Be Anxious For Nothing

As I am building my blog and combining Modern Mommy Mentor with Country Mama to Many I'm trying to come up with a plan for how I want to post and share my thoughts. After all life seems to run so much more smoothly when there's a plan, at least for me it typically does. 

I have so many thoughts and ideas I'd like to share, and I am excited to get them out there. I'm thrilled to finally be writing again, I didn't realize how much I had missed it. This blog is the perfect outlet for a woman who more often than not finds herself isolated with limited adult interaction. (I'm not begrudging it, it's simply my season of life right now. But, sometimes, I'm just lonely and have so much to say.)

While I don't want to live in bondage to a writing/posting plan, I do want to organize my posts so that folks can know when and what to expect. It doesn't mean I'm posting three times a week or only on those days, this is just a guideline to help me process my thoughts. So I'm thinking something along the lines of this pattern:

Matters of Faith Mondays

What Works for Me Wednesdays

Friday Fellowship

So with keeping to this plan I'd like to share on this fine Monday about a topic that I struggle with quite often: Anxiety. Despite knowing that anxiety is wrong in the eyes of God, I still often find myself over come with it throughout the difficult trial of life. 

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

But with Christ I have the freedom to break free from this bondage of anxiety and to replace it with peace and acceptance in that whatever happens is God's perfect will.

"Whatever is lawful is legal. Therefore whatever is legal is lawful. 

Whatever is lawful is ethical. Therefore whatever is ethical is legal"

I recently watched a movie where these words were being recited, in the opening scene, over and over again. Apparently, a very successful finance man was trying to convince himself that the business deal he was in the process of making happen was indeed ethical ~ it wasn't. But, because what he was doing wasn't illegal he'd convinced himself it was indeed ethical. Sadly, he ended up losing his job and so much more from just this one deal. If only he'd listened to his conscious.

We are in the process of selling our house. Mercy what a long and painful story, that I most likely will share one day, but that day is not today. We currently have a tentative contract based on the buyer selling their current home. But, as is due process for the purchase to be finalized when they do sell their home we must have a home inspection. 

Today is our home inspection.

To say I'm nervous is an understatement! to say I'm anxious is an understatement! My current state of affairs is a pure hot mess of gut-wrenching-I-seriously-can-NOT-do-this crazed woman! But, we have no choice, it has to be done. 

The sell of our home is dependent on this one man inspecting it. To make matters worse our realtor has warned us that we got the 'bad luck of the drawl'. This specific inspector, coming to inspect our home, has been the cause of many deals gone 'south' for our realtor. (insert massive sigh and the onset of hysterical crying)

Thankfully I am a woman of faith and I've got this, or more likely God has got this! He knows all about our financial woes and our fears, struggles, and anxiety in regards to the NEED of us selling this house ASAP. Trust me The Good Lord has gotten an ear full every.single.day. for months from me in regards to the sell of this house! But, we all know God does things in His own timing. So, I must remain patient and trust that He has my good will in the forefront of all His doings and either the inspection will go well or it will not. Either way it will be God's will and He will carry us through.

Funny thing is our realtor made some suggestions for us to do in the hopes of making the inspection go more smoothly. Are you kidding me? Seriously, is this legal? Is this ethical? Why should anything I do effect the outcome of the inspection of my home? Is this really happening to me? Why is adulting so hard?

Then my thoughts rush to our home inspection. Did the same thing happen to them. Is that why so many things were not what they said they were to be once we took ownership of the home? Did they sway their inspector and that's why we suffered the consequences of a really bad deal? (Oh, but the difference from us to them is that we've fixed all those issues that were 'missed' during our home inspection!)

I'm finding that throughout this mess that if I keep my eyes on Christ and continuously lean upon His Holy Word; my fears are as water rushing under a bridge. But, I'm not going to lie, when I stop and think about anything other than those precious bible verses I've memorized the anxiety nearly over comes me making me vehemently ill and unable to catch my breath. 

"For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Isaiah 41:13

Lord willing at the close of this day our home will have passed inspection and we will be well on our way to finalizing the sell of our home. If not then it just wasn't meant to be and I'm sure the Lord has something else all the more better for our future. We just have to keep remembering that simple truth! 

