Pinterest and Covetousness. Finding the line and fleeing it.

I realized this week that my interest in Pinterest has become... deadly. Josh recently had  a job offer at a company in the States that would mean a lot more money coming in our doors, but it was contingent on some things happening. I like the sinful person I am heard "More money, lookit what we could GET!" And within minutes I was on Pinterest, pinning to my dream home board, dreaming of the beautiful house we could buy or build. And then the job(We're pretty sure), fell through. And I was crushed that all those beautiful ideas on my board would never happen, and in that moment I was SO convicted. Somewhere along the way, probably at that first pin, my mind turned from being content where I'm at, in the beautiful house God made happen, with my wonderful family... to wanting more. 

I think Pinterest as a whole really encourages this. I have to constantly be on guard when looking through the home decor section of that site. Yes, my home is my castle, and I aim to make it the best it can be. But there is a big difference between saying "I'm going to improve my house to make it a better home for my family." And saying "I want my house to be different." Or, "I want something else to be happy." 

God calls you to be content where you are. He set you where you are. In my case, he pulled some pretty crazy strings to make it happen. Feeling unhappy with your life? Look to your father, the more you focus on him... the better your life will be. Because he will change your heart to reflect his. 

Is it wrong to look through Pinterest and see all the wonderful things you can do with your home? Of course not. God calls you to care for your home, and part of that is decorating it. But. There is an awfully thin line between what is possible and what isn't. 

Here are the guards I put up in my own mind while Pinning for my home, or anything else really. 

1. Can I afford it? 

And I don't mean right this minute. But here's a good example. Unless my husband gets a crazy good job, I'm never going to be able to afford the 5 bedroom house I pinned the plans for. Or the beautiful remodelled kitchen. But I afford the pretty paint color I pinned for my current living room, and the curtain coverings for our kids closets instead of  bulky doors with a little saving. 

If you can't afford it, don't look. It's like trying on the $4000 wedding dress when you only have $200 to spend. It's always a bad idea. 

2. Does it fit into my house? 

Can you honestly see it working in your house? And be honest with yourself here ladies. If you have a tiny little entryway closet like I do, and you're pinning these amazing mud room pictures.... it's never gonna happen. So don't even go there. Don't even look. Maybe instead look at how to add nifty hooks onto the side for the kids, and a chalkboard to write up meals or scratch notes for the day instead. Work with what you have! There are so many neat things that can be done with a home without wanting something you don't have the room for. 

3. Can I use it at this point in my life? 

Okay guys, here comes the hard part. I love white. Love it. But wanna know what would happen if I plastered my house in white? My children would destroy it in oh... 3 seconds flat. 4 if I'm really lucky. Me pinning a bunch of pictures of white houses isn't going to do me any good. It's just going to make me discontent with my super easy to clean, hide everything black leather couches. Instead I should plan for where I'm at now. Maybe I can look at that beautiful purple paint, and the patterned grey carpet, both great for hiding stains, or some beautiful leather couches with brightly colored throws and pillows. Easy things to clean. 

Everyone has circumstances in their lives which make some things unattainable right now. Don't look at the things you know aren't attainable. You'll just covet. In 20 years when my kids are grown, we'll revisit white. Right now I'm embracing the leather. 

I think by now, most people have eliminated most things on their wishlists... but there's one more folks! 

4. Does it benefit my family? 

This isn't just a "Well of course it does, it'll make us more organized!" type thing. This is honest at it's hardest ladies. Does it benefit your home to have that chalk board there, or is the chalk dust just one more thing to clean up when you already have a white  board on the fridge? Do you really need new couches when your kids are still potty training? Does it benefit your home to have your kitchen redone, or it really just you saying "But it could be better!" Take a step back and be brutally honest. Does it benefit your family to be spending your energy in this part of your life? Or could that energy be better spent else where? Remember, brutally honest.

Well, those are the steps I take, and honestly, it's helped me a lot. I hope it helps you too.

- Natasha

Blended families: From One Christian to Another

In this day and age, it seems every second family out there is blended in some way. Take my family for example. Samuel is Josh's child from another relationship, and we have a good relationship with Sams biological mother. 

Yet still, people don't know how to deal with us. I find people get awkward, and mumble and look shocked when I say Samuel is going back to his moms. 

Yes everyone, my husband had pre-marital sex, and yes, a child was conceived of it. Yes, I adore my son, and yes, he is my son. Please don't suggest otherwise. 

Sam loves his mom, and is very happy to tell you that he has two families, two homes, and two groups of friends. If you simply ask him, he'll tell you about his life. We do the same here. We're happy to talk about our arrangement with Sams mom, about our living situation, and how we deal with discipline. I find most blended families are the same. 

I think Christians have this idea that with blended families, we have to have a stigma because of the sin that caused our family to have to be blended.

I think this is frankly pretty sad. Families are families. If I didn't tell you, you wouldn't know Sam wasn't mine. I have made a point lately of reaching out to other blended Christian families, because I know that it's hard to deal with the sidelong glances and sometimes outright rudeness.

So this is a challenge to Christians out there. Reach out to a blended family. Learn about them, about how they make it work. Instead of panicing when someone says their child isn't their blood child, smile and say "How you blessed you are!" And mean it. All these people want is to live in victory over their sin, peaceably with their family. Just like you.

- Natasha