Why It's Crucial To Invest In Yourself as a Wife and Mother

For as long as I can remember, I have loved to read. I can still remember the smell of perfume on my Kindergarten teacher, Miss Quinn, as she taught me to how to read in my little paper thin readers. She'd mark the long and short vowels and underline certain words as we went.

She laid the foundation for me, not only as a reader, but as a teacher. I'm sure she never realized what a profound impact she had on that little 5 year old girl, but I was taken with reading and the desire to teach others to read was born during those moments one on one with her.

And yet, as much as I love to read, there came a day (several years' worth of days actually) where I no longer read.

What happened to the girl who couldn't even put a book down long enough to eat dinner and who's dad finally banned books from the dinner table?

She grew up and became a mom.

Tragic, isn't it? The girl who couldn't get enough of books thought she had to trade her books in for a more noble calling.

At least that's what I thought.  When others asked if I had read "such and such book", I always replied I didn't have time to read anymore. I was too busy.

But little did I know, I wasn't just giving up "me time"; I was giving up a venue in which other women could encourage me, equip me and cheer me on in my pursuit of motherhood and marriage.

I'm almost 9 years in to this mothering thing and a little over 10 into my role as a wife and it's only been in the last couple of years that I have made time to read. I make it happen because it is vital to the life within me.

The written word is one of, if not the most, powerful venue for communication.

I believe it triumphs over the spoken word because when it is written down, it gives us time alone to mull over what we just read, underline it in our book (or these days, tag it on our kindle), and even come back to it and read it again.

Words written by women who have the Well Spring of Life within them can't help but let that Life ooze all sticky-like onto the words they write. And those, my friends, are what you need to give you courage, hope, and a fresh perspective to the miraculous days you live that are wrapped up in the ordinary, mundane tasks of life.

The words of others can help peel the mundane from our eyes and let us see holy all around us.

So, I get it that we feel that we are too busy to read. I have 4 children ages 10 months to 8 years, I homeschool, I blog, I am a wife, I tend to my home and the list goes on and on as it does for you, too.

But, we must find time to nourish our souls because we are impacting the generations to come.

I'm only 34 (soon to be 35) and yet, I feel the race of life escalating and I want to finish strong. I want to get to the end and know I gave it my best shot. Sure, I won't do everything perfectly, but I want to know that I gave the best I had within me towards my husband and our children.

And sometimes those fresh ideas for my role as a wife and mom come to me through the written word of other like-minded wives and mommas.

While my days of sitting and reading for hours at a time are gone (at least for now) I steal moments (literally) here and there to read.

I am passionate about helping equip and encourage you, my readers. I pray for you in your role as a wife and mother and honestly, I wish I could gift each one of you with resources that would inspire you and help you in your holy calling.

While I can't give every one of you the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle, I have decided to give one away (this giveaway is a quick one so enter now!). I know that God knows which one of you needs this bundle and I need to listen to Him and gift you in this way. {Giveaway has now ended.}

I'm thrilled that this bundle has a video eCourse from Sally Clarkson (my mentor even though she doesn't know it!) and Sarah Mae. This is fabulous because I can listen to something like this while I am making dinner or folding laundry. I can recharge my soul and still get things done around the home at the same time!

I really desire for you all to be blessed by the incredible resources in this bundle. I trust you will be encouraged as you read books on homeschooling, motherhood, marriage, homemaking, self-care, financial stewardship or my topical devotional for pregnancy.

We are getting down to the wire when these phenomenal resources will never again be bundled together like this for such an incredible price. Invest in your calling. And just so you know, a portion of the profits I earn as a contributing author in this bundle will go towards a crisis pregnancy center. You can feel good about helping support another mom in need.

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Purposeful Homemaking received one or more products mentioned in this post at no cost in order to conduct a thorough and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. Additionally, this post may contain affiliate links for which I will earn compensation should you choose to make a purchase. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Thank you for your support of Purposeful Homemaking.