Faith Filled Life Archives - Faith Filled Food for Moms

Pinterest–11 Tips for Not Letting Pinterest Dictate the Value of Your Worth?

June 5, 2013 by Shari Lynne 6 Comments

You know this is one of those posts that I’ve just GOT to write..because it’s buggin me so much… are you one of those that are letting Pinterest dictate the value of your worth? Are you losing your self esteem over Pinterest?

The other day I was watching my local news and was so surprised to hear this “news” story come up about Pinterest…What?..news about Pinterest?…I love Pinterest… The “news” story was about how some people are just getting too stressed out about Pinterest and how it made them feel like less than a Mom, Wife, Crafter…or whatever.

The point was that women were not feeling like they are measuring up to the standards of all of the beautifulness that Pinterest displays! The newscast even promoted a new website that posts and displays all of the epic fails that have been tried and failed from Pins on the Pinterest site to counteract these so called “perfect” Pins that are making these women feel so inadequate.

At first I thought…WHAT?! Why are people making fun of all the hard work that other pinners and creators have gone to, to create a wonderful, helpful, fun, crafty or inspirational post for others to try and enjoy.

I would feel really bad if someone tried one of my ..let’s say recipes and failed at it and then posted it on that site as a “fail” so that others would not want to give it a go.

So my beef is this about that…Don’t we try things all the time and fail? I mean that is how we learn…right?! I haven’t done anything perfectly the first time…If I posted all my fails at recipes…my family will tell you..I would have a whole blog..just about THAT! LOL!!

Pinterest is actually a pretty new platform. It’s only been around for a couple of years and in that time it has exploded with popularity. I’ve found it funny the reactions that I get when I talk to people about it. It’s either..”I love it! I’m addicted!” or “I hate it! I feel inadequate and overwhelmed!”

One of my older daughters, who is very creative and crafty said a while back.. “I get overwhelmed..so many fun things, but I don’t have time to do even half of the things I find..so I don’t go on there anymore because I get depressed that I can’t get all of the cool things done!”

That really surprised me because she is so creative! So I thought maybe I would just give a little encouragement…

11 tips that will help you to enjoy Pinterest rather than letting it dictate the value of your worth:

Don’t compare yourself to others! Ha..that’s original isn’t it. We all know this..but somehow when poking around all the beauty on Pinterest we forget…
Use common sense. I mean C’mon…Some of those beautiful pins are done by professional people. Whether Bakers, Cooks, Crafters…these are very talented people that have been doing this for years and have perfected their craft. That doesn’t mean you can’t try it…but lower your expectations the first several try’s.
Just because you have a “fail” doesn’t mean you should give up!!
Enjoy the beauty! Encourage others for their beautiful work and you will feel much better. The words we think and speak have A LOT to do with the way we feel about ourselves…be an encourager!
Just plain allow yourself to fail. It doesn’t mean you are a “fail”ure.. “It is better to make a thousand failures than to be too cowardly to ever undertake anything.” by Clovis G Chappell
Before you log into your Pinterest account..have a little plan. Ask yourself the following questions: What exactly am I looking for? A recipe, a craft idea, gardening..whatever..just stay focused. It’s when you don’t stay focused that things get overwhelming and then we can’t even remember what we pinned where and how can we make all this cool stuff and….you know..”I’m a loser” thinking comes in.
Rather than just pinning and running…go to the actual website. Take a minute to poke around and get to know the person that actually first made that project and pinned that beautiful pin..You know what you will find? A real live person that will probably be the first to admit that they are NOT perfect! HA!
Remember…Pinterest is there for YOU. It is not a tool or platform to manipulate YOU into doing what it wants…like a cell phone..YOU are in charge of whether you answer it or not…right!? Well Pinterest is the same way..just because there are a million different cool things to do on there…YOU are in charge of how much time you spend..what projects you pin and choose to try.
Set a timer! If you haven’t found a recipe or project in a certain amount of time..get off and find inspiration elsewhere…it’s really ok..
Let’s face it…there are lots of reasons why some women have more time to spend doing these projects than others….the list could go on…there are different seasons at different times in life…you just gotta accept that
Accept yourself! You are who God created you to be and that is PERFECTLY YOU! Don’t try to be someone else. You have value because you are who you are! YAY! You have value because you are valuable not because of the projects you do.

Oh and here is a bonus tip! LOL Relax and enjoy life, Pinterest and each other!

Feel free to save this printable or share if you like!

