31 Days To Clean Homemaking Challenge: Day Two

Sorry this post is a little late, but I try to take the weekends off from blogging and as the author has suggested, am taking weekends off from the challenge. Not that I do not do housework or clean on the weekends, it's just the specific challenges that I am not doing then. Plus, my husband often works long hours during the week, but is usually off on the weekends, so Saturday is an essential family time for us each week, and Sunday, well, it's the Lord's day :)


So here's Day Two: 


The Mary challenge is to look at your home and find ways you can make it come alive. So, I'm thinking of both ways I can bring "life" to my family relationally and how I can just make my home prettier, more comfortable, and well, just more homey.
A big thing for me is to become self-absorbed. I tend, especially when cleaning or doing housework, to just focus so completely on it. It's almost therapeutic. It doesn't help me right now with this cleaning challenge to have a nursing two month old who has acid reflux and colick as well as a three year old who's very mommy-attached. So, and this is a confession for me, I get frustrated and even angry. I obviously have a hard time completing tasks right now, and that just frustrates me so much that I know I'm sucking the fun and "life" right out of my home. So, for me, even though I like the thought of doing more organizing or decorating to help, I know the biggest thing I can do right now is work on not getting so upset or frustrated when things don't go my way, because that's what's frustrating me the most, MY schedule is interrupted. 
I know my children are a blessing and I really am so grateful to God for them, but I think like most moms, I just let my frustration get the better of me sometimes. So, here are some Scriptures I will be trying to memorize in the hope that they will help me combat the anger I am prone to take out on my family. 
"Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil."-Psalm 37:8
"Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools."-Ecclesiastes 7:9
"Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger"-Ephesians 4:26
"Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy,  drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."-Galatians 5:19-23
"Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice."-Ephesians 4:31
"But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth."-Colossians 3:8
"I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;"-1 Timothy 2:8
"Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God."-James 1:19-20
"A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression."-Proverbs 29:22

As far as the frustration that is causing my anger, I'm going to try to work out some sort of system to enable me to be more efficient in my cleaning. I have nothing very structured set in place, but am going to ask my husband to help me find something that works. I have a feeling that he could definitely point out some areas where I'm being very inefficient. I'll try to post my system when I have something definite and that works set in place.


Martha Challenge Day Two:
Clean refridgerator and freezer. Surprisingly this part again was way easier than the introspective and *gulp* convicting Mary challenge. I will not tell you how old some of the expiration dates were or what was lurking in the back. We have a deep freeze in the basement, but I haven't had the opportunity to tackle it yet. It needs to be thawed out anyway, but I may have to wait until my husband's here to help watch the kids for that. 

This picture was actually taken while I was still pregnant and is completely unrelated, and actually unposed ;)
For those interested, Shelby is still working on getting her own blog started, and I'll keep you posted on it's progress.

I hope you all are making progress in your cleaning and hope that we all emerge not just with cleaner homes, but with homes filled with "life". So, how are you changing the way you clean? Are you being as convicted as I am?

31 Days To Clean Homemaking Challenge: Day One :D

Okay, so first know that you don't have to purchase the book, but it definitely will help you to follow the challenge. Second that the idea of the challenge isn't really about always having a spotless home per se, but more about examining our hearts and growing in our understanding of how keeping a home is glorifying to God.

Each day has a Mary and a Martha challenge.

Day One's Mary challenge is to as the question, "Why do you want a clean home?" and to come up with a mission statement. This is to keep you motivated to be consistent (the main problem I have). You are to place it where you can read it each day and it should take you no more than a minute to read it. I am long winded in everything I write or say, so here are my reasons. I've written them for our family, mostly in the hopes that I can teach these to our children. I call them my Dirty Dozen (I wasn't aiming for twelve, it just came out that way).

Mrs. W's Dirty Dozen:
1. We clean to honor God by being good stewards with what He has given us and showing our gratitude for it.
2. We clean to honor our husband/father by making and keeping our home a welcoming and restful place.
3. We clean to be an example of productivity and stewardship to each other and to others outside of our home.
4. We clean to practice self-discipline.
5. We clean to practice self-denial.
6. We clean for the sake of cleanliness, sanitation, and sanity.
7. We clean to serve others, and not just those in our family, but also our guests.
8. We clean to keep from falling into the temptations of being slothful,        
laziness, and idleness.
9. We clean to keep things orderly and create a beauty in our home reflective of God's order and beauty in creation.
10. We clean to keep things where we can find them easily.
11. We clean to reduce stress, anger, and frustration.
12. We clean so that we may truly set aside a time of rest from our work.

