Blogs, Missed Opportunities??? and Happy Surprises

Daily I receive emails from a blog called True Woman http://www.truewoman.com/?id=1133.  I had signed up for the blog after I had attended a True woman conference.  It was one of the best Christian conferences for women I have ever had the privilege of attending.  I left that conference with my head and heart filled with the love of Jesus and an increased desire to live my life for Him in the way He originally had purposed for us women.

I must admit that though I loved the conference and respect Nancy Leigh Demoss tremendously, at times I have neglected to read the emails that I have received from them.  Usually it's because of time, "I only have so much time in the day after all" I'd tell myself.  At other times I must selfishly admit the title just hasn't captured my attention.  But then there are other times...times when I have been totally drawn in...even responding myself to them.

Recently  a month or so ago was one such time.  I had received an email saying that they were looking for women who would be willing to read a new book that Nancy Leigh Demoss had written.  All that they required was that I be willing to blog about it.  I thought, I could do that!  In fact I'd love to do that!   So I signed up submitting my blog and email address.  Days had passed by and I had not herd from them, so of course I had thought I wasn't picked for this amazing opportunity.

 Then one day as I came in from outside I glanced over at my desk, there sat a pile of mail.  On top of the mail was a small box.  I opened that box and to my surprise there was the book.  The whole house shook as I literally did a happy dance in my kitchen. "Woohoo!!!  They picked me!  I can't believe it!!!" "I'm so happy oooh, I'm so happy, ooh, I'm so happy!!!"  Fortunately no one was around to see this sudden eruption of joy.  Just me and my cat:) 

Today is your introduction to this new book I'm reading.  The name of it is "Voices of the True Women Movement."  It is written by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and some of  the contributors to the book are John Piper, Mary Kassian, Joni Eareckson Tada, and Janet Parshall.   If your like me, after you have herd these names you are anxious to dig into the book. However now that I've wet your appetite for what the book is about you will have to wait until tomorrow to hear more...

From one "Stepmonster" to Another

I know it's been awhile since I've last posted.  I've had a busier week then normal and to be honest no real inspiration floating around in my head.  Until yesterday and yet there was no time to post then so I'm hoping I'll remember it all today....

A week ago I had gone to my local public library and was heading to check out my books when I passed a rack of books that were being highlighted.  A title on one of the books seemed to jump right out at me.  The name of the book was Stepmonster by Wednesday Martin Ph.D.  That title pulled me in like a powerful magnet and I was yanked from my intended destination to the book as if there was a force pulling me.  You see, I am a stepmother and I'm quite sensitive to the fact that so much of what is written in fiction is negative when referring to stepmothers.  In fact the same is true for what is produced in Hollywood.  I can think of only two movies that are positive in regards to stepmoms and one of which was a remake of the other .   Those movies are: Yours, Mine, and Ours (1968) with Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda and the newer version Yours, Mine & Ours (Widescreen Edition) (2005) with Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo.  Which by the way my husband and I really enjoyed both films.  Everybody remembers The Parent Trap (1998) with Lindsay Lohan, Natasha Richardson, and Dennis Quaid, right?  Some of you like myself might even remember the original movie The Parent Trap (1961) starring Hayley Mills and if your like me, you enjoyed when the step-mom to be was revealed to not be as nice as she was pretending to be and the relationship was ended.  Thereby making it so the twins parents could get back together.  It did make for a hilarious movie after all, and a happy ending.  And who could possibly ever forget Cinderella?  Every child knows the Cinderellla story well.  Everyone roots for her and everyone celebrates when she overcomes her circumstances and rightly so.  It is unfortunate that these movies and stories have portrayed a sometimes true picture of step-moms.  That children have had to suffer because of poor choices their parents have made in picking a spouse is truly unfortunate.  The children really do not have a say in who their parent marries and many fool themselves into thinking that the children will come around.  Many don't, that is an unfortunate fact.

As I was saying this books title drew me to it and as I picked it up I quickly determined that it was not at all what I thought it was going to be about.  It was not a fictitious book aimed at unhappy teenagers giving them more ammo to throw at their step-moms.  No on the contrary this was a book written by a stepmom and written for stepmoms.  The subtitle reveals a lot about the focus of the book: "A New Look at Why Stepmothers Think, Feel, and Act, the Way We Do.  In the Authors own words "I wrote this book about women with stepchildren, for women with stepchildren, because being a women with stepchildren is not easy.  E. Mavis Hetherington, PhD psychologist and author of the landmark, three decade Virginia Longitudinal Study of 1,400 families that divorced and remarried, notes that whereas children frequently come to appreciate having a stepfather...the situation with stepmothers is more difficult and stepchild resentment is more intense...reporting with some surprise that so many of her subjects described their stepmothers as 'evil, malevolent, wicked, or monsters' and gave them nicknames like 'Dog Face' and 'The Dragon,' Hetherington concludes, stepfathers rarely encountered this level of vitriol." 

