1 Corinthians 13 for Moms

I heard this poem at a conference that I went to a few weeks ago, and I loved it. It spoke directly to my heart. It helped me to realized that the "perfect Mama" is unattainable, and that if I go looking for it I will miss the wonderful memories that come from the normal, messy, everyday life.

1 Corinthians 13 for Moms

If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place,
but have not love,
I am a housekeeper not a homemaker.



If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements,
but have not love,
my children learn cleanliness not godliness.

If I scream at my children when they don’t follow instructions,
get frustrated and fault them for every mess in our house,
and have no grace and love,
my children learn that Mom cares more about having things done exactly her way
than about listening to the needs and hearts of her children.



Love leaves the dust in search of a child’s laugh.
Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window.
Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk.
Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys.



Love accepts the fact that I am the ever-present “mommy,”
the taxi-driver to every childhood event,
the counselor when my children fail or are hurt.

Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, and runs with the child,
then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood.



Before I became a mother I took glory in having it altogether.
Now I glory in knowing that God’s in control, and His grace is sufficient for each day.

All the projections I had for my house and my children
have faded away into insignificance,
And what remain are the memories of my kids.

Now there abides in my home scratches on most of the furniture,
dishes with missing place settings,
and bedroom walls full of stickers, posters, and markings,
But the greatest of all is the Love
that permeates my relationships with my children.



-adapted from 1 Corinthians 13 by Jim Fowler

The New House - part 1 & 2

I decided when we started building our new house to take weekly pictures. We go over on Sunday afternoons to let the kiddos run around and explore while we (mostly meaning "me") get excited over the progress. Scott won't let me go during the week since he's in this house building business and says that I can't embarrass him by popping in all the time and driving everyone crazy. Like I'd ever be that lady who stops in and asks what's happening today, as opposed to yesterday. Ahem. It's a little difficult to restrain myself at times, but keeping the hubby happy (and not embarrassed about going to work) is more important. ;)

Pictures from week 1:



I came up with the idea to take pictures at the front porch each Sunday to see progress. And, with my photographer's outlook and semi-romantic mind, I can't wait to eventually have our picture taken on the front porch when the house is finished!! Scott wasn't as impressed with my wonderful idea as I was, but come on - won't it be a great way to see progress and the completion?!? :)

So here we are standing in front of what will be our new front porch.



Week 2:

It's hard to get a feel for how big or small a house will be from poured basement walls. Just looking at it, to me it doesn't seem big, just normal. But when I see the kiddos standing in it, it looks so much bigger. It will be fun to watch the process as it comes into its true shape and size!



Peanut is standing where the garage will eventually be - with his silly smile and holding his hood down on a very windy Sunday.



And, us on the spot where our front porch will be. Ahhh, I just love it!! Even when not everyone's eyes are open or even facing the camera. ;)

On building our dream house, part 1

If you have known me long, or have kept up with me via blog for long, you know that I used to struggle a great deal with contentment. Living in a "well to do" area of the country in a very "well off" area can do that to a person. Our house was a tiny house. It didn't necessarily seem so tiny when Scott and I got married - but of course, it was just the two of us and that house was within our "5 year plan."

But the years kept going by and we kept adding a new family member every so often. And the house never got any bigger. I can share this now because of how far God has brought me, but I used to be ashamed of our house. I used to feel embarrassed about inviting people over because there was never any extra room for people. We would be like sardines cramped into a tiny can, one right on top of the other. I used to worry that people would judge us because of our tiny house.

