by Stacey | Feb 24, 2011 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
The last two weeks the flu has swept through our home knocking each family member down one by one. As a result, I have been the fortunate recipient of helpful advice regarding how to rid my home of this annoying virus. Some of the advice was valid and helpful, some, well… just plain hooey.
That got me thinking about the wisdom handed down from generations past. Which of the following gems do you think are true?
Feed a cold. Starve a fever.
Eating before swimming causes stomach cramps.
Sugar causes acne.
Going outside with wet hair causes a cold.
Cracking your knuckles causes arthritis to form in the joints.
Spicy food causes ulcers.
An itchy nose means company is coming.
If you make an ugly face, it will freeze that way.
Pulling a grey hair causes ten more to grow in its place.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Sitting too close to the TV will ruin your eyes.
Any guesses? All true? All false? I’ll give you a hint; only one is true!
Despite the well-intended statements above a young mother like me is wise to listen respectfully to advice from my elders. Consider Titus 2:4-5, “Then they (older women) can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.”
No one has all the answers but there is wisdom in listening to those who have walked down this road before me.
Therefore, my windows are open, the soup is on, I have purchased bleach, the house shines under a recent cleaning, and the bedding is changed. Thanks everyone for caring enough to advise me on how to protect my family from the 2011 superbug.
by Stacey | Feb 17, 2011 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
Clean the dishes Cinderella. Sort the laundry Cinderella. Scrub the floors Cinderella. Wash the windows Cinderella.
Cook the meals Cinderella. Teach the children Cinderella. Run the carpool Cinderella. Balance the checkbook Cinderella.
Mend the clothing Cinderella. Plant the garden Cinderella. Do the shopping Cinderella…
I always dreamed of a fairytale life; somehow I imagined it differently.
Thirteen years after my Prince Charming rode into my life (yes, I’m talking about Kevin) I can say without a doubt I am living the fairytale. But, like all good stories, it panned out a bit different from predicted.
What’s a Cinderella to do?
This Cinderella tapped the wisdom of other mothers. By applying a few simple organizational tips my day felt more manageable and yours can too.
Helpful tips I’ve picked up from the super moms in my life:
*Make your bed as soon as you get up. It takes five minutes and it feels good to have accomplished something so early.
*Do a load of laundry first thing in the morning and before you go to bed at night. This way you rarely fall behind.
*Start dinner prep in the morning while the kids are still in a good mood. (Or if you work outside the home use a crock pot with a timer)
*Create a cleaning schedule dividing household chores into 15 minute manageable chunks. A lot can be done in 15 focused minutes a day.
*Create a meal plan for dinnertime so you can shop accordingly and always have on hand the ingredients you need.
*Make school lunches the night before. Lay out clothing the night before.
*Use a small dollar store laundry basket as your child’s bedroom doorstop. As you pick up around the house put Junior’s toys and clutter into the basket. Junior puts those things away when he returns from school.
*Ignore Supermommy and her polished children, Yummy-mommy wearing her pre-pregnancy jeans, and Martha-mommy fussing over her perfect house and serving hors d’oeuvres that are better dressed than most of her guests. The comparison game is not fun, fair or beneficial.
*Remember you don’t need to be Supermommy to be a super mommy.
And they all lived happily ever after.
by Stacey | Feb 14, 2011 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
This morning my daughter woke-up at 6:15 am. She went straight to her desk and started to craft a Valentine for each member of the family. By the time the rest of us lazy bums arose she had created a beautiful card to celebrate her love for each one of us.
As I lay there in bed listening to her papers rustle and the scissors snap the verses from Romans 5:7-9 flashed through my mind.
“Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
How fitting on Valentine’s Day, when the whole world celebrates the feeling of love, God would remind me of His choice to love.
When I was my most unlovable Jesus died for me. He didn’t do it because I wooed Him with my charms or won Him over with my beauty. He chose to love me. He gave me the best Valentine’s Day gift ever – the option to enter into eternal life with Him.
Now the choice is mine. Will I choose to love Him in return?
Happy Valentine’s Day. I pray you will all know the great love of our God.
by Stacey | Feb 12, 2011 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
Once upon a time I believed I was a patient woman. I calmly dealt with interruptions, edited and re-wrote entire chapters with ambition and energy.
Now those days feel like a fairytale.
