Working moms ... no small task

A few months ago, my friend Tanya asked me to write a guest post for her blog with the topic of "Working Moms".  Those of you that know me now know that my life has changed a bit, and I a can no longer lay claim to the "working mom" title.  But as I look back on my professional years, I know that the Lord blessed every minute of it, and I enjoyed it tremendously!  I also realize that all the great nuggets the Lord taught me then, still apply to me today - and it reminds me even more that Moms are Moms and our job is the same, no matter what our title is! 

While I was in the nostalgic mood, I also spent some time looking through some old pictures and found these from my first baby shower - with Tanya and her mom, Sandy, celebrating with me!  Miss you, Tanya!

If you have a minute, hop on over to Tanya's blog She Has Virtue, and take a peek!

Keeping House

Here is the second installment from Lorra Casson!  Today she shares her thoughts about keeping a clean home.  Click here, to see her tips on meal planning!

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Hey!  I have a few minutes, and wanted to share some house cleaning ideas with you.  My favorite tip that I try to follow was passed on to me from a bible study leader several years ago.  We were discussing doing all things as though we were doing them for Christ, and she told us how the Lord led her to pray while doing laundry.  She had four young children at the time and mountains of laundry, so she started praying for whoever's clothes she was folding at the time.  I've started doing this, too, and I can say that it definitely makes folding clothes more enjoyable and faster, because your mind is not on the task but the person!

I also wanted to share with you my cleaning schedule.  This is something that came about when I felt God calling me to homeschool.  I wrestled with the idea of never having a straight/clean house if my children were always home with me.  This is still a daily struggle, but God showed me that if I can plan menus, daily activities for my boys, and schedule other things, why not my house cleaning as well?  This is what works for us and leaves most of the weekend for us to spend together as a family.  If I follow this schedule, (and some weeks that's a big IF) I spend less than an hour a day cleaning.   

• Mon:    Laundry and vacuum  (everybody gets clean sheets this day)
• Tues:    Clean kitchen (except floors) - and I usually cook extra items to freeze
• Wed:    Clean bathrooms (except floors)
• Thurs:   Mop and dust  (my 2 least favorite things to do!)
• Friday:  Laundry and vacuum

Anything that doesn't get done during the week, I try to take care of first thing Saturday morning while my husband is playing with the boys. 

Something else that I just started is a chore chart for the boys.  Let them help as much as they can while they want to help.  They are both responsible for making their beds (bringing me their sheets if it's sheet day), bringing me dishes from the table, putting away silverware, picking up toys, and sweeping under the table (I got them their own little whisk broom and dust pan, they fight over who gets to sweep and who has to wipe the table!).  Although they don't do the jobs quite like I would, it is still less for me to have to do.  

I had planned to offer some weekly prize for the chores, but they ave been so excited over seeing their side of the chart filled with stickers, I don't offer anything else.  They are just learning that to be a part of this household we all have work to do. 

I hope this gives you some good ideas!

Love,
Lorra

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If you have any great suggestions for what works well in your house?  We'd love to hear them!

What's for Dinner?

I received this letter from my cousin, Lorra, at a time when I really needed to start being more intentional with my time at home.  She is an amazing mom and wife, and she loves the Lord dearly!  I hope you are as encouraged by her words and her heart as much as I am.  -Amy

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Hello!

Over the past weeks, I have been listening to a radio series on Titus 2 and the biblical instruction for older women to mentor younger women.  "Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God." (Titus 2:4-5)  As I listened to this, my first thought was of how I would love for a godly, older woman to speak into my life on a regular basis.  Then the Lord reminded me that we are all older than someone and that mentoring could simply mean sharing some of the practical ways God has shown me to love and care for my family. 

As a busy mom you know how precious time is, so I am going to attempt to share the ways God has helped me make the most of my time, take care of necessary household tasks, and glorify Him in the process.  These are just helpful hints and suggestions.  By no means do I have it all figured out!  As a mom and as a child of God, I am just a work in progress.



