Blessed in the Mess




“A false balance is an abomination to the Lord,

but a just weight is his delight.”

Proverbs 11:1

You call this a mess?  I call this my life…and I’m blessed!   Yes, this is an actual picture of me with my 3 kids.  I have no make-up on.  I haven’t showered.  My daughter is crying about something.  My oldest son is complaining about who knows what.  And my little man is dropping drool all over me!  And that is my messy kitchen.  I know!  It’s a mess!  In my defense, I was in the midst of major multi-tasking:  cleaning out the refrigerator, putting away groceries and trying to make lunches all at the same time. Oh who am I kidding?  This is how my kitchen looks often without all of the excuses!

Even though I’d like to think that my house is nice and tidy most of the time, in reality, it’s not!  Now, if you ever come over and visit me, I would definitely take the time to clean up for you—I don’t want to subject you to my mess (but don’t arrive early and whatever you do, don’t open my mud room door…most likely if my house looks clean, I stuffed everything in there!)  It seems that no matter how hard I try to keep up, I’m just surrounded by mess…messy dishes, messy floors, messy bedrooms, messy mirrors, messy faces, and lots of messy diapers and underwear (my almost 3 year old is finally potty training…that’s another blog in itself!) 

Do I like the mess?  No!  Do I value a clean house?  Yes!  Do I have time to keep my house clean and organized all the time?  No!  But I try, and that’s all I can do in this stage of life and that’s what being a real mom is all about…admitting, accepting and embracing imperfection!  In a perfect world, I would spend as much time with my kids as they ask me to; I wouldn’t have a speck of dust or a crumb anywhere; I wouldn’t have dirty clothes soaking in the bathroom sink (again, potty training), and the laundry would sort, wash, dry, fold and put away itself (hey, I said “in a perfect world.”)  Because this isn’t possible, I shouldn’t even strive for any level of perfection as a mom when it comes to a clean house, but instead just strive to do the best I can.

So today I pray that you will be able to find what works for you in your own mess, but more importantly, I pray that you will love your kids, strive to find balance, and be blessed in your mess!

 **4Real Moms is having a "Blessed in the Mess" Kitchen Contest!  Let's be REAL about the sometimes mess we can all be surrounded by at times whether we like it or not!  Post a picture of your real kitchen at #blessedinthemess at 4Real Moms on Facebook or Twitter for a chance to win a $10 Starbucks Gift Card!  Contest ends tonight, July 30th, 2014 at midnight Central Standard Time!**

**Check out my website for a Top 10 List with helpful, practical ideas for Balancing the Mess of Motherhood at: http://www.4realmoms.com/resources.html **


4Real Moms: What is 4Real Moms All About?

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."

Thessalonians 5:11

 

Hi Moms!  WELCOME TO THE NEW
4REAL MOMS BLOG! 

What is 4Real Moms all about?
Many people have asked me, "What is 4Real Moms all about?"  My answer? 

Simply put--Connecting moms, changing lives and being real! 

Our mission statement is to love, support, encourage and empower moms in life and in leadership. 

We do these things in a variety of ways--

CONNECTING MOMS:  4Real Moms is on a mission to connect moms with other moms so that they know that they're not alone in the joys and especially the challenges of motherhood.  We invite ALL moms to everything we do--married, single, divorced, stay-at-home, working, expecting, experience, etc.  We want every mom to learn from and encourage each other.  Locally, we provide 4 opportunities for moms to connect through our elegant events like our Moms Nights Out.  We teach free Mommy Classes.  We organize Community Service Events, and we mentor Moms Groups to help them get started or improve.

CHANGING LIVES:  Being in a moms group changed my life, so I know how important it is for moms to be together.  Being a mom can be so isolating and lonely, but once I started spending time with other moms, I soon realized that I wasn't alone in all of my struggles of motherhood.  It was inspiring to hear the testimonies, stories, and challenges that other moms faced.  Immediately, I felt freedom, and it soon became my passion to help moms connect with other moms so that they, too, could see that they are not alone in how hard motherhood really is.  MOMS NEED OTHER MOMS!   Simply being around other moms can help change your life! 

We want to encourage moms to be the best moms they can be without making them feel less.  Our 4 fundamentals of faith, family, friendship and fun allow us to provide opportunities for moms to grow in their faith, learn to love and serve their families, build friendships with other moms and have fun along the way!  We are also very passionate about allowing moms to serve others in our community. 

BEING REAL:  4Real Moms wants to encourage moms to be real.  Motherhood isn't easy.  It's REALLY hard and SO worth every amount of time and energy we as moms put in to being the best moms we can be.  Let's all drop the Pinterest image and expectations of ourselves and other moms and just encourage each other on this journey! 

The exciting part is that God has grown this vision to encourage moms all around the world through this blog, our website, our monthly newsletter, and social media (facebook and twitter).

We hope that through 4Real Moms, you can get connected with other moms.  We pray that your life would be changed.  And we pray that you will feel comfortable just being real about being a mom!

Blessings-
Christine Leeb