Stephanie A. Anderson

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One goal Joanna Gaines has that EVERYONE should have...

Y’ALL I’M ABOUT TO NAME DROP! Pretty sure I used the word y’all right?! Hmm- Can my Texas friends please confirm? Okay…

Last November the A-team and I went to visit family in Texas for Thanksgiving. My husband and I agree’d it was the best Thanksgiving we’ve had in a really long time. It was my second time to Texas and every time we go I feel kinda nervous to ask, but I am always curious to see the growth and enjoy the environment at Magnolia Market and HELLOOOO?! Get a Joanna Gaines candle! (The Fall scent is my favorite.) So I always ask “Can we go to Magnolia?”

Now some people might wonder why? Why get hung up about people who are on t.v. Well the answer is, I’m inspired by the Gaines. It’s the same feeling I get at Disney World. Such incredible people! Yes, I did just put Disney and the Gaines in the same category. Because they chose to step out and do bigger things than the average person.

So, who is Joanna Gaines?

Brief Intro: She and her husband Chip are from Waco, Texas and they had a show on HTGV called “Fixer Upper.” And for those of you who know my husband and I personally, you know we are slowly remodeling our home and we love big diy projects. Their show was not only inspiring but fun to watch. Their personalities and how they meshed together felt like “home.” He being the funny guy and her being all business was just to much for us to identify with. My husband and I would crack up and say “thats us!” Probably like the rest of America watching. But unlike the rest of America the Gaines have shown us a goal that they have tried to stick to as their story is being written.

To be honest, I think they achieve this goal in ways that are different from many of us because it’s not our story, it’s theirs! But it doesn’t mean it’s only a goal for them.  The goal I believe they have set is: To obey God’s leading in their daily lives and  with their dreams. Or to put it another way: To obey God, even when it looks and feels like a loss.

Over two and a half years ago I was pregnant with my second son. I remember so clearly the day the Holy Spirit asked me to quit my job to be a stay at home mom. Can I be honest and not get too much flack? I am obsessed with my babies but I do not love being a SAHM. I have dreams and ideas and in my conversation with God that day I asked how could I accomplish those at home, being around literally no-one. I mean, no one that can speak in complete sentences, doesn’t spill their food everywhere shouting “NO!” as I drag them to the shower before I have to mop and change over the laundry at 8am…

It was at about that time I stumbled upon her story. Joanna Gaines story, or can I say testimony?

I remember finding out that she was a believer and decided to shut down her (dream) Magnolia business to focus on raising her family while their two oldest kiddos were young.

As a woman with big dreams, to hault the progress of reaching those dreams is a difficult choice and definitely not a popular one in this day and age of I-make-my-own-money-and-spend-it-how-I-want-to-boss-ladys. Choosing to step back when if feels like now is the time to step up is not only painful but scary. Knowing your value and feeling valued are not the same thing, and not many value the SAHM role, and apologetically, myself included! Stay at home moms have so much more to offer than just changing diapers and finding lost things and recently, it has felt like this generation of mom’s has lost the meaning of sacrifice and has replaced it with family-sacrifice, but for the same reasons as sacrificing one’s self for one’s family. (Read that sentence again, slowly. It’s a truth bomb in a nutshell.) There is a difference, I know it too, but that is a post for another day. I read on…

The Article continued to share her story of closing their first store: “I remember the last day,” Joanna recalls. “We’re closing the shop down, and I’m crying because again I feel like it’s the end of a dream, and I hear God say very clearly, he said, ‘Joanna, if you trust me with your dreams, I’m gonna take Magnolia further than you could’ve ever dreamed. So just trust me.’ And I remember hearing that and feeling completely peaceful about it, and I walked away.”

Well, we all know what kind of empire has become of Joanna’s obedience to lay down her dream and trust God enough to obey. Some could argue about the word “empire” and the idea of fame but if we are all honest, Christians need help building and decorating their homes too! So um…. I am thankful. I’m thankful God gave her a gift and the business world noticed. The fact that they try (under pressure few of us understand) to stay genuine, and keep trying new things is inspiring to me! Christians should be in every sphere of influence, this is how the gospel spreads. These are the people that change peoples lives because of their hard work and surrender.

 Yes, I’m a dreamer, inspired by other dreamers. This is why the Gaines and Disney are in the same category to me. I love hardworking-achieving dreamers who believe in family and team. And here we see an individual who laid down her dream and walked away from it, to obey God and steward her blessings well. This is a goal I think we should all have. Obedience to whatever God asks, no matter how hard or what the loss is. So in my defense, do I like being a SAHM not really, but I’ve seen God show up for other people in this real life, not just the bible, so I am raising my hand and saying “God, pick me too! Here, take all I have, and help me obey!”

If somehow my obedience creates an atmosphere for individuals and families to enjoy each other and take time to breathe and listen for what God might have for them as well…then gosh, I NEED to obey! We ALL do! You guys, Joanna Gaines is #goals but it was her obedience that got the ball rolling.

I mean what if we all set time aside once a week to show love to a family? Spent time and really took care of their practical needs and changed the way they lived. Like a weekly episode of Fixer Upper. And what if all we did was talk about the transformations of peoples lives that God used us to influence? Maybe, what the Gaines have going on in the natural is exactly what every Christian should be doing in the spiritual?

Lets set the goal to be #goals ourselves by being aware of what God is asking us to give up, so we can be used of Him, however he wants to use us. Yes? Where is God asking you to obey Him this year? Leave a comment!

Find @andersonswife on IG for photos of our visit to Magnolia Market, Thanksgiving 2018!

Magnolia Sources:

https://magnolia.com/about/

https://foreverymom.com/arts-entertainment/celebrities/chip-gaines-real-reason-fixer-upper-end/