It's my Job

Yesterday in church our pastor spoke about The Christian view of Work. And even though I don't hold a full time job outside of our home, the message really struck me ... so I thought I'd share a little about what was said and my thoughts on it.

The passage is from Ephesians 6:5-9 and the verse that stuck out to me was verse 7 which says, "Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men."
For myself, I will be applying this verse to 3 main areas of my life ... Marriage, Parenting and Ministry.

Regarding Marriage:
This concept is not new to me, in fact I read a wonderful book about marriage a few years ago called "Created to be his helpmeet" by author Debi Pearl in which this concept is heavily portrayed.

I know most of us would not consider our marriage as our 'job', but perhaps we should! After all, this is something that God has called us to, and expects us to do our very best at. So thinking in terms of marriage ... and pulling some ideas from the Debi Pearl book ... do we do things in our marriage with the intent of serving God or with the hope that we'll get something in return from our husbands?

If we are simply going about our daily 'duties' with the hopes that our husbands will shower us with praise, accolades and personal favors we are going to be sorely disappointed. We {I} need to refocus our intentions. I need to serve, honor and respect my husband simply because it's what God has called me to do, not because I expect to get anything in return. I need to care for the home, the kids, the laundry, etc ... because it's my 'job', not because I will receive some special honor for doing these things. My motivation needs to be heaven minded, not earthly minded. Am I 'working' in light of eternity or in light of my earthly expectations?

Regarding Parenting {and homeschooling}:
I am honored that God chose to bless me with these two beautiful, smart daughters. But many days I don't act like I'm honored! I act like I'm a selfish brat who wishes I had more time to myself, more quiet, more time for personal enjoyment, etc ... I act like the girls are 'cramping my style' or messing up the grand plans I had for my day. Is my parenting reflecting a heart that is working for the the Lord and not for man??? Many days, it's not!

Once again, I'm challenged to see my 'work' in light of eternity. Will my children grow up remembering a Mom who was always too busy with my own selfish desires to play with them? A Mom who spent more time on the computer than with the Lord? A Mom who yelled and screamed out of impatience, then told them to 'just be patient!'??

A fellow believer at our church was quoted as saying, "I'm just a disciple of Christ, cleverly disguised as a _________ {insert job title} " {{.... for me it's a wife and Mom}}

Does my job as a Mom reflect the Lord to my girls? Do they see me praying, reading God's word, walking the walk and not simply talking the talk? Or do they hear me say "be kind to others", then turn around and gossip or complain about someone else? Little ears are listening, little eyes are watching ... do they see me reflect Christ in my job as their Mommy?

Regarding Ministry:
This year I have the privilege of being a part of a ministry that is very dear to my heart. It's called the MOMS ministry and the vision statement is this: "Encouraging and strengthening Mothers to love and serve their families with Jesus Christ as their foundation."

I love being a part of this wonderful leadership team. I have always felt like I was good at encouraging others and reaching out to help others. So this is the perfect way for me to use my God given talents for His glory.

But even with ministry, we need to be careful. We need to be sure we're doing it all for the glory of God ... with no thought of earthly gain. Sometimes a friend will say, 'you did a great job' or 'thanks for all your help' ... and it's easy at times to let it go to your head. We need to constantly remind ourselves that we can do nothing without Christ and any earthly thing we do well is all because of Him and all glory should be given to Him.


As a Mom, we have many jobs ... we wear many hats, and we often feel burnt out and frustrated. But if we begin to view our work in light of eternity and see our job as working to the Lord, not to man, perhaps we will begin to feel a sense of refreshment and a sense of satisfaction - knowing that our 'gain' is not something earthly that will one day turn to dust ... but it will be something eternal, that our 'reward' is in heaven for all eternity.

Colossians 3:17 says, "And whatever you do, whether in word or in deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Brother Lawrence was quoted as saying, "Is it not quicker and easier just to do our common business wholly for the love of him?"

Instead of worrying about my own gain ... my life would be simpler if I could just do my common business wholly for the love of the Lord.

What's New?

Hello bloggy world! I've missed you!

We went out of town for a few days of fun and relaxation so just thought I'd update on what we've been up to.

Our trip was wonderful, we went up north and even though I'm so ready for spring it was fun to have one last blast of winter. They still have lots of snow up there and my hubby and oldest daughter were very happy to be able to ski one last time this season. Joy and I didn't want to ski, so instead we had fun going shopping at the outlet stores and found some great dresses for Easter, some cheap books for next school year, and some yummy chocolates at the Lindt store.

We went away with some of our friends and I always think it's so much fun to travel with other people. We all stayed at condos that were right across from the ski mountain and spent lots of time hanging out together. We went with our friends Eric & Michelle and their daughter "K" who is just a bit younger than Joy. Eric's parents Wayne & Carolyn also came. And so did our friends Jake & Samantha and their new baby girl "R".