Ok now that I’ve gotten that off of my chest, feel free to follow me on Pinterest HA and try a few of my pins…you don’t really have to..but I thought ..hey why not…LOL if you do, then come tell me how you did after taking into consideration my 11 tips for not letting Pinterest dictate the value of your worth!

Linking up with: All Things Thursday, Raising Homemakers, Hearts for Home, Proverbs 31 Thursdays, Titus 2 Tuesday

Filed Under: Blogging, Faith Filled Life, Growing: Faith Filled Devotions Tagged With: blogging, crafts, encouragement, Pinterest

My Organized Closet Remodel Idea

April 19, 2013 by Shari Lynne 6 Comments

Well Spring is in the air here in the Pacific Northwest…the days of sunshine are few and far between..but when the sun does come out..Yahoo I have sooo much energy! Love it! Anyway I have this Spring fever project that I am just itching to do..but I can’t decide really if it is practical..so I’m praying about it..but I’ll let you in on my organized closet remodel idea…

Source: s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com via Shari on Pinterest

Everyday my kids come home from school and plop all of there “stuff” down by the stairs..this would include backpacks, shoes, sports stuff (balls, bags etc.) Arrrgghh! Sometimes you can’t even step over the mess! Well we have a hall closet that is just a couple of feet away..filled with lot’s more “stuff” like old Cd’s, Dvd’s and games..of which I will be selling to musicMagpie.com to earn a little extra cashola! I usually just toss stuff out..but I’m trying to be more conscious of re using stuff..even if it’s for someone else and why not make a little money while I’m at it. Sort of like a garage sale without all the extra work!

So this is what it looks like when you walk in my front door..mind you that the kids have gone to school and so all the backpacks and shoes are gone…mostly..

Now I’m not sure why I think that if I turn my hall closet into a beautiful area like the picture above, that my kids would miraculously all of a sudden put there stuff neatly and nicely in that closet? But I just love that closet and have been dreaming about it for quite some time..I think I’m just making up excuses to have another project and I just love this one! LOL

Plus..

I don’t really like my long hallway..it has too many doors on it and sometimes people get confused when they come over as to which door to go through just to go to the bathroom..really I’m not kidding.

Another thing that’s good…my husband likes the idea! Now he doesn’t usually like to think about projects like this..but this time he liked it! That should be my answer right there!

So if I decide to go ahead with this fun project…during sunshine…because I have more energy then..I’ll show you the finished project!

Questions to my readers:

Do you think my kids will get there stuff all nicely put away if I make a cute little nook like this?
Would you invest the time, energy and money into a project like this..even if it might not be the results you want..i.e…organization.

Filed Under: Faith Filled Life, organizing Tagged With: closet, orgainzation, organizing, remodel, remodeling

5 Risks I’d like to Take! Right Now!

March 8, 2013 by Shari Lynne 6 Comments

Do you ever dream of doing things that..well.. seem a little risky? I’m pretty good at taking risks that don’t have too big of consequence..but sometimes I dream of doing a little more..

So I just thought I’d share with you a little about what is on my mind and see if YOU might do some of these things….

Risk #1. I’ve REALLY been wanting to plant a vegetable garden since we have moved into our house about 2 1/2 years ago..but..the only place there is enough sunshine is in the front yard. So I’ve been thinking long and hard about planting an Edible Front Yard Garden..

Traditional Landscape design by Chicago Landscape Architect The Brickman Group, Ltd.

The surprising thing is that after getting so many great ideas, I’ve found that in some neighborhoods that a front yard garden can be quite controversial and downright offensive to some?! Personally I think edible gardens are beautiful. What do you think? Would you be offended?

Risk #2. Dying my hair..My girls are mortified that I am getting so much gray hair. Not my older girls, but my teens. I’m not sure if it’s the look of gray hair or the fact that they don’t like me getting older… So I’m thinking of dying my hair…

This isn’t too wild and crazy is it?! LOL

Risk #3. I’d like to start doing Cooking Video’s..but I’m feeling totally under qualified!

Traditional Kitchen design by New York Architect Pickell Architecture

This is definitely not my kitchen..but it’s just so pretty!

Although I have an awesome kitchen with lots of space and great lighting..I’m just nervous about taking the risk! What do you think..shall I do it?

Risk #4. I would like to take..is to get one these cute little ol cars..everyone says they are just too dangerous if I was to be an accident…

smart fortwo leads the two-seater cars class

They Kids complain that I could only go places by myself or that I could only have one other person with me…are you catchin the vision with me…..HA!

