Broken & Beautiful

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to attend Communion at Church. When I arrived I wasn't sure why I was there after a busy day at an adoption conference. My mind still hadn't slowed down from the emotions of speaking in front of a group of people.  Adoption is a topic I love to talk about but, it sometimes brings painful reminders that my dreams of adopting have been put on hold for so many years. As I prayed at the beginning of the service I told God how broken I felt and pleaded with Him to give me what He knew I needed not what I thought I needed. I shed a few tears when it was mentioned that at Communion last year Zach shared a final message with the church (not sure why I hadn't thought of that fact before I arrived). Tears feel again when we sang "It is Well" at the end and I was thankful to have Erin Drayer sitting beside me to give me a hug and reflect on how hard it is to watch your husband suffering. God was faithful in providing tears to wash away some of the pain and when it was all over I found myself able to smile and laugh again. The phrase "Broken and Beautiful" came to mind at some point during the evening and I listened to "Broken and Beautiful by Mark Schultz when I got home. So good to be reminded how much God treasures us completely surrendering all the broken pieces of our lives to Him so He can provide true healing. The circumstances of my life may have left me feeling broken, but I serve a God who can heal my brokenness and use it for His glory.

Decluttering Weeks 7 and 8

During the last two weeks I had to admit that I can't do it all.  Between having company at my house, traveling to my brother-in-laws wedding, and keeping up with the kids posting about my decluttering efforts wasn't a priority.   The good news is that I did make some progress.  During week seven I cleaned out our upstairs guestroom for company.  Got rid of around 15 items and then moved the rest of the clutter to my basement storage room because I didn't have time to sort it all.  I know that storage room will be a bigger job because I added more to the already existing mess but at least the guestroom is usable for the first time in months. Last week (week 8) the kids and I tackled the basement toy room.  It was a great success in that I managed to get the kids to part with some of the toys they don't play with anymore.  As a result of our efforts 9 empty boxes, over 30 games, a large box of Mega Blocks, a Table Hockey Game, 8 dolls/stuffed animals, 8 backpack/bags/play purses, 8 dress up hats, a decorative plate, a toy guitar, 3 office organizers, and a box of miniature tractors all left our house.  It felt so good to drop most of the items off at the Goodwill store yesterday.  Now for pictures (sometimes I wonder why I share the before pics.-rather embarrassing): 

 Before Guest Room

After Guestroom

Before Toy Room

After Toy Room

 

Get Rid of Piles