covered for 15 minutes, stirring often.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt;">In between stirring, change a diaper, get someone a snack and
referee fights over the only toy that they both want to play with at that exact
time…..because there are no other interesting toys anywhere to be found</span><span style="color: red; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">While that is cooking, beat 3 eggs then add next 5 ingredients<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt;">Again, the need to help is high so this part will take a
little longer.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">4.5 cups ricotta or cream-style cottage cheese<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">¾ cup grated parmesan or Romano<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">3 Tbs parsley flakes<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">1.5 tsp salt<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">1 tsp pepper<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">1 lb package fresh mozzarella cheese, slice it thin</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt;">Little one is begging at your feet for food so you feed him
mozzarella as you slice it. Hopefully you slice faster than he eats. The older
child comes in upset thinking he has been gypped but then remembers that he
doesn’t care for cheese. So, we must get him a different snack because seeing
brother eating has also made him hungry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Assemble the lasagna</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This should be the easy part.</span><span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt;"> Everything is cooked; it just
needs to be assembled. However, the kids are done with you doing something that
wasn’t their idea so they start to fall apart. Back to them washing their hands
and helping put the noodles in and layering the cheese. The constant reminder
to them: “Let’s not pick our nose while we do this.” (And any other saying
about other parts of the body that we really don’t want them to touch while
they are assembling our dinner.)</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
Layers from bottom:<br />
½ noodles<br />
½ cottage cheese filling<br />
½ mozzarella slices<br />
½ meat sauce<br />
½ noodles<br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">½ cottage cheese filling</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">½ mozzarella slices</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">½ meat sauce<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Bake @ 375 degrees for 30 minutes</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt;">Be ready for them to totally resist dinner and have a total
melt down. Maybe it will look better to them at lunch tomorrow</span><span style="color: red; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt;"> Probably not, but we’ll try……<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>Misty Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18098831236272332331noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925185264694207771.post-38741719720408403222012-06-12T06:33:00.000-07:002012-06-12T06:33:51.854-07:00Off to the Maternity Ward Again!There once were 4 of us....<br />
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Now there are 5!<br />
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We're pregnant! We are actually 3 months pregnant! I am due December 12, one day after my husband's birthday. The first two children were either right around their due date or on their due date. It will be interesting to see when this baby is born. </div>
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Here is Wayne looking at the snowman in honor of baby #3 trying to figure out what he thinks about it! </div>
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Actually, when I ask Wayne if he wants another baby in the family he tells me, "No. I want lots of babies." We had a conversation the other day that went something like this:<br />
<br />
<br />
Wayne: "Mom, babies cry."<br />
Me: "That's true. Do you think when we have a new baby you will want to hold it and help it to stop crying?"<br />
Wayne: "No. I'm going to go lalalalala and make it laugh." (As he is moving his head back and forth while sticking out his tongue:)<br />
Me: "That will be great!"<br />
<br />
<br />
It's going to get crazier at our house but we'll have lots of fun too!<br />
<br />Misty Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18098831236272332331noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925185264694207771.post-88671531188657941642012-06-05T20:52:00.001-07:002012-06-06T06:44:05.573-07:00Angry People Talk to JesusShortly after having my second son Bruce, I realized I had a problem with anger….again. I used to have issues with anger growing up, but thought in my early twenties I had remedied the problem and just thought I’d never struggle with it again. This time I realized my anger was stemming from anxiety and it also did when I was a child. <br />
<br />I began asking myself what the Bible has to say about anger. Obviously it is an emotion. We got our emotions from God so He probably has something to say about the way we are to handle anger. I remember reading Ephesians 4:26-27 which reads,”’ 26 In your anger do not sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.” I thought, “How do you do that. If I am angry, I’m angry and there’s probably going to be something I am going to have to say sorry about afterwards.” Also, I felt I needed to express my anger and be “real” which meant to flamboyantly show my anger….because that always helps a situation!<br /><br />My first son is also a passionate person. I wanted to learn not only for myself but to be able to teach him what to do when he felt out of control and mad. One day we were sitting on his floor, he was three, talking about a situation that was making him angry. I asked him what he thought we should do with our anger. It dawned on me….we should pray. Yes, I know that sounds so simple. The words of it sound simple but putting it into practice is no small miracle. I realized if I developed the habit of going to God right at the moment that I felt the heat rising in my chest then He could probably diffuse my anger before I acted on it. Also, He could shed some light on the situation to help me see things differently.