The call to simplify has intensified with each pregnancy and birth.  Perhaps it’s because, with each pregnancy I gain a better understanding of how inapt I am – I can do nothing without Him.  He calls me to a simplicity that helps me to embrace my weakness and depend on His strength.  It’s a spiritual and physical simplicity.

My prayer life is far from glamorous or saint worthy.  It’s merely what I can do, when I an do it, with enough sacrifice that causes discomfort but does not have me stray from my vocation – a wife and pregnant mama homeschooling and nurturing five blessings.  I give thanks to God for leading me here since this hasn’t always been the case.  I trust that a new season will come my way soon enough, His grace will lead me through anything that is asked of me.  I seek to find peace and joy in the moment before me, the present. 

We call races and generations Houses; and the Hebrews were wont to speak of the birth of children as “the building up of the house;” as it is written of the Jewish midwives in Egypt, that the Lord “made them houses;”  Exod. i. 21. whereby we learn that a good house is not reared so much by the accumulation of worldly goods, as by the bringing up of children in the ways of holiness and of God; and to this end no labour or trouble must be spared, for children are the crown of their parents.

~ St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life (3.38)

My material life is less clear for me.  I have a prompting and charism that I am drawn to but I am always in need of direction from my husband and spiritual director since I have the tendency to be too austere for family life with little ones.  Below are some of the areas that I am currently working on.

• Frugal Living
• no superfluous spending – always discerning a purchase from a need or want
• up-cycle household items or free items
• thrift store shopping & craigslist bargains
• ie; dressed the whole family at Easter for $38!!
• never buy anything full price if a new item is, in fact, needed
• homemade goods
• homemade shampoo
• homemade toothpaste
• homemade laundry soap
• homemade condiments
• homemade cleaners
• Clean Eating
• no processed foods
• no gluten
• Schedule
• daily schedule that revolves around prayer and the liturgical calendar – not academics and social calendar
• Mass, parish functions, take precedence
• extracurriculars are extremely limited
• dinner most be together as a family (perfereably at home)
• NO SUNDAY activities
• all liturgical celebrations take precedent over any worldly activity, “PERIOD”
• No money, no activity.  We don’t break our budget or call on mammon to provide for our wants.  We trust that God will provide for what He wills for us.
• most extracurriculars have been replaced with an activity that can be done as a family
• Dad’s work is flexible
• allowing Him to be head of the household in a physical and spiritual sense.
• always set time to serve the Church through our parish as well as  time to help a sister or brother in Christ
• Minimalist living
• less stuff for me, means more room for Him and those that He has put before me
• major purge is always taking place in my home
• so much so that I have caught my two year old playing “…like mama” with a black garbage bag and all his toys. 
• the house is fully furnished but I remember the time when we moved into a new home with only one sofa and a dining set with four chairs.  we often sat on the floor and had more room to roam in 1600sf than we ever had in 3200sf. 
• we’ve gradually downsized our living out of necessity and desire.  we continue to downsize.
• we’re scaling down our wardrobes and not storing quit as much for the different season.

I am far from my goal but I remain steadfast in my journey, praying that it lead my family home and be done all for His glory.

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We all are inadequate to live the heroism of life in Christ, but God’s grace is sufficient to make His power perfect in us in our weakness ~2 Cor 12:9

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This is day 7 of my pregnancy reflections. I realize that I am a few days behind, four days to be exact.  I’m trying to own it and fight the urge to account my absence to placenta brain our sleep deprivation. 

You can find the other posts of my 31 Days here.