I got to thinking this morning of how different we as women see ourselves, specifically our bodies, than other people. Under all the layers of clothes, we are able to see our bodily imperfections, and it can make one feel quite depressed. So, if you're a guy, you probably should stop reading. If you're a mom, come laugh with me at the thoughts I've had about myself...as I'm sure you've had similar thoughts about your own body or things you do...if not, oh well, maybe I'm just the weird one!
Is that left-over makeup from yesterday or bags under my eyes?
No time for a shower today...here comes the body spray!
When was the last time I shaved?
"Do your boobs hang low? Do they wobble to and fro? Can you tie them in a knot? Can you tie them in a bow? Can you throw them over your shoulder like a continental soldier? Do your boobs hang low?"
How about that left-over baby pooch of a belly? Ach...that's probably always going to be there. Thankfully I have a couple of shirts that can hide that so I don't have to walk around sucking in my stomach all day.
Hips. Oh yeah. Hips. Those pants will NEVER fit again, because unfortunately, my hips will never go back to post-baby size.
How do these shoes not fit my feet anymore?
Wow, I really need to shave my knees a little...a LOT better! There are some hairs that could pass for head hair!
How did this string of snot get on my clothes? Oh yeah...all the kids have colds.
My boobs are looking like they're hanging much closer to my bellybutton than my shoulders these days...
How did this Fruit Loop get on the couch? Huh, doesn't smell bad...(so I eat it)
Wow...my toe hairs are LONG! When was the last time I shaved those?!?
I really should start exercising, those rolls on my sides are starting to droop over my pants!
Oops. These pants are getting tight, I should probably slow down on the chocolate!
And the list goes on and on and on. Yes, I wanted to share those with you because I know it's something we as women struggle with on a daily basis. It's fun to laugh at ourselves, it seems to help. I have also found that encouraging each other helps most of all. Encouraging each other to look beyond our appearance, to look deeper and know that God sees something greater than a flabby belly, saggy boobs, and squishy butt. He sees our hearts. He knows our deepest thoughts and desires and He cares about us.
1st Peter 3:3-4 says:
Don't be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Idiot
Have you ever had one of those moments where you do something and realize later that it's not what you meant to do and then feel like a complete idiot? I seem to have those moments a lot...but yesterday was pretty embarrassing.
I've been going to the Wednesday morning Bible Study at our church for a little over a month now, and there's this girl who just moved to the area who has talked about how much she is wanting to make some friends. Her story kind of sounds like mine...the whole picking up the family and moving across the country and not knowing anyone part. So, yesterday I thought I'd email her and see if she was going to go to what's called "Group Link" at our church on Sunday. It's where new people can come and meet friends and hopefully create a small group.
I was thinking that maybe I just needed to take the first step and reach out to her. Of course, I get about half-way through two sentences in the email and completely chicken out.
Later that evening I was taking my son to his baseball practice and thought I should check my email. I realize that I don't see that unfinished email anywhere. I get a very sinking feeling and decide to look in the sent mail. Of course, in my haste, I had sent it when I had actually meant to delete it. Great.
So, all these feelings are running through my head. I'm such an idiot. How could I have done that? What was I thinking? Come on!?! Now she's going to think I'm some crazy stalker. Great, I have to face her every Wednesday at Bible Study for the whole year! What and IDIOT!
My husband gets home and I shamefully tell him what had happened that day. I even read him the email:
Hi Natalie,
This is Jennie from Bible Study. I wanted to ask you today if you guys are going to go to the Group Link
Sent from my iPhone
That's all it was. He asked me if I had written her back. No, I hadn't had time to try to rectify my stupidity. So, I did. I still haven't heard back from her.
I'm sure it will all be fine. I'm sure it won't be the last time something like that happens. It's just one of the thousands of embarrassing moments in the life of Jennie Denney.
I've been going to the Wednesday morning Bible Study at our church for a little over a month now, and there's this girl who just moved to the area who has talked about how much she is wanting to make some friends. Her story kind of sounds like mine...the whole picking up the family and moving across the country and not knowing anyone part. So, yesterday I thought I'd email her and see if she was going to go to what's called "Group Link" at our church on Sunday. It's where new people can come and meet friends and hopefully create a small group.
I was thinking that maybe I just needed to take the first step and reach out to her. Of course, I get about half-way through two sentences in the email and completely chicken out.
Later that evening I was taking my son to his baseball practice and thought I should check my email. I realize that I don't see that unfinished email anywhere. I get a very sinking feeling and decide to look in the sent mail. Of course, in my haste, I had sent it when I had actually meant to delete it. Great.
So, all these feelings are running through my head. I'm such an idiot. How could I have done that? What was I thinking? Come on!?! Now she's going to think I'm some crazy stalker. Great, I have to face her every Wednesday at Bible Study for the whole year! What and IDIOT!
