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My kids and I recently discovered a sweet story at our library titled Sweet Beauties by Elvira Woodruff. It is the story of a young girl named Darcy in Ireland in 1845 during a severe famine. She notices the beauty of a spider web dipped in dew across her milk pail and the towering castles formed in the clouds. She stores up little treasures she finds in nature in the hem of her dress, from pebbles to dried flowers. Despite the loss of their potato crops, their home, and their eventual immigration to America, she is the one who continues to treasure the gifts around her and bring hope to her family.

I began a journey nearly 14 months ago to become a radically thankful woman (thanks to the inspiring read One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp). In this process, I have recorded over 900 sweet and precious gifts that I have seen in the everyday mundane moments of life. I have witnessed a merciful God display His glory through the simple beauties around me. There have certainly been times when I didn’t feel like recording my gifts. There were many a night when I struggled to sleep, was crying out for mercy, and the Lord gently reminded me to count my blessings. I opened up my list and began again. There have been many a day when everything seemed to fall apart, and yet there was still grace on display to be observed.

I have observed the treasures of…

…the joyful giggles from my little girl

…the ability to dream

…taking a nap in the sunshine

…my daughter’s sweet attempts of catching snowflakes on tongue

…the warmth of a down comforter on cold winter nights

…the blue dawn to awaken my body in the morning

…Daddy snuggling up with little ones reading stories

…The ability to extend nourishment to my child at my chest

…Seeds lying dormant beneath my feet preparing to sprout in a few short months

In the progress of this journey, my heart has been radically changed. I have been less susceptible to discouragement and depression. I am less inclined to a spirit of negativity, which is my destructive pessimistic self. I am enjoying life at a whole new level. I am seeing how precious and sweet this life is. There are gifts to be discovered in this adventure, even amid the trial and pain.

Being a loving mother can be such a challenge, but when I stop and pray for eyes to see the treasures, I will be able to dig deep in God’s goodness, and see the cute dimple on my baby’s cheek even amidst the late night feedings. I can see the sincere blue eyes and gentle reminder “It’s okay, Mommy”, from my daughter’s lips even when I am crying in frustration at my failure. I become more free to throw out the to-do list and romp around with my little ones and treasure the moment.

Being a supportive cheerful wife can be one of the most difficult pursuits especially when you may think he has made a stupid decision or he has thoughtlessly forgotten your request or overlooked your need. But when I stop and pray for grace to see, I see a faithful man who diligently provides for all our needs. I see a man that will love me to the day I die. I see a man who willingly romps around with the kids playing dinosaur, dragons, and hide & seek even after a long day of work.

This journey has been hard…but so good. It has been a gift of grace in my life. It has been a gentle reminder that I have only one life to live. I want to make every moment count for eternity. It has caused me to slow down, to observe, to express my thanks, and to see the joy of the Lord abound in my heart.

I cannot stop. I am a work in progress. I still have my days. Today, I am losing my voice due to a cold, my miserable attempt at a craft project with the kids ended in disaster, my little man (who was potty trained 7 months ago) continues to have frequent pee-pee accidents when he gets distracted or excited leaving me beyond frustrated. But when I stop, rest, reflect, and observe, I see the gift of the blessing of staying home to nurture my little ones, healthy food to nourish our bodies, a daddy close by to help in a disaster, and three little munchkins who never cease to make me laugh.

This year my goal is to record 1,000 gifts over the duration of this year on top of my 900+ list. I want to have a record of 2,000 gifts by the close of 2012. Care to join me on the journey? Ready to find true joy among the mundane? I find it works best to record my gifts every morning during my devotions as I reflect upon the previous day. You may prefer buying multiple little journals and scattering them around your house to record the moments.

Check out A Holy Experience every Wednesday where Ann shares her gifts and you can link up with yours too!

Oh that we might be like Darcy, the little Irish girl, who observed the sweet beauties…to be able to stop and think about the gifts that surround us even when life gets difficult. Would you care to join me? Ready to have your mindset transformed?

I love how the Message translation puts Ephesians 5:4, “Let no crude language or foolish joking be on your lips. Christians have better use of language. Thanksgiving is our dialect.”

