My Scripture Memory Program Part 6 (Conclusive Summary)

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My one fear about this series of posts is that you will write it off as too complicated. After all, a Scripture Memory program that requires SIX posts to explain it must be confusing, right?

Wrong! My goal in spreading this out so much was to bring clarity to each aspect of the system, explaining it with detail in order to eliminate confusion. I hope that it makes sense!

More importantly, I hope that whether you adopt this system or not, you will come to see Scripture memorization as important, and integrate it into your daily life (in whatever form works best for you).

Just to tie our ends up neatly, here is a summary of this system:

Learn the verse- It takes 5 days to learn a verse. Day 1, you read the verse out loud 25 times. Day 2, 20 times. Day 3, 15 times. Day 4, 10 times. And finally, day 5, 5 times. You should have it pretty well down by day 5!

Review it daily- After you've learned it, for 30 days review the verse by just reading or saying it out loud once.

Review it weekly- Now, for the next 7 weeks, review the verse by reading/saying it out loud once.

Review it monthly- Finally, for the rest of your life, once a month you will review the verse by reading/saying it out loud once on whichever day you've selected.

If you've missed the other posts and this seems to simplistic, go ahead back and read the rest of the series for further details.

Part 1, Introduction
Part 2, The WHY
Part 3, Learning
Part 4, Daily Review
Part 5, Weekly and Monthly Review

This system is great because:
1. It starts small and grows over time, so you can work your way into it.
2. You can take breaks for more strenuous seasons of life and always pick up where you left off.
3. You can multitask while memorizing (fold laundry, cook, nurse, etc.)
4. It engages three senses- your eyes, ears and voice. This really helps to cement things!

May the Lord bless you as you strive to better know Him through His Word!

My Scripture Memory Program Part 5 (Weekly and Monthly Review)

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Missed the previous posts? Read them here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

You've memorized your verse, and have completed an entire month of reviewing it daily. To prevent it from growing dusty in the neglected corners of your brain, you will need to review it weekly. Time to pull out some more envelopes.

Seven, to be exact. Label your envelopes with the days of the week, Sunday-Saturday. Place your verse card (that you have already memorized and reviewed for thirty days) in one of the seven envelopes. It doesn't matter which one, personally, I started with Sunday, just to keep things in order so that I wouldn't get confused.

Say you put the card in your Sunday envelope. Every Sunday for the next 7 weeks, you will pull the card out of your Sunday envelope and review it once by saying it out loud. I keep track of what week I am on by again, making penciled tally marks. Because even before having a baby my brain was incapable of keeping track on it's own :).

6 tallies on this one, only one more week of review to go!

As you memorize more and more verses, you will stick them in your other day of the week envelopes. It is a nice feeling to watch them slowly fill with life-giving Words you've stored up in your heart.

After the seven weeks of once-a-week review, you are going to need a lot more envelopes. Because now we are talking about monthly review- the way that you will keep these verses in your mind and in front of your eyes for the rest of your life (Lord willing!).

Count out 28 envelopes, and mark them numerically from 1-28, for each day of the shortest month. This way you'll get through all of your verses every month, even in February. The months that have more days (which is 11) gives you room to catch up if you miss a day or two here and there.

Apparently I took this picture around the 18th, because that is where I happened to be in my stack.

Now EVERY month for the rest of your life, you can quickly review previously memorized Scriptures by quickly reading or saying them out loud once. It will take a whole 30 seconds (more or less depending on the length of the passage), but the dividends you will reap in keeping it fresh are manifold.

Ta Da! Here it is, my magical Scripture Memory system. Guaranteed to get the Word in your head and to keep it there. Now comes the trickier part of applying these verses to your life and using them in the daily battle against sin.

Does it seem overwhelming? Please, do not think so! It is quite simple in practice. You can go as slowly as you'd like. It took me at least a year to fill all of my day of the month envelopes with verses to review. Now (three years in) I've got two verses in each envelope up to Day 20.

I've taken breaks in busier seasons (such as when pregnant and working, when all I wanted was extra sleep in the morning!), but my envelopes and cards are always waiting for me, ready to be picked up wherever I left off.

Any questions? Tomorrow I'll be finishing this series up with a quick, comprehensive review. All of the instructions in one place.

My Scripture Memory Program Part 4 (Daily Review)

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If you've missed the previous posts in our Scripture Memory series, you can find them here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. 

