Guest Post by Hallee

I have a new venture in my life. One recent morning in Sunday School, our teacher announced that our class would be one of four groups who would be volunteering with a local church's soup kitchen. That immediately got my attention. I had no idea my little town in central Kentucky had a soup kitchen.

I have always felt a strong calling from God to serve. Lately, it's become an almost audible voice in my ear. I've discussed it with my husband, Gregg, feeling like the call was to go "out" - to join a mission group, pack a suitcase, and go -- which would be a lot easier to consider if my husband wasn't in Afghanistan, leaving me at home alone with three children. The conflict between this call versus my duties and responsibilities and love and life here occasionally overwhelmed my emotions. I felt like I was suffocating.

As soon as I heard the announcement about the soup kitchen, I wanted to get to work. I didn't want to tarry while everything was coordinated, schedules were created, for me to wait my turn to go work just once a month. I now felt overwhelmed with this urgent, immediate feeling of "NOW".

The next week, I fought the urge to call the host church of the soup kitchen all week which would have preempted my own church's plans. I planned my youngest sons' 2nd birthday party, entertained my parents from out of town, and enjoyed a weekend mini-revival at my church. Vacation Bible School started on Monday, and all day I would reach for the phone to call the soup kitchen, but set it back down again. That night at VBS, where I worked in the kitchen feeding the staff and helpers and serving snacks to the kids, I talked with our pastor while he ate, confessing my desire to step forward and work right away.

He told me he was going to the church the next morning with our youth pastor and the head of the men's ministry, and invited me to join them. We worked Tuesday, getting an idea of what was needed so that schedules could be coordinated, and as we finished the day, the pastor told the head of the ministry that we would start our volunteer rotation in July.

I told her I'd be back the next day.

I found out that just one elderly woman cooked five days a week all by herself. At one time, there had been 2 cooks, but one of them hasn't worked for the last two months due to illness. That left this lone woman to do everything all by herself, and she confessed to me that she felt "plumb wore out." It was very easy to step up and say that I would start cooking even more.

My prayer is to be a complete blessing to this wonderful ministry. My family follows a Levitical diet. Among other things, we don't eat pork. The first morning serving at the soup kitchen, we took big cans labeled with nothing more than "U.S. Government Pork". We picked through the canned pig flesh and pulled out big chunks of fat and threw them out, then mixed the remaining meat with K.C. Masterpiece Barbecue Sauce (second ingredient: high fructose corn syrup). This we served on pre-packaged white bread hamburger buns, with Lays potato chips and canned peaches for sides. Dessert was a sugar-free cherry pie artificially sweetened with sucralose.

Almost all of the food is donated by amazing companies. There is a huge warehouse filled with cans and boxes and bottles, and the woman who runs it all (and who is the only other cook besides myself) sits down with her inventory and creates a menu plan. She does this on her own time, completely volunteer, and out of her heart.

The donated food isn't piece-meal, as if the product of a community food drive. There are giant pallets of boxed mashed potatoes or gallon cans of green beans. Corporations give, processing plants give, grocery stores give. A local grocery store gives all of their day-old bread and desserts by the truck full, and what isn't served that day is set on a table to be given out.

And this leads me to what I perceive as a very modern problem.

I'm going to pre-empt this by saying that I in no way am criticizing the ministry. I am not criticizing the generous companies that regularly donate this food to this organization. Nor am I criticizing the people who work so tirelessly, as volunteers, to serve this food to those who are clearly in so much need. What I am criticizing is the very existence of this food in the first place.

A woman came that day we served the BBQ sandwiches. She had a terrible headache and collapsed in the arms of the head cook, just sobbing, because she was so tired and so hungry and hadn't eaten for two days. People come into this church and eat two, three, sometimes four helpings because this is the only food they're going to get all day.

But the food is poisoning them.

Image by NatalieMaynor

I think I have been removed from the real world for too long. I live in my "real food" bubble, with my fresh fruits and vegetables, good meats, free-range eggs, organic dairy, and fresh milled flour. We choose to spend more on groceries and take more time on meals so that our family can benefit from the extra cost and the extra effort. In the end, we spend much less on health care. And when I have occasion to walk through the grocery store aisles, I have actually found myself getting angry with the volume of just pure junk that crowds the shelves.

I wonder when the tables turned. When did processed, chemical laden, nutrient lacking pre-packaged foods became the most economical, the most convenient, the thing that everyone wanted. Why does society just accept that a meal-in-a-box sitting on a grocery store shelf for possibly months at a time is 'as good' as fresh meat and fresh ingredients being used to make a dish of the same name?

I watch these poor, hungry people; so many of whom are sick, toothless, wheezing, hurting -- and I want to hug them and then feed them GOOD food. I want to offer them rich breads and hearty fresh produce. I want to make big batches of a bone broth and load it down with fresh vegetables and aromatic, medicinal herbs and serve it with fresh-baked whole grain bread.

But there is no way I can do that. I can't afford to feed hundreds of people a day all by myself. Even if I could afford it, I'm facing a society of people who don't understand that there is even anything wrong with the mega-farm, factory-processed, all-of-the-life-sucked-out-of-it ultra pasteurized, ultra-homogenized, artificially colored, artificially sweetened food.

I think as I became a "real foodie" and started making the best choices for my family, and as the last six years have gone by and I've removed myself from the junk food world, that I've put on blinders.

I find myself getting angry in the grocery store, then pretend that it isn't there. What? Hallee the Homemaker angry? Yes. I am. I watch shows like Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and get fired up about our kids' school lunches and the health of the children today, and assume that everyone else has the exact same reaction that I have to it. I assume that people just naturally care about it, and are willing to make the changes that I have made, all of which have so greatly improved our quality of life.

I assume that corporations know that the artificial this and that, the preservatives and industrial grade chemicals, the processing that they put food through -- I assume that they know how harmful to the health of consumers these things are and they are are willing to make changes that will better serve us in the end. And I am so very disappointed every time I read the labels of new products to find hydrogenated this and high fructose that all sweetened with aspartame.

Now I'm in the mix of it. Now I'm cooking with it. There simply is no other option. You can't tell someone who hasn't eaten for two days that they can't eat this food because it isn't good for them. I mean, come on.

The biggest problem is the ignorance (and I use this term in it's purist meaning - as in a lack of knowledge and education - and not in a derogatory manner) of most consumers in society. What do you have to do to food to make it shelf-worthy in cardboard for months? What do you have to strip away from it and add to it for that to happen? And why don't we seem to care?

