Laughing Together April 30, 2008

When Chris and I were engaged and first married, one of the things that we wanted to establish from the start was that our home would be filled with laughter. We kind of made a pact that we wouldn’t allow ourselves to take life (or ourselves) so seriously, that we couldn’t find something to laugh about. Now we have walked through seasons where this was easy and other seasons where we had to work hard to find joy.

Our children have provided MANY opportunities to laugh! Our second son, in particular, seems to have his daddy’s natural comedic timing and ability – so he is always keeping us in stitches! Not too long ago, we heard him singing the song, “Our God Saves.” He got to the line – “Hear the joyful sound of our offering…” only in his rendition, it went like this – “Hear the joyful sound of our AWFUL SING!” We couldn’t help but laugh and we laugh every time we hear that song!

Another really funny time in our family recently was when we were in the midst of getting ready for the baby. Our dining room table was covered with stuff as we were redoing the bedrooms. So we set up a card table in the middle of the living room! We were sitting there eating our spaghetti – our oldest son started cutting his spaghetti JUST LIKE his grandfather (Dodo!) which made us laugh, then things began to snowball from there. Not sure if it was because we had so much going on that we NEEDED to laugh, or the mere difference in eating location put everyone in a funny mood. But we sat there and laughed as a family throughout the whole meal! It was so much fun!

But sadly there are times where I get wrapped up in what I am doing that I barely listen what my kids are saying, much less catch the funny things they say. This has actually been something that I have been working on over the past month or so. I want them to know that what they are talking about (and excited about – even if it means hearing all the details of a Legos Star Wars video game) is important to me!

I love the fact that the Lord has given us the gift of laughter. I hope we are able to instill in our children the importance of being joyful and laughing together!

Stephanie – I think I can speak for all of us when I say that your home is one that exudes laughter! You have done an excellent job in finding the funny things your boys say and do, and relish them as the priceless memories they are. It won’t be long until we hear funny stories of having a baby girl in your home. I recently heard that Alec responds when someone says, “Ella’s cute”, with “She looks just like ME”. – Debi

Announcing A Makeover Contest April 29, 2008

As you know, we love to honor ladies at our events. Please prayerfully consider a woman in your life who has blessed you by her example as a friend. Perhaps she has actively pursued biblical fellowship by her humility or her regular confession of temptation and sin. Or maybe she has been a means of growth in godliness in your life by her compelling example of love and care for you or others. Think about that woman who has spurred you on in your sanctification by her timely encouragement and/or her gracious correction. We are looking for ladies who are an example of the theme of our retreat: Walking in the Light, The Path to Biblical Fellowship.

We want to give you an opportunity to honor that special friend with a written testimony. From the testimonies we receive, several will be chosen to share during the retreat. Then TWO of the ladies will be selected to receive an amazing prize:

• One will receive a day of delightful pampering with a massage, manicure, pedicure and some surprises.
• The other will receive a GRAND PRIZE of a makeover: including a new outfit, hairstyling and facial/makeup consultation. A special ‘reveal’ of the grand prize winner will occur on Friday evening at the main session!!

Here’s what you need to do: Write a 500-word testimony about your friend – this can also be your mother, daughter, sister, sister-in-law, grandmother or granddaughter. This person must be age 12 or older and be a participant in the retreat. Only two entries per person, please. Entries may be submitted by clicking on the link in the upper right hand column of this blog.  The deadline to nominate someone is June 1^st, which is also the deadline to register for the retreat without a late fee. If your testimony is selected for the Grand Prize, this woman must be available to have her makeover done during the day on the Friday of the retreat. Winners will be notified the week before the retreat.

Vitamin LOL April 28, 2008

“He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting.” Job 8:21

“A joyful heart is good medicine…” Proverbs 17:22a

God created laughter. John Piper has brought to our attention the fact that God is a Happy God! As moms we can often get understandably caught up in the responsibility of the daily training of our children, that we miss opportunities to laugh out loud (LOL). When was the last time your children heard you laugh out loud? They should hear us laugh daily, and they provide many chances to do just that, that is IF we’re listening.

This week we’re going to share with you stories that have made us laugh out loud. Our hope is that these stories will convince you of your daily need for Vitamin LOL in your home. If you have a funny story to share, please comment so that we can all laugh with you!

Now for your daily dose, enjoy this scene from Mary Poppins; it’s one of my absolute favorite songs!

Amazing Grace April 25, 2008

Yesterday we were reminded of our need to preach the Gospel to ourselves everyday in light of our ongoing pursuit to mortify sin, especially in the way we speak to our family.  This video is a fresh (and I must say adorable) reminder of God’s amazing gift of grace to us!  Enjoy, and have a wonderful weekend!

Final Interview with Colleen Hufford April 11, 2008

Question #6 – As a seasoned homemaker, what final word of advice do you have for younger homemakers and why? 

