Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

  • Home
    • About
    • FAQs
  • Recipes
    • Bread and Breakfast
    • Condiments
    • Dairy
    • Main Dishes
    • Side Dishes and Snacks
    • Desserts
    • Gluten Free
    • Instant Pot
    • Crock Pot
    • Heavenly Homemaker’s Weekly Menus
  • Homemaking
    • Real Food Sources
  • Store
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Disclosure
    • Privacy Policy
  • Simple Meals
  • Club Members!

Can Mom Have More Fun?

January 10, 2021 by Tasha Hackett 1 Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Can mom have more fun? Any fun at all? How is it even possible with all these responsibilities? I absolutely adore this post from Tasha. I cried through it, because my mom-life is full and amazing but hard and exhausting. I needed this. I’m guessing you might too…

Can Mom Have More Fun?

by Tasha Hackett

Being a mother is amazing. A-ma-zing. But being trapped and tied down weighs on me until I might crumble. When all the parts of me that made me Tasha turn into Mom Mom Mom Mom, I begrudge this life that I find myself in. Sometimes it appears I’ve forgotten how to have fun as a mother. This post is because I know I’m not alone. I know I’m not the only overwhelmed mom out there who needs to hear this.

Why is it hard for moms to have more fun?

Of course it’s a foolish thing to wish myself out of where I am. I mean, come on! This is my happily ever after! This is the life I always wanted, always assumed I would have. As a kid, I hardly had any career goals because I knew I would be home with my kids doing all the things I loved–cooking, creating things, teaching my kids, singing, playing, holding babies and going on adventures with my mom friends and their kids. But instead I’m stuck doing laundry, and dishes, and managing the budget, and sweeping the floor over and over and over again until I’m staring at this home I’ve built around me and wanting to take a sledge hammer to all of it and go live in a cabin in the woods–which I would hate by the way, unless my family came with me because I totally love them. 

As it turns out, God absolutely and completely knew what he was doing when he gave me these kids. Motherhood is a baptism by fire, and it’s growing me into a woman of courage and strength and refining me into something beautiful. (Right?! God love me for it, but I am so stinkin’ broken.)

tasha and baby

Why is the fun gone?

You know why. For those of us who are in the grind of raising little tiny kids, we have routines that must be abided. We mothers are stressed by all the things we’re in charge of rattling around in our brains. When meals, sleep, and routines get out of whack, everyone pays for it. The energy it takes to simply survive doesn’t always leave much room to have more “fun.” Now, let’s be clear. I am not talking about creating more fun for the kids. No, I’m not worried about their fun. They get to play, play, play all the live-long day. I’m interested in mothers. Why aren’t we having fun? As a parent, am I having fun? Am I fun? What used to be fun? Is it still fun? Why not? What else can I do that makes me happy? 

tasha

Side story about how much fun I had the past three years. 

Incidentally, the past three years have been a doozy. Blessings upon blessings, but also a pile of personal, internal, trials. In the meantime, I thought it would be a good idea to start my writing career. Maybe not the best timing with the whole birthing of the fourth child and all. 

But here I am, and writing has been so much stinking fun. 

During the first lock-down of the pandemic, the husband worked from the basement. I seized the opportunity of the extra time and support and finished my novel, Bluebird on the Prairie. I don’t tell you this to brag . . . nope, okay, I’m bragging a little. . . but mostly because I am amazed and full of joy at having completed such a magnanimous accomplishment that I can’t help sharing it. Was it ever so much work? Yes. Girl… yes. So. Much. Work. Guess what else it was? Rewarding. And, you guessed it. Fun! It was fun. 

A crazy thing about writing books is how much I learn from my characters when they start speaking all by themselves and spout off random bits of wisdom that I never could have thought up on my own. They’re smart like that.

Please read this scene snippet that tugs at my heart: 

Zeke lowered himself to the ground and leaned against the tree. “It’s not that I’m not grateful, because I am. But I can’t . . . I’m not a farmer. I don’t want to be a farmer.” He set his hat on the ground. Running both hands through his hair before clasping them behind his neck, he sighed. “I don’t know, Chipmunk, do you ever feel like everyone’s got a plan for your life, and forgot to ask how you felt about it first?” 

“Why do you call me Chipmunk?”

He grinned at her. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

She pulled a handful of grass and threw it at him. The wind caught most of it and she watched it drift. “I envy you.”

