Tasteful Tuesday

What does it mean to be tasteful?

It means pertaining to good taste; elegant, chic, refined, suitable, becoming.


Wow.  And here I was just going to share my menu planning for rest of 2010 and call it good.

But it sounds like it is a lot more than that!  It's not enough for me to feed my family on a daily basis.  That requires very little effort on my part.  But presenting an elegant table, refining their table manners, teaching what things sonstitute suitable conversation, and helping them become young women and men of God is also a part of the family dining table.

So here are the goals for our family kitchen experience:

1. To have dinner as a family each night (the number at the table might vary based on work or other commitments, but we try to eat together).
2. To develop a consistent time for dinner each night (all too often it ends up happening so late that the evening becomes a blur afterwards).
3. To eat healthy meals while we enjoy each other's company.
4. To do one little thing, each evening, that makes dinner seem more like a special occasion than a necessity.

Money is especially tight over the winter months, and it gets even more costly to provide fresh foods with each meal than it is in the summer months.  However, it's not impossible.  To simplify my life a bit, we are going to develop a them for each night of the week and the dinner for that night will fit the theme.  Please note that this next week we will be eating our way through Thanksgiving leftovers, but I will stick to this as closely as possible.  Here we go:

• Sunday breakfast: eggs and homefries or pancakes
• Sunday lunch: sandwiches and chips
• Sunday dinner: soup or salad
• Monday: leftovers (usually the day that things get backed up or go wrong, so it's a night for simplicity!)
• Tuesday: fiesta night (aka Mexican food)
• Wednesday: breakfast
• Thursday: Italian (another crazy day and I'm usually too tired to want to cook, so simple is good)
• Friday: homemade pizza
• Saturday: fruit, popcorn, and finger foods (it's family movie night!)

What some might not realize is that it's not all about being the perfect homemaker or the best housewife.  This, too, is an expression of LOVE for my family.  I love them enough to invest my energy in planning, providing, and preparing healthy and delicious meals.  I love them enough that, at the end of a tiring day, I want to make them a nice dinner and sit down and spend time together.  I love them so much that I will go the extra mile to make that meal pleasant to eat, to look at, and to partake of ... and not just about food on a plate.  This is one of the ways I express my love for my family, and my gratitude for God and my husband's provision in our home.

Reflections on Worth

Sit with me for a moment and imagine:

You have just sat down at the table with your check register, your pile of bills, and your growing list of groceries.  You juggle it all the best you can.  Some of the "balls" got dropped, but you've done your best.  You recognize that a debt free lifestyle is a legacy of great worth to the next generation, and you're determined to set the example.  Even if it means doing without.

But it's December.  And Christmas is coming.  And the kids love the magic of the day...waking up to a lighted tree, seeing all those beautifully wrapped packages under it, and tearing in to see what delightful surprises they are to receive.  And if you pay all the bills and refuse to use those credit cards, the picture won't look like this at all.  In fact, the tree would stand there, with nothing under it.  And that would be unacceptable.

Or would it?

Why do we have the mind set that an item we can hold in our hands and that has been purchased at great price also has much worth?  Because when I really think about it, the most valuable things in my life did not come off of a shelf, didn't have a sale sticker or price tag on them, and certainly can't be stuffed into a gift bag and stuck under a tree.  Three of those precious gifts grew in my womb.  One of those precious gifts spent years loving me, wooing me, and building a marriage with me.  Another gave me the gift of friendship, support, love, and trust.

Why do we think our little ones are too young to understand this?  I don't think they are.  In fact, I think we often do our children a disservice when we teach them to put a price tag on a holiday.  What if we took one year to make presents or to re-gift?  What if we taught our children the true meaning of the thought counting more than the item?

Every year, my husband gives me a jar or a container (usually it's some small jar candles) and inside each one is a coupon.  It might be for a foot massage, a back rub, a night out, a dinner date, or an item for the kitchen to be purchased when we have finished saving up for it.  Each gift is well thought out, written with love, and addressed to me in a way that makes me cry (To My Best Friend, To the Love of my Life, To a Wonderful Wife and Mom, and so on).  Those gifts mean more to me than anything!  And the ones my kids make...you know those are precious and invaluable to me.


