His Glorious Strength

Raise your hand if at one time or another you have felt worn out? Exhausted? Stretched too thin?  Join the club right!?! We've all felt like this at one time or another.  I personally, am feeling this way more than ever recently.  On top of being pregnant and chasing a toddler all day, we are in the process of trying to see our house (which means show ready with 2 dogs, a cat and toddler at all times), preparing for a baby girl and designing and building our new home.  I feel sometimes there are not enough hours in the day and other times I feel like there just isn't enough of me to go around.  This is a busy season for all of us and even when we feel "alone",the Lord sees and understands all of our situations! 

"O Israel, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? How can you say God refuses to hear your case? Have you never heard or understood? Don't you know that the Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth? He never grows faint or weary.  No one can measure the depths of his understanding.  He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; he offers strength to the weak.  Even youths will become exhausted, and young men will give up.  But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength.  They will fly high on wings like eagles.  They will run and not grow weary.  They will walk and not faint. 

Isaiah 40:27-31 

 

God never grows tired and weary- we do, but he doesn't.  Oh thank goodness for this right?  This means we can lean on him for strength any time.  In the above scripture the people of Israel are told that those that wait on the Lord gain new strength.  But if we're so busy how do we possibly sit back and wait when we have so much that needs to be done? Well, it doesn't mean we get to sit back, twiddling our thumbs and give up our responsibilities.  It means we have faith and trust God in the midst of our responsibilities knowing He will help us.  When we keep our eyes on him and his plan, that is where we get our strength.  We must always remember that we are not alone and that God is on our side. 

 

I've also learned that alot of the time, we are in control of the way we react to situations.  We are in "control" of how we feel.  That is relative... but, when I feel overwhelmed, stressed, worried, etc. I usually (admittedly not always) pray about it first and then do something to take my mind off what is stressing me out.  As moms, our attitudes directly effect our kiddos. Being home with Pax everyday my emotions are exposed to him all day.  We had a showing this morning and so our morning routine was out of whack.  I made it a point this afternoon to do a one on one activity with Pax outside in the sunshine and it completely changed both of our attitudes for the better! 

 

I pray that all of us can get the strength we need when we need it - for our sake and our little ones! :)    

Delighting in the Lord

To-do lists seem never ending.  Whether you are a list maker or someone who keeps a running catalog in your head, everyone has a list of to-do's.  The tricky part often times is discerning which items on the list to tackle first.  We make a subconscious priority list of to-do's, knowing full well that organizing the sock drawer can wait until tomorrow but the baby needs diapers like, now.  Or, if you're like me, you might enjoy organizing your shoe collection but hate doing laundry - so at the end of the day, your shoes look great but no-body has folded clothes to wear :).   We get so caught up in the stuff of life, that we forget to delight in our life and more importantly the Lord who gave it to us.  

Trust in the Lord and do good.  Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.  Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart's desires.  Commit everything you do to the Lord.  Trust him, and he will help you. 

                                                                                                              Psalm 37: 3-5 
 

When I was a mom working outside of the home, I constantly felt pulled when I picked Pax up each day to drop everything at the door and commit the rest of the evening to him and him only.  Trust me, there were days I did just that.  We went out to dinner or ordered pizza, I graded zero papers, did zero housework and didn't bat an eye about it.  Then there were the days where the first hour home we played and loved and then I had items on my to-do list to complete, dinner, dishes, laundry, school work - you know, life stuff.  My to do list seemed never ending - I never felt "caught up".  On the flip side, being a mom working inside the home now, I've learned my to do list is just as long, and I have many of the same challenges I had before, just in a different way.  There is still a never ending to do list, it just looks different in many ways as the demands of this job are different than before.  I still have to balance how I tackle my to do list throughout the day while still fulfilling the role of being his "teacher". (See this post on my decision to be a stay at home teacher) There are days I catch myself being so caught up in knocking items off of my to do list that I forget to stop and enjoy the DAY - you know you're guilty of it too, we all are.  Hence, the challenges of motherhood. :) 

