June's memory verse

At my last small group meeting we talked about not being very good at having scripture memorized. So, I decided it was time to give it a shot. Here is June's memory verse: Colossians 4:5-6. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Xo

Using the gifts God gave us

I hope you all are having a great week!  Here are a few things I loved from today's devotional.  "Let's be women who no longer compare and compete, but celebrate and complete our friendships, churches, workplaces and homes with the unique offering we bring. You'll love the freedom and confidence that comes when you become the woman God created you to be!" Ephesians 2:10, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." NIV  http://www.proverbs31.org/devotions/comparison-trap-2012-06/

Giving grace to my wonderful babies

Not sure if anyone else out there gets exhausted with disciplining their little sweeties at times like I do. But, I wanted to share this really insightful passage that truly blessed me this week. It's from a book called "Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches." "God treats us with great kindness as we fail daily. He takes a long view of our sin knowing that every time we fail and repent, we grow in our walk with Him. It is easy for us to accept this, because our sins are, well ours. But our children's sin against us, annoy us and mess up our stuff. We want to hold it against them, complain about them and feel put upon by their sin. We have a much harder time accepting every failure from them is a wonderful opportunity for repentance and growth and not an opportunity for us to exact penance. It is no abstract thing the state of your heart is the state of your home. You cannot harbor resentment secretly toward your children and expect their hearts to be submissive and tender.". So the next time I catch myself saying " how many times have I told you...," instead of getting mad I'm going to prayerfully ask the Lord to help me love my babies the way he loves me, and gives me patience and grace no matter how many times I've messed up (like getting mad at my kids :)) I'm definitely going to add this book to my summer book list! You can check the book out here: http://www.amazon.com/Loving-Little-Years-Motherhood-Trenches/dp/1591280818

Being thankful

The challenging thing about me being pregnant is that I can't sleep. I wake up to use the bathroom and it's so hard for me to back to bed. So I usually end up blog searching at crazy times in the middle of the night. Last night was one of those fun nights where at 2 am I woke up, then Giselle woke up, and even Griffin woke up all between the hours of 2-4, but thankfully this time I actually was able to fall back to sleep which was a huge blessing so I don't feel like a complete zombie this morning. So, in the midst of all the kids and potty breaks last night, I read a blog post from "Positively Splendid'" and then I clicked over to "Honeybear Lane," and both blogs had me seriously balling my eyes out. I attached the link so you can read through, but a mother of 3 very small children just died suddenly, and she actually just gave birth to her daughter days before. Oh my goodness, heart wrenching! It really makes you put life in perspective. I can complain all day long about the small things in this life, but how fortunate am I to have what I have, because at any minute it could all be taken away. God gives us this life to mold us and make the best of each moment for his glory, and how I pray that we all don't let ourselves get sucked into the small things, but can focus on the real things, the blessings from the Lord that we have in our lives today! "Father God, thank you for you! Thank you for saving me, and for this beautiful life you have for me! Thank you for my amazing husband, and wonderful, healthy children. Thank you for my home and all the things you have so blessed me with. Thank you for our loving parents that love our children so much, and thank you for wonderful thoughtful friends that encourage me and walk beside me during this fun and crazy baby phase of my life. Thank you Jesus for your grace, and a thousand second chances. I love you so much Lord. Thank you. Father, I also pray for the family I spoke about. I pray you would bless her husband and children with all of your love and everything they need during this unimaginable time. Give them hope that they will have joy again, and comfort them with your love. Amen" http://www.positivelysplendid.com/2012/05/alice-hansen-family-fund.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PositivelySplendid+%28Positively+Splendid%29

Planting seeds, out of my hands

This mornings devotional from proverbs 31 ministries is funny to me in a few ways. First off like I have been sharing, our house this summer feels crazy with projects. I am redoing my kids room, and the nursery. So sewing, decorating, organizing on top of my normal caring for two very busy toddlers and life that goes along with that. On the outside of our house we are also really busy! We got chickens this April so my husband has been busy building a chicken coop, as well as finishing our landscaping projects from our total house remodel from last summer. And now, building a play structure for the kiddos, getting the yard ready for that play structure and all the other things that go along with turning a 1/3 acre over grown lot into a nice place for your family to play and live life in.

