Pretty Efficiency

Do I know how to make cookies?  Of course.  But that's not all they teach you in four years of college-level Home Ec (despite what many people assume).  They also teach efficiency, time management, money management, and tricks of the Home Manager's trade.  I love being able to contribute to food events at our church whether showers, meals, receptions, Sunday school snacks, or whatever.  But life gets busy, and it certainly isn't practical ALL the time to try and fit in a home-baked item.  Does that mean I have to say no?  Does that mean I have to buy something from the store and plunk it on the table to say "There, I contributed"?  No to both!  So here's my little, simple trick of the trade: Buy something and just arrange it on your own dishes!  Time is valuable, sometimes more so than dollars.  And service to others is priceless as it is commanded in Scripture.  Don't put value on dollars more than time and people.  Sometimes, it's worth it to spend a bit more to be able to contribute but in a way that looks nice and blesses people.

Three specific examples of what I've done:

1) I LOVE potato salad.  But it can be time consuming.  And Safeway makes the best Southern potato salad ever!  So I have been known several times to buy Safeway's potato salad and make it pretty in one of my white bowls for baby and wedding showers.  No one knows any different because it fits right in with the pretty table decor!

2) I know that April is going to be a crazy month for my family, but I also gave Hubz "12 Pies for 12 Months" for Christmas.  That means he gets a pie even if it's a busy month for us.  When you do the cost breakdown for a lemon meringue pie, it's pennies more to just buy one and A LOT less time (and hassle...have you ever tried to make meringue perfectly? UGH!).  So I flat out bought him a bakery lemon meringue pie.  He's happy as a lark, and I saved us a couple (or more) hours of time.

3) I signed up for Sunday School snack last month -- and it happened that no one in my family went to church that day.  Thankfully, we live super close to a Safeway and even closer to another family in our church.  Thanks to a great sale, I got 100 cookies for $10.00 that morning.  Slap those cookies in a couple dishes for the "pretty" factor, deliver to said neighbor to be taken to church, and the rest of my morning was spent caring for our sick kiddos and just resting as a family.  Bonus: our Sunday school has way fewer than 100 people... so we had cookies for a week!  GOOD cookies!

Disclaimer:  If you find yourself in a financial situation in which you really shouldn't purchase something, then don't.  Family comes first, and no extraneous purchase should jeopardize your family's needs.  If you have more time and less money, then home-made goods tend to be cheaper.  But not always -- so be careful!

Learning to Let Go

Sometimes, as the managers of your home, the Lord throws you a curve ball.  Sometimes you see it coming, and sometimes you don't.  Sometimes you think you know how certain things are going to work out..... then they don't.  For me, this started on November 1, 2011.

We had taken my Belle (my youngest daughter) to college in August and had gotten into a good routine.  The house stayed nice and neat.  Life was good.  Then I had surgery on my ankle, November 1.  It went well with no problems, no complications.  I knew I would be on crutches and knew I would be non-weight bearing for a while.  That is what I knew in my head, but I sometimes wonder if I truly comprehended it.  After surgery, I was on crutches and non-weight bearing for three weeks.  Then I was put in a walking cast for three and a half weeks.  After that, a walking boot/air cast for a couple weeks. Let me tell you -- not much gets done or can be done in those conditions.  The first week wasn't bad.  I had my mom here to help.  From the second week on, the Lord had some lessons for me to learn.

Learning to Let Go, Lesson 1:  Let go of your pride, and let your husband and others serve you.  Sounds kind of funny to say it out loud (or type, as the case may be). This was so hard for me.  In our culture we so often hear women bad mouth men because they don't meet the needs of women.  Women long for men to serve them and meet their every need.  Well, here I was with My Honey wanting to serve me and take care of my needs.... real needs, like food for the day since I was home alone all day.  Like helping me bathe, dress, and making sure I had clothes to wear. He would make sure I had all the medicine I needed for the day before he left for work. I was so prideful in my heart.  I hope I came across as grateful to him; but in my heart, it was hard to have him serve me.  It was hard to ask him to get me this or that or to do this or that for me.  It was hard to have him doing "my jobs."  Which leads to learning to...

Learning to Let Go, Lesson 2:  I do my home responsibilities in a particular way.  Guess what!  My dear, sweet husband did not do "my" home responsibilities my way.  He cleaned the kitchen, but a clean kitchen to him wasn't what I do or prefer.  He did the laundry, but he didn't do it my way.... no clothes hung to dry?  Are you kidding me??  The house wasn't nice and neat the way it was before surgery. Nothing dusted, nothing vacuumed.  It was driving me crazy.  Then God.  :)  By His grace, He began to show me that even though My Honey didn't do things the way I would do (or even do the things I do period), the things that needed to be done were getting done.  God also showed me that my way isn't the only way.  He helped me see the depths of the pride in my heart to think my way was the only or the best way.  Slowly, I began to see the pride and repent of it.  I began to really be grateful for My Honey's sweet service to me.  As I have gotten further away from surgery and am becoming more mobile, I have learned that it is his joy to serve me.  I was able to tell him last night how treasured I feel because he still holds tightly to my arm or hand as I walk down a set of stairs or an incline wherever we may be walking (those are the hardest spots for me right now).  I am not perfect in this yet.  I still struggle with letting My Honey do things; but I am learning, by God's grace, to stop and remind myself it is his joy to serve me.  Just as Christ served His Bride.