First, I want to tell you all Thank You for taking the time to read this today!  Second, I would like to remind everyone that this is a post to encourage and not to make anyone feel bad about working outside the home.  This is personal testimony of how God has spoken to my heart about my journey.

I want to take time to encourage a mom, friend, and beautiful woman of God named Magen Roberson today…There are many days that I have struggled with my place as a mom!  Why?  Well because I am a “stay at home mom” and have felt like I was not contributing to my family the way I should have been ie. financially, emotionally, spiritually, and physically.  I felt like the things I was doing at home were not providing for the needs of our family at the time making me feel like I should just give up and get a 9-5 job and put my little ones in daycare.  I found no significance in the housework and felt like I was not making a difference in the world around me because I was not using my “formal education that I am paying for with a mountain of financial debt :(“.  One thing that Magen said to me that has had a profound impact was that the enemy robs our family with these lies of insignificance, he makes us feel that we are not doing enough and ultimately if we act on it he (the enemy) gets us out of our home away from teaching our children, away from contributing to the nurturing and support of those that matter the most. She reassured me of my biggest and most rewarding priority and encouraged me to find joy and contentment in the things I do for my family!

I have pondered our conversation for quite some time.  Find Significance in Laundry?  Find Joy in clipping fingernails and fixing ponytails?  Find Value in cleaning the bathroom?   This forced me to pray because I did not enjoy those things and did not see that I was contributing positively for my family because these things did not seem matter day to day… (the laundry NEVER goes away, fingernails grow and hair makes our kids scream at us and the bathroom is the thorn in my side because it never feels clean enough and the list goes on and on and on).  Since my conversation with Magen I have found myself thinking on the ways the LORD wants me to view my role as a mommy, wife, and lover of life and Jesus of course!

Today I am thankful that I was able to nurse my daughter over the past 13 months even if I felt like a milking cow at times. I now understand what it means to bond on a deeper level and the LORD has allowed me to see how the relationship with my daughter parallels to our relationship with Him…He wants to nurse us long enough for us to be healthy so if it takes a while He will make the sacrifice…He wants us to drink from his cup not from the cup of the dry world…He has the best to offer His children. I have been able to keep the house in some kind of working order, even if there were and still are MESSY days, and I have been able to teach my children a few scriptures along the way…through making up silly songs and participating in AWANAS with them! I have found ways to make clipping fingernails fun like nail polish for the little Hello…DUH mom :).  I have played makeup and dress-up and tea party, and helped our girls understand the importance of natural beauty and modesty.  I have found new ways to love my husband and listen to his direction for our family. I have watched him father our girls so beautifully and have been so full of JOY  and have fallen more in love with him because I know how valuable a fathers love is to a child by my not having one and feeling the void it leaves for such a long time…it makes me appreciate him so much more and I see a glimpse of the FATHERS love for us through him.  I have even found a way to work from home allowing me to contribute financially.  I am not perfect in fulfilling these tasks but I find myself saying more things like, how can I bless my children today or am I making my husband feel loved today, can they see Jesus at home so that they can carry Him in their hearts forever?  My goal is not self gratification…it is to see the people who matter the most to me shine. I want our girls to understand that even though it was a sacrifice it was worth it because they are worth it to me.

Thank you Magen Roberson for being such a shining example of God’s love for us!  Thank you for encouraging me to be the best mom I can be and the best wife I can be.  I adore you and have always been inspired by your beauty and wisdom.  Oh, and thank you for introducing me to the song below!  It has really spoken to my heart in so many ways during this journey!  Thank you LORD for teaching me through one of your beloved children!

HEY YOU…YES YOU…Be encouraged to find adventure in the small things in life and who knows…maybe the bathrooms will seem less dirty or maybe it will not bother you as much to forget about the laundry for a day and instead maybe you could enjoy sewing a headband for the girls or playing with sidewalk chalk or even painting a picture with your fingers!  Find ways to enjoy life because it is too short not to and the kids grow faster than the blink of an eye! Enjoy the photos from the past year in our lives!