Too Busy

In our society these days we are so busy! Sometimes what was suppose to help us speed things up(ex. technology) steals most of our time. I am trying to not let that happen but sometimes it even creeps in and I realize I have spent too much time on the comp. We get so caught up in the busyness of life that things have totally changed. Even in the christian community things have changed. We have let all this stuff in our lives and have forgotten the things the Lord has instructed us to do(ex. caring for the widowed and just being there for each other). Don't get me wrong I fall into this as well. All too many times I am wrapped up in the busyness of my life to reach out to others but I am really trying to change that. WE have got to start reaching out to each other, we have got to especially start reaching out to other brothers and sisters in Christ. How will we ever know their needs or what we need to pray for them about if we are so consumed with things of this world. Because really as christians this is not our home(thank you Jesus!). IT could be just a small letter to someone who is struggling, or checking on your elderly neighbor, or just asking someone what you can pray for them about. The Lord is really opening my eyes to this and has really pressed on my heart about slowing down and while still taking care of my husband and children to also start thinking about others and while doing this teaching my kids the important lesson of putting others first and showing hospitality. We have the young people over from our church every Tuesday to play volleyball. Yes, we have busy lives and yes we could be doing something else but we feel this is important to our children. These young people that come over here we WANT around our children, they are good influences. It is good for these young people to get together and while they are playing volleyball they are also learning many things. Like how to work together and also patience(because maybe they have a little one or someone not so good on their team). They learn kindness and how to not take things so seriously. Like when you fall on your backside like I did last night(lol, realizing now i am not so young anymore lol). Sometimes we need to take time out of our busy lives to just live. To be a light to others. To show hospitality. To show just plain LOVE! Speaking of busyness I really need to end this post and start school with one of my sweet children. But in short I just want to remind myself as well as anyone who reads this to slow down. Do something for someone else. Aren't we suppose to be christ like as christians. His whole life christ only thought of others, after all he did die for our sins.

Obeying your Husband

Now I know when many women read these words it stirs up all kinds of emotions inside of them. Hey, it used to do me the same way until I really started understanding what it really means. It does not mean the women who obey their husbands biblically are doormats like many may think because it also states in the bible that husband are to love their wives as Christ loves the church. If we truly honor our husband and let them lead our households the benefits farrrrrrrrrrr outweigh any of the negative things. For instance we were suppose to go to a church picnic today, while I really wanted to go my husband decided this morning that it would be better if we stayed home because since being sick we have fallen behind on some things. While I did not want to I did not argue and you know what. He was right!!! I am so glad he decided for us to stay home. I got some much needed stuff done that I needed to and he did too. God put my husband over me for a reason and sometimes while I might not like the decision I know that my husband is wise and really thinks things out and does not do anything in haste. Obeying your husband is not always easy but it is right and it shows him honor. If you have a unsaved husband you could bring him to Christ by submitting yourself to him. 1 Peter 3:1 Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, Another example while not a huge thing at the time was huge to me. A year or so ago I wanted to go get my hair cut and my husband did not want me to get it cut. I went anyway! YOu know what happened? I received the worst haircut I had ever had, I do not think the girl knew in the slightest what she was doing. I said, " Okay God, from now on I will listen." LOL! I have come to realize if I stay under the headship of my husband that the house just runs alot smoother. By this I am not saying that you can never ask for things you want, state your opinion, etc... I am just saying that things run alot better if I am under my husband and actually my husband treats me very well and I want for NOTHING! Those that know us,even his customers know that I am treated very well. So being a submissive wife in short means honoring and loving your husband. And most importantly taking the job that God gave you of wife to this beloved man and doing it to the fullest. I know there are so many times I fall short but we are all sinners. Also this all means not going behind your husband's back and talking about things that he may be struggling with or things you may be frustrated with him about. I hear even supposedly christian women these days even getting together and bashing their husbands. How sad is that!!! YOur husband is suppose to be sacred to you, it should be God, your husband, your children, extended family, and then friends, etc... Many have it so wrong and that is what is so wrong with our society,. We do not view marriage as it was intended. Uh-Oh kinda got off the subject a bit, I will get off my soapbox now lol. Anyway, in closing this as I need to go do laundry I just want to say I am speaking from total experience when I obey(submit) to my husband our household runs a lot smoother. I just want to say I am so thankful that my husband takes such good care of us that it is not too terribly hard to submit to him. ;)

