Quotes, Planners, and Faithfulness

I have a dry erase board in the hallway off my kitchen. I put up a grocery list sometimes but its real function is to hold the quotes that I write on it. I love a good quote. I have a whole Evernote page full of quotes. A Pinterest board full of quotes. I love them. 

And this one from Spurgeon is my quote for the year. (I just made up that "quote of the year" statement. I didn't know I had one before now.) 

"The way to do a great deal is to keep on doing a little. The way to do nothing at all is to be continually resolving that you will do everything." 

 Isn't that true? Right now I'm working on exercising consistently. Nothing impressive. It's 10 minutes a day but it's much better than nothing.  Keep doing a little is a great motto. My work often seems like a little. But I can keep doing it and over time it will end up being a great deal. 

I've noticed something peculiar. Whenever I've been really pondering an idea and how it affects me, our Pastor frequently ends up preaching on the subject. This past Sunday night he preached on faithfulness and diligence. You can go watch it here.  I've never announced a word for the year- mostly because I've never picked one before- but I have picked "consistent" for my word. Maybe for more than this year. Because consistency is faithfulness. 

I can't spend hours practicing piano but I can practice consistently. I can't write a book every day but i can write consistently. I can't teach Micah the periodic table of elements this week but we can do our work consistently. 

Modern Mrs. Darcy had a post up last week about her goals focusing on the effort, not the result. I LOVE that. I can't be responsible for all the results. But I can put forth the effort. I can consistently- faithfully- do the work. 

This is all a culmination of what I've actually been practicing. I bought a planner this year. I love paper. (And quotes, remember?) I've tried multiple times to keep a schedule/planner digitally and I hate it. And that means I don't do it. So do what works. Maybe you like digital. Maybe you like a scrap of paper that you throw away but I like to keep it. I've been writing down little happenings of the day too to help me remember life. 

I also love to cross things off. That's the fun part about a paper planner. But the best part is I've been writing down every day if I've done my work. If I've practiced piano. If we did preschool. If I exercised. If I did my daily writing.  It helps hold me accountable and  allows me to see an honest account of what work is being done.

This year I want to be faithful to the work God has given me. And if writing down that I've done my work helps me, then I'm going to write it down. 

What helps you be faithful? What small things are you going to keep doing so that you can do a great deal with your life? 

The Number One Rule for Naps

The number one rule of a winter Sunday afternoon nap is to shut the curtains. The winter sun pours beautifully into our living room and I love it. Until it's shining in my eyes when I'm trying to sleep. Sunlight and sleep don't go together. 

photo courtesy of domdeen/freedigitalphotos.net

This is important because napping is next to godliness. Especially for mothers. You will feel so much better after a nap. 

Take a nap. Leave the mile-long to-do list and sleep for a while. Right now I have a whole handful of ways I want to use my hour of quiet time this afternoon. But I know I do better with a nap on Sunday afternoon. So I'm going to hit publish and lay down. Because tired ruins creative. Tired ruins nice.

Try it. There's something extra special about a nap. 

Better With Age: What's the Real Problem?

I've been reflecting on this idea of getting better with age since I made a flippant comment about it a few months ago.  We should be getting better with age. We should be learning God's Word and applying it to our lives. We should be expanding our skills and growing in our relationships. 

 But the main thing that struck me about this issue of aging was how much has changed in how I view myself. I've always been notoriously hard on myself. (Better to have high standards for me than everyone else, right?) It often manifested itself in being critical of myself and discontent with who I was. That's not healthy for anybody. God made you to be you. He made me to be me. He doesn't need another ______ (fill in the blank with whoever you would rather be). 

Now obviously I'm not talking about with thinking you've arrived. None of us have. We all need to learn and grow (did I already say that?) There's balance in everything. You  should be learning and growing to become who God wants you to be and to please Him. 

