whistle while you work....or not

Kelly over at Kelly's Korner is hosting Show Us Your Life Cleaning edition today.  So check out all of the great tips that the ladies are posting today!  Disclaimer: I am sure this may all have to change once we have children! :)

The first tip I can give is to try and make it not seem like WORK. Turn on the music! David Crowder Band is my first choice when I am cleaning. I am accomplishing two things in one--praising the Lord and cleaning my home. It also helps you to think of how blessed you are to actually have that home to clean! I do have several great tips that I have picked up from different people/places. My mother-in-law is the Queen of Clean! haha! She can get any stain out--no matter what it is!! :)

I don't enjoy doing dishes or putting away the laundry--as Mr. Lane could testify. haha! Thankfully I do have a dishwasher for the days when I have too many dishes to tackle. The laundry is another story though! I enjoy washing and drying--it is the folding and putting away that gets me. I am thankful that Mr. Lane often pitches in and helps with this area!

 I usually deep clean our house on Thursday night after dinner. I often do the majority of our laundry some other day during the week. This frees up the washer and dryer for our bedding, towels, rugs, etc. I try to keep things picked up through the week so it is not too bad when Thursday rolls around. That doesn't always happen! I chose Thursday when we first got married so that our house is clean for the weekends in case we have friends stop by. It also keeps me from spending my Saturday's cleaning. 

I try to always keep the living room and guest bathroom in great shape because the living room is the first room you see when you walk into our house and the guest bath speaks for itself. :)

My Thursday routine usually involves the following:

• 
  
  remove the bedding from our bed and throw it in the washer
• 
  
  give the kitchen a good, deep cleaning--wipe down counter tops, scrub sink, sweep & mop, etc.
• 
  
  clear the dining room table of any mail, papers, etc. that have accumulated(usually those piles are my own) :)
• 
  
  dust the living room--dust and mop the floors
• 
  
  deep clean our master bathroom--scrub sinks, shower, tub, toilet, floors, and wash the rugs
• 
  
  dust and vacuum the master bedroom and guest room

By the time I finish all of this up my bedding is nice and ready to be put back on the bed. I usually only takes me 2-3 hours to get everything cleaned up.

Some tips that I have found work great:

• use old socks on your hands to dust your chair rail and other moldings
• use the hose attachment on your vacuum to clean baseboards
• buy multipurpose items
• keep cleaning products stored in bathrooms, kitchens, etc. for easy access and quick clean ups

I have several tried and true products that I love to use.

Swiffer cloths pick up any hair on any type of hard surface flooring (love these!)

 

I love to use Scrub N' Bubbles in my bathrooms. I usually spray the sinks, tub, shower, and toilet down and go about doing some other small task for a few minutes and come back and wipe and rinse everything. Easy!

I use these in so many locations of our house! Walls, kitchen, bathroom, etc. They work wonders!

Ephesians 2:8-9

I love these verses. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

I am so thankful for God's unfailing grace--without it I would be so lost. I hate to imagine what I would be without the grace, mercy, love and provision of God. He is so good to us. We just have to believe in Him--all it takes is childlike faith. Yet, as humans we often have such a stuggle with this. We feel that we must do things on our own. It varies from person to person, it may be that new home, promotion, infertility,marriage, or a million other things. We have to come to the realization that we were NOT made to do it on our own. We have a wonderful Creator who is there for us to help with our struggles. We just have to ask.

I often compare it in my mind to something that often happned when I was a little girl. If I wanted something or needed help with something for some reason I was so afraid to ask my dad. Now don't get me wrong, he wasn't some big scary monster, he was loving, giving, and always there for us, but it was still so hard for me to ask him. Sometimes I felt like he worked so hard and I didn't want to bother him for whatever petty issue I felt like I had or other times I felt like he already did so much for us that it wasn't right for me to ask him for something else.  I treat God the same way sometimes. I know my dad would have and has done anything he can to help me.

