The Secret Hidden Inside Contentment
/ Erin CoxJoy, joy, joy — count it all joy. Choose joy. Joy has become a chant of the faithful, the ultimate side effect of living a Christian life. John Piper even refers to it as Christian hedonism in his book Desiring God.
But what IS this pursuit of joy? How do we tackle it in the rough seasons — the desperate seasons — the I AM DONE seasons? How do we even get started pursuing it? For Pete's sake… where is the joy?!
What Does Contentment Really Mean?
Contentment is defined as: to be free from care because of satisfaction with what is already one's own.
To be free from care. Because of satisfaction. Satisfaction with what is already owned — by you.
That definition alone stops me in my tracks. So much of our unhappiness comes from striving after what we don’t yet have, comparing ourselves to others, or holding God’s blessings at arm’s length while we complain about what seems to be missing. But scripture calls us to rest in what has already been given.
Paul: The Original Joy-Chaser
In Philippians chapter 1, Paul writes to encourage the church at Philippi — while still imprisoned. And as Paul often does, he talks a lot about joy. He rejoices about almost everything: because Christ is being proclaimed regardless of the circumstance, because of the faith of the Philippians, because they are of the same mind as he is.
“Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
(Philippians 1:18-21)
Notice this: Paul rejoices that he will be delivered. He doesn’t say, “I rejoice because I know they’re going to let me leave this prison.” He simply knows he will be delivered — somehow, some way, according to God’s perfect will that he trusts unfailingly.
Rejoicing in the Unknown
Paul is rejoicing now because he knows he has already been delivered. He knows that when you’re praying to a God who is incapable of unfaithfulness, your future deliverance is as guaranteed as if it had already happened. Through Christ’s resurrection, deliverance has already been delivered.
He is free from care because he has satisfaction in the deliverance that is already his. Even without knowing what form that deliverance might take, even without a roadmap in his hands, Paul rejoices in the unknown.
To Live is Christ, To Die is Gain
In verses 22-24, Paul goes on:
“If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.”
Paul fully understood that he was facing death. He had already faced cruelty, imprisonment, and suffering — yet he lived in a constant state of joy.
How?
The Secret of Contentment
Philippians 4:11-13 gives us his answer:
“…for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
Paul wasn’t denying hardship or pretending suffering didn’t exist. He acknowledged hunger, need, and trials. But he declared that none of those could shake his joy because Christ was his strength.
Joy as a Habit of the Heart
The secret to a life overflowing with joy is operating out of God’s strength, loving Him fully, and being content in what Christ has already done — and is still doing right this very second.
It’s not about mustering up positivity or pretending pain doesn’t hurt. It’s about choosing Christ in the middle of it all. It’s recognizing what you already own in Him and Who already owns you.
That realization produces an untouchable, unfathomable contentment — one that cannot be stolen by circumstance, illness, financial hardship, or loss.
When We Are Weak
2 Corinthians 12:10 reminds us:
“That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
We are weak — so weak. But through dependence on Christ, we are strong. Only when we stop striving to control every outcome will we reap the joy that is already ours.
Walking in Joy Daily
So what does this look like practically?
It looks like pausing in the chaos of parenting to breathe and pray before reacting.
It looks like thanking God for provision even when finances are tight.
It looks like praising Him for His presence in the hospital room or during the sleepless night.
It looks like remembering, in the deepest valley, that Christ has already given you eternal victory.
Joy isn’t a fleeting feeling; it’s a posture of contentment rooted in Jesus.
Joy is Already Yours
Friend, joy isn’t something you have to chase endlessly. It isn’t out there waiting for the day when your circumstances line up perfectly. It’s already yours in Christ.
We don’t need to wait until we “have it all together.” We don’t need to manufacture joy by ignoring pain. Joy is the natural outflow of being satisfied in Jesus — satisfied that He is enough.
So today, grab hold of that joy. Let it wash over you. Rejoice not because everything feels right, but because Christ has already made everything right with God.
You don’t need to search endlessly for joy. Through Christ, you already have it.
