Mar 19, 2015 | Christian Life & Theology, Christian Womanhood
The other night I made a magnificent replica of Olive Garden’s chicken and gnocchi soup. It had a whole stick of butter and two cups of milk and it was Italian perfection.
The problem: it made enough for six people, and Mr. M and I are only two.
I put the pot in the fridge and for the next week chicken and gnocchi stew was our primary lunch option. By the third day, I was really over it.
We were still in the midst of the gnocchi siege when my parents called, saying they would swing by on a Tuesday night – boosting our dinner number from the usual two to seven people. I raced to Kroger on my lunch to buy a fat-laced chuck roast, heirloom carrots and fingerling potatoes. Then I floored it home to get the meal in the crock pot before heading back to work.
The roast turned out perfectly for our company – walking in the door I could smell the herbs I’d rubbed into the meat, the smell of the beef broth and the vegetables, and pretty soon the green beans and rolls began to waft their scents into the air. I set the table carefully with my Blue Willow china and cleaned the kitchen. It’s not every day you have company from 16 hours away!
I put the gnocchi soup on the stovetop as a back up in case people were still hungry… but never served it. After all… it’s leftovers.
Mar 18, 2015 | Christian Life & Theology, Christian Womanhood
It’s not the first time I’ve used such choice words. Or rather, words of choice – those few who make themselves readily available in situations such as these. They lie in wait for stress, anxiety, car doors and thumbs to make their grand entrance. Not everyone struggles with their mouth and not everyone struggles with their mouth in this way. While I’m not proud about my temptation to swear when frustrated and angry, I’m not going to pretend I haven’t done it, as the story above illustrates with painful clarity. But there’s a bigger issue at play here; a question that may seem silly to ask but in a culture of compromise is one many Christians are asking: should I do anything about it?
Mar 16, 2015 | Productivity
For the last two years I’ve had the same goals. All my weekly goals and daily to-do lists somehow fed into this overarching dream – one that seemed far from being realized. I prayed, wrote, proposed, saved, and plugged away at them month after month, always looking forward to the end of the ‘tunnel’ but never quite sure what I’d do when I got there.
And then I got there. I arrived.
In a matter of two weeks every goal we’d worked toward was suddenly achieved: we paid off $30,000 in Mr. M’s student loans; the career position I’d prayed and worked toward was implemented and I was given the job; I finished my bachelor’s degree; and we found out we were expecting a baby. After all the excitement settled down I found myself sitting in the living room wondering what in heaven’s name to do with myself.
In order to achieve our goals I had integrated them into the very fiber of my being. Everything I did was meant to help us reach those ends. When the goals were gone, it was as if a part of my identity was gone, too.
Mar 14, 2015 | Christian Life & Theology, Motherhood
I took the pregnancy test in a hotel bathroom. I left it on the counter and went into the sitting area to do homework while Mr. M watched TV. It was our one year anniversary.
“Well?” He asked. “I don’t know anything yet,” I replied. “It’s really probably nothing. I’m going to do homework.”
Ten minutes later Mr. M came out of the bathroom holding a plastic stick with two pink lines.
“We’re having a baby!”
—
My husband was thrilled when we first found out. Just the week prior he had been asking when I thought we’d really try for a Baby M, since we weren’t really trying at all. It all happened so much faster than I had anticipated, and while I wasn’t disappointed by any means, I felt extremely unprepared.
I’m the woman who maps out the entire itinerary for a trip, day by day, list by list, prior to leaving. I’m the one who plans my grocery list around a map of the store for most efficient shopping experience. And I’m the one who plans my schedule two weeks out, so if you need an appointment, tomorrow is not available.
Mar 10, 2015 | Dating & Marriage
Today I am sharing a post from my blogger friend Lisa. Lisa is married with three beautiful boys and blogs at Delighting In My Days (linked at the bottom of this post). Whether you are newly married or single, these principles shared by Lisa will be helpful as you create your expectations for marriage (and even relationships in general!). All of these are issues I’ve faced in my own marriage and Lisa’s advice is well timed!
