Foolish woman

Boy, I was grouchy last night.  I think I was having flashbacks of my days of folly- the end of pregnancy seems to push my buttons ;-)

The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down. ~Proverbs 14:1

Yup, that used to be me. Angry, irritated, and bitter about all that had "gone wrong" in my life. I was carrying all that ugly stuff on my shoulders and slinging it at anybody that pushed my buttons.
I was tearing my house down.


I wish I could say I woke up one morning and decided to change and poof, a new, pleasant and kind me stood in the grumbly cantankerous me's place. Nope. I had to see my ugliness for what it was, be pained by it, and hate it, before I could change it.

Sin comes with many names. Pride, thinking I deserve to have things they way I want them. Discontentment, getting irritated when things aren't just the way I imagined or planned. Irritation, when someone isn't doing just what I think they should be doing, when I think they should be doing it. Self pity, "why do I always have to..."
Those are all sins. Selfishness, pride, anger...


A few years ago I began to realize I wasn't a victim but rather, I was choosing to feel sorry for myself, choosing to be irritated, choosing to let it turn into bitterness and choosing to get angry and yell. I could continue to stomp my feet and let everyone know I wasn't pleased and vent my frustrations. I might feel better for the moment, but I was stealing everyone else's joy and tearing my house down in the process.


I decided that I would like to be a wise woman, a kind woman, a pleasant woman. I would like for my children to grow old and say that I was a blessing to them. I would like for my husband to cherish me.

Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her ~Proverbs 31:28

If I wished to be a blessing, I needed to act like one! If I wanted my husband to cherish me, I could not be a constant dripping!!! No more making excuses for myself!

It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman. ~Proverbs 21:19

A continual dripping on a rainy day and a quarrelsome wife are alike ~Proverbs 27:15

It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife Proverbs 21:9

Joy and love are choices, not feelings. Patience, I think, is inversely tied to selfishness- when I let go of my selfishness I become immensely more patient. Bitterness is a poisonous gas that destroys everyone in it's path. And Pride- well, pride is at the root of all of those other things.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ~Galatians 5:22-23

I am cannot achieve those traits own own, I am depraived and desperate. I slip back into my old (well practiced) habits of nagging and complaining (especially when 9 months pregnant) if I am not grounded daily in the saving grace of God's Word. I must choose to put off the old and put on the new.

to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires ~Ephesians 4:22

How about you, will you tear your house down with your own hands? Or will you seek the wisdom of the Lord and build your house up?

be renewed in the spirit of your minds and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. ~Ephesians 4:23 & 24

Begin by asking for forgiveness and putting on a smile.  It is worth it!

Wise Words Wednsday~ on Hospitality

One of my goals for this year is for my daughters (at least the oldest) and I to learn to sew.

Well, I just made this cute little skirt for Butter.

She loves it, it was easy, and I have a new hobby!

But I didn't figure out how to do it by myself...

A few weeks ago a very nice lady invited me to bring my children over to her house for the afternoon. I had no idea what I was in for when I said yes.

What a blessed afternoon! She had set up her sewing machines on the back porch so she could teach me to sew where we could see our children playing in the yard. My children had a wonderful day riding four wheelers and horses with her children while I made a super cute skirt. She shared her delicious homemade applesauce with toasted pecans, her cooking tips for large families, her fabric, machines, and sewing expertise, her child rearing wisdom from 17+ years as mom to seven children, and her time. True Titus 2 style.

I was so blessed by this woman taking the time to show me what she knows. She did this and I don't even know her.

Hospitality is a great and wondrous thing. Imagine if we all took just a little time to pass on what we know to someone else. If you aren't already sharing what you know or what you have with someone else, today is a great day to start!

Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. ~Romans 12:13

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. ~Titus 2:3-5

You want me to do what?

The other day Mr. Pilot dared me to stay home for three days. Stay home, as in - not leave the house, for three whole days? He might be a little crazy. Yesterday a very dear friend challenged me to stay home for two weeks, not even going to church. Now, she must be crazy!

Why do I have such a problem staying at home? I love my home and I am so blessed to be at home, yet by about 2 pm I am looking for a reason to run out. The moment my hubby walks through the door I ask if we can go somewhere. I don’t mean I want to leave my family in the dust and rush off and have my nails done or anything like that. I just want the entire family to load up into the Buffalo (that’s our van) and drive somewhere, preferably somewhere with food.

