Month: March 2018

Dig in your own dirt….not your neighbors.

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There are so many cool things to learn in life and from people.  I recently was reminded of this by listening to one woman as she shared her life with me….and what a lesson I learned!

This woman is a homemaker, a mother of three, a crafter, an extreme couponer and a great bargain hunter.  She shares her gifts with many by teaching classes and sharing some of her finds with others.  She inspires me how to save money, and she inspires me to create new things from things I already have.  She also has such a passion for her husband and children with all that she does.  To me she is a great example of a woman who builds her home.

One day she was explaining that she has been judged for having too many things, too many crafts, her large stash from her great finds with coupons etc….  Many of us can look at our neighbors and friends and have a list of things that are wrong with them in our own eyes.  We can look at all they have, the way they act and so on and come up with our own judgement of them and their lives.  Do we ever take the time to realize that they live in a different world than us?  I love the expression, “you live in a very small world”.  I heard this growing up and never really understood it, but now I get it as I am getting older.  This woman deals with much criticism and judgment from people and most of them have no idea what she is all about.

Maybe this woman is a picture of your own life.  You might not live the life that she does but you can relate since you are a person who loves living life and yet people judge you for what you do.  People who don’t really know what you are all about and yet they look at your life and make decisions in their own heads about you.

One day she was chatting with me….she made reference to how some people live in such a small world, and this seems to give them the right to critique others.  One great point she made was that she is always working on finishing a project and then the next one is already waiting for her. Most times they probably haven’t even started their first project and yet we stand in judgement of someone who has done many.  If this is the case, then you certainly don’t have the time to look at your neighbor’s or friend’s yard and criticize and judge.

How many of us sit in judgment of each other’s lives, possessions or things?  I can relate to her because somedays when I am running around doing three or four things in a day, to have someone stop me and question me over the silliest thing.  Then they pass judgment on how or why I am doing what I am doing.  These people probably have no idea who I really am and why I do what I do. How small is their world that they need to live in my world? The verse comes to mind in Proverbs 16:27 (TLB)…..” Idle hands are the devil’s workshop; idle lips are his mouthpiece”.

I once heard that if you are always digging in your own dirt, you will never have the time to see the dirt on someone else.  Today I learned a lesson from my friend, this great quote and a good look at this verse.  I am a very busy person and yet even with all that I do, I too can sit in judgment and ask, “why” do they do that….”how can” they do that and so on.

Today I share a piece of my heart, my thoughts and my life with you.  I pray today that my hands and life are busy for the Lord and that they do not become hands of the devil’s workshop.  I pray that since I have enough dirt in my own life to dig into…that I can have grace and compassion and the right attitude for others instead of sitting in judgment or criticism of them.

Take up the challenge with me today….will you dig in your own dirt instead of others!

Lynn A. Wilson – Resume of a Mother

Why Bother….

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Last night I sat with a young girl and we chatted.  She made me realize that there is still good in this world and there is still a reason to care about the younger generation!

So many times I hear people say “why bother” bringing anymore kids into this world.  “Why bother “ doing the right thing.  In this crazy world…..is there any hope and should we even bother?

I am not normally a person who would choose to work with teens let alone preteens.  I currently work with a grade school age program at church.  We are a small church family so when there is a job needed to be done, you don’t say I can’t…you just jump in and help. Women’s ministry is more my thing…but again when there is a need, you just help out where you can.  At this point in time our women’s ministry leadership position is filled and there is not a whole lot of help that is needed.  So I have been praying for where I could fit in.  The other night I heard a devotional and as the speaker was sharing….her words were just the encouragement that I needed to hear to help clarify a few things.  I have had on my heart to see a mentoring group form for young women from the age of 12 – 16.  A program that would give them a place to learn a few skills, have a fun evening for a couple of hours, have a safe place to talk and to find a place/person they know they could talk with and without any judgment.  A place/person where they can share their heart and know that it will not go any further.

I remember being that age and you could not always talk to your parents….you needed someone older and wiser but not someone whom you lived with.  This program would be a good fit for a young girl who feels the say way that I once did.

So here we go…an answer from above and a new direction all rolled up into one message that I heard.  So last night I sat with a couple of young girls from my church and picked their brain.  I asked them what they would be interested in doing if I started this group.  I asked them for a snappy name to call it.  The response was overwhelming!  They were so excited to start….I was shocked on how excited they were!

At the end of the evening when we were all ready to leave….one of the young girls… as she was walking out with her mom, ran back and hugged me and said “thank you”. She then continued to say….let me know when we are going to start!  With a smile, a wink and a thumb’s up, I told her I would be in touch soon.

So I ask again, as so many people have…”Why bother”?  Why, because I found one young girl who if I could invest in her life even a little bit it could make a big difference. If I can spend a little bit of my time to make her feel special and allow her to talk through things, to learn new things etc….she could just be the one person who can make a huge difference in this world, and make it a better place!  “Why bother”…because it is a good thing and we don’t know how a little investment on our part could in fact change the world to be a better place.