My husband gets home and I shamefully tell him what had happened that day. I even read him the email:
Hi Natalie,
This is Jennie from Bible Study. I wanted to ask you today if you guys are going to go to the Group Link
Sent from my iPhone
That's all it was. He asked me if I had written her back. No, I hadn't had time to try to rectify my stupidity. So, I did. I still haven't heard back from her.
I'm sure it will all be fine. I'm sure it won't be the last time something like that happens. It's just one of the thousands of embarrassing moments in the life of Jennie Denney.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Watermelon Whisperer
I never understood the excitement gardeners had until this summer. My husband built a couple of raised gardening beds in our backyard and we began our journey to try and figure out this whole gardening thing.
We started small with some jalapeno peppers, yellow, red, and green bell peppers and watermelon. Out of all that, we gleaned only 1 jalapeno pepper....and it was the one that was already on the plant when we got it from the store. Yes, it was a disappointing first run.
Sure, it was the hottest summer on record in Texas, and there were the few times I forgot to water the garden, it was still a little deflating. It's ok though, my husband read that the fall growing season in northern Texas is actually one of the better times to grow things, so we tried again. We kept the watermelon, since it still looked like it was growing. We planted everything else by seed which included summer and winter squash, pumpkin, carrots, beans, sunflower, lettuce and a few other trial vegetables.
I noticed one day that the watermelon plant had what looked like a baby watermelon and a flower growing on it. I got very excited and showed my husband. Unfortunately nothing happened. Much to my disappointment, during the next few days, I watched the little guy wither and die.
I did some reading about watermelons and read that #1 there is a shortage of honey bees, so it could be a pollination problem and #2 excessive heat has a tendency to kill off pollen. Then I read up on ways to self pollinate, since that was something I knew I could help with. Next, I waited until another baby watermelon with a flower popped up.
It took a good 3 weeks for this to happen. This morning I looked out my back window after it had rained most of the night, and noticed that there were a few more yellow flowers growing on the watermelon plant than what I had considered "normal". I walk out there, carefully looking over each flower and YEAH! We have a "female flower"! (That's what they call the flowers with the baby watermelon underneath them.) As I talked to the plant excitedly telling it how I had waited and waited for a flower such as this I looked for a "male flower" (the flowers that don't have the baby underneath it) to speed along with the pollination process. I found a really good one who had a ton of pollen and pealed off the petals. I rubbed that pollen all over that female flower like there was no tomorrow! I kept saying, "I want you to be the biggest juiciest watermelon ever! So, come on now, be fruitful before the winter sets in!" As you can see, I really want a watermelon!
I ended up texting my husband the exciting news. I told him about my talking to that little flower and he texted back calling me the "watermelon whisperer". That's when it dawned on me that yes, if we actually get something edible out of this garden, I will enjoy this new hobby. So, we'll see. It is funny how excited gardeners get about their garden...it seems as though I may join this crowd.
We started small with some jalapeno peppers, yellow, red, and green bell peppers and watermelon. Out of all that, we gleaned only 1 jalapeno pepper....and it was the one that was already on the plant when we got it from the store. Yes, it was a disappointing first run.
Sure, it was the hottest summer on record in Texas, and there were the few times I forgot to water the garden, it was still a little deflating. It's ok though, my husband read that the fall growing season in northern Texas is actually one of the better times to grow things, so we tried again. We kept the watermelon, since it still looked like it was growing. We planted everything else by seed which included summer and winter squash, pumpkin, carrots, beans, sunflower, lettuce and a few other trial vegetables.
I noticed one day that the watermelon plant had what looked like a baby watermelon and a flower growing on it. I got very excited and showed my husband. Unfortunately nothing happened. Much to my disappointment, during the next few days, I watched the little guy wither and die.
I did some reading about watermelons and read that #1 there is a shortage of honey bees, so it could be a pollination problem and #2 excessive heat has a tendency to kill off pollen. Then I read up on ways to self pollinate, since that was something I knew I could help with. Next, I waited until another baby watermelon with a flower popped up.
It took a good 3 weeks for this to happen. This morning I looked out my back window after it had rained most of the night, and noticed that there were a few more yellow flowers growing on the watermelon plant than what I had considered "normal". I walk out there, carefully looking over each flower and YEAH! We have a "female flower"! (That's what they call the flowers with the baby watermelon underneath them.) As I talked to the plant excitedly telling it how I had waited and waited for a flower such as this I looked for a "male flower" (the flowers that don't have the baby underneath it) to speed along with the pollination process. I found a really good one who had a ton of pollen and pealed off the petals. I rubbed that pollen all over that female flower like there was no tomorrow! I kept saying, "I want you to be the biggest juiciest watermelon ever! So, come on now, be fruitful before the winter sets in!" As you can see, I really want a watermelon!
