Purple Prose:
hope

"What is Love?" Bible Study
Week 8
"Why Do We Show Love?"

Verse of the Week:
1 Corinthians 13:7
Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
************************************
This week, we are going to talk more about the actions of love-- how you can show love in every day life. Sometimes people don't always tell you they love you, but you know they do by their actions. That is our topic today.
Before we get into the post, I'd love for you to go back and re-read what you wrote in your notebook for your daily verses leading up to this week.
Do any stand out to you?
James 5:19-20 really stood out to me. "My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, you can be sure that whoever brings that person back will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins."
To help bring a sinner back to the 'good side' saves that person from 'death'. I had never thought of it that way before.
How can we do that if we don't love them? If we just give up on them? Truthfully-- we can't.
Can you imagine the people who would (and have) gone to Hell because people have given up on them? That's not a great thought. That's why Paul was so big on us loving each other. People take care of those they love. If you try to love everyone, you will try to help them-- no matter what (now the ways of helping will be totally different, but the idea is the same).
So far, we have learned about what love IS-- patient, kind, keeps no record of being wronged..
And...
what love is NOT-- jealous, boastful, rude, demands its own way.
Today, we will learn more as we complete the "Love is.." portion of this chapter.
1 Cor. 13:7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Wow... that is a lot! A lot to take in-- and a lot to do!

But like we have talked about before, the point of this study is NOT to be perfect in this. It isn't going to make our heart magically grow 3 sizes and all of our actions show love toward all mankind. No. The point is to learn what love is so that we will be able to strive to show it well, and to know WHY we are showing love to others. (to encourage, to inspire, and to help to lead them to God)
Notebook Question: Have you ever had someone in your life who you always saw the best in-- but everyone else thought you were silly-- even gullible-- for thinking that? What did you say to the 'naysayers'? How did it turn out? (Even if the 'world' was right and that person did end up treating you wrong, you did the right thing by showing them love. You can only do your part!)
Paul said, "Love is always hopeful." Always hoping that today will be the day that that person gets their head out of the sand and changes. And it may never happen, we all know that. But we still have that hope.
We have some people in our lives that will call us bat crazy for thinking like that!
Paul didn't think you were crazy. He thought you were doing the right thing.
He had the right idea.
So, how in the world can we do (or attempt to do) all of these things?
Truth be told, you can't do any of these things of the "world". There is no self-help book, no Dr. Phil show, no human device that can help you learn how to do it. It is through the Holy Spirit that we even have the chance-- the shot-- the attempt-- at true love (ok, that sounded a bit redundent, but you get the idea).
I want you to think of certain situations going on in your life right now where you might need help showing love.
Keep thinking of that circumstance as we go through each point in this verse and list ways we can show love based on it. If you have any other ideas, I'd love to hear them from you. You can leave them in comments if you'd like :)
1. Love Never Gives Up. *We've talked a little about this. If we love someone, we aren't going to give up on them-- HOWEVER, sometimes we don't have to keep giving them everything. Sometimes our prayers go along way past material things.
Ideas on how to do this: *Continual prayers *Communication *Finding Available Resources to help that person
2. Love Never Loses Faith *It is so hard not to lose faith in someone, especially the 50th time they have done something to us. And the world may think we are crazy (and we might be), but Paul said that this is a part of showing love. Never losing faith-- and I'm going to add-- Never losing faith that GOD can/will change their life.
Ideas on how to do this: *Pray *Believe in Matthew 19:26 (With God all things all things are possible.) *Sending encouraging messages
3. Love is Always Hopeful *Love always looks at the bright side... the glass is half full persona.
Ideas on how to do this: *Look forward-- not backward *Never stops having faith *Be "Gullible" but not stupid
4. Love Endures through Every Circumstance *Everyone has bad days. Sometimes I feel like I'm having a bad week. We all have people in our lives that we just know that they have a gray cloud continually over their head (and it was probably put there themselves.) It is so easy not to show love to those kinds of people because (in our head) we know that it probably won't do any good. But our heart keeps enduring that hope that today will be the big turn around day. It may sound counterproductive, but it is what we are supposed to do.
Ideas for how to do this: *Not being overwhelmed (a bit hard for me personally)-- even when the task seems large. *Know that "This too shall pass." *Focus on positive rather than negative
Love can live on even through anger, bitterness, and sorrow. But it is like a seed that needs to be watered. If it is taken care of, it has strong roots that can endure strong wind storms. If its not, it will be washed away in a summer rainstorm.
Through love, we can forgive, forget, and move on (not that it is easy). We can hope for the future, trust in the now, and rejoice in the truth-- that no matter what, God is God--- and God is good!
Ok, during weeks 2-4 we studied why love was necessary-- Why we needed to love others.
Then the past 4 weeks, we have discussed the actions of love. The verbs of love, if you will.
For the remaining weeks, we will discuss the Supremacy of love. Why having and nurturing love in your heart for others is, in a word, awesome!
Next week, we will be covering 1 Corinthians 13:8-10. Those verses fit so well together that it would be counterproductive to learn them apart.

