21/31

Enough Muddling Cindy ... That is what I have determined to remind myself of daily.

And...I have Help!!

My sweet blog friend Melanie is starting a new series today!!

For the month of May she is joining in with a few other wonderful bloggers who have created "31 Days to a Cuter You". Ha...not so sure about the cuter me but I am grateful for the daily tips and reminders to take care of myself!

They will also cover matters of the heart and inward adorning, not just the outside!!

God has created our bodies to be His Temple. While 'muddling' these past several months I have abused this temple horribly. It's time to get with the program and listen to His voice. He has graciously placed some wonderful ladies in my path who are going to help me not only listen but hear the voice of God.

On a similar note, Melanie has also created "21 Meditations and Motivations to get you Moving" which also begins May 1. Click on the title for a '28 second' invitation:)

So here I go!!! Hop on over to Melanies' blog if you want to join me this month!!

Considering 21/31 with a Positive Heart!!
Cindy

My Day with MJC

Some days you just have to shut out the pain of the world

and spend time with someone you love

That is what I did today

This is my MJC

Doctors said he wouldn't live 1 year

He is almost 26

First

We had lunch at his favorite place

NOT mine ~ But His:)

Then we went to one of our favorite

Antique Malls

MINE not his!

After a few more stops

We came home and worked on a couple of his projects

That needed a little help

I don't know what it is

Yet, he needed his head put back on

MJC and the treasure he found today
He LOVES horses

The only treasure I found today

I am getting ready to decorate my laundry room

and thought this might be cute

For dinner we had something from this place

I think I wore him out

Came home to a nice surprise in the mail

Two letters from my sponsor child

Through World Vision

Mark from Uganda:)

He asked how his 'namesake' was doing!

Now I have to send a letter letting him know

my Mark is with Jesus:(

Considering a Day with A Loved One Simply Joyful,

Cindy

Faces of a Holiday Weekend

Though I missed my husband terribly during Easter, I am so thankful that I got to spend moments of time with all these little ones during the holiday weekend~~Some are my brothers' children, my sisters' grandchildren and my grandchildren~~Enjoy!!

The first 5 photo's are my sisters' grandbabies

The next 2 are my brothers' kiddos

The next 2 are my granddaughters

This is my K-Bug (6)

And my K-Bel (7 months)

And this is my Matthew (25)

Oh, and I splurged "REAL" big on myself! Hubby had planned on purchasing one of these for me this year so I just decided the time was right!

Hopefully my pictures will start looking MUCH better:)

Considering Faces with Joy,

Cindy

The Presence of Easter

Holidays! Oh how I love them! Ribbons, wrappings, flags, fireworks, turkeys, pilgrims, Santa's, lights, hearts, and even egg laying bunnies! Oh, and did I mention Candy??? The hustle and bustle of each holiday brings with it excitement for the big day with all it's splendor.

We are standing at the eve of another such holiday. The world shows us how it will play out. The stores are filled with candy, bunnies, eggs and decoration upon decoration just waiting for our purchases! The lines for those overpriced but coveted Easter Baskets grow longer each day. What child wouldn't want one or two? What parent wouldn't spend their last dollars to buy one? I mean come on, it's Easter for goodness sake.

The presents of Easter shine and cause out little ones to spend sleepless nights with anticipation of what they will receive. Our eyes as parents/grandparents wait expectantly to see those little faces light up with joy when they see their awaited gifts. Yet again lost in the fuss of commercialism is the true meaning of the holiday upon us.

The presence of Easter! Have we forgotten what Easter really is? In the presents of Easter have we lost the presence of Jesus?

Let's take a walk back in time and see if we can find what so many of us are missing and are desperate for.

As I open my Bible and begin to read the accounts leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus I find the presence of Easter in Gethsemane.

It is in Gethsemane that we see the anguish of Jesus, fully man, fully God and fully devoted to His purpose. As he prayed for His Father to take the cup from Him the pain he began to feel from that which He would face poured out of Him as drops of blood. I look at the price for my sin alone and the anguish I feel during this season of grief but I can hardly fathom the weight of the sin of a fallen world being place on one man's shoulders. With one word He could have changed everything, He could have said no, but he chose Love.

Easter is also found in the heart of a mother. This young mother whom like you and I, carried hope and dreams for her young son. As she pondered and treasured the words spoken to her by an angel, was there anything in her that could have seen the future? Now she stands at the precipice, the place where her heart will break and the son she loved will face His darkest hour. There was probably nothing that could hold her back from attempting to protect her child yet she chose Love.

It's found in the cross! Let's close our eyes for just a moment and picture that old rugged cross high atop a hill with the body of a man nailed to it. Imagine the wounds, the blood, the mockery and undeniable hatred that men of 'honor' held for the man of God. Yet, in that moment: "It is Finished", there must have fallen an eerie silence upon the crowd as the sun darkened and the veil was rent. I can only imagine that some felt a deep sense of loss while others a deep regret and fear. On that cross Jesus could have turned a deaf ear toward our sin, our pain, our weakness, yet He chose Love.

Ultimately we find Easter and hope in the empty tomb. As the women approached the tomb to anoint Jesus' body with burial oils they found the tomb empty. Fear and confusion must have filled their souls but in the days that followed hope began to pour forth as the realization of Christ's resurrection became evident. Today, some 2000 years hence we continue to have a great hope of a future, one in heaven for eternity, one that will never be lacking or troublesome. Hope of spending our forever's with that very same Jesus who so willingly said yes to death and no to self all because of Love.

