the balance of blogging...

I often have so many thoughts swirling around in my brain that when I think of doing a blog post, I don't know what to share and what not to share. I am realizing that a blog can only be "real" to a point, and then it would not be in the best interest of the family or the friend, to share the full truth. This is somewhat hard for me, because I really like to portray who I truly am. I want to be understood. So part of the reason I have cut back blogging, other than time, is because I am having a hard time finding that balance, between being "real" and protecting those I love. "Some things are best kept between your family, not everything needs to be on a public forum," as my husband would say.

I often hear my friends say, "I just can't read blogs, because I get tired of reading about everyone's perfect lives.' I feel the same way about some blogs, but, I am realizing...this is just the nature of blogs. You want to blog about things you are excited about or feel passion for...which leds to only portraying the best things...such as a perfectly redone house, or a cute new outfit, a child that professed his faith in Jesus at age 3, the special bond a child is forming with their adopted parent, or how Great God is. The things that don't get talked about on blogs are....marriage trouble, how I am failing to be the parent God has called me to be, how my child has a very sinful heart, how that person in my family makes me crazy, or being a christian is freak-en hard most of the time. We all have struggles in our lives, but often blogs only portray the wonderful things, which can seem fake to a reader or the reader might feel he or she cannot measure up.

Do you guys feel this way when you write a post or read one on a particular blog? And facebook can be the worst. I am sure we can all relate.

I am not sure where I am going with this, but I just wanted to write something on my heart that was "real" to who I am.

Words from the Wise

(my three littles on saint patricks day)

While we try to find our new normal around here, I am either enjoying life, or overwhelmed...not much inbetween. I guess that is because I am either trusting in Christ to supply all the riches I have in him, or I am not.... which results in feeling like the world is caving in on me...and I only have three littles. Yes, my three littles are 4 1/2, 2 1/2 and 2. The 4 1/2 year old often acts like a 2 year old, so it feels like 3, two year olds in my house most of the time! Imagine how families with four kids and above make life work....it boggles my mind. Well, my friend Shelly, over at Good to be Crazy, has gone form 2 littles to 5 littles within 15 months. Yes, crazy! I know...but how does she do it? Well, for one she. prays. a. lot. and she gets advice from rockstar moms who have really big families. And this is the list she compiled....

Wise Words From Rockstar Moms:

1. Stay in the Word – read from the Proverbs everyday

2. Go to bed with your house picked up and organized – that way you never have to start a day in the hole

3. Every day, spend at least a few minutes with each child – look them in the eyes, hug them and ask them about their day

4. Read to your children everyday – it’s a way to cuddle, relax and teach all that the same time

5. Popcorn that you pop yourself is a cheap, filling snack that goes a long way with a crowd

6. Grocery shop in the evenings without your children – with fewer distractions you’ll make better choices and spend less money. And never, ever shop without a list.

7. Hire a housekeeper to help with cleaning AND laundry – at least for a season

8. Bite the bullet and ask your friends for help

9. Be very careful about your time on the computer and the phone. Do not get on either during the day unless you have to.

10. Choose one day to do all of your laundry for the whole week. Have your children pitch in and help sort, fold and put away. And don't even think about the laundry on the other 6 days.

11. Before purchasing anything -- whether it be food, furniture or containers for the boys' legos, make sure you've first used what you already have. Be creative, pray through your every purchase

12. Make the hard choices about how to spend your time out of the house. Assess your children's (and your own) outside commitments and prayerfully cut out those things that need to go.

13. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (per Romans 12:2). You don't have to look like or be like everyone else. It's ok to look different and to stand apart for Christ.


I feel like I am doing some of these things naturally, but I can't wait to implement the others. I love having others go before us, so we are not walking in the dark. Thank you for all your research Shelly!

If you want to read the whole post go HERE.