Then I left my small spot on this planet Earth and visited Ngaamba, Africa and Port au Prince, Haiti.  And, finally, my heart was changed. God showed me how blessed I am with my material possessions. But more than that, He showed me that it's not material possessions that matter at all. One of my most favorite memories of my life will always be sitting in an open grass field in Ngaamba on old, cracked chairs with beautiful African women of all different ages. I sat with them while they played with my hair and we sang "Amazing Grace" together. Someone had written down the lyrics for them years before, and they clung to that piece of paper like it was the air they needed to breathe. I was able to teach them the very last verse of "Amazing Grace" and add my handwriting to that tattered, precious paper so that they could finish their song. We would take turns singing, them in their native tongue and me in mine, until none of us could sing any more. Tears streamed down our faces as we all realized that it doesn't matter what we have or don't have, it does't matter where we are -- Grace is simply Amazing.

Grace taught my heart contentment. I am so thankful that I was able to get to a place of complete contentment before we moved. A place in my heart where I invited people over and I moved furniture to fit people in, and squeezed more people onto the couch and sat on the floor just to welcome others. In fact, I'm sure that was God's plan all along. He couldn't bless me with more until I realized how blessed I already was. My deepest prayer as our house is under construction is that God will reveal to me how I can bless others through our new home. I pray that our new home will have doors that swing wide inviting others in. I pray that it will be a place of refuge for our family, as well as others that the Lord may bring to us. I pray that no matter how perfect or beautiful our new home is to us, that my heart will only find contentment in Him and His amazing grace.

Ordinary is just right

There are days when I feel like it all goes wrong.

I don't get up early. I don't get my quiet time in before the day starts. Milk is spilled. Clothes are forgotten in the washer. Bath water wasn't emptied the night before. Strawberries mold in the fridge (even though we JUST got them). A library book gets a torn page. Reading lessons don't go smoothly. Math is frustrating. I don't get a shower. The dust keeps dusting the furniture. Legos are lost. Toothpaste is smeared all over the sink. Dirty clothes don't make it into their baskets. Clothes don't match. Shoes get too small too quickly.

But these days are still just normal ol' days. And they are short-lived and over in the blink of an eye. 

The thing I love most about pictures is how they capture those moments that are gone in a blink. For me, they are the best reminder I have of how blessed I am. Of how even when days go wrong, the memories we are making together are going "right."

That's not to say that there aren't some days that I would not want to re-live. We've had a handful of those! But most days are just ordinary days, made up of ordinary moments. I find that it's the ordinary moments that melt my heart. Those moments that remind me how quickly time goes by and how much pressure I put on myself to make sure things are going right. You, too?

On my computer, I have about 150 pictures for a screen saver. They scroll through over and over throughout the day, and I find myself stopping many times just to watch and remember. Those ordinary moments, gone so quickly, are some of the sweetest memories I have. And they weren't staged, were rarely planned or expected.

That's how life works, I've come to understand. Our ordinary lives are the most beautiful things of all.

Sitting in an old wheelbarrow.



An ordinary afternoon of playing outside.



Tickled about something, just between the two of them.



The day the tiny one moved out of his incubator.



Her first "pose."



Laughing hysterically just a couple of hours before she cut her head open and had to have stitches smack dab in the middle of her forehead. (And we had to cut that shirt off of her, straight up the middle.)



Singing "Jesus Loves Me" to her stuffed bear.



Looking for fish.



Laughing at his first ocean waves.



Fishin'.



Taking a walk after supper.



A kiss from Cinderella.



Running at the beach.



Here, I found the kiddos sitting IN the sandbox playing. They looked up and smiled.



Buddy-Ro at 4 months blowing bubbles.



Peanut learning to tolerate "tummy time."



 

There's nothing extraordinary about any of these pictures. They are just beautiful moments captured from an ordinary and normal and sometimes messy life. Why do I put so much pressure on myself to do things "right" - when these pictures don't show anything wrong? Mamas, we are doing it right!! Go back through your own pictures (not someone else's on FB or Instagram). Go back through your memories and enjoy those ordinary moments that have made your heart so full. You are blessed, Mama. Don't forget it!!

