Finding Joy in Your Home

Last week, I interviewed Mary K. Mohler all about growing in gratitude and how to live this out in everyday life. The discussion was based on her new book Growing in Gratitude. As I've been reading through her book and meditating upon the interview with her, I've resolved to change some things in my own life when it comes to gratitude.

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Cultivating Gratitude in Everyday Life

1) Gratitude in Difficult Times

This is perhaps the hardest time to cultivate gratitude in our lives. I know there have been difficult times and times of grieving where it can hard to know how to turn my heart to thanksgiving. But I know that even in those difficult times, God is calling me to praise His name and give thanks. 

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

"I love spring flowers. They are some of the most beautiful parts of God’s creation. If money was no object, I would place vases filled with multi-colored bouquets all over the house. Roses are among the most beautiful and fragrant. We have no problem thanking the Lord for the beauty of every rose he allows us to enjoy, each one delicately created by our Creator in vibrant color. Yet I cannot recall even one time when I thanked the Lord for placing sharp thorns along the stems of those beautiful flowers, and I’m guessing you can’t either. There is nothing beautiful about those thorns, yet they are not there by accident. God chose to place them there—probably to protect the blooms from animals who may want to eat them." - Growing in Gratitude, Chapter 7.

She goes on to quote: 

"My God, I have never thanked thee for my thorns. I have thanked thee a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns. Teach me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed closer to thee along the path of pain. Show me that, through my tears, the colors of your rainbow look much more brilliant.'

How stunning it is for a blind man to speak of the brilliant colors of the rainbow! Oh that we would learn to thank the Lord for our suffering in specific ways as Matheson did. He asked the Lord to teach him four things: the glory of the cross he bore, the value of the thorns, the closeness to the Lord they brought him, and the brilliance of the Lord in the process. Perhaps this would be a good exercise for us as we test our sincerity to grow in gratitude."

And finally Mary sums up this chapter by saying, 

"This leads us to believe there must be a value in the thorn because, otherwise, God would not allow it to exist. He makes no mistakes. He is never mean-spirited or unkind. He sent his only Son to purchase our redemption. We are his! So, as Spurgeon wisely said, we go with that. We trust the heart of our all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful God even when we don’t understand his purposes. We must trust him and keep praying, even with groans."

Recognizing that the "thorn" may have nothing to do with me except for God's Glory. 

2) Expressing gratitude to my husband (and kids) more 

This has been a growing conviction in my heart lately. We've had some battle of wills in our house lately with some disciplining and discipling we've been doing with the kids. This of course leaves me feeling discouraged, tired, and yelling some days. This also can cause Jason and I to be exasperated with each other.  

As a busy wife, mom, woman, and so on...life can feel so busy and full. We run around trying to do everything we can for everyone. But we seldom stop to do anything for ourselves. I'm not talking about indulging hours a day to watch soap operas but rather taking some calculated time to invest in yourself. We've got some fun stuff to discuss today, so let's jump in! 

Listen to the Podcast:

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The Importance of Hobbies

I don't think hobbies is necessarily the right term here. But rather, intentionally investing in yourself. One big aspect of that is investing in some hobbies and another big part is properly taking care of yourself emotionally, spiritually, and physically. 

The lesson I’ve learned throughout the last 4 years (with three pregnancies and five kids) is that I have to take time each day to invest in myself. 

Especially in these busy days of toddlers and babies, it feels like there isn’t 10 minutes I can take for myself. If I decide during nap time to put my feet up for 30 minutes with a cup of coffee to read a book, I feel guilty. If I take that time to read, it means I’m saying no to the sink full of dirty dishes, or the pile of bills on the counter, or vacuuming the chips off the living room floor. 

If I take 15 minutes for myself, it means saying no to something else in that moment. And with the demanding day to day needs of my family, that often feels selfish and like wasted time. But what I have learned the hard way over the past 4 years, is that I have to take this time for myself. I have to set aside time in my day and in my week to care for myself a little bit so that I have the energy and stamina to care for my kids.

I have to take 15 minutes during nap time to do something for me, so that when all four kids wake up hungry and full of energy, I have the energy to tackle the rest of my day, change diapers, get dinner on the table, and greet my husband with a smile.

“In the Bible we see Jesus taking time to be alone and refuel. This is especially apparent after times of busyness, such as when he fed five thousand people. Our commitments should not overrun our lives to the point that we don’t take care of ourselves. Quiet time to invest in ourselves and become restored is incredibly important.” – Jessica Turner, The Fringe Hours

Wow, what a powerful lesson to remember. Jesus often went by himself to pray, to talk to God, to refuel before going out to minister again. He knew he had a very limited time on this Earth before returning to Heaven. It would be understandable if he didn’t even sleep to get all his work done.