Invest in a life today!  Make a difference in someone’s life!

Lynn A. Wilson – Resume of a Mother

Autism and Routine….

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Routine is something hard to create and stick with in our lives….but it is a necessary thing.  I watch a You-Tube channel with “Andrea Mills”.  She talks about doing things routinely if they are important enough to you. Check out her website and channel for this topic and more.

https://www.andreamills.tv

With any type of special needs and we have two types in our family, I find as a homemaker that I need to create a way of organization for them; and not necessarily for me.  With epilepsy and Autism in our home, I find that this affects everything that we do!  For example, just leaving the house to go out for the day…we need to make a list on the back door of what we need to bring with us.  This way my husband who has Epilepsy, whether it be a good day or not, does not have to think about what to bring. Especially when it is an “off” day for him, he just looks at his list on the door.

(example list for the door)

  • travel bag
  • pills
  • water bottle
  • phone
  • phone charger

For our son has Autism.…so for his needs we have created labels in the refrigerator and also a routine of where to put things.  This way there is no frustration of where things go.  We also labeled where all of our coats go.  Again, this way it keeps things simple and organized!

We have created a “white board” system to help with all those daily questions that you find Autistic kids always asking.  They want to know what the next days meals will be 24 hours ahead of time. Our board includes 3 meals, 3 chores, 3 school events (we homeschool), and whatever the special event of the day is also.

This has proven to relieve many meltdowns, and crazy evenings in our home.  When he asks the questions that he always does by 5pm sharp, we can just refer him to the white board.

Special needs can be a struggle to the caregiver as well as the person who struggles with it.  Why not make life as routine as you can to avoid any chaos and confusion.  There will always be other issues to deal with, but when things are routine it helps out a great deal.

Lynn A. Wilson – Resume of a Mother

Being of Like Mind…Autism!

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It was interesting to sit and watch the other night at a group of kids all of whom had Autism.  I learned a very valuable lesson that night!

Let me back track a little for you to get the whole picture.  Our youngest son has Autism and we belong to two different support groups.  One group especially offers a wide variety of support for parents and lots of activities for the kiddos.  This night happened to be a night for the kids, it was filled with fun, running around and freedom for them.

Freedom for them!….what I mean is that they could be who they were created to be. It was a time for them not to be judged, made fun of, no one was looking at them as if they were weird. They could speak their own language, wave their hands if they needed to, swing their legs and jump as high as they wanted. They are a unique group of people!  They have uniqueness that are their own…..and yet they don’t judge each other and they seem to relate to each other on a higher level.  They are like minded and understand each other.  Most of them have never even met before, and yet they can get along as if they were best friends forever.

What a lesson for me to learn!  Here I live in the ‘average” world without Autism.  My friends and acquaintances are “average” people.  And yet we seem to judge, talk about each other, and we are not like minded.  If we enter a room with people we haven’t met before ….we tend to look at our phones or just down right ignore each other.  Oh if we could only have the mind of someone who is Autistic….and let loose and be free!  Be free to say hello to a stranger, be free to play with someone we met for the first time, be free to jump as high as we wanted to and swing around in circles if we felt like it.

I am so glad that we have a place that allows our son to be free!  A place for us to be with other parents who we can relate to!  A place for him to be able to feel like and where he can say…..“I can just be me”.  God has given him a uniqueness called Autism…he is not strange or weird just different.

Lynn A. Wilson – Resume of a Mother

A Simple Gift….that will make you smile!

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It is a snowy, cold yucky day here where I live today!  As I sit here at work they just declared a state of emergency due to the weather.  That leaves you with a dismal feeling inside and as I look outside …it is so gray and sad-looking.img_9118

As I sat at my desk….knowing that most of my co-workers will not be in today I decided to think spring!!! Just as I was thinking spring my friend from down the hall gave me a gift.  She had gone to the flower show the other day and picked up a little gift for me. “Think Spring”…was all wrapped up in this gift.  What a beautiful pen but most of all a beautiful thought!

“RAK” would need to be this person’s middle name. “Random Act of  Kindness”….describes her to a “T”.  This friend never stops giving to others….there is not a day that goes that she isn’t thinking of someone who needs a gift, a card, a kind word or something else.  She is a real example to me of what we should all be doing.  She thinks of others all the time.

This is a simple message to all of us to stop and think of someone else today and to do a “RAK” for someone.  Who can you do something for today? Leave a note in the comments below with your experience of an RAK that was done for you or one that you did for someone else!

Lynn A. Wilson – Resume of a Mother

Frixion Pens…..The erasable pen.

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Well it is “Planner Tuesday”!  This will be a simple post….as simple as, “I love Frixion pens”.  I first saw these pens on a You-Tube channel.  I had never heard of them and I was intrigued with having an erasable pen for my planner.

