So today we had an impromptu play date with our friends and their kids which then turned into an impromptu lunch and dinner. Funny how sometimes you try so hard to plan a get together with friends and a time and date never work out but then one random day it just so happens you have the whole day to spend together. I'm very grateful for my friendship with MJ and yesterday my time with her and her family lifted me up. It was just what I needed. God always knows just what I need.
So Mj and I talked while our kids played at the local gym and then we talked later while she cooked dinner. We began talking about our one word for the year (each year our church challenges us to pick one word and let that word change your life)myoneword.org I shared that my word was grateful and that I wanted it to tie in with being content. I picked this word because I want to be grateful everyday for all the little things in life God has blessed me with. Often times it's so easy to get caught up in your everyday life and all the challenges that come with working, being a Mom, keeping a house clean, making sure there is food on the table and that most of the time it is healthy food, etc. etc., that sometimes we lose sight of what is really important and that is LOVE. God's love for us is never ending.
When picking my word I was thinking to myself I need to be more grateful. I think we as humans have a tendency to see the negative and fret on it it much more than we have a tendency to highlight the positive in life. I have so much to be grateful for, a house, a job, a husband who loves me and supports me no matter what, two beautiful, HEALTHY, children who are all mine to love and to raise. I need to remember that when I come to them to love them, to discipline them, to parent them, to raise them up in this world I need to come to them with a Godly heart, regardless of the situation. I have been asking God daily to mold me into the mother he wants me to be, to show me how to gently guide my children as He guides us through this crazy life.
So this brings me back to my discussion with MJ and telling her how sometimes it's easy to get frustrated and not see all the wonderful things in my life. It seems that it's so easy to complain about what we don't have and to compare ourselves to other people, other moms, other working women, other people that we might view as perfect. Oh look at her, she always looks perfect, she has the perfect house, the perfect kids, the perfect husband, etc and get caught up in this feeling of the grass is always greener, but it might not be, you just never know. Everyone has a story and it's likely not perfect. I have been reminding myself in these moments that no one is perfect and that thankfully for those of us who fall short, God's grace is never ending! "If Grace is an ocean we are all sinking."David Crowder - How He Loves Us
So I have vowed this year to have grateful be my one word and to be content in what I have and grateful for all my wonderful blessings in my life. After talking to MJ about this and admitting that we have much work to do I headed home to my house to put my kids to bed. Wes was at his small group and our house looked like a toddler tornado had invaded. After getting the girls in bed, reading stories, cleaning up a bit, prepping lunch and dinner for today, and showering, I just wanted to collapse.
Instead I picked up my bible to do my quiet time and this is what I got.
So Mj and I talked while our kids played at the local gym and then we talked later while she cooked dinner. We began talking about our one word for the year (each year our church challenges us to pick one word and let that word change your life)myoneword.org I shared that my word was grateful and that I wanted it to tie in with being content. I picked this word because I want to be grateful everyday for all the little things in life God has blessed me with. Often times it's so easy to get caught up in your everyday life and all the challenges that come with working, being a Mom, keeping a house clean, making sure there is food on the table and that most of the time it is healthy food, etc. etc., that sometimes we lose sight of what is really important and that is LOVE. God's love for us is never ending.
When picking my word I was thinking to myself I need to be more grateful. I think we as humans have a tendency to see the negative and fret on it it much more than we have a tendency to highlight the positive in life. I have so much to be grateful for, a house, a job, a husband who loves me and supports me no matter what, two beautiful, HEALTHY, children who are all mine to love and to raise. I need to remember that when I come to them to love them, to discipline them, to parent them, to raise them up in this world I need to come to them with a Godly heart, regardless of the situation. I have been asking God daily to mold me into the mother he wants me to be, to show me how to gently guide my children as He guides us through this crazy life.
So this brings me back to my discussion with MJ and telling her how sometimes it's easy to get frustrated and not see all the wonderful things in my life. It seems that it's so easy to complain about what we don't have and to compare ourselves to other people, other moms, other working women, other people that we might view as perfect. Oh look at her, she always looks perfect, she has the perfect house, the perfect kids, the perfect husband, etc and get caught up in this feeling of the grass is always greener, but it might not be, you just never know. Everyone has a story and it's likely not perfect. I have been reminding myself in these moments that no one is perfect and that thankfully for those of us who fall short, God's grace is never ending! "If Grace is an ocean we are all sinking."David Crowder - How He Loves Us
So I have vowed this year to have grateful be my one word and to be content in what I have and grateful for all my wonderful blessings in my life. After talking to MJ about this and admitting that we have much work to do I headed home to my house to put my kids to bed. Wes was at his small group and our house looked like a toddler tornado had invaded. After getting the girls in bed, reading stories, cleaning up a bit, prepping lunch and dinner for today, and showering, I just wanted to collapse.
Instead I picked up my bible to do my quiet time and this is what I got.
"He, King Ahaz, offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus who had defeated him, for he said, "Since these gods helped the kings of Aram, they will help me, too, if I sacrifice to them." But instead, they led to his ruin and the ruin of all Judah."
- 2 Chronicles 28:23
- 2 Chronicles 28:23
"It's easy to look around and compare ourselves to others and desire the same things others have. King Ahaz did the same thing in this passage and was quick to choose the greener grass on the other side. However, little did he know, following others would bring his downfall. God has an exciting plan for you, will you choose to follow it or get distracted today and chase after 'greener grass?'"
WOW!!!! it was like God was waiting for me, just waiting for me to put some effort in, to open my bible to reach out to Him, so he could say, see, just look to me and I will show you the way! I was blown away. I stopped, I cried, I meditated on that verse. I prayed for God to change my heart, to help me stop letting the evil ways of our society that preach a perfect, flawless, cookie cutter family and lifestyle in order to be successful in life get in the way of me enjoying my own imperfect, but beautiful life.
God just let me be free and happy in who I am and in the family and life you have given to me. Amen.
God just let me be free and happy in who I am and in the family and life you have given to me. Amen.
Then, I saw this video:
and it solidified everything I have been praying about!!! Perfect does not equal Love. God and family equal Love. Always.
Thank you God for all your not so subtle hints confirming that you are working in me and that your plan for me is what matters most. Amen.
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