We are His and He is ours!

(through the good times and the not so good times)

So, how do you handle anxiety and stress? What are your favorite bible verse to quote during times of overwhelming fear? 

With Love and Hope,

Jennifer

Ditching the Clutter: A Busy Mom's Guide to Home Organization

I truly believe organization is the key to productivity and lets face it wives and mothers are responsible for doing the impossible. Our proverbial plates are often spilling over with things we must get done. Here's a post I wrote for Modern Mommy Mentor for how I try to keep the clutter to a minimum....

For anyone who knows me or who has read any of my blog posts; knows that I have a very type-A personality. I thrive on planning, order, and structure. When I started having children I had to learn a whole new way of living. I’d much rather have my children than the cleanest, most organized home, but there are some bonuses to preferring a systematic way of handling life. I find that life just works so much better when our home is organized.

The scriptures tell us that even God prefers life to be handled with order and decency. Should order be achieved in lieu of serving God and our families, no, but the two should work harmoniously together. When our lives are organized it allow us to think and work more effectively. We must first acknowledge and accept our need for organization and structure. Second, organizing our homes must be a family effort. Mom cannot be the sole proprietor of keeping a home organized. Husbands and children play important roles for maintaining an organized home.

Getting every family member involved as active participants makes organization easily achievable.
After acknowledging a need for an organized home and convincing family members of their vital role in keeping a home organized, the most important key to organization is STOP BUYING! Before I buy something I pray about it and wait for God’s answer, no impulse buying for this family. You might be surprised at how God answers when you start praying about your spending habits. I often find that after a week or two I really didn’t need the stuff I thought was essential. It’s amazing how much of the clutter starts disappearing when you stop buying unnecessary products.

3 Easy Steps to Ditch the Clutter

• Simplify, consolidate, and eliminate: This pertains mostly to the kitchen and bathroom, but it could easily be applied to any room. Many products can be combined to do the same job. Such as using one all-purpose cleaner or using a bar soap to wash and shave with. The mainstream media and marketing gurus have convinced us to use a different product for every task which promotes unnecessary and excessive spending. When in reality many homemade, non-toxic products can be used for multiple jobs and work just as well. Many utensils and tools can be consolidated.
• Baskets, totes, and uniformity: Loose objects go perfect in baskets and totes. My cabinets are organized with baskets holding an assortment of loose items, such as lids, canning supplies, toilet paper, essential oils, medicine, etc. My basket system is purely a time-saving necessity. Everything has a specific location which allows me to spend my time actually doing the tasks at hand as opposed to searching for the tools required. Uniformity works great too. When things are done in a specific yet simple way, children can easily learn to be willing participants in keeping their home organized. For instance, we have an array of different blocks. Each type of block is kept in a tote and all totes are stored in one specific location. Yes, they can play with the blocks, but when they are finished playing, they know where and how to put them away.
• Purge: Before Christmas and all birthdays toys are purged. My reasoning with the children is; "To get new toys they must get rid of some of the old". We cannot keep every toy they receive. Any broken toys are thrown away immediately. Books and homeschooling materials are kept in one location and purged yearly too. As for clothes and shoes, we keep a pretty simple variety. Each child has an average of four sets of 'play clothes', three sets of 'good clothes', 2 pairs of night clothes, and a weeks worth of under clothes. Shoes are kind of iffy, truthfully each chid has one good and one play, but somehow there are always seems to be strays that need to be put away in storage.

Organizing a home should not be a burdensome task, it should be done as an extension from a desire to create a peaceful home environment. From my personal experience our home operates much better when everything is in its place. The heart of organization begins with Christ and ends with families joyfully working together to keep a home running in decency and in order.

With Love and Hope,
Jennifer

This is a picture of the kitchen in the big house we bought and sold. This is not a staged picture, it was exactly what it looked like after each meal. :)

Faithfulness & Contentment

Most people don't do anything without a reason. We all have a reason why we wake up each day, go to our jobs, clean house, stay at home with the children, go to bed at night, etc., etc., etc.. Whatever it is that we are doing each and every moment of our lives: there is a reason why. Now I'll admit sometimes when we're in the throws of something we may not have a clue why we're doing it, but I believe if we stop and look hard enough we'll discover exactly why we're doing it.