“How so?” 

“You wanted to go, so you did. To have that kind of freedom. To be brave enough to take a chance.” 

“Stupid enough, you mean. Did you get a good look at the goober who fell on his face? That man was lonely, dirty, and starving.” 

Eloise did remember, and blushed thinking of it. If it hadn’t been for her standing in the creek only half dressed, he never would have fallen. “At least you keep smiling through it,” she said, “I don’t know how to have fun anymore.”

“I just do what makes me happy. Within reason . . . Fried chicken? Makes me happy. Catching frogs? Makes me happy. Singing? Makes me happy. What makes you happy? Do that.” He shrugged, like there was nothing to it.

What did make her happy? There were things she used to do for fun, but when put to the question she was stumped. 

Zeke prodded. “There isn’t anything you do, that makes all the bad stuff disappear for a while?” 

“I don’t know. If there is, I’ve forgotten.”

Can I share a fun secret? 

Fun doesn’t need to be extravagant. Sometimes I forget to be happy. It’s wrong and it’s not God’s plan for me. Sometimes I don’t know how to have more fun as a mother. I get so caught up in what I can’t do and what I wish I could be doing, that I don’t make use of the fun freely available. One of the things that brings me joy is writing. And so I do, and I did. Laura lets me talk to you and I have dreams of many more novels to come! But… the simple, freely-available-doesn’t-cost-anything fun? That comes from a spirit of peace. A peace that knows my kids are well loved, even if their rooms are a mess because I haven’t properly trained them on how to keep them tidy. A peace that extends to the husband when he’s 20 minutes later coming home from work than I expected.

tasha and kids

Peace comes from knowing I am worthy of God’s love. 

Listen up, friend. You are worthy of God’s love. He didn’t raise his son from the dead for someone he didn’t love. He didn’t come back from the grave for us to walk about the house grumpy about laundry! I believe He wants us to have life, and have it to the fullest–not just later, but now! Absolutely we are called to sacrifice so much of ourselves. But nobody ever asked us to stop having fun, we did that all on our own. 

Here’s how I had fun today: 

  • When the kids played in the yard, I read a book for 45 minutes. 
  • When the kids asked for a snack I opened a jar of peanuts and gave it to them. And then showed off, unsuccessfully, how I could throw and catch one in my mouth.
  • While the baby played with a stack of books I got on my hands and knees and growled at him until he looked my way, then I slinked towards him like a tiger. He squealed and laughed at me. 
  • I was blasting show tunes on my phone when Ben came home from work (20 minutes late), and as I sang along, I started dancing for him. He pulled me into his arms, twirled me around a few times and dipped me over his knee before the kids claimed his attention. 
  • At dinner I shared a new book idea with the kids and asked them to come up with any funny things that might happen to my characters. 

You are pretty when you smile.

Yeah, okay. I know. Sometimes life is really really hard. I understand hard. I’ve been there, and I’m still there sometimes. To be perfectly honest, I don’t want to get out of bed most mornings because I dread the tasks ahead. Being a mom and the humility, compassion, empathy, and selflessness that needs to come with that is the hardest thing. I’m a work-in-progress. 

A few years ago I laughed at something and my, then five-year-old, son said, “Mom! You’re so pretty when you smile.” And it broke my heart in a million tiny pieces because what he really said was, “I haven’t seen you smile in a long time.”

ben and tasha

Do it for you.

Can you find ways to have more fun? I don’t know everything going on in your life that’s causing you so much stress you’ve forgotten how to have fun. But I can guess at some of it. Here’s a hint: Don’t make food harder than it has to be. Laura’s given us way too many resources and recipes for us to be wasting time complaining about kitchen duty. 

I’m not even going to leave you with scientific facts about how laughing is healthy and makes you live longer. Nope. How about we make time for fun, simply because fun is fun? Nobody goes to bed thinking, “Man, I wish I hadn’t had so much fun today.” 


Tasha HackettTasha Hackett, author of Bluebird of the Prairie, (a heartwarming romance releasing Spring 2021), is fueled by sunshine or hot chocolate—whichever is more readily available. She pretends to be a ballerina while cleaning the kitchen and can sing along to every word of every Wee-Sing Silly Songs album. Four children and a husband have filled her days with more than enough to keep her busy, but creative hobbies continually find their way onto her to-do list. You can connect with her on Instagram @hackettacademy or for Laura @heavenlyhomemaker. 

