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A New Year
2005 has come to a close -- and it has truly flown by for me, especially now that I am a mother. Seeing my little daughter grow from newborn to toddler in one short year gives me a new realization that "time is short" and I need to seek to make every day count. We spent last night and this morning getting our business finances all in order for the end of the year and we will be spending this afternoon shopping and spending some of the excess business money on supplies and electronics so that we can cut our end-of-the-year profit levels down to avoid having to pay a large amount of taxes. (I'd rather invest the money in something to help grow the business than pay excessive taxes!) Oh the joys of being small business owners! We will be spending this evening with some dear friends of ours -- fellowshipping, playing games, singing and playing instruments, and a special time of prayer as we ring in the New Year. Does your family have any special traditions for New Year's Eve or New Year's Day? May the Lord bless you all in 2006! "See" you next year!
Stay-At-Home Moms vs. Working Moms
Hi Crystal, I don't know if this is the right place to post my comment, but your goals and this topic brought up a point I had regarding your takes on being a stay at home mother versus working mothers. From your website, your new position with The Homeschool Magazine as a Marketing Manager, and this blog, you seem to be driven to being business savvy and entreprenurial (apologize for spelling if incorrectly spelled). I'm not saying that it's bad or wrong, but I would like to know how much of the business Jesse does and how much you do.
Also, how does this differ from mothers who work at an office? A mother who works at home is still a working mother. She still takes time away from her family to deal with the business matters and you still have to make sacrifices to meet the demands of the consumers. A business is a business, no matter what the product being sold is. Is this something you intend to continue as Kathryn gets older and you have more children? And when Jesse gets his own practice or professional job being a lawyer?
I am only curious because I am researching whether or not I should start a home business when I have children or a family of my own rather than working from an office. But is staying home and working enough? -Meme Hi, Meme!
Thanks for your question. Some of these are issues that I grapple with on an almost weekly basis. Yes, I am probably what you could call "business-savvy" and am definitely entreprenuerial-minded, though this is mostly just by nature, not something I neccessarily set out to be. Ever since I was a young girl, I've always found various creative ways to earn extra money. When Jesse and I got married and moved to a completely unfamiliar town and he began law school, things were extremely tight financially for us. We had committed to doing everything possible to stay out of debt, but we had no idea how we would survive three years of law school on Jesse's part-time income. I began praying for the Lord to give me ways to earn extra money from home.
Since then, I've learned a lot (and continue to learn!) , done a lot of different things (some which flopped on their face!) and God has opened up a lot of doors. I know it is only God's blessing, not anything that I have done or am. God has been so faithful to provide for us and take care of us -- way beyond my wildest imaginations!
I am now at a point where I have more from-home job opportunities than I have time for, and, I confess that it is often hard for me to sort through what is God's will for me to do and how to have proper priorities. I love being a wife and mother and always want that to be my top priority. But, at this point in time, I am able to help relieve a huge burden off of my husband's shoulders by contributing to our family financially.
My husband and I pray about this and talk about this a lot. I want his priorities for me to be my priorities. I don't want my family to suffer in any way. As soon as Jesse is through with law school and begins his "real" job, I will definitely be cutting back on working from home. I enjoy what I do, but I know that continuing on in the same capacity that I am currently in with our business and The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is not possible. I have much more time right now to be doing these things since I only have one young daughter, but as we have more children and they grow older, my time and energies will be needed elsewhere. I'm not exactly sure what the future holds in this regard, but I trust the Lord to lead and guide me through my husband!
My encouragement is this: If the choice is between you working from home or working from an office, definitely choose working from home. With the internet, the possibilities out there for working from home are almost limitless and the income-earning possibilities are amazing! You can earn a much better income from home than a traditional office job and you will also save a LOT of money in the process, too (if you are wise in how you spend your money.). If you are willing to put forth the time and effort, you can have a very successful business.
That said, women need to especially be careful to not develop a "career mentality" even while working from home. It is so easy to get side-tracked and lose our focus. Don't let a home business do this to you! Continually be going to the Lord and your husband for counsel and direction. This is one reason I am a strong promoter of family businesses instead of a woman having her own independent business. This is the direction Jesse and I are hoping to move in, especially as our children grow older. We'll see where God leads. Let me know if that fully answered your questions or not. I'll be happy to share more if you or anyone has any questions regarding this.
Our Curly Musician
 More pictures, courtesy of Aunt Gretchen. Gretchen decided that since Kathrynne's hair is curly, she needed to weti it and gel it and take some pictures of it (What else are aunts for?!). Problem is, she had the hardest time getting Kathrynne to stay still for a picture to show her stylish new look. She finally resorted to letting her play the piano...    She already looks like she has the form of a musician, doesn't she? :) Kathrynne loves music. We have sought to instill in her from birth a love for good music and we normally have melodious music ringing through our home for most of the day. When you say the word "music" she immediately starts conducting and then points to our stereo/CD player and motions for us to turn it on. I am anxious to begin violin lessons with her and Jesse wants to buy her a 1/32nd violin -- but we have to wait until she is at least 18 months. The youngest I've started teaching anyone is 4 years old, but I don't think Jesse will be able to wait that long for me to start with Kathrynne.
