I have to admit that sometimes I don't like being 'separate' because people think we're strange. But the people of God were never meant to look like the rest of the world. Obeying God is going to mean being 'strange' in the world's eyes at some point whether it's as simple as not eating pork or as big as moving where God tells you when to the world it might look foolish.
This reminds me of the Scripture that says "To whom much is given much is required" which goes along with the idea that we have to be faithful in the little things if God is going to trust us with the big things. If we're willing to be obedient in those seemingly little things such as keeping kosher (according to Torah) and not whine about it or question Him, then He can trust us to trusting in Him with our finances, with our life's decisions, with our families, ministry, etc.
It's just one way to look at it.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Wives & Mothers of Excellence
I think many times as moms, we get so stuck in the routine of being housekeeper and mommy that we somewhat lose our identity. Each day holds the same pattern and challenges. The laundry keeps piling up, we have to figure out the dinner menu as well as the kid’s breakfast and lunches, we hear ‘Moooom!’ seemingly ever 10 seconds, the beds need made, the baby blows out his diaper at least twice a day, groceries need purchased, the dog still isn’t housetrained, the husband leaves sock and underwear on the floor, the kids spilled the juice and knocked over the vase (again), aaaaaaaand the list goes on!
Okay, maybe your list doesn’t quite look like that; I know mine looks a little different too. But for each of us it becomes a necessary routine and many of us can admit that at times it can be pretty mundane. In the chaos of life and the never-ending job of being a wife and mother, it is so easy to let ourselves go. Soon we discover that we’re entirely overweight and can no longer blame it on postpartum pounds or pregnancy cravings. We no longer fancy up a bit when the husband comes home. We lose all sense of style and get into the frumpy mama look. Oh, and make-up? Who has time for that? We become so engulfed and swallowed up by the routine each day that we take no thought to ourselves, to our appearance, to our health, to our general well-being.
Being a wife and mother is something most of us have dreamed about since we were little girls. And now that it’s finally happened, it’s SO much more chaotic and ‘treadmill’ like than we ever thought possible! It’s like we become resigned to the routine in such a way that we just learn to deal with it in the quickest, most efficient way possible. And in that process, we lose ourselves. But being a wife and mother is SO much more than a list of chores. It is about respecting and adoring our husbands and cherishing and nurturing our children. It takes a lot of out of us.
So I have to ask, how can we truly love our husbands and children if we are too run-down and don’t even care about our own upkeep? Our families need us and we know that all too well, so why are we burning ourselves out? We lose so much focus when we simply do the daily routine and try to get through the day.
Take a minute and think about what you’re really doing, or better why you’re doing it. It’s all because of love. But when we lose our sense of identity and purpose, then unfortunately many of our efforts are in vain. Being a mom is a hard job, but being a tired frumpy grumpy mom isn’t any help to anyone!
This isn’t a post saying to go to the spa, go on a private vacation, or going on an elaborate shopping spree, or abandoning the family. This is about refinding who you are as a wife and mother. God created us to the purpose excellence in everything we do. It doesn’t mean that we have to be perfect at everything, but it does mean that the things we are called to do should be done in excellence. The first step is kicking out the burdens that we really do not need to take on. This leaves room for the things that really matter.
The next thing is a rather touchy subject from what I’ve noticed but I’ll go ahead anyways. There is no reason why a woman called by God to be a wife and mother has to go around frumpy, grumpy, moody, and miserable. There just is no reason for it. It takes 10 minutes to do a simple hairstyle (I know cuz I discovered a few out of necessity!), and 5 minutes to do a quick make-up job. It doesn’t take a shopping spree at the mall to find stylish clothes. I get most of my clothes second-hand for unbelievably low prices. And as far as weight loss? Making (or getting at the store) healthy meals for the family and moving about in the daily routine is a good start!
