Days of Thanks #6

Day 6- I'm thankful for the opportunity to be a stay at home mom for this season of our lives. Even on the crazy days.. It's a dream come true!

Cleaning Out the Closet

It all started this week when Savannah asked if she could try on a pair of my Cons...thinking her foot was big enough for me to "share" them with her...and by share, I'll remind you that anytime a tweenager wants to borrow something of yours, it usually means you will never see it again. But for the few minutes it took her to try on the shoes, I thought about how cool it was that she even wanted to wear anything that happened to be in my closet...cause that would make me a cool mom, right? Whatever.

Anyhow, I digress. It was only a couple of hours later when I went into my bedroom and saw that the shoe bin, where the converse had been was a wreck --- not because of Savannah, but because of the sloppy mess my closet was in..hangers sticking out of the show bin, belts and purses tossed into the depths of darkness that had become my closet. So, I put it on my mental check list and thought...maybe I'll have time for that soon...like after Christmas.

However, in a series of fortunate events, I ended up home alone this afternoon. All by my lonesome and since I had this good fortune yesterday also, I figured today I better use my time more wisely. So, with full body armor on, I began taking ever single thing out of my closet. It was time for an overhaul.

Here's how I decided what to get rid of:

1. If I didn't wear it during the last season ...get rid of it.
2. If I don't love it... get rid of it.
3. If it's stained.. get rid of it (trash).
4. If I have more than one of the same item...choose wisely, but keep only one.
5. If it doesn't fit and it would take losing more than 25 pounds for it to look good on me, get rid of it.
(cause if I lose 25 pounds...I'm buying something new!)
6. If it's missing something...a button, a belt, a match... get rid of it.

Here's what I learned...

1. I have a slight obsession with cardigans...like I have LOTS of them..and I have no plans to get rid of them.

2. I also have a true love for the ALL STAR Converse. Thank you Jaime and Felicia for helping me find my way.

3. A clean closet makes me happy...cause I know what's in there. 

I think there are a hundred spiritual applications to my little venture into the closet. The one that spoke most loudly today was...When you get rid of all the stuff that you don't need it allows you to utilize your best stuff. So many times we think more is better, but more just gets in the way of using the blessings and the gifts God has already given us. I truly want to be a wise servant in using what He's given me...whether it be my talents, my gifts, my time. But if life is cluttered by a bunch of my junk, I'm hindered and distracted and even frustrated by it. I want to use what I have to honor God, therefore, I must constantly be cleaning out my spiritual closet as well. Do I really need that thought? Do I need that attitude...does it have a match to the attributes of God? 

Oh so many, are the lessons.

Officially Home

School starts tomorrow at the school I've taught at for the last few years. And I'm officially a full-time homemaker. It really hasn't seemed real until now. Back to school sales, the hustle and bustle of getting a classroom and bulletin boards ready have alluded me altogether. As teacher friends are pinning teaching ideas and cute quotes, I've been in the back of the class cheering them on...quietly. I pray all the patience, wisdom and grace they will need for this year ahead.

And today as I sat down to write out a few goals...I realized...it's official...Homemaker...that's me. A dream come true. And while it's filled with some uncertainty and a little nervousness on how this is really supposed to look, I'm certainly thrilled that God has allowed me this blessing.

So...here's my goals for this week.

1. Make homemade bread (instead of sandwich bread).

2. Cook dinner every night (except Wednesday because the church cooks for us...Hallelujah)

3. Stick to the homeschool schedule

4. Write Genesis 1:26-28; 9:1-7, Psalm 16:11,1 Corinthians 10:31, by hand, daily, in preparation for Sunday School Sunday.


5. Spend time studying for Bible Study teaching Wednesday Night


6. Work on needlework for 30 minutes


7. Menu plan for next week


8. Read one chapter of Pollyanna aloud with kids.


9. Encourage Bruce
How are you spending your week? If you're a full-time homemaker, do you find it easy to waste time? Or, are you a go-getter? Do you keep a pretty tight schedule or fly by the seat of your pants? What works for you....Give a girl some advice if you have any tips you think I could use! Thanks!

The First Day....of the rest of my life

I've been dreaming of the day that I would be staying home as a full time wife and mom. And the time is now. After working in some form or fashion for the last 20 years (10 of them as a mom), I am  overwhelmed and in awe that God has heard my cry to stay home with my kids and concentrate on that calling in my life. To say this road has been an easy one to pass would be a lie. We've counted the cost of becoming a one income family and decided it is totally worth it. I've wondered if I will be going crazy sometime in the middle of our homeschooling year next November or December and have determined, that I'm sure somewhere along the way, I'll end up sending a SOS flare up to the sky. But..in all the unknowns and costs and fears, one thing is certain, I have watched my God direct us each step of the way, and I know that same God will take care of all the incidentals the rest of the way.

In September of last year, I started teaching a Wednesday Night small group of ladies at my church. We did a book studying using Priscilla Shirer's Resolution for Women. We were bopping along quite nicely until I was preparing for week five. I was sitting in my chair in the front living room and remember exactly the feeling that came over me, when I read this:

5. A Resolution To Devote My Best to God’s Priorities For Me

I will seek to devote the best of myself, my time, and my talents to the primary roles the Lord has entrusted to me in this phase of my life.

And it hit me. Like bricks falling off a truck or a football player being tackled....either way...it was rough. I had been burning the proverbial candle at both ends of the stick. I was trying to juggle all the mom stuff, wife stuff, church stuff, school teacher stuff, friend stuff and I was tired, sick, run down and felt myself becoming irritated with things that used to bring me great joy. I definitely wasn't giving my best to any of the God-given priorities in my life. I was giving my best to things that I chose for myself and the priorities that God had given me were suffering. And I knew it. 

Over Christmas break I had planned to overhaul my house, thinking that if I could just get a handle on things that I could put this gnawing feeling behind me and refocus with a fresh start. But instead I ended up with the flu and bronchitis and was wiped out. I hadn't felt good in months, the Dr. looked at me and said, "rest". 

But I didn't want to rest, I wanted to work in my house and cook meals and do all the things that I never had time to do because of the other things I was juggling. But I went to bed for a few days, and as I laid there I knew what I needed to do. And in the back of my mind, it's what I have desired for years and years but for one reason or another couldn't/wouldn't do. I needed to quit my job and stay home and give my best to my husband, our kids and our church. Because, that's what God has called me to for this phase of my life. 

I will never have a 10 and 7 year old again. Tucker and Savannah are growing up and the time will be gone before I know it. God gave me a preacher husband and for as long as I can remember we've been better together in ministry than separate so I want to serve with him as much as I can. I want to aim to be the Proverbs 31 woman whose home is in order, children are in order and whose husband can depend on her. 

It amazes me that God has allowed everything to work out beautifully. His favor....undeserved...at work once again. 

I'm thankful for my years teaching and in other professions along the way. I'm happy that I had the privilege to teach for three years at our church/school. But now it's time to put that energy into my own family and see where that takes us!  Today truly is the first day of the rest of my life!