Always On Call

“Mothers are always on call, expected to have all the answers and limitless energies. They’re supposed to do everything; it’s taken for granted. How can you be and do everything expected of you? What you need is a habitual sense of the presence of God. Think that Almighty God, who created the stars and keeps the seasons revolving in perfect rhythm, is there in your kitchen, in your bathroom, in the laundry room, in the grocery store. Mothers, be prepared for an arduous struggle. Your calling is impossible without prayer, the comfort and instruction of the Scriptures and fellowship in your church.”

~Elisabeth Elliot

52home

8:29 a.m.

52home

Who Can Measure Motherhood?

"Who can measure the long-term effects of nurturing helpless infants, supervising wandering toddlers, discipling self-willed children, and counseling self-absorbed adolescents? Of family outings planned, traditions built, memories made, books read, songs sung, Scripture taught? That’s why motherhood belongs under the heading, 'Engage the World'; no one shapes generations or fashions cultures more than mothers."

~ Jeff Purswell, Worldliness, (edited by C.J. Mahaney, p. 159).

This Momentary Marriage

Take a few minutes to watch this powerful video from Desiring God:

52home

10:48 a.m. Partners in crime.

52home

“What He Owes to a Godly Mother”

"I am sure that, in my early youth, no teaching ever made such an impression upon my mind as the instruction of my mother; neither can I conceive that, to any child, there can be one who will have such influence over the young heart as the mother who has so tenderly cared for her offspring. A man with a soul so dead as not to be moved by the sacred name of "mother" is creation's blot. Never could it be possible for any man to estimate what he owes to a godly mother. Certainly I have not the powers of speech with which to set forth my valuation of the choice blessing which the Lord bestowed on me in making me the son of one who prayed for me, and prayed with me. How can I ever forget her tearful eye when she warned me to escape from the wrath to come? I thought her lips right eloquent; others might not think so, but they certainly were eloquent to me. How can I ever forget when she bowed her knee, and with her arms about my neck, prayed, "Oh, that my son might live before Thee!" Nor can her frown be effaced from my memory—that solemn, loving frown, when she rebuked my budding iniquities; and her smiles have never faded from my recollections— the beaming of her countenance when she rejoiced to see some good thing in me towards the Lord God of Israel."

~Charles Spurgeon, as quoted in Charles Haddon Spurgeon Autobiography: The Early Years 1834-1860 Volume 1

52home

6:53 p.m. Waiting for customers.

52home

In the Middle of Motherhood

~from the archives, one of Kristin's first posts

Where am I?

I’m in our bedroom, trying to stay awake during morning devotions.
I’m in the kitchen, pouring bowls of Rice Krispies.
I’m in the car, running errands to the soundtrack of my children’s worship cd.
I’m at the mall, and Liam is hitting Owen with his shoe.
I’m in the candy store, endeavoring to buy some peace and quiet.
I’m at the townhouse, unpacking all our stuff from the move.
I’m in the playroom, picking up Legos and army men.
I’m at the changing table, disposing of another stinky diaper.
I’m in the kitchen again, preparing cheese and watermelon for lunch.
I’m on my hands and knees, wiping up Andrew’s spilt milk.
I’m on the bed, catching a nap while the boys sleep.
I’m at the park, running after Liam who is trying to escape.
I’m on the couch, comforting Owen who fell and bumped his head.
I’m in the living room, trying to keep Liam’s dirty feet off the furniture.
I’m back in the playroom, picking up more Legos.
I’m in the kitchen, making dinner.
I’m on the phone, arranging a play-date with another mom.
I’m at eye level with Andrew, correcting him for complaining, and reminding him that he needs a Savior.
I’m in the bathroom, giving three cute boys a bath.
I’m in the boy’s room, reading The Gospel for Children. (I’m thankful it’s for mommies too.)
I’m in bed, wondering how many hours of sleep I’ll get tonight.
I’m in the laundry room, changing wet sheets. It’s 1:00 a.m.

Where am I? I’m in the middle of motherhood.
And there’s no place else I’d rather be!

If you’re in the middle of motherhood, I hope this quote my Mom passed along to me encourages you too.