You've chosen your verse(s), and have it memorized. Now you are going to need a new envelope to transfer it into. Pull out a second envelope and label it "Daily Review."

Every day for the next thirty days, you are going to review this verse by saying it OUT LOUD once. Only once, no big deal. When you are done reviewing it once each day, mark a tally in pencil on the top of the card.

Again, you don't have to mark these things in pencil, but it will help to keep you on track when you miss days, as is bound to happen.

When you've reached thirty tally marks at the top of your card, erase them. Tomorrow we'll discuss what happens next, with weekly review.

The verses I am currently reviewing daily.

My Scripture Memory Program Part 3 (Learning)

Photo by Ryk Neethling

All right, finally! Here we are, ready to learn the first step of the Scripture memory program I've found to be so helpful: the initial learning of the verse.

Necessary Supplies:

• Index cards
• A box of small envelopes (that the index cards can fit into)
• Your Bible
• A Pen
• A Pencil

First, you'll need to select a verse or passage to memorize. If you are just starting out and are unfamiliar with the Scriptures, here are a few basic verses good to memorize to get you started: John 3:16, Romans 5:8, Romans 8:28, Romans 12:1-2, Philippians 4:6-7, Proverbs 3:5-6, and Psalm 119:105, just to name a few. Older believers- what verses would you add to this list? Please share in the comments!

If you're more familiar with your Bible, I recommend selecting verses that strike you in your daily reading, or finding a verse that addresses a struggle you are having with a particular sin or trial.

I have been memorizing a list of verses in the back of our catechism booklet, and my husband has been memorizing the Scriptures used in Matthew Henry's book, A Way To Pray (an excellent resource, by the way!).

 Mark one envelope with the word "Learning."

Copy your selected verse from your Bible onto an index card using your pen.Then take your pencil, and next to the verse write the numbers 25,20,15,10 and 5.

I apologize for the small writing, it's a little hard to see, but here are my cards for Psalm 25, which is what I am currently working on.

 It will take you five days to have the verse memorized. On day one, you are going to read the verse OUT LOUD (this is the key- you are engaging your eyes, mouth, and ears) 25 times. Then, using your pencil, cross off the number 25 on your card.

The next day you will say the verse out loud 20 times, and again, will cross off the number 20 on your card. Day three, you will say it 15 times, day four, 10 times, and day five, only 5 times (crossing the number off each day as you complete it).

You don't have to mark these things with a pencil, but I do just to help me remember where I am it in the process. This is especially helpful if you miss a day (which does happen to me, more or less depending on the season of life which I'm in). Just pick up where you left off!

When you've crossed off all five days worth of numbers, erase them. Now you should have the verse pretty well memorized. In order to ensure that it stays that way, tomorrow we will be taking a look at the daily review process... :)

Does everything make sense so far? Please let me know if something doesn't, and feel free to ask questions in the comments!

My Scripture Memory Program Part 2 (The WHY)

Photo by Ryk Neethling

Yesterday I shared how the Lord used a godly older woman in my life to encourage me in the spiritual discipline of Scripture memorization. Today I wanted to show you from God's Word WHY we are to be memorizing.

It is easy to create a list of things we ought to be doing, and to go through the motions of doing them with little passion or zeal. When we understand the WHY behind something, all of a sudden the task is rich and ripe with purpose!

As I see it, here is a Scriptural case for memorizing Scripture:

• Psalm 1. The blessed man who isn't led astray by the wicked, but is prosperous in all that he does, meditates on God's Word DAY and NIGHT. It is difficult to meditate on something so constantly if you don't have it stored in your mind. I don't know about you, but practically speaking, I cannot walk around with a Bible in front of my face all day! Memorizing the Word is food for your holy meditations.

• 2 Timothy 3:16-17. Scripture is literally "breathed out by God"- how precious! These words have come straight from the mouth of the Lord. They are profitable for teaching us, reproving us, correcting us, and training us how to be righteous, so that we can be competent and equipped for every good work. If people memorize beautiful poems, how much more should we, the people of God, memorize the life-giving words that come straight from our Father's mouth? 

• Deuteronomy 6:2. We are called to obey the Word of God. It is hard to obey what you do not know by heart.

