This is my FAVORITE part of the New Year- writing out my reading list for the year. Last year was so very random with two kids in school and adding child care to the mix plus being overwhelmed by all the things I wanted to read but having a very difficult time being realistic. But this year will be so very different. I am not reading fluff this year. There is nothing wrong with these types of book but in my season and for my focus it requires something deeper and more challenging. I got some help from The Thankful Homemaker in creating this list. I decided to keep it to a realistic 1 book a month. If I get a few extra in especially during the summer that will just be a bonus. So here we go...
Ester Ried by Isabella Alden
The Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson
The Gospel Commission by Michael Horton
The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
Twelve Ordinary Men by John MacArthur
Girls Gone Wise In A World Gone Wild by Mary A. Kassian
Knowing God by J.I. Packer
The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs
For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay
Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung
Discipline: The Glad Surrender by Elisabeth Elliot
The Battle for the Beginning by John MacArthur
and/or- if it is Christmas Time I think I would really like to go through this book possibly as a family
O Come All Ye Faithful: Hymns of Adoration and Joy to Celebrate His Birth by John MacArthur and various others
Now that it is all in front me and out there for everyone to see I believe I will be able to stick with it. Usually I write them down and end up deviating half way through- trying to make a change.
Started family devotions using God's Story and Me and made a family prayer bucket
Today I signed up with the group Baby Steps to Healthy Living- this is a slight deviation from homemaking, but I am letting the Spirit lead- I will be reading from this Series
Lastly, I am not sure if I want to add this or not but I just discovered so many resources and challenges here- it is a nice thought but I don't know if it is realistic.
What are YOU reading this year? I always love to hear about what others are reading. Have a great week!
As I sit and reflect on my focus this year I want to make it very clear to all who see me, hear me, and read this that I am a Christian Homemaker. It is all encompassing to me, to this year, to my life. I will be reflecting and doing what the Bible says today in Haggai 1:5- Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. Today I will consider my ways.
The one thing I want to do this year to increase my enjoyment of God is to keep eternity in perspective. I am already finding so much joy, freedom, and validity in this journey of homemaking. I know I am going to hit rough patches, but I will ultimately know that I am where God wants me to be at this particular moment in time.
This year, I am going to ask God to give me time and an instrument. To my human mind this seems impossible. I have always wanted to play the violin. I have basic knowledge of the piano. I have not used this gift or the knowledge in some time. I want to use it for His glory. I don't own an instrument and I would seriously like to share a song or two this year in church. So I am praying for time to practice at church or my own instrument to learn violin.
Making homemaking my focus will improve my families quality of life because the matriarch will not constantly be thinking- "Oh- I should be doing this! Oh- I want join this reading group! Oh- I am so behind on everything I need to unwind by play Candy Crush!" These are the things I will say no to this year. My family will have my time and undivided attention.
The spiritual discipline I want to make progress on this year is prayer. I will do this by starting a prayer journal and with a Prayer Bucket for the kids.
The single biggest time waster in my life is the computer or my lack of self-control and self-discipline. I can play Candy Crush for hours and refresh my Facebook page not just for hours but days. It is certainly out of control and that is why I had to pick a focus. I, now, constantly ask myself, "Is this helping me in my goal as a homemaker and keeper of the home?" If the answer is no, I must walk away.
The most helpful way I can strengthen my church is show through my actions how truly blessing a homemaker can be. I want to host a few homemaking activities or make meals for others. I think this is the most practical way I can help my church at this time.
Although I can not think of a particular individual who I would like to pray for fervently this year I can think of a group of individuals I would love to see a wide sweeping revival of grace and love go through; and that would be for teachers and school administrators. I wish I could narrow it down but my heart is burdened for many teachers to see the light of God's saving grace and shine that upon so many students. I will be praying that God will bring to mind the person I will be praying for soon.
This year is ALREADY so much different then last year. I can feel it. By God's grace, I know where I stand. I know what to do. It will be different because I don't have to worry so much about what to focus on- God figured it out. He will continue to figure it out when I hit the walls and wonder why is it so hard because I am anticipating those days, but now I know with certainty that I am doing what I am suppose to be doing.
I will expand on how I will improve my prayer life this year. Our church is small but amazing. Someone takes the time to write out many prayer requests on the back of our bulletins. I started this a little bit last year but wasn't able to be very consistent. But I am going to cut them out and put them in a bucket and during family devotions each of us will pull out one to pray for. I have wanted to do this for a long time but have been so rushed with life that it never got far. This will be a great blessing to my children to learn to pray for others.
Now we circle back to the main question- What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In, eternity? The answer for me is this- Homemaking- Making 2015 the year it mattered most to take care of my home and family, to learn skills that may be frustrating but hopefully improve with time and practice, and sincerely seeing God in the laundry, the dirty dishes, and the messes that need to be cleaned up every day. Yes, this WILL matter for eternity.
