Shattered Glass…X2

*smash!*

As I worked to put clean sheets on our bed I heard the shattering of glass out in the kitchen.  My body reacted quickly as I leaped over the pile of pillows on the floor and hurdled my body through the door way and out into the living room….the dinning room…and into the kitchen.

There I found my 3-and-a-half-year-old son innocently standing in front of the sink.

“I’m done, Mommy!” He declared happily.

I peered into my white sink to see the remains of a small glass bowl shattered into hundreds of pieces.

I shuttered.  There is nothing I hate to clean up as much as shattered glass.  I would be a  happier mommy cleaning up vomit than the sharp chards of a bowl.  It all goes back to the time when I broke something glass and ended up with a piece of it in my foot.

Apparently Micah had wanted a bowl for the snack I had given him instead of using the napkin I had placed it on.  He was able to reach the small bowl that contained my morning vitamins, dump them into the garbage, and use the desired dish to eat his snack out of.  After he had finished he was a good boy and cleared his dish right into the sink.  The problem was the fact that he is too short to place it in the sink.  He’s only tall enough to half drop it, half throw it in.

I grabbed my hand-held vacuum out of the cleaning closet and sucked up the many glittering pieces of glass from within my kitchen sink.  And I was grateful that the sink had contained them all.  But in my hurry to get back on track after this 6.5-minute-delay in my schedule, I wrapped the cord around the vacuum and shoved it back in the closet.

Oh yes, I had thought about emptying the vacuum bag, but that’s as far as that idea went.  And so as the classic saying goes…“Out of sight, out of mind”.  Until about 2 nights later when I asked my 5-year-old Emily to get out the vacuum for me.

I meant the big vacuum, but again, in my must-accomplish-much-haste I didn’t specify which one and so she brought out the smaller one. 

*sigh* I can read their minds at times…shouldn’t kids be able to just know sometimes, too?!  Just kidding!  It was totally my own fault.

As I heard her work to get the vacuum I also heard the clink and clanking of glass in the vacuum hose.  At that moment I went into “mommy overdrive” as I declared a From-The-Trenches-Of-Motherhood-Household-State-Of-Emergency and ordered everyone to clear the hallway and stand still.

I quickly gathered up all my needed supplies – garbage can, new vacuum bag, etc… – and swept up the glass…again.  This time from the hallway closet.  And this time I did it right – changing the vacuum bag when I was done.

So many times I get frustrated at my children for not doing things right the first time, and yet this incident served as a reminder to me that I am really no different.  I’m just older and should know a whole lot better!

I get so caught up with doing and accomplishing that I sometimes let the “little” things slip.  In the long run I really don’t accomplish as much as I think I did.  I need to get back to the basics and do things the right way the first time.  But while I work on slowing down, and doing things to the best of my ability the first time, I praise God for His grace to do just that.  I am awed by God’s amazing love for me despite the shattered glass of my life.

From the trenches of motherhood…where God sweeps up my glass chards…

-Mandy the TrenchMommy

To Read Or Not To Read

When flying on a plane - and trying to only pack for an entire week using carry-on luggage - one must be fairly selective.  Not only am I cutting down on how many pairs of shoes I take, but also my reading material.

*gasp*  What is this life coming to?!

So I started with this…(I am showing you only half of the cupboard!)

And then narrowed it down to these six…

Then finally ended up with packing these three…

Now all I have to do is…

READ THEM!

Oh, and you can read my reviews later on at To Read, Or Not To Read!

Just Keep Swimming

Life is crazy busy for pretty much all of us.  We all are flying by the seat of our pants at about double the speed we should be going.

Hmm….I wonder what the story is behind the phrase “flying by the seat of your pants” is…

Oh!  Yes, back to what I was saying…  I think most people in this country are way too busy.  And when we – yes, I am included in this – are too busy we get overwhelmed really easy.

*Ahem*  This is painful to admit, but I’m really overwhelmed this week and have been the past few weeks…or well, uhmm…months.  It seems life just never slows down and there are just so many good opportunities coming my way it’s hard to say “no” at times.

