Christmas Peace

I just love Christmas! Sitting here listening to Christmas music just makes me giddy. I have vowed this year not to stress out about Christmas. Easier said than done, right? Maybe not. I am going to choose not to need everything perfect.

I already have all the Christmas decorations out. I tell myself I am done, and I hope I stick to that. Our kids have been so excited ever since we started talking about decorating for Christmas. They have been bouncing off the walls! They love everything about Christmas, not just the presents. In fact, they have not asked for much at all. They are just happy, happy, happy. Yesterday afternoon I decided to take pictures for our Christmas cards. I have to admit there have been a couple of years that I stressed out because I couldn’t get them to smile like I wanted them to or stay where I put them. Oh how silly that sounds to me now to expect two small, energetic children (or a puppy) to pose exactly the way I had it pictured in my mind.

This year the picture taking started out almost the same way. We had to get the pictures done before the sun went down too much to have enough light. Sophie especially, was being very silly and giggly. I was getting irritated again because I didn’t think she was cooperating. Then it dawned on me, this IS the way they are. If I want people who haven’t seen my kids lately to know them better, why not capture them the way they are? Silly and genuinely happy, not forced. So that’s what we did. See the pictures for yourself.

I’m taking a hint from Nathan and Sophie this year. I want to enjoy Christmas for Christmas. Admittedly, I have had to catch myself when I started to stress about lights or ornaments this year; I don’t want to stress about schedules and decorations, gifts and get-togethers…or pictures. I have decided to focus on Jesus, family and friends, giving to others and just enjoying the season that will be gone in a few weeks. Thanks to a lesson from my children and a 5 Day Christmas Challenge from Karen Ehman (Proverbs 31 Ministries), this Christmas, I don’t have to be in control of everything! And it actually feels pretty good.

Merry Peace and Joy filled Christmas!

I Want to Leave a Legacy

Today's post is not necessarily about what I have learned through my children, but rather what I want them to learn through me.   Today I spent most of the day at my parents' home enjoying their company and eating a wonderful Thanksgiving feast. It was so nice to have most of our family together laughing and enjoying the beautiful day. The only ones missing were my sister Charlene and her family.    
My aunt Bertha and Uncle Jimmie were there as well.  My aunt has had some very difficult health issues.  Issues that have taken their toll on her body and her abilities.  Even through her difficulties, she is still encouraging to others.  She still talks about Jesus like he is her best friend, because he is.  She speaks with a weaker voice, but her faith is still just as strong as ever.  She talks about God with the love and adoration of an admiring daughter, and her trust in Him has not wavered.  She still has that contagious joy and that sweet spirit that has always drawn everyone to her. 
My aunt Bertha didn't get to raise her own children.  All three died shortly after birth.  However she is like the woman the Bible speaks of who had no children of her own but was blessed with more than a woman who did.  She has touched so many lives with her faith, joy and love for others. She has taught me so much about God and the Bible.  She has influenced so many people that have grown up around her; she has many spiritual children that share in her legacy.  I want to be like her when I grow up.
That's what I want for my children.  I want to leave such a legacy of faith.  I want them to see my love for God doesn't change when trouble comes.  I want to have the Godly character and exude the fruit of the spirit so that they can see Jesus in me.  (God and I are still working on some of those). Thirty years from now when they are my age, I don't want them passing down negative characteristics or habits that they learned from me to their children.  I want them to carry on the legacy of faith and a love for God and His word that makes their influence on their children positive and good.
There are so many things that we can pass down to our children: habits, a sense of style, athletic ability,  interests, or skills, but the most important thing that we as parents pass down to our children is a passionate love for Jesus Christ.  I am so thankful for the Godly women who set an example before me.  My own mother, my granny and my aunt have sown seeds in me that I hope will continue to grow and be replanted in my own children and others around me.

Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Deuteronomy 6:7

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.  Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. Ephesians 5:1-2

Let Them Live

24 weeks-considered viable

As I hugged my children this morning, I hugged them tighter and a little longer than I usually do on a busy school morning. I held them longer for all the babies who will never have the opportunity to have a mother hug them. I held them close in honor of all the babies who will not be allowed to live over the next four years.

You see, yesterday, over half the voters in our beloved United States of America voted to put back into office the most radical pro-abortion president we have ever had. A president with one of the most prominent points of his democratic platform being to provide abortion on demand right up until the time of birth. A president who voted 4 times while in the Senate to prevent babies who survived an abortion from receiving medical care. He would rather they be discarded and left to die. How sad it is that the people of our country care so little about a child’s life.

