A Journey Toward A Simpler Home

I'm embarking on a journey to simplify my home, and in turn my family.

I plan to document the little (and big!) changes I and my family make as we turn away from the busyness and want of the world and strive for simplicity and contentment.

I am a busy mom, like many of you.

I keep the house (with help from my sweet husband!), raise my son, work outside the home, have church responsibilities and run my own small cottage business.

I also love to shop.

I love stuff.

All of those items leads to a life of chaos. And jealousy.

So, I am taking a step back.

I am learning to be grateful for the many, many blessings I have.

I am learning to say 'no' in order to have more time serving my family.

I am learning to love and enjoy keeping my home.

I see each chore as a blessing for my family. That little attitude shift alone has made a tremendous difference.

And I'm seeing that the more "stuff" I have, only creates more work to clean and maintain.

Simplifying is a breath of fresh air in an ultra-busy society.

As I look ahead to what is on the horizon as I start this process, I know it will include:

Purging

Planning

Studying

Organizing

Beautifying

Enjoying

I hope you'll follow me and perhaps join along as I journey toward a simpler home.

Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,"

Hebrew 13:5

The Importance of Personal Growth

As a teacher, professional development is very important.

I have binders and binders filled with strategies to teach better, ideas for managing behavior, charts to monitor progress, etc. etc.

All these resources help refine me as a teacher and improve not only my teaching but my students' learning.

A few weeks ago I shared my personal mission statement.

As I went through my life priorities, teaching wasn't at the top.

I love it, but my faith, family and friendships come first.

And it got me thinking.

I have so many resources and notes on being a better teacher, I should have the same for being a better Follower of Christ. To be a better wife. To be a better mother.

So, I began a personal growth binder.

And it has become a vital tool for my own personal growth.

These 2 binders are my lifesavers.

They sit on a shelf in my family room for easy access.

I brainstormed areas that I'd like more resources in with my role as a Christian, wife and mother.

Here are the different categories I came up with for myself:

Study (Bible)

Prayer

Plan

Health

Marriage

Motherhood

Home 
Finances

Whenever I find a particular resource I would want to access again and again, I print it off and add it to my binder.

I've already gotten quite a few items.

A great thing to google is 'free ebook' about a particular topic.

At the front of my binder is my Mission Statement.

Another daily reminder I need for my life's purpose each day.

So why is personal growth important?

1. It has eternal consequences

My personal growth affects His kingdom.

My growing and understanding of His word affects my relationship with Him.

2. It effects others

My personal growth as a believer, wife and mother have a great impact on my husband, son, family and friends.

As I work to be a better wife, a more patient mom and a better household manager, the people I love the most will greatly benefit.

I have a daily planning sheet to monitor my progress with my bible studies, exercise and other daily to-do's.

Just how I push myself to be better in the workforce, I push myself to be a better me.

My Cardboard Testimony

On Easter Sunday, our church presented "cardboard testimonies". 

If you've never seen these, you can check it out here.

(have your tissues ready!)

It's incredibly powerful to see how God has used so many people in what could seem to be hopeless, scary and depressing situations.

We participated in sharing one little piece of God's work in our lives.

Here is what our cardboard said

I've spoken about our fertility issues a lot on this little blog.

But looking back on that year, it was only by God's grace that I got through it with any sort of sanity.

I was very depressed, anxious and plain old scared.

I also dealt with jealousy and doubting.

I am so, so thankful for the other side of that cardboard.

No matter what the outcome would have been, God IS faithful.

I am so eternally grateful for the gift of our son.

I am grateful for the opportunity to minister to women who may be experiencing something similar.

Without this testimony, I wouldn't have nearly the opportunities to share about God's goodness.

Over the last few days, I started to think of other cardboards I could have created.

God has done some incredible things through me, even when times were uncertain.

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I am so thankful God has worked in such wondrous ways in my life, and know He will continue to do so.

I strive to be transparent so that others can see how He works.

And thank you Lord, for the other side of these cardboards.

What would your cardboard say?

How has God worked in ways that seemed impossible and hopeless?

God is so good!