Helping Them Gain A Passion For Work

I've been on an organization kick this past week...

Cleaned out the school room, sorted through the kids clothes, threw away broken toys, head-less dolls, and hole-y, spaghetti-stained pants.

The total truth is... with four small kids, my head spins trying to remember and manage, stay consistent and hold accountable.

So I'm trying... Trying to lay it all our for all those under this roof to see in hopes that even though they are small, they might be inspired to take their own initiative. And in the hunt for organized simplicity I've actually found myself having a blast... Corny, I know. Who stays up till midnight making chore charts with goofy graphics?

That would be me! :)

So here they are...

You can create a personalized chore chart for each kiddo under your roof too.

Follow the seven EASY steps.

Pick a theme... They have a lot to choose from but don't get to excited... this mermaid was one of the best options... :)

Come up with an extremely creative title.

Decide on what chores you'd like your little treasures to do.

Print, cut out, take all the charts down to Mardels... (they laminate things for a mere 25 cents a foot. I got six charts that I had made for a BUCK! What a deal! :)

When we got home I explained the charts to the treasures and they were totally on board. They like making check marks once they've accomplished each of their chores. And Reesie was ecstatic about the fact that her chart had a most lovely mermaid displayed across the top.

There are a lot of other, way more sophisticated ideas out there when it comes to helping kids gain a passion for work... but we're a bit simple over in these here parts and have really enjoyed our spiffy new charts.

So there you have it... Chores made easy and fun in the Clark family farmhouse. :)

Note To Self This Forth Of July

We did the parade.

We did the church picnic.

We endured the heat.

We shuffled the kids around.

We made it through missed naps and fussy babies.

We ate good food and laughed with good friends.

We lit up sparklers on the driveway with dear neighbors.

But I think that my favorite part of the whole day just might have been in our very own living room.

Me sprawled out on the couch. My Joey lying long on the floor, his head propped up with a pillow. And all four treasures laughing and crawling all around, over us and under us and sometimes taking a breather right on top of us.

With the fan on high, and my hair still wet from a much needed shower, it was definitely the coolest moment in the day. :)

There is something about holidays that gets me all wrapped up in thinking that we have to go, go, go. Something in me convinces that a holiday just wouldn't be a holiday without an overload of memorable activities planned to enjoy.

But the trouble is, with many small children, less just might be more.

As we were driving to meet up with his parents for dinner, My Joey was suggesting that next year we pick one thing, and we build it up, soak it up, and live it up, rather than trying to do everything simply to be able to say that we did it. And even though in that moment I was still stuck in my hopes for the day, I knew he was right.

So this year I am writing a few little notes to myself...

Note to self: When children are small, simplify.

Note to self: Memories are best made when simply spending time together... even it's only on the couch, under the fan, surrounded by vibrant kids and giggles.

Note to self: These years are only the beginning of a life time of memories and family traditions... soak up these years slowly... no need to rush.

Note to self: Even when you over do it, and everyone's crying, and hot, and perpetually thirsty, and soo ready for the comfort and rest of home... Grace still brings joy.

In the midst of the chaos, we had a blast.

Three Simple Words

I love these words because I can imagine my heavenly Father saying them to me, possibly several times a day, leading me into His best with His gentle reminders...

Try... Again... Please

These words fill our home, fill our hours.

These three nifty words, can gently and effectively turn our children's average words into kind, respectful words and right heart attitudes.

Sometimes we use these words to promote politeness.

Child: "Moooom! I want a snack!"

Mom: "Try again please."

Child: "May I please have a snack."

Sometimes we use them to promote peace.

Child (screaming): "Moooooom! So and so did such and such!"

Mom: "Go back to your sibling and Try Again Please, to speak truth to them in a kind way. If they don't listen then come back and ask me in a kind way for help, and I would be happy to help you.

Child: "Okay, Mom."

Sometimes we use it to promote patience.

