When I was a young girl, all I wanted to be when I grew up was a mom. While my friends were making plans to have a career or be someone famous, I day dreamed of being a mom and what my family would look like. We would have the perfect house complete with a white picket fence. I would drive a minivan and volunteer for local charities. I would greet my husband at the door every evening with a kiss after his long hard day at work. I would have a girl and a boy (because isn’t …
Motherhood: A Small Thing?
We all want our lives to matter, to believe that we are a part of God’s plan to change the world for His glory. How often has the prayer, “What do you want me to do for you God?” sprinkled through our thoughts and lofted over our lips as we seek Him. Yes, we all have the right heart to seek His will when we utter that simple query, but do we have the right mindset in what He may already be asking of us. Are we missing the obvious by seeking the spectacular? The volunteer position at church, the …
Lunchbox Love Notes For Your Kids
It’s that time again. The kids are back in school and with that our mommy calendars immediately start to fill up. New routines. New bed times. New nightly stress about homework and even after school activities. Oh how I love the smell of a freshly sharpened number two pencil (no really, I do) and also dislike all the anxiousness that surrounds the back to school season. Did we get all the supplies on the class lists? Are we going to miss the bus? What about classes, did they get the classes they needed or the teachers we wanted? Breathe in …
When Mom Wears a Dress
“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come,” (Proverbs 31:25). I slid open my closet door and surveyed the options. Black pants, khaki pants, gray pants, Capri pants. Hmmm… what to wear to church? Shuffling aside a few hangers, I spied a pink summer dress stuffed between a pair of corduroys and an old cardigan. When was the last time I wore you? I spoke silently to the dress. Oh yeah, last year for that wedding shower—banished to my closet ever since, poor thing. I pulled it out and scanned for wrinkles. Not …
How to Guarantee You Won’t Enjoy Motherhood
By Guest: Lindsey Bell Some days, I don’t enjoy motherhood. There. I said it. As terrible as it makes me feel to admit this, I think a lot of mothers feel the same way. Motherhood is a beautiful thing, and we adore our children. But there are some days when it just isn’t all that much fun. When my children are whiny, my patience is short, and it’s just plain…hard. Please tell me I’m not the only one who ever feels this way. Last November, after my husband and I experienced our fourth miscarriage, I realized I wasn’t enjoying motherhood …
When You Want What They Have
“Mom, I wish we lived in that house.” Perched inside her playset lookout tower, my daughter cast wistful glances toward the neighbor’s yard a few houses north. “Why? I thought you liked our house.” “Well, they have a pool and a picnic table.” Ah. I see. “But they don’t have a sandbox. Or swings. Or all of your favorite toys inside,” I reasoned. “Just because they have a pool doesn’t mean that house is better. We belong here, in our house.” Wise counsel, O Super Mom. Maybe you should take it yourself. How many times have I wished for someone …
That Gigantic 3 Letter Word…JOY
Her words broke my heart. I wanted to cry as I listened to her pour out her raw feelings to me. “I’ve lost my joy and I don’t know how to get it back.” This sweet mom was hurting in her marriage. She and her husband needed help. She didn’t enjoy being married to him. She didn’t like the kind of mom she had become and she craved joy. What is it about this little word that when it is missing we seem to just exist through life? What is so important about this 3 letter word? I understand where …
Raising Brave Kids
She mounted the twisted iron ladder to the monkey bars. Surely she could slip and smack her nose. So I yelled to my six-year-old before she reached the second rung. “Be careful!” Those words fly out of my mouth about a hundred times a day. When my daughters dance dizzy in the living room, run barefoot through the yard, fumble with poster paints, or beg to pour the milk—my mommy reflex blurts, Be careful! Accidents are not on our agenda today. The way I see it, God entrusted these children to my care, and I am determined not to mess …
What are your expectations
Morning moms, I’m coming to you live from my kitchen. Before you watch the video, I have a few thoughts for you, what are your expectations as we move into this season of busyness with school schedules, homework, fall activities? Do you have to have it all together and look presentable at all times? Are you expectations so high that you are setting yourself up for failure? Or are you working unto the Lord? Here’s a cup full of encouragement on Colossians 3:23 today! And if you can’t watch the video, here is a great post FULL of tips just for you. …
Drop Everything
Shhh! I’m supposed to be in bed–sleeping. But I volunteered to write a devotional to encourage your heart today, in fact, it was supposed to be a video. Instead, I have some sort of stomach bug and let me tell you how tired my eyes are. I had plans to record a video, edit my latest manuscript, scrape paint off my garage door trim but instead, I’m lying here–sneaking the computer. Don’t you think it’s funny how God allows our plans to be altered. It’s as if HE’S in charge….funny concept–I know. It’s something I am learning so much of …