Hello Friends!

Today I am excited to bring you another Titus Two Tuesday interview. Just preparing these posts and getting them ready is a blessing to me as I read over each unique answer and get a peak into the heart and life of a fellow homemaker and woman in ministry!

Today, we are hearing from a fellow Church planting wife, Rosa Balzamo. I have only had the privilege of meeting Rosa one time several years ago at a theological conference I attended with my husband. Regardless of that one-time meeting in person, I feel as if Rosa is a dear friend because we have some things in common!

I hope you will be blessed by what she has to share with us today!

Meet Rosa

My name is Rosa Balzamo. I’ve been married to my husband Tom for almost eighteen years. In 2015, my husband planted a church in eastern Connecticut which he currently pastors.

Between home life and church, there’s always something I’m working on. During the school year, I stay busy with homeschooling our two  boys, ages 13 and 16. Over the summer months, I love to work in my flower and vegetable gardens and tackle various projects around the house. In between everything, I also build, manage, and edit a few websites, primarily the Reason Together Podcast site and Mary Schrock Books, along with our church’s website.

In addition to being completely obsessed with simplifying life and organization, I love photography and documenting everyday life. I’m currently reviving my own website, Capture the Little Things, where I focus on simplifying our lives so we can focus on the things that truly matter.

What is your favorite passage of Scripture and why?

Deuteronomy 31:8 has long been my favorite Bible verse. It reminds me that no matter what I go through, the Lord already knew it was coming; it is no surprise to Him. I can trust Him no matter what happens.

“And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8

What does your typical “quiet time” or Bible study look like?

We are all early risers at our house, so I don’t often get the chance to have my quiet time before the household wakes up. But I make it a point to have my quiet time at some point in the morning because I know if I don’t, the day quickly slips away and it doesn’t happen. Most mornings, I have my quiet time while sitting at my dining room table with my coffee. I recently finished reading through the Bible chronologically which I really enjoyed! Currently, I’m reading through the book of Psalms. I have taken inspiration from Mardi Collier’s method of writing down attributes of God (“What do I know about my God?”) and write down those attributes in the wide margin of my Bible as I read through the psalms. On mornings when I have a little more time to dig deeper, I am doing a verse-by-verse study of 1 Samuel.

What piece of advice or encouragement would you like to share with single young women?

Don’t spend your single years pining over the boyfriend you don’t have. Instead, consider these years to be a blessing and a time to focus on your spiritual growth! This time of being undistracted by responsibilities of a wife and mother is something you may not have in a few years – take advantage of it! Learn now to become that Proverbs 31 woman; don’t wait until you’re married to learn it and practice it. And as you grow, trust the Lord to bring the perfect man into your life if He so chooses.

How would you encourage moms to “love their children?”

I believe that one of the most loving things a parent can do for their child is to tell them the truth. We live in a day when parents are encouraged to go to great lengths to “make your children feel good about themselves.” I won’t take the time here to get into the numerous dangers of this philosophy, but I believe it is crucial that we tell our children the truth rather than bathe them in flattery. I’m in no way saying that we should not compliment our children or tell them they did a good job if that is truly the case, but making them feel as if they can do nothing wrong is a great problem, especially when you want to tell them that they’ve sinned and need a Savior. Tell them the truth about about God, about their sin, about their school work or chores that they could have done better on, and yes, even about the tooth fairy and Santa. As Christian mothers, we need to love our children by not lying to them in the name of making them feel good about themselves.

What is your favorite thing about homemaking and why?

I love to provide a clean, cozy, clutter-free home for my family. When a home is cozy and welcoming, it cultivates a desire to want to be there. I want my home to be a safe haven from the world around us; I want it to be a place of rest, love, trust, and spiritual growth.

What’s your best homemaking or time management tip?

Simplify. Simplify. Simplify. Seriously, simplifying your home by decluttering and minimizing it will change your life! We don’t realize how much the things around us weigh us down and clutter up our lives and our minds. Getting rid of the excess clutter in our lives allows us to be more productive not only in our homes, but also in our churches and ministries to others. This has personally been a huge turning point in my homemaking!

Tell us something the Lord has been teaching you lately:

I will admit this is a difficult question because there are so many ways in which the Lord works in our lives on a daily basis to teach us what He wants us to learn, some are more obvious than others. One area in which the Lord is working on me is to really truly love and care for my family, primarily in the area of homemaking. After traveling on deputation for over two years, then moving half way across the country to plant a church and struggle through those first challenging years of a new church plant, I spent too many years in “survival mode” and sadly lost much of the joy and focus of my ministry to my family as a homemaker. I feel that over the past couple years, the Lord has really been showing me how my homemaking is not just cooking and cleaning, but it is an actual ministry to my family and a way to show Christ’s love to them.

Are there any books that have had a big impact on your life?

As I mentioned earlier, Mardi Collier’s book What Do I Know About My God? has really influenced me spiritually. It’s such a simple concept, with such a massive impact!

On a more practical level, the following are a few books that have been a big help to me (in no particular order):

• Introverted Mom by Jamie C. Martin (personal)
• The Self-Propelled Advantage by Joanne Calderwood (homeschool)
• The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom (inspirational, convicting)
• Do More Better by Tim Challies (practical, productivity)
• Declutter Your Home in 15 Minutes a Day by Dawn Madsen (practical, productivity)

Any final piece of advice you would like to share with us?

Sometimes as stay-at-home-moms who are busy with life and home and don’t have a “social life” aside from church, we can get discouraged or even feel guilty that we don’t have unsaved people to befriend and give the Gospel to. Because of this, we may be tempted to feel like we’re not doing enough to serve the Lord. What we fail to remember is that God brought our ministry right to us in our own home — our children!

As mothers, our children are our ministry! And what a wonderful ministry it is! We can have a powerful spiritual impact on the lives of our children. Think about it — we are literally with our children all the time! That means that (if we get our heads out of our phones and look for them) we have all kinds of opportunities to teach our children about Christ! Even if we have older children who have already accepted Christ, we have an amazing opportunity to help them learn more about Christ and grow in Him. Don’t get discouraged with this season of life. Someday all too soon, our children will be grown up and out on their own. Things will change, and the Lord may bring people into your life to give the Gospel too. But for now, serve Him with all your heart in the ministry He has given you — teaching your children about Him! What a high calling we have been given!!

Final Thoughts (From Rebekah)

I hope you enjoyed today’s post from Rosa! Please feel free to check out her blog and/or look into the book titles she mentioned. If you enjoyed this post, please leave a comment below to thank Rosa for her time and encouraging words.

You can check out previous Titus Two Tuesday posts below:

• Titus Two Tuesday with Sarah Boots
• Titus Two Tuesday with Amanda Whitener
• Titus Two Tuesday with Pat Fry
• Titus Two Tuesday with Brettnay Brazzell
• Titus Two Tuesday with Sarah Schurman
• Titus Two Tuesday with Janice Harris

Until Next Time,