One of the best time savers for me is menu planning.  I sit down with the Sunday ads and make a menu for the next week based on items that are either on sale or I already have at home.  Afterwards, I make my grocery list so that I only have to go shopping once that week.  I keep a pretty good stockpile of pantry ingredients, too, so sometimes all we need is bread, milk, and fruit! 

The next thing that has been helpful is that one night a week I make something that can pull double duty for another meal.  For example, if I am browning hamburger meat for tacos, I brown enough for a spaghetti casserole and chili later in the week.  Or if I am baking chicken, I make enough for two casseroles so I can put one in the freezer for later.  I try my best to freeze one extra meal a week.  That way I always have something I can pull out on a busy day when I don't have time to cook.  It takes a little planning, but the time saved makes it well worth it to me in the long run.  (Bonus Recipes!)

My final time-saver is sandwich night!  As a family, we try hard to have game night once a week, and sandwiches are perfect for those nights!  There is little to no clean up for me, and I get to join in all the fun!  We started this as a way to spend quality time together, but for me it has the added benefit of being a night I don't have to cook or clean!

You may already have a system for your meals that works for you.  The Lord has just been prompting me to share some of the things He's shown me!  Just know that I am praying for you, your husband, and your precious children! 

Love,

Lorra 

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Lorra Casson is from Auburn, Alabama.  She is a wife to Thomas and mother to Drew (age 6) and Will (age 4).  She and her husband are also foster parents, so she is currently a foster mom to a 16 month old little boy.  Lorra says that being a mom is the most challenging job she has ever had, but it is also without a doubt, the most rewarding!



Well-digging, Part II

by: Cassia Glass - Houston, Texas

“This is just not working out.”

“It’s not you. It’s me.”

“I’m sorry to tell you this, but….”

Ugh. I hate those “let down” lines. They are harsh when we thought we were moving ahead on a great adventure or relationship, only to find a door slamming in our face. They are doubly harsh when we truly believed we were on the path God had for us and then find the path disappearing beneath our feet.

Our well-digging friend Isaac was in the same situation in Genesis 26.  After years of fighting over his dad's old wells with the Philistines, he eventually moves to a new section of the country and goes looking for new water altogether.  But just as his men start digging a brand new well, the Philistines come and start fighting over that one, too!  And the next one.  Isaac even starts naming the wells things like “Esek” (Quarrel) and “Sitnah” (Accusation). There’s a kind of bitter humor here. And frankly, I kind of like that he named them like that. Because when we are trying to move forward and things are not working out, sometimes it helps to just call things for what they are.


That perfect job that turned out to be a disaster? Call that one “Disappointment.” Or that relationship that completely de-railed, perhaps that’s “Trainwreck.” That hurt that’s so deep you can barely breathe when you remember it, there’s a name for that, too. It’s ok to look at it and acknowledge it.

But we cannot stay there or we will wither away!

Isaac didn’t stay camped out at Esek and Sitnah either. Likely he was motivated by practicalities, i.e. the need for water as he reclaimed his inheritance, but perhaps he was also driven to create something all his own. Either way, he kept on searching and digging. And this next well was different.

Finally, he found water in a spot where no one was fighting. He had room to live and breathe, and he called that well “Rehoboth” (Spaciousness). He was able to water his flocks, and yes, maybe stop with all the digging, for goodness’ sakes.  

Even so, that well was not the final reward. Genesis 26:23-24 says that Isaac moved on from that spot to a place called Beersheba where he found something far greater than water: “And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, ‘I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham's sake.’” God showed up big. He reconfirmed everything He had promised. He rewarded Isaac’s perseverance, all that searching and well-digging, with a revelation of Himself.

And Isaac’s response?  Isaac built an altar, had a peace ceremony with the Philistines, and yep, his men dug one more well. Isaac called this one “Shebah” – the Oath, and while it may have been to mark the peace ceremony, I can’t help but believe it marked a spiritual reality. Isaac had his inheritance, not because he had second-hand knowledge that he’d someday be the heir, not because it came easy or just fell into his lap, but because he kept searching and digging until he met the One Who keeps His promises. The One Who is the antidote to fear and the well-spring of endless blessing.

