Reading with purpose

I love to read... there is nothing better than a good book-whether it is on the couch with a cup of coffee, on the beach listening to the waves roll in, or just a simple quick read when I have time (this is more the norm these days with two littles at home). I love to read for enjoyment, but I also find myself reading  more with a purpose these days- a purpose to grow in Christ, to be a better wife, and to be a better mom. Here are some things I have been reading lately.

I have said it before and I will say it again- I love first5.org . It is a daily devotional and simple, but helps you to grow closer to God and learn about scripture at the same time. 

My husband and I just started this challenge. While we don't get to it every night, because kids are demanding and we both work and are tired, we do our best. It has scripture to read, prayers to say, and acts to do together. It has been great for us and helps us to really have some in depth conversation about God, life, and so much more. I highly suggest it for anyone who is married and just looking to grow together in your journey and be closer to Him.

Another great book! It really gets you thinking about how you as a mother set the tone for your household. It is easy as a mom and wife to feel overwhelmed and tired. It is easy to let the negativity come over you. This helps you realize you are alone in a lot of those feelings that people just don't talk about enough. I think there is this false sense of what mom life is like. It is not all yoga pants, trips to target and Starbucks. It is HARD work. Today when I was reading, it talked about 10 things you can do to create a home of warmth and grace. Get Rest, Time with God, Simplify Schedules, Clutter Busting, Give Up Perfection, Meal Plan, Schedule Mom Time Out, Play Music, Give Grace for Limitations, and Scripture Memory.

I try to do many of these. The ones that spoke to me most today were Give Up Perfection and Scripture Memory. I am too hard on myself and lately I have had to really take a step back and say "It is ok that the house is a little messy, we live here and it's not for show".... "It's ok if it doesn't get done today"- I am not perfect. The Scripture Memory is something I want to try and do with my family. I am going to be looking for a cute way to display a scripture every week and work on that. 

What are some books that you read for enjoyment on for a purpose? I am always looking for suggestions! 

Proverbs 31

As I have said before, one goal for me this year is to spend daily time with God. I love First 5 and I try and read it daily. Today's reading really spoke to me. In a world where our priorities seem to be off, competition seems to be up, and some don't pay attention to what is really important, this spoke to me today. 

I also love how Proverbs 31:30 reminds us of what is truly worth celebrating: "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised."

Notice it's not a woman with a spotless house who is to be praised. It's not the mom with perfectly behaved children wearing matching designer outfits. Honestly, it's not even the woman who is married and has children.

It's a woman who fears the Lord that is to be praised. This isn't an, "I'm afraid of God" kind of fear. This type of fear is referring to having a heart completely in awe of God. It describes a woman who honors God by seeking Him in everything she does and trusting Him wholeheartedly with her life. She has a heart of reverence that overflows into a life of spiritual maturity and wisdom.

I am still a work in progress and will never be perfect. It has taken me a long time to get to a place where I truly feel confident in life with God by my side. I used to worry a lot. Little things and big things would upset me. I would spend time stressed out, unsure of the future, and without hope. It wasn't until I truly realized that what will be, will be. God is in control and there is no reason to worry. Even in the darkest moments, the times when nothing makes sense. All seems to be wrong in the world. God's plan seems to be a mystery. It is all for a reason. It will make sense one day. It is so easy in today's world to get wrapped up in the superficial, the temporary things of this Earth. Often these things take over and replace any time we might have for what is really important. To stand and be in awe of God and what he has done in this world, what he has done in your life. Life is so much more than what we have in the here and now. This life was given to us as a precious gift and we should honor it and trust in Him with everything we have. Like, I said it has taken me a long time to get there, but I am so glad I am here. 

On another note, this verse speaks to being a wife. Some people spend a lot of time trying to figure out what that looks like. What does God expect out of us as wives? To some, it can be overwhelming. You can feel inadequate looking at everything it states in these verses. Instead, we should seek God in those areas of our lives also. We should seek wisdom, instruction, understanding, insight, knowledge, discretion and guidance. With these things and God by our side, we can and will be all the wife that he planned for us to be. It's not about being perfect. It is about living it in the way that God designed you to live it. 

What are some of your favorite Bible versus about being a woman of God, being a wife?

Ten resolutions!

If you are like majority of the world, then you make resolutions at New Year's and by this time of the year- you have either 1. forgotten what they were, 2. given up, or in the rare instance that you are different, 3. you have kept them and continue them.

I am a mix of those. Today, I am going to reflect on those resolutions and update them!

1. Spend time in prayer, devotional, reading with God daily. I can honestly say I do this. I bought a Christian Planner https://christianplanner.com/ at the first of the year. I read https://first5.org/ dialy and reflect in my planner. On the weekends, I try to read something from the bible, listen to a sermon, and we also go to church. 

2. Have time with my husband- dates, movie nights, whatever we can make happen with a toddler. We have made more of an effort to enjoy watching shows together, we have planned a date for our anniversary over Spring Break. I think when you have children, it is harder to manage this type of thing, but I think it is SO important to do to keep your marriage as a priority.