 

Todays scripture and devotional though caught me at a good place.  When I feel the need to make a list (ah hem, which is daily, maybe hourly :/)  I also need to commit it and pray about it to God.  "As we commit each day to the Lord through prayer, he helps us order our steps.  Some things are necessary and some things can wait, and we need His guidance and discernment to know the difference.  As we lay even the smallest details of our day before the Lord, he directs our path." (Karol ladd)  Whether you work in or out of your home, the role of being a mother is the same: the demands, the list making, the swirling of all we want to do and the balancing of fulfilling our many roles and hats as moms.   We can delight in the fact that we are not alone in this journey of motherhood, as we lay our needs before the Lord he walks along side of us through our days. 

 

I am challenging myself to look to God for guidance and direction this week (and every week thereafter) to help me discern between the must do's and the "I want to do" so I can be a better in the moment Mom.  Will I have days that feel like a blur - yes.  But, after reading this devotional and watching this video last week (click here) - I am working on relishing in each and every ordinary day and focusing less on MY to do list.  

 

Choices to make this week:

• I will choose to commit my work to the Lord, seek his guidance and delight in his presence all day long, teach my kids the blessings that come from delighting in the Lord and committing their ways to him.

 

Prayer from Karol Ladd:  

"I praise you, God most high, maker of heaven and earth.  You know the path I need to take.  You know the way that is best for me to go.  I look to you for guidance and direction.  I give you my list of today's to-dos.  Show me what is necessary and what is not.  Help me to be wise.  Most importantly, help me to delight in you and trust you in everything I do. In Jesus's name I pray, amen."

 

Big Task, Big Testimony

Sorry about last week  ... I just didn't make it to posting.  I had good intentions all week long and didn't quite get to it but let me tell you, I needed this mornings devotional!

Sunday morning around 4am I walked into Paxton's nursery responding to coughing and listening to him "whimper" for a few minutes and was slapped in the face welcomed by the horrific smell of vomit.  This is a first - ever.  Spit up yes, vommit no.  This is the second time he has ever vomited and - it - was - everywhere.  My poor baby was helpless and upset - we stripped him, stripped his bed, threw everything in the washing machine and if you have a crib bumper in your child's crib YOU KNOW what its like to change a crib sheet at 4 in the morning - shoot me.  Anyway.... the gist is this... he is still sick, does not feel good, is running a temperature, won't eat, won't drink, wants me to hold him 24/7, is in a crabby mood (I don't blame him), now has a red bottom from diarrhea (tmi sorry) and I am very tired :), but smiling.    We've all been where I am at - and if you haven't you will be one day... it sucks.  Its true though.... it is the most helpless feeling.  I have an amazing husband who is a champ at changing crib sheets, cleaning up vomit and changing diarrhea diapers so I am not alone here - its just that you feel like there are very few things you can do to help your baby.  So needless to say - when we were up at 5:30am this morning - I needed motivation and lots of it. 

 

Raise your hand if you have been watching the 'Bible'?  If you haven't, I encourage you to buy it when it comes on DVD or set your dvr to 'record all epidodes' for next Sunday because they are re-playing the whole series Sunday as well as the Finale Sunday/Easter night.  I am learning so much and getting so much clarity on the Bible and the God we all love so dearly.  Matthew and I are watching it together and have many light bulb moments the whole 2 hours.  One reason I love it is because it covers all the major and minor people in the bible.  It teaches you (in a different way than words - I am a visual learner :)) by going chronologically through the Bible how each and every story is connected.  The scripture today, Nehemiah 2:4-6; 6:15-16, is a great example.  I have a frame of reference to today's scripture because of my new found appreciation and understanding of the Bible.

The king asked, "Well, how can I help you?"

       With a prayer to the God of heaven, I replied, "If it please Your Majesty and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Jerusalem to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried." The king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked, "How long will you be gone? When will you return?" So the king agreed, and I set a date for my departure... 

