Homemade Detergent!!!

As a stay at home mom I am always trying to find away to be more frugal with our finances...So my newest way that I thought I would try would be to take on cloth diapers I was given! Yes given Praise the Lord they can be very expensive to buy but a wonderful friend of mine gave them to me! I am hoping it goes as planned and I am able to use this set up at least until he is six months. Then I might be able to get some from my nurse at the pediatrician office! She and I were talking and she said she would give me hers! God is truly so good to us! Ok so my newest thing apart from using cloth diapers was to make my own laundry detergent! Yes you heard me right....the detergent you are told to buy for cloth diapers is soo expensive $17.00 for detergent I think not!!! So here it is: and below I listed the recipe for it if you choose to make it yourself!

So I am no expert I checked out other sites. Some say to use borax but I didn't Walmart was out and I heard baking soda does the same thing plus it is gentler on the skin. Since I am mainly using this for my cloth diapers here is what I did for my own soap I think you could tweak it any way you wanted just using these ingredients.

1/2 bar fels naptha soap (97 cents)

2 cups baking soda (around $2.50)

2 cups super washing soda (around $3.00)

Depending on how it cleans I might add more of the bar soap but I don't want to make it harsh on Zane's skin and since I am the one making it I figure I will make it more gentle the first go round. I will up date you!

Most sites that I found use this recipe:

1 bar Fels Naptha Soap

1/2 cup borax or baking soda

1 cup super washing soda

or

Equal parts of these three ingredients

Super Washing Soda

Borax or Baking Soda

Sun Oxi Clean Powder

Five Minute Friday: Balance



Balance is hard to accomplish but possible if we have our priorities strait.

Understanding the true value of time and not letting it slip away into regrets.

Rising early and finishing well in all that you have set your mind to for the days tasks.

Giving of yourself to the people the Lord has given in your life.

Not allowing things to get away from you such as laundry and dishes my two hated tasks! Catching up is harder to do than just staying on top of these tasks.

Taking time for your kids to spend quality time not necessarily a quantity of time: the quality matters.

Being faithful in your time with the Lord brings all things into a balance. I believe the Lord protects your balance of life if you keep Him first.

Lord help me not to rob myself of a healthy balance of life. Help me to be the wife, mother, and friend that I ought to be. Help me to rise early and take advantage of the time I am given.

Jealous Much!!!

At one point in your life we have all struggled with this harsh truth; we can be a very jealous people! This starts at a very young age believe me I know I already watch my 5 year old daughter and 3 year old daughter deal with this. They already compare dresses and hair bows at church with their friends. Unfortunately they have inherited with that sinful nature. It's one that they will struggle with their whole life but can be overcome through the Lord.

Jealousy let's babble for a few...I wish I had her hair it's so strait..I wish I had a husband like hers, he is so thoughtful...If only my children were that well behaved...Wouldn't it be nice to have a house like that one...Look at their new car if only we could have one like that...She has the best body I want it too...She always looks so good why can't I....I wish I had her character mine is so not what I want it to be I wish I was quiet and meek all the time....!!!! Do you see people where we go wrong?!?!

1. We are comparing ourselves to others. Be humble!

     II Corinthians 10:12
For we dare not make ourselves the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they that measure themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
    
     Philippians 2:3
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

2. We are struggling with these three things; The lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life! Keep your eyes on the Lord, do  not give into the fleshly desires, and again stay humble do not be proud we are nothing without Christ.

      I John 2:15-16
Love not the world neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world , the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes,  and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world.

3.  Be content with what you have and who you are in Christ Jesus. Remember that Jesus had no place to lay his head but still came to the Earth to endure the cross. That in Him we would become the sons and daughters the Almighty God.
     
     Philippians 4:11-13
Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
     
      Hebrews 13:5
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.

      II Corinthians 6:18
And I will be a Father unto you and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

I pray you will let God minister to you with the words from the Bible the book of life! I only shared a few scriptures with you here but after this little study I am sure I could write a book on this very subject and take so much scripture with it. This was a blessing for me to search out in my own heart and I pray it will be a blessing to you as well.

A few thoughts to leave you with to ponder on...When you are thinking within yourself that this sin of jealousy might be puffing up within you cling to these words and write them upon your heart.

     II Corinthians 10:3-6
For though we walk in the flesh we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of out warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

I like that part obedience is fulfilled it paints the end of the picture; obedience: we as Christians should strive to have an obedient spirit and not one of rebellion. But we must realize our battle is spiritual and that if we take it to the Lord and not let our mind wander in its sinful state; we will get victory! I pray victory for  anyone reading this. Apply these scriptures to your life and I know the Lord will work in and through you to achieve victory in this area of your life.

