Life in the "driver's seat"

      This last week I've heard a couple of analogies about life and driving.  This got me thinking through how I'm "driving" lately.  Am I paying attention to the road signs along the way (health, weight, family pressures...etc)?  Am I staying in my lane?  I could go on about this way of thinking but you can get the picture.  The sermon at church last Sunday was about "round-abouts" and other types of road designs. 

      I was especially intrigued by that thought...being on the round-about.  As you know, when you enter the round-about you can only exit by taking a right turn AND to enter you have to merge into the flow of traffic.  We have one of these near our elementary school and it makes it very efficient to approach the school without the headache of the a traffic signal.  Anyway, when thinking about this in regards to life I am challenged by the thought of being in the "holding pattern" of the round-about and then about exiting to the next road.  I know that there is a new road ahead in my life but I don't know what that will be yet nor do I have any inkling as to when it will be. So, in essence, I'm waiting!

   The other analogy that was presented was in regards to looking back while plowing a field (but could be applied to driving).  When we look back in life we tend to make crooked pathways.  It is a natural occurance!  This is especially true when you have a trailer hitched onto your vehicle and you are trying to back into a parking spot....It is very CHALLENGING!  If I'm trying to look back and relive (or regret) a certain era of life....what about my kids and others that are "in tow" right now?  I truly need to be concentrating on THE NOW and driving FORWARD !  If not...then I will be leaving a crooked path for my kids to follow instead of the straight and narrow road of Christianity and responsible adulthood.

    I hope all this makes sense!  AND I hope that you like the new layout of the blog.  I'm hoping to expand what I do here....we will see!

Gentleness

I see that my friend Sonja has returned to blogging!!!! Yeah! I have also been desiring to return to this venue as well. Not sure what I will write about but I'm sure I'll find something. Today was a morning that needed "kind" words to be spoken at our house. I am really trying to concentrate on speaking gently with the kids/girls even when there needs to be correction. This is certainly challenging and goes against my normal response modes!

Lord...help me with my GENTLENESS :-)

Craft Room

Feeling pretty accomplished about getting my craft/sewing place done. Here are some photos of the project. Remember that we began with icky paneling that was painted over and gross flooring. Started by replacing the window and putting some drywall over the paneling.

Got some great carpet squares and just cut and taped them to the floor. We had some icky alligator green covered by "stone" gray vinyl (which was really cold in the winter!). and Now it is a nice brown with some pattern....looks so nice and clean.

Put up some peg board in the corner (not the best job but it works!) and painted. Just need to finish the trim work (so easy to just stop here and leave it). I'm looking forward to getting some projects going this winter!!

I also had to defrost our freezer during this process. I made a mental note to self to not let it go so long between cleanings!!!