Sick and Tired of being Sick and Tired

For some time now I have thought of writing a blog.  I've been writing in a journal for literally years, since I was around 9 years old and quite regularly at that, so it kind of seemed like a natural progression to go into the blogosphere, but to what end? 

As a mom of eight, there is rarely time to sit down and even think about blogging - add another thing to my list of things to do?  It seemed impossible.  As it stands, if and when I journal now, it is somewhere between the early hours of 5 and 6 in the morning and even then, most of my "posts" get cut off due to a baby waking up or some other interruption. 

But then something happened to me, to my husband, to our family, that reawakened my desire to blog.  One day we decided enough was enough - we were sick and tired of being sick and tired. 

We are your average, well, at least in homeschool circles, family of ten, carrying perhaps even less debt than the average family, but debt nonetheless - mortgage debt, in particular.  Does it really matter how much though?  Isn't all debt a burden in some way?  We thought so, but even though we'd been managing, it really felt more like surviving as opposed to thriving.  We've known this for a long time, a long time.....and we'd made changes a few years ago - lots of changes in fact, dramatic changes even, but never with this level of intensity and determination - thus the name of the blog.  We are determined to terminate debt.  My daughter came up with the name - debt-termination.  I loved it, but all this brings me back to blogging.

Not only do I write, almost daily, but I also love to talk to people and I love sharing what God is teaching me, what he's doing in my life, what he's done in the past, and if it is a help to someone else, even better - then I can share it with that other person, especially a younger mom just starting out who I can help to avoid the potholes that parenting or life in general can bring.  The problem is, as a mom of eight children, it is pretty tricky finding the time to talk on the phone, or have other moms over without impacting the whole family in some way.

Then one morning, last week, I sat there with my journal and I started to write all that God was teaching me and our family.  My entry went on and on, pages long, when it occured to me I wish I could just tell everyone what I'm learning - that's when the thought occurred to me - I finally had a purpose to starting a blog.  I was feeling so inspired to help get our family out of debt, surely our family wasn't the only one feeling that financial burden.  The difference was I was feeling so inspired, so incredibly full of hope, so passionate and on fire - I wanted others to feel the same way I was, without the hopelessness that often accompanies debt-filled living.  It occured to me to write the whole story - as it happens - as opposed to waiting to hear a happy ending.  Why not write the story with all the ups and downs that would really happen instead of with the advantage of hindsight - anyone could do that.

My only way of checking if this was ok, was to go the word of God and to my husband to see what he thought.

Right away, two passages of scripture came to mind - 1 Cor. 1:27-29, "But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to edify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him."  Perfect.  So far so good.  I am not one of those writers that is particularly eloquent, nor am I a famous intellect.  I am just a regular mom, perhaps with a few more children than most, but really, in some circles, I have a small family!  So I think I fit the first category that I found in scripture.

The second one was Titus 2:4 -  "Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God." 

I am young by some standards, older by others, but I think I am officially leaning on the older side now that my children are getting into their mid-teens.  Yes, I still have a little guy, 18 months, but he is growing up fast, too.   So age-wise, I'm good -  I think I qualify to share what I've been learning. 

My husband was good with the blogging idea, but seeing as it is rather personal information, he felt more comfortable if I kept it a little more on the private side, by not sharing real names and instead going with pseuodyms.  My husband will be known as Renaissance Man or RM.  I will be generally writing in the first person, but will occasionally referring to myself as Penny (as in Penny Pincher!).  The kids will be pretty clear - the oldest will be known as #1, the rest will follow as #2, #3 and so on down to #8 - makes sense?

A quick note, however...as I wondered who the reader would be, I decided I would write as if it were to a young mom just starting out.  I'm also writing to my daughters and sons, to document our life as my youngest daughter is just 5 and my youngest son is not even 2, so neither will remember the details of our life when they are older.  This blog will help them to remember. 

One other thought... sometimes what happens when I share with young moms things I have learned, they go back to their husbands and share what we talked about.  This can be a great thing or a really bad thing depending on how it is framed by the wife.  So a word of warning - if what I share inspires you to share with your husband, please, please share with him, just be super careful how you frame it, that it doesn't come out in the tone that can only be described as nagging. I do believe change can often happen in a home through the wife first and then the husband.  Remember, God used Esther to change her husband's heart, so I know that can happen in any home.

Well, if you are ready to join me in my family's journey of getting debt-free, stay-tuned to hear about our First Blessings as we started out.....