If that’s what, or Who, is really out there at the end of all the days of digging, then maybe you and I can keep digging just a little bit longer, too.

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Father, I take my stand in the name of Jesus, the One who is mightier than Abraham, Moses and David, all of whom You loved and called friends. My Jesus has completed Your promises—they all have their “Yes” in Him. Open the wells of my heart, open my faith-eyes to see and know the hope of Your calling, the rich inheritance in the saints, and the exceeding greatness of Your power toward believers. All things are under your power, Lord Jesus, and they are mine to inherit.

Well-digging, Part I

by: Cassia Glass - Houston, Texas

When I was a child, I sang all the time. Didn’t matter where I was or even what the song was—many times I made them up. If I wanted to sing some made-up song from the top of some old crabapple tree, I just climbed up there and did it. With abandon.

Do you remember that feeling of freedom? Of possibility? Of running down a hill so fast your heart pounded in your throat and even your voice was left behind in a trail of giggles? 

Or maybe you don’t. Maybe life has been a steady stream of “you can’t and you won’t” until you feel whatever joy is out there will never make its way into your heart.

But whether we lost that feeling of promise somewhere along the way or maybe never really had it, you and I both want to know deep down that there is something more than just plodding through our days. Somewhere there has to be a reservoir of life, hope, and freedom.

Genesis 26 recounts Isaac’s search for fresh water, and I can’t help but see parallels to my own life. God called Isaac back to the land He promised his dad, Abraham. Interestingly, even with God at his back, Isaac made a false start: he repeated almost identically Dad’s mistake of pretending his wife was just his sister in order to save his own (cowardly) neck. No one was fooled for long, but they were not real happy about being tricked—sometimes “like father, like son” isn’t a positive, and sometimes overcoming a legacy of failure is as hard as embracing a legacy of faith.

Afterwards, though, he did spectacularly well with lots of flocks and crops. His success ignited the envy of the Philistines, and out of spite, the Philistines filled up all of his father’s old wells with dirt. It’s as if the enemy was filling in the very “footprints” of Abraham where he possessed the Promised Land by faith. And Isaac, in the face of opposition, had a choice not unlike you and I do.

Here’s the deal. Nothing brings us full-circle like becoming mothers. Suddenly we are walking in the footprints of our parents. If they were great parents, we find big shoes to fill. If they were not so great, we desperately try not to fall into the pits, instead of wells, they sometimes dug. Regardless, we are back in old territory where we must choose to make a new life and look for life-sustaining water.

In fact, I’ve found it’s impossible to really start anything new without first dealing with what’s already there. For Isaac, it was the wells his father dug and that were now systematically being plugged up by the Philistines. The king even told him he’d be better off not confronting the problem: "Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us." (26:16) And so Isaac moved to another section in the same country, perhaps hoping to keep the peace, and just as before, “Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham.” Gen 26:18a

But there comes a time when keeping the peace isn’t enough and running away isn’t an option. Even in the new area, Isaac again came into constant contention over his inheritance. And it WAS his inheritance. God had not only promised this land to Abraham but also to Isaac (Gen 26:2-6); however, Isaac had to choose to keep acting on that belief.

Sometimes we, too, have to go back to old territory and reclaim it even though it is our promised inheritance. That dream from your youth. That first glimpse of God’s plan for your life. That legacy, no matter how large or small, that your parents left you. There is a need for perseverance in the midst of contention while this is happening, the kind of perseverance that says, “I will hold fast to what God began in my family.”

Sometimes we also have to deal with dirt in our wells, whether it’s a sense of failure, a past of neglect or abuse, or just the daily grind causing resentment because we thought things would be different. We cannot run away!  Instead, we must let those things come into His light for healing and release. 

And sometimes, after we’ve dealt with the past and moved past the dirt, we find something completely new, and we move on to dig our own new wells!  (But there's more on that in Part II!)

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Lord, You are the God of my forefathers, but You are also my God and my Savior. You swore to be a friend to Abraham and his descendants forever and that includes me, his spiritual child in the faith. You have shown me that I am Your friend—not just Your servant, but Your friend. Therefore, I have access to the mind of Christ and the plans You have made for me. I praise you, O Holy One, and I trust you during this season of well-digging.