Our Heavenly Father is the same way. He wants us to come to Him and ask of Him the desires, wants, and needs of our hearts. We were created to commune with God--we cannot be whole if He is not part of our daily lives.  You can't work your way into Heaven. Being a good person doesn't get you into Heaven. Being a Pastor's wife doesn't get you into Heaven. No one can have a relationship with Jesus Christ for you. You must take that step and let go and Let God. Let Him be the decision-maker in your life, let Him guide you in all the paths of your life. It was Him, afterall, who gave you life. Remember, the Bible says that it is a gift of God. Who can turn down a gift? Don't turn down the greatest gift ever offered--Jesus Christ.

If you feel like God has already done too much for you or blessed you too much or that he couldn't possibly care about your life. Just remember the verse below:

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

Offerings....

I am sitting here trying to decide what I want to blog about and Offerings by Third Day is blaring through my blackberry headphones. I know that God gave the greatest offering ever given to man when Jesus Christ died at Calvary. Sometimes it is hard to imagine what my little 'ol life could do or give as an offering to thank him.  The greatest offering we can give in return is, in fact, our lives. It is so hard for many people to even give a piece of their lives to the cause for Christ, much less dedicate their whole selves to His work.  In Matthew Chapter 19 a young man comes to Christ and asks Him what good thing must he do to obtain eternal life. He had kept the commandments from his youth up. Jesus told him to go and sell what he had and to give it to the poor and that he would have treasures in Heaven. The Bible says that the young man went away sorrowful because he had great possessions. Wait a minute, did you read that???? Jesus offered him treasures in HEAVEN if he would just give away his earthly possessions and follow Him. Isn't it amazing how selfish we humans can be!!!!   This is one reason I admire missionaries so much--to give up, in many cases, their homes and day jobs to heed the call of Christ and travel to foreign and often times frightening lands.  I try to make it a priority ever day to offer something to the Lord. In our eyes our offerings don't seem like much--but to God they are everything and they do matter. Just sit for a minute and think about His great mercy and love and try not to offer Him something in return---it may just be a prayer of praise or a thankful heart, but it matters.   Give something to God--He has given so much to and for you.

st. pat's

Happy St. Patricks Day!! Luck of the Irish to ya!! :)

Brayden's big adventure

This is our sweet nephew.

Papaw takes him to the top

and down

down

he goes.

MY World Wednesdays.....

This is my dad. I know most girls will tell you that they have the best dad in the world-but I bet mine could give yours a run for his money! ;) He is a dad like no other! He may not know it but he is truly one of my best friends--I know I can talk to him about anything. A huge part of my world, he has always been there for me, through thick and thin. Even through my smart mouth teenage years. :-) He is a hard worker, dependable, trust-worthy, honest, and is full of integrity. To simply put it--he is awesome! 

My World Wednesdays.....

These are some of our youth group members!!!! three words: BEST.KIDS.EVER.

I truly love these guys and I am sure mr. lane would tell you that I would adopt them all if I could!

I love Home Goods!!!

(doesn't this look like a happy cabinet!)

Hi ya'll!! This is one of my favorite places to shop for home decor! There is a Home Goods about 5-10 minutes from my office, so I try to stop in on my lunch break at least once a week to see what new items they have in stock! Things go quickly around that place! Here is some bakeware that I recently purchased:

I thought the colors were adorable!

I just want to smile when I look at these!

I can't wait to bake up some goodies for Mr. Lane in these babies!! I can smell some fudge brownies coming on! haha!

I also found this adorable cake plate on one of my recents excursions to HG. Isn't it cute!! I am hoping I get to use all of these cuties at a baby shower for one of my dear friends this summer. 

By His Wounds.....

One of my favorite songs by Glory Revealed called By His Wounds. I thought I would post some of the words, it is a great reminder of Christ's love for us and the things He endured because of that love. The song was based on Isaiah 53:5---But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Take a little bit of time today to thank Him for the sacrifice.