Risk # 5. I’d like to spend the money to go on a really COOL vacation!

Ahhh..well..I can dream can’t I? I’ll have to Win a trip like this! LOL

Ok so that’s all the risky behaviors that I’m thinking about! What about you? Do you have dreams that you would like to take a risk with?

Filed Under: Faith Filled Life, Growing: Faith Filled Devotions Tagged With: faith, Fun, Risks

You Don’t Choose Your Calling – God Does

March 7, 2013 by Shari Lynne 3 Comments

You don’t choose your calling..God does. So what do you think about that? Does it make you want to rebel? Are you relieved? Or both? LOL

Shhhh don’t tell anyone..but I’m a rebeller..not as much as I used to..but still … I have those days.. Most days however I have a profound sense of relief that God has a plan for me and “He knows the way I take.”

God has given us a free will for sure…and within each calling, He gives us freedom to choose how that will look. I mean there are lot’s of different kinds of Dr’s right? Lots of different kinds of business owners right? and LOTS of different kinds of Moms

Have you ever thought about your Mom calling? How different we all are and yet how the same we are?

I settled in my heart long ago and accepted God’s invitation to be a Mom..I even enjoy it ..most of the time..LOL But there was a time when I struggled with being a Mom. I did a lot of comparing with other Moms and can tell you that I just was not measuring up! Oh I knew that I shouldn’t compare and I knew that God had chosen me to be just the right Mom for my kids..but…Why didn’t I have all those gifts and talents that other Moms had? Or why didn’t I have that un ending energy some seemed to have?

When God called me to have more children..I was not too happy with it.. Are you kidding me God..more kids..Ummm I thought 4 was plenty! LOL

After I had 3 more kids..I was sure that God had made a big mistake. More comparing…

I have finally gotten to the point where I have accepted that how God has created me is just perfect..and how I mother my kids and the choices we make for our family are in line with Gods will..perfectly for me..

Until….

I found myself just the other day feeling like I was not doing a good job again.. It was because I was comparing myself..only for a minute..but still..It brought me down.

Let me tell you how it all started…

I opened up my email inbox one morning last week and there it was..my subscription for Ann Voskamp’s A Holy Experience blog. Oh how I love to click on over to her site..it’s peaceful and her words go down like morsels of the Lord speaking himself sometimes to this heart of mine…She uses words that make me think..ponder.. Even when I am pressed for time..how I love to just scroll through her beautiful pictures..and just relax with a cup of coffee…for a minute.

Anyway this one morning. I popped open my email and started reading about Ann’s trip to Haiti and there was her family…ministering.. it was so beautiful.

And I began to think…why isn’t MY family doing that? What kind of a Mother am I? This is what REAL Christians with REAL Godly kids do…

No I’m not kidding…There I was comparing. It had been a long time since I had fallen into this trap. I think it’s easy sometimes to fall into the trap of comparing..when you admire someone..don’t you? Her Mom heart touches my Mom heart..

But God quickly reminded me.. “I have not called you to this work” Not now anyway I thought. It made me examine if I was in the will of God..am I fulfilling God’s calling in MY life.. Am I bringing up my children in the way of the Lord and teaching them to be all that God has created THEM to be.

This all really came about because of the little post I did about a week ago..regarding an email I sent to my daughters coach. I started thinking how worldly and petty I had been in light of situations like Haiti.

Then God reminded me again.. “I have not called you to this work” not yet..I like to think..

I thought about how my big kids went on mission trips.. I thought about how my 16 year old and 14 year old are servants in there church and how they love people. I thought about how another coach said to my daughter just the other day “you are a leader and I need you..the other girls look up to you” Jesus shines in her..

God’s favor rests on those who diligently love and serve Him I have found..and not just in third world countries..but right in the very town we live..So I will serve Him with all my heart and raise my children as arrows.

I will be the Mom that God has called me to be. I won’t rebel and I won’t compare. I will rest and rejoice… Because I didn’t choose my calling..God did.. and I’m happy to serve Him in the way that He has created me..

And by the way..I don’t have any COOL pictures like Ann does on her blog! So I’ve been saving up for a new camera..and I’m going to copycat her and take more pictures! Not so I can compare myself to her..but because those pictures are just plain COOL and I want to do that! LOL Now isn’t that what learning and growing are all about… LOL I thought of all the pictures that I could have taken while my kids were serving the Lord in their everyday, ordinary lives…you would have loved them..

