practice makes perfect.....well almost

THEREFORE, PREPARE YOUR MINDS FOR ACTION. BE SELF-CONTROLLED; SET YOUR HOPE FULLY ON THE GRACE TO BE GIVEN YOU WHEN JESUS CHRIST IS REVEALED.

1 peter 1:13

as I read this this morning I was struck that the words grace and self-control were in the same vs.... Just because we live under grace does not mean that we are not also called to action. Yes we need to give ourselves a break now and then and not be so hard on ourselves but we are also called to live lives worthy of HIS calling, lives that are examples of HIS love and power in our lives.

It took years for Abby to be able to leap like this, discipline of stretching every day.....we need to use this kind of discipline with our tongue.....

PREPARE your mind for ACTION, be SELF-CONTROLLED....BECAUSE your hope is in HIS grace not in your performance. I'm afraid that too often I forget who gives me the power, I forget to fill up with HIM before I start a day that is full of temptations to "lose it".... when I do "lose it" I excuse my behavior...."the kids were so bad today",  "I was so tired",  "PMS"...... when in reality I CHOSE to not fill up with HIM and I CHOSE to not prepare my mind, and I CHOSE to want things my way.

Abby could have "wanted" to do this for years but without working at it every day it would have never happened.......

Yes, God gives us grace, please do not beat yourself up for those bad moments, That is not helpful. but we need to also not excuse them, but go to the throne of grace and to our  children in repentance, not in pride......

God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble

Ellie wants to be as good as her sister NOW! she is improving ever day but she looks at her sister and wants to be that good NOW.....with practice she will be.

Just like dancing, we can not expect to be wonderful on the first day, and we will not see our progress because it is slow, but week after week, year after year, by placing our will in HIS hands, spending time in HIS word and with Godly woman we WILL grow, he WILL change us. and we will dance for HIM!

had to share these with my blog friends:-)

we took "family pictures" for 5 min until Lily noticed that her sister was missing!!!

she had gone in the back yard to swing and no one noticed

yep, thats me.....best mom in the world!!

WEIRD.....because normal isn't working

Mic. 6:8

 what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with you God.

I read this vs. with new eyes this morning....you see, and I know this will come to a surprise to most of you, I am a bit of a control freak perfectionist.....

when it comes to planting flowers I want them all to be symmetrical, color coordinated and "perfect"

this year I gave that up, my girls were all very excited about helping and doing their own thing and I ALMOST stepped in and showed then the "right" way to do it. But God spoke into my ear and (miracle of miracles) I listened for once!!

We had a wonderful time:-) they filled pots I didnt even know I had! 3 flats of flowers later OUR yard if filled with color. MY yard is not perfect....but OUR yard is WONDERFUL!

CONFESIONS OF A CONTROL FREAK MOM!!

what is REQUIRED of us is a lot less then we tend to make it out to be.....

do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with you God.

 Im really glad that blogging and a perfect home is not on that list!

sorry its been so long, remodeled the kitchen and painted the pool last week!

God blesses OUR MESSY lives!

I recently heard a teaching on the parable of the lost son by Tim Keller. its 40min. long but well worth it!
http://thegospelcoalition.org/resources/a/Gospel-Communication

I am convicted that often times I go about my life with a 'big brother" mentality., especially with my kids. thinking (and sometimes even saying!) that I have done everything right, I have sacrificed half my life to teach you and raise you right, I have taught you well..now go forth and be perfect and worship the ground I walk on.....OK, I am not that delusional, but I'm sure that some days that is what my pride sounds like to them and to God.

Why is it so hard for me to see that I can not EARN grace! I want to be able to earn lots of brownie points "stars in my crown" as it were so that then God will bless me, protect my family, make me "look good" to all my friends, well OK acquaintances, my friends all know better:-) Please tell me I'm not the only one who wants to look like she has it all together!

this "idol" of my heart to "look good" to everyone around me is what led me to do this blog. that, and a deep compassion for moms out there who are trying so hard to be "good enough". Can I encourage you that your good enough is different from everyone Else's good enough which is way different from Gods "good enough". So I give you permission to stop trying to be "good enough" because there is no such thing!

Going back to the prodigal son, I am struck at how the father reacts to a repentant heart. I wonder what would have happened had the son come back with money, dressed up, ready to show the father how good he was doing. some how I don't think the father would have welcomed him back in the same way.