And most importantly is our spiritual lives. Too many times I've gotten so bogged down and gone throughout my whole day without spending time in worship or prayer or anything. Maybe I'll listen to music, but listening to music and worship are two different things. Even if I can actually pray and worship while folding laundry or taking the time to pray over my child as I'm putting her to sleep or study while baby naps (or in some cases, while children are at school or what-not), these are the things that put that spiritual zest back in our day. I know that listening to my iPod as I go to sleep or starting my day listening and truly worshipping while doing morning chores, these things really make my day so much more fulfilling and my mood is much better. Praise is like getting dressed for the day, it really makes a difference!
Did I mention it’s around 1am and I’m in pjs with the TV flipped on? We all have bad days, we’re going to have bad days since we belong to that race of human. But instilling healthy patterns is a start. The general statistic is that it takes 21 days to form a habit, so let’s start forming some healthy patterns. Our families need us, God gave us the husband and child(ren) that we have and He knows in Him we’re more than capable of being excellent wives and mothers. Let’s trust that He knew what He was doing when He made our dreams come true. Feel confident about who you are and show it! For you, for your husband and children, and for the glory of God. Let’s be women of excellence!
Okay, maybe your list doesn’t quite look like that; I know mine looks a little different too. But for each of us it becomes a necessary routine and many of us can admit that at times it can be pretty mundane. In the chaos of life and the never-ending job of being a wife and mother, it is so easy to let ourselves go. Soon we discover that we’re entirely overweight and can no longer blame it on postpartum pounds or pregnancy cravings. We no longer fancy up a bit when the husband comes home. We lose all sense of style and get into the frumpy mama look. Oh, and make-up? Who has time for that? We become so engulfed and swallowed up by the routine each day that we take no thought to ourselves, to our appearance, to our health, to our general well-being.
Being a wife and mother is something most of us have dreamed about since we were little girls. And now that it’s finally happened, it’s SO much more chaotic and ‘treadmill’ like than we ever thought possible! It’s like we become resigned to the routine in such a way that we just learn to deal with it in the quickest, most efficient way possible. And in that process, we lose ourselves. But being a wife and mother is SO much more than a list of chores. It is about respecting and adoring our husbands and cherishing and nurturing our children. It takes a lot of out of us.
So I have to ask, how can we truly love our husbands and children if we are too run-down and don’t even care about our own upkeep? Our families need us and we know that all too well, so why are we burning ourselves out? We lose so much focus when we simply do the daily routine and try to get through the day.
Take a minute and think about what you’re really doing, or better why you’re doing it. It’s all because of love. But when we lose our sense of identity and purpose, then unfortunately many of our efforts are in vain. Being a mom is a hard job, but being a tired frumpy grumpy mom isn’t any help to anyone!
This isn’t a post saying to go to the spa, go on a private vacation, or going on an elaborate shopping spree, or abandoning the family. This is about refinding who you are as a wife and mother. God created us to the purpose excellence in everything we do. It doesn’t mean that we have to be perfect at everything, but it does mean that the things we are called to do should be done in excellence. The first step is kicking out the burdens that we really do not need to take on. This leaves room for the things that really matter.
The next thing is a rather touchy subject from what I’ve noticed but I’ll go ahead anyways. There is no reason why a woman called by God to be a wife and mother has to go around frumpy, grumpy, moody, and miserable. There just is no reason for it. It takes 10 minutes to do a simple hairstyle (I know cuz I discovered a few out of necessity!), and 5 minutes to do a quick make-up job. It doesn’t take a shopping spree at the mall to find stylish clothes. I get most of my clothes second-hand for unbelievably low prices. And as far as weight loss? Making (or getting at the store) healthy meals for the family and moving about in the daily routine is a good start!