So why do we insist on training our children to be selfish and greedy and expectant at the holidays?  Why not take some time to simply give the gift of love?  Bake them their favorite cookies in a tin, make a story for them illustrated with photos from the last year of their life in which they are the star, give them something of yours that they admire, make some coupons for special date time, or something like that.  I bet we'd see a huge cultural shift if we all adopted that mindset.

Start TODAY.  We are celebrating the season of Advent by reading a book called The Jesse Tree and making an ornament each day to remind us about the story we discussed the night before.  And each day, I'm going to ask each child to come up with one gift they canNOT buy to bless someone during this Advent season.  It's important to me to teach them about what matters.


Another article along this vein ... that blessed me greatly this morning ... can be found at Raising Godly Homemakers.

Linking up with:

Thoughts on Love

This week I'm going to be talking a lot about love and its various expressions.  I found it incredibly apt that Totally Tots focused on this today, as well.  It was such a rewarding way to start my day, with thoughts that challenge me to be a better mom - and person.  Here is one small part of what was shared today:

My favor and affection is too often tied to what I’m getting out of the relationship.

Aren’t you glad that God doesn’t think this way?

His love isn’t traded for His benefit and it doesn’t waver when we fail to meet His expectations. He loves us even when we frustrate Him. He laid down His life when we didn’t deserve His sacrifice. He loves us when we are rotten and un-loveable. It’s constant and it isn’t for sale. It’s freely given to all who would accept it. Wow.

I hope you will hop over and read Get Real With God: Trading Love today and meditate on it.  I also hope you'll hop back over this way and share your reflections, thoughts, encouragements, or inspirations with us.

How You Can Celebrate Thanksgiving...for FREE

I've been seeing  a lot of posts on facebook about people upset because they have to work on the holiday, or because it's so expensive and money is tight, or because they can't do it "the way we always have."  I have to say, being such a huge fan of continuing tradition from year to year, that would be a challenge to me.  But we'd be okay.  Heck, we've done it before...and we've been fine!  Because Thanksgiving, contrary to popular belief, is not a date picked by the government of the United States as a legal holiday.  Nor is it the kick off to the busiest shopping day of the year.  It's not even all about getting the whole family together to eat turkey and watch football.

So, what is it?

According to the dictionary, it is:

• the act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgment of benefits or favors, esp. to God
• an expression of thanks, esp. to God 
• a public celebration in acknowledgment of divine favor or kindness
• a day set apart for giving thanks to God

I see a theme.  Do you?
Three out of the four definitions involve acknowledging God for His role in providing things for you (technically all four do, as God is the source of all divine favor, but only three mention Him by name).  All of them involve an attitude on our behalf of gratitude and a conscious recognizing of the things in life that we have been given.  And all involve expression of that thanks ... hence the name THANKSGIVING.

So even if it the day doesn't look exactly like we think it's supposed to, it can still be celebrated.  I've had to celebrate it wearing an apron, serving coffee and food to those who didn't want to cook in years past.  I've celebrated it serving soup and rolls to those who had much less to be thankful for than myself in years past.  I've celebrated it home alone when it seemed that nothing was there that should be and I struggled to give thanks.  This year, I admit, I am blessed to celebrate it my favorite way (you can read all about it in  yesterday's blog if you're interested!).  However, EVERY DAY is Thanksgiving here.  Call my Pollyanna if you wish, but every single day I'm alive is a day to express joy over the fact that I am married to a man who loves me, mother to children who are precious and healthy and sweet, and living in a nation where freedom has been fought for and won for me at much cost.

Traditionally Speaking...

I have to laugh every time someone has looked at me this week and said, "Oh, you're nesting!"  I might be pregnant, but my scurrying about working on project after project last week and this has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that a little one is growing.  I've nested before, and it gets amusing (Okay, I'll admit it...it gets hilarious!).  This is me, before Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is my favorite day of the whole year.  With 365 days to choose from, that means it's quite a spectacular one to stand out so beautifully.  Don't you agree?