Balance

Lately I have been trying to find "balance" in my life. I think this is something we all strive for, but never attain, especially those of us who are at home with our children. If we give time to one area of our life, another area suffers. Then the next day we give more attention to the area that was suffering, and then the other area suffers. For example, this blog was something I really attended to the last year or so of my life during our adoption process, but other areas of my life were lacking. I did not spend  as much time with God, my husband, or my children. So I this was one are of my life I could slow down on and give attention to more important areas of my life. Now that we have added a new child, there are many other things on my plate such as a precious face looking up to me who needs constant love and attention, lots more laundry, three kids under four who mess up the house constantly, which needs to be cleaned, more dishes to clean and more disagreements between siblings to regulate. Add all of this ontop of spending time with your husband, keeping up with friends, volunteering for church, cooking our dinner, running errands and spending time with God. Naturally, this left me feeling overwhelmed and basically a mess. But, the Lord revealed to me that he is the only one who can create balance in my life. He is the only one who can give me peace amongst the caous. So, instead of being productive and checking things off my list once the kids go down for a nap, I decided the only way to stay saine and not loose it, is to spend time with the only one who can give me LIFE. I know most of you are probably saying, "Dah!" Of course you should be spending time with God! Well, I was, when it fit into my schedule or when I was desperate. But, fitting anything into my schedule is impossible, because the work never ends and I never get everything checked off my list. So no matter how many dishes are in the sink, toys on the floor, voice messages to check, emails to return, and people to call back...I stop what I am doing and go read, journal, and pray that the Lord will rescue me from myself. Then after thirty minutes to an hour, I feel rejuvenated, rested and peaceful to tackle what life throws at me. This time has been critical for me to stay saine and not be a miserable person to be around. You know those harassing thoughts that enter your mind about what you are NOT doing, or who you are NOT pleasing, well this "time" helps with that too! God has truly met me in my overwhelmedness and given me LIFE. When people ask me how it is going, I can honestly say things are really good...yes, it is hard, but the Lord is carrying me through, literally. The christian life promises suffering and trials...the sooner I learned to embrace this, the sooner I will learn to enjoy life through trusting and abiding in Jesus.

"God calls you to be dissatisfied. You should be discontent, restless, and hungry! The Christian life is a state of thankful discontent or joyful dissatisfaction." ~How People Change, by Timothy S.Lane and Paul David Tripp

Another way to find balance in my life is community, real genuine community. The Lord has provided this group of girls women who I meet with everyweek, to really get deep with and get to the heart of our "stories". Stories, meaning, the stories of our lives, so we can be in right relationship with God and be more free from ourselves. I truly believe this group is one of the greatest things I have ever experienced. I am growing leaps and bounds with these women!! One of the cool things I have learned through this group, is a new podcast called True Sisterhood, that started in December 2010. Is there such thing as true sisterhood? Most of us what say no! But, these four women from many different stages of life, have come together to form this true sisterhood as an example of what it could be to really get to the heart of issues, not just graze the surface in relationships. We were made to be in community and help one another along in this journey through the Christian life. They talk about identity, beauty, and influence...pretty much anything women deal with on a day to day basis. I have loved listening to their podcast once a week while I am cleaning the house, doing the dishes, or running on the treadmill. They really speak to my heart. Go to their website to check it out! TRUE SISTERHOOD You can also get their podcasts FREE on ITunes and it updates on your Iphone everyweek, if you press download. I highly recommend this podcast!! You won't regret checking it out!!!

The mission of the podcast:

"Our private thoughts reveal a lot about the breakdown of relationship among women, even (and sometimes especially) Christian women. We’re catty. We’re envious. We compete and compare. We look to our bodies, our achievements, our men, and even our spirituality to give us what we lack. Addiction and vice soon become our favorite solution to what we may not even realize is our deepest problem: loneliness.

 Turns out, we need each other more than we’d like to admit. The True Sisterhood exists to demystify the drama of female relationship by modeling authenticity and vulnerability, so we can navigate life no longer alone."