Biblical Womanhood

Great is His faithfulness

2008-09-16T07:00:00.002-05:00

As many of you know, we moved away from our lifelong home six months after we got married--leaving behind us our families, friends, church, and everything we knew. We stepped out in faith to begin a three-year journey through law school in strange town with no friends, no jobs, and little money.

We saw God be faithful, our trust in Him was deepened like never before, and our marriage was strengthened so much because all we had was the Lord and each other. It was a lonely time, it was a stretching time, and above all, it was one of the most maturing experiences we've ever been through.

After law school, our heart's desire was to move back home; we had a toddler and another baby on the way by then and we were dearly missing our families and community we left behind. But the Lord had other plans.

He moved us to Kansas City where we endured a grueling six months that brought so many bizarre circumstances and trials you'd probably think we were making it all up. Only problem was, we weren't.

Again, our faith was tested. Again, our marriage was strengthened. And again, we saw God prove Himself faithful through it all.

In August of 2007, it appeared the Lord was opening the doors for us to move back home. We were beyond elation and quickly started getting everything in order to move. Only a few weeks before our expected move date, everything fell through and we knew this was not God's timing.

We were both crushed. To see our dreams shattering in a hundred pieces before our faces, to come so close only to have it all pulled away was especially hard. I wanted so badly to trust God in the midst of this, but, I'll be very honest and say that my faith wavered a great deal. Yet, God was faithful, in spite of my unbelief, my doubts, and my fears.

Little bit by little bit, we started seeing some rainbows through the rain, though: after three months of unemployment, my husband was able to get steady work; the Lord provided friends to help lift us up and encourage us when we were so beaten-down and weary; and God used His Word to rejuvenate our hearts.

For months, we waited, prayed, applied for jobs, and prayed some more. Many others joined us in praying. We held onto the hope that if the Lord wanted us to move back home, He would clearly open the door for us. We wanted it to be His timing, not ours.

We also learned many of the lessons I shared last week about embracing today. We didn't know what the future held, but that didn't need to stop us from making the most of today. We continued to pursue the possibility of moving back home, but we also asked the Lord to give us patience and contentment for today.

Two months ago, the Lord strongly impressed upon both of our hearts that it was time to earnestly begin praying about moving back home. We spent hours on our knees before the Lord praying for direction, for Wisdom, for guidance and clarity. We truly wanted His will, not ours.

Out-of-the-blue, a job opportunity presented itself--one we weren't seeking and something we weren't even considering. But after more prayer, we knew this was where God was leading. He continued to open all the doors and keep all the lights green.

Last Saturday, we finalized the job details and signed a contract on a beautiful rental house (just another of God's blessings--it was right in our price range, perfectly suited for us, and in the exact location we were hoping for!).

After years of hoping, waiting, and praying, the Lord has given us the desire of our hearts and the answer to our prayers. We look back and realize how this past year--hard as it was--was perfectly preparing us for what God had in store.

God is good. All the time. Even when I've doubted, even when my faith has wavered. He knew all along and He was absolutely in control at every moment and step of the way. I'm excited to see what the future has in store!

Note: Lord-willing, we'll be moving October 18, 2008. It should be an interesting next month--especially since I'm right at the peak of morning sickness--but I know that the Lord will sustain us and carry us through!

A few great links

2008-09-15T07:51:00.005-05:00

While I've been resting more due to morning sickness, I've had a chance to peruse the blogosphere a bit more than usual. Here are a few articles I thought I'd pass along:

What If You Just Don't Want To?--This is a must-read for married women. Spot on.

The Daily Balance of Parenting and Housework--Great advice, especially for young moms who are struggling with balance.

I Was a Better Mother Before the Internet--Sage words from an experienced mom. And good for everyone to read--not just those who are moms themselves.

Eyes of Wonder--Did you hear that Jewels is back to blogging after almost a year's hiatus? I love her blog! Head on over there now and you'll probably see why!

Frugal Friday: A life of less

2008-09-11T22:25:00.005-05:00

I stumbled across OwlHaven's 30 Days of Nothing Challenge last week and have been very inspired and motivated by it. We're in a season of life where we are splurging more for survival so I can't join in full-force, but I look forward to when our family can do something similar in the not-too-distant future.

Contemplating this challenge, I realized that while we do spend much more money than we absolutely need to, we are quite frugal compared to most who live in the United States.

We buy used clothes, used cars, and used furniture. We have basic cell phone plans and no cable service. We eat simple meals on Wal-Mart dishware, we plan our menus based upon what is on sale at the store and what we have on hand in our cupboards, and we have only spent more than $40 on a dinner out a handful of times in our married life.

We don't have expensive addictions, we don't go to movies, we use our exercise equipment that we bought off of CraigsList instead of having a gym membership, and we don't pay for any newspaper or magazine subscriptions. We try to keep our furnishings and clothing to a minimum and only have what we love and use. The girls only have a few toys, we borrow books and movies from the library instead of buying them, and we are always on the lookout for ways to have free fun.