Babies and Eating
Kathrynne is beginning to gradually eat more and more solid foods and I'd love to hear any suggestions or recommendations you have on how you make the transition from nursing to solid foods. When did you start feeding your baby solid foods? Did you let your baby wean themselves or did you purposefully wean them? I know everyone does it differently and there's no one "right way" to do it, but I still thought it would be insightful to hear what you have done and found to work best. For those of you with more than one child, was each child completely different?
A Few More Pictures
Pictures of Kathrynne, courtesy of her Aunt Gretchen. Gretchen sent me close to 50 pictures from this weekend to post on my blog (she reads my blog and decided that you all would like to see some more pictures of Kathrynne-- as if I don't post enough already!). Well, obviously, I don't have room to post all of them, but I am posting some of them for your enjoyment.  After Kathrynne opened up this doll (Which is machine-washable, by the way. How cool is that?), she just stared and squealed and squealed and squealed. It was hilarious.  Kathrynne and my cousin's son, Andrew, and their new bears from Great-Grandma and Grandpa (otherwise known in our family as "Pop and Gammy"). We had trouble getting them both to look happy at the same time. :)  Kathrynne loves kitty-cats. She even wanted to forego dinner in order to play with her kitty-cat!  A new toy from Grandpa to help Kathrynne learn how to walk. Instead of walking with the toy, Kathrynne always wants to climb around and play with the pretty things on the front -- or she tries to play with them and walk at the same time. Already showing signs of being a multi-tasker. Uh-oh.  Okay, don't ask me why, but Gretchen said that I had to post this picture. She thought it was just adorable. So I'm obliging. Looks like a bad hair day to me. (By the way, notice the strung Christmas cards in the background -- my family always strings their Christmas cards around the room. We've done that ever since I can remember -- it was a tradition passed down from my great-grandparents.)
Narnia: "Better" or Best?
 There has been a lot of hype going around regarding the new movie, Narnia, in the religious community and even among "conservative Christians" (I dislike using that term and labelling people, but you get my drift.). People are talking about it, blogging about it, and passing on the trailers and songtrack clips. Christian and non-Christian stores and companies alike are making lots of money off of anything remotely Narnia or C.S. Lewis related. Everywhere I turn, something or someone is talking about Narnia. So, naturally, Jesse and I have been thinking about it, too. We even thought about going to the theater to see it. Then we thought about it more. Is it right for Christians to embrace and promote something which contains many pagan elements? Is it right to hold up this movie before our children as a "good movie" when it has fauns and witches in it? Just because something has some supposedly "Christian" elements in it, does that make it okay? Do we want that which is "okay" or "acceptable" or "better than many other films out there", or do we want that which is best? The verse "Come out from among them and be ye separate" keeps resonating in my ears. No, I'm not saying you are sinning to watch the movie, I just encourage you to really think about this. I see so many Christians blindly accept and endorse films so long as they seem just a notch better than the usual rubbish films the world gives us. If you've seen the film or haven't seen the film, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. We're still thinking it through.
Job Opportunity
I have a position available for a few individuals who would be interested in working on a commission basis. If you are willing to work hard, this could produce a very nice income for you/your family. Email me if you are interested and please tell me about yourself and experience, if any.
A present I didn't know I'd purchased for someone
My dad always "wraps" his presents for us in black trash sacks (see proof in the picture). This time, he put all of the presents for Jesse, Kathrynne, and me into one trash sack and gave it to us to open. Well, on the top was a present which said, "To: Mom - From: Crystal." I didn't have any clue what it was, but I dutifully gave it to Mom anyway. She opened it and we burst out laughing. "I" had gotten her a new vegetable peeler -- with a plastic tip instead of a sharp metal tip that butchered my thumb at Thanksgiving ( read the full story here). Here Mom and I pose with my healed thumb and the new vegetable peeler: 
A New Toy
  Yes, you know it's the age of technology when your 11-month-old gets her own toy cell phone for Christmas (complete with ear piece). Kathrynne is fascinated with buttons and technology and she is enthralled with cell phones. So, her aunt decided she needed on of her own. I wonder when they'll come out with toy lap tops and Treos and Blackberrys -- or maybe they already have them?
Kathrynne's Christmas Present
We went and got Kathrynne's pictures done for the first time for our Christmas presents to give to her grandparents and aunts and uncles. (Can you believe it? We are first-time parents and we don't get professional pictures done until our daughter is almost 11-months-old?) Here are two of our favorite poses:  
Goal-setting for the New Year
Part of my job with The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is writing for their marketing blog, PRMama. One of my posts for Small Businesses was posted a few days ago on Goal-Setting for Your Business.Not only do I believe goal-setting for businesses is essential to success, I also believe that setting goals in our personal life is very worthwhile. At the beginning of each year, I like to set goals for the coming year. I usually have a list of books I hope to read, projects I hope to complete, new skills I want to learn or master, and character qualities I want to work on in my life. Of course, I don't always achieve all of these goals, but it is helpful for me to have something to aim for at least! What are your goals for this new year? I'm still working on my list (with my husband's help) but maybe I'll share it here when it is nearer completion!
