A Gentle Reminder - 31 Days to Clean by Sarah Mae ~ Day 31

Today is the last day of the 31 Days to Clean cleaning challenge.

It was inspiring and motivating for me.

I really hope it was for you as well.

In the reading this morning, Sarah Mae was encouraging balance.

Balance in our lives is crucial and without it, we as individuals and the people around us suffer.

When we are out of balance, we can become physically, emotionally and spiritually ill. Think about it, if your acid/alkaline balance in your body is messed up, you get sick...if your hormones are out of whack, you can be an emotional wreck (even though no fault of your own exists) and well, if you are spiritually out of balance that can lead you down a dark and depressing path.

It is true that in our lives while we are juggling our responsibilities we must also have balance. If we focus too much on our careers, our home lives and families suffer. If we still work outside the home yet are solely focused on our homes and families we will suffer a set back in our job performance.

The key to it all is trying to keep everything balanced by seeing life as a whole instead of just focusing on the little things and compartmentalizing them.

Sarah Mae wrote it perfectly. She said,

"Life becomes a routine made up of the little intentional things I choose to do throughout the day. I focus on one day at a time, leaning into faith and keeping my mind on the hope that is at the end of my journey. I choose to forgo perfection.

What keeps a household running well and in balance? Love.

Instead of striving to be a perfect wife, I will choose to kiss my husband before he leaves for work.

Instead of striving to be a perfect mothers, I will choose to giggle with my kiddos throughout the day.

Instead of striving to keep my ideals, I will choose instead to let them gently guide me.

Instead of striving to change myself, I will choose to let the living Word of God change me from the inside out according to His timing and will. I'll just keep my eyes on Him."

Reading this, this morning and writing it out now, just really hit me as to how much I strive. I strive to do everything perfectly and hold it all together and it is so STRESSFUL!

I don't have to be like that and neither do you! I AM CHOOSING TO FORGO PERFECTION!

It's like she said, life becomes a routine made up of little things we do throughout the day. So to hold it all together we have to figure out what we MUST do and make sure those things are accomplished and then work towards the extra things. We do need balance. Otherwise we'll lose it...at least I know I will. 

Today's assignment is REST! We've earned it!

Well, I feel sheepish (baaaa)... 31 Days to Clean by Sarah Mae ~ Day 30

It isn't every morning you sit down to read, think and write and wind up being humbled.

Today was my morning for exactly that to happen.

It all started a couple of weeks ago, but kind of culminated last night before bed.

For the past couple of years, I've been very interested in dairy goats and have wanted to get a couple of them.

Matt, repeatedly told me no. (pout, pout.)

I'd been asking the Lord to change his heart and miracle of miracles, He did!!

I can't begin to describe for you how happy I was when he told me I could get goats...IF we sold our commercial refrigerator. I still think we should keep it, but was willing to make the sacrifice to get goats.

My heart was soaring!! It reminded me of that verse in Proverbs 13 about hope being deferred, makes your heart sick, but when the desire comes it is a tree of life.

Well, that is EXACTLY how I was feeling.

I thought this will be simple. "Sell the frig, buy my goats!"

I couldn't sleep that first night for all the excitement I was feeling. After tossing and turning for half the night, I decided to quit trying to sleep and go research goats. (I love research.)

Finally, decided that Nubians would be best suited for our needs and wants and began scouring the internet and craigslist for them....

Had no luck...

I wasn't about to give up hope though.

The next day, I started cleaning up the frig to get it ready to sell. It took about two days to get all of that accomplished and pictures taken and the ad posted to craigslist.

I kept searching for those goats. Day in and Day out...searching, searching, searching.

I realized after about three days of checking Craigslist about every 15 minutes, (very exhausting) that I could set up an alert if something were to post with my keywords. (To date there have been no alerts :-/)

I finally found some in Champaign that were bred does. They were also pretty reasonably priced. They were a Nubian x LaMancha cross, but she said they were really good. And that she would get back with me with more information. I'm still waiting to hear from her, its been about two weeks. (Ugh! I really hate waiting!)

So, last night I was scouring Craigslist again and found some listed just west of St. Louis. I got so excited, I emailed and then spoke with the man on the phone. He's supposed to email me pictures this morning. I didn't really care about the distance because I had gotten to the point that I was ready to drive wherever to get the right ones.

The only problem was that when I got off the phone, Matt said, "I don't know why you are talking to people about goats. The frig hasn't sold yet."

Well, talk about a downer. I see others' farms and just dream of when ours can be more like that, more picturesque, more animals, a bigger garden, (Yes, I realize this means a lot more work for me...that doesn't bother me though. I'm no stranger to work and working hard!) it's just a dream of mine I guess. I guess I was just magically hoping that it would sell OR that my wonderful husband would say, "Ok, get the goats...just make sure you sell the frig." He's sticking to his guns though. (Nuts!)

