Mr. Monday!

On this beautiful Mr. Monday, I want to talk about commitment. Marrying our Mr. was probably one of the biggest commitments we ever made. God's Word says that when two people get married, they become one. Getting married is committing to putting the marriage above ourselves. As wives, we are committing to be our husbands helper forever, as long as we both shall live. That's a HUGE commitment.

Sometimes, once we get into the marriage, we realize that we don't exactly care for all of the ways he needs us to help him.Washing clothes might not be our strong suit, but it's not his either, and as his helper it falls to us. Or maybe he needs help managing the finances, or he might just need encouragement when he gets down. The different ways we help our Mr.'s are endless. Each Mr. needs something different. He might need your help to win a battle with sin, he might need your help replacing the kitchen sink, I don't know what your Mr. needs help with, but I know he needs your help.

Regardless of our feelings, when we committed to our marriage, we committed to helping our Mr.'s, through thick and think, rich and poor, happiness and sorrow, we promised him that we would be there. Are you honoring that commitment to your husband, or are you complaining about being expected to the things that you don't like to do? I know I lose sight of that commitment sometimes.

The bottom line is that I love my Mr., and I know you love yours too. Maybe we should commit to being happy about the commitments we have made. Let's try it for a week, shall we? For the next week I challenge you to be thankful and joyous about helping your Mr. No matter what you are helping him with, be it laundry, dishes, finances, a bad attitude or a different sin that he has, be thankful for him and the opportunity to walk through life together, for better or for worse.

30 Days of Thankfulness

Sonya, over at Becoming a Strong Woman of God, is hosting blog challenge during the month of November:

-The challenge:
to be thankful for every gift that the Lord has given you, and to teach your children simple ways to be thankful.
-The goal:
to learn to be thankful for the smallest things and see God all around us as we move through each day.
-The hope:
what is learned and observed during this challenge will have a lasting effect on our thankfulness.

Would you consider joining us on this journey? Hop on over to Sonya's blog:

Contentment

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ~ Philippians 4:12

This Scripture has been on my heart for several days now. What stands out to me the most is that Paul didn't just instantly become content, he had to learn to be content. I think that God is teaching me this, and I must admit that it's not an easy lesson. While I do know what it is to be in need and what it is to have plenty, and I even know the secret of being content. The secret is thankfulness. The secret is choosing to be content, even if situations aren't ideal. It's choosing to be thankful for what you have, instead of wishing things were different.

What does that look like to me? It means:
...being thankful for our pets, even though I don't like caring for them. It's choosing to be thankful for my husband who loves animals, instead of upset about the hair on the rug, the poop in the litter box and the algae in the fish tank.
...being thankful that my children are creative when they make a big mess, instead of feeling putout by it.
...being thankful God made the seasons, even when I have to go out early in the morning and shovel the sidewalk and clean off the car.
...being thankful for my family when I have to clean up the living room, again. It means choosing to be thankful for hungry people when I have to cook dinner, wash the dishes, and go grocery shopping (my least favorite thing to do).
...being thankful for little legs that run and play when I have to mend another pair of pants with holes in the knees.
...being thankful for food to eat, instead of grumbling about the mess in the kitchen, or spilled milk on the floor.
...being thankful for the time with my children when homeschooling them, instead of upset with their poor attitudes about learning.
...being thankful for a house full of love, even when I can't remember the last time I had a full nights sleep, a moment to myself, or a shower without someone banging on the door.

This list could go on and on, but I think you get the point. What does learning to be content look like in your life?

Christians and Halloween?

When I logged onto my computer today there were tons of posts about Christians and Halloween. Some people are extremely against it (with good reasoning) and others are extremely for it (again with good reasoning). Instead of writing a post about my personal beliefs, I just wanted to share some of the articles that I have run across this year. Please remember while reading these articles (if you so choose) that God is the true judge. Both sides are well supported and backed up with Scripture, so the most important thing is for you not to sin by doing something that violates your beliefs, but walk the path God has laid out for you.

God Questions

Christian Answers

My Deodorant is Giving Out

Princess Party Girl

Rightthinker

Stay-At-Home Daughter

I ask that whatever your decision about Halloween, you make it in effort to glorify Christ. Make your decision after prayer, and then do it all for the glory of God.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
~1 Corinthians 10:31

My Anti-Santaism: The beginning

This is the second post in my Anti-Santaism series. Just as a reminder, a new post will be added to the series every Friday between now and Christmas. Last week I introduced the series, you can read that post here. This week, I wanted to take some time to tell you about when it all started.



