Lisa Jacobson's Blog, page 23

One Simple Trick To Manage Your Household Well

As wives and mothers, we spend so much of our time trying to “manage” our time while we overlook this one simple trick to manage your household.  

All the while, we are misusing our greatest assets trying to do it all.

From the kitchen window, I looked up on the top of our hill where the girls’ playground sits.  

Between wooden slats, I saw my 4-year-old grinning from ear to ear and I could hear my 6-year-old squealing with delight.  At the bottom of the slide, there was a real life Tickle Monster (aka Dad) lurking, waiting to get them as they came down.

It was 5:30 pm and I felt exhausted.  I had been up with both girls in the middle of the night and woken for good at 6 am.

School drop-offs and pick-ups…cleaned the house…prepped dinner…washed clothes…made well-check visits and one sick appointment for my oldest who deals with chronic sinus infections.

And I was nearing the end of my “shift” I guess you could say…though we can all attest that a mom’s work is never done.

And just when I needed him most, my husband came home.

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How to Be the Mom Your Strong-Willed Child Needs You to Be

I can clearly remember the day.

When this beautiful, brown-eyed, curly-haired child – simply bursting with personality – walked into our home.

As if she owned the place.

I think she might have been all of four-years-old, but that didn’t seem to matter much. At least not to her.

Normally, such behavior would have greatly bothered me. But not this time. To be candid, I was charmed by the child.

But, oh, did this little girl dominate the room the moment she entered it.

My husband observed her for a mere few minutes before quietly pronouncing that she could “probably run a small country by the time she was ten.”

And he was right.

She could have done it.

After Miss President-of-a-Small Country had run outside to play, I turned to my friend – the mother of said child – and asked how she did it. How she managed to be the mom of such a powerhouse.

And I’ll never forget her reply.

“I am the brick-wall in Anna’s life.”

An answer which puzzled me.

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Ever Wonder When God is Going to Grant Your Heart’s Desire?

Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. —Psalm 37:4

I just love how God works.

Well okay, not always, because sometimes I just don’t get it.

But when I get to see some of His methods, or when I understand more after being in the dark for a while, it’s amazing!

Like you, I’ve gone through seasons—some during childhood, some more recently—of believing this verse would be so much greater if it read, “He will give you the desires of your heart.”

We want what we want. (Well, I do anyway.)

But there’s such a crucial phrase that comes before that section of the verse, and it makes all the difference.

Delight yourself in the Lord…

In my childish and cynical moments, I’m frustrated by that phrase. I mean, if it has to be there, then it kind of nullifies the rest, right? I’m not really going to get the desires of my heart, because if I delight myself in God, then I’m probably not going to want, need, or get the earthly jackpot I’ve been craving.

Continue reading Ever Wonder When God is Going to Grant Your Heart’s Desire? at Club31Women.com

3 Things to Help Nourish A Strong Healthy Marriage

We have a little farm in the Shenandoah Mountains of Virginia.

When we first got our farm we inherited a wonderful, well-cultivated patch of red raspberries that produced amazing fruit every July and October.

At the time we had five children ages 2 to 9 and one of our favorite joys was picking bowls of raspberries.   We made jams, pies, raspberry ice cream, and raspberry pancakes all while covered with raspberry juice dripping down our chins!

In those early years, we were careful to weed the patch regularly.  We took care to nurture the plants and to protect them.  We were intentional because we knew it was necessary to produce the delicious fruit.

However, over the years life got busy.

Kids activities increased, and we just didn’t have the time to nurture our patch.

Slowly the honeysuckle began to creep in and choke out our berries.  At first, we didn’t notice -it was subtle.

I kept thinking; ’I’ll get back to my raspberries when life calms down.

But life didn’t calm down and the day finally came when the patch was so strangled by weeds that we had to plow it down.

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Do You Know How to Become A Better Woman?

“Do you see the cars?” he said to me.

“I see them,” I said.

We were pulling away from John Wayne Airport, for a dream vacation in sunny California. It was Matt’s sabbatical year as a pastor, and our generous church made it possible for us to leave cold and cloudy Montana and take the kids to the land of sunny beaches and Disneyland.

We should have noticed the palm trees first and the warm air, but instead we saw clean cars.

In Montana, we have muck –an unending season of slushy, melting snow combined with dirt churned into it by studded snow tires. There are car washes everywhere, but they are futile efforts at cleanliness that provide only minutes of spotless satisfaction.

But there are clean places.

There are places where the sun shines and where car owners can keep a vehicle shiny for weeks at a time. A place where a woman doesn’t have to be careful not to brush up against the filthy car when she gets groceries out of the trunk.

We exchanged wistful glances–this Montana man and I–as we thought about what it would be like to live in such a place.

