She Buildeth Her House

A Decluttering Question That Will Simplify Your Life!

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A Decluttering Question That Will Simplify Your Life!

I dropped and broke a mug yesterday.

My first thought was one of relief. “At least I don’t have to declutter that when I finally go through that cabinet.”

Which made me start thinking…”What else out of there would make me strangely relieved if it accidentally broke?”

So … my new question when decluttering items I can’t decide about is this: “If it suddenly got destroyed would I be relieved or seek to replace it?”

Ask yourself the same question.

You’re welcome. 🙂

Now … go spend 10 minutes and simplify that area that’s been bugging you (but maybe don’t shatter your unwanted items like I did. A week later we are still getting glass in our feet 😂) and let me know if this question helped!

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How to Find the Help You’re Looking For

“There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: A mighty man is not delivered by much strength. An horse is a vain thing for safety: Neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.

Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, Upon them that hope in his mercy; To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waiteth for the LORD: He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in him, Because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, According as we hope in thee.”
‭‭ Psalm‬ ‭33:16-22‬ ‭‬‬

I find it ironic that often as Christians we strive to be strong, to do it all, to seek deliverance and comfort at our own hands—-when time after time in scripture we are reminded that His strength comes from our choice to admit our weakness. From fearing Him. Trusting Him. Waiting on Him.

Reread that scripture. Then read it again. What are you seeking today? Deliverance? Help? A shield from life’s storms? He has an answer for you today.

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Reflecting His Light

Sitting alone in the stillness one morning at a beach vacation, I was struck with the beauty of the clouds. But then it dawned on me that the clouds’ beauty actually came from the reflection of the sun I couldn’t yet see. In fact, I couldn’t see the sun at all because of the location of our porch in relation to the position of the sunrise.

But the closer the sun came to shining its beautiful face, the brighter the clouds got, until they were almost glowing.

All those clouds had the ability to shine like that, but their relationship to the sun is what determined their beauty.

Where are you today in relationship to the Son? Are you off in the distance, doing your own thing, or are you as close as you can get, reflecting His beauty to a hopeless, desperate world?

Let your needs and sins draw you TO Him, not shame you or push you away to try to get yourself straightened up first. When my kids make a mess of things, I WANT them to come to me. To ask for help. That way all their striving doesn’t make the situation worse.

He tells us to “…come boldly…” and “come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest…” Oh how Satan loves to divide us from our source of strength, our source of hope and light and love. Cling to Him in your sorrow, in your joys, in your overwhelm. He’ll not turn you away.

And when you do, you’ll find yourself basking in His Son’s light and reflecting it to the world without even realizing you’re doing it. When you’re that close to the Son, you can’t help but reflect His beauty.

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Two Truths to Lean On When the Pressure is Too Much

Have you ever felt like you may just collapse from all the pressure you’re under? Or maybe like you just want to sit down and cry?

I sure have.

But I have good news! 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says speaks of God as One who comforts us in our tribulation. The word “tribulation” in the Greek according to Strong’s concordance literally means pressure. And if you look up pressure it means “the continued action of a weight or force” in Webster’s dictionary.

The society we live in puts so much pressure on us. We put pressure on ourselves. Sometimes the pressures are weight from our own sinful choices. Sometimes the pressure is from things far beyond our control.

Whatever the cause, the pressure is real.

The word comfort in this verse means “to call near.” I looked up call and found that among its many meanings are these: “a command; an invitation; to ask to come.” And the word near means “close; not far away.” I know this may not seem profound to you but I’m going somewhere, I promise!

From this verse, the God of the universe commands…invites…asks me to come close to Him when I’m under pressure. Not to go far away, but to come close. And that coming close IS comfort. Being close to Him is what comfort actually IS. He is the Comforter.

Satan likes to isolate us. Make us feel alone. Unloved. Uncared for.

