Everyday Glimpses {India Werner}

Life for me is never dull.  While some days are more exciting than others, none of them are actually boring.  I’m a child of God, a ministry wife, and a mom.  This is my job, my life. 

The world looks at my job description and either scoffs at me or pities me.  I, on the other hand, am realizing more and more that this work is valuable and wonderful.  I do not believe for one second that I am missing out on anything.  By being a Christian wife and mother, I am simply given different opportunities.  What a joy it is when we embrace the life that God has blessed us with!

With this in mind, I will share with you what a normal day is like for me.  While music is a big part of my life, not every day is filled with recording CDs (thank goodness for the that!).  Many of you who read our blog are reading it because you enjoy Lois’ and my music, but we decided to share some everyday glimpses into our lives so that you can get to know us a little better.

I aim to rise at 6:30 in the morning.  I am not a morning person, but I am determined to keep working on it.  If I am not up for a while before the kids, I end up with a frustrating start to my day.  So I get up, have some quiet time with God, and drink some tea.  At around 7:30, Zack and I do our devotion together.  At 8:00, we let the kids come out of their room and we have our family devotion time.  Our family devotion right now consists of a Bible story, a few songs, and a short prayer.

I try to be done with breakfast and dishes and starting school with Sakshi at 9:30-10.  By that point, I normally have a load of laundry going.  We work on school for two or three hours every day as Sakshi is only in her first year.  While I do school with her, I usually let Thaddeus and Paisley “do school” too, which includes coloring, play dough, etc. 

At some point during the morning, I start working on lunch.  I really miss the convenience of lunch meat and salads here in India, because I can’t just pull stuff out of the fridge like we do in America.  I have to cook a whole meal for lunch every day, so I have learned to figure that into each morning.  I try to make enough for supper so that I don’t have to do much cooking in the evening.  We eat lunch sometime between 12 and 1.

After lunch, I let the kids play while I wash dishes.  Once dishes are done, the kids go down for a nap.  Nap time typically covers a two-hour period, so this is my opportunity to get things done (like blogging, reading, folding laundry, and drinking tea) that I prefer to do in solitude. ?

When the kids wake up, they have a snack.  We spend the late afternoon and evening in play time, odd jobs, or sometimes I let the kids watch a movie if I need time to accomplish something specific.  We eat dinner at 7pm or so on most days, which is early compared to everyone else here.  They eat anywhere from 10pm-12pm!  Once the kids are in bed, I like to enjoy a couple hours of quiet time before I go to sleep.  It is nice to unwind from the “go, go, go” pace of everyday life.  If Zack isn’t busy studying for a message or class he’s teaching, we often spend the time talking, eating something sweet, or watching a movie together.  Or all three!

What I described above is a typical and smooth day.  However, there are many days that don’t go quite how I plan!  I am learning more and more to just go with the flow.  I love having my lists and schedules, but I have found that if I let everything rise and fall upon them, I will be greatly disappointed.  So day by day, I remind myself to relax.  I plan; I organize.  If the day doesn’t go as I hoped, I try to commit it to the Lord and remember to focus on what is important.

I hope that you have a great Monday wherever you may be.  I like this quote – “Do what you love and you’ll never have a problem with Monday.”  Not sure who said that first, but it’s a good thought!  Don’t let the Monday blues overtake you.  Spend a few minutes doing something you love today, even if it’s something simple.  Have a lovely week, friends!