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Frugal Friday: The Total Money Makeover Live Event
 What could be more frugal than attending The Total Money Makeover Live Event last Saturday? Okay, well, it does cost around $33 to get in, but it's likely one of the best $33 investments you'll ever make! At least we certainly think so. This was our second year to attend a Live Event and I have to say that there's nothing quite like being in the same room for five hours with over 11,000 people who are all ecstatic about "living like no one else". In a world where being debt-free, taking personal responsibility, exercising self-discipline, and wisely stewarding your money is practically unheard of, this was quite the breath of fresh air!  We know by heart many of the things Dave shares since we are practically Dave Ramsey "groupies", but we can always use a refresher course to give us new and revived motivation for why we're doing what we're doing. It's easy to lose focus or get off track without constant reminders to prod us on to continue making sacrifices now which will, Lord-willing, allow us to bless many others in the years to come and also to, as Dave says, "change our family tree". The biggest blessing of attending the Live Event was the realization of how much traction we've made in the last year towards our financial goals. It was especially exciting seeing as we've had a number of setbacks this past year: my hospital stay and health issues, Kaitlynn's birth, needing to buy a new-to-us vehicle, and Jesse being unemployed for a few months. God has been so faithful to us in providing for us and I also must say that this frugal living stuff really does pay off, even if sometimes it seems like we're making a lot of sacrifices and seeing very little light at the end of the tunnel. We were able to step back and look at the bigger picture at the Live Event and it was so thrilling to clearly see the difference that a year of "living like no one else" has made!  The girls and myself at the Live Event--nevermind how tired we look. (This was after three days of having a garage sale, four days of having colds, and five or more days of too little sleep. Needless to say, by the end of the weekend, we were completely wiped out! But it was worth it!)---------------- Join in the fun! Have a frugal tip or deal to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. Thanks so much for participating! Labels: Frugal Friday
This week in books: Weeks 13, 14, 15, and 16
After a rather long and unplanned sabbatical from much reading, I'm finally able to post another This Week in Books feature. Here's what I read the last few weeks: The Growing Homeschool: Integrating Babies and Toddlers into Your Already Busy Schedule While the layout and organization of this book could use some improvement, there were many helpful and encouraging thoughts and ideas shared. If you are a mom who is trying to juggle homeschooling with toddlers, you'll especially find this book insightful. The Strenuous Life - As some of you know, Teddy Roosevelt is a man I greatly admire. At the homeschool conference, my husband found this little reprinted book of a speech Roosevelt gave when he was still alive. Jesse quickly snatched it up for me knowing I would be thoroughly excited. And I certainly was! Since then, read it once and then he read it aloud to me as well. What an inspiring man and message! Here's the closing paragraph: "I preach to you, then, my countrymen, that our country calls not for the life of ease but for the life of strenuous endeavor. The twentieth century looms before us big with the fate of many nations. If we stand idly by, if we seek merely swollen, slothful ease and ignoble peace, if we shrink from the hard contests where men must win at hazard of their lives and at the risk of all they hold dear, then the bolder and stronger peoples will pass us by, and will win for themselves the domination of the world.
Let us therefore boldly face the life of strife, resolute to do our duty well and manfully; resolute to uphold righteousness by deed and by word; resolute to be both honest and brave, to serve high ideals, yet to use practical methods. Above all, let us shrink from no strife, moral or physical, within or without the nation, provided we are certain that the strife is justified, for it is only through strife, through hard and dangerous endeavor, that we shall ultimately win the goal of true national greatness."
You can read the full speech in its entirety here. That's it for the book reviews today. Hopefully, I'll be able to carve out more time for reading over the next few months so that I can be more faithful about posting this weekly feature. And maybe it will even go back to being a weekly feature! Bible Reading:Finished 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, and am working my way through 2 Kings; I need to pick up the pace as I've been moving rather slowly through this recently and only getting in 1-3 chapters per day as opposed to my goal of four chapters. What have you been reading recently? Any terrific book recommendations for me? (Not that I need to add to my already-huge stack of books waiting to be read, but I'd still love to hear!) Labels: Reviews
Win a dozen roses and a copy of Passionate Housewives!
 What mom wouldn't love this great giveaway? Enter here by May 10, 2008, to receive a dozen roses and a copy of Passionate Housewives Desperate for God. Labels: Giveaways
This is why you should never blog about something unless you are sure it really and truly works
I've been lax in participating in Works-For-Me-Wednesday recently because, ahem, I haven't really felt like I have many new ideas. However, Shannon's hosting a What-Didn't-Work-For-Me Day in lieu of her usual fare so this should be easy! There's a whole list of things I could talk about that don't work for me: trying to survive on less than six hours of sleep at night, cutting out chocolate, not drinking enough water, overloading my schedule, grocery shopping with two little children when everyone is tired and hungry... Instead of elaborating on those, I'll 'fess up and tell you one of the biggest flops I've had in my short mothering tenure--my grand idea of doing the infant potty training thing. Kudos to those of you who have successfully potty trained your six-month-olds but it didn't work for us.
