Tuesday, July 8, 2014

When Life Falls Apart - Part 1


Almost 4 years ago life as I knew it fell apart. On the surface my marriage of 7 years looked great but inside it had never been what marriage was truly meant to be. Many wrongs on my part and some on my husband’s kept it from ever reaching the level that God designed marriage to be. Wrong mindsets, insecurities, and fear controlled everything within me.

 I have went to church my entire life and had accepted Christ as a child. I never had a real rebellion growing up. I listened to my parents for the most part. I didn’t party, drink or do drugs. I saved myself for marriage and have only ever kissed one man (who ended up being my husband). I knew lots of what the Bible says and I knew right from wrong. What I didn’t realize is how crucial thoughts are in life and how little compromises and justifications are a BIG deal, even if you don’t realize it right away.

 One day everything came to a head. Some truths were revealed in our marriage and it looked like we were headed for divorce. This sounds like such a simple and calm statement, but this is not how it was. There was instant shock, screaming, crying, begging, and so much more. Our 4 year old and 1 year old daughters were at home with us. My husband had seemed to make up his mind and I was scared. I called my mom crying and she spoke with my mother-in-law and almost instantly they were both over trying to help sort out the problem. This is a very unfair place to put other people in your life because most of the time in the heat of the moment they can’t help either. They did take our girls out of the house for the day so we could meet with our former pastor.

 The next several months were a constant battle and even in the years following. To be honest at this point there are still things that I am trying to work through and fix. I’m crying as I type this thinking back on the all the hurt that I have caused (and experienced) in our marriage and the things that we put our children through with our fighting and instability. There were nights that our family of 4 stayed with my in-laws even though our house is not even 10 minutes from where they lived. We just couldn’t handle being by ourselves and the thought of other people in the house was helpful.

 In the middle of it there was a time when our good times were great and our bad times were horrible. We were both reading a chapter from faith-based marriage books every day and discussing what we read every night. We were starting to focus more on our own behavior and less on what the other person was doing for us. But we went in cycles and little truths kept revealing themselves which kept putting us back into the fighting and struggle. I feel that God was protecting us by not having everything come pouring out all at once because it would have been too much for both of us to handle and we might not have decided to stick it out.

From what I have learned since, most marriages go through similar things. Some couples have worse happen to them and other problems aren’t so big. Other couples have life fall apart for reasons other than marriage problems; maybe the loss of a child, bankruptcy, drugs or drinking, abuse, and a bunch of other sin issues. I think we might have handled our problems worse than others, but I do know that there are other people who go through similar situations.

 It seems like life stops in its tracks! You can’t focus on or think about anything else. You can’t force yourself to care about things that you use to. You hate fake talking with friends and family who don’t know what you are going through because you just don’t care what they are saying. It makes you mad that other people are just living life like normal. You don’t eat. You don’t sleep. You don’t pay bills. You spend money you shouldn't. You don’t clean your house. You don’t pay attention to your children. You can barely function at work. You can’t look strangers in the eye. You just want to sit in the dark and hide. No matter what advice and hope is offered, you can’t see a way out of it. You feel hopeless, lost, and alone. Like no one knows what you are going through. You feel like you will never be better again.
 
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."                            
 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
I slowly started to see that through it there was only one thing that was constant. It wasn't me, my husband, our pastor or counselor, friends or family; it was God! I started to see that I needed to focus on him more and more and my problem less.

In Part 2 and 3 I will share more of how to make it through when life falls apart.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

God's Sense of Humor

For the past two years I have felt this annoying nudge inside of me that it was time for me to step out and lead a study for wives at my church. I used every excuse to not follow this nudge for at least two years! First it was that I was too busy and I wouldn't be able to keep up on everything else I needed to do. Then it was that my marriage had been on the brink of divorce not even 4 years ago and who was I to lead anything or give advice to other women. Then my fear of other women not liking me jumped in the way. It was one thing after another.

Finally I took the step and contacted the church office to have the group I was starting added to the bulletin. I wanted to go through the book, Becoming the Woman of His Dreams, by Sharon Jaynes. This book was eye opening and helped me to become a better wife through the worst time in my marriage. It is a book that I think every wife or wife-to-be should read. So I gave the office manager the description and the next week I saw the study group listed in the bulletin. The description wasn't worded the same as what I had said and I realized before the group started that it mentioned it was for "Women" but made no mention of "marriage" or "wives". I was nervous before the first meeting. There were several women that had signed up for the group and even though I have attended this church for my whole life I didn't recognize their names. My husband assured me that the group would go well and the right women would be there who needed to be.