We did some shopping, some hiking, lots of eating out, and even spent quite a bit of time working on some very hard puzzles. It was a relaxing and fun trip.

One of the highlights was the indoor pool and hot tub. Even when we weren't in the pool, just relaxing in the lounge chairs while the kids swam was nice.

Here is 2 month old "R" looking so sweet in her little beach cover up ... she was SUCH a good baby, every where we went she was so good. I am so excited I get to babysit her when her Mommy goes back to work! She's such a doll baby!


The three muskateers in the pool - "K", Joy and Hope {sorry it's blurry, it was very steamy in the pool area!}

We went on a little hike to a waterfall ... this is a place we've been numerous times in the summer and fall, but never in winter before! The trail was still very snowy and icy. It made walking quite challenging, but it was beautiful and well worth it.
The waterfall was almost completely snowed over or frozen!



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After our trip it was time to get back to life. I actually do enjoy coming home and getting back into the routine of life. This week is my friend Lynn's birthday, so my girlfriends and I went out to a great little Italian restaurant to celebrate!!! It was so much fun, I always enjoy my time with my girlfriends. Happy Birthday Lynn!!!!!!!!!!!

So, that's all I've got for right now. A week from today I will be in sunny Florida ... so I have a lot to get accomplished this week!!! Bye for now!

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OH, I almost forgot!!!
PLEASE, PLEASE PRAY FOR THIS SWEET BABY BOY, STELLAN ...

I read his Mommy's blog all the time and he is a very sick little baby in the hospital with very serious heart problems right now. You can go to his Mommy's blog to read more - it's the black button over there that says 'Mck Miracle' ----------------------------------------->>>>>

New Flips

Can you tell that I'm just a *tad* excited that this is the first weekend of spring?? And yes it might still only be 45 degrees here today, but it's sunny and I just know that warmer weather is on it's way. Besides I can still wear 'em indoors, right??

But the real excitement is that two weeks from now I can wear them for real in sunny, hot Florida! Woohoo, can't wait!

{Now what do I do about these nasty feet that have been bound up in socks and sneakers all winter??}

Saturday Morning

Daddy snuggles up with his girls to watch cartoons for a little while before he has to head off to work for the day. The girls love Saturday mornings because it's the one day when I let them watch cartoons in the morning.

Yummy Peanut Butter and Banana Muffins ... {recipe below}
From Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious cookbook:

Peanut Butter and Banana Muffins

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar {divided}
1/2 cup Natural Peanut Butter
1/2 cup carrot or cauliflower puree
1/2 cup banana puree
1 large egg white
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray

In a large mixing bowl, mix together 1/2 cup of the brown sugar, the peanut butter, the vegetable and banana purees and the egg white.

Add the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Stir until combined. The batter will be lumpy, do not overmix. Add the remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar and stir once or twice - it doesn't have to be totally mixed in - just stir a little till it's somewhat folded in. {Adding this part of the brown sugar at the end gives them a nice crunchy exterior on the top.}

Divide the batter among 12 muffin cups {I found that it really only makes about 10 but you could make them smaller and stretch it to 12}.

Bake for 15-20 min until the tops are lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean.

Store in an airtight container for about 2 days {if they last that long! they don't around this house!} Or freeze for up to a month.

ENJOY!!!

**OOOPS, I almost forgot to mention, it looks like these add up to be about 4 points each according to Weight Watchers ... definitely a little on the high side considering I usually eat 2 muffins at a sitting. I might try to tweak the recipe a little to try to lighten it up ... I'll let you know what I come up with! {Perhaps, I should just eat ONE muffin with some yogurt or fruit??}

Hitting Milestones

It's been another great week for me with Weight Watchers. I lost another 1.2 pounds this week which puts my total at 7 pounds lost in the last 7 weeks. It's a little slower than I'd like to see, but I know that I'm doing it the healthy way.

In our meeting I was awarded another star for reaching the milestone of losing 5% of my weight. Pretty cool! I am really looking forward to reaching the 10% goal!

For me personally I reached another important goal this week. I finally went below 150 pounds. I've been over 150 pounds for about 8+ years now and have never been able to stay below that number. When I started this journey I had 3 major milestones I hoped to reach. The first to be {and stay} below 150, the second to get to 140 and my long term, ultimate goal to reach 130. I'm excited to have reached the first goal, and really hope I can maintain it and not yo-yo back above 150.

Speaking of which ... I'm a little nervous ... next week we're going away for a few days with some friends, and then the following week I'm going to FL for a scrapbook weekend with my girlfriends. I'm extremely excited for both trips, but I know myself, and I know that being away on a trip and being around friends causes BIG TIME temptation for me to eat bad. I am happy with the success I've had and don't want to gain back what I've lost. So if you don't mind ... pray for me that I will resist temptation and will have strength to keep up my good habits. And that I'll stay active while I'm away too - since I know that helps a lot.

