Tuesday, March 30, 2010

March Madness

Tonight I used my “mommy voice” for at least an hour while I practically begged, threatened, and pleaded with my children to go to bed.

Definition of mommy voice: a tone of voice that is slightly softer than yelling.

The mommy voice didn’t work, those girls pulled out their best tricks on me while their daddy was putting in a few more office hours after dinner over at our friends house. If the big man were home those things wouldn’t have taken place, I can guaran-smack-tee ya.

Whitley even managed to pull out a loose tooth an hour passed her bedtime. I sent out a text to the big man:

I hope you have cash, Whitley lost another tooth.

Then, I said to the girls, “You have to go to sleep or the Tooth Fairy can’t come.”

Elise decided that all of the excitement was too much. Poor thing, earlier today she was rushing to open the door for me at five when I got home and I opened the door into her little head. Oh yeah, it left a mark. I can’t imagine what she will tell her little friends tomorrow. Her huge grin from seeing my face quickly turned to death-screams and huge tears running down her dirty, little face. I was horrified.

As she said softly, now two hours passed bedtime, “mommy, can I please tell you something?” She laid her head down on my shoulder and quickly went to sleep. I held her and felt her deep, peaceful breaths as the panic from being up past bedtime melted away. It was as if the bad things from today were covered and erased altogether. Tomorrow is a new day, bruises will fade and when my baby is twenty-five…I will never have any regrets about rocking her to sleep when she was five.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

I'm ready for SPRING!!

I have enjoyed listening to my girls watching a wildlife documentary with their daddy. I felt like the scene of lions chasing an emu, pounce on it until it had no choice but to lie down and become a meal for the three hungry lions was a little much for their little eyes, but they were very into it. If they have nightmares tonight about being a snack for hungry lions, it’s not on me.

This week has been a nice, unproductive Spring break for my family. I’m already dreading Monday and the madness that the mornings bring with having little girls, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I will load those angels into a minivan that I swore that I would never drive and hold their little hands all the way down the hall as I pray that no one notices that I’m wearing my stretchy pants and sporting the no make-up look.

I can’t tell you how ready I am for sunshine and spring. I’m ready for bright colors, flowers in bloom, and grass stains on my children’s clothing instead of glazed over eyes from watching entirely too much television. I’m ready for the gray clouds to turn to the most amazing shade of blue and the feel of sunshine on my face.

“For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on earth; and the time of singing has come, and the voice
Of the turtledove is heard in our land.” (Song of Solomon 2:11-12)

Being a sappy romantic, I enjoy reading the Song of Solomon…but, it’s not where I dive into the word of God typically when I am searching for wisdom. But, in this particular scripture the Shulamite woman has to venture out into the vastness of springtime instead of staying hidden by her walls. Her lover is calling her to come away with him.

I tend to hibernate in the winter months and retreat inside from the cold. Outside of our imaginary walls, the amazing love of God is calling to us. Asking us to come out of our hiding places and take a journey with Him. The love of God is the only thing that satisfies our soul. He is our shelter from the storm, our warmth in this cold world. He is our song in spring.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Blog Slacker

I’ve been a complete blog-slacker lately. Right now, I’m trying just about everything to motivate myself. I even took vitamins today for “Active Women”. I felt like a total liar yesterday when I was buying them. If they had a bottle with a label that said “These are for the tired, stay-at-home mommy that desperately needs to get her roots done and go for a jog around the neighborhood,” I would have purchased those.

I have been thinking back to things that I have wanted to do, but haven’t. Last year I checked out www.coolrunning.com and found a program called “From the Couch to 5k.” I tried it for a little while and decided that I liked the couch way better than running. I fell in love with my ipod, but hated the sweat running down my face and pains in my side. One day as I was half walking/jogging a lady twice my age passed me on the tracks. I think she was laughing on the inside. I thought about trying to catch up with her to tell her running was bad for your knees, but my side started hurting and I had to stop. I was so proud of her and more than a little embarrassed that her legs looked way better than mine. But, she had figured out the sweet spot and found her pace. I just wasn’t to that level yet.

We all have our pace, something that we are striving for and most of the time we are setting these lofty and unattainable goals for ourselves. Perfection is so over-rated and yet sometimes I really would like to be closer to the perfection side of things instead of my current slacker status. Winter has left me sluggish and sleepy, but I see the promise of Spring and sunshine on its way. Praise God for the different seasons in our life, even the ones that seem rather unproductive. I’m seeking first the Kingdom with the promise of other things being added to mix.

“You will show me the path of life, in Your presence is fullness of joy, at
Your right hand are pleasures forever more.” (Ps 16:11)

So, where are you right now? Are you feeling productive and like you’ve found your sweet spot?

Saturday, March 6, 2010

The God that Hovers

Inside of most women is a capacity to nurture and care for others. To look after the ones place in our care and be tentative to the needs around them; gently kissing the wounds of the ones we love. Even before I was a mother I felt rather motherly. Now that I have children of my own, the desire to nurture has risen to a completely different level.

I’ll admit that I’m very protective. It was a trait passed down to me, although I’ve had to keep it in check. In this world that we live in I feel sometimes that I don’t have much of a choice. One thing that I know is that we are in the hands of a very gracious God who understands every facet of the mother that hovers over her children.

It is never our desire to hover in a manner to suffocate the ones we love, it’s a balance we have to learn early on to trust and to sometimes let go. When I think about this picture of the hovering mother I think of baby Moses cradled in his mother’s arms as tears stream down her face. I think of the fear she must have been gripped with as she made a choice to try to save her beautiful child.

She hid him for three months and then after preparing her heart to let him go, with an aching heart she fashioned an ark of bulrushes and placed him into the waters next to some reeds. Deep inside she knew it was unsafe for her to be present. So she sent the next best thing, placed on the shore with a watching eye stood his big sister, and second in command, hovering mother.
(Ex 2:1-10)

Two things come to mind as I read this amazing story about the life of Moses.

1. We have a God that hovers over us.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.” (Ps 46:1-2)

He is our ever-present help in times of need. He longs to be our strong tower, our refuge in the quiet or raging waters of our life.

2. We have a God who has adopted us in and calls us His own.
“I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” (John 14:18)

It was not a Hebrew practice to adopt, but it was a common practice among the Egyptians. When the Pharaoh’s daughter saw Moses and had compassion on him and took him as a son she changed his fate from death to great destiny. Our Heavenly Father does the very same thing with us. We are heirs with Him in glory. He is the God that hovers over you. The name Moses means to “draw out”. Let God draw you out of the waters you feel that are overtaking you, I’m praying for you!