Well as my group started and we introduced ourselves and I introduced the book we made an amusing discovery. Not one woman knew the book was about marriage. Two of the women were divorced and the other woman was filling in for her mom who was at the hospital with her grandmother. Luckily this woman was married, but her mom who signed up for the group was divorced as well. As we started a small discussion another woman showed up and was laughing as she told us how she explained to her adult daughter that she was going to a study called Becoming the Woman of His Dreams, and it definitely wasn't about her dad. She was surprised as I laughed and told her, "actually it is".

The title of the book and the description from the bulletin had implied to the women that this was a group about becoming who God designed us to be. I didn't even know what to think as I went home that night, but one of the divorced women had offered to bring a dessert the following week so I assumed she would be coming back. Well the group continued and it went amazing. By the end there were some weeks where it ended up being me and two other women (one who was divorced and the one who didn't think the group had been about husbands). We grew comfortable with each other and were able to share openly and begin working through healing and support on issues from damaged/failed marriages. We found areas that we needed to change in our lives and faced the truth about the way as wives we should be in marriage. We focused on ourselves and supported each other. And when we finished the study, we started another that we chose together, Battlefield of the Mind, by Joyce Meyer.

The women shared over the two studies that they had been skeptical in the beginning about what they could learn from a group leader who was half their age and had only been married 10 years. But they found as the study continued that age and years married didn't matter. Through the trials that my husband and I have faced in our marriage and the studying that I did to dig out of the hole we were in filled me with experience, advice, and encouragement that I could offer to others. And I am learning so much from these women who have grown children (while mine are still young) and have been, or had been, married longer then me. They thanked me for following God's prompting to start the study.

Through this experience I was reminded that God uses cracked pots and that I didn't need to have all the answers and be perfect to be used. One of my favorite verses is 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." Throughout the past 4 years I have received so much comfort from God and I should not be holding that in, but passing it along.

My husband was right, the right women did show up to the group, even if they were tricked into coming!

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

A Fun Wife


 
 
There we were sitting by the water, eating dinner, and talking. No interruptions. No having to cut up food into tiny pieces. No having to run to the restroom multiple times with each child. No having to get up a million times to pick up a sippy cup or toy that has been thrown down.  It was just me and my husband sitting down to an enjoyable dinner out.

We had traveled from Michigan to Florida for a family reunion and while on vacation we left our three young daughters with their grandparents and headed out on a date. At home we used babysitters typically to watch our girls while we worked, but rarely did we take the time out of our busy lives to date each other. We sat there sharing our appetizer, looking at each other, and enjoying the sunset as the refreshing breeze came in off the water.  I was glad that I had taken the time to put on a sundress, do my makeup, and leave my hair down the way my husband likes.

As we sat there across from each other something wonderful began to happen. We began to talk to each other. And not the typical “how was your day” or “guess what the kids did today” kind of conversation. We began to really share and dream with each other. We started discussing what we wanted to see in the future, where we would live if we could muster up the courage to move away from home, what business ideas we would like to start. We were really listening to each other and being open with our ideas and thoughts. We laughed with each other and enjoyed each other’s company. It was a wonderful night and rejuvenated us for heading back at the end of the night to all the other roles that we fill each day.

We have heard the advice to have a date night every week. As much as we want to make that happen, the reality is that my husband and I have allowed life and busyness to get in the way. But on those days when we do sneak away for a chance to be just husband and wife again, I am always reminded of the importance. On our last date we enjoyed a night of dinner and laughing. When we left the restaurant my husband commented on how great it was that I had become his “fun wife” for the night instead of being “mommy”. It was the best compliment I had received in a while and it was a great reminder of what my husband needs from me… a fun and supportive wife, not a mommy.

Monday, June 23, 2014

Focus T-25 Update

Well I am starting the 8th week of Focus T-25 today! I still am enjoying the workouts. It is so much easier to fit in a 25 minute workout each day then the hour that Insanity or P90x required. So far I have lost 2 pounds (which puts me in my ideal weight range), 1.5 inches from my belly and 1/2 inch from my butt! While the numbers aren't huge I can tell a huge difference in the way my body feels and I can feel things getting tighter and stronger as I go! I would definitely recommend the program.

