New Blog(s)

So...

Reflections of a Princess has moved to www.reflectionsofaprincess.com and is taking a much slower pace these days.

In the last few months I've started two new blogs one about books and one about our Montessori homeschooling journey:

Mountains of Books is where you can see what I'm reading, book reviews, and other random bookish stuff. Stop by http://mountainsofbooks.wordpress.com

Our Montessori Home is where you can see what we're doing with Joey for "school" and learn more about Montessori. Stop by www.ourmontessorihome.com

Ultimate Blog Party!

The Ultimate Blog Party is here...along with the new website. Reflections of a Princess has moved to

www.reflectionsofaprincess.com

The family "stuff" will stay here until I get the family blog up and running.

New Blog: Mountains of Books

I started a new blog, Mountains of Books. It's about books, authors, reviews, and reading.

Stop on by and have a look.

Practicing Hospitality: Chapter 4

Here we are on chapter 4 already--halfway through the book! I'm still enjoying it and it's really encouraging me to practice hospitality in my life and family, while still broadening my view. For the book discussion visit Passionate Homemaking.

The standout point for me was that orderliness is the goal, not perfection. Also, I thought it was a good point in having a guest ready home and a right perspective of our possessions--they're to be used.

Now, on to the discussion questions:

1. How can you become a planner of generosity?
For me, I've been thinking (and am now planning) to invite people over to our house twice a month--a group event and then one-on-one with another couple or family. For the group event maybe a game or movie night and invite 3-4 people (possibly have them invite a friend too as a way to meet new people and get to know acquaintances better).

2. How can you begin to change you perspective to view household management with an eternal purpose?
It's not just about my desire for a neat and orderly home, but preparation for sharing in God's kingdom. Being an open door, a safe haven, and refuge. Chaos and disorder rarely, if ever, feel safe and can make a guest--especially an unexpected one--feel like a burden and inconvenience.

3. What tips might you have to help maintain a more orderly and prepared home?
My tips would be:

• have a couple of "go-to" meals that have been tried and tested with the ingredients stocked in your kitchen
• have a cleaning schedule--having one has helped keep me sane even though I don't follow it religiously
• daily or weekly schedule--I don't do this every day or week, but I do for days that there is a lot going on. It helps me not to forget something and breaks things into segments so I can see how I'm spending my time. Sometimes I feel like my schedule is jam packed but when I write it down I see I have more open time than I thought...usually.
  

Practicing Hospitality: Chapter 2

Hospitality & Strangers

This book is redefining my view of hospitality (and how I practice it) more than I thought it would. It's challenging the way I currently practice hospitality and how I can be extending hospitality toward others.

Here are some questions from Lindsay at the book study:

1. How was your definition of hospitality re-defined after reading this chapter?
I really liked how the authors defined hospitality as "a daily pursuit because of our love for people, which flows out of our love for God." Hospitality is more about extending love, than just entertaining. Another thing that stood out to me was in biblical times people didn't necessarily have to have know the person to extend hospitality to them. I also like how they mentioned at the end of the chapter that hospitality is really a reflection of God's nature.

2. How can you begin to switch gears from focusing on “entertaining” to truly demonstrating Biblical love?
For starters, I've been trying to interact more with people I meet while I'm out and about. Instead of simply going through the check out register bored and seemingly impatient, my goal is to interact with clerk or others in line. You never know where a short conversation might lead. (I did this the other day at Michaels and the woman was a little shocked!)

3. How can you begin now to start including a variety of “strangers” into your hospitality practices?
The application process is hard for me at times. It requires getting past my regular way of thinking. But that is the point, isn't it? This could be ministering to the homeless with my church, making a meal for a busy family I know, and/or getting together a game night with old and new friends. (It feels like thinking of these shouldn't be this hard...)

You can join in on the book discussion over at Passionate Homemaking. It's good.

Change Is Coming

In the next few weeks I'll be bringing some changes to the blog. I've been thinking about it for some time and am finally putting some action to that thinking.

If you been around here for a while you've noticed the randomness that can be my blog. Everything from book reviews, pictures of our life, reflections on worship, poems, notes from my Bible, things God's been teaching me, menu plans, attempts at post series, Works-for-Me Wednesdays, and not to mention times when I haven't posted for weeks or even months on end.

