SRKindredSpirits

My Grandpa Stump has been gone for four years this month... gone, but not forgotten. So here's some memories of my Grandpa.... My Grandpa only had an 8th grade education (and skipped 4th grade), yet he was the smartest man I knew. He was a preacher, multi-millionaire, and a great business man . He was a farmer, a landlord, and had the best garden around. He was a traveler, he started a mission in Africa, he helped more people than anyone else I know. He believed in God, and wasn't ashamed of who he was. Grandpa loved singing, playing games (four hand texas was his favorite) , telling stories, eating popcorn, driving fast,  helping people, traveling, preaching,   Shaklee , working hard, having a good time, and his   family .  Some of my earliest memories are of sitting on Grandpa's lap. I loved playing games with Grandpa, him teasing me when he won. Going camping, and spending Christmas weekend at their house with all our cousins, and playing in the o...

If you've hung around me for any length of time, you know that I am weird. I am awkward, I say all the wrong things, I'm too loud, I don't fit in. I like angles - circle and squares are boring. Rainy days are made for me. I don't like people. Being different is one of my best assets. I like the fact that I'm different. So, when I saw this book, my thought was 'if it's about being weird like me, I've got to read it'! Michael Frost continues to challenge me to be bold and brave to think and live differently (weirdly)! Many Christians have become comfortable letting the world mold them, instead of being set apart by God. And many churches have traded in their biblical roots for complacent conventionality. But Jesus and the church are anything but conventional.  If our churches are filled with people not living weird and instead living the same way everybody else is, then what do we as Christians have to commend? The church need...

So, most of you know by now that I do not like clutter.... we have been on our minimalist journey for a few years now and it makes me so happy! We have gotten rid of trailer loads and car loads full of stuff over the last few years, and although I still try to walk through the house daily to see what I can get rid of and still make monthly trips to drop off unwanted items at goodwill, it is getting harder and harder to find items that I want to get rid off. So, I thought I'd try The Minimalist Challenge. Today is the start of a brand new month and a perfect time to try The Minimalist Challenge . Here’s how it works… Find a friend or family member: someone who’s willing to get rid of their excess stuff. This month, each of you must get rid of one thing on the first day. On the second, two things. Three items on the third. So forth, and so on. Anything can go! Clothes, furniture, electronics, tools, decorations, etc. Donate, sell, or trash. Whatever...

They still love playing with legos.... On hard days, these thoughts often linger in my mind.... When it feels like I can't go on...When my head is throbbing with pain. When every breath is more painful than the last, and my heart is breaking into a million pieces. When my tears won't dry, and just keep falling.  I feel utterly helpless - there's nothing I can do. I used to believe in miracles, but I don't understand how God can be so cruel. I love these kids. Why them? Why me? Why this?  My one and only wish is that my kids could be normal. I hate seeing them suffer, not knowing what their future holds or the suffering they will have to endure. The only way I can made it through each day is to keep telling myself... There has to be a reason that God made my kids this way. I pray that someday God will use them in a big way to bring people to Him.   I have no idea why God chose me to be their mom, I lack in so many ways. But God knows I love them. So...

The value of our home and land has nothing to do with what they are worth. How do you put a price tag on the memories you make? On the years of laughter you've shared, or the tears of heartbreak you've cried? Or the dreams that have come true because we chose to live here? When you add all those up.... we won the lottery to be able to call this place home! When you account for what we paid for the place, the improvements we've sunk into it, the thousands of trees and plants we've planted, the tons of stone and mulch we've hauled in... and all the other things that add up.... we are sunk. We will never get all the money back out of this place. But here's the thing.... if you love where you live.... if you truly decide to love where you live and dig in and live there.... truly live there, it doesn't matter whether you got ripped off or stole it when you bought it; the value of your home will be much more than a professional home estimate could ever ...

Don't just sort through stuff without getting rid of it. Put it in boxes/bags, and donate it! Don't just organize- deown! Your clutter wars will never be over if all you do is keep re organizing... it's a never ending battle, one you will NOT win.  Don't keep something you no longer enjoy because a family member/friend/ busybody says that you need to keep it, or that it's an heirloom peice, or whatever excuse reason they want you to keep it. Don't let them make the decision for you. It's not their stuff. It's ok to let it go.... it has served its purpose.  Don't keep something because you may need it someday.... someday has come and went. Let it go. My husband and I have gotten rid of trailer loads of stuff and there has been only a couple times (in the years since then) that we think oh, man, I had one of them and got rid of it, but we made do perfectly without it, so in reality, we didn't need it at all. Someday hardly ever com...