        On October 2 the wall was finally finished - just fifty-two days after we had begun.  When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated.  They realized that this work had been done with the help pf our God. 

 Nehemiah received alot of ridicule and threats because of what he wanted to do.  Rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem was not a one man job and he knew that, so he prayed to God that he would have the strength and tools to recruit others to help him.  The small amount of people that did faced the same ridicule and threats yet still, Nehemiah prayed to God for guidance and strength to get through it and motivate his fellow workers.  In the end, they finished the wall and God was glorified because everyone knew the job was too big to be completed without God's help. 

As moms, we all have those "I just can't handle it" days or moments.  Whether it be an obligation or job we chose to do - taking us out of our comfort zone, pushing us to the limits OR situations like mine today - having a sick baby (ok, toddler) that is wearing my butt out and testing my limits.  Either way, as moms we are going to find ourselves in situations bigger than our capabilities.  When it happens we have a choice - whine, complain and swim in self pity OR as Nehemiah did, look to God for help and use his strength to help us through it. 

Choices:

• This week I will choose to ask God for help and guidance each day.
• This week I will choose to look for what God can do through my abilities and talents.
• This week I will choose to take positive action instead of complain. 

Prayer:

"God I praise you for the guidance and ability you give me to handle the tasks you have set before me.  When I feel overwhelmed, please grant me your strength.  When I feel inadequate, please give me what I need for the moment.  I look to you and trust you for help.  May you be glorified in everything you do in and through my life.  In Jesus' name I pray, Amen"

So, after praying this morning I did find renewed strength, my brain less foggy and a new attitude towards our current situation.  This too shall pass and I can get through it.  As moms and women its important for us to remember we can and should derive our strength from God and prayer, we don't always have to be supermoms because lets be honest - I don't think any of us have been awarded capes :)   I pray my Pax starts feeling better soon so we can all go back to feeling a little more normal :)

(Wanted to mention: If you would like to receive these posts to your email when there is a new post, look on the right side toolbar and you can add your email, confirm a subscription and that's it.  I nor anyone else will know who is subscribed or not, but at least this way you can see each post as its posted) Have a great week!  

God Is Our Provider

I'm sure we have all had days where we feel less than equipped to be a mom.  After all, everyone says 'just follow your instinct' - well, that's great and all if I had an instinct to follow :)  or if I didn't second guess what my instinct was telling me to do :)  No really though... we do have an instinct - In my opinion its also called a judgement or conscience.  Today's devotional is centered around God being our provider when we feel we need something we do not have, no matter what it is. 
 
"One day the widow of one of Elisha's fellow Prophets came to Elisha and cried out to him.  "My husband who served you is dead, and you knew how he feared the Lord.  But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves."
        "What can I do to help you?" Elisha asked.  "Tell me, what do you have in the house?" 
        "Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil," she replied.     
          Elisha said, "Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors.  Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you.  Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting jars aside as they are filled."
          So she did as she was told.  Her sons brought many jars to her, and she filled one after the other.  Soon every container was full to the brim!
          When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, "Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and there will be enough money left over to support you and your sons."

                                                                                                           2 Kings 4:1-7         

 

Wow - talk about providing a need.  If only that could happen with formula or breast milk, right?  :) Only kidding.  The lesson here though is that God took care of the family of someone who had cared deeply for him and more importantly asked him for help.  They were a household who loved and served the Lord.  I think another lesson in this scripture and how it applies to us is yes, as believers we believe in Gods provision and his ability to help us but- that doesn't mean we don't need to do our own set of work to allow his plan and work to be done.  We cant sit around expecting Gods blessings to fall in our lap.  We need to be praying about it and doing all we can to work towards our need.  Also, something that brought me more peace than anything is this from Karols book, " Finally, we can draw encouragement from the way that God took what little this woman had and multiplied it abundantly.  We may think we have little to offer.  But God can take our simple love, faith, and obedience and multiply it into significant blessings for our home". 

