If your family is like mine, when you’re trying to shuffle the kids out the door, there’s a lot of chaos, bickering, barking, and frustration. And usually all our emotions jump into overdrive because we’re already running late and I’m trying to hurry. That’s the keyword there: hurry . I keep trying to do more than I can. I don’t give myself enough time to do what I want to do, and get frustrated that I’m late. I’m also easily distracted, which slows me down even more. Then I try to compensate by hurrying everyone along which feels a lot
This might seem odd for you to hear from me, especially since I’m known for my annoyingly optimistic nature sometimes. But over the years I’ve heard our culture say over and over again: Do what makes you happy. Don’t worry, be happy. If it doesn’t make you happy, it’s not worth it. You deserve to be happy. God Doesn’t Want You to Be Happy There was a time of my life where I bought into this cultural message. I thought God wanted me to be happy. But the more I’ve learned, the more I’ve realized happiness shouldn’t be my goal
It always amazes and surprises me how God reveals what he wants me to hear through various voices. I shouldn’t be suprised since He’s done it over and over again, but it does. Insight From Hebrews My family recently got home from Mount Hermon , a week-long Christian family camp, where I enjoyed hearing Richard Dahlstrom speak about sustainable faith by looking at a few different sections of Hebrews. The Culture Richard explained that Hebrews was written to Christians experiencing: Displacement and suffering. Competing religious narratives. The subtle seduction of stagnation. Not unlike what we’re facing in our culture today.
Like many women, I have struggled with Proverbs 31. I first became familiar with it from DC Talk’s That Kinda Girl : Well I’m lookin’ for a girl who virtuous Cause God laid it on my heart to search for this So I open up the Word to the book of Proverbs The 31st chapter tells me all about her Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain A woman who fears the Lord, she ain’t playin’ Hear what I’m sayin’, cause I’m sayin’ it clearly She’s the kinda girl I gots to have near me Fear the Lord. Don’t focus
Kids should have time to go outside and play. To sit in a pile of dirt and not care how messy they get. To let their imaginations wild as they pretend they’re exploring a jungle, hiding from pirates, or discovering a new species of life. I want my kids to go outside and play. Being Content with Reality But the reality is they have two parents that work full time, and while the older two could go play in the backyard by themselves, they have a little brother that’s just a little too young to have no supervision in that
I wrote this a few years ago, and I find myself coming back to it every once in a while, when those hard, negative feelings about myself start to surface. I hope it helps encourage you, too. Truth Over Feelings I feel like I’m not good enough. Like a failure, With no value, Nothing going for me, A fraud. I feel like I can’t do anything right. Like a screw up, With no promise, Can’t handle responsibility, A joke. I feel like a terrible friend. Like a wet blanket, With no compassion, No warmth, A dud. I
I could look around my house and feel like I’m failing. There are toys everywhere, the sink is full of dirty dishes, and laundry (both clean and dirty) is piled up. But today I’m choosing to give myself grace. I can’t do it all, and my value has never been in my ability to keep the house under control. Choosing Grace I’m choosing to look at the successes I had today. In the time between when I finished work and put the kids to bed, I: Ate dinner with the kids around the table together (it was chicken nuggets, but
Here’s a shock: I’m impatient. I want what I want when I want it, on my time table. I hear myself telling my kids that waiting is part of life, and I know it is both intellectually and experientially, but sometimes I catch myself thinking ahead to what I’m looking forward to, that I don’t see what’s right in front of me. This is especially true with my kids. At ages 3, 5, and 8, it’s not uncommon for me to think ahead to how much “easier” or “more fun” life will be when they’re older. Looking forward to milestones
I’m not a farmer. I’m not a gardener. I tried being a plant mom, but after my plants hobbled along for a couple of years, I decided to focus on other things. Despite my thumb being far from green, there are important lessons all of us can learn from plants. Sowing good seeds Twin Lakes Church shared a devotional for mothers this past May, and I really liked what one of them wrote based on Galatians 6:7b : “You will always harvest what you plant.” As it began to dawn on me that I would never have children of my
When you really think about it, what are some of your deepest desires? Someone asked me this the other day, and I really sat down to think about it. Of course there are material things that would make life easier (like an in-home personal chef and maid combo–ha!), but in all honesty the main thing that came to mind is the desire to have a close mom friend. I want a mom friend who has kids similar ages to mine, where we can just get together without any planning, we’re always over at each other’s houses, we can help each