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Into the Unknown Future

May 10, 2020 by Tasha Hackett 1 Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Staring straight into the unknown future? Afraid? Insecure? Doubtful? Listen to these inspired words of truth from Tasha:

Dear fellow moms (and wives and husbands),

The future is heavy on my mind lately. Who am I kidding, I am always thinking about the future; it’s hard for me to settle down and enjoy the moment. It’s a problem, part of my personality, and a topic for another day. TODAY, I’ve been thinking even more about the future because it is uncertain. More so than it was a few months ago.

In hindsight, nothing about this life is ever certain. God doesn’t promise us sunshiny days and roses. But we get comfortable in our routines and seasons. We know what to expect from day to day. For most of us, dealing with our own emotions and taming our own tongues was enough to keep us busy. And now we have kids who can’t go see their friends at soccer practice, husbands teaching from the basement, family members having babies and we can’t go visit, Grandparents in nursing homes and we can’t see them. And I’m left confused about the future.

What will the rest of 2020 look like? What will 2021 look like?

I woke up to the baby crying out suddenly during the night. My heart pounded and I was short of breath from a nightmare I’d been pulled from. I was being led in a long line of other women by men with guns. A dystopian future. Thankfully, this was a younger, pre-motherhood version of myself and I didn’t have any of my children with me to protect. I can’t even imagine that type of fear. None of us knew where we were being led. We didn’t know anything about the situation except we were in danger and unable to fight against it. In my dream, I fervently prayed over and over, “God send a rescuer, God please send a rescuer, send a rescuer…”

When the baby startled me, in the moments between dreamlife and the darkness of my bedroom with the glowing monitor, I distinctly, clearly, had the thought: He already did.

God already sent the rescuer.

He already won the war. He laid out the path for us to follow. Jesus is the light that came into the world. He shines in the darkness and that light will not be overcome. (John 1:5) My future is secure. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, (neither a virus, nor quarantine and a struggling economy), nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38)

My dreams last night were discouraging, to say the least. Resurging today are memories from nine years ago when I was directly threatened at gunpoint, I have legitimate fears of being out of control and alone, I do not like to feel powerless, or trapped. And yet, even my subconscious, when drowning in those feelings calls out to God to be saved. It swells my heart to know that even when I think I’m not trusting God enough, I actually am.

I’m reminded of the father in Mark 9 who said to Jesus, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief.” Do you relate?

Can you believe and not believe at the same time?

Apparently we can. It’s possible to have fears of the future and yet trust God to save us. I’m not saying we should stay and wallow in that fear. Yikes, no way.

The future may seem uncertain, but maybe we’re just not looking far enough ahead. Today I want to encourage you to fill your mind and heart up with the truth of God’s love. Read encouraging books, talk to encouraging people, write encouraging words. If you don’t know where to start, read all of Romans 8. And then read it again.

Will you share something encouraging with a friend or neighbor today? Write a letter, make a call, send an email, or reach out on social media. They might need to be reminded of something wonderful more than you know.

Love,

Tasha


Tasha, friend of Laura, loves to read good books and talk to good people and write good things. She daily falls short of the glory of God and is graciously covered by the son of the creator of the universe. Neat, right? When she’s not guest blogging for Laura about how you can survive anything, and how she paid off a bunch of debt, she can be found buying googly eyes for her kid’s crafts, folding laundry that will then sit on the couch for three days, and sneaking homemade cookie dough from the freezer.

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Make Goals for 2020 – With Printable Worksheets!

December 27, 2019 by Laura Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

A new year is coming, and we’re encouraging you to make goals! Better than resolutions? SO MUCH BETTER. My friend Tasha is writing with some super practical encouragement and tips! Plus grab the printable worksheets she put together for us too. It’s like she thought of everything!!

Make Goals for 2020

By Tasha Hackett

Are you a New Year’s resolution maker?

I was! I loved making them. And just like the rest of you, I was not good at keeping them. By the end of January I had not kept up any of them, and by the end of February I didn’t even remember what they were. So… I gave up and decided life was too short to waste it feeling that kind of guilt. 

But then I discovered GOALS. 

