Early Mornings and Coffee with Christ

Being a mother of four little ones, time to myself comes in small moments throughout the day, unless I wake up before the sound of pitter patter, more like thump thump.  Children usually wake up with full energy and so their morning greetings can be a bit too much for either parent who hasn't had their morning cup of coffee and ample time to wake up the brain. Wisdom has taught me that getting up a half hour before them allows me not only time to wake up, but more importantly, uninterrupted time with the Lord. 
Time in the Word each morning is time with Him.  (1 John 1)  Pursuing Christ first thing before the house wakes up, allows my heart to find peace and security before the unexpected things of the day try to steer my emotions.  All other pursuits cannot give me the stability that Christ does.  When I run to anything else to bring what only God can bring, I have made an idol.  Reading the book of Jeremiah speaks of idol worship and how God's people left Him for idolatry.  It has reminded me to ask God to search my heart and show me if I have begun to create idols in my own heart.  In the Old Testament, idols were usually carved images made out of wood or stone.  During the time it took one to carve the image, the heart was beginning to look for another way of satisfaction.  The worship came after the image was carved.  God is faithful to show me that the idol I am molding in my hand needs to be thrown down and not to be worshipped, always reminding me that the idol will never fully satisfy.  Though we may not carve stone images as they did in the past, the heart behind it still needs to be examined. 
In today's American culture, we have taken God's blessings and tried to remove Him as provider, leaving us as provider and leaving us exhausted and empty.  I see so much of God's warning in 1 John 2:15-16.  We have come to love the world, it's lust, and it's pride.  It is masked as success.  Yet God hates and opposes this way of living.  It is opposite of Heaven.  How can one tell if this way of thinking has crept in one's heart?  I think of the verse, "Where your treasure is, there will be your heart also."  What is your heart pursuing above all else?  What sacrifices are you making for this treasure?  How are you treating others that get in the way of this treasure hunt?  Are you neglecting your time with God and His people?  Are you fulfilling the Great Commission? Are you sitting on the sidelines spiritually and not producing spiritual fruit?  For me impatience and unkindness are my first marks of a wandering heart.  They are the first evidences that I am not filled with His Spirit. 

There is nothing like the sweet love of a baby.  How can our nation be so blind to these precious gifts from our Heavenly Father?  I know it is not always easy to raise a child.  For some, they are doing it alone. Having four children under the age of eight can be trying,  but my love for them grows deeper and deeper each day. I am blessed to hear them rise up in the morning.  I find myself throughout the day, standing in awe of God's love for me just by looking at their sweet faces.  It happens when I watch them reading quietly on the couch or being silly in the yard.  The joy they get over the smallest surprises and the random, "You're the best mommy!" are gifts that can not be bought.  They are God's gifts of grace to us.  My prayer for our country is for revival in the heart and in the home.   "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people." ~Proverbs 14:34

My Grandmothers

Both of my grandmothers were classy women.  They both were wonderful mothers, loving wives, and true homemakers.  They both had the talent to knit or crochet.  They both gardened.  They loved opening up their homes for their loved ones and strangers alike.  Much stands out in my mind about them, but because I have been meditating lately on modesty, especially as I am growing older,  I am noticing that both of my grandmothers liked to look nice and ladylike, but sexy was never their goal.  I never even heard them say the word "sexy."  They were admired for being attractive women, but not because they were sexy.  They were admired for their modesty.  Modesty in behavior.  Modesty is words.  Modesty in choices.  They did not seek attention, but enjoyed living for others, nurturing others, giving themselves to others.  When our hearts are focused on others and not ourselves, modesty naturally happens.
Immodesty has become a serious problem in our American culture, because women have given up their honored place in the home, because they want attention.  Attention to be the prettiest, the richest, the highest on the corporate ladder.  Even in homemaking, if it is not done for the glory of God and to bless others, we can even use our honored places and create a "kingdom" to serve our selfish needs.  Expensive furnishings, designer baby clothes, creating a magazine-looking mother with a perfect home and perfect highlights are idols I see young families bowing down to.  Not only do I see it, I wrestle with it. 
The Holy Spirit has been dealing with me lately about the idol of exercising.  Trying to get that 20s body back is the familiar idol I see with moms.  I can always tell an idol because I feel less when I don't have it.  The Bible says I have all things in Christ.  If there is an area God wants me to pursue, it is to bring forth fruit.  Not so with idols.  They create slavery.
Idols appear when we compare.  If you find yourself wishing you had "her" house and "her" body, then you can bet it is an idol.  I never heard either of my grandmothers wishing for another woman's life.  They loved their life.  They didn't have to say it...I simple saw it.  They found joy in loving others.  I felt it.  Others felt it.  And this became their beauty for all to see.  No one felt less around them, but quite the opposite.  They entered into the same joy when they entered their homes.  I am thankful I have such wonderful examples.  I just hope I can be the same.

