Reflections - Morning Devotions

I am not a morning person. I never have been and always thought I never would be.

That is, up until three weeks ago. 

I hadn't been truly enjoying my hurried Bible devotions with little boys chasing each other and making war cries around me during my "quiet time." If I sent them outside to play during my planned devotion time they always found a (generally legitimate) reason to come ask me something or get my help.

When I tried reading in the evening after they were in bed I was too tired to put much effort into reading and praying and would usually drift off. I was certain if  I got up early I would be as exhausted as I was in the evenings and so I lived quieting this need inside me to be spending more time in God's word, telling myself it would happen one day.

Then about 3 weeks ago I decided I needed to change something about the way I was reading His word. Stuffing a quick reading into a distracting 5-10 minutes wasn't satisfying. And I wanted more.

So I set my alarm for 6:30, and apart from the the two mornings I was away last weekend, have managed to get up fairly soon after that. This morning I was excited when my body woke up minutes before the alarm went off - I am slowly adjusting my sleeping habits and will set the alarm for even earlier. 

And yes, I fully realize many of you might be laughing at my 6:30 wake up being early for me. But I am a work in progress!

My boys usually wake up around 8:30 so this gives me about 2 hours of quiet time to myself to read, pray, think, write and then get a head start on my to-do list.

 

The time in the morning alone with the Lord has been wonderful. I start a load of laundry while brewing a cup of coffee or tea and then move to the back porch where I have created a little spot that is my area for the early morning.

Last weekend at the conference one of the speakers, Becky Tirabassi, shared a One-year Bible and journal she had created. I have used them both this past week and enjoy them immensely. I want to wait until I have used them a bit longer before truly singing their praises, but so far they have been excellent tools.

"This is the day the Lord has made, 

Let us rejoice and be glad in it."

-Psalm 118:24

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Sharing on Chatting at the Sky

To Rug Or Not to Rug

I have always wanted rugs for our house, but I have never (and still!) don't really know what size, style or color to buy - there are too many options! And they aren't cheap. It'd be a shame to spend so much on one only to discover a few months later that it really wasn't as nice as I'd thought.

Last week I was in Target and they had these door mats on clearance for $3.50! I picked up three of them for our back porch and I just love how cheery they are. We have three doors on our back porch - two leading outside and one leading inside, in case you were trying to figure out why I'd bought three mats!

Having bought these mats they've got me thinking about rugs again... I would really love to venture out of my non-rug-ness look I've got going on and find some fabulous rugs for our home. But then I start thinking maybe I wouldn't like the rug look. I'm having commitment issues.

Do you rug? Do you like it?

Making the Best of Renovations

This is our dining room. It has looked like that almost since we moved in.

The day we signed for the house my brother and I ripped the carpet up.

And then it sat there, bare floored, while Paul and I debated which hardwood to purchase.

We finally decided. Or, more accurately, Paul decided. I didn't care so long as it looked pretty. It is hand scraped-something-or-other. Seriously. We spent tons of money on wood and I don't even know what it is! Oh wait. I just called the man at work. It is birch. I could just hear him rolling his eyes when I asked the question. I've asked it a million times now!

Anyways. So we decided on the wood and ordered it.
And then we waited for it.
And waited some more.
We bought our wood from Lumber Liquidators and while they have great quality and excellent prices their customer service STINKS.

But the wood finally came and our contractor got to work putting the floor in:


He (with much help from his daddy!!) put in the entire hardwood floor - just the two of them! I'm so proud of them.

But the dining room is STILL not completed. Paul said it will be ready sometime this week for us to officially move into our dining room, though even then there will be some things left to do in there. But I am SO excited about using our dining room AT LAST!

We have been eating all of our meals on our enclosed back porch. Paul dragged our heavy table out there and we've enjoyed sitting out there and looking at all the beautiful greenery that surrounds us in the back yard.



It is peaceful and relaxing on the back porch, and we have all enjoyed eating our meals out there for the past few months. But we're ready to reclaim the back porch for our patio furniture and to get a dining room all set up!
If all goes as planned I'll have pictures of the new floor up this week!