How Your Attitude Sets the Mood

I have heard many people say and I have read this over and over again that the wife/mother sets the mood for the house. After today I see that it is totally right!! My day started off a little slow because baby wanted to nurse all night. I had promised myself I would start the week fresh with having my personal bible time. I got up later than I wanted to but did get my bible time in. I CHOSE to go ahead and get up and do it even though I really did not want to. That is the thing we can CHOOSE to be in a rotten cranky mood or we can CHOOSE to be joyful no matter how we feel. AFter bible time things were going pretty good and I was in a joyful mood, easy when things are going well. Even though I had extra laundry to do because someone had a tummy upset last night and I had one that was also under the weather. I had praise music on and was joyful , things were getting done, FINALLY had gotten the baby down! Things were going well. Easy to be happy,joyful, and just plain nice when things are going right, when the kids are behaving, when there is no stress. BUT then it happened, they came into the living room being loud and woke the baby. So.... what did I choose???? I CHOSE to fuss at them. What broke my heart is the reason they had came into the living room in the first place and if I had not been so busy doing laundry I would of known what they were doing. They were trying to tell me thank you for letting them have Nutella sandwhiches for lunch. Oh how my mama hard was so sad that I was so not nice to them. I scooped the baby up and went into the kitchen to talk with them and that is when the light bulb really went off in my head- we choose the attitude in our home. WE REALLY DO!! As mothers/wives we choose the mood. The little faces that were once smiling so big were now so downtrodden :( I made sure the rest of the day I CHOOSE no matter how I have felt to be NICE. Just plain and simple- NICE. My motto is Phil. 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and I CAN be joyful no matter the circumstance. Even when there is no end the laundry and the mess. Even when the 1 yr old is screaming AGAIN. Even when the 6 month old is wanting to nurse AGAIN. So if you are a wife/mother just remember we do set the mood. My husband has had alot of work lately and therefore leaves me shorthanded because he needs my two young men but that does not mean I cannot CHOOSE what is right. I could sit and pout and I will admit I have wanted to sometimes but if I did that I would still my own joy. IT is a joy to take care of my house. It is the greatest job GOD gave me. My husband called before he came home today, I knew he had been working alot lately and therefore is very exhausted so I made sure to have some business stuff done for him so he would not have to do it. Did it inconvience me? well, lets see we were trying to finish up supper( even though it was only a simple supper),baby was wanting to nurse so he could nap, and i had to find the invoice I was looking for all while keeping baby calm, etc... Would I do it again? Of course! Especially for the wonderful man who works so hard for his family and gives us all we need and many things we want. So my point is we can CHOOSE the mood in our home and when we do our whole family will benefit from it, and YOU will benefit from it.

Loving our Husbands-continued

Okay hopefully I am finally able to continue my post. I didn't have much more to say but wanted to say most importantly loving your husband means praying for him. Praying for him when you feel like it and when you don't. Praying for him everyday. If your husband cannot count on your to pray for him then who can he count on? Loving your husband also means not only saying I love you but showing it(something I fall short of daily). And this is a big pet peeve for me, loving your husband also means that you will not bash him in front of other people ,especially your "friends". This is one thing that really get under my skin. There is a difference between asking a sister in Christ to pray for things that may be going on you and your husband lives but it is another thing to rant and rave about all his short comings. YOu picked him, God gave him to you! Loving your beloved also sometimes means biting our tongues(something I also need to work on). And also means softly,sweetly, and humbly pointing out things that may be a stepping stone in his Christian walk. I am in no way saying that I am able to do these things and surely am not able to be the wife I need to be without prayer but I do strive to be a good wife, not sure a wife. Society gets it wrong because they believe when we marry we both need to give 50/50 but that is NOT TRUE we need to give 100%- Even when we do not feel like it!!!~~~ WE also need to realize and this is one of the few things I would want to tell women, especially one just getting married. Women and men are different!!!!!!! We are not wired the same and so do not expect your husband to always know what you are thinking and remember he is not perfect- there is only ONE that was perfect and His name was Jesus. So forgiveness is one important thing in loving our husbands as well. As with most of my post I need to finish up because I have one crying and needing me! I really hope I can encourage women to love their families and encourage them that it is IMPORTANT- your work as a wife and mother is the most important thing you can do in your life!!

