Finding Joy in Your Home

This topic has been on my heart and mind a lot lately. I've been doing a lot of study on the centrality of the Gospel and God's grace in our lives and how we need to make Christ ultimate within our hearts, our lives, and our homes.

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And this had led me to a lot of thought on what it is that I do hold dear in my life. What are the things that I constantly put first in my life...even above God?!

How easy is it in my day to put other things as more important than God? And that my friends, is what we call creating an idol in our hearts. 

What is an Idol?

Often when we talk about idols, we think of the Old Testament version of idols. Of worshipping false gods and bowing down to calfs made of gold.

But in our modern society, we still have plenty of idols that we worship, even if they are not made of gold and we don't have shrines for them set up in our homes. 

Lately I've been reading a fantastic book on the subject called Idols of the Heart: Learning to Long for God Alone by Elyse Fitzpatrick and in it she gives a very good definition for what idols are:

"Idols aren't just stone statues. No, idols are the thoughts, desires, longings, and expectations that we worship in the place of the true God. Idols cause us to ignore the true God in search of what we think we need." - Idols of the Heart, page 23

So basically, whenever we place something more important in our lives than God, I've created an idol out of that thing. Even if this doesn't happen consciously. With my lips I may acknowledge God as most important in my life, but in my heart, in my attitude, in my thoughts am I placing other things as more important?

Are you willing to sin in order to obtain something you desire? Or on the flip side, do you sin when you don't get something you want or something doesn't go the way you think it should?

"If you're willing to sin to obtain your goal or if you sin when you don't get what you want, then your desire has taken God's place and you're functioning as an idolater"- Idols of the Heart, page 25

How This Plays Out in Our Lives

A lesson in marriage

For most of us, we want a healthy happy marriage. This desire in itself is not bad. In fact, God encourages us to be close to our husbands, to be of one flesh, to be united, and to flourish together within the marriage covenant. Desiring a close and passionate marriage is a beautiful thing to desire and work towards.

So let's say that our friend Jane just read a blog post or listened to a podcast about marriage and she is fired up and excited to put energy and passion back into her marriage. So she sets out with a goal this week to love and appreciate her husband more. Maybe she stops by the store and picks up some candles to help set the mood, she puts the kids down to bed early and makes his favorite meal. She's anticipating the moment he walks in the door to see all the love and care she's put into creating a special night for them...because she desires a close and loving marriage.

But he walks in the door, after being stuck in traffic, he hasn't eaten in hours, and he's just plain tired. He grunts a hello to Jane, doesn't acknowledge the beautiful table she's set or the effort she's put into it, and slouches into the living room to turn the TV on.

Instantly her love and excitement for that night evaporates and she's foaming at the mouth. She heads to the living room to "confront" him. After a bout of yelling and screaming (from both Jane and her husband), she runs off to her bedroom to pout, withdraw, sulk,

The kitchen is one of those areas in our lives that can take a ton of time, energy, and money and at the end of the day, we can still feel like we are spinning our wheels. Do you ever feel like your kitchen is controlling you?

Between meal planning, grocery shopping, all the cooking, coordinating, and clean up, it's really easy to spend all of our time in the kitchen and still not see much fruit from it all! So today I am going to take some time to dive into how we can get our kitchen under control, some tips for meal planning, and how we can save money from within our kitchens.

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I've heard from many women who don't meal plan that they just don't think it's right for them for one reason or another. Maybe meal planning seems like adding one more thing to your to do list. Maybe it sounds like adding more work to your already full schedule.

I get that. Which is why I wanted to share my super simple method(s) for meal planning and how in the end, it saves me so much time, energy, and money.

Why I Meal Plan

Meal planning does take some time and effort up front (especially the first few times you do it), but the effort is well worth it. Before we dive into how I meal plan specifically, let's chat a little bit about why I meal plan:

Meal Planning Saves Money

For a couple of reasons, meal planning ends up saving me so much money. Here's how:

1) It Keeps Me Out of the Stores

We all know that the more time we spend in grocery stores and the more trips we take, the harder it is to stick to our grocery budget. I'm currently 20 weeks pregnant with our baby girl and it's nearly impossible for me right now to leave Costco with only the items on my original list.

When I meal plan, it allows me to better plan out my week, month, and fit my meal plan into my budget. It eliminates that need to run to the store for only one thing and $80 later you walk out wondering how you spent so much!

2) I'm Better Able to Plan Around My Grocery Budget

Instead of having a vague idea of the money I'm spending and that I'm trying to stick within a specific amount of money. Meal planning allows me to literally plan my meals around my grocery budget. If I have $200 to spend this week, then I can plan our meals (down to the snacks) if I need to in order to fit that $200 budget.

This really helps eliminate the unwelcome feeling you get when you get to the end of the month and realize you are $300 over your grocery budget and have no idea how you got there.

Meal Planning Saves Time

Initially, meal planning takes a little bit of time to get into the habit of and actually do each time you head out to the grocery store. But in the long run, it saves so much time! It virtually eliminates the “What’s for dinner?” question that pops up around 5 o’clock every day.

Meal planning mentally frees me from having to think about my meals each day and helps to cut down on time searching for meals to make, running to the grocery store for one or two items I forgot, and helps me to be more organized.

