SRKindredSpirits

  I know just about enough to be dangerous.... that right now is my whole take on religion.  You see I was raised very conservative ( think Amish, without the buggy ), and was taught conservative beliefs my whole life.... and there was alot of good that came from being raised that way. But, there was also alot of bad.... as my husband says, "if he wasn't already a Christian, seeing the way my conservative family and churches I was raised in act, he wouldn't want anything to do with God if that's how he was introduced to Christianity." Which is sad, but I agree with him 100%.   I joined an Independent Fundemental, KJV Baptist church ( which is pretty conservative ) and though I would say my belief aligns with a conservative Baptist, I am tired of the church politics, rules, and people acting one way on Sunday and another through the week.... the 'whatever' attitude of the Christian faith is off putting to me...... On the other hand, I was rebellious in my

To be honest, I don't really know how I feel about body positive bloggers and instagramers.... I'm all for loving ourselves at any size/look, but at the same time, we could all use some work.... some maybe more than others... or is that just me?!?!? Is it okay to flaunt the fact that someone is obese and loves themselves? Especially when being overweight is unhealthy? But then again, thin people can be just as unhealthy, so why is it ok for them to flaunt it? Why is it that we view skinny girls as pretty? Doesn't God love us all at any size? Aren't we supposed to take care of our bodies? I don't know the answers, but a few weeks ago I absolutely fell in love with a post I came across on Instagram.... The following is my version, edited from @clothesandcurves - you can read the original here . I have been married for 15 years..... and it dawned on me how many days of those years I was completely in my head about my body and my appearance.  I

I made my first jewelry holder back in 2011 and ever since then, I have displayed my jewelry on our bedroom wall. My ideas, wants, decor and jewelry has changed a bit since back then.... (which is probably a good thing! ) In 2014 I made another jewelry holder, which was the perfect size and looks great on the wall. I still use it today. However, I have always kept my bracelets in my jewelry box tucked away in my closet.  I love wearing bracelets, but since they weren't out where I could see them or easily accessible, most days I never wore them... Well, alot has happened in the years since then... we have minimized our life style, getting rid of a bedroom dresser, mirror, and cairo cabinet, and cleaned out our bedroom closets.... oh, and a new chair and fresh coat of paint made it look like a completely different room. Except, the crazy little jewelry box was still sitting in my closet, driving me crazy, most of the bracelets unworn. So, I decided to final

Today, we are talking about closets.... Never underestimate the difference that a little change can make . I have always used plastic coated wire hangers in my closet, but over the years, I had just about every color and style and flimsy ones they make. Hubby on the other hand always used plain old wire hangers with some wood ones and yarn wrapped ones, that his great grandma made. They just looked bad. I hated hanging up clothes and I hated looking at them even more.  So, I purchased brand new plastic wire coated heavy duty hangers in white for our closets and it's amazing how much of a difference it makes!  Left - after white hangers and hung by type and color Right - before uniform hangers (hung by type, but NOT color) Another way to brighten the closet is to change out incandescent light bulbs for some bright white LEDs and to throw a fresh coat of paint on it. We just painted our shelves white (they were just an ugly stained wood) and that made a big di

In today's time, we often overlook the importance of dressing up... just look around you the next time to go to the doctors office, grocery store, or even a church activity. I mean, I'm all for being comfortable, but people often take it too far. Think about it, most people dress like bedraggled slobs. Have you looked around? Men might be in T-shirts with coffee stains, holes, or in ratty, baggy jeans, ugly shorts, and showing off their britches. Women are wearing stretch leggins, sweats, halter tops, super short shorts, and, yes, underwear in public. If our clothes are a means of self-expression, we clearly loathe ourselves. How does it make you feel, when you see someone at the checkout with uncombed hair, baggy sweatpants, slippers, and an unpleasant smell? My guess is you probably don't think very highly of them. Let me insert here, if that's truly all someone can afford, I'm OK with that, but seriously, if you have money to get your nails don