Verses to Get us Ready for Next Week
Tuesday~ John 13:34
Wednesday~ Ephesians 3:16-19
Thursday~ 1 Corinthians 13:8
Friday~ 1 Corinthians 13:9
Saturday~ 1 Corinthians 13:10

Much love and have a great week!!
Kelly

If you got an email from me pleading for some money to help me back to America because I was attacked by robbers in a foreign country, please ignore it.

I'm fine, safely tucked away in the ole U.S.A. My email, however, was not so fine. It was hijacked and taken to places it had never/didn't want to go.

Sigh.

Anyway, I've fixed the problem (hopefully), but I wanted to give you a heads up, in case you were thinking of bailing me out (which was really nice of you... thank you :) )

~Kelly

Well, I just happened to remember I had this, so I thought I'd use it for it's purpose... to talk about me. I figure I'd write all of the things I would normally write in to my friends on a message board, but most of it is very random and well, this way they don't have to read it if they don't want.

Today's thoughts:

1. The O.C. fanfiction people are the best in the world!!! And I truly believe that. They read, give feedback, are friendly, etc... and some of the stories they write are amazing. I love it. If you want to check it out, go to fanfiction.net and find OC stories. Now, if you don't like the OC, you probaby won't get any enjoyment out of it. But if you are new to it like me, then you'll probably love it. You will learn, if anyone ever reads this, that I tend to be about 3-4 years behind on what's 'in'.

2. Never go to Wal-mart to get your hair colored. You go in for brown and come out with jet black. Not fun. If I make it through tomorrow at school, then I'll be all set.. but man my eyes look pretty. They have never looked green before.

3. It's not right when your 2 kids wake you up at 3:45 am because one has peed in her bed and one has lost her fooler. It's not a fun way to start a day... especially when you've got newly black hair.

So you see basically what this will be is a place where I can write random stuff. I hope you like random LOL.

Today's letter in the A to Z challenge at www.a-to-zchallenge.com is...

S is for Sweet, Sweet people.
Sometimes, people do things and it makes you smile (I guess smile could have been our S word-- actually lots of words could have been.)
I want to say a BIG Thank You to the people who participated in the first Faith-Fiction Friday. It actually did better than I thought it would-- especially for the first week. It will be a weekly event here at OTMA so I hope you come back and participate again. I LOVE reading short stories, and like I said, there aren't many places on the web for short Christian fiction. Please head over to that post and click on the people who linked up. Each have a wonderful blog and would appreciate the visits.
Yesterday was also a big day for one of our FFF participants. She had a lot of firsts-- First blog party, First writing contest (though it not really a contest-- the ideas the same), and the first time she copied a button code. You can read all about her exciting day at Catching Foxes.
I also want to thank the Sweet, Sweet People who have encouraged me and this blog (along with my other blog) over this past year. I would name you all, but I'm afraid I'd miss someone and I don't want too.
And lastly, the Sweet, Sweet People who take the time to make blog hops every week to spread God's word. There are a lot more, but 3 I participate in are Laura's at Beholding Glory, Shanda at A Pause on a Path, and Tracy at My Daily Walk in His Grace. Those are just a few of the great blog hops around the web: OH yeah there's Courtney at www.womenlivingwell.org as well.
Today's post is a little scattered, but I wanted to take time to thank the sweet, sweet people who I've 'met' while blogging. To all of the followers and commenters-- THANK YOU!
For all you readers, thanks for taking the time to read. I know your time is precious (and short if you are like me). You didn't have to read, but you do. That means a lot.
For all of the people who send me emails about adding your blog to the Encourage 365 Blog Directory -- you are so sweet. Your emails make me smile :)
Jenifer at Sweet Blessings for giving me something to add to my bio when I sent my queries to agents. (My first magazine writing credits.)
And to my big sister, Kathy, who reads (pretty much) everything I write. And sends me 'Oh wow' texts when I tell her about some "big" (to me) news. BIG SMOOCH!
There are so many sweet, sweet people in the world. Who are the ones in your life? Is there anyone you want to thank for being sweet? Take time to do that today. :)
Have a great Saturday :) Remember, Faith-Fiction Friday is still open if you'd like to add your story.
Much Love,

Does anyone know where the quote in this post title came from? I'll give you a hint... it's from the best Keanu-Reeves-Bomb-on-a-bus Mega Movie EVER!

That's right... the most awesome movie of the 90s Speed. The scene I'm referring to is the one where 'The Bomber' is taunting Jack after he has killed Harry. (Sorry, spoilers if you haven't seen it, but really... it came out in 1994 so you SHOULD have watched it by now... just saying ;)). Ok, so 'The Bomber' (Howard Payne) is talking to Jack and says...

"A bomb is made to explode. That's it's meaning. It's purpose. Your life is empty because you spend it trying to stop the bomb from becoming. And for who? For what? You know what a bomb is, Jack, that doesn't explode? It's a cheap gold watch, buddy."

Now PLEASE don't call the cops on me because I'm NOT thinking of bombing anyone or anything (just thought I'd get that out there), but for some reason, that quote has been on my mind a LOT lately. And it relates to kids.

Why? And HOW would a quote from Speed relate to kids? Well, here is my take on it. My kids are live wires as all kids are. They are loud. They play. They make messes. They are KIDS. However, *I* feel like my life is spent trying to 'stop the bomb from exploding'. I constantly say, "You can't be so loud. Daddy is sleeping." or "Don't jump on the couch, you could get hurt." or "Ok, time to stop running. Time for the baby to go to bed... "

I mean GAH!

