Choosing joy in the small things.

One who is faithful in very little is also faithful in much. - Luke 16:10

Ladies. Today I want to talk about the little things. The little things we do that we don't like to do. The little things no one sees us do. The little things that no shows appreciation for us doing.

We all have little things we don't like to do and it's highly probable that we may even dread it more than bigger things.

Personally I find it harder to choose joy in the little things because those things often go unnoticed. Not that I expect a thank you every time or a pat in the back every time however, when it does happen I feel like I could do it over and over again because it was appreciated, someone noticed and someone was pleased. 

LIKE DISHES! It's the never ending job that never tends to get noticed. Just one look at the overflowing sinkful of those greasy, sticky, smelly dishes makes me want to run under the covers and try again tomorrow. Which is never the best idea because once tomorrow hits the dishes will be way more overwhelming. 

 But recently I have been trying to take joy in the little duties that overwhelm me the most. I've been choosing to thrive through those dirty dishes with a smile on my face and getting them done knowing that it doesn't go unseen because God sees and is pleased when I do things to serve my family because in reality I'm serving Him when I do these things with a joyful heart.  

I have chosen to see how blessed I am to have dishes to wash, water to wash them with and soap to clean them with. I've chosen to see how blessed I am to have a husband and children who dirty the dishes and expect me to clean them. I'm learning to love that.

I have learned that it does no good for me to dread the little things I don't want to do. When I dread  doing something it steals my current joy. It steals my happiness and it takes away from my family. I'm no longer willing to let that happen. 

What are the little daily things you dread doing? laundry? grocery shopping? vacuuming?  or perhaps even doing the dishes like me? 

This week let's take one day at a time to thrive through our daily do's with joy. Lets deal with these little things that tend to steal our joy and look at them differently. Let's do our dishes, clean our floors, and pick up those cheerios our two year old spilled all over the car without depending on the applause of our husbands or children because truth is, most of the time we're not going to get it from them. Let's do all of these things with humble hearts all for the glory of God.  Because with Him nothing goes unseen. He sees you. He hears you. He loves you. And He's so proud of you! 

 "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me."  -Matthew 25:40

Remember what God said

I was that mom last week..That mom who was stressed paralyzed. Many times I found myself exhausted, weary, sitting on the couch just wanting to stair at the ceiling and running to chocolate just to find that there was none in my kitchen. Bummer.

I was that mom last week. The mom who felt like she was running out of oxygen and her point of blowing up was slowly making it's way.

I was that mom who let her emotions over run her and I was that mom who let her circumstances define how she felt.

 I was the mom who forgot what God said.

It was a one thing after the other kind of week and somehow in the midst of everything going on I not only lost sight of what God had said but I lost sight of who He is, what He's done and what He's doing.
Instead I was focused on myself and who my actions thought I was and what I was doing.

I've noticed a pattern that I've been struggling with lately. When I feel like thriving I thrive and when I don't feel like it I don't. And on the days I become weary, fearful and anxious I often without a fight forget what God has said to me.

The Bible says "Be strong in courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for The Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you."

Isaiah  40:31 says "But those who hope in The Lord will renew their strength. They will  soar on  wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

I believe these verses are for everyone including moms. As wonderful as Motherhood is. As rewarding and as joyful as it is it does take daily sacrifice. And if we try to do motherhood without clinging tightly to God's victorious word, receive it and believe it we will end up  paralyzed by stress. God's word is our oxygen. Our hope. It is life.

Beautiful Mamas. We need to listen for His voice. We need to pray and train our minds, heart and spirit to listen for His still voice in the middle of our busy, chaotic, beautiful life. It is key to Thriving. Because strength comes from Hope and if we don't know any verses to put our hope in how will we hope?

John 10:27-28 says "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
And they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand.

I have such a desire to be a John 10:27 Mama, don't you? In the midst of the lies being thrown at me telling me who they think I am I  want to hear that still lullaby voice saying I'm a loved daughter who has victory.

When the doubts, anxieties and fears kick in when I feel I'm horrible at motherhood I want to hear who God says I am as a mom. I'm chosen, qualified and strengthened by The most powerful God.