God Bless

Chelsie

God's timing and will

I received the Lord Jesus into my heart at the age of six years old but didn't always live like it. I am thankful to the Lord for never giving up on me and drawing me back to Himself time and time again.

Phil 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ

From what I have observe since I surrendered my life to being faithful to the Lord back in 2004. The Lord's timing and will usually has a way about it that you might say within yourself "really Lord?" I know this is true in my own life. I know this was true about meeting my husband. I had just come out of an unhealthy relationship and within three weeks of that the Lord brought my husband before me. Out of no where here he was and the Lord made it so clear to me that Scott was the one He had for me. God has done this many many times in my life. A funny one I can think of is when I went to my pastor and told him there was a need for a nursery ministry within our church. He gave me the responsibility of doing it. That was more than 5 years ago now. I wasn't expecting that in expressing a need I would be the one given the opportunity to fill it. If any of you reading this have ever been involved in the nursery ministry you know why I found this one funny! Nursery ministry especially coordinating it can be very very trying...it is not an easy ministry to take on. But you grow through it and I know that is why the Lord pressed it upon my pastors heart to allow me that ministry. Like I had mentioned in a previous post I was anxious to be a pastor's wife and I was like this about other ministry opportunities. I so badly wanted to be given the opportunity to teach a Sunday school class. Well it wasn't until the Lord  had taken my Pastor and my Dad to heaven that I was given this opportunity. A short three weeks after my Dad had passed I was asked to fill in as the Sunday school teacher for a woman within our church who was very ill. She ended up passing and I inherited it full time. This was very unexpected to me but I knew the Lord was in it because He was preparing my heart for a lesson on the Lord being in the details of our life. He was working on me three days prior to my being called upon to filling that class teacher position. I felt overwhelmed that I needed to share it with someone and didn't know who until I was called that Sunday morning.

I am seeing a pattern in this three week thing...I just noticed it! I guess we might see if any other huge event change in my life will bring a new opportunity within 3 weeks LOL.....See always thinking ahead but no on a serious note; I am thankful to the Lord for allowing me the opportunities He has to serve Him but I am also happy that He hasn't allowed me anything until I was prepared and ready for it. I would have messed many things up if I were to rush into new opportunities! I am always full of new ideas to help the ladies ministries within our church but the Lord hasn't allowed yet so I will continue to wait on His perfect timing! He will make it a beautiful thing if He wills it!

I thank you Lord for your perfect will and your perfect timing! I also thank you that you work in this  body of clay and you are refining it for your perfect will. I surrender all!



1. All to Jesus I surrender;
   All to Him I freely give;
   I will ever love and trust Him,
   In His presence daily live.
   
   • Refrain:
     I surrender all,
     I surrender all;
     All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
     I surrender all.
2. All to Jesus I surrender;
   Humbly at His feet I bow,
   Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
   Take me, Jesus, take me now.
3. All to Jesus I surrender;
   Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
   Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
   Truly know that Thou art mine.
4. All to Jesus I surrender;
   Lord, I give myself to Thee;
   Fill me with Thy love and power;
   Let Thy blessing fall on me.
5. All to Jesus I surrender;
   Now I feel the sacred flame.
   Oh, the joy of full salvation!
   Glory, glory, to His Name!

Close to the heart

A blog title can define you as a person. If you are one of my readers you have noticed I changed my title. This is me...these two things define the greatest part of who I am. I wanted my title of my blog to be real and completely transparent. No doubting about what you are going to get from when you are reading on my page. I am hoping to get my page more organized and have topics under certain tabs so you are able to see what I have placed the topics under and click on them too see all the post under that topic. I would really love to turn this blog into a place where people can come and relate to me as a forgiven sinner, a wife, a homemaker, a homeschooling mother, and most of all just a real person with a real life. A real life with it's ups and downs. With real issues concerning marriage, child rearing, homeschooling, organizing and caring for your home, and most of all attempting to do this with christian integrity.

The Lord is using things in my life right now in such a way I feel the urge to share it. I hope that in sharing it it is a blessing to someone. My title A Preacher's Wife and a Homemaker was inspired of the Lord. God really laid it heavy on my heart the other day that even though my husband has not been yet called to pastor a church, he is a preacher. My husband has known for years that he is called to preach and has been given much opportunity to do so but has not been yet called to a church. Currently our church is without a "pastor". My husband has been filling the pulpit a lot since last February and along side of that he is in search for the man that God has called to be the pastor of our current church. My husband is filling the roll of the pulpit committee chairman and we know that is the reason the Lord still has us at our church.

