In our culture, we run from hard things. We tend to think that hard = bad or wrong. But today I'm going to give you some encouragement that hard doesn't necessarily mean bad. In fact, God often does His biggest work in Hard. Listen in! Listen to the Podcast: And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. We get asked a lot how we do certain things: run a business from home with 6 kids, travel full time, go out to eat with said kids, homeschool all of them without losing our minds, etc. And honestly, most of what we do doesn't seem overly mystifying to us, but some of it is really hard. A big theme in our life has become: hard doesn't mean bad. Often in our culture, we equate hard with bad. We think that if things are hard, they must be wrong. Or that we are doing them wrong. For example: Newborn days and entering motherhood can be HARD. That doesn't mean we are doing it wrong. Some homeschool days are terrible. It doesn't mean the sacrifice isn't worth it. Traveling all around the country with 6 young kids can be exhausting. It doesn't mean the education and exploration isn't worth every single second. In our culture today, we've been trained to think that hard is bad. We feel like life should be easy and good, not tough and hard. So we either assume we are doing something wrong or that the hard isn't worth pushing through. The thing is: most worthwhile things in life ARE hard. Getting a college degree is HARD. But it can be worth every single bit of work. Pregnancy and labor is hard. But it produces new life. Discipleship is hard, and exhausting, and frustrating at times...But it's God's work in our children's lives (and in our own lives). God disciplines us and it's often so hard. But it produces the fruit of the Spirit. "God’s sovereignty is exercised primarily for His glory. But because you and I are in Christ Jesus, His glory and our good are linked together. Because we are united with Christ, whatever is for His glory is also for our good. And whatever is for our good is for His glory." “God does not willingly bring affliction or grief to us. He does not delight in causing us to experience pain or heartache. He always has a purpose for the grief He brings or allows to come into our lives. Most often we do not know what that purpose is, but it is enough to know that His infinite wisdom and perfect love have determined that the particular sorrow is best for us. God never wastes pain. He always uses is to accomplish His purpose. And His purpose is for His glory and our good. Therefore, we can trust Him when our hearts are aching or our bodies are racked with pain.” ― Jerry Bridges, Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts Links & Resources: Book recommendation: Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts Our Sponsor: Go to HelloFresh.com/homemaking12 and use code homemaking12 for 12 free meals, including free shipping!