Simple Woman's Daybook

The Simple Woman's Daybook was created by The Simple Woman to focus on the simplicity of everyday moments around you. I was thrilled to find out about this from Susan and would love for it to be a "regular" on my blog (but we'll see....I gotta keep bloggin' simple not complicated :)

FOR TODAY

Outside My Window...

birds are chirping...it's a steamy hot SC afternoon...all is still. Beach towels drying on the clothesline. Scattered toys in the backyard. Wind chimes tinkling now and then.

I am thinking...

about people...moms and students to minister to and encourage...that my life is being called to extend beyond the four walls of my home to invite others in.

I am thankful for...

a patient, supportive, hilarious husband. I can't imagine ever finding someone so right for me. Summer produce in the frig...local blueberries, cantaloupes and strawberries. Lazy summer days filled with camping, friends, the pool, movies, and creative projects.

From the kitchen...

sesame chicken, basmati rice and stir fried green beans for a family who just had a baby on Father's Day. For us tonight...some grilled chicken, grilled asparagus, and roasted potatoes.

I am wearing...

my favorite red t-shirt with my favorite beaded necklace with....my favorite pajama pants :) I did have on denim bermuda shorts but had to sneak into some cotton comfort since Aunt Flo is visitin' :)

I am creating...

a new homey environment by doing some furniture rearranging and making more cozy nooks for reading and connecting with the Lord and others.

I am going...

to a Financial Peace "reunion" tonight to reconnect with those whom we took the class with and to encourage each other.

I am reading...

Living More With Less by Doris Janzen Longacre.

I am hoping...

for a few more cooler days before the oppressive humidity of July and August comes to town. And that Will will take naps well in his "big boy bed".

I am hearing...

the continual hum of the A/C unit and the "Lord of the Rings" cartoon version on DVD.

Around the house...

controlled chaos. Everything is a bit out of whack in the midst of re-ordering and moving furniture, bookshelves, etc.

One of my favorite things...

Will's big cheeks...I kiss them on and off all day.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:

finishing up cozying my home, helping at the Dish Dash tasting, and watching some friends' little girls this weekend so that the mama and daddy can have a getaway together.

Proactive vs. Reactive Living

I have seen recently that life is much better lived with a proactive plan instead of reactive rebounding. Living reactively to my environment leaves me tired, stressed, and one unpleasant wife, mother and friend. Making daily decisions with a proactive plan brings much peace, productivity, and pleasure. There are many areas in my life where this is ringing true:

1. Meal Planning. Having meals already in the freezer or at least having a weekly game plan significantly reduces the daily stress of "what's for dinner?" (particularly at 4 pm). At minimum having a well-stocked pantry does wonders to be able to pull a meal together quickly and easily.
I rely heavily on our grill in the summer months. I pull chicken or meat from the freezer and allow it to thaw all day in a simple marinade or salad dressing and my husband grills it when he gets home. We do grilled chicken caesar salad weekly right now! Here are a few more recipes.

2. Schooling. Never homeschool as a reaction to the public school system. Choose homeschooling because it's a good fit for your child's learning style or because the schedule works or because it's what your family needs relationally or because it's just plain fun. Doing it in reaction to "the world" or the "public schools" or in fear that your children won't someday love Jesus is so trapping, joy-less, and breeds legalism. I know many moms who feel trapped and depressed in homeschooling because they chose it simply from fear and not out of freedom.

3. Parenting. Our days are so positive when I decide to initiate with my children and lead them in our day. When I am in default selfish mode, I allow them free-reign and pray they won't interrupt me. So then every time they make a mess or interrupt or need me, I react horribly and insensitively. So much of the sibling squabbles and bad attitudes erupt when I am simply disengaged from them. And then I blame them. Bad cycle. I have seen lately that I need to rise in the mornings willing and eager to serve... to read them lots of books, to offer craft supplies and ideas, to take time to listen and encourage, to take them on walks, to play a board game, and to have compassion and sensitivity to them when tired or angry or hungry. A proactive servant instead of a reactive recluse.

4. Money. Taking the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University course got us back on track to have a monthly financial meeting to make every month's budget together and to fill out an allocated spending plan. This has taken so much stress out of our lives and we actually feel like we have more money now because we are actually putting dollar amounts to clothes, haircuts, the house, etc....no more guilty spending. It's brought greater unity to our marriage and a greater ability to pro-actively give.

5. Friendships. Living in a new place has had its relational challenges and loneliness creeps in so easily. Instead of waiting for others to initiate, it's better to just jump in. Hospitality has allowed Mike and I to build meaningful relationships wherever we have lived. Having people over to play games, to grill out, or for a simple dessert gives us the opportunity to get to know and meet new people. Or sending a friend a card in the mail can revive a waning friendship. I have learned that whenever I am getting down in life the main source is loneliness and not feeling intimately connected with others. Instead of waiting for the phone to ring, I have learned to pick it up and dial. To offer women's craft nights in my home. Homeschooling support groups. Playgroups. Don't react to loneliness with self-pity and depression...be proactive and initiate with another woman...whether you know her well or not!

6. Housekeeping. Doing here a little and there a little daily can keep the house from getting overwhelming. Every day I try to make sure that at least the "common living areas" are clean and decluttered...kitchen, dining room, and living room. Wiping down the bathroom as I go helps keep it nice and I try to wipe kitchen counters, cabinet faces, and the refrigerator handles as I cook so that it stays fresh. The best cleaning tip is to simply keep your home clutter-free (and boy clutter seems to show up overnight!). Keep purging and being ruthless with papers, mail, toys and clothes. Be cautious about what you let in because you will then have to clean and organize whatever it is! Living simply without clutter allows me to be "master" over my home and able to then focus on adding beauty...living in reaction to chronic messes means chronic fatigue, a desire to leave, and often results in our being a harsh taskmaster to our husband and children.