Life is hard enough, we all have to much to do and to little time, we all have lots of people wanting a piece of us, the last thing we need to be spending energy on is trying to pretend like we have it all together...I don't, you don't (sorry to disappoint you) and God doesn't expect us to. What HE wants is teachable, open hearts willing to listen to HIS correction and open to HIS amazing love!

The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” 

take heart moms..God takes great delight in you and He rejoices over you!
if there is an area in your life that you need to repent, then do it, believe in your heart that God has forgiven you and go give that kind of love to your kids today!!!

mirror mirror on the wall.....

Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. ⁵ Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, ⁶ who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

2cor. 3:4-6

mirror mirror on the wall....well OK, not on the wall, in my kids.

I was driving with my daughter the other day and she told off every driver who went slower then she thought they should go.....I heard "stupid" come our of her mouth more times then I care to count.....then, with her sweet little Innocent face she turns to me and says...."I drive just like you mom" and she was right!  ouch!!!

For some unknown reason our kids pick up on our bad habits WAY easier then our good ones, I mean really, I put away my close and make my bed ever day....and they have not caught THAT habit yet, it is quite unfair!

first things first, if I do not let God control MY heart I will NEVER be able to show my kids how to let Him control theirs. I am never going to do this perfectly and, may I be so bold, neither will you. this is where Grace comes in. As we except Gods grace in our own life, start opening our eyes to our own sin, repenting of it, and seeing HIM change OUR hearts we will be more able to show that kind of grace to our kids.

today my challenge is to confess to my kids when MY heart is not right. When I  find myself getting irritable, confess it and ask them to pray for me, I want to show them mommy needs the Holy Spirit to work in her life.

care to join me?

remember! we can't do this on our own, It will take a mighty work of the Holy Spirit to get MY heart and tongue under control! I must remember that I am the most real gospel my kids will ever experience, If I am harsh and judgmental  or "holier then thou" that is how they will view God.

anger...our right as a mom?????

I posted the cute video first because the rest of what I have to say is a little hard to hear :-)

He WILL make BEAUTIFUL things out of us and our  children....if we let HIM!

I was convicted this morning by that my "righteous anger" is still anger (and that its really not all that righteous), most of the time I get angry it is because of my comfort, control, pride or self-centeredness!!  So what if i roll my eyes, or huff and puff, or answer in a short impatient tone, I want what is best for my kids so its alright...right????  WRONG!

Do I LOVE my kids...like the verb love....lets see

am I always patient and kind? do I ever envy or boast? am I ever arrogant or rude? do i ever insist on my own way? am i ever irritable or resentful?

 hmmmm, guess I need a lot more work on this!

Now before you go running to your bed and pulling the covers over you head :-) lets remember one thing, we are not called to do this in OUR strength but in HIS. the problem comes when we start doing it on our own, thinking we know best and convincing ourselves that a little outburst here and there is to be expected....

we are human, we will make mistakes BUT we should never excuse those mistakes, we need to REPENT of them, ask God to change us, except HIS grace and go on....

as Paul said in Ephesians

"I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the  calling to which you have been called, with all Humility and gentleness, with patience bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace."

or

 I challenge you mom to walk a manner worthy of your calling, to be humble and gentle and patient with your children, bearing with them in love and making every effort to live in peace with them and let them know that you are on their team.

thank you Susan Kemmerer for challenging me in this area!

for more of this wonderful insite see her book

Homeschool supermom..NOT

some days I wish this was where God had called me to spend all my days.....

BUT this is where He has called me to spend them.....

don't get me wrong! I LOVE being a mom and I love my kids but most days raising 5 kids is just not PEACEFUL! as much as I try to make it that way, the challenges of everyday life tend to steal my peace and my joy.....every feel that way???? please say yes! I can't be the only one!

this morning I got stuck  in James 1 thanks to Susan Kemmerer and her book Homeschool Supermom NOT! 

Consider it pure joy my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance, perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything.

now here comes my favorite part

If anyone of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

So....I am asking for wisdom today, because I am seriously lacking it ;-) but praise be to God, He has promised to give it to us it we ask for it!

I pray your day finds you in a place where you need HIS power, because really, do you really want to live the kind of life that you could do in your own strength???

you can find Susan's book @ www.shpublishing.com