Children Won’t Wait

Time.

Time flies.  Time is of the essence.  Time is ticking.  Where does time go?  Why does it seem there isn’t enough time?  Will time ever slow down?  My kids had this conversation with me last night.  They recognize the speeding time, too.

Since the conversation was with my kids, I spent some time reflecting on how I spend my time with them.  Cherishing minutes is a life goal of mine, but time sure does get away.  Because we homeschool, I am at home with my kids almost every day, all day.  That doesn’t always equate to quality time.  You know how when something is always there, it can lose its novelty?

I am choosing this day to carve out a few extra special moments with my kids.  One loves to talk about cars.  One likes to read me comics or jokes.  One asks to be tickled.  Sharing these moments of time with them will never be lost time!

There is a poem I printed off and laminated back when my first baby was born.  I hung it on my fridge for many years and it was a favorite reminder to SLOW DOWN and TAKE TIME for my kids.  Life demands a lot of attention and sometimes we need a little poke of realization for what is truly valuable.

Here is that poem and it still speaks to me today.  It is a little lengthy, but I encourage you to read it and consider it.

CHILDREN WON’T WAIT – Helen M. Young

There is a time to anticipate the baby’s coming, a time to consult a doctor;

A time to plan a diet and exercise, a time to gather a layette.

There is a time to wonder at the ways of God, knowing that He guides our every step.

There is a time to dream of what our children may become.

A time to pray that God will teach us how to train the children He gives.

A time to prepare ourselves that we might nurture this new soul.

But soon there comes the time for birth,

For babies won’t wait.

There is a time for night feedings, for colic, for baby tears.

There is a time for rocking and a time for walking the floor.

A time for patience and self-sacrifice,

A time to show our children that this new world is a world of love and goodness and dependability.

There is a time to ponder what a child is–not a pet or a toy.

But a person, an individual–a soul made in God’s image.

There is a time to consider our stewardship.

We cannot possess another human being. Our children are not ours.

We have chosen to care for them, to love them, to enjoy them,

To nurture them, and to answer to God. We resolve to do our best for them.

For babies don’t wait.

There is a time to hold them close and tell them the sweetest story ever told;

A time to show them God in earth and sky and flower,

To teach them to wonder and reverence.

There is a time to leave the dishes, to swing in the park, to run a race,

To draw a picture, to catch a butterfly, to give them happy comradeship.

There is a time to point the way, to teach their infant lips to pray,

To teach their hearts to love God’s Word, to love God’s day,

For children don’t wait.

There is a time to sing instead of grumble, to smile instead of frown,

To kiss away the tears and laugh at broken dishes.

A time to share with them our best in attitudes–a love of life, a love of God, a love of family.

There is a time to answer questions, all their questions, because there may be a time when they will not want our answers.

There is a time to teach them so patiently to obey, to put their toys away.

There is a time to teach them the beauty of duty, the habit of Bible Study, the Joy of worship at home, the peace of prayer,

For children won’t wait.

There is a time to teach them independence, responsibility, self-reliance.

To be firm but friendly, to discipline with love, for soon, so soon,

There will be a time to let them go to try their wings,

For children won’t wait.

There is a time to treasure every fleeting minute of their childhood.

Just eighteen precious years to inspire and train them.

We will not exchange this birthright for a mess of pottage called social position, or business success, or professional reputation.

An hour of concern today may save years of heartache tomorrow.

The house will wait. The dishes will wait. The new room can wait.

But children don’t wait.

There will be a time when there will be no slamming of doors.

No toys on the stairs, no childhood quarrels, no fingerprints on the wallpaper.

Then may we look back with joy and not regret.

There will be a time to concentrate on service outside our home;

On visiting the sick, the bereaved, the discouraged, the untaught,

To give ourselves to the “least of these.”

There will be a time to look back and know that these years of love were not wasted. We pray there will be a time to see our children upright and honest souls, loving God and serving all.

God, GIVE US WISDOM to see that today is the day with our children.

That there is no unimportant moment in their lives.

May we know that no other career is so precious,

No other work so rewarding, no other task so urgent.