Yes, I'm alive!
We just arrived home from our extended weekend trip about an hour ago. We had a lovely Christmas with family and friends (pictures will be forthcoming later today or tomorrow) and it was a nice break from our usual pace. But, Jesse and I are both glad to be home and ready to get back in the swing of things again. For all those of you who have been faithfully checking this blog daily and finding it to be utterly void of any new updates, my apologies. I'm surprised you haven't given up on me yet. I think I just about set a no-blogging record -- almost a full week without posting. Much as I enjoy blogging, it is nice to take a break from it every now and then, but I can never stay away too long. I have many posts written in my head that I hope to be able to type up in the next week or two. So, thanks for not giving up on me!
Busy Day and Blogads
I've been busy today -- cleaning, ironing, wrapping up last minute business things before Christmas, and spending time with a friend for a few hours. Thank you to everyone who is contributing excellent thoughts to this post. It blesses me to read the entries as they are coming in to my inbox. Jesse, Kathrynne, and I are having a date night tonight -- going out to eat, going shopping, and then home for a movie and snacks. We haven't gotten to do this for a few weeks due to sickness and finals. We're looking forward to a relaxing evening! Some of you have asked how to add Blogads to your blog. If you are looking for a way to earn some extra money, I encourage you to check this out. I've been very pleased with them and have steadily been earning $15-$30/week with them. I ran out of invites, but was graciously given some more, so if you are interested, click here. Let me know if you have any questions.
Housekeeping Ideas and Encouragement, Please
Housekeeping isn't fun when you have a toddler and another on the way. Maybe when the kids are older and can help out or not inhibit your progress... I had a very bad day to day.... housekeeping. I just don't even seem to make a dent in the mess in my house. -Zan
I have been having such a hard time with organization lately. George is really getting into everything. I spend my time disciplining him and picking up after him and trying to protect him from injuring himself. This morning, after one hour of him being up, it looked like a monkey had gone through my house. I am scared to death about how my house will look in a few months after my second one arrives. My back is killing me from picking up after him. Just needed to vent! -Zan
Would any of you mothers (old or young) be willing to share ideas and encouragement for Leah and Zan and other ladies who find themselves in similar situations? I know I could definitely use the encouragement many days, even though I only have one very active little girl.
Housekeeping is Fun!
"But housekeeping is fun, and I think the women who hate it lack imagination. It is one job where you enjoy the results right along as you work. You may work all day washing and ironing, but at night you have the delicious feeling of sunny clean sheets and airy pillows to lie on. If you clean, you sit down at nightfall with the house shining and faintly smelling of wax, all yours to enjoy right then and there. And if you cook---ah, if you cook---that creation you lift from the
oven goes right to the table."
~~Gladys Taber, Stillmeadow Seasons~~
Submitted by blog reader, Michelle. Found on the Women of Simplicity blog.
Our Children are Sponges
Our children internalize the atmosphere of our homes based on the way we treat them and our spouses. Sponge-like, they absorb our home’s emotional atmosphere, which is conveyed through tone of voice, words of derision or encouragement, and the presence or absence of tangible affection. And when they become adults, they will remember, just as we do, what home was like.
-Home By Choice We are learning just how much children are like sponges as recently Kathrynne has started mimicking our actions. It is absolutely adorable to observe, but it also makes us realize how important it is to be setting a good example for Kathrynne. We want to protect her little eyes and ears as much as is possible, we want to set before her a Godly role model through our lives. What an incredible responsibility we have before the Lord. Oh, that we would be faithful!
Secrets to Successful Homeschooling
 We've been quietly working behind-the-scenes at The Old Schoolhouse, to produce an e-book whom anyone interested in homeschooling will enjoy. It is finally finished and available for sale today and I'm so anxious to tell you about it! Secrets to Successful Homeschooling is a compilation of lessons from well-known authors and amatuers (such as yours truly!) alike. There is something in it for everyone! Read all the details and testimonials here.
Also, if you would be interested in promoting this ebook on your blog or website, we just finished setting up the affiliate program and you can join by clicking here. You will earn over $7 per sale of this e-book through your affiliate link and it's free and easy to sign up.
