faith – Seasonallymack

Blessing Hour

*Pro Tip: Fresh flowers weekly to bring a little joy to your table.*

Recently in our home we began practicing “blessing hour”. I noticed other women and homemakers practicing this within their home and although I never saw a full explanation of what blessing hour actually was, I was able to take a good guess based off of the content I saw. Moms and kids blasting worship and picking up before their Dad came home from work. Homeschool families jamming out while tidying up or doing chores before they jumped into their day. In the end, the goal was clear: set aside some time to care for your home (in other words, bless it).

In the past, cleaning our home with a toddler and two full-time working parents looked like keeping up with the basics when it was absolutely necessary or binge-stress-cleaning an hour before company was to arrive. As you can imagine, and maybe even relate, this did not fare well for us. It often led to tension or arguments directly before company arrived- definitely not ideal!! In addition, for me as the keeper of our home, this often meant weekends were spent checking off the to-do list. I spent Friday and Saturdays cleaning the house and catching up on the week’s tasks while Sunday was for church and grocery shopping. I never felt like there was time to rest.

This system was simply not blessing our family, so when I started my maternity leave with James we decided to give blessing hour a go. Partially this was due to my husband being aware of my mental health postpartum. He knows there are two things that make me crazy- a cluttered kitchen and dirty floors.

I explained my idea of blessing hour to him and before we knew it we were tag teaming our house with our newborn in the wrap and our two year old working right beside us. We blast worship and divvy up the work. Roman, our oldest, assists however he can and has since gotten his own toddler-size cleaning supply set. Sometimes he even asks for blessing hour!

Do we always do it for an hour? Definitely not. Like I said we have a two year old and a newborn at home so let’s be realistic. Sometimes it’s a quick ten minute tidy and sometimes it’s an hour or more. We call for blessing hour as needed throughout the week, but when Thursday and Friday come around we plan for it. This allows us to honor the Sabbath together for the first time ever- without the pressure of being productive! I have finally felt capable of turning my mom brain off, shutting down the to-do list, and resting with my family through Saturday evening.

The rest and peace that has come over our home since starting this has truly been a blessing to us. I pray you find your own “blessing hour” norm and experience that same rest that is so needed in our busy world.

Good, Little Gifts

For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
MATTHEW 7: 8

Before we purchased our first home together and after our wedding we rented a friends home in a nearby neighborhood. It was PERFECT at the time and we were grateful, to say the least, for the provision.

I was so thankful our rental home was provided for us in a time of need, however, I longed for a yard and a garden. I remember sitting on the patio of the house and looking at my 3 potted plants, daydreaming about my future garden. That same year the opportunity came for us to purchase our first home. When we finally found the perfect home and our offer was accepted (which is a whole other story and testimony to God’s goodness), we were excited to fix it up and make it our own.

Home ownership was a new experience for us and there were many things that needed fixing. The previous owners lived in our new home for almost 30 years, and although they did take wonderful care of it, they also did MANY DIY projects on things that perhaps should have been left to the pros. It’s safe to say, a garden was not high on the priority list those first few months.

Spring was coming fast and a garden was nowhere in sight. Wes was working hard on the house and at work, but he vowed to try his best to build me raised beds before summer. I recall being pushy (and perhaps a bit dramatic) with him and explaining that “gardening was a timeline and I needed to sow seeds in the spring if we wanted to harvest any food.” Thank God for my patient husband. I remember praying such silly prayers, or so I thought. God, I really want to grow food for our family. I want to have a hobby outdoors. Please, make a way Lord.

One of the tasks on the house work list was to clean out the area behind the DIY shed the previous homeowners built. The brush was overgrown up to my waist and it was a daunting task. Wes would weed wack and I would scoop up the materials and bag them. There was an immense amount of trash and SOOO MANY BUGS. Slowly but surely we cleared it out and suddenly we came upon the treasure. Underneath all the brush and dirt behind that shed were… surprise… planters. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight… EIGHT. HUGE. POTS. FOR FREE.

You may think that is no big deal but let me tell you… it is. Planters of that size and material are hundreds of dollars. As our household income relies on the salaries of a firefighter and teacher, we don’t have $800 to spend on pots.

Here is where the story gets good. Did I need a garden? No. Did I need to plant my garden in the spring? No. Did I need huge planters when Wes was doing his best to build me raised beds? No.

But God. You guys… These are words straight from the mouth of Jesus. “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be open to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. You parents- if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.” Matthew 7:7-11 NLT.

Some might argue coincidence but I know the truth. God delights in providing for his children. He doesn’t just answer the big stuff. He is kind and selfless, and there have been countless stories like this in my life since I decided to live for Him. Sometimes that looks like, God help me to understand who and where you are in this situation or help me to understand the Gospel the way you intended. The first time it looked like God, I want to know you and be your daughter. I know Jesus died for me so help me to know where to go from here. But many times in our day to day life it looks like my prayer for pots or a place to call home. One thing is for certain. I am blessed beyond measure that I serve a God who delights in hearing and answering his childrens’ prayers.

June 17, 2020July 13, 2020

What to expect with seasonallymack

Before diving into what to expect here you might want to first understand where here is. My about me gives a quick overview of how my life has arrived at this moment in time and I recommend starting there.

When seasonallymack was just an idea I found myself doubting what I would share and who would read it. I began to draft a list of ideas and was surprised when they flowed onto the paper like water. It was clear seasonallymack would not focus on one specific topic, as a saw the many ideas falling into a few overlying themes.

FAITH.

God has changed my life in the most amazing and unexpected way possible. To know Him is to love Him and if I can share just a small piece of that with one person through the life he has given me than I will count it as a victory.

FITNESS.

My faith led me directly into a gym that surrounded me with a community who challenged and encouraged me. Through that place I began to understand the value in challenging myself and stepping outside of my comfort zone and see my body as the blessing it really is.

FOOD.

Then that gym took me down a path that opened my eyes to nutrition. Chains of bad habits were broken and I found freedom in kitchen creativity; creativity that led to recipes loaded with nourishment that I can’t wait to share with you.

FARM.

I use the term farming loosely here because 3 chickens and a family sized garden might be questionable under the term farm but, a girl can dream, right? The blessing of a home fell into our lap in 2018 and through many trials and errors I created a garden that has since blessed us with many meals.

Sharing these experiences in the most limited sense has opened my eyes up to the number of people who share these passions but do not know where to start. I pray that my words create an opening where a toe can be dipped, a heart can be encouraged, and an idea can be shaped into a lifestyle.