• Deuteronomy 6:6-9. These words are to be on our hearts, we are to teach them diligently to our children in all the ins and outs of day-to-day life, we are to keep the Word of God always before us. Memorization is the BEST way to accomplish this! Which reminds me, are you helping your children to memorize God's Word?

• Psalm 119:9. We keep our way pure, and our feet from sin when we guard our hearts with the Word of God. 

• Psalm 119:11. This is probably the strongest proof text for Scripture memorization. "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." Knowing the Word of God protects us in the daily battle against sin. 

This is by no means an exhaustive list or study, just the basic framework for a biblical understanding.Psalm 119 as a whole is a wonderful text for better understanding the benefits, delights, and results of knowing God's Word. Why not carve out some time today for sitting and reading it slowly and intentionally, savoring each verse? You will be encouraged friend!

All right all you Bible Scholars ;). What have I missed? Please share Scriptures that have encouraged you in your pursuit of Scripture memory!

My Scripture Memory Program Part 1 (An Introduction)

Photo by Ryk Neethling

 Three years ago my husband and I started attending the Reformed Baptist Church of Scranton, PA. Niall and I were so blessed by the clear preaching of God's Word, and the warm compassion of its members. People were truly concerned and interested in us, what the Lord was teaching us, how we were growing in grace.

I'll never forget the Sunday morning after service when Rose approached me. At 76 years old, she looks not a day over 60, and beams with exuberant joy in the God of her salvation. After a few minutes of chatting, the question came.

"So, Rachel, what Scriptures have you been memorizing lately?"

I stuttered and fumbled for a minute, and then admitted with embarrassment that I wasn't memorizing any.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, with earnest concern. "It is so important for us to be hiding His Word in our heart! It's one of our biggest tools in the war against the flesh."

She was absolutely right.

Growing up in Bible clubs, and then attending Bible college, I had memorized many verses because it was the thing to do. People encouraged me, prodded me, looked over my shoulder to make sure I was keeping in line...

And when I got out of that environment, I tried to shake away some of the legalism I'd been ensnared in. Tank top straps must be at least three fingers thick, I must spend at least thirty minutes reading my Bible each morning, if I wear jeans on Sunday I must not love God, etc.

I'm not disparaging the Bible clubs or schools entirely. God used these people and places in my life for very much good, and I am thankful for those lessons and experiences. However, I had to make my faith convictions my own, the result of personal study of the Scriptures, not an institution's rule book.

Unfortunately, Scripture memory was one of the good habits I'd shaken off with the not as good things. But reflecting on Rose's words as we drove home, I knew she was right and I'd been wrong. This was something that I needed to do if I was going to obey the Lord by meditating on His Word day and night.

I shared the conversation with my husband. He to, was convicted, and the Lord was pleased to use one gracious, godly older woman to change the course of our family's spiritual disciplines, and the entire tone in our home. Isn't He gracious?

We both decided that we needed to be memorizing the Word, but where to start? I am terrible with numbers, and memorizing references has always been a challenge. And though I'd memorized many verses over the course of the years, I'd forgotten the majority of them.

I was reminded of a scripture memory program someone had told me about while still in college. I contacted the man who had shared it with me initially and asked for the instructions. He shared them with me, and I've been memorizing verses with this system for the last three years.

What I love about this system? 1) It gets the verse stuck in your head with a simple formula that engages your eyes, ears and mind. 2) It incorporates life-long review of the verses you've already memorized so that you cannot forget them.

This week I'll be sharing how it works, one piece at a time. I'm not sure who came up with the system in the first place, so I am sorry that I cannot give proper credit to whom it is due. I'm sure that whoever it was would just be glad that people are using it as a tool to hide the Word of God in their hearts.

The system may seem a bit complicated at first, but I promise in practice it really isn't, once you get the hang of it. Bear with me! 

Coming Tomorrow: I'll be sharing the WHY of memorizing Scripture, as the case presents itself in the Word of God. Because before we do something, we need to understand WHY, right? Then later this week I'll be sharing the details of the system itself. Stay tuned! 

Have you committed yourself to regular Scripture memory? How has it positively impacted your spiritual life? If not, I encourage you to make the commitment now! There is no better time than the present.

Part 2- The Why
Part 3- Learning
Part 4- Daily Review
Part 5- Weekly and Monthly Review
Part 6- Conclusive Summary

Purposeful Perusals, 11th Edition

Photo Credit

You Know You're A Mother When...- Jessalyn Hutto of Desiring Virtue made a compilation from readers' comments on a previous post. Young mom's will get a kick out of this :).