"Stop... " this and "Quit" that... what kind of a life is that for me OR my kids... so maybe MY life is 'empty' (for lack of a much better word) because I'm trying to keep the 'bomb from exploding' aka trying to keep my 'kids from being loud'. Maybe I should just 'let' them be kids and stop worrying about it SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much.

But how do I do that?

I'm terrified of everything. I'm afraid I will do or won't do something and my kids will get hurt (or worse) because of it and it terrifies me. That's why I try so hard to keep them in line... to try not to let them get hurt... to do what's 'right'... but what kind of life is that for my girls?

Am I doing right by trying to protect them or will they grow to resent me when they get older?

Sorry for the downer post. I've just been really thinking about this a lot lately. I keep telling my husband that I'm SOOOOOOO ready for that parenting manual to show up in my mailbox. I'm the type of person who wants to know I'm doing the right thing (at home, at school, in life), but 'in life' that's not really possible.

Anyway, that's today's ramblings. I was going to post my awesome couponing (well awesome to me) deal I got yesterday, but this wouldn't let me... hopefully I'll get to tomorrow or Friday. It was the best haul I've gotten.

Much love,

Kelly

If you've noticed, I've been working behind the scenes in phases to change this blog around. I wanted to have an author site, but I already had 3 other blogs. That just seemed like a lot.


So, I've closed down Encourage 365 (well it's still there, but I won't be posting... devotionals will be written and posted on this blog now). I've decided to keep Encourage 365 open :)

I've bought a new domain name for this site: www.kellymartinstories.com (do you like it?) You will still be redirected here by typing www.ohthatmomagain.blogspot.com

I'm going to use THIS site as an author site and as a devotional site (I'm actually really excited about this!). Most things will stay the same except for the name and devotionals here and not on the other site. Plus, there will probably be more writing updates.

I hope you continue to stay with me as I go through these changes. I'll always be a mommy and will always write on it, but I wanted this blog to be about different kinds of stories too: my home stories.. bible stories... and fiction stories.

I'm so glad to have you along for the ride! :)

Much Love,

~*~Kelly~*~

I was going to post about my AWESOME shopping trip where I bought enough food for a family of 5 (ie us) for about 7 days for $50 (I'm so excited about it!) and I will... but man, I'm not feeling so great today.

Hopefully, I"ll get the post up tomorrow. UNTIL THEN, Please head over to Faith Filled Fiction and read M.J. Wille's story for the week. It's got romance, heart, and faith. All things we need to read about sometimes. Much Love, ~*~Kelly~*~

Well, I've already posted about finishing Quest #5 (The Dreaded Baseboards). Now, its time to focus on Quest #6... Closet Calamity (dun, dun, dun!).

The basic premise of this is to pick *A* closet in your home, and clean it up. It can be in the living room, the bedroom, your child's room... whatever. You get to choose this week! (Yay you! ;) )

I, personally, am choosing to clean out my daughters' closet in their room. My oldest 2 (ages 5 and 4) share a room and... well... it needs help). Lots of help. I 'may' not get finished with it this week because it needs a full closet make over (it doesn't even have a clothing bar! I KNOW!). This one will take me a while, but I know I can get it done. :).

I'm really going to need some pushing this week, though, to get the basics done. It has became a catch-all for baby toys (and strangly Christmas ornaments). I really hope you consider participating in this challenge with me! :) The more, the merrier.

Much love,

Kelly

So, I have a confession...

It's a pretty big confession...

One that will tear the fabric of the space/time continuum (who knew that had 2 U's in it???)

Ok...

Ready????

I have...

A...

Second...

Blog!

Ok...

So, basically I had this thought, this 'want' to do a blog for daily, scriptural encouragement for while. Well, actually, I wanted to do it HERE on THIS one, but decided it would get too crowded. So I made a second blog. Its this blogs sister. It won't take away from this one. We will still have cleaning/quests/product reviews/and yeah, even some Bible stuff on here because I can't NOT do it!

However, I wanted a blog for daily encourgement (both for you and for me... I'm selfish that way ;)) that would stand on it's own.

You can find it at http://365daysofbiblicalencouragement.blogspot.com/

YES I know that title is WAY long... I tried to shorten it, but nothing worked.

This is where I need your help, Friends.

I have no followers (obviously), and it would really mean a lot to me for you to follow that one too. It will get all lonely if it doesn't have any followers lol. Two Kelly's for the price of one (and who said the economy was bad???)

Check it out! I hope you follow and get your daily encouragement from the Bible. :) It would mean a lot to me.

Much love,

Kelly

This week, we are tackling baseboards. I'm actually pretty excited about this one. Now, I'm not getting all crazy and moving furniture.. but I am going to do all of my rooms. My baseboard really need it!

There will probably not be any pics (I don't know, I might take a few... who knows)

I hope you go on this Quest with me!

This should be our 'easy' week... Quest #6 (if it stays the same as I plan) will be the doozie!

Good luck... and PLEASE do this with me (I can beg with the best of them). Motivation and encouragment are very much key when trying to reach any goal. We have 4 more quests after this... WE CAN DO IT!!!