So my friends don’t compare yourselves to others.. Because God has a special call on your life that only you can fulfill Smile

Filed Under: Faith Filled Life, Growing: Faith Filled Devotions Tagged With: Acceptance, Calling, Comparing, God, Mom

Worship Him Wednesday-From the Inside Out with Printable

March 6, 2013 by Shari Lynne 3 Comments

A thousand times I’ve failed
Still your
mercy remains
And should I stumble again
Still I’m caught in your
grace

Filed Under: Faith Filled Life, Worship Him Wednesday Tagged With: Consume, Printable, Wednesdays, Worship

Be Humble–Proverbs 29:23

February 28, 2013 by Shari Lynne Leave a Comment

Feel free to print! Just click on picture and press print picture or you may right click and save picture and then print!

Filed Under: About Me, Faith Filled Life Tagged With: free, humble, print, Proverbs, quotes

Redeemed

February 8, 2013 by Shari Lynne Leave a Comment

~~Watch this awesome Video~~

Can you relate? I can..I just love his heart and you’ve GOT to hear this awesome song!

If you want to hear the song after without interuption..go down to my Fave song for this Week:

You will be moved…You are special to God!!

I’ve been Redeemed!

Video courtesy of LifeWay

Tell me how you relate…

Do you see yourself through your own eyes OR how God see’s you?

Filed Under: Faith Filled Life, Growing: Faith Filled Devotions

Be Kind and Compassionate Forgiving One Another- Ephesians 4:32

February 6, 2013 by Shari Lynne 10 Comments

I wasn’t going to write a post today..I needed to maybe pay bills or clean house or you know some of those things that keep life rolling along and my family happy and healthy..LOL

Living in the Pacific Northwest the Wintertime brings a lot of dark rainy and cloudy days..oh and the fog..yuck

But….

I’m pretty good at keeping the Sonshine Shining in my heart though..I’d say I’m a pretty joyful person…by the power of the Lord of course..

But this morning…

My 14 year old daughter and I had it out…

I don’t usually buy into the morning grouchiness..but today..I just let myself be sucked in…I was tired..

and because I let myself be sucked in and reacted..I now have broken fellowship with her…

“So what!” I think in my heart..”she’s a smarty mouth grouchy girl!” “selfish and self-centered” Hummph I have every right to be angry at her!

Broken hearted..broken fellowship…not just with my daughter but..my own sin separates me from fellowship with my God..

I know my daughter and I know she is broken hearted too…

She say’s she’s sorry while I am driving her to school because she missed the bus…Grrrrr

I don’t want to forgive her and I say so..mostly because this has become a pattern in the past couple of weeks..I tell her why..

She’s too tired..

I’m too tired..

I watch her go into the gigantic building for school…and I wish I had been able to speak blessings over her..my heart breaks again..

Me and my big mouth…

Forgive me Lord…Let me forgive her Lord..Let me bless her Lord..fill me with your Love Lord!

Bitterness and unforgiveness…it’s like that yucky Fog…hanging around all day long where you can’t see the beautiful Sonshine.

I hate bitterness…I could write a book on that destroyer..

But God…

gently reminds me..the 10 reasons I need to forgive..

So I text her and say “I’m sorry..will you forgive me?” and she texts me back “Yes, I’m sorry..will you forgive me?”

My relationship is right with my daughter..and most importantly right with God..

Matthew 5:23-24

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the alter and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother: then come ad offer your gifts.”

I think I will do something to bless my daughter when she gets home from school..don’t ya think..

I’ve said enough..Have a great day!

Linking up with: Thought Provoking Thursdays, Faith Filled Fridays, Fellowship Fridays

Filed Under: Faith Filled Life, Growing: Faith Filled Devotions Tagged With: compassionate, Ephesians 4:32, Forgiving

Transparency-The Perfect Solution for Being Imperfect

January 28, 2013 by Shari Lynne 4 Comments

Yesterday was another big Basketball day for us..4 games and LOTS of sitting in bleachers. It’s a fun time to socialize and support our children and their teammates. It’s also a great time to have fellowship with other families. We have been with the same families for years now..so you get to know each other pretty well..Although we don’t really hang with the “in” crowd too much..meaning we are old and we don’t “party” they love us and we love them dearly..LOL

We are a pretty transparent family..we’ve always found that transparency is the perfect solution for being imperfect…

I was sharing with one of the Moms the struggles we have had lately with our new coach this season…you see my daughter has always been a starter but this season is different for lots of different reasons..I won’t go into them because they don’t really have anything to do with my point…Anyway…

I was telling this Mom, that has known us for years, how we were becoming bitter and how we had started a habit of complaining to one another after practices and games. I shared with her how it was beginning to depress us and how my daughter was so discouraged…which of course was heartbreaking to us.