When guilt is filling my cup with regret I want to hear His voice tell me "I do not condemn you" and let Him fill it once again with a pure cup of love.

Because I honestly believe sisters that once we stop letting distractions, excuses, disabilities, chaos, the grumps and business keep us from being a sheep and listening for our Mighty Shepherd's voice to calm our storms, renew our strength and give us wings we'll be unstoppable.

So, can I challenge us this week? Get your journal and when you're doing your Jesus time take a few minutes to practice  and listen for The Lords voice. Don't put limits on what He may sound like. Sometimes He sounds like a Mighty Warrior fighting for you and other times He'll sound like He's singing a lullaby to you as He calms away the burdens of fear and anxieties that have stolen the joy that Christ died to give you. He may even have a way of communicating with you that He doesn't do with anyone else.When you hear His voice or even think you heard it but you're not sure write it down in your journal.

Bible verse meditation is also a way of Hearing His voice because It's His written word that applies to us still today. What I've been doing is taking one verse at a time and meditate on it. I don't do a time limit to when I start a new verse to meditate on. I just keep praying and seeking everything to know about this verse until it's in my heart and I have and receive it. Right now I'm meditating on Zephaniah 3:17 which is one of my many life verses.

My prayer for us this week my sisters is that we not only hear God's voice and word but also receive it. Let it apply to our lives, let it define us and let it be our worth. My prayer is that in the middle of the business of motherhood and the holidays upon us that we will learn to be still in our minds when everything else is going in four different directions.  My prayer this week is that we will have the peace that passes all understanding.

Be blessed Sisters as we raise the next generation together. XO- Heather.

How I learned to thrive.

 

We all get these pictures of what thriving looks like to them. At least I have. 

To me thriving was the perfect mom. Thriving was a all hands-on mom, a fun good mom. A mom who spent her entire day teaching her children through adventures. Spending her days enjoying their laughter and curious minds. A mom who kept her home clean all the time and  while managing and entertaining young children.  The thriving mom who occupied my mind was familiar perfume, gentle, never angry. She was nearly perfect. She was the mom I was going to be. 

Truth is sometimes I am that mom. The hands-on mom. I do spend my days enjoying their sweet laughter and hearing their little feet running around my hardwood floor. I sometimes do have a clean home and I do try to look nice most of the time however, that's not always the case.And I'm okay with that now. Because I'm learning it's not Me that makes me a thriving mom. It's Jesus who makes me a thriving mom.

 Last week was a hard week. My little Liya is teething once again. She's waking up 4 to 5 times at night and needs  some extra attention. She doesn't seem to teethe just one tooth however when she teethes she usually teethes 2 to 4 teeth at a time which is completely bittersweet. My husband Leon has switched once again to the shift I hate. Night shift. It's a horrible shift that makes me a single parent. And this week my feisty Evelynne has tested every boundary and the day came when I finally cracked. I lost it with my house, I lost it with my children and I lost it with myself. I was a mess and so ready for the day to be done. 

I doubted myself as a mom. I wondered how in the world could I encourage moms to thrive when I'm having trouble thriving myself? How could I lead moms out of survival mode when I can't seem to find my way out of the desert some days?  And in those doubts and fears I heard a still, lullaby voice overpowering them all whispering "Thriving isn't about keeping it together all the time. It's not about being perfect. It's about knowing you don't have it all put together and placing your trust in a Mighty Father who does". 

That's what thriving is. It's about letting go of that perfect mom image that we cannot be on our own and choosing a loving Father and His grace that makes us more than enough. It's about letting go of our need to be perfect on our own and receiving Jesus' perfection that He died on the cross to give us. It's about choosing joy with what the day brings and not getting frustrated when it doesn't work out that way. She seeks God's kingdom and everything else is added on to her. 

I've learned over the last few weeks that what I do or have not done doesn't define me. It doesn't make me a thrive mom. However, when I put my trust in Jesus and let who He is define me everything just falls into place and I have overwhelming joy. And the desire to not give up. The passion for wifehood and motherhood and the love and enjoyment of it all just comes with it. 

 

BIG NEWS! 

I now have a youtube account!

If you're wanting some more encouragement throughout your week I'll be posting a new week every Friday. I'm so so excited!