My overwhelming book project looms unfinished before me. Although it has brought equal measures of discouragement and excitement, today as my creative juices are at an all time low, I feel the sting of frustrating tears. I fight a desire to rip up the entire book and give up. (Or burn it – shred it – pick your pleasure.)
Recalling a time when my father used a blowtorch on the back hedge to rid himself of a pesky hornet’s nest I weigh the wisdom in rash decisions. Yes, he killed the hornets, but he also set the hedge on fire. Overreacting is out.
So what’s a writer to do?
A quick search on the internet provided me with plenty of suggestions. I can:
Take a vacation.
Take care of myself.
Relax.
Read a good book.
Discard my self-imposed deadline and stop driving myself so hard.
Since I am a hobby writer and not a career writer with no impending deadlines on the horizon I plan to take a vacation from my tough writing schedule. I’ve set the book aside (for a short time) to write something fun – like my blog. I plan to use the dusty elliptical decorating our basement a little more often, find a good book and soak in a hot bath. The re-write can wait.
You may all hold me accountable.
by Stacey | Feb 3, 2011 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
Looking back over previous posts I noticed one from early November. It pretty much stated the very lesson God is currently teaching me (again!). It raised a chuckle and thankfulness that God is willing to remind me of the principles I should already be applying to life.
When life feels out of control or when I feel overwhelmed with my list of responsibilities I turn to God and ask for help. Guess what He usually tells me? Life feels crazy when I forget to prioritize Him.
I still need to edit my book. It’s getting there, but not as fast as I’d like. I like to keep up on my housework. I enjoy playing with the kids and not feeling too busy or stressed to enjoy them. I have a column to which I contribute, a speaking engagement coming up, and article deadlines looming. Not to mention this blog…
For the last few days I’ve once again taken the time to spend quality time with God in the morning instead of just the frantic few minutes that creep up in the midst of chaos. Instead of flying into my day at break neck speed I’ve set the laundry aside, left the dishes in the sink, and the beds unmade and eased into the day with God, my bible and a caffeinated hot beverage.
Now it’s 10am. My blog is almost updated. The beds are made. The laundry is done. The kids are playing. I haven’t made dinner, but I know what we are having. The dishes are still in the sink but it’s not bothering me as much as usual.
I’m not sure how all this was accomplished considering we slept a half hour later than usual and I spent twice as much time with the Lord as normal. I believe God is blessing my efforts. I believe He is happy that I chose Him first and now He’s helping me efficiently finish my tasks.
I don’t expect everyday to go this well. Some days the dishes may still be in the sink at dinnertime and yesterday the beds were not made at all. But guess what? I survived. At the end of the day what matters is not now much I accomplished, but spending time in a manner that pleases God. How that looks might be different in each household. In ours, it means I need to relax and let the little stuff go and focus on what God want me to do.
A lesson I seem to learn over and over again.
by Stacey | Jan 17, 2011 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
When we adopted Kaitlyn a friend gave us a special gift. She gave us a blank journal with this inscription:
“Fill these pages with all the love, dreams, advice and wisdom you hold in your heart for Kaitlyn. Enjoy every moment.”
Over the last five years I have faithfully recorded (some of) my prayers for Kate, my hopes and my deep love for her. I pasted in an annual picture and I envision giving it to her someday. I want her to be able to read how I have prayed for her over the years, how God has answered those prayers, and how much joy she brought into my life.
Today I did something I have been thinking about since Nov 18th, but never seemed to have the time (or health) to do. I bought two new journals. One for Jon. One for Nick.
I spent some time today pasting in three pictures in each one. The first picture is the youngest one we have of each of them. Then in Jon’s journal I added a picture of him at age 2 and at 3. In Nick’s journal I added a picture at age 1 and at 2. (We have these early pictures thanks to Foster Nanny.)
Beside each picture I noted what was happening in our lives when the snapshot was taken. I chronicled how God moved us here, to the province and city where these boys were waiting for adoption. I noted how God answered ours and Kaitlyn’s prayers by sending us these two boys and I shared how although we didn’t know them we had been faithfully praying for them. It is amazing to look back and see how God answered our prayers over the years. We prayed our future children were safe and both were taken into care before safety became a concern. We prayed for a good foster home and they were placed in a GREAT foster home. We prayed they would feel loved and we have no doubt they were both loved greatly. God is good.
I look forward to filling the rest of the pages over the next days, months and years. One day, when they are older, they too will be given their journal and read about how much we love them, how much God loves them and how they were an answer to our prayers.