Day One's Martha challenge is to gather supplies. Oh yeah, I've got that one down ; )

31 Days To Clean Homemaking Challenge

Yes, I am a little late in joining the challenge, but I'm going to try to do it by God's grace :)
Click here to read the introduction to the challenge and  here to read Day One's challenge, and let me know how you're doing, and hopefully we'll all have cleaner homes ;)

"Ding, Dong, the Witch is Dead"

I'm sure by now all of you have heard the news that the terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden is dead. I have been reading the literally hundreds of responses to this news on facebook and elsewhere this morning, and I feel as though I can't quite join in the sentiments of many others. 
First, let me say that I am not in favor of terrorism. I am forever grateful to sacrifice of life and family that has been made by our brave armed forces. I am not a strict pacifist. Nor am I muslim. 
However,  I can't help but notice how many people are rejoicing in his death. Yes, I am glad that he will no longer be encouraging or leading others to kill and terrorize our country, yet to rejoice blindly in the justice of  anyone's death seems morbid to me and grotesque, especially knowing he got what we all deserve. I am saddened that he didn't know the Lord, that the gospel wasn't where he had put his trust.
"And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,"-Hebrews9:27
And foremost in my mind is where Mr. Bin Laden is right now. I know he's in hell. I know that he was misled by a lie from Satan into believing a false religion for his salvation, and that hell is not only where he is, but where he belongs, where the justice of God demands he be.
"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind."-Ephesians 2:1-3
Still, I know that I deserve such justice just as much as he, and that my nature is no different than his. Apart from the grace of God, I, too, would be just as destructive and have as much propensity for evil in my own selfish and dark heart and mind. I can't help but be reminded that but for the blood of the blessed Son of God, Jesus Christ, I would and should be in hell myself, and that should be the shared fate of all mankind. 
""The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. AGod of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he."-Dueteronomy 32:4
I cannot help but think that this does not fix the problem of terrorism. Yes, justice was served, but there are many, many, others following the lie of Islam ready and willing to take his place as a leader. So many ready to plan the death and destruction of all who will not submit to Islam and it's perversion of a god. 
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."-Ephesians 2:4-7
The answer to terrorism is the answer to sin, the answer to death, the answer to guilt, the answer to peace, the answer to illness, the answer to Satan, and the answer to man's inability to reconcile himself to God from whom we are forever separated from in our sin. The only answer to all of our problems is alone salvation in Jesus Christ, and submitting our lives to His Lordship and Sovereignty above all else. 
The only way the muslim world will stop following the quaran's orders to kill all those who do not convert to Islam is for them to be saved by the gospel of Jesus Christ. 
So, I am glad that justice was served in the case of Osama Bin Laden, and I know that this brings glory to God Almighty. I cannot rejoice in the fact that so many have died to affect this, nor that so many have been deceived in the falseness and perversity of Islam, and I cannot rejoice in death, period. 
But I rejoice in the eternal life found only in the Lord Jesus. I rejoice that such life is abundant and meant to more than just myself, that such life is a gift and can illuminate the pagan darkness that the muslim world and surely all the world with the glorious light of the gospel. I rejoice that death has been overcome by Christ for all that are His redeemed!
And I hope this man's death and the reality of his eternal death in hell can and will be a reminder to my own heart of it's own propensity to evil. That this will remind me of my own hardness towards those who are lost when I won't or don't agonizingly take them to my God in prayer, when I won't or don't go our of my way for the sake of His gospel. 
"Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."-Matthew 24:30
And may I rejoice in the hope of the end of all terrorism when my Lord returns in all His glory! 
"And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe andlanguage and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth."-Revelation 5:9-10
May we reach out to those lost about us, and especially to those in bondage to the lie of Islam. Only this will put an end to terrorism and bring about the ultimate justice, either in hell or in the blood of Jesus Christ at Calvary.

"Storms and Tornados..."

Picture taken in Kingsport a 30 minute drive from where we live. A tornado was spotted in another part of town last
night. Photographer was George "Mo" Monroe, and you can see more pictures of lightening strikes from last night here .

Last night our family spent a lot of time in our basement, and an awful hour in a tiny basement closet underneath the stairs. Why? Well, in case you didn't know last night several severe thunderstorms and tornados went through the South. We weren't too worried about the tornado warning until our local 911 began calling homes here with an automated message that said to, "Take cover immediately."
I learned several things while waiting with my husband, our 3 year old daughter, and 8 week old son. 


First, we should really go through the stuff in that closet and make it to where we can sit comfortably over a long time, or at least so we can fit chairs comfortably. But our daughter was excited to find a favorite video there, although not so excited to discover that we couldn't watch it there. We also learned that eating ice cream can calm a 3 year old very nicely when she's sitting with her daddy (we have a freezer in our basement, and thanks to Mamaw and Papaw she had a little cup with the perfect serving of strawberry swirl ice cream, and daddy had his half gallon of chocolate chip cookie dough courtesy of Breyers to calm him. Mommy is nursing Lil' Feller and he is currently lactose intolerant with acid reflux, so my diet is sans dairy, and pretty much anything flavorful).


