Moms Like Us: Rachel

Well, I have to say that last weeks "Moms Like Us" is a bit late ..I have not excuse than, I totally forgot! :) But, I wanted to make sure you got to share this mom answers asap...because we are so encouraged to hear when we are not alone in this whole being a wife/mom/christian thing ...

{Meet Rachel}

A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR BROOD

I married my high school sweetheart, Jared eleven years ago. Quarterback meets band nerd, yeah I know kinda funny. We have two amazing children. Jared works long hours and very hard for us, but he is happy to do it. I love his sense of humor the most. He keeps me in stiches daily. He is an amazing husband and I am very blessed to have him.
I kept my job in retail after stepping down as the manager two years ago. I work two days per week for some fun money. I love to coupon and find it like a game to see how much I can save. I am an organizer for a meetup group for preschoolers, and the den leader for my son's cub scout den. I also homeschool our children.
Wyatt is 9 and has the most wonderful sense of humor. He loves to tell jokes and sing, and is fiercely protective of his little sister. Wyatt has had many problems over the years learning somewhat due to a medical condition. This year we have decided to homeschool, and I have not regretted that decision.
Abby is our very spunky 3 year old. She is incredibly athletic. She can already hit a softball across the yard. She loves to dance, and can be seen boogying around the house. She loves her brother and it warms my heart to see how much they really love each other.

We had a hard time getting a pic this week of all of them ..but these pics were taken this week of her little punkins at the Pumpkin Patch! :)

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST STRUGGLE AS A MOM/WIFE 

Discipline. Discipline for my children and even discipline for my self. Not to say I don't discipline, but being consistent in it.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE YOU FEEL GOD HAS CALLED YOU TO?

I don't know. This is the question is always struggle with. I know that He wants me to raise my children to be godly children, and to be supportive of my DH. Some friends have said that I can be a good and objective listener, but I am not sure that is all that God has planned for me.
I also believe that God can constantly change what role he wants you to play. For instance, maybe this week He needs me to be there for a friend. Hear her out, support her, pray for her, minister to her, and to tell her that God wants her to come back. He fights for her daily. This month he could put me in a position that someone else is watching my responses to a situation. He could be using me to show that someone that we can go through difficult situations without reacting with anger.

WHAT RESOURCES DO YOU FEEL GOD HAS GIVEN YOU ON A DAILY BASIS, THAT ARE UNIQUE TO YOU?

The ability to multi-task. Sometimes I look at my schedule and wonder how I do it. I am also live near by both sides of our family. They are such a blessing. I also love that I have such wonderful godly women as friends to lift me up when I need it. Surrounding myself with these people constantly renews me when I am on empty.

{Courtney here ..I can back this one up, she can juggle more stuff than you would believe!:)

DO YOU MAKE YOUR BED EVERYDAY? Not a chance. Really? Do people really do that?

ARE ALL YOUR DISHES DONE RIGHT NOW? Yes

IS YOUR LAUNDRY CAUGHT UP RIGHT NOW? No, but it isn't out of control.

WHAT IS THE VERSE THAT BRINGS YOU BACK TO THE GROUND WHEN YOU FEEL OUT OF CONTROL?
Well what I read when I feel out of control is this Phillipians 4 12-13. It is so encouraging for me. It pulls me right back in and reading it works liking take a big deep breath.
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 living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
I also really like Psalm 33 20-22. It reminds me to put my trust in him.
We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

YAY FOR YOU!
Well not really a yay for me moment,, but certainly a warm and fuzzy one. I told the kids we were taking them out to dinner. ( A rare treat). 
These were there responses:
Wyatt: Is it a kids eat free place? We want to make sure we are using our money wisely, and not being wasteful. (And yes it was-boy am I proud of him)
Abby- You are the bestest mommy and daddy I ever had! I love you! (Not sure if that is the best compliment-since Jared pointed out we are her only mommy and daddy, but I loved it)

Keeping it Real

I am easily motivated, I have decided.

I realized that I get inspired by the smallest things, and that I just assume everyone else is that way! :) If someone posts something on facebook about eating five meals a day to boost their metabolism, I am IN! If a friend talks about a new idea or concept that has helped them be organized or more peaceful ..I want the details, and I am ready to go! I love inspiring books, blogs and sayings on stuff! :)

Learning this of myself the past couple of weeks, I have determined that that is the reason that I love blogging. I love to put out those ideas for things that help me in one way or another, in hopes of inspiring those who may read it to greatness :) ...not greatness like ME, but their own greatness that is just waiting to be encouraged to action.

I know, because I do this, that so often the same people who inspire us also intimidate us or make us feel like they must have it SO much more together than we do. I know I feel this way about some of you girls' whose blogs I read and think "I want do be like that!"  ...of course we do, you are awesome!

I giggle to myself when I get sweet notes and comments that elude to this about myself ...because if you girls could come hang out with me ...well, lets just say you would see me for what I am, just a mom working to make this all work and hopefully doing it in a way that brings glory to God...just like you.

Just to prove it, I took a quick walk around my downstairs ... :)

This is my kitchen ..sink full of dishes, lunch stuff still out on the counter ...

 That is an open cabinet, jar of peanut butter, an uncovered cake from daddy's birthday this past weekend, and I shudder at the idea of who those grates on my stove look ..I hate cleaning my stove:)

 This is a peek inside my laundry room ...where a load that has been clean for about three days sits to be folded. There isnt any dirty laundry in there right now, but only because I havent brought the mountain down from the heavens (aka, upstairs) yet :)

 And, this is a back up view from the computer where I sit right now ..that is my afternoon cup of coffee and some dark chocolate because I am soo tired (baby up every two hours last night, cutting teeth..blech), some stuff left over from school today and a back door that needs cleaned.

