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Ditching the “I’ll be a better mom, tomorrow” Mentality
Do you stress yourself out worrying about being a better mom? Are you constantly feeling like you’ll be a better mom tomorrow? Let’s ditch that mentality today. And focus on what God wants for us as mothers today. This is where it gets tricky. Because what God wants for us is this incredibly delicate balance between His grace and conviction. God loves us where we are, but loves us enough not to leave us there. So how do we walk that line between not beating ourselves up, but also wanting to do it better tomorrow? After an incredibly hard day of parenting, I’ve stood by her bed, tears pricking my…
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Bloom in Any Season
Last Sunday, I held this beautiful rose in my hand as it bloomed defiantly in November. I heard God’s quiet whisper, “Even this rose can bloom in any season.” What wonderful encouragement! I have been truly relying on God during this difficult season in the Army, tired but coping. And isn’t that when the bottom falls out? the minute we think we have it all together? the minute we try to do it ourselves . . . God was encouraging me after the month we’ve had. My husband has been gone 18 hour days, 6-7 days a week, most Army related but some hunting, and selfishly, I get tired of…
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No Complaints
This morning, God’s plan for my day was not what I was expecting. I was prepared to begin my 2nd Annual 30 Days Without Complaint Challenge with a Sunday full of fellowship and worship, excited for our new pastor, but . . . My day started by challenging ‘no complaints’ right away. Instead, I snuggled with a sore-‘froated’, upset-tummy-having-little-girl and got the opportunity to tackle laundry, carpet cleaning, and scrubbing the bathroom. Focusing on no complaints meant biting back discouraging words about starting my morning cleaning up vomit. I took captive the bitter thoughts seeping into my heart over a groggy barfing child, and smiled. 2 Corinthians 10:5b take every…
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Crashing into Reality
Don’t you just love vacations? We get to cast our cares aside, just be present in the moment with our family. We know it ends, crashing into reality, but we hold onto vacation as long as we can. This year we were blessed by a decadent beach getaway with my in-laws. We had this tremendous view everyday from the covered porch. Packing clothes was a waste of time. We spent 90% of the time in swimsuits, damp and sun-baked, but we loved every second. Even bad weather was more exciting. Our family spent an afternoon watching water spouts, but happily they just hovered on the horizon, far away, nothing to…
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What I Learned When I Stopped Complaining
For the 2014 Thanksgiving season, I began a challenge of 30 Days Without Complaint. And it was hard. Honestly, it was pretty much impossible to keep 100%. I wanted to revisit what I learned when I stopped complaining. 1. I learned that being negative has been my default setting for most of my life. I tend to see the one wrong thing like a flashing beacon begging me to fix it, which makes me a fantastic essay grader as a teacher, but also means I have to be purposeful about seeing the positive and intentional about mentioning it! Trying my best to follow the dictionary definition of ‘complaining’ as expressing…