I love Thanksgiving because of the memories it holds.  I would sleep over at my aunt and uncle's the night before and come down the hall early that morning, rubbing my eyes and still wearing my pajamas, making sure I was in time to help my uncle stuff the turkey. Those moments together were so very important to me and I love the pictures and memories I have from each year.  Following that we would turn on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (my favorite was, and is to this day, the Rockettes performance!).  For breakfast we would have juice or coffee and eat some of my uncle's delicious homemade sour cream coffee cake.  After a little bit, my aunt would put together a tray of goodies: frostings in all sorts of colors, fun looking little candies she had collected, sprinkles, nuts, and so on.  Then she would pull out a tin that contained gingerbread boys and a note from my grandmother which read "I found these naked men; please dress them for me!".  My cousins and I would get busy decorating with an intensity that probably rivaled Michaelangelo working on his ceiling.

After we saw Santa come down to Harold Square at the end of the parade, we would be allowed to play Christmas music.  Before that, Christmas songs, movies, etc. were taboo.  My aunt started a tradition that I always credit her for: wait for Christmas till after Thanksgiving.  Don't lose one holiday because of your rush to get to another.  What a precious lesson.  We all too often run through life waiting for the next big event, and in the process we lose the important joys of living today.  I'm so glad that my aunt has taught me this (and many other!) lessons so that I can in turn impart them to my children.  My little 6-year old even now refuses to sing Christmas carols or watch Christmas movies this early and tells people, "We're going to enjoy Christmas even more because we waited until it was the right time to celebrate it!  Patience makes it even more fun!"

I also learned from my aunt that it's good to make things beautiful.  Setting the table with our napkins and plates and glasses is more than getting ready for food; it's creating an experience.  It wasn't until I was married and had a home of my own that I realized what a gift she had given me by teaching me that beauty is simple, it involves using what you have, and that making something special doesn't have to do with the money you spend on it but the love you put into providing it.

Lastly, we'd round out the night by lighting a fire, getting our dessert plates filled, and watching White Christmas together.  We don't get to go home and be with them for the holidays any more, but carrying on these traditions is so precious to me.  And we've added some of our own.  Hubby and I always put the kids to bed a little early on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eves.  The night before is when we have our quiet time together, sitting down to a simple dinner by candlelight and then snuggling on the couch and watching a movie. It's nothing extravagant, but we look forward to that time every year.

Have you started traditions?  Have you continued them from your own childhood?  I have come to realize that it's not about how you "do" a day, but it is about how you enjoy it.  I love the anticipation on my precious kiddos faces when the wake up, knowing what they have to look forward to.  I love that my daughter is getting excited about helping prepare for the holiday and my son is wanting to help me clean our home to get ready for it.  But mostly, I love that we'll be together.  Hubby might have to work that night and it might not all work out the way we wish it would, but no one and nothing can take away that love that knits us together.

Also, here's our menu plan for that wonderful day:

• BREAKFAST: (and here is a tradition we have started over the last few years!)  We actually do a brunch at 10 a.m. and invite some special friends to join us.  We have scrambled eggs, some fruit slices, and orange monkey bread (mmm mmm good!) with sparkling punch to drink.
• LUNCH: A Relish Tray and sandwich platter is set out for grazing.  I have pickles, olives, veggies, dip, and little sandwich pinwheels on it.
• DINNER (a FEAST, I might add): Turkey, Sausage Stuffing (not to be confused with dressing which I've never quite managed to like), whole cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes (with a bowl of creamed corn for the hubby to top it off with), corn, dinner rolls, and an Autumn salad (salad greens, slivered almonds, cranberries, cucumbers, and a berry vinaigrette dressing).
• DESSERTS: this year we are making Pumpkin Trifle instead of pie, and a large Apple Crisp instead of pie, plus ice cream, Pumpkin Spice coffee, and homemade whipped cream to go with any or all of the aforementioned treats.

Where is Your Mind Today?