A few weeks ago, we got together with my side of the family, - my parents, siblings, and all our kids to have family pictures taken.  The whole family, minus one sister in law.... I always struggle when it comes to extended family . I had a great life growing up as a kid, but my teen years and into adult life have had there fill of extended family issues.... On one hand, I love my parents and siblings and want to be involved in family get togethers, but on the other hand, there's been too much pain, too many differences, and too much water under the bridge, to make it worthwhile.  Oh, we all get along when we are together, but it's like we are all trying to be something that we aren't. For now, I still go to most family get togethers.... I make an appearance, but try not to stay too long or be too involved....( I struggle with chronic stress, which seems to flare up more around my extended family), so for me, its just better that way. You see, I'm...

If you ever wanted to know how mental illness can effect people, Leaving Cloud 9 is a great read. This book could've been written by my someone I used to know. There are so many comparisons to things he went through as a child, yet in some ways, his experience was different too. I was so young at the time - 16, and I was pretty nieve. I didn't know anything about mental illness. If I did, I really think things would have ended differently. I wish that I could've helped him get the help he needed. I really think people struggling with mental illness just need someone to love them, and walk beside them and to get them help, wether that's medication or therapy, etc... they really just need someone to believe in them. I believe everyone could benefit from reading cloud nine! Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the  book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The...

There are different seasons in every one's life.... but in my life, it is especially true. I'm thirty-five, but I've lived three different lives.  In the first life.... I grew up conservative . I was the middle kid out of seven. We grew up on a farm and learned to work at a young age. We made our own clothes, as a girl, I was not allowed to wear pants, a watch, jewelry, or to get my hair cut. We did not have a TV. We were home schooled. For the most part, I had a great childhood. I loved going to the auction barn with dad, eating ice cream floats on the front porch after a hot day of baling hay, riding go carts, or playing in the playhouse. Having sleepovers with my best friend Carla, was my favorite.  When I was 12, that all changed. My parents took us away from the church, friends, and family that we knew and loved. They joined a even more conservative church (cult) out of state. Life suddenly turned upside down. I hated my parents and their beliefs. I felt l...

In a world where everyone is looking for the newest and best health drink on the market.... sometimes it's better to stick with what works! Shaklee has been around for over 60 years and has a proven track record!  I'd like to introduce you to Shaklee's new and improved Life Shake ™ – The Most Delicious, Clinically Proven Shake that is clinically proven to help you thrive and create the foundation for a longer, healthier life. This delicious shake has 20 grams of ultra-pure, non-GMO protein to keep you energized, with zero added sugar and precise ratios of all nine essential amino acids. Clinically proven support to help you reach and maintain your perfect, healthy weight. Powered by Leucine® to help you build lean muscle, burn fat, improve metabolism, and reduce cravings. People who use LifeShake with Shaklee's 180 program is clinically proven to loose the weight and keep it off! Easy-to-digest, promotes regularity, and digestive comfort....

'Lifesteading'.... is a term I read from Rory Feeks book - Once Upon A Farm . "It is planting yourself In the soil where you live and growing a life you can be proud of. A love that will last. And a hope that even death can not shake." "We are all living somewhere between "once in a lifetime" and "happily ever after." - How very true those words are.

Caution: Unpopular Opinion Below!!! Your former husband doesn't have to be your best pal, but thanks to a shared respect for each other, he can still be your friend. I have never understood why people, when th ey hear you are divorced, automatically think that you hate your ex, or that you have horrible memories with your ex. Or that your ex is a horrible person... Why is this? If the couple loved each other at one time, why does the relationship have to  weaken to the point of sheer hatred for the other? Is it because we don't accept a reasonable difference of opinion? Is it because society says it's so? Is it because it so happens to comply with the universal law of nature? If you don't hate your ex, why are you still not with them!?! - more like a catch-22 kind of thing. Every couple has their own relationship dance. All you have to do is change your part in the dance. I know that most people are surprised when I speak of my ex-husband with real ...