What
single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten
years? In eternity? - See more at:
http://raisinghomemakers.com/2015/10-questions-to-help-you-consider-your-ways/comment-page-1/#comment-89404
What
single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten
years? In eternity? - See more at:
http://raisinghomemakers.com/2015/10-questions-to-help-you-consider-your-ways/comment-page-1/#comment-89404
What
single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten
years? In eternity? - See more at:
http://raisinghomemakers.com/2015/10-questions-to-help-you-consider-your-ways/comment-page-1/#comment-89404
This is the first time I have truly been excited about the New Year. I will tell you why near the end of this post. But first let me reflect on what 2014 has meant to me and my family. I give you my year in review.
3 Words to Describe 2014:
1. SWEET
2. AWESOME
3. RANDOM
Statement to Describe 2014: I had to chose two. In the words of my daughter, Hermione- "There are two kinds of sweet. Things that are cute-able and things that are taste-able" And in the words of The Lego movie, "Everything is awesome."
Favorite pictures of me in 2014:
Favorite Songs of 2014:
Favorite TV Show:
Best Book Read: it was more of a series I was introduced to in 2014, I read at least 6 of them
Best Movie (s)- I narrowed it down to 3.
All about Me 2014:
A new talent I developed this year was: being able to get rid of lice from 3 little girls heads- it took about a month and shelling out over $ 60 on special shampoo but was so worth it- Thank you Fairy Tales! I also am now regularly changing a 3 year old's diaper- a talent I never wanted. I also invented the Choosing Bucket this year which makes me talented in trying to keep peace and be productive.
I would describe myself as: so so very random. I could not focus in 2014. I was all over the place. I didn't have specific goals and my reading list was SO fluffy- I don't feel like I learned a whole lot.
In 2014 I became more: well by the end of the year I become more priority driven and that was why I invented the choosing bucket because I don't like doing exactly the same thing every day but I know certain things HAVE to get done. I put in the essentials and things I don't mind doing with the kids or things that have to get done with the kids (example: homework- bleck!) . Especially with my new job taking care of another mother's child really forced me- in a good way- to focus and prioritize.
World Events:
What world events happened this year?
I only watched the news a handful of times and every time I did I cried- so that tells you about the state of our world right now. There are so many sick and dying There are so many without basic necessities. It made me feel weak. It made me feel powerless. It made me feel sick and fall to my knees. Prayer is needed for our world and at the very least that can start with me.
The Ebola Crisis actually hit very close to home because one of our church's missionaries was at the front lines. She is now officially TIMES person (s) of the year.
ALS Bucket Challenges were had. Isis was and still is big in the news. I prayed for the Boko Harem and those fighting serious depression such as that which led to the suicide of Robin Williams. Not a happy news year, but most news isn't happy- at least not what I can remember. So maybe in 2015 I will try to look for the happy news where I can find it.
What new inventions came out this year?
While this isn't usually on my radar I will direct you to a site that I found interesting on this subject- The 25 Best Inventions of 2014
My personal favorites are the action figures that empower girls- Iamelemental, the Microsoft Surface Pro 3, and the Coolest Cooler. The invention that defines 2014- the selfie stick- enough said.
Favorite Memory of the Year:
Dating my husband again! I found a website that has helped me be really intentional about hanging out, laughing, and communicating with my husband. This was near the end of the year but still it was a very defining moment- our BINGO date!.
Watching Hermione and Ariana really pick up on reading by themselves was very proud memory for me.
I felt like I got to hang out with more grown ups this year, which I won't lie felt kinda nice. I now have great memories of watching my husband graduate from Convergence program, Women's Camp at Tadmor, and Women's Retreat at Seakrest and hanging out two very good friends plus a Women's Bible Study to boot.
Greatest Challenge of the Year:
Lucy, my youngest daughter, I have a feeling you will make every year challenging in different ways. She just turned 3 and is stubborn, impatient, and bossy. I love her craziness. It keeps me on my toes, but this next year- a lot less sugar and TV and I think we may have a future leader on our hands.
Also the lice were really challenging...those suckers need to die...
Next Year (2015):
What are you most looking forward to for next year?
It has arrived! Near the end of 2014 I began praying for what God would have me focus on in 2015. I had narrowed it down to 5 things: Health (start running/eat super healthy), Homemaking (family focused/make my home a haven/learn a crafty skill), Mighty (career planning/finding ways to help outside the church/getting my geek on), Jane (old school literature/reading/writing/maybe try my hands on a novel), or Mom (church/volunteer/kid focused). I put all the words in a jar and picked at random because I couldn't bare the thought of getting an overload of advice and I figured lots of things are done in the Bible by drawing straws so that is what I decided to do. I know you are laughing at me and thinking I am crazy but I don't care. This was really exciting for me and made me truly excited for the New Year....I will reveal what I picked after answering two more questions.
Is there anything you are not looking forward to next year?
Working on paying off the dental bill- it is taking huge chunks of savings out and making me really depressed.
What are your goals for next year?
Two goals that are not focus driven are to save $1,000 dollars by the end of the year and to do as many things on The Dating Divas love calendars as possible.
Now for the reveal: What is Larissa Langsather going to focus on in 2015?
