Living a biblical womanhood

I love that there is SO MUCH in the bible about how we as women should live our lives. This one is something we see all the time, and is big in our culture today, but is not good for right living. It's hard to remember at times, but so beautifully true!
“Do not let your adorning be external-the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear-but let it be the inner person of the heart with the imperishable quality of gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of the Lord.” 1 Peter 3:3,4
I want people to see my inner heart, rather than my outward appearance! It's so hard, though, to remember this, when the world focuses so much on outward beauty and wealth. Models all over magazines and billboards, making a living from having good looks. Actresses being judged on their weight and clothing. And it trickles down to us normal women too. We worry about our hair and if we're thin enough, pretty enough, classy enough. Are we wearing name brand clothing? Do we get our hair professionally done? Manicures, pedicures, facials. It's all so exhausting, yet all so important to our society today. I am a part of that as well. Please do not think I am not concerned with these very things. But looking at this verse makes me think "I want people to see my inner light". To say "Caroline has a really kind heart". I love jewelry. I have a bunch of big rings. I love big bold rings and bracelets. But I have stopped wearing them as much in the past year. I started to feel that maybe my wearing such big "bling" may make others feel lesser than me. Maybe they want to wear big jewelry but can not afford it. (by the way, I have gotten most of my rings at Target and Boscov's..we're not talking $$$$ jewelry here). I started thinking, what if my wearing name brand, fancy clothes all the time, was hurting other women's egos. So, I try to dress more modestly for the most part. I try to think of the other women I care so much about, that are struggling with their finances because of life situations. Would I want them to go home feeling like they wish they could dress better, or have nicer things? No. I really would feel bad knowing I did that to someone else.
No matter how you dress, or how much jewelry you wear, make sure others see your love, kindness and light of the Lord. That's the lasting image you want to leave them with!!
Peace to all you wonderful women out there!! <3

Cleaning My House

I am not the most organized person. I try, I really do. I am good when it comes to planning events and trips, I am good at compiling detailed lists for tasks, packing, chores, etc. When I make lists for myself (To-Do) I can stick to it, and follow it. But I don't always remember to make a list each week. And since the start of homeschooling this year, any to-do listing, or regular cleanings have gotten all jumbled up and all together forgotten some days!
I have started, this week, to get back in to what I used to do. Which was designating 1 room of my house per day to a detailed cleaning. If I sit back and look at my house as a whole, it is OVERWHELMING. Where do I start? How much do I clean? I don't know about you, but my little ones are like tornadoes with their toys!! So, I would look at the house as a whole, straighten it up and never get time to do the deep cleaning.
This week I decided on Monday to clean my kitchen. So I did the dishes, Cleared off surfaces and wiped them down GOOD. I cleaned the surface of my oven. I organized and de-cluttered. I swept and mopped the floor. I wiped down cabinets. And when it was done, it was SPARKLING!! That felt so good. Now the rest of my house? Not so awesome. BUT I know if I take it room by room, that particular room for the day gets the real attention it deserves. Today (Tuesday) I cleaned our sun room/ play room. I swept, I dusted, I wiped down surfaces, organized, de-cluttered, moved toys around, cleaned up our school desk. Now I have 2 rooms that are immaculate in my house!
Hopefully by Friday most of the rooms in my house will be clean as they should be!
I read today on another woman's blog that I follow hallee the homemaker about laundry. Laundry escapes me! I can wash it, and dry it easy! But the folding and putting away...that's a different story. I do not like folding and putting away laundry. We do not have adequate closet and bureau space. It's just a real chore to do. But Hallee had suggested in her post, that you devote a day to it. Like I am doing with the rooms in my house. I am going to give this a go. Maybe, JUST MAYBE, I will be able to train myself to do the laundry right!
And I found this quote today, which is so perfect for this post - Those who think that a woman detained at home by her little family is doing nothing, think the reverse of what is true. -  Perfectly said!!
Peace to all you hard working women out there!

Blog Bash 2011!!

Blog Bash 2011

Good Morning! My name is Caroline and I am a Happily serving wife and mother. I was not always a believer. In fact, I grew up sort of being afraid of the church. When I met my husband I was a sort of believer - meaning I believed there was SOMETHING out there, just not sure what. My husband was raised Catholic, but also never attended church. When we met we knew instantly that we were soul mates. We used to dream together about our lives and the things we would do. Together we have had 3 wonderful kids (14, 6 and 4), been through tragedies, wonderful times, and have grown SO MUCH in our Christian faith. I feel so blessed that the Lord stood by me, and guided me to the life we have now.
I am a very old fashioned kinda gal. I believe very strongly in old fashioned family values and morals. I did go to college, but chose to stay home for my family. I home school my two younger children ( and I am working on my 14 year old!). I love teaching! I am also a Sunday school teacher AND I help teach the confirmation classes at my church. I think a woman staying home is the MOST IMPORTANT JOB a woman can have! To manage and run a household AND properly raise children is a hard job! But oh so worth it!!
I absolutely love to bake! In fact, I feel the Lord spoke to me about a year ago, to try and make all I could from scratch. I started a blog about this called TheDIYGourmet . Since then I have not bought any cookies or bread. I have been busy with homeschooling, and don't update as often as I would like, BUT Please check me out! I believe that God has spoken to my family to be prepared for times ahead. I think learning to cook as much as humanly possible from scratch will be crucial!
I also love to knit (though I am still an amateur), trying to learn to sew, I love to exercise and eat healthy, am ALWAYS yearning to learn more about God. One of my BIGGEST passions is to soak up all the information (and pass it along) on how to be a Godly wife and mother. You can never have a TOO good marriage or be TOO good of a mother!! I enjoy camping and family hiking (this activity can save your family! It did mine!!).
Thank you so much for stopping by! I will be checking out many blogs myself! Peace to you all!!