Much love... Happy Cleaning!!!!
Kelly

So, about an hour, I didn't know what I was going to type tonight. I had a few ideas. I was going to post a recipe that my family loves. I thought about posting an example of S.O.A.P (Please click that link. S.O.A.P is an awesome way to go through the Bible and apply it to your life. I'll show you an example of it hopefully some day this week.). However, while I was rocking the baby to sleep, this popped in my mind.. and I knew I had to write about it tonight.

And THEN while the Ladies (my oldest kids, 5 and 4) were doing our nightly Devotionals another post came to me... Then I figured out that they are related (how cool!). Tonight I'm doing part 1 and tomorrow part 2 (See.. something to look forward too ;) )

The idea that popped into my head while rocking the baby was "Nothing is too SMALL for God.."

Small?

Wait... what?

SMALL... isn't that supposed to be BIG? Nothing is too BIG for God! God can move mountains. God can cure "incurable" disease. God can sustain life. God can do BIG things.

Yes... yes he can.

But he can also do seemingly 'small' things.

Mark 10:27--Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God."

Mark 9:21-- "What do you mean, 'If I can'?" Jesus asked. "Anything is possible if a person believes."

Ok, when I read those, I think of BIG things.. HUGE miracles. GINORMOUS acts of GOD. ANYTHING... EVERYTHING those are BIG words...

But don't they also mean the opposite?

The smallest thing God can fix.

The most insignificant worry we have, God can help us though.

But if you are like me, the small things are the things I don't pray for. Those little "tiny" things are the things I don't want to 'bother' God with.

God is NOT like us Earthly parents (thank goodness lol). You parents know how it is. Your child has had the same bruise for 2 days.. but still talks about it.. constantly.. and in that whiny voice... that you just want to say, "You are FINE!"

Yeah...

Or your kid comes up to you and is crying over the most insignificant thing you can even imagine. My middle daughter nearly had a meltdown when Nick Jr. changed their night time viewing schedule.. I kid you not. She was squalling, and I thought it was the littlest thing to be upset over. *I* didn't take the time to really understand WHY she was crying. She was upset because she can't tell time, but she knew when she was supposed to go to bed according to the show on Nick Jr... when they changed the schedule, she didn't know what was coming next and it scared her.

Something BIG for her, was something pretty little to me. We worked it out, but still...

I haven't prayed like I should over this mole removal/biopsy/cancer thing going on with my arm because eveyone tells me it's not a big thing... and I know that. I know that if it IS cancer that we will just cut it out and all will be done. I think I whine too much about this biopsy hurting (I know, imagine that lol) and how sick I've been all day. I have made my family endure looking at pictures and/or seeing the remnants of ole Spud. Poor Family...

Guess what I just figured out? I've been 'whining' to the wrong 'person'. My friends and my family have been WONERFUL to have to put up with me lol. Honestly, I could talk about it all day (and it seems I might lol). But I REALLY need to be talking to God about it. God's not like an Earthly, human parent who (as much as we try) get tired of hearing things from our kids.

NOTHING is too BIG... or too little for God.

I'm going to admit that I've been kinda embarrassed to pray for my arm because it's such a 'little' thing and there are so many other people in the world with it much much MUCH worse. I didn't want to bother God with it... well... that's the great thing about being God... you can deal with it all. There is no 'Miracle Quota of the Day'.

Got a test you need help with...
Need some energy to get through your day...
Got an ache or pain you want to pray about it...
Want some cleaning motivation (had to sneak that one in there.. you know I had to ;) )

Go for it.

God will listen. He won't think the problem is too small

(Wow, tonight's post was pretty therapeutic for me lol... ). So, in conclusion. Pray for big.. pray for Small... because God can take care of them all...

Tomorrow is part 2 of 'Nothing is too small for God'-- I'm looking forward to it! :)

Much love,

Kelly

*P.S. don't forget to start on your bathrooms! Quest #4 is in full swing! I'm changing the deadline to Saturday (You're Welcome!! lol )

Who needs some motivation today!

Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Oh my gosh!

I've used this picture before and I'll use it again.

Today, I just didn't want to do anything. I'll be quite honest with you. The only thing I wanted to do is sit on the computer and 'Google' (do the kids still say that? Or is it 'bing' now? Whatever, you get the idea.. I wanted to browse the World Wide Web for information)

I had every excuse in the book for not wanting to do anything, of course.
Spud got evicted today (well partly evicted. Doc ended up doing a shave biopsy instead of a punch. IF it is cancer, I have to go back in 2 weeks and have this all done again with a punch biopsy... Yip to the eee. I'll take a few extra prayers in that department if you happen to think of it. I really don't want that done again. Have I mentioned before that I'm a big baby when it comes to pain????)

When you don't want to do something, what motivates you to do it? One of my biggest motivations is this blog. This is my accountibility. I don't want to be a hyprocrit and say something here that I don't do. I haven't missed one night of my cleaning list since I started this... and I don't plan too (Unless I'm just really sick... or not home.) I don't say that to brag... I say that to hopefully encourage you. "What Would Kelly Clean?" after all lol...

Another thing I have learned is that even if *I* don't feel well (both physically and spiritually), I can open my Bible and find something to motivate me. Yesterday, I found something called SOAP.