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to the Most High. It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, your faithfulness in the evening” (Psalms 92:1-2).

“Let the godly sing for joy to the Lord, it is fitting for the pure to praise him” (Psalms 33:1).

Photo credit

Written by contributing writer, Daniele Evans from Domestic Serenity.

Alright, I know what you’re thinking.  Maybe you’re even laughing.  Listen to the…quiet?

And you’re wondering just where this post is going.  We could probably agree that a daily spa moment of sorts is helpful to our well-being.  But just how to make this happen may seem a mystery.

So, hear me out and offer your thoughts as well?

I know Mama.  I know.  A household full of little ones, homeschooling, cooking, cleaning, ministry, training, teaching, being a wife, a friend, a sister — where in the world does a daily pause fit in!?

May I suggest today that it naturally doesn’t?  At least not all on its own.  This time will not just happen…it must be created.

The WHY

First, we must embrace the necessity of pause, of rest.  Rest is not man’s idea, it’s God’s.  Man takes it farther than ever intended and makes it laziness, but true rest was designed and demonstrated by a loving God from the beginning.  He knew just what people, Moms like you and me would need.

Rest honors God’s way and design; we give glory to Him when we follow His command to rest.

***

The WHAT

True rest includes pausing to reflect upon our work.  For we were also created for purpose-driven Christ-honoring work, yet not without pause.  Stepping back before moving on is simply wise.  It’s not waiting until we’re completely exhausted and burnt out, then finally collapsing.  God’s example in Creation offers a daily rhythm of reflection to think upon and consider our work — to name what is good.

We Moms have trouble with this, at least I do.  I lean more towards thinking on all that still needs doing instead of celebrating what has been accomplished.  But still, we should think on what is lovely, excellent and praise-worthy :: yes, this includes our work!

Because the nature is reflection, a midday or late afternoon break is what I’m suggesting.  A short time of 15 to 30 minutes to separate morning work from evening work, to refuel a little before going on.

Now, no need to cancel vacation plans, a visit with a friend, or digging into a good book.  Rest can and should also include leisure; engaging in pleasurable activities or interests provides refreshment as well.  Jesus often took his disciples away and on one occasion fixed breakfast on the beach for them — sounds nice and leisurely to me!

The HOW

What if you did just that?  Created a space and time for moments of daily pause, of quiet?  With the purpose of reflection upon your work, and for a bit of leisure as well.  But, let’s be very real.  Many of us are in a season of fullness, of numerous responsibilities.  Just how do we accomplish such a task?

I’m sounding like a broken record, but the first step is believing that you should.  Then quickly following up with believing that there is a way, that it is possible.  Before we get to the nitty gritty and some suggestions (that’s an upcoming post!), may I encourage your heart?  Too often, we jump on a band-wagon thinking…

“Yeah, this is just what I need!!  Tomorrow, right now, I’ll start this daily pause thing! WHOOP!, Whoop, whoop….fizzle, fizzle.  Oh, well.  I guess that just didn’t work for me.”

End of story.  That’s living intensely, not intentionally.

Maybe you’re ready to start now, by all means…move forward!  But, maybe you just need to take a baby step, to consider just how this all might work.  To prepare and plan for making room.

Begin with prayer.  Asking God to convince your heart of this need.  Stretching your faith muscles to believe it can happen.

Take an inventory of your days.  Nothing fancy, just be more aware of how things flow, thinking about when and where a pause would most benefit your schedule and routine.

In the comments, feel free to offer thoughts :: do you see a need for this in your days?  what would you view being a hindrance to taking time for a daily pause — where could you use suggestions or help?  

We’ll seek to answer or address questions in the next post.  I absolutely do not have all of the answers!  But, I’m convinced we can learn and grow together in this community.

To God be all glory….

As we begin a new year, I love mapping out some purposeful goals for myself to continue to grow in my faith, keeping a simple lifestyle, and being intentional in missional living. I want to be continually examining my walk to make sure I am growing (2 Cor. 13:5) and striving “not to act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do” (Eph. 5:17). This year I have been inspired to adopt 12 intentional goals for the year. One to make habit for each month of the year. I have prayerfully written these out in my homemaking binder using the Graham Ministry Intentional Planner forms, along with our family mission statement and my personal mission statement so I can review weekly in my planning times and keep myself on track. Putting thought and prayer into selecting what the Lord would have you do will bring about beautiful fruit. Don’t try to force goals on yourself that others may have added. Submit yourself to what the Lord would have for you.