But how many ladies do you know who actually like who they are?

photo courtesy of stuart miles/freedigitalphotos.net

Most of this is wrapped up in how we see ourselves. We compare ourselves to others and we think we fall short. We see everything that someone else does differently as a statement about how we are doing it wrong. We have a "perfect" self visualized and we don't measure up. 

We don't speak truth to ourselves. We say things to ourselves that we would never say to anyone else and with good reason. 

I think the main problem for me, and probably lots of other ladies as well, is insecurity. We don't know where we stand with God or how God views us and our only other option is to try to impress ourselves and others to seek worth. 

Insecurity affects our entire lives-

-how we relate to God (are we trying to impress Him?) 

-how we view ourselves (self-talk really is important. Are you speaking God's Word into your own life?)

-how we relate to others (are we constantly comparing or running our own race?)

So what fixes insecurity? What's the answer? The answer is the right kind of confidence. The confidence that comes from obeying God. That's the only sure foundation.

  Next week we are going to talk about some of the problems are insecurity and then we'll move on to talking about real confidence. 

(I've been reflecting on this series of posts for a while and I can't get everything written to the extent it's affected me. I'll be working out the details while I write the posts even though I have the general ideas. Leave a comment with questions if I'm confusing.)

Christmas Food Traditions (Or Why We Eat Carnitas at Christmas)

My husband read that title and said, "Because they're good." True, but not quite where I was going with this post. 

Traditional holiday food is turkey and ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls, deviled eggs, and desserts. Along with other items that vary by family and region. These dishes are all high in protein. (Seriously, count the protein in your food one day. It's a little shocking.) That means Micah can't eat them and there aren't many low-protein substitutes for turkey. 

So we have carnitas. Of course, the pork is high in protein as well. But the whole meal involves rice, refried beans, tortillas, pico de gallo, avocado, lettuce, cheese, etc.  Micah has a veggie mix in place of the pork and quite happily eats quite a few of the sides. 

Traditions are great- until they don't work for your family. We don't like having meals that aren't adaptable for Micah, especially the ones that contain so many memories. I don't know how Micah will react to his metabolic disorder at any of the stages of his life besides this one. But I don't want to unnecessarily draw attention to the fact that he can't eat all the same things we do. I want our meals and traditions to be happy memories for him as well as everyone else. 

That's what you do for your children, for your family. You change. You grow to serve them. Having children changes your life. You don't have them to be happy or fulfill your own emotional needs. If God blesses you with children, you are to assist in raising God's children. Is there any greater honor? Is that not worth any sacrifice? (Not that carnitas are a sacrifice.)

Yea, that's the kid I'm talking about :) 

So we changed our tradition. We changed it to something we felt would better serve our family. And we are quite happy with it. We love carnitas and I hope it's a fun tradition we can continue for many years to come. Perhaps even when grandchildren are gathered around our table. 

What about you? Have you changed any traditions for your family? 

Happy Birthday (to me)!

Ok, I know I said no Monday posts but today's my birthday! I'm 27 and I just realized that I'm in my late twenties now! I know it's not old but sometimes I still think I'm supposed to be 19 or 22 or something... younger. The years go by faster and faster it seems.

photo courtesy of maple/freedigitalphoto.net

I was reading a book the other day that stated we subtly transform our person every five years by what we experience and read.

Who will I be in five years? You know, when I'm 32? (32!)

What I do today matters. Today. Tomorrow. Every day for the next year. And the one after that. What I do today tells me who I will be at 32.

What am I doing today? 

What are you doing today?

Blog Direction for the New Year

I'm making or have made several changes to the blog for this new year.  I've updated the About page, the Our Family page, and the Isovaleric Acidemia page! And don't forget to check out the new Bookshelf page! 

This year I'm going to move to a Tuesday/Thursday posting schedule. This is mostly to avoid having to make sure a post is finished on Sunday night to post on Monday morning.