  Dressing Your Truth is a makeover and beauty system that is about expressing and honoring your authentic nature. Dressing your truth is based on the idea that our personality, features, energy and strengths or weaknesses can all be used to categorize each of us into one of four types. Type 1: The Bright and Animated – Extroverted, ideas-person. Fun. Type 2: The Subtle and Soft – Introverted, nurturing. Blended. Type 3: The Rich and Dynamic –  Extroverted, entrepreneurial. Loud. Type 4: The Bold and Striking –  Introverted, perfection-oriented. Direct. Each type is associated with a specific energy pattern and certain traits about how they move through their world. The overall theory is that by coordinating how you dress with your energy type, you can look your very best. Each energy type is reflected in nature. Type 1: Nitrogen Think of the energy of air (upward, light). The type 1 person is bright, animated and has a gift for new ideas and possibilit

For those of you who don't know, my daughter, Faith is an amazing writer and is extremely gifted at putting her words down on paper.... so she's guest posting on the blog today.  I love taking personality tests and seeing how people are different by their own types. I  am an introvert and extrovert myself and agree completely with 1 and 2. However, number 5 is completely not me... isn't it interesting how God made each of us uniquely different? Here's what Faith has to say about what introverts want us to know.... As an introvert myself, I really value my alone time. It’s a time to unwind, be myself, and do stupid things without having to worry if anyone’s watching. It’s my “happy place”, my recharge, and I depend on it to get me through life’s hectic situations. Sure, I like spending time with friends, going shopping, and eating out, but honestly, I like my solitude even more. When I try to explain this to certain people, they often don’t get i

Here's our bedroom before we started decluttering.... I never thought of us as being packrats or having a cluttered home until we started going through our house room by room and getting rid of stuff. ... Here's some ideas to help you unclutter your bedroom and make it a beautiful, relaxing space. Closets - clean them out! Get rid of all the clothes , shoes, purses, scarfs, and anything else you don't use reguarly or items that you have more than enough. Get rid of all the fake plants, they only collect dust. I'd like to add a few more live plants in here. Wall decor - less is more! For example: In our room we have four wall decor items. One is a picure fame with our  wedding photo , an old window frame from my Grandpa that I decorated, an old windmill blade and my jewelry holder which I made.  We do have a mirror hanging on the back of the of the bedroom door. Decor items, shelves, display cabinets - get rid of at least 75% of the

When it comes to cleaning out your closet.... many people find that taking everything out is the easy part. It's knowing what to put back in that's a little more tough to figure out. I recommend making four piles. Put each item of clothing on one of these piles..... 1. Throw out 2. Give away  3. Repair  4. Soul stirring   - Take inventory then put in one of the above piles. (see what you love about each of these items)  Keep only clothing items that you love - not like Stains, holes, doesn't fit well, wrong size, wrong color = toss it out 70% of your closet should be meat and potatoes = solid, working clothes. 30% of your closet should be icing and fluff = color, pattern, shine, and accessories.  Make a list of gaps in your wardrobe so you know what to buy.  Buy clothes for your life style and not for your fantasy world. Buy one piece you love vs. 10 pieces that are okay.  Buy less - buy better. Make this your ne

This year there were 48 blog posts at SRKindredSpirits....  There were a lot of different topics.... Things to say on a job interview , Recipes , Visiting Louisville KY , Getting rid of cookbook clutter, Book reviews , Bookcase redo , Why I don't sell , Making an orb , Crochet Christmas tree skirt , Understanding a INTJ , Adoption , DYT experiment , My first speeding ticket , What Instagram really tells you , How to review a product company, Family quality time , A free health quiz , and much more. Here's the top 10 posts of 2016: We had our first giveaway here on SRKindredSpirits and it was a success! The Happiness Dare is a highly recommended book! Once you try these, you'll be hooked! Easy and yummy... you can't go wrong with these cream cheese roll ups! I wrote this post after reading the definition of the word 'family', it will give you a little insight to my life. Getting rid of the swimming pool was personal favorite and