And most importantly is our spiritual lives. Too many times I've gotten so bogged down and gone throughout my whole day without spending time in worship or prayer or anything. Maybe I'll listen to music, but listening to music and worship are two different things. Even if I can actually pray and worship while folding laundry or taking the time to pray over my child as I'm putting her to sleep or study while baby naps (or in some cases, while children are at school or what-not), these are the things that put that spiritual zest back in our day. I know that listening to my iPod as I go to sleep or starting my day listening and truly worshipping while doing morning chores, these things really make my day so much more fulfilling and my mood is much better. Praise is like getting dressed for the day, it really makes a difference!
Did I mention it’s around 1am and I’m in pjs with the TV flipped on? We all have bad days, we’re going to have bad days since we belong to that race of human. But instilling healthy patterns is a start. The general statistic is that it takes 21 days to form a habit, so let’s start forming some healthy patterns. Our families need us, God gave us the husband and child(ren) that we have and He knows in Him we’re more than capable of being excellent wives and mothers. Let’s trust that He knew what He was doing when He made our dreams come true. Feel confident about who you are and show it! For you, for your husband and children, and for the glory of God. Let’s be women of excellence!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
A day in the life of me!
So it’s time to talk about the main theme of my blog – marriage, motherhood, and more! Today is a good day! Please bear with me whilst I elaborate!
I woke up this morning to my baby’s sounds as always, she wanted to play and I wanted to rest. So I did the natural thing, I took her into bed with me to cuddle and let her play before I got my day started. I love hanging out with my baby girl, she’s fun to have around! So after at least a half hour of relaxing while baby played, I finally dragged the both of us out of bed and got my day started.
And boy did I have a long productive day ahead of me! It’s 12:55 as I write this and so far I’ve made stuffed peppers (spoiler-alert if my husband is reading this!), brownies are in the oven, and I made a Wal-mart run for some much needed cooking items. I actually feel beautiful today as my hair turned out great, I decided to dress up a bit, and baby is all pinked out today!
Why am I writing all this seemingly unimportant nonsense about my day? Who cares, right? Well, it’s the little things that make being a wife and mother what it is. I had fun making dinner and dessert (will be sharing that dessert as some of you know!) because it’s part of loving and giving. I take pride when I have success in my calling and hospitality and giving is part of that vocation. It’s not a ugly kind of pride, but the kind that says “Hey, I like what God has given me to do and I know I’m doing my best”.
So that none of you presume that I’m ‘Suzie homemaker’, my kitchen is an absolute mess and I’m sitting at the breakfast bar eating peanut butter M&Ms. But besides that, I just wanted to say – I’m happy today! I feel like I’m right where God wants me to be today doing exactly what He wants me to be doing – loving my family and loving my life!
I woke up this morning to my baby’s sounds as always, she wanted to play and I wanted to rest. So I did the natural thing, I took her into bed with me to cuddle and let her play before I got my day started. I love hanging out with my baby girl, she’s fun to have around! So after at least a half hour of relaxing while baby played, I finally dragged the both of us out of bed and got my day started.
And boy did I have a long productive day ahead of me! It’s 12:55 as I write this and so far I’ve made stuffed peppers (spoiler-alert if my husband is reading this!), brownies are in the oven, and I made a Wal-mart run for some much needed cooking items. I actually feel beautiful today as my hair turned out great, I decided to dress up a bit, and baby is all pinked out today!
Why am I writing all this seemingly unimportant nonsense about my day? Who cares, right? Well, it’s the little things that make being a wife and mother what it is. I had fun making dinner and dessert (will be sharing that dessert as some of you know!) because it’s part of loving and giving. I take pride when I have success in my calling and hospitality and giving is part of that vocation. It’s not a ugly kind of pride, but the kind that says “Hey, I like what God has given me to do and I know I’m doing my best”.
So that none of you presume that I’m ‘Suzie homemaker’, my kitchen is an absolute mess and I’m sitting at the breakfast bar eating peanut butter M&Ms. But besides that, I just wanted to say – I’m happy today! I feel like I’m right where God wants me to be today doing exactly what He wants me to be doing – loving my family and loving my life!
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