Mitten Strings For God

A dear woman who writes an amazing blog recommended this book so of course I had to pick it up from the library, and it’s been a blessing. It is all about simplifying your life, and I have found in the last 2 years that has been a major goal in my life, and I’m thankful that I have succeeded as far as I have. But she made some good points, so I will use her wisdom to share with you this morning! I hope you enjoy these exerpts as much as I did!


When I stop speeding through life, I find the joy in each day’s doings, in the life that cannot be bought, but only discovered, created, savored, lived.

She talks about how times of peace in your home are so important, and it is true. I relish the times of simple quiet of just being with my children!
So often we bemoan our children’s hyperactivity and short fuses. But what kind of example to we set for them if we are always rushing from one place to another trying to fit in more than we have time for each day. Children really crave stillness, and embrace it when you stop long enough to create it with them.

I long to leave time in EACH day for my children to know they have my FULL attention, and there is no where I’d rather be at that moment! She focuses on this a lot. And while I am a stay at home mom, there are always dishes to be done, and laundry, food to be prepared, counters to wipe off, groceries to plan for and buy. But we can choose simplicity over complication n all our necessary tasks. I need to remember to enjoy the process, not try to impress!
She talks a lot about cutting activities out of our lives as well, and this was something I felt led to do when we moved here. We started Peter in sports, and classes thinking since I homeschool he needed these things, but quickly found it did not in any way improve our quality of life. We have cut down to very few outside activities, and life is so much more enjoyable! I do not agree to  things unless it will definately benefit us, not overstretch us, and my boys prefer being at home that out doing an activity anyhow! They are not missing out on anything, in fact I think they are gaining so much more in the building of family relationships, and peace!
In a society that endorses activity, we would do well to put more trust in stillness. No matter how busy we are we can build meaning and renewal into those moments that ar eavailable to us. When I stop myself and draw a circle of stillness around me, my children are drawn to that peaceful place. Just a few minutes of quiet attention can change the mood of an entire day, restoring equilibrium to a distressed child and to a frazzled mother as well
Today children are a soverstimulated as their stressed out parents.Little wonder that attention disorders are on teh rise,a nd children are so easily distracted. Raised on a steady diet of noise and media our children dont know how to rest.
If we are to feed others we must be fed ourselves.
This has been amazingly true for me.  If I skip starting my day off in quiet worship, reading and prayer my whole day just never pulls together right.

She goes into cutting out TV, background noise, and allowing children free play and quiet private places to daydream and think. Then into how children are such easy prey for marketers, and that we should protect them from this. We must teach them the difference between wants and needs:
But many of us are just as confused as our children. we fail to distinguish real needs from wants, and we focus on what we do not have rather than teh abundant gifts we already have.We teach our children it is good to be a consumer. When we resolve conflicts or buy happiness by spending money (on an activity) we teach our children to look outside themselves when they feel needy.

On teh other hand when we pause long enough to give thanks for the abundance of daily life, when we feel good about what we have right now, we teach our children a valuable lesson. To accept that they cant have everything they want, and they already have everything they need.
Right now I have everything I need. When I honor life’s gifts with my children I teach them abundance and strengthen their faith that their needs will be met.

Currently reading : Mitten Strings for God: Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry By Katrina Kenison