Weekend Links, Vol. 13

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• Confessions on Deep Joy and Serving :: Shine On, Child
• Two “Me Time” Extremes (Part 1) : “Me Time” part 2 :: Joyful Mothering
• Gifts from God’s Hands :: Thanksliving
• How to Please Your Husband :: Ordinary Inspirations
• God Is My Portion :: A Holy Experience

“Isn’t it here? The wonder? Why do I spend so much of my living hours struggling to see it? Do we truly stumble so blind that we must be affronted with blinding magnificence for our blurry soul-sight to recognize grandeur? The very same surging magnificence that cascades over our every day here. Who has time or eyes to notice?” -Ann Voskamp

Keeping One Baby Occupied

Mamas, please weigh in!

I spend a lot of time on the floor with Christian. I’m not very fun, but I do. We have about seven hours during the day when he’s awake and A.J.’s at work. How much time can you really fill with stacking blocks, rolling balls, blowing bubbles, and even reading books?

Add the occasional outing and that still doesn’t add up to very much. I know he needs independent play time as well, which doesn’t last long (not surprising at this age), and he usually isn’t too fond of me doing necessary tasks like washing dishes or folding laundry.

No siblings means I’m his social life, and sometimes I think he’s bored.

So I’d just love to hear how you balance independent play and cooperative play, and I realize all babies’ temperaments are different, but what does/did your day look like for your baby?

I’m typing this post while Christian’s awake… which has only happened a handful of times since he’s been born… so I better end it here!

wherein I ramble

I love Mondays. As long as I don’t get too behind over the weekend, I love the fresh start of a new week. If I don’t rush but take time to appreciate my work, I enjoy folding laundry and filling our pantry and putting dinner in the crock pot.

My latent insomnia has reared its ugly head the past couple of nights. Christian has been sleeping through the night for a few months, except for the disruption caused by our trip to Ohio. I wake him up to nurse him before I go to bed, and then he sleeps till 7:30/8. (Famous last words!)

BUT he woke up at 6:45 on Saturday morning, 5:00 on Sunday morning, and 2:00 this morning! Oh, I was not a happy camper when I couldn’t fall back asleep on Sunday. And last night I tossed and turned for two hours before I finally fell back asleep around 4:00. Sweet child, you are throwing more curveballs at your mama… although the not-being-able-to-fall-back-asleep definitely isn’t your fault.

(watching ourselves… can ya tell?)

Much grace is needed after nights of so little sleep. I’ve been in default grumpy mood for about the past five days. Skipping my devotions led to feeling distant and indulging in irritability and selfishness and emotionalism and WOW, let’s reveal my ugly heart!

Ann’s book arrived Friday, and I’m on chapter three. I tweeted, “I was skeptical about One Thousand Gifts, dearly as I love Ann’s writing, just because of all the hype – can it really be that good? It IS.”

Now for a bit of an abrupt change of subject, some miscellaneous thoughts to finish off with:

• I simplified our living room last week, and it’s so peaceful and perfect for what I envisioned (no big changes or beautiful decorating, just… simply… simplifying). (If you could see our office though… that’s my next mountain to conquer…)
• Chewy Lemonheads are SO good.
• I love getting happy news from dear friends!!
• Have you heard of the documentary Babies? I want to watch it.
• I’m also reading If God Is Good by Randy Alcorn, and rereading After the Leaves Fall by Nicole Baart so I can get to the third book, Beneath the Night Tree, which I just received, and review it for all of you. I love having a reading list for the year; it’s really giving purpose and direction to the books I choose.

I suppose this is long enough already. My hot chocolate is gone and I think I’m going to read now.

What I’m Cooking This Week

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I’m addicted to meal planning, not because I’m so organized, but because I’d be lost without a menu to guide me through the week.

Here’s what we’re eating this week:

Monday: slow cooker chicken alfredo stew, whole wheat biscuits (Joy of Cooking)

Tuesday: baked ziti, salad

Wednesday: spicy skillet chicken

Thursday: parmesan baked chicken, garden pasta, bread machine rolls

Friday: we have plans

Saturday: pork, lentil, and apple soup, leftover rolls

Sunday: roast, veggies, potatoes

If you want any of the recipes I didn’t have links for, let me know!

