Mom Strong

Are you walking around kind of in a daze at times, wondering if you showered today? Forgetting whether you ate or not? How many times have you had to rewash that load of laundry as you keep forgetting to switch it over?

This mom stuff? It’s so hard, and exhausting, and some days it feels like I can’t possibly do one more thing. BUT GOD! Always God! I was so blessed to go to a Heidi St. John conference here recently with one of my best friend’s on the planet. She flew in from out of state and the two of us took a nice drive (with no kids asking us if we were there yet!) for a weekend to recharge. If you are unfamiliar with Heidi St. John and her “Mom Strong international” organization I highly recommend you get on board. The resources that she has, the encouragement, the support in her community are like no other. This conference was so biblically sound. In our society more and more people are straying from God’s Word, and not standing on the foundation that He has given us! God is no silent, His truth doesn’t change. No matter what our society says about any of it, God’s Word is our ultimate study guide, it has every answer we could possibly ever need. Do you have an amazing mom friend? A prayer partner? Someone you can share this mothering with? If you don’t I highly recommend finding another momma that you can encourage and that she can encourage you.

As a mom, I constantly am wondering if I am doing this right? If my kids will know that they know that they know, that God is God and He is their father. That He sent His only son to die for them, that He wants to take them home to heaven to be with Him. Recently there have been several events on the news that have just absolutely broken my heart, as I have learned about the loss of such young lives. And when I look at my four sweet babies, and I hear the crap that they are hearing at school, and from their friends, I am just so heartbroken for them. That this world is so lost and so broken. My sweet little girl has been told she is fat in the last couple of weeks by her “so called friends.” Now I know that school can be tough, but my sweet girl has spent so many days upset and broke over this craziness, and the world? It keeps filling people with mean spirits, with hatred, with jealously and greed. And as I raise my kiddos I am trying so hard to keep them focused on Him, and to continually remind them that they are HIS, and what the world says ultimately doesn’t matter.

I didn’t put the following scripture or the following slides together, and give full credit to Heidi St. John and her team for pulling these together. God isn’t silent, in the confusion of this world. And we CANNOT BE SILENT EITHER! As Heidi St. John would say “Get off the bench” and fight for your kids. Fight to keep God in their lives, fight to keep His truth in their heart, fight to keep the atrocities of abortion, gender confusion, sexual immorality and so much more away from our kids! You’ve got this Momma! And you’ve got the God of the universe and all of His Armies standing with you!

GOD IS NOT SILENT

Gender Identity Mark 10:6 Created male and female

Human Sexuality Romans 1 and 2 The creator’s instructions

Creation Genesis 1:1-2 Creation itself

Marriage Genesis 2:22-24 The purpose of marriage

Parenting Proverbs 22:26 Parent’s responsibility

Singleness 1 Corinthians 7 Single is good

Alcohol Ephesians 5:18 Stop getting drunk

Abortion Psalm 127:3-5 Children are a gift

Eternity John 10:28-29 I gave them eternal life

When your kid is the one that is “Different”

I was born to be a mom, born to have rough and tumble, sports playing adventurous kids. Or so I thought. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a mom. Didn’t want to have a bunch of kids running around. I wanted to be the soccer mom, the softball, and football mom, the band mom. The dreams I had wasn’t a part of God’s plan.

So often we have this ideal scenario in our head about how things will be. How our careers will go, how our marriage will go, how our family will grow and thrive. But what happens if your kid doesn’t fit into that little dream? Or further more what if your kid is the one that is a little bit different than all the other kids? What if your kid is the one who is autistic? OR physically challenge? Mentally challenge? So curious and creative that they are always finding something to get into and unfortunately sometimes get hurt…… What if your kid is the one who other kids look at and are nervous around? What if your kid is the one who has a reputation that reaches their teachers long before they do? What if…….?

Unfortunately in our society we are expected to have our children fit in this little tiny box of conforming to “the norm” of society, and if our kid doesn’t fit that box, where does that leave us? When someone has something to say about your child’s behavior, or the way you parent doesn’t momma bear come out? It certainly does for me. I truly get enraged when I see or hear other parents talking poorly about a child. Or attacking the child’s mom because of the child’s behavior. This mom stuff? Incredibly incredibly difficult. Instead of mom’s judging and confronting, we should be encouraging and loving. We should be teaching that momma anything that would improve behaviors and bonding. We shouldn’t be telling mom’s that their child isn’t going to have friends, and is going to get into a lot of trouble…. WE should be speaking life into that mamma and her baby, praying over them, praying for God’s guidance throughout the lifetime. We should be encouraging her, offering her our help, offering her a hug and a compliment or encouraging word. This mom stuff? It is SO HARD. The last thing we need is the judgement of another mother. Mommas? Help a momma out. Don’t judge the beautiful gift of children that God has given her. If her child is loud and full of energy? Run around outside and get them tired. If her child is introverted and doesn’t interact the way others do? Ask her how to reach her child and spend some time with that kiddo. If her child is sick and has lots of medical stuff going on? Go to appointments, learn about her child’s diagnosis offer her a break? If her child is a mess maker all day long? Help her clean……