Today I am blessed! I have a husband who loves & supports me & our growing family, wonderful children who have beautiful hearts & great attitudes, a home that I love, & friends who are blessings. 


BUT: it's not all easy all of the time. It takes time, investing yourself into your life, & LOTS of prayer & obedience to God. It is, however, so worth it! Remember: a lot of prayer & effort go a very long way; sow where it's important!


And much of it is a CHOICE. Love is not an emotion at it's core; it is a choice. Contentment is not a feeling, but a choice to be thankful with what you have; it's not settling, but rather peace.

Perspective impacts it all! Are you looking at the negatives...or the positives? Are you focusing on what you can't change instead of changing what you can? Stop.

Start looking at what is beautiful. Start spending time investing in the lives and hearts of your children, start loving your spouse in different ways than you have in the past. Start giving them more of yourself. You'll be amazed at what harvest God lets you reap when you sow YOURSELF!


And if you  need help specifically on the parenting end of joyful living, go check this out!

This Monday, I am...

going to make my home SING!

I really have enjoyed this focus, because it makes me start my week in such a way that I am consciously trying to bless our home and all who live within its walls, or who come into them throughout the week.  

Last night hubby and I talked about where God is leading our family and have decided to set aside deliberate time for personal and family devotions.  I can't even begin to tell you how excited this has made me; I've been praying for God to lead others where He has lead my heart!  So tonight we will start by doing devotions at the dinner table once we are done eating.  

My personal part of this is more specific: I am going to create an atmosphere of beauty at the table to make it relaxing, cover our home with prayer throughout the day (today and every day!), and have the Bible handy for Daddy to read to us all when we finish our meal.

Are You Confident?

This is without doubt the coolest thing I've read in a while ... hope you enjoy it and are blessed by it like I was!  (BOLDS are mine, not the author's).  Many of my thoughts and ideas were challenged by this, and my whole being is rejoicing!

THE GIFT OF CONFIDENCE

by Graham Cooke

God is not an optimist. He is a realist with a joyful disposition. He is also confident, carefree and generous. He smiles, laughs, sings and dances through His relationships. He knows the heart of man, yet is no pessimist. He does not get hung up on negatives; instead, He prefers goodness, mercy, grace and lovingkindness to display His demeanor. His love never ceases and never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8).

He will use truth to set people free not put them in chains. He does not put mankind down but calls them up to a future that He provides in the Beloved. In Christ, He has taken responsibility for the past and seeks a loving partnership with people to upgrade their identity and destiny in Him. In His realm, accountability is always connected to freedom, not sanction.

He prefers justice over judgment. His chastisement is evidence of love, not anger. He creates, shapes and molds people in His likeness. He uses every circumstance to make us like Him. His objective is to bring many people into glory through Sonship (Hebrews 2:10). People choose their own judgment when they reject their place in the Kingdom. There are two options: light and dark. Some people walk in the light, others love darkness more. Everyone receives from their choices. His mercy will always triumph over judgment (James 2:13). He is not willing for anyone to perish but that all should be with Him forever.

Grace is a weapon of mass destruction. It will overthrow every negative. It neutralizes everything contrary to God’s nature by being the revelation of that nature. Grace is always firmly placed next to any sin or error. Where sin abounds grace shows up much more powerfully (Romans 5:20). Grace is God’s abundance in the place of man’s deficiency. Grace is the foundation for confidence in God. All growth is built on grace. It gives people a place to stand in favor. Whilst they are learning to be Christ-like, God does not punish for mistakes. He provides for them. It is a huge adjustment to move from sinful man to beloved son.

The journey into being made in His image would be terrible were it not for grace. At all times people would be beset by fear, anxiety and doubt about their performance as a believer. Man can never be good enough by his own efforts. Without grace they would be enslaved to a religious spirit and at the mercy of doubt. Grace is the enjoyment of God that empowers people to love the learning in the freedom He supplies. Grace makes love, mercy and truth accessible in a way that elevates people without downgrading them first. 

