"You Tell on Yourself"

I've been doing a little introspection lately and I love how God gives me a good word when I'm seeking answers from him.I found this little poem while reading "A Woman's High Calling" by Elizabeth George. Does it speak to you like it did to me?

You Tell on Yourself

You tell on yourself by the friends you seek,

By the very manner in which you speak,

By the way you employ your leisure time,

By the use you make of a dollar and dime.

You tell what you are by the things you wear,

By the spirit in which your burdens bear,

By the kind of things at which you laugh,

By the records you play on the phonograph,

You tell what you are by the way you walk,

By the things in which you delight to talk,

By the manner in which you bear defeat,

By so simple a thing as how you eat.

By the books you choose from the well-filled shelf:

In these ways and more, you tell on yourself.

Elizabeth George even admits that this poem may be dated (seriously, a phonograph?), but all of us probably have watched a favorite TV show and thought, "Is this appropriate?" If you have to ask... it probably isn't.

Most of you know already how I feel about how our daughters should dress. How long has it been since you've taken stock of what you are wearing? Sure, it may not be revealing (or maybe it is!) but is it appropriate? Listen up all you SAHMs! Finding it hard to get out of those ratty sweats and stained t-shirts? I have struggled with this for years. I hate to put "good" clothes on when I'm just going to be cleaning the house and getting dirty myself. But then I got to thinking... my poor husband and kids have to look at me like this ALL THE TIME. And what a ridiculously hot mess it can be depending on the day. Then it occurred to me: I need to have some "work" clothes that I can put on and do my "work" in besides the worst of the worst in my closet. So now I'm setting a few clothes aside to do just that. And since I LOVE LOVE LOVE aprons, I'm going to put them to use every day to help keep the clothes I've chosen from getting ruined.

And then there's how I speak... YOWZA!! Chuck and I really don't fight. But the arguments that we do have most of the time have to do with not what I say but how I say them. I'll be the first to admit to it too. I use the excuse that I'm tired or hormonal (both legitimate!) but it really is just an excuse. I'm asking God for help on this one.

Lastly, I'm the person who takes care of the finances in our household. Chuck brings it in... and I see that it gets to where it needs to go. Since having to "retire" from my job to stay home with the kids I have wished that I could do something that could bring in extra cash. I have felt that I wasn't really a contributor to our finances since I wasn't bringing in any of the money anymore. (I have to take a minute and say this thinking was ALL ME. My sweet husband has from the beginning of our marriage wanted me to be a SAHM. I'm a daughter of that bra-burning generation that urged it's female offspring to get out there and do your equal part. Some things run deep.) All that being said I have realized only recently that MY equal part of managing the money IS just as important as his is by bringing it in. And sadly... I might not have been doing such a bang-up job.

The winds of change are here, dear friends, and I'm on a mission from God! Literally. In these tough economic times I have made a vow to do my equal and very important job as manager of the home and make SURE that especially in the area of finances that I treat that responsibility like it is...a job. This is very helpful for me because never did I work harder than when I owned my own business and worked for myself. And frankly, working for you family IS working for yourself, and more importantly, for God. Who would like a performance review from the Almighty? Scary, right?

And for the rest, I feel nothing is more important than becoming the type of woman God wants me to be, so I'll be tackling those other areas as well. Apparently I'm telling on myself all over the place and I'm not exactly thrilled with what I'm hearing! I've heard admitting a problem is the first step in overcoming it. Looks to me like this might be a marathon! Stay tuned!