Child: "Moooom! Is it time go yet? Mom, can we go now? Can we go now Mom?"

Mom: "Practice your patience, and either stay here and help Mama, read a book, or go find something else to do until it's time to go."

Child: "But Mooom!"

Mom: "Try Again Please."

Child: "Ok, Yes Mama."

Of course there needs to be patient words and explanations of what's expected of my kiddos when I say those three simple words... and as always I need to live by my example... and sometimes the conversations do go on much longer than the examples above, and I have to remind them of the kind of behavior that is acceptable in our home in greater detail... but I was surprised at how quickly they picked up on my expectations when they hear those three words.

But for now I am thankful for, Try Again Please, as I've watched it transform the attitudes and the atmosphere of this place we call home.

Just a little company, gentle leading, and consistency.

I've read it several times...

"Just train them in such and such, and they will do it."

Well, the truth under this roof is that hardly anything just happens. And what I wanna know is, what do all those experts even mean when they talk about training up their kids?

When your son continues to chomp his food, and your daughter can't stop picking her nose and eating it... when littlest girl still throws herself on the floor when she doesn't get what she wants and three of them spend their days squabbling about things that seemingly shouldn't matter... What then? How to train souls? What does it really look like?

And I always feel a little funny writing about things that I am for certain still in the thick of myself. I still wanted to humbly post a few things that have moved me forward in this thing called training throughout my past six years as a Mama.

Each family truly is unique and the specifics are gonna look different for each of us because each child has his/her own individual make up. But there are three things that I think could encourage any Mama heart longing to know how to actually train up their children in righteousness.

This past weekend Hal and I were outside watering the strawberries. It was hot outside and we have to water each plant by hand. The job can get long and tiring. The other kids had finished their chores and Hal was tired and saw her bothers and sister playing in the nice cool shade of their "treehouse". She just wanted to be done with watering the plants. I totally understand because I was feeling the same way. But as she was holding that hose and begging me to let her quit and go play, I felt the Lord speaking gently to me...

"This is training.

Show her how to work hard. Show her how to finish strong. Show her how to do all of life to the best of her ability for the glory of God.

Walk with her.

Gently lead.

Stay consistent."

And that's the thing. Training takes time, patience. Training in a sense is simply living and walking through life with the little people under our roof. Training is not popping them into submission. (For us, there are a very small handful of things that warrant a pop on the bum, but that conversation is for another time. :) Training is not raising our voices until the dominating thunder coming from my mouth frightens them into obedience(Which I am often guilty of). Training is not taking over and just getting the job done ourselves simply because it would be a whole lot easier than letting them try and fail several times before they actually get it.

With Hal, she doesn't really know how to water the flowers yet. She gets flustered pulling the hose out as it gets all tangled and then stuck. Time to her still feels like forever so even though she needs to water each plant for an entire minute, she's convinced that ten seconds must surely really be a full minute.

We've been watering the plants together for several days now. Each day I've shown her ways that she can unravel the hose so that it won't get tangled. Each day I've stood with her as she's held the hose over each plant and we've counted together to 60.

And yesterday when she wanted to quit and go play with the other kids, I kindly told her that when we start a job, it's best to finish it well. She came back at me with a tired, hot and whiney, "But Mama?" To which I got down on her level and rested my hand on her shoulder, and said

"Love... work is privilege. We have the blessing of getting to grow stuff together in our yard. And because I love you, I want to help you to grow up into the best worker that you can be for the glory of God. Now let's keep going until all the plants have all their water. I'll walk with you as you finish up your job."

And slowly we made our way down the planter. She gazed at the other kids, possibly hoping that I might change my mind.

But together we stuck with it and we finished the job, and we finished it well. When she was done watering, I showed her how to put the hose away. Then I undid what I had just demonstrated to her and had her try to do it herself. It took quite a bit of time. But I'm starting to wonder if there really is any better way to spend my time than to purpose to train my treasures up in righteousness?