Healthy & Cheap Snack Options for Car Trip to Disney

 

Our family of 5 is headed to Disney World at the beginning of August!! We love our Disney trips - this will be our 5th trip since November 2010. One of the things I look forward to about a vacation is the food! We work hard to plan and budget before we leave home so when the car pulls out of the driveway we can relax and enjoy. When at home we pick the cheaper options when eating out, don't go to many restaurants, and shop the sale ads at grocery stores. When we go on vacation I like to splurge on my food! This is why I love the Disney dining plan. We pay ahead of time for our meal plan (well on our other 4 trips we had FREE dining) and then we can choose whatever our hearts desire at each meal instead of looking at prices.

However, we have a 22 hour car ride before we reach Disney; and that is if we drive straight through, which we're not. So this year I am working to find healthier options for us to snack on while we are in the car. Our youngest is 2.5 which can mean for some pretty messy eating in the car. So far some of my ideas are:
  • Pretzel rods
  • String cheese (probably only the first day because of cooler issues)
  • Trail mix
  • Apple Slices
Last year I heard a great tip for apple slices which made the school year lunch packing so much easier for my oldest daughter.
  1. Take an apple slicer (can use a knife but it's faster with the slicer) and push almost through the apple but pull the slicer back out of the apple instead of pushing through the bottom.
  2. Keeping the slices together on the core wrap the apple in plastic wrap.
  3. When snack or lunch time comes your child can easily pull the slices away from the core and the slices won't be brown and gross
I am thinking of doing this as a way to bring some fruit into the parks with us that the girls can eat easy while waiting in line. I am also considering trying to make some homemade protein bars, but I haven't found a recipe yet.

My daughters also like s'mores in a bag - which isn't completely healthy, but it is fun to eat. We put teddy grahams, mini marshmallows, and chocolate chips in a snack bag and shake them up!

If you have any suggestions for more snack options in the car I would love to hear them!

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Big Picture Living



The mosquitoes around my area are HORRIBLE right now! You can't walk from the door of your house to your car without being swarmed. I was in the grocery store the other day and the workers were talking about how they had to spray themselves with bug spray because so many were getting into the store. Every time you open your car door, no matter how fast you go, some come in with you.

Well the other day I was driving and noticed a mosquito flying around my windshield. I thought it would be easy enough to hit the bug thus eliminating one more chance of being bitten. Boy, was I wrong. I tried so many times. I kept trying to hit it and my hand just couldn't land flat on the sloped windshield when I needed it to. After several tries I noticed that I was starting to cross over to the opposite side of the road (luckily I was on a back road with no other vehicles). I realized that I had to stop focusing on killing the mosquito because it was getting in the way of my driving.

As I continued driving I began to think about how that relates to my life at times. I was so focused on that little problem on my windshield that I didn't see anything else that was on the other side of that piece of glass. I could have went off the road or caused an accident because I was focused on one little thing and I was missing the rest of what I should have been seeing and focused on. There have been many times in life where I get so focused on something and I think about it so hard. I try to figure out how to fix it, how to change it, how to make it better... I focus on it so much that I cannot see past it. While I am doing this I am missing the rest of life. I am missing all of the good things happening. I am missing all of the blessings God has provided me. I am not enjoying my husband and children like I should be. I might even miss the solution to the problem because I am so focused on thinking about the problem.

This can happen very easily with hurt. At times I can become so focused on hurt events from the past that I miss out on life. I want the people who hurt me to make it better. I want to feel better. I want life to be perfect. I focus so much on the hurt that I miss that life is going on all around me. I miss the moments I could be laughing and playing with my kids. At one point several years ago my husband and I were working through some problems and we let all of life pretty much go. We were so focused on our problems that our daughters didn't get the attention they deserved, we didn't eat or sleep properly, and we were not responsible with keeping the house in order like it should be or our budget in line. We felt like life stopped, but in reality life was moving along and we were missing it because we were not living the Big Picture life.

God calls us to live better then this. We all have problems in life. Some are big and some little. Some are little but feel big. But through God we can keep living the Big Picture life. We don't have to focus on our problems in an unhealthy way. Yes, at times we do need to spend time focusing on fixing/correcting a problem. But when we become unbalanced and the problem is all we see then we have crossed the line of where God wants us to be. Don't focus on your mosquito so hard that you miss the world that is all around it.