How will things be changing?
Well, I'll be breaking things up. We're (Joe & I) will be dividing this blog into three different blogs:

Reflections of a Princess - Reflections will finally (fingers crossed) get its chance to be what I originally planned for it to be: a blog on the Christian journey specifically geared toward women and topics on biblical womanhood. (I'm planning to write a more detailed post on what this means later.)

My Family's Money - I'm partnering with Joe and getting my own blog on My Family's Money. I'm going prime time! Not really, but maybe. Here I'll post menu plans, Works-for-Me Wednesday among other things; basically I'll be sharing the in's and out's of how we live frugally and sharing our journey as we live debt-free while moving toward a more simplistic (and somewhat sustainable) lifestyle.

Mueller Family Blog - We have yet to come up with a witty, Mueller-esque name for this blog, but don't worry we will. This is where you'll get all the pictures and video of our joy Joey (maybe the occasional picture of mom and dad), along with tidbits of what's going on in our life.

With all the different blogs, how much will you be posting?
The plan is to keep posting the same amount with the benefit of each blog being more of a niche, which could mean more focused posts.

The goal is to post with some regularity on each new blog, especially my corner of My Family's Money since it already has a steady readership.

Added bonus: I'll feel less guilty about posting sporadic menu plans with thoughts on spiritual topics and posts of just pictures of my son.

When will "the change" be official?
Umm....good question. Give us two weeks.

Also, look for another important announcement regarding change in the Mueller household. (Someone of you already know it, and no there's no new baby yet--so don't even ask!)

Defining {Describing} the fear of the Lord

The fear of the Lord is one of those things that is hard to explain. We know that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" (Prov. 1:7), but sometimes it's hard to describe what it means, or more specifically how, to fear the Lord.

By "the fear of the Lord" is not meant a servile fear, a fear of punishment, of hell, wrath, and damnation, which is the effect of the first work of the law upon the conscience; but a filial fear, and supposes knowledge of God as a father, of his love and grace in Christ, particularly of his forgiving love, from whence it arises, (Psalms 130:4) (Hosea 3:5) ; it is a holy, humble, fiducial fear of God; a reverential affection for him, and devotion to him; it includes the whole of religious worship, both internal and external. (from the John Gill Exposition of the Bible)

Nicole from GirlTalk gave an excellent of example of what it means to fear the Lord. She breaks it into two categories: one who knows God and one whose awe of God results in obedience to Him, then she follows it with how a person who fears the Lord will be recognized. See the full post here.

I love the way she describes the woman (or man) who fears the Lord as one who "experiences a profound sense of awe at the thought of God, the creator of the universe who is “sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up” (Isa. 6:1)." Isn't that the way we should look upon and ponder God? With a sense of awe...

Practicing Hospitality Giveaway!

Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking is getting ready to launch a new book study. The book is Practicing Hospitality by Lisa Tatlock and Pat Ennis.

You can enter the giveaway for a copy of the book here. One of the authors actually contributed 9 more books, so there will be ten copies given away--how exciting (and generous)!

Give­away ends Friday, Jan­u­ary 16, at 5:00 pm PST.

It's 3am and I'm writing this post...

Joey's been sleeping well lately. He goes down for the night between 6:30pm and 7:30pm, then sleeps anywhere from 10pm to 1am before he wakes up fir his first feeding. He wakes up again anywhere from 3am to 5am for the next and then (most days) is back to sleep until 8:30am or 9am.

But a few times a week he wakes up, eats, and stays awake. Hence the reason I am writing this post. I guess he's gotten enough sleep and needs an intermission to play. I can't complain. He's not crying or screaming and rarely fussy, he just needs to get tired again. While he's having his play/get tired again time, I read, blog, or browse the internet. So, yes, I'm awake...kind of.

I've been meaning to update my blog lists for a few months now. I have two new blogs I've been reading and enjoying...and they happen to be sisters!

Introducing...

Empowered Traditionalist by Christa Taylor (who happens to own her own clothing website, cute & modest clothes at Christa Taylor)

Passi0nate Homemaking by Lindsey Edmonds

I'll say a little more about them & why I like them when it's not 3am and I have more than one hand free (yes, I'm chicken pecking).

Another introduction...

Also, I've yet to announce here that I launched a new blog in September/October. The topic?

Scrapbooking.