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My husband and I married young. I was 20, days away from turning 21, and Justin was 21. I still had a year of college left and my husband started work at his first post-college job four days after our wedding. The adjustment to marriage was overall a small one for us but there were sticky heart issues that I needed to face. There are plenty of things to work at as a couple but there are some that only you can fix. Here are six of the heart problems that I found when we got married.
Mar 7, 2015 | Christian Womanhood
The laborious groan of a UPS truck pulled me away from stovetop to kitchen window, where I peered through my blinds like a nosy neighbor. Every time the UPS truck pulls into our complex, I am at the window willing the khaki-clad man to have something in that truck addressed to me. It’s my CBD order – a stack of books I’d bought as my reward for finishing my second, and last, college degree.
The UPS man drove off and I went back to cooking dinner. As a voracious reader, the best reward I could think for myself was a whole stack of recreational books, considering my reading material for the majority of the last three years has been made up of theology textbooks and other assigned reading.
But when I put together my book list, I did not select any fiction. That’s because I don’t read it. This comes as a surprise to many people since fiction is enjoyed by many – and it once was stacked on my bedside table, too. But I stopped reading it, and here’s why:
1. Much modern fiction – especially Christian fiction – has a plot line focused on a love story or romantic theme.
Mar 5, 2015 | Christian Life & Theology
Nobody has it all together, but that doesn’t make sin okay (and anger and fear are both sins, because they are contrary to God’s perfect nature). It means I – and you – draw closer to the God who has reached down to make us whole and holy, the only place where we can find security outside ourselves and relief from every fear.
Feb 2, 2015 | Dating & Marriage
Join me in welcoming Daniel as our guest blogger today! I enjoy welcoming a male contributor to the site once in a while and Daniel’s post offers some fantastic insight into Christian marriage. He shares the five things that attracted him to his wife and why those things are integral to a quality relationship.
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Young women are bombarded with pop culture messages about the preeminent importance of attracting men via their physical appearance and through sexuality. Unfortunately, those same messages also tie strength of womanhood to how open and bold a woman is in expressing her sexual desires through behavior and appearance.
As a married Christian man, though, I can say unequivocally that to the Godly man, who will treasure you for a lifetime more than a priceless gem, that true strength and beauty are found in the content of a woman’s heart and the strength of her character.
To me, my wife, Staci, is the most beautiful woman on earth, the apple of my eye. And though as a husband I undoubtedly find her body extremely attractive, if I were to list out the traits that most attracted me to her, her radiant heart and spirit would always be most important.
Why?
Jan 25, 2015 | Dating & Marriage
It seems counter intuitive at first.
As a single woman, I imagined a lot of things about marriage. I imagined walks in the woods, lovely dinners on a quaint table, running together on some paved pathway that was downhill both ways…
Well, the walks DO happen… when we aren’t working. And healthy, tasty, affordable meals do make it on my tableclothed-and-centerpieced table – because I plan and make them. And running together? We won’t talk about that one.
There was one other thing I believed as a single woman – something many young women believe. I thought marriage would solve my loneliness. Though I didn’t say as much in words, I pictured marriage as that perfect companionship where the love of a man would make me feel secure.
Sure, I knew God would be my confidence and security. But marriage would definitely help.
Jan 23, 2015 | Sexuality
If you were to scroll through my Instagram feed, you would see pictures of babies.
Lots of babies.
In addition to cuddling my 7-month-old nephew whenever I’m in his vicinity, I work a part time job twice a week babysitting six children after my 8-5. There are lots of bath times, snacks, and tea parties in my after-hours.
I started working at the age of 12 as a mother’s helper, and through most of my teens and early twenties was supplementing my regular work schedule with babysitting or nanny work. My sisters did the same thing (they are currently in Los Angeles ‘nannying’ for two weeks – rough life). But if you were to ask me over coffee if I liked kids, the honest answer I would give you is – no.
I’m a Type A woman. I like to get stuff done. I’ve also spent the last 6 years in a workforce dominated by cubicles, Excel sheets, and blazers, the last three years of which were spent on a college campus. No babies to be found there!
I have enough experience with children to know they don’t just sit where you tell them to sit. They think farts are funny (and I don’t), they splash their dirty bathwater in your face, they holler and hit and howl and harangue. They delay obedience and feed you chewed-on Goldfish crackers.