The Perfect Family

As women we tend to be harder on ourselves than anyone else could ever be. We look around and feel that we don't quite measure up. We compare ourselves to others; we fall short. I'm not just talking how we feel about ourselves, but also how we feel about our families. You know what I'm talking about. You seem to always run into "them" on the days when you're the most disheveled, the most at-your-wit's-end, the least patient. Hello! There they are, and there you are. Them looking "family photo shoot" ready, and your family looking as though y'all just rolled out of bed. Sigh.

Many times in the Christian world we are told that the "perfect family" doesn't exist - that there's no such thing. But I don't think that's true. I believe that the perfect family does truly exist.

I have the perfect family. And so do you.

Our families are perfectly made up of imperfect people.

When you look around and compare your family to someone else's - you are comparing yourself to other imperfect people. No person is perfect. But families were created perfectly.

The Bible tells us that children are a heritage and a reward from the Lord. I don't know about you, but when I hear the word "reward" I think of something good. Something meant as a specific blessing. And that is what I believe our children are. They were specifically - perfectly - placed in your arms as a blessing from the Lord. That imperfect little baby placed in your imperfect loving arms. Whether naturally born or welcomed through adoption, God knows what He's doing. Those children you have - they were made just for you.  Circumstances may be different, challenges unique, but our families are perfect.

God knew that we would look outside of our little worlds and compare "ours" with "theirs." He knew that we would go buy bigger and better and more possessions to keep up with the ideals of this world. But we can't do that with children, can we? We simply take what He gives us. He could not give your family anything greater than what he already has. Those children who drive you bonkers? They were made specifically for you. Those kiddos who are so different than you? They were made specifically for you. Those kids who call only you Mom? They were made perfectly for you.

Don't waste time wishing you could have the perfect family. You already do. Don't compare your family to another based on any worldly standard. If we simply look through the eyes of our Father, we see that He only gives good gifts. Our families were made by our loving God who took imperfectly people and had them create the perfect families. Not perfect in talents or appearance or performance, but perfectly made for us.

 

Vanity

Lately the Lord has really been working on my personal struggle with vanity. I have struggled (as many girls/women have) for years with how I view myself. I am a perfectionist in every way, so I have always been hard on myself. Especially when it comes to my appearance.

But, the Lord has been using something - or should I say someone - to really bring my vanity front and center in my life.

My daughter.

Ouch, huh?

Like most mamas, when I found out I was pregnant with a little girl I went out and bought everything girly in every shade of pink to be found. Flowers on her crib bedding? Well, duh. A soft pallet to paint her room? Well, yeah. Dresses and hair bows and tights and frilly shoes? Of course! It was like playing dress up with a real live baby doll. I remember changing her clothes multiple times a day due to her dreadful reflux and thinking, "Oh, good. Now she can wear this today, too!"

But my little girl isn't growing up to be the frilly little Miss Priss that I thought she would. Now, she does like to wear a dress to church or to somewhere special, however, at any other time she wants to wear her "mud clothes." Mud? As in wet, nasty, smelly dirt? Yes. And oh. my. word. at how my Birdie-girl hates having her hair brushed or fixed.

And it pains me. It truly does. But why?

Here is where God's tender love allows His Holy Spirit to begin to work in me. Here is where God brings front and center my own struggle with vanity. I care what my daughter looks like because I think she is a reflection of me. If she looks pretty, then that somehow makes me look prettier. If her outfit is super cute and her hair bow and shoes coordinate perfectly, then somehow that makes me look better.

But Birdie was not created to be a reflection of me. Birdie was created to be a reflection of Him.

I have heard of women who dress their daughters to the nines in silly, frilly outfits to go to preschool. Outfits that are so uncomfortable that their daughters can't concentrate on their work or can't play outside on the playground with their friends; that they need to change half way through their 4 hour stay into the dreaded "extra change of clothes."  And come on, we all know that those extra clothes are something most moms just throw together hoping will never be worn. If Birdie went to public school, I am sure that I would have been guilty of this.

