Choices

Snickerdoodles

A friend gave me these little jars and I've used them to store my spices in.

Herb-infused kosher salt

Lavender

Sun tea with lemon and fresh peppermint from the garden

Making curtains

Whole wheat crackers (next time I'll roll them thinner)

Love when a meal plan comes together in less than 20 minutes.

This summer has been beautiful - bright sunshine, low humidity and warm temperatures in the 70s or low 80s Fahrenheit. The downside is we are also in a drought. So I am thankful that it rained yesterday and it is supposed to continue through today. The grass is brown so it needs a long drink of water. 

I've been thinking about the whole homemaking subject and how things have shifted throughout the years. Years ago, we made the decision for me to stay home and take care of the children. And while I now have adult children, I'm still working at home. 

Because we are in ministry, I enjoy the freedom that I have to come alongside my husband and work with him. I enjoy being my own boss and setting my own schedule. I've always been entrepreneurial and would rather start my own business or find my own independent ways to make money that allow me to set my own schedule. There is creativity that I  have which wouldn't necessarily be true if I worked in an office. 

My personality is such that I enjoy doing a wide variety of things. I work as district director of our denomination's women's ministry. I hold a variety of roles in our local church. I serve on our district's missions committee and am responsible to coordinate one of our missionary's home assignment in different churches. I design and build websites for a number of nonprofits. I fill in every now and then at a friend's shop. I write. I sew for pleasure and business. And then I assist my son with paperwork for the services he needs as an adult with special needs. 

In between all that I cook, clean, organize, garden and do whatever needs to get done. My days are busy and full and I enjoy every moment of them. If I worked a full time job I do know that most of those things above would not be able to happen. There is an ebb and flow to my weeks so while that looks like a mountain of activity it doesn't all happen every single week. 

This past week was heavy on home activity. All of the pictures above were from things I got done here at the house. I had a couple of Zoom meetings and worked on registration forms for an upcoming retreat, as well as working on Saturday for my friend, but the rest of the time was doing things here.

As women we have a tendency to be highly critical of another's choice. We really need to stop tearing each other down. Sometimes I hear negativity about women who put their children in daycare to work outside the home. And then I hear a disdain for those who choose to stay home. Each choice is what works for a particular family and individual. We don't know all the reasons for that specific decision, but it's not our job to pass judgment on another woman's decision to work or not work.

If you work outside the home, I applaud you for juggling all you do! Some of the best moms I know work full-time jobs and are still wonderful wives and mothers. If you choose to stay home and make that your career, then I applaud you for making that hard choice to make ends meet on one income. 

Let's encourage one another and build one another up, instead of burdening someone else with an opinion that is not  ours to give.