Passing On Some Good Advice!

On Sunday I went to a baby shower for a dear friend who is expecting her first dear one in a few days. Her mother gave an excellent devotional that I asked if I could pass on. It was just simple, practical advice, but it was a great encouragement to me. Hopefully it will be for you too!


              Always pray!! ~ She reminded us of the days of queen Esther, who served a great king who held the power of life and death. She then pointed us to our Almighty King, who holds all power. The greatest thing we can do for our children is to continually place them in His powerful and loving hands.

Hebrews 4:16~ Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence,

so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us

in our time of need.

             Be humble~ Although we start out thinking that all we have to do is "xyz" and then we will be perfect parents, somewhere along the way we will mess up! We need good humility to ask for help or advice and especially to apologize. When we wrong our children we need to be truly repentent towards them.

  They "C"you!~  Cliche as it may sound, actions really are louder than words and attitudes really are caught and not taught. This one has been especially convicting for me lately. How can I hope or expect my daughters to have exemplary character qualities if their prime example is very poor at them? As I said in my post about memorizing scripture , I have to be letting the Spirit work in my life as I attempt to train my children. 

             Don't neglect your man!~ Very simple. Just don't! Bad times all around if you do! As Sondra said, it brings the most security and peace to your children's lives when they can see that Mommy and Daddy not only love them, but each other.

             Enjoy them!~ Amen! Amen! Amen! It breaks my heart when I see mothers "tolerating" their children. Please don't take this as boasting at all, but I think I enjoy my children more than anyone I know. And I hope you all can say the same! It's not fake. It's not a show. My heart is thrilled to pieces everyday at the thought of my precious treasures. Sure there are bad times, grumpy times and very loud times. (Whoever invented loud riding toys with no on/off switches? I would like to talk with you out back for a moment!) But never for one millisecond would I question wether they are a joy or an obligation in my life.

Thank you Sondra for these excellent points! Hopefully you can all be encouraged, challenged and inspired just like I was!

A giveaway from a friend!!!

I know I mention MOMYS on here all the time. If you are a "Mother Of Many Young Siblings" (hence the acronym!) ask me about it! One of the joys I've had since being a part of it has been getting to know my friend Grace. Not only do we share a name, but we also have children almost the same ages. She has been such a blessing to me. I love following her blog and being encouraged by her sweet and joyful spirit.

She is doing a "Giveaway Extravaganza"!!! She has some really cool prizes and I get entered twice if I mention it on my blog! (No, I'm not a bit ashamed of my motives!) I have no reservations mentioning this here because I know that sending you her way will brighten your day! I hope that you get the chance to get to know her too and are as blessed as I am!

Check it out  HERE!!!  Maybe you will win something cool and be blessed at the same time!

A break from "The Break"

Whew! Am I the only one actually excited that Spring Break is over? Don't get me wrong, it was a fabulous week. I was able to go on the AMF Spring Retreat ( more on that later), visit with sisters and dear friends, help with the Easter bread delivery etc.. Everything was super fun and went incredibly well, but I'm exhausted from my "break"! I loved today. Pulling out those school books, washing some dishes and making some pot roast. Praise the Lord that breaks only last so long!

That I might not sin against You

Scripture is an amazing thing. What an blessed treasure it is to hold God's Word in our hands and read it with our own eyes. What an incredible thing to have the answers in life! Yet I know that I too often waste so much of my time, thoughts and energy on things that have no value instead of grasping onto that which offers me real life.

One of the greatest blessings of motherhood has been the ability to teach the Bible to my children. We started working on memory verses with Lydia as soon as she could utter some words. Back when Bethany was still a bald little thing she would walk around saying over and over, "Children OBEY!". I'm fully convinced that the greatest good I can do in my children's lives is to instill a love for the Lord and His word in their hearts.

We  have now started memory charts ( I'm a huge chart/list person!) where the girls can see and track their progress. They are nothing fancy. In fact they are rather beat up (thanks to a little sister's drawing, licking, pulling etc.).

While I'm convinced this is good for my girls, I've been amazed at the challenge it's brought to my own life! These "simple" verses that we've chosen to help shape our daughters are just as powerful in convicting me!

Psalm 103:8~ The Lord is compassionate and gracious; slow to anger, abounding in love.

 

Compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. Yup. I need serious work done in all of those areas of my life.

 

Colossians 3:23~ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men.

 

Whatever you do. Whatever you do. Whatever you do. Even washing dishes, or folding laundry, or changing diapers, or, or, or.... I find it so much easier to remind my children of this one then to truly carry it out myself.

 

James 4:17~ Anyone then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it sins.

 

This is one we just don't like to think about. It makes me uncomfortable at least! But that's a good thing. I have no desire to be comfortable. Just as I want to challenge my girls and make them powerful for the Lord, that's the desire for my life as well. Instead of trying to avoid thinking about "the good I know I ought to do", maybe I should just do it and stop sinning!

 

You moms (and dads I suppose!), I urge you; Start memorizing scripture with your children. Let it soak into you. If you need inspiration, read through Psalm 119 and beg for King David's heart for the Word. Your children are more than capable. In fact, they are amazing at it! And I promise you, it will reap much fruit. Not only in their lives, but yours as well!

2 Months Old!!!!!

How are we at two months already? I was just reminiscing last night, thinking of those last few weeks before she was born just waiting to meet this new little one who would become such a huge part of our lives. Now here she is, and we are so in love with her we can hardly stand it!

Ella is such a bright splash of joy in our lives. She still is eating and sleeping great (except for the last two nights!?) and hardly ever fusses unless she is hungry. She is very bright eyed and loves to observe the world around her, and yet she is perfectly content to remain snuggled in your arms. Her smiles melt every care of the world away. I could spend the whole day just staring at her. She is such a precous gift to our family!

Today I'm thankful for.......

8. Those first new and beautiful smiles!

Ella is now showering us with the most precious little smiles. She loves having someone talk to her and is full of rewards. We're so in love with her!

Today I'm thankful for......

Days without headaches. Unfortunately, today is not one of those days so I'll have to leave it at that! Hopefully I'll be back brighter tomorrow!