Semi-Domesticated and Hopelessly Flawed

A blog is such a curious beast. It is a window into our lives, but through this little window you are only allowed see what I want you to see. From the very beginning I purposed to write both the good and the bad, the interesting with the mundane, but sometimes this is so much easier said than done. The problem arises when I want people to perceive me as someone that has it all together and, that through Christ, I simply and elegantly glide through life, without a hint of difficulty. HA! Like I said, this is how I want you to perceive me, not necessarily how you do. So this being said I really had to battle my pride before posting this more accurate version of my Monday.

So without further explanation, my life without pretense...

As the weather turns cooler, and the days grow shorter, my desire to be domestic intensifies. I have visions of myself flitting about my home in a cute little apron, oven mitts on hand, and a smile across my lips. I dream of preparing cost effective, eco-friendly and healthy items my whole family can enjoy. So yesterday, that is exactly what I did...well almost.

I started with homemade granola bars. I had Charis help with this. We substituted whole wheat flour, for the white flour, and added pecans, almonds and flax seeds. We also used golden raisins, instead of regular ones and added a little black strap molasses to the mix. I tried to talk the Charis into dried cranberries, but she wasn't having it. Now had I stopped here, things may have turned out a little differently, but I'm a compulsive multi-tasker, and don't know when to say when.

So, while the granola bars where in the oven and Charis went to finish school, I decided to try my hand at both homemade laundry detergent and dish-washing detergent. What could go wrong? I started the process in classic blog form by taking a picture of all my ingredients.

Please note the clean counter tops and back splash (it's all part of the illusion).
I then began grinding up the soap and heating my water, making sure to take pictures along the way.

And this is where things started to spiral out of control. The ingredients wouldn't come out of the box, and then once they did wouldn't dissolve in the water, the timer for the granola bars started going off and they had to be cut into bars within 5 minutes or they would harden, Zayin woke up and wanted to be fed, and my helper had fallen asleep instead of working on school.

AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!

Now is the part of this post that I would love to say that I stopped, took a deep breath and moment to pray, and finished my tasks with the joy of the Lord in my heart. I, however, just gritted my teeth, put my baby on my boob, plowed forward and finished in a very angry and frustrated fashion.

I was determined not to let the circumstances beat me. How could I create the perfect post, when things weren't going perfectly? Yes, I did finish...
...but I didn't win. I was so intent on impressing all of you, that I forgot that my significance comes from the Lord and not from being the greenest, healthiest, and most put together mom on the planet (Yes I am extremely diluted). Once I am His, my search for significance is over.

Colossians 1:21-23 - (21) And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled (22) in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— (23) if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

I am His, enough said.