Here's a blurb from the About page:

Such a Time Scrapbooking is not your usual scrapbook blog, it is so much more. Our desire at Such a Time is to provide scrapbookers and papercrafters, of all skill levels, the tools and inspiration to enjoy scrapbooking and improve their skills.

We believe that scrapbooking is easy, simple, and accessible to everyone. We’ve heard too many women say, “Oh, that’s so cute! But I could never do that. I’m not creative.” Our hope is to demystify and simplify the scrapbooking process, while encouraging scrapbookers and papercrafters to explore and enjoy the process of creating.

Our goal is to offer step-by-step tutorials (with pictures), how-to articles, organizing tips, design layouts, and a weekly introduction to scrapbooking. As we grow, the list will expand to include weekly challenges, contests, giveaways, and a community gallery and forum.


Go and visit! I'm off to bed...finally.

Elections & the Blogsphere

Since tomorrow is election day, I wanted to share a few posts I've read geared toward Christians and voting. Some of them deal primarily with the question, 'Should a person vote on based on one-issue?' You know the one on the minds of most Christians: abortion.

Here are a few blog posts I find insightful, thought-provoking, and with a good perspective:

Let Christians Vote As Though They Were Not Voting, by John Piper

Thoughts on Voting and Politics: "John Piper's Heart in This Election," a video



In this video, Piper makes a statement on why he believes a woman shouldn't run for president. He explains this further here.

Justin Taylor gives his opinion on Piper's (above) video: Piper, Politics, and Abortion: A Few Thoughts

I would particularly encourage you to read the section in the "Agreement" where Taylor talks about Obama and what the consequences of signing the Freedom of Choice Act will be.

Randy Alcorn had a good (but very long) post on the topic of voting and abortion:
I'm Not Voting for a Man, I'm Voting for Generations of Children & Their Right to Live

Then, Jess at Making Home (one of the new blogs I've been reading) wrote a good post on our perspective of the outcome of the election: God Is Sovereign Over All Human Authorities

There you go...enjoy and go vote!

Let be and be still...

Lately, I've been struggling with feeling that I'm not doing enough. I'll plan my day and be very productive in the morning, but around one o'clock I begin to question myself.

Did I do enough? Did I spend too much time browsing blogs? Should I have organized my sewing mess or baked? Was I productive enough?

And so on...

I'm a very performance-based person. Do things right. Do them on time. Do them perfectly. It's something God has been working on with me, sometimes more forcefully than others. But as I'm making the transition from part-time teacher/wife/homemaker to full-time wife/homemaker (and mom) I've become more aware of how often I question how I spent my day and am seeing the danger in it as I approach this new season of life. If I continue to spend my mornings in productivity and my afternoons doubting if I did anything worthwhile I know I'll go crazy and dig myself into selfish despair.

But this week I found some encouragement amidst my blogs.

Girl Talk has been doing a series on homemaking and two of their posts really spoke to me: Not Her Best and More Like Christ. Here's a little tidbit, but definitely read the full posts:

Twentieth century British author G.K. Chesterton has liberating insight for all homemakers who feel pressure to excel in something besides homemaking. In an essay entitled “The Emancipation of Domesticity” he observed that woman is a “general overseer” in the home, and as such, she must be able to do many things well—she shouldn't have to worry about being "the best" at something. Read here

Quoted from Noel Piper's Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God:

Perhaps the deepest underlying personal factor in Helen's tension was the need she felt to do her very best and, if possible, to be the very best. God called her to Africa where that was not possible. There were continuing lessons for her: learning to treat malaria by symptoms rather than with prescribed lab tests, having to operate without having been trained as a surgeon, needing to make bricks rather than spending the day with patients.

Perhaps that is an issue for some of us--struggling with the reality that God has called us to do less than we want to do or less than what we believe is best. [...] When God called Helen to less than she expected, he was helping her become like Christ, rather than like the best doctor or missionary she knew of. Who is it we want to be like?" (p. 172) Read here

And then, Simple Mom had a guest post from Small Notebook, and do you want to guess what it's about?

7 Benefits of Imperfection

Doesn't everyone need a little encouragement?

Sharing the Blog Love

Two new blogs to my blogroll that I enjoy.

Creative. Helpful. Fun.

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It's a party!

Put on your party dress
and break out your dancing shoes!