But he also knew that he had human limits and had to take time to rest, refuel, and most importantly, slow down long enough to spend quiet moments with God, talking to Him. Even Jesus, who is GOD, took time, lots of time, for quiet prayer by himself with God the Father.

How much more should we be spending quiet moments? Taking the time to get enough sleep so we have energy and patience to serve our family? To make that time for Bible reading and prayer. To intentionally carve out just a little time in our week to invest in ourselves?

Not only will this help us to have the energy and stamina to tackle our day, but it will also help us to avoid burn out. With all the physical exhaustion of having almost 5 kids 4 and under, I’ve had my fair share of days where I just feel burnt out. And this goes beyond simply being tired, it sinks into the core of my heart and I realize that I am not facing my days with j...

Gratitude and thankfulness are wonderful qualities to cultivate in our lives. But it can sometimes be hard to know where to start and almost always difficult to sustain when life gets hard. In this wonderful interview with Mary K. Mohler (Albert Mohler's wife) we discuss how we can grow in Gratitude and what that has to do with our relationship with Christ.

Listen to the Podcast:

We also recorded this blog post as an audio podcast. If you want to listen in instead of reading, click play below or do a combination of both 

And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

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Links & Resources:

Growing in Gratitude by Mary Mohler

Preparing for motherhood can be exciting, nerve wracking, and downright scary sometimes! Are you preparing to be a new mom, looking into the future, or preparing to add another baby to the family? There are a lot of emotions mixed into this - so where do you turn when the excitement is also mixed with a little fear? Listen in today!! 

Listen to the Podcast:

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Jennie, I love your heart in this message! I am excited for you that you are preparing for motherhood and you are doing wonderful that you want to prepare now! 

While my circumstances are different than yours Jennie, I have had my fair share of fear and anxiety over the years. 

“Sister, we have died, and our lives are hidden with Christ in God. We are not our own. Our children are not our own. Our homes are not our own. Our stuff is not our own. Nothing is our own. It’s all his and for his glory. And that’s the incredible reality we get to make up to every day. Let’s help each other remember!”– Missional Motherhood, page 165.

When you are tired, when you are overwhelmed, when you are facing a chronic illness, or a time of anxiety...remember our ultimate end goal: 

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” – Colossians 3:1-4

Our lives, our motherhood, our daily lives are meant to be lived for Christ. This is going to look different from family to family, from situation to situation, and from season to season. Your ultimate guide to "biblical or godly motherhood" is not what your neighbor is doing, or your favorite blogger on Instagram looks like they are doing. 

Your guide to motherhood is Christ alone. Seeking Him, putting Him above all else, and storing your hope and future in Him alone! 

It's a very easy thing to make an idol out of motherhood. I think this is especially true in our Christian world today. The culture has swung so far to one side of not appreciating motherhood. So Christians swing to the other side and build up motherhood larger than it should be. 

Yes, it's a high and noble calling. Yes, it's entirely worthy of pouring our lives into. But ladies, your primary identity is not as mom. Or as wife. It's as a servant and follower of Christ. We must make sure that we make our relationship with Christ our #1 identity and not our motherhood. 

When we store up motherhood as our ultimate idol, we will be severely disappointed. Mamas, whether or not you have a chronic illness, you won't be able to do it all. You won't do it perfectly. You will fail again and again. You will build up the perfect image of a mother in your head and you will fail that again and again. 

But our hope isn't in our motherhood. Our hope isn't how perfect we appear on Instagram. Our hope doesn't hinge on our kids perfectly obeying us at Church (but believe me, I struggle with that one!!). We want to pour into our kids, discipline them, disciple them, spend huge chunks of our time teaching them about Christ. 

But our motherhood ultimately is not about us. It's about using our time, energy, and our motherhood for His glory. 

Fix Your Eyes on Eternity Mamas - It helps with the small decisions

“When your eyes are fixed on the horizon of eternity,

Are you stuck in a meal planning rut? Or struggling with healthy breakfast ideas? You are not alone!! Listen in to today's episode as we share some tips and tricks for meal planning and breakfast! 

Listen to the Podcast:

We also recorded this blog post as an audio podcast. If you want to listen in instead of reading, click play below or do a combination of both 

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Help in the Kitchen! 

QUESTION: "Help! My kitchen is starting to feel overwhelming. My husband and I are starting to realize that we have been progressively getting worse and worse with spending waaaay over what we should on food because we are eating every meal out practically, except for sometimes making bacon and eggs at home. So after talking about how we’ve been pulling constantly from our savings account just to cover our spending habits, we know we need to get better it’s just so hard when that’s what we’re so used to and also when everything we TRY to cook at home often gets thrown away because it’s terrible LOL. And my main question I wanted to ask is, breakfast is the one thing I’m starting to struggle with most because every option is either super sugary, super processed, or super greasy/unhealthy (we’ve been eating bacon every day and it’s going to be hard to get my husband off of it!). I hate oatmeal, and I’ve tried it and tried it, and I’m still trying to get myself to like it but he also hates it and won’t eat it. Any healthy ideas?"

