This photo was taken by our friend Kris, the summer (2004) we got engaged. We’ve changed in many ways; grown up so much. But in the important ways we are still the same two people who fell in love! Through everything, we remember that!

Proudly Submitted at*: Woven by Words, 7 Clown Circus, Wordless Wednesday, Mom Start, Live and Love Out Loud, Table for 5, The Divine Miss Mommy, Mrs. Marine & the Tiny Troops, Mom Knows It All,Run DMT, Latina on a Mission, Two of a Kind, Look What Mom Found.. And Dad Too, Hobo Mama, 5 Minutes for Mom, Go Graham Go, A Lot of Loves, The Shopping Mama, Baby in the Big City, What’s that Smell?, Momma Findings, Jolly Mom, J Leigh Designz, and thank you to Country Girl City Life for this wonderful list!

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. In Love is a post from Beautiful Calling.

Source

My Work

I have the greatest work in to world;

A husband to encourage when things go wrong,

When he comes from work to greet with a song,

Denims and shirts to wash and mend,

A helping hand, when needed, to lend,

Three times a day is meals to cook,

To strive to be my best to look,

His back to rub at the close of the day,

For his faithfulness to God I pray,

When hubby’s in the field I take lemonade,

for all these tasks his love has Paid.

I am a " Wife."

I have the greatest work in the world;

The job of rocking a baby to sleep,

That of guiding his tottering feet,

A baby’s clothes to launder and fold,

A precious life to shape and mold,

A drink to give from a little cup,

At night his toys to gather up,

Hurts to heal and fears to quell,

A baby to keep clean and well,

A stack of diapers to put,

Oh, what a happy worthwhile day!

I am a "Mother."

I have the greatest work in the world;

A home to keep happy, clean and bright,

Make things go smooth and strive for the right,

Jams to cook and jellies to make,

Cookies and pies and bread to bake,

Washing, ironing, and sewing to do,

So many tasks, will I ever get though?

Lettuce to wash and peas to pick,

floors to scrub, lost items to seek,

Dishes to wash and windows to shine,

These and many more tasks are mine.

I am a "Homemaker."

Help me, Father, to faithfully work,

Forgive if I unconsciously shirk,

give me the patience and love I pray,

To keep myself in duties way;

With all the hustle that each day brings

May I not neglect the needing things;

Each day to spend time alone with Thee

That Jesus Christ be seen in me.

Thank you for husband, our home, our girls and boys;

Thank you for love which brings me much joy.

Thank you , Lord.

—-Mary Lou Burkholder

Last week was full of back pain, a cold, mounds of laundry, expensive car repairs and I can honestly say I wasn’t thinking thankful thoughts. Beth of Patchwork Chronicles shared this poem and it just touched my heart. Thank you Beth!

And thank you Lord, for placing this reminder in my path. Help me to remember to have the right attitude regardless of my circumstances; please let my heart be filled with gratitude always.

• This post links to Gratituesday

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Wife, Mother, Homemaker; Thank You! is a post from Beautiful Calling.

I mentioned that this tiny little quote issued a big challenge to me.

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

Making it SMART

The idea of smart plans came from a review I did on an Epicure product. Who’d have thought it would have such an impact on me. A SMART goal is one that is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. In order to maximize our chances of success, each goal should cover most of these areas.

A Word

Tricia mentioned last year that she chooses a word for the year. After much thought, prayer and having come across this idea so much in the past few weeks, my word for 2010 is INTENTIONAL.
More specifically, being intentional about:

• Growing in the Lord
• Nurturing my marriage
• Raising, training and teaching my tots
• Reaching out to others with the gospel

A Verse

“And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offense toward God and toward men.” Acts 24:16
I discovered this verse a few months ago and it has crossed my mind so often! I want this to be the focus of 2010. As I have meditated on this verse, the Lord has brought many thoughts to my mind and reinforced that He has chosen this verse for me.

• “And herein” – A declaration of intent! A statement that from this point on… or a resolve. This is a great way to start the year

• “Do I exercise myself” – It won’t all come naturally. It will take work, determination, will-power, reliance on the Lord.

• “To have always” – Consistent!