My word of advice is to realize now that we never arrive, we are called to enjoy the process of learning.  Our walk in home management is so much like our walk with God; everyday is a new day to learn more about God and our home.   There should never be condemnation for our mistakes, but a time to enjoy the excitement of learning more and watch how God redeems our efforts when we come up short.   I have tried many techniques of time management over the years.  I get really tickled thinking about the index cards I used in the 80’s that reminded me what to do each day to clean my home.  Now, there are computerized versions that help out a lot, like FlyLady, that e-mails household assignments daily. 

The process of learning keeps us ever seeking new ideas for home management.  We have to remember to enjoy our families and the tasks that are required to serve our families.  This is not a job, but a lifestyle.    I still enjoy my home and love to accomplish those things that bring joy to Bill as well as my grown children.  We have had the grandchildren for several days at a time to serve my son and his wife.  Even though it is exhausting, there is always a smile on my face the following day.

We are always growing – not just older, but by God’s sanctifying grace at work in our lives, WISER!

Colleen, we would like to thank you so much for sharing such wonderful and practical suggestions that hopefully will serve us for years to come.  You are a godly example of how to spend your life doing the things that matter most.  May God richly bless your “Open Nest” season with your semi-retired husband! 

Interview With Colleen Hufford, continued April 10, 2008

Question #5 - You have been an example of hospitality to many.  What fuels your desire to open your home to others, and what advice do you have for us to pursue hospitality even with our busy lives as moms of young children?

The definition of hospitality is giving hospitable treatment or reception.  As an adjective, hospitable means promising or suggesting generous and cordial welcome or offering a pleasant or sustaining environment.  Hospitality is more than opening your home; it is making people feel comfortable.  When I dated Bill, his family was always hospitable, and I was drawn to his family because of his family’s kind disposition.

From the moment we were married, we opened our home to others.  Bill has always encouraged me to learn the skill sets needed to host birthday parties, showers, events, weddings (in our back yard) and school functions.  The methods used in practicing hospitality would change as our kid’s lives changed.

I think mothers with young children can pursue hospitality with others and let the children be a part of the preparation for the event.  Have them help with the invitations and the decorations.  Instead of elaborate meals with all the crystal and sterling, great menus with outdoor barbecuing is in order.  Don’t get so involved in providing hospitality that you can’t enjoy the rich fellowship of having others over.  Remember that being a friend is the most important part of hospitality. 

Creating an environment for a cordial welcome is just opening the door to what God desires to do through you using the home you have made for your husband and children. 

Interview with Colleen Hufford, continued April 9, 2008

Question #4 – What one thing about being a “worker at home” has remained constant through the changing seasons in your life?

I asked Bill to help answer this question, since we have been married 39 years this summer. Together we agreed, that being flexible and willing to change quickly as life changed, has been the one constant in my life. We have had seasons of plenty and seasons of scarcity. When Bill was in graduate school in our first years of marriage, I was working on a slim budget. I decided to try sweet and sour tuna. That was the only time in our marriage that he asked me not fix that entrée again. You can only do so much with tuna. So I was gladly “flexible”!

We should embrace every season with joy, not looking ahead or behind, but enjoying the now. Whether you are decorating your four- year old daughter’s room or your daughter’s first home, what great opportunities we have to enjoy our daughters? I have had a revolving door at times as my children lived with us during changes in their lives. One moment they are young children living with you, and then suddenly you have adult children living with you. You do things differently, but there is joy to be found in each season.

You may ask what is next? The answer is changing to learn how to love and enjoy managing an empty nest!!!

Editor’s Note: I (Debi) recently read on the Radical Womanhood blog about Carolyn McCulley’s visit to Sovereign Grace’s church in Charlotte, N.C.. She heard a new term for “Empty Nest” that so impressed her she blogged about it when she returned home. Find out what it is here!

Interview with Colleen Hufford, continued April 8, 2008

Question #3 – What practical homemaking tips have you used for years that we can steal?

1. A Cleaning schedule – I think FlyLady.com is an excellent source of getting started with housekeeping. I love their perspective and lightness in execution. They have what they call 27 Boogey. Pick up 27 items and put them away. I will get behind in housework and yell 27 Boogey. Off I go, picking up everything in my sight. Bill follows behind me and asks if shoes count as one or two? He says, “If you lay something down, can you count it twice when you pick it up?” I think he is having way too much fun with semi-retirement!

2. Home Management - Every item in your home needs a home. You only have to touch an item once to get the item back to its home. No, the dining room table is not the home for everything.

