I often pray for God to put me where I need to be. At times, He places me to be the one to encourage, the shoulder to cry on, the listener, the helper, the loving friend, the helping hand. The one who will stand up for the underdog and love broken people.

Lately, He has placed me on the receiving end of the above. I have been brokenhearted. I have been encouraged, listened to through tears, given wise loving advice and most of all, I been loved unconditionally by kind, loving and wise Christian moms who I am very proud to call my friends…

As we go through trials in life … We always know ” this too shall pass” but in the moment our hearts still break.

Corinthians 4: 17-18 “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever. So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” but in the moment it still hurts.

As we know, the number one priority is to love God and love others. This is the golden rule for Christians… You can’t say you love God if you don’t love others….

We as parents are all in this together. There are no perfect parents or perfect children. Kindness and understanding goes a long way, lift up and encourage the ” brokenhearted” …

” every day is beautiful if you choose to see it”

The part of the day, I would love to skip, would have to be the morning routine. Anybody with me here? One hour of  just.. Wow! Waking up Mrs. cranky pants. Repeating myself over and over and over. I need to record myself one time and just keep hitting play each morning. Making breakfast, packing lunches, repeating myself some more…” Wipe the milk from your face. “We don’t have you favorite pancakes, you get oatmeal today. ” Find your shoes, get your coat, grab your lunch, leave the cat alone.” I said ” brush your teeth, not pet the dog” ” No , we don’t have time to build a Lego ranch before school”.  “You are going to be late, don’t blast your music in the car”. Animals staring me down like they have not eaten in a week. They are all up under my feet, my feet that still are shoeless and we needed to leave five minutes ago. Then, we finally get to the car and I have a quick panic… Did I wear a bra?? Lol!

But honestly, do I really wish I could skip the morning routine? ( well not as much as the bed time routine Ha-ha ).

No, seriously, I stood there in the middle of my mess and was about to have an Ally McBeal moment …the moment where a big vacuum was about to come through my window and suck it all up… the lunches, the kids, pets, sticky plates.. all of it! Then It hit me…what am I thinking? Lord forgive me! Thank you for my health and strength. Thank you for hands that can pack lunches and prepare breakfast. Thank you for feet that can run inside five times for things that I have forgotten. Notice I’m not thanking the Lord for my memory…ugh. Thank you Lord that I have this day with my friends and family, because I know that this could change in an instant. Thank you for another morning where we may be rushed, irritated and a little tired but we are all awake and healthy at least for today. If God grants me the same blessings tomorrow… bring on the chaos, I got my voice recorder ready! And, just maybe, we will have pancakes instead of oatmeal tomorrow!

“Today why don’t you love a little deeper laugh a little louder, hold the ones you love a little tighter. because tomorrow is never promised.”

As I sit here on this Christmas Eve morning, I feel so very Blessed yet sad at the same time. So many people in my little circle and everywhere in this world for that matter are suffering. This season has been filled with loss, pain and sickness for so many I love. I understand why we all have to struggle. I know that I am thankful for my struggles, for they have shaped me into the person God wants me to be and He is still “shaping” me. What I struggle with is understanding “Why do some people have to struggle so much more than others”? As Christians, we are all God’s children, all sinners. Why does my friend have to be in such unbearable pain?. Of course, I would never want to have Cancer or any life threatening illness…who would? But, I still can’t understand…”why not me”? Why her, and not me”? I know our God is sovereign. We do not know all the answers of why He does what He does. I have to remind myself…”He’s got this”.

“Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him”
-Psalms 115:3

“All the peoples of the earth
are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases
with the powers of heaven
and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand
or say to him: “What have you done?”
-Daniel 4:35

I sometimes become lost in my daily madness. My house gets messy, laundry piled high, drawers full of junk. My kids get sick, bills keep coming, appliances break, cars need fixed. People disappoint me. Things don’t go as planned. These things are constants. Things could be so much worse! When I think about these things, I remind myself to stop, take a breath, and just look around at all my little blessings.

