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To Love, Honor and Vacuum: Chapter 1

Here is how a typical day looks at my house…
*rise at 6:00 for quiet time
*shower, make breakfast, and CHUG some coffee
*eat with family and Bible Study
*School day begins
*After school activities begin
*Dinner, night work, family time, BED

Now that doesn’t look unreasonable does it..it’s the laundry, the vacuuming,bill paying, class scheduling, the cooking of the meals, the grading of papers, the planning of lessons, the ministries..you ALL get the picture, it add up if we aren’t careful to DIAGNOSIS: STRESS.

To any gal getting married, I’d have this advice; “YOU will, according to statistics do most of the cooking, dishes, laundry, floor washing, vacuuming and grocery shopping.” *SMILE really BIG! (This is according to one Arkansas study, as written in Love, Honor and Vacuum, page 22)

It’s also likely that she will pay bills, vacation plan and buy birthday gifts….*ANOTHER BIG SMILE…

HOW do we avoid the pit of STRESS?

If we aren’t careful, we’ll fall head first into the pit that’s hard to emerge from. We’ll be seen falling as we explode at the same time!

Sheila makes the point that,

“when things are this difficult in other areas of our lives, we often give up on them. We tend to avoid things that make us exhausted. But kids are a different story.”

Husbands are part of that same story, and since we are here on a home school site having this discussion, so is the education of our children.

What we learn in chapter 1 is what we don’t want to hear. EXHAUSTION and STRESS lead us to lots of unhealthy behaviors. Ever heard of “stress eating?” Oh, I hate that! I’m guilty….stress me out and you’d better have that bag of M&M’s, particularly if it’s the XXL party size, chained down! Healthy habit? Not particularly….I’ve learned!

Ladies, let’s face it…stress is a part of this life we’ve chosen. Perhaps if we’d opted for the monastic life, the diagnosis would be different, but here we are…knee deep in laundry and dirty dishes, amidst the piles of paper that we call curriculum.
WE HAVE TO GET A GRIP!

“We NEED to let God shine HIS light on our problems,” Sheila reminds us. There is hope in what so far is a very “bleak” picture!

God did not create us to be exhausted, shells of who we once were….He created us to be inspiring, life loving, giving wives, moms and friends!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes

Changes…..

and I’m not talking about the 42 cents in your wallet or the David Bowie classic of the 80′s,(IF you are old enough to remember it, and I am) I’m talking about the OTHER change. That word that we tend to “whisper.” Change isn’t a BAD word, but yet we often use it as if it’s an admittance of failure. The fact of the matter is that it’s not about getting EVERYONE else to change, it begins with each of us. Becoming better in Christ…that sounds nice, doesn’t it?

Cliche?

Perhaps, but true. The changes that we are seeking are not going to come from those around US, they have to come FROM us, as we begin to use JESUS as our guide.

There are ways to see if CHANGE is something that needs to be looked at further in our lives. Admittedly, they are tough questions, but change has NEVER been easy, ever heard of PAUL?

Sheila gives us a few questions to think on before we move into Chapter 2, as a way of really examining ourselves.

Are we chronically tired? (spend some time in Matthew 11:28 – 30) before you are too tired to keep your eyes open…

Do we snap at the people we love?(just hang around Matthew 11:28 – 30 a little longer to hear the promises that Jesus has for us!)

We’ll have to do some real soul searching and open ourselves up to the fact that we indeed may need to do some renovations of the heart.

Are you happy with the role you play in life? (Sheila recommends some time spent in Ephesians 2:10) Pray and ask God to show you in the midst of the daily chaos, that IS your life what HIS plan is for you.

What IS your attitude about change?? Ultimately, it’s our life..noone can MAKE us change our actions, our habits or our attitudes, but if we are willing to look inward, we just may find that a little change could do us good!!

If you are joining us on this walk through “To love, honor and vacuum” please leave a comment linking to your thoughts. We’d love to visit!

JOIN us next time as we look at Chapter 2, “One Step Forward, Two Steps Back.”

Lori is a 4 year homeschool mom to 3. Currently a 8th grader, a 6th grader and a 4th grader. Lori insists that when she was wrestling with the decision to home school, a gentle voice guided her with the words, “you know what you should do.” Never looking back, accepting the challenges and rewards and CONSTANTLY clinging to THE ROCK…”No Storm can shake my inmost calm when to this ROCK I’m clinging.” Lori hopes to impart peace and inspiration amidst the daily chaos. Be sure to visit her blog at All You Have to Give.