I am okay with this, since it was our agreement, but I admit it, I'm a little envious of people who already have their adorable goats. (Don't judge me! -Jack)

So anyway, that brings me to my reading this morning and its humbling effect.

Sarah Mae was encouraging contentment in season of life that we are currently in. But, you know, it is hard sometimes to be content in our lives, when we see a woman whose house is cleaner, whose kids are better behaved, who maybe has chickens, goats and a horse....you get the idea.

But, we are where we are.

She writes, "If you find yourself depressed or angry about not being able to have the home (or goats) you desire, might I suggest that perhaps you are trying to find life in something other than the Life-Giver? He is the only One who can give us life; our worth and value come from Him alone. Enjoy the seasons God allows you to move through; pray for a contented spirit.

'...give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, 'Who is the Lord?' or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.' Proverbs 30:8-9"

She then encourages us to write down 10 things we are thankful for today and as for the cleaning assignment to sweep and mop the floors in the laundry room and to clean out and throw away any expired products in the laundry room cabinets.

I'm really trying to be content and to know that I will get the goats in due time. Especially, because I have asked the Lord to sell the frig soon and when that happens to lead me to the right goats for us. So really, I just need to trust that the Lord is doing what is best for me in this situation and quit fretting so much.

It's hard though because it feels so close yet, so far away. It will happen though, because Matt did say I could get them. Yay!

Patience is key. 

What about you all? Did you ever go through a situation like this where you had to have patience waiting for all the right things to fall into place BEFORE you could act??

Hiring help or no? 31 Days to Clean by Sarah Mae ~ Day 29

I'd like some help around here.

I'm sure you would too!

Most people can't afford to hire someone to come in weekly (or more) and help with the harder cleaning. I know I can't.

If you can though, that is great! Enjoy it!

I think being able to hire someone to come in to help with cleaning is a wonderful thing. It not only benefits you and your family, it helps the economy. (Win, win!)

But for those of who can't afford it, we would do very well to remember all the help we actually do have. We live in a wonderful age of technology.

We live in the age of washers and dryers, dishwashers, electric cookstoves, microwaves, crock pots, vacuum cleaners, automobiles, furnaces, air conditioners, etc.

All of these wonderful inventions actually help us do our work and help us to enjoy life. Just a hundred years or so ago and probably less, most if not all of these things didn't exist and if they did they couldn't be afforded by the common person.

If we had to do all the actual labor associated with daily life like they had to in days gone by we would think our current lives a constant state of luxury.

For example, actually washing clothes by hand and hanging them to dry. What about actually standing over the stove for every single meal, chopping and preparing by hand, taking rugs out and actually beating them, hitching up the horses to go or actually walking to town, bringing in wood (not to mention chopping, stacking, etc.) for heat and having to endure the heat in the summer if you didn't have a fan or other means of cooling off.

We really have most of the help we need, so chin up.

These things won't last forever and when we have reached our golden years we will look back and know we didn't have it so badly.

But, while we are down here in the trenches, just try to keep on keepin' on.

Cleaning assignment for today is clean out and organize the cabinets or closet in the laundry/utility room.

Just who are we really trying to please? 31 Days to Clean by Sarah Mae ~ Day 28

I have a love/hate relationship with the Internet, books, podcasts, whatever.

Basically, a love/hate relationship with anything that tries to motivate or inspire me to alter my life or way of doing things.

Mostly, I think it is because I love to learn new things or try to improve myself, but I also beat myself up too much. I'm always thinking, "well, so and so keeps her house cleaner than I do." Or, "Martha Stewart or (insert friend's name here) is much more creative and crafty than I am." Or, "She's a better mother than I am and can seemingly hold it all together while accomplishing much more than I can," etc.

Often times, the things that either inspire or drag me down are just random things people will say (that they probably didn't think through before they said them anyway) that makes me feel like I should be listening to them and then impose their standard on myself. Why do I do that?

I hate that!

Thankfully, I'm aware of this shortcoming so that I'm trying to do battle with it all the time.

This is not to say that we should never allow ourselves to be inspired by others who do things differently. That is one of the ways we learn and grow as individuals.

But there does come a point where you have to say to yourself that "Yes, she does things differently than I do. She also has struggles and problems just like I do." We need to accept ourselves for where we are and strive to love ourselves. Not be so hard or beat ourselves up all the time.

Comparing ourselves to others only leads down the road to depression.

The happy thing in all of this is that Jesus loves us exactly for who we are, right now. He's not waiting until our houses are cleaner, we are thinner, our children are better behaved or even until we have a better attitude. He loves us. That's all there is to it.

It is high time we accept his love and learn to love ourselves in the process.

Let go of what that seemingly well meaning lady from your church told you about how she raises her kids and whatever else she may have said.

You are you.

You do things your way and if it is working for you then embrace it.

You do not have to please everyone. Focus on trying to please the Lord and taking the best care of yourself and your family that you can and the rest will follow.

Today, try to clean the sink and drains in the laundry/utility room.