What’s in a Sponge

There are 5 sponges laying on your kitchen counter top. Each member of your family has cleaning up different areas of your home, but all of the sponges look the same. You are curious as to what was cleaned in your home, but you can’t tell by looking—they all look the same—so what do you do?

You squeeze each sponge to see what comes out. As you squeeze the first sponge, you see that cola comes out, and so you decide that someone cleaned the kitchen with that one.

Upon squeezing the second sponge, you find tub and tile cleaner—that one was used to clean the bathroom. Next, in the third sponge, you find motor oil—hubby was cleaning the garage!

In the fourth sponge, baby powder puffs out when it is squeezed—yep, the baby’s nursery was done with that one! And finally, in the last one is floor wax-that was the one you used on the hall floor!

As you lay the last one down, you look again at their similarity, and they look the same until they’re squeezed.

Christians are the same way. As life squeezes us, different things come out: anger from one, a need for revenge from another, tears from one, remorse from yet another, also greed, untruth, lust, and finally, from one saint pours forth the love of Christ.

Just like a sponge, we can only squeeze out what is put in. Stay in God’s word daily, and be in continuous prayer, so that when life puts the squeeze on you (and it WILL) Jesus and Jesus ALONE will shine forth from you!

Have a blessed, squeaky clean day!

Author Unknown

“Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” Psalm 51:2

Bed Time

Mom and Dad were watching TV when Mom said, “I’m tired, and it’s getting late, I think I’ll go to bed.

She went to the kitchen to make sandwiches for the next day’s lunches, rinsed out the popcorn bowls, took meat out of the freezer for tomorrow night’s supper, checked the levels of the cereal boxes, filled the sugar container, put spoons and bowls on the table, and set the coffeepot for brewing the next morning.

She then transferred some wet clothes from the washer to dryer, put a load of clothes into the wash and secured a button.

She picked up the newspaper strung on the floor, gather the game pieces left on the table, and put the telephone book back into the drawer.

She watered the plants, emptied a wastebasket, and hung up a towel to dry.

She yawned and stretched and headed for the bedroom. She stopped by the desk and wrote a note to the teacher, counted out some cash for the field trip, and for the textbook out from hiding under the chair. She signed a birthday card for free and, address and stamp the envelope, and wrote a quick list for the grocery store. She put both near her purse.

Mom then creamed her face, put on moisturizer, brush and floss your teeth, and trimmed her nails.

Hubby called, “I thought you were going to bed.”

“I’m on my way,” she said.,

She put some water into the dog's dish and let the cat out, then made sure the doors were locked. She looked in on each of the kids and turned out a bedside lamp, hung up the shirt, through some dirty socks in the hamper, and had a brief conversation with the one still up doing homework.

Once in her own room, she set the alarm, late at clothing for the next day, and straightened up the shoe rack. She added three things to her list of things to do for tomorrow.

About that time, the heat turned off the TV and announced to no one in particular,” I'm going to bed. “ And he did.

A faith that hasn't been tested can't be trusted. Adrianne Rogers

doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is one element of faith. Paul Tillich

faith is not shelter against difficulties, but belief in the face of all contradictions. Paul Tournier

Job Description For a Housewife

Author Unknown:

The housewife is responsible for all household and childcare duties. Additionally, the housewife is responsible for ensuring that harmony exists between all individuals living in the home. Love, care, and kindness are all attributes that must be exhibited by the housewife. Caring for the husband is crucial, and it is expected that the housewife will provide for his emotional, physical, and spiritual needs. A housewife should also maintain personal hygiene and take care of her physical body through proper eating and regular exercise. While there is not a strict dress code, it is expected that between the hours of 7 am and 10 pm, the housewife will have makeup applied and will not be wearing pajamas or other elastic clothing. The housewife is expected to cry no more than 1 time per month, for a maximum of 5 minutes.

Duties

Household:

* Sweeping/mopping – at least once per day

* Dusting – at least twice per week

* Vacuuming – at least once per week

* Straightening up – at least once per day, preferably before 5pm

* Doing the dishes – as often as needed so that dishes do not extend over the corners of the sink

* Scrubbing bathrooms – at least once every two weeks or weekly if any potty-trained children reside in the home

* Doing the laundry – as often as necessary so that clean socks and underwear can easily be located

* Other duties as assigned

Childcare:

* Feeding – 3 well balanced meals each day with 1-2 healthy snacks

* Bathing – at least 3 baths per week including full body lotion application when needed

* Dressing/Grooming – children will be dressed by 8am with fresh, clean clothes. Haircuts must be provided at least every 6 weeks once the child is 18 months old. Fingernails and toenails must be trimmed so that no more than 3mm of nail be exposed past the end of the digit.