Lucky for both of us, God has really brought into view my vanity. How I can get so caught up in finding my own worth in appearances that I bring my daughter into the fold as well. And that is not where I want her to be. Her great worth comes from simply being a daughter of her heavenly Father.


My focus needs to be on Birdie's heart. My mission as a mother needs to be how to touch her heart for eternity. How I value her as a person will greatly influence how she values herself. And how she values herself will greatly influence how she feels God values her.

Christy Nockels has a new CD out, and one of her songs is "For Your Splendor" -

“I’m so concerned with what I look like from the outside.
Will I blossom into what You hope I’ll be.
Yet You’re so patient just to help me see.
The blooms come from a deeper seed that You planted in me.

And I’ll grow up strong and beautiful, all for Your splendor, Lord.
So with my arms stretched out, I’m swaying to Your heartbeat.
I’m growing with the sound of Your voice calling.
You’re bringing out the beauty that You have put in me.
For Your joy and for Your glory falling.”

 My deepest prayer is that Birdie will grow up for His splendor. 

Vanity

Lately the Lord has really been working on my personal struggle with vanity. I have struggled (as many girls/women have) for years with how I view myself. I am a perfectionist in every way, so I have always been hard on myself. Especially when it comes to my appearance.

But, the Lord has been using something - or should I say someone - to really bring my vanity front and center in my life.

My daughter.

Ouch, huh?

Like most mamas, when I found out I was pregnant with a little girl I went out and bought everything girly in every shade of pink to be found. Flowers on her crib bedding? Well, duh. A soft pallet to paint her room? Well, yeah. Dresses and hair bows and tights and frilly shoes? Of course! It was like playing dress up with a real live baby doll. I remember changing her clothes multiple times a day due to her dreadful reflux and thinking, "Oh, good. Now she can wear this today, too!"

But my little girl isn't growing up to be the frilly little Miss Priss that I thought she would. Now, she does like to wear a dress to church or to somewhere special, however, at any other time she wants to wear her "mud clothes." Mud? As in wet, nasty, smelly dirt? Yes. And oh. my. word. at how Ella Beth hates having her hair brushed or fixed.

And it pains me. It truly does. But why?

Here is where God's tender love allows His Holy Spirit to begin to work in me. Here is where God brings front and center my own struggle with vanity. I care what my daughter looks like because I think she is a reflection of me. If she looks pretty, then that somehow makes me look prettier. If her outfit is super cute and her hair bow and shoes coordinate perfectly, then somehow that makes me look better.

But Ella Beth was not created to be a reflection of me. Ella Beth was created to be a reflection of Him.

I have heard of women who dress their daughters to the nines in silly, frilly outfits to go to preschool. Outfits that are so uncomfortable that their daughters can't concentrate on their work or can't play outside on the playground with their friends; that they need to change half way through their 4 hour stay into the dreaded "extra change of clothes."  And come on, we all know that those extra clothes are something most moms just throw together hoping will never be worn. If Ella Beth went to public school, I am sure that I would have been guilty of this.

Lucky for both of us, God has really brought into view my vanity. How I can get so caught up in finding my own worth in appearances that I bring my daughter into the fold as well. And that is not where I want her to be. Her great worth comes from simply being a daughter of her heavenly Father.


My focus needs to be on Ella Beth's heart. My mission as a mother needs to be how to touch her heart for eternity. How I value her as a person will greatly influence how she values herself. And how she values herself will greatly influence how she feels God values her.

Christy Nockels has a new CD out, and one of her songs is "For Your Splendor" -

“I’m so concerned with what I look like from the outside.
Will I blossom into what You hope I’ll be.
Yet You’re so patient just to help me see.
The blooms come from a deeper seed that You planted in me.

And I’ll grow up strong and beautiful, all for Your splendor, Lord.
So with my arms stretched out, I’m swaying to Your heartbeat.
I’m growing with the sound of Your voice calling.
You’re bringing out the beauty that You have put in me.
For Your joy and for Your glory falling.”