Resolutions are so resolute. Get me? Like, you have to or it’s broken. Forever. No going back. A resolution is something you do when you want an immediate change. A goal is the end result of a change. A goal is something you have complete control over–and I do so love to be in control. Ask anyone who knows me. Being in control is my jam. I used to think I was a go-with-the-flow kind of girl. Turns out I am not. I’m usually like, “I am the flow, get in.” This attitude served me well growing up and through college. Being married and navigating the merging of his family with the way I was raised and then having four children–who are actually tiny humans with their own thoughts and dreams, rudely awakened me to some personality flaws in myself. Why do I tell you all this? No reason. 

So… GOAL = the object of a person’s ambition, an aim or desired result. (Thank you, Webster.) In other words: Something you control.

Do not confuse a goal with a desire or a resolution. Example: I will exercise everyday. That is a resolution. And what happens when I miss a day? Or two or seven. YEAR RUINED!! Example of a desire: My family will exercise with me. I do not have the power to dictate what my family does. Change that to a goal: To be able to jog 3 miles without feeling like I’m going to die. Then I work backwards and set up mini-goals to help me reach my main goal. This will include my family exercising with me, and this will most definitely include me attempting to exercise everyday, but my goal would not be derailed if those additions were to falter.

New Year’s Goals are Super Fun!

Maybe I’m a lot more Type A than I should be. But seriously, if you think about the point of goals is to make your life better then why would you not!?! Let’s do it! Not to completely overwhelm you, but did you know there are oh so many goal categories? Would you like to improve your life in any of these areas? Physical, Emotional, Spiritual, Career, Homemaking, Social, Financial… 

Your assignment is a simple and easy two-step process:

1. Print out the nifty Goal Setting Worksheet I’ve created for myself you and fill it out.

Personally, I am going to re-evaluate how I prepare meals. I’ve been reading Heavenlyhomemaker posts for years, and yet I still spend unnecessary hours in the kitchen. Apparently, there is a better way. With a 7, 5, 3 year old and a baby at home. Look at this cutie, he makes writing not easy or simple at all. 

I gotta get this figured out. So one of my goals will be to set up a new meal planning, shopping, cooking system. One that is Easy and Simple. Perhaps a book like this will help me. {Laura interjects a nod, a wink, and a smile!}

2. Print out the nifty Goal Achieving Worksheet (page 2) for each of your goals and fill it out. 

As for me, I will be looking into actually following the Simple Meals subscription, shopping with the list, scheduling weekly shopping trips, and planning meals in advance. I use so many of these recipes, and have implemented many time-saving strategies–such as freezing muffin batter, and making double or quadruple of a recipe. But I have been dragging my feet against actual meal planning. Time to grow up, Tasha! 

Would you like to grow up with me? Print your goal worksheets here. Have you been a resolution or goal setter in past years? Do they excite or frighten you? Drop a note and let us know!

Now excuse me while I go play peek-a-boo and nod to Laura because my Tex-Mex Chicken dinner is already in the crock-pot.  

Cheers!

Tasha

Grab the Goal Setting and Goal Achieving Worksheets here!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Just Because I Can, Doesn’t Mean I Always Do

January 3, 2017 by Laura 18 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

I can make mozzarella cheese. I can make Gatorade. I can make bread, pie, bagels, and pizza.

Homemade Gatorade

I share all of these ideas and recipes with people here. It’s so much fun! I talk about ways to save time and ways to save money. I’ve figured out ways to put nutritious meals on the table in less than 20 minutes, letting people know that none of us ever has to rely on take-out.

But just because I know these things, teach these things, and have experienced so much good because of all these things doesn’t mean I always do all these things.

Does this mean I’m a hypocrite? No. This means I’m human.

How about you? Human much?

I bet you know a lot of great tricks for saving money and time. But if you’re like me, sometimes there simply isn’t time to execute the time saving strategies (does this even make sense?). Sometimes the extra few dollars we need to pay for convenience is worth it so that we avoid stress and overthinking.

Check out what I did a few weeks before Christmas:

bagel-basket

I bought four packages of bagels (without reading the ingredient labels, if you can possibly imagine). I bought four bags of different varieties of granola. I bought a box of instant oatmeal pouches. I put them all in a big basket in the kitchen and told my kids, “This is breakfast for the next few days. Make eggs if you want. Always eat fruit. Beyond this, I won’t be making anything for breakfast because I have too much to do before we leave for California and I’m trying very hard not to be a crazy mom.”

I felt no guilt over the extra expense and the extra sugar and white flour. (Okay fine, I did cringe just a little bit, but only for half a second until I remembered my purpose.)

