Becoming a Confident Mom

I am currently reading Joyce Meyer's The Confident Mom.  I have struggled with insecurity most of my life. To others, it sometimes appears as a standoffishness - an attitude that is exactly the opposite of what I am feeling.  When it comes to being a mom, it is easy to be insecure about our decisions and how we are raising our children.  But as Joyce says in her book, "God didn't create us to raise our children under a cloud of insecurity.  Insecurity saps our faith.  It robs us of our joy.  It cheats us out of the boldness we need to really excel at what God has called us to do".  Being a mother is a calling.  I really can't think of a better way to describe it.  And if God has called us to this, Satan is going to try to attack us by making us feel insecure.  The evil one does not want us to raise Godly children who follow Christ all of their lives.  We, as mothers, are a threat to him. 

Heavenly Father,
Please grant peace and confidence to all of us You have called to be mothers.  Help us to guide our children to Your ways and raise them to follow You.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

50 Shades of the Moon Giveaway

I recently came across a giveaway on another blog that I'd like to share with you.  There are 12 different prize packages you could win!  I love "The Fitness Freak", but since I am currently expecting boy #3, I should wait before tackling something like that!  I think if I had to choose one of the packages, I would choose "The Parent of a Prince".  I have been wanting to try essential oils, and this would be a great opportunity to do so!  Ethan would love the car night light and the Bedtime Math book as well.  He loves math so much he sometimes works ahead in his math workbook for fun!  Check out this great giveaway at this link
50 Shades of the Moon Giveaway

Taking a Moment

It's the moments that matter. Whether it is watching your children splash in a wading pool, have their first (or fiftieth) taste of sweet watermelon, taking a walk with those you love, or taking them to make a donation for those who have lost everything, it is the small moments in which you can teach the most and that they will remember the most. Today I took the boys to do what we could for the people of Joplin, MO. We picked out a box of diapers and dropped it off at the truck that was being loaded at our church. We talked about why the people there didn't have these things and how important it is for us to help out when we can. I pray that these little lessons shape the hearts of my boys and teach them not just to sit by when tragedies strike, but to reach out and help in any way they can. First and foremost we can help with our prayers. Then we can figure out what we feel we can do to help. As the boys put the box of diapers into the truck, Isaac noticed that someone had donated a pillow pet just like the one he has. I think that struck him to realize that the children in Joplin have literally lost everything. We will continue to keep all of those affected by recent tragedies in our prayers, and we will continue to find ways that we can help others. There is no better way to teach your children how to be compassionate than to be compassionate yourself.

Stars, Smiles,and A Sleepy Boy

Tonight at family devotional, our verse was Psalm 96:1 "Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all the earth." After reading the story and lesson from our current devotional book, God's Amazing Creatures and Me by Helen Haidle, I asked Isaac "Do you praise God when you get up in the morning?" He replied "My heart does". Oh, the smile that brought to my face! Even if we are not singing out loud, we can praise God with our hearts! Ethan must have been exhausted because the poor little guy fell asleep at the table during devotional. Before going to bed, Isaac asked me to read his current favorite bedtime story, Mommy's Little Star. It is a really cute story about a curious little fox who wants to know how high the sky goes. I love spending precious time with my boys! I am so thankful that God has blessed me with these two boys to raise, and I pray that they will follow Him as they grow and become men.

Taking Inventory of What Matters

For the past 8 and a half weeks, two good friends and I have been meeting each week and discussing our current Bible study. It is a Women of Faith study, entitled "Living Above Worry and Stress". As moms with young children who are active in our church and community, we deal with a lot of stress on a daily basis and we all felt this study would do us good. This week, a particular line from the leader's guide jumped out at me. "The world's idea of an active, community-minded, well-rounded individual may be good, but God's will for His children is perfect." I never wanted to be one of those families that seemed to be running here and there, always too busy to take time for what mattered. Unfortunately, in the last few weeks I know that has happened to us. With my husband having to drive over an hour to work and back, and not getting home until late, most of the shuttling of the kids has fallen to me. While running from violin practice to soccer practice to church activities and dealing with the daily errands that have to be dealt with, I longed for time to just relax at home with my family. After leaving my son's soccer game Saturday morning, I started coming down with a cold. My head ached, my nose was runny, my throat was itchy, and I just felt plain bad. I was reminded of another lesson in our study in which we were asked "Is there a chance God is using stress to get your attention?". So I have spent the last two days relaxing, reading to my kids, and trying not to let my to-do list bother me, although that is something that is very hard for me. It has been good for us to recharge and spend time together without a schedule. I'm not going to take my son out of his activities, and I can't change that my husband is not home until late most evenings. What I can change is what I let bother me (my house not being clean the way that I like it) and my attitude. After all, I'm not here to please those who might look down on me because my house is not perfect or I don't attend all of the events they think I should. I'm here to please my Lord and Savior and His will for my family is perfect!

Road to Becoming a Runner

Three weeks ago I decided it was time for a change. I did something that I have never tried before. I got up early in the morning, went outside, and started running. I ran as long as I could, then I walked until I caught my breath and ran again. After I got home, I realized that running has certain perks to it. I felt better, had more energy, and was proud of myself for trying something new. I think I just broke out of the rut that I was in. After searching online, I found a beginner's running program called Couch to 5K. It is supposed to take someone from being inactive to running a 5K race in 9 weeks. I decided to give it a try, and so Monday, June 7th I started the program. That first week, I was afraid I would not be able to run for the 60 seconds at a time the plan called for, but I pushed myself. It was then I realized another benefit of running. In the last 3 weeks, I have found that strength that I knew I had inside that has seemed hidden for so long. The second week of training I was supposed to increase my time to running for 90 seconds at a time, followed by walking for 2 minutes and then repeating the cycle for 20 minutes. Again, I reached deep inside myself and pushed myself to complete each workout. This week marks the third week of the program, and I have completed two of the three workouts for the week. This week, I am running for 90 seconds, walking 90 seconds, running 3 minutes, walking 3 minutes, and then repeating. As the end of the week approaches, I look to week 4 and wonder if I can do it. Can I run for 5 minutes straight, while decreasing my walking time between running? I know I will have to push myself to do it, but I know that I can do it. There is something so satisfying about coming in after a run, knowing that I completed the workout. I never thought running would be something that I would enjoy, but I am beginning to.

Summer is Drawing to a Close

I can't believe summer is almost over. This summer has been so much fun. I wish I had some pictures to post, but our camera was broken at the beginning of June and I am really hoping we can get a new one soon. I met a neighbor family last weekend. They have two adopted children and were having a garage sale to raise money to bring home the older brother of their little boy. We bought a toddler bed for Ethan, a wireless keyboard, and a wireless mouse from them. I really hope they are able to bring their little boy home.

Isaac and Ethan are their usual goofball selves. I love that my little guys have so much fun together! Isaac and I baked bread today, and I made a tent in the living room for the boys to play in since it was raining outside. They loved it!

We are planning Isaac's birthday party. It seems impossible that he will be turning 4 next month, but he is. Where has the time gone? I am so proud of him. One of his little friends from church had an appointment today to have surgery on his eardrum. He had tubes in his ears and they stayed in too long and cause a huge hole in his eardrum. This morning Isaac and I sat down and said a prayer for his friend. Later I got an email that said the little boy ended up not needing the surgery after all because the eardrum was completely healed! Praise God! The doctor reportedly even pointed up and said "He did this". God is so amazing!