If God is not radiant, He is not anything. If His love is not majestic, He is diminished. If His lovingkindness is not from everlasting to everlasting, there is no living with Him forever. If His joy is not the abiding atmosphere of heaven, there is no pleasure in being there. If grace is not all-powerful, there is no place to stand that makes people confident in goodness. Whatever God is, He is relentlessly and forever. He never changes (Malachi 3:6). He remains eternally the same in Himself (Hebrews 13:8).

Grace never travels alone (1 Timothy 1:14).  It is always accompanied by faith and love in and from the Lord Jesus. Only a pharisee would call grace into question. Grace is an incomparable gift (Ephesians 2:8) that allows people the freedom to cast off their captivity and experience the benefits of freedom in the process of exploration. The Father provides everything for the sake of His people (2 Corinthians 4:15) so that His grace can cover huge territory. He receives much glory from grace. All over the world multitudes of people abound in thanksgiving because grace has uplifted life and relationship with God.

His throne is made of grace and all who gather around it receive massive increases of confidence (Hebrews 4:16). In that place of secure dependence people are empowered to receive mercy. Grace is not undeserved favor. If it was then Jesus never had any. He grew in grace with God and man (Luke 2:40; Luke 2:52). He never sinned but needed grace! Grace is the empowering Presence of God to enable people to mature into what the Father wants them to become. Grace is a transformational gift because it empowers people in their place of weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). It enables them to have the confidence to grow into who God sees that they are in Christ.

It is a requirement that people enjoy grace; that they should exult and give thanks for grace. The gift of grace enables man to touch, experience and know for certain the beautiful gift of love that is the Lord Jesus Christ.

My Organizing Journey...Home & Heart

In a couple of weeks I will have a major anniversary celebration.  The day before Thanksgiving will mark 2 years from the day Penny Love, Expert Organizer showed up to take a peek at our holiday preparations.  I nervously opened the door to her, not sure what she'd think.  I cried after she left that day, so excited and blessed and happy that she thought our home was beautiful.

Why?

Because when I met her 2 1/2 years ago (it was August, I think) it was very different.  She pulled up into a cluttered yard, walked into a chaotic living space, sat down at a table that had been hastily cleared, and was shown around a home that was sad, discouraged, and embarrassing.  I had called her out of desperation and panic, not sure that I could live one more day the way I had been...yet having no idea at all how to change.

What most people don't know (and I hadn't even totally leveled with my family about it at the time) is that I had gone to see my doctor about 2 weeks before.  I felt awful, I was always tired, my body ached, and I just couldn't seem to find the ability to make it through a day doing all I needed to do.  And then I had to handle the guilt of those feelings and the lack they created for my kids and husband.  The doctor told me I needed medication, and I tried that, but it was not for me.  It didn't help at all.  He told me that if I didn't start sleeping and getting more organized, I was going to end up admitted in the hospital before I killed myself from stress.

That scared me.

A lot.

So I prayed and prayed and prayed.  And I really felt like God told me that if I could simply start to organize our home and my time it would get better.  I tried.  I really did.  And it got worse.  That's why I called Penny.  She came over and was smiling and encouraging.  We worked together for 3 months, re-shaping how I thought, how I lived, and what I lived with.  I had to let go of a lot of "stuff."  It seemed like all I was doing was cleaning out the clutter, but it was so much more.  I was re-defining my identity.  I got rid of the clutter in my mind and my heart and learned how to think differently.

I stopped bringing things into our home, expecting them to help make us happier.  It just doesn't work like that.  I stopped feeling like someone else had to do something to help me do something.  I stopped looking to go outside for relief and learned that our home really could be a safe, fun, peaceful place.

Now, I'm still on that journey.  Our life has changed since then, so some of the systems we had set in place to make life easier need to change.  Our lives are about to change again with a new baby coming, so we are trying now to ready ourselves for that to make the transition to a larger family much less stressful than it has been in the past (always joyful, but still stressful ... sleepless nights really cut down my ability to handle things graciously).  God has really blessed me with friends and women of God on this same journey to help me really get back into the mind set of routines and blessing our home.  I am so honored that God cares even about the details that make my teensy tiny little corner of the world run smoothly!