I just had to find them right away…so where else would I look but Amazon Prime. Sure enough I found them, and I was able to get them in many different colors.

I am not a big color coder in my planner; I found that using too many colors can be confusing for me.  I do however use red for family, blue for work and green for anything unusual.  (KISS – Keep it simple). But there are lots of choices that you can choose from if you do like to color code.

With my crazy busy life…..my planner keeps me in check and sain.  But now that I have erasable pens to match my ever changing schedule. So when life changes as it does, I can just erase and reschedule.

What is your favorite pen for your planner?

Lynn A. Wilson – Resume of a Mother

Are you writing your Eulogy?

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I know this is a very odd question to ask, “are you writing your own eulogy”? This is not something that we usually ask each other.  Let me explain.  Recently a friend of mine lost her dad.  As we were talking she said that the service was graciously done but that they were really struggling with what to say.  You see he had lived a very hard life.  The life that he lived was not a very good one; the choices that he made in life were not the best.img_9069

Just prior to chatting with him….I was discussing with another friend about what people think of us in general. We were discussing about when someone walks in the door and what you immediately think of them.  If I were to walk in the door ….do my friends get excited to see me? Or am I one of those people who when you see me, you say “great….she here now”.  You know what I mean…there are those people who we love to see and those we don’t.  Why would you want a personality that no one wanted to be around?

I heard someone say a long time ago….while you are living you are writing your eulogy.  What a thought…but so true.  What you do now, how you treat people, how you are around others will ultimately be in the end, what you are known for.

What do people say about you now?  What will they say about you then?  Something to thing over today! See if you need to make some changes in your life!

Lynn A. Wilson – Resume of a Mother

Grandma’s brownie Recipe …the best recipe comes from a box!

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Grandma had the best outlook on life.  More than anyone that I ever met in my lifetime!  She loved life and her family and always wanted us to feel at home in her home.  She did not come from money nor did she ever have a lot even in her later life. That never stopped her from always giving to us with the few pennies that she had.

She was known for her pot roast and potatoes ….I have never had anyone make it soooo good and delicious as she did.  I can remember one Sunday afternoon we headed over to her apartment for Sunday lunch, and of course for the pot roast.  After lunch she asked me to get the table set for dessert.  Normally Grandma was not a baker of any type.  Her best effort was a crumb cake from Entenmann’s bakery.  But this day was different…she told me she had some brownies instead. ‘YES”…I was so excited since I love brownies.

I helped her get the table all set with coffee cups, the sugar and creamer, cake plates etc….As everyone gathered back to the table for dessert she handed me “the box”…yes a brownie box. Then she told me to put in on her special fancy flowered plate. My eyebrow raised….and I looked at her with a silly look.  “Grandma did you bake these already”…she replied, “no they come all made in the box already”.  Oh dear….as she called back again to me she said…”look at the picture on the box”.

Well lesson learned that day!  Grandma learned that brownie mix is a mix only and yes it needed to be baked.  The whole family had a good laugh about it over a cup of coffee.  That day I taught her how to make the brownies and we enjoyed them all yummy and warm with some more coffee.

These precious memories are still with me even after almost 28 years after her passing.  She was a remarkable woman and taught me so much about life and living and how to handle myself in tough situations.  And I was glad to be able to teach her one thing….even if it was just brownies.

Do you have any funny stories to share about recipes with your grandma? Leave a comment below and share with all of us!

Lynn A. Wilson – Resume of a Mother

Amish Homemade remedies…and Natural finds.

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I have always leaned on the side of natural meds.  And the more and more I learn about natural ways I enjoy practicing using them more often!

My family and I have not been on any form of antibiotics for over 25 years now….people look at us strange when we say this.  We use a natural one made from a plant and it works.  We have not suffered side effects from it and it works even better for us.  With having Autism and Epilepsy in our family ……I have found that natural as help us way more than regular prescribed medication.

Now I DO NOT claim to be a doctor or a medical professional.  I am just a mom who practices being a “wise woman” who builds her house with the Lord’s guidance.  We use natural plant remedies, essential oils, chiropractic applications and I have recently found some GREAT finds from our Amish community too …. all natural plant based items.

A few months ago…my girlfriends and I went for the day out to PA for a road trip.  We take this trip about 4 times a year for the day from NJ. We stopped at one of my favorite shops for some homemade Amish pies and breads now also sells natural remedies.  I picked up a few things along with two of my friends and we tried it for a month and ….WOW, we were hooked!  So a month later when I went back out to PA with my hubby, I was given a list by my friends to buy these same items and anything else they had.

I love learning and learning about things that can help my family is even better!  I will be taking an on-line training class in the spring for essential oils, so that I can learn even more.  As I learn things and experience the pros and cons of natural remedies ….I will share this with you!

Share with me what natural remedies you have used and how they have worked for you. I would love to hear from you and exchange ideas.  Comment below or email me!  Find me on Facebook and Instagram too for more pics.

Lynn A. Wilson – Resume of a Mother