SOAP stands for:
Scripture
Observation
Application
Prayer

I encourage each of you to visit that site and see what SOAP is all about. I've done five or six scriptures last night and today using it and it REALLY lets you see what the Bible says to you and has FOR you... So far, it has really motivated me!

Scriptures motivate me. This one from Luke motivated me today. Luke 8:15--And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good hearted people. Who hear God's Word, cling to it, and patiently produce huge harvests (I'm more of a 'I want it now' type of person... ) That scripture motives me to keep blogging.

On top of accountibality and scriptures, my other motivation is pride. Ok, I know it's a deadly sin and all, but I don't think it's horrible to feel proud in yourself (as LONG as it doesn't go overboard... Pride comes before the fall after all). I do feel proud when I'm not feeling well and I DO complete my chores... and I DO blog... and I DO read my Bible. I feel accomplishment I guess more than pride. Yeah, accomplishment is a MUCH better word. Feeling good about yourself is an awesome motivation. We all need it!

So, again I ask... what is your motivation? What makes you want to do... well anything? What makes you want to clean? To read blogs? To tell people about God? To be a happy homemaker? To take pictures? Whatever it is... what is your motivation? You have to know... because sometimes you forget what it is. Motivation is a sneaky little snake. Sometimes slithers away when you need it the most.

You don't have to tell me. It's personal and it's yours. It's just something good to know for those rainy days when not completing your 'to do list' seems oh so appealing...

Sorry this has been all over the place. This is like the 3rd draft of this particual blog post. I can't seem to get my thoughts in the order I want... Spud is starting to hurt though and I'm going to have to publish this like it is... flaws and all (imagine that).

Much love, happy cleaning, and find out what motivates you... for days when you aren't really that motivated.

Kelly

For the record, yes I completed my "To Do" List tonight :) Huzzah! I found some motivation...

(Ok, so I had to use http://thesaurus.com/ to find a synonym for chaos that started with a B lol... I'll admit it ;) )

So, hope you have rested from Quest #3. I really enjoyed that one, and I'm looking forward to this one.

Our Quest this week is working on our bathrooms. The goal is to:
*Organize our cabinets
*Throw old cosmetics away
*Throw old cleaning products away.
*Organize our towel closets (that will be my big one!!!)
*And throw away all old magazines we don't want any more

As Rosie the Rivitor says... "We can do it!!!!"

Good luck and happy cleaning!!!!!

Much love,

Kelly

I started singing this song out of the blue in the kitchen tonight... and had to laugh.

Do you know the song?

Our piano player, Faye, used to play it at church when I was younger. I sing it sometimes when it pops in my head.. wonder if that's random???? (Nah, I don't think so either.)

So, if you have never heard the song it goes...
He's still working on me.
To make me what I ought to be.
It took Him just a week to make the moon and the stars
The sun and the Earth and Jupiter and Mars.
How loving and patient He must be...
He's still working on me.

The 'He' of course is referring to God.

So, I have sung that song for years and years... never really thought much of it. But tonight I started singing it out of the blue and started just laughing. Not crazy laughter (because that would be weird lol), but more like "How did I not see this before???" laughing. I'm a bit slow...

Ok, follow me here... It only took God a week to make the Moon... the Stars... the Sun... the Earth... Jupiter... and Mars...

BUT He' s STILL working on me...

Think about it.. It only taken Him a week to make the other things.. but he's been working on me for the past 30 years (and hopefully 80 more to knock some sense into me... ).

So, the sun, the moon, huge planets, solar systems... GALAXIES... THEY were the easy part for God. They only took a week!

But the people... OH the people... they take constant work, correction, love, kindness, and sometimes a kick in the pants. Just like our own kids. Making a home is the easy part. Four walls, a bed, toys, and food and you have the basics (of course us, like God, want our kids to have the best so we have those 'Glow in the Dark' stars in their rooms and 'Ocean Wonder' night lights so they can go to sleep watching fishies swimming on their ceiling... ). But if you are a parent.. or if you've been around kids... you know that *THAT* is the easy part.

God has more kids than Jim Bob Duggar (and I so love the Duggars), and He cares for, provides, and loves all of us. No favorites... none barely scraping by. And He loves us so much that as HARD as he worked to give us everything (and lets face it.. sometimes we aren't very appreciative), He STILL makes time for each of us.

I have a hard enough time making time for THREE kids... how about billions???? (That's why I'm glad it's God's job and not mine.. have no desire to be Evan Almighty... I liked that one better than Bruce Almighty, but I digress)

Anyway, just some thoughts that made me laugh with "Well, duh Kelly, it only took you 15 years to figure that song out." tonight. I wanted to share them with you... so it wouldn't take you as long lol.

Now, go sing that song... WATCH THIS VIDEO! You can't deny a song sung by a sweet little 6 year old (I don't know this kid, but thought it was cute.) Watch it a few times and get it stuck in your head...

Much Love,

Kelly

Ok, people... are you finished with Quest #3 yet?

If not, you still have time. Come on... you KNOW you want to clean your kitchen?????? It's not like it's summer and there are tons of other things you could be doing...

With the help of my ladies (ie my 5 and 4 year old), this took about 2 hours over 2 days.

As usual, be gentle... my house ain't perfect lol. It's old... and needs work... but it's mine (well, mostly it's the banks... but in 22 years it will be mine... HUZZAH!)

