Category Archives: ENCOURAGEMENT

May 8 2012

Being Still

“Life is a moving Target”

I’m sure you’ve heard that on Target commercials.  But it’s true, life is moving, things are constantly changing and growing.

I need to slow down.

I need to stop the distractions in my life.

I need to be still.

Still.

Silent.

I need to breathe

No, not just air in my lungs, but I need to breathe in life.  I feel suffocated by clutter, distractions, my phone, my to-do list.  I want to breathe.  I want to be free to worship, praise and LISTEN to my Creator.

I’m not a good listener.  I need to be.

I need to be still and stop distractions, I need to focus again.

I’m sure you’ve noticed on the last few blog posts, I’ve been talking about ways I’m regaining order in my life.  I feel like I need to stop doing so much and focus on the NOW, right now.  What’s right in front of me: Jesus and my family.

I want to make my life count.

I want to invest in my children while I still have them in my home and under my care.

I want to focus on the Lord.

I want to make my house a home and be a good steward.

To say yes, you must say no.

I’m putting the brakes on this blog for the summer.  I must.  I have to; for my sanity and my health!

This is hard for me because blogging is something I L-O-V-E, but it must fit in my life and right now it seems a bit out-of-place, I’m trying hard to make something work that isn’t.   So even though I don’t understand it, I’m choosing saying yes to peace by saying no to distractions.

I am going to be spending the summer with my family and regaining a perspective of who I am in the Lord and who HE has created me to be!

I’m saying yes to life and yes to the future.

Thanks and a recommendation

Thank you for taking time out of your busy life to read my blog.  I’m truly grateful.

I will still be participating in the summer HelloMornings Challenge, getting up early and spending time with the God who created me is something I desperately need.  You can read more here.

I want to recommend the book 1000 Gifts if you haven’t read it yet.  Ann Voskamp has a gift with words and this book has the potential to help change the way you view life.  I’ll be rereading it this summer.

Thank you again for your support.

Until next time….

 

 

May 2 2012

Someday

Someday I won’t be awaken at 2:00am when a little one has a nightmare.

Someday I won’t step on legos scattered about my living room floor.

Someday I won’t hear arguing in the other room about who gets to be inside the tent.

Someday I won’t hear cries and screams.

Someday I won’t be warming up milk in sippy cups.

Someday I won’t be doing 3+ loads of laundry a day.

Someday I won’t be making mickey mouse shaped pancakes.

Someday I won’t be carpooling.

Someday I won’t be hearing cartoons on Saturday morning.

Someday I won’t have to buckle and unbuckle car seats.

Someday I won’t be late for everything.

Someday my kids will be all grown up.

Someday.

….but not today!

Apr 26 2012

Expectations

I’m in a growth spurt in my life.

→  My relationship with my husband

→  My homemaking skills

→  Our finances

just to name a few.

Everywhere I turn I seem to be going through a change…some might call it maturing.  Ha!  Either way, I can tell I’m changing, growing, and things are different.

In this season of change, I’m realizing something, it’s something I’ve known for a while but I’m now putting into practice.

I need to lower my expectations.

In every area of my life.

Period.

You see I cannot maintain peace if I have expectations about my life that are so much higher than the reality I am living.

The gap between my expectations and my reality
creates unnecessary stress.

Therefore, I must lower my expectations.
Let me explain:

I have a six month old, a 2-year-old, a 4-year-old and a 6-year-old, I need to expect that my sleep will be interrupted every night.

It’s just the reality of the season I’m in.

I should not expect to get a full night’s rest right now, because if I expect it and it doesn’t happen, then I’m angry.  I’ll usually get angry at my children, and they don’t deserve that, they’re just kids being kids.

I need to lower my expectations.

On that note, I need to lower my expectations about my home, I need to expect that my home will look lived in. It’s going to be messy, most of the time.

I should not expect to have a 2 bedroom home stay clean when there are 6 people living in it.  Things are bound to get messy and I just need to expect it.

Lowering my expectations doesn’t mean I stop striving for a better life and making goals, I should never stop fighting for peace and joy.

I’ll strive for clean, not spotless.

I’ll strive for rest, not 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

I’ll strive for a happy home, not a silent home.

I’ll strive to raise joyful, grateful children, not perfect children who never fight or throw tantrums.