Most of all, we only buy things we can pay cash for and we try to carefully evaluate our motives for all purchases made.

Compared to most Americans, we are ridiculous for making the decisions we do and living the lifestyle we live. But you know what? We don't care; we long ago gave up worrying about what "the Jones' family" might think of us.

Looking back, the first two years of our marriage were literally "Two Years of Nothing." Most of the time, we didn't have any wiggle room in the budget for anything that wasn't a pretty basic necessity and so we went without. I even fondly recall the week we needed to buy more fish food and I couldn't scrape together the extra $2 needed to buy it, so we had to wait until the next pay period. (Somehow the fish survived over a week with no food and went on to live another few years!)

Those were difficult years and they were stretching years. We didn't make our needs known to anyone else, but we spent countless hours praying for God's provision. And what a faithful Provider He always was! We learned to rely upon Him for our daily bread and we never went hungry, were never without a roof over our heads, and always had clothes to wear.

These "Two Years of Nothing" were some of the best years of our life! Our marriage was strengthened, our faith was tested, and our frugality was stretched. And we wouldn't trade it for anything.

Yes, we've given ourselves a lot more wiggle room in the budget now than we ever had back then, but we've also found that there are a lot of things you can live without and still have a wonderful and satisfying life. So while we're not joining in the 30 Day of Nothing Challenge this go -around, we are actively pursuing a life of less.

After all, I'd much rather live on less and have more money and time to invest in what's really important--those things which will last for Eternity!

**Note: I did want to mention, lest anyone misunderstand, that I don't believe there is anything inherently wrong with buying new things, or going to expensive restaurants on a regular basis, or paying for subscriptions, and so forth. Not everyone needs to make the same choices in their life that we have made!

After all, I know that we splurge on some things that other frugal folks would find very extravagant. And sometime in the future, in different circumstances, we might make different spending choices than we're making now. However, we want to always evaluate our motives for everything we do and every dollar we spend. If we don't have a good reason for doing it and we can't afford it, we need to step back and re-consider.
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Have a frugal tip or thought to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Please do not post anything related to Halloween (email me if you have questions on that), remember to keep it family-friendly, and post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. Links going to the homepage of your blog or any other part of your blog besides the direct link to your Frugal Friday post will be deleted.

Embrace Today: Make the most of where God has you!

2008-09-10T07:30:00.002-05:00

One way I'm seeking to "Embrace Today" during this first trimester is by making the most of today. Instead of focusing on all the things I can't do because I'm feeling sick most of the time, I'm seeking--with God's help--to focus on what I can do:

:: I can use the hours spent lying still to help curb the nausea to devote extra time to prayer, reading God's Word, and meditating on Scripture. I've found that even when the nausea is at its worst and I'm incapable of doing nothing else, I can still pray. What sweet times of fellowship I've had with the Lord as a result!

:: I can invest much more time than usual into just being with the girls. While we've spent almost all day every day together since the girls' birth, many of those days have seemed to rush by so quickly that we don't take enough time to just sit and talk and read and laugh and play together. I'm seeking to seize this short season of simplicity to spend more time with the girls.

When I need to lie down and rest right now (which is often!), I'm encouraging the girls to come pile on the bed or couch with me and just spend quality time with Mom--talking, playing, practicing sign language and words with Kaitlynn and reviewing ABC's and counting with Kathrynne, reading, and most of all, just being together.

:: I can be a cheerful wife and mother. Just because I'm feeling poorly doesn't mean I have to be grumpy! I'm trying to look for the positive things, count my blessings, and find humor in anything that might be remotely humorous. And I'm constantly looking to the Lord to keep me cheerful and joyful in Him.

When I took the time to think of it in terms of things I can do during this time, it made all the difference in the world for me. Believe it or not, I actually started even getting a little excited about this season!

What about you? Where does God have you right now? How can you embrace today and make the most of it--no matter what season of life you are in?

Maybe you're a young woman just finishing high school who is searching for direction for the future. Or an unmarried woman in your twenties or thirties giving your life ministering to other families when you would love nothing more than to have a family of your own.

Perhaps you're a wife who longs to be a full-time mom and homemaker but God hasn't given you children yet or worked things out so you could come home full-time. Maybe you're the single mom who is struggling to make ends meet.

Some of you are probably in a similar place to me today--you're a young wife and mom with little children in the throes of morning sickness. Or maybe you're a busy homeschooling mother of many feeling stretched very thin.

Wherever you are at in your Christian journey, God knows. He sees your struggles; He knows your longings. He hears your cries for help, for grace, for encouragement, for direction. He wants you to find your delight first and foremost in Him. He can give you joy in the midst of sorrow, peace in spite of pain, strength to endure, and enthusiasm for life!

Will you join me? Let's choose joy, keep our eyes focused on Christ, and embrace today--no matter the struggles or difficulties!

"Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross..." (Hebrews 12:1-2)

"I delight to do Thy will, O my God..." (Psalm 40:8)

Graphic from AllPosters.com

Embrace Today: Choose Joy!