Best and Worst Business Decisions of the Year
For those of you who enjoy a little behind-the-scenes look at our business, I am posting the following. And lest anyone think this is self-serving, please know it is not meant to be. I just want to encourage other women/families who want to start a home business with ideas and inspiration for what has/hasn't worked for us...I'm a part of a wonderful group of Christian Self-Publishers headed up by our friends, the Bluedorns. We are always in the midst of some excellent dialogue over our small publishing businesses and how to improve, expand, grow, and, more importantly, to impact our culture to the glory of God! This week, we were asked to share our best and worst business decisions for the year. Jesse and I had fun discussing this and I wrote up the following to share with the group. I thought I would post it here as well for those who might enjoy reading it. Best Business Decisions:The biggest and best decision was for us to quit our wedding supply business and just focus on what we found we enjoy doing the most -- writing, self-publishing, and selling. It's been much less stressful and the profit has been much better as well (always a good thing!). A few of our other best business decisions: 1. Starting a blog- Definitely has completely increased our traffic and sales and customer base. It gets people to keep coming back to our website, on an almost daily base. Plus, many people have linked to it and so this has raised our website ranking because we have a lot more links coming in. It also means that search engines like our website since there is new content being added almost daily. In addition, it has opened up new doors for me from people who read my blog and then contact me with possible writing opportunities and so forth. { Just so my blog readers know: Though this blog was started as an extension and addition to our business, and though it has brought in many sales and new customers, I long ago stopped thinking of it as a "marketing tool" and now just blog because I love to blog. Even if I never saw any money or profit from it, I wouldn't care because I enjoy blogging so much. Just getting to know all of you and learn from you has been such a tremendous blessing, worth more than anything money can buy!} 2. Starting a regular weekly newsletter- This newsletter includes an article or two from my blog entries of the week and one featured product -- takes me minutes to put together and I've gotten great response from it! 3. Doubling our inventory- We added 50% more books to our current bookstore offerings -- meaning we went from about 20 titles to around 40 titles. Yes, we're still very small, but we are also extremely particular in what we offer. 4. Producing more of our own products- We've found that by not only selling our own products, but by also selling a select number of hand-picked products from others, it provides the perfect variety for steady sales. 5. Setting up an affiliate program with two of our new eBooks- This has definitely helped to improve our traffic and sales and also our site ranking since it means that many more people are linking to us and promoting our website/products on their website. 6. Using a different marketing approach- We have spent almost $0.00 on marketing this year as our past attempts basically went nowhere. Instead, we focused on networking with others, promoting our affiliate programs, providing a lot of content through our blogs and email newsletter, and just striving to have good customer service and quality products. We have been amazed that our website traffic has at least tripled in the last six months and our profit has increased by 400 to 500% since last year (Of course, if you knew how little our profit margin was last year, those numbers wouldn't sound so impressive, but God is good! All the praise goes to Him!) 7. Signing up with Stamps.com- How did we ever live without them? I have no clue!! 8. Hiring out work/Having my husband's involvement -- Realizing what I'm good at it and focusing on doing that. I've been much more apt to pay others to do jobs for me that are things I am not good at, and/or would take me a good deal of time and trouble to do. I'm still working on finding the balance of when it is better to hire the work out and when it is easier and more cost-effective to do it myself. My husband has been taking on a much more active role in our business in the past three months and that has been a huge help to me and it is wonderful to be working together. In addition, he has some great ideas for the future expansion of our business, which we have been slowly implementing. (Stay tuned...) 9. Setting up an eBay store - This has been a very big success for us and also driven a lot of traffic to our website. It pays for itself very nicely and brings in a whole new audience of customers to our website, many of which sign up for our newsletter. Worst Business Decisions:1. Not using a paid email newsletter software for the first year of our business so that when we already had over 1300 on our list (which we were manually inputting and sending out to -- 50 at a time, what was I thinking??), we realized we had to switch to something more efficient. But, then, we lost many of our subscribers in the double-opt-in switch. Word to the wise: Plan to develop a large list from the beginning and just take the plunge and buy the software or program. It's worth the money. 2. Shipping larger packages via Media Mail- We found out the hard way that the USPS is not kind to large Media Mail packages and we ended up having to replace several hundred dollars worth of merchandise to customers who received it in a not-so-presentable state.
On Scheduling and Organization
I'm listening to a very convicting CD by Susan Bradrick titled, Twenty-Four Hours is All You Get. I need to listen to it about two or three more times to get the full meaning and let it all sink in, but if you are struggling with organization or wanting more hours in your day, I would highly recommend this CD. Anyone who reads this blog very regularly knows that abiding by a strict schedule is not something I seem to be able to do. Often, I seem to live more "on the fly." I have a basic routine that I follow for the day, but try as I might, I cannot seem to stick consistently to any schedule that I make. I have great plans and am not good with sticking to them. But, I know that when I do stick to a schedule, I accomplish so much more. Why do I not stick to my schedule then? Well, I can come up with a hundred excuses, but I know that I need to just crack down and be more disciplined. I want to be on a schedule. And, more importantly, my husband wants me to be on a schedule. Having an orderly scheduled day honors him. Coming home to dinner on the table, an orderly home, and a cheerful wife honors him. So, I'm making a public declaration that, by God's grace, I am determined to become more disciplined and scheduled this next year. Whether I feel like it or not, I know it is what I need to do. I know it is what God wants me to do. I like what Candy says in her book, "Declare yourself organized and then live like it!"
Thinking of Starting a Blog?
Blog Ad Swap
Danny Carlton recently created a wonderful new blog advertising program called Blog Ad Swap. If you are looking to increase your blog traffic, you need to check it out. Best of all, it's FREE. Susan graciously created an for me to use. She's also the one who created my blog header. If you need any graphic work done, be sure to contact her. She's extremely reasonable and great to work with!
