About Darlene Schacht

Darlene is an ordinary mom, living an extraordinary life, because of who she is through Jesus Christ. As help-meet to her husband Michael, she guides and nurtures their four children, leading them toward a deeper walk of faith. She is a New York Times best-selling author through the book she co-authored with actress Candace Cameron Bure titled, Reshaping it All: Motivation for Physical and Spiritual Fitness. Her writing has also been published in Thomas Nelson's anthology, Grace Givers, Tyndale Publisher's Soul Food/Life Savors for Women, A Cup of Comfort (Adam's Media), and she has published articles through many magazines. You can find her blogging at Time-Warp Wife where she empowers wives to joyfully serve and on twitter.

Carpe Diem!

May 1, 2013 By Darlene Schacht

I remember the year my neighbor and I both planted daisies.

We were two young wives in love with the idea of having a little flower garden all to ourselves. Maybe the idea came to us over a cup of tea, or perhaps it was something we noticed on one of our many afternoon walks. Regardless of what triggered the idea, it was on both of our minds in the spring of 1994.

Sure, we could have taken the easy road and went straight for the potted plants, but seeing that we were young wives on tight budgets we purchased a few packets of seeds with the little change that we had.

Surely that would do the job, wouldn’t it?

After carefully preparing the ground, I sprinkled the seeds according to direction, lightly covered them with soil, watered the ground, and then then stood back to let nature take it’s course.

Hours turned into days, days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months… all the while not a single seed gave birth to a daisy. Certainly there was plenty of growth to be excited about, but each and every time it was nothing but another weed.

Thankfully I didn’t let that experience discourage me. Instead I continued to plant flowers over the years–some better than others.

I don’t always understand why some plants refuse to grow and others, like my salvia plants, multiply under my care. I don’t really have to do anything special to them, they just keep multiplying and getting healthier year after year.

My lupines? They’re a whole other story.

I’m reminded of a scripture found in the book of Ecclesiastes. It’s a good one for wives and for moms who are sprinkling seeds among those they love.

He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good. – Ecclesiastes 11:4-6 (KJV)

What Solomon is saying here is “Carpe Diem!” Seize the day, ladies! The farmer who sits around waiting for perfect weather conditions misses out on the harvest because the sun, the wind and the rain will always be out of his control.

Nature is in the palm of God’s hand. The farmer’s job is to get out there and plant the seeds–it’s the Lord’s job to bring forth the harvest.

In other words, if we sit around waiting for a perfect husband or a perfect marriage before we plant seeds, we’re missing the mark. Our job is to love our husbands according to the will of God today–right now–and to trust Him with our future.

The heart of our husband is in the palm of God’s hand to do with as He will.

The same thing goes with raising our children. Our job is to be the best parent that we can be and to keep on planting the seeds within them. Yes, we need to nurture those seeds as they grow, but we’ll never determine the harvest they yield.

There’s nothing that we can do to change a heart, but there are plenty of seeds we can plant for the Master, aren’t there?

We never know what’s taking place below the surface of the soil. Keep planting, keep praying, and keep trusting the Lord for His goodness.

As for me and my daisies… I never did get those seeds to work out, but I’ve since planted a garden of them just outside my front window from a few that my sister was digging out of her yard. By the end of the summer, I usually have more daisies than I can possibly handle, which is yet another reminder of God’s grace in my life.

Carpe Diem!

Darlene Schacht
www.timewarpwife.com

****************************************************************************************

I am so thrilled to bring this special deal to our community here at The Better Mom! For 6 days only, more than 75 widely-known bloggers and authors in the homemaking sphere have joined together to offer 97 of their most popular eBooks and eCourses, valued at just over $600, for the incredibly low price of $29.97!

CLICK HERE FOR ALL THE DETAILS!!

****************************************************************************

2 Comments | Filed Under: Marriage/Relationships, Uncategorized Tagged With: Marriage

Raising Daughters to Be Beautiful Women

April 17, 2013 By Darlene Schacht

We’re raising daughters in a “me” generation, where women are striving for power and beauty. As a mother of a teenage girl, I see how young girls long to be popular and in the process of clawing their way to the top, they lose focus of who they were created to be. Like you, I’ve been there myself. They are inundated with messages through the internet, television, and magazines that remind them of how they don’t measure up to perfection.

And then there are toddlers whose parents are pushing them into the spotlight in hopes they’ll obtain a tiara or two. We’ve all seen their photos on magazine covers at the supermarket and a fair share of video clips have circled the net. It’s easy to forget that there’s an impressionable child underneath all that chiffon.

Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying that it’s wrong to be beautiful or to dress pretty. I’m a woman, and I want to embrace that in a healthy way. What I am saying is this–don’t waste this opportunity to teach your daughter where true beauty resides. Help her to focus, or REfocus if you must, on an incorruptible crown of glory. Teach her to maximize inner beauty and to be modest in all things. Show her how to live beyond herself in humility and grace.

These images we see in the media are radical–we’re witness to that. But I’m not writing this post to scoff at the world around us. If I wanted to sneer at imperfection I would start by pointing a finger at myself. My daughter’s future has been entrusted to MY care where for this time in her life I have a responsibility to point her in the best direction I can.

In order to cultivate inner beauty that lasts we have to start asking ourselves, what are we modelling for these girls?

Faith calls us to walk in humility, kindness, sincerity, and love. These are the things that not only enrich our lives; they affect the people around us. These are the things that cultivate inner beauty which will last much longer than any trophy or tiara ever will.