 Meal Planning Helps Us Eat Healthier

Meal planning is the #1 thing that helps me to feed my family healthier meals. Not only does it keep us from eating out, but it allows me to plan out well rounded meals and introduce a variety of fruits and veggies into my family's diet.

When I don't have a plan for dinner, it's so much easier to ask my husband to pick up a pizza on his way home. That's fine for the occasional treat, but it's not okay when you end up eating out more often then eating at home.

Today is been one of those tough days. At least the morning was and things are slowly starting to calm down now as we head into the afternoon.

You see - my energy stores (and thus my patience) are in pretty low supply lately. I'm currently 9 weeks pregnant and this third pregnancy has been wiping me out. Between the morning sickness and the fatigue of being in my first trimester AND keeping up with four kids three and under, I'm pretty exhausted lately.

Plus honestly, even not being pregnant, some days as a mom are just really really tough. Anyone else feel like that? I love my kids and I love being a mom. But some days, some seasons, and some times are really really tough.

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I think everyone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. It was only 9am and all four kids were currently crying. It certainly wasn't the end of the world, but with 12 things that needed to be done at once, I really started feeling overwhelmed. 

So I stood there, I felt my temper rising, my patience draining away, and that familiar tug of fatigue threatening to overwhelm me...I had to stop and figure out how I would handle it all. Would I let anger overwhelm me and start yelling? Would I turn into a Zombie and just get.through.the.morning. Would I break down and start crying myself? Would I call my husband and beg him to come home to my rescue?

Believe me, all these thoughts went through my mind. And as I stood there in the midst of four crying kiddos, I felt the gentle call to remember to who it is I'm working for. Why I get up everyday and care for these munchkins. Why I am pouring my life into raising these 4+ blessings. And that they are indeed BLESSINGS. And that it's ALL for God's Glory and His Kingdom.

So dear mama, if you are having a tough morning. Or a tough day. Or a tough year...hang in there. Some days are tough and God doesn't promise that our life and our days will be all cupcakes and sprinkles.

So where do we turn? What do we do when we feel that familiar tug of overwhelm threaten to engulf us? Here are a few ideas to help you have a heart and attitude change in the midst of a really tough mama day:

Encouragement for those long weary Mom days

Make sure you read your bible

This really needs to be your #1 priority. If you are having one of those long tough days, endeavor to sit down and read your Bible, if only for 10 minutes.

I know that in the midst of chaos, such as this morning when I had four crying, hungry, cranky kids, I couldn't ignore them to sit and read my Bible right then. But I had already done by daily Bible reading that morning while the house was still and the kiddos were sleeping.

I armed my heart and my mind to think about God from the very first thing this morning and I know it really helped me to battle that overwhelm when the chaos started. So if you already did your Bible reading, try and think about and remember what you read that morning.

And if you haven't read your Bible yet, or want to spend more time reading (which is always a good plan), endeavor to find a few minutes as soon as you can!

If you need some help establishing a daily habit of Bible reading, I highly recommend you check out my free eCourse: Finding Joy in Your Home - essential habits for Christian homemakers. In lesson #3 I cover the habits of daily Bible reading and prayer. 

Pray

Seriously, stop right in the middle of chaos and pray. If you can barely spare a second, then a quick "Lord, please give me strength, wisdom, and patience today" will do.

Guys! My podcast is back after a very long, unscheduled break. Every week Jason and I had it in mind that we would sit down and do the next episode...and things have just been nuts.

My Homemaking Mentor officially launches in one month and every spare second has been spent developing this amazing brand new online training academy. It will be well worth it, but it also meant we had to divert a little of our attention away from the podcast.

But I know from all the emails and comments, that you guys have been missing the podcast! So we got organized this week and have a podcast episode ready for you! Lord Willing, we will be back to our weekly schedule.

In today's episode I am going to be answering a question from Ashlee, who asks about routines and schedules. She wants to know how to handle it when routines and schedules vary from day to day, how much planning is involved, and what should become second nature.

Ready for episode #42? Let's jump in!

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In This Episode, You Will Learn:

My typical schedule (including how it varies every single day)

How to handle unexpected things that come up

The importance of planning

The importance of spontaneity within our routines and schedules

Links & Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Sign up for updates when our academy opens again

My FREE eCourse: Finding Joy in Your Home - Essential Habits for Christian Homemakers

Leave me a voicemail of a question I can answer here on the podcast

Book recommendation: 52 Things Husbands Need From Their Wives by Jay Payleitner

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Book of the Week:

52 Things Husbands Need From Their Wives by Jay Payleitner

This has nothing to do with the topic at hand, but I am just finding that this book is on my mind. The book has 52 short chapters on little (and big) things you can do for your husband, or to understand him better, or to learn how to love him better. I've been reading a chapter here or there as I have time and I've really been enjoying it. I love that each chapter is a small bite sized idea that I can think about as I go about my day. I've really been enjoying it. So if you are looking for a new book to read for your marriage, I encourage you to pick it up. They also have a book for husbands called 52 Things Wives Need From Their Husbands. So if your husband is up for it, you can order both books and each read one! Jason ordered that one, but he hasn't had time yet to start it. I think he will be starting it soon.

Thanks for Listening!