He was pierced for our transgressions

He was crushed for our sins

The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him

And by His wounds, by His wounds we are healed

He was pierced for our transgressions

He was crushed for our sins

The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him

And by His wounds, by His wounds we are healed

We are healed by Your sacrifice

And the life that You gave

We are healed for You paid the price

By Your grace we are saved

We are saved

He was pierced for our transgressions

And crushed for our sins

The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him

And by His wounds, by His wounds we are healed

We are healed by Your sacrifice

And the life that You gave

We are healed for You paid the price

By Your grace we are saved

We are saved

He was pierced for our transgressions

He was crushed for our sins

The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him

And by His wounds, by His wounds we are healed

And by His wounds, by His wounds

What can wash away my sin?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus

My World Wednesdays.....

My sweet Mr. Lane.....it is hard for me to put into words what he is to me.....more than a husband and best friend. He is exactly everything that God said a husband should be--I know he loves me as Christ loved the church. he makes me laugh--sometimes we lay in bed at night a just have a good laugh. i know i can always be myself with him. i don't know what i would be without him in my life--i pray that i never find out.  i admire how he treats those around him. he is so sweet with his mom--he calls her everyday--makes me love him even more. my dad loved him from the start (that says a lot) ;) i know that someday he is going to be an amazing dad. and to top it off he is SO.STINKIN.CUTE!! :)

Beauty Regimen

Kelly over at Kelly's Korner did a link party a couple of weeks ago about what products we like to use. I thought I would post some of the items that I am fond of. I don't wear alot of makeup, in fact, most of the time I only wear it on the weekend. I am sure there are people who wish I did wear makeup! haha! Here are some items that I do love to use!

Yes, I do use an generic face wash! It is the best I have ever used. I have tried many different ones of all price ranges and none match up to this:

I use the scrub about 4-5 times a week, so I don't over do it.

I bought the L'Oreal Revitalift product around the first of the year and I love it! It moisturizes without leaving a greasy feeling. It leaves my skin feeling so soft!

I love CoverGirl's last blast! I tried it when it came out a couple of years ago and have been using it ever since.

Bare Minerals is awesome. I mostly just wear it in the winter.  It is really light and fresh. It provides great coverage without feeling cakey or heavy.

Welcome

If you are visiting from Kelly's Korner welcome! I am new to the blogging world. I have read several blogs, including Kelly's for a couple of years now. I decided this year that I wanted to get in on the action. ;)  This is me and my Mr. Lane.  We have been married 3 1/2 years and we have one baby, our mini doxie, Macy.  I want my blog to be a place where I can talk about whatever I fancy. It will mostly be light-hearted and silly, but I also want it to be a place where I can share about my faith and the  love I found in Jesus Christ. 

Welcome March!!

Soooooo glad to see March arrive---I am ready for longer days,sunshine, flowers, and flip flops. For some reason, this winter has seemed especially long. It could be because we have had a great deal of snow for the south or it could just be the fact that I am ready for Spring as soon as Christmas is over. :)

With Easter just around the corner I find my mind wondering to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ more and more each day.  I don't have children, but I can't imagine what it must have been like for God to send His only son to earth to take MY place on that cross.  I fail Christ each day and I come so short of His example, yet he still loved ME enough to die for my transgressions. He carried that heavy burden physically, spiritually, and emotionally---He carried the heavy load so that our load may be lighter. He endured public ridicule and humiliation so that one day we may live with Him forever. He bore the stripes so that you and I might be healed. 

I am so thankful it does not end there. It didn't end with a burial in a borrowed tomb. It was a happy, victorious ending! (yes, the kind fairy tales are made of) He arose on the third day! He is not dead--He is risen! He sits at His Father's right hand and he is waiting to hear from you each day. As we approach Easter stop and thank our Heavenly Father for the gift of His precious Son, my saviour Jesus Christ!