Mom Equipped: Ephisians 2:10

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Ephesians 2:10

My husband has been gone from the house a grand total of 49 hours over the last 4 days for work and a dentist appointment. I am feeling like this day will never end. To my fellow mamas out there joyfully juggling parenthood with little ones I have to tell you, some days at our house we have bath-sicle days, tearful days, movie and pajama days, park days, play date days, parenting fail days, and rock star days. We read, we paint, we make a mess and my kids can be a mess. We hardly give baths, we eat good meals and nutritionally shocking meals. The one thing in common is I have days...with my sweet sweet and sometimes emotionally challenge children. I have days with my little loves.

Sometimes those days are in survival mode like today. Can anyone relate? I am trying to choose to make the most of every day because God is using me to shape these children into something good, someone useful, someone who is going to be impacting and teaching the next generation about His goodness. These little ones I am spending my days with were placed into my care with a plan and a purpose.

We as mamas have been uniquely equipped to handle the hard, the mess, the heartache, and are blessed to see the growth, the triumph, and the success. What a privilege it is to be raising up the princes of God, the daughters of the King. That right there, changes my whole attitude...so never mind that my kids are playing outside in the backyard in pajamas after eating fudge pops for an hour in the tub to pass the time. Today is a day I get to spend with them, raising them, teaching them, shaping them. I was appointed by God for this and I have a purpose in my children's lives.

Dear God, You have called me to this. You made me for this. Sometimes I feel like parenthood is more than I can handle and inadequacy sets in. I am slowly learning how imperfect I am but that with you I am capable. Help me to remember what I do matters and how I do it makes a difference. Shepherding little hearts is a lot of work and I don't feel up to the task so remind me on the hard days I am not alone in this and that you have equipped me.

God Can Use The Young: 2nd Kings 11:21

Joash was seven years old when he began to reign.

2nd Kings 11:21

Josh was SEVEN when God called him to kingship. Seven! Not only was his age amazing he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and God used him. He was young, and you know what, it's a hunch but I bet it was a challenge to be king at such a young age.  Age did not stop God from doing good through Joash.

Lately, lots of my prayer cards have reflected a need for prayer for children. For safety, for healing, for protection, for growth, for answers to questions. My oldest son  taught me this week that these prayers we are showering over our children may be a sign that God is growing something good! My son has the gift of faith. His faith is a crazy, move mountains, never doubt his God gift and it all came from his health challenges over the last year and a lot of prayer. God used it to grow something good in my son.

Today I am lifting up in prayer our children! I am praying  God would be shaping these children to do good work. That God would be growing their hearts to develop gifts that are tools for His work on earth. That their age would not limit when God uses them and that we, as their parents would have the wisdom to foster faith in their God. Pray for your children today and for your  children's friends. God has big plans for them! Their life circumstances now, be it mountains or valleies, may be shaping them for the good works God has planned for them long ago (Ephesians 2:10).

Dear God, Please grow in me a heart to prayer for my children. Give me words to encourage them in their walk with you and eyes to see the areas I need to foster. May they grow to be bold in their convictions, sure of who they are in you, and boldly proclaim to their generation how good a God you are.

Amen,

Fellowship: Hebrews 10:24

And let us consider how to spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

Hebrews 10:24

As we gathered round the table with friends tonight it was nothing short of chaos with five little ones running about. Conversation was constantly interuputed, tears were shed, vegetables were protested. To someone without kids or currently not in the trenches of toddlerhood dinners it looked like the worst get together hardly worth the time. To the four parents who got to intermittently talk and grab a bite of the food here and there while feeding our little loves it was perfection. Why? We had fellowship! We were fed! We were encouraged! We were understood! That exhausting dinner energized my heart and spurred me on to better love my kids, challenged me to show intentional love to my husband, motivated me to serve my community. Never underestimate how powerful and purposeful gathering at the table with loved ones can be, how allowing time to feel seen and heard and encouraged can provide a space where you feel at peace among the chaos. Seek out fellowship, even during the crazy seasons of life. It may be those draining dinners fill you up so you can better pour out onto others.

Dear God, I struggle to find time for fellowship. It's easy to sit back and focus on the responsibility of parenting, events, classes, and life and not carve time out to spend with others. I see the importance of not only blessing others but taking time to encourage my own heart so I can continue the work you have for me on eart. Please grow on me a heart of generosity and hospitality so I may encourage others and spur them on towers love as well as myself. Help me make time to appreciate the gift of fellowship with other believers.

Amen.

Honeycomb: Proverbs 16:23

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

Proverbs 16:24

As part of our Bible memory verse this past  week we taste tested honey and vinegar and decided honey was better. Along with that, we made a list of honey words and discussed how we could be sweet to each other's ears. Game changer!  Not only did my kids understand better when they were complaining but they actively tried being sweet to my ears! 

