Almost Amish Chapter 4 and 5

Chapter four is all about Nature.
Time spent in God's creation reveals the face of God.

With all the electronics we have now a days that just suck our minutes away as fast as possible ...it is quite evident that we don't get outside as much as we should. I love to just sit outside. Just sit. I am so glad that I have my daughter used to just going outside..for no reason...just to be out there. Especially on a day like today ...it is beautiful outside today!

I am one that loves old abandoned buildings and houses...that just screams history to me. I love to look at them..study them. See what life was like back then.

I have also always wanted to have my own garden.
A quote from Nancy Sleeth says "Living off the land is a daily reminder of God's gifts"
So true..I would love to have a garden...but I can't even keep an aloe vera plan alive in my kitchen. I will definately have to increase my prayer life to take care of a garden!

This fall season I plan on taking Lyla out for picnics. What is more fun than a picnic for dinner? Pack up some sandwhiches..go to the park...or a look out from a cliff ..eat...relax.

Chapter five was about Simplicity!
Really..don't we all need more of that in our lives!

Simplicity really only takes staying local. Support your local neighborhood. I know things might be a little more expensive in your local area...but sometimes it isn't worth the gas to drive out of town to get whatever you need. Buy from farmers markets...small mom and pop shops....direct sales ladies that you know. All those people are trying to make a living for their family. Wal Mart could care less about my daughters dance classes or piano lessons and if I buy coffee creamer from there..all it is going to is the CEO's pocketbook. Nah! I ...from here on out...will definately make a conscious decision to stay local.

How many of you know your direct neighbor that lives beside you?
Sad... I don't. Now the one on the left of me..just moved in not to long ago..and seems to work alot so I hardly ever see them. The other one was recently divorced..but maybe now fixing things..and I just don't wanna bother. I don't want to bother either one of them actually. I know they don't know me..because we have never talked besides the curteious Hi .... Hello...

I plan on leaving them something this Halloween though..maybe that will be a conversation starter....hee hee...more to come on that!

Almost Amish: Chapter 3

Hello!

Remember that book I was reading called Almost Amish?

It has been a while since I reviewed a chapter...but here we go again!

If you have been following along here is the Introduction ,  Chapter One ,   Chapter Two

Chapter 3 is about Finances

I really didn't want to read this chapter because I am so sick of thinking about finances. Now that my husband has decided to join the Air Force our financial situation will change drastically...that stresses me. I don't like change. I know that before it gets better we will have go through a drought...and I just want to skip that part.

I so desperately want to start my own preschool ...but to start a business you need finances...more than you would need on a regular basis.

The topic statement of this chapter is:
Saving more and spending less bring financial peace.

Easier said than done.

**Stuff
~Do I wish my home was less cluttered?
All the time. I am pretty good about getting rid of stuff...so I don't consider my house to cluttered. I am actually in an organizational challenge with the blog A Bowl Full of Lemons. Go to this post to read about it.

~Do I have to many clothes?
Yes I do. I have alot of clothes but not all of them fit. Some are "one day" clothes...some are "those days" clothes.

**Debt and Spending
Do you own a credit card and have credit card debt?
We have never nor will we ever own a credit card. We do finance but only on big purchases such as our house or a car.

Do you pay tithes?
I don't want to cross anyone's religion but my belief is that you are supposed to pay tithes to church that you want to support. My husband and I discuss tithing all the time. Let's just say we don't see eye to eye.

I do want to learn more about retirement plans, COD's, IRA's, FEMAEIAAK's....OMG! All that confuses me!! I'm like a two year old in college when it comes to that stuff.

**Spending
I am not a big shopper...
my husband on the other hand.....is
Mainly for outdoor stuff...but he is a shopper...moreso than I am

Do you buy presents out of guilt or obligation?
Well of course...if you go to a birthday party...you have to take a gift. But the gift doesn't have to break your bank account. You could actually make a gift that would mean just as much!

Here's a thought...
How many times have you look for something and couldn't find it....so you just went out and bought another one?
Guilty!

That is what made me start decluttering and organizing..if everything has a place..less things would be lost.  That way we only buy what we NEED!

I love that in the Amish community instead of gifts of material things...family and friends go over and help paint thier new home. If someone loses a job their neighbor shares their garden produce with them. And all that would work..if your neighbor with no job doesn't start taking advantage of you...which ...sad to say...happens all the time now a days.

How often do you think of your finances?
Me..ALL THE TIME!
All the time...when you think of something all the time ..it quickly becomes an idol of worship. Money succumbs my mind, my thoughts, before I do anything we check the bank account.

Jesus should succumb my mind, my thoughts..before I go anywhere I should pray and check my bible for insight.