What Inspires You?

What is your source of inspiration?  What inspires you to move towards your goals?  Even though I have not personally blogged in a long while, I am constantly reading other women's blogs because for one reason or another, they inspire me.  I love looking up the meaning of words, so I looked up the word "inspire."  Here is the definition: "to stimulate energies, ideals, or reverence." 
Reading a blog on personal health and fitness stimulates my energies to exercise and eat cleaner.  My favorite blogspots are from everyday homemakers.  Their christian ideals stimulate my energies to want to live for my King, serve my family, friends, and community, and live simply.  Those who inspire me are also those I want to be like, so I naturally reverence them in my heart and attitude.  I appreciate their gifts and study them, so that I may glean from them.  Here are some that I have visited recently:

http://peak313.com/
http://www.etsy.com/
http://www.oneplace.com/
http://frugallysustainable.com/
http://thenourishinghome.com/

Post your favorite blog.  I'd love to see what inspires you.

Introducing...

Asher Samuel Cartwright.

For The Joy Set Before Me

Twenty nine weeks of hard work and ten more weeks of harder work still ahead.  Does this sound like the christian walk to you?  Does this contradict the saying of our Saviour who said, "...my burden is light?"  Does hard work discourage you?  Are you finding yourself looking back to an easier time or forward to an easier time?  Do you see yourself in the Israelites who longed for Egypt and leeks?

  When times get tough and we are left to our own strength, we will fail to see what God has in store for us.  Sometimes I find the Lord is encouraging me when a trial is new all around, but if it is something I have already walked through before, I find Him more quiet and expecting me to lean on what I already know about Him and what He has proven He can accomplish in His perfect time. 

In all honesty, this pregnancy has not been enjoyable like the others.  I am sure being 37 years old and taking care of three children already has something to do with its extra toughness.  Though everything is growing well, I find I do not have the mental energy to think beyond the next hour.  Daydreaming of a new baby and new baby things just does not have a place and I have come to accept that as part of the hard work God has asked me to do.  My desire to have one more child has always been there, but I knew ahead of time, it would require more than "good feelings" to get me through it.  It would require hard work and full reliance on God.  True hard work is not enjoyable in the moment or season, but the rewards are always worth it.  The joy from hardwork comes after the fact and usually not during it.  Jesus endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him...nothing pleasureable about dieing on a cross, but He did it anyway out of obedience to the Father and love for us.  In ten weeks, Lord willing, I will be holding my newborn son and the joy will have its time to be centerstage.  Until then, my focus is on the Father and my prayers for daily strength to do the task before me. 

Making Deposits of Joy

Tasha Tudor's illustrations always bring me joy.  Sometimes I have to sit back and ask myself "Why?"  What is it about these drawings that click in my mind and spirit as pure joy?  Most of the time, the adults or children are captured doing the everyday things of life like rocking a baby or knitting, as this picture portrays. 

 I believe it is the evidence of contentment in each drawing.  Everyone is enjoying the moment, the blessing God has given them for that moment in time.  The illustrations are reflections of everyday life, work, family, seasons, holidays, etc.