"A mother…by her planning and industry night and day, by her willfulness of love, by her fidelity, she brings up her children. Do not read to me the campaigns of Caesar and tell me nothing about Napoleon’s wonderful exploits.  For I tell you that, as God and the angels look down upon the silent history of that woman’s administration, and upon those men-building processes which went on in her heart and mind through a score of years;—nothing exterior, no outward development of kingdoms, no empire-building, can compare with what mother has done.  Nothing can compare in beauty, and wonder, and admirableness, and divinity itself, to the silent work in obscure dwellings of faithful women bringing their children to honor and virtue and piety."  Henry Ward Beecher

Gene Fedele, ed. Golden Thoughts of Mother, Home & Heaven , (Gainesville, FL: Bridge-Logos, 2003), pp.75-76.

52home

2:31 p.m.

52home

Music and Photography

As many of you know, if we ever have to review music here on girltalk, my husband Mike is our guy. He is a talented musician (yes, I'm biased) and what photography is to me, music is to him. Mike and I love to talk to each other about music and photography. Most of the time we don't even understand each other. He lets me go on and on about f-stops and shutter speeds and I stare blissfully into his eyes while he tells me about drum beats and vocal range. But you know what? I have come to enjoy music so much more. (I even had a conversation about music with my dentist recently!) And Mike actually likes to go shooting with me.

This post is going somewhere. Sovereign Grace Music just released a new album and so we called on Mike to give us and you the inside scoop. And well, it's like we invited you to listen in on one of our little conversations. I haven't got a clue as to what an "ambient guitar bed" sounds like, but after reading his review, I'm gonna go press play on that album again. Gotta be ready for my next trip to the dentist.

Timeless truth calls for songs that stand the test of time.  “From Age to Age” is Sovereign Grace Music’s latest 14 song album filled with theologically rich lyrics, as we’ve come to expect from Bob Kauflin and Sovereign Grace Music, coupled with an updated indie-hipster sound, sung with a soulful edge.  Ambient guitar beds, creative percussive arrangements, banjos, xylophones and trumpets all come together to create this distinct sound entirely recorded “in house” at the Sovereign Grace Studio.  But don’t just take my word for it, listen for yourself and let us know that you think. Consider the newly arranged classic, “O My Soul, Arise” or “How Great You Are” sung by guest vocalist, Brooks Ritter to get a feel for the album before permanently adding it to your iPod playlist.
 
You can sample the entire album on the cool new Sovereign Grace website, and sample/download the album from iTunes ($9.99), Amazon ($7.99), or Bandcamp ($9.00). As always, you can buy a physical copy of “From Age to Age” from the Sovereign Grace Store.  And yes, free charts, lead sheets, and piano scores are coming soon so you can play these songs yourself at home or congregationally at your church.

52home

3:42 p.m. More training needed.

52home

Mother’s Day and Toilet Paper

First of all, a reminder: You have a little over 24 hours to take advantage of the 52home sale. At midnight on Wednesday the "MOM" coupon code will expire and you will no longer be able to get 25 percent off an order for your mom. So hurry on over there!

And we couldn't resist--we just had to choose one more person to be runner-up in our "Pick One Spot" contest! So congratulations Rachel! You win a $50 gift certificate to any home store of your choice. Here's what Rachel had to say about her once messy spot:

I chose our “storage room.”  It’s intended to be “usable storage” but things were so bad in there that I didn’t even know what we had and certainly couldn’t get to anything I might need.  For example, every time I would buy a package of toilet paper (24 rolls no less), I’d toss it on top of the stack nearest the door so that we could get to it.  But when I would go to get some, it would be no where to be found, and I was left wondering how we went through it so fast!  It turns out that the stack I would set the pack on was unsteady enough that invariably the package would fall off to the other side so that I couldn’t see it.  I was surprised at how many packages I found when I started to clean things out! 

Even though our contest is over, consider tackling that spot in your house this week--you never know what you might find!

52home

5:23 p.m.

52home

Pick One Spot Winner!

As my mother-in-law will tell you (and we shared a home for six years, so she would know) there are few things I enjoy more than reorganizing a cluttered spot in my house. But I think it might be even more fun to judge the pick one spot contest--all of the satisfaction one gets out of uncluttered floors and neatly stacked boxes and bins, but none of the work!

Every year, you all make it so difficult to decide a winner, but I think we've found one--congratulations to Jasmine! We'll let her give you a tour of the before and after:

We have a spare room closet that was a junk closet:

Over time the junk closet became a junk room:

But not anymore!

52home at Katie’s Home

5:52 p.m.

52home