I had only taken three steps past the front door when my jaw dropped. The house was not only beautiful, it was huge, and immaculately clean. Nothing like the little duplex my husband and I were renting at the time. Suddenly I wasn't interested in spending the next 2 hours at the office Christmas party. I felt way too inferior. My home wasn't as big, well-decorated, or tidy. I didn't measure up. Unfortunately, the comparison trap is something women are caught in all the time. We wonder if we're a good mom, wife, employee, Sunday School teacher. Are we thin enough, fit enough, strong enough? Trendy and fashionable? Wise and knowledgeable? Skilled with hobbies like decorating, photography, crafting, scrapbooking? Got the right amount of wealth and education? And we measure ourselves against other women to see if we meet the right standard. Comparison Trap It's not always directly related to us, but also our homes, families, and jobs. Are our children as smart or athletic … [Read more...]
House Cleaning Prayers are Answered Too!
Blessings can be exhausting. Recently my family has been blessed with two extra bedrooms, another bathroom and a large kitchen/dining room. What a blessing! We need the room. But the extra work that has come along with it has started to seem somewhat overwhelming. Working full-time and caring for my kids full-time as well as housework, shopping, drop offs and pick ups, and everything else that we moms do – I’m exhausted. Add in cleaning and painting, shifting furniture and moving possessions, I’m not going to lie, I hit the wall this weekend. I was done. My entire house was a mess; the more time I spent on the “new” portion of the house, the more the regular work was backing up in the “old” portion of the house. There seemed to be a never ending cycle of work needing to be done. I prayed for God to give me strength and energy, and when I could work no more, I began my house cleaning prayers. Over the weekend I spent the morning and afternoon with my children at various activities … [Read more...]
From Glory to Glory: Preparing My Heart for Father’s Day
It's almost Father's Day. Chad's been a father four years now, but I can't remember a single thing I've done on a father's day to celebrate him. Which is sad. Considering every Mother's Day we do something entirely female and my choice, like shopping and Starbucks and breakfast places that smell like lattes and cinnamon. But, I am making it a point this year to celebrate my man. From Glory to Glory: Preparing My Heart for Father's Day As I've been preparing for it, I was reminded of a slogan my favorite pastor uses, where he encourages his church to create a "culture of honor". When I think about how I want our family to be, I want us to have a culture of honor. I don't want to be in a race with my husband to see who deserves the most self-time, pampering, rest-time. I want to be in a race to out-serve, out-love, out-affirm him. We are currently at a place in our lives where many of our friends are just now getting married, and I have been finding that newly wed's perspectives are … [Read more...]
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