Wife and Motherhood

- Jill

New Year, New Goals

So many people start off the new year by setting goals. Whether it’s a weight goal, a financial goal, or a business goal, we all have goals in mind, right?
But my sister sent me a picture the other day of a woman we both follow on Instagram named Lindsay Matway (she’s an influencer who has done well at a young age.)  She typically does a Vision board each year and posts it. Ya know, one those boards that you make and you cut out pictures from magazines to visualize your goals? But instead this year, she held up her vision board and the only thing it said was “God’s Vision.” That was her goal. It was pretty powerful considering that every year I’ve seen this business woman set massive business goals on her vision board and attain them.
It was powerful to me because the board that usually held so many freshly and worldly desires, now held a spiritual desire. It let go of everything SHE wanted and handed it all over to what GOD wanted for her.
This is not an easy thing to do for anyone. But especially for someone who knows that they have literally envisioned a mansion and the next year it was theirs. I mean, that is this girls story!
I say all that because this year I started this YouTube channel with one goal in mind: Making God a part of everything. From clothes, to home, to kids, to marriage… all of it! And when I sat down on January 1st to make my “word of the year,” God was so clear that mine wasn’t a word. It was a phrase. And it’s this: “Remain in Me.” He repeated the words so many times. First, in my Bible as I was reading. Then when I watched a sermon. When I prayed. It was constant. That was where my focus needed to be and I was super excited about it.
I thought: Yes God! If I just remain in You, You will prune me and make me fruitful.
John 15:4 says “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. … “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
I knew that everything I attained without God really meant nothing. I’ve experienced that. Sure, it gave me short term happiness, but that’s about it. I know though that thus far, everything I’ve experienced with God, have been the things that have had impact. I don’t mean little impact, I mean like kingdom impact. Where what I’ve attained with God changes not just my own life but the lives of many. And that’s the kind of impact God wants to make through me and YOU!
So seeing that picture my sent me just a few days after God giving me my goal to “remain in Him”, it was like a sweet wink from heaven.
Guys, we must give up our fleshly desires because the impact that we can have outside of those are so much bigger. They are more rewarding and they have eternal satisfaction as opposed to temporary happiness.
So this year as we think of our goals, let’s make sure we ask God if that’s what he wants for us. I pray that everything we do this year whether as moms, a wives, girlfriends, friends, business women etc.. that we do it with a kingdom mindset.
P.S.  One more encouragement: one of the biggest things we learned in 2020 was that we are not in control.  There were so many goals set  that could not be accomplished, yet again reminding us that not everything is in our hands.  So when we ask God what path He wants us to take, the circumstances in the world have no effect on the goals God gives us.
XOXO,
Jill Rohrbaugh
- Jill

Marriage and Politics

Marriage and politics. Weird combo right? What do the two have to do with each other? Well- relationships.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned thus far in marriage it’s this:  whenever I believe my opinion to be right and my husband to be wrong it never turns out well for us.  I hold no grace, no understanding, no compassion and no empathy for him.  I may utter words like “you’re crazy if you think that” and want to cancel him in that moment and pretty much “unfriend him.”

Well if you reread the above paragraph and replace the words “my husband” with a person of opposite political beliefs, I find myself in the exact same situation. We are no longer united and our relationship suffers a blow which can sometimes lead to no relationship at all.

Relationships are sacred you guys.  The good news is, and there is good news, that when I change my mind from being right, to trying to understand, my marriage takes a huge leap forward and grows deeper in love and intimacy.  And this is where it’s at with politics too.

As crazy as I think my husband is sometimes in the trenches of an argument, I soon realize that when I switch my mindset to try to understand him, he doesn’t seem so crazy anymore. I almost always get to a place where I can see where he is coming from even if I don’t agree 100% and then we move forward in some kind of compromise.  We can do that too!

This is no different than what we are facing today. It’s hard. It takes work.  But isn’t it worth it? I hate turning on the TV and seeing people kill each other over their differences. I hate opening my social media and seeing people who were friends become enemies.

This work is important work.  But we must all do our part.  I don’t know exactly where this country is headed but right now it’s hard to see the light.  But I have no doubt that if the people come together and do the work, we can be the change we want to see in the world.

I want to understand you and I want you to understand me even if we don’t agree. I want to get to a place where love and peace reigns in our hearts again.  God loves us both and political opinion will never change that.

 

- Jill

3 Lessons My First Baby Taught Me for My Second

When Silas was first born I was neurotic to say the least. Looking back, I probably had a bit of postpartum blues and my anxiety was through the roof! I worried about EVERYTHING. Trust me, my husband has some stories. “Is his room too hot? Oh no, now I think it’s too cold. Should we get him warmer pajamas? I think he’s too hot in those PJ’s.” Poor Neil! I had some crazy moments but that is the life of a first time mom! So when you’re feeling like a bit of a wreck, know that you are normal and then take these three tips I learned for your second time around.

1.) Let them fall-

“A child who has not been bandaged has not been well parented.” – Dr. Benjamin Spock

It is completely normal for your kids to get bumps and bruises!

When Silas fell the first time, I felt SO AWFUL. I thought I was a horrible parent and a failure. “I should have been there.” As I’ve grown and had a second baby, I recognize that those little bumps and bruises are lessons learned. And as they get older we need to let them experience the bumps and bruises of life too!

Here’s a mom tip: when they get hurt have some “boo boo buddy” ice packs on hand. For some reason those little buddies make them feel a little better just at the sight of them. I linked them here.

2.) Refrain from doing what your kids can do for themselves. I know how hard that is, especially when it’s just easier to do it yourself and even easier when there’s a time restraint. But I have watched Silas become a truly independent 2 year old because I follow this rule. I must warn you, the result isn’t always perfect but “praise the effort, not the outcome.” And as we do this, I truly believe we will feel ready to let them fly when it comes time.

3.) God loves them more than you do-

I literally couldn’t sleep at night for the first 9 months of Silas’ life. I stared at the monitor constantly. But the one phrase that changed it all for me was “Jill, God loves Silas even more than you do.” And every night after that, I would repeat that to myself. Then when I had Scarlett I fully trusted her into Gods hands. Of course I had to do my part as a mom to keep her safe with things like “no blankets and pillows in the crib” and I check on her often when she is playing on the floor. But I’m not nearly as panicked as a mom because she was God’s long before she was mine.