There, I admitted it.Kathrynne would faithfully go every time we put on her the toilet from the time she was a wee little thing but it all hinged on us actually remembering to take her. Which meant that in order for said girl to stay dry I had to dutifully take her every 30 minutes. How is this scatter-brained momma who often can't even remember to brush her own teeth supposed to remember details like that? Yeah, I guess the books on the whole Elimination Communication phenomenon skipped over the simple part of how you're supposed to teach your six-month-old to tell you they have to go. I was embarrassed to admit this for awhile seeing as I'd blogged about it and all. (Note to self: forgo blogging about anything in the future until you are completely, absolutely, 100-percent-without-a-doubt sure that it actually works.) But I guess now is as good a time as ever to admit my over-achieving, first-time mom flop. The good news is that after working at it for two and a half years, I am happy to report that aforementioned girl is now completely potty-trained and rarely needs a reminder from me. Our second-born, Kaitlynn, is almost eleven months old and hasn't a clue what the toilet exists for. And I think we'll be keeping it that way for at least a little while longer. Two and a half years of potty-training one child just seems a little much to me. Gulp.Labels: Mothering
Successful Homemaking with Toddlers: Is it Possible? Part 4
 In this series so far, we've talked about redefining "successful homemaking", learning to rely totally upon the Lord, and seeking your husband's counsel and direction. Today, I want to share with you something which is near and dear to my heart: 3) Successful homemaking with toddlers can only happen when we have our priorities in the right place. (Some of the below is taken from the Finding Time series, in case it sounds familiar to some of you!)
When we say "yes" to one thing, we are also saying "no" to something else. I purposed when I was 12 years old to wrap my life around things which would count for Eternity. Though sadly I sometimes lose sight of this goal, the Lord often reminds me of it and I, once again, re-evaluate what I am doing in light of Eternity.
Two questions which help eliminate much of the stuff that can clutter up life are:
1) Does this glorify the Lord and honor my husband?
2) Will this matter in Eternity?
If the answer is "yes" to both of those questions, then I need to evaluate it in light of the order of importance.
My priorities at this season of my life as a child of God, wife, mother, and homemaker, are, in order:
1) My relationship to the Lord.
2) My relationship with my husband.
3) My responsibility to train, raise, and nurture the children the Lord has blessed us with.
4) My role as keeper and guardian of our home.
5) Everything else: Fellowship with and ministry to other Christians in our local area, reaching out to the lost, blogging, and so forth.
I highly encourage you to take time today to list your priorities for the season of life you are in order of importance and then evaluate every opportunity in light of those. You will probably quickly find there are a whole lot of things you can eliminate--things which might be good things, things which might be great things for others to do, but things which, for you, will only distract you from the best things.
I'm slowly learning that while it is great to be inspired by others and it is wonderful to learn new skills, it's okay to do less.
Really, it's okay.
In fact, it is probably more than okay; it might be the best thing for your home and family if you learn to say "no," slow down, and savor life right now.
We can't all do everything and we would do well to realize this. Instead, we should stop comparing ourselves to others and start focusing on what God has called us to do.
This will mean different things for different people as we are all in different seasons with different husbands and different families. Do what God has called you to do and seek to do that well. Don't spend your life trying to do more than you can do, be more than you should be, and run yourself ragged trying to impress or outdo other people.
I'm learning that it's okay in this season of our lives for me to keep dinner very simple (and sometimes do my dinner dishes in the morning!), to be a minimalist in decorating, to downsize my online activities, to limit my outside activities, to stay home most days, and to say "no" more often.
It's okay that we've cleared out a lot of excess commitments and stuff so that we can focus on what is most important--pleasing the Lord, having a strong marriage, raising up our children for the glory of God. We're focusing on basic, simple, fundamental things here--things which will matter in Eternity.
And so, I encourage you to also be free to do less and focus your time and energies on what really matters.
