LIFE UPDATE | CHRISTIAN LIVING

This is one of those posts where there will be something in it for everybody. This year has been one that has been marked with major life adjustments, surrender to God and very specific obedience to His voice. 

Many who know me have heard me share that last year at the end of February, I had reached a really low point – I was feeling all sorts of hormonal shifts and emotions after having our 3rd baby and had reached a point of desperation. It was in that place that the Lord met me in a radical way and I’ll always remember 2024 as a year filled with the Presence of God in the most basic places and moments throughout my daily life. 

Truth be told, I thought the “right” thing would be to continue in that for the rest of my days. And while the Presence of God has still been available to me every day, the season feels like it’s shifted so much into working for and in the Kingdom of God. 

During this post, I’ll talk about:

• A series of dreams I had that led me to a major life adjustment
• What those life adjustments have looked like
• Homeschooling Trial and Errors 
• Health Journey Changes (& struggles)

The Dreams that Changed Everything

At the end of 2024, I had a series of dreams – my husband and I often talk about dreams from the Lord, so this isn’t a new experience for me. The short version is that in these dreams, I was “working in the revival”. Revival is something I’ve prayed for for our city and county – a mighty, undeniable move of God marked by His Presence that changes everything. But I would have never thought the Lord would ask me to work in the revival. In every dream, I was doing photography work except it was in a place where revival was happening. 

If I’m honest, I didn’t love the dream at first. After so much time spent in the Lord’s Presence last year, I really didn’t know how to think of work as worship. I still don’t fully…

But I knew He was calling me to find out.

Within the dream, I had hired a friend of mine to watch my kids while I was working half days “in the revival”. I went through the process of confirming that this part of the dream was a literal strategy God was giving me and not just symbolic of something else. To learn more about how I confirm certain things with God – get my Hearing from Workbook here.

He confirmed and I hired our beloved “Miss Peyton” – my boys loveeee her! What a gift! She comes just two mornings a week, but I’ve found that I can get so much done in that amount of time that opened up new ideas and possibilities that had been “sleeping” in my mind before. This might seem simple, but for any mama who has been exclusively a stay at home mom for 4+ years, you understand how insanely weird it feels to get in your car by yourself and sit, uninterrupted for 3 hours at a coffee shop.

It was wild.

And not to mention, I honestly wasn’t sure how to afford childcare. Then God gave me the idea of Mini Sessions – which I have LOVED!

So this set the tone for major life change already, but there’s more! These are a little more practical and honestly, I’m still very much in the middle of them, so I’m letting you in on how things are going right in the messy process of figuring it out.

Here are 3 other life updates for the Romans household (I’m Michele Houston Romans!)

We started a podcast!

My husband and I started a podcast together! It’s called Bishop and Shell (Read the Bible). We are reading through the Bible together and talking through the things the Lord places on our hearts during each reading! It’s been so fun!

Attempting Homeschool

I have been in the very beginning stages of homeschooling. It’s funny, but this has been the most popular topic that I’ve shared so far – I always get messages when I share about this journey! My oldest is only 4.5, so it’s really brand new, but here’s what I’ve learned so far.

1. We’re choosing this option for now because we believe nobody loves your kids like you do. To be honest, I tried to overdo it – haha. Never in a million years did I think I was the “homeschool mom” type, so I think I started trying to “be the homeschool mom type”. Which is really just some made up person in my head. God continually reminds me that I have everything I need to raise my boys. That’s on purpose, but I have to be fully me. 
2. So far, what’s worked for us has been getting a few clear bins and labeling them with letters and putting an assortment of learning toys in each one. Our 4 and 3 year old boys get to choose a letter and take their bin to play at the table – they love it! 
3. What has not worked is me trying to teach them a formal lesson from a curriculum. I’m laughing because I knew better! We’re an entrepreneur family, so this kind of thing isn’t typically our jam. I’m going to keep trying out the lessons here and there, but so far, my oldest has been bored because he’s learning faster on his own with toys.

Health Journey Changes

Can I be honest? I cringed just writing the words “health journey”. Some of you love a health journey, and I commend you. In the past, I thought people were just being extra when they said that phrase, but I’m eating my own words! (As judgment often causes us to do eventually!) 

This change has come about mostly because one of our boys has had really dry skin and nothing has helped (yes even tallow, Tubby Todd ointment, Aquaphor, steroid cream, the bath ball water filter – all the things!). So we decided to have our entire family try out only eating meat, fruit, vegetables and eggs. 

There is nothing better to me than a sautéed vegetable, so I’m loving it, but trying to convince kids to try it has been challenging. We’ll see if it lasts and hopefully we will see some changes!

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Hopefully this post has sparked some new ideas or questions for you, too! If anything I’ve shared resonates with you, I’d love to hear it! DM me on social media or send me an email to michelehoustonphotography@gmail.com.