Nothing is worth anxiety and stress – not even the occasional ingredient label I can’t pronounce. Not even the extra few bucks I could have saved making it all myself.

Do I know how to make bagels? Granola? Instant oatmeal packets? Yes, yes, and yes. It’s fantastic to have such great money-saving recipes in my hip pocket. It’s wonderful knowing I’ve done all I can to put the best of the best on the table for my family.

But it’s more important to be able to love my family with a peaceful heart. It’s crucial for my mental and spiritual health that I spend as much time as possible each morning in prayer and reading the Word. And just before Christmas, the priority of enjoying the season with my family meant much more to me than flipping whole wheat pancakes and serving them with homemade blueberry syrup.

Just because I can, doesn’t mean I always do. Just because it sometimes works, doesn’t mean it always works. Just because I could, doesn’t mean I should. Just because change is hard, doesn’t mean change is bad. Just because I’m doing it now, doesn’t mean I always will.

just-because-i-can

Our family is home now after over 57 hours on the road and two weeks away from home. Things are starting to settle back down (sort of, if they ever actually do). I don’t plan to make bagels anytime soon. But I bet I’ll find time to make a batch or two of granola.

No matter what, I’ll seek to make the most important things in life the highest priority, remembering that just because I can do something, doesn’t mean I always should.

How about you? What are some things you (should) give up during times of additional stress and extra full schedules?

simplemeals300

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Gratituesday: My BFF Jen Hatmaker

August 31, 2015 by Laura 17 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Did you know? Jen Hatmaker is my BFF. So what if we’ve never actually met?

gratituesday[2]

This message brought to you by a refreshed and relaxed me who just returned home from…wait for it…a girl weekend.

wof2015

I know. A little get-away like this doesn’t seem like much. But remember who I live with. I love all of my many male people so, so much. But this weekend I got to go to where there were all women, all the time. For 26 hours.

Here’s part my private Facebook thread conversation with friends before leaving Friday:

Tonya: What are you guys wearing tonight/tomorrow?

Emily: Jeans, tennis shoes…

Me: Capris and comfy flip flops. Debating on a bra. #girlweekend

Of course I was serious. So off we went to the Women of Faith conference. (Fully clothed, with all appropriate underthings in place.) The closer we got, the more excited we got.

Now I’ve got to tell you something before going any farther. I am not one to be star struck. Our family has been to Newsboys concerts in which Michael Tate was close enough that we could reach out and stroke his hair (which we did not do). All my guys were like, “Dude, that is Michael Tate!!” and I’m all chill with, “Now which one is he again?” We’ve been to a Toby Mac concert where we were sitting so close that the sweat from his brow could have sprayed our cheeks. We rocked out with Lecrae and loved it. But hey. These are just regular (very famous) people. No need to get all silly about it.

But…Jen Hatmaker

All that went out the window though, because this weekend, here’s what I discovered. Sometimes you just need to get silly. Need I remind you of the lack of male people in the arena this weekend? Not to mention my complete lack of any responsibility or need for thinking, answering questions, or any other such mothering or wifing on my agenda for 26 hours. This brought out my silly. I’m not even ashamed about how totally age 12 I was acting half the time. For real – laughter is so good for the soul, as is quality time with girl people who speak my language.

So guess what? My favorite author and best friend, Jen Hatmaker, was going to be speaking at the conference. If you do not read every word that she writes, I encourage you to change that immediately. I adore her writing style, but mostly her heart for Jesus and people. I’d never heard her speak before (which is so odd seeing as we are best friends and all.) While I was looking forward to many things about the weekend, I was really looking forward to seeing and hearing Jen. (I dropped the last name here because we are on a first name basis, obviously.)

Here’s where I started to get silly. I mean, I already was silly, because #girlweekend. But as my friends and I were talking more and the conference was about to start, our hashtag turned from #girlweekend into #mybestfriendjenhatmaker (because my friends claim her too).

When we first saw her come out to be introduced with the rest of the speakers, I got so excited I actually jumped up and down and pointed (see age 12 behavior admission above). This is when I knew, whoa, I cannot even believe how excited I am that she is here. I now want to turn into a weirdy weirdo about this. I just love her so much.

