Favorite Quote: "Your Home is your First Ministry."

Back in 2010 I quite my job in ministry to stay home with my kiddos. I LOVED my job! I loved seeing the impact that I was having on the people I was serving. I loved having people trust me with their heart as they would ask me to pray for a certain situation or whatever it was they were going through. I loved spending weeks/months to plan an outreach event and watching it be executed perfectly the day it took place. I was in my element. The last few weeks of my job I would go in crying and come home crying because I really didn't want it to come to an end, but for that season in my life it was needed. 

I struggled staying home the first year. My kids were three and five at the time and they were very demanding. I would get frustrated constantly picking up my house and five minutes later it would look like a tornado came through again. I was always cleaning up spilled juice and dropped food. The laundry seemed to never end. I wanted every.single.day. to be back working, serving, leading people to the King. 

One day I was surfing the web and came across this quote:

"Your HOME is your FIRST ministry."

I quickly printed it out and placed it around my house. This was when I began to embrace the Stay-At-Home Mom/Wife thing. Not one time in that first year did I ever think of my home as my ministry, honestly, I felt it as a burden. From that moment on I knew I had to make a change in my life. I knew I needed to embrace my home as ministry, just as I did my job.

 The Bible tells us in Ephesians 5 that husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves the church (5:25) and wives are to respect her husband (5:33). I had to figure out what that looked like for me. And for ME that means: I serve my husband his food and drink. I keep my home as tidy as I can without putting too much pressure on myself for perfection so he doesn't have to worry about it. I make sure he has clean clothes to wear, his favorite shampoo and bodywash. I try very hard not to ask my husband to do anything around our house that I can handle myself. I feel if I can make our home stress free for him, I should do that, especially since he works hard outside of our home to provide for us. 

As for my children, the Bible says in Proverbs "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." The way I act in my home is my ministry toward them. I'm teaching my daughter the importance of serving her home. I'm training her and teaching her how to be a wife/mom. She is seeing the respect and love she should have for her spouse. She is learning how to comfort and be present with her children. For my son, he is watching how I respond to his daddy. He is learning how to treat his future spouse and that he shouldn't settle for anyone that doesn't respect him. We lead our children in prayer and devotion time. We are giving them a foundation that is built on Christ, so they world doesn't give them another foundation. I'm showing them how to respond in love to the messiness of life. They are learning that the way we act in private is no different from the way we should act in public. 

My home is my safe haven. I take pride in it being my ministry. I pray over my home multiple times a day and I refuse to let anything in that doesn't glorify God, my marriage, or my children.

Friday Five.

It's Friday. Another week has come and gone. Y'all time is flying on by! I've never linked up to a blog for one of these post, but I thought it may be fun! 

1. My sweet daughter and I went to SAM's Club yesterday evening while the hubs and son raked leaves.

 Mistake #1 We went BEFORE dinner. 

Mistake #2 We HAD to try EVERY.SINGLE.sample.

Mistake #3 I saw this delicious goodness and I couldn't resist, besides I AAADORE all things S'Mores!

So go to your local SAM's or whatever you have and get yourself some! You will thank me later! ;) 

2. This is my ALL time FAVORITE coffee (or should I say CREAMER with a little coffee cup) cup.  Every time I drink out of it I say a sweet little prayer for the husband and our marriage. It's the little things. 

3. Here in Mississippi it was way TOO cold this week. I thought I was going to die. Seriously. For over 72 hours it was below freezing. Y'all this is unheard of and I hated it. I like sunshine and warmth. I'm so over winter. Spring/Summer CAN NOT come fast enough! 

4. So, I'm a SAHM and one income is tight. I've been spending way too much money($36) on facial moisturizer the past few years and went on a search to find one that wouldn't make my skin oily, but would get rid of the dryness in the dreaded t-zone. So a friend recommended Clean and Clear. Y'all I thought I was beyond Clean and Clear. Isn't that stuff for teens with acne? I'm not a teen and I don't suffer from acne, but I took her word (because she has perfect skin and bought this stuff). It smells great and for less than $6, I can take the other $30 I was spending and put it somewhere useful. Oh, and it works! 

5. Finally, I read this book in like 3 days. Women Living Well. Courtney has such great advice on finding joy in our everyday lives. It was a great inspiration. So, if your a looking for a good, easy read.. Check it out. 

Thankful Thursday.

Today I am thankful for my husband, Andy. He is pretty much amazing. We've been married seven years, and he still gives me butterflies. He is always showering me with hugs and kisses, and he makes me laugh even when I don't want to. He is an amazing daddy to our wonderful kids. He loves the Lord with all his heart and it always leading our family towards the King. He is a keeper. 

