Burden

Recently I have noticed a common theme in the Christian circles that I run in - at the ladies retreats, events, and Bible studies, on Facebook and Pinterest, in personal conversations, and far more blogs than I even knew were out there. So much of it revolves around being a housewife. Cooking organic meals from scratch, storing a months worth of food in the freezer, decorating to perfection, never spending more than [$20] on any purchase ever, getting married, having children, homeschooling, and doing everything just so. This whole idea is lauded and praised - and for good reason! To do all of these things successfully with the Lord's help is nothing short of an incredible accomplishment.

But I have been burdened by it, because it seems like I, as a Christian woman, have to fit into this mold or I am not fulling God's will for my life by being the Christian woman that He intended for me to be. That I am not fulfilling God's highest calling for my life. That's a lot of pressure!


It seems so trivial. Am I a better Christian than you because of gifts and talents that God gave me, but not you? Are you a better Christian because you have children and I don't? You know that doesn't make any sense.


When did my homemaking skills and child-birthing record determine my spirituality? I mean really - cooking organic meals from scratch - not everyone has time for that. It really doesn't fit into my schedule. I try to make healthy homemade meals as often as I can, but if I can save a few minutes by using a ready-made product, why not? Decorating my house: I try, I really do. I think my home looks better than average, but I only have so much of an eye for that kind of think. Truth: I like shopping. Spending money doesn't scare me (as long as it is in the bank account). God happened to bring a wonderful, godly, handsome man into my life when I was 19. One of my dearest friends is 25 and still waiting patiently for God to bring a man into her life. In the meantime, she is totally focused on God, growing spiritually, and blessing others. She is a strong person and I look up to her. God was completely of our lives. I am not more spiritual because I am married and my friend is not. I don't have children. I haven't been married long - long enough to have at least two children, but I don't. Does that mean that I am not spiritual? No! That means that God has chosen to lead my life in a different direction at this time, and I am totally ok with that.

So when did we forget that our "godliness" is determined by our personal, private relationships with our Savior? Our personal upward spiritual growth, our prayer life, our testimony to others, our efforts in bringing more people to Christ, and living overall according to the principles of the Bible.

To all of you women out there like me: Don't be discouraged if you can't live up to the seeming expectations of others. Don't be disappointed if you aren't married yet or don't have children. Enjoy this chapter of your life. You may never get to experience it again! Always remember that God is in control of everything, not you. You don't have to live up somebody else's ideas (if they don't come from the Bible!). Be the person that God intended you to be. He called you to be someone special. Be that person.

~Kay

In Case of Emergency

The year that my husband and I got married, over ten other couples - close friends - got married. It was so much fun! All of us planned our weddings together, shared decorations, and made sure our weddings were as unique as we were. A couple of months after the wedding celebrations settled down and we were now managing life as married adults. You know - nice apartments, not bachelor pads or a house full of girls. Opening gifts, pouring over the beautiful photos, buying cars or even houses, sending out thank you cards for all of the fantastic gifts, buying furniture, decorating our own homes, inviting our fellow newlyweds over. It was a blast!

Until a lovely fall day when we got word that the apartment of one of the new brides had burned to the ground. Everything she & her new husband owned was gone. All of the brand new furniture, the piles of wedding gifts, clothes, a lifetime of photos and mementos were gone in an instant. The couple was at work when their neighbor's unit caught fire, but there was nothing they could do when their home was destroyed as a result. Then things got worse when they found out that their insurance wouldn't cover even half of what it would cost to replace everything. Important personal documents and identification were destroyed. Something like this is always a tragedy, but for newlyweds who barely have their feet on the ground, it was even more so. 

How do you prepare for something like that? It is certainly not something that you want to think about, but it is a reality. Fire, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes. They all happen. But the truth is… We don't expect them to happen to us. I didn't think it could happen to me! But there it was - my dear friend lost everything in a fire. I realized that if something similar would happen to my husband & I, we would be sunk. 

So what do you do? How do you prepare for the worst?

I will be honest… I don't totally know. It seems like one of those things that you never know until it happens. And of course, it is one thing to get be prepared and it is another thing to stay prepared over the years. More than anything… it is a lot of work. 

So here is my thought… Take one step at a time.  Start now, as you freshly married. Don't wait until everything is put away and accumulated. 

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be working on some posts for preparing in case of an emergency. It is a personal project that I am working on in my own life. But I have to mention this... Invest in a home inventory software. Sure you can totally do it via Excel or Numbers, but trust me it is so much easier to just use the software! 

I had been using excel to keep track all of my possessions. It was a nightmare! There was so much information that needed recorded. Then one day I was just checking out some apps for my mac and I discovered this wonderful software by Binary called "Home Inventory" (similar products are available for windows). It has made a world of difference! What took me days to do before, took me a few hours today with the program. 

So step one: Inventory your home before you get so many years down the road that this task becomes impossible.