In my perfect world, the donated food would come from local farms. It would take a few more volunteers and a lot more time and effort (A LOT more time and effort), but the food would be wholesome, nourishing, healing, and healthy. And it would more than fill the bellies of the people who eat it - it would benefit their lives, too.

I feel like maybe God is using me for this. Maybe He's sent my family on this real food path, sent us seeking all of the books and information and education. Maybe my exposure to the real foodie community through my blog and through such amazing sites like Keeper of the Home and Kelly the Kitchen Kop has been to prepare me for this ministry. Maybe this journey has brought me to this soup kitchen so that I can help impact it and start getting these people good food.

Yesterday, I talked with the owner of the fruit stand the boys and I walk to a few times a week - where we shop for all of our seasonal fruits and vegetables. After he donated a huge portion of the apples, pears, and peaches I needed for a bake sale, I talked to him about donating produce that he couldn't sell anymore to the soup kitchen. With his supplier contacts and local farming networks, I think that we can start getting some fresh food coming into the soup kitchen.

It's a start. I'm happy to start somewhere.

Hallee Bridgeman is a homemaker and mother of 3 in small town Kentucky who juggles cloth diapers, grain mills, two precocious toddlers, a teenager, and a ministry that has her feeding hundreds of people a week -- all while her husband is in Afghanistan. She has been blogging since August and covers everything from fresh ground whole wheat bread bowls and the breakdown model for Biblical womanhood, to how to clean chubby little lipstick hand-prints off of eggshell white walls. Hallee the Homemaker is delighted to be guest-posting for Keeper of the Home.

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Our Sponsors:

• Spoonk Rider: The Portable Accupressure Mat
• Plan to Eat: Drag & drop meal planner with automated shopping list maker.
• Fertility Flower: Helps women predict ovulation, increasing chances of conception. Outstanding charting tools.
• Experience God as Your Provider: Does Your Financial Future Feel Like a Crumbling Sand Castle?
• Learn to Cook With Sourdough: "Pay What You Can" Classes in Sourdough and Traditional Cooking
• Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

You might also enjoy:

1. Serving Our Husbands Through a Nourishing Diet
2. Serving Our Husbands Through a Nourishing Diet, Part 2
3. Real Food Makeover: The Woody Family, Part 2
4. Organization in the Real Food Kitchen: Planning to Make Food Preparation Happen

Written by Sharon Kaufman, Contributing Writer

"She does him good... all the days of her life."

Continued from yesterday's post...

But What if My Husband Objects?

This is not unusual and can be frustrating. I have found that submission, prayer and/or a respectful appeal (in order to come to an agreeable solution, if need be) always honor God, guards against frustration and often obtains an open-mindedness from my husband. Here are some typical and reasonable objections your husband might offer:

“I really don’t care to eat that stuff.”

Personally, I would love to serve seafood once a week, but Robert loathes anything out of the water. Knowing that the Omega 3’s that fish provide are vital to health, I put it before the Lord and the answer came – COD LIVER OIL. Can you believe that? My husband would rather go hungry than let one morsel of mackerel, etc. pass through his lips, yet he will gladly slurp down a spoonful of cod liver oil (lemon taste, not fishy) every morning.

A friend of mine tried numerous times in numerous ways to introduce unrefined coconut oil to her husband, but he disliked it and detected it no matter how she disguised it in his food. Finally she relented and put her gallon of coconut oil to rest.

Subsequently, one evening after retiring for bed, her husband, attempting to kiss her goodnight, gagged and then lamented, “I cannot even give my wife a kiss goodnight without tasting that stuff!” Since she was no longer using coconut oil in the kitchen, she had begun using it as a skin moisturizer.

But here's the clincher.  My Bible study group met at this lady’s house. When it was my turn for snack, I made popcorn - popped in coconut oil and slathered with butter. After study, her husband waltzed in and ask for something to nibble on. Not remembering the coconut oil debacle, I handed him a bag of popcorn. He gobbled it down with absolute relish, savoring every bite. Realizing this, it was all I could do to keep a straight face.

The Lord often manifests His sense of humor in providing answers and encouragement!

“We cannot afford organic.”

This is where it really pays to know your stuff. If you've educated yourself, you can respectfully appeal to your husband. Pray first, then approach him with ideas to make whole food work within your budget. Following is a sampling of what you might present:

Economize by:

• Buying toxin-free conventionally raised produce such as thick-skinned fruit (citrus, melons, avocados, bananas and more) and also many vegetables.
• Growing your own produce organically.
• Serving economy meals – soups, legumes, etc.
• Eliminating expensive convenience faux-foods/not eating out as often.
• Making cleaning and beauty products from common household ingredients.
• Planning a menu.
• Learning from experienced women how to economize.

Assure your husband that you will pray as Jesus instructed, “Give us this day our daily bread", and believe He will. Robert and I live on a meager income and have never had to compromise at the grocery store because God has faithfully provided for us. We have not been disappointed and have found that our "thankfulness quotient" has skyrocketed.

“I'm happy with the way we've always eaten.”

If this is your situation and your husband will not be persuaded otherwise, and if it concerns his tastes rather than the budget, there are many things that you can do to make his meals more nutritious. Here are some ideas:

• Switch from toxic fats and oils to those that are nourishing.
• Switch from processed sugar to healthy alternatives.
• Make your own salad dressings (the ones your hubby really likes) and mayonnaise.
• Buy bacon and wieners, etc. that do not contain nitrites and nitrates.
• Make hamburgers from grass-fed beef instead of conventional beef.
• Buy snacks your husband prefers (potato chips for instance) that are made with cold-pressed monounsaturated oils instead of polyunsaturated heat-extracted oils.
• Make healthy alternatives of the processed foods he's used to - for instance, stuffing made from scratch that mimics (no, it tastes better than) the mix you make on top of the stove.

“What about desert?”

Your husband may fear that his sweet tooth will be starved (actually, that’s not a bad thing). Assure him that you will make his sweets from scratch (perhaps this is yet another way to budget for whole foods), using healthy alternative sweeteners – palm sugar, organic maple syrup, Rapadura, stevia. (Follow this link to learn why agave is even worse than HFCS.)

