Majesty in the mundane

It seems that since losing my job my days consist of working in my home. I have wanted a home-based business for a while now. I just didn't expect that my home would be my business. (lol) It's been difficult to transition to being at home and I find myself wondering..well..lot's of things. "Is this God's way of telling me that I'm supposed to be a stay-at-home mom?" "Is this permanent?" "Are you trying to teach me something, God?" "Am I supposed to be learning a craft to try to sell?" OMG, the list goes on. And I don't know if any of you can identify but I can SO get inside my own head and convince myself of all kinds of things.

And there are the days I wonder what I have to get up out of bed for. What's the purpose today??? I was lamenting to my husband that I felt like if it weren't for having to get up and take my daughter to school I wouldn't have a reason to get up. Then he reminded me that I did have a reason...actually 9 of them, the 2 dogs, 3 cats and 4 chickens!!! It's true, these animals follow me around the house everywhere I go. Except for the chickens. They do not roam free in the house HOWEVER when they are outside and I let them out of their cage they follow me. So, now you can add "farm hand" to my ever expanding list of duties at home. Or pied piper, which ever one suits your fancy.

The truth of the matter is I feel like I am in limbo and not sure what to concentrate on. And I get so tired of feeling like Cinderella. I feel like my life has come down to driving my daughter around, doing the dishes, making the bed, feeding the animals, picking up their poop, cleaning the house, yada yada yada. I can get to feeling so lousy about my situation. Ever feel like that?

I walk in the mornings with a couple of friends who have also lost their jobs and they are definitely relating to how I am feeling. And I feel so guilty feeling this way. I have to be honest, I don't always take these thoughts and feelings before Christ and confess them. Maybe because I know what He's going to say and I don't want to hear it. How can everything we go through in life have a lesson in it??? But it does, whether the lesson is for us or someone else, there is always something to learn. This morning as I was commiserating (yet again) about my life I heard God speak to me in His still small voice. He reminded me of His words to do everything as unto the Lord. I have not been doing that. To tell you the truth I have not tried to imagine that anything I do at home for my own family is like doing anything unto the Lord. I have not served them as I would God. I am so ashamed. I have much to be grateful for yet I spend too much time feeling sorry for myself. "I just want to do something that matters and has lasting impact", I tell God. "I want to make a difference." I want, (I need) validation. Ya know what He said? "It matters to Me. You matter to Me. Everything you do matters to Me. Your heart and attitude matter to Me. Your happiness matters to Me. Your sadness matters to Me. You matter. Believe Me, I see. I know. I feel. I've been there. Treat your home and ALL the things you do as if you were doing it for Me. I am there with you. I am all the validation you need."

There is majesty in the mundane.

I cannot promise that I will have a great attitude everyday. I can only promise that I will try and I will be re-directable. Teachable. Humble.

Until next time...

Free Indeed!!!

In the months since starting this blog I have struggled to come up with a name that firstly, defines who I am and what I stand for, and secondly, isn't already taken (lol). It's gone from "Learning to Walk on Water" to "Planting Daisies", both of them are taken as blog addresses. Though I can title my blog anything I want, it doesn't make sense to me to title my blog one thing and not have a matching URL.

So, today as I was contemplating my life (so much there) it dawned on me for the first time what the name of both the title and URL should be....LivingTrulyFree. And..IT'S NOT TAKEN :)

In reviewing my blog posts and the sites that I follow it struck me that anyone reading this might wonder what my blog is really about. I think it's like any one's blog, it's a journey and we invite you go with us. But in putting all the thoughts together this is the reason for the new name. 1)I believe that if Christ sets you free, you are free indeed. 2)We are on a journey to become debt free and live more frugally and not be dependant upon others for our food and necessities 3)Both my daughter and I have celiac disease and need to stay gluten free.

So there you have it. LivingTrulyFree.

I do not intend to change the name again. But I do hope that this leads to someplace exciting. I'd like to use it as a forum to share a little, teach a little, learn a lot, hone my writing abilities and possibly write for profit, hook up with other gluten free peeps like us, encourage others who've lost their jobs, or lost anything that had worth to them, and reach out to the world that the God that I believe in created. You will see scripture reference here, gluten free comments and forums, gardening quotes and anecdotes, and always I will tie them together.

Until next time...