We have the power to encourage or destroy our children, we have the power to help them embrace the incredible human beings that God has created them to be. We have the power to literally change the world for the rest of their lives.

Use your words to speak life into each family regardless of whether their child is the same or different from your children….. No matter what your expectations are, or what the worlds expectaions are….. KNOW that your child/ren are amazing miracles that God has created, that He has created him/her for an incredible purpose, regardless of what the world says. And you know what Momma? YOU ARE DOING AN INCREDIBLE JOB!

Rejoice

Happy Easter! Rejoicing in His love for us, and that He sent His son so that we would one day be with Him! Can you even imagine? Can you imagine sending your only child knowing what would happen to him? Knowing the severe pain and agony he would experience? Can you imaging watching it happen? Watching your child cry out, and not being allowed to stop it? I cannot even begin to fathom it. I can’t understand how He could love ME (and YOU) so much that He would sacrifice His only son for us! I am eternally grateful. My prayer is that you truly feel and experience the incredible love that He has for you! Happy Easter from our family to yours!!!!

2019

Happy New Year! A new year filled with promise, filled with hope. A year with such potential. I have so very much to be thankful for. It is so often we get caught up in the mundane day to day life of being a parent, of being a spouse, of being a worker….. we get caught up in the laundry, and the cleaning, the homework, and the cooking. We get stuck underneath the overwhelming daunting to do lists. I am right there with you. This last year has been a tremendous struggle for me.

My husband was injured in January and was out of work….. the financial repercussions of that are still being felt in our family. My children’s medical issues, fluctuated throughout the year, leading to new doctors visits, a surgery and different and more time consuming medical care. The financial burden led me to getting another job in which I was working more than 60 hours a week. The pace was incredibly overwhelming and exhausting, not to mention missing my kids growing.

This last year, there were many tragedies, much heartbreak, and incredible sadness felt by people I care about. But you know what else there was? Incredible joy, God’s provision for WHATEVER was needed, laughter, adventures, lots and lots of snuggles with my babies and so much more.

2018 will go down as a trying year, but it will also go down as a year, where God showed up whenever we allowed Him to. He provided whatever was needed whenever it was needed. And I am eternally grateful.

I am not sure what 2019 will bring for certain. But I do know that God will walk through it with me, and that if I allow Him, He will carry the burden. My hope in 2019 is to be a stronger woman of faith, the wife that God has called me to be, the mother that God has called me to be, and the friend/sister/daughter/Christian God has called me to be.

If you have a need, and you would like prayer please feel free to share this with me, and I will get praying. God moves mountains!!!! You are NOT ALONE

Beauty amongst the chaos

Life is crazy and busy and beautiful. I am working two jobs currently trying to get some medical bills paid down. I am raising four incredibly beautiful wonderful talented children. I am a wife a mom a nurse and a child of God. And I struggle ALOT. But recently in this phase of life God has shown himself to me over and over again. Whether it is in the kind words and encouragement of a friend, whether it is extra snuggles from my family, whether it is a babysitter who has gone above and beyond loving my babies while I am working…….God keeps showing me that He can make it all beautiful. I was frustrated with the kids dressers, my sitter took it upon herself to reorganize it all. I was frustrated trying to find a used piano for our house for our daughter for lessons, one was given to us for free. I was overwhelmed with my work schedule, and the schedule was changed to accommodate me.

It really is hard sometimes from the moment to moment stressors of daily life, but when you take a step back you can see God in all of it. I cannot even fathom surviving and thriving without Him. My brother and his wife were just here visiting from Texas and they were so blessed to hear my kids singing worship music each morning. THAT my friends is what it is all about. It doesn’t matter that life is crazy, it doesn’t matter that you are exhausted or overwhelmed at times. What matters is that you give God the room in your life to move, and that you let His light shine on others. My babies? They KNOW HIM! And that is what it is all about. My sweet little kiddos are getting it.