In the moment she wasn't ecstatic about finishing up the job. But as she gets better and better at completing her chores, she's gaining a healthy pride in her work. And in the process she's learning that the main reason we work hard, the main reason we do anything, is because we love God and wanna honor Him in everything that we do.

There's no harsh voice necessary.

Just a little company, gentle leading, and consistency.

Patience and a bit of unhurried time are helpful too. :)

Acceptance WIth Great Joy

Sometimes kids act a certain way simply because they haven't been trained otherwise.

And even when they're trained they still need that daily reminding.

But I often times find myself forgetting that I too am a forgetter.

We're learning trust around here. We're also learning to "accept Mama's 'no' with joy."

When I write it down it seems almost funny to me... How easy is it to accept the Lord's "no's" joyfully? How easy is it to try and convince a three-year-old to smile and say 'okay Mommy', when they're devastated over the fact that you just told them they couldn't have ice cream for breakfast? Neither flow without effort.

But like most of the best things in this life, although it's rather difficult, in our home we find it worth the fight, worth the time, worth the effort, to, by His grace, find acceptance with joy as we make our way through these days, under this farmhouse roof together.

What it boils down to is, if we want His best, then we need to learn to accept what He gives with joy. And if I know the heart behind the request, then acceptance with joy can come to pass without much of a fight. The thing is, I know that My Jesus has my absolute best interests in mind. He wants nothing less than His God-size best for me in all areas of my life. Knowing that one simple truth enables me to accept what He gives with an often times unexplainable joy.

It's not to say that what He gives isn't sometimes painful. And it's not to say that when I call my kids to accept my 'no' with joy that I am hoping that they will have a smile on their face but be a raging mess in their hearts. Acceptance with joy means that every part of us can rest in the knowing that He is always looking out for our hearts. And even more so He is wanting to make my heart more like His.

I've been thinking about some of the most beautiful things on earth and how most of them have to go through this intense refining process to shine in the glorious beauty that God has intended for them. Take gold for example. Gold gets beautiful in fire. There is little sustenance in this life without first the refining.

I'm finding as I muddle my way through these mothering years that so much of His Word has everything to do with parenting. So much of our relationship with Him is a reflection on how we might live out our lives with our own children.

Acceptance with joy is a difficult one to pass on to our treasures. It's been a process over the past weeks, months, even years. But daily we speak of it around here. Daily we talk about the authority that Christ has given this Mama in the lives of these many small children. Daily we talk about the knowing that this Mama has her kiddos best interests in mind. Daily this Mama speaks acceptance with joy into these kids hearts because I am confident that if they learn this lesson while they are still young, it will benefit them beyond words as they face the whirls of this sin-struck, sometimes painful world. If we learn to accept His 'no' with joy, then the trials might even be seen as gifts, the way Paul came to see the thorn in his own side. (2Cor. 12 MSG)

I'm finding that the best ways to train up children are rather simple. I am the one who finds a way to somehow make them more complicated than they ought to be.

As for acceptance with joy, the way we train our children is through a simple conversation, one that we vow to never tire of repeating. The older two are catching on, but the third is in the thick of her learning. When I tell her that she can't have ice cream for breakfast she pulls out her most adorable pouty face. She hangs her head low. Sometimes for added flare she'll bury her eyes in her chubby little hands and shake her head back and forth, saying "no, no, no," in her obvious-fake cry.

And the way I handle it...

Well, first I try and hold back my laughter, who can resist a smile when you see that pouty little face? But then I get down on my knee so that my eyes can see her eyes. And I lift up her chin in the palm of my hand and I look gently straight into her and I remind her,

"Reesie-piece... I need you to accept Mama's 'no' with joy. I love you and want only to do what's best for you. So I need to see some joy in that heart, so much so that it shows up on your face."