Lowering my expectations helps me enjoy the season of life I’m experiencing, I can be grateful and joyful right where I am.  Michelle Duggar wrote a similar post about lowering our expectations; it’s really good, you can read it here.

I’m learning to enjoy being right where I am.
Today I’m lowering my expectations.

 

Mar 22 2012

Mom’s Heart Online

A new website is launching today: Mom Heart Online.

It’s an online community of Sally Clarkson.  If you’ve read any of her books, you’d know how incredibly awesome she is!

If you’ve never read any of Sally’s books I suggest

→ this one

and

→ this one

you will most likely love any book she writes, guaranteed.

Mom’s Heart Online is going to be a place any mom can come to be encouraged, equipped, and enabled as a mother after God’s heart – pretty awesome huh?!

If you’re a mother you might want to click on over and get encouraged!

I know I will  :)

You can follow them on Twitter as well →  Mom’s Heart Online.

Feb 16 2012

Creating Habits

My two older kids were given little notebooks in their stockings this year for Christmas. I didn’t think anything of it when I bought them from the dollar bin at Target. Little did I know I would be using them to develop a habit in my kids.

I’ve coined these small spiral notebooks their “Journals”.  As the kids are getting ready for bed I put their journals on their pillows.  My son likes to write with a pen, my daughter loves her purple crayon and she places it inside the spiral much like that guy on Blue’s Clues!

Each night the kids now “write” in their journals.  My daughter usually draws pictures, but she’s trying to write more as she’s learning letters in Preschool.  My son will actually write simple sentences, but usually ends up drawing pictures too.

I like to prompt their writings by reviewing some of the fun things we did that day.  Sometimes they write and draw about the day other times they draw something different.

Regardless of what they write, I know I’m establishing the habit of journaling in my kids’ lives, I believe that it helps focus their imagination and creativity.  It’s a way of expressing their thoughts and their art; and I truly believe it will build their self-esteem because they’re creating something that is entirely their own.

As you can see in the photos below J#1 is showing J#2 how to spell “MOM”.  So sweet!

Feb 2 2012

Have you taken the Joy Dare?

Ann Voskamp wrote an amazing book a few years ago called 1000 Gifts:  A dare to live fully right where you are. It’s one of those books that you want to keep because you’ll read it over and over throughout your life – seriously – it’s that good.

Ann has a way of communicating that makes you see life differently. The Lord is using her life, the pain, the mess and the chaos to bring hope to people who choose JOY and count their blessings the way she does.

I read her book last year and I’m going to read it again this year! Even if you haven’t read her book you can take part in her Joy Dare! What’s a joy dare you ask? A purposefully look at the good in life, even when it’s not easy to do.

I love these quotes from Ann:
“I only live the full life when I live fully in the moment.”

“Every breath’s a battle between grudgery & gratitude. Give thanks — & you win joy.”

Reading her book is like putting glasses on when things around you are so fuzzy. She helps you see the beauty that really is all around us!

She’s made it so easy for you to count your blessings by taking her Joy Dare: find 3 things everyday to thank the Lord for.  You can download February’s Joy Dare HERE.

“The way to give thanks in all things: give thanks in this 1 small thing.
The moments add up.”

Nov 11 2011

Perspective

Dirty dishes prove I feed my family.

Full trash cans means I clean up after their messes.

Messy floors mean I let my children have fun.

Wet bathroom floors mean I bathe my kids.

-Poem found on Facebook
Please excuse the mess, the children are making memories - distressed wood sign

This sign can be purchased here!

Oct 26 2011

What I’m Reading

I have a few extra moments during my day now that I’m nursing around the clock, so I’ve been reading the Duggars new book, A love That Multiplies, what a great book!

It’s the Duggars second book – another look into their lives, explaining how they make such a large family flow.  I love learning from others, hearing (or reading) what works for them helps give me ideas when it comes to dealing with my own family.

The Duggars 20 and Counting and A Love That Multiplies are books I use as resources and encouragement, as they remind me that if they can do it with so many kids, I can do it with my four!

To read what the other High Five Moms are reading, be sure to visit their blogs below.

The other High Five Moms are
Stacy from ADelightfulHome.com
Brandy from TheMarathonMom.com
Jasmine from PonderThePath.com
KeriMae from KeriMae.com
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