2008-09-09T11:30:00.001-05:00

Incessant nausea and exhaustion during the first half of pregnancy is not something I'd ever pick for myself, if given a choice. Make no mistake, I love being a mom and am more than willing to go through this ten times over because the reward at the end is so worth it.

However, the last two pregnancies I spent a lot of time wishing I could fast-forward to the end of the nine months--or at least to the end of the first twenty weeks. Wish as I might, though, there is no fast forward button on life. I can either muddle through this difficult season with a grumbling attitude, or I can choose, by God's grace, to embrace today--nausea and all!

And so, I've landed upon a new motto for this pregnancy: "Embrace today!"

Choosing to cheerfully endure and make the most of this season won't necessarily mean that it goes by any quicker or with less nausea, but a joyful spirit in the midst of it certainly won't hurt anything!

Maybe you're not experiencing morning sickness today, but I'm sure every one of you is going through some sort of trial. Perhaps you are struggling with infertility or the recent loss of a child and you would love more than anything to be in my place. Or perhaps you are going through financial difficulties, or family struggles, or misunderstanding, disappointment, heartache, or hurt.

Whatever the season and struggle, I want to encourage you to commit to choose joy in the midst of difficulty. Ask the Lord to fill you up with true peace and joy in Him--in spite of trying circumstances. He is faithful to provide exactly what we need, when we need it. Look to Him!

"Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places..." Habbakkuk 3:17-19a

"...The joy of the LORD is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10b

Graphic from AllPosters.com

Minimizing Monday: Simplifying the schedule

2008-09-08T15:48:00.004-05:00

I'm a person who likes order, structure, and routine. I don't do well living "by the seat of my pants" or not having a plan.

Right before I found out I was pregnant, I'd written up an elaborate schedule for the Fall; I had big plans and high hopes.

And then I found out I was expecting! Isn't that just like God to remind me Who is truly in control of my life?

Instead of my grandioso schedule, we're opting for a very simplified order of events for our days--at least for the next few months. Jesse was so kind to sit down with me this weekend and help me transform my entirely-too-long list into a few main priorities for each day.

We then took this list of priorities and put it in rough order for the day. This list is a framework, not a schedule, or even a routine; it gives me some guidelines to stay focused and make sure I don't forget the things which are really important--like feeding the girls and myself. :)

Here's what it looks like:

SIMPLIFIED DAILY ROUTINE
Get up
Read Bible/Nurse Kaitlynn
Exercise (20 minutes)
Shower/Dress
Vitamins/Water
Blogging/Computer, if time
Girls up
Breakfast
Set out anything needed for dinner (Jesse has very generously taken over dinner prep right now, but I help out by having a plan and making sure anything that needs to be thawed is taken out of the freezer in the morning.)
Girl's baths
Start a load of laundry/Fold and put away a load
Wash the dishes
Rest/Read with the girls
Take a walk
Lunchtime
Vacuum/Bathrooms, if needed
Girls' play time
Rest time/Quiet time
Snack
Video/Movie time

My main goals for each day are to make sure the girls' needs are met; to read my Bible and take a shower; to try and get some exercise; to take my vitamins and drink lots of water; to eat healthfully and consume at least 100 grams of protein (I'm somewhat following the Bradley Diet, with modifications since I can't stomach a lot of foods right now.); and to be a cheerful wife and mother.

If there's time and energy, my next priorities are to: Do a load of laundry every day; wash the dishes once every day; clean the bathrooms and vacuum once per week; read to the girls for at least 30 minutes every day; and that's about it!

It has helped me tremendously to break things down into very manageable and simple priorities and eliminate pretty much everything else. There will be a time and season--likely soon!--for more elaborate schedules, but for right now, it's all about keeping it simple!

Related: If you'd like to see our Quick and Easy "Survival" Menu for this week, go here.

See more posts on the topic of minimizing right over here.

Embrace Today!

2008-09-08T08:00:00.004-05:00

"This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

It is so easy to pine away precious hours of our lives looking ahead to tomorrow, next week, next month, next year. We dream of when our husband gets that raise or promotion or new job, when we get that new house or new car. Or when we get married, or have that baby, or find a good church, or meet some like-minded friends. And on and on it goes.

Often, while we are so wrapped up in looking ahead and longing, dreaming, and wishing we miss out on today. This is the day that the Lord has made. This is the moment we are living in. Let's live it to the fullest!

"Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God." -Jim Elliot

The next few days, we'll be talking about "embracing today", and I'll be sharing more of how God is teaching me this in my own life right now. I hope and pray that these lessons might be an encouragement to many of you--no matter what season of life you are in.

Graphic from AllPosters.com

Frugal Friday: A time to be frugal and a time to be practical

2008-09-04T23:47:00.005-05:00

As most of you know, my life has dramatically changed for a short season. Instead of cooking, cleaning, playing hide-n-seek with my girls, grocery shopping, and the myriad of other things I usually busy myself with, I'm spending most of my time in as-near-of-a-lying-down position as possible to attempt to keep my meals down.