Psalm 43:5 says, "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within in? Put your hope I God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." Even when life is going rough, we need to remember to hope in the Lord. 1 Peter 5:6-7 tells us to, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

Monday, May 19, 2014

Marriage Lesson from Country Music



A while ago I was listening to the song "Like My Dog" by Billy Currington and it got me thinking about loving my husband. The song seems silly and fun when you listen to it, but when you really break it down it can give you a good understanding of what your husband wants from you"

"He never tells me that he's sick of this house, He never says why don't you get off that couch? He don't cost me nothing when he wants to go out, I want you to love me like my dog."
Ok, we can either look at this as a lazy man who doesn't want to invest effort into anything or we can look at it and see that our husbands would love for us to show that we are content with what we have, not be demanding, and to spend time with them. When my husband is sitting on the couch where is our dog? Right next to him and enjoying the time by his side. This is where I could choose to be as well, enjoying time relaxing with my husband (dishes can wait).

"He never says I need a new attitude, Him and my sister ain't always in a feud, When I leave the seat up he don't think that it's rude, I want you to love like my dog does baby."
Again if we take a moment to look past the basics we can see that our husbands don't want us to judge them and try to change them. They want us to try to get along with their family. They want us to not take everything personal (leaving the seat up isn't a personal attack on us).

"When I get home I want you to just go crazy, He never looks at me like he might hate me, I want you to love me like my dog"
When my husband gets home our dog is so excited. From the second that he can hear the truck in the driveway he is running to the door and waiting with anticipation for my husband to come in. He runs circles waiting and just can't wait to see him. How often do you meet your husband at the door when he comes home? And not waiting to start listing off your problems of the day or his to do list, but to give him a kiss and let him know you are excited that he is home. The second thing is that we need to pay attention to what our body language says to our husband. I can definitely think of some looks I have given my husband that don't communicate love.

"He don't play dead when I wanna pet him, I want you to love me like my dog does honey"
Ok, there shouldn't need to be much explanation on this one... our husbands want us to respond sexually to him. Not make excuses or be "too tired". My dog has never turned down a time when my husband wants to pet him and on top of that, he makes an effort to get my husband to pet him. Enough said.

"He never says 'I wish you made more money', He always thinks that pull my finger is funny, I want you to love me like my dog."
Our husbands desire to provide for us. We need to be content and not demanding more. We need to relax and not be so uptight about things. Our husbands are different from us, and thank the Lord that they are, because two of us wouldn't make for a great marriage.

I asked my husband if he agreed with this song and he said, "Well yeah, that's why they call him man's best friend". I challenge you to love your husband this way.

Friday, May 9, 2014

What is the Right Age for Marriage?

I was thinking about this yesterday. When I got married I was 19 and my husband was 23. We had "dated" since I was 14. I was actually not allowed to date until I was 16 so we became "boyfriend and girlfriend" when I was 14 but we only really saw each other at school, church, or with our families around. I could not ride in the car with him until my 16th birthday and by that time he was 19! I was so frustrated by that at the time, but now 15 years later (and with 3 daughters of my own) I understand my parents reasons.

When we got married I heard a lot of comments about how we were so young to be getting married. My mom was engaged when she was still in high school to my dad so there wasn't much she could say that I was going to listen to. It had worked out for them.

I can't say that our marriage has been perfect. We have faced a LOT of struggles. Some from my husband and a lot from me. There were several months a few years ago when we weren't sure that our marriage was going to make it. But with the help of God, family, some good Christian counseling, and a lot of study on God and marriage, we have turned things around.

I can see some areas that had we been older when we had met and married might have been easier, but even with the struggles that we have been through I can honestly say that I don't think there is a magic age for marriage. The quality of a marriage and chance of a marriage surviving have nothing to do with the age of the couple getting married. But I do think it has everything to do with maturity and hard work.

I wish that every person who commented about me being "young to get married" would have instead spent that few seconds giving me guidance or a piece of advice or recommendation. We attended premarital counseling at our church, but looking back it was mainly talking about budgeting and who was going to complete what household duties. There was a little about communication, but overall not much help. And once we were married the counseling stopped and our meetings with our mentor couple that we had been assigned were finished.

