Taking Time to Enjoy a Classic

One of the best things about having kids is that they have the ability to make you slow down and enjoy the good things in life. This may be an ice cream cone on a hot summer day. It could come as a time of jumping in a pile of fall leaves on a crisp autumn afternoon. In my case, it has been sitting down on these cold, fall evenings enjoying some of the classics. 

My daughter has become quite smitten with the 1960's version of Ruldoloh, The Red Nosed Reindeer. This film always takes me back to childhood and I am loving the opportunity to make these same memories with my daughter. I treasure this time. It's far too fleeting. 

As the seasons change and the holidays make their way, I encourage you to slow down and take some time to enjoy the classics. Reflect on sweet memories. Make new ones and love the ones you're with. The Lord has blessed us abundantly and it is the perfect time of year to share the love.


Graphic via CollegeFashion

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People Pleasers

There is an age old saying that you cannot please everyone...and yet we will run ourselves into the ground trying to do so. I think this is especially true of moms. As a mother who works outside the home, I feel so much pressure to please my family as well as those I work with and for. It can become exhausting. You add that to many nights of restless or no sleep because of little ones and you will end up with one rundown woman. 

Galatians 1:10 is an excellent reminder for those of us that feel the need to please everyone. It reiterates the truth that, while we may think it, we don't keep the world turning. We were made to serve God first and foremost and if we are exhausting ourselves trying to please everyone by doing everything then we are not living our true calling. If we are so wiped out that we cannot offer our best to God then we are doing too much.

Trust me. I will be the first to admit that this scripture steps on my toes a bit. I know I am chosen to be a mom, a wife, a teacher, a friend, etc. The key is finding balance and that may mean saying "no". You may have to say "no" to yet another bake sale, committee position or weekend sleepover. We have to learn how to prioritize in a way that is best serving God.

Let me be clear. This does not mean we stop doing for others. We are indeed supposed to care for and meet the needs of others. However, it has to be done in a way that we are not over extending ourselves. In a world that constantly tells you you're not good enough if you are not a part of or completing 1000 things at once, this idea can seem unrealistic.  We live in a society that encourages the constant hustle and bustle, not rest. Have you ever felt like you were a mediocre mom because you didn't have weekends filled with fun family activities or were not part of the PTO? Take heart. He promises to provide wisdom and offers rest if we ask for and seek it. I believe that includes the wisdom we need to balance our lives. I challenge you to put aside preconceived ideas about how your calendar should look and the people you think you should be pleasing and seek God first. I'm certain you'll find your load a little easier to bear and your heart a little lighter.

"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, and who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you."
James 1:5

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Tuesday Talk

Motherhood: The best kind of hard

Today was hard. The kids were extra obnoxious, disobedient and just plain crazy. There were moments when I handled them with patience and authority and other moments when I did not handle them well at all. Some days I feel like a child myself; not wanting to do what I know I need to do. Is there really ever a point where you know what you are doing?  I hope so, but for now I know I have so much to still learn about parenting.

Just when I think I have things under control, my children's and my sin nature throw me for a loop. I wish I could say that knowing the right thing to do was as easy as doing it, but it's just not so. I need God's grace every moment of the day. I need it when I am reacting well to a situation and I need it when I want to lash out in anger at a rebellious child.

I find myself apologizing throughout the day as I do what I know I shouldn't do. Thankfully my children are the sweetest(as well as the craziest.) They continually surprise me and overwhelm me with their forgetful forgiveness and continuous love. It's funny how they can bring me to tears of frustration as well as tears of joy.

Motherhood is hard. There is no two ways about it. Whether you have given birth to your children or God has put them in your heart through adoption or a blended family. The sleepless nights, the endless cleaning, the never ending cries of hunger, the disobedience, the temper tantrums, the whining, the vomit, the poop...

Though there are some rough days in motherhood, I really can't imagine a better kind of hard.

It's easy to get bogged down and overwhelmed by motherhood when we think about all we have to do and is expected of us, but we truly have been given such a great gift...

The gift of dying to ourselves daily for the ones we love.

The gift of learning to put the needs of others above ourselves.

The gift of seeing our great need for the Saviour's grace and strength to make it through each day.

The gift of being loved unconditionally no matter how much we mess up and fail.

The gift of being pushed beyond what we ever thought we were capable of.

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith  in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20

When we remember that our lives our not our own and that they have been bought with a price, our perspective changes. It reverts off of ourselves and onto Jesus; allowing us to see through his eyes. When we allow Christ to live through us, ministering to the needs of our children and families we can see even the hardest situations and circumstances as the best possible use of our time and strength.

We are not just cleaning up food off the floor, wiping boogers, comforting hurt feelings and kissing boo boos; we are doing a kingdom work as mothers... that will last on into eternity.

Yes, today and many days of motherhood are hard, but they are the best kind of hard I could ever imagine.

Have you had a hard day in mothering? Know that God's grace is there for you. He is able to make it abound to you in whatever hardship you face. He is able to allow you to find joy in the midst of the chaos and see the gift and blessing that motherhood really is.

How is God refining you and making you more like him through motherhood?

How is motherhood harder than you imagined? How is it better?

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