But friend, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

He’s ready. Waiting. Inviting you to come close to Him so He can give you all the care your heart needs. After all, contrary to what so many of us believe and feel, God isn’t out to get us. If we are His children, He can can bring joy beyond what I can express! “In thy presence is fullness of joy and at thy right hand there are pleasures forever more.” Psalm 16:11

So today, take a breath if the pressure feels too heavy…and remember these two truths:

1. Comfort IS being in His presence. You won’t find true peace or comfort anywhere else on this earth no matter how hard you look. You won’t find it in work or in leisure. In perfectionism or in no giving up altogether. In doing all the things or in hiding from all the things. Only He can soothe your heart’s deepest cries. If you’ve never trusted Him, do it today! You’ll never regret it.

2. When the pressure is so very heavy, run TO Him, not away. Run toward His presence. Not hiding. Not ashamed. Not fearful and ashamed. Not trying to fix it all on your own. Not trying to earn His blessings or favor. He’s waiting and inviting you to come. You don’t have to be fancy. If you’ve sinned, just repent and come. If you make a choice to come to Him…He’ll never turn you away.

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A SUPER Simple Idea for Improving Your Relationship Your Child (WARNING: May Improve Writing & Reading Skills…NO Nagging Required!)

Sometimes life is crazy.

And in the crazy we can forget how much our little people NEED us to actually pay attention to them. To hear them. To affirm them. To answer their questions. To treat them like HUMANS and not just little annoyances.

Not just be in the room with them while they watch a cartoon.

Not take them to the park while we are on our phone.

Ouch.

But to be present. To listen. To ENGAGE .

Ever thought about how hard it would be to be a kid in this crazy time?? Or how it would feel if every time you try to figure something out, someone fusses at you or hushes you or ignores you? Not very pleasant.

And I fully understand how hard it can be to be present.

But friend, that doesn’t negate our responsibility as parents to give our children that attention. If they don’t get it from you, they’ll get it from someone… and that someone will have their heart instead of you. And I don’t think you want that anymore than I do.

So, if you’d like to do something to meet the need your child has of feeling connected to you…let me share something I recently started with my daughter.

A journal. A mother-daughter journal. It wasn’t fancy. It wasn’t expensive. Just a composition book with a cute little kitten on it (her current favorite thing ever).

I presented it to her in the form of a treasure hunt that involved completing “challenges” (which were actually homeschool lessons in disguise!) but do whatever works for you.

The concept is simple. Just take turns writing notes to each other! It can be anything from random fun questions to something that you wanted to share in the day but got too busy and couldn’t. It could be a prayer request. A secret. Something scary that they faced that day. Maybe something they’d like to talk to you about more in depth. Some genuine heartfelt encouragement from you to them…or them to you. Use your imagination to engage with them.

The goal is for your child to know that this is a way to share their HEART with you and it won’t get lost or overlooked.

You could hide it for them to find. Or just give it to them. Ever how you do it, just make it fun.

I’m hoping this will be something that we can continue into her teen years and even adulthood. Can you imagine the treasure it will be? Reading about the first time we saw a dolphin together or how hard she worked to learn to do a cartwheel?

And the bonus…improved writing and reading skills with no nagging!

Happy journaling!

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Fun Activity to Give Mommy a Minute to Rest!

So I had read about this idea online. And yet I never did it. Sometimes all the ideas just blur together…they seem fun, but too much work. This idea is NOT like that.

My sweet girl has been on an archeologist kick lately. And so it seemed like a good time to try it.

I don’t know what to call it. Maybe a dino dig. Maybe ice digging. But whatever you want to call it, your kids will love it!

Just find some random little toys.

Trucks.

Rings.

Dinosaurs.

Even coins would work!

Then put them in ice trays or Tupperware containers or both and add a drop or two of food coloring if you really want to go all out 😉

Freeze it.

Collect a couple paint brushes, salt, and maybe a cup of warm water. Tell then they are archeologists and have to dig out the artifacts. You can even google facts about archeologists and read them while they are doing it if you’re feeling really motivated.

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Even my two year old who WON’T sit still was mesmerized. Like it bought me at least 30 min or more of time not having to chase him around the yard.

With older kids, you could use money and they get to keep it!

They are begging to do it again.

You’re welcome.