 

In my mind, that means even the small things count.  I don't know what you need or what your family might need but make sure God does.  He can provide for us as long as we are willing and open to accepting what he can offer.  Listen for his guidance and be willing to accept what he tells you to do. That mommy instinct I talked about above-that might just be God telling us what to do - I guess we should listen to it! :)

 

Choices:

- This week I will choose to look to God as my provider.

- This week I will choose to faithfully obey what he leads me to do.

- This week I will choose to teach my children about God's faithfulness. 

 

Prayer:    

"Wonderful Lord and Perfect Provider, I praise you for your tender love and care for me.  I praise you for your magnificent power that is able to take what little I have to offer and use it in a wonderful way.  Thank you for looking after the needs of my family.  Help me to live in faithful obedience to you.  In Jesus's name I pray, amen."

Who Gets the Glory?

Supermom - we've all called ourselves that before :)  Not very often but it has happened.  Too often more than not I aspire or try too hard to do it all (don't we all?).  I'm admittedly a little bit bossy and somewhat of a 'take control' type girl, but motherhood has softened me in that department.  One thing I am super guilty of though - is taking the glory for myself. Gasp.  Matthew gets home from work, errands ran, house is clean, dinner cooked, Pax happy - yeah, who's your wife now? :)  (Okay, I don't really say that in my head but if I did that's what I would say)  The scripture below paints a different picture though and this mornings devotional helped me to re-focus my thought process and the label 'supermom'. 

The Lord said to Gideon, "You have too many warriors with you.  If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength.  Therefore, tell the people.  'Whoever is timid or afraid may leave and go home.'" Twenty two thousand of them went home, leaving only ten thousand who were willing to fight.
       But the Lord told Gideon, "There are still too many!"

                                       Judges 7:2-4

 

Yikes, I was so confused when I first read that, I read it like 5 times.  Karol Ladd clears things up though...  I am going to quote her, "Gideon started out with a superarmy.  But God was not looking for an army that could 'do it all'.  He wanted a humble army that would look to him for its success and recognize that victory was found in him alone, not in self sufficiency.  God eventually whittled down Gideon's army to three hundred men.  He granted the victory, and the honor went to him." 

 

You know why its so hard to "do it all"?  Because we're not supposed to! Along with help from our husbands, God wants us to seek him, use him, rely on him and ultimately give Him the glory.  He doesn't want us to be "self-sufficient" he wants us to be "God-sufficient".  He is looking for moms who will look to him for guidance, wisdom, direction and strength.  When we try to do it all - we seek/get the glory - whether that's our intention or not.  But when we rely on God and get our strength from him then He gets the glory.  I don't want Paxton to grow up thinking that he has to derive all his own strength from himself -what a way to feel defeated.  I want him to know that he gets his strength from seeking God.  If I don't do that - how will I teach him to?  Bottom line - God doesn't expect us to be super moms.  We can bask in those days when we feel like one and give ourselves a pat on the back, we just can't forget to thank our God too.  And by all means - on the days we feel less than super - seek Him, rely on Him and praise Him for after all, motherhood is a war in and out of itself! :)

 

Choices:

• This week I will choose to see the God-possibilities instead of my own inabilities. 
• This week I will choose to be God-sufficient rather than self-sufficient.
• This week I will choose to give God the glory and not myself.

Prayer:
"All sufficient God, I praise you, for you are all power and all wisdom.  I recognize that I'm not a supermom.  I can't do it all.  I praise you that you can! Thank you for loving and caring for me and my family.  Teach me to be responsible, humble, wise and strong.  Help my children to grow up to be well-balanced adults who follow you, so that you may be glorified.  Thank you for being the protector of my family and the guardian of each of our souls.  In Jesus's name I pray, amen."

Going into this week - I am going to strive to depend on God's help and not just depend on myself or Matthew.  We are all awesome moms - there's no doubt about that- but we are awesome because God made us that way.  We do awesome things because God helps us - and we are going to raise awesome little ones only with God's help!

