community

this morning in bible study we were talking about community, fellowship... being intentional with our interactions. i know i am guilty of asking how are you with the assumption that most people will say good or fine. and i am also guilty of answering fine when i am asked that question no matter what is going on in my life. but that is not how we should interact with most people (i say most people because we don't need to spill our guts to anyone and everyone). someone mentioned that God created us as dependent beings; we are dependent on Him and on our fellow man(woman). however, society stresses that we should be completely self sufficient, not needing anyone at all. how sad that existence is. we need other people...to care for us, to love us, to listen to us, to hold us accountable, and to speak the truth to us. i kept thinking this morning how we rarely take the time to "get real" with people; to answer truthfully to the "how are you" question. it is so easy to get involved in our day to day activities and forget to have intentional interactions with those God has placed in our life. as a busy wife and mom it seems even harder to make those purposeful actions. it is hard to make myself get out and be with others even though i know i desperately need it. sometimes it is just easier to stay at home. but if i just do it--take a shower, get dressed at least a little cute, pack the kids in the car, go to the library or the park or to bible study, then the effort is so worth it. i think very few of us have relationships of emotional/mental intimacy with others (aside from our spouse). it takes time to develop and nurture a relationship and unless we place high value on those types of relationships, they will never grow.
hopefully this all made sense. feel like i'm rambling a bit since it is almost 11p. main point is reminding myself to be purposeful with all my interactions; i never know how that interaction may affect that person's day/life whether it is a family member or someone you will only see once. also to remind myself to get out more! yes i have things that need to be done at home but that stuff is not going away! it will be there when i get back home in an hour or two. growing and nurturing relationships are more important than all the little things i think i HAVE to get done today immediately. and those relationships include the relationship with our children and spouses. that is easy to forget to i have to catch myself throughout the day--did i have an actual conversation with ella today? did we both listen intently to the other person? that the way i interact with others is what ella will most likely immulate so i better have my mind on Christ!

be intentional with my actions.

our darling mess

since i started staying at home after sophia was born, i have noticed that some women, especially moms, feel a need to be superwoman. i am still getting used to finding balance between taking care of our 2 girls and 2 dogs, the house, the laundry, the dishes and everything else but it seems that alot of people don't talk about how hard it is and the reality that life is messy. life is wonderful but messy. maybe i'm the only one but i like to have things all together...showered, makeup, hair, cute outfit, house clean, laundry and dishes done & put up, kids taken care of, dinner cooked and delicious; however this is totally unrealistic (even more so since it took 8 months for sophia to start sleeping all night). i greatly appreciate blogs like pioneer woman and momastery where they talk openly and honestly about the joys and trials of being a mommy. now don't get me wrong...i absolutely LOVE staying at home with my girls. this has been my dream since i was a child. it's just a learning curve to figure out the balance and then things will change, and i will learn again (o;

i am creating this blog so i can talk things out and grow as a wife and mom through all my experiences. i do not want to simply exist in this life. i want to live fully. i am not usually a blunt person; i like to sugarcoat things but i am going to be real on this blog and i hope that by doing so helps someone somewhere with whatever they are going through!