Women like Penny Love and my friend Clarissa who is an encouragement now to me are so special.  They reach out when there is a need and they don't just treat the symptoms of clutter; they understand that the mind and heart need to change.  I want to be able to do that, too.  My niche might not be organization, but I do have one.  I have gifts and talents that I can bring to the table and hopefully help change the world with.  I know that someday when I look back at my life and recall to my grandkids those earth-shattering, life-changing moments that I've experienced there will be many.  There was the day I got saved, the day I graduated, the day I got married, the moment I first felt my babies move in my womb ... and yes, the day that I called and then met Penny Love and realized that I did not have to be a victim of chaos any more and that I could enjoy my life, my family, and our home.  I hope to some day be able to impact other lives in that same capacity.

What about you?  What's changed your life?  How are you changing your little part of the world?

Take a Moment

In light of yesterday's blog (take a peek), I wanted to continue the theme.  Yesterday I talked about giving yourself permission not to be perfect, and not feeling guilty about it.  Today I want to ask you to revel in your imperfectionism.

Now, hold on.
I'm not saying to take joy in each of your faults and to say, "take me or leave me; this is who I am."
We are ALL a work in progress and we ALL need to grow on a daily basis and become better versions of ourselves.

However, we all have things that make us unique.  We were made by a God so vast and so awesome that He created every single person on this earth in HIS image, and yet every single person on this earth is their own individual self.  Think on that for a moment, and be amazed at how BIG our God is!!!  It takes the sum total the world's population throughout history to represent a PART of His image.  WOW.

Embrace who God made you.  Enjoy your gifts, talents, emotions, passions, and points of view.  They are a part of the make up that the Creator of the world used to build you in His image.  It might not be what you think is ideal, but it is YOU and HE has declared you good.

Enjoy today; take a moment to contemplate who you are and what makes you that person.  Thank God for those things because He loves them in you ... and start loving them in yourself.

Boundaries & Imperfectionism

I seem to have misplaced my Super-Mom cape.

Actually, if we're being completely honest with one another, I never actually had one.  I wanted one...I was jealous of those who obviously had one hidden somewhere...and I know one or two moms who probably even own two of them.  But me -- eh, not so much.

And that's okay with me.
Seriously.
I promise.

Why?
Good question.

Because perfection is not what I've been called to.  A very wise woman named Clarissa expressed it perfectly: Your capability is not an expression of your responsibility.  Quite simply: just because you can, does not mean you should.

Does this mean I've thrown in the towel and am just surviving each day?
Oh, no no no no!  Of course not.

But it does mean that I'm being honest, realistic, and rational with myself.  It's really quite liberating!
I am not trying to be someone else, live up to the standards set by any one else, or trying to do what I'm just not called to do.  I've learned how to say "no" when I something will take my time away from where it needs to be.  I've learned to not feel guilty because I can't complete someone else's life.  I've even learned to smile when I drop the ball upon occasion, because that just means I'll get a new perspective when I bend over to pick it up.

Just because I am able to do something does not mean it's worthy of my time, attention, and effort.  I am enjoying life within my boundaries and giddy with the joy that is mine because I am free to live my life and not try to live someone else's.  You see, I don't need to be perfect.

Yes, I'm trying to organize our home ... and do it well ... before our coming baby makes his or her arrival after the holidays.  Yes, I try my best to be a frugal and faithful steward of the resources we have to provide for our home.  Yes, I want to keep a clean home and serve healthy, delicious dinners to my family.

Heck, I even want to look pretty while I'm doing it.
Yup, it's okay to be greedy every once in a while and want it all ;)

I enjoy being in my home and I like my appearance and my face and my attitude to reflect how grateful I am that I am blessed to be at home with our fabulous children and homeschool them!  I want my husband to know how joyful I am because he works so hard to provide for us.  I want to create a haven for him and an atmosphere that makes him happy to come home after a long day.  I hope that all who visit us feel peaceful and safe within the boundaries of our home.

But I don't have to be perfect to do these things.  I just have to be me.

