How Blogging Helped Me Find My Passion

by Jenny Irvine // November 11, 2015 // 1 Comment

For those of you who have been around this space for awhile you may to may not remember ‘why’ I first started this blog. Remember the day’s of no, and I do me ‘NO” sleep – the days of food sensitive children, sensory issues, and nursing babies.

Some of that hasn’t changed much as we still have food issues although, not nearly what they once were. Praise God! I ‘do’ still have children who wake but, they all sleep in big kid beds now and mommy just snuggles up next to them – gone are the day’s of sleeping vertically on a couch blogging at 2AM. Why do I share this, because years later I am still here – blogging and writing.

It was those very years of blogging and writing to simply ‘pass time’ that have helped me find my passion. I have taught myself skills and worked at a craft I never knew I had any interest in pursuing. Trust me, you can learn a lot about yourself when you are up for 15-20 hours a day – 7 days a week. {By the way I am not encouraging nor advocating you do that.} God got me through those long days and nights – and, truly no one in their right mind would ‘choose’ to do such. I was in survival mode –

It was during those same dark nights and through my 7+ years of (on and off) blogging that I have learned – I love to write and love ministering to others using my words. I have also learned a great deal about technology, HTML codes, graphics, and media. {My middle school computer teacher Mr.Belf would be so incredibly shocked – friends, I could lock a computer like the best of them; and yes, it was the stone ages so, words like “YAHOO” made not an oodle of sense to me.} Most importantly though, through all of this I have learned the desires of our heart, the timing of our days, and the season which we are in are all tiny pieces to a much bigger picture.

The days and nights that were simply spent ‘passing time’ were a piece to a much bigger picture – one I venture to say even I have only seen glimpses of- a picture of a future story left untold.

Tell me, what pieces are being put together for your story?

Hungry for more? Check out How to Grow Your Presence In a Noisy World

Letters to Our Daughters; A Letter Worth Reading

by Jenny Irvine // April 8, 2015 // 6 Comments

It’s been a month since our physical move and yes, I’m slowly making my way back to this space (notice the new URL) . So please pardon the dust as I am doing a bit of ‘blog spring cleaning’.

I’ve wanted to come back to this space and write for sometime but haven’t been able to find the words to do so. My motivation has been low, my attitude has been bad, and well, today is the day I’m finally jumping back into the blogosphere linking up with Brooke over at Bye, Comparison and accepting a little blog ‘challenge’ from my dear friend Crystal – I’m joining these lovelies and writing a letter about worth to my daughters…

Nearly 9 1/2 years ago I quit my job to stay at home with our little bundle of pink cuteness. I still can’t think of anywhere else I would rather have been at that time; other than with her. The days were long but, I was so very blessed. There were diaper changes, walks to the park, cuddles, snuggles, books to be read, and hours upon hours of bonding. I was so in love-

Then, something changed – the ‘norms‘ of today’s society and the cultural expectations of women took a hold of my heart strings. My once felt feelings of bliss quickly turned sour. Although, I was (and still am) so grateful to be home with our baby (quickly followed by babies two, three, and four) it has at times seemed as if my personal worth was deflating with each passing day spent at home.

Sure, the constant juggling act of raising four kids, being a wife, and homeschooling keeps me on my toes but, I still frequently feel the pressure of society to work outside the home; you know, bring in a paycheck, help with finances, have a title, dress up, and ‘be important‘. With all of this said – what is it that measures worth?

Is it the number of diapers changed in a day?

The number of home cooked meals?

A degree earned?

Or is it bringing in a pay check and sitting in a corporate chair?

Isn’t being a Godly wife and mother worth something?

Sure, well meaning friends, family, and total strangers are quick to tell you that staying home is the hardest job on earth or that being a homeschool mom IS a job – but, do they really mean it?

I struggle- everyday! I struggle with the voices in my head telling me what I “should be doing ….” but, are the voices real or simply that of a culture that has gone astray? Who am I? And more importantly who has God made me to become?

I am after all worthy and so are you!

Dear Sweet Girls,

My wish for you in this life is to find the strength within to fight life’s battles – so dear child, choose your battles wisely as there are many along the way.

Dream as big as the mountains and may mankind never hold you back from doing great things for His kingdom – may you always remember to stop often and help others who may have gone astray.

Love deeply, love unconditionally, and ask for forgiveness often.

May your life’s journey be filled with adventure – as your life’s worth will not simply be measured by that which you reap but, rather what you have sewn along the way.

May the works of your hand sew seeds of grace, gratitude, love, respect, integrity, purity, and respect each and every step.

Remember you are loved and your worth is not mearly measured by what you wear, the money you make, nor the sacrifices you have made along the way.

He has made you worthy! You are a child of God!

Your worth is in the journey and the ever lasting mark you will one day leave behind.

Love always, Mommy

Are you a mom who also struggles with staying home? Are you a mom who is trying to run your own home business or juggle the many hats of a working mom? Then stick around – there is a lot more coming from this writing ‘well’.

Behind The Scenes; Parenting Food Sensitive Kids

by Jenny Irvine // May 13, 2014 // No Comments

I sit here another night-another belly ache. What caused it this time? I replay the events of the day. What did he eat? What did she touch? What could possibly be the problem this time?

He lays quiet in my arms but simultaneously fidgets here and there. She lays next to me in bed scratching and ferociously kicking her feet. With an occasional arched back and an out cry of pain from him or a murmur from her. I want to give them comfort, but how? I bounce, pat, swaddle, and sing sweet nothings in their tiny ears.

This is the life of a mother with a child who has various food intolerance’s. You feed them and ‘think‘ your doing it right, but then one wrong move- bam, your back in that dark place. Just you and them. Hoping and praying for answers, cures, relief, and normalcy. What the heck is normal anyways? I seem to have forgotten what that is somewhere between baby one and four.

Life spins by and tomorrow will bring a new slate. The night will ‘cure‘ the problem-while, coffee and Jesus will sustain me through my day. Although, the nights events will continue to haunt me throughout the day-“what did I do?” “What could I have done differently?” The truth is-likely nothing.

Who would have thought-food, the vary thing that fuels our bodies could be such a headache. If we put the wrong gas in our vehicle we’re not going to get vary far-now, are we? Similarly, when we eat processed foods that were never ‘made’ to fuel our bodies in such a fashion we our limiting our capacity to fully live. Our ability to move, function, and process information clearly can all become severely altered as a direct result from our ‘fuel‘ intake.

However, what if your doing it right? You are choosing the ‘right‘ foods, eating a clean, well balanced diet?

Unfortunately, there are a lot of factors to take into account genetics, pollution, nationality, and living conditions just to name a few. We can choose to be healthy, raise healthy families, and hope for the best-but, at the end of the day we are left with just that; hope.

Sitting in a quiet house at night one can’t help but reflect and find hope in all that surrounds them. A chance to live fully, humbly, honestly, and purely. Despite, the cards not always being stacked up the way we might haven envisioned- it’s a ‘full house‘ –full of hope.