May we not defer it nor neglect it, but by Thy Spirit accept it gladly, joyously, and by Thy grace realize that the time is short and our time is now,

FOR CHILDREN WON’T WAIT!

this is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it  (Psalms 118:24)

 

A Table for 5, Please

It’s technically a 4-person table. But, we stretch it and make it a mismatched table for 5, and sometimes even an extra cozy 6.  I like symmetry and am usually a little matchy-matchy.  It doesn’t come naturally to me to put striped patterns with flowers or pair the farmhouse style dining table with random chairs.  Those kinds of things make me step out of my box a little.

Our family had been in someone else’s home together and when we left, my daughter said, “I liked that house, mom.  You know what I liked the best?  They had 5 chairs at their table.”  I paused, looked at her, then considered her statement.  Sure enough.  They had 2 dining rooms and in one, there was a round table with 5 chairs placed around it. 

My heart tugged at her observation.  She is one who typically keeps feelings to herself and doesn’t easily show when something is bothering her.  I realized at that moment that we only had 4 chairs set at our table.  But, we are a family of 5.  I had a chair pushed back to its place against a wall, which we scooted forward to the table at each meal.  This way, my table had 4, even chairs around the table–the way it seemed it should look to me.  

But, not to my daughter.  The chair that alternated its place belonged to her.

 

She had never once complained about her absent chair or having to push it back and forth each time.  However, it must’ve mattered to her as the 5 chairs of the other home’s table stood out primary in her mind.  I don’t really know what thoughts poured through her mind, but I know the ones that poured through mine.  She was asking for a table for 5, please.

That night after I tucked her in to bed, I quickly rearranged things and made my table a table ready for 5.  As you can see, there is one random chair.  And, I like it that way.  Maybe one day we will have a different dining set, but for now, this is our family, our home, our table, and our memories.  As my mom has been saying of her own home lately, “my house doesn’t have to be in a magazine”. 

Is your house a home?  Maybe you should ask your kiddos. 

I’m choosing this day to rejoice in the fact that I have a fully-functioning dining set with precious memories of hundreds who have gathered around it.  We’ve had countless meaningful conversations, crafts, snacks, holiday activities, candlelit meals, birthday parties, Bible studies, games, tea parties, and devotions here.  More often than all of those, we have family meals around this table.  Yes, Sissy.  We have a table for 5.

this is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it  (Psalms 118:24)

 

Snow is a Treasure

It was 10 degrees outside yesterday morning and felt like -5 when I stepped outside to take this picture.  It. Is. Cold.  There is no way to deny it.  After 6 months of cold and snow, yesterday’s snow fall wasn’t exactly exciting.  However, I will say that the silent falling flakes were giant, sparkly, and beautiful.

We are trying ever so diligently to patiently await the warmer, sunnier days.  I’ve heard people say they are feeling blue, trapped, depressed, done with the cold, ready to get outside to plant gardens, exercise, or take their kids to the park.  Some say to remember these freezing days now so as not to utter one complaint that the temperature is too hot in the heat of summer.  I may or may not fall into some of these camps of people at times.

I must get antsy for summer in April because I stumbled on another blog I had written four years ago along the same lines.  It was a good reminder that  Whether the Weather…  we need to be thankful.

As way of encouragement, there is a promise of warmer days ahead!  The birds chirp a little more now.  The sun’s intensity is growing in these northern plains and its light is lasting a bit longer each passing day.  We don’t have buds on trees or green blades of grass sprinkled in the yards yet, but for as long as I’ve been around, we haven’t skipped a summer yet!

Psalms 74:17 – “Thou hast set all the borders of the earth:  thou hast made summer and winter.”  And winter.  God does do all things well.  He made this state and region, He made the winter, and so He can give me the strength to make it through these long, cold months.  

Interestingly enough, the book of Job, God calls the snow a TREASURE which He reserves for His use.  In November and December, I think I could call the snow a treasure. (It might depend on how much of it there is.)  Without the white snow, Christmas just isn’t the same.  It becomes increasingly more difficult to claim the snow is a treasure in January, and all the more so…still…in…April.  But, if God declares He has treasures of snow, then a treasure it is!

