Developing a Personal Mission Statement

It's Monday again and I have been trying to make it a habit to partake in Multitude Mondays at A Holy Experience. Multitude Mondays encourages us, as women and children of the King, to thank God for all the gifts He gives us.

I also like to partake in Project Mondays over At the Well and they are challenging their readers to create a personal mission statement.

So as I was contemplating today's post, I thought about how these two blog link ups are intertwined.

I thank God for the roles He has given me as David's wife and companion, as Eian and Elias' mom, keeper of this household, keeper of this one physical body I have, my roles as daughter, sister, friend, etc.

If I believe God is ALL powerful, ALL knowing, ALL loving, and ALWAYS in control then I must believe that the people in my life are put here for a reason. They are here for a purpose and for an opportunity to let the light of Christ shine through me and into them.

My ultimate goal and purpose for this site is to walk along side all of you reading and encourage you to fill YOUR roles more passionately and intentionally and allow this desire to truly SIMPLIFY your life.

When we focus on what God has designed us to do, and purpose ourselves by aligning our desires appropriately, then that's when we find real fulfillment. This has been my experience anyway.

Believe me though, I am by no means saying I have it all together or that I have even had a day recently where I have really felt completely fulfilled. And we may not really ever feel this until the day the Lord calls us home but I do know that feeling like I've missed the mark on impacting the lives of those I love in a positive way, on a regular basis is NOT what God wants.

I am simply admitting I recognize this truth. So how can this knowledge be implemented? How can I give thanks to God for these roles? How can He be ultimately glorified?

God has been slowly revealing to me (or maybe I've just been slow to catch on) that all these desires to fill my roles more purposefully need to be outlined somehow to keep me on track. I think we all suffer from mild cases of ADHD, or at least I do, and it's so easy for me to get distracted.

I was ecstatic to see that the Project over At the Well was developing a personal mission statement.

I honestly had just asked David last night what he felt were some important tasks needing finished. God bless him but he wasn't much help! He couldn't really think of anything other than working with Eian to finish his diorama for school. I was looking for guidance and direction because I have really been feeling like my wheels are spinning lately.

It dawned on me, as I was washing dishes last night (my daydreaming time) that while I think it's important to include your spouse, the best way to find guidance in prioritizing and finding purpose is asking God. I admit I do not do this nearly as often as I should. So with my arms wrist deep in dish water, I did just that.

Today seems a little more clear thanks to the Lord and I do not think it was just a "coincidence" that today's At the Well project is Developing a Personal Misson Statement.

I will be prayerfully contemplating, organizing, and implementing mine. Won't you join me? What areas of your life are you feeling unproductive in? What are some practical ways you can fulfill your roles more effectively?

Is it making yourself removed from that never ending to do list and purposefully spend a chunk of time with your kids, is it purposefully planning to spend an hour alone with your husband tonight by getting the kiddos to bed early and staying OFF the computer, is it purposefully getting to bed on time so you can rise before the kids and make time for God, is it purposefully planning to make healthier food choices...? So I guess you can see these are a few of mine but I want to hear from YOU!

What can you do in your life NOW to give thanks to God by living more purposefully in the roles He has given YOU?

5 Tips for Leaving the House on Time

Is the front door your enemy like it is mine? Okay well not the front door but the task of getting OUT of it?

I've really been enjoying my time at home and having the sole position of SAHM. I have days where, other than taking Eian to and picking up from school, I don't go anywhere. I never thought I would become a homebody but it's true I could probably be a hermit if I was allowed!

There's at least one day a week though that I have to go out to get groceries, run other errands and such. Those days prove tough for me when I have to constantly pick up toys, spills, change diapers, do the coupon thing and check my websites, get out the door before naptime hits, ooh let me check my email one more time and the list goes on!

I am finally fed up with not getting out the door until late afternoon and then having to rush to get Eian picked up from school. You all know I'm a major list maker so I've made a check list and thought I would share with you. ! Yay! Oh come on you know you're excited :)

1. Make a time line list of all the things I know I have to do BEFORE I LEAVE.

This really helps me because I am a chronic under estimator of time. The more I have the more I try to get done and then I'm frazzled trying to leave.

Making a list of even the mundane, routine things like breakfast is helpful for me. I have also had to learn I can't do everything in one day. Making pancakes and eggs probably wouldn't be the best when I want to leave the house by eight!

2. Maximize time away from home-Plan your trip

Okay so I know this isn't like revolutionary but it really does help to have a list of places I need to visit. I also put a number next to each one in the order I will go there. This not only maximizes your time by not back-tracking but it also saves in gas.

3. Do any prep for my errands/groceries the night before.

I'm now thinking through my days' errands the night before which really helps. I now plan my grocery trip by going through the sale ads and clipping the coupons before I go to bed.

I have also been putting little snack bags together and a small cooler if I know Elias and I will be out long or around lunch time. This really helps me stick to my weekly spending money and can't use the excuse, "I was in a rush to leave and didn't have time to grab something." This also makes for a happy little guy!

