She is so calm

Happy Anniversary, honey! I’m thankful that it was you that I married   :) 

You have blessed me so much through the years. I just wanted to share with the world some of the reasons that you make it so easy to love you…

I love that you take a longer time in the bathroom to get ready than I do. I love it when you encourage me to do things that you know that I am nervous about. You are an amazing father-I couldn’t have done better. I love how your brown eyes twinkle when you laugh. I love that you work really hard so that I can stay at home with our boys. I love how excited you get each time you find out I’m expecting. I love that you are organized & efficient. I love it when you have an ‘out of the blue free-for-all’ wrestling match in the living room with our sons.

There is more, but you just pulled in the driveway….

A very important post for women to read: click here

WordPress has a feature in which you can see the stats of your blog and the different search terms that people use on search engines to find your blog.The #1 post on my blog is this one. I don’t have time to go through all the different keywords people have used in finding this post my blog, but here are some, “Is my marriage doomed?”, “I give up on marriage”, “What do you do when you want to leave your marriage?”, “Should I forgive my husband?”.

It makes me want to cry, honestly. Marriage is so tough. There are so many things vying for our time. There are so many circumstances and habits and dependencies that cause serious friction in our relationships. It is hard, but that doesn’t mean that it is not worth sticking around for.

A good marriage takes time. A perfect marriage doesn’t exist. Don’t try for a perfect one. Try for a better one. It takes baby steps.

(*I am not referring to relationships in which you or your children are being abused.)

~Get help~

The abuser will not change unless there is an intervention.  In cases of severe abuse in which you and/or your children are in danger, leave (with your children) as soon as possible. Don’t think that just because he/she abused once, that he/she won’t abuse anyone else…and don’t confront the abuser yourself. This can put you in greater danger.

I will be away from my desk for a little while. I am taking a course made possible by EE international. It will last 13 weeks.

I’m not going to leave you empty handed, though…here’s answers to some questions commonly asked by readers of my blog and people at my local grocery store:)…

Why do you have so many kids? 

Umm…define ’so many’. Not to ignore the question and go for the throat, but what is ’so many’? If ’so many’ means more kids than what you have, God has blessed us and we chose to receive those blessings. We are glad to have ’so many’, otherwise we would have ‘not any’.

What is with all this submission stuff? Don’t you have a life of your own? Don’t you think that submission is for the weak/just makes you a doormat?

A life of my own? Nope. I prefer to enter the term ‘domestic robot’ when I fill out applications asking for my profession. (If you guessed that I’m being sarcastic, you would be correct.)

First and foremost, my submission is to Christ. Secondly, submission is not listed as a requirement that only women must fulfill. All men (and women) must submit. First to Christ, then others.

“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.” 1 Peter 2:13-17

There are so many more passages on submission (pertaining to everyone-not just women) in scripture. Before you throw that ‘what about you, don’t you want a life of your own?’ stuff at me, realize that my life became ‘not my own’ the moment I accepted Christ. God’s word is unchanging. People and the world have changed; not God.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 

Submission is not for the weak. I’m stronger for doing it. Don’t knock it until you try it.

I’m not talking about submitting to your husband for a week and then giving up because it ‘didn’t work out’ the way you planned. You can’t submit to your husband until you first submit to Christ…and you can’t submit to anyone in your own strength. You’re just gonna get burnt out. Pray about it. Seek the Lord-he will definitely lead you!

Check out Stacy McDonald’s post on marital intimacy. It is a little bit long, but worth the read! Her post touches upon some common issues. Click on the link below!

http://yoursacredcalling.blogspot.com/

My idea of the perfect house has changed over the years. It use to be that I just wanted to ‘own a home’ with the perfect exterior, an extra bathroom and just enough backyard. Then, all I wanted was a clean house. That is understandable right?…Now, all I want is a house that is inhabitable.

I was loving myself and the impression people got that I ‘had it all together’. 

I’m not saying that I don’t appreciate a new appliance or a spotless living room; it’s just that my priorities have changed. Cleanliness is not next to Godliness…Enough people have seen our old farmhouse on it’s worst days to convince me that perfection doesn’t bear any importance.

It is sad that I wasn’t willing to maintain the status quo for my family-but had no problem getting everything all squeaky and shiny to impress guests. I was loving myself and the impression people got that I ‘had it all together’. 

Expect the Christmas tree to be leaning like the tower of Pisa and three days of laundry still waiting to be put away.

Sooooo….if you come over, expect clean enough with some glue on the floor from homemade picture frames and  g*ldfish cracker crumbs on the rocking chair. Expect dirty dishes in the sink and sometimes on the counter and the table, too. Expect the Christmas tree to be leaning like the tower of Pisa and three days of laundry still waiting to be put away. Also expect a joy filled husband, wife, children and (it is my hope that you experience) the love of Christ permeating our house.