Involving Your Toddler in Household Routines- Good tips for starting 'em young ;).

E-Boasting- A timely adaptation of Galatians 6:14, incorporating social media icons. This will take two seconds of your time, but quite clever! On the Desiring God blog.

Do you have any good links from the week that you'd like to share? Please post them in the comments!

Just When I'd Almost Forgotten...

I'd almost forgotten that my daughter is different. That she came into the world in a crazy way, had a very rough start, that we didn't know how things would turn out or what to expect.... Almost.

Then yesterday, S had her nine month check up. "Hooray! Nine months!" I thought. "It's been so nice, maybe the doctor will even give us permission to take her out...."

No. My daughter is different. Her first Sunday at church will be in June, at eleven months old, when RSV is dead and gone for the year.

At nine months she weighs less than 14 pounds, and the doctor is concerned she's not catching up as quickly as she should. So we're due back in two weeks for yet another weight check.

Just when I thought we were done with those (we hadn't seen the doctor in three months). Just when I thought things were normal, and that my baby was perfect. 

She is- she is beautiful, and funny, sweet tempered and our delight. She just figured out how to pulls her toes into her mouth the other day, and she chuckles hysterically when we pretend to eat her tummy.

But when I hear that we're stuck at home for another two months, and that she isn't progressing as well as they want her to... I just feel like I've been punched in the gut. The joy deflates, I feel like a failure. I just want things to be perfect for her.

This morning I had to get back on my knees and confess. Ask the Lord's forgiveness for my ungrateful, distrusting spirit. For forgetting all of the things that could have gone wrong but didn't. For wanting things perfect and easy and normal, instead of His higher, better way.

"As for God, His ways are perfect, His understanding past searching out..."

"'For my ways are not your ways,' declares the LORD.'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than yours...'"

Yes, I have so much to be thankful for. Yes, God has been good to me. Yet sometimes it is a struggle to not be discouraged by life's fallen, imperfections.

I just wanted you to know that if you feel the same way too, you are not alone...

"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes with the morning." Psalm 30:5b

"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits..." Psalm 103:2

"Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart." Psalm 73:1

The Deadliness of Self-Indulgence

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Today I'm sharing with you one of the verses in the Bible that I find to be the most convicting as a woman.

Paul is talking to Timothy about widows, which ones qualify to receive the church's charity and which ones don't. I am not a widow, yet I still find 1 Timothy 5:3-7 ripe with information relevant to myself.

"She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day, but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives." 1 Timothy 5:5,6

 And suddenly I see myself in the mirror, a dead woman walking. Oh how I love my indulgences. My 3rd cup of tea or coffee for the day. One chocolate chip cookie after breakfast.... or two... or three. Sitting on the couch reading a novel while my kitchen lays in ruins from the weekend.

I am self-indulgent. And according to God, I am dead even while I live. What does that mean? That I am useless? Without purpose? Dead in sin? I'm not too sure, but I know it isn't a good thing.

"A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls." Proverbs 25:28. Defenseless, open to temptation, no barriers or boundaries, not a chance of flourishing.

When I let down my "city walls" and indulge in one area, I am opening the door to indulgences in every area. This is the big lesson I took away from chapter 13 of Jerry Bridges Respectable Sins, entitled "Lack of Self-Control."

"Despite the scriptural teaching on self-control, I suspect this is one virtue that receives little conscious attention from most Christians. We have boundaries from our Christian culture that tend to restrain us from obvious sins, but within those boundaries we pretty much live as we please. We seldom say 'no' to our desires and emotions. A lack of self-control may well be one of our more 'respectable' sins. And because we tolerate this, we become more vulnerable to other 'respectable' sins." (Respectable Sins, page 110)

Bridges defines self-control as "a governance or prudent control of one's desires, cravings, impulses, emotions and passions. It is saying no when we should say no. It is moderation in legitimate desires and activities (like a cookie, cup of tea, or reading, say), and absolute restraint in a areas that are clearly sinful (gossip, for example)."

I really can't remember the last time I said no to a piece of chocolate. Or just five more minutes of reading (or ten, or fifteen, or twenty... you know how that goes). I eat what I want when I want, and I do what I want when I want. As a stay-at-home mom, I am my own boss. No one is looking over my shoulder, checking up on me.