I wish that I could go back and instead of spending so much time planning my wedding, I would have spent that time planning and working on my coming marriage! I would recommend to any woman getting married or who is already married the following books :
  • Becoming the Woman of His Dreams By Sharon Jaynes
  • The 5 Love Languages By Gary Chapman
  • Sheet Music By Kevin Leman
I wish that there was an older married woman that I had found as a mentor. It wasn't until a few years ago that I found the verse Titus 2:4-5
"Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."
The success or happiness of a marriage is not determined by age, it is determined by the work and time that is invested into it. A 19 year old willing to invest time and energy into creating a successful marriage can end up with a much more successful marriage then a 50 year old getting married with unrealistic expectations.

Focus T25 Week 1

I am loving this fitness program. The workouts are nonstop and can be intense, but being only 25 minutes really keeps me motivated to keep going. I am sore each day but not the level of sore where I can barely get out of bed. I have also been working to eat a little healthier. But I'll be perfectly honest, I am not following the nutrition plan and I am still having pop and some sweets!

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Quote for the Day


"We must remind ourselves, for our good, and for the good of others, that forgiveness is not a feeling. Indeed, forgiveness is a purposeful decision - an act of the will not dependent on our emotions. No matter what has been done to us, or how badly it hurts, we must forgive because of this inescapable and profound truth: God has forgiven us all the more."

- from How to Forgive...When You Don't Feel Like It by June Hunt -

Monday, May 5, 2014

Started T25

For my 30th birthday I got Focus T25! I am excited because I really enjoyed P90X and completed Insanity but am having such a tough time consistently getting an hour a day to exercise. And it definitely is showing! With this program all I need is 25 minutes. My husband and I completed the first workout today and I am excited for the rest of the 10 weeks. We started in the middle of the day today so tomorrow morning I will be taking my measurements and pictures to keep track of my results.

Forgive and Forget


 
Proverbs 17:9 says, “He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.” In other words, when we decide to forgive our husband for a wrong that he did we are showing love to him and creating an atmosphere for love in our marriage. When we choose to remind ourselves and our husband over and over about the wrong we start to build a wall that destroys the oneness that we should have with our husband. When we continue to repeat the offense in our minds or conversation we are keeping ourselves stuck in a hurtful event and keeping our marriage from moving forward in the way that God designed.

In Experiencing God Day by Day, Henry and Richard Blackaby write, “Bitterness has a tenacious way of taking root deep within the soul and resisting all efforts to weed it out…Time, rather than diminishing the hurt, only seems to sharpen the pain… You find yourself rehearsing the offense over and over again, each time driving the root of bitterness deeper within your soul… Bitterness is easy to justify. You can get so used to a bitter heart that you are even comfortable with it, but it will destroy you. Only God is fully aware of its destructive potential.” When we should be offering forgiveness but instead are repeating the offense in our heart and mind over and over again we will become bitter. This includes repeating the offense to our friends or sisters or mom. I think so many women like to share the things that their husband does wrong as a way of nursing their hurts and getting others to feel sorry for them. This is not what we are called to as women following after God.

We are called to forgive as God forgives. Psalm 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Think about that for a minute. If God has forgiven us and removed our sin “as far as the east is from the west” then he is not sitting and thinking about what we did wrong anymore. He isn’t talking to others about it. He isn’t feeling sorry for himself that we committed such a great wrong against him and he did nothing to deserve it. He has removed it from his mind and moved on in our relationship. He has restored us to right standing in his sight. I challenge you to think if you are extending the same level of grace to your husband that God has extended to you. If not, take that step and see where God will take your marriage.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

30th Update

Well, I have not been updating like I had planned. A definite sign that I have not been on track!! I do have some boxes of things to donate, but they have been sitting in my hallway now and have not made it out of my house yet. Two weeks ago I exercised 4 days. The last day was with a personal trainer - and I could barely move for the next 3 days so I didn't exercise at all. Not a good idea, because I haven't worked out since and my next appointment with her is this Thursday.

I have been doing a much better job at reading my Bible and praying. I have also improved on praying for my husband over the past week.

I was going to post a picture of my living room or kitchen counters to show my progress in the cleaning department, but that would be WAY too embarrassing at this moment.

Basically, I have a lot to go in the last 4 days of my 21 day plan!

I did start to read a book I am enjoying called, The Clutter Diet by Lorie Marrero. I am only a few chapters in but the book is making a lot of sense. The goal is not only to de-clutter and get organized, but to determine what the reasons are for the problem in the first place so it doesn't just repeat itself. I would love any tips or recommendations on de-cluttering and organizing if anyone would like to pass some along.

