Proverbs 31...Part 1

This post is quite a long one, so I am dividing it up into a few posts.  Enjoy!

Recently I have been feeling guilty over the foods I have been feeding my family and myself. Justin hasn't complained about it, and Inara eats whatever I put in front of her, but I just know in my heart I am not loving them well.  I have also been feeling like a poor steward of our money at the grocery.   About a year into our marriage I started couponing and save about $30/week on groceries. But lately I don't feel like I am doing the best with what God has given me.  But instead of making changes in my spending habits at the grocery and at our table, I just kept on doing the same thing and started to condemn myself for not making adjustments.  It just seemed so overwhelming at the time, and for many reasons.

1. It seemed like all the blogs with helpful information assumed you were a stay at home mom.  And right now its just not possible, which is ok. I am not bitter toward God or Justin for working. I am thankful for a job that allows me the flexibility to be at home as much as possible, yet still make a significant financial contribution to our family.  But with that being said, it is hard to make your own bread/yogurt/noodles/slaughter your own chicken when you are not a full time homemaker.
2. Our family dynamic makes it hard to even do the things listed above even IF I were a SAHM. Inara eats such a small amount of food that it doesn't make sense to make my own batches of stuff. Justin isn't home for dinner multiple nights a week for dinner because of work, so making dinner for 1.2 people (me and Inara), seems impossible.
3. On small group nights, it seems we are rushing to get there and grabbing McDonalds on the way always seems the way we roll.
4. Weekends seem super busy so we eat out a lot.

So all these things added up and not knowing where to start I was discouraged and condemning myself.  Thankfully a sister in the Lord showed me I was not having a "Godly sorrow", but was sinfully condemning my self. Thank God for her! I found my self in Romans 8 where God showed me there is NO condemnation in Him. Only grace and forgiveness and mercy. Praise Him for His goodness, am I right?

So I started thinking. What do I want to do in my kitchen and at the grocery? Above all, honor God.  So what does God say a Godly woman is like...lets go to Proverbs 31.  So in reading it I thought, well that isn't super helpful as to what exactly that look like in my life. But then I remembered how a friend really dissected each verse to get down to the nitty gritty of what this "wife of noble character" looks like. She even sent it to me to help encourage me. It was a great start to dive into God's word.  So after a few hours God really began to show me the big picture and all the details too, of how I can honor Him better in my home.

Any other moms/wives out there that struggle with this? Where do you run to in God's word for encouragement?  How do you working moms balance work and the home?