Job Security

Funny, I never thought of myself as manager material.  But when looked up "homemaker" in the dictionary, there it was in print--"one who manages a home, especially as wife and mother".

It is true.  I do manage our home.  But I certainly have, and need, a lot of help.  There are times when I become prideful and think that my family couldn't get along without me.  Truth be told I couldn't get along without them.

If it were up to me, aside from sleeping and eating, our days would be filled with tasks.  In my mind  a constant to-do list for myself and others ticks away.  It is difficult for me to just sit around the house.  When I am in my home, the thought of leisure time eludes me.

God bless my family!  Without even realizing it, they help me to stay focused on what's important by getting me away from what I am focusing on too much of the time--work.  Silly dances, impromptu conversations, YouTube videos, rehashing events from their school day, and talking sports (my hubby)--seemingly distractions in my day all meant to help me see what's really important.

In my mind, this post was intended to share about how I have job security because my family needs me.  But really, they have job security because this manager needs them.

Grapes of Wrath

The fence in our backyard boasts a pretty wicked grapevine.

We planted it at least 6 years ago and it has matured beautifully.  So much so that in recent years I have begun to can grape jam from its fruit.

The development we live in abuts an apartment complex and our backyard has a fence that separates us from the apartments.  The grapes grow over the fence and we actually have to drive over to the apartments to collect the clusters that grow on the other side.

Today I was grilling in the backyard and stepped inside to get some things ready at the sink.  While there, I looked up and through my kitchen window saw a man and a little girl looking at our grapes.  Next, I see the man and the little girl picking off of the grapes.  Finally I see them get what looked like a cluster of grapes and walk off with them--smiling!!!  I was not smiling.

'How dare they take something that doesn't belong to them', I thought.  'Not to mention, what's up with that father (I assumed) teaching his daughter to steal from others!'  Although I was fuming, I was not brazen enough to walk over to the fence and give them a piece of my mind.  After all, that wouldn't be very Christ-like.

Then my mind began to settle.  I remembered a sermon that I heard recently speaking of the struggle we go through to put off our flesh and put on the Holy Spirit.  My flesh was all about "They are taking my grapes!"  But really this was an opportunity to be Jesus to two individuals.

Rethinking my approach to the situation, I knew what I had to do.  I went downstairs and got a jar of grape jam from last year.  The duo was out of sight for now, but if they returned I had my dialogue all planned out. 

"I see that you like our grapes.  Please have a jar of grape jam from last year's harvest."

Free at Last!

Last weekend our daughter came to me asking the loaded question, "Mom, guess what?"

"What?" I responded.

"I'm debt free!" she replied with a big smile across her face.

I smiled back and congratulated her.  Her debt was a whopping $75.  However to a 15-year old teenager with only allowance as an income, this is big money.  She took the rather drastic route of taking every single allowance and putting all of it towards what she owed until she had paid it off.

What she was paying off was summer camp.  During the middle of last school year, Ross and I decided that we would have the kids begin to pay for a portion of their activities.  We see the following benefits in doing this:

1. More appreciation results when they have invested some of their own money
2. More consideration results when they have invested some of their own money (they are more apt to seriously weigh whether or not they truly want do participate in an activity)
3. We are not shouldering the entire financial weight of multiple activities for three children

Our kids are surprisingly compliant with this new dispensation.  There have even been times when they've asked for clarity sake, "Is this something that I will pay for?".  

I praise God for the responsibility that they are learning today and pray that it prepares them for tomorrow.

My Cup Runneth Over

I have a friend who regularly blesses our family with goods.  Primarily she gives us grocery items.  Always the timing is right on.  This is what she dropped off yesterday.

Individual cereals, jams, bbq sauce, marinades, boxed rice meals, and my favorite...Olive Garden salad dressing :-)  Really?!  These are the fill-ups God pours into my tank when I am doubting His provision in my life.

My cup runneth over.

Waste Mangagement

Not more than a few weeks ago I was sitting at a stoplight on one of the local streets.  While waiting for the light to turn green, I looked over at the vehicle beside me.  It was a  Penn Waste garbage truck.


Almost instantly my mind began to consider the volume of trash that these vehicles cart away from our home on a regular basis.  I have often anticipated the truck's arrival, especially when some extremely foul-smelling waste is stinking up our garage where the trash is kept.  What a joy it is to have the offensive collection hauled off to a place where I can forget about it!

While musing this over, something about the truck caught my eye.  The tires.  Though massive in size, they were noticeably flattened no doubt due to the weight of what had been loaded above.