Yes, morning sickness has a way of causing one to step back and simplify. It's a hard season, but it's a good season. And the end result is something worth every single moment of nausea.

However, I have to make it to the end of these nine months first, so that means shifting into survival mode. My usual frugal nature gets partially chucked out the window while I do what it takes to make it through each day.

The hardest struggle for me when dealing with the first and second trimester sickness is meal preparation as I usually want to stay as far away from the kitchen as I possibly can. There's only one problem: we have to eat. I don't have a live-in chef or live-in maid and my husband is gone at work much of the day, so it's up to me to feed myself and my girlies.

My husband and I decided that instead of getting carryout food multiple times per week, we'd substantially raise our grocery budget as a temporary solution. This extra wiggle room allows us to buy more "fast foods" that are also pretty healthful, too--things like Annie's Homegrown macaroni and cheese, beef hot dogs, and lots of finger foods for the girls.

Raising our grocery budget by $30 or so per week is a big jump for our small family, but if it allows us a little bit more smooth sailing through these uncharted waters, it's every bit worth it to me. And in the long-run, I think it will also save us more money (not to mention being more heathful) since the default would likely be picking up dinner from a local restaurant three nights per week--and that adds up fast!

It's only a season and it will pass. Hopefully in a few months from now I'll be all motivated to jump back into baking, bargain shopping, and cooking from scratch. In the mean time, I want to survive intact, and maybe with a smile, too!

What about you? Are there seasons of life when you've had to let go of some of your frugal ways in favor of doing what was practical? And any great and extremely quick and easy meal ideas for me? I'm making a master list to work from over the next few months and would love your input.

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Have a frugal tip or thought to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. Links going to the homepage of your blog or any other part of your blog besides the direct link to your Frugal Friday post will be deleted.

If you don't have a blog, you are welcome to leave your tips in the comments section. Thanks so much for participating!

Entering uncharted waters: Paine baby #3

2008-09-03T10:02:00.007-05:00

For those who may have missed my subtle hint yesterday, yes, we're expecting baby #3! And yes, it caught us completely by surprise, though we are incredibly excited and overjoyed!

You see, we are in the process of a possible major job change and move and had been putting a lot of time, thought, and prayer into that. We were both hoping God would bless us with another child soon, but since I'm still nursing Kaitlynn we just assumed it wouldn't likely be happening until after she was weaned.

[We both love children and have left our family size in God's hands. However, based upon past experience, I was pretty sure I couldn't get pregnant while I was nursing. It's been something we've both prayed about and discussed at length since we want to have many more children--should the Lord see fit to bless us in that regard--but at the same time it is important to us that I nurse our babies until they are getting plenty of nutritional value from foods or wean themselves. I'm excited to know now that it's not an either/or sort of situation!]

I'd been struggling a great deal over the last few weeks and feeling almost constantly frustrated, moody, irritable, and exhausted. It was very strange and despite lots of prayer and reading God's Word, trying to quiet my heart before the Lord and rest in Him, I just couldn't seem to pull out of this major slump I was in.

I began to wonder if I were "losing it" or what could possibly be wrong with me. However, there were too many other things going on in our life for me to really consider that pregnancy could possibly be a major contributing factor to my emotional instability.

One morning this past week, as I was reading my Bible, the thought popped into my head: There's a pregnancy test in the closet upstairs, why don't you just take it? I had completely forgotten about that test we'd bought months ago for some reason or other and had been stowed away.

What could it hurt? I thought. And so I took the test, expecting to quickly toss the negative results into the trash and get on with my day.

You can imagine my indescribable shock when the test immediately registered as positive. Very, very positive. No wonder I've had just about every sign in the book of pregnancy the last few weeks. No wonder I haven't felt well at all! No wonder I've been experiencing some hormonal ups and downs!

After I recovered from my initial shock and the metaphorical banging of my head against the wall to think I didn't see the elephant in the room, it hit me: Jesse had already left for work and he hadn't even the slightest idea clue that I was going to take a pregnancy test. (In the past, he's always been the one to go out and buy one for me and eagerly anticipate the results with me!) How on earth should I tell him?

I thought about a dozen different scenarios but none of them were just right for the occasion. Instead, I picked up the phone, dialed his number, and said, "Honey, I know I don't usually call you at this time, but I thought maybe I should tell you: I just took a pregnancy test and it was positive."

It took quite a bit of convincing before he realized this wasn't a joke; I was 100% serious! And then his disbelief turned to ecstasy. If we were giving out awards for which husband reacted the most enthusiastically to his wife's pregnancy announcement, I'm pretty sure Jesse would win, hands down!

We are both thrilled with this unexpected surprise and humbly praise the Lord for bestowing upon us the privilege and responsibility of, Lord-willing, raising another warrior for His Kingdom. Kathrynne (3) is especially excited as she has been praying for almost a year now that we could have another baby. What a joy it was to share with her how God was answering her prayers!