* Emotional Caring – holding each child for at least 20 minutes per day. Saying “I love you to each child at least 3 times a day”

* Developmental – reading to each child for at least 20 minutes per day

Qualifications/Requirements:

* Must have a high threshold for pain and a high tolerance for nagging, bothering, begging, crying, and loud noises

* Must be willing and able to stand for extensive periods of time, to crawl on the floor, to enter tight and cramped spaces, and to climb chairs and tables to obtain objects in difficult to reach places

* Must be willing and able to operate on 4-6 hours of sleep

* Should be able to handle multiple difficult situations at once

* Should be well versed on the phone and in writing

* Must possess negotiation skills to handle requests from both children and adults

* Can calmly handle stressful situations without yelling, throwing, hitting, storming out of rooms, or slamming doors – preferably

PS It's the other duties as assiogned that will do you in.

A Mother's Holiday

This is for all of us mothers out there:

A Mother's Holiday

Up before dawn
Sweeping and mopping,
Too much to do
No time for stopping.
The family is nestled
All snug in their beds,
While visions of a turkey dinner
Dance in their heads.
There's cooking to be done,
And laundry to do,
Gotta scrub the floors
And clean the windows too.
The TV comes on--
The family is awake
How much more do you think I can take?
The relatives pour in with
Shouts of good cheer.
Why did I offer to have
The family dinner here?
Now that the meal is done
The relatives leave amid
Shouts of good wishes.
While hubby and the kids watch TV
Guess who gets stuck with the dishes?

Happy Thanksgiving to all and to all a good night.

Second Gallon of Lemonade

OK, I am getting my fill of lemonade in the recent weeks.  Yesterday, I discovered my refrigerator-freezer has gone out.  I have several packages of meat that I have to cook today.  Kids will be eating good for awhile.  Luckily, I have another freezer to use so I do not have to cook everything.  Oh, I had just gone to the grocery the day before so you can imagine how I felt when I made this discovery.

Oh well, kids have to be fed so now we will a buffet to choose from.  Any leftovers will be saved so it's not a total waste.  Second thought.  What a wonderful opportunity to cook in mass and make home made TV dinners.  See the silver lining in this cloud?

This lemonade, I have to admit, is not as sweet as the first gallon.  But, at least all is not lost.   I guess I should be grateful for the food to cook.

Anybody want to join us for our buffet?  We will have chicken, burgers, steaks, and beef roast.  The only condition is you have to clean up afterwards.  After I do all this cooking, I definitely will not want to clean the kitchen.


Until next time, this is life on the edge

From Lemons to Lemonade

Sometimes life just does not seem fair does it?  I had some issues recently that really brought this home to me.  I was not feeling well and had no energy to do any of my normal day to day chores--clean house, laundry, etc.  I do not know what was wrong but for a couple of weeks all I could do each day was get the kids up and ready in time for their bus to come by.  After a few days, I got tired of being tired and decided I would just plug along and do what I could.  Well, by early afternoon I was totally exhausted so I would always lie down before the kids came home from school.  I knew I had a list of books to read and review plus stories I wanted to write.  Well, I decided that during my "off hours" I would work on a little bit of this backlog each day.  So by the time my bad two weeks had passed I had waded though over half of the books and have written about half of the stories I have had on file to write.

I can now say that although life had given me lemons for a while--I was successful in making lemonade and let me tell you, it did taste sweet to be able to say I did accomplish something during this bad time.

Oh by the way, the house has been cleaned although when the kids are home--I still don't do as much cleaning as I get done when they are not home.

So for now so long from life on the edge.

When It"s Time to Push the Pause Button

Often I find myself racing through life trying to get from Point A to Point B in the shortest amount of time. I frantically rush from job to job so I can mark them off my ever-growing “to do list.” The sad thing is for every task I mark off I always add two more to the list.

My family life suffers because of the “hurry-scurry syndrome”. My house never gets completely cleaned, laundry never gets caught up and we’ve eaten take-out so often the workers at McDonald’s know us by name and have our food ready when they see my minivan turn into the parking lot.