I am selfish and self-indulgent. I consider my own desires to be more important than the desires of others, and allow my indulgences to inhibit my service of others. Like indulging myself in wasted time when I should be serving my family by cleaning my home or making dinner.

But I'm really not my own boss, am I? Scripture instructs me to "work heartily, as unto the Lord and not as unto men." And my precious Savior bids me to deny myself, to take up my cross daily and follow Him. The man who came not to be served, but to serve. Who did not do His own will, but the will of the Father who sent Him.

So what will I choose today? Will I be self-indulgent, as good as dead in the eyes of the Lord? Or will I choose self-control, to deny myself and follow Him? To give life to my family by lovingly putting their interests before my own...

I don't have it all together. This is a battle I fight every day, almost every minute. Self-control "covers every area of life and requires an unceasing conflict with the passions of the flesh that wage war against our souls" (Bridges, 111).

To equip myself for the daily battle, I've memorized Galatians 6:7-10.

"Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." 

In the day to day struggle, I am trying to remind myself to sow unto the Spirit. Pick up the cookie, or turn away because I am not hungry? Pick it up, sow to your flesh. Turn away, sow to the Spirit. Sit on the couch for just five more minutes, or get up and start making dinner? Sit and sow to the flesh, or get up and sow to the Spirit.

 I am still frequently losing the battle and sowing to my flesh.

Lord, please give me the grace to sow to the Spirit more often...

How are you doing in the battle against indulging your flesh? What means of grace have you found to be the most helpful in your struggles with self-control?

Linked with Teach me Tuesdays @ Growing Home.

Purposeful Perusals, 10th Edition

Photo Credit

 Your Children Want YOU!- Beautiful words for mom's who try.

How to Stop Worrying About Your Blog Traffic- For bloggers. A humorous statistic to put things in perspective.

Do-As-I-Do Teaching- A good reminder for us as moms to check our own hearts.

Now it's your turn. What good stuff have you come across on the web this week? Please share!

Goals for April

Just had to share this picture- what a silly face :)!

 I know, I'm a bit behind in developing and sharing my goals for this month.

Inspiration alluded me. Some of the goals I'd meant to pursue throughout the year (reading six books a month, organizing and purging one room a month) seemed less than effective and needed to be revised.

With reading six books a month, some of my reading was less than comprehensive and quality. And some books require longer digestion processes.

Organizing one room a month allotted more time than necessary to the task. Each room took about two weeks, and I spent the last two weeks of the month lazily lolligaging on other things.

I'm learning the importance of evaluating what it is I am trying to accomplish, and if my means of doing so are effective. It is a profitable lesson.

Our little Easter girl :)

 My goals for April?

1. Read books, not facebook updates. This was the real purpose behind my six books a month goal. Instead of wasting time mindlessly meandering the realm of social media, I wanted to invest my time in things of value. Reading good books. This goal no longer has a number. So I will keep reading, and finish as many books as I can, trying to waste less time online.

2. Read to my daughter every day. S is nine months old (yikes! how did that happen?), six months adjusted age (if she'd come on her due date, that's how old she'd be, and this is the age she's more on track with developmentally). Her value from reading time with mommy might not be huge yet, but I want to start making it a priority now. Having this on my "to do" list every day allows me to set aside the business of my housekeeping agenda, and take time to be still and focus on her. Because she's the reason I'm home in the first place.

3. Try to cement my ideal daily routines. Every day I want to strive to do the things I'm supposed to do, when I am supposed to do them. Sometimes life happens, and my little check list is impossible. But as much as it is in my power I want to work towards it! Because keeping up with these little things has a great pay off- a peaceful, orderly home and heart that blesses my husband, baby and me.

Me and the babe

So far these goals are going well. I'm reading Elie Wiesel's Night, Jerry Bridge's Respectable Sins, Ruth Yaron's Super Baby Food, and Douglas Wilson's The Case for Classical Christian Education. All good. I'll be posting reviews as I finish them. Good soul food, good exercise for my mind.

I've read to S most days, but there have been a few when it didn't happen at all, and a few when it was pushed half-heartedly to the end of the day. I'll just keep working at it! And the same goes for my routines. Little by little, day by day, I am seeing growth and progress.

What are your goals for April? And how are they coming? Do share!

