I love Saturdays. Saturdays are for ripping...do you know what ripping is? Ripping is when you absolutely SPRINT to get as much done as possible.
Today I ripped through my pantry. I took everything out, labeled stuff, laid new shelf liner, moved stuff to the basement, threw stuff out. The pantry looks...well, it's perfect. There, I said it.
Why is it that when things are in order I feel...life? And that when things are a big stinkin' mess, it sort of feels like death?
I don't want to get ahead of myself or anything, I mean I know that being OCD about stuff is not healthy, and NOT having people over because my house isn't perfect isn't healthy, either (which I don't do...just ask my supper club friends from last night). If my husband working in his garden is bringing God's kingdom to bear...can't organizing my pantry be bringing it as well?
Yes, I did organize my pantry mostly for myself...but I also did it because I love my family. Michael works in his garden both for himself, for the kingdom, and for us. We have some beautiful (and organic!) lettuces growing right now, along with broccoli, sweet potatoes, green onions, butternut squash and lots of herbs.
Does anyone else care that bagged lettuce is $3 a bag and a head of lettuce is only about $.75??
My girls had breakdowns today because of a Ken doll. See, we only have 1 Ken doll and his head doesn't stay on very well (thank you, Sam Estes! ;) Plus, he doesn't have appropriate clothing for much more than the beach or the Barbie pool. Today, Caroline had Cinderella barbie dressed in her wedding gown and she was gettin' hitched to...you guessed it! Ken! However, Ken had only his swim trunks on. I would have killed Michael if he had shown up to our wedding in only his swim trunks. The last time I was at Wal Mart I saw a Ken on clearance for only $3, so I bought him. Now, I didn't get any clothing for him (this one is also in his swim trunks), but his head does stay on and he has real hair instead of the brown painted plastic kind. Caroline had set up her wedding party and a while later she left them set up and moved on to the art supplies. Molly happened along, saw the Barbies set up and asked if she could play with them. Caroline quickly told her that no...she could not play with them. I asked Caroline to reconsider, which she did, but Ken was to be off limits.
So, I went to my room where I pulled out the new Ken and gave him to Molly, who then proceeded to sing the "na na na na boo boo" song. That just about started WW3 - when Caroline realized there was a stable-headed Ken in the vicinity. I wish I could tell you that I handled all this in some "stellar" way, putting down my "mother-of-the-year" award and loving everyone into repentance. Nope. It took Michael taking each girl on a knee and talking through it to help them see how they were both being selfish and not loving the other well. In fact, aside from their sinful hearts...I actually CAUSED the problem.
I'm just so thankful for Jesus. Things like this really help me see what a mess I really am. And like I read in a Paul Miller book today, "knowing you're a mess means you can stop pretending you have it all together."
That's my 2 cents. And I'm going to try again with the picture!!