Next in this series, we'll be talking about some practical ideas for cultivating organization in your homes when you have toddlers. Stay tuned! I'd love to hear from other moms and women out there on how you keep your priorities in place and what helps you to eliminate the "good" things in order to focus on the best things. Labels: Home Management and Organization
Guest Post: Mothering and Ministry
Guest Post by Joy Fourney from Joy in the JourneyAs a missionary, many people ask me what I see as my role in ministry. I'd like to share from Scripture and my experience concerning what I believe a married wife and mother's place in ministry should be. First and foremost, I believe that, as wives, our primary role is one of support. As a wife, it is my primary focus to make sure that my home is an oasis for my hardworking husband, making sure he has good meals, clean clothes, and lots of encouragement. There is much more I'd like to say about this, but for this post I want to focus on the role of mothering. As a mother, my role is to train my children in "the way they should go". The home should be a "training ground" in which I impart wisdom to my little ones by teaching them about God, His Word, and life. "She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue." Proverbs 31:26. Where did we get the idea that to be a godly woman we must participate in all church activities, as well as lead as many of them as we possibly can? There's this idea that doing "ministry" can only take place outside the home, and that only "real" ministry can be done when the husband and kids are out of the way. Mothering these days is looked at as something to get through, or get away from so that we can do "real ministry". Dear ladies, what are our children doing while we are out "doing" ministry, and who is watching them? God has given us such an important ministry! He's entrusted us with little souls who are searching for truth. What could be more important than that? Yes, there is lots of ministry that we could be doing outside the home. But then, where would our precious children be? The only One we should be concerned with pleasing is the Lord. What is His plan for our lives in ministry? He is so clear: our first, our primary, our most important ministry, is right in our homes, training our little ones. "...so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands that the Word of God will not be dishonored." Titus 2:3-5. This, as women, is our primary ministry and this is exactly what God has called us to. More than anything, I want this verse to be true in my life: "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." 3 John 1:4 So, if our primary role is mainly in the home, what can ministry to others look like? Let me just clarify that I am speaking mainly towards women with young children. Since that is the stage of life I am in, I could never speak to women older than I am or outside my stage of life. First, before you think of expanding your realm of ministry in any capacity, you need to look around and ask yourself honestly, "Is my family cared for to the very best of my ability?" and "Is there something that I could be doing for them, that I'm not doing now?"Whatever ideas you have about ministry need to be discussed with your husband first, and then prayed about to seek God's leading. So, what kind of ministry am I talking about? First and foremost, wherever you go, whether it is to Wal-Mart or McDonald's, always seek to share the love of Christ. Make sure that you are the "sweet aroma of Christ" anywhere and everywhere you go! Here are some simple ideas to get you started: -Hospitality is a great area for the whole family to get involved. Invite your unsaved neighbors over for a meal. Here in Indonesia, I enjoy walking around with the kids and getting to know our neighbors. This has produced many wonderful friendships. -Make sure friends and family know that they are welcome to drop in anytime, for a meal or for a night. -Invite a single girl from church over to your home. She will feel honored and blessed by your invitation. Your house doesn't need to be spotless, you don't need to serve the best meal, just making your guests feel welcome and wanted is enough. Find something that you and your children can do together to reach out to the community. Some simple ideas might include: -Prepare a meal as a family, and take it to a sick friend, a new mom, or an elderly member of your church. The kids will think it's great fun to help mommy cook, and then to share their creation with others. -If you are baking for your family, make extra. Then get the kids and all go together to deliver it to a friend. Why? Just for fun--the recipient is surprised and the kids think that it is great fun. -Have your kids write special notes to elderly members of your church or local rest home and then deliver them. Notes from little ones will melt any heart. Any of these things can greatly enhance your life, as well as the lives of your children. However, you need to make sure you keep it all in perspective. If you're making a casserole for the family down the road, but have nothing to feed your family, perhaps it's time to rethink your priorities.  -Joy is the proud wife of a missionary pilot, as well as the blessed mommy to five. She and her family live on the island of Tarakan in Indonesia, where they serve as missionaries. Joy has a passion to encourage women to find contentment in the "mission field" right inside their home--their family. You can visit Joy at her personal blog, Joy in the Journey.Labels: Mothering
Letting go of perfectionism
 This was an excellent article (a big hat-tip to Ladies Against Feminism) and I'd encourage all you perfectionists, recovering perfectionists, or wanna-be perfectionists to go read it. Here's a snippet: Under the best of circumstances, of course I would want to have my home in order with a homemade bread bowl filled with steaming dip made from artichokes I grew in my own organic garden. Who wouldn't? There is nothing wrong with trying my best and taking care of my home. However, when my idea of perfection becomes more important than people it has moved past its proper place in my list of priorities.
Believing I must be perfect before I reach out to others leads to misery of my own making. I've even shied away from friendships because other women seem to "have it all together" while I can’t remember to put on lipstick. It seems this sort of comparison is one of the most difficult things for women to overcome. I do it without realizing it, and in doing so, heap trouble on myself. When I compare my situation to others, I live by the extreme standards of the world and lose sight of what is most important--people. I can't take stuff with me when I leave this earth. Why then should I spend time worrying over things that are not eternal?
Read full article.