Some voters don’t know the president’s extreme policy on abortion. That’s no excuse. If they cared about life and preventing abortions, they could check his policies and past voting records to find the truth. Some voters just don’t care. They chose to vote for him despite knowing and believing that abortion is wrong and simply turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to the truth. Then of course there are those who actually agree with his abortion agenda.

I’m not sure which of these three is worse. I can say, however, to a baby that is being destroyed, it doesn’t matter. To a child that has great potential but isn’t allowed the decency of even being born, what difference does it make? My heart is broken this morning. My heart breaks for all the children across this land who are mere pawns in a political war. Instead of being seen as innocent human beings with beating hearts and sweet souls, they are seen as a plague to be rid of or trash to be thrown out.

What a sad, sad day it is. So today, despite my disappointment in the American people, I am more thankful than ever for my children. I want to hold them and never let go. I’m so thankful that my mother, a mother of 5, chose life. I am thankful that abortion never entered her mind or mine. I am thankful for all the women and men who work tirelessly, even now, to save the lives of preborn children.  We will have to work even harder now. “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless and see that they get justice. ” Proverbs 31:8,9

We will have to pray even more now that God would move on the hearts of women to love their babies so much that they will do whatever it takes to protect them and give them life. That He will move on the hearts of lawmakers and judges to protect the lives of unborn children. When my children ask me what my “Pro-Life" T-shirt means, I simply tell them that I am for life and I believe every child deserves the chance to live.

Do you?

Be of Good Cheer

Have you ever just needed some encouragement? Life gets hard. Sometimes, really hard. Sometimes, things just pile up. Sometimes, you get tired of hearing about everything you are doing wrong and how you need to change this or that.

As I was chiding my children the other night for not doing something I told them to do, I felt like a broken record. I caught myself thinking, I wonder if they ask themselves if they ever do anything right. Don’t get me wrong, I do encourage my kids and praise them for each success. But I also stay after them a lot, probably more than is needed. Honestly, I get tired of hearing me, so I am sure they do too.

I get like that too. I know I am not perfect. I know that we all need improvement and need to grow in the Lord. I am constantly reading books or Bible studies to help me grow in one area or another. I try to reflect on each sermon from my pastor to see if I am the person he is talking about instead of pointing fingers. There have been times that I have felt like there was so much about me that needed to be changed, that I honestly did not know where to start. That’s when I need encouragement. I need to remind myself that “I may not be where I need to be, but thank God I'm not where I used to be. I’m okay and I’m on my way” - Joyce Meyer. Do I always have to feel bad about myself to be a good Christian? No!

Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” There is a difference between condemnation and conviction. I don’t have to wallow in what I am doing wrong. I do need to be aware of it, pray about it, do what I can do and let God change me through His Holy Spirit. The Bible is full of encouragement as well as conviction and instruction. We need a balance of both. Sometimes the circumstances of life can be overwhelming. We need to know that God loves us, is rooting for us, and will not let us go. We need to know that we are not alone. We need to know that we have strengths and not just weaknesses.

So, I intend to pour on the encouragement for my children, my husband and whomever I see that may need it (even me). I am going to use not only correction from the Bible, “Do everything without arguing or complaining” but also encouragement, “Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the LORD.” Many scriptures even have both in the same sentence. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works(encouragement), which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them(instruction).”

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (Jesus) John 16:33

Another Life Lesson From Learning to Ride a Bike

 In my last post, Sophie and I were running up and down the drive way. Actually she was riding her bike and I was the one running. Since I had just eaten and was getting tired, Steve decided to help. As Sophie grew more confident, we began to let her make single passes by herself from Steve to me and then back. He would stand a few feet from where I was, push her off to me, and I would catch her if she started to fall.

She was doing great but was easily distracted. She would look away if she saw Nathan throwing the football. She would look away if she saw a butterfly flying by. It didn’t take much to catch her attention. As soon as she would look away from whomever she was riding toward, she would get off balance and start to fall. “Don’t look away.” I would tell her. “Keep your eyes on me and you won’t fall.”

How many times when we are riding through life, do we take our eyes off Jesus and get “off balance”? It likely happens more than most of us would like to admit. We may be riding through life with the wind in our hair and because it’s smooth sailing, we take our eyes off Jesus. We think we are doing just fine on our own and begin to look away at other things. Busyness, comfort or sin begins to take precedent over Jesus and we begin to get off balance. Because of our wrong choices, we may get more than a bruise or scraped knee.

It’s also easy to get distracted by bad things in the world. Pain and evil are all around us. We see it on the news and in the paper. Sometimes in our own lives, the pain seems overwhelming. For some, it may be a loved one who is sick. For others, it may be their own sickness or a troubled marriage. It may be the loss of a job or difficulty with a child. Although life’s circumstances can be hard, we have to fix our eyes on Jesus. “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” We cannot run this race without Him as our focus. Don’t lose heart; keep your eyes on Jesus.