Since I have never baked much, our sweet treats include puddings, baked apples, parfaits, homemade ice cream, fresh peaches (or other fruit) with cream (yum!). These sweets offer less carbs than baked goods and also some nutrition in the form of eggs, cream and milk. Still, these types of foods should be served only occasionally since they still contain sugars. Alternatively, try serving salty treats such as popcorn, popped as mentioned above, peanut or almond butter on celery or salty nuts prepared for optimum nutrition.

Some Practical Ways to Nourish Your Husband

• Make breakfast. After fasting 10 hours or more and with a full day ahead, breakfast is vital for energy and general health. “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.”
• Pack a lunch if your husband eats away from home while working.
• If your husband fills up on the main course and neglects his salad, serve the salad as a first course along with his favorite (healthy homemade) dressing.
• Provide plenty of good fat with each meal; it satiates hunger better than carbs or protein. Your husband will go longer without needing snacks. Slather cooked veggies in butter (fat also assists in the delivery and metabolizing of nutrients in your body).

God is Honored

When it is your desire to "do your husband good" in this fashion God is glorified. He will provide in ways that you never dreamed of. Pray about any difficulties you encounter, continue your education, plan your menu, go to bed earlier, listen to your husband, and eat as many meals together as possible at the table. Go ahead...do him good!

What other snack and economizing ideas can you offer? How has your husband responded to your "doing him good" in this way?

Sharon has enjoyed being Robert’s helper for 33 years. She has also loved her role of being mom to their children – one son and three daughters (now all grown) – and “Granny” to seven delightful grandchildren. She is passionate about encouraging and equipping women in her church and beyond and also through her blogs (The Good Woman) and (Franziska’s Pantry) to embrace and delight in their divinely-designed occupation as helpers.

Our Sponsors:

• Spoonk Rider: The Portable Accupressure Mat
• Plan to Eat: Drag & drop meal planner with automated shopping list maker.
• Fertility Flower: Helps women predict ovulation, increasing chances of conception. Outstanding charting tools.
• Experience God as Your Provider: Does Your Financial Future Feel Like a Crumbling Sand Castle?
• Learn to Cook With Sourdough: "Pay What You Can" Classes in Sourdough and Traditional Cooking
• Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

You might also enjoy:

1. Serving Our Husbands Through a Nourishing Diet
2. Recipes and Ideas for What to Eat on the GAPS Introduction Diet
3. Interview with Nourishing Traditions Author Sally Fallon
4. Nourishing Crockpot Carnival: My Crockpot, My Friend

Written by Sharon Kaufman, Contributing Writer

"She does him good... all the days of her life."

An Important Education for Women

Many studies have found that married men live longer than bachelors. Diet is a significant factor. One study showed that: ''Women traditionally take more responsibility for the home than men do, and, as a consequence, a woman's education might be more important for the family lifestyle - for example, in terms of food habits…(which) could have a substantial influence on the health and mortality of the partner.”

Time to Wise-up!

My “education” commenced about 6 years ago, at the onset of ill-health. After discovering The Weston A. Price Foundation, which is dedicated to restoring nutrient-dense foods to the human diet through education, I realized that I knew very little about nutrition.

These “nutrient-dense” foods, demonized by today’s diet gurus - butter, eggs, whole raw milk, cream, saturated fats, red meat, organ meats, etc. - God sanctioned for the human diet. 1 Timothy 4:3-4 elaborates “…foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good…”.

As these foods were prioritized in our diet, and all the processed so-called “health foods” (low-fat-this, cholesterol-free-that, etc.) were eliminated, our health improved dramatically. Within a few months many prescription drugs were eliminated (with our doctor's guidance), whole foods having helped to resolve many problems (high blood pressure, for instance).

Helping My Husband

Putting nourishing foods on the table is a very real way I can assist my husband in regard to his physical well-being so that he can continue serving as God has called him. A longtime Bible teacher – in the pulpit (though he is not a pastor), at mid-week Bible study, to seminary students abroad, etc. - Robert and two other men will be conducting several Pastor's conferences this June in the Southern Sudan. His health is crucial to these ministries. I want to do what I can to help him continue to minister God’s word for the good of His people and His glory.

As wives, we have the opportunity to help our husbands enjoy good health. Food should do what God intended – strengthen, build and repair our bodies, satisfy our taste buds and satiate our hunger. Only real whole foods can do that.

The Way to a Man's Healthy Heart is Through His Stomach

At a routine doctor's visit recently, Robert's doctor commented about his blood pressure (123/72), “You are a rarity – the only man your age (63) that I’ve seen lately with such great readings - without medication.” Wow! I was there and heard this. I thought to myself, “If I told the doctor that it’s all those wonderful foods with saturated fat and cholesterol (along with all the good veggies and fruit), he’d never believe me!”

But even though I can make a positive difference, I mustn't be smug. God is sovereign. He can and does use illness at times for our sanctification. Should God choose to use cancer (or another illness) for our spiritual growth, I know that it would be His sovereign and gracious design for our lives. I would also have confidence that I did what I could to prevent such an illness.

The Wisdom of the Ancients

We live in a world of convenience - everything in an instant, including food. A trip to the grocery store provides quick-fixes for meals in minutes. As a result, we've come to think that getting out of the kitchen in a flash improves our lives.

Women in the past knew better. They had a wisdom about food that has long since been lost to the younger generation. Wives were always on board to support their men with hearty, healthful meals three times everyday.

Proverbs 31:15 tells us that the excellent wife gets up “...while it is still night and gives food to her household and portions to her maidens.” Notice here that nourishing her loved ones was such a priority  that "Mrs. Far-Above-Rubies" did the cooking herself, not delegating it to her servants. She even served her maids breakfast!

My parents were savvy to the old ways. When Mom continued to make eggs for breakfast, after cold boxed cereal had made its way onto the grocery shelves, Dad told us three discontented kids that the health of our future children depended on our eating nutritious foods in the present, especially for breakfast which he proclaimed was the most important meal of the day. Knowing what I do now, I marvel at his wisdom, a “wisdom of the ancients” that was far superior to what we hear today from the food industry.

How do you view your role as your husband's helper when it comes to his health and what he eats?

Sharon has enjoyed being Robert’s helper for 33 years. She has also loved her role of being mom to their children – one son and three daughters (now all grown) – and “Granny” to seven delightful grandchildren. She is passionate about encouraging and equipping women in her church and beyond and also through her blogs (The Good Woman) and (Franziska’s Pantry) to embrace and delight in their divinely-designed occupation as helpers.