Should...
but it doesn't work that way

This is another "discussion" among my husband and I about our tithes...
I say jump in blind...tithe..and let God provide.
If we have to sell our house and downsize ...then it was in God's will and we will be moving forward to something he has planned.
My realist husband said we can't afford to tithe...
but if we don't give God a situation to prove to us he will provide..how will we ever be able to lean on him to provide?

another post
another time
moving on

Be honest with yourself..
Grab a notebook and a pen
Walk around your house from room to room
and just jot down the things you don't need
I said NEED
not have to HAVE because Big Brother is an awesome TV show that I HAVE to watch (which comes on in an hour and a half) ..or I HAVE to get on facebook so I have to HAVE the internet

We don't NEED a TV
or the antique sewing machine that doesn't work
the camoflauge recliner
the extra computer desk
the four hundreth strawberry shortcake doll

We need family...
We need support...
We need food...
water...
shelter
maybe a little chocolate...you know for blood sugar purposes....

anyway..I have realized reading this chapter...
I have a lot of luxuries
I have all my necessities

God has supplied ALL my NEEDS

We own alot of stuff...and don't even enjoy it.

Chores...Do your children do chores? Do they have a chart? Do they get a reward?
Amish kids are expected to help around the house
Lyla doesn't have chores.
Set chores that she is made to do every day..
She is asked to help..and she is expected to do as she is asked..with no reward but a simple "Thank You" and love.
I don't want her to dread chores. I don't want her to dread housekeeping..I want her to enjoy keeping her home when she is older..I want her to know that I do those things to honor my husband and her. I do those things out of love to make thier lives easier.

The statement that stuck out to me most in this chapter is :
The goal is to make a living; not make a killing.

Be happy with what you have!
And think before you buy your next thing that will sit in your house and take up your energy to dust it or move it from room to room.

Follow along with others as we discuss this book over at Crimson to Wool with Rachel..who is fixing to turn 32..hop over there and wish her a wonderful birthday!!

Almost Amish: Chapter Two

Technology serves as a tool and does not rule as a master.

I knew this chapter was going to hit home for me. So bear with me on this one..it might be lengthy!
Take into consideration that I am talking about me and my utter failures with technology. I don't know how much time you spend in front of this screen...but I do know how much time I do and that is all I can speak for..so please don't hate me if I hit a few touchy subjects.






This first thing Nancy talks about is two types of people:
List makers
Non list makers

I am so...so ...so a list maker. I make lists for everything.
Grocery lists
To do lists
Blog lists
Craft lists
To buy lists
List for the future
Cleaning lists


I am big into lists!

She made a list of things she loves and hates about technology...and they were exactly the same. So while technology can be a great tool...We need to harness it and not let it take over so much time in our lives. Now ..I am by no means getting on a soap box...because I am tremendously guilty of that myself..hence the pile of laundry sitting next to me in the floor.

Just sitting here thinking of the websites I love to visit daily is overwhelming. I have a list of favorites that is probably a mile long!

We all know the Amish are famously known for NOT having Internet. I challenge you and myself to set a timer by your computer or use this viciously cute one and see how fast an hour goes by while your surfing, pinning, tweeting, posting, or facebooking.

Ha! Believe me..it goes by SUPER fast!

The Amish are onto something..that hour spent in front of a screen..could have been an hour walking with my daughter, organizing a closet, finding a new recipe...etc.

No cable TV means less time devoted to empty pursuits.

So true..while we are watching TV..nothing is getting done. Then you have to think..is what you are watching on TV God-worthy? Should you be watching....in front of your children? I was very convicted when I was watching a Real Housewives of ..whatever city..I love them all!! ..and of course all of them are arguing...then I find myself getting onto my daughter for backtalking me and slamming a door. Hmm? Wonder where she picked that up from?

One of my fave TV shows is Big Brother..which is on now..so there is NO way we are giving up cable..unless times get hard..which is a possibility..plus football season is coming up so my husband would sell a kidney to keep our cable on! Seriously.

Watching Big Brother..where there are a group of people living in a house with cameras all around them..got me thinking if we aren't all living in a Big Brother world. We have Google Earth and satellites that take pictures.

Have you noticed that when you post on Facebook that the ads on the right side of your screen somehow coincide with your latest post?
Weird.

The moment we post, tweet, or surf..we are letting go a little bit more of our own privacy. On my blog I have Googly Analytic..I know how many people look at this site..from where in the world they are and on what device they used to see it. Scary!

