What a person chooses to wear sends a message. I think that’s pretty much agreed on. The part that people differ on is, what is the message being sent?

For example, if one chooses to wear a suit and tie, are they saying they’re

a) professional

b) slick

c) conservative

d) a conformist

e) you name it

The same could be said for jeans and a t-shirt.  Is the person sending a message of comfort, laziness, disrespect, or it’s-all-i-have-clean-right-now?

There are certain areas of life and business where there is a clear, expected dress code.  In those circumstances, showing up in flip-flops would be paramount to losing an account or even getting fired.  It’s pretty clear that formal attire is needed to portray a serious mindset about their job and give proper respect.

In other areas, the line is muddled and gray.  No matter what one chooses to wear, there will those who are offended.  Some would respond to a suit with mistrust and even contempt, equating it with the smooth-talking politician or the smarmy salesman.  Jeans may cause some to relax while others may react with lowered respect.

There’s also the consideration of how dress affects the wearer.  Dressing “up” generally tends to make one act in a nicer manner, especially for females.  It can be fun.  But it’s not as if dressing “down” causes anyone to act unfitting.  Or “unsuitable”.

Ah, I kill myself.

Tags: presuppositions

I mean, look at these.

How can you look at these gorgeous ’snowball’ blooms, sweet Lilies of the Valley, and little vinca vine blossoms and not smile?

And, oh, if you could only smell them too.

Tags: simplicity

Lots to do this busy Friday.  Here are some thoughts I’ve been mulling over.

I used to think that people who publicly spoke, sang, taught, etc. must think highly of themselves.  Kind of the whole high self-esteem thing.  Maybe that’s true for some.

But for the most part I’ve come to realize ‘confidence’ is a result of being passionate about something along with  a realization of how insignificant one really is.

I tell my children often that shyness is really pride.  Because you’re focused on your self and overly worried about what others think.

Like Robb often says (mostly to himself) It’s not about you.

When one’s heart and mind has the proper perspective, they are focused on God - who He is, what He is doing, what He is concerned with…  Which first brings a realization that one is completely undeserving and unworthy, with absolutely nothing to offer.

The good news is that it doesn’t stop there.  That realization leads to an overwhelming thankfulness and gratitude to the One who is all in all and who has covered us with His righteousness so that we are beautiful, adored and cherished.

It’s this grace that humbles and then gives confidence, because it’s all about HIM!  Emboldened by the true Gospel, the focus becomes His glory.  One speaks and sings with joy and boldness, with whatever they have despite particular talent or ability because it’s not about how one appears or manages to stun the crowd… the consequences are insignificant in comparison to God’s power.

Tags: Christianity, worldview

• Everyone asks if Callahan is walking yet. Nope!

• Which is kind of nice, actually. When I work in the yard, I just set him nearby in the shade and he’s happy for an hour or so just sitting there playing with grass, leaves and pinecones. And eating dirt.

• Speaking of Callahan, he just discovered a piece of bread from last night’s dinner on the floor. He is happily munching away, jabbering and then holding it up so I can see it.

• I just admitted to having a home where you can find the previous night’s dinner on the floor. Just keepin’ it real.

• Oh, and I guess I also admitted that yes, I do permit my children to eat food that has been laying on the floor. Authenticity, yo.

• To everyone who commented or emailed about being my guinea pig, I will be contacting you when I get a table.  You’ve been warned.

• I recently bought a couple jumpropes.  Somehow they found their way into the house.  Now our home is almost always full of the rythymic slap slap sound of rope hitting floor.

• Robb bought Spence a hand shovel - the kind that is about 2 feet long.  If he’s outside, he’s usually lugging it along whereever he goes.

• Spence likes to stand right where I’m working.  I’m constantly saying, “Spence, back up.  Go ‘work’ over there, out of the way of my shovel.”  He’s like a cat.

• Skylar has set up our shed to be a botany center.  Or maybe an arachnid/reptile house.  With some old found bird nests thrown in there, too.  It’s quite a collection.  She’s definitely her mother’s daughter.

• Chase has been working a day or two each week on a horticulture crew.  He enjoys it, which is really cool since it’s hard work.  He comes home dirty, tired, and grinning.

• As I was working outside yesterday, a man walked by with a large dog.  The entire time it took them to walk the length of our yard, his dog strained against the leash, growling, snarling and barking.   The man said, “He really is a friendly dog.”  I actually think he believed it.  Um, hate to break it to you crazy pet lover, but that bruiser wasn’t showing his teeth in a smiley kind of way.  If he had gotten away I found it hard to imagine he would’ve slobbered me with doggy kisses.  It’s funny how pet owners always think their particular pet is kind and ohsogood, despite every evidence to the contrary.

Tags: homelife

This is the latest way the older ones pester Callahan.

Yes, that is a mohawk.