Just Spreading the Word

Hello! I have a couple things for you to check out! One is for The Fuel Project. There is a DVD out entitled "Know your Enemy" that they put out, that you can view in little parts on Youtube. There are SO many, but they are worth your time, TRUST ME! Go to: The Fuel Project to check these out.  Very interesting and thorough information.
The next is this particular article from Glen Beck: Glen Beck being prepared . I think God has spoken to a lot of Christian's all over to be prepared for SOMETHING (don't know exactly what) in the near future. The Lord spoke to us last year in January. And we have found since that SO MANY people have "heard" and felt the same things.
Just wanted to share those two things for you now. Thanks for stopping by! Peace to you all!

Oops, I did it again.

My husband left on Sunday for a week. I am out of sorts. I miss him so completely when he is gone, and feel an ache for him to come home from work every evening. Saturday was a day from hell. You know the kind, nothing you planned on doing works out. Things go wrong, and you get on each other's nerves.
We had an argument. He said something I took to heart. He didn't mean to. Let's face it, Men are different aren't they? Wonderful, but different. I took it to heart and decided to not let it go. I had the option to let it go. It was my choice to make. But I decided to hold on tight. And remind him through the day about what he said and more and more reasons why it hurt.
I tried to enjoy our last evening together (for a week), but that stupid comment kept getting in the way. Excuse me, I KEPT LETTING it get in the way. I took it to bed with me. They say you should never go to bed angry. That night I had a nightmare that he left me. I have those dreams often when we fight. But this night was different. This night, instead of waking in the morning to him and talking things over, I awoke to "I have to go, I'll see you Babe." I felt sad. Why couldn't I have just let the comment go? Enjoyed that Saturday, even though the WHOLE DAY didn't go as planned (not even one bit).
We briefly talked. He left.. I can not wait to see him again. To make up.
These men are our spouses. Our life partners. The loves of our lives!! Don't let silly comments (not even meant to hurt) get to you. Don't let them ruin your day. Love your husband like he's going away from the week, every day!

Peace!

Persuing your husband

Oh man, it's been so long since I have posted a single thing! Life around here has hit warp speed, and my free time is so little these days! I have started homeschooling my middle daughter. My youngest joins in sometimes, and my oldest goes to school. We have girl scouts, confirmation and volunteering at our church, choir, and a homeschool co-op that we do weekly, or bi-weekly.
I love homeschooling! But it has made me busier than ever! I will start posting again, promise! But in the meantime, please check out a blog I LOVE called Time Warp Wife. She is having a marriage challenge and is on day 6. I love reading her encouraging posts, and I love reading new ways to improve my marriage (I mean, really, can your marriage ever be TOO good?). Maybe some of you could use her wisdom right now. Maybe you are perfectly happy. Check it out either way!

How to fight

This morning my Husband and I had an argument. It started out as a conversation, that got a little tense and before we knew it we were arguing. Not necessarily even about the original subject either. That was thrown in there a little, but it was mixed with things brought up from the past, and character flaws brought to attention. The typical argument between 2 people that have been together for a while.

How easy it is to lose your temper. To just let your anger flow easily through you. That's how I used to be. Feeling backed into a corner, like a wild animal ready to what it took to win the fight. But I've learned through the years that is NOT the way to fight. You need to stand up for what you think is right, but do it with love. You need to take your husband's ques as to when you're starting to go too far. When you make him feel backed in a corner, and then back off. You need to step outside of yourself and look at things as clearly as you possibly can. I have always thought and fought with my heart an emotions. Now I try to use my head as well. You need to keep the situation under control. You need to be able to stop and say "I am mad at you right now, but I love you very much".
Today I was done with the argument. Done hashing it out. Over it. So I said "You need to go to work. Have a good day. Love you" and walked away. But it didn't "feel" good. Did I really send him off to work in a loving way? Not really. He probably felt like it was aggressive and fake. I didn't hug him or kiss him goodbye. And I don't want my life to be like that. I want my loved ones to know that no matter what, I will always love them. Even if I'm mad.
So, I opened the front door and went outside, waiting for him to drive past.  He looked a little shocked like "what are you doing out here??". I told him that no matter what, he shouldn't go off to work without a proper goodbye. I gave him a kiss and told him I loved him and to have a good day. I could tell he felt more at ease, and a little more settled. Because no matter if we just argued, when it came down to it, we are a team and a good couple and will always love each other. As long as we remember how to fight! Peace!