And you know what's crazy?  Your lovely home and beautiful family and idea of the ideal life will most likely look nothing at all like mine.  Totally cool!  You just have to be you.  We were each made to be unique individuals and our differences should be celebrated and supported.  However, there is one thing we all have in common: Imperfection.

I hope today that you will start to revel in that.  Give yourself permission to not be stretched so thin.  Allow yourself the luxury of saying "no" when you know you should so that you can give your best where you need to.  And love yourself for who you are and who you are working on becoming -- and stop condemning yourself for not being the person others think you are supposed to be.

Today is "Make Your Home Sing Monday" and I think the perfect way to do that is to embrace your role in your home; let your HEART sing!

Also linked up with WOMEN LIVING WELL

Today

Today, like any other, is one that God has made. 


Today I am blessed to love my family, bless my home, and enjoy my life. 


What more could I ask for? 


I have a God who delights in pouring out heaven's best in our lives, a husband who works so hard to provide for us and showers us with his love, and precious kiddos who generously give their love, smiles, and words of encouragement all day long!


What are you thankful for this day?

An email I received from Above Rubies: For ALL MOMS...

Dear  Mom, Lighting your home with God’s love,

May God’s blessings be mightily upon you and your husband and all your lovely children. May God keep you from accident, harm, sickness and danger and all enemy attack. My husband prays this prayer over our family every day.

May God fill you with His strength, patience and anointing as you nurture your  treasures, {insert your kid's names here!}, the children whom God has so graciously given to you. Each one is a special gift from God, isn’t he?

Momma, you are doing a mighty work. There is nothing greater that you could be doing in the whole of the world. Your work is for eternity. Your children are eternal souls who will live forever. Not only are you training them for the purposes God has for them in this world, but you are also preparing them for the eternal world! Wow! What a mission!

How blessed you are to have your children around you. I know that you often feel overwhelmed, but I want to remind you that in the midst of all the frustrations and tiredness, that this is a very precious time of your life. It was the most precious time of my life. I look back and remember the times I felt “so tired” and yet I can’t think of anything in my life that has been more meaningful and more joyful than those wonderful days.

Don't endure each day, but seek to make it special. You will never have these days with your children again. They are for such a short time. Enjoy them. Revel in them. You may feel that you are not accomplishing a lot each day, but there are years ahead to do all the projects you want to do. But at the moment, your lovely children are your priority. I remember thinking as I watched my children, “I will never forget them at this moment,” but the years have gone and I can't recall many of those moments. They are now all married and raising their own children and currently we have 34 grandchildren.

Back in those days I remember reading the thoughts of another mother and they were a comfort to me. She said,

"These are the never years. Never enough money, never enough time, never enough sleep - but always enough love. The sweetest kiss of a baby the tooth-paste-flavored kiss of a child on his way to school (sadly, homeschooling wasn't in process in those days in New Zealand over 40 years ago); the sleepy kiss of a husband who is just as tired as you.

These are the busy years, the wonderful, hectic, impossible years. Soon the children will be grown and I'll have plenty of time to organize my house, to sew and to cultivate outside interests. I wonder if it will be as wonderful as I sometimes dream it will. Or am I in the middle of the wonderful years... right now?"

Yes, you are in the wonderful years now. I look back on the years when all my little brood were under my wings (or I should say, under my legs and in my arms and one or other of them needing me at every moment) and they were definitely the most blessed years of my life. At one stage I had three in 17 months! That's because I had twins although they are now 45 years old! Then I had four children in less than four years. So I can certainly relate to how you feel at the moment.

We eventually had six, although we have since adopted some teenagers from Liberia.  But six children never seemed very many. Nearly every day my husband and I say to each other, "Where are the rest of our children? I wish we'd had twelve!" It just seems like one blink of an eye and they have all grown up and married. That’s why we have recently adopted four teenagers who keep us really busy!

I love some of the beautiful names God calls our children. Isn't this a lovely one? The "beloved fruit of the womb." (Hosea 9:16) Not just the "fruit of the womb", but also the "beloved fruit of the womb." The context of this passage is God’s judgment, because of their wicked works, was to destroy the beloved fruit of their womb, but it reveals how God views children and also how the early Hebrews felt about their children.