The Author goes on to explain the purpose of her book stating:  "This is not a book about how I learned my lesson or won my stepkids over or became a better person by marrying a man with children.  My reality like that of the women with stepchildren I interviewed, is not so nearly cut-and-dried.  This is not a book about how to change yourself or how to act in order to be a better stepmother.  I have learned that there is no recipe for success, no single 'right way.'  Rather, my goal has been to synthesize and distill some of the less readily available studies and insights from experts...I also have sought to suggest some alternative lenses through which to view stepmothers and stepmothering..."

I love her honesty and humility!!!  She is not pretending to have all of the answers and she is not promising to guaranty a happily ever after perfectly blended and harmonized step-family.  There are so many factors involved and you as the stepmom are only one part of the whole picture. How freeing is that dear stepmoms?!!!  We mom's carry the whole weight of how the family is functioning on our shoulders don't we?!  We have been told the mom determines the mood of the home etc...So who, do you suppose feels like a failure when it is not going as it ought to?  You got it mom!!!  Mom/Stepmom  is weighed down, discouraged, and often taking the blame or trying to free herself of the blame, guilt, and shame by pointing at everyone else and how they are making her miserable.  I would like to suggest neither is a healthy place to be.

The healthier place to be is having realistic expectations about your stepchildren, your children (if any), your spouse, yourself and what a healthy step family looks like.  Unrealistic expectations that I have of others and myself always rob me of my joy and I'm pretty sure they do for you as well.  When the expectations are unmet they also have a tendency to cause us to become angry and bitter.  Of course it's important to clarify that they are unmet because they are unrealistic, but then we don't always know that they are unrealistic until someone comes a long and frees us from them.   This book which I've only just begun has already done that for me.

Let me just add that this is not a Christian book written from a Christian perspective.  If you have a problem with that, then this book is definitely not for you.  I have already read things within the pages that I as a Christian must not agree with and neither should you.  You will not be reading about our hope in Christ and how He transforms hearts and minds here.  But what you will read is studies done on step families, real struggles real stepmoms have faced, and the fear every stepmom has of being seen as "wicked" in the eyes of their step kids.  But as the book points out this just may be inevitable since it's more rare to have a step child honestly love you or even like you.  And from conversations I've had with grown up stepchildren this may not happen until the child reaches adulthood.  Though that too is rare as my mind wanders back to a conversation I overheard one day at the YMCA...a 50 something woman was complaining about how horrible her stepmom was.  I also would like to mention that there are a lot good stepparenting books that have been written from a Christian perspective that have been helpful to both me and my husband and I will highlight some of them at the end of this review.

Maybe it all comes down to who do I need to affirm me as a person?  Is it my parents, my spouse, my children, my friends, my boss, etc... Or is it true that the only opinion that matters for the Christian is what does Christ think of me?  Wow, that's a loaded question...He who know the hearts of men, he who knows my every thought, my every deed...future, present, and past!  What does He think of me: that  I'm dust, was once dead (utterly helpless) in my sins and trespasses, without hope.  That I do the things I don't want to do and don't do the things I want to, I'm selfish and self centered, and often to self focused.  Actually others no matter how bad they think of me really don't think bad enough for they don't really know me and I wonder how much I actually know me:)  Since the only good that I do is the work of Christ in me and is not me at all!!!  Why should I be offended then when anyone thinks less of me.  I'm so glad that God sees me through the eyes of Christ, a precious daughter, righteous, washed and cleaned because of what He has done for me.  It is Jesus' opinion that matters above all others and His opinion just has to be enough.

One other thing to note, just in case some of you who are reading this are not in a stepfamily situation but are in an unhappy marraige.  You might at times be tempted to think that you would be better off with someone else.  Maybe you look at so and so's husband and think it would be great to have him as a husband and dad.  Let me add this, the grass is not usually greener on the other side.  Statistics are not that great for first marriages anymore but they are even worse for second especially when children are involved.   Listen to What Wednesday Martin says in her book about this: "My marraige was meant to be. It was also doomed to fail.  You see, I chose a man with children...the greatest predictor of divorce is the presence of children from previous marraige.  In fact divorce rates are 50 percent higher in remarriages with children than in those without."
