Finally, at my meeting today I picked up one of WW's pedometers. Our leader challenged us to try to reach 10,000 steps a day ... and our ultimate goal is to reach 1,000,000 steps! Yes, I said a MILLION! If we reach a million, we will get a prize. There is no time limit or pressure, just simply the challenge of trying to MOVE more!

So, I'm off to run up and down the stairs to change my laundry a bunch of times ... what will you do to be active this week??

Living Lovely with Family - Week 2

This is week two of the Living Lovely with Family series from Heidi at Mt. Hope Chronicles. This week it's the Weekly Edition and we've been asked to share about the traditions and family moments we share on a weekly basis.

Keep in mind that many times one week doesn't look anything like the next ... but for the most part, these are the things we do together {almost} every week.

• Doing outdoorsy things together. Taking walks, riding bikes, letterboxing, hiking mountains, going to the beach {summer time!}, playing in the snow, etc ... we love to be outdoors and find adventure!

• Field trip Mondays. Bob has Mondays off so we take advantage of the time together and go on a weekly field trip. Some times it's to the Aquarium, a museum, or something like that ... but many times it's doing something outdoors together {see above!}. We try to find different things to do, or new places to explore. We also try to use it as a chance to learn something about the place we've chosen to go, or to tie it in to school in some way.
  

• On Saturdays Bob has to work all day. He gets home after 7 so we have late night pizza night most Saturday nights.

• Swimming lessons. This is a family event! We all go together and it's so nice that Bob gets to see their progress too.
  

• Church on Sundays. This is my favorite day of the week. I love Sundays. I love our church and the people and I love going there to worship and to learn. I love that the girls love it too and they have so many friends there and they are already learning so much.
  

• We also like to go out to dinner together {usually} one night per week. Usually on one of Bob's days off.
  
• Many weeks {weather permitting} we go to the park all together during the day. Since Bob works in the evenings and we homeschool we have lots of freedom to go to the park whenever we want. We usually choose a park where the girls can play on the playground, but that also has a track so Bob and I can get some exercise while we're there. We all come home happy campers! =)

This is just a small glimpse into our week. Like I said above, no two weeks are exactly alike and some weeks we are lucky to go to church on Sunday, but might not get around to all the other traditions. But they are definitely things that we do as much as possible each week.

Don't have any weekly traditions that you do with your family yet?? It's not too late to start! You don't need any money to start a weekly game night at home, or a weekly movie night, or a weekly pizza making night ... there are so many ideas! Enjoy your family this week!

St. Patricks Day

The girls and I had lots of fun celebrating St. Patrick's Day together. We set up the kitchen table with a green tablecloth, set our clover plant right in the center and got busy with lots of fun activities. We started by listening to a story about St. Patrick, we made rainbows with dot-to-dot paints {these are easy, awesome and fun, I highly recommend them!}, did word searches, colored pictures, etc ....




For our snack time we had green pudding {pistachio} in fancy glasses - it was SO yummy!
We made shamrocks from green foam and tied colorful streamers to them - these are now hanging in our school room.
St. Patrick's Day is also Hope's half birthday {another family tradition!} so they each received a decorated paper bag with a couple small gifts inside.
I asked them to do some creative writing - the were to draw a picture and then write about it - they both chose to draw rainbows!
We put all their work together in these cute construction paper booklets {she's holding the rainbow over the part that shows her real name!}
Hope with her book, the white paper is there to hide her real name. =)
For lunch we had sandwiches on St. Patrick's day plates, we used green napkins and I made green lemonade ... Hope thought it looked gross and made a weird face when I told her to try it! She ended up loving the taste, but would close her eyes each time she drank from it so she wouldn't see the green liquid going into her mouth!
Joy didn't mind the green drink one bit!
But we all ended up with very green tongues!!!

One of the items in their gift bag was a small snowglobe - they collect them so they were happy to have another to add to their collection.

And ANOTHER one!!!

This has certainly been the week for losing teeth around our house ...
Joy lost another tooth today ... between her and Hope losing so many teeth lately the Tooth Fairy is definitely going broke in this house!

Another One Bites the Dust

I told her she's starting to look like a Jack-O-Lantern! And I sadly admit that I miss all those super cute, perfectly straight, baby teeth! I resign myself to the fact that the next few years will be full of jagged, crooked teeth pictures ... sigh ...

Celebrating Dr. Suess

Last week we celebrated Dr. Suess' birthday with some fun activities ... we read some books, made lap books that had all sorts of puzzles, word searches and activities and made 'Cat in the Hat' hats .... the girls had so much fun!

All in a Day's Work