This article speaks exactly about what I've been learning the past few months as a recovering perfectionist. I like having a clean, clutter-free and organized home and striving for order as opposed to chaos is a good thing. However, when it means that I am so stressed out about having everything as perfect as possible to the detriment of relationships, I have my priorities way out of order. But I must admit that still struggle a great deal with this. I'm s-l-o-w-l-y learning, but I still have a long way to go. I'd love to hear from those of you who can relate to where I'm at--those who have also struggled with perfectionism and worrying about what other people think more than about how you can minister to other and glorify the Lord: --What has helped you get over perfectionism so you can more-readily minister to others?
--What advice would you have for someone like me who struggles with perfectionism?
--How does one find a God-glorifying balance between having an orderly home and yet letting go of perfectionism?
Graphic from AllPosters.com
Labels: Homemaking
Frugal Friday: Two quick deals and a link
 Thanks for your patience with my lack of posting this week--I had to shelf blogging for other things this week. However, I hope to be back in the saddle early next week as my brain is brimming with posts.
Two quick deals of note for Frugal Friday today:
 Sign up here to receive a coupon for a free Stonyfield Farms YoMommy 4-pack. Yay! Just my kind of freebie--we love the YoBaby yogurt so I'm excited to try out the YoMommy yogurt, too!
 Wal-Mart has their Kashi cereals on sale for $2 box. Use this coupon and get them free! Yummy! Also, for those who didn't have a chance to read it, I posted on saving money and simplifying your life from the clamor of "activity clutter" here. ---------------- Join in the fun! Have a frugal tip or deal to share? Post about it on your blog and then come back here and leave your link below so we can all be motivated and inspired. Remember to keep it family-friendly and to post directly to your blog post, not to your blog homepage. Thanks so much for participating! Labels: Frugal Friday
A-hoppin' and an interview
 I'm in the thick of garage sale preparations (we open bright and early tomorrow morning!), putting the finishing touches on a presentation I'm giving tomorrow at the Ultimate Homeschool Expo (I'd love to have you join us if you're already registered for the event!), and gearing up for The Total Money Makeover Live Event this weekend (woohoo!) so things are a-hoppin' around here and I'll probably not be around much the next few days. For those of you who might be interested, Mrs. Wilt was kind enough to interview me on her blog for her A Month of Cheerful Thrift series. I share lessons my parents taught me on wise stewardship, strategies for keeping your grocery budget low, a few book recommendations, and more. Click here to read the full interview. Enjoy and a big thanks to Mrs. Wilt for the opportunity to share!
Beginning afresh
 I had the privilege of attending the MPE homeschool conference this weekend and what a blessing it was! I've been to numerous homeschool conferences before but this one was one of the most encouraging that I've attended in a long time. As Kathrynne is nearing school age, I've been feeling more and more pressure to do more academics with her. This pressure was completely self-imposed but it was there nonetheless. I went to the conference feeling somewhat burdened down by my need to figure out more clearly what curriculum and books I should be doing with Kathrynne and what direction we should be taking. It was overwhelming but I was determined to try and make some headway.  The first session by Voddie Baucham completely knocked me off my feet and out of my little self-imposed guilt-trip. Why was I so concerned and uptight about academics? Yes, I want my daughters to have a high-quality education but are academics really what is most important to me? Shouldn't my focus instead be on instilling in my girls a heart for the Lord and training and discipling them in the ways of the Lord? Here I was stressing over what math book Kathrynne should be doing when and how fast she should be progressing and I was completely overlooking the big picture of what home education is supposed to be all about--that of raising up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord to send them out as mighty warriors to impact this culture for the glory of God! As I continued to listen to the sessions by Dr. Baucham, I was so encouraged and relieved; I don't have to try and do it all, I don't have to stress over curriculum and textbooks like this, my primary focus should instead be on loving the Lord, loving my family, discipling my daughters, and setting a Godly example before them.  I was struck with how misplaced my priorities have been. Instead of just loving and enjoying my girls, I've been worrying about academics and progress in the world's eyes. What does it matter what the world thinks of our family? If God is pleased, that's all that matters. And so I begin this mothering and home-educating thing anew. Bring on the story books, the wagon rides, the ant-watching, and the beater-licking! There will be time enough in the future to cover textbooks and workbooks, today we're just going to enjoy learning from life together. Related: Kendra's post on Beginning a Classical Education here was very encouraging to me as I seek to refocus my priorities. Labels: Homeschooling, Mothering
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What could be more frugal than attending The Total Money Makeover Live Event last Saturday?
We know by heart many of the things Dave shares since we are practically Dave Ramsey "groupies", but we can always use a refresher course to give us new and revived motivation for why we're doing what we're doing. It's easy to lose focus or get off track without constant reminders to prod us on to continue making sacrifices now which will, Lord-willing, allow us to bless many others in the years to come and also to, as Dave says, "change our family tree".
The girls and myself at the Live Event--nevermind how tired we look. (This was after three days of having a garage sale, four days of having colds, and five or more days of too little sleep. Needless to say, by the end of the weekend, we were completely wiped out! But it was worth it!)
