1/2/13: What are you most grateful for?

Wow - two blogging days in a row!  :)

So if you missed yesterday's post, I'm trying this new thing called 365 Questions, which is exactly as it sounds.  I'm making no promises of never missing a day, but at least it's giving me a direction for my writing on here (something sorely needed!).

Today's question is a "toughy" because I can't possibly narrow it down to one thing.  Obviously, the biggest blessings are life itself, salvation, health, a wonderful family, and so forth.  But today, I am also grateful for the privilege of being a stay-at-home Mom.  I know that not everyone has this option, and I'm thankful both that my husband is in favor of this decision and that his job provides the means for me to be here.

No guilt is intended by this post.  If you choose to work outside the home, that's totally your business.

Please don't think that I am one of those Moms who blissfully goes through every single day, enjoying every minute.  There are certainly moments that I want to put them on the nearest school bus and go to work with grown-ups.  And trying to keep the house clean while the 3 of us are here most of the time is almost pointless.  But still, the blessings far outweigh the challenges, and there's really no place I'd rather be.

So how about you?  What are you most grateful for?



This post may be linked up to one or more of the following blog parties.  Check them out! Monday: Menu Plan Monday on I'm an Organizing Junkie Wednesday: Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family Friday: 5 Minute Friday at The Gypsy Mama, Company Girl Coffee at Home Sanctuary, Pieces of Amy Other days: A Wise Woman Builds Her Home

Happy New Year!

Hello out there!  Anyone remember me?  I'm that girl who writes a bunch of posts all at one time ... and then nothing more for a couple of months.  Oh well.

I want to do something new and different here on the ol' blog, but I have no idea what.  I guess the first thing is to actually write something.  Somewhere along the way on Pinterest, I discovered this plan for a 5-year journal.  The idea is to answer one question a day, and repeat the questions for 5 years, comparing your answers.  Saying today that I will do this for 5 years is a little too ambitious, but I thought it would at least give me a jump-start on blogging more.  Some questions look like one-sentence answers, while others will require a bit more.  Either way, I'll jump in and see what happens.

January 1st - What is your number one goal this year?

This is kind of a big year for me because I will be turning 40 in November.  Yikes!  How on earth did that happen?  My brain is convinced that I'm still somewhere around 32.

Turning 30 threw me into a bit of a tailspin, and I don't want that to happen again.  So here's my goal:

Fabulous by Forty: Faith, Fitness, Finances

I feel like, if I can make good progress in all three of those areas over the next 10 months, 40 won't seem quite so daunting.  I don't really have a specific plan for Faith yet.  I'll continue with daily Bible reading, plus I will likely participate in another Good Morning Girls study in a couple of weeks.  Obviously, God is the main One working in my faith development, so we will see what He has in store.

As for Fitness, my "new year" started right after Thanksgiving.  (I wanted to be a "regular" at the gym by the time the new year's crowd arrived.)  Thanks to My Fitness Pal and some really mean Muscle Pump instructors (Love you, Catrina!), I've already lost 6 pounds.  (Still quite a few to go, but it's a reachable goal.)  Believe it or not, once upon a time I was in shape.  Here I am the day I turned 34.  (Those jeans are still in my closet.  Waiting.)

And here's what I looked like this past November, roughly 25 pounds heavier.  (Since that little princess is now 4, I can't really call it baby weight anymore.)

Anyway.

As for finances, that's not something I can share in detail on the blog, but we're making some changes there, as well.  Remember all that gallivanting around, looking for a job for David?  Those trips weren't free.

So those are my main areas of focus for this year.  Of course, there are always improvements to be made in other areas of life, but those are the biggies right now.

What about you?  Got any goals for 2013?  I'd love to hear about them.



 This post may be linked up to one or more of the following blog parties.  Check them out! Monday: Menu Plan Monday on I'm an Organizing Junkie Wednesday: Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family Friday: 5 Minute Friday at The Gypsy Mama, Company Girl Coffee at Home Sanctuary, Pieces of Amy Other days: A Wise Woman Builds Her Home

When God Clears His Throat

My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh my soul!

~"It is Well with My Soul," Horatio G. Spafford, 1873

There's nothing quite like parenting to teach you about God's love, His correction, and His perspective toward us who are His children.  So many times when I am talking to my children, I hear God "clear His throat" as if to say, "Hello?  Are you hearing yourself?  This is what I have been trying to teach you."

Cases in point:

"Obey first, then ask questions."  Hmm.

"Sometimes you just have to go with the flow, even if you don't understand where we're going."  Sigh.

"Could you just trust me, please?"  Ouch.

Being Nathan's teacher allows me to know him in ways that I might not have noticed otherwise.  One thing is that it really bothers him to get a question wrong.  He can't stand it.  Usually, he just wasn't paying attention or got in a hurry, but sometimes it really is something new that he needs to learn.

Now, it's not that I want him to become flippant about mistakes.  He does need to put forth his best effort.  I just don't want him to become paralyzed by a fear of failure.

I continually explain to him that learning involves going beyond what you already know, and that it's OK to not know everything.  I've told him that, if he already knew everything in the 1st grade book, we would skip ahead to the 2nd grade book.  As his teacher and parent, my job is to challenge him - not to break him (I don't give him things to do that are ridiculously above his level) but to enable him to grow and learn.  If we just keep going over the same things that he already knows, he may feel super-smart, but he won't really be learning anything, and then later when the big challenges come, he won't know how to deal with them.  (I know this from personal experience.)

I find myself saying to him, "Nathan, I love you.  I'm you're Mama - the person who loves you more than anybody else on the planet (or at least tied with Daddy).  I'm not angry that you missed that question.  I will never be angry at you for making a mistake as long as you are trying your best.  I'm here to help you learn."

And today, God cleared His throat again.

I don't have to earn Jesus' love and approval.  He's not going to throw me out of the classroom for making a mistake.  He does expect me to obey and follow Him, and He is going to challenge and stretch me, but He's here with me, helping me to learn.  It's OK for me to not know everything.

He's not marking my permanent record with a big, red pen.  My permanent record has already been marked with a blood-stained cross.  It is finished.

When I make a mistake, I may have failed temporarily, but not permanently.  With His love, teaching, and guidance, I can learn from that mistake - "Go, and sin no more."

Ironically, it often seems easier to accept His eternal love and approval than to accept His daily, here-and-now love and approval.  Nathan trusts me as his Mama for the big things.  Trusting me in his phonics lesson on Monday morning is a different story.

I trust God for the big things.  Trusting Him to guide me during that same Monday morning phonics lesson is sometimes a different story.

May we both learn from our mistakes, not stay buried there, and move on in His power and grace.  May we both grow to trust Him in the big things and the small things.  May I not become flippant about sin but also not become sidelined by feelings of current failure or fears of future failures.

Oh, for grace to trust Him more!

 This post is linked up to one or more of the following blog parties.  Check them out! Monday: Menu Plan Monday on I'm an Organizing Junkie Wednesday: Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family Friday: 5 Minute Friday at The Gypsy Mama, Company Girl Coffee at Home Sanctuary, Pieces of Amy Other days: A Wise Woman Builds Her Home