Actually, my husband and friend are not crazy. I should be perfectly happy staying at home. My family would function so much better if I weren’t always rushing us out the door. I’d save my husband’s hard earned dollars if I weren’t putting us in the position of being hungry when we are far from home, out and about in town.

I can think back to a few years ago when I had MOPS at one church, Moppets at another, homeschool co-op, dance for 2 girls, soccer for the boy, and bible study. I also served in the Sunday school class, went to Mr. Pilot’s softball games, and had coffee with friends; all in one week! While there was nothing wrong with going to any of these things, there was definitely something wrong with going to all of them. I wondered why I didn’t have time to cook, or do laundry, or why I didn’t have energy for my husband, or for the children.

I have come a long way. But I still have so far to go. I get bored easily, I think I always have. I now have a darling daughter who asks at least twice a day “What are we doing next, or where are we going” because she too, got used to going, and going, and going.

Be still! Take delight in nothing but spending time with my children. That is what I am trying to do. I’ll start with the 3 day challenge. I have high hopes for reaching the 2 weeks challenge also.
I’ll wait until after my parents visit next week…
I’ll wait until after my anniversary, too.
I will do it.

I’ll let you know how it goes!

10 Reasons You Should Live in an RV

10. It is Cheaper
Our rent, cable, internet, water, sewer, electricity~ all of it added together costs little more than some of our electricity bills in our home. You can't really beat that.

Proverbs 12:9
Better to be lowly and have a servant then to play the great man and lack bread.

9. We Can Take Our Home on Vacation
We can just throw the Rubbermaids that are under the trailer inside, pull the slide in, hook-up to the van, and go. Anywhere. I don't even have to find a pet sitter. There are RV parks everywhere and they cost a fraction of a hotel stay. We don't have to eat out, remember to pack our toothbrushes, or worry about forgetting a te-te (baby blanket) in a hotel bed. We haven't tried this out yet, but as soon as the Navy finally pays us (they still haven't paid us for our move) we plan on giving it a whirl.

8. Refined Appreciation for Daily Tasks
Like the dishes. ~Think back to the good old days when you (your grandma) had to fetch water. Since I am not using gas, we have no hot water. When I do the dishes, I have to first heat water in my little 4 cup coffee pot. I actually have to stand there and wait for 2 or 3 pots to have enough hot water to do the dishes for my 7 member family. This is really hard for me, aren't there a million more important things I could be doing? I have never been fond of dishes. In fact, when we first got married, I made a deal with Mr. Pilot that I'd do the laundry if he'd do the dishes. He has kept up his part until the children were old enough to take over. Since we have been in the trailer I have been doing the dishes and using my Grandmother as my strength. This past Christmas I had the pleasure of watching her do the dishes. I love watching her aged, work-weathered hands plunge into the mucky water swirling with yucky food droppings from several plates of the just finished, hearty, farm cooked meal. For my entire 28 years of life my grandmother has stood at that same sink for countless hours, doing who knows how many dishes for family and friends. I wonder how often many of them~ how I~ took for granted for the sacrifice she has made, standing there, never grumbling or complaining about the time spent when the counter was filled with the dishes and drippings of the 30+ person Thanksgiving meal. As I watched her, my heart flooded with appreciation, and with the conviction. I didn't even cook dinner for my family regularly, let alone do the dishes daily. I won't even mention the without grumbling part... I had a hard time coming up with a few meals a week. As I imagined three home cooked meals AND dishes each day, for 28 years, or 48, or 62, I stood in admiration and wonder... I vowed then and there to learn to cook for my family. And now I am doing the dishes too. Without grumbling.

Colossians 3:17
And whatever you do, in word or deed do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father.

7. Focus on Family, Not Self
There aren't 10 piles of laundry calling my name. There aren't 50 toys piled up on the floor, so many that each child can't even see the other children through his own pile. There is no TV or XBOX. We have to play with each other.

Malachi 4:6
He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.

Titus 2:4
That they may teach the young women to love their husbands and children.

6. Get Familiar with Regularity
not just the poop- although, we are getting familiar with that too, since we have to dump the tanks and all. We are able to keep a much closer eye on everything that goes on here. An unresolved spat doesn't slip by unnoticed. If someone doesn't put their toy exactly where it goes, everyone knows it. If something is wrong, it doesn't take long to be righted. Everyone's habits, needs, likes, dislikes, desires, talents, weaknesses, all of it, it is all out in the open. This is a good thing.

Proverbs 31:27a
She looks well to the ways of her household.

Proverbs 28:13a
Whoever conceals his sins will not prosper.