This is also why my poor little blog has been left blank on so many days.  Real life has just overwhelmed my online life, too! 

*Gasp* Oh the horror!  {insert silly grin}

Yes.  Sometimes life doesn’t go as planned.  But I am trying to make myself at least write more often – I don’t dare commit to a set amount of days!  I enjoy it and it is such a wonderful way to chronicle our life for myself as well as my family.

So some days I may just simply write about feeling overwhelmed or maybe about the car I saw go flying by me and how happy I as to see he/she was pulled over by an Officer about half a mile up the road. 

I know!  That isn’t very compassionate of me to say…but the driver wasn’t just doing some “safe speeding”, he was driving like I was standing still taking a nap!

I guess I am writing all this to say that I’m still swimming!  Taking one day at a time trying to balance all that God has brought into my life and make the best choices with the wisdom that God gives me.

I hope you will join me in this journey of following God…seeking His balance for our lives…and pushing on even if it means a few “blank” days.

Oh, and on a very different note….very different indeed!…guess who pooped on the potty last night?!

AND…if you want to read something about finding balance in life let me recommend Ordering Your Private World.

From the trenches of motherhood…where I am on the teeter-totter of life…

-Mandy the TrenchMommy

Do You Feel Alone In Your Marriage?

Marriage is all about two people – a man and a woman – becoming one person.

The purpose of marriage is to be a picture of the relationship between us (mankind) and Jesus Christ (God).  As we as individuals grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ our marriage should also grow more and more clear as a picture of Christ’s love for us.

However, we live in a sinful world and many of these “pictures” are anything but clear.  Rather, they are still quite pixilated and fuzzy.  Those looking at them have a difficult time trying to figure out what the picture is supposed to be.  None of us are perfect.  We all experiences these times in our marriages.  They are times that despite the fact that there are two people in the marriage you feel like it’s only you. 

You feel alone in your own marriage.

We each experience this loneliness to one degree or another.  My degree has been low in comparison to that of what other women have experienced.  However, we still all face it. 

Different ways.  Different times.  Different reasons.  Different degrees.

Same feeling of being…

Alone.

But there is hope!  God has a plan for even your loneliness.

I just finished reading a book called Alone In Marriage by Susie Larson and I am so excited about this book that I had to share my vlog review with you today!  You can see the whole review in person on Friday at my book review blog, To Read, Or Not To Read.  Until then…here’s a sneak peek!

Susie will take you to Scripture to see the hope you have in Christ Jesus even when you are…

Alone In Marriage.

* * * * *

You can buy this book by clicking here.

This book was provided for review courtesy of Moody Publishing but the opinions expressed are my very own.

Cozy & Comfy Slippers: My New BFF

I have never been a slipper person.  Nope.  I like bare feet in the house – or at least socked feet – so I can feel.

Feel?

Yeah, I’m not sure about that either.  But I do know that I usually don’t like my feet cooped up unable to experience their surroundings.  They get a little claustrophobic or something!

It’s okay.  I already know I’m strange!

Although, I think if you finish this silly little story you may not think I’m quite as strange.

*ahem*  Where were we?

Oh yes!  So when we – my husband & I – got the list of “things to bring” for our upcoming retreat that included slippers, I decided to grab a pair.  Well, buy them really.

I got a relatively cheap pair from Payless shoes and because they were just so comfy and cozy looking I was quite excited to try them on back at home.  They have barely come off my feet since!

I wear them all the time except for in the shower or outside of the house.  I don’t want them to get dirty!  Although they are so cute and comfy that I have been tempted to wear them outside the house…and even toyed with the idea of in the shower…nah!…just kidding!  About the shower part anyhow!

So, yep, I have resorted to writing all about my new BFF love for my slippers.  I just can’t get over how comfy they are and how much my feet are loving being in them! 

What can I say?  Simple things amuse me at times!

Oh, and did you notice the dot of something on one of them already?  I need to scrub that off before we go away so they still look cute!  {insert silly giggle here}

Are you a slipper person?  Do you know what I mean when I say my feet usually like to “feel”?  Does this post lead you to think I’m a little strange?  Or do you identify with my thoughts about my new BFF?