I ended up texting my husband the exciting news. I told him about my talking to that little flower and he texted back calling me the "watermelon whisperer". That's when it dawned on me that yes, if we actually get something edible out of this garden, I will enjoy this new hobby. So, we'll see. It is funny how excited gardeners get about their garden...it seems as though I may join this crowd.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Sacrifices
As a mom, there are numerous times where one has to make sacrifices for her children. This morning was one of those mornings.
I received an email from my son's second grade teacher saying he was going to receive an award at their school assembly today. I decided that it would be important to go, since after all, I am his mother.
As I'm packing my two babies into the car to head over to the school, they are both suddenly struck with a case of the grumps. I quickly realize that this may be one of the longest and most inconvenient hours of my life. If my son had not asked me if I was coming and if I had not said yes, I probably would have just said "forget it" and stayed home. But no, I made a promise to my boy and I needed to make sure he knew I was there.
I get to the school and unload the stroller then place the babies in their seats. That's when I realize I have not brought any snacks or anything for my 2-year-old to play with. Wow, this really is going to be a LONG assembly.
Not many people are there at first, so I pick the seat that I think will be the easiest to get out of. Everything is fine for about 5 minutes, then my daughter starts to get bored. Yeah. I'm looking around as other parents are filing in with their well-behaved toddler children and I'm feeling like the only mom that doesn't have anything put together. In about 10 minutes the assembly starts and that's just about the point when my daughter starts screaming and my son starts crying.
After I get a few irritating shushes from the goody-two-shoes fourth grader in front of us, I move to the very back of the room, where I notice a few other moms with younger kids are standing and I figure this looks like a great spot to be. I kept asking myself why on earth I didn't just leave...what kept me there was the smile I got from my son when he saw me.
I happen to stand next to a lady whose son was playing a video game on the floor. While I'm trying to calm the baby, I see her crouch down next to my two-year-old and ask her if she wants to color. My daughter happily says yes, and is given some paper an crayons.
I happily thank the kind lady as she explains that she has two kids close in age like my two youngest, so she's been there. I smile and tell her it was one if those mornings where I just kept asking myself what on earth I was doing there. She smiles back and says she has those days quite often.
It was in that moment that I realized that my attitude was the one that was the rotten one. Yes I was miserable. Yes my two kids were horrible...but in the end, none of it was about us. It was about being there for my second grader. It was about showing him that I loved him and supported him no matter what. Talk about God showing up and shining a light on a very ugly part of my heart!
I know that there will probably be so many more uncomfortable and inconvenient situations I'm thrown into as a mother. I just hope and pray that I am reminded that none of it is about me. It's about my children knowing that they are loved and that we are proud of them.
I received an email from my son's second grade teacher saying he was going to receive an award at their school assembly today. I decided that it would be important to go, since after all, I am his mother.
As I'm packing my two babies into the car to head over to the school, they are both suddenly struck with a case of the grumps. I quickly realize that this may be one of the longest and most inconvenient hours of my life. If my son had not asked me if I was coming and if I had not said yes, I probably would have just said "forget it" and stayed home. But no, I made a promise to my boy and I needed to make sure he knew I was there.
I get to the school and unload the stroller then place the babies in their seats. That's when I realize I have not brought any snacks or anything for my 2-year-old to play with. Wow, this really is going to be a LONG assembly.
Not many people are there at first, so I pick the seat that I think will be the easiest to get out of. Everything is fine for about 5 minutes, then my daughter starts to get bored. Yeah. I'm looking around as other parents are filing in with their well-behaved toddler children and I'm feeling like the only mom that doesn't have anything put together. In about 10 minutes the assembly starts and that's just about the point when my daughter starts screaming and my son starts crying.
After I get a few irritating shushes from the goody-two-shoes fourth grader in front of us, I move to the very back of the room, where I notice a few other moms with younger kids are standing and I figure this looks like a great spot to be. I kept asking myself why on earth I didn't just leave...what kept me there was the smile I got from my son when he saw me.
I happen to stand next to a lady whose son was playing a video game on the floor. While I'm trying to calm the baby, I see her crouch down next to my two-year-old and ask her if she wants to color. My daughter happily says yes, and is given some paper an crayons.
I happily thank the kind lady as she explains that she has two kids close in age like my two youngest, so she's been there. I smile and tell her it was one if those mornings where I just kept asking myself what on earth I was doing there. She smiles back and says she has those days quite often.
It was in that moment that I realized that my attitude was the one that was the rotten one. Yes I was miserable. Yes my two kids were horrible...but in the end, none of it was about us. It was about being there for my second grader. It was about showing him that I loved him and supported him no matter what. Talk about God showing up and shining a light on a very ugly part of my heart!
I know that there will probably be so many more uncomfortable and inconvenient situations I'm thrown into as a mother. I just hope and pray that I am reminded that none of it is about me. It's about my children knowing that they are loved and that we are proud of them.
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