Simplifying Bible Reading

October 30, 2012 By 9 Comments

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Bible reading and study is something I have struggled on and off with for years.  Like most folks who aim to be influenced by the Bible, there can be a mix of desire and guilt; desire for it, but guilt that you could do more.  Since having 4 children, it has become even harder to get quiet, focused time that doesn’t involve sleep.  In this season, two things have really helped me.

  1. Freedom from Guilt - In another time in my life (when I was single), I had lofty goals for Bible study and I felt the self-imposed checklist on me all the time.  And since my personality tends toward all or nothing anyway, if I didn’t have an uninterrupted hour to devote to Bible study and prayer and journaling, I felt like it wasn’t worth it, so I just didn’t do it.  I would go to Women’s Bible Studies at church and feel embarrassed that I hadn’t finished the daily study for that week and I was tempted to not even go at all.  Now I feel more freedom, knowing that one day I will get back to longer periods of focused study in the Bible, but in this season, I need to just put myself in contact with anything of the Lord that I can get.  Sometimes that does involve intense study and sometimes it’s just worship music that leads my heart to Him.
  2. Bible.is – I have tried to surround myself with the things of the Lord that I encounter throughout my day like good worship music, encouraging conversations with friends, prayer as I go, listening to sermons while I do chores, and praying out loud with my children.  Even with all that, I want to be studying and reading the Scripture more.  I have never loved audio Bible programs.  I tend to lose focus easily while listening.  But Bible.is is a little different.  It is a dramatized version of the Bible, but it’s not too cheesy.  It uses different voices for different people and includes contextual background noise for the story.  Dee and I try to listen to a chapter every morning before he leaves for work and spend a little time praying together for the day.  It has become such a sweet time for us and great time in the Scriptures.
    • It’s free.
    • You can access it online or as an app for Android or Iphone.
    • It includes different versions and languages.
 If you read the Bible, what do you use to simplify things?

 

Simplifying Life By Admitting I Can’t Do It All

October 4, 2012 By 2 Comments

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As Michelle has mentioned, this season has been a challenging transition for both of us.  I’ve mentioned it as well sharing about our new events and my attempt at a new schedule.  But, pretty much right after I posted my new schedule, I started feeling really overwhelmed with…well, everything.  I couldn’t keep up with cooking or cleaning or blogging.  And I just felt like a failure as a parent.  I read some of your comments encouraging me to rest and I talked to friends and family about how I was feeling.  Almost everyone affirmed, I am trying to do a lot.  I have a lot of demands with 3 little ones practically all the same age.  And I am with them almost all the time.

After those conversations and remembering encouraging words from my friends and my mom and my husband, I had to admit it.  I can’t do it all.  And I’m not failing as a wife or a mom just because I can’t keep up with this pace.  This is a different season with different needs and challenges.  I want to enjoy my family and my home, not be stressed and overwhelmed and guilty all the time.  I’m a little teary just writing this because I think the Lord is freeing me from this heavy burden of responsibility I have carried to do it all, all the time.

So, these 3 precious little ones have started Preschool 2 days a week at a local church.

They just go for half the day.  But I can’t tell you how amazing 4 hours to myself feels!  Part of my challenge with the tasks that I have on my plate is I very rarely have a long amount of uninterrupted time to do anything.  With cooking and cleaning, I have been trying to do a little (that feels like a lot) every day.  And I basically feel behind all the time.  So I’m going to try to do most of my bulk cooking on one of those days and most of my cleaning on the other day.  Hopefully with this, I can feel the freedom to just play with my kids or sit down and rest during nap time.  Those hours also give me a bit of a mental break from having toddler conversations.  :)  I’ll let you know how it goes.

Have you had to admit you can’t do it all?

 

Finding Joy – Sweet Time

April 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

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I don’t think I have enough space here to describe how much joy the Lord gave to our family this week.  He provided for us in so many different ways.  I’ll just describe one for now.  I got to be away overnight to go on the Women’s Retreat with our church this weekend.  It was such sweet time in the mountains, with great women, being challenged and encouraged in major ways.  The speaker opened up the Bible in Colossians 3 in a deep and personal way and the Lord really used her words to speak directly to my heart.  I needed that time so much to connect with other women and with the Lord.  They built in a time of solitude which was precious.  I don’t get many quiet, focused moments and my soul was longing for it.