As parents of 4 children, spanning 15 years, we've essentially tried every single form of discipline there is. Spanking, time-outs, removing electronic privileges, missed play dates, loss of toys—you name it, and we've tried it. I've also gone a positive discipline route and hugged through meltdowns (which is usually the right thing to do with children under 6) and tried to "overlook offenses" under my own misperception of “grace.”
“Do not let the endless succession of small things crowd great ideals out of sight and out of mind.” -Charlotte Mason
I have no idea how many books I’ve read in my life, but I can promise you that they have shaped who I am and the way I live—drastically. The way I speak to my husband, the way I teach or discipline my children, the way I pray and seek the Lord—have all been shaped by books.
This is a guest post from my friend Jana! I love to read her practical encouragement and actionable wisdom. I hope it will bless you too!
The monotony of life at home can lull us into simply existing. We’ve all been there. But it doesn’t have to be so. Mama, you can thrive at home!
Here are three strategies: make it beautiful, provide gracious order, and be a consistent presence.
MAKE IT BEAUTIFUL
Do you feel an internal tug for beauty? Perhaps you love an orange sunset or pink peonies. God created this world beautiful as a reflection of Himself, so I believe an innate pull to beauty is why we desire to create beautiful spaces in our homes. Beautiful spaces bring a deep sense of thriving.
This post was contributed to Life, Abundantly by the talented Amber Palmer. See her full bio below. I hope you’ll be as encouraged and convicted as I was!
The intense yelling coming from the other side of the house floated down the hall to where I was putting laundry away in my room. “Oh, not again, I can’t do this again…” I thought to myself as my children’s yells and cries got louder. This was the third time within thirty minutes that I was interrupted while trying to put the pile (ok, mountain) of laundry away.
Anger poured over me and through me and all around me as I marched down the hall toward the sibling fight. Huffing and puffing, mumbling and complaining, I hustled to the fire I was desperate to put out for good.
Marching over to them, I matched their loud screams with, “Why are you always yelling at each other!” I felt pain rip through my throat and a voice come out that I wasn’t even familiar with myself.
This guest post was contributed by the delightful and talented Carly Wilson. See the bio at the bottom to find more of Carly’s work. We are delighted to have her!
My husband just stands there, doing nothing. I can’t tolerate it! He pours the coffee into the mug, pops it into the microwave, hits start, and then…nothing. He just lounges against the counter while it heats up.
He should be putting the time to good use.
He should be wiping up the counter, putting away the milk, or closing the drawer.
“Don’t you need to do something?” I asked him. “Aren’t you bored just standing there?”
“Not at all,” he answered. “It’s actually kind of nice to do nothing.”
For some reason, this annoys me!
For years and years, I would have called a couple of my children (and myself) "very strong-willed." I'd read book after book about these children who are like little attorneys. Children who must learn everything "the hard way, " and who are so determined and set in their ways that it's an act of war to have them ever obey or submit to authority.
Defiant.
Hard-headed.
Stubborn.
Big personality.
Strong-willed.
If you have a child who could give a Harvard law grad a run for their money... You aren't alone. I have two such children, and I've been told, I am that person too.
I received a text from a sweet friend last night — one who is in the thick of her first year or two of homeschooling. As she’s been spending many sleepless nights cradling and nursing her newborn infant recently, thoughts and concerns have flooded her mind over the progress of her 6-year-old daughter’s reading.
Anyone who has been in the thick of homeschooling for one year or ten remembers those days well. Not one of us is impervious to fears, second-guessing, unmet expectations, and the torture of comparison.
What follows is a version of my response to her concerns — words she and I agreed should be shared with you as well. These words were once offered to me, small doses at a time, from the women ahead of me, speaking Truth into the midst of my fears. Some of these words are things I never heard but my heart desperately yearned for. And many of them are the result of hours, weeks, and years of pouring my aching heart out to a Father who understood and cared about it all.
Dear Scared, Worried, New Homeschool Mama,
Babies. Time. Gravity. Busyness. Injuries. Disease. There are so many ways and events that can fester a special kind of dissatisfaction with our bodies. As mamas, we know the power and strength that is inside of us- that created, nourished, and cultivated life, then pushed it out into the world. We know the purpose behind these bodies, but more often than not, as the battle scars of life begin to tatter our flesh, we can question our very worth and purpose.
