Being faithful in the small things sometimes means getting rid of your stuff.

Small things......small children, small projects, small books, small houses, small dreams, and small victories. There are many 'small things' in life that call for our attention, yet may not excite us. While we believe they are worthwhile, essential to life, enjoyable, and necessary, they may not feel as adventurous as the daring dreams we long for.

Today I'm thinking on this phrase 'being faithful in the small things' (taken from Luke 16:10).  It will look different to everyone. To someone learning to read, being faithful in small things will look like continuously practicing smaller books until they are equipped to pull out the larger ones. At times, small children may seem less exciting as we dream of future days of road trips, camping, and board-games with older kids. But unless we are faithful in those small projects, small people, and small dreams, we will never be ready for the big ones ahead of us.

This is my "small things".  Simplifying, minimalizing, cleaning out...call it what you want. I call it 'preparing for our next baby', 'minimizing what's not important so I can maximize my home and time for what has value', and 'preparing for future adventures'.

If you dream of sailing to far off places, 

then you must ready your ship 

so you can pull up anchor at a moments notice. 

Athletes don't just decide to run a marathon. They run around the block, lift the first five pound weight, kick the first ball....everything has a small beginning. One of my favorite phrases from a high school graduation card given to me, says "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time." When I was venting my overwhelmed feelings to my husband and wondering how to tackle each thing on my heart, he reminded me of that phrase.  I can't accomplish the big dreams today. But I can be faithful in the small things. Each day, I can take another 'bite'. I can do this small project, small dream, small step that will eventually lead to the big things I hope for.

(see my happy, clutter free and dusted shelves from today's project?)

Do you ever have those 'zinger' conversations? Where you are talking with someone and 'zing!', their comment hit you right where you needed to hear it? Last night, my husband and I were discussing his methods of cleaning out the laundry room and what to do with the unneeded items in there. He wanted to get rid of a certain item and I said we had to keep it (though we have no current need for it) and then he said it.....'We have to be faithful in the small things. If you ever expect to get another place, then we need to be faithful with the house we have. There, that's a word from God for you!".  I couldn't argue with that. Indeed, that very phrase 'faithful in the small things' had been whispered to my heart at least a month before.


If my dreams of having a place where I can garden at my own house were to be fulfilled, then I must be faithful to be a good steward of my current home.  If my dreams of creative, thoughtful, and 'self-motivated to learn' children will happen, then I must invest the time now to cultivate those characteristics.

How about you? What are your little things (that may not seem exciting) that you need to be faithful in? What 'bites' of the elephant do you need to take? Leave a comment to share! I'd be interested in hearing!

Having a clean home and a clean heart

How do you find the balance between keeping your life under control and keeping your heart in check? In her book, Having a Martha Home the Mary Way, Sarah Mae gives daily assignments for your heart and your home.  It's so easy to feel overwhelmed and to not know where to start when you survey your closets and secret stashes of things you can't bear to part with, but don't know what to do with. 

One of my favorite phrases is, 'How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.'  In her book, Sarah attacks the elephant mess of your house and breaks it apart into 31 bite size pieces.  Each day, she provides a devotional reading dealing with areas of contentment, priorities, motivation, and developing a vision for your home.   She ends each chapter with an assignment for the day such as cleaning out the kids' closets, washing all the floors, emptying out the junk drawer, etc.  

The things I loved about this book were how she broke it down into small steps, and how she balanced house work with heart work.  From experience, it's easy to write a to do list, and know what rooms need help, then feel overwhelmed in knowing where to start. I've heard of people doing book clubs with this book, to keep each other accountable in finishing each day's assignment.   It's also easy to get caught up in doing, and miss Jesus' invitation to join Him in his vision for our home and life. 

To be honest, in this season of life with a 1 year old, a puppy, and expecting our next, I couldn't keep up with the assignments.  The layout won't fit everyone's season of life.  For some, it may be better to do two chapters a week, instead of one a day.  I chose to read it for the main ideas, instead of following the game plan. More important to me were the major concepts of: just do something/start somewhere (don't sit there), don't keep it all, determine your main priorities, have a vision for your home, be intentional, and ask Jesus for help. 

I received a complementary copy of the book from Tyndale House for review purposes.