Anywho... lets get going...

(BTW, I show these pictures every week not to brag about doing it, but to actually prove that I have lol. How sad would it be if I sent you on these quests and didn't do them myself? I'd be one of those do what I say not what I do people... )

AND, I resized all of these pictures and when I posted this blog, the pictures were the right size... but for some reason, they have gotten bigger again... arg... anyway... I tried)

THIS is the island of my kitchen. The baby was always getting things off of that bottom shelf. It was an eye sore... so that's where this week's quest comes in...

THIS...

is my hutch that I bought from my wonderful, awesome and terrific sister (who now reads this blog... :) )

Now, the sad part of my hutch is that I had actually cleaned it off about 2 months ago and now it looked like this again... I didn't exactly get the "You have to keep it up" Memo...

Ok, so I started with the island. I took everything out...

And found some really REALLY cool things I didn't know I had. I blogged about some of them (like my baby pictures with Mama and Daddy), but I also found my oldest daughter's baby shower scroll.

*I found my student teaching folder (WOW... that brought back some memories... not all of them good).

*I found the calendar that I wrote all of my doctor appointments on when I was pregnant with daughter number 1.

*I found a glass candy dish that I don't remember having...

*I found LOTS of pictures... LOTS of pictures! It was so fun going back through the pictures of when my oldest 2 were just tiny babies.

Like I said, it was American Pickers... kitchen style. I was good and put everything that had been shoved in there in its proper home... and yes, the candy dish is very much being used ;)

In the end... I got this:

I still have to put new paper down because the old has gotten so worn over the years, but still.. vast improvement. The next day, the baby crawled over to it... stopped. Looked. Wrinkled her nose at me (lettng me know she DIDN'T approve), and crawled away. I'd call that a success :)

By the way (yes, I typed that out lol), that stool is my daughters. They are too short to reach the counter and want to help Mama cook. I'm ALL for that!

Besides the baby being in everything, another reason I wanted to do it was that we had food piling out onto the cabinets and I needed more cabinet space to put things.. what better way to get NEW cabinet space than to use EXISTING cabinet space in different ways (see, I didn't invent the wheel here... but I'm finally figuring out how to make the darn thing turn ;) )

I now have a can cabinet, a cereal/box cabinet, and a cabinet for cleaning/ziploc bags. It's all more organized now which is just awesome :)

Here is a picture of the hutch when I got everything out of it...

Yeap, it had been a catch all for EVERYTHING. Bibles, ink pens, crayons, phone boxes, pictures, etc... all shoved in this tiny little thing. (I turn your attention to my reflection in the glass... yes I was REALLY wearing that lol... in fact, I'm wearing it now. Don't judge ;) )

A few hours later we had this...

(A side shot because I had realized that all shots I'd taken prior featured my pink shirt and hubs fishing pjs featured prominently... ) I think it looks 10xs better :)

Here is a full view of my dining room/kitchen from the living room (ignore the diapers in the pictures.. I told you I had kids lol).

So, that's it! That's the end of Quest #3 for me! I feel like I slayed the Kitchen Klutter Dragon and ready for the next. I'll post it tomorrow. Its starting to get confusing for the Quest page if I keep combining them (sorry).

OH... and I wanted to add this...
This is what my kitchen looked like this morning.

Lol, I did a 5 minute clean up right after I took this picture and it was back to the way it was... 5 minute pick ups are awesome!!!!

So, how did everyone do? I hope you slayed your own kitchen klutter monster and had as good of a time doing it as I did. :) Leave a comment and let me know how you are doing. There are 9 quests total this summer, and we can do it (see the Rosie the Rivitor background I have now.. she's encouraging us on!!)

Check back tomorrow for Quest Number 4!

Much Love,

Kelly

If you have read this blog in the past, you know that I absolutely LOVE my homemaking binder. (Mine looks a bit different now. I guess I need to do a new photoshoot with it in its current glory lol).

I had never heard of a "homemaking binder" until one day I was watching youtube for coupon binders and this video showed up under suggestions. I watched. I loved. I made myself one lol. It really is a handy little thing. I keep my daily chores, daily to do, weekly to do, monthly to do (because I have to write something down at least 3 times to remember it lol), my meal planning, my bills, school stuff, and some personal things I've added. I use the Bills section, daily section, and calendar section the most. If you don't have one, you really should make one :) They are really handy (I have made 2 pages you can use for yours.. look under the Free Printables at the top of this page.)

Other binder templates I love are at http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ actually there isn't much at moneysavingmom that I don't like!!!

http://clutterbug.me/ has some really cute organizational pages too.

Anyway, I saw this next tip on youtube and I can't for the life of me remember which video I saw it on (sorry). However, I've started using it and love it.

I usually get Parenting magazines every month and sometimes some recipe books... ALWAYS the "All You" Magazine from Wal-mart (coupons!! :) ). Anyway, the point is what you can do to make your binder more "You" and more inspirational is to tear out magazine pages that either inspire you, have recipes you love/want to try, have parenting ideas that you want to remember, etc. I have several pages in my binder now. I have a few parenting ones, one or two relationship pages... one page I have is my dream kitchen lol You tear them out of your favorite magazines, place them in sheet protectors, and throw them in your binder. It really does add a very nice personal touch.