What are you cooking this week?

(You can read dozens of other menu plans at I’m an Organizing Junkie.)

Weekend Links, Vol. 12

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• 6 Survival Strategies for the Introverted Mom :: Steady Mom
• Evaluate Your Personal Worship :: Do Not Depart
• What Kind of Message Am I Sending? :: Like a Warm Cup of Coffee
• “You and me, buddy.” :: The Flourishing Mother
• Mom to 5 : mom to 5, again : mom to 5, finale :: Happy Helms

“Those who are willing to come apart from the clamor and demands of each day’s activity in order to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to His heart are the ones who will be blessed with intimacy beyond that which most believers will ever know.” -Nancy Leigh DeMoss

And yes, I do copy Simple Mom’s weekend links format. I hope that’s not plagiarism. I just like it!

Anna and Christian Today.

How I enjoy living each day with my little son and friend. I realize I write about a lot of other things besides motherhood but in reality, motherhood is what takes up most of my time, thought, and effort these days… and for many years to come. And that’s a good thing.

Unfortunately I don’t have our camera installed on my laptop. Pictures would greatly enhance my storytelling. Alas… But I’m adding some random recent pictures of us anyway.

Christian wakes up between 7:30 and 8. After vehemently protesting a diaper change, then getting his milk, he is ready to go… testing our babyproofing… if any of the doors in the hallway are open, he’ll find out within 15 seconds.

This morning we followed our usual routine, A.J. getting ready for work, me packing his lunch and making Christian’s breakfast… he and A.J. eat breakfast together and I sit with them since I no longer have time to make mine first.

Christian has a big appetite now after a slow start on solids. Today he eats an entire whole wheat waffle with sugar-free syrup… all the while doing his best to make his daddy and me laugh and pay attention to him.

(at my parents’ house a few weeks ago)

Next I serve him banana while I wash the dishes, but he just picks at it. Then we send A.J. off for the day. Christian stands at the window with me and waves frantically… although not when his daddy can see him, of course.

The moment A.J.’s car pulls out of sight is always a bit of a downer for me. The house seems very empty and quiet, and Christian looks at me like “What do we do now?”

With an hour and a half or so till morning naptime, we spend it listening to music and playing with toys. I also manage to eat a bowl of Cheerios without Christian freaking out at the Mommy’s-sitting-down-with-food signal.

(also at my parents’ house)

Finally it’s naptime… Christian goes happily to bed and I read blogs for a few minutes and then go get ready. Ideally this is my devotional time but I’m trying to keep his morning nap shorter and I run out of time, so I just read a little more until I get him up at 11.

I get my chipper little boy into his jacket and we head to Walmart. It’s warm and sunny and Christian loves being outside. He chirps at the birdies in the parking lot. We’re just picking up a couple of things. The cashier loves Christian and he obligingly smiles and waves.

At home I drag the pack and play out to the porch and try to convince Christian to play happily. He throws a few toys into the mulch, stands and “talks” to me, and listens to the birds. After a few minutes, he decides he’s ready to go in.

Lunchtime… first milk, then I make my lunch and feed Christian his. He makes an enormous mess. And is very pleased with himself.

We go back outside and Christian tolerates the situation for a little while. Then we play with toys inside, then Skype my mom until it’s time for another nap.

I love the afternoon nap… I put a load of laundry in, brew some decaf, and although some days I try to be productive, today I am simply enjoying the free time.

That’s our day up until this point. Boring, yes? It’s my life right now and I love it.

The Only Way We Can Know His Ways

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“I saw that the most important thing was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God, and to meditation on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed; and that thus, by means of the Word of God, whilst meditating on it, my heart might be brought into experimental communion with the Lord.

I began therefore to meditate on the New Testament from the beginning, early in the morning. The first thing I did, after having asked in a few words the Lord’s blessing upon His precious Word, was to begin to meditate on the Word of God, searching as it were into every verse to get blessing out of it.”

- George Mueller, quoted in A Place of Quiet Rest by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

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Two very different ways of saying the same thing! Love His Word!