Our Sponsors:

• Spoonk Rider: The Portable Accupressure Mat
• Plan to Eat: Drag & drop meal planner with automated shopping list maker.
• Fertility Flower: Helps women predict ovulation, increasing chances of conception. Outstanding charting tools.
• Experience God as Your Provider: Does Your Financial Future Feel Like a Crumbling Sand Castle?
• Learn to Cook With Sourdough: "Pay What You Can" Classes in Sourdough and Traditional Cooking
• Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

You might also enjoy:

1. Nourishing Food Panel- Visit me there!
2. Interview with Nourishing Traditions Author Sally Fallon
3. The GAPS Diet: One Mom’s Experience
4. Nourishing Traditional Diets- For those with PCOS and anyone else desiring good health!

I'm not sure that I knew what I was getting myself into. It all seems so very long ago when I first began setting up Keeper of the Home over two years ago. I don't really remember what I thought blogging would be like... enjoyable, relatively simple, something I could do during the children's naps, a great way to share what I'm passionate about and get to know other like-minded women, and even a way to earn some money doing something I love from home.

And you know, it is most of those things (well, quick and simple not so much). I love blogging, I really do. I love the people, the things I've learned, the opportunities it has presented me, the ways that I've been challenged and have grown.

There's something I love so much more than blogging, though. My family. My precious children, 2 little ones back when I started and now we're up to 3 with the addition of Johanna this summer. My incredible husband, who has been such an encourager and supporter of me throughout these years of big bloggy dreams. I really, really love my family.

We had a talk the other night, my hubby and I. We agreed that I've been stressed to the max, trying to sustain a constantly growing blog with growing responsibilities, care for my family, do all that needs to be done around the home, and support my husband (often caring for the children by myself from morning til night) through a particularly busy and demanding season of starting a new business. I am really struggling to maintain a professional-quality blog and all that it entails, while still being faithful to my more important priorities. I don't want to continue to be so tired and burnt out, and he doesn't want that for me either.

What makes it especially hard is that there seem to be many women out there who are managing to run busy blogs as well as busy households, and do it all with grace. I have seasons where I feel that I can do it to a degree and other seasons where it feels utterly overwhelming. I am asked so often in comments and by email how on earth I do all that I do. The simple truth is that it's very, very hard and I am one tired woman.

You might be wondering if this is a good-bye post and I'll put your questions to rest right now... no, I'm not going anywhere. Not quite yet, anyways.

I am making a change of pace, though. In the past several months, I've developed a growing vision for my blog and in a sense, a lot of ambition. Many things have been driving me to pursue more and bigger things with my site and as a blogger in general. I see other women doing it and I feel the need to keep up, to grow alongside of them, to continue improving my site and learning to do what I do in a more professional way.

I realized that something in me was starting to say, "My roles are not enough. I want more. I want to be somebody, do something, make something of myself." I didn't see it as being ugly at first, but now I do. It crept up slowly, little thoughts, little desires. Somehow it grew into a burden to maintain this career (because let's face it, when blogging requires this much of you, it's more than just a hobby), even though I knew it was at a cost to my most important of careers, that of being a mother, wife and homemaker.

A few weeks ago we were doing school time and my daughter needed to draw a picture of her mother doing something. I had warm fuzzy thoughts of her drawing me cooking or baking, something in the kitchen, where I spend so much of my time (and often with her by my side). Do you know what she drew? Mama at her computer. It still brings me to tears when I think of it.

I want my children's childhood to be full of memories of a mama who was by their side, playing with them, laughing with them, reading to them, cooking with and for them. Not a mama with a face glued to a computer screen.

I'm tired of trying to be a pro-blogger. I just want to be a pro-mom.

I want all of my energy, creativity and passion to flow into my home and into my relationships with the most important people in my life, and not into some career that won't mean a thing one day when I'm old and wishing I had spent more time with my children during these incredibly precious years that I can never get back.

So yes, I'm still blogging, but not at quite the breakneck speed of the past year or so. I'm toning things down. My book is the last big project that I will be tackling. No more major site changes. No pressure to be some spectacular blogger, who knows how to work social media and commands an impressive audience. Just me. A real mom, talking about things that matter to me. My subject matter won't change, but perhaps the amount of time I put into some of my posts will. If I need to take a day off because my family just really needs me then I will, rather than force myself to burn the midnight oil because there just wasn't time to blog during the day.

I don't really know how it will affect my blog or my traffic. Truth be told, I'm not sure that I care anymore and there's a real freedom in that. One day soon (nope, I'm not sure when), I will put all of this aside and put 100% of my energies into this precious family that God has given me and I won't look back.

I'll leave you with a quote that was brought to mind the other day as I was thinking through all of this, and being renewed in my passion for the glorious task that God has given me to care for my family and home, to support my husband and to love and train my children:

[W]hen people begin to talk about this domestic duty as not merely difficult but trivial and dreary, I simply give up the question. For I cannot with the utmost energy of imagination conceive what they mean. When domesticity, for instance, is called drudgery, all the difficulty arises from a double meaning in the word. If drudgery only means dreadfully hard work, I admit the woman drudges in the home, as a man might drudge [at his work]. But if it means that the hard work is more heavy because it is trifling, colorless and of small import to the soul, then as I say, I give it up; I do not know what the words mean…. I can understand how this might exhaust the mind, but I cannot imagine how it could narrow it. How can it be a large career to tell other people's children [arithmetic], and a small career to tell one's own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, and narrow to be everything to someone? No; a woman's function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute. I will pity Mrs. Jones for the hugeness of her task; I will never pity her for its smallness."
G.K. Chesterton (bold mine)

Our Sponsors:

• Spoonk Rider: The Portable Accupressure Mat
• Plan to Eat: Drag & drop meal planner with automated shopping list maker.
• Fertility Flower: Helps women predict ovulation, increasing chances of conception. Outstanding charting tools.
• Experience God as Your Provider: Does Your Financial Future Feel Like a Crumbling Sand Castle?
• Learn to Cook With Sourdough: "Pay What You Can" Classes in Sourdough and Traditional Cooking
• Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

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There are a lot of things that my husband does that I know very little about. For example, buying and installing more ram for our computers. Or writing a marketing proposal and presenting a sales pitch to the CEO of a company. Or how to set up a set of drums, much less teach aspiring musicians how to play them.

