Spring Cleaning

Yesterday was the official day of SPRING. This is the time of year I start to open windows.  I clean out dressers and closets.  I file and shred things and just plain get myself organized for the year.  What is it about spring time weather that motivates me so? You'd think I'd do that in the winter when it's cold out and rainy so that I wouldn't be going stir crazy. But no I wait till Spring to SPRING into the season.  Of course our winter this year has been like spring so it has really taken me a while to get into the "mood" to clean.  Yes I must be in the right frame of mind to get anything accomplished.

And this is where my blog begins.....my frame of mind this week.  Over the weekend I was a cleaning fool.  I found things I forgot I had and it was wonderful to sort thru all the junk.  With each old thing I got rid of, I was creating breathing room for other items.  I was allowing my mind to see what I had and take inventory of it so maybe this year I could actually wear that cute blouse that just might fit me right since I am dieting.   There is just something cleansing about getting rid of the old, unused, not needed things just hanging out taking up space. 

It is time to do some Spring cleaning in my head as well.  Yes spring cleaning in my mind, the place of knowledge....the brain, where I think and ponder.  :)  I have lots of old, unused and not needed things just taking up space in my head these days.  I have old ways of thinking that need to be discarded and replaced with truth.  I have unused areas as well where I have not been disciplined in with scripture, or prayed  Psalms.  I have so many thoughts that are not needed. They are taking up space like. ....What makes you think you are of value in this area?  How in the world can you glorify God this way? Or why don't you have more faith? Honestly... I don't want to be a hypocrite saying one thing but thinking another way. I want to be different and yet I realize I am a mess.  I don't have it all together. I may smile and act all sweet but on the inside where it counts I am hurting.  I am struggling to make sense of where I find myself today.  I want answers to why this?  Why now?  I wept for what I saw of myself and my circumstances to be.  


BUT then God.........(awe don't ya just love that phrase.....but then God) He reminded me I am dearly loved. He reminded me that FAITH isn't about seeing.  It is about believing what I know to be true regardless of what my circumstances are.....His truth.   He reminded me that I am His child. He reminded me He wants to talk with me.  He reminded me to come to Him when I am weary and burdened.  He will replace those old ways of thinking with His ways of thinking.  He loves me just the way I am. He isn't surprised that I am having these thoughts. He knows there is junk in my mind that needs thrown out and He is just the person for the job.  So he starts to clean out those unused things and replace them with Him.  He reminded me of  scripture I already knew and I spoke it out loud with my mouth. As I threw away my wrong thinking of lies, I replaced them by breathing in the Word of God. My focus changed from me to Him.  I was worshipping in spirit and in truth.  God is so good.


And just like that I felt His presence.  I felt cleansed.  I felt new.  I felt loved.  But more importantly I knew.....I was still and KNEW He is....He was...He will always be.  Be still my child and know that I am God.  Awesome breath of life.  I love that He meets me where I am.  

So friends as you go about your spring cleaning of your home as well as your life, remember not to tackle it alone. Ask the Lord to help you see those things that need thrown out, replaced and renewed.  Until next time enjoy your spring cleaning.    

Thank you Heavenly Father for your redeeming Word. Thank you for being more than enough. Thank you for guiding me to speak the truth with my mouth so that my mind hears which causes my heart to comes into agreement with your truth. You are my joy.  You are my peace. You have my life under control.  My HOPE is in You always. Thank you for spring cleaning my mind, my heart, and my soul.  Amen!  

It's not about the destination but the journey!