We battle our stretch marks. We battle the extra pounds. We battle the cellulite, the sagging jaw line, and the embedded lines that show we’ve expressed joy daily. The world tells us that these signs of life are undesirable and less than beautiful. The message to these generations is that as we grow in wisdom, virtue, experience, and strength, we are now less than we once were because we wear the battle scars of a life filled with living.
Despite what the magazines on the rack say, the Book I look to says differently. The Book I look to says that my body is sacred, chosen, strengthened, and redeemed. The only Word that matters says that I house the Spirit of the living God inside these dimpled thighs and amongst all those wayward hairs.
We all have unbelief—sometimes in ourselves, in our spouse, in a child… all to varying degrees. We aren’t born believers, unfortunately. God must pursue our hearts until we willingly submit to Him and lay our lives at the foot of the cross.
When the root of unbelief is in our own hearts, we need only cry out to God in earnest desire to fully believe. As the father of the sick child in Mark 9:24 cries out to Jesus, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief!” so too can we cry out, and He will surely answer.
You're a good mom. And I should know- I'm a good mom too, so I'm qualified to judge.
Here's how I know that we are both good moms:
I've criticized them.
I can be impatient and distracted.
I've overexpected.
I've underestimated.
I've failed to discipline them.
I've disciplined them too rashly.
I've packed up and left them for a whole weekend because I needed a break so badly.
I've wondered what in the world I was thinking to have had so many.
I've failed to know one of them had learning disabilities and criticized her for her "disobedience and laziness."
I've also felt shame, self-hatred, condemnation, overwhelming guilt, and humiliation over every single one of those things. If you can fail in some way as a parent- I've done it.
In the last 20 minutes, I've literally heard the beckoning of "Mama" 38 times. Literally. To keep my sanity, I started counting. As I lay my youngest down to sleep, I pondered the huge milestones we'd met this week of potty training and weaning all intermingled with the frustration and just plain exhaustion of, "Mama, Mama, Mama."
In my heart, I cried out to the Lord to strengthen, encourage, and bless me for the rest of this day and all that it still held... And for the many, many "Mamas" that had yet to be said...
- Breast or bottle.
- Forward-facing or rear-facing.
- Homeschool or public school.
- Attachment parenting or cry it out.
- Baby wearing or stroller.
- Store bought puree or baby led weaning.
- Cloth or disposable.
- Early education or delayed instruction.
- Formal lessons or unschooling.
- Classical or Charlotte Mason.
- Textbooks or living books.
- Crafts or free play.
- Packed lunch or lunchroom.
- Organic or not.
- Essential oils or a doctor visit.
- Paleo or convenience foods.
- Homeschool for life or homeschool for now.
- Time outs... Positive reinforcement... Or spanking?
- And let's not even get into the decisions we make with our teenagers!
It never ends. As moms, we make thousands of decisions daily, big and small, and no matter where we look, our friends, family, media, and experts are all telling us (directly or indirectly) that we are doing it WRONG. The world shouts that out of all the choices, the one we made isn't the BEST. There's a better way...
Criticism is something I’ve battled my entire life. It came from extended family members, friends, acquaintances, leaders, and even strangers.
My earliest memory dealing with it was as a small child. Being criticized for being a female while all my cousins and siblings were males was constant. Growing up in a family where my extended relatives praised males was challenging. I never felt enough, no matter how hard I tried.
As a young adult, I worked under a leader who didn’t fully agree with women in ministerial roles. I found myself receiving the same sort of criticism I did as a child. Nothing I did was ever good enough, and every time I opened my mouth, I was told I said something wrong. I was given clear instructions, followed them exactly, but somehow I was still critiqued. It was constant, and it was heartbreaking. It crushed my spirit.
Proverbs 15:4 says, “Gentle words bring life and health; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.”
During this season of criticism, my heart developed a struggle with perfectionism. I felt like everything I did, everything I said, and everything I sought after had to be perfection. If it was, then I wouldn’t hear the stinging words of criticism.
I want to openly admit that I've been completely distracted lately—by an overwhelming to-do list, endless obligations, spreading myself thin, and spending WAY too much time on social media. It has resulted in my being irritable and impatient with my kids.