The Why of Babywearing

Because some days she is fragile, and just needs to be close to her mommy.

Beat the Clock!

Growing up my mother had a little game she played with us. When the time came to clean up, she set the timer for ten minutes and told us to beat the clock- have the job finished before the timer beeped.

I'd like to tell you that if we beat the clock, we received a reward of some kind. And maybe we did on occasion. But what sticks out distinctly in my mind today is the consequences of not beating the clock. If we didn't beat the clock, whatever toys were left on the floor went into the garbage.

Let me tell you, this was an effective game. The sheer terror of what we might lose compelled us to stop procrastinating and complaining, and just get to work.

As an adult I've been enjoying the sheer brilliance of mom's game.I set my timer and plug away, finding that things get done with greater efficiency and energy. The ticking clock can be helpful in getting me back on track when I feel unmotivated or distracted.

There are many hurdles that playing "beat the clock" can help you to leap over. Here are a few of them:

The hurdle of drudgery. There are certain tasks that I really disdain. Such as cleaning the bathroom. We all have them- the chores that we procrastinate and procrastinate and procrastinate on because of our strong dislike. Set a timer and get to work. If you know it will only take ten or fifteen minutes, and you have a timer reminding you to go faster, you'll be surprised at how quickly your frog is eaten and the cloud hanging over your day is lifted :).                    

The hurdle of dawdling. Other aspects of my day are delightful. Too delightful. Like taking a hot shower, reading a real page turner, or taking a quick break to check facebook and blogs of interest. Because of how enjoyable these things may be in comparison to say, making dinner or changing a diaper, I may allow time spent on them to expand too much. If I set a timer and try to beat the clock, I can breeze through them, enjoying them, but not having to feel guilty about wasting time later.                         

The hurdle of deadlines. You are expecting company in an hour, and before they come you'd really like to have your dishes done, kitchen cleaned, and be showered and looking reasonably presentable. Set your timer girl! Ten minutes in the shower, ten minutes doing dishes, etc. You might be surprised at how much you can accomplish working full speed in a small amount of time.

The hurdle of drowsiness. Some days we are just tired. And it has a negative effect on our level of productivity. Set a timer for 15 minutes and take a nap if you can ;). Then keep that timer out and use it as a pump of adrenaline to accomplish your to do list. Once your blood is flowing and tasks are getting checked off, I promise you will feel better.

It's been said that a task expands to fill the amount of time we allow it. Don't allow your tasks to expand- set a timer and nip them in the bud. Go beat that clock!

My Routines

Photo Credit

 My goal with the Fly Lady endeavor was to begin to form routines for my day- a loose schedule of daily "to dos" that would bring order to my life and arm me for the battle against laziness. If I know that every morning I must do a,b, and c, then I can just do it without thinking about it, or wasting time trying to decide what I should do or what I feel like doing.

I have a long way to go in implementing these routines. I've been working on them for almost a month, and yesterday was the very first day that I accomplished all three (morning, afternoon and evening) in their entirety! What a good day, I was so excited, felt great, and my home looked great at the end of it.

Even when I don't get it all done (which is most days), what I do manage to accomplish goes a long way in bringing peace, order and structure to our home. My husband has definitely noticed and appreciated the difference!

Here's what my ideal day looks like:

Morning

Bible Reading Plan
Work on Scripture Memory
Pray
Exercise (This is nothing too impressive- usually just 15 or 20 minutes of a yoga or pilates DVD)
Shower and Dress
Swish 'n Swipe the Bathroom
Do the Dishes
Wipe Down Counters and Table
Check Laundry, Start a Load if Necessary
Tidy Up (I run around the house picking things up, making the bed, etc, takes about five minutes)
Work on Blog

Afternoon

To Do List
15 Minutes of Organization (whatever area of my home needs it- right now that's my bedroom)
15 Minutes of Cleaning (again, whatever needs to be done; vacuuming, dusting, etc. oftentimes I'll follow Fly Lady's Flight Plan)
Read with S
Tummy Time with S
Make Dinner

Evening

Clean Kitchen After Dinner
Shine Sink
2 Minutes Putting Out a Hot Spot
Lay Out Tomorrow's Clothes

Like I said, this is an ideal day. Many days it is 2 pm before I've even finished my morning routine. When I get these things done depends entirely on S- her feeding schedule, when/if/for how long she naps, etc.

