I have a love/hate relationship with routines. I sometimes have a hard time when the routine changes. My OCD/perfectionist/controlling tendencies LOVE routines. I like to know what to expect and when to expect it. I even like to know a few steps before and after the “it” that I am expecting. Life (i.e. kids, marriage, adoption) has really challenged that notion. I realized that flexibility is such a great asset, and a necessity to live a life trusting God. Routines My…
I read this post at Femina Girls about criticism and praise a few weeks ago that got me thinking about praise in motherhood. The quote she shared from Matthew Henry has really stuck with me: “Praise puts the man into the furnace and we find out what kind of man he really is. The praise might make him proud and lazy or it might make him diligent and thankful.” Proverbs 31:31 says “Give her of the fruit of her…
I stood in the kitchen, crumbs sticking to my feet. My dishes were piling up in the sink. I glanced toward my table, which was sticky with syrup, ketchup, and maybe ranch dressing. The laundry forgotten in the basement and the beds unmade upstairs. They all spoke to me. You are not enough as a house cleaner. Down in my basement my craft shelves were lined with unfinished projects. Then there was the computer file on my desktop that contains…
The alarm goes off early Sunday morning. Jason has already left for work. I hop out of bed, take a shower, and go down to turn on the coffee. My little ones only sleep in on Sundays. Go figure. I wake them up and we eat breakfast. After that we get dressed. As I look at the clock I realize we are an HOUR early! Good! So I set them in front of some cartoons and go upstairs to read…