Mosaic Momma

One of the most frustrating things about the "human condition" is our seeming inability at times to get out of a crazy cycle. Sometimes we do things the same way for so long that it becomes ingrained. I say this. He says that. Then I do this, and he does that. So, again, I say this..... You see how it goes. If we do this enough we create a whirlpool that starts to run on its own steam. And our very participation in that whirlpool keeps it going. It takes extraordinary effort to either a.) swim against the current and go with other way, or b.) swim out of the whirpool altogether into the unchartered calm water of the vast unknown. The truth is that it can be easier to just stay in the pattern we know when the ocean looms wild and deep. But even though it may take less effort to just stay stuck and go with that crazy current, inside we die a bit more each day. Because the truth is...we really don't want to be a slave to the whirlpool. ...

This past year as I have dove headlong into my year of turning 40 ( aka, "Fab4D" ), I have been more intentional about being awake to the simple joys and beauty in my life. Every day is truly a gift. But when you live an average of 27,375 days, each one can meld together if you don't make a concerted effort to wake to your "one beautiful life,' as Ann Voskamp would encourage. I am often guilty of living my life in the "not-yet."  I am a planner to the core, so my fingers are always itching to fill in the squares of my monthly/yearly calendar. " I just want to know ," is something that could be put upon my tombstone. Time Management. Managing Time. It almost seems laughable when I type it out. As if I could manage something so vast and wild and unfathomable. We each do our best to take what we have planned and purposed for each day and manage that day to the maximum. Sometimes we do better than others. S...

They say when you don't get the something you've wanted, God has something better. But what do you do when  better  seems so far away, and all you can feel is today's sting of loss? Despite my best intentions, I am in slight state of mourning. The amazing blue house that started this journey of selling our house -- the one that motivated us to toss piles of random stuff into the garage so the realtor could snap tidy photos of every room for the MLS listing, the one that caused to wait on pins and needles for that first good offer -- that house sold today.  But, not to us. The first time they passed on our offer for another was difficult. But, then those buyers changed their mind, and it it was our turn. Between having a contractor come out to look at our desired renovations and how we would financially swing them, we inexplicably lost out again to another buyer. Throughout the process of looking at over 25 other properties over two co...

I don't know why God is so good to me sometimes. I know that by nature, God is good. I know in my head that He loves to give good gifts to his children. I guess my problem of late is why He would want to be kind to me...right now. You see, I've been in kind of a snit. Granted, I'm not in full-out, lay-down, kicking and screaming tantrum mode. But I have been a bit...well, reserved with God. Our deadline to find another home (our dream home to be precise) is coming due within another week. God has approximately 7-10 days to come through in a miracle way, or we will need to consider other options. Although I am open (and a bit resigned) to this "other options" way, I honestly have always thought God would move us from point A to Point B with no other point in between. And I have been struggling a bit with the idea that it may not happen that way. I am still getting up every morning and I'm still eager to journal and do my devotional ...

You've heard the phrase, "when life hands you lemons...." ... well....you know the rest. Basically take the unpalatable sourness and add some pure cane sugar to it, some water and voila...refreshing sweet beverage. But...what if it's a storm of stress of epic proportions? A swirling vortex of doubt and confusion. A hurricane of desperation and depression and you are heaving to and fro -- certain that you will be dashed upon the rocks ahead and drown in sight of the shore. What then? You eat bread. No...seriously. If you are the Apostle Paul, you call a time out from the squall and have everyone sit down for a bite to eat...but more about that in a minute. I've been blogging about watching my fledgling dream launch from the nest . And as I wait up on that branch to see if it will find its wings and soar, or tumble to the ground, I am learning a lot about myself and what I actually believe versus what I say I believe. It's ...

This blog post is brought to you by my new iPad...it's currently housed in the case that I bought  empty last December and prayed that it would one day be filled.  -- I have always been a little (okay...a lot) stubborn. I am pretty sure one of my first phrases was, "Me do it," or some such sentence. My character/pysche/personality is such that I want to do things the way I think they are best done. I may take some help -- but only if the helper(s) see fit to do it the way I am doing things. I would like to believe that my edges have been softened over the years. Having little ones for almost 12 years has dulled the blade of my perfectionism somewhat and as I have not been able to "do it all," I have let go of the idea of having "it all done." Mostly. Four kids later, as a homeschooling family, with a child who has some learning issues and therefore has therapies, tutoring, etc, and all that goes into daily family life,...

Over the past several weeks, I have sensed God doing something new and different in my heart. It's taken me awhile to step back from it and realize that He is building a new measure of faith in me as I take a specific dream that has been close to my heart for the last year or so, and throw it from the safety of my heart's nest, and wait to see if it will find it's wings and fly. This theme has spread through quite a few of my posts and the two most recent. I didn't know it, but I had unwittingly launched a series of posts that I have decided to call, "The Dream Saga." Although my conscious mind is a bit late to the party, I have gone back and added in the label to those posts to keep them linked together and so that I (and others) can read about what God has done and the wondrous possibilities of what He can and will do. -- I have an egg basket on my kitchen counter. It's filled with some Easter-ish colored shredded paper and some plasti...