Cold, snowy days do have their benefits.  (Even you who are so over this winter could come up with a few good things.)  I think I will try to take the last weeks of cold, wintry weather and accomplish a few indoor projects, drink a little more coffee, play a few more board games, and prepare all our summer stuff.  Ha!  The longer we wait for something, the more we appreciate it, right?  After all,

this is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it  (Psalms 118:24)

He Walked Her Through

Watching someone dear to me walk through the valley of the shadow of death just became very real to me.  That someone was my mom.

We had just chatted on the phone for about 20 minutes and said good night around 11:00.  My husband and I awoke abruptly to the shrill sound of a ringing phone at 3:13AM.  It was my dad and he had just found my mom unresponsive.  He administered CPR while on the phone with 911, the paramedics came and she had no pulse… they were heading to the hospital…  We frantically drove to the ER and had to wait many, long minutes before we could go to her.

When they called us back, they had intubated her, said she had suffered cardiac arrest, and they were prepping her for the cath lab (a room with diagnostic equipment where they can examine the heart).  While sitting with our family in the waiting room, we suddenly heard a “code blue in cath lab room 1”.  It was somewhere around 5:00AM and there was only one room in operation.  We knew it was my mom.

The moments that followed are indescribable and I will not even try to explain the feelings and emotions that washed over that little room.  When someone finally came to give us an update several minutes later, we were told that she had suffered another cardiac arrest and had to be shocked three times to get her heart beating again.  They had placed three stents, and she was being moved to the ICU for recovery.

As the cardiologist left the room, I whispered to my husband, “she just walked through the valley of the shadow of death, didn’t she”?  He said, “yes, and the Lord was her shepherd”. 

The days that laid ahead were trying, long, and tiresome.  She was placed in a state of hypothermia for 24 hours to help slow her bodily functions down to allow her brain time to heal, then slowly warmed for 16 hours before they could take her off the sedation and paralytic medications.  There were many questions and concerns for what might happen when and if she awoke.

While I felt the need to share a handful of details of my mom’s story to this point to give some understanding to this post, I really felt the need to write about the goodness of God.  The doctors came in while she was sedated in the ICU and did an echo-cardiogram of mom’s heart.  There was no damage to the heart and we were told this was a miracle!  This was evidence of the first of many miracles. 

My mom did wake.  A miracle!  She knew each of us standing around her bed.  Yes, a miracle!  She could move her toes on both of her feet and squeeze our hands with both of hers.  Another miracle.  As time progressed, she was able to smile, speak, and recount a long, wonderful history including important dates and details.  Yet, another miracle.  From there she could sip water and broth, then sit on the edge of her bed, then slowly walk to a chair.  More miracles.  Each day she grew stronger and stronger and one week later to the date, she left the hospital to go home with dad where she belongs.  Another miracle.

God saw fit to allow us to share more time together on this earth and He restored her health.  For this my heart overflows with thankfulness.  But, He did more than just allow us time together.  The Great Shepherd walked my mom through the valley of the shadow of death, then walked her through miracle after miracle. 

Psalms 100:3 – Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Psalms 52:9 – I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it…

Many lessons were learned during this journey I witnessed and one day I hope to write about them.  I also have so much to say about my mom, who is indeed a miracle, and maybe one day those words will find their way into a writing.

For now I will say with David in one of my favorite Psalms:

This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalms 118:24

 

 

Flame of Freedom

“The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time.” Thomas Jefferson

I woke up this morning feeling thankful. We went to sleep last night in peace and comfort, and woke up with the same blessings. This world is a battlefield of chaos, hurt, and bondage, but there will always remain a safe, secret hiding place of peace.

My heart gets overwhelmed with gratitude when I consider the blessing and privilege of being born and raised in this great country. We have been given the opportunity to grow and excel here, and now our 3 kids have been granted the same opportunity.

This scripture in Psalms 4 popped out after my first paragraph was already written. (I adore when God’s Word is illuminated in such a real way! This was already my thought before I even read this verse.)

Psalms 4:8 – I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.

We are thankful for every man and woman who has fought for our county’s freedom. Truly thankful. We pray for the veterans and teach our children to appreciate and thank these heroes of battle. 