I love that Nancy mentioned that we have "iGods"
I kind of agree with that.
Is that what my computer is to me?
a man made God

Do we sit down to worship at its altar more than we sit down to worship our God in his Word or by praying? That is a scary thought to me..probably because it is hitting kinda close to home.
How are we supposed to know what God wants for our lives...or how he plans on finishing the work he started in us...if we are to busy multi-tasking to sit and listen...to just be a Human...Being...instead of a Human ...Doing!

No wonder we see more ADD now a days...Goodness Gracious..sometimes I feel like I have ADD because my mind is always going..hence the lists. I am not an expert on ADD nor do I know what it feels like to have it...but Oh My Word...I could not imagine! If the way my mind feels doesn't have ADD..then I can't imagine what a child's mind goes through if they have it.

All the things we have now to keep our minds busy....How in the world would expect a child to sit still and listen at school? And now..our schools are adopting the technology..which is definitely what they needed to do to get the kids to sit and listen...because just hearing an adult talk..does no good if you aren't a video game or dressed in costume being crazy.

I'm not saying NO TV!
NO VIDEO GAMES!
ONLY BOOKS!!!!

But I am saying
LESS TV
LESS VIDEO GAMES
MORE BOOKS...MORE PLAYING OUTSIDE....MORE IMAGINATIVE TOYS!
at least at my house

The same goes for me...
Less TV for me...
more sitting in the chair reading a chapter book with Lyla

Less computer for me
more sidewalk chalk on the driveway





I gotta tip my hat to Rachel over at Crimson to Wool..She was one of those who had a blog..had TONS of followers...did the whole conference and stuff...she was famous in the blogging world. I read her blog all the time...but one day she decided that she needed to step back.
So she quit.
Quit blogging
Quit Facebook
Quit it all...
wow!

Number one:
How strong and awesome it is to step back and say, "I'm done!"
and to know yourself enough to know that it is time to take a techno break.

Number two:
How scary it is to have built your blog up to that status level...and just leave it!
But are we taking our blogs and words with us to Heaven?
I'm pretty sure I'll be speechless when I get there...

But now that she has come back to the blogging world...I can tell a difference in her writing. She writes for a purpose...You can "hear" her in the words on screen.

It is hard ..now that "everyone is doing it" to take that step back. We all get caught up in "being in the know" ...that's borderline gossip. We don't always have to know what each other is doing at all times.

I remember being so mad when I would call my friend and her phone was busy. So I had to ride my bike up there to talk to her...because I knew she was home because she was on her phone. When is the last time you got a busy signal? Ha Ha! When is the last time you just went to someones house...without calling the home, cell and texting them to see if they are home so you don't waste your time?

Just Go!
If they aren't home..leave them a note saying you stopped by.
It will mean something!

In this world..I am teaching my daughter that it is not good manners to have your cell phone out during dinner....to not text while driving or talking. Oh how I long to just teach her to say "Yes ma'am"and use "Please and Thank You"
That is crazy! No sane person would disagree with that!

Yet I have an iPhone that makes social networking and the Internet..readily available to me at any time. Pitiful! It might sound hypocritical of me to be posting this post while I have a Facebook account, I blog, I have an iPhone..but please remember..that this is hitting home for ME...I am not just preaching at you all out there...this is me taking an inner look into our lives at our Home and seeing some major and subtle changes that I can make. There is a statement that really hit my heart in this chapter:

"(Technology isn't) bad...but not necessary. And not centered on anyone but myself"

Ouch!

I struggle with the fact that I let her play on my iPhone during church. (Which is about to stop) We will take toys...which we do...to play with ..but somehow we always get back to the convenience of the iPhone. If she is sucked into technology..she isn't hearing the preacher preach. I know she is only four..and she will not understand half of what the preacher says but it will be in her little brain and will come out eventually.

One night when we were saying our prayers..she prayed for our government
Which directly comes from our pastor telling us to pray for our government...so even though she is playing and not paying attention...she is hearing a few bits and pieces.

Sometimes I get picked at for making my child be quiet while two adults are talking. But that is something that I will stand by. She knows that if it is an emergency...like she has to potty or hurting..etc...then interrupt. But if I am talking to another adult..she is to wait her turn and not interrupt. I think that teaches her manners...respect for adults...and it keeps this world ran by adults..not the children.

"Social media is quickly become unsocial means of communication"

Isn't communication a mean of being social? hmm?
Social: seeking or enjoying the companionship of others;
Companionship isn't an emoticon :)


I know this was very LONG...and I am so sorry..but I warned that when I am passionate about something...it all just spills out!

 Next chapter is over Finances..that one might hurt a little too!

These first two chapters weren't long at all..or they didn't seem long to me...so feel free to join in anytime!! I would love to hear what others think...
and don't forget to stop by Rachel's blog at Crimson to Wool to see hers and others thoughts on this chapter.