I have always loved surprises! Like the time when Bryan and I were dating and he sang to me in front of our entire high school, asking me to Homecoming. Or this last birthday when he secretly took the entire day off work and arranged a day filled with time for the two of us. Best birthday ever! I love to get unexpected cards in the mail, a twenty dollar bill in my jacket pocket that I had forgotten all about, and even a gorgeous rainbow after a spring morning rain shower. Surprises are the best!
I also love the kind of surprises that God brings... like yesterday for example. I was having quite a day. The kind of day where I blew up at my children, had zero patience, and everything continued to go wrong from spilled milk on the car seat to dumped soil all over my kitchen floor. (In all fairness, Sam was trying to help clean up.) I was done with the day and then surprise! God blessed me with a park date with two very special women. We sat and watched our kids play and chatted about school, parenting, and lots of things. I went home so refreshed and remember being so thankful for the unexpected blessing that God brought with those ladies. To top it off, last night I met with a very special friend of mine to just talk and do some work on her upcoming wedding. She is one of those surprises that God planted smack in the middle of my life when I least expected it and under circumstances that wouldn't normally result in a friendship. But God blessed me greatly with this friendship and it has been the kind of surprise that has blessed me immeasurably.
God is constantly full of those extra blessings that make me smile and fill me with joy! I love the way He works! An unexpected text or call from someone special when I need it most, overhearing a sweet prayer by one of my little boys, an uninterrupted grocery shopping trip while Bryan watches the kids, flowers just because, watching Jacob spell words with his bathtub letters for the first time, and people that God puts in my life for different purposes, but that bless my heart to the maximum capacity. I think the best surprises of all though, are the ones that God creates through difficult times. They are never pleasant to go through, but after some time, God creates beauty through them and uses them to mold us to be more like Him. I have been thinking alot about this during this Easter week. God didn't enjoy watching His only son suffer on the cross for us, but what came from it is the best surprise of all... the opportunity for us to live a life with Christ as our personal savior not just in this life, but for all eternity.
Our Precious Blessings
Best Buds!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
A Day in the Life of Exhaustion
5:15 seems much too early to wake up, especially considering the fact that I am not a morning person. My oldest, Jakey, rises before the sun many days and is ready for the day. Thankfully, we have taught him how to turn on the cartoons and he is pretty good about lying on the couch quietly for at least the first hour of waking up. I normally get up too and stumble to the kitchen making my vanilla chai. Yesterday I had two cups and still, the exhaustion was overwhelming. I sat and thought about crawling back in bed and letting the family care for themselves for the day, which obviously, was not a possibility. I prayed for God to give me the strength for the day. He gently reassured me that though being a mom is far from an exhausting job, it had many more rewards than even I could fathom.
As the day unfolded, so did the noise, the dipaers needing to be changed, the meals that needed to be made, the phone calls, the spills, the childish squabbles that needed a referee, which by the way... do moms out there ever feel more like a referee than a mother? The endless dishes, the giant to-do list on my kitchen counter, the errands that would probably not be accomplished for the day, and lets not forget about the laundry! If you know me at all, you know I am not a fan of laundry. As I was on the phone with our mortgage company in the morning, I could hear my one-year-old crying from his crib in the next room. I could also hear my other two fighting over trains downstairs. I think it was at that point that I wished I had a different job. Going back to my previous life as a kindergarten teacher was sounding quite appealing at that particular point in the morning. I began to feel overwhelmed as the anxiety set into my stomach, thinking about the fact that there was no one else to do this "job". I have an incredible husband who helps more than I imagined, but still... I am the bottom line. No one else on earth is as responsible for these three boys as I am.
The day went on and my exhaustion grew more intense and I remember counting down the minutes to naptime. If moms are honest, they will admit that there are days we live for naptime. An opportunity to hear nothing but the running water from the electric cat water dish while sitting in the kitchen reading. Some days I get lots accomplished during naptime, but yesterday I would relish in the peace. As I thought more about the day and began to feel guilty for wishing my office wasn't my home, I realized it was okay to feel that way from time to time. Because even though there were definitely days I felt this way, ultimately in my heart I wouldn't trade anything in the world for a life of being a stay-at-home mom. The many moments of refereeing allowed me to teach my boys how to use kind and loving words when speaking to each other. I have the opportunity of a lifetime, watching my boys grow and learn more about the Lord and all the many life lessons that come up each day. As I sat in the quiet thinking about my role as a mother, I felt comforted knowing that God sees all that I do and appreciates it. My boys don't thank me for changing their diapers or cleaning up spilled milk, they don't thank me for getting up 25 times during a meal to assist with feeding, getting another cup of water, or teaching them how to hold a fork to eat with instead of using it as a drum stick. But God sees every single detail of what I do. He sees every diaper I change, every meal I make, every tear I wipe away, every boo boo I kiss, every load of laundry I do (Wow that is a lot of laundry!) ... He appreciates it and loves me for it. In the midst of the overwhelming and exhausting moments, He is watching and cares. That brings me more comfort than anything else and even brings me joy!
Psalm 94:19 -- "When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul."
As the day unfolded, so did the noise, the dipaers needing to be changed, the meals that needed to be made, the phone calls, the spills, the childish squabbles that needed a referee, which by the way... do moms out there ever feel more like a referee than a mother? The endless dishes, the giant to-do list on my kitchen counter, the errands that would probably not be accomplished for the day, and lets not forget about the laundry! If you know me at all, you know I am not a fan of laundry. As I was on the phone with our mortgage company in the morning, I could hear my one-year-old crying from his crib in the next room. I could also hear my other two fighting over trains downstairs. I think it was at that point that I wished I had a different job. Going back to my previous life as a kindergarten teacher was sounding quite appealing at that particular point in the morning. I began to feel overwhelmed as the anxiety set into my stomach, thinking about the fact that there was no one else to do this "job". I have an incredible husband who helps more than I imagined, but still... I am the bottom line. No one else on earth is as responsible for these three boys as I am.
The day went on and my exhaustion grew more intense and I remember counting down the minutes to naptime. If moms are honest, they will admit that there are days we live for naptime. An opportunity to hear nothing but the running water from the electric cat water dish while sitting in the kitchen reading. Some days I get lots accomplished during naptime, but yesterday I would relish in the peace. As I thought more about the day and began to feel guilty for wishing my office wasn't my home, I realized it was okay to feel that way from time to time. Because even though there were definitely days I felt this way, ultimately in my heart I wouldn't trade anything in the world for a life of being a stay-at-home mom. The many moments of refereeing allowed me to teach my boys how to use kind and loving words when speaking to each other. I have the opportunity of a lifetime, watching my boys grow and learn more about the Lord and all the many life lessons that come up each day. As I sat in the quiet thinking about my role as a mother, I felt comforted knowing that God sees all that I do and appreciates it. My boys don't thank me for changing their diapers or cleaning up spilled milk, they don't thank me for getting up 25 times during a meal to assist with feeding, getting another cup of water, or teaching them how to hold a fork to eat with instead of using it as a drum stick. But God sees every single detail of what I do. He sees every diaper I change, every meal I make, every tear I wipe away, every boo boo I kiss, every load of laundry I do (Wow that is a lot of laundry!) ... He appreciates it and loves me for it. In the midst of the overwhelming and exhausting moments, He is watching and cares. That brings me more comfort than anything else and even brings me joy!
Psalm 94:19 -- "When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul."
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