There are a lot of things that I know about that my husband isn't so well versed on. Like all of the benefits of soaking grains and the how-to of doing it. Or how to make a dinner that involves more than stir-fry or toast and cheese (but seriously, the man makes good stir-fry). Or how to use a canner and put up enough home-grown diced tomatoes to last the year.

This isn't just because I am ignorant of electronics, marketing and music, and he is uninformed about nutrition, cooking and homemaking. While that's true to a degree, it goes much deeper than that. We're both intelligent people, capable of learning what we need to in order to fulfill the unique roles we've been given.

Why do I bring all of this up? I hear time and time again from women who want very much to make changes to their family's food buying habits, their diet and their overall nutrition. The problem? Their husbands aren't on board.

I think it's important to point out one of the major reasons that husbands often don't get on board, or at least not as quickly as we hope that they will. This is not their domain.

They are not homemakers. They are not cooks (most of them). They probably do not buy the groceries. They also do not spend the time that we may spend reading books, or blogs, or articles, teaching us why and how to improve our nutrition.

In our family, although my husband is on board, I am the one who pushes the healthy and natural lifestyle changes that we've been making. It's not that my husband is opposed. But, 1) It's not his passion and 2) He doesn't have the time that I do to pour into it and really learn why it all matters. Over the years, I have learned to try to explain to him some of the things that I am learning, why I am making certain changes, why I'm preparing food in a different manner, why I don't want to buy such-and-such anymore, etc. He still doesn't "get it" to the same degree as me (because he's not the one doing all the research), but he respects me and my opinions and he is generally amazing about allowing me to try out these things that I am learning as I seek to serve and care for my family.

For those who are struggling with a bit more resistance, or a husband who is even strongly opposed to changes that you would like to make, here are a few suggestions:

1) Don't let this issue become a stumbling block in your marriage.

I think that nutrition, health, good stewardship and all the other issues that I write about are important (or else I wouldn't have a blog devoted to them!). BUT, they are not more important than my husband or my marriage. If it comes down to it, surrender your desires to the Lord and trust Him to meet your needs as you put your marriage first!

2) Don't undermine your husband's authority as leader in your home.

Oh, we women struggle so much with wanting to grasp at that authority, don't we? We often think that we know best and want to try to force it on our husbands. We need to remember that God, in His complete wisdom and sovereignty, has given us the exact husband that He wanted us to have and that He is the author of marriage and the designer of the concept of submission.

If your husband is truly opposed to something or you can tell it really displeases him, don't do it! It just isn't worth it to replace your conventional milk with raw milk if it requires you to undermine your man. You may have to get creative with how you add more veggies into your meals if he grew up on canned corn and iceberg lettuce. You might even need to just sit on your ideals and knowledge for a while, praying that your husband will come around, but trusting that God is ultimately in control of the situation and of your family's health!

3) Give him good information in bite-sized pieces.

Most husbands work long days (or nights) before coming home to their precious families. Though they might be willing to read a book on nutrition to understand what you've been learning, they just might not have the time and the energy after they come home, eat a meal, help put the kids to bed and then take some downtime or time alone with you.

Over the last few years, I've learned that this is the best way to teach my husband about something: Find a brief article (a couple pages), or one really good chapter of a book, or a video (maybe 20 min. or less) every so often and offer it to him. Tell them that it explains some things that you think are really important and ask them to read/watch it and if you can, discuss it together after. I have found almost every time that my hubby is absolutely willing to do this. He walks away more informed about what I am learning and doing, and usually more convicted on whatever the issue was (raw milk, avoiding toxins, buying meat from clean sources, etc.).

4) Make it your priority to please him.

Next to your relationship with the Lord, your relationship with your husband ought to be the most important in your life. We need to show this in practical ways, and the food we serve is definitely one of them!

In the last couple of years, I have made a point of asking my husband about different meals or baking that I make so that I can find out how much he really likes it. If it's a thumbs up, it goes on my regular list of things to make. If it's so-so, we might have it very occasionally. If it's thumbs down (even if I love it or it's really good for us), I don't make it again unless he's out and won't be eating it. I have also learned that we are all so much happier when I do my best to take my nutritional principles and apply them to styles of food that he loves. I try to cook in a way that will make my hubby arrive home pleased and eager to eat what I've prepared. I love it when he loves what I've cooked!

5) Start slow and implement change little by little.

I didn't grow up eating the way I do now. It took many years and much determination to learn to eat healthfully as I do now, and to overcome a strong dislike of many wholesome foods (beans, brown bread, most veggies, some fruits).

Your husband may be the same. If so, it's going to take patience and diligence to help him change his tastebuds and learn to like what's better for him. Perhaps you could ask him if you could introduce a new meal or dish once a week? Or you could take some of his favorites and see if there are small things you can do to make them just a little bit better without removing all the pleasure. Or see if there are changes that he will willingly make, and a few compromise areas that you can just leave as they are for now (because some change is better than none!).

How do you find the balance between making healthy changes, and continuing to please and serve your husband?

Our Sponsors:

• Spoonk Rider: The Portable Accupressure Mat
• Plan to Eat: Drag & drop meal planner with automated shopping list maker.
• Fertility Flower: Helps women predict ovulation, increasing chances of conception. Outstanding charting tools.
• Experience God as Your Provider: Does Your Financial Future Feel Like a Crumbling Sand Castle?
• Learn to Cook With Sourdough: "Pay What You Can" Classes in Sourdough and Traditional Cooking
• Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

You might also enjoy:

1. Healthy Homemaking: A Good Egg
2. Nutritional Foundations- Making the best of the regular grocery store (Inner Aisles)
3. Making Cooking Easier: Using Your Slow Cooker
4. Nutritional Foundations- Making the best of the regular grocery store, Part 4

Image by grame_newcomb

Are you feeling overwhelmed? Is it possible that those burdens you're carrying were never yours to carry in the first place?

When we get off course, God is so faithful to intervene and use any number of ways to gently guide us back to where we ought to be. In my case, He most recently used my husband to bring some correction and encouragement that I so desperately needed.

Since the birth of my 3rd baby, about 3 months ago, I have been dealing with a significant amount of stress. Almost daily, I have felt entirely overwhelmed and far too busy. I didn't feel that I had enough time to do all that needed to be done. I was struggling with discouragement, anger and some depression.

