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Managing home, life, and money in small spaces with intention

How I Stopped Worrying and Started to Love Leviticus


Photo by Samantha Sophia on Unsplash

Hey friends. For 2019 many people in my church are doing a chronological study of the Bible. I love to read the entire Bible every few years, but there is always a book that made me groan … Leviticus. Now, I know that all of God’s word is good and for our instruction, but I always had a hard time wrapping my head around dietary laws and instructions for the tabernacle. But this time around I got so much more out of it. Here are some things that helped me appreciate Leviticus more: 

Have an open mind and heart 

I think the thing that was most helpful was my attitude. In the past I’ve gone into an annual Bible reading dreading books like Leviticus because it felt like a boring list of rules. But I went into this year’s reading with a different attitude. Instead of dreading it, I decide to dive in. My main takeaway is that then – as is now – God wants to create a holy people that are distinct from the rest of humanity. While many of the rules don’t apply to those of us under the new covenant (amen for crab cakes!), the standard for holiness is the same. 

1 Peter 2:9 (NIV) But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 

Read it with friends 

About 50people are on the same Bible plan on the YouVersion app and it’s been great reading others insights into the scripture. Reading it with others has helped me to see aspects of the scripture that I didn’t notice before. I think it’s also helped to build more unity in our ministry as so many of us are studying out the same thing. Finally, it’s been interesting to see different perspectives from those newer in the faith as well as those who are more seasoned.  

Incorporate the Bible Project videos 

I might be late to the game, but I just discovered the Bible Project’s videos. The reading plan includes them in the chronological plan. For the uninitiated, they provide an overview of each book of the Bible. I found the Leviticus video was incredibly helpful in understanding the structure of the book and the difference between the types of laws outlined in the book. After watching it Leviticus made a lot more sense in the larger story of how God was preparing the Israelites for the Promised Land.  

Of course, these lessons can be applied to any book of the Bible. What about you, what helps you to get through challenging books of the Bible?  

A New Year Can Start Anytime (or What’s so special about January 1st?)


Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

Hey friends, today will be a short post but I wanted to share something that encouraged my heart. A few days ago I got a newsletter from Erin Odom of The Humbled Homemaker sharing about how she’s restarting her year on March 1st. Like many of us, she started with great intentions at the beginning of the year, however sick kids and family losses put those plans on the back burner three houses away. While those first two months of the year were tremendously difficult, she decided to begin anew on Friday.

I. Needed. This. Like many of you, I started off the year with so many great ideas. I selected “Rest” as my word of the year because it has been sorely lacking. The last quarter on 2018 was wonderful but full: our annual vacation, planning a spiritual enrichment weekend for our singles ministry, cooking Thanksgiving, Christmas shopping, holiday parties, and on and on. We were so busy it took us two weeks to decorate our tree.

I went into the new year resolved to rest, relax, and trust in God more rather than in my own strength… and then we had two planning retreats, hosted a Three Kings Day Re-gifting Extravaganza party, another planning meeting, marriage retreat, work deadlines, and one of my fillings fell out. Again, all good stuff (well, except for dental issues), but a lot of stuff. Meanwhile my word of the year has been sitting in the corner, patiently waiting for me.

But I’m not going to be discouraged by the first couple months of the year. I will to hold on to the good: I maintained holiday traditions with good friends. My marriage was invested in by going away and listening to great messages from a mature couple. I helped make plans to move our singles ministry forward. But I’m also going to reinvest in myself. And if March turns out crazy, I’ll start over again in April. I might not perfectly live out my vision of a more rest-filled life, but I can make progress.

What about you? Do you need a new year reset? Leave a comment below.

Doing It All? Nope (or How to Drop the Ball Without Guilt) 

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It’s challenging being a modern woman. Not only do we have to “do it all” but we have to do it all perfectly. But I’ve been coming to the realization that as women we can hold ourselves to unrealistic standards. 

I feel like I’ve been having a lot of aha moments recently about the pressures I can put on myself about getting everything done. About being the perfect wife and not-yet-mother. I can feel guilty about not having a perfectly clean house with sparkling white grout. I can wrestle with questions about whether or not I should go back to work once my non-existent children come.  

Being a Christian woman can add on additional pressure. I can wrestle over what is the “right” thing to do. I feel called to work and believe I’m using the talents God has given me, but is it what I’m supposed to do? Nonetheless, I think way too much is made out of the scripture that wives are “to be busy at home” (Titus 2:5). Does that really mean that no woman should ever work outside the home? If that’s the case then what about women such as Deborah, Lydia, or even the Proverbs 31 woman? Yes, the Proverbs 31 Woman. I don’t know how you can sell sashes and manage a vineyard without stepping out of your house. Amen. 

As I wrestle with guilt over not doing it all and not doing it perfectly enough I’ve had stopped to ask myself, first of all, where is this written? Society may tell me that I need to be a self-sacrificing martyr, but that’s not what God tells me. I’ve read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and I’ve yet to see a scripture stating that I’ll get a fluffier cloud in heaven because my floors were shiny and I never got take-out.

And at the end of my life, what do I want people to say about me? If “she really kept house” was all someone had to say about me after I passed on to the great hereafter, what kind of legacy is that? I want people to say that I lived my life on purpose and to the full. That I was willing to leave the laundry unfolded to be there for a friend. That my work made a difference and helped others to live healthier lives.  

So how can we let go of the guilt? I recently finished an excellent book on the matter titled Drop the Ball by Tiffany Dufu. Like many new moms, she was feeling the pressure of being a stellar employee and domestic goddess. But burnout and frustration over her husband not doing his part led her to evaluate her priorities and step back from feeling that she had to do it all. Here are some principles I distilled from her book:  

List your priorities 

The goal of this blog to help others live their lives on purpose, with intention. To do that, you have to figure out what matters most to you. Get old school, with a pen and paper, and write out what you’re top 3-5 priorities are. This list will help you to focus your precious energy on what really matters to you, not what everyone else says should matter.  

Get help – even the Proverbs 31 Woman had some 

The Proverbs 31 Woman, the pinnacle of biblical Womanhood, had help. In verse 15 you see that she has servant girls. Now if she needed help to manage her household, why do we think we’re less than when we ask for help? Now I get it, not everyone could be in the financial position to hire extra support. However, if you have a spouse and/or kids you should be enlisting their help. Everyone helped make the mess, there’s no reason why everyone shouldn’t help clean it up.  

This was highlighted for me one day while at a friend’s house. Her then 2 year old daughter accidently spilled some water on the floor. She saw a box of tissues nearby and taking one, proceeding to mop up the spill. If a child who could barely talk can learn to clean up, surely teenagers and husbands can as well!  

To get the help that we need, however, we have to be willing to let go of our perfectionist tendencies and frankly, our pride that our way is the only (read: best) way. Your husband might not pick out the clothes for the children that you would, but are they dressed and ready on time? He might not wipe that counters after doing the dishes, like you’ve asked him to, but are the dishes done? (Not that I’m speaking from personal experience).  

Allow others to drop the ball 

Do you judge other women for not keeping to your – really, societal – standards of what it means to be a woman, wife, or mother? Instead of supporting each other and allowing each woman to make their own decisions about what’s best for their lives and families, we can tear each other down. At the end of the day we’re really all trying to accomplish the same thing: home filled with love, peace, and some modicum of cleanliness. Be careful because the measure used to judge will be used to measure you (Matthew 7:2).  

How about you? Do you struggle with feeling like you have a do it all? Leave a comment below.  

 

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