At this point, since she was so closely in front of me, I decided I’d best try to get a picture. It was either that or holler her name, jump over eight people, and grab her into a big bear hug so we could start catching up on the past 40-whatever years we’ve missed out on together. I totally could have done it (like a weirdy weirdo), but I settled for a picture. (You’re welcome, Jen.)

Allow me to now present to you, the Jen Is About To Be Introduced and I’m Seeing Her For the First Time Scrapbook. What? The only reason I took so many shots was because I hoped to get at least one good one (which I did not). It’s okay though. I don’t need no stinking picture. To be star struck is sooo silly.

Here is #mybestfriendjenhatmaker standing beside another conference speaker when she first came out from back stage and stood eight people in front of me:

mybffjenhatmaker9

Here’s another of her smiling and talking to that same other conference speaker. Told you I didn’t get any good pictures. Being a groupie is not my gift.

mybffjenhatmaker4

Here’s another in which she continues to talk expressively with her hands. Isn’t that so endearing? Yes. It is very endearing.

mybffjenhatmaker1

Jen, pointing to the left.

mybffjenhatmaker3
Jen linking arms with other speakers while the lights went down.

mybffjenhatmaker6

Jen sitting in the chair farthest left by the stage where she would later impart wisdom and humor and blessing.

mybffjenhatmaker7

The evening continued with worship, fun, and speakers. And also #mybestfriendjenhatmaker was there.

By the end of Friday night, I was at a high point of silly and decided to just go with it because it was #girlweekend and I was having so much fun. This is why, as my friends and I were leaving the conference arena and we walked by the very chair where #mybestfriendjenhatmaker had been sitting, I was all, “Ooh, there’s her chair, I’m going to touch it!” One thing led to another and well, I have no idea how I ended up sitting there, but would you just look at that?

mybffjenhatmaker8

There’s me. In the very chair #mybestfriendjenhatmaker had been sitting on.

Well anyway. I had a super fun weekend. It was a blessing to see #mybestfriendjenhatmaker and hear her heart on stage. If you haven’t already, go right away and read her new book, For the Love.

Now I am back home and no longer acting like I’m 12, nor am I speaking girl language because of all of the obvious male household mothering and wifing reasons. (Spell check does not like the word wifing. I think it is a brilliant word, so you just need to get over it, spell check. What makes you think you are the spelling authority? My brilliant words trump your red squiggles of dismay.)

While I found the Women of Faith conference to be less meaty overall compared to last year, I still feel filled up because I had so much stinkin’ fun. I have not let my guard down and laughed so hard in months.

Also, I really recognized the value of enjoying friendships this weekend. While I’d love to have a sit down with #mybffjenhatmaker sometime because I appreciate her Spirit-filled life and work – lemme just tell you how blessed I am with the women right here in my life, right here on my porch, right here in this very place.

I am loved by many. I have many to love. Life is fun and full and rich.

May we live life entirely. May we see people through the eyes of Jesus. May we love and be loved, bless and be blessed.

And every few months, may we all have the chance to act the part of a silly 12 year old, laughing for hours until we almost pee (because you are – in real life – much older than 12 and your bladder does not agree with your choice to revert to that time of life).

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Feeling Weary?

March 26, 2015 by Laura 14 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Ugh, the weariness. Even in the midst of good times, weariness can set in – in parenting, in marriage, in ministries, in the daily grind.

Today I tip my hat to you, in gratitude for all you do to keep life moving for those you love. Thank you for packing lunches, changing diapers, rinsing dishes, tossing a salad, or paying the bills. Thank you for sweeping the porch, writing a note, disciplining the child, wiping the snot, or driving to the appointment. Thank you for countless hours of work you do – in all its forms – for the love of your family.

Your work is not in vain. You serve a great purpose as you love those around you. Be encouraged! Be blessed!

Galatians69color

I posted this several months ago, but seeing as it is one of my favorite verses, I decided to pull it up again to share with you. Know someone who is weary right now? Pass this on to them for encouragement. I love how scripture speaks and offers true peace for us all.

Download Galatians 6:9 in Blue and Black here.

Download Galatians 6:9 in Gray and Black here.

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

You Will Never Please Everyone (And That’s Perfectly Perfect)

March 10, 2015 by Laura 31 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Some readers request that I share more recipes. Some suggest that I share too many recipes. Some don’t like that I post spiritual content. Some wish I would post more spiritual content. Some roll their eyes at the deals I share. Some cheer and do flips for the deals I share. I always listen to what my readers have to say because I love offering content that will bless you in your homemaking efforts. I also know that what one person really needs or desires isn’t necessarily what the next person needs or wants. So it is with pretty much all of life, right?