7. Creativity. I need to be proactive in giving my creative side lots of inspiration through blogs, tutorials, and magazines. If I don't actively seek out inspiration, I will neglect this side of me that is so vital to my health, happiness, and is a precious venue for worship. I get so energized by being around creative ideas whether for cooking, decorating, sewing or crafting and I feel very drained when I have a season of not being a producer but only a consumer. My kids are much more creative when they see me engaged in projects. My husband glories in the joy it brings me. I have more to offer others and it gets my heart thinking about how I can encourage someone else through a small gift or a meal or a homemade card. It's easy to let this area of our lives go as busy moms, but I see more and more that I have to PLAN this into my life and stay inspired.

8. Spiritually. My best days are those when I have begun with coffee and some Truth. Pure and simple. And when I depend on Him and cry out to Him throughout my day, it is just so sweet and intimate. But I have to think to do it. My default setting has been to be driven and not to rest in Him and with Him. I need to go to coffee shops with Jesus and journal. I need to walk through the botanical gardens with Him and just cry. I need to sit out on a bench overlooking the local lake and praise Him. I don't want to live in reaction to my flesh, but to live proactively focused on Him. Focusing on Jesus seems to naturally remove the draw towards sin, the flesh, and the temptations of the world.

These are just a few areas that I have been mulling over for the last month. Whenever I am feeling off-balance, it is usually because I have become passive in important areas of my life and am allowing life to toss me around. It helps to sit down and figure out which areas need attention and a plan. A trip to the craft store. An hour after dinner alone with Jesus. A cell phone call to a friend while I go to the grocery store. Putting a few freezer meals together when chicken is on sale. It's simple stuff... if we can just engage our minds and hearts to be aware that we have these needs.

Where do you need a plan these days?

It's All About Him

I have found myself in a place of chronic anxiousness lately. A gnawing feeling that I am not living a balanced life. I am missing something. A scattered spirit. I read, I think, I wonder...Where am I? Who am I? So I have tried to solve these questions by busyness, by renewed commitment, by trying harder. I have been obsessed by my "values". Am I making the right choices? Am I on the right path? I can work myself up into a contemplative frenzy...an obsessiveness with life and "vision" that makes me a driven, morose woman with little joy, peace and love.

Well, I am relieved to say that I moved out of that foul place last night, and by God's grace alone, I hope to stay in the place of rest I found myself this morning. Through seemingly random events, we decided to go to a young church last night to visit (young in the sense that it is only 3 years old and young in the sense that the majority were 20-somethings). I felt old and a bit weird being there with my four children. But I knew that I needed to be there for some reason and definitely needed to check my pride at the door that I am older and wiser than this younger group of believers. The guy that preached spoke from Philippians 3 and the Lord used him to speak on self-righteousness in us and reminded us of the true Gospel. I love that he said "we can be self-righteous about ANYTHING".

Mike and I left and the first words out of our mouths were "I feel convicted". Last night I saw how my life is all about me. I revolve around me. I take pride in just about anything...that I homeschooled. And now I take pride in the fact that I don't. I take pride in the good healthy foods I choose to eat. And then I take pride that I have "freedom" because I also go grab a cheeseburger the other night at McDonald's. I take pride in my thriftiness and that I buy secondhand. And then I take pride the other night when we headed to a wedding in a cute new dress with sassy new shoes. Honestly, by the end of the night, I was just fed up with myself and how I swing from pride to self-condemnation....I live in the land of my own gospel of works and acceptance by God through choices. In all of these instances, it's just all about me and how well I think I am doing before God and others.

No wonder I am so anxious, so judgmental, so disillusioned.

I had simply lost sight of Jesus, His glory, and His Gospel...the really Good News. God really loves me and I really don't deserve it. I am sinful and apart from Him I can do NOTHING to move towards Him and others...I am lost unless He comes. Jesus came to save me. To pay the debt I owe. To meet God's just requirements, to receive the condemnation I deserve, to be separated from the Father so that I won't have to be, to experience profound rejection, isolation, and loneliness so that I would never have to...He experienced Hell so that I could have Heaven--unbroken connection, life, love, family, joy, peace. Wow. If I preach the Gospel to myself every morning, I realize that I am needy for grace and love...and that I bring nothing to the table. And He is ready to lavish His love, grace and power on me for His glory and my good.

So this morning I awakened and re-read Philippians 3. I recognized that without Jesus today I will be a train-wreck. I found my priorities shifting this morning too. By His grace I actually wanted today to be about His glory and not my own. His plans and not mine. His view of others. And for the first time in a while, I actually knew in my heart that Jesus really is Good News and felt an overwhelming desire for the Gospel and sharing its message with others. I know I could never manufacture those desires in and of myself because my default setting is "me". So then I was so encouraged that He IS at work in my life...changing me, softening my heart, growing me, maturing me. What Hope!

Oh Lord, give me the grace to keep You as my True Priority...that I will look to You as I awaken, as I eat, as I walk about my day. It's seems so simple and yet it is supernatural. Keep me from living in the smaller stories of stuff and self. Be glorified in my life, Jesus. Be glorified.

**I just found this article and it's a wonderful read!