Have a happy Valentines week! :)

Courage and Commitment

As a mom I don't want to show unhealthy fear to Paxton.  I want to protect him from all fears and never ever have him worry.  Although, while I don't think kids need to deal with adult issues (thank you Dr. Phil) I do think that it is healthy and a necessity to teach him that fear brews courage and courage is powerful. It's inevitable and healthy for him to learn how to deal with fear.  Matthew and I are his example and the platform from which he will learn how to deal with fear and ultimately how to overcome it.  This is where the bible and the promises of God are so sweet.      

Be strong and very courageous.  Obey all the laws Moses gave you.  Do not turn away from them, and you will be successful in everything you do.  Study this Book of the Law continually.  Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it.  Only then will you succeed.  I command you - be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged.  For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. 

Joshua 1:7-9

 

Life is tough - there are seasons in life where all is bliss and then are seasons when all is h-e double hockey sticks.  On a smaller scale- there are days, hours or one specific situation that is particularly difficult and fear is the natural response.  Am I handing this ok? Did I respond the right way? Am I messing my kid up? Is he going to remember this? We have to stand up as moms in those situations, brush fear aside and use courage to help us through it.  Where do we get the courage? From God.  In the scripture above God is talking to Joshua, and is basically commanding him to be strong and courageous, why? Because God is with him.  He tells him to study his word, so that he can obey it.  The same rings true for me.  I need to study Gods word because it strengthens me and reminds me of His power and His ability to protect me.  If I don't know this and own it, it scares me to think Paxton won't know it either.  I want him to grow up feeling strong and courageous to take on the world, stand up for his beliefs and go after his dreams.  When it comes to my role as a mom I am reminded to be strong and courageous not only for my sake, but ultimately for Paxton's too.  God is with me!

Choices
-This week I will choose to let go of the familiar and hold on to God's hand.
-This week I will choose to study and meditate on God's word.
-This week I will choose to teach my children that God is always with them, so they will 
 have the courage to stand up for what it right.
-This week I will choose to:

 

Prayer

 "Great and mighty Lord, I praise you for always being with me.  You guard me and protect me like a Good Shepard.  Thank you for your presence! Keep me from being overcome with fear; fill me with your peace instead.  Help me to be strong and courageous in my role as a mother.  Thank you for your Word and the power it has to transform my life.  Help me to study it, meditate, on it, and obey it, so that I can be successful in everything you have called me to do.  In Jesus' name I pray, amen."

I feel like fear is where our faith comes in.  "Our faith does not lie in trusting God to stop the storm but in trusting Him to enable us to walk through the storm" (Jill Briscoe).  This leaves me wanting to cling to and read God's word to restore and replenish my Faith in knowing that God is always with me on this difficult journey we call Motherhood. :) 



From Grumbling to Gratitude and the Beauty of God's Love

It's amazing to me how the Lord has a plan that doesn't always play out like we would choose but ultimately works out for the better or whats best for us.  I had no intention of not posting last Monday.  I was coming off of a weekend of having intense jaw pain and going into Monday knowing I wasn't going to see my dentist until Tuesday.  Needless to say, I saw my dentist Tuesday morning, was in an oral surgeons office Tuesday afternoon and had surgery Thursday morning (all 4 wisdom teeth were impacted and active and needed to come out ASAP).  No fun - I was not happy at all

I actually sat down for my devotional Monday morning and basically just read the title, 'From Grumbling to Gratitude'.  Little did I know how that would impact my week.  I found myself referring back to it all week long.  The financial obligation of this surgery, the timing as we are trying to grow our family (the fact I couldn't have the surgery if I were currently pregnant), the timing with how busy Matthew is as work, having to ask for help from mom and those in our life that could help with Paxton and interfering with my first MOPS meeting of the new year.   Last weeks devotional was all about giving thanks to God in the midst of our desires to be ungrateful.  I was quickly convicted when I read it, reminding me that despite the bad timing in my life - I am not in control.  As much as I try to be - I'm not.  My complaining and whining ultimately showed a lack of trust for what Gods purpose and plan was for me.  I have SO SO much TO be grateful for... how dare I question and grumble.  I needed to be reminded to stop and thank God for all he has provided and will continue to provide amidst the trials of life.  So, maybe thinking back to last week or looking into this week - were encouraged to praise God and thank him for all he has done and will do for us when we have the desire to be ungrateful as well as teach our kiddos (as best we can) to be thankful for all of their blessings as well.