You Will Never  Please Everyone
It happens around my dinner table every single live long day. Someone is bound to not like what I served while others are gladly taking thirds. It happens during a every Sunday worship service. Some love the song selection and others find them to be too slow or too fast for their liking. Some find the sermon to be super meaningful and others find it to be irrelevant. I could think of other examples but some might prefer that I get on with my point.

Here’s the truth that we need to learn down to our very core:

1. You can’t please ’em all

2. You can’t be pleased by all

I’m not sure which is more important to know and which is the hardest to remember. Both involve the need to surrender self. It’s hard and it hurts but this is what I’m beginning to understand:  Trying to please all and expecting others to always rise to my occasion is harder and hurts worse than choosing to surrender self. Selfish living is completely empty – not to mention absolutely exhausting. Trying to constantly please others leaves me feeling defeated and discouraged. Thinking others must always please me leaves me frustrated and let down. No thank you, no thank you, no thank you.  I surrender, Jesus. What do you have for me that is better? What about this? What if we understood these two simple truths:

1. God is the only One we should seek to please.

2. God is the only One who will sufficiently meet all of our needs.

I think that pretty much covers it.

When I seek to please God, letting go of others’ (real or imagined) expectations of me, I will likely still be pleasing others. I won’t please them all, but God never asked me to and for real – if I was pleasing everyone why in the world would people ever recognize their need to seek Jesus? Okay then.

When I recognize that God is the One who meets my needs, suddenly that which is petty becomes irrelevant and that which matters turns into a Christ-centered passion. That’s how it works when one is listening to and letting the Holy Spirit work. So, my friend, remember this:  You will never please everyone. Also, people will sometimes frustrate you, especially when they do things differently than you would do them. This is life.

Instead of wallowing, I suggest we use our energy to seek Jesus and live as He calls each of us. Doesn’t that just sound refreshing? If this is something you struggle with like I do, might I suggest that you read (your whole Bible and also) read Hebrews 12? Being disciplined hurts, but it makes us more holy. Yes, holiness! Bring it.

 

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Free Scripture Encouragement Cards for Heavenly Homemaker’s Subscribers!

February 14, 2015 by Laura 5 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

If you are a subscriber, you should have received the link to these free downloadable scripture encouragement cards in your inbox three days ago. If not, let me know and I’ll send you the file.

Not a subscriber? It’s free and it’s fun because not only do my posts come to your inbox each day, occasionally you get an exclusive freebie like this one. :)  Subscribe here and you, too, will be able to download these pretty encouragement cards. Once you confirm your subscription, you’ll be redirected to a page with the download links.

Free Scripture Encouragement Cards

These are some of my favorite Truths from scripture! Hope you enjoy these as a blessing to you and as a way to bless others!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

How the Story Ends

September 23, 2014 by Laura 28 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Ephesians 210

I am the mother of a high school senior. Can you guess what the question of the year is from every family member, church friend, grocery store employee, neighbor, and person we just met five minutes ago?

“So Asa, what are you going to do next year?”

Mmmhmm. It’s a fair question. People are curious, and in fact, I appreciate that so many care enough to ask.

It would be nice if we had an answer. It would be great if there was plan in place. But right now, the answer is a solid, “I don’t know yet.”

Not only does he not know, I mean – he does not know. The options are pretty much without limit, which makes the decision both very exciting and occasionally very overwhelming. The months building up to this school year as I was figuring out his senior year curriculum just about did me in. What should we focus on? How much should we work to improve his ACT? How should we guide him? What will be best for him?

All are valid questions. But when I started losing sleep and noticing a shortage of oxygen at the very mention of Asa’s future, I recognized that I had taken this all upon myself and landed myself in a pool of worry. I hate it when I do that. I know better.

So I’m wrestling. I’m walking a brand new path and learning as I (let) go. I started to tell someone recently, “Hopefully, this time next year we’ll have a great story to tell about how God opened and closed doors to lead Asa to whatever he’s going to be doing.” Then I stopped myself. Hopefully? Hopefully?!!?  Have I not experienced God at work before? Do I not know the truth from Ephesians about God preparing works in advance for us? How about we switch the word “hopefully” with “definitely”? Definitely, this time next year we WILL have a great story to tell about how God opened and closed doors to lead Asa to whatever he’s going to be doing.