A God-Glorifying Christmas?
Disclaimer: I know that some of you do not believe in celebrating Christmas. That is completely okay. I understand where you are coming from, but that is not a conviction the Lord has currently led my husband and I to hold. If you don't believe in celebrating Christmas, please bear with the rest of us and refrain from debating that on this post.For those of you who do believe in celebrating Christmas... How are you seeking to celebrate Christmas in a God-glorifying manner? This is a question my husband and I have been mulling over the past few weeks. I'd love to hear ideas on how you have a Christ-centered Christmas. Is your family doing something special to reach out to those in need? How do you keep Christ the center and focus of this holiday and not get caught up in all the commercialization of it?
A Goal for 2006
For anyone very observant, you will have noticed a absence of "Up-For-Debate" topics the past two weeks. Frankly, I've been working very hard to keep my priorities in order and that means that blogging takes a backseat to other things in my life. I also have had so many other things to post about when I had a chance to do so, that I haven't felt the need to try and stir up controversy, just for controversy's sake. Maybe I'll post future "Up-for-Debate" questions, maybe I won't. We'll see. I just really didn't like this blog taking the direction of a debate forum as it seemed it was becoming for a short while. I want to confront feminism and humanism and will come out strongly against those, but sometimes I think that it is more important to live my life, share what God is doing and teaching me, and focus more on encouraging and equipping women. No, I'm not backing down, nor do I plan to try and "water down" the what I believe to be truth, nor am I going to be silent on issues that are near and dear to my heart. But, don't want to get out-of-balance. With that in mind, I am hoping to make this more of an uplifting, encouraging blog. I want to promote beauty. I want this to be a haven where you can come to for encouragement and blessing. That's one of my goals for 2006. Thank you for being here, for reading, for commenting, for emailing me. You all are a blessing to me. You have taught me so much and God has used each one of you to conform me more into His image.
I feel like a pioneer woman
Yes, I did it. Thanks to everyone's great encouragement and to blog reader, Shawna, for helping me find a source for whole milk from a local dairy, I actually attempted to make yogurt! Problem is, the "yogurt" turned out more like soup. Here's what I did:  I used whole milk from a local dairy and Yo-Baby yogurt (could this have been the reason it didn't work right? Does it have to be completely plain yogurt?).  I heated the milk up on the stove until bubbles formed around the edge and steam rose from the center.  I transferred this milk to a bowl and waited until I could stick my finger in it for 20 seconds.  I transferred a small amount of the warm milk into a separate bowl and mixed it with two Tablespoons yogurt).  I then transferred this mixture back into the original bowl and milk and stirred it well.  I then covered this bowl with a towel and put it in the oven for about 6 hours. It appeared like it had curdled a small bit, but was definitely still very soupy. Any suggestions or ideas from you experienced yogurt makers?
Two Hedges
Thanks to Alyssa, for kindly sending me the link to this excellent article by Nancy Wilson. It more clearly explains what I believe regarding submission. Much godly wisdom about the feminine character is packed into the first six verses of 1 Peter, chapter three. The primary charge to women in this passage involves submission, and the rest of the exhortation addresses related areas of modesty, internal beauty, a gentle and quiet spirit, trust in God, and fear. It is vital that women understand the connection submission to husbands has to that much desired gentle and quiet spirit. God has put two hedges around a Christian woman for her protection. The first and more important is a woman's trust in God. This is followed by a godly submission to husbands. "For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands" (v. 5). Trust in God enables a woman to submit to her husband, for it is certainly a prerequisite. She tells herself that God is faithful, that He has commanded her to submit to her husband, and that her obedience to God in submission is pleasing to Him. When submission begins to look foolish or frightening or just plain unappealing, a woman remembers this hedge of trust in God. He has promised never to leave or forsake His children. A wife must trust Him and walk by faith. This is the first protection.
Some people mistakenly think that a gentle and quiet spirit is displayed when a woman never speaks. This has concerned some of the outgoing personalities because they don't know how to be a silent lump. This is merely looking at externals. Certainly sometimes a quiet spirit will be exhibited by silence, but not always. And a quiet person can be all worked up on the inside. This is missing the point. A heart that is resting in the faithfulness of God is gentle and quiet; it is not stirred up with worry and anxiety. This gentle and quiet spirit is a calm, peaceful spirit. It is a tame spirit, a gentled spirit. I have often compared this kind of spirit to a glassy lake, not turbulent or troubled, but hardly showing a ripple. In contrast, the anxious spirit is like a stormy sea with whitecaps whipping along the shore. This of course brings to mind our Lord calming the troubled Sea of Galilee. Likewise, He can calm our troubled spirits when we look to Him.
The second hedge of protection is the submission itself. When a woman trusts God, she is enabled to submit joyfully to her husband. This submission is another hedge of protection, because it is obedience. The responsibility of the decision rests on the husband; the consequences are his problem, not hers. This resting in God and submission to husband is what makes a woman beautiful: "let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God" (v. 4). God thinks highly of this gentled spirit, and so should we. We must strive for this kind of beauty, for it is incorruptible. A calm wife is a joy to her husband; a worried wife is another problem that needs solving.