I am eager to keep my focus this year on continuing to strive to treasure the little moments, the blessings of each and every day. I don’t want to get caught up in doing so many things, that I miss out on the gifts of my little ones. I want to make our home a gift of grace for others through our hospitality. By God’s grace, my prayer is that I “shall not fall into the falsehood that this day, or any day, is merely another ambiguous and plodding twenty-four hours, but rather a unique event filled, if I so wish, with worthy potentialities. I shall not be fool enough to suppose that trouble and pain are wholly evil parentheses in my existence but just as likely ladders to be climbed toward moral and spiritual womanhood.” (thanks to 10 Steps to Stay Alive to the Beauty of God’s World) And as the article continues later on, “I shall not allow the devilish onrush of this century to usurp all my energies but will instead, as Charles Williams suggested, ‘fulfill the moment as the moment.’ I shall try to live well just now because the only time that exists is just now.”

My theme this year I feel is pursuing GRACE in my daily interactions with my children. I find I am so easily succumbed to anger and frustration at their many needs, questions, and demands. I want to be able to stop what I’m doing and meet them with love and graciousness. I’m embracing Proverbs 31:26 as my verse for this year, “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”

1. Read 12 books (one per month)
2. Start my day by getting dressed
3. Take a daily 30 minute pause/rest each midday to simply read or nap as needed
4. Re-establish weekly planning retreat (have gotten out of this routine a bit due to my husband’s crazy work routine – but as we enter a new season, I think it will work to get back on track!)
5. Record a daily highlight, blessing, or memory from each day in my Mom’s One Line a Day journal (to treasure God’s goodness, my children’s progress and humor, and all the other little blessings since I am so prone to forget!)
6. Continue recording 1000 gifts and beyond! (This exercise has certainly been life-changing! I can’t stop! I want to make thanksgiving my dialect! I’m joining the Joy Dare to record 1,000 gifts in 2012! I’ve completed my first 900 over the past 14 months, so I’m going for 2,000 gifts by the end of 2012.)
7. Find a workable exercise routine for this season
8. Convert all my crockpot recipes to freezer meal adaptions (to simplify my meal preparations!)
9. Work on seasoning my speech with more kindness toward my children
10. Plan one way to bless, serve, or encourage my husband on a weekly basis
11. Plan a monthly outreach opportunity for our family (to our community, at Elderly home, or local public school)
12. Begin reading more classics to further my education and improve my vocabulary and writing. Join classics book study group for accountability. Want to always be pursuing the joys and delights of learning!

In all our goal making, let’s embrace this simple reminder: (thanks to the lovely ladies at GirlTalk for the following encouragement)

In her book, Keep A Quiet Heart, Elisabeth Elliot encourages us to focus on the most important of New Year’s hopes:

“Will the young woman find a mate? Will the couple have a child? Maybe this year will be the year of desire fulfilled. Perhaps, on the other hand, it will be the year of desire radically transformed, the year of finding, as we have perhaps not yet truly found, Christ to be the All-Sufficient One, Christ the ‘deep sweet well of Love’” (page 49, emphasis mine).

This year, let us ask God to dissolve all our hopes (however good they may be!) into a single hope: to know Christ and to be found in Him. May this be a year of desire radically transformed, a deeper, truer, knowing of Christ as our All-Sufficient One.

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:7-8a).

And may we remember that the only guarantee of lasting change in our lives is through the power and grace of our Savior. We can strive in our own strength to make the goal, but without God’s empowering grace we will never succeed. Let’s make sure to embrace His gracious work that was accomplished on the cross and walk in that beauty day by day as we seek to be transformed into His likeness.

For help with your own personal goal making, check out Simple Mom’s helpful list of questions.