3. Take time to read and play with my son daily. It is so hard to get bogged down with work and household chores, responsibilities, etc. I try to make an effort every day to play with him, take him outside if I can, read a book to him, bath time, whatever we can do to just have some time together. He is a super busy 2 year old and growing so fast. I don't want to miss those moments with him.

4. Exercise as often as possible. I am almost 33 weeks pregnant so exercise is a funny thing these days. I just can't move like I used to. This belly gets in the way- it's harder to do! At the beginning of the year, I signed up with Beachbody on Demand and I am proud to say I have stuck with it. I workout 3-5 times a week usually. I change it up and modify as I need to. I know how important it is to continue to workout while pregnant and how it makes getting back to my pre-pregnancy self afterward so much easier.

5. Healthy eating and water intake. This comes and goes for me. I will say salads have been a craving, fruits and vegetables as well. BUT, I have also craved more sweets during this last trimester which has been hard. I definitely need to drink more water. I am going to re-prioritize this and try harder. I am running out of space in there, so eating is often small snack and meals throughout the day, otherwise a big meal makes me miserable!

6. Budgeting- this has been a priority for us always, but we really revamped it when we had Landry. We know how important it is to plan for the future and really think about college, vacations, and providing for our family. We have stuck to our budget, paid off debt and things continue to go well with that. I know one thing is for sure- just when you think it's not possible, God provides. Trust in him!

7. Family time. I feel we don't get enough of this. My parents are busy, we are busy. We struggle to find that time to just hang out or go do something fun. We need to make time for it though. I am going to try and make more of an effort to have dinner, go spend time with my parents, etc. Same for Tyler's family.

8. REST! I am so bad at this. I go go go go go. I rarely take time to just lay down and rest, prop my feet up and watch a movie, RELAX. I need to make more time, in the midst of the chaos of being a mom and wife, to do this. 

9. Continue with Ever and be as dedicated to it as I can. I have gone up and down with my side gig business. I really need to try and continue to focus on building my team and working harder to share these amazing products with those around me. It is something I enjoy doing.

10. De-clutter! I know, I know- Marie Kondo is like all the rage right now. My husband and I have always purged stuff. We do it several times a year. We donate things, we go through our clothes, household items, sell unneeded items, etc. We need to continue this. With 2 kids and more stuff than ever, it is important to remember that stuff is just stuff and it doesn't make your life. Get rid of what you don't need and what doesn't bring you joy.

What are your resolutions? Have you kept them? Forgotten about them? Ready to revamp and set new ones? There is not time like the present! 

A journey to FAITH

I have been working on this post for a little while. I wasn't quite sure how to put my feelings and thoughts into words. As I discuss on my blog, I am a Christian wife and mom. God first! It hasn't always been that way for me though. Here is a little about my journey to where I am today. 

I grew up Catholic. My grandmother started taking me to church when I was a newborn and I continued to go to church with her most every Sunday. I went through all the steps as a Catholic child- baptism, first communion, and confirmation. When I entered high school and got a job, the time I spent at church was less and less. I guess you could say I was like any other teenager and had "more important things to do". 

On and off through my teenage years and early 20s, I would go to church occasionally or start going for several weeks and then stop. When a major hurricane hit my hometown in 2008, things really changed. The diocese decided to tear down the church that I grew up in, despite the efforts of many to keep it open and repair it as a community. There were other things that occurred, but all in all- it completely turned my off to the Catholic faith. I haven't been back in a Catholic church since.

 I have tried non-denominational churches, spent some time at a Church of Christ, did some online church services, and much more. I have read through the Bible several times. I have kept my connection to God alive through it all. But I strayed..... I let the devil come in and get inside my head and thoughts. I wasn't sure what the plan for my life was. I let other things become more important. I always prayed and felt I had a connection with God, but it wasn't always deep and as solid as I feel it is today.

 Lots of things changed when I met my husband. I truly felt God picked him out just for me. All the years of doubting and feeling hopeless were gone when I met him. I think that was a turning point in my faith. At that moment, I knew God was there, he had always been there, and would always be there. I ventured back to church services, online and eventually we have found a church home at our local Methodist church. 

My faith is stronger now than ever. I chose to wake up every day and trust in God. I know the world is not perfect and I don't see how it will ever be. I just chose to believe that in the end, all will be ok and if it's not ok, it's not the end. I chose to wake up every day and look for the good and positive in the world. I am not naive by any means and I know the devil attacks constantly. I have just tried to train my brain to lean on faith, to pray, to devote time to God daily, and to believe that He is greater than anything here on this Earth. Many people out there might call that silly in the world we live in today. I know it's a risk, but I would rather risk everything on God than live for the material world and believe that is as good as it gets. There is better. Heaven is there and I can't wait to see it one day. Faith is a tricky thing. I am not always perfect with it, but I sure try. 

How did you journey to faith? Are you a believer? I would love to hear about it.