• “Conscience Void of Offence” – When you first read this, you may think about not offending God or man but the more I’ve thought about it the more firmly I realize that this verse isn’t about not offending men. It’s about having a conscience void of offense. When we are doing right, standing up for right and proclaiming right, someone is bound to take offense. But if my goal is to have a clear conscience, then I will strive to do the classic WWJD in all circumstances. Note: the more Christ-like we become, the more the Holy Spirit convicts and fine tunes us.

• “Toward God and toward Men” – My primary and first goal is to be void of offense before God and a natural by-product of that will be that I will have one before most men as well. I know that often we can have the attitude, “I don’t care what other people think”  but I believe that while we can’t govern our actions by what others will think, their opinions of us are important! It should be Christ they see through us.

A Plan

SPIRITUAL: Since the Lord ought to be my first priority, He should be at the top of my list. I admit that sometimes it is easy for me to jumble priorities and when that happens, chaos ensues.

• In 2010, I will strive to put him first in all areas, my day included. One of the books that I read this year and loved was Passionate Housewives Desperate for God. In it, they dispel the myth of “perfect” morning quiet/prayer time for those of us with littles, which was liberating to read. At the same time though, it shouldn’t keep us from striving for it, but rather free us from the guilt for those times that we can’t.
• I have never read the whole bible through. It seems like everyone has but I haven’t. Though saved at a young age, it wasn’t until the Lord drew me back to his side (after a difficult miscarriage), that I really began to get serious about my walk with Him. Alas, losing Isaiah, then having Chloe, then John, I have to say that I never seem to have time. This year, I am going to read through the NT. I know that the whole bible is too large a goal for me but if I read two + books a month, the NT is a do-able goal for me!

MARRIAGE: is the next most important thing to me. And you know what, sometimes I get that mixed up too. When the littles are so, well, little, they require so much extra attention and sometimes I forget that DH needs my attention too. We do welcome daddy home (most days) but I need to do more. Our marriage is wonderful but filled with many areas that need a little work.

• Miscommunication is something that I believe will always be a bit of a struggle. While we rarely ‘fight’, we certainly can get snappy at each other sometimes and most of the time it has to do with miscommunication. We have talked about it in the the past and agree that ‘subtle’ hints are not the way to go for us. We both need to clearly (and kindly) speak about what is on our minds, and what we are thinking. Listening more and talking less often may be the solution.
• Expectation is another key area that goes hand in hand with communication. I’m not sure that DH struggles with this as I do but it is something to work on this year. In many cases, we need to lower our expectations of ourselves and our spouses. I know often I expect him to do something, know something or say something and he has no idea. This frustrates me and I feel like a need isn’t being met and I get grumpy or snappy.
• If we can communicate expectations and listen more and clarify to help avoid misunderstandings, 2010 will be a great year for our marriage!

PARENTING: Loving, teaching, training and disciplining my tots is the third priority in my life and one that is filled with joy, delight, frustration and challenge. Though I could list a million areas that I need to work on in order to better raise my littles, keeping it simple and attainable, I’ll just list two:

• Depending more on the Lord for PATIENCE to respond in a kind and loving tone when dealing with an attitude or action for yet the millionth time. Patience to explain when necessary, to love when I don’t feel loveable and to give myself wholly when it costs.
• Being CONSISTANT in rules, consequences, discipline and in love.

FINANCES: are something I seldom touch on here at Beautiful Calling because I am in no way qualified. I will say that this year I read Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover and was amazed.

• I hope to re-read it with my husband in the New Year and talk about how we can implement it into our lives.
• As of January 1st, I will be an epicure consultant and hope to contribute to our finances through that.
• I am thankful that we both share the same desire: me to be at home raising and training our littles. We are still learning to work as a team when it comes to finances and everything else.

COMMUNITY: I hope to be more involved in our community in the coming year.