And then I told her how God had spoken to our hearts about our attitudes and our bitterness and how we needed to repent and forgive…and how my husband, myself and our daughter had prayed about this and were doing soooo much better since God had given us all a new heart attitude…I didn’t really think much about my sharing..so I was surprised when…

She looked at me and was in shock…she said “you know, I can’t tell you how much better I feel because we have been going through the same thing! I mean if YOU GUYS are struggling with this then it must be ok that we are! I mean you guys are so Godly!”

What?! Wait a minute here..now it was “I” that was shocked!

Do you ever wonder how others see you? I was really surprised that this gal said this too me…I mean c’mon it’s me! LOL It really made me look to the Lord and remember that we are His ambassadors in this thing called life. Those of us that call ourselves “Christians” should not leave people wondering about our struggles and lead them to believe that we have none. That we somehow lead a perfect life without struggles just as anyone else. I mean how will people know just how real God is, how much He loves them… if we are pretending that we are perfect…God didn’t come for the perfect..He came for the imperfect…uuummm I’m good at that!

I’m one of the lucky ones..through some really hard lessons, I learned long ago that I MUST be who God has created me to be..because I’ve tried to be what others have wanted and this leads to legalism and works..not good.

So in light of being transparent, I hope you will never see me as having a perfect life with perfect children, doing perfect crafts and being a gourmet cook ( well maybe the cooking part..LOL) …

On my blog I have lot’s of different kinds of crafts and stuff to do..but that doesn’t mean that I use every single idea. I’m not the perfect crafter either… like the other day I had gathered up some awesome resources from the internet for a cool spa kit, but I still might use Bath and Body Works coupon code for $10 off to supplement a couple of things to take the pressure off myself while making this spa kit…

We don’t have to share every little thing that’s going on in our lives..but I have truly found that transparency is truly the perfect solution for being imperfect.

Sooo how about you? Do you share your lives and struggles with others?

Filed Under: Faith Filled Life, Growing: Faith Filled Devotions Tagged With: devotions, growing, imperfect, perfect, Transparency, Transparent

Living a Life You Love – iChoose 2 Love My Life-Review and Invite!

January 3, 2013 by Shari Lynne 2 Comments

At 54 years old I have dreams and aspirations that I would love to see come to fruition someday. However with 7 children (3 still home) and 5 grandchildren (one of which I babysit..soon to be two!) it’s easy for me to set aside any desires and callings other than Motherhood and Grammyhood. LOL

When we decided to have more children after our first 4 were almost grown..I was sort of in a panic. What about ME God!? Did I really want to be a Mom FOREVER?! Well it seemed like forever…God in His mercy toward me, as always, spoke to my heart and said as clear as day “You are more than a Mom Shari”

I’ve lived that promise out everyday since He spoke so clearly to my heart….even while changing diaper, cleaning messes, cooking meals, comforting tears.. I would tell myself “I’m more than a Mom”. Now don’t get me wrong! I can’t think of a more wonderful job in the whole world than to be a Mom..honestly. But I feel that it’s important to continue to develop other areas of my life too. That’s why I started Blogging…because I LOVE to write.

BUT..I really have had no clear direction..just kind of trying things out, asking God to bless this and that or get me out of it

That’s where iChoose2 Love My Life comes in…

A couple of months ago I was humbled as Kelly Thorne Gore, Founder and President of iChoose2 Love My Life, asked myself and some other bloggers to be an Ambassador for iChoose2 Love My Life. I had become a subscriber to regular emails and videos for IChoose2 Love My Life and was thrilled to say the least to become an active part of promoting this God honoring ministry.

So what exactly is iChoose 2 Love My Life? Well in short..it is a one year journey toward loving the life you live..

One Year..does that seem overwhelming? This journey is a deep and soul searching journey..one that includes God in every step of the way. You know sometimes it can be a little scary to stop long enough to see just where we are in this life journey. Areas we may need to work on and goals we want to meet for the Glory of God. But really unless we are focused and living intentionally…we can flounder around for years and not even realize it.

iChoose2 Love My Life lovingly asks the questions that we need to move forward, to journey into living the life we love…to remove the obstacles that stand in our way…to focus on God’s will for our lives. This journey is a 52 week journey that targets the areas that are unique to women and our world around us..