With two kids in elementary school, one in half day preschool, and one in high school, I can see no chance of slowing down in the near future. I am a volunteer in the kindergarten class, have two kids in t-ball and one in flag football, and one on the high school softball team. There are numerous practices and games I chauffeur kids to and from. This does not include the many social activities of the teenager. Add to this mix a husband who was injured on the job and has to go to his doctor three hours from home. Although he only has to go once or twice a month, this does add stress to the already hectic life of our family.

Recently, I was reading my morning devotional when I read Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God.” I became aware that God was using this devotional reading to tell me to slow down and “smell the roses”. I paused at that point and looked out my window. It was then that I saw the most beautiful awe-inspiring sunrise I had ever seen. I knew than that god was speaking to me.

Since that time I have made a conscious effort to really notice God’s presence and slow down to see that He is still God. I now see the beauty in God’s world. Although I still have as many responsibilities as have always had I now take time to breathe the awesome gifts God presents to me every day.

Times Flies When You Are Having Fun

Well, school has started again and life is returning to "normal".  By this I mean I spend all day cleaning and five minutes after the kids get home, you can't tell I have done anything.  When they ask me, "nanny, what have you done all day?" it is not a smart aleck question but because they have destroyed my whole day's work, they actually want to know.  I think I will take pictures and post them on the wall so when they ask me that question--I can point to the picture and they will have their answer. 

Frequently, I will become so busy with my work that I do lose track of time and before you know it that same yellow bus that takes them away will bring them home again.  This seems to be happening earlier and earlier in the day lately, I have looked at my watch and think that it is running 2-3 hours too fast until I stop and see the show that is on tv.  and realize that the day is almost over.  You know what the old saying is "time flies when you're having fun."  I guess that is true because while I am cleaning up after the little darlins' I find myself remembering the good times and fun we have had.  Remembering the good times does make the mundane chores go by faster.  The next time you find yourself scrubbing up a sticky floor or washing a dirty load of laundry say a little prayer of thanks that the kids who made the mess are in your life. 

Hello All

Well, it's me again. Life on the edge justs goes on. I guess that is good news though. I am still running around not knowing where I am going or where I've been, but that's normal for me. Life is about to get even more interesting (interpret "interesting" to mean "chaotic" or "hectic"). School is just about out. That's right, my darlins' will be home alllllllll day, EVERY day. Yeah, that's right. I won't even have the luxury of school any more. Oh well, life must go on. Oh Iforgot--baseball, t-ball, and softball will still be going on. So not only will I have to listen to my own kids, thirty million more kids will be yelling and screaming. Gee life is good. Just kidding. I will honestly try to enjoy summer break.

I thought about going back to work a few weeks ago. But that thought just lasted a second or two then I was jolted back to reality when I realized no one in their right mind would do all the crazy things I do in a day. To be honest, I only thought about working again because an 8 hour a day job seemed to be more relaxing that what I do now. I could not find anyone that was willing to stay with the kids anyway. I guess I will continue doing what I've been doing and trust God to get me through.

Oops! The dirty laundry is crawling out of the laundry room and pushing the dirty dishes out. The kids are fighting. Good, no sign of blood yet. The phone is ringing and the dogs are barking. Guess that's my signal to get to work.

Keep praying and thanking God your life is calm compared to mine. Until I get a few more seconds to myself this is it for today. Stay encouraged and thanking God for your many blessings. Until later, friends. This is life on the edge.

Whole Again

If you read my post this morning, you know I thought I would have to split myself into thirds. Well, guess what! It rained today. In fact, it started raining immediately after I published my post. Sooooooooo the 5:30 practice was cancelled and the softball game was cancelled. The team did have practice and the 6:00 practice was held. But, this was a cake walk compared to what was scheduled. See I told you God does take care of us.

I also told you I am a living testament that He has a sense of humor. I was so frantic trying to decide how to be in three places at once, I had the energy to clean a closet today. See God works all things to the good.

Until tomorrow--this is life on the edge.

This is God's Day

This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. Ps. 118:24 I taught this verse to my grandchildren and we would recite it every morning as I drove them to school. One morning after taking the kids to school I realized that no matter what happened today, this IS God's day. Whatever happens today, He sees. He gave me this day to life for Him. Even a "bad" day can be a day used for God's glory. It's not always easy for me to see the positive things mixed in with the chaos of my days because I am so focused on the negatives in my life. On the days the kids are fighting, are totally unaruly, and are making more messes in the house than I can clean, I admit I do get frustrated and think "What's the use of trying to clean this house?" I read somewhere "Trying to clean house while the children are small is like shoveling the sidewalk in a blizzard." This is so true at my house. But when bedtime finally comes around and I am tucking the little "darlins" in bed, they throw their arms around my neck and hug me and say "I love you, Nanny." This somehow makes all the frustrations and headaches during the day dim. I realize what a blessing from God these four children are in my life. God has entrusted their care to me and I rely on Him to give me the strength and wisdom to "bring them up in the admonition of the Lord."