At the same, I am overwhelmed with the thought of juggling morning-noon-and-night sickness while mothering two little girls and keeping some semblance of order in our home. Pregnancy is always a very stretching experience for me--both literally and figuratively! I need God's grace more than ever and am thankful that I can trust Him to provide for all of my needs one day, one hour, one moment at a time.

As many of you know, I also had some fairly serious health issues with my last pregnancy. I have put forth a lot of effort in the last year to fully recover and regain my health back and am grateful to be starting out this pregnancy in just about the best health I've ever been in.

My hope and prayer is that diligent effort on the diet and nutrition front coupled with good medical care will allow me to have a healthier pregnancy this time around. However, again, I want to have my trust in the Lord--not in doctors, or midwives, or supplements, or exercise, or healthful eating. He is ultimately in control and I want to rest in His perfect sovereignty.

Before I close this now-very-lengthy post, I wanted to ask all of you moms for any practical advice, input, or words of wisdom for me: What were the greatest helps in allowing you to survive morning sickness with toddlers underfoot? I'm feeling more-than-a-bit overwhelmed here as the nausea has arrived in full force. Comments, emails, links to articles/blog posts, are all very welcomed.

I also know nothing about what to expect regarding nursing while pregnant. I'd love to hear from those of you who have experience in this area and what worked for you.

Thank you in advance for your willingness to help this mom who feels like she's entering very uncharted waters and is in need of encouragement from those who've gone before.

Big sisters

2008-09-02T18:00:00.000-05:00

Saying "yes" to less

2008-09-01T22:18:00.004-05:00

A butterfly at the Omaha Zoo Butterfly Garden

Our family stole away this past weekend to Omaha, Nebraska just to be together as a family, refresh our spirits in the Lord, and take time seek the Lord and make some goals for the next few months of our life.

It was the perfect timing for such a vacation: I was feeling like life was beginning to spin out of control and I felt frustration and chaos in my heart and life instead of peace.

The very first morning, I got up early and made out a long list on a yellow pad of my current life goals. I realized, in writing out these goals, that most of the lack of quietness I'd be feeling in my heart and the lack of organization we'd be experiencing in our home was, in large part, the result of busyness. For two months, we'd been running here and there, doing-doing-doing, going-going-going.

After four years of staying home almost 90% of the time, going somewhere every day or every other day was taking its toll on me, on our home, and on our family.

As I reviewed my list of priorities and goals, I realized the only way we would be able to accomplish those goals or have my priorities in order would be by God's grace and a lot less busyness.

Jesse agreed wholeheartedly. And so, we're cutting back and saying "yes" to less--less busyness and fewer outside-the-home commitments and outings.

In other seasons of life, we might be able to do more and go more. In this season, my husband and I feel God is calling us to keep it simple and stay home more--a lot more.

I need to focus my time and energies on raising and training my daughters; they are only little once and I don't want to squander this season with busyness.

I'm looking forward to a Fall filled with baking in the kitchen with the girls, snuggling up and reading stories on the couch as a family, playing outdoors and digging in the dirt with Kathrynne (don't ask me why, but she loves dirt!), more quiet time for reading and studying God's Word, and, Lord-willing, many special memories made.

Most of all, I want to be still before the Lord, listen to His voice, and soak up His goodness and the beauty of His creation. I want to say "yes" to less--and cut back on less of the many "good things" my life has been wrapped up in which are seeking to rob me of investing my life in the best things.

Related: Stephanie's post on a similar topic was a great encouragement to me as I was seeking the Lord on this.

Frugal Friday: Fresh juice the frugal way

2008-08-28T22:25:00.004-05:00

Always one to be on the lookout for ways to eat healthfully yet frugally, this past year we've been experimenting with making fresh juice. And believe it or not, we have found it's not that expensive to pull off!

I did a bit of research and found a durable juicer on eBay for $50. We then started pricing costs of fruit and vegetables to determine how to get the best for our buck--both nutritionally and financially.

Our favorite frugal juice combination so far is orange/carrot juice. I usually buy oranges when they are on sale for $2.99/bag or less at Aldi and then we buy carrots for $0.99/bag. Altogether, this $4 investment will make enough juice for three breakfasts for all four of us.

We usually serve our juice with either bagels, English muffins, or homemade bread for a total cost of about $$0.40/person for breakfast. If I have extra eggs, I might scramble up some of those for extra protein, but it's still under $0.60/person for breakfast.

One of the great things about the juicer is that I can use it for fruit or vegetables which might be getting past their prime or need to be used up quickly. This past week, we've had lots of tomatoes from our garden, so we've been throwing those in our juice in the mornings for a little extra Vitamin C punch.

Better even than the ability to use up fruits and vegetables which might otherwise go bad before we can eat them, though, is that I've found I can sneak almost anything into our juice and the whole family will gladly drink it down--even the girls who aren't always the world's best veggie eaters. It's always nice to know we've started off their day with lots of nutritious vitamins freshly squeezed!