A woman who is anxious and worried is marring her beauty because fear is antithetical to a biblical beauty. Sarah trusted in God and submitted to her husband in obedience. Christian women are called to imitate her faith and her good works of submission. This kind of good work keeps women from being afraid with any terror. When she is tempted to worry about a decision her husband has made, a woman can tell herself that she is trusting God and submitting to her husband, and that is what she is called to do. She is not sinning and can rest peacefully, knowing that God is pleased when she acts like one of Sarah's daughters.
Consider what this kind of trust and submission looks like. Your husband has decided the family will travel to visit an aging aunt who lives in the mountains. It's snowing. The roads are slippery. You are tempted to worry, and you think it's a bad idea to go. Now stop and think about it. Trust God. Is He the Lord of the roads? Is He Lord of the weather? If He isn't, then go back to your worrying. But because He is sovereign over all things, you can trust Him. Next, if you have given your husband your advice, and he still wants to go, submit to him. It's his call. Trust God, and submit to your husband. Rest and be beautiful.
Many areas of marriage and child rearing are affected by this trust and submission. Your husband wants you to homeschool and you feel inadequate. Your husband wants to put your children in the local Christian school. You're afraid they are not ready, or that the school won't be what you hoped. Your daughter wants to go shopping with a friend in a big city an hour away. Your husband says yes and you wish he hadn't. Your son is playing football, and you are worried he will get hurt. In all these situations, after respectful communication of your concerns, trust God and submit to your husband. This is the only way to have a gentle and quiet spirit.
Remember, submission is your primary duty before God to your husband. Learn to submit in a trusting, beautifying manner. Not only will God be pleased, but so will your husband. Even unbelievers are impressed with such behavior (v.1). Learn to appreciate the two hedges you have about you, and be thankful.
-From Credenda Agenda, Volume 2, Issue 9
Debunking the Myth
I know you've written about overpopulation before, which is a subject I've been interested in recently (especially that "overpopulation" is such a myth!). Are you aware of the work of the Population Research Institute?
I would be interested to hear your thoughts on some of their articles/research/etc. -Becky Thanks for sharing the link, Becky. I was not familiar with them and only had a chance to glance through some of their articles, but I always appreciate any organization that is seeking to debunk the myth of overpopulation. Does anyone else have any thoughts on this website or their articles? I'd love to hear!
Kathrynne's Curls
Kathrynne's hair has been getting curlier as it grows (much to my delight!). I tried to take a few pictures when she got out of the bathtub a few days ago to prove it. You can't see it very well at all in these pictures (when I cropped them down, it messed up the lighting), but I still had to share these.   
Let it snow!
   Kathrynne got to experience her first snow today and we had fun snapping pictures! This was actually the second time it snowed a good bit this Winter, but we were sick the last time, so we didn't get to show Kathrynne. She loved it! And, as the pictures attest to, she even tried eating it. Now before anyone scolds me for letting her out of the house without mittens, let me promise you that we were only out there for about 2 minutes and it wasn't very cold. :)
Stay-at-Home Dads
Anyone who knows me even a tiny bit, knows that I am a promoter of entrepreneurialism. The subject of making and saving money has always held great interest for me (my mom said I was even starting to show signs of being an entrepreneur from the time I was 4 or 5). More than individual entrepreneurialism, my husband and are strong advocates of family businesses. We believe that entire families should be working together to contribute to the economy of the home. This does not necessarily mean that every family will have their own business (Though I don't think that's a bad idea, you can learn so many beneficial skills and lessons from doing so, even if your business doesn't turn out to be too successful!), I do believe that every member of a family should be seeking to do all they can to contribute to the family, under the direction of the father. Josh Lavin had a great post on this subject titled Stay-at-Home Dads and I encourage you to read it. Thanks to CS Hayden for the link.
Self-Centered Individualism
We were shopping today at a clothing store and I saw a T-shirt in the teens department which made me want to weep. It read (I wish I had taken a picture so you could get the full effect): Parents For Sale
Slightly Damaged
Buy One, Get One Free
What is wrong with our society? This t-shirt is supposed to be funny? There is nothing amusing about it. This is the attitude that I see prevalent among the modern teenagers. In an age of self-centered individualism, many children no longer see themselves as contributors, they are free-loners-- expecting their parents to pay for everything, provide them allowance, buy their first car, pay for their gas, give them a credit card, pay for their cell phone, and even pay for their college tuition. After everything these parents have done and are doing, this is the attitude towards them?
A Word to the Wise...
