There will be days like this...

there will be days like this....

my momma' said....

Remember that song?  Life.  Sometimes life gets in the way of the happy ending.

Life.  When your alarm clock goes off, you walk in the dark hallway, and step in a mess your puppy left you.  Those days when you are so tired, you fall asleep at 5 p.m. on the couch, then wake yourself up by snoring too loud.  Of course, that's when you look around and the kids are laughing at you, then make the mistake of asking for supper afterwards.  (that was a fend for yourself night!)

Life.  It's not always easy.  Our jobs.  Our kids.  Even their things.  We have so much pulling at us daily.  Those days when I wake up with a headache... I am already taking Tylenol before my day has really begun.  Not a good sign! I watch old shows and wonder what it would be like to just slow down for a while.  The kids weren't in a couple sports plus extra curricular activities like band or choir.  Or we didn't add in some piano lessons after school as well.  We weren't always needing to go somewhere.

As I drift off into a nap, my mind takes me to the Brady Bunch and I realize that's wayyyy too many kids for me! LOL   I clear my head and realize that my happily ever after is now.  This is where I am.  This is where God wants me.  Instead of wishing things were different,   I need to enjoy the blessings God has given me.  He has blessed us so much.  He has taken care of me through difficult times when I could no longer see the light.  I know that God will see me through this day with annoyances it will bring.  After all, this is My Happily Ever After.

This is the day that the Lord has made

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

 

The Mask of A Christian

"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon

you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 

But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also

rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed."   1 Peter 4:12-13

God never said that our life would be easy. He warns us that it won't be.  We were at Target and my oldest, Joey, found a t-shirt that he really wanted.  It said, "May your life be as interesting as you pretend it is on Facebook."  When did we start covering everything up?  Glossing over life so that the image looks better?

It's not real.   After all of the small talk, then what happens?   I get so tired of fake things.

My kids laugh at me because I can just get through growling at them for something and a second later, answer the phone is the most pleasant voice like everything is fine.  (they, of course, do this when my normal mood has returned! LOL)  We all do this, don't we?  Cover it up...just a little bit.

Afraid of....what?  judgement of others?  Maybe even gossip?

"My companion stretched out his hand against his friends; he violated his

 covenant.  His speech was smooth as butter, yet war was in his heart;
his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords."  

Psalms 55:20-21

I believe it's okay to take down the mask.  We are all struggling just trying to make it another day.  Some are wonderful and we can feel the blessings pouring out on us.  Then, there are days that we start out with a cold because the water heater broke and end up with food poisoning from Mexican take out.  Those days where we want to throw our hands up and yell, "I can't take this anymore!!"

We all have different battles.  Some of the hard ones for me might have been easy for you.  So, instead of your judgement, I might have just needed a hug and some advice.  My promise is that I will do the same for you.  Some of your hardships might just need a different perspective.  Or, they might just need a shoulder that can handle some tears.  I can do either one.  :)  

Living behind a mask is a lonely place.  Let's set them aside and see who we really are.  The people God wanted us to be all along.   After all, He sees behind our facade all of the time....

New School Year

2007:  Joey, 4th / Luke, 3rd / Faith, K

One of the many first days of school.  Of course, in those days, they loved picking out their school supplies.  As you can tell, the boys didn't even mind wearing the same t-shirt.  Lunch boxes were so important.  And, backpacks told your personality.  At that age, my kids were usually getting on each others nerves by the time school starts.  And, I was ready to send them back!!!

Fast forward a few years... I have one starting high school, one in junior high, and one in middle school.  This summer they got along better and there was less fighting.  And, I'm not really ready to send them back.  I want a little more time with them.  It is here, ready or not.  Yes, I still made them stop and pose for a first day of school photo shot.  I realize I only have a few more years of these to go.  :(

2013:  Joey, 10th / Luke, 9th / Faith, 6th

My kids have grown and changed.  But, that is part of God's plan.  We are to grow and to no longer be spoon fed.  Our light needs to be bright so others can see.  When I look at my kids, I see that potential that God sees when He looks at each of us.  I am not a big believer in sheltering my kids in a small little bubble that revolves around them.  I see that so much today in many people's parenting.  No, I don't want them to be exposed to everything, of course.  But, Jesus didn't just talk the talk.