Now I need to get back to work and clear my counters!

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Bikini Season


For the past few months I have been noticing the bathing suit section has made its way back into all the stores. This has got me thinking. Every year when the bathing suits show back up and the weather starts to hint that the snow is going to melt and warm weather will be coming soon I start to hear lots of talk of “Bikini Season”. Women start to worry about losing those extra pounds from the winter so they will be beach ready.

This got me thinking: who are we trying to impress? Many wives allow themselves to gain weight over the winter months when we are bundled up in huge sweaters and bulky coats. Then when bathing suit season and shorts weather is around the corner there is a huge panic to lose the weight to be ready for the summer clothing. What about our husbands who look at us all year round? The man who sees us with no clothing, not just little clothing. What message are we sending to the man in our life when we let our bodies go, even just a little, when they will be the only ones looking? Then warm weather hits and we stress to exercise and tighten things up a little so we can feel confident in our bathing suits.

Think what good we could do for our husband and our marriage if we worked to keep ourselves in shape all year. If we didn’t have those 3 or 4 months of feeling bad about the way we looked and less confident with our husbands. Think of how much more we could enjoy things and our husbands could enjoy us if we focused on looking our best for him instead of the rest of the world.

I know some people think that our husbands shouldn’t be so shallow and that he should think we look good no matter what. But to be perfectly honest, I know my husband appreciates and enjoys my body more when I am not holding onto the extra weight. And part of it is that I feel slightly more confident and let him enjoy it more when I feel better about myself.

My husband should be the one person that I am working to impress. I have realized the past few months that I have gotten sloppy. I clean as a job right now and so my clothes are ugly comfortable jeans and a company t-shirt. Some days I end up wearing this all day long, even when I am home and could easily change into something my husband would like. I also end up with my hair in a ponytail and no makeup. I feel gross. Sometimes I don’t work until the end of the day but I end up looking like this all day anyway or I get home and shower and have my pajamas on right after dinner. This is not the way I should look for my husband. This is not the effort that he deserves from the woman he is going to be looking at for the rest of his life.

He deserves better and I am going to give him better!

30th Update

Well yesterday was ok, but not perfect. I have been getting in my morning quiet time. I have been working on reading through the book and study guide for the Bible study I am doing at church, Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer. I found some old toys that my mother-in-law if going to take and I have a box of them to take to donate. I also got in my 30  minute workout.

For my daily 5 cleaning tasks I came up with my list, but did not complete them all. Here it is:
  1. Wash and fold at least 1 load of laundry
  2. Have all the dishes and pans cleaned up after dinner and a clean sink at bedtime
  3. File away all the day's papers
  4. All toys picked up at bedtime
  5. Make all beds in the morning
So some of these tasks are being completed by the girls, but we are going to together work on keeping this house clean!

Saturday, April 5, 2014

30 is Right Around the Corner

Well, my 30th birthday is just 21 days away! How is time going by so quickly? My life is nothing like I would have guessed 20 or even 10 years ago. Some things have ended up so much better then I could have anticipated and some things haven't went quite like I thought.

I have been married to the man of my dreams for 10 years. He has been amazing and I am blessed to have him in my life. Marriage has been rough for us in the past and there are many things that I wish I could go back and do differently, but the important thing is that we are still here together working and improving.   
     


I have been blessed with three daughters. Each one is incredible and unique. I was warned that even though our 2nd baby was another girl that they would be so different and boy has that turned out to be true with each one. Having daughters puts a huge sense of responsibility on me to raise these girls into Godly women. To raise them to be modest and submissive in a world that is not.



There is so much I would like to accomplish. I use to be so organized and that flew out the window a long time ago. I have decided to get organized and goal oriented again and get life in order. So I am creating 5 goals that I would like to achieve by my birthday:
  1. For the next 3 weeks I will exercise at least 30 minutes for 3 days a week and 15 minutes for 3 days a week. Sundays will be my day of rest.
  2. Clear my kitchen counter and organize it so there is a place for everything.
  3. Donate the girls old clothes and toys.
  4. Spend at least 15 minutes in prayer and reading my Bible each morning.
  5. Create a "Daily 5" of cleaning tasks to accomplish and then actually do them at least 5 days a week.
I will post my updates along the 21 days to make sure that I am staying on track.