When Small Things Disintegrate

 
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It’s so easy… and dangerous… for me to be wise in my own eyes.

This is how I think: if I were healthy and not tired, I’d be more holy. If so-and-so treated me with more consideration, I wouldn’t get irritated. If God made everything go exactly the way I want it to, I’d be such a pleasant person!

I might be… but why?

“Selfish joy is utterly dependent on things continuing to go our way, so when something upsets the applecart on which our joy is relying, we… are plunged into anger or anxiety or depression.” (Lydia Brownback, Joy)

When I give thanks for small things, it’s not because they’re the source of my joy. If I forget that, I fall apart when small things disintegrate.

If I look at the little blessings the right way, I can thank Him, yet rest secure because He is my joy. I’m learning…

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#390-400 of 1,000 gifts

the sweet privilege of spending time in the Word

that feeling of being unsettled when my heart is out of sync with His

grace for my critical heart

knowing that I’ve changed, even when others see the same old me

rest for my heart when my body is tired

a candle burning on Sunday afternoon

my husband studying

quiet music on Pandora

blue, blue Florida sky

being incredibly encouraged/inspired/challenged by a sister in Christ

being completely understood by my Father in heaven

Weekend {Letter} & Links, Vol. 11

Good morning, dear readers. (I guess it’s almost afternoon by now.) I have some wonderful links for you this morning! (Would you like some chai with that?)

You might notice that I took my “Links” page down. I went through a major weeding out of the blogs I read. I was reading way too many. Sure, I’m a fast reader, but I felt this urgency to get through each post, leaving me no time to comment or enjoy the community – and more importantly, taking time that should be spent on more important things… like listening.

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So my weekend links might have a lot less variety, and might be less frequent… which is always probably a good thing in the blogosphere! I do love highlighting other people’s writing, though – it makes me feel all happy when someone else enjoys a blog I love. (Although sometimes I selfishly want to hide my favorite blogs so they don’t become hugely popular and leave me just another face among the masses. True story.)

{Does this post reveal my total nerdiness, or what?}

Without further ado, some lovely links for you this Saturday (you might notice the same theme in some of them):

• grateful for a fussy baby :: {stories from will & kendra}
• to know their stories :: chatting at the sky
• Beloved rooftop, nice to meet you :: Shine On, Child
• Guarding Against Technology Time-Wasters :: Passionate Homemaking
• Unplugging :: Thoughts and Whatnots

The Prosaic and Radical

Morning comes again, and I awake to my familiar roles: wife, mother. I love them both. Thank God for His grace because I fail at them every day.

But sometimes in the midst of laundry and dishes, I struggle with how limited my world seems now.

When I was younger, I wanted to work in an orphanage overseas. I did go to Peru and work in several orphanges when I was 19. I saw poverty and love, and especially my own selfishness.

Now I am married with a baby, and I love my home, my sweet little family, my daily duties, the quiet spaces in which to meet with God.

Yet I am afraid that my simple life will gradually descend into a comfortable forgetfulness of the needy world.

The years will slip by, one by one…

and I won’t remember.

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I think of this verse from 1 Timothy, describing the worthy widow:

“and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work.” (5:10)

Now and then I hear someone speak about being radical for Jesus. And it feels like a burden. I can’t move my family to Mexico or sponsor five Compassion children or work for World Vision. Not right now.

But I rest free, burden escaping, when I remember God accepts the poorest offering when it’s all I can give.

A high calling, that – all I can give? It is enough to consume my life, as it did for the worthy widow.

I seek wholeness. To give everything to my family, especially in this season.

Yet to know that forgetting the church, and the world outside my door would be robbing my children of the worldwide perspective I want them to have.

Being absorbed in only my own life and family might cause me to miss opportunities for outreach, even the small ones.

As the day ends, another day of washing a little face and putting toys away and fighting my propensity to grumble, I must pray for His Spirit to give me a pure and sincere devotion to Christ, and the good works He has prepared for me.

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I would love to hear your heart on this. Please share your thoughts on what it means for you to be a radical disciple of Christ in your small everydays.