My journey in the kitchen

You are certainly not alone in this struggle! I came into marriage with absolutely no practical kitchen or cooking skills. We had many food flops in the early days of our marriage and ate lots of frozen burritos while I figured out what I was doing in the kitchen!! 

Now a days, most women don't learn how to cook and manage a home before they get married. So if you are like me, then you get thrown in marriage and realize how little you actually know. It can be tough (especially when you feel like everyone else knows what they are doing)! 

Kitchen & Breakfast Resources: 

Money Saving Mom: She is currently doing a $70 a week grocery budget challenge and I love her simple and easy recipes she shares!! 

Learn how to Freezer cook! Money Saving Mom has wonderful freezer cooking resources. I also have some great freezer cooking resources here. 

The Humbled Homemaker has a great 5 day Eating Well on a Budget eCourse! 

Great recipe ideas: Don't Waste the Crumbs (especially her breakfast ideas) and Traditional Cooking School also has a great resource for recipe index. 

Breakfast Ideas: 

Don't be afraid of eating eggs all the time! This is our main breakfast staple

Get creative with oatmeal dishes! 

oatmeal bakes

Make Ahead Refrigerator Oatmeal!!!! <--- Amazing! 

Breakfast Burritos 

And lastly, don't be afraid to keep it simple!

For the second year in a row, Jason and I have set reading goals for the year. We have had fun setting the goal, figuring out how to read more, and having fun competing over those reading goals. So listen in today as Jason and I share our mid-year check up on our reading goals. 

Listen to the Podcast:

We also recorded this blog post as an audio podcast. If you want to listen in instead of reading, click play below or do a combination of both 

And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

If you want to follow along with our reading challenges, or jump in with your own (start ANY TIME!!) then check out the 2018 Christian Reading Challenge for Women and the 2018 Christian Reading Challenge for Men! You can also catch up and listen to my January and February reading challenge update. 

Books Mentioned in This Episode: 

The Wheel of Time (specifically book 4)

The Reformation by Diarmaid MacCulloch 

Jonathan Edwards by George M. Marsden 

Reset by David Murray

Seveneves by Neal Stephenson

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

The Invisible Hand by R. C. Sproul

God in the Dock by C. S. Lewis

Expository Apologetics by Voddie Baucham

The Read-Aloud Family by Sarah MacKenzie

Growing in Gratitude by Mary K. Mohler

The Backyard Homestead

Devoted by Tim Challies

The Consequences of Ideas by R.C. Sproul

The Crown: The Companion Book to Season 1 

Alone with God by John MacArthur

Praying the Bible by Donald Whitney

Mere Motherhood by Cindy Rollins

The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards by Steven J. Lawson

The Passionate Preaching of Martin Lloyd Jones by Steven J. Lawson

The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon by Steven J. Lawson

Make more time for reading with our favorite way to meal plan: 

Please welcome our sponsor to today's episode, Hello Fresh! They are a meal kit delivery service that delivers fresh and delicious ingredients to your door that you can make into meals in about 30 minutes or less. 

When we got our first Hello Fresh box, honestly, I had no idea what to expect. I’ve been intrigued by these box meal kits in the past but with so many options, it felt a little overwhelming. So when I got the chance to try Hello Fresh, I jumped at the chance. 

Well Jason and I both have been extremely happy with the box! It has been really fun to cook with Hello Fresh! Okay so how does it work? You get three meal options to choose from: Classic, Veggie, or Family. We got the family box and as a huge plus, all of our kids devoured the meals!! 

Each of the meals comes packaged in it’s own bag with all the ingredients in the perfect portion for that recipe. So you literally just pull the bag out of the fridge for that recipe and everything is ready. I did not anticipate this being one of my very favorite things about the service. 30 minutes before dinner, I literally just pull out the bag, grab my full color recipe card, and take the items out. 

I had no idea how much mental energy actually goes into planning my menu, shopping for each ingredient, and assembling it all…all before the cooking even begins. Plus, as a bonus, it had me cooking more involved recipes that I’ve felt like I had time for (even though they were only 30 minute recipes). 

So you are getting delicious and nutritious meals delivered to your door for less than $10 a serving which is pretty amazing! Especially if you are in a rut of eating out a lot, this can be an incredible switch! AND if you go through my special link for todays episode, you can get $30 off your first box.