You get the idea. I've also seen inspirational notebooks used alongside homemaking binders if you don't want to put them together. It 'can' start looking cluttered after awhile (I don't care. I like all of my things together in one notebook.)

It also cuts down on magazine piles when you tear out what you find important and throw the rest away. I've went through this week and purged lots of old magazines (yes, I had Life & Style s from 2007 lol.).

Anyway, that is your tip today. Make your binder something you WANT to look at... not something you HAVE to look out. Just like cleaning.. make it something you WANT to do... not something you HAVE to do. WHO wants to HAVE to do something?... I *have* to go to the dentist tomorrow... what fun is that??? I CHOOSE to clean up tonight because I quite enjoy a non-cluttered house (well I assume I do.. I haven't completely decluttered yet lol)

So, there is your tip. I hope it helps you out. Remember... tomorrow is Friday. The big Korraling Kitchen Klutter reveal... I hope some of you have joined me on this Quest. It took me all of an hour and a half (of course.. I made my kids help ;) ) and I really like the results... you be the judge tomorrow.

Much love... Happy cleaning... and Cheerful Chores.

Kelly

OH THIS is going to be good lol...

Gossip.

Anyone here a gossip?????

Oh noooooooooooooooooo...

Not us...

Nope...

Nada...

Ok, I admit (I admit things a lot) I love listening to gossip. And it's not just normal gossip, it's celebrity gossip magazines. It's msn.com. It's the yahoo gossip section. Heck, its even Facebook, Twitter...

Gossip is EVERYWHERE. Checkout lines at Wal-mart (did you know that Leo and Blake Lively are dating??? I KNOW!), on T.V. (Inside Edition is all about the Gossip), even the news. They don't call it gossip per sa, but I'm sure some respectible news media reported about Arnold's new love child (and if you know what that means, you are as guilty as me lol).

I was flipping though the Bible tonight and came across this... Proverbs 11:13: A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a convidence.

Proverbs 25:23: As surely as a north wind brings rain, so a gossiping tongue can cause anger.

(Side note: The next verse says, "It's better to live alone in the corner of an attic, than with a quarrelsome wife in a lovely home." The Real Housewives of Jerusalem popped into my mind lol... but I digress ;) Basically, if you are going to clean... at least be happy about it! I wasn't happy about it for years.. I finally got my happy on lol)

Back on track now... sorry...

The point is... we have to watch our tongue. When it goes flapping, I... er... we get in trouble. And watch our ears... if someone is talking, don't take every opportunity to listen in. Gossip is the easiest thing to fall into because it feels (to us) like the most innocent. "I'm not hurting anybody." Yeah, because none of us have ever been on the receiving end of gossip about us... doesn't feel very good does it?

Ah, those 'life lessons'... sometimes they are killjoys lol.. Necessary none-the-less...

Much Love,

Kelly

*I wanted to thank all of you who voted for this blog at circle of moms (button to the right). I really appreciate it. I want this blog to be inspirational, fun, and helpful. I hope you feel it is :)

*ALSO, don't forget about our Third Summer Quest :) It's due Friday. I'm really looking forward to talking about it. It was seriously like those American Picker guys when they go through other people's stuff. Who knew I'd find.. well, you'll just have to read Friday to find out (dun duh dun).

Seriously, though, thanks so much for taking the time to read. If you like what you see, please favorite it or push the follow button to the right. And happy cleaning!!!!

So, this summer quest thing was started to give myself (and hopefully you all) some motivation to get to cleaning. Sort of a motified "Spring Cleaning" only in the summer.

So far, we have completed the Shoes and the Toys (click on the Summer Quests page above if you are new and want to do these with me... I really want to be inspiring to people.. plus I SO need the motivation.)

This week, we are cleaning out out kitchen cabinets. I had completed part of this before (there is a blog post here). But I have an island that I haven't touched in years...

This is where this "Quest" turned personal... and touching... and tearful... and American Pickers-ish (ie... finding treasure in places you wouldn't expect).

I found lots of things that I had even forgotten I had. I won't get into it all because I will have my normal post on Friday (and I'm not finished yet), but I wanted to give you a preview with this...

See that adorable baby?

Yeap, that's me!

It's my Mama holding me when I wasn't even a day old yet. I had forgotten I had that picture (even though it's one of my favorites). That lead to tears when behind it I found a picture of the first time my Daddy held me (he died 8 years ago). He looked so proud. I looked awe-struck (of course it could be because he had a green surgical mask on... ). I miss my Daddy...

There were lots of cool things of mine (and my girls) that I found while cleaning out my cabinets and I can't WAIT to show you on Friday.

Who knew cleaning would be such an emotional thing?

Much Love,

Kelly

Ok, I SOOO wish I had of thought of that title a week ago lol TAMING THE TOYS. It has a certain ring to it...

Anyway, yet another week has come to a close and so has Quest #2. I know that at least one of you was busy this week finishing this cleaning quest. I hope more of you are on this (I will NOT say Journey ala The Bachelor... )... on this great, exciting adventure with me.

This week, we were supposed to tackle TOYS (dun dun dun).

My kids have toys in their rooms as well as in the living room. I'm going to tackle the bedroom later in the summer, so I only focused on the living room...

