Make Your Time With God Special!

Psalm 119:103 "How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"
Isn't it so easy to get caught up in life's busyness and then painfully realize that we have often been too busy working 'for' God to spend time with Him?!

Whenever we enter an extremely busy season, I often find myself discouraged by my lack of  'proper prioritizing.' I read my quick Proverb for the day and tell God I will catch up with my Bible study, reading and prayer time soon. (Hey! Sometimes with little children who are sleepless wonders, fitting in a Proverb for the day is nothing short of miraculous! Am I right? I know there most be other sleep-deprived moms out there like me who have a very hard time surrendering those precious extra moments of sleep or just mental sanity in the morning or afternoon when little Johnny or Suzie Q are sleeping.) At this stage of my life, afternoon naptime for my younger two kids fits best for my alone time.

But, whatever stage of life we are in, Satan certainly loves to convince us that there are so many better and more qualified ways to spend our time rather than with our Lord, doesn't he?!

One thing I have learned over the years about myself is that I am much more prone to be regular with my special time alone with God if I create an event and environment that I look forward too! Atmosphere makes a big difference for me--candles, pretty soft music, the smell of hot coffee brewing! I also really love cute notebooks and journals.

I have found that I anticipate my Bible and prayer time more if I know I get to pull out my cute Bible and notebook, sit down in the same spot in my kitchen and look out the window at my favorite tree. This time definitely always includes my favorite steaming cup of hazelnut coffee and a healthy sweet treat to go with it!

These are one of my favorites at the moment!

So I encourage you to study yourself and find out what motivates you or even entices you to want to do something. Your favorite candle, pretty piano music, your favorite hot drink or healthy snack, a couple squares of Dove Dark Chocolate...whatever it takes! Make time with God something you anticipate!

Look past the mess to see the faces...

 

 

On that November day, after reading chapter 13, 'Surviving or Thriving,' in "The Magnolia Story" written by Joanna Gaines, I looked down to watch my 15 month old baby boy discovering how to put his Veggie Straws in a bowl and then take them out over and over again with that sweet little innocent baby wonder in his eyes. Then it really hit home...I don't get these days or even moments back, but I will have the rest of my life to 'perfect' my house!
 

Yes! I am a perfectionist who gets frustrated by clutter!! But, I believed I was missing out on those special moments of laughing with my kids in their mess because I was getting upset with them about their mess. 
 

There will be years to come (hard to imagine in some of my current life moments of mess!) when I will be wishing for 'little people clutter' to clean up. 
 

Why am I so worried about my house always looking completely perfect anyways? My kids certainly don't care if things are stunningly arranged at every moment of the day, and my husband is happy if our home is a happy place. The 'house stressing' is usually pertaining to how I feel that my house appears to others. That's pride on my part.
 

Sure, we have a cleaning routine, I still have to put away a few baby messes here and there, and have kids clean up a bit throughout the day. I'm not talking about living in a pig sty! Teaching the kids how to organize and put their things away and having easy storage for them plays a big role in my sanity. But, 'the plan' is definitely not always going to work; we are just going to have those 'days!' I decided Jo was right...I am not going to spend the majority of my day cleaning and picking up and nagging after my kids for perfection, even if it means staying up an extra hour at night. I want to enjoy my kids!
 

So, God reminded me today to make a different choice in my outlook. (We do have a choice, after all!) Instead of allowing myself to be frustrated and upset by 'kid mess,' I will enjoy the little person IN the mess and thank God for allowing my husband and I to have that little person in our home! I realized that my relationship with them is more important than a show-stopping house to impress others while neglecting the feelings of those who live here!
 

Thanks, God, for stepping on my toes today!

 

I LOVE Being a Mom!

III John 1:4 "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."

I LOVE being a mom!

Do I always get it right? No...that would definitely be a 'no.' Wish I could say 'yes!'

In fact there are some days I feel like a complete failure by the end of the day. (I would imagine every mom can testify to these feelings!)

I have been really busy these past couple weeks, so today I had the privilege of snuggling with my 14 month old baby boy and watching "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh," reading books on the bed to my 5 year old daughter when she came home from kindergarten and watching my favorite 9 year old buddy show off his basketball dribbling skills out in front of the house.

This was a great reminder for me that kids do not need a million 'bells and whistles' to feel loved. They just need us as moms to stop everything else for a moment of time and share in their 'happy' that day!

What is important to them? Do we stop and ask...just looking into those little eyes, putting aside all distraction for a moment of time and really listening? (and our kids know if we are really listening, don't they?!)

So...when you have days like mine, your 'To Do' list is screaming in your head and there are things all around the room trying to grab your attention; here is a thought...

The 'stuff' around us will seem so drastically important in the moment, but it will all get done somehow and life will go on. God reminded me today that the little people in my life need to know every day that I love them, need to know that what they have to say and how they feel is more important to me than my 'stuff' and need to be reminded every day that...

I LOVE being their mom!!

Thank you, God, for this reminder!