Let me just add that though there is a lot of good information in the blended families book I have recently learned that step-families don't blend.  It's more like oil and water.  That was another expectation that I had to learn to let go of and really wish someone had told me right from the beginning.

Colors, Markings, Mistakes, and Selfless Love

There is one book that I often feel as though I could highlight every word on the page.  What didn't jump out at me the first time I'd read through it would the second or third time through.  So in this book I have had to resort to more then one color in order to not end up with a solid yellow page.  What is this book you ask?  It is my Bible, and it is marked up with underlining, highlighting, circled words, and a few symbols.  It might look like a mess to the casual observer but these have all helped me tremendously.  I still remember the day I received my Bible as a gift from my husband.  The pages were crisp and white and I was afraid to make a mark on the pages. I feared making mistakes and marking something only to change my mind later.  I have long since gotten over my fear and yet I have made mistakes a long the way.  I have found myself studying when I was tired and actually put wrong symbols over words.  I've gotten a little to happy with the highlighter going into a sentence I didn't mean too.  I started circling words that I thought were key to the sentence then after doing it one way 1/4 of the way in my Bible I changed my mind about the key word:)  I've gotten quite creative trying to cover up my mistakes, lol.  Sometimes I don't even try to.  I'm sure if anyone else were to read through my Bible they'd struggle to make sense out of all my markings in it.  But that doesn't matter to me, what matters to me most is that when I pick it up and read through the pages I quickly see at a glance those things that have impacted me to the core of my being.  It is my style, it is eclectic, and it has brought depth and insight when studying.

I've shared all this with you because if you haven't started marking in your Bible already I want to encourage you to not be afraid to do so especially when a verse or word jumps out at you and grabs your attention or heart.  You may want to ask others how they mark theirs or if your brave you can peek at mine, and then just start doing it.  Don't worry about doing it perfectly, or do it perfectly if that's your nature but do it (just do it according to your learning style and if you refine what that is a long the way that's o.k.  That's what I'm continually doing).  It's your Bible and it's God's Word, it's powerful, living and sharper then a two edged sword...it is everything you need for life and godliness...it gives hope...renews your mind...transforms your thinking...points to Christ.  I can never get enough of it, never exhaust all there is to learn from it, and every time I pick it up I see something new in it.

Here are some suggestions of possible ways to mark your Bible (remember you should do whatever works best for you and your learning style, not someone elses). O.k.grab your Bible and let's get started open up to the gospels and start marking every time you see Jesus name or reference to Him with a cross (can be red or I just use black pen.  Precepts encourages you to use different colors and symbols when marking words but for my slightly ADD mind I find the colors too distracting)...or highlight Jesus words (if your Bible doesn't already), or highlight those verses or words that jump out at you and grab your attention such as references to grace.  But whatever method you choose to do make sure to observe Jesus, the words He speaks, the methods He uses to get truth across, the way He speaks to those who try to establish their righteousness from the law (pharisees), the way He speaks to sinners, His responses to those who are in need.  Don't get caught up in the method of study, but get caught up in the One you are studying about.

Take some time today reflecting on who you once were (dead in your sins, dust) and who you are now (still dust, but forgiven and loved) because of what Jesus has done for you (died in your place to pay your debt in full).  Jesus knows you through and through; He knows where you've been, He knows where you are today, and He knows what you will become.  He know you more then you know yourself and He loves you anyways.  His love is sure, His mercies new each day, and His grace is greater then your sin.  Run to Him who loves you purely precious daughters, and do not hide your faces, instead look into His radiant face and feel the warmth of His love envelop you.  Remember He knows all about you and He loves you anyways.  Sit in His presence today and thank Him for His selfless love and then share His love with others.

The Secret to Contentment in Marraige

What is the secret of being content in your marraige?  Is it possible to take two flawed and sinful human beings who come from completely different  family dynamics and have different ideas on what it means to be a family together and have peace, harmony, and contentment in the home? 