Dee held down the fort at home with the children and I came home to happy children, a clean house, and a few projects completed.  He is definitely a keeper!

Guest Post by Kelli The How To Mommy – Balancing Multiple Roles

February 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Hi! I’m Kelli from the How To Mommy. I offer busy moms tips and tricks to make their lives easier. I often write about getting healthy, recipes, saving money, crafts and my darling little girls.I’m a part-time work-from-home mom to a three year old and one year old. I also work as a Director for a local non-profit, am an Independent Consultant for Thirty-One, and run my blog!Sometimes, it’s downright daunting to think of all the things that need to get done between taking care of the girls, keeping up with the housework, and trying not to drop the ball with any of my jobs.Here are a few tips I have for making it happen without losing your cool {or at least not losing it too often!}:
  1. Get your me time. However you need to do this, make it happen. Whether it be an extra-long shower, an early morning workout, or a girls night out, GO! I would not be a sane, happy mom if it weren’t for my hour at the gym every morning while the girls are in the play room or my weekly hangout to watch bad reality TV with some of my best friends.
  2. Nap Time is a lifesaver. If at all possible, get your kids to nap together. Try to sync up their long naps of the day or if your child is older, make them have “rest time” in their room if they don’t need naps. You’ll have an hour or two to work on your job(s), make dinner, pick up the house, or even nap yourself {don’t feel guilty about this, some days you just need it}!
  3. Let go and ask for help. Your floors may not get scrubbed every day week, you may need your husband to pick up the occasional fast food dinner, or you might have to call your mom {sibling, neighbor, friendly-looking stranger} to come watch the kids for an hour or two so you can finish a project before a deadline or have a moment alone so you don’t snap; this is okay! No one thinks you’re a bad mom or wife, and anyone who’s been in your shoes understands!

I hope these tips help you get through the day too! Thanks to Stacey and Michelle for letting me guest post. Feel free to stop by and say hi over at The How To Mommy!

Sharing this post at The Southern Product Queen, Celebrating Family, We Are That Family, Crystal & Co., Women Living Well, & The Better Mom.

Even Moms Need a Day Off Sometimes

December 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Having 4 small children is difficult.  Having 4 small children very close in age is difficult.  Keeping a happy husband, happy kids, and a happy home when mommy is tired is very difficult.

Making sure Mommy gets a break every once in a while…necessary.

I usually go out to dinner with friends or for a drink at Starbucks when I need a break, but this break is a very special treat.  A while ago Matt and I looked at the calendar and found a night for me to get away.  When we’ve done this before I got a hotel in town and rested.  At the time I only had 1 child.  This time, I’m leaving the city!

I’m flying north to Shanghai, a big city with good restaurants, and most importantly, an Ikea!  I plan to take a long nap after I check into the hotel in Shanghai.  Then, I’ll head to Ikea for a cheap hotdog and some therapeutic shopping.  After that I’ll go back to the hotel for a full night of sleep without a 3 year old calling out for water in the middle of the night.  Hopefully my body will let me sleep past 6:45 the next morning.  I’ll take along a good book to read.  I’m considering leaving my computer behind.  Big move, I know.  The goal for my 30 hours away is to just spend a little bit of time refreshing, rejuvenating, and feeding the introvert within.

I’d love to know what you do day to day to make sure you are staying refreshed amongst the busyness of taking care of your husband, kids, and home?  

Schedule Tweaking

September 27, 2011 By 4 Comments

I’ve been tweaking my daily schedule a lot lately.  The fall has started which brings new routines and opportunities.  I have been wanting to make a more regular appearance at the library with the kids, sign Karis up for a preschool art class, and attend the Women’s Bible Study at church.  When I started plugging all this into our weekly calendar, I saw the need to revamp a few things in the daily schedule to stay on top of everything.  If I’m gone all morning or evening, it affects what I’m able to get done with housework or cooking or things I want to do with the kids at home.  It usually takes me a couple weeks of trying out a new routine before I get an outline in my day that works.  It really is just an outline.  On paper, my schedule looks very strict and very full, but in reality, it’s just an outline to guide me through the day.  I like the structure of a good plan, but also want the freedom of spontaneity.  And, let’s be honest, who can really stick to a detailed schedule with 4 little ones around?

