Making Love a Routine

I don’t know about you, but I live for routine. An established routine ensures that I get my sleep, eat properly, work efficiently, nourish my soul and play with abandon. The minute something disrupts my daily routine, everything suffers. My health, my work, my faith, and my family.

Now that I am a mother, the desire for a daily routine has become an absolute necessity. As any parenting expert will tell you, children flourish under a solid schedule. Not only does a daily routine ensure that their basic needs are met, but an established “order” gives them peace of mind and security. Children, and adults alike, thrive on routine.

The same can be said for a marriage and family. In this case the routine I’m referring to isn’t so much about a written schedule, as it is an intentional focus on what some might call traditions or rituals. Just as important as the day to day routine for overall harmony in a marriage or family, being intentional about rituals such as family game nights, date nights and prayer, provides the couple and/or family with the opportunity to grow, learn and laugh together. This is where love grows. 

God calls us to a routine of sorts in Deuteronomy 6. 

Deuteronomy 6:5-9 “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

When a ritual of loving God with all our hearts, souls and minds is lived out before the world, impressed on the minds of our children, and written on the walls of our home, love for God and one another becomes a routine from which the family thrives and God is made famous. 

Commit to making love a routine in your home this year. Doing so will fill your heart, nourish your soul, empower your children and impact the world. 

Listing Moments

If you are weary, your arms pained by the burden you carry... make a list.

If your eyes are reddened, and your face tear stained... make a list. 

If all that life hands you leaves you sour and forlorn... make a list.

For in this list, of the gifts He's given you, you will find

strength to carry the burden

joy to dry your tears

and a sweetness that gives way to joy.

... steaming mugs of coffee cupped in dishpan hands

... mountains peeking through clouds

... the snoring sounds of loved ones deep on slumber

... little arms wrapped tight around my neck

... chubby fingers that play with my hair

... vanilla and lavender

... the anticipation of something new

... gusts of wind and swaying trees

... moments, stolen moments, treasured

... silly games and animal noises

... days off

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Not long ago I had the privilege of reading an advanced copy of Ann Voskamp's first book: One Thousand Gifts. Check out this preview/introduction, and learn how powerful and transforming the gift of gratitude can be:

Rest

My eyes are heavy. My mind full. Anxiety knocks, and foolishly I answer. I am at my end. No where else to turn. 

Then, like a glimmer of sun through the clouds, I hear that still, strong voice. "Rest." And I am reminded... "my souls finds rest in God alone."

Bubbles

It's bubble bath day! 

 

In the Stillness

There are moments in my day that warm my heart, move me and fill my soul. One of those precious moments is in the stillness of a home at rest, when everyone is tucked safely in their beds and for a moment I savour the silence and gaze upon those I love as they sleep.

My friend, Julie, a gifted writer, fellow MK, and kindred spirit in this journey of motherhood, published this on her blog yesterday. It's beautiful and describes exactly what I feel in those quiet moments:

SweetPeanuts: The beautiful rise and fall: "I am walking through the rooms of my home in the hushed, lonely moments of night. This day has wound up and wound down, and though I am tire..."

I captured once such moment when Abbie was napping one afternoon. I treasure this image and savour it in my memory during tantrums, whining and outright defiance.

 

Daring to be Disturbed

Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves.

When our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little,

When we arrived safely because we sailed too close to shore.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,

To venture on wider seas

Where storms will show your mastery;

Where losing sight of land

We shall find stars.

We ask you to push back

The horizons of our hopes;

And to push us in the future

In strength, courage, hope and love.

 
~Sir Francis Drake, December 1577

Resolve to Give Life

As the new year begins, people all over the globe make resolutions for 2011. My husband and I have made only one: to give life.

Not long ago, on a morning when my husband was home caring for our two-year-old, he was challenged by the reality that the decisions we make either give or take life. After ensuring that our daughter’s basic needs were met, he busied himself with some tasks he wanted to accomplish ignoring her attempts to get his attention with her toys, etc. With each attempt she made to engage him, conviction grew in his heart. 

Knowing that the things he was doing could wait, he acknowledged his own selfishness and turned his full attention to her. Doing so led to some quality time between father and daughter, rejuvenating them both and deepening their bond. It was in that moment that my husband realized that the choice he made gave them both life. 