I kind of have a reputation for being wishy-washy or even worse a flake. I have wavered in so many areas of my life that I wouldn't even want to start trying to tell y'all about them. For one I'd be embarrassed and for another I may actually lose any ounce of credibility I posses through telling you all my shortcomings. Sad thing is this is not the sort of reputation I want to have nor do I desire to pass these awful traits on to my children.

My husband is the polar opposite. He is grounded. He hardly ever sways in his convictions. He's a man you can count on regardless of the situation. He makes me want to be a better person. He keeps me grounded and often bursts my bubble at times just to keep me from floating off into Never Never Land. He truly is a good and godly man ~ a man I know I don't deserve, but thank God for every day.

So here's a major confession: I'm struggling with this website. Yes, I know I'm only a few days in ~ now y'all can see exactly where I can be a flake (insert groan). You ask why am I struggling? I'm sure y'all will find it quite humorous, really. Y'all see my last two websites were 'paid-for' websites. They were quite fancy with all the fun bells and whistles. And, well, Blogger for free is just very limiting. I don't want to share too much and seem ungrateful; because after all, it is a FREE blogging platform! I truly am thankful to be able to write and hopefully encourage other women on their walk with the Lord. But, I do want to be real and genuine as possible, sharing my struggles.

Funny thing is I can't even remotely validate a 'paid-for' website because I have zero intentions of trying to make a profit from my blogging. I'm over that garbage. It almost makes me angry just typing it ~ thinking about how nearly every blogger out there is simply waiting to market their next product and sucker you into buying it. Convincing you that your life will never be the same if you don't purchase whatever they're marketing. Chances are you'd be just fine, and most likely you could find the exact same information on another website for FREE. 

So as I struggle through this angst, I'm trying to remember what is my purpose of this blog. Why am I here? AND to give myself some goals and accountability in regards to this blog.

1. To encourage christian women on their journey of being a wife and mother. especially those who homeschool and homestead.
2. Keeping myself accountable in my journey of following Christ.
3. Sharing our family and lifestyle with those who are interested in the 'simple life' (specifically an alternative to social media - where I can no longer 'hang my hat')

Wow! And there you have it: my reasons why. My reasons why I'm choosing to blog at Country Mama to Many. None of these reasons are dependent on any special Theme or blogging layout, and for that I'm grateful. But these reasons ARE a perfect springboard to keep moving me forward, to not give up. To prove I can remain faithful and content where the Lord has me. And who knows maybe one day I might just find my self back at a 'paid-for' website with more flexibility. 

For now I will graciously be writing on my free Blogger blog and I will keep my reasons why in front of me as I purpose to be content. I will share my heart and do my best to honor God with what I write. Removing this negative flaky stigma that seems to over shadow my character is important to me and this I believe is a great place to prove I can change. After all change can be a good thing! Not to mention what a perfect life lesson to use to teach my children about faithfulness, contentment, and how to allow the Lord to use you wherever He plants you!

"He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much." Luke 16:10

With Love and Hope,
Jennifer

P.S. Picture is courtesy of Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. I'm still under the old adage that every blog post needs an image, lol, and I just happen to think this one was pretty. :)

August Harvest

Despite my better judgment and personal convictions in regards to social media; I have spent the past 2 years immersed in Instagram. Looking back I feel cheated and swindled by the Deceiver. But as with so many mistakes in my life God did use my time there to cultivate a few 'real' relationships. And for that I am grateful! 

The funny thing with the internet and social media, even blogging - you can recreate yourself over and over again. You can be anything you want to be. Unfortunately that can backfire and ultimately God always knows the true you. You can't run from God. Fact ~ Like it or not.

Our family has been 'homesteading' before homesteading was the thing to do. We did it because we were called to do it and because we had to do it. We had a very long season of 'leanness' and growing our own food was just what had to be done to make ends meet. (government assistance is just not an option for us - everyone has to do what they feel led to do, this is just our own personal convictions and story)

We had gotten to the point where we purchased very little in the form of food from the grocery store because we'd learned to grow AND cook with what we the good Lord provided through our very large garden and animals. 