My husband had often admonished me during this time that God does not give us more to do each day than we are capable of handling and accomplishing (through His grace, of course). Truthfully, I couldn't see how this was true and felt that indeed, God was giving me more than I could handle. The combination of life events (not just the birth of a new baby, but many other circumstances in addition) just felt like too much and I felt sorely inadequate. I was allowing my circumstances to distort my perception of God, believing that He was allowing me to be in this stressful place and doubting in His goodness.

A few weeks ago, my husband and I had a much needed conversation where I finally admitted how I was feeling. He suggested that I was letting many other feelings of obligation, expectation, and my own pride get in the way of the few things that God was actually calling me to focus on and accomplish. Many of the things that I was allowing to stress me out were far above and beyond the true priorities that I needed to be focusing on.

To help me get back on track and simplify the to-do list that I kept creating for myself, Ryan made this for me:

You can see that I have 3 main priorities:

1. Spend time in prayer, reading scripture, and meditating on the gospel.
2. Feed my family
3. Instruct the kids (teaching and training)

In addition to this, I can add 3 other items, but they are not to take priority until my first three items are under control. If that is all that I accomplish each day, it is enough! My day is a success. I have done what is most important and everything else can slide if it has to.

I cannot even begin to tell you what a weight has dropped off of my shoulders. These are my priorities in this season of life and I am not a failure if I do not accomplish some self-imposed list of other things!

I was reflecting on this during my quiet time the other day and here is what I wrote in my journal:

Have you picked up burdens that you do not need to be carrying? How do you stay faithful to the calling that you have received?

Our Sponsors:

• Spoonk Rider: The Portable Accupressure Mat
• Plan to Eat: Drag & drop meal planner with automated shopping list maker.
• Fertility Flower: Helps women predict ovulation, increasing chances of conception. Outstanding charting tools.
• Experience God as Your Provider: Does Your Financial Future Feel Like a Crumbling Sand Castle?
• Learn to Cook With Sourdough: "Pay What You Can" Classes in Sourdough and Traditional Cooking
• Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

You might also enjoy:

1. Living Simple Saturdays: Back to basics
2. How I “Do It All”
3. Taking a Personal Retreat
4. simplicity in a busy season

I was doing some meal planning the other night, and for some reason, this post popped into my head. It was a really good reminder for me that as I serve my family in the kitchen, I need to keep being intentional to bless my husband with what I make. Hope this post serves as a loving reminder for you, too! :) 

Originally Published October 2008

Image by robyn michelle-lee photography

I haven't been all that happy with the food I've been preparing
lately. Not because it isn't healthy, or frugal, or because it takes
too much work, or anything like that. Not even because it doesn't taste
good to me (because it does).

I made a realization, though. Over
the last year or so, I have slowly shifted away from making many of the
simple, basic, North American style meals that my husband loves. In
favor of that, I have moved towards more ethnic meals, more beans and
legumes, more experimenting, and less sticking with what we know and
love.

This past month, I started really noticing that my
husband hasn't been as keen on my cooking. In fact, neither have my
kids. It's harder to make use of the leftovers in the fridge, so I end
up eating most of them myself. I miss the rave reviews, and the hugs
and kisses when my husband comes home from work and sees what's waiting
for him.

The GirlTalkers are exploring the Proverbs 31 woman right now, and the past two weeks they've been focusing on this verse:

She does him GOOD, and not harm, all the days of her life." Proverbs 31:12

It's
been revealing and convicting for me, in many regards. The one that
really hit me yesterday was that making all the healthy and interesting
dishes in the world is just a complete waste if it isn't doing good to the most important man in my life!

So
there's a shift taking place. Last night while my husband was out at an
event, I spent a lot of time writing out a list of meals that I think
would serve him better, meals that he would be excited to eat once
again. They don't sound quite as healthy, but in actuality they can all be made with nourishing ingredients,
and have generous helpings of salad and veggies added to their sides
(and my hubby loves veggies, so that's not a problem at all). 

My new meal plans will include a lot more dishes like: taco salad, fajitas, roast beef, homemade pizza, lasagna, quesadillas, beef stew, grilled cheese and homemade tomato soup, meatballs, turkey stromboli, salmon or chicken kebabs, cheesy beef and rice, spaghetti with tomato sauce, mashed potatoes, butter chicken, burritos, and I'm sure you get the point.

Sure,
I'll still make the odd lentil or butternut squash soup, or cold rice
and bean salad, or the like. Mostly, though, I will be refocusing my
efforts on making these comfort foods that he really loves, with high
quality ingredients and nourishing methods, along with a really good
variety of veggies alongside them. I already examined my budget to see
how I could make this work, and it's tight (not that it wasn't before),
it requires more discipline and intentionality, but I think it will be
alright. (And a huge thanks to Laura, whose meal plans, recipes and Getting Real with Food series were such an invaluable help to me last night!)

Best
of all, I told my husband what I was thinking, and read him the list of
meals I had put together. He smiled, and the relief was so evident, not
just in his face, but his whole body relaxed. He said he would love it
if I made meals like that all the time. I could instantly see that this
change was truly doing my husband good.

It's okay to want to
challenge our families a bit, and make new and interesting and
nutritious dishes. But our priority is still to serve our husbands (and
our children, though I do believe their tastes need to be guided by us
for the most part). If what we're making just isn't doing it for him,
then something needs to change.

I want to truly "do him GOOD", and that includes what I do in my kitchen.

Does
the food that you're serving bless your husband? Are you trying to make
healthy changes that he is resisting? How have you learned to balance
improving your diet with making food that he still loves?

Our Sponsors:

• Spoonk Rider: The Portable Accupressure Mat
• Plan to Eat: Drag & drop meal planner with automated shopping list maker.
• Fertility Flower: Helps women predict ovulation, increasing chances of conception. Outstanding charting tools.
• Experience God as Your Provider: Does Your Financial Future Feel Like a Crumbling Sand Castle?
• Learn to Cook With Sourdough: "Pay What You Can" Classes in Sourdough and Traditional Cooking
• Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

You might also enjoy:

1. Good in the Kitchen
2. Play it Again: Canning Pumpkins
3. Play it Again: The Great Debate- Washing our Fruits and Vegetables
4. Play it Again: My Top 3

I immediately knew that I liked Sharon when I read the sub-title of her blog, The Good Woman, "...she's not flawless, she's forgiven". She is a wonderful example of a woman desiring to teach the younger women in the model of Titus 2. I know that you will be blessed by what she has to share!

