Links.

I have been lacking inspiration lately, but have been inspired by others. Here are a few blogs that have touched me in the last few days:

On marriage...

I did not marry my one true love
8 things death has taught me about love

On parenting...

Parenting in faith, not fear

On abortion...

It's time to end the stigma of infanticide

On being gracious...

When grace isn't free

If you have a free hour and a cup of tea tonight, take the time to read all or at least one of them. I hope they encourage you as much as they did me!

Some encouragement.

As a stay-at-home mom, and especially as a homeschooling mom, it's easy to get stuck in my day and not be able to see the forest because of the trees. The daily grind of life, the mundaneness and sometimes even drudgery of raising a family well, can really get me down. I read these two passages in Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost for His Highest" this past month and thought I'd share here. They really touched me deeply and I hope they encourage you all on your walks as well.

The true test of a person's spiritual life and character is not what he does in the extraordinary moments of life, but what he does during the ordinary times when there is nothing tremendous or exciting happening. A person's worth is revealed in his attitude toward the ordinary things of life when he is not under the spotlight. 

Discipleship is built entirely on the supernatural grace of God. Walking on water is easy to someone with impulsive boldness, but walking on dry land as a disciple of Jesus Christ is something altogether different. Peter walked on water to go to Jesus, but he "followed Him at a distance" on dry land (Mark 14:54).... it does require the supernatural grace of God to live twenty-four hours of every day as a saint, going through drudgery, and living an ordinary, unnoticed, and ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus. It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God - but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people - and this is not learned in five minutes.

The Refiners' work is not done over night, where one day I will suddenly wake up and be a mature, godly person, but rather my refining is done over a whole lifetime. It's in the daily decisions of little things that I am changed. The choice to show grace rather than yell at my kids. The choice to have an attitude of joy rather than grumbling. The choice to speak to my husband sweetly rather than barking at him in irritation. I'm really glad that it's in the little choices over a whole lifetime that will refine me; when I mess up in a moment it doesn't mean that I am not growing or that no work is being done in me. Rather, it is a chance to get up and try again.

Menus and cookies.

Well, I'm sure none of you are surprised (I'm sure not) but my meal plan has failed miserably. I wanted so badly to stick to a set routine of Pasta Mondays, Meat and Potato Tuesdays, etc. but it just isn't working. My reasons for doing it were wrong anyway. I just wanted to be that mom who knows how to be organized and time-saving. I am organized in a lot of ways, but when it comes to meals, I am very fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants. I've come to realize that for me, having a general plan of 5-6 meals, with all the right ingredients stocked in my cupboards, works just fine. When I get up in the morning, I am able to decide what I want to do for supper that night and either get the crock-pot going or start defrosting meat or whatever. Anyway, I figure if a meal plan is making me feel more stressed, then what is the point?

I've also been trying to find some new recipes since I am completely bored by the stuff I always have on rotation. A friend of mine posted a recipe on Facebook for sweet and sour chicken from the Six Sisters website and it was a-ma-zing. Because of the success of that, I decided to try out more of their recipes and although some haven't worked for me, quite a few have. It's nice to have some fresh new ideas for meals. Not only meals...

...but cookies too!! I get tired of making the same old ones over and over again. I have also been on the lookout for a great Snickerdoodles recipe but any one I have found has been a flop. Until I tried the Six Sisters version. YUM. Success all around. They're such a nice change to the usual peanut butter or chocolate chip. I'll definitely do this one again.

Here is the link: http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2011/04/moms-snickerdoodles-recipe.html

My girl.

One day I had a melt-down... I had to go to an event and stood in my closet... I had no clothes... I was ugly and my hair wasn't right... I threw a fit and plopped myself down in my comfy chair and declared to whoever was listening that I would not be going to the event, unless I was allowed to show up in my underwear. I was vaguely aware in my periphery of my men folk gingerly walking on egg shells, staring at me like I'd developed two heads. And suddenly, at my elbow was a little girl with large, sympathetic eyes. "I will help you, Mommy," she said, and darted off to her room. Back she came with her pretend hair dryer/straightener/curling iron/brush set and proceeded to do my hair. A few minutes later she pronounced it done. "There," she said. "You look pretty now."

Call me a bad mom for throwing a fit in front of my kids. Call me a bad example to my daughter of being discontent with my looks if you must. I'm just really thankful to have her. Someone who gets me completely. Who realizes that sometimes, as much as you want to be happy in your own skin, sometimes you just aren't. And sometimes all it takes to feel better is a girlfriend who doesn't ask questions and knows that once in a while all you need is a good hair brush and to be told that you're pretty.

Trust.

There is something so wonderful about God's peace. I love having it when I know it's there, but sometimes it seems to ebb and flow out of my life. Example: We recently put in an offer on a house thirty minutes out of the city. While I have slight anxiety at the thought of moving out of my comfort zone - the city - I always knew that the Lord would make it clear when/if we should make a step like this. So, when the opportunity presented itself, we put in an offer on a cute little one and a half story home, on a property that is the stuff of my husband's dreams. And I felt it. I felt God's gentle peace in the whole process. From signing papers with the buying agent, all the way to procuring an agent to sell our current home. I know, without a doubt, that this is God's plan for us. 

And yet, as I sit and wait for our current house to sell, I am anxious. There are some days where (especially while getting the house ready for a showing) I feel like I can't breathe, I am so panicky. I just so much want this house to sell... I want to move into our new place... I want it all to happen the way I want it to happen and I am anxious. I am not a patient person and here I am, having to wait. The unknown looms and I hate the feeling of being in limbo that it gives me.

I talked about it with my husband one night. I asked him why, if all we felt was peace and having all the right doors opening at the beginning, does it feel at a standstill now. And above all, why do I feel so anxious? My husband is not one to wax eloquent or become emotional over spiritual things. But what he said to me deeply touched me: "It's because when everything is going well, it's easy to trust. And then when things stop moving, you stop trusting and then you become anxious." So simple and yet so profound. Why didn't I think of that? 

It's so true. If I am going to trust God, I need to trust Him even when things aren't happening the way I think they should. Right now, in this gap of time between houses, He is still here. I don't see things moving, but they are. My lack of trust turns into anxiousness and I can't feel God's peace anymore. 

I read these verses the other day, and honestly, they are some of my favourite verses in the Bible:

"...do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6, 7

First, do not be anxious. Second, pray and let God know what you need. Third, He will surround your heart with His peace. It's this trust and rest thing that I struggle with.

But yesterday when I was reading those verses, I noticed something that I had not ever really noticed before. And that is the end of verse five, which (in my ESV translation) is really the opening statement of verse six: "The Lord is at hand." I'm sure that it means that the Lord is coming back soon, but I also believe it means that the Lord is near to us, so what do we have to be afraid of? He's right here, working on my house getting sold at just the right time. There is nothing for me to be anxious about.

It's a lesson I'm slowly learning... at least until I wake up tomorrow morning and start fretting again... :)