Finding the Balance

My home is the “Greenhouse Effect.” With four females and a female dog, imagine how many hormones we nurture. A greenhouse is a controlled environment that nurtures the growth and development of things such as plants, vegetables and fruits. The environment is so controlled on the inside of a greenhouse that there is an impact on the outside surroundings. That impact is usually identified as a greenhouse effect. What this means in our home is that my husband and I make all efforts to provide a safe and nurturing home and familial environment for our children. Our goal is that when the girls transition out into the world on their own, that they will be well equipped to sustain themselves and to also be substantive and productive members of the overall society. We want to instill enough into them while they’re in our bubble that they can be a great asset to those outside our bubble.

In order to create our desired effect, we have to have a set foundation and desires for all children of th…

Beautiful. Kind. Brave. Confident. Attractive. Successful. Happy. Healthy. Joyful. Encouraging. Worthy. Loved. Handsome. Fit. Fulfilled. Positive. Secure. Respected. Nurtured. Articulate. Desirable. Blessed. Which of these adjectives do you use to describe yourself? Social media and some people around us have created an atmosphere where we don’t see many positive things about ourselves. Many of us constantly compare ourselves to others and ultimately resolve that we are not and cannot be many of those things.Be assured, that such thinking is a false reality.

“Let the King be enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your Lord.” - Psalm 45:11 We have already been given the resources to be all of those adjectives listed. The issue we often face is that we don’t believe those things for ourselves, so we spend much of our time pretending to be something or someone which we are not. What’s worse is that we spend too much time pretending to be something we are not meant to be. We have …

“Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.” “Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said.” – Exodus 8:9-10.

Have you ever gone out to run errands and while you were out you couldn’t resist going into the mall. While you were there you saw the perfect pair of shoes or the shirt you’ve been looking for in just the right color. You were tempted to buy them but something inside you said “tomorrow!” So, if you are anything like me, you did go back “tomorrow” to get the item that you passed on the day before. The problem is that by the time you got back to the store, the item was gone. You missed out! What else have you missed out on? We know people who missed out on job offers because they were going to submit the application “tomorrow.” What about the missed opportunity because we chose to follow up “tomorrow?” Let me give you another s…

I don’t know about you but I love my rest!So much so that I hit snooze on my alarm clock at least two times every morning. There is something so nice and peaceful about lying there with no agenda. It’s a great time to be one with your thoughts. Until that alarm buzzer sounds again and finally, we get up.

What does it mean to get up? The first thing that crosses my mind is a change in position. Generally, when we get up, we transition from a lying or sitting position to a standing position. We transition from a state of rest to a state of movement. Something jolts us into action. And we usually get up with a purpose or reason. We get up in the morning so that we can get to work or get the kids off to school. Some of us may get up to spend time with God or to go to gym to workout. We get up in the afternoon because we have a meeting to attend or dinner to cook and eat.There are a number of reasons why we get up. I can’t help but wonder what our deeply rooted motivations are that force us…