Second, there always needs to be a potty. We should never go anywhere without one. In the middle of the storm three-year olds may have the uncontrollable urge to urinate, and it's extremely stressful when they can no longer wait and you have to send your husband daughter upstairs to the bathroom. But I suppose I can be glad when she says she has to take the time to really wash her hands instead of just using hand sanitizer after she's went and my husband's trying to get her to hurry back to the basement. 


Thirdly, tornados provide a great teaching opportunity to teach children about God. There is nothing that shows His omnipotence and sovereign power and glory more than a storm that could potentially kill you. We told my daughter again about how God had protected His people Israel (something we had been recently studying) and then the story of Jesus and His disciples on the Sea of Galilee, how we need not fear, because Jesus is with us, but at the same time how easily we do fear the storms instead of fearing the One Who controls the storms as we should.


"And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"-Mark 4:37-41


I was made newly aware of how terrifyingly powerful our God is, and how weak and helpless we all are. The fact that all of us are continually at the constant mercy of God for our very existence. And yet, as I tucked in my babies afterward, and got to talk to our daughter about, how great God's love and mercy and goodness are! The fact that He doesn't leave us in the storm, that He is always there, and even when the worst comes our way, He is still in complete control. That all things are happening only as He wills them, and when we don't understand them, we can trust He does. We can trust that in His perfect wisdom and goodness and love that it was the best right thing for His glory and our good. (Romans 8:28-31 )


After the storm, even though it was way past bedtimes, my husband took us all to the basement door. Me holding Lil' Feller and him holding our Princess, and we watched the storm just beyond us as lightening illuminated the whole sky bright as day when it struck. We stood there in awe of God's power and glory, and yet gratefully in awe of His mercy and grace shown to us there. We gasped and trembled at the thundering of our God's power and "God's light" as our daughter called the lightening. I was almost breathless as my husband said to us, standing there looking at the heavens, that one day our Lord Jesus Christ would be coming in His glory in the clouds and how much more power and glory would be seen then. 


This is a song my dad wrote years ago, and it's so timely for those of us waking up after a hard night of storms. It's called "My Lord Might Come Anytime", and I'm reminded of how easily my own heart becomes attached to the things and places here, when all the while I should be working and watching for Him to take me to my real home.


Please pray for those who are waking up and unlike our family have lost loved ones, homes, cars, and are without power and phones, looking for their family and friends unsure of what they will find. Love in Christ.

Check out the Friday Link-up!

Dressing to Please....

After more than a week of wearing mostly dresses and skirts, I've already learned a few things about myself and my family.
First, I did end up wearing sweatpants a couple of days, but I felt so lazy and unmotivated. It's probably just me, but putting on something that's not remotely like pajamas, something I have to think about makes me more productive and less likely to sit in front of a tv and vegetate.
Second, I also have noticed that I just feel good in dresses and skirts, not because I am congratulating myself with any false hope of superiority or accomplishment, but I just feel, well, more like a woman. I mean like a real woman. I wasn't expecting this, but I feel more akin to my mom and grandmothers. As if there's some maturity in wearing something feminine, some connection to a time when women were obviously women, and strong women at that, and men were clearly men. I think our generation of young women ( and some middle-aged) have bought the lie that we need to be tough and leaders taking authority, and it's reflected in our dressing much like the guys (the phrase "wearing the pants" comes to mind). My standard uniform used to be t-shirts and jeans. Albeit I do wear t-shirts with jean skirts, but somehow it seems so different.
Thirdly, I have noticed my husband likes to see me out of sweats sometimes. Of course, he says he likes to see me period, regardless of what I am or am not wearing. I think it shows that I want to not only honor him by making the effort to be attractive, but that I want to honor him in being modest and feminine as his wife for him and no one else.
Fourthly, my daughter really has noticed. She often comes up to me and says, "I like your dress. It's so pretty. Mommy, can I wear a dress today?". I love seeing little girls in little dresses :) And there's been less talk about looking like the Disney princesses and more of her comparing herself to me! (Talk about a terrifying responsibility!)
Fifthly and finally, but most importantly, has been the realization that simply being countercultural may seem hard at first (but you can get used to it), but it's honoring to God. One of the things I remember my parents saying to us as kids when we asked to do something they deemed too worldly or inappropriate, was that we were "set apart" ("But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him."-Psalm 4:3 ) for God and were supposed to be a "peculiar people" ("For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth."-Deuteronomy 14:2 ; "And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments; And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken."-Deuteronomy 26:18-19 ; "Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."-Titus 2:14 ; "Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."-1 Peter 2:9 ) not "of the world" we live in. That's always stayed with me, and I think has often encouraged me, even when I was unregenerate and lost as could be, to go against the grain to be different if I wanted to be and not worry about what others think. There's a freedom in Christ that allows us to disregard what men think of us for the sake of the gospel. 





