*Note: This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
Read about Months 1 and 2 on the topics of “Quiet” and “Mornings” HERE.
Read about Months 3, 4, and 5 on the topics of “Dates,” “Health,” and “Adventure” HERE.
I’m really enjoying (affiliate link) Loving My Actual Life by Alexandra Kuykendall. I too often let life happen right around me, but I know myself and I know I need time to process all the things. I’ve had some good times of reflecting on the topics and the questions presented at the end of each month’s experiment. As I go through my own experiments this year through this site/blog, I hope to embrace my imperfections, work to be a better mom, and be a good steward of the gifts God has given me to serve others.
Months 6, 7, and 8 of Alexandra’s experiment are focused on “Home Organization,” “Creativity,” and “Meals.”
Oh man, this week’s readings were brutal for me. Yes, I’ve led those Decluttering Challenges (and will be leading another soon), but I definitely have to be intentional about it to maintain our home. I can do a good declutter, but when it comes to the organization and clean part of it, I’m at a loss. Looking forward to working on “HomeLife” next month. I don’t want to undervalue my creativity, but if Pinterest did not exist, I would be in deep trouble. Creating original stuff is hard work for this “linear,” stay-within-the-lines gal. And last but not least, meals…umm…let’s just say the food skills skipped a generation for me. I mean, my parents own a restaurant for goodness sake! I do love a good meal, but again, without clear instructions, it takes me a whole lot of brain power to work on this one. But I’m working on it! With the help of *Plan to Eat, Trader Joe’s, and our *Hamilton Beach crockpot, I get by. And there’s that whole *Instant Pot business that we need to get in-the-know about!
I’m using the “Questions for Reflection” at the end of the chapters to reflect 😉 but I’m share more in bullet point form otherwise I am a pretty wordy mama.
Month 6: Home Organization
– My home makes me feel cozy today because it is cold, rainy, wet, stormy, and gloomy outside.
– A small thing I can do to move my house further from chaos and more toward peace is remove items that do not belong to us and/or no longer needed by us and can be better used by someone else.
– The idea of the Holy spirit acting as the host in your home does not sound too strange to me. It’s not something that normally pops up in conversations.
Some quotable quotes:
I spend more time, energy, and attention on doing double the work when system are not in place to keep my busy life in order…I’ve always placed my value on people over possessions, but what if my possessions require a little attention so I can better tend to the people.
If I want to do big things for good, I must focus on the small tasks in front of me. Do them with excellence. So that I am freed up to do the monumental. And, really, all big tasks are made up of many little ones.
I guess that’s what having a house in order is about, the ability to easily and freely use it to meet others’ needs.
Today I do what only I can.
And there’s the concept of stewarding, taking care of the things that have been given to me…I also need to recognize that my things and the place I spend much of my time also need to be well cared for.
Month 7: Creativity
– I agree with this chapter’s opening quote by Pablo Picasso, “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life” because living in a black-and-white, straight-and-narrow, linear, checklist world can make our souls “dusty,” but art is colorful, creative, crazy, and eye-opening.
– Words and writing feels natural to me. Paints and pencils feel intimidating to me.
– God’s creativity is all around us for sure! I can see with “new eyes” by looking at what is in nature and experiencing others’ arts. That helps me relish what’s right in front of me because my family is God’s creation and the art they create is beautiful.
Some quotable quotes:
Today, being creative meant getting messy.
The relishing, savoring, appreciating God’s gifts right here in his natural world are often passed over because of the urgency of the immediate.
It is indeed easy for me to praise God when I stop and notice the details of what he has created. It is the discipline of stopping that is key.
Creativity can happen with others. It can be fun. It can be relaxed. It can be half an hour at a time. And it can’t be perfect. Perfection tears away at creativity’s very nature. It binds it up instead of letting it soar.
My creativity only serves God if I exercise it.
Month 8: Meals
– The meal of the day which is most difficult for me to manage is dinner. One thing I can do to improve how I plan and execute dinner is with intentional preparation.
– Relationships and meals are connected because it is a time to reconnect in one place over something that replenishes us.
– I experience God’s abundance of loaves and fishes every day. We have more than enough and it has been a blessing to share that abundance with others.
Some quotable quotes:
There has to be a balance. Being grateful for the mercy and grace offered right here, right now, and believing God can do even more. There is always room at the table.
May our table (or lawn or chairs around our backyard) be a place where these friends we don’t know by name, but we known by shared mission, can be nourished and celebrated.
I never, ever, want to take God’s provision for granted.
Jesus and the table go together. He sat at people’s homes and ate with them because it was a way for him to honor them.
Nourishment of body and soul are difficult to separate, which is probably why Scriptres connect the two so frequently. When we care for people’s bodies with the simple gesture of feeding them we are recognizing their finite, human side. When we offer them our attention we are recognizing their eternal side.
Your turn: How does home organization, creativity, and meals fit into your life? How has reflecting on and implementing systems in these areas helped in embracing and/or overcoming the challenges of motherhood?
P.S. Next week I will be reading Month 9 on the topics of Passions and the Conclusion.
P.S.S. You can check out My 2017 Book List (specifically curated for the Work-in-Progress Mom) and read along with me this year.
*Note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a tiny percentage if you make a purchase through my link at no extra cost to you. Read my disclosure policy here.