At this point she usually crosses her arms and gets a mad face. So I smile and say something silly like, "don't you dare smile." Then of course, she grins from ear to ear and I pull her in close. We've been doing this for months now. Initially she might have gotten her smile simply from my light-hearted silly talk. But I can see a shift now in her heart. And more often than not, once she has her grin back, she'll say, "Mama, I find my joy." And that makes me think that there is something deeper growing in her heart. Something that will hopefully carry her through a lifetime of running into opportunities for acceptance with great joy.

Who knows, she might even be like the nine-year-old girl that spoke deep into me one recent Sunday in church. She spent her days cleaning the wounds of lepers with her Mom, Dad, and two brothers. One night her dad and brothers slept in their van after staying late at a leper colony. Because they were Christians and some of the authorities in the area did not like them being around, they burned them alive in their van.

When asked about the horrific event later, the little girl said of her dad and brothers, "I feel honored that the Lord would deem them worthy of dying for Him and His glory."

Acceptance with great, GREAT joy.

I can only pray with my whole heart that under this farmhouse roof, we would have the privilege of grasping acceptance with joy with such profound depth as this nine-year-old girl who found unfathomable joy, in one of humanity's greatest fears.

Mama's don't have the power to convince small hearts of this deep need for acceptance with joy... that's merely a work of the Holy Spirit. He alone can convince a soul.

But what we can do... we can exemplify. We can live a life that shows our passion for the things of GOd. And what could be more attractive to a young soul than witnessing the miracles of God come to pass in the life of their own Mama.

Lord, may I learn to accept all that you give, with great joy. May I never tire of gently repeating to my children their need to accept my 'no' with joy. And may I never cease to accept your 'no's' with joy, knowing that the trials are often times the greatest of all the gifts that you give.

When They Ask Why

My Joey and I, we wanna parent with purpose. As we train and direct our treasures we want to be intentional with our words and be aware and mindful of the how's and why's of our responses to their questions.

"Why" seems to be the most common question under our farmhouse roof.

"Why do butterflies have wings?"

"Why does the moon shine so bright?"

"Why do I have to go to bed?"

"Why did Jesus have to die?"

"Why" is threaded through nearly every conversation and I've been thinking about the way that I respond...

Sometimes I answer them with a simple one-liner and they accept my words and move on with their day.

Sometimes I answer and they counter with a flood of more "whys".

And still other times I find myself getting all flustered with the never ending "Why" question.

I've been thinking about myself with my Jesus. Been thinking about the way that maybe I bombard Him with my "whys" and how He responds to me when I push in and insist on an answer, the way my children push into me each day.

I've been thinking about the events that He's brought that I've begged for answers, for an explanation and how more often than not He's given me very little explanation.

When I lost my mom nearly 11 years ago, I begged Him to tell me why.

When the nurse came in to see if I needed any help nursing our twin boys and I had to restrain myself from yelling at the kind old woman who clearly didn't get the memo. When we drove down a dark road with empty car seats in the back of our black pickup truck and paid the cremator for the tiny box of ashes, the only physical evidence that remained of our first two treasures. When we signed death certificates when we should have been signing birth certificates. "Why" was intertwined through every last prayer that came through my mouth that first year.

And in the depths of the things I wanted to understand most, His response was so different from what I wanted it to be. I wanted detailed explanations and all He said was, "Trust me. In this life, you're not always gonna know why but I need you to simply trust me."

And it's the same with the many small children under this roof. There are countless questions that can be answered quickly and simply. But there is an element of trust that

needs to be gained. Sometimes there's no time for an explanation, like when we're about to cross the street and I firmly direct them to stay next to me and don't let go. If there's no trust there and they disobey because of lack of explanation, I could have a squashed treasure on my hands. Other times I simply lack words, I don't know the explanation but I know that what I am asking of them is right and it's something that needs to be carried out quickly, them knowing that even though I lack words for them, my requests of them are trustworthy. And still there are other times when I myself don't know why. Oldest son asked me the other day while we were reading a very difficult part of the Bible where God told Moses to kill a group of people that had disobeyed Him, why God would ever want to kill anyone. And to be honest I had no idea how to explain the answer to that very real question except to say, "Son, I don't always understand the reasons behind God's decisions. But what I do know is that He is always just, and His decisions are always trustworthy. His ways are not our ways. And as the creator of this universe He understands things that we do not and will not ever understand."