So, I say this for my benefit as much as anyones ...remember to let great stuff inspire greatness, not guilt..let us strive for excellence in Christ, not to be like someone who we think is excellent.  Remember that God is the only True Measure, and that everything else is just supplement to our "everything we need."

I am so glad I have you all to encourage me on my way ...your being here is inspiring to ME ..so thank you :)

{I dedicate this post to my friend Molly, who reminds me to keep it real and that there is comfort in all of us being normal and not having it together}

Operation: ATTENTIVENESS

Our second week of the Kids of Integrity lessons we focused on learning about being attentive. This is big issue in our house, and since we learned last week that "if you love me, you will obey my command" (John 14:15) it makes sense that this week we will learn about how we find out what God's commands for us are!

We focused on the verse .."He who belongs to God, listens to what he says." John 8:47

The first day we made these "listening ears"  ...to relate the need to listen carefully, just like animals who are hunting do (thus this look of a tiger..or something :).

We talked about Samuel, who listened carefully to both Eli and God when they spoke. That story is ripe for kids lessons of so many kinds :)

Then, we followed the lesson from KOI but added a few little changes of our own, to fit these specific boys.

We learned that listening involved eyes, ears and heart - we talked about how we read God's word with our eyes, as well as watch others who are good examples. We listen with our ears to instructions, carefully so we know what commands to follow. And that one way we listen to God is through our heart.

We really stressed eyes and ears together ...HUGE stress on making eye contact, and we mentioned alot about where your eyes are, there your ears and heart will follow :)  We paid out from the nickel jar for making eye contact, listening and then obeying properly.  The boys got two nickels if they both paid attention with their eyes AND obeyed cheerfully.  This worked pretty well!

We played the "Pay Attention" game ...this is one we have played before, and the boys loved it. We took the timer that beeped, set it for one minute, and then I hid it somewhere in the room. They had to come in the room, and see if they could find it. They had to wait until they could hear the beeping, before they could locate it. We did this over and OVER ..meanwhile, we talked about we can look for something with just our eyes like that for a long time, but it is easier when we "listen" for it as well (aka ..listen to mommy's instructions so you know what to do to obey).

This week, we have moved onto Self Control ...another big one for these boys. I cant wait to tell you about the week! :)

Update: Operation: OBEY

Well, I am celebrating a three week "yay me!" because we are really sticking to the Kids of Integrity character training program!

We started with Obedience, and have moved through Attentiveness and now working on the Self-Control lesson. I cant stress how great this program is, being very thorough and giving some really great ideas of ways to incorporate these godly qualities in our children.

First, I wanted to update on Obedience ...I pretty much showed all our great activities on the previous post, except for this one ...this one is based on the verse "Listen, my son, to your fathers instruction and do not forsake your mothers teaching. They will be a garland to grace your head, and a chain to adorn your neck." Prov 1:8-9

 If you knew Canon, you would know how impressive it was that he kept with this activity for about 45 minutes. He was SO proud of his chain when it was all done :)

We are still working on the lessons we learned about Adam and Eve, Lot's wife, Noah and Jonah ..some of which obeyed, and some who didnt.

One thing we did a bit differently as the week progressed, is that we changed up the Nickel Jar a bit ...

Canon kinna started enjoying moving the nickels from from the "happy" jar to the "sad" jar a little too much :) SOO, we changed it up and poured all the nickels into the sad jar, and started earning nickels for good behavior instead of taking them away for bad behavior...seems like child psychology backs that one up somehow :)

We will keep this tool going, now that we learned how it works better for us :)

Dont Run with Twinkies

I have mentioned that I am reading a book titled, Crazy Love by Frances Chan. 

I cant tell you how it has started my brain, heart and spirit moving in a passionate way toward God in my life, and the life of my family. It has truly initiated a renewing of my mind that is palpable, and involuntarily mobilizing.

The chapter I am reading/moving through (there are so many thought provoking thoughts I read, ponder, read some more, think, read...) right now is called, When You're in Love. It has had some most interesting thoughts, one of which is about Twinkies. :)

My husband loves Twinkies ..maybe that is one reason this metaphor stuck with me so much ...

pg. 104 - "Imagine going for a run while eating a box of Twinkies. Besides being self-defeating and sideache-inducing, it would also be near impossible. - you would have to stop running in order to eat the Twinkies. 

In the same way, you have to stop loving and pursuing Christ in order to sin. When you are pursuing love, running toward Christ, you dont have the opportunity to wonder ..Am I doing right? or Did I serve enough this week?  When you are running toward Christ, you freed up to serve, love and give thanks without guilt, worry or fear. As long as you are running, you are safe."

I know that for me, and I believe that for many of us, guilt is something that adds to the gut level "stress" of our spirits. We are so burdened as Christian woman with a sense of desire to be all, do all, handle all, serve all ...we are overwhelmed with the desires that consume our hearts, and how we are to achieve them all...and guilt when we dont.

For me, the root of this journey to peace via less stress is about letting go of the things that God does not intend us to carry on our shoulders and in our hearts. Guilt, fear, expectations of ourselves that God didnt give us, unfair judgements of who we are or should be ...those are all Twinkies girls!

Ah, to pursue Christ to the point that I dont have time for Twinkies ...yes, that is where my focus needs to be!

What are your Twinkies?  ..mine are guilt, comparisons, self-doubt, pride, lack of focus, impatience.

I need to put those away, so I can pursue this Christ I am learning to love more every day. How about you?