Some weeks I'll do a Friday Favorites and other weeks I won't.  But the main focus of my posts this year are going to be about my focus for this year: the Word and my work. 

photo courtesy of stuart miles/freedigitalphotos.net

I'm not sharing these things because I'm an expert or because I think you should do your work like me. I share them because 

1. It's the best way for me to remember. I actually follow the thoughts through to a conclusion instead of simply jotting down a note (Although that is better than nothing)

2. Others have told me that it helps them. 

You don't like it? You don't agree?  Don't do it. Don't even read it. (That should bring in the blog readers, right?)

So I'll be writing on things I'm learning from the Bible and from books about the Bible. I'll be sharing some of my favorite books that have helped me. I have so many favorites! I'd like to feature one a month and share an important lesson that I've learned from it. 

We'll talk about things I'm learning as a mom, a wife, a homemaker. Stories from church and soul-winning. Explanations on how we do certain things about our home (like our Thanksgiving tree and other memory makers)

You'll still see cute pictures of my kids- because let's face it, they're adorable! You'll get links to great things I find around the web. You'll find some recipes and meal ideas. You'll hear my heart on being a Biblically feminine woman instead of a feminist woman. You'll get random posts about awesome and not-so-awesome happenings in life. 

Let's journey through 2014 together, shall we?

And you should thank me. My original draft of this post had 7 items in parentheses. Nothing better than talking with yourself in the post, right? 

A Double Focus for the New Year

A new year seems like a blank slate. Unmarked, unwritten, and wrapped like a gift to open as the old year rings out. One more year of life that will pass much faster than seems possible. I know December will be here before I turn around and I want to do something with this year. Offer this gift back to God with each day. 

photo courtesy of idea go/freedigitalphotos.net

I've been considering my focus for the new year for several weeks now. What is worth my energy? Who would God have me be? In 2013 I read a lot by Marlene Evans.  She talks consistently about her burden for there to be "different Christian women." Even different from regular Christian ladies. Because how many of us really apply ourselves to be like Jesus? Not being "odd" or "weird,"- although others might think that- but being different in our dress, our speech, our attitude. I think I've settled on two subjects that will help me strive toward being a different Christian lady.  I want to be that lady that is "in the sight of God of great price."

1. A woman of the Word. 

I must be growing with Jesus. It is the catalyst for transformation in my life.  If I want to grow as a wife, as a mother, as anything, I must grow as a Christian.

-I've followed a reading program for years. But in November I changed how I do my reading. I've always read a certain number of chapters a day but now I'm reading for a certain amount of time a day. I can stop on one verse or thought and explore it and pray for a while and then go on instead of hurrying through to get my chapters done. It's been a great change for me.  

-I've also been trying to dig into the Gospels. I've read them all multiple multiple times but I don't know any one of them well. So I've started with Mark and I'm reading and rereading and taking notes and marking things and outlining. 

-Also I'm reading through the Bible chronologically for the first time. I'm over a hundred days into it and it's very interesting. 

2. A woman of my work. 

So many people do their best to avoid work. Or do the least to get by. Or do it halfheartedly. Or do it grumbling.  Instead I want to grab hold of the work God has given me and do it willingly, sacrificially, enthusiastically, purposefully. I want to do my work as a wife, mom, homemaker, soulwinner, church worker, pianist, and everything else I do with all the energy I have. Maybe nobody sees it. Maybe nobody notices. But God does. And I want to pursue excellence in this life He has given me. 

Excellence is doing a common thing in an uncommon way. Booker T. Washington

There are many people raising babies and taking care of their home. There are many people loving a man and playing the piano. But if I do it God's way it will be an uncommon way. Our marriage raises eyebrows. So does the way we raise our kids. And that's ok. It's a common thing and people expect it to be common. But it doesn't have to be. 

I know I've talked about these issues before. But the more I study and read the more I see that this might be the sole focus of my entire life. 

So this year won't you join me? Won't you join me in focusing on God's Word? Spending time in it. Learning Jesus. And then be about the work God has given you.