1 Timothy 3:4
He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect.

5. No Longer Slaves to Stuff
There aren't 10 piles of laundry calling my name, there aren't 50 toys piled on the floor, there is no 50" TV ~ hmmmm. There isn't room for this stuff. Without it, I don't have to clean it, organize it, and re-organize it. We aren't so wrapped up in our stuff that we can't see what the heck we are doing here. Materialism is raging in America, and in our home. Last night we watched a home-video from Christmas morning 2 years ago. We must have spent several hundred dollars. Maybe even a few thousand. I probably wasted weeks worrying about what we'd give the children, stressing about the perfect gifts for my hubby. Making sure they'd be pleased. Gift after gift we opened. I even opened gifts from myself. As we were watching this typical Christmas video, Mr. Pilot and I looked at each other and gasped. Where is all that stuff? What were we thinking? We don't have a single thing to show for any of it. Rubbish, all of it. I don't think this is particular to our family, I am pretty sure this is common in America.

Matthew 6:24
No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (money or possessions).

Luke 12:15
Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

4. Reduce Cleaning Time
Without all the stuff that we are no longer slaves to, it only takes 10 minutes. From top to bottom. Dusted, vacuumed, scrubbed. Nook, cranny, and all. Have you ever said the phrase "time just flies by" or "where did the time go?" Well, my dad told me that it only gets worse each year. I don't want to look back at my life and see that I wasted precious years that I could have been enjoying my children and husband on cleaning, organizing, and re-organizing my stuff. We all have the same 24 hours per day. I will never again shoo away one of my children because I have too much cleaning to do.

John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Ephesians 5:16
make the best use of time, because the days are evil.

3. The Simple Life
Tired of the rat-race whirlwind, running from this sporting even to that meeting, from this errand to that appointment? You are missing out on the sweetness of Life! Always rushing makes people sick, literally! Filled up calendars don't allow for noticing the lizard on the tree or for watching the mama duck make her nest You don’t have time to look up and see the sparkle in your little one's eye. How can you be in love with someone when you don't spend anymore time with them than what it takes to spout off the current days' tasks and the new chore list for tomorrow?

2 Corinthians 11:3
I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

2. It's Cheaper
My husband thought it was worthy of being mentioned twice. With the extra money we save and the way my husband rocks the budget, we are going to be out of debt completely (not counting our mortgage) in less than a year. Our goal is to live in this RV for a year but, as we drive around Mississippi and admire the amazing farm houses we realize that if we lived in an RV until Mr. Pilot retired, we could pay cash for our dream house. I am not saying that is what we are going to do, so don't start spreading any rumors that I have gone off the deep-end and become a crazy trailer hermit. But I am just saying... I definitely don't want to move back into a house until I have reached the place that I won't go buying stuff to fill in all the empty space I'd have.

Matthew 19:24
“Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

1. Loving God- and Family
With all of that other stuff out of the way, you are freed up to Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, and soul. When you do that, you automatically fall in line with loving your family. I am not taking about, "yeah, you are my mom, I love you" kind of love. I am talking about, "I enjoy being in your presence, you make me smile, I'll give you the bigger half of the cookie and let it roll off when you hurt my feelings" type of love. Genuine love, not only will I die for you type of love, but I will live for you love.

Matthew 22:37-39
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

let me jump right in...

I realized today that if I keep waiting for the perfect first post to come along I will never make a post. So I guess I'll just get started. I am no writer, I am an awful speller, and I have horrible grammar. Yes, I can still homeschool my children successfully despite all of these inadequacies; I have a teacher's manual. ;~)

This will be the simple ramblings of our wonderful life. It is often chaotic; we are a God fearing, homeschooling, active duty US Navy Pilot's family with 5 children, 2 cats, 1 dog, and fleas.

I often found myself wondering (read complaining loudly) why flight school had to be in the Florida panhandle. I really didn't know what I was in for- no one at the housing office mentioned cockroaches the size of birds, swarms of mosquitoes, fire ants in your pants, two lane highways with no passing zones (we lived in San Diego for 6 years), sweltering hot sticky muggy days, and fleas. I am a Midwestern not-a-sissy gal, but coming from our last duty station in beautiful Boulder, Colorado, this was all quite a shock. But as usual, now that our time here is coming to a close (hopefully) I am shown once again that God's plan is SUPER AWESOME and I have made some amazing friends and learned some incredible truths that I would never have learned if I didn't have fleas.
I don't really have fleas, but it is a war.

Buzzzzz.... Dinner is ready.