Motivate Me Monday- Stepford?

Lately, I've been reading the book Passionate Housewives Desperate for God by Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald. I highly recommend it. I've had so many thoughts to ponder that I just want to share a few.

It's so easy sometimes for us to fall into the rut of comparing ourselves to other wives and moms. We might see something they are teaching their children, and we might begin to question if we're teaching our kids enough. One mom may be feeding her kids all organic foods, and we begin to search out whether or not we are feeding our kids healthy enough. Another mom may clean and scrub her house in a very organized and methodical manner, and we question whether or not we are keeping things as well as we should. Another mom may have a very specific schedule, where she rises very early, but we just can't seem to make it up quite that early. The list could go on and on. But it doesn't have to.

Consider this verse with me for just a moment: She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness- Proverbs 31:27. Look at that first part again: She looketh well to the ways of her household. Whose household? Her household. It doesn't say her friend's household, and it doesn't say her neighbor's household. It says her household. It's so easy for us to fall into that Stepford wanna-be category of motherhood, and perfection just isn't possible. If we strive for perfection, we are only going to end up spending less time with our husbands and children, and we're going to burn out and become irritated and very unhappy, possibly even taking our emotions out on others. We won't have that peace that comes when we're living out the exact plan that God has for us.

The world says that being a stay at home mom is an unhappy, grunt job; but, ya know? They're wrong....being a stay at home mom is a calling, probably the highest calling one could ever receive. We are raising the next generation that is going to grow up and become our health care workers, our lawyers, our leaders. How is that a grunt job? Oh, certainly, there are days when it can feel that way, but usually, it's because we're striving to be what we are not and never can be.

One piece of advice I carried away from this book is that perfection is just not possible. That Stepford wife may have everything running like clockwork, but inside, she's just a robot. We, as wives and moms, need to encourage each other. Not only that, but we need to feed ourselves on God's Word. Maybe getting up at 5am isn't your thing (trust me, it's definitely not my cup of tea), and maybe you feed your kids hot dogs for lunch. So be it....yes, a quiet time with the Lord is necessary in order for us to grow, but as Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald say in their book, maybe that quiet time will come in tidbits throughout the day, instead of one huge rush in the morning before the kids wake up. Maybe stash little Bibles throughout your house, so that when you have a sec, you can read a verse. Pray throughout the day....if our children see us spending time with God, praying and meditating throughout our days, what a great example for them. What a wonderful thing for them to witness.

So, today, I encourage you to find your niche. Find what works for your house; your family. Find what works for you, not your best friend, not your neighbor, not the friend you go to homeschooling meetings with. I'm not saying you shouldn't have some sort of routine or schedule; you should, but the schedule and routine you have should be totally yours. If something needs tweaking, be flexible, and roll with it. Just find what works, and find what makes your family work. In the end, "Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her- Proverbs 31:28.

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