• The biggest thing that I want to work on is sharing the gospel. Sure, it is easy to share with someone who expresses an interest first but sharing my faith with someone I don’t know or who hasn’t brought it up first? Nope, that is scary. To just hand a tract to someone you don’t know? I’ve never done that. Ever. Door to door knocking to invite people to church? Never done that. Ever. This year, I want to try (Lord, give me courage) to be more bold for Him.
• In 2007 I sent out quarterly letters to seniors and shut ins but 2008 just got so busy. I think I sent out one. I know that snail-mail is a fun surprise and can be a real blessing. It is also a super easy ministry to do with the littles. I want to sent out at least once card per month to someone who could use a snail-mail {hug}.
• I also live very close to a nursing home. I often drive by it and think, “Oh, one day we’ll drop in and visit someone” but never do. Once the weather is warm again where we can walk that far without freezing, I would like to try get that visit in to some new friend just waiting to be met.

• Visit Happy Housewife for more 2010 Goals!

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. TUT: Being Intentional! 2010 Goals (Link Up!) is a post from Beautiful Calling.

• How can we lay a welcome mat of love for our husbands after a long day of hard work?
• How can we make our homes inviting places where Daddy longs to be at the end of a long day?
• How can we involve our children in this process and teach them to show reverence to their Daddy?

Lisa’s post had many great ideas, many of which we do (or strive to do) already in our home.

The husband is the head of the wife (Eph. 5:23) so loosely translated; he’s the king of the castle (and that makes me queen). That head/kingship position was given to him by God and so you and I need to show love and respect to our husbands out of love and respect for them as well as God.

What are some practical ways that I try to show this?

Tidy his ‘sore points’: Before DH gets home, I try to have the front part of our home and the kitchen tidy. That is something that takes a few minutes but that makes an impression on him. Because we have 2 x 2 year olds and a 1 year old racing around it isn’t ever perfect but it is picked up as best I can. I asked my husband a while back what he thought was a “messy house”, what made him think the house was clean and which areas bothered him the most. His answers surprised me. DH doesn’t care about dust but he likes clear (and clean!) counters in the kitchen. He doesn’t care about a pile of laundry as long as there are clothes to wear the next day and clean underwear. My priorities were not his priorities so I have tried (and am trying) to change my priorities to his in order to please and honor him and in doing so, I honor the Lord!

Kiss Him! When he comes home, the first thing I (try) to do is put down whatever I am doing and go to the door to kiss him. Depending on what I am doing with the baby or the little ones it isn’t always practical but I do try since I believe this sends the message that I am happy to see him and that he is important to me! It also shows the littles how important daddy is to me!

Ask about His Day with the Right Motivation: This one is a little tricky for me and DH actually was the one who caught me in this! (How embarrassing!) He asked me one day if I asked him about his day simply so that I could start talking about mine. Eek. I think he was joking but the sad thing was, it was partially true. As a SAHM, I am blessed to have so many wonderful adventures with our littles each day and I am anxious to share but if I am not truly interested in how his day went, I am better off to not ask in the first place. Nothing shows disrespect and sends the message that “I’m not interested / I don’t care” like asking a question but not actively listening to the answer!

Have His “____” Ready: For some it may be dinner, but since my DH gets home at 3pm and (you’ll be green with envy) does a good portion of the cooking (because he enjoys it) dinner isn’t something he is looking for. But my husband loves the mail! I joke with him sometimes that he is more excited to see the mail than me. lol. Since I know that is something that makes him happy. I generally try to have it picked up and waiting for him on the table.

A Special Something: I try to have a little snack of sorts for him when he gets home. Some days it is baked cookies, or other desserts I know he would like and this week, it happens to be bread. DH loves homemade fresh warm bread. I’ve been trying out several recipes (white bread, foccaccia, pita) seeing what works. Surprisingly it doesn’t take much time in my day at all (but don’t tell him that!) and I’ll share more about that later. Anyway, I don’t have something every single day but it makes me (and the littles!) happy to have something to show him we were thinking of him that day.

What about My Littles?

Talk it Up! Chloe is 2 and John is 1. Both are pretty little still but I talk about daddy’s home-coming with excitement and anticipation. Excitement is contagious! Our childrens attitudes and actions to their daddy is influenced greatly by our own attitudes and actions towards our husband, his headship, his home coming etc.

Freshen Up! I love my children unconditionally but (secretly) it is nicer to accept kisses, hugs and snuggles from a freshly washed, nice smelling child – does that make me a bad mother?!? Before daddy gets home, I do try to make sure everyone is washed up. It doesn’t always work but I do try.