*******

Guest Post by Sharon Kaufman

Could your house, with its tasteful and attractively arranged furnishings, make it into the pages of House Beautiful? Most of us would say, "No, but I'm working toward beautifying my home in such a way." A well-cared-for and pleasingly outfitted home is what many godly women strive for. But regardless of how visually stunning and impeccably organized our homes are, there is yet a greater priority for the Christian woman – the beautification of her heart.

The other day I took up reading John Piper’s, The Pleasures of God where I had left off the day before:
“He beautifies the meek with salvation.” (Psalm 149:4)…God is an infinitely beautiful person...One of the ways God expresses His delight in this beauty is by giving it away to His people. He takes pleasure in them by adorning them…with His own beauty.” (The Pleasures of God by John Piper, page 186-87)

There you have it - the beautification of the heart, the Christian woman’s priority. Our homes will never really be beautiful until our hearts reflect back to God and to those around us the ever-increasing image of the loveliness of our Savior.

Proverbs 14:1 says, “The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands”. The wise woman takes time to behold the beauty of the Lord and wait quietly as He instills that beauty within her. But godly, inner loveliness is of no consequence to the foolish woman. She may even be pursuing worthy goals – homeschooling, serving in women’s ministries, singing in the choir, etc. But these pursuits are vain without first sitting down at the feet of the Beautiful One.

So why should we be so beautified? Why? But for the glory of God put forth in our own little worlds. For women, this happens as we nurture others, as God has so designed. Regardless of our marital status, by prioritizing our time at Christ’s feet, we are empowered to nurture those God puts into our lives. It is the overflow of the Lord’s beauty, as the Spirit of God produces in us God’s quality of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control.

As nurturers, we have countless opportunities to profoundly influence the next generation with the beauty of the Lord, and it happens as we bring this beauty first into our own hearts. Even an unbelieving world acknowledges this “influence principle” in their secularistic way. I became aware of this fact after having read a magazine article about a man who educates young girls in northern Pakistan, a poverty stricken region where girls have never had the privilege of attending school.

In his own way, this former U.S. Army medic, has gone to war against Islamic fundamentalists. His method is based on a simple yet profound idea: that by helping to provide secular education (especially for girls) in this most explosively unstable part of the world, support for the Taliban will slowly evaporate.

The importance of women as nurturers in the home and the huge impact that nurturing has upon society is obvious even to this unsaved man, having stated in the article that nothing would change in northern Pakistan until its girls are educated, for they are the ones who remain in the home and instill values in the upcoming generation.

Isn’t it interesting that in the little book of Titus, Paul instructs Titus, the pastor on the Island of Crete, to teach the older women how to train the younger women to love and submit to their husbands, to love their children, to be pure and kind and to be workers at home? God had redeemed these women who were now exiting out of a culture in which it was customary for them to sip wine in excess and gossip maliciously. It is significant that “of all the ways Paul could have instructed in how to combat the decadence of that culture, he told the older women to invest their energies in training the younger women to live Christianly in their own homes.” (Spiritual Mothering by Susan Hunt, p. 43). What you do there really does make a dramatic difference. And by outwardly manifesting a heart that displays the exquisite character of Christ, that difference will resound for God’s glorious cause.

So while it is important to look well to the ways of our homes, it is imperative that we first beautify our hearts. My little cottage, though it may never be featured in House Beautiful, though the couch is a bit threadbare and the carpet worn, if the beauty of the Lord dwells there, it is perfect. May we find ourselves sitting at the feet of our stunning Savior, being adorned by Him so that His radiance and beauty may be enjoyed by all who dwell alongside us.

Sharon has enjoyed being Robert’s helper now for 32 years, being mom their grown son and three grown daughters and “Granny” to seven delightful grandchildren. She is passionate about encouraging and equipping women in her church and beyond and also through her blog (The Good Woman) to embrace and delight in their divinely-designed occupation as helpers.

Our Sponsors:

• Spoonk Rider: The Portable Accupressure Mat
• Plan to Eat: Drag & drop meal planner with automated shopping list maker.
• Fertility Flower: Helps women predict ovulation, increasing chances of conception. Outstanding charting tools.
• Experience God as Your Provider: Does Your Financial Future Feel Like a Crumbling Sand Castle?
• Learn to Cook With Sourdough: "Pay What You Can" Classes in Sourdough and Traditional Cooking
• Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

You might also enjoy:

1. Breastfeeding for Heart Health
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Image by Amir K.

Every once in a while, a mom could use to just get away for a little while.

I'm not talking about self-indulgence or feeding the idea of constantly needing "me time". Our society tells us often enough that it's time we stopped doing everything for everybody else and started focusing on meeting our own needs. I don't believe that type of thinking is Biblical. We have been called to serve our families, laying down our lives for others and for God's kingdom, and to trust in Him (not ourselves) to ultimately meet all of our needs!

I do, however, think that it can be an incredibly beneficial thing to plan to take a "personal retreat" once or twice a year. This can be anything from a couple of hours in a coffee shop, to spending the day at a park by yourself, to actually going overnight somewhere and having a full day or two by yourself. It all depends on the season of life that you are in (newborn or nursing babies, a husband or family member that is able to stay with the children), your financial limitations, etc. but I think that anyone can find a way to carve out at least a little bit of purposeful time.

So what's the point of taking a personal retreat?

For me, it is a way to spend some focused, quiet time seeking God, reading His word, praying over specific issues in my life and just generally asking Him to renew my vision and my priorities for the season of life that He has me in.

It is also an opportunity to read encouraging or challenging books on important topics (on mothering, on marriage, on home educating, on a specific spiritual topic). It can be an ideal time to really flesh out the different things in my life that are fighting for my attention, and bring some clarity to what is most important and then make a plan to focus on those things and release the others.

Planning can happen more easily when I am already in the mode of refocusing myself and setting goals and priorities. I find it the perfect time to tweak my schedules and routines, to plan for upcoming months of home educating and blogging, to determine projects I want to accomplish, to choose new books to read or set a new direction for personal devotions, and to set goals (and steps to accomplish those goals) in various areas.

If you're interested in the idea of taking one, see this older post where I talk a little bit more about taking retreats, and also highlight the book Shopping for Time
which was instrumental for me in beginning to take my own retreats!

What I'll be doing this weekend...

