Mid-Week Motivation

Starting Your Day Out Right!

Scripture, Short Devotion

"Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good." ~ 1 Peter 2:2-3

As believers, our beginnings are often very much like our human beginnings. We are young, curious, immature and eager to learn. As we grow into adults, we not only get bigger, we typically become more and more intelligent about the world around us. When we grow in Christ, the same occurs but the pace, well, that is entirely up to us. Every believer begins in much the same way…simple, child-life faith. We digest spiritual milk because the “meat” is just more than we can understand at first.

This first baby-stepping stage is so important and if this is where you are as a new believer, halleluiah! By all means, drink up that spiritual milk! However, for those “not-so-new” believers, what does your spiritual diet look like? Are you still on milk or have you moved on to solids? Are you barely crawling or have you begun to run?

Is Your House in Order?
Cleaning, parenting, marriage, organization tips, etc.

Don’t let the New Year hype trick you into believing that you’ll have your house back in order from the holidays by February. If you’re like me, you may be one who bursts out of the gate on January first, only to find yourself losing steam before spring cleaning even arrives.

I thought we’d stick with the “baby-step” theme and consider starting small before building our way up. Order, like Spiritual maturity, doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process that often starts with something simple. For the FlyLady, it starts with shining your sink. That’s it, just shine your sink…and well, keep it that way. If you can master this one, simple task in the next week, consider your efforts a success!

Afternoon Pick Me Up
Writing inspiration

Want to continue baby-stepping with me this afternoon as we focus on our writing? Of course you do. Now, I know you have an idea floating around in your head for a book, a poem, a screenplay or an article. This is an idea that you have yet to write down. Think about it for a moment. Now, I want you to write a one sentence synopsis of it. Don’t include character names, just a broad summary…in one sentence.

If you take the time to do this, you will baby-step your way into your next writing project – Congratulations!

Source: The Snowflake Method

What's For Dinner?
Quick dinners, crock pots, etc.

I will be completely honest and tell you that I would rather fold laundry than prepare dinner. It’s not my gift and certainly not my passion. Of course, my family needs to eat and “meal preparation” is one of the duties listed in the description of my “day job”.

Fortunately for my family, I discovered freezer cooking last January. We’ve eaten dinner from the freezer most nights since. Now, when I first started freezer cooking…yes, you guessed it…baby-steps were so important! I began with two weeks worth of entrees and stuck to recipes that I knew I could follow (seriously, not a cook here). I used very basic tools and simple ingredients. When I finished that first freezer cooking session, I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to do it again. I was tired and felt completely inadequate in the kitchen. Of course, going several weeks without any major cooking, fewer dishes to wash and an answer to “what’s for dinner”, was enough to convince me to get better at it.

Every session I add to my kitchen tools to make things easier. I also try new things and obviously learn new things. Last January I froze 17 dinners and last October I froze 83. Had I not started with smaller steps, I would have quit before I saw any benefit. I actually enjoy cooking more today than I did a year ago. If you would like to give freezer cooking a try, check out 30DayGourmet.

A Restful Night's Sleep
Scripture for a restful sleep

“Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.” ~ Ps 116:7

The LORD has been good to us indeed. Before you fall to sleep tonight, let this verse permeate your soul. He has been good to you hasn’t He? As you’re drifting off, focus on thanking God. Maybe you had a particularly bad day or perhaps your heart is grieved in some way, those are the times we need to thank Him most. Curl up in the arms of your Heavenly Father and tell Him how great He is. You see, some “baby-steps” we will never outgrow.

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J. Blair Lane, founder of the child-loss support site, A Treasure in Heaven, is passionate about faith, family and writing. A resident of Texas, she travels with her husband of eleven years, Erik, and homeschools their four living children. You can visit her blog at Scribblings by Blair.