4. Leave first thing in the morning.

I know this may not be for everyone but since I take Eian to school anyway, running my errands immediately after dropping him off is best for us.

I find that the more we stay in the house before leaving the more messes we make and that leaves me in a constant state of running circles. So my new motto is Get Out While I can and FAST!

5. Pack the vehicle while kids are eating.

This is my most dreaded part of leaving. I never look forward to taking my purse (or some may call it a suitcase), my coupon organizer box, my bag of store ad inserts, a diaper bag, a lunch cooler if approriate...oh and the kids, out to the car and usually haivng to make multiple trips! Doing this with a toddler who follows me EVERYWHERE proves very trying. He has also discovered the playground across the street and can run a lot faster than me!

I am much more motivated to leave when I can set Eian and Elias up for breakfast and I can "sneak" out while they are occupied.

Well there you have it and now I have it for all the world to see and so I can stay on task! I know actually making a list for this seems trivial but it has really helped me.

So what do you do to make getting out the door a little easier?

Simplify Life in the Kitchen- Menu Planning

I recently began participating in Menu Planning Mondays at I'm an Organizing Junkie. I've been informally menu planning for years. It was crucial when I was a full-time working away from home momma. I had grand ideas when I dreamed of staying home that I would be able to concoct these fancy gourmet meals and I would have hours to prepare tasty, interesting meals!

Well, here's a reality check for me, the more you're home the more messes you make and thus the less time you really do have! Yeah, never thought about that in my daydreams! So I have found that menu planning is just as important when you stay home as it was 6 months ago when I worked away from home. I know a lot of you have been menu planning for along time, but for others, the concept may be brand new.

What is a Menu Plan?

• Seems like a goofy question but really I have had friends ask me, "A menu plan? What do you mean by that?"


• A menu plan, simply put (no pun intended) is having a plan for several days worth of meals.


• How do I start a menu plan? There are lots of techniques: like having a month's worth of family favorite recipes and just rotating the same things, or making meal plans by using what you have on hand, or making a plan using what's on sale for the week at the grocery store. There's no wrong or right way to make a plan. Do what you find works best for you!


• A menu plan can look different for each one of us, let me explain. A menu plan to one woman could be buying for and organizing 3 meals a day for a week. Others, may just have a menu plan for dinner and plan for a month (this is what I try to do).

Want to start? Here are some great meal planning resources:

• I'm an Organzing Junkie-I know I included her link above but she really is the best place to start. She spells the menu planning process out in an easy-to-understand way.


• Money Saving Mom- This is probably my favorite blog because of all the great tips and tools she has on her site. The best part is she's real and doesn't pretend to have "it" all together. Make sure to also check out her video series on meal planning.


• Life As Mom- Jessica's speciality is freezer cooking and has lots of great tips and good recipes that make it easy. She's also in the process of writing a cookbook and she knows what she's talking about!


• The Happy Housewife-She's a mom of 7 kids where meal planning is a must! Need I say more?


• Just a Pinch Recipe Club- My new favorite recipe site. I've used All Recipes for while and still like it but this one is much more user friendly in my opinion.

Happy Planning! Oh and I did originally post by menu plan in here but I removed it because of some blogger formatting issues. I can't figure it out right now so I removed it for the moment, sorry!

Crazy Life, Good LIfe

My goodness I cannot believe it's been two weeks since I last posted! I guess this posting on a regular basis thing isn't going so well huh? I will admit a lot of it is lack of good time-management along with an increasingly unstable schedule as an impending move approaches.

I've been reading several different blogs, usually written by SAHM's, and many talk of having a home binder. It's simply a way of prioritizing your time at home and being more purposeful with it, kind of like how you should treat money. Oh how I need to make one of these but I have been putting it off not knowing what my new schedule will look like in the next few weeks with moving, packing, my sister visiting, etc.

So I plan to keep up with the blog at least once a week (hold me accountable for those who know me) for the next couple weeks until we settled in our new place.

As a side note for the family and friends reading this, Eian is finally accepted the fact we're moving AGAIN. He seems to be doing well with it now as am I. We both realize God has bigger plan in all of this that we cannot see.

Elias has yet another ear infection. We know he needs to get into the doctor to discuss possible surgery options but with moving it's pointless to go through all that with a doctor here. So for now we're praying we can get just one more rx of ear drops to hold him over.

David will be visiting Kansas soon to scope out our new location and find us an apartment. So please be praying for his safe travel. My sister is coming up from Brooksville while he's gone to watch the boys while I work. I know next week will be somewhat stressful and rushed but I'm still looking forward to her visit.

God is also allowing the temps to warm up a bit here for our last week in Florida. The weatherman says we should see high 60's...oh yeah beach here we come! Cannot wait. We haven't seen the beach since November and Eian commented how sad he would he be if we didn't get to go one last time before we leave. Me too kiddo, me too!