going on a God hunt

My GOD, with HIS loving kindness will meet me.

psalm 59:10

How do we teach our kids about God? He is so abstract, hard to wrap our minds around, there are really not words that do HIM justice......

BEAUTY

I have found that the best way for me to help my kids KNOW GOD is to help them SEE GOD in the world around them.

I point out the moon..

the flowers

 the water, the trees

Yes, we read the Bible and pray together... Yes, we go to church... Yes, we serve.... Yes, we train to obey.... BUT I truly believe that the most important thing we do to help our children KNOW GOD is to open their eyes to the Beauty in the world around them and instill a gratefulness for that beauty, give credit to our loving FATHER and encourage them to talk to the one who made all this for them.

A God that we EXPERIENCE is a God that is very hard to deny.

If my eyes are on God, HIS beauty, HIS love, HIS grace, HIS power, HIS souvernty, HIS sacrifice then they are off of my self, my problems, my needs, my wants, my sacrifices, my tiredness.

The only way to get my eyes off myself is to put them onto God.

There are many ways to see God working in our lives, answered prayer, divine timing, evidence of HIS care, His help to do HIS work.

Take your kids on a God hunt today, take your own soul on a God hunt today.....you will be amazed at how easy He is to find:-)

love this song...

http://youtu.be/MMZsQQaywsI

limits, love and laughter

I am amazed at how much raising a puppy is like raising a child!

1. A puppy pushes limits all the time.
2. only very consistent training changes anything.
3. you cave once and you pay for it for a week.
4. they really WANT to please you.
5. when they know they are in trouble they hide from you.
6. if there is more then one boss in the room they will revert to the behaviour that the weakest one allows.
7. they are so cute that its sometimes hard to stand your ground.
8. being lazy is not an option if you want to train them right. :-(
9. You need to know what YOU are expecting of them for them to know what is expected of them.
10. Loving them means that sometimes we have to make them unhappy.

And last but not least.....
positive praise works better then punishment.

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.Proverbs 15:1

of course we need to use punishment some times but we as moms need to not get lazy and only catch the bad behaviour. its so easy to get busy and only notice when our  children mess up, Lets make an effort to catch our kids doing the RIGHT thing, being kind, helping a sibling, cleaning their room, whatever it is and smile at them and tell them how great they are!

Pleasant words are like a honeycomb sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

prov. 16:24

some times no matter how hard it is we need to stand our ground.

other times we need to comfort!

Knowing when to do what is the work of the Holy Spirit on our lives. It  is only with HIS help that we can do this thing called mothering well!

planting seeds of grace and love in my childrens hearts and my own

What kind of seeds am I planting in my heart and the hearts of my children? To often I know the seeds I plant are those of frustration, impatience, selfishness and self pity.

Heb. 12:14-17

"Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you'll never get so much as a glimpse of God."

Some days I forget to work at getting along with my kids, I want them to obey,work hard on their homework, do the dishes, take care of the dog.....you get the picture. If I have to do some yelling to get that done so be it...right?

"Make sure no one gets left out of God's generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time."

Im afraid that to often my words are the product of the thistles of self rightousness and pride, of frustration and anger, of a discouraged spirit...some days I feel to tired to weed my heart and the thistles start to take over.

"Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God's lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God's blessing—but by then it was too late, tears or no tears."

Heb. 12:14-17

When I respond with anger, what am i teaching my kids???  to respond in anger.....If I play the" poor me" card I am teaching them self pity, when I am discouraged and just give up and let them act in ways that are not pleasing to God I am teaching them they are just not worth the effort.....

Our hearts are just like my garden, if I let the weeds go for even a little while they will take over, I plant good seed, water, make sure they get enough sun, fertalize... and then only with Gods Grace...does good fruit grow . I CAN NOT MAKE THE SEED GROW!

I have seen so many moms blame themselves for the fact that their children are making bad choices, But in the end WE HAVE NO CONTROL OF THEM!

All we can do is go to GOD every day with our children and with our hearts and ask HIM to guide and direct our paths.

 In the end I need to remember that MY heart needs to be directed to my FATHER. I need to plant good seed in MY life before I can plant it in theirs.