  As we know, life can weigh us down with its overwhelming burdens to get it all done today.  Jesus said, "Come unto me, all you who are heavy laden and I will give you rest."  What a promise and challenge to us in such a busy modern culture!  The interesting thing is...Jesus spoke these words over 2,000 years ago to a culture different from ours. 

 It goes to show you that people burden themselves for one reason or another.  Usually it has to do with living a life outside the dependence of a Heavenly Father, but even His children get bogged down with the stresses of the day.  Learning to find what is important for the day and getting only that accomplished is always the battle. 

So where does wisdom come in and how can we bring in into our crowded schedules?  Before searching for this wisdom, realize it is not about finding perfection.  This life and its fallenness will never find a perfect rhythm, a perfect method, or perfect schedule to control the effects of sin. 

Jesus does offer us something though that the world cannot...Himself.  "Come unto ME and I will give you rest."  I am not God, so I cannot tell you exactly what and all Jesus means by this other than He wants you to come to Him.  Not with a attitude of fear like you are about to be scolded by the teacher, because you didn't perform appropriately, but with an open heart because you know this Saviour loves you and desires you know the secrets of His kingdom.  He wants to give you what He has, what He experiences, what He knows, and what the world cannot offer...His peace. 

Start your day like Mary did...at the feet of Jesus, ready to hear Him.  Hearing the Holy Spirit speak into your soul will first satisfy you and then lead you into your day's work or rest.  God gives us both, so you need to hear what day God has prepared for you. 

Being six months pregnant and caring for my husband and three children, under the age of 7, challenges me to change my daily vision from working all day to resting more than usual when I am not expecting. 

Watching the seasons of life God allows you to be in is a key to walking in wisdom.  Life comes with limits in each season of our lives, so instead of trying to squeeze in last seasons tasks with God's new season for you, ease up, sit back, and examine the new limits.  The limits are meant to help you lighten the load and focus on what is truly important for that moment of time.  

The deposits of joy you are making differently from one season to the next is another key to wisdom and contentment. 

Personal examples from my life:

When fall comes, I bake more and craft less, because I love the smells of baking in the fall.

When winter comes, I get out of the house less, so I read more or deep clean the house more.

When spring comes, I want to be out of the house, so I garden more and read less.

When summer comes, I am busier with the kids, so the housecleaning takes a backseat.

Instead of stressing myself out and trying to do everything in every season, I switch my priorities around to accompany my limits.  Being pregnant is another rescheduling in of itself. 

So like Tasha Tudor's illustrations of life, I stop to see what is only being done in the picture.  Usually only one part of life is being captured, because truthfully, that is all God gives us.  One moment to ice skate on the pond, one hour to knit, one year to nurse a baby.  Then the reward of wisdom comes, the true sense of contentment.  Being with God in that moment of time is a gift to us that reminds us He is always with us. Whether we are stirring the soup or plowing the field, whether we are sick in bed or helping the sick, whether we have a house full of guests or a house full of quiet...He is always there bringing us joy.