 

Yet, while this country’s dark battles rage and those fighting for us continue their combat, there is a perfect liberty, freedom, and light that no man could ever provide.

Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (2 Corinthians 3:17)

There is a flame of freedom that burns in the darkest night. During any conflict, struggle, war, or dispute…God is there and He extends liberty. Freedom from whatever enemy barrages you. 

We just have to choose to keep our minds stayed on Him, our hearts trusting in the One who knows everything, leave evil, do good, seek peace, and pursue peace.  Then, He has promised us that He would give us strength, bless us with peace, and keep us in that perfect peace. He already fought for us, we just have to simply walk in His ways.

Psalms 34:14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Psalm 29:11 The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.

God knew there would be tribulation and strife, but He gave us that flame of freedom and light of liberty. 

John 16:33 – These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

We pray you all have a very safe and wonderful Independence Day this Fourth of July weekend! While we observe this country’s freedom, we can also celebrate in the blessing of knowing God extends a liberty and peace greater than any other. God bless!

this is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it      (Psalms 118:24)

 

 

Prized Above the Fizzle Frazzle

Frazzle. Fizzle. Fizzle, frazzle. What cool, weird words! They are the first that come to mind as I sit thinking about this day. I feel fully frazzled and fizzled, fried and frayed. It was a good day. I just spent it fighting the fizzled, frazzled feeling.

These are words of exhaustion, like tuckered or worn out. However, I don’t see them as words of total defeat. These words leave room for improvement, growth, and recovery. One can recover from experiencing exhaustion…right?

The morning began like most others. Then, it started gaining speed and it cruised downhill from there. The day was just extra busy and I was feeling its demands. To spare you the sob story and to sum it up quickly, there were more-than-usual mom responsibilities and more-than-usual work duties. This left us stumbling in the door to eat supper at 9:20PM!, piles of papers all over the table and kitchen counter, a load of day-old laundry stuck in the dryer, then the discovery that one of my munchkins had an oops the night before and their bedding wasn’t fit for sleeping in.

Frazzled!! Oh yes. Feeling fully stretched and pulled today.

Before I go on, I have to comment that I’m super thankful for Charlie. He was a glimmer of dazzle in my fizzle/frazzle. (Maybe I should write Hallmark cards. Or maybe not…) Seriously, he respected my time and my frustrations and that helped remarkably.

My kids have “grandma day” every Tuesday afternoon with my mom. Since we started the clinic almost 11 years ago, my mom has kept our kids one day per week so I could go in and work. (This is a sweet spot of the day. And she made some bananas foster, which I sampled. Then, re-sampled. Yum! Thanks, mom.) So that no one is feeling too sorry for the kiddos, they were with grandma for several hours today. But, for the nearly three hours they ended up sitting with us at work while we finished up some unexpected troubleshooting, they sat quiet and still. They were nearly perfect. Truly, and my heart almost melts as I reflect on several sweet spots of the day.

Before we left for home, I had a slight melting point. My sensitive, caring, and clever middle child came to me and held me in a precious hug. He then offered me cool glasses of water and squeezing me said, “don’t think of everything you need to still do, mama. Think about all the things you got done!” Well, now. Maybe HE should be the Hallmark card writer. Another dazzle in the fizzle/frazzle.

Arriving home late, my responsible, dependable, and sweet oldest son took full charge of getting the table ready for supper and took it upon himself to clean up everything after we ate. “I want you to rest, mom”, he said. He went above and beyond his usual chores and made the dazzle in the fizzle/frazzle even more shiny.

Wanting to be of assistance, my fun, little lady rushed to her school desk and told me not to look at her. After a few minutes, she produced a beautiful card and announced that I needed to keep it by my bed so I can always see it and think of her. Absolutely! Yet another sweet spot and more dazzle.

After the five of us hung out on the boys’ beds for a story, prayers were said, and all the kids were tucked in, I went to go change into jammies. It was then I remembered the sticker stuck on my shirt. “Good work”, it says. My daughter had given it to me earlier. At the clinic. “Here, mom. Because you do good work.”

Fizzled? Frazzled? Prized.

Yep, definitely prized.

