Word of the Year 2021
Hello again! Welcome to a new year… Since I’m basically a bi-annual blogger these days (oops), I figure the New Year is a fitting time to hop back in for a quick statement to the press. I followed the trend a few years back in selecting a “word of the year”, and it has been a truly helpful practice in guiding my devotional studies and personal growth over time. Last year’s word was ABIDE. I will probably continue to dig into that word because it is everywhere in Scripture, and I loved studying it. But I want to pick a new word for a new year, too. After the graces and challenges of 2020 (many of which are ongoing), 2021 is wide open with potential….
She Knows Her Worth
Do you ever start to feel completely crushed by all of your responsibilities? Overwhelmed by the never-ending list of to-dos and repetitive tasks that are necessary to keep a household running smoothly? Suffocated by the wants and needs of all the other people in your life that depend on you, and running out of reserves to keep up with their demands? I’d be willing to bet this is an all-too-familiar feeling for the modern working-mother-homemaker, and it’s one that has been creeping in more often for me lately. The temptation to succumb to a sort of duty paralysis when the weight of responsibility becomes heavy is very hard to resist. When the whining children, demanding clients, hapless husband, and all the other needs start crowding…
Mother’s Day Gifts (to myself)
Mother’s Day is right around the corner, so I wanted to do a post about the things that have been boosting me lately in my motherhood journey. These are gifts that I give myself on a regular basis — not really as rewards, but more just as the simple pleasures of life that help make the day/week more enjoyable. I’m not a big fan of the idea of “self care” since it seems like a servant heart is a lot harder to achieve and therefore needs more attention… but I digress. These items are part of my regular routine and, especially in the post-partum routine, are generally an easy way to help me feel like myself. Wine I don’t consider myself a wine connoisseur, but…
Life Lately…
Life lately has been… different. An adventure, you might say. Or at least that’s how I’ve been trying to look at it. Since the advent of C*vid, various public health restrictions have been re-shaping our social landscape for the last year or so (pretty much since Maeve was born, March 2020). Face masks are more prevalent than sunglasses and businesses everywhere, from restaurants to retail, have been forced to close, some never to reopen. It’s been difficult and frustrating to watch from our home-front view. Our church was closed for a time, the children’s preschool schedule was altered, playgrounds were shut down, and many other activities that we might normally participate in have been placed “on hold”. As a work-at-home mom, many aspects of my…
Maeve’s Naming Story
As with all of our children, it took a little extra time to decide upon Maeve’s name. I guess that’s what happens when you have two opinionated people trying to agree on a title someone will be saddled with for the majority of their life. Admittedly, all of their names have come from compromise, but all ended up being very fitting. Maeve’s name is no different and equally special in its meaning. MAEVE: From an old Irish name Madb (or Medb), “the cause of great joy” or “she who intoxicates.” https://www.babynamesofireland.com/maeve ILA: The Scottish translation is a variant of Aila or Isla meaning “from a strong and resilient place” or “island”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayla_(name) JANE: Of English origin meaning “God is gracious”. https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jane Maeve is one of the girl names Patrick has liked…