Modern Day Idols ~ Part 2

When I think of idol worship, I think of Old Testament worship of graven images or statues, but God is faithful to teach me that idol worship begins in the heart and is a part of every generation. 
The year is 2011 and viewing life on American soil, the worship of idols or anything other than God is everywhere...even the church.  We are to be the salt of the earth and a light on a hilltop, but I am afraid to say, that I don't see much difference in the believer and the unbeliever when it comes down to the everyday. 
I am thankful for those whom I have met that go against the modern day idols of finding love and worth and purpose.  I am thankful for my older sisters in the faith who encourage me in the principles of the past.  Sometimes I am not even aware of my own idol worship until someone points out a different way of thinking. 
Being a mother of three, I observe daily the choices of other mothers and women around me.  The Lord weighs me spirit and I question my walk with the Lord, "Am I running after modern day idols, too?  Am I really walking in the light and how can I tell if I am doing Your will, Lord?"  
And so, I watch.  I listen.  I look for the woman who has the joy of the Lord.  She talks about His presence and all that He is teaching her in her role as mother.  She is molded by her role.  She is learning self sacrifice and His love.  She serves only Him and her burden is light.  She makes time for solitude.  As Charles Stanley once said, "Busyness does always mean more fruitfulness."
Philippians 2:3 says, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourself."  
I can't help it, but one of the biggest eye openers I have witnessed in the area of idol worship for christian women is...ready...I almost hate to type it, but the American idol award for the 21st century goes to...COLLEGE.  Ack!  How can something so good be an idol??  Does God say college is wrong, even evil?  No, He doesn't, but worshipping it, finding self worth from accomplishing it, sacrificing time with your husband and your children to achieve it, and neglecting your responsibility for guarding the home to pursue it is wrong. Here is a for instance.
If your employer hired you to design webpages for his company and you designed your own webpage company during the hours he has entrusted you to work for him, you would be considered irresponsible and in the wrong.  To be a faithful worker means devoting time to the master's plans.  Neglecting to stay focused on the job at hand will cost you productivity or loss of a job.  I truely believe mothers and wives need to be fulfilling God's plan for women by staying home and fulfilling their roles as homemakers.  More effort is focused on careers outside the home than in the home.  College today does not groom women for homemaking, instead it becomes the tool with which Satan uses to distract women from their greater purpose.  Even when college days are over and starting a family begins, women begin to find a new struggle.  I speak from experience.  Here are a few statements I have heard in the past seven years as being a mom.
"I feel guilty about not using my degree after spending so much money on it."
"I need more education, so I will spend my nights pursuing another degree."
"Who am I anymore since my days revolve around my kids?"
And I say once more that college is not evil, nor is exercise, nor is having nice things, but when we make it our selfish ambition, we have made it an idol.

Modern Day Idols ~ Part 1

Recently, I have been wrestling with my sisters in the faith who seem to be doing too much.  Of course, I always come back to "well, who am I to judge?"  Truth is, I am not judging, but concerned.  Their lives and pursuits do not seem much different than those who do not know Christ and His kingdom plans.  As I pondered many things in my heart, I found that I am not alone.  This weekend alone, three sisters in the faith had the same observation.  We wondered how they get it all done in the same amount of hours we have.  Do they find time for real solitude with the Lord?  Do they really spend their evenings with their husbands or their laptop? 

Spending time with your loved ones requires, you guessed it, time.  A mother shared with me this Sunday that she is closer with her second child than her first, because she is home with the second child and worked outside the home when the firstborn was little.  She felt regret.  She reminded me that our loved ones need our time, our nearness, our attention when they are little. 

Another mother couldn't understand this weird pull to leave the home even though she didn't want to.  She knew the enemy was planting lies in her head, because she loved her role as a mother.  There is a pressure to do more, educate more, volunteer more, but the sad thing is many christian women have listened to this lie and therefore confused the younger mothers. 

Motherhood is a job you will hold forever, but the need to be home and focused on them, not selfish pursuits, is more intense when they are small.  

Prayer Closets All Around the Home

Where is your special spot in the house where you have your quiet time with the Lord, write, blog, or organize your to-do list for the week?
What accompanies you?  A cup of tea or coffee?  Do you keep the house quiet or play music through your laptop?  Do you light a candle or open the window?
I like to sit by an open window.  If the season is warm, I am in the kitchen by the large window that overlooks the dogwood tree.  If the season is cold, I am by the fireplace in my rocking chair.  Both places give me that deep contentment that allows me to open my heart to the Lord's Word.  Some days I could sit for hours reading and writing.  I like to start with my quiet time.  Then I jump online and read inspiring blogs related to faith and homemaking.  God has called me to be a homemaker, so I find endless treasures from my sisters in the faith.  When I read their posts, I find the familiar words God speaks to me about having a vision to stay home and guide the home.  My home offers many "prayer closets" for me to enter into His presence with joy and thanksgiving, as well as a place to hurt and heal safely.  I have scripture on the window ledge near the kitchen sink and meditate on verses when I wash dishes.  I pray for my unsaved friends when I pull laundry from the dryer.  I seek God for wisdom when I straighten the kids' rooms.  I thank God for my husband and my family when I cook soup over the oven.  I cry when I am in the shower from recent loss.  I ask God about the future when I look out my windows.  I feel hope when I garden or when the wind blows on my back.  I technically don't go into a closet to pray, because I have a home to do that in...freely. 