What makes Home a Haven for Daddy?

Obedience! I know this is one of the biggest things in having a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere in our home for DH. Obedience without fussing and crying is an area that we are still working on diligently. I ensure that I am dealing with discipline issues as the come up during the day as opposed to “daddy will deal with you…”. I want my children to look forward to seeing their daddy, not dreading it all day. I also want him to be able to come home and enjoy his littles; to have him do as little discipline as possible and as much playing, reading and enjoying as possible. If I am consistently on top of obedience and discipline issues every day during his absence, this (in theory) will result in better behaved children and less time spent disciplining littles while daddy is home. This makes him happy!

What things do you do to honor your king and ultimately, your King?

(Side note: this was to be posted yesterday but it was a crazy day with a teething toddle, an emotional daughter and a plethora of other incidents. Since yesterday I greeted my husband in poor spirit wearing PJ bottoms, I felt it would be hypocritical to post this. While I can assure you that the above accurately reflects MOST of our days, bad days do happen too! lol!)

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. King of Our Castle: Welcoming Daddy Home! is a post from Beautiful Calling.

On 05/05/05, I married a wonderful man.

We were married in a lemon/orange grove at the Hilton Palace in Sorrento, Italy. We spent almost three weeks exploring Italy with a quick trip to Paris, France thrown in. It was amazing (though I did get homesick and spent the last two days crying LOL).

But you know, that was just the beginning. The past four years have been filled with ups, downs, happy and sad moments. Thus far, we’ve been blessed with three little ones, though the Lord took one sweet baby home before we had the chance to meet them.

There have also been a lot of funny moments as I learned to be (and still am learning) to be a homemaker since I was domestically-challenged when we first got married. My husband has been patient with me through pink underwear, burnt meals, and a plethora of other domestic disasters!

I am thankful that:

• he loves me and our family
• is patient with me
• has a sense of humor (though it does tend to be a bit dry LOL)
• he keeps me warm at night
• provides for our family which allows me to stay at home
• he’s smart
• he’s  kind
• he’s handsome
• he is able to cook, clean and iron – and that he was willing to teach me LOL
• he is practical, as sometimes I am not…
• he is steady, dependable
• he is fun (though he says he isn’t LOL)
• he’s supportive of all my crazy ideas – and willing to help me accomplish them.
• he has so many other wonderful qualities!

I am so thankful for this man God has given me and I pray that God will help me to be exactly what I need to be in order to complete him!

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Happy Anniversary! is a post from Beautiful Calling.

Photo by AYUMI

“Finally, brethren,..if there be any praise, think on these things.”

In the beginning of your relationship, you probably accumulated quite a list of positive attributes about your spouse; all those things that you loved about them that made you want to marry them. If you were like me, you thought about those wonderful qualities often (maybe even with that sappy, dreamy look in your eyes LOL). Then, once you got married and began living together, suddenly a whole new list started. Maybe you didn’t mean for this list to start – I certainly didn’t. But out of hurt feelings, unmet expectations or just plain selfishness, this list was created: the weaknesses, irritating traits and failings of your spouse. It’s not long, but it is there.

When we dwell on the first list – the positive one; we are thankful for our spouse and our appreciation for him increases. When we begin to think about aspects of the second list, our hearts begin to devalue our spouse and it’s a slippery slope from there. It can drain our joy and the love right out of our marriage.

Love isn’t oblivious to anything, it is well aware that the negative qualities exist but it chooses to be gracious not to focus on them. Whether or not they deserve it, Love chooses to see the best and pray about the rest! (that rhymes!)

Challenge: This week, make a list of your spouses good attributes. Aim for 10! Next Tuesday, I’ll be posting mine and you are welcome to post yours as well and link up!

Verses: Philippians 4:8, 1 Corinthians 13:7

And litte PS. I am very much in love with the awesome man God has given me, but there are moments when I become ungrateful…those are the moments I want to work on…

You can follow along here however I really recommend picking up a copy of The Love Dare for yourself. It contains so much more than what I am sharing here. You can purchase one by clicking the appropriate button on my right sidebar to go to my A-Store.