The insane amount of time I spend on my phone is one of those things that I've been aware of for some time, but it's also something I find myself making a ton of excuses about. I work online, so I need access to my email, my blog, and my social media. Plus, I'm a stay-at-home mom with littles, so I don't get out and have many adult conversations. I have friends and family who don't live close by, so I need to keep up with their lives too. And of course, those same family and friends want to see what we're up to. RIGHT?
With many life changes going on right now and various tasks popping up left and right... my mind is overflowing 24/7. My brain is an internet browser with 4.7 million tabs open at all times.
We make thousands of small decisions daily, my friend.
Should I get out of bed?
Should I work?
Should I cook breakfast?
Should I shower?
Should I drive safely?
Should I respond to this text?
How should I respond to my husband?
When should I respond to my whining child?
Opportunities to decide come relentlessly. We make so many in a day that we develop habits to overcome the overwhelm of the constant thinking required for all of these decisions. We don’t consciously think through every single decision. At some point, we made a choice in the past, and it went well, so we settled into following those ruts. That way we no longer have the stress of having to remake that decision every single time.
Our habits help us cope with the sheer magnitude of the everyday.
Basically, we set our lives on auto-pilot, and we do this despite the fact that our habits (pre-decided decisions) change our lives.
The truth is this:
Our habits don’t just change our lives; they are our lives.
I've recently admitted that I yell at my children... and it's all because I'm lazy. I'm confident I'm not alone in that, and so far the internet hounds have not come baying at my door. So, just to be fully transparent, I thought I'd also confess that I'm not an encouraging mom like I once thought myself to be. And this realization has hit me like a ton of bricks.
Joy, joy, joy- count it all joy. Choose joy. Joy has become a chant of the faithful as the ultimate side-effect of living a Christian life. John Piper refers to it as Christian hedonism in his book, Desiring God.
But what IS this pursuit of joy? How do we tackle it in the rough seasons- the desperate seasons- the I AM DONE seasons? How do we even get started pursuing it? For Pete's sake- where is the joy!?!
How many times do I become sinfully angry with a child because they need my hands-on redirection, and I don't want to walk across the room? How many times do I raise my voice when I should have just raised my bottom off the seat I was in? How often have I lost my patience when I simply didn't want to be bothered from the comfort of whatever I was doing at the time?
Let’s get really honest. What are some of my greatest failings as a wife and mother?
I am quick to anger.
I am impatient.
I want things to go the way I wanted or expected them to.
What are some traps I commonly find myself snared in?
I grow weary of being touched.
I grow weary of always pouring into everyone else, and it never seeming like enough.
I grow weary of the noise and chatter.
I grow weary of someone always needing something from me.
I grow weary of doing the same tasks, that are immediately undone, day in and day out.
And so what do these sins and these traps have in common? Laziness. Put another way: I often lack the self-discipline to do what I ought to do rather than what I feel like doing.
It's January... which means we are all on a downhill slide. The busyness and craziness and fun of Christmas has all been quieted, and we are left to our own devices (often trapped inside from the frigid temps). If you're like me, this anticlimactic time following the depths of winter as we roll past the New Year can usher in boredom, exhaustion, and cabin fever. We oftentimes enter what's now commonly referred to as a "slump" in our homeschool year.
But why? Is it fully triggered by gloomy weather and post-holiday blues? I suspect there's something else lurking beneath this battle almost every homeschool Mama faces each year...
I came to slowly know Christ just over a decade ago. He came to me in the darkest period in my marriage and let me know that despite having failed in every way imaginable, I was still loved. He humbled me and brought me into his fold where I have safely and confidently resided ever since. Since my marriage to Christ, we’ve been in a sweet honeymoon period—for literally a decade.
Jesus saved me from myself and let me know I was loved without fail when I was absolutely unlovable. He changed my heart, my mind, my priorities, my perspective, my marriage, my parenting—literally almost every ounce of me has been made new in Christ (except my potty-mouth, but He’s still working).
I have passionately loved Him for it and pursued Him with fervor—most of the time. Some of the time, I have not. Some of the time, I am overly confident that I can handle things on my own. Some of the time, I feel like everything is going fine, and I don’t need Him quite as much. Some of the time, I forget just how sinful I truly am.