~Homemaking~
So there you have it. Here are some potential and not necessarily limited to goals for this particular focus-
Make as many home cooked meals as possible
Make a meal or Bake for at least 4 families in 2015
Family Meal Devotions
Host Tea or Dinner Parties at least 4 times
Learn a homemaking craft and complete at least one project: cross stitch, canning, sewing, crotchet, or cake decorating were highest on the list of possible ideas
Make my home a haven!!
I will update my progress every Friday on the blog and it looks like I don't have to change too much around here since that WAS the original focus but it got all messed up when I tried to do too much and barely updated once a month let alone once a week. I don't know how this will affect my Reading Lists but I have a lot of ebooks from the Homemaker Bundle that I have been meaning to read for a long time so that is where I will start.
We had a great Thanksgiving dinner at my sister's-in-law house with her growing family. We were joined by a missionary couple with young children and my mother-in-law and her significant other. I made honey roasted sweet potatoes and a squash and couscous mix I adapted from a recipe I found in an old Everyday magazine.
Thanksgiving has got to be the only time I had tv because I really miss watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I have tried every year for the past three years to stream it unsuccessfully and this year was no exception. I accidentally downloaded something that made ads come up all over the place in my computer. I spent the whole first hour of Thanksgiving fixing my computer. I finally settled for a Youtube video of the parade from 2013 which I think my kids really liked. Hermione counted all the marching bands- there were eleven. Ariana just said that a lot of the girls were pretty and very good dancers. Lucy liked that Dora was in the parade. So at least that was more successful than last year.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Grandma Cheri and baby Iris
Mack and is that my husband or two turkeys? Just kidding!
Kids are getting hungry!
These two take the cutest father daughter pictures!
Just a quick update. I have started watching a boy at our home before and after school. He is in Ariana's afternoon Kindergarten class and goes to our church. It is nice to have a little extra money, but it has not been easy. I have had to come up with a system so they wouldn't sit around and watch TV all day or try to play with each other and it ends up with a ton of fighting. So I created a morning and afternoon bucket in which I write down thing that need to get done. Technically these are things that should get done every day but we rarely get 2 or 3 or these things done a day, but I try not to get too worked up about it. The beauty of the bucket is that I do not get blamed for choosing the activity- the bucket gets blamed. Plus they get excited about doing the fun things in the bucket too.
Here is a sample of the activities:
Morning-
Dishes/Kitchen Clean up
Laundry
Crafts
Reading
Baking/Cooking
SPECIAL Chore
Afternoon-
15 Minute Pick Up in Living Room
Clean Bedrooms
Homework
Reading
AWANA/Good News Club
Take out Trash
Exercise/Outside Games
Journaling
SPECIAL Chore
It isn't perfect but it does give me the feeling of being productive at times plus it MAKES everyone work together. You leave them alone or unsupervised and they make a complete mess. Sometimes I can't always watch the 2-year old, but like I said it isn't perfect.
Also I have a cold coming on so I really didn't want to do any chores today, but we got clean bedrooms (2 times), journaling, trash, and SPECIAL chore (which ended up being mopping). So we got SOMETHING done even if it wasn't much.
It is time to be self-disciplined. It is time to lose the extra weight, find a passion, and focus on loving God and others like never before.
I am being inspired lately by the book Reshaping It All by Candace Cameron Bure (of Full House fame) and Darlene Schacht. It is basic, practical advice. It is encouraging and motivational. It contains many Biblical principles of which I need daily reminders. I am excited to put the suggestions into action.
I just finished chapter 9 which focused on self-discipline. She suggested surrounding oneself with encouraging quotes. I definitely want to put some in the kitchen to encourage myself in this life changing journey.
This chapter also included Candace's Famous Chopped Salad. I will try this. It looks easy and delicious. Although I am not a huge fan of avocado I am determined to try again. Here I go on another health adventure. Hopefully this one will stick. Only by the power of God every minute of every day can I overcome my unhealthy addiction to food.
Boy, have I been gone a LONG time....We went through an extremely tiring bout of lice! Yes, lice! Hermione, my oldest, brought it into our home, probably because she is the only one in public school or in public in general. We have finally (I believe) got rid of them. I had to resort to buying a fairly expensive treatment from Fairy Tales. I am exhausted from all the combing and nit picking. We all cut our hair. We cleaned everything twice. We watched so many movies and shows. We did the mayo-cap thing before the shampoo arrived which helped a little but didn't kill the eggs. I wish I had chronicled the journey but I wasn't able to relax or take it as lightly as I wish I could have. Yes, it is gross and a lot of cleaning work but it is also something to laugh about in the end. In the end....
I can't wait to get back in the writing groove. I have been searching the web far and wide for a Christian mom blog about raising girls that is NOT repeat NOT home school focused. There is nothing wrong with homeschooling. I was homeschooled as a kid from K-8th grade. But my husband and I are sending ours to public school. It is hard and honestly I don't REALLY want to, but this is where we are right now. I want to accept it and work with it. I need encouragement but couldn't find what I specifically wanted online. It would take years and years to sift through all the homeschool focused Christian mom blogs. So if anyone has any suggestions and encouragement I would truly appreciate it . Thanks!