Related posts: Loving My God, Loving My Man, Love is Patient, Love is Kind & Not Selfish, Thoughtfulness, Irritating or Irritable?
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Do you have a tune-up you are working on this week? Are you joining me in the Love Dare? How are you doing? Leave a comment to let us know or add a direct link to your blog post below to encourage and inspire others. Don’t underestimate the power of accountability – it’s a great motivator!

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. TT: Thinking the Best! is a post from Beautiful Calling.

Photo by ms formica dinette

I don’t like to think of myself as being irritating, but I know that I am at times. Please don’t be offended, but I bet you can be too! We know what buttons to push and sometimes we choose to push them. Sometimes, whether it is out of ignorance or selfishness, we are rude. It can be in our speech, tone or actions that we act in a way that embarrasses our spouse, irritates him or both.

Perhaps there are things about your spouse that you find irritating. I know do. Many times being irritable or snappy has nothing to do with the actual issue and more to do with stress and/or selfishness. But in love, minor things shouldn’t result in major reactions.

The Love Dare says, “A loving wife is not overly sensitive or cranky but exercises emotional self-control. She chooses to be a flower among the thorns and respond pleasantly to prickly situations.” I love that saying. I think I may put it on an index card and magnet it to my microwave to remind me. Where does emotional self-control come from? Yourself? I hope not. When I depend on myself for that self-control I am afraid that I fail miserably. It can only come from the Lord. When that feeling starts to creep up – you know what I am talking about – before things escalate, send up a quick prayer for that emotional self-control!

As I was writing this, Colossians 3:23 sprung to mind. Not that I believe that if we are going to be irritable that we should do it heartily, but rather that when we are irritable to others, we are being irritable to the Lord as well. Now that is a sobering thought isn’t it??!?!

This Weeks Challenges: Ask (without being on the defensive) your spouse what 3 things they find irritating about you and see what you can do about them. Choose to respond in loving ways this week regardless of your mood or the circumstances.

Verses: Proverbs 27:14, Proverbs 25:24, Psalm 112:5, Luke 6:31, Ecclesiastes 10:12, Proverbs 16:32, Colossians 3:12-14, Matthew 12:34, Acts 24:16

You can follow along here however I really recommend picking up a copy of The Love Dare for yourself. It contains so much more than what I am sharing here. You can purchase one by clicking the appropriate button on my right sidebar to go to my A-Store.

Related posts: Loving My God, Loving My Man, Love is Patient, Love is Kind & Not Selfish, Thoughtfulness
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Do you have a tune-up you are working on this week? Are you joining me in the Love Dare? How are you doing? Leave a comment to let us know or add a direct link to your blog post below to encourage and inspire others. Don’t underestimate the power of accountability – it’s a great motivator!

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. TUT: Are You Irritating or Irritable? is a post from Beautiful Calling.

Do you have a tune-up you are working on? Are you joining me in the Double Love Dare? How are you doing? Leave a comment to let us know or add a direct link to your blog post below to encourage and inspire others. Don’t underestimate the power of accountability – it’s a great motivator!

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Tune Up Tuesday: Thoughtfulness #4 is a post from Beautiful Calling.

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Tune-Up Tuesday: Double Love Dare 2 & 3 is a post from Beautiful Calling.

• Daughter of the King
• Servant of Christ (thanks Mrs. G)
• Wife
• Mother
• Keeper of My Home
• Daughter
• Sister
• Friend

Tasks/Roles Involved

• Student of the Bible
• Testimony to Others
• Laundress
• Housekeeper
• Dishwasher
• Cook
• Taxi Driver
• Errand Runner
• Grocery Shopper
• Menu Planner
• Receptionist
• Baker
• Event Coordinator
• Groundskeeper
• Doctor
• Boo-boo Kisser
• Diaper Changer
• Listening Ear
• Shoulder to Cry On
• Story Reader
• Hospitality Manager
• Teacher
• Counsellor
• Song Leader
• Playmate
• Craft Coordinator
• Incubator – what a blessing! (this one is compliments of my sister)
• Correspondence Officer
• Filer
• Photographer
• Steward of Resources
• Home Decorator
• Chief Organizer
• Blogger

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. I’m a Princess! is a post from Beautiful Calling.