I absolutely LOVE books. I love a book that leads me to the Cross, reminds me of God's abundant grace, convicts me of unrecognized sin, and helps me love my husband or children better. God's Word is always my go-to for all of those things, but there’s something special about hearing experiences and lessons from other people who are walking this same journey of faith. Their words feel like a warm cup of coffee with a trusted friend—comforting, challenging, and motivating. (By the way, here’s my very favorite note-taking Bible. I’m an ESV girl through and through.)
Over the years, I’ve read a lot of Christian books, but only a few have left such a deep imprint on my life that I still talk about them years later. I prayed hard about which ones to share here, and I narrowed it down to six books (and one journal) that I truly believe every Mama could benefit from. These books have been lifelines to me in different seasons, and I want to give you a quick rundown of why I love them so much.
I love my husband. We've been married for over 15 years and together nearly 25 at the ripe old age of 36. He's literally sewn into my existence. We are like peas and cornbread—absolutely inseparable. Except back when we were separable—back when we were making our own rules, following our own feelings, and generally doing life (including marriage) our own way.
Way back when, we were stuck together but we both had some strong moments of being ready for that to not be the case. I'll never forget those days. Those long nights of fights and tears—when he finally decided enough was enough. Those are raw, unshakeable memories for two reasons. Obviously for the immense pain entrenched in them for both of us, but even more so for the unspeakable redemption and joy that came out of it all.
We often have a habit of looking at someone else's marriage and saying they have something we don't have. They're lucky. They don't fight, or their kids don't cause distress, or they don't have financial issues, or they haven't sinned against one another, or their husband does this one thing—or he DOESN'T do this one thing. But the fact of the matter is that almost every pristine-looking marriage that I know of has been on some seriously shaky ground. Loving is HARD work.
In part 1 and part 2 of this series (definitely go back and read those first if you haven't) we tackled the big question of evaluating our REASON for homeschooling in the first place and then used some worksheets to curate a homeschool vision.
Our big question # 2 is this: Are you being REALISTIC with your expectations for homeschooling based on your personality, the abilities of your child, the availability of your husband, and the number of hours in the day? In other words, are your expectations appropriate or even reasonable?
Hear me first on this, mama: When you homeschool, you are NOT a "stay at home mom". You are a work from home mom. You are a TEACHER who works at home- degree or not. You are wholly responsible for your child's education (which is BOTH terrifying and a huge honor.)
It’s ok to have brokenness, unfinishedness, and to be out of control. Messy floors, broken fences, unhung doors—not having the time, energy, money, or mental fortitude to fix every little thing. It’s ok.
Jesus was born into a mess because the gist of all of us is just that—mess. We ARE ALL A MESS. His presence in that mess was the greatest gift—the greatest joy. He walked right into complete disarray, stink, and brokenness and made it all new.
But the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people." —Luke 2:10
We don’t need to fix the mess, perfect the mess, or even hate the mess.
We simply need to invite Jesus INTO the mess—so that all of our messiness doesn’t matter anymore. Because He is the only mattering thing.
Confession: I have not always respected my husband, treated him in a respectful way, or even thought he was someone who I ought to respect.
I'm going to assume that my husband and I are not the only ones who have ever struggled in their marriage, had deep valleys to drudge through, or huge learning curves to overcome when it comes to pursuing Biblical marriage? I'm going to assume we aren't the only one who've hit rock bottom, maybe signed some divorce papers (and then burned them in the fire)? If you have walked through some seriously rocky times in your marriage, I hope that some of the lessons we've learned together can be an encouragement to you.
Self-care is a big buzzword right now. External and internal expectations on mamas are louder than ever before.
We face challenges unlike any faced by previous generations of women. Social media, media, infinite parenting philosophies, and the general sinful nature of our humanity has cultivated an exhausting, sometimes tormenting, atmosphere in which we live and desperately push to thrive.
Despite all of the expectations and demands, I believe our generation has a deep heartfelt desire to love our family faithfully, sacrificialy and as much like Christ as possible. I believe there is a revival in our country, especially among moms who desire to not just do motherhood well, but to do it as unto the Lord.