Fumbling, waking fingers reach around the edge of my worn, thick, hardcover Bible for the leather bookmark I made when I was a child.  Opening where it is, I begin reading where I left off the day before… purposeful steps forward in this journey of following Jesus. Yesterday ended with frustration about housework, husband, and homeschooling… And why am I living this life anyway?  When did I pick this?  I’ve lost my vision, Lord. But today I choose this… this intake of truth, this abiding in the Word. “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” 1 Timothy 4:7 And my heart grows a bit more content in Christ today than yesterday.…

{This post contains affiliate links.} This journey toward growing a content heart started over two years ago.  I have not arrived.  But the Lord is teaching me through many daily, mundane aspects of life, how to be content with what we have, right where we are. So to give you an idea of what life is like in my home, as we seek to be more content and teach our kids what this means, here are a few specific ways we are working on this: 69 Ways We Are Learning Contentment in Our Home Kids help out with chores. Regular Goodwill/donation sweeps. Pretty much always making food at home. Eating…

{This post contains affiliate links.} You could drown in all the spiritual growth books on the market today.  There is even a sizable mound of resources specifically on finding joy and contentment.  But here I reveal my precious gems—the books that have transformed my thinking, my priorities, and my passions.  They have fueled my journey seeking a content heart. Are you discontent?  Constantly anxious about your circumstances?  If you and I sat down over coffee and you asked me for help with this, these are the books I would say you should have in your hands.  Maybe there is one in here for you, sister. 4  Must-Read Books for the Discontent…

{This post contains affiliate links.} As a stay-at-home, work-at-home, homeschool mom ninja, I wear about a thousand hats.  Every mom can relate on some level.  And adding his homeschool thing brings so much pressure to “get it right,” on top of everything else we are responsible for. For the longest time, I simply accepted the pressure of Pinterest, the perfect homeschool mom bloggers, what I thought people expected of me and my kids, and my own perfectionism.  I let this pressure rule how I planned my homeschool days.  You better believe my kids felt that pressure too. The Lord has taken me down a couple notches.  I am learning contentment.…

What do you think when I say “contentment”? Happiness? Peace? Joy? Thankfulness? All of those can be fitting.  But those are end results. How do we get there?  What path must I walk to be able to look around me, look inside myself and say, “Yes.  I have arrived.  I have peace.  Joy.  I am content where I am”? Well, this post won’t answer that question.  I am here today to post caution signs.  I have walked many paths trying to get to contentment.  So. Many. Paths.  Attitudes that even strong Christians fall into.  And many lead in the wrong direction. What kind of friend would I be if I…

Christmas is coming.  It’s practically here.  And everyone is losing their minds.  Can’t you feel it?  Or are you one of those who is losing your mind? I felt a bit of it coming on last night… The checklist of things I probably should buy, accomplish, or go see so that I can Rock. This. Christmas. Whoa.  Really?  Where does that come from?  Oh, wait, I saw a commercial telling me to “rock this Christmas” and a sign in Wal-Mart saying the same thing.  I don’t remember it being this way when I was a kid in the 80’s. Of course, if there was anything my parents excelled at, it…

I have two big problems that I cannot ignore and that I have no control over.  Problems that have pushed me over the edge, and kick-started this ministry.  But we’ll get to that in a moment. First: Paul. Paul is my hero.  “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.”  Letter to the Philippians, chapter 4, verse 11.  “I have learned…” How many of us believers on earth today, especially in American culture, can say that we have learned this?  A very few people I have crossed paths with in my journey seem to have come awfully close. And I want what they have. A content heart. …