A Mind Stayed on Him

aren't these pictures beautiful??

Mothering is mental anguish.  "I should have done this."  "I should have done that."  "If only I could this."  "If only I could have that."  "Why can't I just this."  "Why can't I just that."   All. Day. Long.

I go to bed exhausted each night not necessarily from the demands of my children (although that is a big part of it!), but I go to bed each night exhausted by my 'if onlys' and 'should haves' and 'why can't I justs".

But, I was reminded of a verse this morning that brought help to this madness. 

Taking every thought captive, I need to stay my seemingly well-intentioned mothering thoughts back to Christ...what He accomplished for me.  What "I should have done", He did.  "If only I could have", He is.  "Why can't I just", He finished.  There is hope because all our mothering inadequacies have been paid in full at the Cross.  We can't add anymore or detract anything from His completed, perfect work accomplished for us.  We are only to receive this grace and trust Him and daily stay our minds on Him.   

strawberry fun

thankful for fun with sweet little children and the beauty of a quaint farm with strawberries!

and, thankful for a dear friend who can take pretty pictures!

Missionary Work

"This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." - John 17: 3

I have come to understand that motherhood is missionary work. I dwell with a small band of natives teaching them how to eat, think, read, dress, relate, rest, play, work, etc all to the glory of God.

Jesus was the greatest missionary and I love His missionary prayer in John 17:3"...that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." I pray that verse for my four through the day especially after someone has a meltdown. They see my sin, and I see theirs, and there is nothing left to do but cry out to God... have mercy on this family and cause us to be born again that we may know You and then, make You known. For You alone are great!

Fear, Flies, and This Female's Feeble Faith

Facing our fears by picnicking with flies, our soon-to-be friends

I found encouragment from Carolyn Mahaney's message to mothers entitled "The Lord is in Your Boat" .... www.girltalkhome.com/resources... She used the story of Jesus and the disciples in the boat when they encountered a storm at sea. From this story, she pulled three truths for mothers to preach to themselves in the storm of motherhood. (smile)

1. The Lord has taken you to this particular storm and is with you in the storm.
2. The Lord upholds you with His great power in the storm and will deliver you from the storm.

3. The Lord is strengthening your faith in the storm.

God strengthens our faith when we ....

1. Refuse to sin.

2. Apply His promises.

3. Stand firm.

Storms teach us about God and exercise our feeble faith. (smile again).

Loose Tooth!!!

I had put our camera in my mom's pool bag during vacation, and it went home with her last week. So, until I receive my camera back in the mail, I can't take any pictures, BUT, I wanted to remember this day...my firstborn has her first loose tooth!!!

While she is mostly excited, she is a little scared that it might hurt and bleed. She is also concerned that she is going to swallow the tooth. I am realizing that I am entering into a new phase of parenting. My children are beginning to leave the little years and enter into adolescence. With this comes a lot of vulnerability. And, I am finding my role as a mother is to be constantly reassuring them through their little trials and tribulations...which are a big deal to them.

Adam,The Bible, Children, and Animals

Today is Adam's 31st Birthday!!! He is spending his day on a naval ship busily doing his duties while we are celebrating for him at the pool on vacation. Adult birthdays are no fun. We are so thankful for him. We love you!

God's Word can minister to any person no matter the age. Even small children are blessed by especially the stories of the Bible. I had not spent much time with children before becoming a mother. But, one thing I learned early on in 'mamadom' was that children are fascinated by animals. Elizabeth enjoys them so much that she often thanks God for them when she prays at night. So, I can't help but wonder that our Heavenly Father, in His love for children, wrote many stories involving animals.

I will never forget my little girls being amazed that a great fish had swallowed Jonah. And, their joy at knowing that the hungry lions cuddled up with Daniel and then devoured his wicked enemies. And, of course...Noah's Ark!

The Bible shows how these animals were all serving His purposes and did exactly God's bidding. The great fish vomited Jonah up at His command. The lions closed their hungry chops at His command. Each 'daddy' animal gathered up the 'mommy' animal and met with Noah at His command.

So, I have been reminding my kids who are afraid of bees this spring that God is the One who made those little wonders and they will not set wing on any of the children unless God wills it to happen!!!

Quietness

I am on vacation!!! My Mom and Stepfather graciously invited my family to join them for a week stay in South Carolina. Adam could not go due to his work schedule, but the kids and I very quickly agreed to the invitation. I had a thought this morning while I was getting ready that I should post a picture a day for a glimpse into our fun, but then I realized I had forgot my usb cord. Perhaps this is a good thing, because my pictures are not very pretty. So, I will just stick with writing.

Because of my four small children, my life is very active and LOUD. So loud in fact, that I find myself wincing as I go about my day caring for these little people. I love them dearly, but I find myself yelling "Quiet"....yelling 'quiet'...that's not very consistent, is it? The loudness grates on my soul and I long for quietness.

So, this week, more than anything, I want to be quiet. Not while my children are up, of course, and yes, our downstairs neighbor has already complained. Because when you are six and under, there is a lot of splashing, squealing, running, jumping, digging, and marveling to be done. But, in the early morning, at nap time, and after these little love muffins are tucked snugly in bed, I want to be quiet in His presence allowing His Word to minister to my weary heart.

"Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10)

Be still and know that He is God
Be still and know that He is holy
Be still, O restless soul of mine
Bow before the Prince of peace
Let the noise and clamor cease
Be still

Be still and know that He is God
Be still and know that He is faithful
Consider all that he has done
Stand in awe and be amazed
And know that He will never change
Be still

Be still and know that he is God
Be still and know he is our Father
Come rest your head upon his breast
Listen to the rhythm of his unfailing heart of love
Beating for His little ones
Calling each of us to come
Be still

(love that song... by Steven Curtis Chapman)

Grace, Welcome, Enjoy

As a mother, I am really good at laundry, cooking, and cleaning. Or, any specific task for that matter. But, when it comes to the more relational side of mothering, I am realizing that changes need to be made for the good of my children. And, through His Word and people, books, and blogs, God is gently showing me how He wants me to mother my children. And, largely it comes by way of three words: grace, welcome, enjoy. Because that is what He has done for me...given grace when I fell short, welcomed me when I was a mess, and enjoyed me when I doubted His goodness.

His example to me:

God because of Jesus gives Grace: "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus..." (Romans 3:23,24)

God because of Jesus Welcomes: "For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son..." (Colossians 1:13)

God because of Jesus Enjoys: "He will exult over you with joy...He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy." (Zephaniah 3:17)

Because of what He has done and continues to do, I am praying for God's help to follow Him by practicing grace, welcome, enjoy, for and to my children.

Living Out Loud (Within Boundaries)

I found this quote helpful as I make a mess as a mother:

"The fact is, many kids are just weird. Sometimes they're quirky. Sometimes they do things completely in keeping with their personality but for some reason embarrass us. How do you handle these things in a graceful way? It's actually simple. If they aren't sinning, and they are being sensitive to the people around them, you just let them live their lives out loud."

-Grace Based Parenting by Dr. Tim Kimmel