Simplified Motherhood Makes things Beautiful, Mama

Tonight we will talk about simplifying our motherhood and how doing so opens up time to spend on the things that matter, mama. 

Transcript

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Do you ever wonder what it would be like to simplify your life just a little bit, Mama? We're gonna talk about that tonight on Midlight. I went on a journey about seven years ago, and I decided I wanted to simplify my life. So I went on what I would call my minimalism journey. And I found a woman named Dawn Madsen who does minimal mom simplification of our lives, and I loved listening to her and watching her videos on YouTube. You should check her out. And through that process of working alongside of YouTube, I was able to pare down our life, develop new systems, create a home that felt lovely and breathable, even though it didn't have a lot of square footage. And I am still benefiting from those decisions today. And I wanted to share a few practical tips with you tonight, mama, about simplification as a mama. Number one, laundry. This was my game changer. I have always had piles of laundry in my life, and now over the last seven years, I don't. In fact, my husband was telling someone yesterday that he thinks I am the best at keeping up on laundry and he doesn't know how I do it. Well I'm gonna tell you how I do it. First of all, I keep minimal wardrobe for my babies, my children, myself, and my husband. I only allow so many items per wardrobe per season. You will decide what's enough for you. For my children, I allow five to seven pairs of outfits, five to seven pairs of underwear, and socks, and three pajamas. This is just the right amount for my children to manage, and so I keep them in baskets in our laundry room. My children do not have clothes in their bedroom. This is a game changer. The container for my clothes in my life is my hangers in my closet. I only have so many, and when they're full, it's done. And if I want to put something new in my closet, I have to take something old out. So I have less laundry to do because I have less clothes to wash. And every day in the morning I start the laundry, I do a load no matter what, and I see it through throughout the day, and I only fold warm laundry, only warm laundry, and I allow myself to think I love it because I pair it with something I enjoy. So I listen to a podcast, or I watch a YouTube, or I listen to music, or I talk to my husband on the phone. I do something that I enjoy, and I pair that with something that may not be very enjoyable. And here's the key, mama. The load is not done until I've put it away. So I make it easy, baskets in the laundry room for children, and my husband and eyes get put away. And that's it. Laundry is never piling up anymore. This concept goes into other areas of my motherhood, my finances, my schedule, my blankets, my sheets, my pillows, items that my children or babies need. I really try to make sure to manage the things that God has given me well, because it goes along with stewardship, which we talked about the other day when we talked about the episode He Owns the Cattle, Mama. That's a good one to go back and listen to. I want to take you to a place in Scripture where Paul is talking in Philippians chapter 4, verses 11 through 12, and he's talking about contentment, and he says, Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And in this verse, we can see that Paul is teaching us that no matter the circumstances, the secret is to be content in every situation. And I wanted to share that with you tonight as we think about simplifying our lives as mamas, because we really do need to find contentment in our heart no matter our situation, because in doing so we will be pleasant mothers. I just wanted to share with you the idea of simplified motherhood today because it has had such a profound effect on my own life as a mom of so many, with lots of hats to wear and things to do, places to go, people to love on. The fact that my home can be simplified makes those things easier. And I will tell you that I can feel it when there's too much stuff creeping back into my house, and it just starts to overwhelm me again, and it feels like there's too much. So I'm in a season of my life still where I believe in the idea of simplifying our lives as mothers so that we can focus on the things that really matter in front of us. And that's our children, that's our husbands, that is the people that God brings to our doorway, and the people we meet when we're out and about, when we have margins and room and simplified lives, it's easier to do the work that God has called us to do. And I want to talk to you just a little bit about Luke chapter 10 and verses 41 through 42, and this is where Jesus comes upon the scene of Mary and Martha, and he sees Mary is willing to just sit at his feet and listen to him, and Martha is very busy in the kitchen trying to prepare food for everybody, and she's getting a little miffed with Mary because Mary's not in there working beside her. We can understand that as mamas. And Jesus says, in this Luke chapter 10, Martha, Martha, the Lord answered, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed, or indeed only one, and Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her. This is a beautiful verse to reflect on because Jesus is basically saying, There's no need to have pressure to do everything, and he points to the better choice of presence over busyness. But when we have too much to do and too many items around us and too many things pulling on us at once, I don't know about you, but that is the perfect recipe for disaster for me as a mama. I will sin if I have too much to do and not enough time. I will struggle to be what is needed as a patient and kind mama. These are some practical things today to think about, mamas. If there is places in your life to simplify, I encourage you to do it. For me, it was the laundry system in my house, and it made all the difference. And with that laundry system, I will say, I do not keep laundry baskets in my house minus the hampers, one for darks, one for lights. And my husband works with oil, so I have his separate in a different basket, but there's no baskets lying around my house to put clothes away because I would be tempted to leave them there. So mama is just like that. You have to remove the things from you that will tempt you to not do things correctly or properly in your life as a mama and as a wife. Find the places where you can cut back a little because breathing room is absolutely beautiful as a busy mama. Tonight, Mamas, I want to leave you with a blessing from number 6, 24 through 26. May the Lord bless you and keep you, make his face to shine upon you, be gracious unto you, and give you peace. Amen. Until next time, mamas, look for ways to simplify your beautiful life. And we will talk again soon. Take care, mamas.