Jesus didn't just sit in a circle with His twelve disciples and talk.  He was out there in the real world.  Where there is sickness.  Where there were prostitutes.  There were were people possessed by demons.  Hello?!  There were bad things in the world then and now.  Many parents want to home-school their children to keep them apart from the world.  God has called us to be Salt and Light.  How can we do this when we are trying so hard to be separate??

Sorry, I'll save that for another post.  :)  I just look at my children and I am proud.  Proud because they have had some wonderful teachers that have taught them way more than what was in the book.  Teachers that have given them a different perspective than I have thought of.   I am proud at the influence that my children have had over their teachers and friends.   I am proud that when my kids say something about church, others know they are not just a pew warmer.  They are Salt and Light for God.  I couldn't ask for anything more.

Life is Precious

"For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, 

whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's."  Romans 14:8

Life is precious.

Whether it is in the miracle of life....

Or the homecoming of death.  
Life is precious.

There are times in our lives when God reminds us of this gift.  Reminds us not to take it for granted.  It usually takes something big to get our attention.  The little stuff seems to go unnoticed.  So, God will use something big to turn our eyes and hearts on Him....where it should have been this whole time.  God has been using others to remind my heart of this.

One of my own reminders:  My daughter has a friend her own age, Alyssa, who has been through so much.  Her pancreas has never worked right.  This summer, her family went to Minnesota for a huge pancreatectomy surgery.  Alyssa has been there over 20 days now.  She has had a rough time.  She has been in pain.  Recovery will take God's healing and some time.  Please add Alyssa and her family to your prayer list.  I cannot imagine how hard it is for her parents right now. God's strength is holding them up right now.  Life is precious...

Another reminder would have to do with cancer, of course.  A sweet lady, Kathy, has been fighting cancer for some time.  She has such a strength given to her by God.  A light from within that cannot be diminished.  Kathy has went for another scan and the cancer which was in remission, has shown it's ugly face once again.  Radiation will begin again.  Another one of God's children in need of prayer.  And, another example of  how precious Life is.
 

When we reach the end of our rope, we see God more clearly.  He has been there the whole time.  How else would we have made it this far?  Our troubles are but a moment...just a blink of an eye... when we get to the other side.  Until that day, we have a Savior that will be with us step by step and day by day.  A God stronger than anything this world can give us.  

 
"Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes."  James 4:13-14

Parenting, Taking a Hard Look

Parenting...
It is not an easy job.  There isn't any putting a band-aide on it and dealing with it later.  It is an everyday job.  It is putting your heart out there daily.  Praying each day that your doing what is right for your kids.  Even though sometimes, your just feeling your way through the situation.  As my kids get older, I have had to take a step back and look at them.

Not as a parent.  But try to put myself in an outsiders perspective looking at my kids.  How does my kid interact with other kids?  How does he/she interact with other adults?  Would I want to be around them?  Yes, it is hard to look at your kids open and honestly.  But, it is necessary.  We are training our children to go out into this world.  Not, live in our basements and have friends just on Facebook.

Take for instance, little "Sally."  She seems like a model child.  Sally is very respectful with adults.  Very much a little "yes, ma'am" kinda girl.  Always the first one to raise her hand.  Ready to please her teacher in everything.  But, for some odd reason, the other children don't seem to like her.  Her parents think it is just because she's a teacher's pet.  What her parents don't see is how Sally interacts with the other kids when an adult isn't present.   They don't hear Sally's mouthy-ness towards every one.  They don't hear what Sally says about the other kids.  They have no idea their sweet little Sally is actually Eddie Haskell in disguise. 

After finally figuring out this Sally in my life, I looked at my own kids.  Removing my rose colored glasses and really trying to figure out their weaknesses because we all have them.  One of my kids really doesn't have any go-get-'em spirit about him.  He is content to be in the middle of the pack and doesn't strive to be first at anything. (drives his father crazy!!)   He does have a lot of friends, but he doesn't think before he speaks.  (drives me crazy!!)  What can I do to help him?  The griping at him doesn't seem to help.  How do to motivate some one that is content with the middle??  I can't make him want something that I want for him.  One of the joys of parenting is figuring things out, right?

Take a moment today to look at your kids from your neighbor's perspective.  Or maybe the other children around their age.  Maybe it is not always the other kids fault.  As parent's we need to take the good and the bad.  It doesn't mean we have to accept that is just the way they are.  It is our job to mold them into good, Godly men and women.  We can't do that if our rose colored glasses are hiding the truth right in front of our eyes.