Control Relinquished

I am sure most parents would agree with me the one of the biggest battle of the minds in parenting is when to work and when to play...when to tackle chores and when to invest time in your children. Yesterday was Monday. The day after Easter. I had mounds of laundry calling my name. I had Easter 'loot' littering the house that needed put away. I had a growing "To Do" list to tackle in my already busy week. And then he saw them. My 2 year old spots his beloved container of bubbles. P looks at me with his big, brown eyes and begs for me to blow them for him. I am suddenly faced with a decision. Do I force him to surrender his desires and agree to play with him... later? Or do I surrender my desires, my to-do list , my workaholic mind-set and play with him... now? I took a deep breath, surrendering all the chores that were calling for my attention. I swallowed down the temptation to say, "Later." I keeled in front of my son's face, full of anticipation. ...

At the approximate age of 12, I remember a certain Bible School teacher encouraging our class to memorize a Bible passage. Many years later, I still have this passage tucked away in my memory and it is still special to me. In my young frame of mind, I thought the passage and imagery were "weird" and difficult to understand. But, today, as I reflect on this passage and the fact that today is Good Friday, the Holy Spirit stirs a deep sense of awe of what Christ did on the cross. The passage is a vision and prophecy that Isaiah made 740 years before Christ. This vision probably preceded his preaching ministry. The vision Isaiah had has many similarities to John's vision recorded in Revelation 4. As I think about Jesus taking MY sins, MY ugliness, MY evilness, MY brokenness, and MY dirtiness to the cross with him, I am humbled. I am speechless, to know that a KING without sin, without fault, and with GREAT LOVE took the punishment for me. The pain He bore was supposed to ...

A few days ago, I went for my weekly groceries. My kids always beg me to choose the hunky, hard-to-push cart with the car on the front. I don't always agree, but for whatever reason, this particular morning I felt up to the challenge of navigating the big load and being a referee in deciding which two of my three kids get to sit in the car. Within minutes, I had 2 jubilant children and 1 sulky one! At that moment, I recognized a young mother and her baby girl that attend our church, in the produce section of the store. I stopped to chat with her and admire her cooing baby in the car seat. In the midst of our conversation, the young mom comments that my stage of life looks fun. I don't have to lug around the heavy baby seat, my kids are old enough to walk through the store and are easily entertained by riding in the Cart Mobile. Wide-eyed, I respond that SHE is the lucky one. Heavy or not, at least that car seat fully contains her (ONE) child! We laugh and head our separate wa...

I had 3 dreams since I was 11 years old: Dream #1: Become a secretary Dream #2: Get married Dream #3: Have children These were my deepest desires. Teachers, guidance counselors, and even friends tried to persuade me into doing something more with my life. I had the grades and personality to be successful; how could I be willing to sacrifice all of that to "just" be a mom. But, they were MY DREAMS! How can one of my dreams be "wrong"? In my opinion, being a wife and mother is the ultimate high calling. So, at the age of 19 I could successfully cross off  Dream #1 when I was hired as receptionist for QCCI. It not only was my dream #1, it was a DREAM JOB. Awesome company, fun co-workers, and I feel honored to have worked there for 3 years! Dream #2 was checked off my list at the age of 20. I married the man of my dreams, who also happened to be a life-long childhood friend. In fact, our wedding video that we showed at our reception included a clip of us at Str...

The kids and I recently made homemade bird feeders and hung them on the trees around our property. I can only imagine Mama Bird's excitement when she finds these delicious globs of sunflowers seeds to feed her hungry family after surviving a very bitter, cold winter! I could probably learn a thing or two from Mama Bird. She doesn't sow or reap or store away in barns. She takes a day at a time, trusting that each day she will find enough seeds and berries to stay alive.  Our church is currently offering an elective addressing topics like living well within your means, investing, passing on a legacy to your children, and end-of-life preparations. With these topics freshly on my mind, I have found my thoughts drifting to money and finances often. My husband and I have been encouraged to take a closer look at our finances. Have we been sticking to our budget? How much are we actually saving each month? How can we better invest our money for our future? So, the last few days I...