With that realization, we have chosen to do things that give life to our family and to those around us this year. Whether it be something that extends our life (choosing an apple rather than a bag of chips), or the choice to spend more time building memories as  a family rather than doing our own thing or watching TV, we are seeking the Lord’s wisdom in giving rather than taking from the lives around us. 
 
What are you resolving to do this year?

Relaunch

It was time for a change. I've been thinking a lot about my blog, and what it says (or doesn't say) about me. Truth be told, I've been thinking a lot about my life of late, and feeling the need to make some changes. The real me has gotten lost in the chaos that has been my life of late. Lost in the titles of wife and mother. And somewhere along the way the dreams I once had, and the passions that once drove me got lost too.

So it's time for a change. Time to refocus, renew and revive. Time to be still and listen. Time to dream. Time to discover who I am now, as a 37 going on 38-year-old wife and mother, and what it is He is calling me to do. Time to plant seeds, invest time, and make a mark. 

With a new year dawning... it seemed like the right time then to relaunch my blog. I took some time coming up with a new name and landed today on "House Blend 365." My house is afterall my calling-card, and we are a "blended" (meaning interracial or multiethnic/multicultural) family. And this blog is my journal 365 days of the year. 

A True Blessing

It's Christmas Day and we feel blessed. Not because the house is a mess with wrapping paper and mountains of gifts. But rather because of the lack of mess. Yes, we opened some gifts, but it was by all accounts a very modest amount. We planned it that way. We planned to intentionally take the focus off of the gifts.

The truth is, over the past two years, we've become sickened by the materialism of the holiday season and, as I've mentiond in previous posts, challenged to consider making a Christmas change. Christmas isn't about presents, blowing budgets and going home with an arm full of things you really don't need. It's about love, hope, peace, family, and... the simplicity of that humble night in Bethlehem. 

Recently a friend showed me a picture that greatly offended me. They didn't mean to, but they did. The picture was of their Christmas tree, or rather of the large (and I mean HUGE) amount of gifts beneath it. The caption attached to the picture simply read: "We are blessed." 

Riddled with a variety of emotions over this simple photo and comment, I've spent the last few days mulling this over. Apart from my annoyance with how blantant their "bragging" was over the overwhelming amount of gifts, I was more offended by their choice to refer to the gluttony of gifts as a "blessing." Was it really? 

Is it really a blessing to receive things you don't need? Is it really a blessing to spend money on toys, trinkets and other "wants?" Isn't there truth in the adage that it's better to give than to receive? And what about the simple fact that Christmas simply isn't about the gifts?

The truth of the matter is, I feel more blessed this Christmas than I ever have before. Having deliberately chosen to spend less and give more, my heart is full with the joy that comes in sharing what we have with those that don't have anything. My camera is full of photos that have capture quality time as a family, doing things that will forever be savoured in our memories. My hands are tired from baking and cooking to bless those around us. And my faith is strengthened for having spent more time meditating on the humble birth of my Saviour. 

Happy Birthday Jesus. YOU and the love that flows through us becuase of you are why we are blessed.

Where's the line to see Jesus?

A friend shared this on Facebook today, and it moved me. Given that we've made the intentional choice make a Christmas Change, I was touched by the profound message of this song. May it move you to make your own Christmas change.

"Where's the Line to See Jesus?" Becky Kelley

Christmas time was approaching, the snow is starting to fall,
Shoppers choosing their presents, people filling the mall,
Children waiting for Santa with excitement and glee.
A little boy tugged my sweater, looked up and asked me,

Where's the line to see Jesus? Is He here at the store?
If Christmas time is His birthday, why don't we see Him more?
Where's the line to see Jesus? He was born for me.
Santa Claus brought me presents, but Christ gave His life for me.

As I stood in amazement at this message profound,
I looked down to thank him, he was no where around.
The little boy at the mall might as well have had wings
As the tears filled my eyes, I thought I heard him say,

Where's the line to see Jesus? Is He here at the store?
If Christmas time is His birthday, why don't we see Him more?
Where's the line to see Jesus? He was born for me.
Santa Claus brought me presents, but Christ gave His life for me.

In the blink of an eye, at the sound of His trump,
We'll all stand in line at His throne.
Every knee shall bow down, every tongue will confess,
That Jesus Christ is Lord.

Where's the line to see Jesus? Is He here at the store?
If Christmas time is His birthday, why don't we see Him more?
Where's the line to see Jesus? He was born for me.
Santa Claus brought me presents, but Christ gave His life for me.