Before, Dare I Share

I am a bit embarrassed to post pictures of my mess. Ugh. But here it is in the beginning. Every few months I clear it out but my little white junk box stays and a week or two later its back to a mess. I want to revamp this whole system and will work on new organizing ways to deal with what piles up on this counter which can be anything from:

• My purse
• Under my purse is the binder that I tried to start organizing everything in.
• My makeup bag
• School papers
• Mail
• Odds and ends
• My white box (which is really like our junk drawer since we didn't have a drawer to make one)
• Pictures (that I just don't know what to do with)
• Menus
• ....and much more

So there we have it.  The beginning of the challenge for March.  I will keep reading Organizing Junkie to find ways to be more organized in this area and I will also be exploring and sharing other websites and ways I learn how to have a better system here.  

More later...

I am a Normal Eater

I am a normal eater.  That is so strange to be in today's world where so many people look to other people and programs to tell them how to eat instead of looking inside and listening to their own bodies.  It has been a journey for me over several years to learn about intuitive eating and listening to my body, and I still have a ways to go, but I finally feel I am on solid ground.  I will not accept any diet mentality.  I have chased many things and people and theories, but I now have a firm foundation.  I will listen to my body and to God who designed it, and continue to learn how to tune more and more into them so that I can grow more and more into the healthy body I am meant to have.

I will take care of myself.  I am learning how important it is to love myself and take care of me.  This is a journey I want to start to shine in.  I don't want to keep hiding thinking there is another way or another person is doing it the "right" way and I need to listen to them.  No.  I want to share more and more of this journey because I feel it will help others BE SET FREE.  Amazing.

I have no food rules.  It is so hard to fight against that and it is daily that I have to throw off thoughts and theories that come into my path and not accept them as truth, but press on and not let them hinder me.

Hebrews 12:1 (NLT) Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.  And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

The thing I continually have to throw off is the desire to chase after things like I said that come across my path.

I do have to share that after drinking coke for the first time in a month yesterday I finished my day with many glasses of water that I thoroughly enjoyed.  Interesting.  It was when I let loose the reigns and allowed myself to have coke that I decided it wasn't even what I really wanted.  Once I gave myself the permission to have it, it was no longer a law I was rebelling against.  Amazing.

There is a process of "legalizing" foods that I will go through as do others who start intuitive eating.  The foods that we think are forbidden we tend to gravitate towards.  I am learning that you can choose one food at a time and work on legalizing it.  Until you are free to eat it whenever you want, at every meal if you want. It will lose its control over you.  I have a process to go through, but it is going to be a great freedom journey.

Reminds me of this scripture too.  1 Corinthians 6:12 (NLT) You say, "I am allowed to do anything"--but not everything is good for you.  And even though "I am allowed to do anything," I must not become a slave to anything.

So there we have it.  I won't be a slave to anything.  In Jesus Name, Amen

More later...

My Home Management "Binder"

I have read post and post and stuff all about home management organizers and binders and all the crafty ways you can organize them.  There are many.  I love binders.  But

My new and wonderful Home Management Binder is.........

Cozi!  I love this system.  For all of my 12 years of being a mother, the main way that I kept everything organized was by the wall calendar in the kitchen.  If we had something to do, it had to go on that calendar or it would be forgotten.  Then enter Cozi last month...January 2013.  I had tried to use it before, but after starting to work full time outside of the home and it never seemed to click.  Then started using it again in January and it is wonderful.  I can see it on any computer, on any of our iPhone's app's and it is so convenient.

I use it for:

• Grocery shopping, 
• grocery lists, 
• meal planning, 
• to do lists, 
• wish lists, 
• our Calendar with anything you can think of on it, 
• a little journal you can jot down fun things that you do as a family, 
• and more.  

I even read today that Michelle Duggar, the wonderful mom of 19, uses it with her family and so that encourages me even more.  I wanted to share that with you all as maybe it is something that would make your home life management work even better.  It has really worked for me and I can't wait to utilize it even more. 

More later...

Only Drink Water in February Update

So in my 52 Projects in 52 weeks I wanted to try and drink only water in February.  I had gotten in the habit of drinking coca cola or Milo's sweet tea daily and was drinking more of that than water.  The funny thing is I don't care for any other drink and if I weren't drinking those 2 drinks, I would want water.

So I started February 1st and I went 4 days or so and drank only water.  I went through a lot of craziness those 4 days coming off of the caffiene and the sugar.  I had headaches and I felt groggy and irritable, very irritable.  I wrote about my little update here. 

Then one morning at work I talked myself into drinking a sprite, thinking it would be a good replacement.  Then 10 days after that I had a sweet tea at work and decided I wasn't going to drink Coca cola.  I felt guilty, and wanted to give up altogether, but I didn't.  I did realize how I kind of felt enslaved to the sweet tea at work (I did drink more coca cola at work than tea or anything).  It was like I didn't even want it, but I drank it just because.  I drank it maybe in a sorts like I was trying to sabotoge myself.

So the end result is, I didn't touch Coca Cola the entire month of February.  Today, March 1st I enjoyed 3 glasses of Coca Cola at work and guess what, feel a little blah and have a touch of a headache.  What's up with that?!   

So what did I learn from this little challenge I gave myself?  I learned that I don't think I should abstain from any food or drink or make any rule to do that again, because it was a wrong focus and made me just think how much I couldn't wait until it was over and I really beat myself up because I "messed up" and did not do it the way I had set out to do it.  Maybe God did some work in my heart though as I went through it...right now I feel the urge to go and dump out the 3rd glass of coca cola I have had today and fill it up with WATER!  I am going to guzzle some WATER!  Hmmm...

More later...

31 Days of Organization with Org Junkie! I'm in!

I am going to join in March the 31 Day Organizational Challenge though I am not doing an entire room, I am doing one of the most challenged spots in my home, the kitchen counter--a mess.  That is one of my goals so I will just join the challenge to make it a little more fun. 

I will be posting before pictures soon and will share my progress as I go.  I pray for more order in my home so I pray that this little challenge will spread through my home.  Here goes...just printed my organization calendar!

More later...

Testimony Tuesday

Everyone needs to have the reminder sometimes that God is with them if they have accepted Him as Lord and He hasn't left them.  Sometimes we can get so into our life and circumstances we start to wonder where God is.  I have heard it said before like this, God never leaves us, it is us who distance ourselves from Him.  We are the ones that move away.  I find this to be true in my life.

Also I started realizing something lately.  When I hear other people's God stories, I am inspired and encouraged so much.  It stirs something in me that makes me want to run faster and closer to God.

So I want to start Testimony Tuesday.  Big or small, all testimonies.  Stories of how God intervenes in our every day lives.  Stories that may encourage one person who has experienced the exact same thing as you.

I love it!

In the comments feel free to share a testimony or story of something God has done in your life big or small.  I will start to share mine as well. 

February Project-How's it going...

So I can say now, although it is only February 18th, that choosing to go without a certain food was a no-no.  I should not do that because it only throws me into diet mentality and my mind goes a bit crazy.  So I will say I have drank a lot more water and I like to drink water.  I have not drank one single coca cola since January.  I have, although, drank several sprite's and I have also had Sweet tea daily the last week or so.  So I have learned a little lesson, about what to not choose to cut out, as I don't want to make anything "off limits" in my diet. 

I will though press through the rest of February and continue drinking more and more water and it will be good.  That is my update for now...happy day to you all!

More later...