So Today, although sad, I feel blessed. I feel grateful. So grateful for my life that is not perfect, but perfect for me. I am so grateful to be aware of how blessed I am.

Today, remember that the best gift we can give is the gift of grace. Love and enjoy “your people”. Reach out to those less fortunate. And remember, God knows suffering and He says..”comfort my people”.

Merry Christmas!

“The good mother, the wise mother…is more important to the community than even the ablest man; her career is more worthy of honor and is more useful to the community than the career of any man, no matter how successful” – Theodore Roosevelt

My good , wise and loving mothers…my heroes!

We love our children with every breath in us. We quickly realize that labor and delivery are the easiest parts. Late night feedings and toddler tears turn into late night waiting on teenagers to get home by their curfew and prayers for their safety.

My good , wise and loving mothers…my heroes!

We pray, we give, we cry, we sacrifice, we worry, we go sleepless and we are ok with it because we love our children. We know that being their friend would be so much easier but being their mother is what we need to do.

My good , wise and loving mothers…my heroes!

We hope and pray that they grow into responsible, kind and loving young adults. We are excited for them to leave the nest, persuing their hopes and dreams, yet we are sad about that empty little spot in our safe nest.

My good , wise and loving mothers…my heroes!

My mom heroes are all different…some younger, some older, some married, some divorced, some stay at home, some have a career outside the home. Yet we all have a special bond. We love and want what’s bet for our children all the same. We remind each other of who we are. We see tired eyes and know “why” without asking. We give hugs and tell each other it will be ok. We share joy in each others children’s accomplishments. We share Gods grace with each other. We confide in each other and are comforted by the fact that we are not alone. We share the tears and the prayers. We remind each other that we are loved and appreciated.

Happy Mother’s Day to my own village—the beautiful women I am so very blessed with!

LOVE,

My mothers Day poem from last year:
Mother’s Day 2013
That first flutter, that first cry, the silky spot at the nape of the neck that you can’t help but stroke, the way God made your lips fit perfectly in the curve of their nose. Doctor visits, first smile, giggles from the belly, kissable toes, first steps, first time the toes touch the sand or grass, first tantrum, first words, pushing them on a swing, watching them “pump” all by themselves. Dens decorated in brands like little tykes and playschool, walls decorated in lipstick, gum stuck in hair, “mommy you are my best friend” and “ I did it all by myself” tying shoes with bunny ear loops, first day of school “ I’ve got Jesus in my heart”, play dates, kindergarten graduation, loosing that first tooth, training wheels, no training wheels, dance, gymnastics, field trips, school plays, piano recitals, birthday parties, sleepovers, baking cookies, clothes shopping, toe painting, family vacations, science projects, book reports, endless board games, endless talking, friendship struggles, learning to drive, first car, first boyfriend, break ups, heartache, keeping the snack cabinet full so that friends will come to your house. first job, finding independence, high school drama, college preparation, high school graduation, dorm supply shopping, letting go ( ohhh the hardest part). Of course there is the cooking, cleaning, laundry, taxi driving, sleepless nights…the list goes on! Being a mom is the hardest but most rewarding job ever! We are not perfect. We say things that we know we shouldn’t ,right as they are coming out of our mouths. We lose our cool. We say “yes” and “uh huh” while we hear words that we have tuned out on a stressful day. We expect too much. We forget things. We forget to “count to ten”. We practice on our first child hopefully to get it right by the last child. We hurt when our children are hurting, we spend time on our knees praying for our children. We love them even when they don’t like us. We seek guidance from God and seasoned friends, then one day, all to quickly we are one of those “seasoned friends”. I have been a mom since I was practically a child myself. It has been a long road. I have not been perfect or done all the right things but I love my children and I could not have made it almost 19 years of motherhood ( half my life actually) without my faith, family, my awesome mommy friends and of course my awesome husband who has been my rock. Happy Mother’s Day to all of you. Extra hugs and prayers for those of you who are single moms. Love you all!