 My deepest prayer is that Ella Beth will grow up for His splendor. 

Giving Up

Have you ever had to give something up? Whether it be something big or small, giving things up can be rather difficult. Painful even.

I used to have the cleanest car of anyone I knew. I kept special dust cloths in my organized console to wipe down the entire dashboard twice a week. Trash in my car? No. Food? No way. I gave that up sometime around 5 years ago! Today after getting out of the car with three kiddos, I just sighed at the crumbs, dirt, and tiny pieces of paper all over the floorboard. Do I wish I still had a spotlessly clean car? Absolutely. But is it worth the fight? Absolutely not!

However, there is something else that I am having to give up these days. And I know I'm not the only one who has, or maybe who needs to? I am having to give up the time I spend on the computer and phone because I am finding that it is not the healthiest place for me to be. In this age of technology, it's so easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing and comparing that to what I'm not doing. Or what I am doing - just doing "wrong."

Comparing ourselves to others is something that most (all?) women deal with. I think a lot of the pressure is what we put on ourselves.

As a mama, I want so badly to do things "right." But I can look just about anywhere and find someone else who seems to be doing it better, cooler, more fun, more right.

God really convicted me the other night with that simple word: seems. It's all in what *I* assume is better. 

God has spoken very clearly to my heart lately about simply focusing on my own family and what we are doing. I don't need to look other places for ideas of what makes a happy home or to be convicted if I'm not doing a good job. The Lord has given me my children and has made me their mama. We can come up with our own ideas of what to do as a family instead of trying to live out someone else's. And I have also come to know that the Lord will convict my heart if something is amiss; I don't need to feel guilty or that I'm not good enough based on what others are or are not doing. He will gently bring into focus areas that truly need attention.

So for me, I am having to really limit the time I spend blog surfing or on Facebook. I am redirecting that energy to pouring into the family that I have, rather than the one I think I need to re-create.

I came upon this quote just the other day:
     When one consistently chooses cyberspace over holy space — life becomes a hollow place.
  
Coincidence? I think not...and I am letting this thought, this Holy conviction, sink into my heart so that I can be the mama God has called me to be for my children and my family.

When your heart is heavy

2012. A new year. While it has started off very well (as in nothing bad, sad, horrible, or life-altering has happened), 2012 has still started off heavy for me.

I have tried my best to be quiet and listen patiently for what the Lord is trying to tell me, but no great epiphany came. Well, at least not one that I knew of at the time...

I thought about what my new year's goals/resolutions would be this year as compared to last year. One of the biggest things that I decided to change last year was to not complain. Of course, I know that I did not go 365 days without a complaint slipping from my lips (hello! I am pregnant...and pregnancy and I aren't the greatest of friends). But, I prayed really hard that the Lord would help me with this goal. I have seen what it is to be in need, and I know that I am not. Yes, I would l-o-v-e a brand-new-fully-loaded-mini-van to show up in my driveway 2 weeks before baby boy gets here. And, since I'm being honest, I would love for that mini-van to be parked in the driveway of a bigger house...but when my mind wanders to feeling anxious about fitting three kiddos into my smaller SUV and smaller house the Lord gently reminds me that a mini-van and a larger house are not necessities. A want? Yes. A need? No. And He also reminds me to be thankful for what I do have and not to complain.

All last year I listed out many of my Thanksgivings each Monday. I had already decided that I would give it up this year because I had fulfilled my resolution and met my goal.

And that is when the heaviness started to settle within my heart. At first, it was just a minor irritation - something I couldn't quite put my finger on. Why am I in a funk at the beginning of a new year and after a truly wonderful Christmas?

In my quietness, the Lord spoke to my heart and answered the question I had not even spoken out loud. God is so good, isn't He?

As clearly as my children's laughter, my heart heard: "You have forgotten to give Me thanks. You have neglected to thank Me. And, when you don't return thanks to Me where does that leave you?"

