forgotten art

The other day I realized just how much the Lord has taken care of me throughout the years. Not only did He keep me safe during my hay day, but He has given me the deepest desires of my heart and I get to live them out daily. I don't believe it's because I've done anything right, but because having so much to be grateful for bring Him the glory.
For a few years now I have wished and daydreamed about being good at something. Really good, like an expert. I mull over catalogs and research what it would take to become a master herbalist, holistic practitioner, or live out my dream as a counselor and open a home for girls. I have always felt like I was in some sort of waiting period while I raised my kids. Once they were grown, I could get to my real life. Along the way here and there I was encouraged by others telling me that being a mom is the most important job in the world *rolls eyes*, but it was too politically correct to even stomach. And besides, I know a lot of mothers who are also working or living out other dreams, while still being "mom." They are mom, but they also have something they are good at.
Christ within has been settling me big time lately and I am slowing down to become more aware of the present state of being. In recognizing Him and beholding Him, He has shown me something to be thankful for. I want to share why and how and make it very clear that it's by no strength of my own. Without Him being the Life to me and my family, I fail big.
Christ has given me the gift of homemaking. This is the revelation He's shared with me and I want to pass it along. Developing the best and right lifestyle for our family is important. Just like with everything else, no two homemaker's jobs are the same. I'll use mostly myself as the example.
When I moved out of my parent's home and into my husband's home I was starting from scratch. I knew how to clean my home well(thanks mom!), but everything else I did was pretty generic. I didn't have my own style yet as a wife or a mom. Over the years I have been drawn to read and seek out knowledge on how to keep my family safe in our toxic world. Not germs, germs can be good for us, but actual toxins. They are everywhere, specifically in our health products and food. I used to make boxed dinners and freezer dinners. I used to cook with toxic ingredients(and think they were healthy), but since have completely changed the way we eat. I spend a LOT of time in the kitchen. At least an hour per night just preparing dinner, not including cooking time. I used to give the kids sugar, sugar, and more sugar for breakfast and lunch, but have started making those from scratch as well. Over the years I have developed a system of collecting our recipes for the month, keeping track in a special planner, gathering the organic groceries from stores all over town, and making the time for preparing it all. You may not think that making food for my kids and hubby is an art, but when held up to what it used to look like, I can see that it is, and that the Lord has given meaning to it.
The Lord has been developing in me a desire to protect life on the planet. That passion has led to finding out about ways to live in harmony with the world, to tread lightly, and leave small footprints. A big part of our lives and how we do daily activities comes from this responsibility to the planet. My kids will see that taking the extra steps to hang dry clothes and compost our trash as a normal part of life. It's what works for us and I feel good about it.
Homeschooling, a biggie. This is an area of my "job" that the Lord has graciously given me a ton of passion for. We have discovered that Miss Charlotte Mason's methods work best and we make it our own. I love to write unit studies(small ones and year-long curriculum) and I love to pull existing pieces of studies together to make new ones. I love this part of my life and thank the Lord for that. It is Him who has called me to raise and teach my kids in His ways and He has provided the desire which makes it enjoyable. I love that we can saturate our day with Christ and it doesn't look like cookie cutter Christianity. It has been a process coming into my own as a homeschooling mom. As long as I remain open to teaching myself, the process will continue. I will always grow and mature in this area if I remain humble and continue on for the right reasons. I thank the Lord that He has developed the personal style perfect for our family's homeschooling and we can build upon that.
Another area of my fantastic job that I want to write about is my housekeeping. Boy, has this changed over the years. I have become a pro at multi-tasking, and sometimes I don't think that's a good thing. Most of the time it's helpful to have a lot going on, dishwasher running, whites in the washing machine, hanging clothes to dry on the line upstairs. Check. But other times I need to remember that I am keeping house so we can stay safe and healthy, NOT so we can have a spotlessly clean home. I could get carried away and clean all day long if I had the time. My whole attitude is changing though and I am learning to relax long enough to sit with and enjoy Chris and the kids. I don't want to miss time with them because I was cleaning. I have my daily chores that I fit into my schedule, but rcently I have turned my weekly chores into monthly tasks. It has helped my mindset so much and my house really isn't a whole lot messier! My husband blessed me with a gym membership in order to help me deal with stress and depression, but it only works if I go almost everyday. I have had to give up some things in my day to make room for that and cleaning was the first thing to go. My family doesn't mind me taking that time for my physical and mental health because they are reaping the benefits as well.
That leads to my final point. In all of my homemaking, what's become the most important part of my job is the atmosphere I help create. I have been entrusted with four beautiful hearts. These people love me so much that if I am not happy, neither are they. If I am having a bad day and have a rotten mood, they pick up on it. I take that very seriously. I once read that a mother's voice can instantly lower her child's anxiety level and blood pressure. When I began paying attention to how I spoke to my family, I was shocked. There was a time when I was taking my son to a class and realized I had scolded him(loudly) and nagged him the whole way there. I created anxiety in him and then sent him off into the world. I felt like a horrible person and was shown the ugliness of living in my own strength, again. I want to be the place for my kids and husband to come and receive love and nurturing. I want to build them up with my words and fill them with Christ's love. This is very much the most important part of my job. The art of homemaking is narrowed down to the atmosphere I am creating. More than anything I do, making sure my boys feel safe and secure with me is key.
So for now, I am a homemaker. There may not be degrees handed out, but I feel secure in that the Lord is making me an expert in caring for my family. Most importantly, I have complete faith in Christ, that He is my value. So even if my job remains a homemaker for the rest of my life, I am fulfilled.
Thanks for reading!
Love,
Jackie