What a wreck

Last night I had a conversation with my husband about keeping it all together...or not. I was lamenting to him about my inability to do it all...some area of life always seems to be lacking.

If I have a 'super mom day' when Maren and I do 3 inspiring crafts, bake cookies, read 37 books, take a walk to the park and have a heart-to-heart conversation about Jesus, we leave behind a wake of dirty dishes, unfolded laundry, and we inadvertently eat grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner...and Brett's the one making the grilled cheese.

If, at the end of the day, the house is tidy, laundry is folded, floors are mopped, and we eat a tasty meal, I feel as though I often look back only to realize that Maren spent much of the day roaming the house alone, and we made nary a notable memory for the day.

Some days I find myself brimming with creative inspiration...leading to a sizable portion of time wiled away in the craft room. These days often lead to an increase in Etsy sales or a boost in blog readership. Thankfully, Maren loves to spend time with me in the craft room, and she's even got her own little table in the corner. Again, though, with the grilled cheese dinners and piles of laundry. {Have I mentioned that Maren's into changing her clothes about 7 times a day? This doesn't help my pervasive laundry issue!}

For now, regardless of what we do {or don't do}, Truett just happily goes with the flow, for which I am grateful. I know the days of him rolling around on the floor {instead of pulling every pan out of the lower cupboards or unrolling the ribbon and yarn mistakenly left at his level} are numbered. And, I'm actually thankful for that, too. I do look forward to the busy, more mobile days to come.

...that was a tangent...

My point is...I cannot do it all. I have finally decided, at the age of 31, to release any preconceived notion I ever had of being perfect. Once again this morning, I was reminded to invest my time in things that matter.

The kids and I were on our way home from gymnastics. {Maren's hobby...certainly not mine!} We were minding our own business, sitting at a stop light, when a little red car slammed into us from behind. I am so thankful for our recent minivan purchase. Our little accident was fairly mild, and I'm sure that's do, in part, to the fact that we were in the larger vehicle of the two. Both kids instantly screamed, I'm sure out of shock more than pain. After insuring their well-being, I shakily collected all necessary information from the other driver, and we were on our way again. {I do have doctor's appointments scheduled tomorrow for both kids, just to be sure everything is alright!}

I spent the remainder of the day praising God for protecting us, and thinking of what might have been...much in the same way I did this summer when we were facing Truett's heart surgery. The thing is...only the Lord knows how our days here on earth will pan out. The choice given to me is how I will approach each new day I am given. Will I choose to fill up my days with meaningless tasks in an effort to 'keep up appearances'? Or, will I thoughtfully and intentionally spend my days seeking to bring honor and glory to my God?

I have chosen {or, God has chosen to have me meditate upon} Philippians 1:9-11 during the upcoming year. It says...

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God.

I actually do believe that keeping an orderly home is honoring to the Lord. What isn't honoring to Him is turning my home's appearance into an idol. The same can be said for how I approach each aspect of life.

So, I find myself frequently asking the question...

Am I doing this in order to make myself feel good or look good, or am I acting in order to show love and give honor to my God?

I pray that as the days and weeks unfold, I will learn to...

...have love abounding...
...discern what is best...
...remain pure and blameless...
...be filled with the fruit of righteousness...
...and bring glory and praise to God.

In the meantime, I hope to embrace the little 'wrecks' I find around my house...



...and to be thankful for this moment, so graciously given to me by a loving, merciful God.