 Don't wait until it is almost 11 p.m. at Barnes and Noble to realize you have no wrapping paper to wrap the gift you are buying. Yep, that's what we did last night. We found the perfect gift for Jesse's Christmas party that they are having at his office, but then realized we didn't have any wrapping paper, gift sacks, or even anything that would remotely work for wrapping at home. (Maybe my zeal to keep unneccessary clutter out of our home is not always a good thing!) We had Kathrynne with us and we had already been out for almost 5 hours and we really needed to get home. So, we started looking around and found some gift sacks they had there. I checked the price first thing (as I always do -- can't stop myself from doing so!) and found they were $3.75 for a measely little gift sack. Forget that. How about some tissue paper? $2.75! Nevermind! That tiny little package of tissue paper is NOT worth that much. I started racking my brain for something at home that would work and was coming up empty. I then spied a box of wrapping paper rolls out of the corner of my eye. "Aha! This will work and we'll have enough leftover for a few other gifts we are buying." I ran over and grabbed a roll out and then gasped, "$7.95!" For a tube of wrapping paper that looked like it might wrap three gifts, I don't think so. Finally, we ended up just getting the tissue paper, even though it was painful to spend $2.75 for something I knew had only cost pennies or less to manufacture and that I could purchase for much less across the street at Hobby Lobby-- if only they were open at this time of night and the party wasn't tomorrow. We paid for our goods and chalked it up to a lesson learned: Don't even think of buying wrapping paper at Barnes and Noble again.
The New Sense and Sensibility Catalog
 For those of you who love old-fashioned patterns, the new full-color Sense and Sensibility Catalog is now available. It is absolutely beautiful! The catalog costs $3.50 but Jennie kindly sent me me a few extras and I'd like to give them away to the first four people who email me with their request.
Update: All catalogs are now spoken for.
Podcasting and iPods
Does anyone on here listen to podcasts or know anything about podcasting? I'm doing some research and groundwork for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine for an exciting new project (they always having exciting new projects in the works!) that involves podcasting. Any insights, experience, or thoughts you have to share would be much appreciated. In addition, as part of my research, I am looking into iPods. Do you have one? If so, what kind? Do you use it regularly? Do you download podcasts or mainly use it for listening to music?
Endeavoring to Become More Organized
I just purchased Candy's ebook for myself and a friend. I've been planning to do this for awhile, since I am working on getting more organized. Although I doubt I will ever be as organized as Candy, I do want to learn from her as much as I can implement it. I have been pretty consistently sticking on my basic daily routine and daily chores, I would like to be a little more disciplined about this. Candy's ebook looks like it will provide much motivation and encouragement for me in this endeavor. I just breezed through it online and am printing it to read later today. If you haven't purchased a copy and could use some help in the home organization department, I recommend you purchase your own copy. Thank you, Candy, for your work to encourage us wives and mothers! You are a blessing!
From a Reader
Crystal, Enjoyed your post on Redeeming the Time. In case you don't know, just wanted to mention Rick Grubbs' website - www.lifechangingseminars.com where he has posted "101 Questions To Sharpen Your Focus & Multiply Your Effectiveness" as well as clicking on "Transcripts/Ideas" on the sidebar where he has many excellent transcripts from his daily 1-minute radio program. Blessings, Mrs. Gail Smith
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I never do these...
Okay, so I never do memes. Well, not usually. I did one once because Mrs. Happy Housewife asked me to and she's so sweet how could I not oblige? But, then, after that one, I decided "no more" -- after all, I have plenty of other things to write about and never enough time to write about those. But, there's been this seven things meme going around that I've almost considered doing. Especially since Amy did it (it must be the Godly thing to do, if she took the time to do it!). Then Kim tagged me, so how can I resist? So, here goes... (Kim, sorry, I copied a few of your answers -- they were too good. :) Seven things I hope to do before I die: - See my husband fulfill his longtime dream of having his own law practice/ministry to help Christians and defend Constitutional and religious liberties.
- Raise Godly children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
- Develop a compassionate, humble attitude.
- Learn to think before I speak.
- Own our own home in the country with large gardens and animals -- to teach our children the value of hard work and to enjoy God's creation.
- Work alongside my husband to establish a home business that all of our children can participate in (we're already working towards this end, but we have much bigger dreams than our current business!)
- See my children walk in truth, marry, and raise their own children up for the glory of God.
Seven things I cannot do: - Exercise regularly (much to the chagrin of my exercising-maniac family members who run 2-5 miles every single day --rain or shine, heat or snow!)
- Resist chocolate or coffee (well, not usually!)
- Think before I speak, consistently
- Follow a recipe precisely.
- Only do one thing at a time.
- Only start one project and finish it (oh, maybe that's a repeat of the above, but it's probably one of my biggest faults!)
- Do everything I want to do in a day!
Seven things that attract me to my husband: - His love for the Lord.
- His desire to lead our family in Godliness.
- His utter selflessness and compassion and care for me and Kathrynne.
- His ability to be so bold and yet, always seem to be on good terms with everyone.
- His ability to strike up a conversation with anyone at anytime on just about any subject.
- His determination to stick through 7 years of grueling school.
- His loyalty, dependability, and consistency.
Seven things I say often: - I love you sooo much.
- I'm hungry.
- Are you hungry?
- What do want for dinner? (anyone recognizing a theme here? It's amazing what pregnancy and nursing does to a woman!)