This week flows nicely into last week... 

The Beauty of God's Love... its almost inconceivable... hard to wrap my hands and head around.  I immediately thought of the "How he loves us" praise and worship song by the David Crowder band, one of my very favorites. Here is a link to the song if you want to listen.  click here

The Lord did not choose you and lavish his love on you because you were larger or greater than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations!  It was simply because the Lord loves you and because he was keeping the oath he had sworn to your ancestors.  That is why the Lord rescued you with such amazing power from your slavery under Pharaoh in Egypt.  Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God.  He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and constantly loves those who love him and obey his commands. 
                                                                                                                                   Deuteronomy 7:7-9

We are not perfect moms, wives, daughters, sisters, friends, employees, etc it's important that we remember that at the end of the day - no matter how well we did that day or how effective, efficient or successful we were, God loves us.  On days, or for me lately, moments I think to myself, "I suck, I can't believe I just said/did that". I am going to try and remind myself that I am worthy and that I am receiving God's unconditional love even in that moment.  The more we learn to receive and relish in God's love for us, the more willing and able we are going to be in giving that to others, especially our children and especially when it pertains to grace.  The grace we are given by God is the same grace we should give ourselves and our loved ones. Its hard sometimes though... :) Just being honest.  

Choices:      
-This week I will choose to relish and reflect on God's great love toward me.
-This week I will choose to show God's love to others in my words and actions. 
-This week I will choose to help my children (child) understand the beauty of God's love.   

Prayer      
"Loving and faithful heavenly Father, I praise you for your redeeming love and mercy toward me.  I am amazed that you the High King of Heaven, want to have a relationship with me! Thank you for being so faithful and loving.  Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your family and keeping your covenant with me.  I love you! Help me to share your love with my children and with all the other people in my life.  In Jesus's name I pray, amen."

"We think God's love rises and falls with our performance.  It doesn't...He loves you for who you are: you are His child. " (Max Lucado)

Lets give ourselves a break this week - try not to grumble so much at certain things and instead turn our eyes to the Lord and praise Him for all we do have to be grateful for.  Lets relish in his love for us and try to show that to others around us - especially our precious little ones.

Have a great week and see you next Monday!

The Grace Challenge

Grace is: 1.a state of sanctification by God  2. a disposition to be generous or helpful; goodwill, mercy 3. a fevor rendered by one who need not do so.

This week is all about grace and how we as moms, teachers, aunts, grandmas, etc are the example for the children in our lives on how we not only give them grace but also how we give grace to others. 

"Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people.  Do not try to get ahead at the cost of your neighbor's life, for I am the Lord. Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives.  Confront your neighbors directly do you will not be held guilty for their crimes.  Never seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone, but love your neighbors as yourself. I am the Lord"
                                                                                               Leviticus 19:16-18

I was a little confused after reading that scripture, but thankfully Karol Ladd clears things up.  This was at a time when thousands of Israelites were traveling to the Promised Land through unknown land and had a very long way to go.  In order to have some sense of civility they were given the laws above for dealing with both people and circumstances as they traveled.  As hard as they are to follow in real life, our real life... a  few of those laws would be great to live by today (navigating the craziness of life and motherhood, right?).   