In the middle of the day to day chaso, I seem to forget that the simple things in life are often my greatest blessings. Many times O meed tp be reminded that God's blessings can always be found even though they sometimes are disguised in the dailyt struggles of living.

When I look at my daily to-do list I realize there are blessings beyond measure in each task that I have listed: For all the dirty dishes, although I never seem to keep them all clean at the same, reminds me that we do have food to eat; mountains and mountains of dirty clothes that are like the dishes --never seem to be done, makes me thankful that we have clothes to wear; the never-ending piles of bills remind me that we do have the money to pay them; putting gas in the car reminds me to be thankful that we do have transportation to take us to where we need to be. After looking at these tasks and the blessings I get daily, I am reminded of the kids. They remind me to be thankful that God trusts me enough to place them in my life. They keep me "grounded" whenever I feel that I am being overworked and under appreciated. I have learned to solely rely on Him to give me the strength and wisdom to teach them about His wonderful love and mercy. I have learned to thank Him for each day He gives me and yes this is the day the Lord has made. I choose each morning to rejoice and be glad in it.

A Mother's Holiday

With the holidays fast approaching, I thought I would let you men know how a woman "relaxes" during this time of year.

Up before dawn
Sweeping and mopping.
Too much to do
No time for stopping.
The family is nestled
All snug in their beds.
While visions of a turkey dinner
Dance in their head.
There's cooking to be done
and laundry to do,
Gotta scrub the floors
And clean the windows too.
The TV comes on
The family is awake.
How much more do you think I can take?
The relatives pour in with
Shouts of good cheer,
Why did I offer to have
The family dinner here?
Now that the meal is done
The relatives leave amid
Shouts of good wishes,
While hubby and kids watch TV
Guess who gets stuck with the dishes?

Halloween Scares Me

Well, Halloween is over for another year. What a relief! Halloween always scares me to death. I don't mean the goblins or witches and any other grotesque costume the kids can envision. I mean the effects of so much candy on the kids. I do try to monitor the amount of candy they consume at one time but in reality--that is impossible to do 100%. I know you all have the same problem. Hyperactive kids that refuse to sleep or cooperate in any way. Of course, this is day to day life on the edge Face it life is hard enough as it is but add to the equation tons of sweet confections and life really takes a turn for the worse at Halloween.

That's not really the worse part--you can tie the kids up and duct tape their mouths shut. Don't call CPS--I'm only kidding. The worse part is trying to walk across the floor and find yourself sticking to the floor by leftover sweet delights the kids have dropped. Walking across a sugar laden floor is a lot like watching yourself move in slow motion.

Well, it is time to start the major overhaul on the house and attempt to clean it before the dog decides he wants some candy too. Oops, almost forgot. Got to untie the kids so they can get their exercise for the day.

Until next time, this is life on the edge.

Say a prayer for me if you can. I need all the help I can get.

Frantic Friday

Ever have days when you just know you should stay in bed? I should have listened to my little voice this morning. To start things off rolling downhill, my oldest granddaughter missed her bus to school. Now this shouldn't be a problem except that I have 3 others to get up and get ready before I could take her to school. Not to mention, two of them have to catch a bus in less than an hour for their school. Believe me, it is hard enough to get these kids up when they are supposed to get up but this was about 1 hour earlier. After getting them up and in the van, the youngest decided she needed to use the bathroom and could not wait until we returned. So we listened to her whining all the way home. Then a mad dash into the house to get her to the bathroom in time and to get the two boys bathed and dressed for school. Once they were gone it was time to get her bathed and dressed for preschool. Whew! What a morning. When I returned home after dropping her off my DH naturally had a few errands for me to run. Finally a few hours later, I made it home in time to go to preschool and pick up "Tater" from preschool. Home to fix her some lunch and attempt to settle her down for a nap. By then it was time to finish my housework and fix a snack for the boys for afterschool. After listening to them tell about their day and eat their snack, it was time for cooking supper. Then as you probably already know, after supper comes the cleanup, bathing, and getting ready for bed. Can you guess what DH is doing during all this? If you said sitting on the couch watching T.V you would be right. Oh, well tomorrow is Saturday and the only thing different is the kids will be home all day. Gee, I wonder if..................