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| The Mentzer Family snowman style |
I consider the early winter months (January-March, or until planting starts), my "idea season". Colder weather outside, combined with a new calendar and farming year, gets the "what could I/we do differently this time" juices flowing in my brain. Here are some areas that have been my focus. If anyone out there has their own ideas to share, I welcome them!
1) Ideas for how to de-clutter, organize and manage my home better. This is a never-ending project. Nathan teases me that he never can find anything because I am always moving things around. That is totally an exaggeration :) , although I am always looking for better ways to manage space, toys, and the stacks of school and business papers that infiltrate our cozy home. Most of my household thoughts this go-around have been centered on the need to declutter a whole slew of small areas (cabinets, closets, etc.) that after four years of living here desperately need to be gone through. On the farm side, I am still trying to devise a good flow of documentation (receipts, scale-tickets, etc.) that doesn't leave stacks of papers waiting to be filed, and so we can always find what we need, when we need it, with less stress in the moment.
2) Ideas for bible and life lessons I want to be teaching my children. For the entire last half of 2019, I told myself that in 2020 we would be focusing on prayer. For me, I believe it to be the best way to cope with the fears and daily stressors that come at us from all sides. I believe prayer has power. I want to pray, but making it a daily habit has been hard for me. Slowly, very slowly, the kiddos have been learning about prayer, and even picking up on a couple of different prayers, but I have not been as diligent as I would like to be about my own prayer life, or about helping my family become a family who prayers. Any advice is this area is appreciated!
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| This melts my heart! E reading bible stories to C. |
3)
Ideas for promoting fellowship and fostering heart-felt worship at
church. I had lots of zeal last year, spurred on by a friend from church,
and I got myself on not one but two church committees. I have very much
enjoyed getting to know the individuals I serve with, and learning more about
our church. This year I have met with some discouraging disappointments
in this area, and I admit it has made me a little less enthusiastic and less
confident in the work our committees are trying to do. Again, I feel this
is an opportunity where continuous prayer and seeking God's will are the key. I just need to
get into the habit of doing it.
I feel like January was a bit of a drag. It was harder than usual to get motivated. A couple of disappointments, a handful of new "outside the home" responsibilities, and too many nights of "burning the candle at both ends" have been weighing on me. My time feels so limited, and each day is the continuation of the "Battle of the To-Dos". I love the moments when I invest fully in great activities and learning opportunities with my kids, but the ever-present state of household chores and farm accounts and other responsibilities are always looming in the background. Both things need to get done. I realize that I am a bit of an "chronic improver" by nature, and I keep thinking "if I could get my house under control, then I would be able to maintain the mess", rather than always feeling like I am emergency cleaning or having to stay up most of the night to get things done after the kids are in bed. The mom-blog experts would tell me that my family household "systems" are broken and that I should take "better care of me". Both are probably true, but I haven't figured out quite how to do that yet. I know my kids will grow and be gone in the blink of an eye. In my dream world I would just play with and teach my kids all day long, and magically delicious food would appear on the table and everything would somehow get cleaned up on it's own. But that's not reality. I know, it's a common struggle for young moms or busy moms. I'm not really complaining here...just being honest about what is. Yes, I am sure there are ways I could make life easier for myself, but there are opportunity costs there too. I feel like I live a very crazy, yet beautiful life. I love my kids, our time together, my hubby, where we live, and what we have chosen to do to make a living. There are plenty of dreams, mission fields and opportunities here to embrace and build upon...the only thing I feel like I lack is a little more energy. :)