Starting tonight, I will be serving dinner to my family and then leaving the house for several hours alone. The next morning after breakfast, I will go out again and take the entire day, until it's time to come home for dinner. My husband and I have been planning this for quite some time, and he is fully supportive of my desire to do this. He also takes retreats a couple of times a year, and we are both in agreement as to just how helpful they are to us and how they enable us to better function in the roles that God has given us.

I've been anticipating taking this retreat for the last several months, and I am so eager to go and enjoy some intimate fellowship with God, and to come home (as I always do) just bursting with eagerness and joy to do what He has called me to do, with a fresh sense of purpose and direction!

Have you ever taken a personal retreat? What did you find the most beneficial about it? If not, would you like to take one?

Our Sponsors:

• Spoonk Rider: The Portable Accupressure Mat
• Plan to Eat: Drag & drop meal planner with automated shopping list maker.
• Fertility Flower: Helps women predict ovulation, increasing chances of conception. Outstanding charting tools.
• Experience God as Your Provider: Does Your Financial Future Feel Like a Crumbling Sand Castle?
• Learn to Cook With Sourdough: "Pay What You Can" Classes in Sourdough and Traditional Cooking
• Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

You might also enjoy:

1. Living Simply Saturday: No is not a dirty word

So many thoughts come to mind, but I'll try to keep it coherent:

1) First of all, blogging can be so artificial, in what it shows us of somebody's life.

Sometimes I scan over the posts from a week or two of blogging and think "Gosh, my life looks more impressive than it is!". You only have the privilege of seeing the topics that I managed to write on that week: perhaps my Quiet Time bins, some yummy recipes, my grocery budget breakdown, a garden update and some things the Lord has been teaching me.

What you don't see is that the Quiet Time bins took me 6 weeks to complete after I purchased the bins, that I undercooked my pumpkin bread last week, that I went over budget on groceries this month, that I have barely been out to my garden this last little while and it's getting a bit weedy, that I didn't manage to have time with the Lord today, that I was really tired and somewhat snappy with my kids this morning, and that my house desperately needs to be vacuumed and I'm behind on laundry.

The bottom line: I am a real person. I mess things up daily. I do NOT have it all together. I am the biggest sinner I know, and utterly dependent on the grace and mercy of God. I can be grumpy and selfish with my husband and kids. Not every meal I make turns out well. I don't always balance my time efficiently or effectively or wisely. I have lazy days where I struggle with motivation. I sometimes have to run around to make my house presentable for guests. I sleep in some days when I should have gotten up earlier. I don't always make time in the Word and in prayer the priority that I should. Some days I would prefer to just avoid the kitchen. Sometimes I don't feel like blogging (gasp!).

2) We can only do as much as we can do, with what God has given us, through His grace.

I am definitely still working on learning this lesson. I, too, can look around at other women and think that I ought to be doing this or that, or read other blogs or books and feel that I am somehow missing the mark of all that a godly wife, mother and homemaker should be accomplishing.

What I need to continually remind myself of is that I am not those women. I am me. In the circumstances that God has placed me in, with the talents and gifts He has given me, with the struggles and weaknesses He has allowed for my sanctification.

One of the best things that I got out of the book Shopping for Time
, which I've mentioned before, is that I can't do it all, and I am not supposed to. What I can do is conscientiously seek God on my time and priorities and schedule, asking what He would have for me in each new season of life. As He leads me to focus on particular priorities, relationships, and tasks, I have to learn to give up my need to "do it all" and be content in doing what He has actually asked of me. It's so easy to place expectations on myself that He doesn't burden me with, but not only is that unwise, it's also unfruitful.

3) Do I ever feel worn out? Yes. Do I get overwhelmed sometimes? Of course. Do I sometimes wonder how I can add new things to my plate as our family grows, life gets busier, I learn more about health and nutrition, etc? Absolutely!

I have a tendency to want to do it all. I add things faster to my own schedule than anyone else ever could. I often have to force myself to sit back and really evaluate all that I am doing, and whether it's wise and even feasible.

One thing that has helped is learning to streamline things over the years, and just becoming more comfortable in my roles and duties. I continue to try new scheduling methods, cleaning routines and techniques, implementing systems of organization, and trying to declutter more. I've learned to keep things like breakfast and lunch simple, to bathe my kids only a couple times a week, to find ways to multitask better, to use recipes with less ingredients and hands on time, and all of these things help me to accomplish more without going crazy.

I've also given things up. I don't do scrapbooking or cardmaking anymore. I very rarely read fiction. I've worked to cut my grocery shopping trips down to every second week. I spend much less time on the phone than I used to and make use of my call display. We don't watch tv, and keep the movies to a minimum. My kids aren't in a bunch of activities, and we don't do very many playdates or get togethers with friends during the week. My husband and I often use our free evenings to sit at our respective computers and do business stuff (though we still make time for fun and just being together). We work to maintain and nurture the relationships in our life that seem to be the highest priority in a given season, and try not to spread ourselves too thin.

4) I constantly have to try to remind myself of what really matters.

Is it that my house was spotless or that I played with my kids? Is it that our children were academically advanced or that we spent time instilling godly character, discipline and teaching them the Word of God? Is it that every meal I make is balanced nutritionally, completely organic and perfectly prepared or that I have sought to be a good steward with what I have been given, and that my motivations are to glorify God and to love and serve my family?

I can easily forget these things, but they're true! So often, the things that I burden myself with are not ultimately important. Sometimes I get lost in the peripherals, and I need to take a step back and re-evaluate.

I hope this somewhat rambling post gives a little more insight into who I am, and how my days and weeks really play out in the real world, not just the blogosphere. I so desire to present myself as a regular woman, with struggles and challenges, who is just doing her best and sharing the journey with you!

I would love to hear from the rest of you, and how you deal with feeling overwhelmed, with the expectations you have for yourself, and on maintaining balance and focus! Do you relate to these questions and issues?

Images by Hamed

Our Sponsors:

• Spoonk Rider: The Portable Accupressure Mat
• Plan to Eat: Drag & drop meal planner with automated shopping list maker.
• Fertility Flower: Helps women predict ovulation, increasing chances of conception. Outstanding charting tools.
• Experience God as Your Provider: Does Your Financial Future Feel Like a Crumbling Sand Castle?
• Learn to Cook With Sourdough: "Pay What You Can" Classes in Sourdough and Traditional Cooking
• Holy Ambition: If you're thinking, God can't use me, think again! YOU can make a difference.

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