Long story short (or maybe simply for another day) we backed off of our homesteading efforts and kind of just did it for a hobby and a nice supplement to our dietary needs. So, when I created my Instagram account I shared very little about our past homesteading efforts. 

Because of our personal background I enjoyed following others on similar homesteading paths. And since I'm typically a chatty person and like to help others, I often tried to share some wisdom, tips or suggestions in regards to gardening, animal husbandry, and food preservation. But much to my dismay they were not well received and typically brushed off as a woman who didn't have a clue! Insert gasp! 

See ~ because I had run from God and my true calling I was unable to be used by God to help these young up and coming homesteaders. The point of this post is not to debate social media but the fallacy in misrepresenting yourself in any form wether virtually or in realty. And I'd like to say I'm not trying to be prideful or boastful, I just happen to have years of experience and unfortunately mistakes under my belt that it would be nice to spare other folks those same setbacks!

Despite me running away from our simple life and homesteading lifestyle we have maintained a garden to some degree every year and this year was no different. The main summer garden season is currently wrapping up and soon we will be prepping the soil for our fall gardens. Which is one of the many wonderful perks of living in the south: The opportunity of 3 growing seasons! 

Despite us currently living 10 minutes from our old homestead where our gardens are located, we've had quite a successful garden and have preserved way more produce than I had expected we would. God is good like that always giving us more than we deserve. His mercies truly are never ending.

"The Lord is merciful and gracious, 

slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy." Psalm 103:8

Our Muscadines, Scupindines, figs, and blackberries are all producing giving us a little here and there. When it isn't much (like this half

gallon mixture) I just add them altogether in a freezer bag and freeze them for smoothies when the kale and spinach starts producing in the Fall.

 We've had our best ever harvest of butternut squash! We've picked at least 30 of them ~ I really should have kept count!

August is the season of okra in the South! We like it battered and fried of course but I will 'oven fry' it on occasion.

Any extra that we can't eat fresh, is cut and put into freezer bags and added to meals (from frozen). But you can fry from frozen too, it just tales a little more work and isn't nearly as good as frying from freshly picked.

The peppers are slowing down ~ about a gallon every picking. This year we've dehydrated most of the hot peppers to pulverize into crushed pepper to sprinkle onto meals. We all love spicy hot food around here!!

Finally the tomatoes are slowing down. Whew! Tomatoes can wear a person out! All we did with the tomatoes this year was make tomato sauce. As the season is dwindling down we're quartering the tomatoes, placing them in freezer bags, and freezing until we accumulate enough to make it worth our while to have a canning session.

Our oldest so graciously bought 20 chicks (we've lost 2) to help keep our family supplied with farm fresh eggs. The middle kids are handling their necessary care, but my oldest is still providing for their needs. Which is a huge blessing to our family and we are grateful for his contribution to our homesteading efforts!

My goal is to only cook/bake with farm fresh food either grown from us or through small family farms. We are blessed to have a local honey farmer who produces amazing organic raw honey. We typically purchase a 'seconds' batch in a 5 gallon bucket but this year he didn't have any of those so we're running low on our honey. We were so graciously gifted with 2 quarts of honey this week which will be rationed through the very last drop!

So, how's everyone's gardens wrapping up this season? What are you doing to get ready for the fall gardening season? I'd love to hear your garden goals? I'll be sharing ours very soon!

With Love and Hope,

Jennifer 

New Beginnings

New beginnings can be just as scary as climbing a really big tree. Country Mama to Many is a personal fresh start. A new beginning of sorts where I can share the trials and triumphs of our family with those who desire to know more about us or who are curious how we live a simple life with a bunch of children in a modern world.

I'm not here to draw attention to myself or become the next big mommy blogger. That's just not who I am or what I am after. I am here to be a witness and an example of a Bible believing wife and mother who has made some mistakes along the way. I'd love to say I won't stumble in the future ~ But, I'm fairly confident I will. I am not a quitter; when I fall, I will simply jump back up, brush myself off and continue on this beautiful journey of life God has set before me.