3. Time Saving Tips with Meal Preparations:

a) I asked my family to tell me their favorite meals.
b) I made 4 weekly menu plans from their favorites. (Each week consisted of five meals: one crock-pot meal; one oven meal; one quick meal; one that could be used for company, if needed; and one that could be doubled and frozen for later.
c) On the back of the menu plan, I made the entire grocery list for the week.

d) Place your menu plans in plastic sleeves.

e) Grab one of your weekly plans when you’re heading to the grocery store and you can come home easily with a week’s worth of groceries. This has saved me so much time and money even during the years I carpooled the kids everywhere. It’s important to note that I raised my kids without cell phones!

My motto is if an item doesn’t serve me, out it goes; if I have to dust it and not love it, then good-bye!

Our First Interview April 7, 2008

This week we’re doing something we’ve never done before on the Metro Moms Blog – interview one of our more seasoned moms for her advice to us in the area of Domesticity. Colleen Hufford has been a member of Metro Life church since the early ’90′s. She and her husband, Bill, have served our church as homegroup leaders non-stop for years. They have two grown children, and two beautiful granddaughters. Colleen has a degree in Home Economics so her expertise in this area stems from both experience and formal education. We hope you will glean wisdom from her timely advice.

Question #1: What do you think are the primary responsibilities of a devoted homemaker?

First, before I answer this question, it will help us to define the terms:

Devoted means to center the attention or activities of oneself to a particular use.

Homemaker according to Webster 1963 is one who manages a household, especially as a wife and mother.

When you look at both of those definitions, we have to ask ourselves, “What do I need to do to prepare myself for managing a household? What else do I need to do to be dedicated, consecrated and hallowed, which are other synonyms of devoted?” We must realize that only the Word of God can give us the ability to sustain the devotion we need to fulfill this mission.

Second, there needs to be an awareness of skills that we should strive for in order to manage a household well. There are many aspects of home management. For example, we need to have an understanding of finances and an ability to be disciplined in managing our finances in times of plenty or in times of need and also to rejoice in both; Nutrition and food preparation are valuable to give our loved ones good health, as well as providing a wonderful means that promotes lively conversations over dinner; Keeping a home well organized not only for ourselves, but to serve our husband, is important in keeping our homes a sanctuary for our family, a place where they can truly be relaxed and refreshed; Personal grooming and keeping ourselves attractive and fresh, allows us to bless and cultivate the love we have for our husbands; Keeping the house clean and sanitary helps ward off sickness and disease. Learning to enjoy our children by recognizing the privilege we have of shaping their lives in Godliness and preparing them academically.

Being a Devoted Homemaker is a high calling! The point is we have to manage ourselves before we can manage others. What a joy to realize that as God changes us personally He allows us to influence our whole household.

Question #2: Homemakers seem to fall into the “rather cook” or “rather clean” categories. Do you agree? If so, what encouragement would you offer to women who are tempted to avoid one over the other?

Yes, I agree. In looking at the definition of a homemaker (see Question #1), we must realize that we should pursue excellence in all aspects of home management. We may have some areas of gooey grace (that sticky buns recipe), but we cannot forget the fact that a messy kitchen shows that we have not finished cooking.

For example, I will never forget the time when I did a great job of folding laundry and had several baskets full as evidence of the fact. However, Bill reminded me that laundry is not truly finished until it is folded AND in the drawer! Managing a household is finishing to the end whatever needs to be done. That means we may have preferences in our lives, but the excitement comes when we conquer those areas we don’t “like to do” as God, by his grace, gives us His strength to overcome our weakness. Then, not only is our family blessed, but God receives the glory!

My Favorite Mop April 4, 2008

I must confess again that I still have an aversion to mopping! See my last post on this topic a year ago! I don’t like the dirty water, the dirty mop head, the backbreaking labor involved to do a good job, much less moving everything to get the floor ready to be cleaned! I’ve been waiting for a product as seen on Disney’s movie Fantasia where the mops actually work by themselves – similar to the vacuum cleaner that runs all by itself. But I’m almost 50 and there hasn’t been one invented yet. So…I’ll share with you the next best thing: The Libman Mop

You probably never thought you’d read about a mop of all things on the Metro Mom’s blog, let alone a favorite mop from me!  But I’ve got to tell you how amazing this product is!  (Last year I mentioned that I have tried so many different floor cleaners only to discover that there is no way to make a job enjoyable that you don’t enjoy.   By the way, the no rinse floor cleaner I tried – didn’t work.  It just wet the dirt and left a sticky residue!  Ew!)  Anyway, I really hate cleaning the floors, so if this helps me do this undesirable job, then my purpose in posting about it was worth it for all of us! The best part is that the mop head is removable and machine washable! This is one of those, “why didn’t I think of that!” products. They are available in most stores – I bought mine at Target. So, if mopping is something you find yourself putting off – try using my favorite mop – and see if you don’t find yourself actually enjoying this chore! Honestly speaking, “ENJOYING” might be a bit optimistic; I’ll be happy (as will my husband) if I just do it!