 

I Am Not Going To Relevant10

That’s right.

I am NOT going.

Oh, I wanted to go.  But it just didn’t seem to work out no matter what I did or tried.  I wrote to a sponsor, I even have a friend I could car-pool with, but for some reason all the details just never came  through.

So over the summer I resigned myself to the fact I would not be attending.

Then I saw Selah in concert back in September and when I told Todd I read Angie’s blog he immediately asked if I was going to Relevant10.  I had to kindly answer as I was turning green with envy that I would not be going.

Now I know why.

God had other plans for me.  Better plans for something both my husband and I desperately need.

We are headed to California for a Pastor’s and Wives spiritual retreat where we will spend 4 days alone with each other and God.

No internet.  No TV.  Limited cell service.  No children along.  No schedule.

Just mountains.  Just us.  Just God.

Time to be rejuvenated by concentrated time in His Word, in prayer, in fellowship with each other.

So while I am sad that I won’t be attending the Relevant10 conference…I am excited how God worked out something that I needed more than that.  The dates overlap and there is no way I could have done both.  God had a better plan for me this year and I look forward to making the most of it.

However, I still expect Kristina to take lots of pictures and notes for me!  And I will miss you all…all those who someday I hope to meet – in person!

Hmm…maybe I’ll make a little button for her with my picture on it along with a caption that reads - “Trench Mommy is here in spirit”!

Motherhood Confession: My Favorite Kids DVDs

As a Mom I really try to watch what I allow my kids to watch.  I’m not always as good about it as I would like to be.

If this was a perfect world – which it is not – I would only allow my kids to watch Christian DVDs.  However, as much as I try to attain to this goal there are times when a little Fetch or Bob The Builder sneak into their viewing line-up.

I must say though that as the years of parenting have gone by – all 7 of them so far! – I have actually become fond of some shows.

Yes!  Me.  The adult.  The busy Mom.  Actually likes some kids shows.

My favorites are the Max Lucado’s Hermie & Friends series by Tommy Nelson.  I’ll be honest, at first I wasn’t all that impressed.  But as my kids have grown, and as more and more of them have been released I have slowly grown to not only appreciate them, but like them.

Does this mean I have a major case of “mommy-brain” or just that I finally appreciate wholesome entertainment for my children?!

Anyway! 

So now that I have shared my fave kid’s DVDs with you I want to know what YOURS are!

Introduce me to something that not only your kids like…but that YOU like!

And while you’re here, enjoy this intro video clip to the wonderful world of truth teaching bugs!  Then when you are done with that…check out my TV Tuesday series on my book review blog!

Chomping At The Bit

I don’t know about you, but around our house it seems our children chomp on the bit a lot!

Not literally!

This is how it plays out in our home…

*cue fading music as we step back in time a few days…*

I take Abby aside and tell her that she gets to start piano lessons – something she has been begging to do.  But after I tell her that she gets to take lessons I also want to talk to her about it. 

However, as soon as my announcement is out of my mouth she runs off in excitement to tell her sister and brother and to “get read” in whatever way a 7-year-old needs to get ready 7 days before their first lesson!

She’s so excited – chomping at the bit so to speak – that she hears what she wants to hear and then runs off.

As I was spending time in the Word of God this morning, I realized how much I am like my daughter.

I read a few verses and then my mind began to run off in my excitement to “get going” on my new day.  I was happy to be reading the Word of God but I was so excited about doing what I needed to do for God that I had a hard time focusing on the rest of the details God wanted to share with me.

In the same way I had to pull Abby back to explain and talk through this whole new thing of piano lessons, I had to pull myself back and focus on the whole message God wanted for me.

Sometimes we – Abby, myself, you… – are all so excited and chomping on the bit to get going that we fail to enjoy and take in the whole message.

Today I am sitting here typing this up after I reigned myself in – despite the breakfast dishes, laundry, and endless paperwork – to listen to the whole message God wanted me to hear.

And it was refreshing!

Now, I’m ready to go!

On your mark…

…get set…

…Go!

Oh, and by the way…Abby starts piano lessons today.  *sigh*  She is growing up!