The past year has been a huge growth period for myself. I could go on and on and tell you of much that I have learned but the one thing I can say without a shadow of a doubt I have learned is to not be eager to be a "pastor's wife". If I could only paint a picture to tell you how eager I have been knowing he has been called to be a pastor and that we were still stuck here! Haha or that is how it felt! I was always so ready to get out of here for anything...for college...just about anything that was somewhat exciting I was ready to go. Sign me up just get me on with this whole ministry thing already. LOL I was the furthest thing from ready for the ministry. My eagerness should have been the first sign of it. It wasn't until my husband was placed into the opportunity of full time ministry. I say opportunity because it was unexpected and a little unorganized in the way it came about. As I said before my husband was called to be the chairman of the pulpit committee well while he was called on to do that he was also asked by the pulpit committee to fill the roles that an interim pastor would do. So my husband took that on also and it has been a great way for the Lord to prepare us for our futures in the ministry. I know my husband has learned things and I also had my fair share of learning experiences.

Lesson #1 Don't be eager it's a lot of responsibility
Lesson#2 Trust in the Lord's timing and provision
Lesson #3 Pick your battles and keep a quiet tongue
Lesson# 4 Continue to be real with yourself and the people around you (even if you are the pastor's wife you are still human with faults and all; and no your children do not have to be perfect)
Lesson #5 Don't dwell on the people at church that try to break your spirit and yes there will be a few probably the ones you least expect. Go read Psalms and remember how God fought the battles for David many times.
Lesson#6 Don't share worries with your husband go to the Lord. He has enough to handle and doesn't need any distractions from doing God's perfect will. God will be faithful to you in this!
Lesson# 7 Ask for prayer from others outside of the church and take comfort in their fellowship.
Lesson # 8 Cling to the Word of God and allow Him to minister to you in all aspects of life be willing to forsake all and take things that come your way in faith.
Lesson# 9 Pray very fervently for your husband.
Lesson # 10 Pray for the church and love the people.

The last three of these are the most important. Without the Lord any ministry is impossible but with the Lord it is bearable and you can even find much joy in it seeing the Lord's faithfulness along the way!  This list will continue to grow throughout the years and I will continue to be thankful to the Lord for His patience with me and His guidance along the way!

I hope you are as excited about the future of this blog and the ministry that lies before us.

GOD BLESS

Chelsie

Lessons in being a preachers wife

Hey y'all

Sorry it's been so long been sifting through emotions and life in general. You all know how life gets overwhelming well I have been choosing to not let it define me. I choose to not let it have an effect on the peace of my home and well being of my children or my husband for that matter.

Anyone who knows me knows I am the typical woman with somewhat raging hormones. I am a cryer. I cry at the drop of a hat. I cry when I am sad, angry, concerned, or happy...You name it I when overcome with emotion (usually any type)I end up crying. Some say it can be a weekness but I know God made me this way and Pastor Bode told me to never lose my tears. I think as a pastor they were an encouragement to him. :) God still working in the heart of people.  In saying that it brings me to the reason I write in the few short minutes I have.

God is still working on me!.... Trials, changes, and trust they all come together in the end. Our faith has to be excercised Scott preached on this the other day. I praise the Lord that He is excercising my faith...even though it is difficult and much like excercise it is straining. God is using this straining in my life to mold me into the wife and mother that I need to be for my family! I have areas the Lord is specifically working on and I can pin point them quite clear thanks to the Lord revealing them to me.  I am to trust the Lord with my future concering my husband. I am to be calm and gentle when speaking to my children and show them love in action rather than just words. I am to forsake all for His cause. When saying this it means really giving it all over to Him. This includes my family immediate and extended, my desires, my body, material things, financial things, my children, homeschooling, praying for my husband like I ought to; you name it the list goes on and on. But I know daily I am to give it all over to the Lord and not take it back up in my hands.  When I think about the possible next steps in our life I am to give it to Him and ask Him for his perfect will. Also I must stop my thoughts so I can allow God to work in His way and that way I don't put my own thoughts into trying to have an effect on His perfect will.

God is showing me that He has alot of work to do on me as a future pastor's wife. I know as much as my husband is called to be a pastor to the church the Lord would give us in the future; I am to be the wife to my husband that a pastor needs. There will be many life lessons from here on out my prayer is to be obedient to the Lord and have open ears to hear His will.