And it was a doozy...

Cover you eyes (but squint through your fingers... )

I KNOW!

THAT is the front door to my home. THE FRONT DOOR! SO yeah, no one could come inside that way because all of the toys were scattered around that area. We purge toys now and again, but apparently it needed it again. (Also, I realize the date is wrong on that picture... it does that everytime I change batteries and I forget to change it back).

So, Thursday evening, I enlisted the services of my 2 daughters ages 4 and 5 (the 10 month old was playing in her Jumperoo... have I mentioned she loves it ;) ) I would pick up a toy and ask, "Keep, Trash, Yard Sale?" And they would answer... I actually *may* have kept a few toys that they didn't want, but was sentimental. to me (First baby doll anyone!?!)

Anyway, it took us about an hour and a half, but this is what we came up with...

Tada!

I think it looks MUCH better. At least the door opens now lol. The jackolanterns are each filled with my 2 oldests' smaller toys.

So there it is.

Can't wait to see how the other quests go :)

Quest #2 COMPLETE! We whipped that Toy Dragon's Hinney!!! HUZZAH!

OK, take a deep breathe. Enjoy your success slaying the Terrible Toy Dragon... Savor the victory...

BECAUSE...

It's time for Quest #3.

This week, we are tackling Koraling Kitchen Klutter. Oh I can feel your excitement ;)

A few weeks ago, I posed about cleaning my cabinets etc. Well...

There are still some things that need to be completed in there. Some cabinets that need cleaning. A hutch that needs some help. SO, this is our Quest this week!

DON'T let that disorganized, clutter-hotel kitchen (And I'm SOO talking about myself) keep you back! WE CAN DO THIS!!!!!

Now, go Slay that DRAGON!

Much Love,

Kelly

To me, one of the hardest things for me to accept is when I do something stupid or commit a sin that I KNOW I'm doing and do it anyway... or think about what I've done later and feel bad about it.

Honestly.

It irks me to no end when I say something, do something, feel something, etc. that I know isn't right, but I do it anyway... OR the proverbial "Hindsight is 20/20". I'll do something and at the end of the day think, "What was I thinking????"

I struggle with this a lot. I know the rules. I read my Bible. I know good/evil, right/wrong. I know I'm supposed to not use foul or abusive language, not to hate, to hold my tongue, to say helpful not hurtful words, to be a worthy wife, to not worry, to not gossip and so on (these passages came from http://www.bibleresources.org/ and are from the New Living Translation version).

The point is that I KNOW what I'm supposed to do... and sometimes I totally TOTALLY fail. Last night was one of those nights. Sometimes I just get tired of holding my tongue. Sometimes a word slips. SOMETIMES I'd just LOVE to go out and gossip until I can't gossip any more because.. well.. I just do. I worry more than I should. I want so badly to be a worthy wife and mother...

And yet...

I fail.

All. the. time.

Before this post becomes a total downer, let me shift your eye to this verse. The first that gives me hope, calms my nerves, makes me feel happy...

Ecclesiastes 7:20-- There is not a single person in all the earth who is always good and never sins (that came from my Study Bible... can't remember the version)

Lets look at that again:

New Living Translation
Ecclesiastes 7:20:

20 Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins.

King James Version
Ecclesiastes 7:20:
20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

New King James Version
Ecclesiastes 7:20:

20For there is not a just man upon earth who doeth good and sinneth not.

New American Standard Bible
Ecclesiastes 7:20:

20 Indeed, (A)there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.

Have we got it yet? Have *I* got it yet?

There is no person on this entire Earth that always does the right thing.

It's something that we should know... it's something that is pretty common sense, right?

Then why can't we related it to ourselves... or better yet to our spouses?

Uh-Oh!

Yeap, this turned in a direction I didn't intend.

*I* Know I'm not perfect... far from it. I try to do the right things, but like I said, I falter. I have to learn to forgive myself quickly and not dwell on it. I have to accept that as good as I 'want' to be, I'm not perfect... only ONE person can claim that and I'm not Him (nor do I want to be).

I don't take Ecc. 7:20 as an excuse either. "Oh, no one is perfect so why even try?" NO, because Solomon also gave a bit of a warning... That's the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and all of his commands, for this is everyone's duty Ecc 12:13

So, we can and should strive to be good and make good choices, but we will not succeed all of the time and we have to forgive ourselves when we don't...

AND...

Our spouses.

Man, that's hard, right? Our husband does something that we think is probably one of the biggest mistakes of all time (exaggeration there, but you know what I mean). and it takes a while for us to get over it. Well, maybe we should have Ecc. 7:20 tattooed on his head for us to read at all times. Guess what? Our husbands/wives aren't perfect either. They do what they feel is right and if not then they have to deal with the consequences (which is probably a ticked off spouse... ). If someone already feels bad about something, why do we make it worse?

I need help in this area too. My husband, my kids, my family, my friends, acquaintances, and even myself WILL make mistakes. There is not a single person in all the earth who is always good and never sins.

I need to remind myself of that about 1000 times a day. Sometimes forgiving yourself (even for silly/stupid mistakes) or your spouse is one of the hardest things to do.

Much Love and don't forget that tomorrow is the due date for the Great Toy Purge of 2011 :) Looking forward to seeing updates.

Kelly