I believe it is possible!  The key to peace, harmony, and contentment is found in Christ and the gospel when they are in their rightful places in the home.  By this I mean that we wives are seeking Christ daily, spending time in His word, meditating on it and time in prayer.  This doesn't have to be a two hour time alone.  If you can that is awesome, but for those of you who can not get away for long periods of time each day have you considered taking what time you can squeeze of your schedule to pray, read a Scripture or two and as you go about your day chew on what that Scripture means?  Roll it around in your head, prayerfully reflecting on it asking God to help you to fully understand it and grasp it, even to memorize.  For mom's who are off and running with the first cry of an infant turning on the radio and listening to a Biblically grounded Pastor might be a solution or a Scripture tape.  Or having a Bible flip calendar with Scripture and a devotional thought where you will see it each day.  For those women who work another alternative might be listening to Scripture or an excellent sermon in your car on the way to work and back.  Taking every thought to God in prayer praying without ceasing is another way to find satisfaction and contentment in life and marraige.  Why?  Because we are spending time with the only One who truly satisfies, He Jesus Christ is the one who alone can meet all our needs.  When all our needs our met by Him then we will not put such a heavy burden on our husbands or children (if we have them) to meet those needs.  Then and only then will we be free to truly love those God has given us as our neighbors...our husbands and any children we may have and others that cross our paths. 

Some of you may know my story and some of you don't, I'm not going to go into the details here except to tell you I was once married to a man who hated God.  While in that marraige I heard a wise person say "you are not their Holy Spirit" "it is not your job to change them."  Wow, that freed me up. God is the one who does the changing not me.  I just need to do as 1 Peter 3:3-6 says, be subject to my husband, be gentle and quiet, working on my inner beauty, be pure in word and conduct all by the grace of God and the power of His Spirit. Not that I will do this perfectly but that I strive for it as to the Lord for He is our first Husband.  For I'm responsible for what I do, I stand before God for me alone and not for my husband and so do you Dear Sister.

I also do not want to neglect the spiritual benefits of spending time praising God.  Are you feeling blue, worn out, unappreciated, tired?  Consider turning on Christian radio or put in that praise CD that's collecting dust.  Soon you will find that your mind has gone from dwelling on all that's wrong in your life to the only One who is worthy of our praise and Adoration.  As you sing along you will be reminded of the unchangeable truths of God's Character and your flawed doubtful thoughts of God will be renewed and reminded that He does reign, He is Sovereign over all circumstance, and that you are "sinful and flawed but welcomed and loved."  Try it!


I've shared so much already and must go for now.  But before I do I want to share some excerpts from a book I've been reading called Counsel from the Cross By Elyse Fitzpatrick and Denis E. Johnson.  Spend some time chewing on these words today and ask God to show you the truth in them:


"Focusing on the obligations of Scripture without mentioning the declarations of the gospel has resulted in a works-oriented perspective in family relationships and idolatry of the family, and in despairing of self-righteous husband and wives and children who wonder why it's so hard to obey.  When we forget that Jesus is our Savior, seeing Him merely as our example, the motivation to love as He does eludes us."

"A wife who has forgotten the that she is sinful and flawed can be harsh and judgmental.  She finds it easy to point out her husband's failures, and she thinks that her growth in maturity is hindered because her husband isn't leading as he should.  When her husband prays, she criticizes his prayer in her heart.  When he watches television, she remembers all the hours she has spent in Bible study, comparing herself to him." 

"Because she has forgotten the gospel, she forgets that she already has a sinless Husband(Jesus).  But this sinless Husband married a polluted wife with no beauty in her, either before she was saved or after.  He loved her out of his pure, unmerited grace.  This wife has also forgotten that her growth in maturity isn't contingent upon her earthly husband's leadership.  Rather, it was purchased by the precious blood of her Savior, who bought her sanctification at the cost of His life."

Rubber-band Girl

Sorry, I haven't written in awhile!!! I'm still trying to get my bearings straight and recuperate from last week.  Like most of you I have a busy schedule and adding a college class into my schedule has stretched me thinner then ever.  Perhaps you have experienced this too, it's like when you know that if you were to add one more thing in your schedule you'd be stretched so thin that like a rubber-band  that is stretched beyond it's elasticity it breaks and stings the one who is closest and often the one holding it.  That was me last week, I had added another thing on top of my class and all my other things.  I was stretched beyond what I should have allowed and the resulting snap stung my youngest and myself.   Instead of responding in a nice but firm way to his growing requests for attention I sharply would snap at him "no, not now."   I had no patience for my little guys continual interruptions because I had no cushion in my schedule.  Once I had realized what I was doing I took him in my arms and apologized letting him know that it wasn't him but me.  That "mommy is just crabby because she has to many things to do and not enough time."  He forgave me, but then for an hour as only little ones can do he went on and on talking about my being crabby....lol!!! If that's no enough to aggravate an already overworked stressed out mom...lol.  For me though it broke the ice...I had to laugh at his comments and that released some of the tension in the air.  Though the tension was less, the weight of what I had yet to get done still weighed heavy on me.   I kept my eyes toward the goal of the end of the week when I could start anew, afresh with just the ordinary stress.  It was not until two days later that I finally was finished.