Personal Touches

It has been my pleasure to "seek first the kingdom of God," in the area of homemaking. I love my role as a wife, mother, and homemaker and feel cocooned within the love of my God, my husband, and my children. Loving and nurturing them is my reward.

When one walks into a home that is warm and cozy, it represents the homemaker inside. Her personal touch is on everything I look at. How she decorates and the mood of her home tells me a lot about what she likes and who she is. I take wisdom home with me and ask myself, "what impression do I make when one walks into my home?"

There are always treasures within my day that make me stop and meditate on the love of God. Being a person who loves aesthetics and all things orderly, it is a wonder how I can so easily let my children "decorate" the house. But the truth is, I love their handiwork. I love their artwork or how they decorate my house for the fall with dried leaves and acorns and even a few sticks. I love their work, because it reflects their personal touch. My home isn't about being perfect, but a place where everyone can enjoy life and be a part of creating homelife. In fact, I usually don't buy store crafts, because they don't represent anyone I know. There just isn't any life in them.

And so, instead of rushing to fix things the way I like it, I step aside and enjoy the personal touches of little hands who one day will not live under this same roof. I embrace their childish ways and relish in the purity of the moment. And through this, God whispers to my heart, I love what you have done with the house...

Insight

"Lord, I need Your insight." This seems to be my prayer a lot lately. The definition of insight is "the act or power of seeing into a situation." (Webster's) I need insight on what You see wrong with America today and where I can bring Your truth to my neighbors.
My heart is heavy as I see women ignoring their heart's cry to be home. Young, godly women, are finding their hearts pulled to nurture, yet, society urges them on to college, to career, to a place where motherhood can not exist peacefully. Trying to raise a family and pursue a career does not mesh well. Something must give and I believe when both are trying to be accomplished the mother is overwhelmed and drained, while the children are alone and "under-nurtured"...a malnutrition of the soul and spirit.
As I have been churning the idea of doing college classes at home, my Lord has been walking me through the truth. Truth...His insight...asks,"Who will care for your children when then are sick for a week, if you are off studying? Will you shut down the computer when your child brings you a book to read while climbing into your lap? And most importantly, do you think the home is something of little value that you seek a career when they are grown?"
So I take my journal and I begin to write more glorious reasons why God created the home and why it is essential for human life...all the while, my feverish six year old daughter snuggles close after a long week at school and says with a sigh,"I love being home."

The Luxury of Little

Living with less has taught me great lessons for which I am grateful and forever changed. Whatever you own or possess, you manage. Whether it be your home, a car, a dress, or even borrowing a library book...you must manage it. You must take good care of it. So the more we own, the more care we must put out. More time given to things can stress us out if we are not wise and careful. Now we need things like a house, a car, and clothes, but how many? In the past year, I have decluttered. I have either given away my "extras" or sold them in a garage sale. When I was released of these "cares" I felt better and lighter almost instantly.

The other day, I was reading out of an old children's schoolbook titled, "Story Hour Readings: Fourth Year." In it, I read a story by John Townsend Trowbridge called, "Farmer John." What a great poem about a farmer who has traveled away from his country life and his thankful return. He speaks of the simplicity farm life by comparing it to the city life. Here is a portion that stuck out to me,

"There Money is King," says Farmer John,

And Fashion is queen, and it's very queer

To see how sometimes when the man

Is raking and scraping all he can

The wife spends, every year,

Enough you would think for a score of wives

To keep them in luxury all their lives!"