31 Days Challenge

So starting Monday, October 31st, I'll be linking up every day with the Nester for her annual 31 Days Challenge.

The idea is that you pick one topic that you can make very short points about, one each day.

My topic is "31 Days of Being Crazy Real."

I feel like God has given me a gift of being real with people. It all started with a small realization that a lot of us are thinking something, and the person we're talking to would probably love to hear it, but we're afraid of how they'd take it, so we shut up.

WHY???

So I've started practicing not shutting up. And it's going well. And people have noticed.

And appreciated it.

Some people don't care for it as much as others....but God has also gifted me with grace for those people and I don't let it bother me. (Not after a second or two, anyway.)

So every day I'll be posting something real. More than likely, it'll be something real that my kids did that day, or a very real thought or attitude I had.

I do not want this to become complaining. God forbid it. But I think all of us moms and wives are a lot more real in our homes than we'd care to admit. As my pastor said (quoting someone else), "We're comparing our Jacobs to everyone else's Israel."

Well. I'm admitting it. I'm terribly, terribly real. I find it too stressful not to be, and it's tiring having your Israel on display all the time. I'm just a Jacob that God is working on, and I think a lot of other people are, too, and would like to hear more from others like us.

See you Monday.

doing so much, writing so little

I MUST start writing about these things.

I don't know why. But I know that I have gotten so much of my help from other bloggers - the people that are living this first-hand and can tell me just what it's like to go through it, what works, what doesn't - rather than the "official" DIY sites.

So I feel compelled to share my findings with you. Whomever. Or no one. But at least they'd be here if someone needed them. :)

Problem: I'm having such a good time, that I don't entirely feel like settling down and writing. If I'm going to sit at the computer, I'd much rather search for farmhouse kitchen ideas. Or research my local zone's planting season. Or look for pictures of easy chicken coops to build. Not sit and try to organize my thoughts. But something is tripping me up in just continuing on willy nilly without sharing my experiences, in hopes they help someone else.

So I'm going to try to keep start sharing with you what I've been learning. I'm taking pictures of everything I try...but here they sit on their little uploaded webite, not doing anyone a bit of good.

I'll try to be more consistent very soon....ish. :)