Lesson learned: Know my limits!!!!  Sometimes it's good to say no!!!!   I had added that one more thing into my schedule and I was stretched so thin I was unable to do my best in all the things I was responsible for and so most if not all suffered.  My family suffered for I was on edge and though physically with them I was not mentally.  Instead I was focused on the many things that were weighing on me.

"Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."                                                              Philippians 3:13-15


 

"The Blessing of Thorns"

Last year I attended a conference for Christian women.  As in most conferences there were tables filled with books and misc. items that were for sale.  Amongst the many books I came upon a small treasure.  It was a simple silver key chain that read "The Blessings of Thorns."  I knew that I was in need of being constantly reminded that the difficult and painful circumstances we all face are blessings.  By that I don't mean to sound as though I'm saying they don't hurt because I know full well they do.  What I do mean is that for those who are God's children, those circumstances as unbearable and painful as they may seem at the time are allowed for our good and for God's purposes (Romans 8:28).  We may not always see what the good is in this life, but we can be certain that someday when we meet Jesus face to face we will fully understand.  I purchased this key chain and immediately added it to my other key chains.  Today I was holding my keys and glanced down at this very key chain, I rubbed it's surface thinking about it's message in the context of the many thoughts that were weighing me down and running through my head...

Those many thoughts...that life is painful and that so many people struggle with navigating through this world.  That I too have struggled navigating through this world and that apart from Christ I don't know how I would.  There have been many times I've been sorely tempted to be crushed by the weight of the trials I've faced.  Tempted to give up, I would cry out to my Savior and He alone would give me strength along with the courage that I needed to get up and keep going.  It was in these times that I experientially learned that My God is faithful, He sustains, He heals the broken heart, He comforts when no one else can, He fights for you, He protects, He strengthens those who are weak, He forgives, He is just, He provides a timely word through others, He knows all about me and loves me anyways, and I could go on and on.  It was also in these times that I've seen God tear down my idols, remove unhealthy desires and habits, transform my thinking from one that rebelled against His ways to one that longed for them, and I've seen Him purify my need for affirmation from others.  Learning all this and more about our God is worth to me the sorrows and hardships I have had to face.  This is the good that He has worked out in my circumstances.  I may not yet see the good that I had longed or prayed to see, but this I know my God is faithful and He does supply all my need in Christ Jesus.  So I continue on, but not in bitterness of heart for unanswered prayer.  No, I continue on rejoicing for all that Christ has accomplished on my behalf, that is my salvation and sanctification that will one day be complete.  It is in this that I hope, not in a perfect life here.  No, I know that in this world I will have troubles and yet Christ will see me through.  I long for everyone to know this hope that I have in Christ.  This hope that carries me through the darkest of times...

Other thoughts that were running through my mind that spurred all of this on...I was sitting in a coffee shop today studying for my class.  I've been studying the many different psychological theories and how they measure up when compared with the absolute truths in Scripture.  When I noticed a young lady along with an older woman sit down next to me.  I couldn't help but be curious since this was a weekday and the girl should have been in school.  I noticed that they were obviously not mother and daughter for they did not look alike in any way.  Though I tried not to listen I couldn't help but overhear some of their conversation since they were right next to me.  The older woman was asking probing questions of the younger girl.  I only herd bits and pieces because I truly was trying to study, but this is what I gathered:  the girl has been having some problems and It was obvious this woman was there to help this young woman in some way.  As a result of the bits and pieces I had overheard I became burdened for both these woman.  I also became introspective...

I started to think about all those I personally know who are struggling right now.  Those who though they need help have chosen to not get the help they need and continue on a destructive path.  It's hard watching loved ones make choices that you know will in the long run hurt themselves and those that love them.  Ugh!!! Sometimes I just want to shake them so they'll wake up.  Releasing them to God, letting Him deal with them in His  way, and on his time scale is hard for me.  My professor said in one of our classes that a counselor is not a Savior.  Whack!  I felt that like a slap on the back of my head.  Of course there is one and only Perfect Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ!!!  Though I long to help those in need and it is a God given desire, I must always remember my rightful place.  That is, I'm merely an instrument of God for the purpose of pointing others to Him.

