Ideals. And finding your "groove" over the Holidays.

 Just a reminder to not get overwhelmed with to many things over the Holidays. Love you all!

Ideals.

I am sitting at a Birthday party for one of my children’s friends, just listening to the moms talk. One mom is going back and forth from Italian to English as she converses with her five year old, she is Chinese; so in all her children probably speak three languages. Another mom is telling the story of how she made the gluten free, no refined sugar cupcakes for the party; “I had to be very patient while making these cupcakes! I accidently broke my last two eggs so I had to sit and wait for my chickens to lay more eggs! The frosting has no food coloring in it as well, I used the juice from a beet in my garden to give it that red color.” I am speechless. I love healthy eating but that takes baking to a whole different level for me. I am even a little envious at the care this mom took to be all healthy and natural for the Birthday party. “Maybe I should get chickens and use beet juice to dye my treats from now on,” I think. Then I look over at the cupcakes, all sad looking- dense and not so much red, but a brownish burgundy color, and then I think, “Nah!”

We can busy ourselves with so much unimportant stuff. You moms probably know what I mean. You read the latest Martha Stewart magazine and feel the need to reorganize every shelf in your house with alphabetical labels, or hand sew special pillowcases with intricate embroidered initials for each of your children. You hear the other mothers talking about soccer practice, lacrosse team and basket weaving classes, calligraphy lessons followed up by Mandarin language lessons. You make sure every bite of food your family takes is certified organic, dye free, GMO free, cage free and packaged in all recycled containers. Parenting ideals have become so ridiculously extreme. There are so many blogs, pins, shows, and magazines with more great ideas than we know what to do with. Just when I have found the perfect candy to cook for Christmas a better recipe will be up on the internet faster than I can say, “Pinterest!”

There are a lot of other really good ways to serve for Christ too. We can volunteer in the nursery and soup kitchens. Put together care kits for the homeless. Make another meal for the mom that just had her fifth baby. I would love to open my home to foster children some day. John and I already have a children’s home in India and I feel guilty for not visiting the children there more often! The fact is there’s so many ‘good’ things we could be doing for others but we have to pause and ask God what to focus on for now. We can’t do it all, especially all at once. “One thing at a time mom’s, one thing at a time.”

Ask God to show you what is yours and what is just a good idea. He knows your heart and your good intentions. I am full of good intentions, but I also get burned out because I max myself out on to many commitments. My new best friend lately has been a two-letter word, “No!”

Not all of those ideals are wrapped in wisdom; some are distractions and dangling carrots interjected by other sources rather than the Holy Spirit. If you are feeling like your home isn’t matching the picture in your head, then ask the Holy Spirit to highlight what is the important stuff and what is just the “fluff” an unnecessary fillers in your day.  He wants you to find that zone and rhythm for your family. Sometimes our main obstacle in building our homes is in our minds. In the unrealistic goals and expectations that we have set for our family and ourselves.  

If you don't get Christmas cards out until Easter, It's ok! If all you are able to do this month is laundry and crock-pot meals for your family- Great! You are doing great mom's! hang in there. if I could Pin a picture of you sitting down in your bathrobe doing nothing, I would-cause that is a great idea!