"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."-1 John 2:15-17 .

We know anything that could cause another to sin, is not worth doing. This video by C.J. Maheny gives an honest response from guys about lust and about immodest dress in the church among their sisters in Christ. My favorite part is when he quotes a woman who decides not to buy a shirt she likes and says, "I just can't do that to the guys." That line has stuck with me, and pops up in my mind to remind me when I'm considering what I wear.
So, why do you wear what you wear?
Love in truth. 

Words Cannot Express

I have been thinking lately about the fact that just one year ago I had lost yet another baby. It was the second loss for us. After struggling with infertility and getting pregnant, it seemed as if the struggle now would not only be to get pregnant, but then for that pregnancy to endure.
I am grateful for my daughter and son who are here with us, but those two children whom I never got to do so many things with, are still painfully missed . It's still hard to see kids who are about the age they would have been, or to watch larger families at times because I know that I am actually a mother of four.
God has been so merciful to us and His grace has been the one thing that has given us hope and strength through it all, and yet my heart, the heart of their mother still longs for them, to kiss them, to hold them, to see them, to talk to them, to sing to them, to rock them, to have the opportunity to see them grow up, and just to tell them how much they are loved. And as sweet as it is to hold my new son, I can't help but wish I could hold them, too.

The only picture we have of our first son who died in
November of 2009, and was followed in death by
a brother in March of 2010.

I know they are with my Savior, and I know I will see them again, but this grief and sorrow, as fleshly as it is, still grips my frail human heart. They will never be forgotten, and I long so for the day when they will greet me as their mother. The mother God gave to them.
"For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."-Hebrews 4:15 
For the last couple of weeks as a family we've really been focusing on first the Old Testament account of the first Passover and the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt and the Triumphant Entry of Christ on Palm Sunday through His last Passover and crucifixion and the resurrection of Easter Sunday. Through this I've been thinking, not just about our salvation, but about the great cost of it. So many that Jesus loved were hurt when they watched Him die the most horrific of deaths. His disciples, followers, and earthly mother grieved His death, as they believed He was the Messiah long awaited to deliver them. Our Lord went through the utter despair and unimaginable pain of being separated from God the Father by sin. He felt all the guilt and sorrow over sin, and was covered in the filth of all sin from the socially acceptable sins to the most heinous and hideous of atrocities that human behavior can produce. God had to pour out His eternal wrath and indignation against the sins of mankind on His only Son, on Himself, as Jesus willingly bore all of it though He was truly innocent of it all.
"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."-Philippians 2:5-8 
Oh, how precious a salvation! A salvation of such a price that none could ever begin to pay with our filthy hands and heart, stained with the refuse of our nature of sin! How great a Savior that, though He was innocent and God Himself, would willingly bear the just punishment and even planned it from eternity past knowing we would do nothing but sin apart from His grace, but knowing it was the only way we would be reconciled to Himself, and that it would be the best way to show His love and grace to His creation and to bring the glory and honor that is due Him!
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted."-Hebrews 12:1-3 
As I look at my own pain from life, my own loss, my own sorrow, and I see my Savior who not only redeemed myself from pain, but has redeemed those blessed children already! And I see Him who truly understands, more than anyone else ever could, more than I do, the pain and sorrow I must endure, and in compassion and empathy He holds me, He collects my tears, and He, who understands, loves me. He gives me the strength of His Father, the peace and joy that would be impossible in our circumstances. He forgives me of my ingratitude in all of this, my arrogance, my self-pitying, my pride and all my sinful attempts at worship and praise, and He takes it and purifies it in His own blood, bathing it in His own righteousness.
"And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt"-Exodus 12:13 
As we approach the celebration of our Lord's triumphant resurrection from the dead, I feel pain and sorrow for His death, in the knowledge that it was my sins that led Him to death, and that my sins alone are enough to justify such punishment. And yet, just as God delivered Lot from certain destruction while he dwelled in sin, He delivered me, because I am His own, bought with a price I could never pay! How great a salvation! And how terrible a doom is justified only through Jesus Christ's atoning death and His cleansing blood! May we do more than hunt eggs, dress up, and eat this Sunday, may we spend this day remembering the cross, the gospel, the wrath of God, the redemption, the grace, the love, the mercy, the justice, the inconceivable salvation, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, fully man yet fully God, without this resurrection none of which would be possible. If there were no resurrection, there is no salvation.
Praising God for the Resurrection!!!
"Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."-Philippians 2: 9-11.