EASTER
What a weekend. Our lives have been so filled--every minute a dozen "have-tos" need our attention. But this weekend, we planned for nothing. A few "need tos", but mostly--"want-tos" and "impromptus".
Our daughter, Racheal, turned 15 this week and also went to Disney in Florida with the high school marching band. She returned on Friday afternoon (during the CRAZY rain!) and Josh took Saturday off. Because of the crazy rain our soccer game on Friday was cancelled! So we got to be lazy all weekend long.
We enjoyed Easter together as a family. This may sound funny--but this is one of the few Easters we have enjoyed as a family. For many years we were very actively involved in Sunday morning church. Sunday morning church can be an AWESOME thing. It can also become work if you are not very very careful. Unfortunately I don't think my husband & I were very careful and it turned into a lot of work in a lot of ways. We loved the work, don't get me wrong. We really did enjoy every moment of serving and helping and giving to the people God put in front of us. The problem was, we stopped taking time to spend WITH God. We would be so focused on getting the service ready--or serving in the kid's ministry or fixing something that we would lose track of moments just to spend listening to the Spirit.
This year, it was just our family. Just the five of us. In our dining room. Singing songs from youtube. Reading the Easter story. Remembering what Jesus has done and what that means. Josh shared how God showed him that Easter ushered in the Holy Spirit--without Easter we wouldn't have God with us always.
Then we of course had the annual Easter Egg Hunt (albeit with two reluctant teens and one very excited 12 year old). And then we all pitched in and made supper--burgers on the grill, deviled eggs, strawberries, french fries (yum!). Enjoyed a couple of movies. A very nice, relaxing "non-have to" day.
He has risen! He is Alive! The Spirit now lives in us. Does your life reflect that?
Monday, April 25, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
DATE NIGHT
Going out with my hubby this afternoon for some much needed bonding time. Our life seems to get stuck in fast forward way too often and I need days like this just to slow down and reconnect with the man I love. I love my kids and I love being their mom and shuttling them to and from everything--but I need to remember I'm a woman too. My "mom" hat won't be forever (at least not in the capacity that it is right now) and I need to remember who I am when I'm not "mom"!!
Going out with my hubby this afternoon for some much needed bonding time. Our life seems to get stuck in fast forward way too often and I need days like this just to slow down and reconnect with the man I love. I love my kids and I love being their mom and shuttling them to and from everything--but I need to remember I'm a woman too. My "mom" hat won't be forever (at least not in the capacity that it is right now) and I need to remember who I am when I'm not "mom"!!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
MOTHERHOOD
I'm a mom times 3. Tomorrow will mark the day that I began learning one of the hardest lessons of being a mom---letting go. Racheal turns 15 tomorrow. 15 years ago tomorrow, I learned that being a mom involves a lot of pain. It is very scary. And 90% of the time you don't know what you're doing (the other 10% --you think you know what you're doing, but you realize later you were wrong).
Tomorrow marks the anniversary of me learning how to let go. I'm a slow learner. I still haven't learned how to let go. "Don't forget your jacket, it will be cool today." "Did you remember your homework?" "Put on sunscreen." "Make good choices." I look at my beautiful daughter and my handsome sons and my heart swells and my chest constricts. My eyes get leaky and my nose burns. I love them so much. I can't even put into words how much I love them. And I am terrified for them, almost always. The world is so big, so mean, so hard, and I want to just wrap them in my arms and keep them from all the hurt I know they are gonna feel.
But I can't. Because being a mom means equipping them to deal with all that pain, all that evil. I cannot shelter them, I can't keep them from all the bad. Oh of course I could for awhile. But one day they will leave the safety of my home, of my eyes, of my arms and if I don't do my job well--they won't be able to cope.
So I hold on to Jesus and pray that my love for Him and my dependence on Him shines through. Because my Mama taught me about Jesus and that He is good, that He is loving, and while we will never understand Him fully--He can be trusted. I'm teaching my children the same--Hold on to Jesus, because this world will chew you up and spit you out and He's the only stable thing there is to hold on to.
I'm a mom times 3. Tomorrow will mark the day that I began learning one of the hardest lessons of being a mom---letting go. Racheal turns 15 tomorrow. 15 years ago tomorrow, I learned that being a mom involves a lot of pain. It is very scary. And 90% of the time you don't know what you're doing (the other 10% --you think you know what you're doing, but you realize later you were wrong).
Tomorrow marks the anniversary of me learning how to let go. I'm a slow learner. I still haven't learned how to let go. "Don't forget your jacket, it will be cool today." "Did you remember your homework?" "Put on sunscreen." "Make good choices." I look at my beautiful daughter and my handsome sons and my heart swells and my chest constricts. My eyes get leaky and my nose burns. I love them so much. I can't even put into words how much I love them. And I am terrified for them, almost always. The world is so big, so mean, so hard, and I want to just wrap them in my arms and keep them from all the hurt I know they are gonna feel.
But I can't. Because being a mom means equipping them to deal with all that pain, all that evil. I cannot shelter them, I can't keep them from all the bad. Oh of course I could for awhile. But one day they will leave the safety of my home, of my eyes, of my arms and if I don't do my job well--they won't be able to cope.
So I hold on to Jesus and pray that my love for Him and my dependence on Him shines through. Because my Mama taught me about Jesus and that He is good, that He is loving, and while we will never understand Him fully--He can be trusted. I'm teaching my children the same--Hold on to Jesus, because this world will chew you up and spit you out and He's the only stable thing there is to hold on to.
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