Tonight, I am choosing to go to bed feeling PRIZED. Highly valued. Prized above the fizzle and frazzle of the day. I am blessed with the best family in the whole world. And I’m pretty sure my heart just melted all over again.

this is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it      (Psalms 118:24)

Pictures – The P’s

Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.  – Dr. Seuss

Life is a vapor. It appears for a little time, then vanishes away. And I tell you! Life with kids seems even more of a vapor as you can almost weekly measure their growth and their changes. Little munchkins are meant to steadily grow, constantly developing their bodies and their minds. It means they are healthy! (I keep telling myself that as a consolation.)

I would probably label myself as “emotional” when it comes to looking back over the years, particularly those years which include one, two, or all three of my peanuts. Memories of their younger days are bitter/sweet for me. They make me long for those days, sounds, smells, and moments and marvel that the days and years sped by so quickly. Yet, at the same time, the memories fill my heart with so much joy that sometimes my eyes and heart burst at the same time and there is a fountain of waterworks. I’m thinking of my dear friend and cousin, Mandi, right now. She has a heart of gold and she knows the “leaking-eyes-syndrome” in regards to aging kids and stages.

The things that probably bring these precious memories to life for me are:

 A picture is worth a thousand words, but the memories are priceless.

Marching forward with the P’s of Mommying series, PICTURES is next on the list.  My husband and I have somewhat of a love/hate relationship with pictures. Mostly we love them. But, sometimes we hate them. Well, maybe not hate the pictures themselves, but more the organizing of the 40,000+ we have accumulated in the last 15 years. He has been very helpful and amazing with getting all the digital ones all in one place and backed up. (Thank you, babe!) Word of advise: develop a quick, easy way to store your unprinted pictures!

Pictures mean something to me and this word made it as a “P” on my mommying list because I have really enjoyed family photos for as long as I can remember. There is something special about going back and letting your mind wander to the events found on the image. It’s even more fun to sit and look at the pictures with someone and share the memories together. I wanted to have this experience with my kids and about each of their lives, so I have tried taking a photo or quick video of them as often as possible from the time my first son was born.

Here are a couple of ideas we do with our pictures:

• Each child has a baby book. These were at the hospital when they were born to be hand and foot printed, guest-signed, and the family tree pages filled out. From there, we added a few pictures and memories about their firsts.
• Each child has a photo book of pictures from their first year of life. (My youngest is 6 and truth be told, hers is still a work-in-progress.) This book has pictures of their first home and room, then just a progression of baby pictures from newborn to their first birthday.
• We have an annual Christmas photo book. For every Christmas since we have been married, we print the pictures from the holiday, label them, and put each Christmas in its own photo album. These get stored away with our Christmas decorations and pulled out each December. It’s been a fun way to reminiscence with the kids.
• 3-inch mini photo books – I make one for each child every year and it is one of their Christmas presents. Each book contains 24 pictures of them from the previous year.
• Family calendars. These include photos from the previous year of each of us, from my parents, to my siblings and their spouses, to each of our kids. This happens to be the Christmas present that both sets of our parents and our siblings receive for Christmas every year.
• Photo books for different occasions. My husband has made me several over the years and these are very special to me. They sit on our bookshelves in the living room and the kids like to randomly pull them out and look them. I cherish the times we’ve sat together pouring over these books.

Scrapbooking is admirable for those who do it! One of my sisters does one photo book for each child every year, which is a wonderful idea! My other sister recently shared with me that she takes the cute sayings her son expresses and adds them as a note in her phone. She later prints the sayings and sticks the pages in his baby book, which is another fabulous idea. My sister-in-law is a photographer and we are super thankful for her skill in taking all the special photos we blow up, turn into canvases, and hang on our wall!

Taking snapshots of your children really doesn’t take a lot of time. Organizing them, storing them, then printing them or creating something does take a little extra work. But, I believe it’s a labor of love that the family can treasure. 

Are having pictures of your kids and special events important to you? What do you do with the photos you take of your kids? Do you have a good, organized system for the accumulated pictures?

this is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it

(Psalms 118:24)

 

Plan – The P’s

You can plan the perfect picnic, but you can’t predict the weather.

