A Good Outcome from Bad News

Yesterday my soldier son, Garrett, told me that their base in Iraq had been attacked by rockets a few days ago and that two soldiers out on a mission had been shot by snipers. He didn't mean to tell me, but I dragged it out of him. I told him I needed more specific things to pray for. Well, he gave them to me.

I've been praying for his safety, of course, and for him to have wisdom and lots of it. He's a First Lieutenant and in charge of a large number of men. He's prone to hot-headedness, so wisdom is high on my prayer list for him.

I found out later from Laurel that a mini-conference had taken place between her, my husband, and my SIL. They decided it would be best if I didn't know about the rocket attacks. Garrett told HER during a phone call right after it happened.

So my emotions are mixed. I feel left out and angry on one hand. But on the other hand, I think it's sweet that they were trying to protect me. I've decided to let go of the anger and depressed feelings and live my life to bring glory to God even if I don't feel like it.

I'm glad I found out, because my prayer life needed a shot in the arm. I've been praying for several years that I would become a prayer warrior, and what better way to accomplish that than to have a son in danger.

I would greatly appreciate all your prayers too.

Decluttering Gone Wild

Since my last decluttering post, I've gotten rid of too much stuff to list here. One thing I've gotten rid of that I never have before is sewing patterns; eighteen of them. I'll never use the low-waisted jumper or the girl's smocked jacket pattern. And I sure won't be needing the maternity patterns again!
These photos are in my art studio, my poor studio that is so junked up with...junk, it'll be a long time before I'll be able to do any art in there.

I can't decide what to do with it all. I could rent a space in the local antique mall for a month or two and see how much I get rid of. But that involves pricing, hauling it there, setting it up, and then removing anything that doesn't sell. Makes me hyperventilate to think about it. Or I could call the local junk shop dealer to come give me a price to haul it all away. I'm just afraid that if I do that, I won't get what it's worth. Or I could list it on E-bay or Craig's list. But that involves hassle and headache I really don't want to deal with.

What should I do? Help!

P.S. A word to the wise, simplify and don't collect stuff in the first place.

Monday Art Class

Monday mornings I teach art and music to four other children and Darcie. The younger boy (in the truck bed) is my oldest grandson.

This particular Monday we made grapevine wreaths and decorated them with local fall flowers and plants. After showing them how to make the wreaths, I told them to go jump on the back of the truck without telling them what we were doing.

Caed and Darcie immediately jumped in being used to my craziness. The other three cast wary glances all around not sure if I meant it.

I finally convinced them to get on. I drove slowly down the dirt road looking for Goldenrod, Pennsylvania smartweed, Beautyberry, and anything else we thought would look good in a wreath.

We filled the truck bed up with wildflowers of all kinds, came back home and decorated the wreaths. They were all quite pretty. They were sure proud of their accomplishments. I'm sure they'll always remember the time "Miss Debbie" took them for a ride in the back of the truck to gather flowers.

My Favorite Soldier

I couldn't let Veterans Day go by without mentioning my favorite soldier, my oldest son Garrett. He's now serving in Iraq and will be there until sometime next fall. Here are some photos I took of him in various disguises and as he was getting ready to leave home for the last time before being deployed.

He's such a goofball. When he walks into a room it lights up. We all miss him so much and pray constantly for his safety. We love you Garrett!

Thoughts on Vocation

This is my last post from the book Thoughts in Solitude by Thomas Merton. I've gleaned quite a bit from it and recommend its reading. Merton says of vocation, "A man knows when he has found his vocation when he stops thinking about how to live and begins to live. When we are not living up to our true vocation, thought deadens our life, or substitutes itself for life, or gives in to life so that our life drowns out our thinking and stifles the voice of conscience. When we find our vocation--thought and life are one."

I've found out that it's possible to be in my true, God-given vocation, and because too much thought and over-analyzing go on, the joy in my work is gone. My thoughts have deadened my life. My lists are a substitute for real work done with joy and to God's glory.

I've never thought of myself as a perfectionist before. I do like to do things well, but if they're not perfect that's okay. But in this one area I am a perfectionist. I'm always trying to find the best or quickest way to do a task; to get as much done in a day as possible. Thus the endless lists with the estimated time each chore will take written beside it. I've focused more on the destination and not on the journey. And that makes me too driven. I never get as much done as I wish I could.

That's why this week I made a goal of not thinking about things too much. Instead of writing times beside the chores, I made a list of what I wanted to do that day and numbered the items in order of importance. I've been much less stressed each day too. This isn't my preferred way to make lists and get things done, but for now, until I quit being such a psycho, it's working.

Back to Decluttering

I forgot that I was doing a Get Rid of Fifty Things decluttering thing. I also forgot what number I was on. Hang on while I scroll back through my blog posts and see.....Okay, I'm on #19-a sifter which I'll put in Darcie's hope chest. #20-two books to donate to library book sale. #21-a candle for Goodwill. #22-A bottle brush for Goodwill. #23-A picture I made by pressing fall leaves between two pieces of glass. I'll move it out to the studio to put in my For Sale stack.

The reason I'm getting rid of my sifter is because I rarely use it, and the only time I do is when I need to put powdered sugar into something like fudge. A sieve works just as well.

New Curtains

After watching Julie & Julia, I bought some blue gingham check curtains for my kitchen. I loved the ones in Julia Child's kitchen and wanted to get that look. I already have red gingham check curtains for the kitchen. Either color matches as most of my kitchen is red and blue with touches of yellow.

I think I'll hang the red ones in the winter to warm things up and the blue ones in the summer to cool the room down. I'm going to leave the blue ones up through this winter, though, since they're new. I just love gingham curtains. They're so clean, fresh, and country.