10 Ways to be a Happier Mom

This was the title of Ann Voskamp’s blog (one of the few blogs that I check…every. single. day.) I love to read her stuff.  I wish I could be as wise and insightful as she is, but I am not.  So, I will continue to read and learn from someone much wiser and insightful than myself.  I am okay with that. 

 

This post was written especially for me today.  I had a really busy day.  We are in the process of trying to get kids moved into different rooms.  Today I painted, cleaned, moved beds, moved closets (well, not really closets, however I believe that would have been easier), fed hungry kids, did a loads of laundry, and ended my day trying to convince a three-year-old that the big bed in the basement is a much better option than her cozy, crib right next door to her mom and dad…who am I kidding.  Anyway, I read this post after the kids were in bed.  I was tired, a bit irritable, my legs and back were aching, and I still had not accomplished everything on my list.  Then I wondered to myself,  “Why did that all have to get done TO-DAY?”  There are many answers to that questions, and none of them good ones.  Today is done, but tomorrow is a new day.  I have made a promise to myself that starting tomorrow I will consider the following 10 things.  I am going to remind myself that planning a birthday party for your almost 10 year old is not an emergency, but a gift.  I am going to remember that homemaking is about making a home, not perfection, as I am thoughtlessly scrambling around cleaning and tiding.  I am also going to remind myself that I already have all I need for today and I will praise Him for it. 

I narrowed her list down to 8 that I particularly needed for myself, but the complete list is great and you can find it on her blog.  And for those of you who might stop in at my house anytime soon, I am planning to take #5 very serious.  So, if you can’t see my counter top and the floor is covered in games, puzzles, and Calico Critters (which it was all day today) I will not be ashamed.  Excuse me, because I was playing them with them.  

1. Life is not an emergency.

Life’s a gift.
Just. Slow. Down.

2. Sometimes the slowest way is the fastest way to joy.

Make time today, even a moment, to read Scripture and memorize it.

Without the lens of His Word, the world warps.

{Slowest=fastest to joy}

3. Laughter is the cheapest, holiest medicine.

Preschoolers laugh 300 times a day. Aim for double that.

4. Motherhood is a hallowed place because children aren’t commonplace.

Co-laboring over the sculpting of souls is a sacred vocation, a humbling privilege.

Never forget.

5. Homemaking is about making a home, not about making perfection.

A perfect home is an authentic, creative, animated space where Peace and Christ and Beauty are embraced.

{Perfect does not equate immaculate}

6. Believe it: I have all I need for today.

The needs of our day are great but our God is greater and we call Him Providence because we believe: He is the One who always provides.

{And when God provides, He should be praised, and if God always provides, shouldn’t praise always be on the lips?}

7. Slow. Children at play.

The hurry hurts the kids. 

Time’s priceless currency and only the slow spend it wise enough to be rich.

If we had to actually buy our time, would we spend it more wisely — spend it more slowly?

{God’s Word never says Hurry Up. God words only whisper: Wake Up.}

8. Love is patient.

Parenting’s this gentle way of bending over in humility to help the scraped child up because we intimately know it takes a lifetime to learn how to walk with Him.

Patience. Love always begins with patience and patience is a willingness to suffer.