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. ~ 1 Corinthians 9:25, NIV

Sam Levenson a television host and journalist who was popular in the 1960s to early ‘70s wrote a poem called, “Time-Tested Beauty Tips.” The poem has often been attributed to Audrey Hepburn in error as it was one of her favorite poems, but the truth is that Sam wrote it for his granddaughter. It’s a beautiful reminder of what true beauty is!

Time-Tested Beauty Tips

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge you’ll never walk alone.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; Never throw out anybody.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you’ll find one at the end of your arm.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows, and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!
–Sam Levenson

You are loved by an almighty God,

Darlene, Time Warp Wife

4 Comments | Filed Under: Girls, Parenting, Teens, Uncategorized Tagged With: inner beauty, modesty

Why Marriage is Like a GPS

March 27, 2013 By Darlene Schacht

Last summer my family and I took a road trip across the country to Banff, Alberta. Thankfully before leaving home my husband picked up a GPS for the van. After using it to navigate through the city of Calgary, I couldn’t imagine travelling without it. It was able to direct us right from our driveway at home to the front door of our hotel without barely a hitch.

We did however have one evening that proved to be interesting. We were out searching for a Mexican restaurant. I don’t know if Michael was tired or Calgary was that confusing, but it seemed that he missed every turn we were supposed to take.

The minute we missed a turn the voice on the GPS systems said, “recalculating.” And recalculate it did, about a dozen times before we finally arrived at the restaurant where we discovered a “Closed” sign. It was time to get back in the van and recalculate things yet again.

A few weeks later, a friend pointed out to us how marriage is like a GPS system. Most people go into marriage with their idea of what things should look like, and how life will pan out. In fact one of the most exciting things that you can do with your partner is discuss your hopes and dreams for the future.

How many kids do you want to have? Where do you want to live? At what age do you want to retire?

These are some the of things that you program into your GPS system as you save and plan for the future. The problem–if you can even call it a problem–is that your life is constantly recalculating the paths that you take. Things rarely to never turn out exactly the way that we planned because it’s impossible to see past today. All we are given is this moment, tomorrow belongs to the Lord. Are you flexible enough to let Him lead the way?

To me being flexible is synonymous with being content. A content woman brings glory to her husband, while trusting God for their future. While a discontent woman is the equivalent of a nagging GPS. Imagine for a moment if instead of happily recalculating the journey for you, a voice came over the system complaining, nagging, and reminding you of the fact that you missed every turn. How long do you think you’d listen to it before turning the volume off or tossing it out of the window?

Recalculating only becomes a problem when we stop trusting God with our future. We have a choice–we can either enjoy the twists and the turns in the road, or we can complain that life isn’t all that we hoped for.

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” ~ James 4:13-15, NIV

You are loved by an almighty God,

Darlene Schacht
www.timewarpwife.com

5 Comments | Filed Under: Marriage/Relationships, Uncategorized Tagged With: change in marriage, contentment, Marriage

Communicating In Love

February 20, 2013 By Darlene Schacht

Some of our husbands are incredible when it comes to helping around the house, but on the flip side, there are some husbands who don’t help at all. A door can be falling off the hinges and he won’t notice until it falls off and he has to step over it.

These are the women I want to chat with today…

My husband is great, but with every seemingly perfect man there are areas of imperfection that drive us to nag. And if we’re not nagging we might be stewing about it. That’s not good either.

If we’re to refrain from nagging, how can we communicate our frustration in love?

First of all, let’s remember that even though communication is important to both men and women, we tend to communicate differently. Many women say that their husbands won’t talk to them, but if you stop to watch the way he expresses himself, after a while you’ll become more familiar with his method of communication.

It could be any one of several reasons why a husband doesn’t tend to duties around the house. I could guess, and guess again, but without knowing him and your particular situation I would probably be way off the mark.

So the best thing that we can do is to keep those lines of communication open. If it’s a matter of resentment, overwork, a sense of failure, stress, or distraction, he might finally come out and say it, but not until he trusts you deeply with his heart.

By all means approach him with your requests, but do so in love.

The Bible warns women about nagging, which tells us that this isn’t anything new. Women have been nagging their husbands for thousands of years, but through the Word, God shows us that there is a better way to communicate. We should approach our husbands with love and humility—a hope that holds no expectation.

And above all, be kind, tender hearted and willing to forgive. That’s how you’ll win his heart.

Looking to the Bible we see a prime example in Esther who approached the king (her husband) with honor and respect. She made her petition known and left it in his hands to make the decision.

Another example we see is Jesus who lived in submission to the Father in Heaven. Praying in the garden of Gethsemane He said, “Not my will, but thine be done.”

Biblical submission doesn’t mean that we don’t have a voice or opinion. If we stifle our pain and our hurt we may grow to resent the men we once loved.

When bitterness sets in, it takes root and will grow over time unless it is removed and replaced with something better. Be encouraged to share your thoughts, but hold back on the resentment if things don’t go your way.

Finally, remember that God is control and can change things at any time. Let’s do our part and let God handle the rest.

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger,
and clamour, and evil speaking, be put
away from you, with all malice: And be
ye kind one to another, tender hearted,
forgiving one another, even as God for
Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
~ Ephesians 4:31-32, KJV

Blessings,

Darlene Schacht
www.timewarpwife.com