Also in the empty tomb we find peace. I doubt there was peace in those first days when the women found the tomb empty or when the disciples learned about the mystery of the missing body. Yet, in the days that followed and now with our knowledge and hindsight view we have peace! An everlasting peace that allows us to walk day by day through our Gethsemane's, our broken hearts, our crosses and our emptiness and know He walks with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us, because of Love!

That hope and that peace bring me to my knees in humble adoration. How can I become so lost in eggs and bunnies when there is such a hope for my eternity, for my forever? This Easter season it will be my privilege to spend time in prayer at my own Gethsemane, the place where my soul meets Jesus' heart. My prayer is that each of you is able to do the same. Rest in the Lord as you Seek and Find the Presence of Easter.


Considering Easter with Great Joy, Cindy

Authors Note: This Easter (April 24) marks the 4 month point since my husband's passing and this 'new' journey of grief began. It is going to be a rather tough day but I still remain humbled and joy-filled at the prospect and Hope of our eternal future!!

Weekend Warrior Project

This weekend I made it my mission to complete cleaning and organizing my office.

Can I just say ... Whew .......

It was quite the job!

Here are just a few of the before shots:

As you can see I have let the office become a dumping ground for anything I didn't know where to put as I went through my room and other parts of the house.

The problem is that I struggle greatly when things are out of order. Since my life has been completely out of order these past few months I really need the physical aspects of my home to 'get in line' shall we say!

I must admit that the above photo is of the most difficult place I have cleaned thus far in my attempt to put together a new life. This was Mark's wound drawer. He lived with open wounds on his legs so we were constantly changing dressings and caring for them. I made it through but I am aware there are still many places I just can't go yet.

Here is what my office looks like now that I have spent the past two days de~cluttering and cleaning:

My desk area! Yep, this is where I spend most of my free time.

The closet

These are the cabinet/shelves on either side of my desk completely cleaned out and organized!

I love this little bench. I found it a couple years ago at an antique store for just $17.00 - Love It!!!

My craft dresser and finally my cleaned off craft table.

I can finally work on and hopefully finish the project on it which I started about 2 years ago.

I'll let you know when it's complete.

Maybe it will be a Weekend Warrior project in the near future:)

Considering A Clean Office With Great Joy,

Cindy

Family Friday

This is a quick Family Friday Post...

I spent the afternoon with my friend Gretchen! So Fun!

We went for mani/pedis and then for some good treats here.

She decided to post her toes on her blog Here so I decided to do the same.

I call my feet 'Flintstone Feet' because they are short and fat and I am bare foot most of the time but at least they look kind of cute tonight:)

Also, my mom was here yesterday and I got this cute photo of she and my youngest granddaughter K-bel. Love this shot!!

It was a great family type week!

Tuesday evening I visited with my Pastor and his great wife Gretchen!

Wednesday I had dinner at BJ's with my good friend and employer MJ!

Thursday I spent the day with my mom and youngest granddaughter and then the kids and oldest granddaughter came for dinner!

Friday I got to spend some time with Gretchen!

Matthew has a friend over this week so he has also been quite busy!

Thankful for this Very Blessed Week!

Considering Friends and Family with Great Joy,

Cindy

Weekend Warrior Results

Oh how I wish I could show you photos of major accomplishments in my weekend projects tonight yet relationships take precedence over projects and I didn't quite finish what I set out to do. However, I did work hard (with the help of son #1) on the pool and I can share some of those pics!

If you recall the pool started off looking like this

I had let it go while Mark was ill and after his passing

and then the in-floor cleaning system quit working

I had that fixed and thus began the process of turning

this swamp back into a pool

My son #1 has been a huge help to me during these past few months

And pool cleaning was no exception

He scrubbed and scrubbed

Oops, he used dish soap .......... uuummmm

Long process of getting the 'suds' out!

Then I got to take over

These were the 5 1/2 year old filters

Which hubby and I cleaned together every 6 months

But it was really time for a change

I made a trip to "Shasta" Pools

to purchase new filters and salt

Then put the new ones in

I also cleaned all the skimmer baskets and long term filters

Refilled the pool and now I have this

I still have some chemical things to take care of

As well as landscaping issues

But this is a pool I would be happy to jump into

Sunday after church my refrigerator looked like this:

I think son #2 believes I will never feed him again

I just seem to have trouble keeping much of anything stocked

So we made a trip to the grocery store

And now the frig looks like this:

He will be so happy to have many snacks and maybe even a few home cooked meals this week

As for the office...

Well, lets just say the 1/3 of it is complete and hopefully you will get a peek next week:)

Considering Projects Completed Very Rewarding,

Cindy

2 Weekend Warrior Projects

Happy Saturday Bloggy Friends! I decided to post 2 Weekend Warrior entries this week because I am working on 2 projects. This post will consist of the down and 'dirty' of my real life and the next will (hopefully) show some 'Happy' after shots!!! So, without further stalling here are the 'dirty' before shots:

It is a MUST that I clean this office.

With life being what it has been over the past three months I have let this place go.

I dislike walking in this room yet I spend a great deal of time in here.

So, today IS the day I must clean and clear out the clutter:)

Unfortunately

During Mark's illness and subsequent passing I left the pool ignored.

I relied on the in-floor cleaning system to work while I was not

and regretfully it decided to quit working.

I had Shasta come out and replace the gears (YAY for lifetime warranties)

Now the system works but ............

I let it go untouched too long.

This week/weekend needs to be the turning point for this pool!

Last summer I only put my swimsuit on twice

Due to all of Mark's hospitalizations and illness.

This year I am looking forward to getting in and

swimmin' some of these unwanted pounds away.

What are your projects for this weekend?

Will post after photo's Sunday night:)

Hopefully!!!

Considering A Project or two with JOY,

Cindy