 I understand as well that I am in a certain season of life. Who knows how long it will last, and if these routines will work when it changes? Flexibility is key!

What is great about having these routines as framework for my day is that I know what I should be doing and when I should be doing it, and it keeps me moving with less time wasted.

Do you schedule your day by routines? What things have worked well for you as you seek to be a diligent homemaker?

Book Review: 31 Days to Clean

I finally picked up (figuratively speaking, since it is an ebook after all) Sarah Mae's huge hit 31 Days to Clean: Having a Martha House the Mary Way. You can't spend much time surfing around the Christian Women blogging community without bumping into its enticing pink and green cover :).

A quick and easy read, I decided to forgo the cleaning challenges each day because Fly Lady's cleaning challenges are keeping me busy enough! Sarah Mae addresses the heart behind keeping a clean home. She encourages you to find and then own your purposes for having a clean domain, and then provides motivating fuel to keep you going in the right direction.

Every housewife faces the drudgery of the mundane- no matter how many loads of dishes or laundry we do, there will always be more. Until we die. No wonder we can get discouraged and burnt out! Sarah Mae points us to sin and the curse as the culprit, but gives us hope in the eternal value of our work as we bless our husbands and children.

This took me only a couple of days to breeze through, but it was encouraging, uplifting, and a good kick in the pants :). I highly recommend. And if you have a Kindle, I'd love to loan you my copy ;). Just let me know.

May God give us grace to endure in the blessed work of maintaining comfortable and inviting homes for the eternal souls that dwell there!

Purposeful Perusals, 9th Edition

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A Letter to My Midwife- Although my complicated pregnancy issues have made home birth impossible for me, I think it can be a great option for low-risk moms! This is a lovely letter in which a mom expresses thanks to her midwife for making her entire pregnancy and birthing experience pleasant and memorable.

Why the Kids Really Need a Little Red Hen Mama- Ann Voskamp is the master of weaving random story threads to craft a beautiful whole. Watch her create a tapestry depicting children's need for their mother's best, with the threads of the little red hen and Mark 7:27. An excellent reminder for mothers.

What have you read this week of general interest? Please share in the comments!

My Fly Lady Finale!

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 If you missed the rest of my month of Fly Lady's Beginner Baby Steps, you can catch up here: week one, week two, week three, week four, and week five. 


I can hardly believe it, but after almost six week's worth of week days, I am finally finished with Fly Lady's Beginner Baby Steps! What a milestone :).

This has been a very productive experiment. I cannot claim to have followed her perfectly to the tee (there have been many nights that I went to bed without a shiny sink), but when I have been diligent there has been a definite pay off.

For example, Friday is my normal cleaning day. Only today I found that my house already looked pretty clean. I still did my vacuuming and mopping, but it didn't take as long, and was finished earlier in the day than usual and with less stress. How satisfying!

The biggest reward today came from my husband. When he came home, Niall said, "It's so nice to have the house clean all the time. Not like I got upset when it wasn't, I totally understand that, but its just so peaceful." *Happy wife*


Here's what this week looked like:

Day 28- As part of your routine, take care of yourself by eating good food, drinking plenty of water, and getting rest. As a nursing mama, I pretty much eat and drink like a horse, so these are two things I could never forget! Getting enough sleep is another issue. Niall is always encouraging me to take naps (what a wonderful husband!), so I am trying to be better about "submitting" to him in this area :).

Day 29- Read and do the Weekly Pampering Mission. While I'm sensitive to the fact that we need to take care of ourselves, this whole "finally loving yourself" philosophy is where Fly Lady and I part ways. According to the Bible, my problem is that I already love myself too much. Apart from Christ I am a completely self-serving wretch. Instead of serving myself, I am commanded to serve God and others. Please don't take this to mean that I think its sin to occasionally splurge and pamper yourself. It's just that this week's mission was all about repeating positive affirmations to yourself so that you can love yourself more. How about memorizing and meditating on some Scripture instead ladies? Excuse me while I step down from my soap box... he he.

Day 30- Look at your calendar for next month and plan ahead for birthdays and other special events. We are pretty good about keeping up with our calendar, so this was a pretty easy day for me.

Day 31- An encouragement to just keep "flying." Thank you, Fly Lady!

