Sunday, September 28, 2014

Rain

One of my children has been having a very hard time feeling safe at school, and really anywhere that I am not with him.   He has severe food allergies, and only feels completely safe when he is with me.  (Wow, that's a lot of pressure!)

His deep anxiety about his surroundings began the end of July, after a scary incident, and has been very strong ever sense.....

I have tried everything that I can think of, and continue to try every idea that I come across, to help this poor child be able to calm down and trust more...

I recently asked my Pastor for advice, and he borrowed me a video titled "Rain" to watch with my son.  This video is so amazing, and I cannot possibly explain how deeply it touched us, in few words, but the main point was; When we are stuck in the "storms" of our lives and the "rain" keeps coming down, God holds us tight and reminds us that he is with us and that he knows the way to get out of the "Storm".   Trust in him, and he will lead you through all of life's "Storms". 

This was such a beautiful video, and my sons really liked it too!    They didn't grasp all of the concepts until we discussed it after watching, and then, they both really understood!

To watch my boys both think and reflect that "Yea, God is always with us!" and "Wow, he will carry me through anything!" was a very amazing mother moment indeed!

From that discussion, we went on to a related craft.....   I had previously cut out many little rain drops from blue construction paper, and I asked the boys to write a "storm/trial" that they feel they have faced on each raindrop and attach it to construction paper.   We did this together and guess what, mama ended up writing on the most raindrops!    We then shared together, what each of us had written on our own raindrops.   This whole process was very beautiful!   When preparing for this activity, I didn't know if both of my boys would be old enough to fully grasp this concept, but they surprised me, and dug deep!

Once we each had our own "Sky" full of Raindrops (on paper), we held them above our heads and we said "Here God....Please hold me and show me the way through these storms!" "We trust in You!"   And then, we each put our storms away in a drawer in our rooms, and moved on, because we had just given our worries to God, and they are no longer in our hands! (both literally and figuratively) :)

Scriptures that we read included:

"Is Anyone Crying for Help?  God is listening, ready to rescue you."  Psalm 34:17

"O Lord, the God who saves me, day and night I cry out before you." Psalm 88:1

"There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place."  Deuteronomy 1:31

This powerful lesson with my boys touched each of us very deeply, and I am so grateful for the way in which it touched me, and the way that we opened up and bonded over this experience!

What an amazing work God did in each of us just today, by bringing us that video and his word and reminding us, convincing us all, that we are NEVER alone, and that He will carry and care for us always!

I write this hoping, that each of you may be reminded also, that God is with you in every "Storm" of life, and that He will show you the way through it!!

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Missing Someone

Every day over the past 4 work days, I have arrived at work, pulled into my assigned parking spot, and stepped into the empty spot beside me....    Before, I may have not even noticed whether there was a car next to me or not, but now, after the untimely and unexpected death of my coworker, I notice every day that her parking spot next to mine is empty.  I feel confused each morning as I step unto that empty spot and into a feeling of loss....
 
She was not a large part of my life, but I think of her every day nonetheless.  She always brought a smile to my face and laughter to my heart with her joyous demeanor!
 
How are we to overcome unexpected tragedies?  Certain things that happen in life can be so very confusing.  It is often difficult to even begin to make sense of it all...
 
Luckily, the scripture of Isaiah 41:10 crossed my path today, and I was reminded that I do not need to know the answers or the reasons why.   The Lord will help us all through this and other times of confusion.  There is nothing to fear!
 
I am thankful for having known her.   She complemented my fashion sense often and brightened my day many times!  Because I remember her fondly, I have chosen today to use that empty parking spot that I notice each day as a reminder to smile at others, be kind, and bring joy to someone else's day, as she did to mine.
 
Thank you Lord, for providing me with your word, once again, to bring me through confusion and into the brightness of Your plan!   May we all seek strength from on High and remember fondly the people who have made us smile!

Monday, September 15, 2014

Challenges & Blessings

Last week was 11 years since my wedding day. I found myself thinking about all the challenges my family has overcome in a short 11 years. I thought about huge health issues, hospitalizations, moves, loss of loved ones, career changes, business ventures, and more...   I started thinking wow, a lot of trials were thrown at us during those 11 years!
But then I thought about how we overcame them all. 