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Have a frugal tip to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. Links going to the homepage of your blog or any other part of your blog besides the direct link to your Frugal Friday post will be deleted.

If you don't have a blog, you are welcome to leave your tips in the comments section. Thanks so much for participating!

Waiting on God

2008-08-27T22:27:00.004-05:00

The following is a snippet from the 31-day devotional by Andrew Murray, Waiting on God. These words spoke volumes to me today as our family is currently in a season of waiting and I have been poignantly reminded of my own depravity and just how much I lack in faith and trust in God.

Whatever the outcome of our current situation, it doesn't really matter so long as I am basking in the goodness of God... His kindness, His faithfulness, His love. He is all I need.
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"The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him." Lam. 3: 25.

"There is none good but God." "His goodness is in the heavens." "Oh how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee." "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!"

And here is now the true way of entering into and rejoicing in this goodness of God--waiting upon Him. The Lord is good--even His children often do not know it, for they wait not in quietness for Him to reveal it. But to those who persevere in waiting, whose souls do wait, it will come true.

One might think that it is just those who have to wait who might doubt it. But this is only when they do not wait, but grow impatient. The truly waiting ones will all have to say, "The Lord is good to them that wait for Him." If you would fully know the goodness of God, give yourself more than ever to a life of waiting on Him.

At our first entrance into the school of waiting upon God, the heart is chiefly set upon the blessings which we wait for. God graciously uses our need and desire for help to educate us for something higher than we were thinking of.

We were seeking gifts; He, the Giver, longs to give Himself and to satisfy the soul with His goodness. It is just for this reason that He often withholds the gifts, and that the time of waiting is made so long.

He is all the time seeking to win the heart of His child for Himself. He wishes that we should not only say, when He bestows the gift, How good is God! but that long ere it comes, and even if it never comes, we should all the time be experiencing: "It is good that a man should quietly wait": "The Lord is good to them that wait for Him."

What a blessed life the life of waiting then becomes, the continual worship of faith, adoring and trusting His goodness. As the soul learns its secret, every act or exercise of waiting just becomes a quiet entering into the goodness of God, to let it do its blessed work and satisfy our every need.

And every experience of God's goodness gives the work of waiting new attractiveness, and instead of only taking refuge in time of need, there comes a great longing to wait continually and all the day. And however duties and engagements occupy the time and the mind, the soul gets more familiar with the secret art of always waiting. Waiting becomes the habit and disposition, the very second nature and breath of the soul.

Dear Christian! do you not begin to see that waiting is not one among a number of Christian virtues, to be thought of from time to time, but that it expresses that disposition which lies at the very root of the Christian life?

It gives a higher value and a new power to our prayer and worship, to our faith and surrender, because it links us, in unalterable dependence, to God Himself. And it gives us the unbroken enjoyment of the goodness of God: "The Lord is good to them that wait for Him."

Let me press upon you once again to take time and trouble to cultivate this so much needed element of the Christian life. We get too much of religion at second hand from the teaching of men. That teaching has great value if, even as the preaching of John the Baptist sent his disciples away from himself to the Living Christ, it leads us to God Himself.

What our religion needs is--more of God. Many of us are too much occupied with our work. As with Martha, the very service we want to render the Master separates from Him; it is neither pleasing to Him nor profitable to ourselves.

The more work, the more need of waiting upon God; the doing of God's will would then, instead of exhausting, be our meat and drink, nourishment and refreshment and strength. "The Lord is good to them that wait for Him."

How good none can tell but those who prove it in waiting on Him. How good none can fully tell but those who have proved Him to the utmost.

"My soul, wait thou only upon God!"

-Excerpted from Andrew Murray's book, Waiting on God

Graphic from AllPosters.com

Carrying a burden not my own

2008-08-27T09:04:00.000-05:00

I love this picture of Kathrynne snapped when she was helping me cook the other day. Sheer delight in working with mama!

This morning as Kathrynne and I were working on cleaning up another stuff-bomb in the office, I asked her to go get me a trash bag from the kitchen.

A few moments later I overheard her huffing and puffing and hollered down to ask if she were okay. Her strained voice replied, "I just can't do it, Mama. I can't carry this up the stairs."

I quickly realized she was trying to lug the large and overloaded kitchen trash up the entire flight of stairs instead of bringing me an empty trash bag as I'd requested.

Immediately, I couldn't help but think of how often that's me. I don't listen clearly to the Lord and run ahead and try to do what I think He asked of me only to find myself completely overwhelmed and struggling under the weight of some load He never asked me to carry.

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

"Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." (Psalm 55:22)

A crown to your husband

2008-08-26T08:00:00.001-05:00

All of you who are married or hope to be married someday must run over and read this excellent piece by Camilla Brown: 12 Things You Should Not Do To Your Husband.

As wives, we have the incredible responsibility to be the help meet to our husband. This word, "help meet" in the Hebrew ("ezer") literally means "a tower of strength".

Think about that for a minute: Are your actions, attitudes, words, and thoughts bringing strength to your husband? Or are they tearing him down as a man?