It left me with a heavy heart. So, my New Year's (Life's?) Resolution is again to give thanks to Him from whom all things come. As I look back to the reason I chose giving thanks as a goal last year, one sentence that I typed out on simple white keys resonated with my heart -

It is hard to be discontent when you count your blessings. 

Those simple 11 words changed me, and my heart has grown closer to God during the last year more than any other time in my life. All by giving Him thanks. When my heart was heavy it was my reminder to be grateful for all He has done, has given, has not done, has taken away. Because thanking God is trusting God. And trusting God is giving Him all the Glory and Honor that He deserves.

Psalm 9:1-2: "I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High."

Habit 2

I have seen with my own eyes and experienced with all of my senses what it is to be in need. I have traveled to both Kenya, Africa and Port Au Prince, Haiti and my heart has been broken for what breaks God's heart.

What has amazed me the most about the people in those countries is how BIG their faith is. They rely on God for everything, and trust that He will provide no matter how dim their realities look. Talk about life-changing priorities. Here I complain about being hungry if I haven't had a good lunch, but they don't complain. About anything. They are happy for what they have and feel blessed. They have so little, but they cherish what they do have and know that it is from God. And they thank Him.

That is why I have carefully chosen my second new habit of 2011. Habit 2 is going to be the most difficult of the 3 I am afraid, but I am committed to it.

I am not going to complain.

For me, the act of complaining is NOT just a statement (a whine, really) that I am not getting my way. No, for me it opens the door for discontentment. My thoughts begin to travel, and my sinful heart is swept so easily into feeling sorry for myself or wishing I had a different set of circumstances.

Sadly, it's a never-ending cycle. And every situation can find its way down the path of discontentment if allowed to do so.

I am thankful for the Spirit who so gently rebukes and reveals the ugliness inside of my own heart. And who forgives me and reminds me to count my blessings.

I am extraordinarily blessed. And I won't complain lest my heart forget.

Habit 1

My mom had a friend who had the sweetest spirit. Even when she was days away from meeting our Lord, if you asked her, "How are you doing?" she always responded, "I am blessed."

That is the type of woman I want to be.

Therefore, my first new habit of 2011 is to count my blessings every day.

It is hard to be discontent when you count your blessings. 

* A personal relationship with my Savior

* Friends

* Food to eat

* Clothes to wear

* A nice, warm house to live in when it's freezing outside

* Brownies made with lots of help from little hands

* Clean water

* Toothbrushes and toothpaste

* Books to read

* Soft pillows and a soft, warm bed

* Snuggles

I could go on and on, but I'll stop with this...

* The love of my family

I feel more content already. :)
Truly I am blessed.

Habit 1

My mom had a friend who had the sweetest spirit. Even when she was days away from meeting our Lord, if you asked her, "How are you doing?" she always responded, "I am blessed."

That is the type of woman I want to be.

Therefore, my first new habit of 2011 is to count my blessings every day.

It is hard to be discontent when you count your blessings. 

* A personal relationship with my Savior

* Friends

* Food to eat

* Clothes to wear

* A nice, warm house to live in when it's freezing outside

* Brownies made with lots of help from little hands

* Clean water

* Toothbrushes and toothpaste

* Books to read

* Soft pillows and a soft, warm bed

* Snuggles

I could go on and on, but I'll stop with this...

* The love of my family

I feel more content already. :)
Truly I am blessed.

Habit 1

My mom had a friend who had the sweetest spirit. Even when she was days away from meeting our Lord, if you asked her, "How are you doing?" she always responded, "I am blessed."

That is the type of woman I want to be.

Therefore, my first new habit of 2011 is to count my blessings every day.

It is hard to be discontent when you count your blessings. 

* A personal relationship with my Savior

* Friends

* Food to eat

* Clothes to wear

* A nice, warm house to live in when it's freezing outside

* Brownies made with lots of help from little hands

* Clean water

* Toothbrushes and toothpaste

* Books to read

* Soft pillows and a soft, warm bed

* Snuggles

I could go on and on, but I'll stop with this...