Thankfully as Christians today we have the beautiful gift of God's grace in our lives due to Christ's sacrifice on the cross for US.  We are not under a strict law like these Israelites were... as recievers of Gods grace, we should be giving it as much as we are recieving it.  This is hard for me sometimes and you know your lying if you say "oh, not me".  Life is challenging, busy and complicated for everyone in many different ways.  We are faced with situations on a daily, weekly, monthly basis where we have to make sound decisions on how we will react to people based on our beliefs and values.  We are put in situations where its challenging to give grace to others.  I am going to quote Karol Ladd in her book, because she says it better than I could, "And what does grace toward others look like? I think it looks alot like todays [scripture].  Guarding our mouths from gossip, forgiving, not holding grudges - all of these are practical ways we can shed God's grace on the people around us.  Let's teach our kids, through our words and our example, to reflect on the goodness of God's wonderful grace and, in turn, to offer that grace to others." 

I will admit, I am a WHOLE lot better at giving grace to Paxton because he is a baby/toddler/child - young.  Its somehow easier to give him grace because he is so innocent and trying to distinguish right from wrong.  I think I needed this devotional today to help me work specifically on giving grace to adults in the form of guarding my heart from grudges.  I take things people say and do towards me way to personally and hold that feeling inside in the form of a grudge.  I am going to work specifically on this.  We all apply things differently in our lives - I hope you can use her devotional in your life as you need it this week and beyond.

Choices:
- This week I will choose to focus on God's great love and grace towards me.
- This week I will choose to show grace toward others.
- This week I will choose to ask God's help in guarding my heart and mind.
- This week I will choose to ...

Prayer:
"God of grace and mercy, thank you for pouring your grace on me through the sacrifice of your Son.  I praise you that through faith in Jesus, I am forgiven.  Help me now to forgive others.  Guard my mouth from gossip and my heart from grudges.  Teach me to be a conduit of your grace so that grace flows freely through me to my family members and all the other people in my life.  Thank you for your Word and the direction it gives for living and loving in grace.  In Jesus's name I pray, amen."

I challenge you this week, as I am challenging myself, to use God's grace in your life in whatever way you feel you need it.  I am constantly reminding myself being with Paxton all day, little ears are listening and little eyes are watching... we have a big responsibility on our hands in teaching these little ones how to be better people than we are.  Thank goodness for God's grace :)

Have a great week!         

" I Will Help You'

Good morning! How did last week go? Were you able to be a little easier on yourself, knowing God created you in His image and not the image of others? Here is last weeks post if you missed it: Created in His image.   I hope you had a fantastic New Years and were able to sneak in lots of extra snuggles with your kiddos and hubbys.  I know I did and I loved it :)
 
This weeks devotional is similar to last weeks but focuses not just on the fact that God created you but that he also has equipped you with what you need to be the mom/wife/employee/ etc. you want to be.  Key word: equipped :)  Here is the scripture for this week:

But Moses pleaded with the Lord.  "O Lord, I'm just not a good speaker.  I never have been, and I'm not now, even after you have spoken to me.  I'm clumsy with words." 
"Who makes mouths?"  The Lord asked him. "Who makes people so they can speak or not speak, hear or not hear, see or not see? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go, and do as I have told you.  I will help you speak well, and I will tell you what to say."

WOW - I'm caught...  Much like Moses in this scripture I, all to often, focus on what I can't do or feel I am unable to do.  Over time... all of the " I cant's" turn into negative feelings about myself and a feeling of inadequacy and weakness.  Sometimes I get overwhelmed with all of the things I am saying "I can't" do that I forget to stop and ask God for help or I forget to stop and realize that I have him as an everlasting guide and partner.  The thing that this scripture reminds me/us of is that we cannot do it all and we cannot do it all alone.  Isaiah 41:13 says "I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you 'Do not fear, I will help you." 