This is not my first attempt at a blog. My first blog was Mama Economics. It was a paid-for website with all the bells and whistles. I worked nearly three years building that website for it to be taken out by the cunning hands of the evil one. (No sense in discussing the details, as gory as they were, God closed that door and so be it.) Mama Economics was devoted to sharing our life and how to live a Christian-based debt free life. I learned a lot about blogging and how cut-throat the industry truly is. Sadly, now days it's all about making money instead of building lasting relationships and actually helping blog followers - it truly is a pathetic sign of the times.

Because I truly do have a passion for writing and encouraging others, I created a second blogging platform through Modern Mommy Mentor. Sadly this was during my many falls from Grace. I had succumbed to the modern world of "I must make money from home". Sadly I spent countless hours creating a very nice website (to the eyes of the modern world of course). I sold a digital cookbook that I had written to help pay for the website. I bought professional pictures to put on the website; because that's what 'they' tell you to do. {seriously- insert eye roll} I marketed like I was supposed to, using social media and all that jazz with the hopes that I'd 'make it big'. But I hated it, it wasn't me or what I wanted to spend my time doing. It became all about making money and not about sharing my god-given wisdom with those who might actually glean from it.

God has given us all many talents and when we do not use them to bring glory to Him, we are truly acting like spoiled brats. When our ultimate goal is to make money and not simply to be used by God we're doing a huge injustice to God, the world, and even ourselves. Life is more than money. Wisdom is a gift and not something that should be taken for granted.

"Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding." Proverbs 23:23

So Country Mama to Many is my hopeful attempt to redeem myself as a writer. A place where I can share what God lays on my heart. Even if the topics will most likely be as broad as the many personalities represented amongst my wild brood of nine, lol. But, I promise the posts will be authentic and genuine, written from my heart, about me and my beloved family.

But, because I don't believe all my writings were for naught over at Modern Mommy Mentor; I am going to be reposting some of them over here. Before each post I was specify that it was from my previous blog.

I'm just giving y'all a heads up for the potential of some over posting! 🙈

Thanks so much for following along on this wild and crazy journey of ours I'm glad you're here!

With Love and Hope,
Jennifer

Coming Home

Life has a way of changing. Changing regardless if we want it to or not. Sometimes the change is drastic while other times it's subtle.  

Sometimes the change is our own undoing. Did we fail to seek the Lord? Did we seek the World? Was it the cunning Deceiver who lured us away? 

Change can be good and refining but often times it's simply destructive. 

Are we humbled at the feet of Jesus, seeking His wisdom through bible reading, prayer, and meditation. Have we sought the counsel of godly advisers when we are faced with major life changes? (Are those godly advisers truly godly? Do they uphold the teachings of Christ or have they adapted them to simply coincide with the conveniences of the modern culture?)

Once we've determined the new direction is in fact of the Lord; each of us has a personal choice as to how we respond to the change in our lives. We can either go along cheerfully adapting and learning with a gracious spirit or we can drag our feet grumbling and complaining, looking for every opportunity (excuse) to go the other direction.

We have the beautiful free will to CHOOSE to embrace the path God has chosen for us ~ keeping our eyes fixated on the Cross as Jesus leads the way.

The alternative is called rebellion.

Are you a REBEL?

From a person who has chosen the path of rebellion, I can assure you it is a dreadful, joy-robbing, desolate place which draws you further and further from the loving arms of the Father. 

"I have spread out thy hands all the day unto a rebellious people which walketh in a way that was not , after their own thoughts." Isaiah 65:2

Even if we find ourselves a great distance from God, that doesn't mean we must stay there. He is ALWAYS waiting, ready to welcome his children back into His ever-loving/ever-forgiving arms. 

I've made a myriad of choices over the past 3 years which have painstakingly drawn me away from God and my true calling on this earth. But, through a series of life-altering events Jesus has brought me HOME ~ back to Him and His will for me in this sin-laden world.

"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." Isaiah 55:7

With this victory comes an earnest desire to share my journey.  An open accountability diary of sorts where I give a glimpse into my little world as I seek to finish the race God has set before me.  

And so here begins Country Mama to Many: The writings of an old school wife and mama to nine, intentionally living for Christ in rural Alabama.

Thanks for being here and sharing the journey with me.

With Love and Hope,
Jennifer