If you are married, purpose today to invest your life around serving the Lord by serving your husband. Be his helper, be his encourager, be his biggest cheerleader. Listen to him, notice his needs, praise him, go out of your way to show him love in practical ways. Become a student of your husband--know his likes and his dislikes, his interests, his vision, his passion, his heart.

Let us throw off the garbage we've been fed from feminism, humanism, and egalitarianism, and let us be noble women of virtue and valor, bulwarks of support and love to our husbands!

"A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones." (Proverbs 12:4)

Looking for a few good blogs

2008-08-25T13:00:00.001-05:00

With the Summer behind us and a somewhat-quieter Fall ahead, I'm looking forward to getting back into a little blog reading. There's only one problem: I don't even know where to start.

The internet is bursting with bloggy goodness and I thought perhaps you all could help streamline my search. I'm especially looking for well-written, eclectic blogs by Christian moms who are in a similar season of life as me and write on topics such as homemaking, homeschooling, mothering, simple living, organization, and healthful living.

So, any suggestions for me? Leave a comment and share the link or links to your favorite blogs or blogs you think I'd enjoy. And don't be shy, if you have a blog and think I'd be interested in checking it out, leave your link, too!

I'm looking forward to finding some new favorites to add to my regular blog-reading list!

Making Your Home a Haven on Monday: It's Anti-Procrastination Day!

2008-08-24T23:53:00.000-05:00

After the busyness of the last few months, I have a number of projects which were shelved for more important things.

Now that life has become a bit more calm, these projects are calling my name to tackle--the piles of garage sale stuff in the basement I need to sort and box up for our next garage sale; the garage which needs straightened, swept, and organized; the flower gardens in the front and back in dire need of weeding; the carpet in our bedroom seriously needing to be steamed; and about twenty-five other things if I were to sit here for another moment and keep typing.

I know there is no way I can start and finish my mile-long list today, but I'm going to make a goal to start and finish at least one project I've been procrastinating on. I'll post my progress this afternoon.

Graphic from AllPosters.com

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Would you like to join me in the anti-procrastination challenge? If so, just pick something you've been putting off and tackle it today. Then leave a comment telling us about it or post about it on your blog and leave the link below. I'm looking forward to seeing what great things you all accomplish today!

2008-08-23T17:00:00.002-05:00

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;

To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure--
The saints' and angels' song.

-The Love of God, lyrics by Frederick M. Lehman

Graphic from AllPosters.com

Frugal Friday: Any helpful hints for set-in stains? Also, note new rule for participants

2008-08-21T19:00:00.000-05:00

I have a problem: I ran out of the world's best stain remover a few weeks ago. And in all the hubbub and busyness of life, didn't have a chance to get a new bottle of it before I did a number of loads of laundry.

The end result? I have literally at least ten items of clothing with set-in stains on them. I am cringing at the thought of having to relegate these to the garage sale bin if I can't get the stains out. But so far, I've had no success at removing the stains.

Anyone have great tips or ideas for getting rid of stains which have already been washed and dried in? I am pretty positive there has to be a way, I'm just at a loss as to what it is.

Help me out here so the money spent on these clothes isn't wasted!

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Have a frugal tip to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. If you don't have a blog, you are welcome to leave your tips in the comments section. Thanks so much for participating!

**New Rule for Participants: In order to facilitate more efficient navigation for those visiting your links, your link must link directly to your Frugal Friday post. Links going to the homepage of your blog or any other part of your blog besides the direct link to your Frugal Friday post will be deleted.

Homemade bread sticks

2008-08-21T10:04:00.003-05:00

I've been experimenting making homemade bread sticks recently. Yesterday, I made a recipe that is almost a keeper.

I used my homemade pizza crust recipe and rolled it out into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle. Then, I sliced it in 1-inch strips lengthwise and one long cut in half widthwise and brush it with 2 Tbsp. melted butter. I baked these for 10 minutes at 450 degrees and brushed with another 2 Tbsp. butter as soon as these came out of the oven.

They were delicious, soft, and went wonderfully with homemade pizza. Best of all, I just made a double-batch of the dough and used one for pizza crust and one for bread sticks.

My only critique was that they tasted a little salty. Next time, I might try upping the sugar in the recipe to make it a little sweeter.

Now, if only I could figure out a way to replicate Olive Garden's bread sticks, I'd be a really happy camper. Anyone out there have a winner bread stick recipe they'd like to share?

The myth of "having it all together"

2008-08-19T09:04:00.009-05:00

I always find it rather amusing when someone will write me about how I have it "all together".

Apparently you missed my living room this morning (I can't believe I'm posting this picture, but for the sake of keeping it real, here you go.):

My heart's desire is to glorify the Lord as a wife, mom, and homemaker. I want to bless my husband, wisely raise my children, and be a skilled homemaker. And I want to do all of those things well.

However, I'm learning that I can't do it all well all of the time. None of us can, in fact. We all have struggles and difficult days. We all have days when we wish we could throw in the towel--if we could only find a clean one!