He will. God will do it. We will have a story. Our job is to trust.  And maybe to cry a little here and there.  Hey, he’s my firstborn. You want to try and tell me it’s easy to think of launching this fantastic kid out of the nest a year from now? (I know. 11 months from now. Hush.)

One particularly weepy day for me last week, God put a dear friend in my path whom I haven’t visited with in several months. I didn’t tell her I was wrestling with this. In fact, I didn’t use many words at all. I didn’t need to.  Just sharing the words “senior year” was enough for her to read my mind and heart. See, she’s done this before…four times. Her youngest graduated last year. She knows. She knows. God used her to bless me, encourage me, and to remind me of what I already know to be true:

God already has this figured out. He will make it happen.  Our job is to listen and walk with Him.

She told me about a fun card someone had given her last year when she was going through a difficult time with her dad’s illness. I loved what it said and decided to recreated it for you (and me).

I hate to spoil the ending...

Yes, yes, yes! We know this.  We’ve experienced this.

The end of the story? We already know how it’s going to turn out.  We might not know the specifics, but we know it’s going to be great, because God is in charge, not us.

Oh, God. You’re so good. You know what we need, and you bless us constantly with your truth. Help us to hear it. Help us to live it. Help us to accept your continual gift of peace. We trust you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you’d like, feel free to download the images on this page to print and use. Click the links below:

I Hate To Spoil the Ending ~ Create a Card

I Hate to Spoil the Ending ~ Full Size Wall Print

For We Are God’s Handiwork ~ Full Size Wall Print

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Hit the Re-Start Button – Join Us This September

August 29, 2014 by Laura 174 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

It’s been a great summer! For many of us, there has been downtime, traveling, fun in the sun, and lots of crazy good times. Likely there’s been some difficulty, frustration, and troubled days too. Perhaps there have also been a few more than normal ice cream cones and trips through the fast food lane. No worries.  We’re not perfect, nor are we health-nut-Nazis.

But now that Fall is upon us, who’s ready to settle into a nice routine? Who’s ready to get some healthy food prepared ahead of time, get the house more organized and manageable, fine-tune the budget, start exercising regularly, get the natural medicine cabinet stocked for winter – any or all of the above?!

I always feel this way when September hits. I super-love the flexibility of summer. But I’m ready for routine, I’m ready to find more organization in my days, and I’m ready to breathe in a fresh breath of all that this season offers.

Who is with me? Let’s hit the Restart button!

http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-images-retro-seamless-pattern-set-image20825059

Through the entire month of September, we’ll be hitting the restart button together around here. We’ll have new recipes, freebies, sales, rockin’ giveaways, tips and ideas, and encouragement. Hey, I’m doing this for me as much as I’m doing it for you. Actually, technically, you’re doing this for me. Sharing these ideas refreshes me – so thanks for the kick.  Bam.  Smack that Restart Button! Here we go.

First off – let’s start with a giveaway. All the books, eBooks, and eCourses in my shop are geared toward making your real food journey easier. They’ll help you hit the restart button – so how about we give some away? Leave a comment on this post sharing what you’re most excited about this fall as you hit the restart button. Wednesday, September 3 I’ll draw 5 random winners who will each win a $10 gift certificate that can be used on any downloadable product or eCourse we carry. Let your comments begin:

What are you most excited about this Fall as you hit the Restart Button?

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!
Next Page »

Join Our Community!

 Facebook Twitter RSS E-mail Instagram Pinterest

Popular Posts

~ Will All of the Real Moms Please Stand Up?
~ Easy! Stir-and-Pour Whole Wheat Bread
~ How to Make Gatorade
~ 31 Real Food Breakfast Ideas
~ Dear Teenage Girls...
~ When Mom Takes a Step Back
~ The Inexpensive Health Insurance We Love!
~ Let's Talk Real Food Grocery Budgets

Check out our latest posts!

  • Inexpensive and Fun Valentine’s Day Treats
  • Easy Chocolate Waffles
  • 4 Meals You Can Make for $1/Person
  • Easy Chili Cheese Dip
  • How to Make 5 Meals with 1 Pork Roast
Home  ~  Simple Meals  ~  Club Membership  ~  Shop  ~  Privacy Policy  ~  Disclosure  ~ Contact

Copyright © 2023 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in