This picture breaks my heart, my sweet Lily was so angry, and sad and scared, I wanted to show her how much I loved her but she wanted nothing to do with me.

I really thought that I was prepared for this day, I had sent her scrap books of us, prayed for her daily for a year, I had done everything "right" ! she would run to me with open arms, so glad to have a mommy just like I saw on other peoples videos....I THOUGHT I was prepared...I was not!

 All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” 

In these first days I had such a hard time. I am embarrassed to admit that my pride made me pull away from her emotionally, couldn't she see that we were saving her from a life of hardship and loneliness, how dare she not be grateful! I am a really good mom, she is lucky to have me....

like I said, I am embarrassed to admit that those thoughts went through my mind

After that very hard first day I crawled into bed in tears, begging God to help me understand HER heart.

day 2 with Lily

 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.   Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 

He showed me that she loved her foster family, she did not KNOW that we were going to be kind to her, she was scared and I needed to give her time, and most of all, I needed to get off my high horse, I was not here to "save" her, I was here to accept and amazing gift that God had entrusted me with and I was going to have to depend on HIM for the super natural strength it was going to take to help her through this transition. 

she bonded with her sisters before me...ouch!

 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

just off the plane, finally all together as a family:-)

the devil HATES adoption, he hates it when we as moms know how valuable we are, he wants us to get proud and protective and self-sufficient because he knows that humble moms who love God with all their heart will be his undoing!

Has this been easy.....NO WAY not at all, I have had to trust God for every day... Lily is sweet and smart and loving, and proud, and hurt, and is still learning English, and she gets frustrated that her arms keep her from being able to keep up with her siblings....But she is growing into a wonderful young lady who is trusting in God.

We are an odd bunch:-) just trying our hardest to do what God would want us to do, not perfect, not always succeeding, but keeping our eyes on HIM!

God created our families just the way they are, if we humble ourselves, watch out for the devils schemes and cast all our cares on HIM....we moms will change the world....and that's not proud...that's just truth!

It happened in a flash....

Abby and a friend pretending to work on their dads car.....

Abby in front of her new (10yr old 132,000 miles) car.

It happened in a flash! I know that everyone tells you that it goes fast but no one can really express HOW fast it goes! the days are long and the years are so very fast!

I KNOW, I know,  we NEED to do laundry, cook meals, shop for food, clean the house...I know!!! Im still in the thick of it and I don't have all the answers BUT when your kids are little, in your home you DO NOT need to sit on boards, volunteer to head MOPS, play golf, read bunches of novels, or whatever...there will be plenty of time for that when they get in their own car and ride off....

If you have little ones I know that its overwhelming and exhausting and boring at times and you need to get away, it makes us better moms, Im not saying to never do anything for yourself.....im just saying do it for a little break to refresh your spirit, not because someone guilted you into being the chair of the next fund raiser....you can do that later, I promise!

Feed into their souls now, while they still think that you hung the moon. read to them now while they love to snuggle and hear your voice, take long walks and bike rides now while they have more energy then they know what to do with.

Please know that if you a young mom with lots of little ones tugging at you, it will get better, it is HARD and  I would not go back to toddlerhood for anything...I feel for you, that's why I share my amazing 16 and 14  year olds with so many young moms:-)

Im just sayin....its going to go fast, enjoy every moment you can snatch...

A cheerful, encouraging example.....

I hear myself in my child today....yelling at the dog in frustration, not using consistent discipline....getting angry at the behavior instead of working at getting rid of  it.....

How often do I discourage instead of come along side and help when a job is not done well?

how often do I accuse laziness instead of look to see what I could do to help?

How often do I yell and play the marter...instead of lovingly encouraging better behavior staying consistent in my training?
 How often do I do a task for them and get all mad because I am doing it and they are not?

"why am I the only one who knows how to put a dish in the dishwasher, am I your slave or what????"

TO OFTEN

No I am not their slave...but I am their servant, and they are servants in training, am I being a good teacher?

I long to be a compelling example to my kids, I long to serve them with a cheerful spirit and to train them with encouragement and appreciation, to be a kind and helpful teacher!

I can only do this with HIS power, with HIM filling me up each day....

 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.   Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

rom. 12:11-12

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!