- You are so beautiful! (I say this to Kathrynne probably 25 times per day at least!)
- Okay, um, let's see. (Useless words, I know, I know!)
- Go for it!
Seven authors, books or series I love: - The Bible
- Oswald Chambers
- Amy Carmichael
- Charles Spurgeon
- Books on business, homemaking, homeschooling, femininity
- Old reprinted books
- Good biographies
- I could go on and on and on -- so many good books, so little time!
Seven movies I watch over and over again: (Hmmm.... I'm not one to watch a movie over and over -- In fact, I will rarely ever watch a movie more than once. There's only a handful of movies I've seen more than once. Okay, so I'm weird, but I don't watch a lot of movies, I'm very particular about which ones I'll watch, I'll only watch them if my husband and I really have the time to sit down and enjoy it, and so, I rarely watch anything more than once unless I haven't seen it for at least 2 years and really liked it the first time around. How's that for picky?)
It's a happy day!
After posting about sacrifice and pouring out our lives for others, I'm almost embarrassed to post this, but do you know how good it feels to sleep seven hours straight? Really good. Especially when it is the first time in almost eight weeks or so (I stopped counting because it wasn't helping anything!)! Kathrynne had been sleeping a consistent seven hours or so every night from the time she was three or four months old to the time she was eight months old. Then she started teething and once she was over that, she's been sick for the last few weeks. Needless to say, she struggled to sleep any longer than 2-4 hour stretches during that time, day or night. I'm one refreshed mama today. :) Add to that the fact that Jesse will be officially done with this semester this afternoon, and you have the makings of a very happy wife and mom!
Tomorrow is the Last Day!
Tomorrow is the last day to order from our website if you want guaranteed arrival by Christmas. In addition, for all orders placed between now and tomorrow night, I am throwing in a bonus free ebook of your choice that you can keep for yourself, or give to a friend. If you place more than one order, you can get a different ebook for each and every order you place. Just email me with your selection after you order. Click here to see all the products we offer.
The Myth of "Me-Time"
I just finished reading a popular homemaking book over the weekend. Though I rarely read much of anything that is "popular", I had heard this particular author on a radio interview a week ago and thought her new book sounded of interest, so I ordered it from the library. As I began reading, I found myself being motivated and inspired and starting to think, "Wow, I really like this author. She seems to have it pretty much 'altogether' -- she seems to be a great mom, a great wife, a great homemaker. I wish I could be like her." I kept reading, and I found myself getting almost pulled into what she wrote. But, little by little, I started seeing how unbiblical it was. Yes, maybe she does have a clean home, maybe she is a great wife and mom, but do you know what almost the entire last half of the book was about? You guessed it -- "Me-Time." We live in a self-centered culture. The mantra of most seems to be, "It's all about me." Yes, I'll admit it, the thought of having a few hours of complete quietness to just do whatever I want to do with no responsibilities whatsoever does sound enticing on occasion, but do I deserve this? Should I regularly be scheduling plenty of "Me-Time" into my life? I'm selfish, by nature, but just because something sounds good, doesn't make it right.As Christians, we should be seeking to imitate Christ. He lived a life poured out for others. He came not to do His own will, but the will of His Heavenly Father. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. How contrary this is to the world's philosophy! As Elisabeth Elliott says, our whole life should be lived following Christ's example, "My life, for yours."
Theological Discussions Discouraged?
The only thing I tend to be troubled about is that, Crystal, you seem to discourage theological discussion without husbands/fathers present. Is that a VF thing? I have never read VF but am familiar of it through your posts and links. I think theological discussion is good among women and men though I usually don't have them with many men. I think all Christians are to "study to show themselves approved." I have many theological differences with my husband and I do not respect him less for them. I always let him know what I discuss with others (we have no secrets from each other). I guess the reason for this post is that I sometimes feel that you discourage theological building up of women and, if you do, is that a VF teaching? -Zan
Zan: This is not a Vision Forum "thing", per se. It's something that my husband and I have personally decided is not best for this blog. I don't have a problem with women thinking about, reading about, or discussing doctrine, I just prefer not to do it on here. That's not the goal of this blog and there are some subjects that I prefer not to broach here because I have seen that when women debate doctrinal issues without their husbands, it can cause dissention in relationships and marriages. I believe that the husband is the head of the home and the head of the wife. As such, he is to be the spiritual leader. He should be leading his family spiritually. If the wife is off studying things for herself and coming to her own conclusions without his direction and blessing and oversight, it can quickly cause disunity in the marriage. Women are more easily deceived than men. Women are more prone to "jump on the latest bandwagon." Women are more prone to compare and they are very prone to try and usurp authority over their husbands. We just always need to be very careful in this regard that we do not think we are more "spiritual" than our hu | | |
Zan, I feel your pain! I didn't have a very productive day today, either. I have two children so far, very active boys at that! The oldest will soon be 3.5 and the youngest is almost 22 months. It seems I never make a dent either! I get one room looking really good! I move on to the next and before I know it the first room is in need of being organized/decluttered/cleaned again! -Leah