Home with Tracy

A few months back I posted on my BIG struggle.  Today I still have the BIG struggle, but unfortunately it is BIGGER. I now weigh more than I did when I was 35 weeks pregnant and delivering my twins. It has been a rough year and unfortunately I tried to deal with it by eating.  I turned to food to comfort me.  Although it would give me a moment of comfort, shortly after I would feel even more miserable than I did before I ate. I have recently been doing a Bible study on the book Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney.  Currently I am in the chapter discussing self-control.  I have also started reading Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food by Lysa Terkeurst. In the book Feminine Appeal the author states "Self-control doesn't just happen...Self-control requires effort.  However, development of this quality is not solely dependent upon us. We cannot acquire this virtue by our own strength.  It is only as we cooperate with the power of the Holy Spirit

It is December 23rd and I still do not have the Christmas shopping done.  To be honest, I really haven't started.  This year I haven't felt like buying Christmas.  I didn't forget a word there, I mean I didn't feel like buying Christmas.  Now don't get me wrong, there will be a couple gifts under the tree for each of our children, but this year I am not going overboard.  I am not stressing over it.  I am not looking for that perfect toy that will make my children happy.  That is, after all, not the happy I want them to achieve this Christmas season. I want my children to see that their joy comes from God.  I want them to see that they have already been given the absolute best present anyone could ever give them.  I want them to know that Jesus is that present. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. Matthew 1:21 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths,

Back in May of this year my husband and I felt God calling me to resign from my job and come home to homeschool our children.  It was a hard transition for me for several reasons.  I didn't want to let go of the job I was doing so I held on to a portion of it and continued to work on a part-time basis.  It was only 2-3 hours a week so I didn't think I was being disobedient.  This past month I realized that I was being disobedient.  God didn't tell me to come home but still do what I wanted to do.  God told me to come home!  I resigned from the part-time position about 2 weeks ago. Since resigning and being FULLY obedient I have felt a peace and joy that I have never felt before.  I am embracing being home.   I have started caring for my husband, my children and my home in a more joyful manner.  I am enjoying my children.  I am embracing the Titus 2:3-5 scripture.  Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to mu

A few years ago while my children were all sitting at the table eating their breakfast and my husband was rushing around trying to get out the door in time for work, I remind my husband that it was trash day.  A few moments after he left I noticed it started pouring down rain.  I mean pouring!  As soon as I noticed the rain, I went to the front window to make sure the trash was at the road.  It wasn't!  Needless to say, I was not happy.  I started grumbling about the rain and the fact that I had just reminded my husband that it was trash day.  As I was grumbling, my oldest child asked me what was wrong.  I told him that I was not happy that I had to go out in the pouring rain and take the trash from the back of the house all the way down the driveway. We really didn't have that long of a driveway, but the way I was talking and the attitude I had you would think it was a mile long. My then 5 year old son, in all of his wisdom and little body full of big faith, looks at me an

As Christmas comes upon us I must admit I begin to cringe. I absolutely love Christmas. I love Christmas music. I love putting up the tree. I love that people seem to be nicer to each other. I love decorations. I love baking and making candies. I love it all. But... as I watch our children grow and I watch what they are learning about Christmas and it's true meaning, that is when I start to cringe. Are we teaching them what God wants them to know about Christmas? Not just with our words, but with our actions. I have struggled the past year with what our children learn about the holidays and why we celebrate each of them. I want our children to be children and have fun. I want them to use their imaginations. I want them to have joy. But what kind of joy are they learning from getting a bunch of presents under a tree? What are they learning about Christmas? What are they learning is the most important aspect of Christmas? If we teach them that Jesus Christ is the reason