It's time for The Ultimate Blog Party!

Welcome to the party @ Reflections of a Princess! I'm your hostess, Jessica and resident princess. Why reflections of a princess? Well, a few years back God impressed the passage in Psalm 45 onto my heart that I was His daughter, betrothed to His Son, thus not only a heir to grace but also a princess, part of a royal priesthood. There's a lot that followed after that in what God revealed to me, which you'll find on here occasionally.

But here's a little introduction about myself. (If you care for a longer introduction, click here.)

I'm a 20-something living in Southern California married to a wonderful man. I grew up in the USMC, so I've moved 10 times and lived in 16 different houses! Whew!

As of now, I'm an assistant teacher at a Christian Montessori school. In February, I started working part-time as my husband and I are taking steps to building our family.
(We hit a rough spot in the fall after a miscarriage.)

My hobbies? I love to read, write, scrapbook, and sew (although I don't get to it too often). I'm also a junior high youth leader at my church (going on five years now!), and contrary to popular belief these are not horrible years.

Other random things about me? I like ellipses. Which are these little things...I like Law & Order:SVU is fascinating, even though it freaks me out sometimes. I'm a Biggest Loser fan (and secretly, America's Next Top Model). Oh, and I've been know to have a foot/shoe fetish.

I'd love to get know my fellow bloggers,

so leave a comment and a random fact about yourself! : )

Kudos to my Hubby

My husband started blogging, as an anonymous 20-something on personal finances, in December 2007 and gets pretty consist hits. A few times he's even been a featured blog on different carnivals, which bumps his hits up a bit.

This week, however, he submitted a post on a carnival, and then his hits starting going up like crazy! He was getting something like 100 hits an hour! Why such an increase in hits? His post got picked up by the Consumerist, which apparently is one of the wider read money blogs out there! The next day he found out that the MSN Money blog linked to him as well.

Pretty cool, hubby. Pretty cool.

Just to give you a taste of what this did to his stats here's a graph he made:



You know what the crazy thing about all this is? His post was about Pet Monkeys - The Financial Considerations! (I guess I'm giving a little bit of his anonymity away so...Ssh--don't tell!)

I've been thinking of changing my blog template lately. I've had this one for a few years now and I'm kinda getting bored with it. I found one I like here, but the only thing I have against that one is the same thing I have against this one...too much white.

If anyone knows of a place that has free blog templates let me know...please! My blog needs a makeover!

Time for a Change

I'm starting to get tired of my blog's decor, so to speak. It's time for a change.
But how?
And to what?

We'll see...we'll see...

It's that time...

hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom

I participated in this last year, but I have such a hit and miss blogging style (something I'm trying to work on) that I don't know that I have many consistent readers. Maybe four, that I know of. And three of them are related to me. The fourth I've known since diapers.

But I'd like to get out there in the blogging world and meet more people. I definitely enjoy perusing the blogs of others and I have my top 4 blogs that I check daily. But this year...maybe, hopefully, it's at least my plan to blog more...be more specific (but random as life leads, because it always does) and whatever else!

You don't have to be a mom to join (I'm not). You don't even have to be a girl! (Yew, boys have cooties!) Leave me a little note if you're joining in (or even if you're not). I'd love to make some blogger friends. I hope to see you at The Ultimate Blog Party!

(Oh, do you want to know a secret? I'm planning to launch a new blog on my favorite hobby...scrapbooking!)

Oh, so cute!

I was perusing Biblical Womanhood today and came across her post on 56 free apron patterns. They are so cute! Here's a few of the ones I like best...I might be making some of these soon. Especially with the denim apron!

This one's called a Tea Apron...oh, so cute!

I've got plenty of these to try out...

Isn't it adorable?

I can't wait to get to sewing!

Sew, Mama, Sew!

For a while I've loved Sew, Mama, Sew! It's actually where I got a lot of my ideas for the handmade Christmas gifts last year. I haven't really been there in a while, since I've been doing more scrapbooking than sewing recently but I have a feeling I may be going back soon. I just found their oh-so-cute patterns! They are absolutely adorable. Sewing just may be in my future.

My favorite patterns are the Amy Butler and Vanilla House Designs.

Is this not the cutest bag!

And all the little aprons and organizer things! It's so much fun!
I can't wait to get some...