How NOT to read this blog, (or any other) and live in freedom Part 1

Sitting down at my computer in the morning, I am excited to see what a couple of my favorite bloggers have going on in their world.

Such loveliness, really......

:: Photographs of beautiful babes in their mama's handknits ::

:: Houses organized so children (and mama's) never have to go around searching for lost pencils, books, and the like ::

:: And, the recipes. Homemade breads that look like they would absolutely melt in your mouth. Pastas, soups, and the list goes on. ::

Most days I am inspired by the hands of these women bloggers. Who not only actually make and DO these things......but they find time to BLOG about it!

Then there are other days. Like one not too long ago.

With one of these wonderful blogs on my mind, I meandered into my kitchen. I looked around at my counters FULL of dirty dishes. I work very hard to provide REAL food for my clan of seven. This takes a dish or two, you might say. Or, possibly more than that.

Needless to say, my heart saw a pile of hard-crusted, baked on foods----withholding any thanks for the nourishing food God had provided for our family, and the health it has given to us.

As I perused the dishes----as if staring at them with a "look" I have been known to give my hubby at times of disagreement, would suddenly cause them to jump into the dishwater themselves and scrub up quickly---I heard a sound in my ears.

Not a sweet sound, mind you; It was the sound of screaming from my angry two year old. The world (or an older sibling most likely), had wronged him again. His world was crashing down, and all he knew to do was balk as loudly as possible in anger.

Be still my soul. Oh, and grab me some Calgon. (Okay, I'm showing my age here.....34 to be exact!)

Now.

As a mama, you probably see where my attitude is headed. In a southernly direction. Not north, west or east.

Straight south.

I have dealt with this attitude in my eldest daughter. You see, for some reason, the female gender seems to have a love/hate relationship with the comparison game.

You know the one.

You play it alone. In your mind.

You say to yourself little quotes such as: "Man, she sure has better skin than I do." --- "How in the world did she have seven babies, and still have hips the size of a nineteen year old ?!?" -----or how about my favorite, "Her life must be perfect, or at least waaaaaaaay better than mine."

I am glad to say I have had to fight these battles less and less over the years, as I've grown in my relationship with the Lord, He has helped me to have victory in a lot of areas. However, I still can get "sucked into" the game at times, and have to pull out the big guns. You know-----oh, did you think this was just a child's game?

No, maam----we've got to pull out the heavy artillery for this battle. Why so? Because when mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy! It will affect our marriage, our children, and of course----our spritual growth.

How do we do this? What does it look like in real life, to live in freedom? And, what in the world is this "heavy artillery" I speak of?

Four ways I fight the battle for joy, and the thoughts I personally struggle with the most, can be found in Part 2 of this series.

Blessings,

Joy~