Selling God Short

Behold, the arm of the Lord is not too short to save; nor his ear too dull to hear. Isaiah 59:1

I came across this verse in a bible study last week, and I have to tell you - it rocked my world!

I think I'm good about giving everything to God.  I think I leave it all up to Him.  But this verse made me see that there are areas in my life I must think are too difficult for Him to handle.  I don't hold these things back intentionally, as if I don't want His help.  I'm pretty sure I just get caught up in the panic and forget that He really is Mighty to Save!
Some big changes have popped up in my life lately, and my natural tendency is to start worrying.  But now, God is able to remind me "Wait! My arm is not too short!"  And before the worry creeps in, I am learning rest in Him. 

This verse tells us that:

• Nothing in our life is too far away for His arms to reach it.
• No one in our life is too far gone for His arms to grab them.
• No situation in our life is so complicated that His arms cannot turn it around.

Granted, this verse says nothing about how long the process might take.  His time is not our time.  Our struggles, though difficult, have purpose, and He is allowing us to move through them with the promise of His sanctification on the other side. 

What we have to remember is that we cannot sell God short!  We cannot lose hope!  His arm is not too short to save.  Take comfort in this!  He sees you exactly where you are, and He has not left you.  Nothing is not beyond His grasp.  Your heavenly Father loves you, and He will reach out His hand to you, and You will know in that moment that you have had a powerful, undeniable, personal encounter with your Heavenly Father. 

And in the meantime ... be patient and trust Him.  His arm is not too short!

Battling the Exhaustion Beast

By: Cassia Glass - Houston, Texas

Some days I can be clipping along just fine on this trip called motherhood. I’m wrapping up an injury over here (we’ve graduated from Band-Aids to Ace bandages at our house). I’m balancing the checkbook over there. I’m rocking the world with a chicken recipe that actually turned out great. I will be at the top of my game, feeling spiritually fit and emotionally available. And maybe even getting my exercise in that week.

And then that monster rears its ugly head, that beast with the energy-draining suckers and the big ugly stick called “Guilt” or maybe “Incompetence” whanging away at me. It’s the beast that sneaks in after one or two nights awake with sick kids or a week of too many activities. It’s the one that tries to set up a tent in the living room when unexpected turmoil comes along to stretch your creativity and your budget.

Exhaustion.

Bone-grinding tiredness.

Please tell me you’ve been there, too. Not just a little tired but so exhausted that you really can’t say one nice thing to that whining child much less figure out what to do with frozen hamburger meat. Too tired to pretend with people at work and at church. And if it goes on long enough, your whole world looks gray and hopelessness starts to settle in.

A few weeks ago, I was going through this cycle of exhaustion, guilt, and depression and was trying to pray through it. Not a gentle, folding-of-the-hands, bending-of-the-knees kind of prayer. More of a desperately-trying-to-do-laundry-while-talking-to-God kind of prayer. It went something like this:

“I cannot do this. I am dying here. What I want to know is what would Jesus do in this situation?” Yes, I admit, there was a little attitude in there. “Really, I want to know how Jesus would handle this kind of exhaustion.”

He’d take a nap.

That was the answer that flooded my heart along with the image of Jesus taking a nap in a boat. You remember that story, don’t you?

One day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's go over to the other side of the lake." So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. "Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him."
Luke 8:22-25 (NIV)

Yes, there was drama that followed Jesus’ nap—a storm, a miracle, an amazing outreach on the other side of the lake—and I’d like to say I got some huge theological insight at that moment. And no, the reminder of that story didn’t even make me solemnly nod in submission. It made me laugh over my laundry basket! Which is how my sweet Father often cuts through my exhaustion-induced, morose introspection to remind me, “Lighten up. I know how you are formed and that you are but dust.” (Ps. 103:14) So for me on that day and for these last few weeks, it has become clear that no matter what is coming next for my family and me, no matter how much I want to get my to-do list done, sometimes the best course of action is to do what Jesus did ... and take a nap!