Guest Post: Thank Your Wife

“An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.” Proverbs 31:10

If there is anything that I have learned after almost five years of marriage and two children, it is to take the time to thank your wife. I don’t mean just a “Thanks for dinner, honey.” I mean a thank you that comes from the heart. A thank you that lets her know that she is “far more precious than jewels.”  I don’t do this nearly enough. And in a world where Satan takes every opportunity to lie, discourage, and dishearten wives and moms both young and old, I want to take the opportunity to thank my wife by sharing a few of my favorite qualities about her.

• She is the most passionate and principled person I know. It’s contagious!
• Her desire to know truth and to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord, no matter what the cost, is unmatched.
• She loves me despite my awkwardness and lack of spontaneity.
• She has taken on one of the hardest jobs in the world–a homemaker. An extrovert by nature, she has selflessly chosen to spend most of her days absent from any adult interaction and in the country away from any family and friends so that she can be intimately involved with every aspect of raising our children.
• She initiated the real food journey for our family. She has researched and discovered truths about the quality of food we eat and has incorporated this knowledge into our everyday life as a family. She strives tirelessly to make sure we eat the highest quality food that brings us nourishment and keeps us healthy.
• She makes the best hot chocolate in the world!
• My favorite quality…she truly makes me more like Christ.

Happy 30th Birthday, my love. Thank you for fearing the Lord and loving your family well. You are a blessing. I  love you.

It’s Not Just You, Mama

Both of the girls are upstairs in their rooms.  L is working on a 2+ hour nap.  K is singing.  I’ll take singing over yelling, which has been our normal lately.

I cried on Monday.  Like a really ugly, loud, snotty cry as I told Chris: I can’t do this.  I am so bad at being a mom.  My two year old hates me.  She doesn’t listen to or care about anything I say.  I yelled too much today.  The inner voice in her head for the rest of her life is going to be me yelling.  I’ve ruined her life.  If I had known how hard this would be…

He held me and encouraged me.

Tuesday was better.  Wednesday was hard.

Today, both girls slept a little later.

Then, I read a blog post called Walk Slowly, Mama. Go on, mamas, read it.

Satan likes to make us feel like we’re alone in our struggles.  How many times have I thought that I’m the only one whose house is this dirty… or that I’m the only one who completely loses it when their toddler pees in her pants, while sitting on her feet, so her socks are completely soaked through and then instead of going straight to the bathroom like she was told, she walks all over the house with her pee-soaked socks (oh wait, is that really just me?)… or I’m the only one who wears the same clothes for two days in a row…

Useless, tired, messy, incompetent, inadequate… these are the things that I feel on a daily basis.

But you know what?  I am not the only one.  And Jesus is gentle.  And I am inadequate.  But Paul says that God’s grace is sufficient and that His power is perfected in weakness.  Like the blog post said and many others have pointed out, my kids don’t need me to be perfect–they need me to show them Jesus and what better way to do that than if they see me mess up, repent, and live in the grace and forgiveness that is offered to me through Him?

Rest.  And be content in your life.  I always dreamed of being a mom and, though it’s different, I don’t think I had a completely unrealistic idea of what it would look like–but the world sneaks in and tells you that it’s not enough.  That you need more.  That you deserve more.  But I’m convinced that this thing I’m doing–this raising little people to be lovers of Jesus and others–is beautiful and precious and a dream come true. ❤