I was so blessed to get to visit with a wise mother of many recently. She encouraged me so much by sharing how their life has changed as their children have gotten older and how much easier it is for her to do so many things that she never could have done when she only had young children.

One thing which especially stuck with me was her comment, "If a mom in your season of life looks like she has it all together all the time, something is suffering drastically somewhere."

Do you know what a blessing these words were to hear? I've struggled with many feelings of inadequacy since having my second child because I just can't do it all; I've had to cut back in so many areas, and let so many other things go.

And I've struggled with guilt over this, thinking thoughts like: If I only tried harder, got up earlier, was more organized... then maybe I could "get my act together".

While I should certainly strive for organization and definitely am not condoning laziness, I'm slowly learning in this season of my life there's no way our home can always look immaculate all the time. I might as well just cheerfully accept this fact, otherwise, I'll constantly be frustrated over the spilled juice, tracked-in mud, and stained laundry.

What matters more in Eternity? That my home and life looked perfect and all my ducks were in a row, or that I overlooked some of the cookie crumbs, marks on the wall, and dirty dishes in order to love on my children, bless my husband, and have a vibrant relationship with the Lord?

So, do I have it all together? Not by a long stretch. But I'm learning it's much better to let go of perfectionism and start resting in the perfect peace Christ can give me--even when my house looks like a stuff bomb exploded!

I'd love to hear from the rest of you: How do you overcome feelings of perfectionism and inadequacies? What advice would you "older moms" have for us young moms in this area?

Related: After I wrote this post, I found my friend FishMama had written something in a similar vein today here. Good stuff.

I'm back!

2008-08-18T15:38:00.009-05:00

After almost three weeks of near-absence from the blogosphere, I'm so excited to be back! And what a wonderful, tiring, stretching, and interesting three weeks it's been!

Here are just a few pictures to give you a tiny glimpse into a few things which transpired:

We were privileged to get to meet Monica, Carrie, and their children while they were visiting family in the Kansas City area.

Kathrynne enjoyed getting to spend time with other girls--most of our friends have boys, so getting to play with girls around her age is a special treat!

Kaitlynn enjoyed eating at Chick-fil-A. Though, poor thing, because of her stomach issues (she can't touch fried foods with a ten-foot pole or else she will be throwing up uncontrollably for a few hours!) she can't really eat much of anything there. But she still had a great time, regardless.

Deep in discussion...
We spent almost an entire week at Bull Shoals Lake in Arkansas with my family. Despite the fact that I was miserably sick for four days of the trip, we had a great time.

I didn't ski much, but my brother, sister and husband convinced me to jump off a 20-foot cliff into the lake. I wasn't so sure I could do it, but after I climbed to the top I realized that jumping off would be a lot easier than trying to climb back down. (And, truth be told, I also couldn't bear the peer pressure of knowing everyone else had done it but me!)

The whole clan--sun-burned, soggy, and refreshed!

And here's our little clan. I loved how this picture turned out with the fountains in the background!

And yet another family picture. Since we haven't had any taken in like two years, we decided we'd better make good on the opportunity!

Making a specially-pressed penny at the Visitor's Center. (A real great return on your investment (ahem): Pay $0.51 to get a penny back!)

Kathrynne was fascinated with it all, so it was every bit worth the $0.50!

Kaitlynn got antsy and decided to try and sneak out of the Visitor's Center by herself. Caught in the act!

Last week found us busily preparing for the Christian Family Entrepreneurship seminar. Since we've never done a speaking engagement together before in our life, it was a little intimidating. Jesse ended up getting sick on Tuesday and was down and out for most of the week. We also had to buy a van and deal with the freezer debacle. So needless to say, we were both exhausted by the end of the week.

Some delays kept us from getting into Wichita until past midnight and we had to up and to the seminar early the next morning. We both felt completely drained and spent almost the entire drive to the seminar praying together that God would fill us up with His strength, since we certainly didn't have any left of our own.

You know what? God gave us more strength and grace than we could have expected, things went beautifully, and we both had a wonderful time. We loved the opportunity to meet a number of you all and to get to spend time giving other families ideas and encouragement in their entrepreneurial endeavors.

The audience listening to a presentation by Wade Meyers.

Photographic proof that I actually spoke. I was shaking like a leaf when we first began and very glued to my notes, but I ended up relaxing somewhat and almost even enjoying myself.

Our booths: One table we used to sell most of our leftover online bookstore inventory and the other table was for financial resources.

Our booth was buzzing almost the entire time, even during sessions, and we sold the majority of our stuff. We had to try to spread things out on the table to make it not look so bare by the end of the day. Thanks, everyone!

God was so good to carry us through so much the last few weeks--even when we were both feeling weary and worn out. It is amazing to feel His strength pulsing through you when you have no strength of your own. How I want to constantly live in reliance upon Him, not waiting until I am dried up and used up to beg for strength and mercy but ever walking held up by Him!