I thought about the many many blessings we've been given in those 11 years. I began to think about the blessings that came directly from the challenges...
Isn't it amazing the way that God has our whole lives planned? 

He knows that each challenge is going to lead us in a new, right direction. He plans out how he is going to get us to listen to His will for our lives.  Even when we don't see the signs he sends, or don't stop long enough to get his message, God finds a way, through our trials, to lead us to our blessings!
Click to Tweet
Here is one of my all-time favorite songs that reflects this idea of blessings coming through challenges:
"Blessings" by Laura Story
I am constantly amazed at all the wonderful things God has provided for me in the last 11 years, & I really look forward to all that is to come! Thank You God!!


Monday, September 8, 2014

Over planned

My type A personality is really draining my energy lately!  My need to plan ahead for everything has me running around nonstop, about 18 hours a day, to cover all the bases.
 
I keep asking myself "Why am I so exhausted?". But if I step back and look at my life, there are many obvious answers to that question...
 
Here's a scene from last week; I made a special trip to the store late one night to purchase Lunchables for my children's crazy evening the following day; then I forgot to take them with the next morning, and went back home to get them, making me late for work; I then put them in the fridge at work, and FORGOT them there that afternoon!!!!   ARRGGHHH!!!
 
But, guess what....my kids survived!  We made it through our appointments right after work on suckers from my purse & poweraide from the vending machine.  The kids didn't know the difference.   They were fine!
 
This little experience and all the stress I caused myself to try to be completely in control of the situation, made me begin thinking about other, non detrimental, areas of my mommy life that I may be "overdoing it"....and wow were there a lot!   So I began writing down the things that I should 'ease up' on a bit, like: monitoring time spent on Minecraft (sure, I wouldn't want them to spend all day on this, but it is a harmless game), checking their teeth EVERY morning to make sure they brushed ok (I mean come on, give the kids a break. :) ), and the list keeps growing.....
 
This then led to me noticing little things that I was trying to control in other aspects of my life too.   It felt really good to notice these things, and begin to reconsider the amount of energy I was spending on trying to prepare fully for every little thing!  As I realized more and more areas of my life that I just need to RELAX on a bit,  I remembered a tattoo I once admired that said "Let Go & Let God", so I searched for a graphic related to that.  
 
Below is what I found.   It is now my cell phone background, and the background on both of my laptops, so that I am constantly remind to breathe, pray, relax, and let God handle it!
 
 

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Tears

Yesterday was a very tough day!  In the 3 1/2 yrs. I have worked at my current job, today was only the 2nd time that I have cried at work.  I don't cry often, and it generally takes a lot to get my emotions to come to the surface...

Yesterday though, I was put down and accused in front of coworkers, and for whatever reason, it embarrassed me enough to cause the tears to flow freely.

As I tried to put my thoughts and feelings into words for my Blog last night, I found myself unable to.  So, I sought a scripture reading that would help, and I was led to this one:

Matthew 15:10-11
After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, "Hear and understand. "It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man."

So, with this short post, I hope to encourage my readers to remember how much words and accusations can hurt others, and that generally the person who appears worst to others, is the one spouting off.

I am on my lunch break now, and as I hit "publish", I am closing the book on this experience (thank God). Here's to a great rest of the week for me and all of you!

Monday, September 1, 2014

Bleeeeep

Just this week, my boys & I were walking up a friend's driveway to go visit them, when my older son turned to me, out of the blue and said "Mom, is **** a swear word?"
 
I froze in my tracks, with what must have been a completely terrified look on my face.  He then said, "MOM!! Are you OK?".  His face relayed the level of shock that must have been displayed on mine....
 
I replied "YES! that is the most horrible swear word that exists!  And don't you ever say it again, now that you know how awwful it is!"
 
He seemed satisfied with that answer, and turned and kept walking...
 
I felt frozen in time though...   Why was I so terrified that my child knows this word???  Well, it is a dirty, terrible word, and I found myself praying, "Lord, please let my words today sink in to my child's heart & mind more than ever before!  Please help me teach him acceptable, respectful words! Amen."
 
As I continued to think about that moment over the next day or so, I became more & more comfortable with the way it played out.
 
Isaiah 54:13 
All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.