Motherhood Uncovered

One of my favorite things to do lately has been to choose a good audiobook and zone in while I’m cleaning the house or taking a walk. I recently finished up “Habits for a Sacred Home” by Jennifer Pepito. It’s my second time listening and quite honestly I will probably listen again this year to utilize all the advice packed into it. My dream is to own a beautiful farmhouse with some land to raise enough livestock to feed our family, grow an enormous flower and vegetable garden, and homeschool my babies. This book isn’t a guide for that but for your mind as a mother, as a wife, and most importantly as a child of God. I need to gear up my mind to be ready for when that day comes, hopefully. Each chapter is about a specific idea that has allowed her home to become peaceful and sacred. We tend to get into routines without changing our daily habits that are actually hindering us. As mentioned in my New Year’s post, doom scrolling is the worst culprit of them all. When you have no children it’s easy to excuse that behavior as filling time but when you do, they are looking at you as being present with your phone and not them. I definitely don’t have the time to stare at my kids every waking hour but I do have the ability to do something else. Like read a book, learn a new skill, there are many options that get you off of a screen. I haven’t perfected a routine, it takes time so don’t forget to give yourself grace. I really enjoy puzzles. I pick out one that I think would look nice in a particular room of the house and once I’m done, I glue it, frame it and hang it. My husband is a wonderful carpenter and is making frames for each one of them. Another habit I have changed in my life has been has been prayer. The author really emphasizes the importance of perspective when it comes to God and our relationship with him. Prayer that is repetitive, you know the kind that feels empty, in my opinion might be offensive toward God. He created us to have a relationship with him. To share our intimate thoughts and work out in conversation and reading what is necessary for your life. We should be joyful in prayer, coming to him with a thankful heart because he has always provided. Prayer should be an ongoing occurrence, like conversations with your kids. You don’t always get an answer but you know in time that your words effected how their future came about. I have an intimate relationship with God by being present in the moment with him during all parts of my day. I will sing praise while washing dishes, I am thankful while folding laundry because I have the family I’ve always dreamed of, I wake early in the morning to spend time in the word to hopefully be a better person overall. I cannot express how much these changes in my life have positively effected my existence. It’s brought a sense of peace that I was lacking for so many years. It is hard as a believer in a world that continues to parade and praise wickedness. It is up to ourselves to resist the small urges that open a world of chaos. The last habit I will share today is my daily cleaning routine. This is customized to what I can handle on a daily basis and also prioritizing our day of rest to truly be a day to rest. I shared my weekly cleaning and deep cleaning charts so you are able to print if you like or gather ideas to create your own. The daily tasks necessary to keep your sanity are floors, dishes, and laundry. Simply do one load of laundry a day, never leave the dishes pile and clean as you go, and sweep/spot mop every evening. Doing this allows for more time to focus on other things throughout the house to organize rather than having a cleaning day that take 4+ hours to accomplish. The best part of all of this is my kids are home to help! Yesterday my youngest who is 5 mopped the floors as I vacuumed. The oldest, 8, put the dishes away from the dishwasher and hand washed the few setting in the sink. This is not only keeping my stress levels down but it’s implementing a future of tidy and self motivated human beings. If you have little ones right now I used to hand the a swiffer or a rag to wipe surfaces, and mopping is still an option but its one of those learning curves where you will most likely be doing it too. Some advice I’ve heard that sticks is, this time when they’re young is tiring and difficult but with much grace, endurance and patience you will help to build some amazing people that will one day inspire you and make you a very proud parent. Keep pushing, Mama. You will find strength even on the most difficult days and you’re not alone.