All this brings me back to that simple silver key chain and the reminder that is engraved on it's face "The Blessings of Thorns."  The "Thorns" in my life God used to bring me to my knees before Him in humble repentance and submission to His will, to rid me of sin (which is an ongoing process), to show me my need of Him, to cause me to depend on Him, taught me that all I need is found in Him alone, and that through the trials He taught me about Himself in ways that could never be learned by simply studying His word.  Yes, the trials I've faced I can confidently say have been a blessing to me and if you are His daughter they can be a blessing to you too.

Dear Sister, if you are going through trials right now let me suggest that you have a choice before you.  You can either respond in humility asking God to teach you through the trial you are facing or you can respond by fighting against it, letting anger and bitterness build up within you.  One choice leads to a joy-filled hopeful life the other to misery.  Which one will you choose today?

Never forget you are loved with a perfect, faithful, everlasting, and pure love Dear Sisters!!!!

The Good, the Bad, and the Messy

Organization has never come easy for me.  In fact I distinctly remember fighting against it as a child to my poor mom's dismay since she was always neat, and always well organized.  I on the other hand loved mess and it seemed I preferred it to orderliness.  As an adult I've gotten myself in a lot of trouble as a result.  I've missed Dr. appointments, birthdays, lost things (I have way to many safe places), etc...I wish I would have learned from my mom the discipline of organization instead of rebelling against it as a child.  It is definitely much harder to change bad habits the longer you've practiced them. 

Having said that I want you to know that I have come along way.  I'm not where I once was, but yet I still have a long way to go.  I also want to encourage you by letting you know that that the more organized I become the more I love it.  In fact I prefer it.  I love being able to find items right away and I've discovered that clutter along with piles of paper overwhelm me.  If you decide to take this journey towards being more organized with me I can guarantee that you too will love the difference it makes in your life.

This section on organization will be about this journey towards being more organized.  Notice I didn't say completely organized but more.  I know my limitations and that I will never be a perfectly organized woman nor do I want to be.  My desire is to simply continue to improve from where I am, understanding that I may have setbacks and slipping back into old habits.  If I do, I will start again reminding myself to "forget, reach forward, press on" (Phil. 3:13) whenever I fail.  This tip and many more which I'm sure I will continue to share with you I found in a book I've read by Donna Otto called "Get More done in Less Time."  

I hope to honestly share with you both my successes and my failures.  So that if there is any of you out there who struggle with being organized you will be encouraged to make small changes towards being more organized too. You are not alone and you are not a hopeless case destined to be buried in piles of stuff.  There is hope!!!

One area where I have made improvement in is keeping the house tidy and the clutter down.  At least on the main floor of the house, lol.  Although with as many people living in our house as there is this is an ongoing challenge with days of failure.  Keeping the house looking clean means that I have to go somewhere with all the stuff that commonly clutters a house.  You know what I'm talking about: school and Sunday school papers, mail, misc. papers, and all those things you just don't no where to put but you know you shouldn't throw away.  Usually I simply shove them in my cabinet above my computer.  Or things other then paper get shoved into various closets and cabinets until they start overflowing getting to hard to close.  My dad always joked calling these closets "Fibber McGee closets."  This is from a popular radio show that aired from 1935-1959, every time Fibber McGee would open the closet door stuff would come pouring out at him making a lot of noise and causing a lot of laughter with him saying "I gotta get that closet cleaned out one of these days."  Can anybody relate?  I can!!!

Today I will begin organizing a "Fiber McGee" cabinet of mine above my desk.  I'm posting the before pictures then when my cabinet is organized I will post the finished picture.

Nice and tidy on the outside but don't be deceived quite messy on the inside.

Reminds me of us.  Sometimes we look like we've got it altogether on the outside, but if anyone were able to open up the doors to our insides they'd see that we're a mess.  While I'm working on my cabinet and your waiting to hear the details why not meditate with me on these scriptures:

Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind;
for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.
Psalm 26:2&3

⁸" 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
Matthew 15:8

"Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. ¹⁷"Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? ¹⁸But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' ¹⁹For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. ²⁰These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.' " 
Matthew 15:16-22

 ⁹ Hide your face from my sins
       and blot out all my iniquity.
 ¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
       and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
 ¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
       or take your Holy Spirit from me.
 ¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
       and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
 ¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
       and sinners will turn back to you.
 ¹⁴ Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
       the God who saves me,
       and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
 ¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips,
       and my mouth will declare your praise.
 ¹⁶ You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
       you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
 ¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
       a broken and contrite heart,
       O God, you will not despise.
Psalm 51:9-17