keeping up...

Do you ever feel like you are just trying to "keep up with the joneses?" Maybe we all struggle with this at some point in our lives because its part of our nature as women? I don't know, but I do know that it can happen at any stage in life...

like in our early years when your parents won't let you wear make-up, you haven't gotten your first period or you just want so desperately to have the right clothes or to be the right size...

like in your college years when you want to be in a certain sorority or be asked to a certain fraternity's function, to have the right car or yet again the right "going out" clothes...

like in your wedding years when you crave to have the right caterer, band, or bridesmaids dresses that everyone will definitely be able to wear again...

like in your newlywed stage where you have to have the right job, the right zip code, your first dog, a perfectly decorated house or apartment...

like the stage Im in right now where you hear moms talk endlessly about the right baby products, the right baby books, the right feeding, sleeping, disciplining methods, the right preschools and even the best labor story...I mean does it ever stop?

In thinking about this, I was reminded of a decision I made several years ago...I promised myself and my hubby that I wouldn't be spread too thin, that I wanted to be a wife and mom first, that I didn't want to give my best to the community, church, friends, and other various extracurriculars, simply because I wanted them to get the best of me, not the leftovers! You can probably imagine why I made this decision, I came to one of those times in my life when God gently forced me to stop going and going and going and to stop saying yes and learn to say no, to not sign up for everything, to stop the mentality that I can do it all and do it all well. Because frankly you can't, something always suffers...

I didn't think I was a person that typically tried to "keep up with the joneses" but now that I have 2 little men whom I love more than life itself, its hard to not be in the place where you want to provide everything you possibly can for your kids even to the point of ridiculousness :) I mean seriously, they are 2 and 4 months...

So how do we practice contentment? How do we not allow the "keeping up" mentality to invade our thought processes, our lives, our parenting...how do we live like Paul with utter contentment?

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

Philippians 4:8-9

Think on these things -B