As moms we are faced with challenges all the time where we want to say I can't... my latest particular challenge has been since I have stayed home with Paxton.  Staying out of the mindset of keeping a perfect home, cooking a homemade meal nightly, being a "perfect" momma to Pax and finding alone time to exercise without feeling guilty.  I'm not saying thinking like this is ok... but I am being honest in that I do feel this way sometimes and for the record, Pinterest is not helping either (we have a love/hate relationship) and I have a loving, supportive husband who does not put unnecessary pressure on me... these are my thoughts and feelings.    You probably have your own "I can't" feelings... I can't bear to get it all done, I can't bear to deal with this anymore, I can't be good at this mom thing because ______, to name a small few. Karol Ladd says it best, "As moms we need to hear God's voice saying to us.   "You may not be able to do it on your own, but I made you.  I know what you need, and I can help you."  Whenever you are tempted to think, I just can't do it, remember that as God leads you, he will give you what you need.  He made you and he is able to equip you for the job".  In my own thoughts, the job of motherhood and of being a wife!

As given in the devotional, Do you trust God to be your strength in your weakness? What "I can't" do you need to give over to him?  I'll go first... 
I need to give over to him the "I can't" of holding it all together all the time.  I am allowed to fail and allowed to not be my version of "perfect". 
Your turn! Comment below :) 

Choices:
- This week I will choose to focus on what God can do, not what I can't do.
- This week I will choose to seek God's leadership and guidance.
- This week I will choose to ask him for help in all the tasks I undertake. 

Prayer:
"O wonderful Lord, you have called me to be a mother.  You have given me a monumental and magnificent job! But I can't do it alone; I don't have what it takes.  I need you.  I need your equipping.  Help me to replace my "I can't" with "but God can".  Help me to follow you and only do what you are calling me to do in your strength.  Thank you for creating me and caring for me.  May my life glorify you! In Jesus's name I pray, amen"

As we go into this week, we need to stop and repeat to ourselves, "I will help you" as a reminder to pray and ask God for help when we feel we can't do it alone.  We are freaking awesome moms, no doubt, but we need help and affirmation that we are equipped with what we need - only God can do that for us :)

Have a great week, see you next Monday!

"Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most challenging."
                                                                                                     - Joseph Campbell

Introduction and Welcome!

Hi Moms, future moms and those of you who aren't moms but know you will be or want to be one day :)

I've added this new page onto our family blog, Mommy Monday Motivations, as you can read :). Why you might ask? Well, I am starting a new 52 week devotional called "The Power of a Positive Mom" written by Karol Ladd. It is a devotional focused on busy moms and how we impact our children. When I found it, I instantly wanted to share its message with others because I knew it was going to help me and ultimately, hopefully, help someone else. My goal is to post the "gist" of my devotional each Monday and offer my insight and thoughts to the teaching as it applies in my life. You will click on a link I provide on this page each Monday to go to each post. (see below for post 1 - they will be labeled with each date)

I know the Bible is rich with with wisdom and overflowing with practical, powerful tools for living a contented, positive life as a mom. I want to dive into those tools and use them as my "spiritual fuel" as I go throughout my week. AKA - accountability to God, myself, my husband and my son. Paxton is getting to the age where he is watching and listening to everything I/we do. I want to be a positive light for him and ultimately an encourager to other moms who struggle with the same things I do being a mom.

I just recently finished reading a book called The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson. A sweet friend sent it to me, to encourage me when I needed it, when I first made the decision to stay home with Paxton. This book helped me to see my role as a mom in Paxton's life and ultimately our future childrens lives. It explains very tenderly and in a non-sexist way the mission that God laid out for us(as women) when he created us. It very explicitly tells us that as moms and women, we are created and expected to encourage and teach one another (as it applies to our children, other moms/women and husbands) . I am no expert, don't claim to be, don't want to be. We all have strengths as moms but lets be real, we also have our weaknesses. We all need God's help and I am just a first time mom reaching out to others and other resources as to how I can work towards being the kind of mom I want to be. I want to pass along what I learn. These blog posts will be all about being a positive mom and starting your week off with the right mindset. As a mom, you give of yourself all day, all week long. My hope is that sharing intimate moments with God about being a mom on Monday mornings will fill me with inspiration and instill in me encouragement to continue to be the positive mom I want to be all week long. I want to share that with you and hope you will gain something from it as well.

Here's to us and see you on Monday!