Video of the Kiddos!

Here is a video from our day with Mr. Josiah Massey!  We have had a fun day playing!  

We have one more day with the little fellow, so I will try to get more pictures and videos of the two of them!  We have so enjoyed caring for Josiah.  What an honor to look after him while his mommy and daddy are away!  Thankful for these little lives and praying for them to know and love Jesus!  

The Fight Against Idleness, Day 2....and we have a baby boy!

The next thing that is helping me in my fight against idleness, my fight for productivity in my home, is getting creative to help manage my time.  My friend Lisa shared an AWESOME blog that is quickly becoming a favorite!  It's called Simple Mom, and you can find a link to it here on my site (right hand side, cute picture of a kid holding onto momma's leg)  She has a series that she did on home management and she talks about something she calls a daily docket.  That has been a wonderful tool for me, so helpful in planning out my day!  I was suggest checking out her site, and look for her links to her daily docket.  She also utilizes a home management notebook, which is on my to do list to create.  So many wonderful ideas there!  So, check out her site.  It's wonderful!  

On another note, we have been keeping sweet little Josiah Massey while his mommy and daddy are overseas for a little while.  Josiah is a month younger than Karis, so I am getting an idea of what life with twins would be like.  They are both great babies, but even two great babies are TWO BABIES!  I have a much higher respect for mommas with twins now than I did before!  I don't think I would be very productive at all if I had two little ones all the time!  I am trying to make the most of their nap times.....and speaking of that.....the babies are waking up from their morning nap now.  I'm off for now, but I will put some pictures up of the little cuties later!  

Praying for grace and mercy!

The Fight Against Idleness, Day 1

In my last post I talked about wanting to work on not "eating the bread of idleness."  Though there have been (many) moments that the temptation has overtaken me and I have sat too long at the computer, or waited entirely too long at tackling the pile of dishes in the sink, I have seen God's grace helping me in different moments throughout the day!  

Let me take a moment to point out something important.  I credit the fact that I have this desire to be a productive "keeper of the home" only to the grace of God.  If I were left to myself I would be one big ol' cluttery, junky, idle mess!  I know God's Spirit is present and His Word is active, and speaks loud and clear!  It's clear that I am to look well to the ways of my household.  I am thankful for conviction in this area, and thankful for the Spirit's working!  Be encouraged women at the desire within you to keep your home well, it's an evidence of God's grace at work in your life!  Praise Him for it!  

Now to the hleps...

The first thing that has helped me SO much is simply sitting down and planning out my day.  Before I go to bed, I take out a little notebook and write out my day, and I try to get very detailed.  Karis is on a great schedule now, so I pretty much know what time our day is going to start and when she will have feeding times and nap times.  I write these down and then write down the exact things that I want to get done while she is napping.  I have found that having an idea of what I need to get done in the day without planning when it will get done equals it not getting done!  Doing some laundry, making some calls, and putting away dishes are all things that need to happen tomorrow for me.  So, I will be specific in planning out what gets done when so that it gets done.  I have been much more productive during the days that I have a very detailed plan.  This goes down as my number one thing that has helped me, and is helping me in my fight against idleness!  

More of my helps to come! 

Trying Not to Eat the Bread of Idleness

For as long as I can remember, I have not been a fan of cleaning and doing housework. I remember my mom making me clean up my room when company was coming over and actually saying to her that when I was older, had my own house, and had company come over, I would not clean up!

When I got married, I knew Blake's expectation was for me to keep a clean, neat, and organized home. I was afraid, very afraid! I am not organized. I am not a cleaner. I am an unorganized, cluttered, LAZY mess. I know my role as a wife and mother is to take care of my home and manage it well. However, my sinful heart has trouble embracing this. God has been so gracious to convict me from His word concerning this area. My constant prayer request to the girls in my small group is that I would be productive, use my time wisely, and keep my home well. But, I often feel defeated and don't see victory over this area in my life.

My friend Dana (I've mentioned her before, she is just such a wonderful blessing to me!) has a recent post on her blog that the Lord really used in my life. She talks about being thankful for things that she doesn't have, one thing being lots of freetime. She says,

"Free time or moments of boredom... well, If I did have these they would end up being more of a curse than a blessing because knowing my wayward heart I would be idle." You can read the rest of her post here (and I recommend checking it out!).

After I read that line, it was like a knife cutting into me. That's me, my heart is prone to being idle. Plain and simple. That's a huge reason why I don't like to clean and do housework, it's work! But, clearly from God's word this is not how I am to be. Proverbs 31:27 says, "She looks well to the ways of her household; she does not eat the bread of idleness." I not only like to eat the bread of idleness, I feast on it and crave more! I am so convicted by this verse and I want to change. I know that God can change me! I want to look well to the ways of my household and not eat the bread of idleness!

The next bit of blogging is going to be me sharing how my fight against being idle is going. I want to share practical tips of what's working for me, what's not working for me, and just overall how things are going. I am anxious that God is wanting to do something, and I think it's going to be quite a challenge. Would you pray for me!

A brief update

  Well, I wanted to update the blog a little bit, but I am getting quite sleepy.  So, the only current update is a cute new background!  I don't know what it is about this little birdie background, but I thought it was so great!  Coming soon will be updates on our new house (including pictures!) and Karis being 9 months old!  I will blog again soon, I will!  : )