I always enjoy having children around. They never complain, argue, or whine, so I never have reason to tire of their presence. My house is spotlessly organized and each parenting moment is handled with such a degree of wisdom and grace that no hint of my sinful nature and impatient tendencies are ever exposed. And I never lie either.
Of course I'm being totally facetious above, but sometimes I wonder if those who read this blog ever get the impression that I'm a homemaker who's got it all together. It's remarkably easy to display a deceptive picture of myself online.
Moments after posting this picture on our Facebook page saying we'd be enjoying supper from the garden tonight, I BURNT it. All of it.
The recipes I post are only the ones that turn out. In reality, the ratio of flops to successes are nearly tied. Most often, any pictures you've seen of our house are taken after I've spent a considerable amount of cleaning up and staging the scene. I can even remove my zits from my face with an online photo editor before changing my profile picture.
Judah - a sweet little boy who loves to eat vegetables, right? It didn't last any more than 3 seconds in his mouth before he spit it out.
What you won't know from reading my blog is that the miraculous growth of my laundry pile can be attributed to me spending too much time online; that our daughter has a strong, vocal aversion to carrots; that you could leave your signature in the dust on our fireplace mantel; that my Roma tomatoes are dying and I have no idea how I'm killing them; that we often use the garden hose to clean our kids off outside instead of giving them a proper bath; or that our car should've been vacuumed out four months ago.
Everyday, food gets spilled on the floor, my children whine and complain, and I lose my patience. Indeed, the small sampling of our lives you see online is often very different than the big picture. Don't compare yourself to what you see on your side of the screen. It's a very unrealistic picture of homemaking and motherhood.
They were playing so nicely together, I had to celebrate the occasion with a picture.
The "good stuff" you see here is God giving beauty for ashes. It is by His grace and with His strength that I can homeschool my children and bake a cake that turns out. It's the Lord who provides bounty in our garden and creates beautiful flowers to arrange on our kitchen table. He provides me with the materials and skills to sew a quilt for warmth in the winter and whip up a healing hand cream.
In spite of myself, I find hope in my calling to be a wife, mother, and homemaker because that's what God has called me too. Even if I burn the toast and melt our peppercorn grinder, I can take comfort and encouragement in knowing that the One who saved me from my sin can redeem the efforts I make in the calling He has given.
A cheesecake that turned out beautifully. The very first time I've ever made one that looked good enough to eat.
My blog serves its purpose when it showcases the beauty of the role ordained for women by God. He is blessed - and so am I, when it encourages fellow homemakers to aspire to that which is excellent: loving their children, honoring their husbands, managing a beautiful, efficient home, and delighting in the opportunities to serve the Lord which arise from keeping our homes and all that it entails.