Loving our children and most importantly our husbands

No, I do not mean the passing " I love you" as we pass each other. Or the quick I love you while putting our children in the bed for the day. I mean the real true godly kind of love. The love that only comes if our hearts are set on higher things. I was talking with my oldest daugher today who is 13 and telling her that in the society many buy into the lie that if everything is fine in your life and everything is going well then we are loved by God. But that is not always true sometimes God loves us soooooooooo much that he allows trials in our lives to rebuke us. Just as we do our own children. IF we love our children, we will train them up in the Lord and we will rebuke them when they do wrong. No, it is not fun and yes it is tiresome but that is one of the things I mean when I say really loving your child. Taking the time to listen to them ,to really train them, to really teach them how to do things instead of doing them yourself. It also goes for your husband. To love your husband may sometime mean talking to him in a kind tone even when you do not feel like it, or being intimate with him when you are exhuasted. Being a good loving spouse and mother may mean putting your husband first so your children can see how much their father means to you. I know this is something I still need some work on. Loving means putting ourselves LAST. Yes, i said last. Society today teaches us that we should put ourselves first and if we take care of ourself then we can take care of others but that is all wrong. Yes, I do agree we need to take time for ourselves that is not what I am saying but not at the expense of our family. This all does not come easy for me sometimes especially when I have not gotten much sleep and just want a moment for myself. LIke today I had to die to myself. My little ones were promised if they took a good nap we would go outside and blow the new color bubbles they got. Just when I had gotten everything done in the house and was sitting down to read a homeschooling magazine I really wanted to read of course they woke up. I had to say to myself what is more important and what would make more of impact of my children. Some may say the homeschooling magazine but that precious time I had with my children was so sweet and after blowing bubbles we looked at flowers in our yard and watered our herb garden. Again I had to control myself because while letting them help me water my 3 year old got me wet and it was COLD but I just laughed instead of yelling. I need to wrap this up because the baby is fussing , there was so much more I wanted to say about how we treat our husband and how we should love them. Maybe I will post more on that later. Just remember the order we should put things- God, husband, children.... Love your family, you will reap huge rewards!!!

awsome vacation with family

I just have to say we just got back from a great family vacation. I love my family so much and I love going on vacation. My husband and I have strived to give our kids vacations no matter how many we have. Just because we have many kids does not mean we cannot do what other families do AND have fun. We visited Pigeon Forge, a place we have went often. This is the first time in a long time that I was not pregnant so when we went to Dollywood this time I could actually ride the rides which was very nice although a new baby is always nice :) Our little ones did so good while we were gone, I was so proud of them because we pretty much stayed on the go and I know they were tired. I just love the memories we are making when we do these sort of things and I just love the time we have with the kidswith none of the everyday stressed. I urge every family to have a vacation with their kids even if you cannot afford it you can afford to set a certain amount of time and even if it is just to visit your local parks the one on one time is priceless.

Thankful

Not much time to blog lately but I just wanted to say how thankful I am. Thankful for what God has given me that I am so underserving of! Thankful that I have a Savior who is NOT DEAD but has risen. This Easter please keep in mind what it is all about. While I do not see anything wrong with the baskets and all we as a family do not do it and it is our preference, we really want to teach the children what it is all about. He is Risen and It is finished!!!! Praise God.