While I try not to be a stickler about the schedule, I have noticed a couple things that if I veer away from the plan, it really affects the rest of the day.  They are small things, but have really helped me a lot.  I have always taken my shower in the mornings.  I don’t wake up easily and jumping in the shower gives me some time to wake up and start thinking straight.  I also like it better when I wash my hair in the morning and it is freshly dried and fixed.  My hair tends to get oily by the end of the day, so when I have taken a shower at night, I don’t like how my hair feels all the next day, especially in the late afternoon and evening.  However, lately, I’ve started shifting to showering right before bed and I like the freedom it gives me in the morning.  When I get up, I don’t have to shower and dry my hair, so I feel like I have more time and don’t have to rush to get that done.  I like enjoying my coffee with more leisure as I get ready for the day.  It gives me more time to get all the things done that I really need to before the kids get up.  What do I do about my hair, you ask?  Well, it helps to not put conditioner near the roots and I use a lot of hair spray after I dry it which keeps it from feeling oily the next day.  
While this has freed up my time in the morning before the kids get up.  I’ve also realized I have needed to free up some time in the morning after they get up.  We usually run the dishwasher once a day and I try to hand wash any other dishes before we go to bed to keep the sink clear.  I had been running it when we go to bed and it would be finished in the morning, ready to be unloaded.  But it seemed like I just couldn’t get to unloading it right after breakfast and the sink started getting loaded up again.  So, I’ve started running it sometime after lunch where I can unload it while I’m cooking dinner since I’m in the kitchen for a while anyway.  Then I can load it with dinner dishes and leave it until the morning.  Then I just load the dishes in it for breakfast and lunch, which can be hectic times anyway.  

The last couple weeks have felt a little smoother in the mornings.  Everything happening around me doesn’t necessarily feel smooth.  I’m just not trying to cram in more than what’s already there.  I enjoy my 2 cups of coffee as I go and I’m available to respond to all the things that can get thrown at me, figuratively and literally.  Have I mentioned I have a very passionate 2-year-old?

Country Music and Fresh Air

September 20, 2011 By 1 Comment

     I can quickly feel the walls closing in on me at home these days. There are a few obvious factors that keep my outings limited. Definitely four kids under 5 contribute to that, and also sharing a car with my husband. Our second car died earlier this year, so instead of going into more debt, we decided to see how it goes with just one. It has really not been that big of a deal as my husband works 8 minutes away and he has a co-worker that he carpools with every week. So he either has the van two or three days a week and I get to choose which days those are. And, let’s be honest, I have too much to do around here just keeping up with cleaning, kids, and cooking to be going out every day. I try to streamline my outings on particular days, but that’s another topic.
     On those days where I am busy all day at home, by the time Dee gets home, we eat dinner, clean up, give baths, and get the kids to bed, I definitely start feeling cabin fever. Sometimes it conveniently hits right when Dee gets home when at least one is screaming, one is whining and begging to eat, and one is still asking lots of questions. Yesterday, I was doing good all day until that blessed witching hour hit. So. Much. Screaming. Dee really needed to mow the grass since we were out of town last weekend. So he was doing that and I was trying to hold off the kids to eat until he finished so we could all eat together. (I probably have an elevated value on us all eating together.) By the time we were eating, I was just staring into space, responding like a zombie to my kids’ requests for more food or dropping cups on the floor over and over again. I got the kitchen cleaned up, again (didn’t I just do this?) and I told Dee I was leaving. Now this time it wasn’t just for the sake of leaving the house, though I’ve done that. I needed to check on my 96-year-old grandmother, fondly called Grandma Sassy, since my mom is out of town. It’s a 30-minute drive to her house and when I called her she kept saying how much of a burden it is for me to drive so far just to check on her. Wasn’t I tired? I have too much to do. Shouldn’t I just call someone else? I assured her it was fine and would love to see her.
     I got in the car, alone, turned off the children’s CD, rolled down my window until I got on the interstate, and cranked up the country music. I love nighttime drives like this, especially on a mild day and it was very fitting that the song playing was “Take a Back Road” by Rodney Atkins. Country music and fresh air. It reminds me that there’s a world out there, outside my little house and my responsibilities. Sometimes I can get a similar refreshment just being outside in my backyard during the day. Looking at the sky helps me see beyond my own ceiling, breathe different air, and hear different sounds. I sometimes visualize a refreshing place like this inside, in my next house, a little alcove that’s just quiet and fresh, but I still think it would need to incorporate country music and fresh air.

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