Just as it dries, softens and begins to lay flat… One of them wets it back into spikes.

Tags: photos

Skylar was given the task of taking some shots of the work we were doing today. I’m trying to keep a photo log of everything we’re doing here on the landscaping.

Okay, so I just transferred the pics off the card onto my laptop. This is what I found.

She may have gotten just a little sidetracked.

Oooh, here’s one of someone working!

And then there were about 30 of these.

And I’m not exaggerating.

I think she had it on speed shutter, and just snapped away.

No, I’m not tilling a field to grow corn. Although at this point that sounds kind of good. I was just prepping the ground for grass seed.

Tags: house, landscaping

Remember this picture?

We’ve come a long way, baby.

Tags: house, landscaping

The past four days I’ve been immersed in learning more about therapeutic essential oil application. Whoa.  I have a new appreciation for how amazing one little drop is.  Really.

There were two basic classes, but also a three day intensive course.

After lectures and studying some illustrations, we were able to do two days of hands-on training.  It incorporates some massage, but the focus is on specific essential oils and their association with various body areas and problems.  It’s awesome to see how effective it all is when used together.

My birthday is coming up, and I am scheming for a massage table.  Until then, a lot of the work can be done simply on the feet and legs.

So if you are in the area and willing to be a guinea pig, let me know.

I would love to practice on you!

Tags: health

Another vintage post from 2007…

Every now and then, I find it all too easy to be a gripe.  When I’m in this mode, little things bother me far more than they should.  I am often irritated to the point of wanting to pull my hair out.  I nag.  I complain.  I fuss.  I harp.

I hate what I see in myself.

So, I pray.  I pray for joy.  I ask God to grant me His joy; joy that is beyond what my circumstances are or how I happen to be “feeling” at the moment.  I beg for joy.  Plead for joy.  Seek for joy with all my heart.

And then I feel frustrated.  Because I still nag.  I still whine.  I still am far too easily influenced by the sheer craziness of raising five children who make messes, mistakes, and lots of work.  I still find myself dealing with issues that should have long been put to rest, such as losing May. And I still feel like I don’t really understand having joy in my heart.

Then, recently, I had a whole evening, night, and morning to myself.  I hadn’t had that in years.  Like, over 10 years.  I was intent on spending some quiet time writing, reading the Bible, and praying.  Uninterrupted!  I knew I needed to really seek God, as I had been dealing more and more with the feelings of frustration, fear, anger and being overwhelmed.

After spending some time in the Word and asking for God to speak to me, I happened to look back at the last thing I had written in my journal, months ago.

“Phil 3:8 ‘I count everything as loss, because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.’
I know the importance, no, the need to put God first.
How much, though, am I really willing to sacrifice if that’s what God calls for?
I have so many blessings – my most treasured being my husband and children.  But – they are God’s.  If He calls for them, will I let go cheerfully?
How does one truly cherish and treasure gifts from the Lord, and yet be willing for whatever He has for them?
All is His.
May I be willing to sacrifice all to see his glory, His power, His hand move.”

And then I struggled the next 5 months because He took a baby that I never even held in my arms.

I realized right then how far I have to go in giving up my own ideas of how my life should be, of what is right, and what is good.  I saw how much I lacked the ability to hold on to things loosely.  To value them without falling apart if I lost them.

I began to think and write about how going through losing a baby in miscarriage has brought me a deeper compassion for others.  I actually found it far too easy to separate myself from the pain of others, and not really enter to their struggle or battle on a heart level.  But that had changed, as I had found myself more and more easily brought to tears due to hearing someone else’s grief.  I actually found myself thanking God for what I had learned through losing May, and what good He had intended for it.

Then, it hit me.  Thanking God.  In my weekly book/Bible study, we had gone over joy and how it relates to thankfulness. I sat there dumbfounded.  I read again what I had studied on joy, and looked up more verses that talked about joy.  It had been right in front of me all along, and I had somehow missed it.

“Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing” Ps 107:22

“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.  Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing… Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”
Ps 100

I had glossed over, even forgotten, about the THANKFUL part of joy!

I had read during our study, “Thankfulness is how you think; joy is the abundance it produces” yet it really hadn’t sunk in until that moment.  How could I be joyful if I wasn’t truly thankful?  I suddenly saw so clearly my need to change my daily thoughts to thankful ones, so that my joy could be full and then be visible to my husband and children.

Phil 4:5
The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Col 4:2
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

It’s still a work in progress, or rather, I am a work in progress!  Although I still long for overflowing joy, I now take time to fill my thoughts with thankfulness.  Whenever I feel irritation, worry or discontentment rising, I try to stop continuing in that direction and start saying “Thank you, God, for…“

Because it is thanksgiving that produces joy!

Originally published December 2007

Tags: Christianity, spirituality