So anyhow, one of the projects I started this summer was my garden. Giselle and I planted like I don't know 72 starters of seedlings that to our surprise actually grew in our indoor counter top greenhouse. I was so excited, and feeling so accomplished. However, sadly the garden just wasn't ready for us to plant those little seedlings, and I'm not sure exactly what happened, but my little seeds started to die.. So I panicked.. And planted them, in soil that wasn't ready and I think most of them have died. At first I was really upset, thinking about the money, effort and time, but now I feel like I learned a lesson. I can't do it all, slow down and be realistic. I feel really good about all the other things I am doing. Like loving my kids and making it through each day. Maybe we will garden next year, but for this year, I just don't care. :)

The other thing that struck me about this post, is thinking of the quiet planting of seeds with my neighbors. I feel like neighbors get to see you in your "raw" moments. Especially when you have little ones that dart out of your front door and run towards the street, watching you load your wiggely kids into the car, or for me the big one has been yelling at my two little precious ones that seem to forget about listening skills when we are playing in the back yard. Lately I've been thinking the neighbors behind me probably have no idea I'm a Christian, and worse off they probably think I'm just not a very good mom. My "quiet planting" is definitely on display out there when people can hear my child rearing ways. And so I pray:

Lord I pray that I am always gentle with my children and in the way I discipline them, and not because of what the neighbors think, but because of what you think Lord. Help me to be the mommy you want me to be. Lord and even though I feel huge and tired from being 30.5 weeks pregnant help me to not be lazy, but to get up and play with my kids instead of yelling at them from the sidelines. Father help me plant seeds in those that are around me, not by what I preach, but by how I live my life. Thank you Lord for my life and my precious family. I love you Lord. Amen.


Devotions | Proverbs 31 Ministries

Projects, dirt and clutter everywhere

Just looking around the house I see endless projects that need to be finished or started. I see crumbs and stains, papers piling up, and the usual dishes and various stages of laundry that I need to attend to. It can get overwhelming at times! But, as I am continuing to work on relaxing and focusing on my kids... I am peacefully giving all my chores, projects, clutter, and mess to the Lord! Here you go Lord, you work it out! God says give all my anxiety to him. So I'm going to, dirty diapers, stained floors and toys that need to be picked up. Lord take it from me. Your yolk is easy and your burden is light! (Matthew 11:30) I love you Lord, and I am so thankful in you I can do all things. Amen

My life doesn't look like a pottery barn catalog

With a 3.5 year-old, a 19 month-old and a baby due in 9.5 weeks my house is just a disaster. I mean I try hard to keep it clean and organized, but somehow even though I pick up the toys and clean up everyday, it's still a disaster. I spend countless hours in the kitchen cleaning, cooking, cleaning more, cooking more, and then cleaning more! Somedays I can feel so defeated that all my cleaning was in vain when I look around and my house looks like a train wreck when I so aspire for my home to look like a Pottery Barn catalog. The other day I received a new Pottery Barn kids catalog. I was admiring the beautiful rooms, but then looking at my kids room that I am currently redoing as they are moving in together making room for the baby to have her own nursery, I had one of those defeated moments where even though earlier in the day I picked up all their toys, and made the beds. Toys were now everywhere, and so were blankets dirty clothes, and who knows what else! But then, God whispered to me "your house isn't supposed to look like a catalog (or pinterest for that matter!)," and so true! Just like we can get defeated when looking at celebrities in magazines at how beautiful and thin they are two minutes after having a baby, it is all unrealistic! Satan wants us to focus our attention on all the wrong things, and I want to make sure I am focused on God's things! God does desire for me to have a well kept home, but not at the expense of me being frustrated with my kids for playing, or not getting to spend time with them because I'm so busy cleaning up after them. So, my prayer today is: "Lord help me focus on you and being a mother. Help me to have YOUR priorities, even at the expense of my pride or judgement from others. Help me not feel defeated, but know that I can do "all things in Christ who gives me strength." I love you so much Lord. Amen"