It has been one of those demanding days with frequent cries of neediness from my little brood. “Mommy, can you wipe my bottom?” “I can’t do it,” cries from my 4 year old trying to spread the peanut butter, to my 2 year old trying to pull up his pants. “I am hungry Mommy.” “My belly hurts Mommy.” And it all seems to happen simultaneously from every different corner of the house. I was ready to scream as I scrambled from her to there meeting every need.

Then the thought struck me…Aren’t you thankful that God is never ready to scream at me? Here I stand in all my own neediness. Desperate for grace to do this mothering thing. Desperate for help to get up in the morning and cultivate joy in the tasks ahead of me. I am constantly laying my requests before him. “God, give me grace to discipline this child in love.” “God, give me strength today when I am weary.” “God, please take away this pain.”

It was a gentle reminder to my heart that we serve a gracious, all-knowing, merciful God, who never grows weary or tired. He is one that loves us intimately. He knows our every need and often meets them before we even ask. We are helpless, dependent creatures. We cannot do our mission without His daily renewal. We can’t get up and work in whatever sphere he has called us to without first crying out with our dependence upon Him.

Do you need help today?

Let’s embrace our need for Him. How often do I try to labor each day on my own strength? Who wants to ask for help? No, I am here to prove myself to the world that I can do this thing. I am strong. I am tough.

I am going to embrace my neediness today. For when I depend, grace is given to fill my cup to overflowing. And grace will be given to meet that one more cry of neediness from my little ones. Grant me grace, O Lord, to love them as you have loved me.

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (1 Peter 5:7)

Photo Credit

Photo Credit

Written by monthly contributor, Natalie Didlake.

Sometimes I’m in the spiritual dumps.

Sometimes I’m a lousy mom.

Sometimes I am tired of living in a place I don’t think I belong.

Sometimes someone I love dies.

Sometimes I have a habitual sin I don’t understand and can’t conquer.

Sometimes my relationships are in shambles, and I can’t see how to help them along.

Sometimes I am too depressed and discouraged to go to bed; the next day isn’t much improved by a sleepless night.

Sometimes my day-to-day life feels aimless and purposeless.

If I ever tell you I’m having one of those “sometimes,” don’t tell me to be thankful for what I have. Don’t remind me to remember all the good things God has already done for me. Don’t tell me to enjoy the little things, or cultivate gratitude.

Because it won’t help.

When I’m full of angst, deep questions, and frustrations, they can’t be swept aside and replaced. Problems and sin cannot be amended by attempts at thankfulness.

Problems and sin can only be amended by crying out to God. Sometimes He takes his time….a long time. Even the waiting can be painful and frustrating, a grief in itself. Trying to be thankful doesn’t even give me the bit of comfort I so crave, especially in that “waiting room.”

In the Waiting Room

As in, the doctor’s waiting room. I remember as a child being miserably sick, sitting there in a grimy, hard plastic chair, in a public place. Oh, for the quiet of your own room, instead of noisy children and the whine of a soap opera in the background. The temp was always 10 degrees below comfortable, so your teeth chatter while you imagine snuggling under a blanket on the couch. You just feel awful, and sit there.

But you have to, in order to see the doctor. Which, of course, you want to do, because that’s where you hope to find some relief.

And then, I remember the nurse coming through a heavy swinging door, calling my name. She’d meet your eyes, nod, and say, “The doctor will be with you in just a few minutes.” Oh, for joy! The long wait is almost over.

Sometimes we are in the waiting room, and we so desperately need someone to pop their head through the door to remind us the wait’s almost over. Sometimes we can’t push a trouble aside, but we can be eased and comforted in the midst of it by remembering the “doctor” will see us soon.

When my soul is in that waiting room of unfinished business, I love this precious promise God gives me in Philippians. He sweetly pops through the door to remind me he is still working in me and has not forgotten about me:

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Phil 1:6

A simple, small verse. But it always gives me the strength I need to sit and wait a little longer. My God is the Great Healing Doctor, and he made our appointment. He knows what is wrong with me, and as long as I follow his prescription, I will get well!

And for that, I am always…yes,  thankful. Truly, deeply, thankful. I can be sure God will finish the work he started in me. Thankful, dare I say happy? Even in the waiting room.