I will be trying to keep up with my own modified version of Fly Lady as we head into April. For me this means trying to follow my morning, afternoon and evening routines (at this point I am lucky if the morning routine is done before 1 pm). It means swish and swiping my bathroom every day (LOVE this! Company ready and clean all the time), and setting a timer for 15 minutes to organize and clean everyday.

Ultimately while I've found Fly Lady to be helpful, I'm a firm believer in adapting systems to your personal life and what works best for you. It's the only way you'll be able to remain consistent!

How about you- what system(s) do you use to keep your life in order? Have you tried Fly Lady? 

5 Reasons I Love My Kindle

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When I was put on bed rest for S, my grandmother thought a Kindle would be a nice gift for the gal who loves to read but was stuck on her back. Oh was she right! Although I have always loved and will always love a good, old-fashioned book, hardcover or paperback, this clever device has found its way into my heart. Here's what I like the best about it:

1. A Lighter Load. Before owning a Kindle, I was known to lug around 2 or 3 books at a time in my purse.... because who knew what I would be in the mood for when an opportunity to read struck? Now they are all contained in one slim, light bundle. Good news for my suffering shoulder :).

2. Easier to multitask. Have you tried to read while breastfeeding, only to have the baby squirm and loose your place in the heavy volume you were precariously holding down with your thigh? Hopefully I'm not the only one. Struggle no more! The sleek design sits nicely next to you, or can be held comfortably in one hand. No more loosing your place or struggling with a heavier book.

3. Free Classics. How wonderful to find many classic, public domain works absolutely FREE in the Kindle store! No more trips to the library to find a grimy edition of Pride and Prejudice or Frankenstein. Within seconds you can have a clean crisp copy ready to read in the comfort of your own home.

4. Book Swapping. Not only does Kindle have it's own lending library, it also gives you access to freely borrow any books that a friend has on their device. Par example, last month I borrowed The Hunger Games from the Kindle store. I quickly finished it, and was dying to read the rest of the trilogy (unfortunately the Kindle library only lets you borrow one a month, a ploy to get you to buy perhaps?). So I posted a quick facebook status asking if anyone had the Kindle edition of the Trilogy that they would be willing to loan me. Within 15 minutes, someone had responded favorably, and that very evening I had it loaded on my Kindle. How cool is that?

5. An Introduction to the World of E-books. Before owning the Kindle, e-books were of little interest to me. Download a PDF file to print or read from my glaring computer screen? No thanks. With the Kindle, all of a sudden I had an easy introduction to wonderful e-books by bloggers such as Tsh Oxenreider, Sarah Mae, and Trina Holden. A win-win scenario!

In case if you've wondered, these are a few of the perks from the perspective of a serious book lover :). Do you have a Kindle? What do you like best about it?

A Delicious Recipe for Your Bread Machine

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 There is nothing so delightful, so utterly tantalizing to the senses, as a loaf of freshly baked bread. The smell, the taste, the fluffy texture, butter melting and filling your mouth with wholesome goodness... *Sigh*.

Fresh bread is a blessing to your family; it is a comforting, nourishing thing that says "Welcome home."

Bread making is an art. It takes time, practice, and careful attention to detail. I don't know about you, but when I've tried it, my loaves always end up dense or lumpy looking. This is why I've come to fall in love with my bread machine (purchased second-hand three years ago for $15!).

Ten minutes of dumping ingredients in and hitting start, and I walk out of the kitchen. After only three hours, lovely smells are wafting through my house and I have one delicious component of dinner ready to go. It is easy, efficient, and healthy ( I can control what ingredients we are consuming).

Today I'm sharing with you a favorite recipe of mine, passed along from a dear family friend (who excels at blessing whomever walks into her kitchen with her domestic artfulness). She got this recipe from another friend unknown to me, so I have no idea who it originates with. But it is SO tasty!

Whole Wheat Bread

1 Cup of Water

1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil

1/3 Cup Honey

2 Cups Bread Flour

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour

3 Tablespoons Powdered Milk or Buttermilk

1 Tablespoon Ground Flaxseed

1/4 Cup Old Fashioned Oatmeal

1 Tablespoon Sunflower Seeds (if unsalted, add 1 tsp. salt)

2 and 1/4 teaspoon Yeast

Add ingredients to bread machine in order recommended by manufacturer. Bake on Regular setting. Yields one 1.5 pound loaf.

Enjoy! Your family will thank you for making this delicious loaf ;).