Something New

After reading several different blogs I was inspired to start my own.  This is something new for me so we'll see how it goes.  My vision for this blog is to share parenting, cooking, crafting, Biblical truths I'm learning, and other life anecdotes.  

As the name of my blog suggests I was raised in two small towns (one until I was 12 and the other until I was out of college).  I love country life so it was a big change to move the the city after graduating college.  Since then I have married a wonderful man (also from a small town) who, alas, loves "being near everything".   This has created a growing experience for me; something, I admit, that has not always been easy.  Thankfully God is teaching me contentment and helping me to realize that it's not where I'm planted but how I grow in that place, that really matters.  

So feel free to stop by anytime. 

Before I close this I will share one "lightbulb" moment that God led me to this week.  It is easy to dwell on what we think our lives "should" be or what our "dream" life would be but God has promised that his plans are for our good.  Many times I've thought "if I only lived in the country then..." most of those "then" statements had to do with how my home would be run.  Crafts I would do, activities I would do with the kids, etc.  This week I realized that I can have those moments right here, I don't need the trees and quiet to enjoy those things.  This may sound foolish to many of you but it's so easy to get caught up in what I want and be pulled away by my own desires rather than realizing that God has provided many of the same (and many other) opportunities to enjoy Him, my family and the home he has blessed me with.

Some of these things that I have incorporated (not just this week, some of these I've been doing since I was married, it's just my attitude that has changed) are baking my own bread, canning applesauce and jams, sewing, crocheting and menu planning.  These have always been somewhat therapeutic activities for me, there's something about doing a task that women have been doing since Eve left the garden, and the physical labor of these things that is so very rewarding.  Again, it is not so much that my activities have drastically changed but that my attitude in doing those activities has changed; and after all, isn't that really what's important.

My disclaimer here is that I truly hope this doesn't sound prideful, I still have a lot of learning to do but it has been such a blessing and encouragement to realize truths about God and to truly meditate on his goodness.