Posted in Encouragement
How do you do it?
It happened again. The double take and the, "Wow! You have your hands full!"
That is the all famous question that I get asked quite often, usually when I meet someone for the first time. It's always fun to see the shocked look on peoples face when they find out I have 5 children and I homeschool them. Good golly, if only they knew the other stuff I do! In comparison to the families from a hundred years and older a family of my size was pretty small. Honestly, it is probably easier today than what it used to be. I have a bunch of modern conviniences that help save time - washer and dryer, ovens and ranges, refridgerators, microwaves, grocery stores, four-slot toasters, coffee makers, clothing stores.
So how do I do it? I do it with the strength that Christ has given me. Through seeking Him, prayer and reading my Bible. If it wasn't for His strength, then I could honestly say I don't know how I do it. I just do it. I can totally rely on Christ to show me and teach me how to run my day, how to be a wife, how to raise my children, how to manage my home and to do it all with joy. Motivation, pure joy, the love for my children, integrity all play a big part in how I do it, but all in all it is Christ who gets the glory. I couldn't do it without Him. He gives me the desire, the motivation, the joy.
I do what I do because I enjoy it. I enjoy being a wife, a mother, a homeschooler. I also enjoy the other things I do. Children's director, Sunday school curriculum writer for church, hiker, camper, knitter, crocheter, artist, gold prospector, historian for the Gold Prospector's of Colorado, scrapbooker, idea starter, meal planner and maker, house manager, online group moderator, online group manager, blogger... the list goes on and on. Give and take there are a few things I don't like doing... grocery shopping, ironing, mopping, but I do them because they need to be done and I try to do them joyfully.
If I didn't have all the children I have and all the other perks to marriage and parenthood, then I'd be very bored!
It's all a lovely life that Christ has blessed me with.
How do you do it?