Do you ever have those times when you stumble across an idea and think.....that would be so easy?  What started out to be simple, fast and save money may not be so.  But then again........
I was on PINTEREST last night and found where someone had posted a picture of a spritz bottle filled with homemade stamp cleaner.  Oh wow I thought I can make that!  It only has three ingredients. 
For some of you, you may not even know what kind of stamp I am talking about.   Let me back up a bit..........About a year or so ago I joined a scrap booking club where I got to purchase scrap booking supplies from a friend who sells "Close To My Heart" items.  The products are FANTASTIC and I have purchased all sorts of gadgets & items I didn't realize I really needed.  Over the last year I have collected many ink stamps for my projects.  I also purchased a stamp cleaner box that holds two sponges. I spritz a little cleaner on one side to clean the stamp & the other side is used to dry the stamp. It is very nifty and I have enjoyed using it a lot.  I am almost out of cleaner.  They sell a replacement bottle so I know I am going to have to restock my stash one day.  HENCE....when I ran across this recipe for making my own, I thought I'd save a little money, make extra for friends and have fun at the same time.  NOTE:  The cleaner is NOT expensive so I am not sure why I thought I really needed to do this.  But hey I am a crafter and I love gifting people with things I put together myself.  :--)  Okay...ya caught up with my story? 
Sooooooooo today after my laundry-mat-breakfast experience with my friend (that's another story for another time) I go to one of our super stores to purchase the items for this project.  I get there and totally forget what it was I was shopping for.  Of course I have to walk around looking until my brain remembers what it was I wanted to purchase.  In the meantime I find all sorts of clearance items that are just too good to pass up.  (Yes you can see where this story is going.)  I finally remember what it is I am looking for but cannot remember the EXACT ingredients for the handy dandy homemade stamp cleaner but I do know that one of them is baby shampoo.  So I pick up a bottle of that before checking out. I search for the recipe on my smart phone that apparently isn't that smart cuz it couldn't find the sight. (Or maybe it is me.)  I pay for my purchases and when I get to my car I find the recipe which is just distilled water, glycerin, and baby shampoo.  My next stop is the pharmacy where I know they will have glycerin.  They don't but the one across the street does and I pick up the distilled water as well.  But I have no cash and I hate to use my debit card for such a small purchase so I pick up a couple more things.  Now I have all I need to make my homemade stamp cleaner.  But wait..........I don't have any little spritz bottles to put the stuff in.  Hmmmm I wonder if the Dollar store might have some for cheap.  They don't have anything that will work for what I am needing so I start to head out of the store when out of the corner of my eye I see tote bags.  (You see where this is going right?)   I purchase 25 of them for an upcoming women's retreat.  BUT......I still don't have my bottles so I head to another store because I am pretty sure they have them.  In the meantime I make a phone call to a friend telling her about the GREAT deal for the totes and tell her about my morning. She asks if I will pick up six of something for her while I am at the store and I say sure no problem.  :)  I find the spritz bottles and they really are cheap which makes me really happy.  I get almost all the ones they have.  (Not sure why cuz I don't think I really have that many scrapping friends but they are such a good deal.)   Then I remember I need labels for the outside of the bottles.  It would be so cute to put the recipe on the label with some clip art of a stamp.  I find some on clearance that really are a good deal so I buy several packages of labels.  Only one of them is for this project but the others will be great for work.  To the check out I head when I remember my friends request.  I then spend the next 15 minutes or so trying to locate them which never happened even after asking two associates that work in the store.  I finally check out.   Whew I am tired! 
I get home and I make the stuff which really did take maybe five minutes to make and 10 minutes to fill all the bottles.  YEA.............success!!!  I am so happy.  I go upstairs to find the template for the labels I bought. Since I am not a computer geek, this takes me some time to get everything done and printed. But I do get it done and they look fantastic.  I start to put them on the bottles and they are looking good.  I realize the labels are clear which works but one of the bottles was damp and the ink is now gone in some places.  Note to self:  make sure to wipe and dry all the bottles.   :] Oh well they are homemade after all right!
The Recipe is:  1 cup distilled water + 2 Tablespoons glycerin + 1 teaspoon baby shampoo=your own homemade stamp cleaner.  I found this on eHow.com.
Do you ever have day like this?  What started out to be simple, fast and save money may not be so if you look at just one aspect of the day.    Not only did I find all the items I needed for this project and accomplish the task at hand, but I now have baby gifts for many friends.  I have enough labels to last me months at work or to use for AGAPE.  I also have tote bags for my ladies retreat.  After all it's not about the destination but the journey right.  I met some wonderful people today on my shopping adventure..........divine moments where God blessed me with some GREAT deals and a chance to sprinkle a little joy into the lives of the people I came into contact with.  Blessings gotta love Him.  Yes.....All in all I feel like I really have had a productive day.   Be blessed friends!  Until next time  :)