This is a section from Elizabeth George’s book A Woman After God’s Own Heart.

Do you know the main reason why we wives don’t submit to our husband? God says it’s fear. We are afraid of what will happen if our husband does things his way instead of our way. Clearly, underneath God’s call to us to submit lies a much deepr, more fundamental call to live a life of faith in Him. “The holy women” of the Bible “who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands,” and we can follow in their steps if we “do good and are not afraid with any terror” (I Peter 3:5-6, emphasis added.)

Faith is the opposite of fear (Mark 4:40), but how does faith fit with submission? It is by faith that you and I believe God works in our life directly through our husband. It is by faith in our sovereign God that we submit to our husband, trusting that God knows his decisions and the end results of those decisions, and trusting that God redeems, if not guides, those decisions. And so it is by faith in God that our fear is dispelled and we gain the strength to submit. As you learn more about submitting to your husband, why not ask God, as the disciples did, to increase your faith (Luke 17:5)? Faith in God gives us the strength to obey and submit to our husband.

Many thanks for the encouraging words, my friends! Asking for help has always been difficult for me – thank you for making it “worth it.” 🙂

The Lord used Amy over at Amy’s Humble Musings in some super practical ways to accomplish quite a lot in my heart/our home in a relatively short amount of time, and I thought I’d share them…

Amy’s “Take a Deep Breath” blog (which thankfully Shawna posted about) prevented me from tearing down the walls and starting over with my truckload of 2×4’s. He used her “Rest for Weary Homeschool Moms” to re-focus my heart and get me on the right track mentally and spiritually. And as I talked Sunday night (rationally, even!) with my programmer hubby, we found her schedule a great jumping-off point for getting into a routine. I’d tried the MOTH thing before, and though I think it is a great tool, it became a master for me, and I pretty much gave up on scheduling because I was such a not nice person while I was using that system.

Yesterday and today have found us non-stressfully beginning to work our way into a new routine, one that I think will focus us on our priorities and give us freedom and flexibility. We have a ways to go, and I’m realizing that baby steps are okay. And they’re much better than truckloads of 2×4’s!!

Here are some of the symptoms of estrogen dominance – Breast cancer, Breast tenderness, Cold hands and feet as a symptom of thyroid dysfunction, Decreased sex drive, Depression with anxiety or agitation, Dry eyes, Early onset of menstruation, Endometrial (uterine) cancer, Fat gain – especially around the abdomen, hips and thighs, Fatigue, Fibrocystic breasts, Foggy thinking, Gallbladder disease, Hair Loss, Headaches, Hypoglycemia, Increased blood clotting (increasing risk of strokes), Infertility, Irregular menstrual periods, Irritability, Insomnia, Magnesium deficiency, Memory loss, Mood swings, Osteoporosis, Polycystic ovaries, Premenopausal bone loss, PMS, Sluggish metabolism, Thyroid dysfunction mimicking hypothyroidism, Uterine cancer, Uterine fibroids, Water retention – bloating.

That’s not a complete list, and having a symptom on the list doesn’t necessarily mean you are estrogen dominant, but if several of those symptoms sound way too familiar, I’d go take this simple test! 🙂

If your test results sound like you might be estrogen dominant, my biggest recommendation is to invest some time reading Dr. John Lee MD’s books and/or his website. The book that I read from and found helpful was What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About PREmenopause. Why that one? Because at 32, I was so estrogen dominant that I was going into premenopause! I found the book quickly at my library. It’s like a fire hydrant of information, but you can digest what seems most important for you. There are bucketloads of information on the website as well.

If you are estrogen dominant, the thing I don’t recommend is running out and getting a prescription for progestin. Prescription hormones are slightly different than what your body produces on its own. They have to be, because you can’t get a patent (read: more money) for something that is exactly like it is found in nature. However, there are companies who make progesterone that is bio-identical – its chemical makeup is identical to what is found in your body naturally. I don’t know all the benefits of having something identical to what your body makes, but it seems logical to me that using something that matches exactly would be better (and more effective) than using something that has been “tweaked” for the sake of a patent. I haven’t done much research on it, but after a quick look around, I see that HRT has been linked in multiple studies to increased risk of breast cancer. I’m not sure if that’s just estrogen HRT or if that includes the use of prescription progestin as well. I’d really encourage you to research the subject. Especially considering what the prescription Premarin comes from – Pregant Mare’s Urine. 🙂

Here are some articles from Dr Lee’s site that I think would be helpful and informative:

(prescription) HRT articles homepage

Main link page for articles about using natural hormones
A great FAQ page about natural (bio-identical) hormones
an interesting looking article by Dr. Lee about natural hormone therapy

I think it’s important to know that Dr Lee did not have his own prog. cream company, nor did he make money from any prog. cream company. From all I’ve been able to find, he was simply someone committed to honest research and truly healthful solutions. There is an extensive list of companies that make quality bio-identical progesterone cream here I think these are all companies who make creams without parabens and without mineral oils, both of which are ingredients which have an estrogenic effect (something I surely didn’t want when already estrogen dominant!).

Disclaimer – I realize that it’s been a long time since I’ve blogged, and I didn’t plan for my first blog in two weeks to be like this one…

I was thinking that we had discovered the thing that was really going to work for us with homeschooling. And in the last couple of days, I’ve found out that it’s not working like I thought it was. I feel so incredibly discouraged, and thoughts of giving up are flooding my head.