* The love of my family

I feel more content already. :)
Truly I am blessed.

Discontentment

God has really been laying on my heart lately how easily I fall into the trap of being discontent. So I am going to concentrate 2011 on the art of being content.


Phillipians 4:11-12 says, "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 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 well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."



I believe the key word in these verses is "learned." In our society (and apparently in societies many years ago) there is always the pull to want something different than what we have.
 
I found these quotes by Kent Crockett on contentment:
 
* The grass is always greenest in the center of God’s will.
 
*A nicer golf course won't make you a better golfer. A nicer environment won't make you a better person.
 
*Has it ever occurred to you that the things you now have were once things you were trying to get?




* Contentment in life is not found in a perfect set of circumstances but by choosing to be happy in every situation.

The last quote is my favorite - being content is a choice. And it is my choice to make 2011 a year of purposefully learning contentment.
 
A website that I have recently fallen in love with is http://www.aholyexperience.com/. Ann Voskamp is such a beautiful writer, and I have told more than one person that her site has changed my life. ;) One thing I am doing to intentionally learn to be content this year is by following the 100 Day Calendar found here. More and more I want to have a grateful heart, for truly God has blessed me with so much. I am choosing to develop 3 new habits over the next 100 days.
 
It's hard to be discontent when you count your blessings.

Discontentment

God has really been laying on my heart lately how easily I fall into the trap of being discontent. So I am going to concentrate 2011 on the art of being content.


Phillipians 4:11-12 says, "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 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 well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."



I believe the key word in these verses is "learned." In our society (and apparently in societies many years ago) there is always the pull to want something different than what we have.
 
I found these quotes by Kent Crockett on contentment:
 
* The grass is always greenest in the center of God’s will.
 
*A nicer golf course won't make you a better golfer. A nicer environment won't make you a better person.
 
*Has it ever occurred to you that the things you now have were once things you were trying to get?




* Contentment in life is not found in a perfect set of circumstances but by choosing to be happy in every situation.

The last quote is my favorite - being content is a choice. And it is my choice to make 2011 a year of purposefully learning contentment.
 
A website that I have recently fallen in love with is http://www.aholyexperience.com/. Ann Voskamp is such a beautiful writer, and I have told more than one person that her site has changed my life. ;) One thing I am doing to intentionally learn to be content this year is by following the 100 Day Calendar found here. More and more I want to have a grateful heart, for truly God has blessed me with so much. I am choosing to develop 3 new habits over the next 100 days.
 
It's hard to be discontent when you count your blessings.

Discontentment

God has really been laying on my heart lately how easily I fall into the trap of being discontent. So I am going to concentrate 2011 on the art of being content.


Phillipians 4:11-12 says, "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 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 well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."



I believe the key word in these verses is "learned." In our society (and apparently in societies many years ago) there is always the pull to want something different than what we have.
 
I found these quotes by Kent Crockett on contentment:
 
* The grass is always greenest in the center of God’s will.
 
*A nicer golf course won't make you a better golfer. A nicer environment won't make you a better person.
 
*Has it ever occurred to you that the things you now have were once things you were trying to get?




* Contentment in life is not found in a perfect set of circumstances but by choosing to be happy in every situation.

The last quote is my favorite - being content is a choice. And it is my choice to make 2011 a year of purposefully learning contentment.
 
A website that I have recently fallen in love with is http://www.aholyexperience.com/. Ann Voskamp is such a beautiful writer, and I have told more than one person that her site has changed my life. ;) One thing I am doing to intentionally learn to be content this year is by following the 100 Day Calendar found here. More and more I want to have a grateful heart, for truly God has blessed me with so much. I am choosing to develop 3 new habits over the next 100 days.
 
It's hard to be discontent when you count your blessings.