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Home At Last: Saying Goodbye to Mom

I could see her from my kitchen window.

Fuzzy, pink slippers in hand.

Marching down our gravel driveway as if her life depended on it.

I ran out the sliding door to catch up with her.

Um, Mom, where are you going?

“I’m heading home. Where do think I’m going?” She snapped at me.

We’ve had this same conversation so many times over the past few years that I’ve lost count.

“But, Mom, you are home. This is where you live, remember? With us.”

And that’s the answer that made her good and mad.

A Determined Lady

Our daughter Vienna could see the situation escalating and ran out to see if she could help.

Because Grandma wasn’t exactly the stereotypical “sweet little old lady.”

This woman was a pioneer, and she was surprisingly tough.

She was a fighter too and wouldn’t budge when she believed something was wrong.

And she wasn’t buying the “this-is-where-you-live” and “this-is-your-home” stuff, and she wasn’t going back without a fight.

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3 Good Reasons It’s Worth the Trouble to Teach Your Child Good Manners

You’re wondering why I even bother?

Sometimes I wonder myself. It takes so much time, effort, and endless repeating.

Frustration. 

So I was talking with our oldest son not too long ago. He’s grown-up, gone, and away at college.

And here’s what he told me over the phone . . . 

“Thank you (ha! Did you hear that?). I never really understood why all the fuss about good manners. But you know, now that I’m out in the world . . . ? Well, I’m really glad you stuck with it. Because it’s come in handy out here.

I never realized how a simple “please” and “thank you” and looking someone straight in the eyes would go so far. But mom, it’s helped me with my relationships, with getting a job, and just getting around.“

Whew. All that trouble actually paid off!

All those multiple reminders and promptings.

Sometimes bordering on downright nagging.

It helped.

And he thanked me for it.

What d’ya know?  It’s worth the trouble—more than worth it!

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Giveaway Extravaganza – A Big Celebration at Club31Women

extravaganza

noun ex·trav·a·gan·za \ik-ˌstra-və-ˈgan-zə\

: a very large and exciting show or event

Don’t you just love that word? It just sounds so incredibly extra, if you know what I mean?

Exceptional and extraordinary and, well,  extra everything.

So when I thought about how we should celebrate the “new look” here at Club31Women (isn’t it tremendously fresh and pretty, though?), I figured we might as well go BIG and make it a real party!

With lots of prizes.

And lots of winners.

So that’s exactly what we’re doing – all of us here at Club31Women – and with special thanks to our good friends and wonderful sponsors. We’ve gathered together and come up with a fantastic list of 12 (twelve!) prizes for 12 winners! 

This is our way of thanking you for being such lovely readers and a beautiful community of women. It’s possible that I’m a bit biased – but I honestly think you’re one of the most thoughtful and kind group of women that I’ve ever met online.

So, friends, let the celebration begin!

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Hope for When Family Relationships Are Hard

Mom, why does water fall as drops?  Why doesn’t the air pressure change the shape into something else . . . or break the shape apart?

It’s not even 8 am and my 10-year-old is asking me to unearth knowledge from the dark and dusty places in my brain, pull out something from a high school science class that I may or may not have been paying attention in.

My mind shuffles fast – something about molecules.  Or was it atoms?  Uh, let’s see, two parts hydrogen, one part oxygen.  It quickly becomes clear that I am not going to be capable of faking a scientific answer that is half way intelligent without pulling out a book…or Google.

So, for the time being, I throw out the only truth I am certain of.

“Basically, buddy, the forces attracting those water particles have to be stronger than the forces that are pushing against them, or pulling them apart.”

While he sat pondering for a minute, my mind drifted to a conversation just a few days prior.  A friend struggling with in-law relationships.  Misunderstandings, distance, harsh words, little grace.

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Reassurance for Those Who Are Wondering If God Is Still At Work

His ways are so unpredictable.

So “past finding out.”

Yet, somehow, because He is the all-powerful, loving, holy God that His Word says He is, His ways are always right.

This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.  ~ Psalm 18:30

We cringe at that thought, sometimes, don’t we? Often these ways feel too painful, mysterious, and hard. Some of His “perfect ways” involve leaving us in the dark. He’s at work, yet chooses not to reveal His plans to us.

Maybe you’re there? Needing reassurance that He’s still working and it won’t be like this forever?

I’ve been there too. I spent years without answers but can also testify to God’s faithfulness when I just couldn’t see or understand.

God knew from the beginning, how He would answer almost a decade of prayers for my children’s adoptions to be completed, yet He allowed my husband and me to wait, toil, and wonder in the dark.

At one point, we were forced to evacuate our home in the country of Haiti for a month during a political coup, unable—due to government corruption— to bring our three young Haitian children along.

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