Welcome to The Merry Momma, a blog that celebrates joyful motherhood! I’m Lisa. I’ve been a wife since June 2010 and a mom since April 2014. Currently, I’m a part-time work-outside-the-home / part-time stay-at-home mom, and I love it! It’s the best of both worlds, I always say. I enjoy my job, and I love my days caring for my kids and attending to things at home! Taking care of my home, my husband, and my sons bring me tremendous amounts of joy. I’ll be honest, though – I didn’t always feel this way.
My Joyful Journey
From the moment I took my first career aptitude test, I was consumed with plans of finding my dream job. I worked hard in school, and I was sure I was headed to successful career woman status. After earning a Bachelor’s degree in economics and a Master’s degree in library & information science, I entered the job market with high hopes and lofty dreams.
Things did not exactly work out the way I expected, however. I searched for a job for over a year, but I was met with one closed door after another. As the months rolled by, I grew more and more unhappy with my life at home. At the time, I failed to recognize the beauty and importance of my homemaker role; all it meant to me was a failure to achieve my dreams. I was completely absorbed in my own wants and desires, and my dissatisfaction with the season I was in infected every area of my life.
Eventually, I realized that I had to surrender my will and my plans to God and let Him take control of my life. In losing the things I had based my identity on, I was able to find my true identity in Christ. When I finally started to lean on Him and be obedient to what He was asking me to do, I found purpose and joy as I never had before!
The Merry Momma
For someone who was for years unsure she even wanted to have kids (read that story here), the fact that I’m starting a blog about being a joyful mother is pretty crazy. Even after God transformed my heart and gave me a desire to raise Godly children, a good part of my first year of motherhood was an emotional rollercoaster. On the good days, it was easy to be happy being a mom. Motherhood was fun, it was exciting, it filled me with warm tinglies. But on those rough “he-just-won’t-stop-crying!” days, or even just in the days of never-ending housework and baby care, I started letting frustration and irritability overtake me. I still loved my son with all my heart, and was dedicated to his well-being, but my words, thoughts, and actions betrayed my lack of joy.
Then one day I determined I didn’t want to be like that. I don’t want my joy to be dependent on my emotions, because emotions (especially with new mom hormones!) are fickle. I want to be a mom whose joy is constant, even in the midst of chaos or frustration. I want my son to grow up knowing that no matter what, I love being his mother. And I want to look back at the end of my child-rearing years and know that I made the most of them. So, I decided to embark on a journey to practice joyful motherhood.
I say practice because I don’t want to give the impression that I think I have arrived. To make a resolution is one thing, to follow through is another story! I know I won’t be perfect – I will have days that I lose my cool, say things I don’t mean, and be tempted to run away and never come back! But that’s why this is a journey. And this blog is about chronicling that journey and encouraging other women to travel alongside me. Being a wife and mother is tough work. It is not for the fainthearted! It takes levels of patience, grace, and selflessness that I previously hadn’t thought possible. But it’s also the most rewarding, wonderful, fulfilling job I’ve ever had or could ever hope to have. And so, through The Merry Momma, I want to share some of the things I’m learning and experiencing in the hopes that I can inspire other women like me to find their joy and to love their lives at home!
At The Merry Momma, you’ll find:
- Personal reflections on motherhood to inspire & encourage you
- Ways to cultivate more peace and calm in your home
- Tips & tricks for creating your ideal home environment
- Articles and resources for personal finance
- Recipes and cooking tips
- Book Recommendations
- And more!
Follow my journey by subscribing to my email newsletter or by following me on Facebook or Pinterest!