Here is my humbling realization  as a mom. I often avoid being unkind with words but am not seeking out kindness to the best of my ability. The very application of "encouraging one another and building each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11)" is not my goal in conversation as much as guarding my tongue and avoided ng gossip, vanity, discouragement. My sons were living examples and a daily challenge of how to spread encouragement, goodness, and love as Christ calls us to. So this week, I made a choice to not be on guard to words that sour souls but to be active with sweet words like my children have taught me, like Christ calls us. I want to sweeten the lives around me and be as excited as my sons are to speak goodness into the lives of others.

Dear God, May the words that flow from my lips and the thighs that go unspoken be uplifting to others. Help me to go beyond avoiding sin and spur on good words and thoughts in my life. May everyone I encounter feel encouraged, loved, and uplifted because you are speaking through me.

Amen.

His Mercy: Lamentations 3:22-23

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23

The other day I had one of those parenting fail days. I prayed for better rest, renewed energy, and to get out of the house, of which, none happened. Instead I set the fire alarm off cooking lunch, hardly got dressed, and Keith decided not to nap after an early wake time that morning. I was exhausted, frazzled, and running on fumes which made me not engage with my kids. I let them work out most of their arguments, fed them the most unhealthy thrown together dinner, and put them to bed early which made bedtime a battle.

That night I prayed hard for a better tomorrow. I prayed it would be one we made memories, I prayed I could do better, be better, plan ahead. You know what, the next day was no better! However, amidst my frazzled second day in a row of no naps, not getting dressed, and feeling burnt out Shane said "Mom, just make us hot chocolate and sock puppets and we will stick on a puppet show for you." Oh mercy, I love that boy! I was so thankful God heard my prayer and was faithful to love on me through the encouraging words of my son and show mercy but Shane suggesting a totally easy and self entertaining activity for Keith and himself. It was not the day I thought I would have two times in a row but we survived. God is faithful.

Dear God, please help me to remember when I feel I am at my worst as a mother you still love me. You have mercy on me when I cry out to you for help and you are always faithful. Help me to have eyes that see you on the hard days.

Amen.

Love: 1 John 4:19

We love because He first loved us.

1 John 4:19

One day I popped the boys in the car and we headed to the market to get dinner for some family friends who were sick. We piled flowers, popsicles, soup, and some muffins into our cart and popped cards into the grocery bag that we left on the front steps. I was trying to find a tangible way put our weekly Bible verse into action. I was trying to teach my boys what acting in love looked like beyond a hug or phrase.

You know what, that tangible act of dropping dinner off, it worked! Months later and my  boys still get excited if a friend gets sick. They immediately want to head to the market to get food and make cards. It is a repetitive action that may end up putting a hole in my wallet but I never want to miss an opportunity to teach my kids how to love their neighbors, how to care for the sick, how to show Christ love to others. How I actively showed love to my community rubbed off on my kids and not only that, it was a lesson that they are going to carry with them. A little tangible application of the scripture had a lasting impact on the hearts of my sons and now my sons are daily challenging me to show God's love. They did not let it become a weeks lesson but have made it a life goal that now motivates me to keep on loving others.

Dear God, may I always have a childlike eagerness to show love to others. May I never miss an opportunity to love because you love me. I pray, Father, that you would continue to grow in the hearts of my children and myself a deep desire to serve others, to walk alongside them, and to be your hands and feet in this world. Thank you for loving me and my children.

Amen.

Peace: Micha 5:5

He will be our peace.

Micha 5:5

Last week as I cleaned downstairs in the evening I heard the putter patter of little feet. Someone was out of bed. I walked upstairs to find that my smart little monkeys had figured out the code to unlock my medicine cabinet where I keep all sorts of items out of their reach. Shane had Chapstick all over his face, Keith was covered head to toe in lotion, and my heart stopped as I saw my husband Brian's pill box on the counter with not only today's compartment missing but an additional one open and all the pills were gone. Staying calm I inquired if anyone had eaten and little snacks and Keith announced he had eaten daddy's "pillows" and a tube of Chapstick with pride. I had no clue what was in the pill box and Brian was at work. Sigh. I looked up poison controls number and quickly called Brian as my heart raced and I admit, I fought a few tears back as I spoke to a kind woman about what my son had ingested. 

There are moments in life that give rise to our emotion. I felt fear, frustration, confusion, and panic knowing Keith may need to be whisked away to the hospital to have his stomach pumped. Rightly so, those emotions are there but I found the following days I was on edge worrying that the boys were out of bed popping pills and concerned I would need to call poison control again and be ill. However, it was not until another friend let me know her son had chocked and she called 911 the following day that I was reminded that God bring peace. I prayed that day over my friend and myself, that God would calm our hearts and allow us to feel a calmness and assurance in bedtime and mealtime again. I forget in my business as a mother that God has the power to calm my heart if I ask. What a powerful God we serve.

Dear God, some days parenting my children can bring worry and anxiety. I dwell on what could go wrong instead of leaning on you. Help me to call on your promises. Be my peace so I can be the mother you have called me to be for my children. I ask that worry and anxiety don't overcome me and that I may feel a calmness as I go about my work.

Amen.