As He Leads

*I started writing this post with the full intention of sharing the weekly rhythms I'm trying to establish in our home, but it turned into something completely different....thank you, Holy Spirit!*

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First off, thank you so much for the several non-blog comments I've gotten from many of you readers letting me know that you too are struggling to find rhythm in your days with little ones. I'm glad I am not in this alone. I've been praying a lot that God would give me the right perspective and attitude in these crazy days with young ones. A verse that I have clung to for many months now is this:

He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. - Isaiah 40:11

Let me repeat that...He gently leads those that are with young. God is gracious. Those condemning thoughts of utter failure, of being completely alone in this, of single-handedly ruining our kids forever (hmmm, am I being a little transparent here?), THOSE ARE NOT FROM OUR HEAVENLY FATHER. Rebuke them, put them to death (preaching to myself). He knows what it's like to have children who are utterly needy, who sass and seem to invent ways to disobey. And, it's by His example and only the power of His Spirit that we can, in turn, lead our children gently.

Our church is currently going through a preaching series on the Holy Spirit. Through this teaching and some really challenging recent conversations, I have been convicted that I don't ask the Spirit for help in mothering. Maybe I think God doesn't have the time or this job is such a small thing. And yet, He gently leads those that are with young. There it is again. Could it be any more clear that He is with me on this bumpy, sometimes confusing, often foggy, frustrating, hilarious, joyful, humbling journey of raising children. He wants to lead me, to help me, even when I don't know what to ask for.

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. - Romans 8:26

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? - Romans 8:32

I feel like I'm reading Romans 8 with brand new eyes these days in light of my current place in life. Will you join with me in asking for God's Spirit to guide us and empower us as moms?

The Rhythm of Our Home

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You hear time and again how much children thrive on routine. Well, I'm going to say mommy's do too. At least this mommy does...and when I am out of one, life feels chaotic, confusing and overwhelming. I know this just comes with the territory of having little ones underfoot. There will always be interruptions, minor emergencies (like "Mommy, I just pooped"...heard coming from my daughter's bedroom a few minutes ago)...ever heard of Tyranny of the Urgent?!

During much of my pregnancy with Silas and the first half of this year, our family has definitely been out-of-rhythm, with little routine and a lot of fly-by-the-seat of your pants. This can be a good thing, in small doses, but we are well overdue to get back into some good, intentional rhythms. As wife, mom and homekeeper of our family, I think I have a particular responsibility to have dominion over the rhythms of our home. Not only for my kids' and husband's sanity, but for my own! When I have a good routine, toilets get scrubbed, meals actually get on the dinner table before 8:00 pm and we are all better rested and freed up to play, enjoy one another and serve others.

At the beginning of the year, instead of making New Year's resolutions (which for me last about, oh, 72 hours), I asked God what He wanted to impress on me most. One of the words He gave me was Rhythm.

Rhythm [rith-uhm] - noun
1. movement or procedure with uniform or patterned recurrence of a beat, accent, or the like.
2. measured movement, as in dancing.
3. the regular recurrence of an action or function, as of the beat of the heart.
4. procedure marked by the regular recurrence of particular elements, phases, etc.: the rhythm of the seasons.

In thinking through the importance of routine and rhythm, I have been struck by how God's rhythms in creation reflect His orderly nature: in the orbit and rotation of the Earth, in the days and seasons. Yes, there are changes (out my front window I see the leaves just beginning to turn from green to gold), but just as we parents create routines for our toddlers, our Heavenly Father has also created this order so we know what comes next, we know how to prepare.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. - Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (ESV)

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Even our own bodies run by rhythms: when we don't follow our body's circadian rhythm, by staying up way too late, sleeping too much during the day, eating in the middle-of-the-night (all of which I did way too much of in graduate school), we get sick. When our hearts get out-of-rhythm (aka "arhythmia"), it's pretty catastrophic.

So, I've been doing some planning to get us back on track. Practically, I consulted a few of my favorite blogs to find out from other moms what their routines looked like as I set about developing ours. Here are some helpful reads:

5 Tips for Creating Family Routines and Establishing Rhythm in Your Home :: Simple Kids
Rhythms and Routines: The Flow of the Week :: Simple Kids
A New Rhythm :: Simplicity Parenting

I'm eager to share the routines we are starting to implement, both weekly and daily, in the hopes it will help you if this is an area you need improvement on too. I hate starting from scratch, so my routines have all begun as a copy-cat of others' routines, then I've just changed them up to fit our needs. (Also, if I the more I share the habits I am trying to get into, I am much more likely to follow through...so this is partially my way of holding myself accountable!)

Are routines something you fall into naturally, or do you have to work at them, like me?