Consistently Inconsistent

That's been one of the other titles that would be perfect for my blog. It's one of the things in my life that I lament over, kick myself around regarding, and generally am frustrated about. When I read back through my journals, I find plenty of times when I was most unhappy with myself for my lack of consistency.

But I think that my perspective hasn't been quite right.

If I were consistent - according to my own definition - wouldn't that be the same as being perfect? Isn't that quite impossible? Last I checked, there's only one man who was ever perfect and that's Jesus. I don't even come close.

I often run into the wall of unrealistic expectations. That doesn't mean I should just cross it off the list forever, not caring whether I'm consistent in anything or not. But I need to extend myself a little grace and understanding, realizing that I should be steadfast and disciplined in things, but if...no, when...I fall short, it's okay. Get up, dust myself off, and hop back on the trail. I would certainly offer the same kindness and mercy to others, so why not for me?

I just printed out a chronological Bible reading plan for next year from Diving Deeper Ministries over at the Internet Cafe Devotions. I hesitate to do that, because I know of my past inconsistencies and that causes me to sink my efforts before I even begin. Why bother? I know I'll just fail.

That, by the way, is another skewed perspective. I seem to have quite a few of them.



So I'm signing the linky, jumping aboard a year-long commitment to reading my Bible regularly, knowing full well that I won't be perfect. I will miss some days. I will get frustrated with myself. But I will just keep plugging away and forgive myself in the process. Instead of looking at what I didn't accomplish or where I messed up, I will look toward Jesus and look forward to what He has for me as I spend time in the Word, knowing that it will be glorious!

Wordless Wednesday - Empty Chipotle Patio

For more wordlessness, check out Live From Waterlo and the Wordless Wednesday hub.

Dust-Free

Well, it wasn't so bad. I think it took about 2 1/2 hours, but that included a jaunt to the hardware store for a new extension cord (the kind with the flat plug-in part which fits behind the dresser) and visiting with Lucy (while cleaning).

Dresser Declutter Recap:

Cleaning supplies? Check.

Massive amounts of dust? Check.

Lovely, clean dresser? Check.

The shoebox on the left is John's stuff. I really can't sort his stuff for him. Sorry, honey. You'll have to handle that one yourself. But it's all nicely contained.


Ability to see my beautiful purple silk flowers from my mom for my 40th birthday? Check.

Plugged-in, functional stained glass lamp (A gift also from my mom. She did the stained glass. Thus the need for an extension cord.)? Check.

Can you believe I had that much dust on my dresser?

Can you believe I actually shared that here?

Again, this is where minimal readership is probably a good thing. Who has that kind of dust on their dresser? My goodness.

But my lamp is pretty. And visible. And plugged in.

Which makes me very happy.

Catch Up Transition Preparation Week

I'm not always sure what to call this week between Christmas and New Year's. Maybe just the week between Christmas and New Year's. But it's a week of cleaning up, catching up, getting ready, and let's see how much I can possibly cram into one free week for me. I suspect I'll get about 1/25 of the things done that I'd like, but I'm kind of used to that.

One biggie (as ever) for me, is decluttering. So while there are plenty of other tasks to be done, I'm going to declutter at least one area every day this week. I have Erin Rooney Doland's Unclutter our Life in One Week, but I don't think I can to that. I just can't devote that much time to one thing when I have kids, other family, friends, and other things needing to be done. But I'm still reading the book and gleaning some useful nuggets. Perhaps over the course of a longer period of time, I can actually complete the entire book. Either that, or my family takes a vacation without me for a week. Nah. I would hate that.

So today's decluttering task is our dresser. Our very big, has shelves, and too much flat space dresser. It's an absolute train wreck and drives me crazy. Did you know that when you have too much junk on your dresser, you really cannot ever dust it. And when you don't dust, you notice that your dresser has taken on a new shade - it's no longer dark brown, but more of a dusty gray-brown. It doesn't even match the other furniture any more. Maybe if I stopped dusting the other items...

So as scary as this is, I'm sharing with you and the whole entire cyber world, a picture of the current state of our dresser:

Boy, am I glad that only 2-3 people read this blog. On a good day!

Now I HAVE to get it done. If for no other reason, to show a picture of what it looks like after the decluttering (and dusting!) process.

And when I'm done? I'm having two squares of this:

Thanks to my sister and her family. :-)

Merry Christmas

Unplugged and Wordless Wednesday

All too often, my posts are just the random overflow of my brain. Which means I have no idea what to title them. Perhaps I should come up with a title AFTER writing the post. Now there's a novel idea.

Isn't this a cool shot? On the right, the Christmas lights are reflected in a glass bottle. Behind and to the left is a framed print in which the lights are also reflected. I love how the colors look in the bottle, though.

I spend a ridiculous amount of time on my computer and then lament the things I don't get done. Is it just me, or is there a problem here? I was just reading David duChemin's holiday/Christmas post and it got me thinking that I need to just unplug from all this online life. Yeah, all? Meaning I troll around on FB, read some of emails, play some games, look at some websites, and generally do nothing productive. Meh.

So Friday evening, at 6:00 p.m., I'm shutting this thing down until Monday morning. The ONLY exception will be if I need to get on to pay a bill or do something like that which must be done. I will peruse my emails on my phone, but that's it. No FB. No Twitter. No blogging (as if that will be any different!). Zero. Zip. Nada.

I think I'll schedule a couple of blog posts, so for the 2-3 people left who actually read my blog on those rare occasions I post some words, there'll be something here.

That's another thing. Wordless Wednesday. It's been fun and all, but it's kind of lost its oomph for me. I keep doing it because it's the only thing I've ever been consistent with here in the blogosphere. Maybe in my whole life. Well, other than breathing, eating, and sleeping. In fact, I have 201 Wordless Wednesday posts! Well, there are 5 more that are tagged with WW instead of Wordless Wednesday. That means 206 weeks of posting a picture every Wednesday (or late Tuesday night). If I post two more weeks, it will be an even FOUR YEARS.

Wow.

I'm a little stunned.

I don't know if I'll continue with it or not. We'll see. I am interested in participating in Darcy's Sweet Shot Tuesday, but I may do that on my photo blog.

So that's about it for now. Maybe if I survive the unplugged thing, it could become a monthly habit. Or dare I saw, weekly? I'm sure it's possible. After all, I lived without this internet once upon a time. I lived without a lot of things once upon a time. But that's another story.

Wordless Wednesday - Look I'm a Lego

For more wordlessness, check out Live From Waterloo and the Wordless Wednesday hub.

Wordless Wednesday - Bokeh

For more wordlessness, check out Live From Waterloo and the Wordless Wednesday hub.

Wordless Wednesday - Colorado Beauty

For more wordlessness, check out Live From Waterloo and the Wordless Wednesday hub.