Our hope, our desire, as their Mama and Papa is that through our daily interactions with our children we develop a trust between us and them that no matter what we are asking of them, they will be able to lean into and rest in the trust that we have between us, whether or not we are able to offer them an explanation as to why we are asking of them whatever it is that we are asking.

Christ models perfect trust, something that we as flawed sinners will never be able to model. But we can still strive for trust with the help of the Holy Spirit alive and well within us.

Consider a very small moment that happened today...

I simply asked my Reesie to come.

I was at the bottom of the stairs and she was in her room. Immediately I hear here respond with a winey, "Why" from the top of the stairs. "Please just come," I responded. Eventually she came down the stairs and she dragged herself over to where I was standing. And before I even bothered to ask her to do whatever it was that I was going to ask her to do, I just spoke gently to her...

"Reesie, when Mama asks you to come, I simply need you to trust me. And a way that you can show me that you trust me is by choosing to obey Mama the first time and come. I'm not always going to be able to tell you why, but by your obedience you're showing Mama that you trust that I know what's best for you. Do you understand?"

She says "yes Mama," and then I proceed to ask her to do what I had needed her to do.

Does she really understand? Probably not yet.

But it's not just a single conversation or a single explanation that's gonna mold these kids hearts in a hopefully godly direction. It's years of repeating, repeating, repeating. Years of living it out in my own life that's gonna mold their hearts. It's them witnessing me, as I learn the same lesson with myself and my Savior. As I learn to obey, to trust, often times without explanation that they too will learn to obey, to trust. It's the faithful work of the Spirit in them.

I don't need her to obey so that I can feel powerful or in control. I don't need her to obey so that I can look good to my neighbors. I don't need her to obey simply because "I said so." Instead I want to teach her to want to obey because at the root of obedience is trust. And trust brings hearts to life. Trust makes hearts free. Without trust, a heart can easily shrivel up and die. My hope is that my words and my actions towards her are trustworthy.

Today went on and I was thankful for the countless times that I was able to tell her again and again how much she would gain in this life if she learned obedience paired with deep trust. To come when I call her, being fully confident that I will only choose to ask of her what I know is best for her, just as the Lord purposes only to choose what's best for me. Even if I don't understand, I can always trust that He is always good.

And if I ask Him "Why" and He chooses to be silent, I can still always be moving forward in obedience, because He alone is trustworthy.

So when they ask you why...

Tell them that it's mainly about trust.

Tell them that sometimes in this life, God's gonna ask things of us and we're not gonna understand why. But regardless of our own understanding, He is trustworthy.

Tell them that a way that we can show God that we trust Him is by obeying and trusting Mama and Papa, with whom He's entrusted with the incredible privilege of gently leading you, through their own example as they daily give their lives to Christ.

#451- 471

Thank you for countless opportunities to speak truth to my treasures. For birthdays that become alters, days of remembering your faithfulness. Thank you for deep heart conversations with women who wanna know you more. Thank you the cowboy who holds me close in the dark hours in our safe-haven. Thank you that we don't always know why. Thank you that you're trustworthy anyway. Thank you for hope and purpose right smack in the middle of trials. Thank you for rain on a Monday in late June that brings life to our strawberries. Thank you for old farm trucks and memories made in fields, in love. Thank you Lord for you in this life. For homemade ice cream and friends on Father's Day. For Papa's that love deep. For pictures that capture the personalities of our kiddos. For hours of living adventure out doors. For new discoveries. For phone calls and texts and cards and emails that bless me on my 32nd birthday. For prayer on the couch... always prayer on the couch. For weekends away, treasure-less. For true friends who love on our kids while we're gone.