Keep your eyes on the prize. Don’t get buried under your mountain of laundry, the sticky gob of toothpastes all over your bathroom, the smudges on your mirrors and stickers on your windows. Realize that these fleeting moments are just a way for God to show Himself to us in every task that mother hood can through our way. REST! Put your feet up! The dust and laundry will keep until tomorrow.

When those childhood dreams aren’t at all what you had expected…

I was that little girl who always said that I wanted to me a mommy when I grew up. Being the oldest of six kids, and a family that did foster care I found myself always around kids. I couldn’t imagine my life without children in it. And as I grew up I thought that I wanted to be a pediatric nurse. And so that was my dream….. to be a mommy and a pediatric nurse.

Fast forward to my first pregnancy. I unexpectedly found myself pregnant and was over the moon excited. I couldn’t wait to be a mom. Couldn’t wait to hold that baby in my arms. Couldn’t wait to smell them and kiss them and love them. I prayed for a healthy baby, and didn’t care whether it was a boy or a girl. And then I had the miscarriage and thought that my world was coming to an end. I was beyond devastated. I couldn’t imagine that God had anything else for me besides being a mom.

And so began my desperate prayers that God give me children to love. Whether they were my own or someone else’s, didn’t matter. I just needed to pour that love into someone. And so then I was pregnant again. And that pregnancy was filled with so many complications. I remember just begging God to allow this child to live. To allow him to live. As the pregnancy progressed I just kept harping on that it didn’t matter if it was a boy or a girl but that it was healthy.

When I held my sweet Samuel for the first time my heart was filled to overflowing. And I was just so incredibly thankful to have him. As we finally were discharged from NICU I could see my whole life playing out before me. I would be a soccer mom, or a football mom. I would be the volunteer in the classroom, I would be the mom that always had playdates and crafts. I was so thankful to God for this incredible gift. And then it happened…… my whole world changed. My prayers for a “healthy child” were not the prayer that was answered.

As I have walked this road of being a mom to chronically ill children my mindset has changed. Where I started was “God I just want him or her to be healthy and happy.” And what they prayer evolved into was much more than that it was “God more than anything I want them to know you and your love, and Lord I want them to know my love. ”

This road has NEVER been easy but I wouldn’t change even one thing., except the financial struggle of having medical kids. But you know my kids are truly compassionate loving sensitive kids who accept others and don’t judge others for being differently abled. They are proud to be helpful and kind. Their hearts hurt when others are hurting. They try to be inclusive and kind to the children’ that are left out.

Would I love to be that soccer mom? Yes sure. But the lessons that this road have taught my family are absolutely priceless. When I see my sweet little guys raising their hands as they are singing praise and worship, when my children weep over those that are hurting and lost, when they are able to look on someone with unending compassion, then I know that this is the exact life that we are meant to live. This life, this journey, is molding us, shaping us into the vessels that GOD wanted us to be, not what I wanted us to be.

So when God doesn’t answer your prayer the way you expected or desired realize that HIs answers are life altering and that He has no ill will towards you. He will make your life beautiful., The life might be messy, and overwhelming and utterly exhausting, but HE MAKES ALL THINGS BEAUTIFUL. HE has and He will.

Hurricane Florence

You know as a nurse I have spent many nights, days, holidays, special events away from my family. We have rearranged the schedule for certain events so that I could attend. We have sent Matt and the kids without me. And although I have missed many things over the last 15 plus years, I have NEVER ever struggled so much as I did this past week.

This past Thursday I made my way to the hospital, where I stayed until today, Tuesday. I knew that there had been flooding, that there was no power and that my babies were missing me as much as I was missing them. I knew that they were in possible danger, and that no matter what I did there was no way for me to get to them. This last several days has truly been some of the most emotional and physically draining days of my life.

As the hurricane rolled through we dealt with lots of flooding and wind damage within our hospital. We dealt with many co-workers who actually literally lost everything. We dealt with coworkers like me who basically were trapped far from home without knowing if there families and homes were going to be ok.

BUT…… GOD! I cannot believe the strength that He has provided for me, the emotional as well as the physical. Since Thursday I probably haven’t slept more that 12 hours total. I have been unable to turn off my brain, unable to stop being concerned with the loss that others were experiencing. Within all of this God was so faithful.

He allowed me the knowledge that others were loving on my babies, that they were being kept safe and were having a “fun” adventure. There were so many of God’s people that were reaching out to me during this craziness. I literally was able to go to someone’s home the other day, who I had never met, to rest and shower. These wonderful people provided me with food to eat, a hot shower and a bed to sleep in. They were perfect strangers but realizing that I was basically trapped far from home during this hurricane they opened their doors and their hearts to me.