My Anti-Santaism began when I was 14. You see, I was one of those kids that believed in Santa with every fiber of their being. When all of the other children's hope in him faded away, I held on. After all, the movies all said that he was real, even if parents and older kids didn't believe. I thought that it was special that I could still believe when others lost their faith. I thought Santa would be pleased by my faith in him and maybe, just maybe, I would get to meet him. He might even take me to the North Pole in his sleigh. I was sure I would be rewarded for my faith in him.

The harsh reality? Santa isn't real.

When did I find this out? Just before Christmas one year. I was shopping with my sister and one of her friend, and on the way out of the store and back to the car the topic of Santa came up. I proudly announced that Santa was most defiantly real, even if they didn't believe in him. They responded by laughing at me and saying they couldn't believe I was so stupid and childish to still believe in that. But it didn't stop there. They continued poking fun at me for quite some time, and I spent the ride home in the back of the car trying to hide my tears. My mom wouldn't have lied to me, would she? Surly all this time it wasn't her like they were saying. Just the year before I had received a letter from Santa in my stocking, that wasn't from my mom!

That was the day I decided. That was the day I made the choice that I would NEVER lie to my children. I knew that no loving parent could ever be the cause of the treatment that I received that day. Especially not just for their own enjoyment. I remember wondering what kind of a mom could lie to her kids? It was just so inconceivable to me. I still loved my mom (and my sister), but I was wounded.

I was the brunt of jokes that entire Christmas season. My sister told everyone we met that I still believed in Santa, and they would join in with her to laugh at me. I would try to deny it, even though I wasn’t sure what to think anymore, but they didn’t believe me or simply didn’t care. It is probably one of the most painful childhood memories that I have; more painful than being made fun of for having only one eye, and even more painful than being sexually abused by my stepfather.

That was the beginning of my Anti-Santaism. For those of you who were expecting something that was related to my faith in Christ, I have to tell you that it started out having nothing to do with religion. Back then I knew of Christ, but I didn’t know Him. I was raised in church, and I'm sure I must have known that Christmas was about the birth of Christ? But Christ wasn't important to me. He loved everyone, God was good and that was the extent of it. Santa, now he was the reason for the season. Every image of Christmas was about him. Every Christmas card held his photo, and on Christmas eve we watched him on the news. And it was all a lie. My Anti-Santaism came from the hurt that I felt that day. The hurt that I knew I could NEVER wish on any other child, especially not my own.

Mr. Monday!

So, I have been slacking on my Mr. Monday posts. Not because I love Mr. Amazing any less, but for some reasons finding time to turn the computer on on Monday's is becoming difficult for me. I should start pre-writing them... Yeah, that would be good. But for now, I thought I would just go ahead and write this week's post.

I have been thinking all day about how much I am amazed by Mr. Amazing (hints the name). He worked the closing shift last night, didn't get to bed until after 11, then got up at 5am to go back to work. Why would anyone do that? Why would they drag themselves out of bed when they are dog tired? The answer is simple. Love.

He doesn't do it because he loves his job. He doesn't do it because he loves money. He does it because he loves our family and wants to provide for us. That amazes me. It amazes me how much he sacrifices for us. It amazes me that day after day, week after week, year after year, he gets up and goes to work, no matter what. He goes when he is sick (unless he can't stand up or something), he goes when he is tired, he goes when I forget to make him something to eat, he goes when I forget to wash his clothes. He just goes. He gets up and puts forth the effort to take care of our family, no matter how much his family fails him.

The Proverbs 31 woman has come up several times in the past few days. What I'm realizing is that I am ever so thankful for God's grace, because I fall so short of that. I am far from the perfect wife, yet there my husband is. Standing strong, loving me despite my faults.

Sometimes it's easy to focus on ourselves, on all of our needs that aren't being met. But if you ever take a step back and look at things from the other point of view, it gives you an amazing since of gratitude. Instead of looking at all of the things you have to put up with, think about all of the things that you make your husband put up with. If your anything like me, I bet you will want to give him a great big hug and tell him how truly amazing you think he is.

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Oh, and happy Sunday! :D