Key Verse: John 12:3 (ESV): Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
In middle school, my sister wanted to spend all her money on a bottle of perfume from the local mall. Birthdays, babysitting, and begging for the difference got her enough money to head to the department store and purchase the treasured triangular bottle from the glass case. It had a floral, woodsy scent, of lilies and freesia. For months she carefully positioned each pump on her clothes to not waste a drop, using it all on herself.
Resources we have found for our family to help prepare our hearts for Christmas during the Advent season.
We are heading to the woods and beach to get family pictures next week. Our most recent family photo is just over 5 years old. Yes, do the math and you’ll see we are missing our youngest on our living room wall. The attempt last year at Thanksgiving with my sister snapping this moment is priceless, but not sure if I want to blow it up on our wall. Although it displays the reality of grace and imperfections in our daily lives. …
My middle class neighborhood is tucked amongst trees and green grass painted in between the blacktop roads. Anyone driving by would not known or seen the desperation of my soul as I sipped my coffee with my husband on the front porch. As I look back to my early 30s I remember feeling trapped, although I was blessed with so much. Somehow I had lots of friends, yet still was lonely. No one really knew what I was feeling, and really I'm not sure I did either.
We can so often go through each day feeling trapped, alone, in this busy world.
In a world of spending and one-upping, stand out, be smart, and be careful with your money now so you aren't trapped in worry. Working like crazy to live a super fab spending life isn't fulfilling either. What if there's a place in between, a place where you're not living a fake dream, or working like crazy? What if you embraced the idea that debt is not cool?
In order to live financially small, to truly live life big in our family, we made a few decisions to help. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and if you know us personally, you know that we are frugal and thrifty anyway, but there were some things that we got caught up in, and are helping. Here's what we changed, and would recommend to check out.
When faced with anxious times, it is easy to set our focus on the worst case scenario or even try to numb ourselves with a Netflix binge or music. Rather than seeking to avoid or allowing ourselves to sink deeper, we can turn to our Helper, Creator, Savior. We cannot "wish" or try to will the anxiety away, but if we seek God in his Word, we will see that he is our refuge, strength and all-powerful, and we cannot live in peace without him.
You see, although you may see my smiling face, and I may have been a "favorite" among students, I am more than that. Since my brain tumor and the birth of my son, I have struggled with anxiety. Growing up a product of a divorced family, I bring with me fear of rejection, fear of failure and people-pleasing skills to my detriment.
I want to be perfect in my own strength, I want others to like me, I can't seem to stay organized and fear constantly that my tumor is back when my brain gets foggy and my thoughts are jumbled. I worry about my kids, worry I'm not doing exactly what God is calling me to, worry about the future. I worry. That's the problem, and I know it. I know all of the verses about worry, and how God tells us not to fear over and over. I pray against this daily as the thoughts enter my mind.
For years I have been comfortable being vulnerable. I share my joys and struggles so that God can be seen clearly through my story. I make mistakes, and I don't want you to make the same. Friend, I like to control everything, so I "know that everyone is o.k." This cycle of people pleasing and charging forward has gotten me into quite a few situations where I'm flat on my face. Each time God walks with me and reminds me that He is in control, and that He is to be pleased.
So friends, if you are in the midst of the unknown, grasping at someone or something to give you strength and stability, you will not find satisfaction. Trust Him. Seek Him. You are not in control. Turn every bit of this world we struggle to understand over to Him and rest in His Truths and Promises. As I am now again.
I lay hunched over holding my baby, typing with one hand on my phone, balancing and shifting my fingers with each breath. My how times have changed. The decorative turquoise typewriter from the 60s sits on my desk to look pretty, but the real work happens with my left thumb putting my thoughts quickly down on the screen as my other arms supports my sleeping baby girl.
From the couch whose angles and springs invite everyone after a long day, to the spring rockers that sit steady, our furniture reminds us of simpler times, times we didn't experience, but simplicity we'd like our family home to host. Each piece we find abandoned at the thrift or sold from a loved one, we breath new life into and soon the kids are jumping off of them and reading under them.
The clean lines and the unique shapes of the furniture and decor represent our determination to not be distracted, not feel the need to keep up with the newest decor trends, but to find the pieces that truly represent our unique taste and family.
The irony of it is that I'm clenching my iPhone as the iPad sits on the side table. How do we live in such a time with opportunities and technology ever expanding, and yet not be distracted? How do I love on my baby and meet the demands of my other children, husband, friends and family? I read, write out notes, plan, schedule, text, write grocery lists, email, lesson plan, watch re-runs on an app, connect with friends on IG, all on my phone. When I need to get away, I hide it in the bedroom with the volume down.
Notifications roll across my screen and my mind adds another thing to my to-do list.
I don't want to be staring at my screen and miss the notifications of my children. The moments of worry that may flash across their face, the joy when they spell their sight word perfectly, the wonder of Jesus. The moments missed because we are choosing to not use technology properly.
Even as I write this on my laptop, my son snuggles next to me and spells his sight words once again. My eyes move away from the screen and I look at him and ask how I can serve him, a deliberate choice to be present.
Work and play, efficiency and entertainment, all mixed together in our palms while our families and relationships slowly stunted from the missed moments. It is not too late. We must make a choice to be deliberate with our time. As I lay my phone down on the kidney shaped table, and look over to the colorful Pyrex stacked on my shelves, I stand determined to make a life change.
How are you being deliberate with your technology choices in your home? Do you have some amazing resources to share? We'd love to hear how you balance the use of technology and your thoughts on this.
Would you like to reflect and sort through how to make change with me? Sign-up for the bi-monthly newsletter below to keep in touch and you'll get the reflection study and a printable for your home, and keep the conversation going.