The “P’s” of mommy-ing continues. The first post in this series explained that as I’m journeying down the mommy-ing road, I’ve thought about several action words for ways that I can become a better mom.  (They all start with the letter P because I just love alliterations.)  The first P was PRAY.  Today, the word is PLAN.

Plan (verb) – decide on and arrange in advance

The process of planning can be a difficult task.  With the many tasks and events to fill your lifetime, days can seem overwhelming.  If you are a parent, then you know that the above statement regarding the perfect picnic is true, especially if the picnic = a day.  However, making a plan and having some direction in advance can help you move in the direction you are wanting to head.

A goal without a plan is just a wish.

So where do you start? That’s a good question. I actually struggle with planning because it’s so variable, but I’ve been practicing making lists over the years, which are my “plans”. This is definitely a work-in-progress for me! There are experts out there on goal setting. (I am not one of them!)

First, there are long-term goals.  I say “first” even though they are distant because I feel like in order to accomplish daily plans, you have to know where you’re planning to be.

• Think about and decide where you want to see yourself in 5, 10, and 20 years. You can look at yourself and your own personal goals. Who do you want to be? What do you want to accomplish?
• Using the same measures of time, think about where you see your marriage and decide together where you want to be as a couple and as a family. What are your hopes and desires?
• And again, planning long-term, where do you see your children?  Of course most parents would wish for their babies to grow up perfect, responsible adults with perfect spouses, jobs, and homes, but…what can you do to help them be responsible adults? What can you do to help them plan for their future?

Using the long-term goals as something to aim for, make short-term plans. I’d say “short-term” would be any time between now and the next 2-3 years. And again thinking as an individual, as a couple, and as a family there are different trains of thought.

• Are there things you want to see happen in the next year or two?  What can you do to start aiming for those goals?

And then there are the daily plans. (And these are the ones that really seem to vary, but more what I’m honing in on.) I think these daily plans are ultimately “the steps” we take on the mommy path which move us toward the final destination. It’s where knowing the direction you are trying to head makes an impact so you’re not walking aimlessly through day after day.  If you take a step back one day, but two forward the next, as long as you are on the right path, you can walk with a purpose.

• What are the most important things to accomplish each day? Strive to fit those things in as often as possible. These plans will probably be the daily activities/chores you or your family almost can’t live without.
• What is one thing you can do to better yourself each day?
• One thing you can do to improve your marriage?
• Is there something special you can do as a mom to encourage and show love to each child? We all know they are very different!

If the perfect picnic resembles a day, then there will be some of those perfect picnics when everything goes just as planned.  There will also be several of the windy, stormy, bug-filled, or cold ones that don’t turn out so great. Plans change. Life happens. But, when it storms on our picnic, if those more vital plans are accomplished, then I feel like even though the day may have ended in chaos, we have each other and we know where we are journeying.

After all, a goal without a plan is just a wish.

What are your goals as a mom? How do you plan your day or week?

this is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it                                                 (Psalms 118:24)

The P’s of Mommy-ing

Mom. A title just above Queen.

I have been entrusted with the special duty of mommy-ing.  With this responsibility, there certainly comes a lot of…duties!  As with most of my posts, I am writing this as I go through lessons and thoughts and incorporating things into my own personal life.   I do pray others would be blessed and something would impact a change in your life as well.

Several years ago, I jotted down 7 words that began with the letter “P”.  All were words of actions I wanted to develop and practice in my “mommy-ing skills”. Today, I have added a few more and before it’s all over, who knows how many there will be!  I’m hoping to write one post on each word.  We’ll see how I do.

The list (as it presently stands) is:

• Pray
• Plan
• Pictures
• Phones
• Pay attention
• Process
• Parent
• Practical
• Patience
• Play
• Practice

First of all, being a mom requires a lot of pouring out of yourself.  From the moment the first child wakes in the morning until you can maybe grab a few minutes to sit after the last one is sleeping at night, mommy-ing is a constant state of giving and giving.  You give of your time, efforts, energy, thoughts, love, service, attention, help, etc. all day long.  While this can be invigorating, it can also be quite exhausting.