During the actual storm and the subsequent flooding that occurred, again I was blown away by the goodness of so many. Coworkers going above and beyond to ensure the safety of our patients and all within the hospital. We worked beyond the point of exhaustion. But while we worked, while we were continuously cleaning the water that was pouring in, there was smiles, there was laughter, there was new friendships formed. God had His hand in all of this. And it was such a reminder to me of how God meets us wherever we are at. And yes I would say that this was truly one of the hardest weeks of my life, I can happily say that God met me where I was at and carried me through,

There is so much damage to NC. There is so much devastation, there are so many that have lost so much. Pray, pray for NC. Pray for those that are hurting. God can fill each need supernaturally.

No matter your circumstance and how overwhelming it can be, know that God is with you. That He will meet you where you are at. Just ask Him and then: LET GO and LET GOD

Preparing for Hurricane Florence

We are in the projected path of this monstrous storm. And strangely I am not stressing. I know just as with so many other situations that God has got this. Yesterday an elementary school out in Wayne county posted a video to facebook of the students singing “In the eye of the storm” What an incredible reminder that God is faithful no matter what. The Carolina’s are most likely going to get hit hard. But God remains in control always. I am sad that I will have to leave my babies until it is safe to travel again. That is the one thing that stinks about being an important part of the system of caring for others. In the midst of situations where you want to be with your family you HAVE TO LEAVE THEM. I hate that part. Last night we all snuggled on the couch and watched a movie together. I am not sure when I will come back home, and I am sad knowing that most likely they will have no power and will be scared and I won’t be able to help Matt with them. But regardless I know I am needed at the hospital and that God will keep us all safe in His hand! Be praying for us, for the Carolina’s and for VA. And anywhere else this crazy storm is going to go.

Crusaders for Christ Camp

didn’t even know what to do with myself this week. My children were blessed by our church, and were able to go to summer camp this year. They had never been to camp before. Sending them was a little nerve racking but I knew that they would encounter God in a different way. And they sure did!!!! The three younger kids went. Sam will go next week. The girls were together and Preston was with our small group leader from our church so he was with people he knew.

Each day the kids has praise and worship, times to pray for each other and others. They raised their hands and they praised God! This just blesses my heart to no end. Knowing that my children are “getting it”. Getting that God is not religion, that God is life, God is love, God is relationship. Blessed so blessed that they got to go.

At the closing service the children who had made a profession of faith or who had made a promise to rededicate their lives to Christ were invited to write their names on the cross

There was typical camp stuff as well. Swimming, horse back riding, crafts, hiking etc. They had a wonderful time.

Not Enough

I have been struggling a lot here lately. Feeling as though I am not enough. Not enough mom, not enough wife, not enough nurse, not enough friend, not enough follower of Christ, quite simply just NOT ENOUGH. I get in these funks when my kids are sick, or when the bills are overwhelming, or when my friends are hurting and I don’t know what to do, or when I am struggling with my marriage, or with my children.

And I know without a shadow of a doubt that yes, it is true on my own I am not enough, but with God I am more than enough. So often this world has us comparing ourselves, wishing we had what others had. Wondering why our children are sick, or our finances are short, or why our marriage is in such a bad place, or why our jobs aren’t fulfilling us. But in each circumstance God has given us such grace such power such strength such love to get through.

You my friend are enough! You are more than enough! In God you have all you need. Don’t compare yourself. Don’t desire (as hard as it is) for what others have. God has blessed you tremendously!

I had a friend recently tell me “why are you so happy with all that you have going on?” And I got to thinking about it. Why? Because GOD! HE is my reason, He is my reason for life, for love, for joy, for peace, for perseverance, for strength. He is my reason for hope, He is my reason to keep on fighting this fight.

Yes there are days where I can let myself feel so overwhelmed and so defeated, but then God gently and lovingly lifts me up, brushes me off, and holds my hand as we move forward.

My Sam had surgery about a week and a half ago. And the night before surgery I was in a really rough place. I was exhausted and worried. Frustrated and angry. It is easy to get there, when you see your kids have chronic illness, and you wonder about how the surgery will go and how the days after will be….. But God in all His wonder and glory always brings me right back to where I need to be. WITH HIM. I don’t know if you know the singer Laura Story, but if you don’t, I highly recommend her song “Blessings.” The lines of this song meet me right where I am at. Sure sometimes we want to question why things happen and why us. This song speaks to that.

We are loving summer. Loving being home and not quite as much crazy chaos. Loving the extra snuggles. Loving family time and movies. I pray that you are too! Be blessed!!!