<br /><br />I had heard people say, “At the moment you’re getting angry, take it to God.” I thought, “Yeah right. That’s the last thing I want to do when I am ticked off. I want to punch something and transfer these bad feelings I am having.” I almost got a punching bag for Mother’s Day that year but I couldn’t figure out where to hang it in my house to where I could reach it comfortably. And, I knew an ill-placed punching bag probably would have ticked me off too! <br /><br /> I remembered hearing Patsy Clairmont, a Christian speaker and author, talk about having anger issues when her son was little. She said when he would frustrate her she would say, “Mommy needs to go talk to Jesus.” He finally caught on and one time when he could tell she was frustrated said, “Mom, let’s pray!” I wanted to teach the same thing to my son. So, I began to develop the habit of going to God at the beginning of my anger and telling him I was going to go “talk to Jesus”.<br /> <br />The other day, I told Wayne I was going to go talk to Jesus because I was frustrated. When I was done I returned to the living room to play with Wayne. He told me he was playing with the ball with dad and I was talking to Jesus. I told him I was done because I was happy inside now. I told my husband I hoped that Wayne would equate mom frustrated → mom talking to Jesus → mom happy inside. My husband said, “Yeah, what’s going to happen is he is going to go to church and hear all these people talk about talking to Jesus. He’s going to think, ‘Man, this is one angry group of people!’”<br /> <br />How funny and true! We are all human. We all make mistakes. We all need a Savior……<br />
<br />
So what do you go away and talk to Jesus about during your day?<br /><br />Misty Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18098831236272332331noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925185264694207771.post-13460737399304437892012-05-31T06:51:00.000-07:002013-03-27T08:13:06.906-07:00Top 10 List for Moms for Lowered Expectations<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As a little girl I did not dream about my wedding, as some
girls do. I always thought about being a mom. I have always wanted to have a
large family—4 or so kids. I thought it would be fun. When my first son was
born it was fun, eventually. He just kind of went everywhere with me. When our
second child came along, our firstborn just started the “terrific twos”. I was
not having fun! I realized my expectations were way higher than reality. My
husband joked that we needed to start a club called “Mom’s for Low
Expectations”. It was kind of our little joke. Every time something would
happen that either immediately made us laugh or made me want to cry, we said, “That’s
one for Mom’s for Low Expectations!” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We changed the name to “Mom’s for Lowered Expectations”.
“Low” seemed a little too low. So, here is my top 10 list for Mom’s for Lowered
Expectations. Maybe you can relate to some of these:</span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
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<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">10.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I did not expect to say, “It’s just a little
pee. It’s sterile. It’s not like its poop.”</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">9.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I never expected to cook like the Old Testament
prophets……like a burnt offering to the Lord! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Story: The 2-3 minutes of a recipe that are crucial is always when
someone gets hurt or needs to use the restroom. By the time you get back to the
stove, it is “black and serve”……again.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">8.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I did not expect to dress based on what we are
going to eat that day. Because we know 5 mins into any meal we will be wearing
the food. It might as well match!</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">7.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I did not expect my toddler to resist eating
dinner but then want to “rescue” the corn out of his poop. (My husband calls
this “Wayne’s early recycling efforts!”)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Story: Wayne said, “Mom look! There’s corn. We have to get it!” I said,
“Uh, no. We just eat it once.”</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I did not expect to be one of those wives who
would call my husband at work crying. In fact, I thought those wives were so
weak….until I did it. The phone calls would usually go something like this: Me,
crying, “I’m having such a hard day, I barely got any breakfast, the house is
trashed, they won’t quit crying and I haven’t even gotten a shower!” 15 minutes
later, “It’s all good now. We’re fine, really. I got a little to eat and things
have blown over. Yeah, I probably shouldn’t call you before noon.”</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I expected to have my children wash their hands
after using the restroom. I didn’t realize I should have had them wash their
tongues too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Story: I would wipe Wayne after he would go poop. As he was bending over
on the toilet he would make a silly sound. I just thought he was moving his
head back and forth. One day he said, “Watch this!” I watched and saw my little
one licking the front of the toilet. Yeah, I did not expect that</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I thought my house would always look good. I
used to sell books door-to-door in college. I remember going to homes where the
mom stayed home with the kids. I remember this mom with two little boys and
there were a pile of clothes waiting to be folded and they were watching TV. I
thought, “What has she been doing all day!” Yeah, I ate my words on that one!</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The old saying is, “The calm before the storm”.
But I have found that trying to get little ones out the door involves a storm <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">before</i> the calm. I thought they would be
excited to go places and help everyone to get out the door. Hahahahaha! I so
did not understand little ones!</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Recycling is important, but I never expected
them to eat a post-it note and I find it in their diaper. No, I could not read
it. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Since this is a top 10 list for Mom’s for Lowered
Expectations, I never expected to get around to actually having 10 on the list…….so
there’s only 9!</span></div>
Misty Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18098831236272332331noreply@blogger.com7