Bring it on 2014!

2013: 

1. We celebrated 7 years of marriage. 

2. Our son started Kindergarten. (I cried like a baby)

3. Our daughter broke her arm and had to wear a cast for 90% of the summer.

4. My husband and I left our childhood church (one of the hardest things I've EVER done) and found an great church where God has been doing AMAZING things in our marriage and family.

5. God blessed us more than we ever deserved.

Now three days into the New Year and I'm beyond THRILLED to see what is in store for us. May God be glorified in everything we say and do. If 2014 is ONLY half as good as 2013 was, I know it will be great! 

Bring it on 2014!

Today I delete Facebook.

Today is the day I delete Facebook. This is a BIG deal. I'm a Facebook junkie. (sigh) I spend entirely too much time on it, and my husband has been trying to get me to notice for awhile now, but I didn't want to. I didn't think it was an issue, but let me be honest, it was. 

I'm the mom who would get frustrated with her kids because they needed a drink while I browsed my News Feed. 

I'm the wife who looked at other wives who were showering and loving their husbands, but neglecting the fact that my own husband two feet away needed a simple hug and truth spoken to him. 

I'm the granddaughter who would sit hours with my grandma, barely talking, but instead engaging on my tablet/phone and every once in a while truthfully acknowledging what she would say. 

I'm the daughter who lost a mom and looked to social media for condolences. 

I'm the friend who gets jealous when another "friend" doesn't comment on my post, but will comment on all of her other friends post. I had like 500 friends on Facebook, and yes, I know all of them, but I'm a really friends with them ... No. 

I'm the Christian who would attempt to read my Bible, yet 5 minutes later I would shut it and look to Facebook for community and spiritual growth. I even joined devotional groups and accountability groups. 

I can go on and on about my bad habits. 

Truth is I want to turn that time that I was wasting into time that I'm engaged with my husband and my children. I don't want my husband to feel neglected because of social media. I don't want my kids to remember me as a mom who is constantly staring at a screen instead of properly responding and meeting their needs. I want my quiet time to just be me and God and Him speaking to me. 

So, I'm going to be recording my journey here so I can see how different my life is. I know it's going to be great. I know God is going to bless me and show his favor upon me. I know my marriage is going to be stronger than ever, and I know my kids are going to feel honored and loved even more. I'm actually (kinda) excited for this journey. It's a long awaited one. 

The Good and The Bad ...

I am so blessed. Most days are blissful, some are not.

1. I have an amazing husband who loves the kiddos and me unconditionally.
2. I have two perfectly healthy kiddos.
3. I am able to eat strawberries, nutella, and whip cream on angel food cake with my favorite cup of coffee whenever I decide to go to the store and buy the stuff.
4. I can go to church and worship a LIVING God and proclaim the name of Jesus at ANY TIME I desire.
5. I have everything I need.

But, I can't help think about the other side of this ...

1. Almost 49% of marriages end in divorce.
2. Though my kids drive me crazy at times, there are some women who will never have kids.
3. 1 in 6 people in the US alone, are faced with hunger. Yet, I complain about cooking each night of the week.
4. There are Christians EVERYDAY who are jailed and persecuted for their faith.
5. In 2011, 46.2 million people in the US live at or below poverty level. They struggle to provide the bare necessities for their families.

It's a broken world with broken promises that only God can fix, we just have to be willing to let Him fix it.

Becoming More ...

Recently I started reading the book, Becoming More than a Good Bible Study Girl, by Lysa Terkeurst. I'm only on chapter 3 and I've already connected to her and have been convicted about my own Bible study habits, or therefore lack of. I can't even say I'm good at it because quite frankly I stink at it. I'm always coming up with excuses. 

*I don't have time
*The kids need my attention
*Laundry must be done
*I have to buy groceries

The sad thing is, I never have a "good" excuse. I just don't make time. As we've entered Holy Week and the thought of Jesus being crucified for me, almost makes me sick to my stomach. He knew when He was put on that cross that I wouldn't have "time" for Him. He knew I would make excuses to get away from reading my Bible. He knew I would be able to answer all the questions, with a "good Bible answer" but would I really know the truth? He knew that I would suck at the whole christian thing, yet he did it anyway! He did it for me! He did it because I'm not perfect! He did it because He knew more than anything that I needed Him. He did it for love. 

I thank goodness for God's grace and mercy because there is hope for me, and my hope is Him. Thank goodness that Sunday is coming and the grave couldn't hold him because my victory has been proclaimed. 

I refuse to keep making excuses. I will make time no matter what it takes. Time for Jesus.