In order to do this day after day, you must replenish yourself.  I really believe that moms should have some time for themselves and recharge.  Sitting in a hot tub of Epsom salt and essentials oils at the end of the day is relaxing for me. So is an hour or two at Target by myself after the kids are in bed, a few minutes to read a good book, sipping some coffee and writing in my journal, siting in the living room with my husband and just visiting, or playing Candy Crush on my iPad. These moments to yourself (and doing something you enjoy for at least a few minutes each day) are important!

However, while these things are relaxing and rejuvenating, honestly none of them will fill you up on the inside so that in the middle of the night when the child wakes or in the morning when things start out rough, you have what it takes to pour out.  In order to adequately and effectively mommy, I need to PRAY.

Praying is the first thing on my list because without prayer, I can’t effectively do any of the following “P” actions. Time spent reading the Word of God and asking Him to help make me the best mommy I can be for my kids, is where I draw any strength to do so.  Praying that I can be changed and be what I need to be as an individual and being full of God’s grace and His spirit will enable me to mommy my kids.

Choosing to take a few moments to pray and gather strength from God’s Word will make a difference and it has proven time and time again for me!

this is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it                                                 (Psalms 118:24)

One Tale to Tell

We spend our years as a tale that is told.

We are in mid-January, 2016.  I can’t believe another year has arrived and the other sailed away.  The speed at which an entire 365 days can disappear seems to amaze me each new year.  In chatting with those around me, it seems to be a common deliberation.

My dear grandparents just shared their 60th wedding anniversary a few weeks ago.  My grandma made a comment to me that impacted my thoughts.  “I can’t believe it’s been 60 years.  Where did it go?  I can see 16, but 60??”

Where does time go?

I have pondered this question numerous times.  It is a topic frequently discussed, with thoughts on why time goes so quickly or maybe how we can somehow slow it down.  We still have 24 hours in every day, so why does it seem there are fewer?

It seems no one can really give an answer.  It just is.  Then, I remembered Psalms 90 from a time I studied it over 6 months ago.  This is a Psalm written by Moses during his years wandering in the wilderness with the children of Israel.  The whole Psalm is excellent and speaks of life quickly fading and even Moses (waaaay back then!) understood life was short.  There are 2 verses that strike me every time I read them.

• Verse 9 – “For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.”

WE SPEND OUR YEARS AS A TALE THAT IS TOLD.

After an entire year passes, can you recount each moment?  What about each day?  Each week?  Can you maybe recount something from at least each month?  A year is infused with fond and blessed stories, most likely sprinkled with stories of hurts and weathered storms.  As quickly as it comes, it slips by and we are left to share its tale.  Soon one year turns to many and we have spent our life.  The life we have been given truly needs to cherished for the moment we are in it, because as soon as it passes, it is over and soon an entire life becomes as a tale that is told.

I didn’t want this post to be depressing, but I would love to convey my struggle to grasp time.  I hope to provoke your thoughts, as mine have been.  The fun and fascinating part about it is, we still get to choose how to spend our tale!

So, how will you spend yours?  There is a second verse that follows the 9th one.

• Verse 12 – “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”

TEACH ME TO NUMBER MY DAYS.

I have been asking God for months to teach me to number my days.  (Note: when you ask to be “taught” something, be prepared for a lesson.  You might go through some growing pains, but you’ll come out stronger in the end.)  God most likely will not reveal the actual number of days I have remaining, and I don’t think I would really want to know that.  However, there is a principle here.  Since we don’t know our actual number of days, we can ask God to teach us to number our days, meaning to help us recognize that time is short and to value each day and realize that days somehow grow into years.  I want to learn to notice that time is fleeting and life is fragile. 

THAT MY HEART MAY BE WISE.

If I can somehow learn this lesson on spending my days and carefully considering each one, I will live my life to its fullest potential according to His will and His purpose.  I will be wise in how I spend my days and I will be more careful and cautious in handling each one.  Ultimately, my relationship and duty with God, my husband, my kids, family, and friends will benefit because my priorities will be right.

When I have spent all my years, I will have one tale to tell.  With God’s help, I am choosing to learn to spend this tale wisely.

Don’t waste your story.  How will you spend your tale?

this is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it                                                 (Psalms 118:24)