Here's what some of the other translations way...

NIV, Cherished offspring

RV, Beloved children

NAS, Precious ones

NEB, Dearest offspring

JER, Darlings

NAS, Treasures of the womb

Now there are some good names to call your children!

Hebrews 11:7 is a great Scripture, "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith."

For 100 years, Noah did the same old thing - hammered, nailed and keep on building his ark. He didn't have time to do all the things that everyone else was doing. He just kept on slogging and being faithful, doing the same thing every day for all those years - but in doing so he condemned the world. Yes, he changed the world because he stuck with the job he was given to do! He changed the world by doing the same thing day after day after day.  And at the same time he saved his family!

You may feel that you are just doing the same old thing every day, but as you are faithful to raise godly children, and build an ark for the saving of your house, you will condemn the world around you.  You are accomplishing far more than those who go out to seek a worldly career to the detriment to their highest calling. Your influence goes on into the generations and even into eternity.

Isn't it amazing that our daily faithfulness in the home will have its impact on earth -- and also for eternity? It can change the world! We have to remember that bearing and raising children is a long-term investment - in fact, an eternal one! In a culture where everyone wants everything to happen instantaneously, we must learn to think long term - for the future.

So rejoice and be glad in your high and noble calling.

YOU ARE CHANGING THE WORLD!

Remember, you have the most important career in the nation!

Love from

NANCY CAMPBELL, Above Rubies

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What To Make For Dinner?

You know, even with a menu plan, it seems that I just don't always get a good dinner on the table.  Sometimes we end up doing something easy or leftover or a repeat because Mom's in a funk.  And then I get in a worse funk because I could have avoided that.  I like to make my family a nutritious meal, sit around the table, and eat it together.  In fact, I *love* it!  So this morning when I read a blog on what to do when you don't feel like cooking supper, I was thrilled.  It was so basic, and when I'm thinking I often do a lot of what she suggests.  But reading it there in black and white, it just made dinner so much less daunting.  My favorite line: First, identify the reason [you don't want to make supper].  Is it because you are tired?  stressed?  overwhelmed?  Or because you don't know what on earth to prepare?  Or because your kitchen is a mess?  Or just because you are feeling unmotivated?  Obviously, the solution depends on the problem. 

I'm in Love!

My reason for a smile today is simple: I am in love!

I am in love with the One who sought me and pursued me.  He wooed me, He courted me, He followed me on a not-so-merry chase at time.  He lavished gifts upon me, found His joy in giving me good things, and has never once waivered in His passion for me.  He tells me that He finds His delight in me and that it brings Him joy to sing over me.  He proves, each and every day, that He is unfailing, unchanging, and so devoted that at the end of my life He will still be right by my side (having never once left it!).

Are you loved like this?

I certainly hope so.  But if you don't think you are, it's really quite simple.  Jesus is waiting to shower you with His love today.  He already loves you ... but you have to open your heart and life to receive it.  I'm praying that you do.

FOCUS!

Have you ever thought about the fact that what we focus on actually influences completely unrelated things in our lives?

For instance, when I focus on the bills and how short the money is for the month, I lose my joy in playing with our kids, keeping our home, and just in being.  When I get overwhelmed by the car repairs or roofing repairs that we need, it's easy to see the overwhelming, negative parts of everything else in my life.

BUT when I focus on God's provision from the past and who He identifies Himself as right now (IAM ... Jehovah-Jireh), it become easier to trust and enjoy.  The JOY of the LORD is MY strength ... HIS JOY = MY STRENGTH ... so I need to be able to find that joy in Him to have the strength to make it through each day.

This morning I took some time just to count my blessings.  The joy is pretty much bubbling over at this point!  It has certainly overwhelmed the worry and trepidation I had been feeling when I woke thinking about all the problems that needed solving.

This is not to say that I don't have to handle my problems, but perspective is so important.  The problems are only a small part of our lives.  The joy can come even in the trials, through the storms, and supercede the worry I feel ... if I choose to let it.