No Fear

It has been a very rainy summer this year in South Georgia, inches after inches, week after week. Our grass is soft and thick like the plushest carpet. This combined with a slight slope in our front yard makes the perfect path for learning to ride a bike. One day, out of the blue, Sophie decided she was ready to ride her bike without training wheels.

So we made run after run down the grassy slope with me holding on to the seat and running behind her. She was so proud of herself when I let go and she did it on her own. We continued until it started raining again and retreated inside. Two days later we were outside playing after supper. Sophie wanted to practice again. This time she wanted to ride on the drive way. So here we went again. Pass after pass, one direction and then the other. It doesn’t take much bending over a little bicycle and running back and forth after eating pizza and hot wings to get winded. Several times I suggested she go over to the grass and try by herself. “It’s soft; you won’t get hurt.”

“I’m too scared,” she’d say. So we kept going. Finally after I could no longer run with her, I told her again to go try on the grass. Again she said, “I’m too scared.”

“Why are you scared? You did it just two days ago, and you did great.”

“Well you were right there with me” she proclaimed. She knew when I was running alongside her that I wouldn’t let her fall. Even though the grass was soft and wouldn’t hurt her, she wanted to know I was there with her.

Sounds like a life lesson to me. How often do we as Christians try to deal with the trials of life without realizing that our Heavenly Father is there with us? We flounder around trying to deal with things on our own when God is right there with us. We often allow fear to seize us and keep us from doing the things God has called us to do. I love the way the Amplified Bible translates Hebrews 13:5 “He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (^[relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]” Wow, what a promise! But that’s not all; verse 6 goes on to tell us how we should respond to that promise. “So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified].” When we realize that God is with us and will never let go of us, we can face life’s challenges without fear.

Sophie will eventually learn to ride her bike without my help and without fear of falling. Thankfully, as God’s children, we will never have to ride life’s stormy seas alone. God is always right there with us, and He will not let us fall. That’s a promise.

The Difference Between Boys and Girls

I don’t like to stereotype. Whether it is race, location (i.e. southern doesn’t equal redneck) or gender, not everyone fits into the same mold. However, you can’t deny the fact that the majority of boys and girls have certain traits in common with their unique gender.

The other day, I saw it yet again. Steve had taken off work and he and the kids brought breakfast to me at work. As they all filed into my office, Nathan immediately spotted a picture hanging on my wall. It was a photo of Steve and me and two other couples dressed up at the Captain’s dinner on a Bahamas’ cruise. Our boss had taken the entire company as a way to celebrate the company’s 25^th anniversary. A coworker had recently printed it out and brought it to me as a joke so I taped it to my wall. After I had answered several questions about it, Nathan said in a matter of fact way, “You looked younger then.” Thanks, Nathan…it was 10 years ago!

Kids…Boys…little boys… They say whatever comes to mind. Now my daughter didn’t really notice the picture, but I have an idea of what she would have said. “Mommy, you looked beautiful.” Sophie always tries to make people feel good. She tells me all the time how pretty she thinks I am or how much she loves me. She’s always hugging and kissing her family. She is very affectionate, compassionate and thoughtful.

Nathan is very literal and straight forward. He doesn’t seem to notice people as much as he notices facts. He cares about the outcome of things. Sophie cares about feelings. They are so different. Perhaps it’s just personality differences. Maybe it has a lot to do with their gender. I’m sure it’s a combination.

I think that is where a lot of parents automatically think their growing boys don’t need as much affectionate displays of love, but in his own way, Nathan still lets me know that he does. When I sit on the sofa beside him, he will snuggle up close without saying a word. When we get out of our van, he automatically grabs my hand. When he started kindergarten, I would walk him to class every day. When I gave him a hug and kiss, he would just stand there almost like a statue. It seemed like he didn’t care but endured it for my benefit. One day, while standing in front of his classroom door, I was talking to his teacher. He just stood there beside me instead of running to play with his friends. When I asked him what was the matter, he said quietly, “You haven’t kissed me yet.” I was a little surprised. He needed a kiss as much as I needed to give him one. Then toward the end of that year, he asked me to kiss him when he got out of the van instead of inside the school. Apparently, he didn’t want his friends to see. (That started younger than I anticipated.)

I have to look for it with him more than I do with Sophie, but it’s there, the longing to feel his mom’s touch and to know that he is still my little man. Boys will be boys. They may act like they don’t need or even want our hugs and kisses, but deep down, they do. So lay it on ‘em! (Maybe just not in front of their friends)