....but not forgotten

It's difficult times in life that you wonder who really cares, who really understands, who is going to be there in this time of need because they truly just want to be a comfort to me. My heavenly Father does. Difficult times or trials we could call them are just a nasty distraction from Satan.  Ultimately as a christian you have to evaluate is this from God or from Satan. Has God been using me in any significant way?....Well yes He has and that is what Satan wants to pull me away from with these distractions. God has been using me in many ways to encourage others, to be a true friend to the people He has given me, to be the wife and mother I need to be for my family. Some of this may seem small but to the Lord I think they are quite important and that is why Satan was at such a work to get me off course. Well to God be the glory I will not waste another day! I will in His power bring glory to His name. I wasted yesterday but not today the time is short and there is much to do. There are many people who may not be clinging to the Lord and they need to see Jesus at work in my life so they have hope in their Saviour. My goodness to think I could continue on and be dishonour to my Lord what a shame. Thank you Jesus for speaking so clear during our quiet time! I thank you that you never leave me or forsake me. I thank you Jesus that you weren't concerned about your own self when you endured the cross for me. Lord help me to continue on help me to keep my eyes on you. Lord please give me the strength to be the wife and mother you would have me to be. Lord I praise you with all my heart for your goodness.

Fill my cup Lord

I lift it up Lord  

Come and quench this thirsting of my soul

Bread of heaven feed me till I want no more

Fill me up Fill me up and make me WHOLE

Broken

I continue to watch my life unravel...I have never felt more uncertain about my life or the life of the people I love that surround me. The last year by far has been one of my hardest battles in my life. I keep trying to let this roll off me and come to the conclusion that it will all be ok and I tell myself it's ok it's going to be fine when deep down I feel more hurt than I ever have before. I can't sleep at night and when I do the nights are so restless and it's not because the baby is waking me. It's the stress of life that is keeping me from rest. I thought I had seen the worst of my battle in life last year with the death of two very important love ones but I guess I was wrong. It's like the worst part is starting all over again and I am reliving that sorrow all over again but it is intensified times 100. I didn't think it could hurt so much but I guess I was wrong. It's not getting better grieving hasn't slowed down. If anything it's more at the surface now than ever. I can't fix this, I don't know how to continue on with a chin up everyday. I am beginning to think I really don't want to. Some days I feel nothing goes right and it's all I can do to just accomplish the basic tasks of life while all the while being deeply emotionally disconnected from it all. Its like I check out on the emotional side of it all and somewhat even try to slough off logic to make it seem like things are really ok. I feel like I am on the verge of a a breaking point in my life now more than ever. I think irrational thoughts that would have never entered my mind before. I am seeing myself slip away from what I know I should be, not because I want to but I think it's a way of coping with what is going on. I don't know how to face issues head on and have even become upset over little thing when I shouldn't. I can't fix this. God I really can't fix this and I don't know how to even ask for you to begin to work but I know I have an intercessor  and Jesus I need your help now more than ever because I feel hopeless. Please hear my cry.

Picture update

Bulldog bum!

Faith got my camera the following are her work!

The famous five! The girl's favorite stuffed animals!

A sweet picture of Madilynne that Faith took.

Happy swinging!

One Month photo!

Looking at daddy while he gets rocked in daddy's chair.

Justice's first haircut she is too adorable!

They love Grandma Jodie they all had to set on her! It was sweet!

6 weeks old already! Still fits in his coming home outfit but it is getting snug!

So precious those cheeks, lips, and bright eyes!

Let's do the cousin cuddle!

So precious sleeping on his belly!

This was to precious not to share!

So Saturday is one of my posting days so I will leave you with some pictures because I will be too busy on my getaway to care about posting a blog :) So hope you enjoyed!

Five Minute Friday: ~A Getaway~

A Getaway

Taking in a deep breath and exhaling to feel renewed in the greatest sense of your being.

Feeling as if you are on a beach out in the islands but really just being alone with yourself.

A peace that washes over your mind and soul to rest and let the worries roll of your chest.

A sense of freedom but not caring to go anywhere or be in a rush.

Taking time to really enjoy God's goodness.

Allowing yourself to reflect on your life and view it with fresh eyes.

Removing anxiety from your thoughts and casting them far far from you.

I think getaways are so necessary especially for mothers. Even if you can't actually getaway just take a drive look at a pretty sunset or stare off into the evening sky but allow yourself to imagine you are in your ideal environment and let your mind be free to release stress, anxiety, and troubling thoughts. You will come away refreshed and a better person if even for a little while.

Be Blessed~ Chelsie