What a picture of Jesus! He deflated Himself and took on the weight of everything stinky about me.  As if that weren't enough, He regularly hauls away my waste so that I can forget about it and move on.

Making Do

This morning I was cleaning out my microwave.

In the middle of cleaning, I found myself thanking God for this appliance.  You see, for about two years we had a microwave with no turntable and no door handle.  The turntable had broken accidentally and the handle had come off due to normal wear and tear.  We had learned to place our fingertips under the door just so in order to open it up.  It became second nature to us and we made do.

Eventually I decided to look on Craigslist for a microwave to replace ours.  A similar model was listed with the dimensions needed for above our range.  I communicated with the seller and he said that he would sell it to me $15 below the list price!  That microwave is the very one that graces our kitchen today.

"But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.  But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.  People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction." 1 Timothy 6:6-9

God taught our family to be content with the two-bit microwave that we had.  Sure a door would be handy, but it wasn't necessary.  Our family did not go hungry due to lack of a microwave door.  We made do.  Then when the timing was right, we purchased a USED microwave.

Contentment. This is where financial freedom begins.

Laugh of the Day

Pulling into the parking lot of my bank this morning I saw a woman in a candy apple red convertible pull into a parking spot a short distance from me.

As I exited my van I had to chuckle upon hearing the distinctive electronic sound of her locking up her car.

Classic!

Step Away from the Baby!

Earlier this week we were babysitting a friend's son for a couple of hours.  After following his daily routine, we came to the hour when he was due for a nap.

First my husband held him for a while but he cried. Next we put him in our son's swing, but he continued to cry.  My husband had to get ready to leave the house and handed the baby over to me.  He told me about a way to hold him that had gotten him to sleep last time we watched him.  I tried this suggested hold but the little guy cried on.

Then I realized the time.  With my stomach growling I knew that I needed to eat lunch or I would be crying alongside the baby!  I laid him down on a sleeping bag in our living room as he continued to protest. "I'll be right back" I told him and stepped away into the kitchen to make a sandwich.

While mulling over what toppings to add to the meat, I suddenly thought 'The crying has stopped.'  I went around the corner into the living to find the scene below.

The whole time I knew that what he needed was rest.  But I didn't know how to get him to do what he needed to do.  What I recognized after seeing him fall asleep on his own was that what needed to happen would eventually happen if I just let it happen on its own.

This reminds me of how God works in my life.  I have a problem and try everything within my power to solve the problem.  God lets me do this.  It doesn't work.  I get so worn out that I have no choice but to do nothing.  Then God handles business as usual.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

When I am trying to do things in my own power, I hope to remember to step away from my baby so that I can have Christ's power.

Money Mayhem

So yesterday was a finance day meaning that Ross was working on balancing the checkbook from previous transactions.  Often during this process he will come to me with inquiries about past expenditures that have long since left my brain.  With my "mommy brain" it is often difficult for me to remember what I did a couple days ago.  Trying to retrace financial steps from weeks past takes some major mental muscle.

In the process of his inquiries, I began to get frustrated because he asked me the same question about three different times, in three different ways.  Looking back now I realize that he was reflecting on the question himself as he was asking (almost like in his head), but at the time I was truly annoyed.

"Okay," I said in a barely restrained voice between my teeth, "you've said it three times now and I can't take hearing it again.  I will look into it and get back to you."

He looked at me-hard.  Then his look got softer and he said, "Okay, I got it."

I took some time and found what he needed.  Later on he asked me, "Do you know that you paid the mortgage twice?"  Ugh!  I had forgotten that we paid it before we left for vacation so we wouldn't forget to pay it when we got back.  I paid it a second time the day after we returned with the other monthly bills.  How small I felt for being impatient and angry with him earlier.

"It's okay," he consoled me, "We have an extra paycheck in the bank and it will be covered.  Having the extra money in there allows us to do things like that."

Whew!  I felt relief.  As frustrating as these money issues were I am so thankful for:

1) A loving, forgiving husband
2) God blessing us to have an extra month of pay in the bank
3) Humility

His grace is sufficient.

Reminder

Yesterday at church a young woman named Heather shared with our congregation about a blog  (Souled Out) that she had started.  She simply stated that she had a passion for writing and wanted a forum through which to exercise that passion.  Her blog provided that forum and she had stepped out on faith to begin writing as well as to share with us about her writing.

I had the opportunity to speak with her after service to let her know that I would be following her blog.  In listening to her excitement, my own passion for writing has been rekindled.  With the recent birth of our son, I had pushed writing way down on my priority list.  It has become a luxury rather than a leisure.  But I truly sense God reminding me through Heather's testimony of the work that He has for me to do through my writing.  The words that I pen are not only for me, they are for His people...and maybe even more importantly for people who are not yet His own.