Then I think about the alternatives. And I know that I can’t give up. But, quite honestly, I feel like an utter failure as a homeschool mom right now.

The whole balance thing is seeming to ellude me. I’m a help meet, a homemaker, a mom to six wonderful in-arms Blessings, growing another Blessing inside, a homeschooling mom, a vital part of our home-based business, part of our local body of believers, an advocate for healthy birth options in Missouri… and I’m not sure I’m getting a “passing grade” in any of it right now.

I’m headed over to re-read the post by Amy Scott that I read yesterday (before I really started to need it). Maybe that’s why the Lord led me to it yesterday (thanks, Shawna!), so that it could be brought to mind today.

Anyhoo… do any of you ever get totally discouraged about this journey we’re on, or is it just me?

Any helpful words of wisdom?

I was once again thrilled to hear the owner and coach of the Colts give glory where it was due today. I loved it that when asked about the “social significance” of his victory in the presentation ceremony, Coach Dungy, while acknowledging the honor of being the first black head coach to win the Super Bowl, made a point of stating that to both he and coach Lovie Smith, what’s even more important that they are Christian coaches, and have been able to show that you can do it “the Lord’s way.”

Here’s a message passed on by Michael W. Smith on his Shoutlife page, from Coaches Dungy and Smith:

On Sunday, one of us will be a world champion. We may have reached the ultimate goal for a football coach, but we know that there is more to life than football. Even when you have achieved the ultimate, someting better lies beyond.

As pro football coaches, we are also men of faith. Our faith drives us every day to seek excelle4nce. It comforts us in the worst of times and produces hope in adversity. It is through our common faith in Jesus Christ that we have individually experienced God’s love and forgiveness.

We would love to tell you more. Visit http://www.beyondtheultimate.org/, and discover how you can live “BEYOND” the ultimate.

Signed By: Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith

“A personal relationship with Jesus Christ is the only way I’ve found true peace, joy and forgiveness.” – Tony Dungy

“At a young age, I called on God to help me. I have leaned on him ever since.” – Lovie Smith

This site is really wonderful!! Even if you’re not a football fan, I’d encourage you to check it out. What a neat testimony to God’s grace!

I’m working this week on getting our bar-height office counter cleaned off so that we can lower it this weekend to desk height. We’ve needed more room in our office for quite a while, but with my belly growing, it’s becoming a dire situation! lol

So yesterday, I finished cleaning off the counter – a major accomplishment, that. Now I’m working on making room in our big filing cabinet for the contents of filing cabinet drawer from our big school teacher desk, which takes up way too much room in here. I’m hoping to move that out this weekend as well, and since I got the counter clean earlier than I expected, I’m working on other things in the office that will enable us to make better use of our space.

I indulge in HGTV when I have the chance, and the Blessings have watched their share of Mission Organization, one of my favorites. A couple weeks ago, they were working in someone’s office, and Davey says, “Mom, maybe you need to have them come and do *your* office!” Oh, yes, in my dreams! 🙂

I’ve realized that I just don’t have a spot for everything that needs one, and I’m working on figuring out how I can fix that. The combination of a home office/busines office/homeschool office is just a high demand for a space. Any ideas would be met with great appreciation!

Here is a terrific article about Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith, the two head coaches who are taking their teams to the Super Bowl. I’m so glad someone’s talking about what really distinguishes these gentlemen… and it’s not their skin color! Take a look. 🙂

In the search for my maternity clothes, hubby and I found a box last night that had my old “skinny” clothes in it… clothes from back in the days when I thought I was chubby, lol. I’d given away most of my clothes from back then, but these were things that I just couldn’t let go.

Well, today I finally put most of the rest of them in a bag to take to Agape House (a resale shop close by that supports a ministry to unwed mothers). Other things I had to just go ahead and toss.

So all this got me thinking…

I remember my midwife chuckling during a prenatal with my first baby. When I asked her why, she said, “You know, your tummy’s never going to be this tight again.” I was, in my youthful, idealogical state, slightly offended by such an assumption.

Well, several years ago, before I got pregnant with our 6th baby, I got back down to the weight I was when we got married. Yay for me!! Out came the skinny clothes I’d been hanging on to! And guess what? They didn’t fit. At first, I was sooo dissapointed. Then I realized something…

No matter how well-conditioned I am, my body is not going to return to the shape that it was before having (as of this coming summer) 7 bundles of Blessing. And you know what? That’s okay! What matters is that I do my best to take care of my body, because it is the temple of the Lord. In many ways, my body, though different, is in much better condition than it was before I had children. I want to strive to continue to improve my physical condition.

Similarly, the circumstances that we go through in life change our shape, whether it be our physical shape, our spiritual shape, our emotional shape, whatever. It’s okay that we might not ever be the same. God wants to use all the circumstances in our lives to change our shape to be more like Christ.

What about the things that hurt and scar us? Is the goal to be restored to where we were before the hurtful circumstances entered our lives? I don’t think so… I think the goal is to not waste the pain, but rather to let the Lord use our circumstances to mold and shape us into the image of Christ.

So if you look back on who you were and what you looked like 10 or 20 years ago and don’t like the differences you see, maybe you could reconsider your perspective. If the changes don’t fit with HIS goals for you, He can still salvage them and use them for your good and His glory.

Isn’t God good?!?