(Not So) Little Boys And Kindergarden

Thursday was Siah's last day of Kindergarden.

I cried. (Poor kid, I've cried twice now in his class... :)

Time just keeps going on, seemingly without me, or my consent. How did we get here? Has it really already been six short years since we brought our boy home?

There's something still so childlike about kindergarden. Kindergarden still feels innocent. Our boy still gives long,melt into my chest, boy hugs. He still needs a kiss on his scrapes. Kindergarden seems the perfect blend of small and big. He can brush his own teeth and do a whole list of chores without much direction, but he still crawls up close to me on the couch to read hours of stories together.

Today was a milestone for this Mama and her son. Our Siah is officially a first-grader now.

He was a swell kindergardener though. Mrs. Kozyra taught him two, half-days a week. She described him like so many describe his Papa... "He's mostly quiet," she said, "But when he does decide to share, it's always something wise and worth saying." Maybe our little guy has the gift of discernment like his Papa, who knows?

Although it's sad that our little guy is moving up into the first grade, it really is this great privilege to watch his gifts and talents unfold as the years keep on passing us by.

When he was just a baby I had no idea that he would be as cool as he is now.

No idea that he would be so detail oriented.

No idea that he would be such a strict rule-keeper.

No idea that he would be a silent leader.

No idea that he would get flustered at the same petty things that his Mama gets flustered at.

No idea that he would have the same diligence that his Papa has, in learning new things.

I just didn't know that the Lord would choose to give our Siah a tender heart towards the things of God....

The other night we were reading Trial and Triumph (stories of Christian Martyrs throughout history). The book is a bit above the kids heads, or so I thought. I had read a rather gruesome account and I wondered what the kids might be thinking about the whole idea of dying for Christ in such brutal, horrible deaths. So I asked them how these stories had made them feel about God and what not, thinking they would be scared or something. But Siah ministered to me and responded, "Well Mom, to live is Christ, to die is gain, right?"

He's barely six?? Once again the Lord is reminding me that He is the one who's raising our kids. The things that I have no idea how to talk about or explain, His Spirit does the explaining for me.

How incredible His love is for us!! :)

Anyways, here are some pictures to remember Kindergarden...

These are his Teachers, Mrs. Kozyra and Mrs. Black.

They had the cutest cake made for the kids on the last day of school. It had a picture of all the kids in his class. There were only 11 students total. :)

Siah also wrote me a card. I was standing in the back of the class and he came running up to me and read the whole thing. It still amazes me how much he has learned this year already. When we started back in September he didn't know the sounds that each letter made and he couldn't even write his own name. Now he writes sentences and can read short books. It's just simply incredible. And what a gift it was for me, his Mama, that I got to be there through it all. :)

Here's his class...

And here's his Kindergarden picture...

Way to go buddy!!!! Congratulations on your very first year of school. :)

The One Thing Us Mamas Need To Be Successful

I’ve been thinking lately back to the days when I was a new Mama. Thinking about all the decisions that filled my days and quite frankly, stressed me out. When I brought our little boy home from the hospital it was up to me to get him fed, diapered, rested, and loved on. Sounds easy enough? But I was a first time mom. So I racked my brain over whether or not I should breast feed or bottle feed? Demand feed or parent-directed feed? Rock him, or let him cry it out? Introduce solids early or later? Vaccines? Organic? Scheduled? Baby Wise? Dr. Sears? The choices seemed endless.

And the decisions did not end in the infant stage. The months went by and I had to decide on discipline, when to potty train, when to send them to school, IF I was going to send them to school… Motherhood for me has carried this constant weight. And if not to make the decision making even more complicated, every one and their mom seems to have an opinion about what’s best, what’s biblical, what’s most beneficial for their child, what’s most beneficial for their family. It can all quickly become exceissively overwhelming if I let it.