So, today I write and thank God for the reminder to do so.

Aging Gracefully

Morgan, Story, and I were driving home from being out yesterday.  A Newsboys cd was making its second run-through in the player and I was exhausted.  We had gone right from church and had made about three different stops that were in close proximity of one another.  I was anxious to get home to a lunch of stromboli that Ross was preparing and then take a nap.

While my mind was wandering to thoughts of my head hitting the pillow, Morgan says

"Mom do you feel old?"

I laughed to myself in light of what I had just been thinking about.  In the past, naps were something that I had never really been into.  Napping was something that kept me from getting things accomplished.  After all there is always something to be done.  But with my recent pregnancy I had begun forcing myself to lay down daily after lunch because I was feeling exhausted by the end of the day if I didn't.  And now with a newborn naps are at a premium!

"Sometimes," I responded directing my thoughts back to her question. "Like when I see a young mom with a baby who is Story's age.  Or when I go to kneel down on the floor and think in my mind 'I really want to sit on a chair'.  And when I look in the mirror and see dark circles under my eyes."

She graciously laughed off my comments and said something about my eyes not being that bad.  Sweet girl.  Then I asked her, "Why do you ask?"

"Because you don't act old," she piped.  "When I think about it, I'm like 'Wow, mom is 41!'  But you don't seem like you are."

You can only imagine how good it felt to hear that from a 15-year old who probably has the perspective of a 30-year old being "old" as well.  With a huge grin I let her know that I appreciated her compliments and was reminded of God's grace in, of all things, aging.

Ah, Communication!

Recently I was at the dollar store to purchase some odds and ends.  (In all honesty this post doesn't have much to do with the dollar store at all, but I figure I might as well share some shopping savvy while I'm at it.  Also, here is a  link for an article on what to buy and what not to buy at the dollar store).  I don't buy a ton of things at the dollar store because although everything at Dollar Tree (where I shop) is typically a dollar or less, oftentimes I can find many of the same items cheaper.  Things I typically purchase there include tortillas, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shower caps, and all-occasion cards.  On this particular trip while shopping for some of the aforementioned items, I came across a body wash.

This wasn't just any body wash.  It was a body wash with an acne medication called salicylic acid.  In short, the body wash was a knock off of the one Neutrogena manufactures.  I purchase the CVS brand of this wash for myself and my two teens to use as face wash.  Yes, it's sold as "body wash" but I've found that the ingredients are almost identical, it cleans just like a face wash in that it's not harsh on our skin, and you get about double the amount that you get with the face wash for less money.  The store brand I buy costs about $5.  Imagine my delight in finding this item at Dollar Tree!

However before hauling off and buying 3 bottles, I decided to just purchase one and test it for quality.  In the meantime, my son had run out of his face wash and asked to use the one that I had.  I told him he could but that he needed to put it back into my shower so I had it for when I needed to use it.  He has been struggling with remembering to do this and so on a typical morning I would step into the shower, go to wash my face, and find the face wash M.I.A.

On one particular morning, I was going through my typical routine of getting ready to shower when I hear a knock on my bathroom door.

"Yes?" I answer.
"Mom," Hunter replies, "I have your wash."
I think to myself, 'I finished up my laundry yesterday. What wash would he have of mine?  And if he does have wash for me, it's not like him to bring it up to my room.'
"Just put it on the bed," I respond.
"O-kay," he hesitantly answers.

I turn on the shower water, wet my face, reach for the face wash, and it's gone again. 'Hunter!' I grumble in my head.  After showering and dressing I step out of my bathroom.  I do a double-take as my eyes rest upon an object laying on my bed--my face wash.

Note: I will not be purchasing the body wash from Dollar Tree.  It does not lather and is very watery so that when you pour it into your hands to use, you end up wasting more than you use!  I asked Hunter and he agrees :-)

Fill 'Er Up

I wrote in Cost of Raising a Child about how faithfully God has provided for our new baby boy, Story.  Well, to my amazement, He continues to do so.

We have the money for diapers and formula, yet God has consistently paid for these items through others for the nearly 3 months of his life.  Whether it be through shower gifts, gift cards, or giveaways from other parents, we have not shelled out any money for these two items.  On several occasions I have thought, 'All right we're nearly at the point where we need to pay for diapers.'  Soon after we receive some outgrown ones from another family, or a gift card to Target.  The same with formula--God keeps refilling our cup...at times even before the need arises!

I had no choice but to write about what He is doing to provide for our needs.  As He fulfills each one, He fills up my heart with gratitude.