Tag Archives: war

Feb24

Don’t Beat Yourself Up!

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Don’t Beat Yourself Up!

It is easy to get down on ourselves as moms on a daily, if not hourly basis. Today, as I was cutting up fruit for breakfast I was celebrating that we were eating well all day. Fruit for breakfast, Greek Chicken Wings for lunch and Chili with Homemade Cornbread for dinner. I tend to allow Satan to pick on me over little things. For example, not feeding my kids 3 totally prepared meals from scratch each day.

It was then (while cutting fruit) that I realized that I needed to celebrate the little victories each day. The war isn’t won in one decisive battle, it is mostly won in the small battles along the way. It is the same way with our families. I won the healthy eating battle today, but the war is still on. I will choose to celebrate that I did well today with feeding my family well. I won’t pick on myself that yesterday we ate out or had frozen waffles for breakfast.

Looking forward and not looking backwards. “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ‘I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.’” Philippians 3:13b-14

It is the same way in each battlefield in our lives and our family’s lives. Did we win the battle in spending enough time with our kids or husbands today? Did we help to train our kids spiritually today? Did we get in some quiet time with God ourselves? Did we exercise? Is the house clean? How about homeschooling? Did we get it all done today? Were we able to be patient all day long, or did we lose it?

If I look at this list, it is easy to get depressed quickly. I can’t do it all, everyday, well. If it isn’t perfect, I freeze and am not sure what to do. I tend to beat myself up if everything isn’t perfect. I have long been a follower of FlyLady. She has taught me some things about my perfectionistic attitude.

FlyLady really has taught me to take BABY STEPS. I try to celebrate the little things that I accomplish in the day. Is the kitchen sink clear? Yes, it is most days now. I can remember being newly married and always having dishes in the sink. I can say on most days, I have won that battle, even with 5 kids.

What are some of your battles? (I’d love you to post them in the comments below.) We all have them and I hope that this blog will be able to encourage us in ways to win the battles, and ultimately the war!

PS. If you aren’t familiar with FlyLady please check out her website @ http://www.flylady.com/

Feb1

The Everyday War

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The Everyday War

I’m not sure how many of you think of everyday life as war, but it is. (No, I am not making light of what our soldiers do to protect our rights and freedoms, I AM VERY THANKFUL FOR ALL THEY DO) We are waging war everyday for the lives of our children and families.

Who is going to win control of their lives? Is it the TV, internet, peers or other people outside your home who spend way more hours with your children on a day to day basis than you do? Our kids are pulled in so many different directions each and every day.  What can we do as parents to make sure we have the strongest pull in their lives? Are we leading them in a lifestyle which will draw them to God and to be living for Him?

I titled my blog “Home in the Trenches” for this reason. Everyday, you are a member of the war. You are in the trenches, fighting to hold, keep or take back your kids. Are you actively seeking to destroy what may be harming your kids, even if it looks good? Sports, peers, etc look great and can be great for our kids, but too much of a good thing, becomes bad. Is driving kids to activities hurting your family time together?  I have really tried to limit our activities so that we are still home together as a family quite a bit. I think this is a constant battle for families and needs to be re-evalutated on a “very often” basis. Dare I say this, but even too many church activities can pull your family in too many different directions? (this might be a topic to cover, in depth, in another post)

Are you keeping them from what could harm them, or even just allowing your hold on them to become a little looser? I know we all know the harms lurking on the internet and want to protect our children from them. I think we need to be cautious about who our children are talking to and about what. One of my children, was at a “Christian” event, talking with “Christian” kids and heard about s*x, all while sitting 30 feet from me. That night the Holy Spirit really prompted me to schedule a “date” with her for the next day. I am so glad I felt that leading and followed thru on it. On our time out we were able to talk about what had happened and clear up some of the confusions. My point is not that the kids or event weren’t Christian, but even in what I assumed would have been a “safe” environment wasn’t. However, God really did “work for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28)  He used that situation to grow our relationship closer together.

I just want to encourage you to be diligent in holding onto your kids hearts and being aware that you are fighting war everyday for the lives in your family!

Ephesians 6:11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

1 Timothy 4:16  Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.