And often times I can become so wrapped up in my own opinion that I alienate other moms, who, just like me, are trying to raise their kids in a godly, biblical way. And there have been several occasions when I've chosen to feel hurt by other people's passionate opinions about how I should or shouldn't raise my own children. Because although we as women can truly bless one another with our words, we can also easily crush with our words.

I’m only six years into this thing called motherhood but recently I’ve discovered something that has changed everything for me in terms of being a mom.

Like so many moms in the body of Christ I want to raise my kids biblically. I want to spur my kids on in the truth of His Words, because His Words are truly the only ones that will lead my kids into a truly abundant life. And as I have searched His Word, I haven’t found much on bottle verses breast, or home-made verses store-bought baby food… but what I have often come back to is this…

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, AND love your neighbor as yourself.”

I know that it may seem that I’m completely taking this verse out of context but I truly believe that it’s such a freeing verse for mothers everywhere who love God and want to raise their kids to love and serve Him.

I’ve met grown kids who have grown up on cloth diapers and breasts, organic foods and attachment parenting ideals, who now as adults, have a true passionate love relationship with Christ.

And I’ve met equally as many grown kids who have grown up on disposable diapers, store bought food, and schedules who have grown up to passionately serve their Savior as well.

I ‘ve met those who have grown up in the public school who love Christ fervently (myself included in that bunch) and those who have been home-schooled who serve Him with their lives.

But when all is said and done at the end of each of our days, the one thing that matters above all these decisions to be made... is our decision as Mamas to live by example in a genuine, raw, honest, deep, humble, fervent and passionate love relationship with our Savior. Twenty years from now, how we fed them and what we put on their little bums that first year of their lives, is not going to be at the forefront of our minds. But what should be at the forefront from day one until they die are the matters of their hearts. Twenty years from now, are they going to be confident in who Christ made them to be? Are they going to trust in their Savior so deeply, so freely, that they're eagerly willing to lose even their very lives for the sake of the cross?

I don't want to discredit the importance of the daily decisions that we have to make when raising our kids. It's a great thing to feed our kids healthy, to love on them often with a tender mama's touch, and to help them get into good habits for a joy-filled life. I simply want to be mindful in my own heart of not using those non-kingdom issues as as a means of dissension amongst other sisters in Christ.

I can remember several nights that I agonized over hurtful words that were said to me in those early days of mothering over non-kingdom issues.

And in the same breath I want to humbly confess my pride in expressing my own opinions throughout the years that although unintentional then, I know now might have hurt hearts. Diapers are not a Kingdom issue. Leading little hearts to God is a kingdom issue.

If I’m going to get together with other moms and talk about my kids, my hope is that we will spend hours filling one another up with the truth and godly wisdom that comes only from His Word. My hope is that we would encourage one another towards Him rather than tear one another down about things that won’t matter in eternity. My desire is to be the Mama who encourages other Mama’s to make all their decisions solely for the glory of God.

I have never known my God to be one who made all his children the same. He created us all differently with different desires and talents. But the one thing He put in EVERY single one of us, is a need for Him. We were made to worship Him. That’s it. That’s the whole of Motherhood. Learning to worship Him in such a way that it becomes contagious and our kids can't help but want to know Him too.

Motherhood is a refining process towards Him. The reason He puts those treasures in our womb, and in our lives, is not so that we can show off how cutely dressed they are, or boast on how well behaved they are, but instead, so that through our day in day out life with them, we might become more like Him.

And through our daily dance with our own sin and His mighty redemption and glorious grace, our life with Him might be so full that it could splash out of our own hearts and into the hearts of our treasures.

By His grace may I be the kind of friend, sister in Christ, and Mama that loves Him with all my heart, with all my mind, and with all my soul... and through that love... learn to love my neighbor way more than I love myself.