Share

As parents we are always reminding our children to share their toys with friends or siblings. I am always surprised when I catch my children sharing when they haven’t been reminded to! It’s like a breath of fresh air to see a selfless act from a child. The idea of keeping things to our self must be something we are born with. Surely we were never taught to think of our self first, hold on to what is ours and not share. Yet that is what comes natural to us. Children are not the only ones who don’t share naturally – grown ups don’t either! I mostly think of the lack of sharing the truth as adults. We are reluctant to be honest and say how we really feel. We shy away from asking a friend for help, not wanting to share our need. We hesitate to be candid and share that we are lonely, sad, or hurting. And just like the little ones, I’m always surprised when talking to a friend who openly shares a piece of their real life with me. It is such a breath of fresh air to encounter honest sharing of oneself with another. We can gain so much when we step out and share the truth of who we are or what we are experiencing. And it is always a blessing when someone trusts you enough to share who they are with you. Share – it will do you good!

Worship

My daughters just finished a week at Vacation Bible School. It is a week long camp at church where the children learn Bible verses and themes, make crafts, sing songs and of course play! It was always a highlight of my summer as a child and I could hardly wait for my children to be old enough to go. On the last day I went with camera in hand to film their song and Bible lesson time. As I walked into the large room packed with little people following the leaders up front in song and movement, I immediately welled up with emotion. I didn’t see my girls at first, but pulled out the video camera anyway and began to film. Listening to the words to the songs and watching the children do the corresponding hand motions stirred my spirit and I began to cry. I felt very silly and couldn’t really stop. Song after song, I wiped my eyes and tried to hide behind my camera! All I could think of was, “we were created to worship God.” It was the most natural, simple, perfect scene – children singing praises to God and lifting their hands to Him as if to say, “pick me up Daddy.” We were all created to worship our Creator, God. At the core of our being, our purpose is worship. Nothing feels more fulfilling, natural, or complete than worshipping God with our lives. Many spend their lives searching for meaning, purpose and identity. But, the answer is simple: We were created to worship God. We are worshippers.

My Birthday

I just celebrated my birthday last weekend and at lunch with my dear girlfriends I was asked: what the best part of my 36th year of life was and what I was most looking forward to in this coming year. I quickly said the birth of my baby boy was my highlight last year and was just as quickly reminded that he was born when I was 35!!! So it looks like having 3 kids has taken it’s toll on my memory and sense of time! But those questions prompted me to take some time to reflect on the past year and start to set some goals for this year to come.

Things I am thankful for from this past year of life are:
Watching my daughters fall in love with their baby brother
Watching my husband fall in love with his son
Celebrating 5 years of marriage
Taking a parenting class that has changed my life
Watching my daughters fall in love with learning through preschool
Going on a weekend marriage retreat with my husband
Celebrating the holidays with lots of family and friends
Getting to speak at a college retreat in Seattle
Celebrating my brother’s 40th year of life
Watching my son take his first steps
Going with my daughters to their first tea
Taking a trip to Cabo with my husband
Getting to speak to the young adults of Bel Air Pres
Watching my daughters fall in love with the ocean at the beach
Spending a life changing weekend with my Grandmother a month before she died
Being surrounded by many who love me and call me higher
I am a blessed woman and could go on and on about all that I’m thankful for as I reflect. As far as goals for the next year, well, those will probably become more apparent in future posts!

Life Takes Time

I picked the first tomatoes from my garden the other day and I was over the moon with the results! I think they are the most perfect tomatoes I’ve ever seen. Their color is uniform and brilliant red, their skin is tight and shiny with no blemish, they are beautifully topped with perfect green stems and they taste even better than they look! I have to admit, I didn’t think they would turn out so well. My garden has been a challenge this Summer for many unknown reasons. I have tons of tomatoes on the vines, but I was skeptical if they would ripen and be edible. I guess I really didn’t have much vision for my tomatoes. I got excited at the first sign of growth, but quickly lost heart as days passed and nothing much more happened. Everything in life takes time. It’s easy to start out the gate with excitement and passion, then quickly lose momentum when months and years go by with little results. All the while, God has a plan and He will not reveal the finished product until all the lessons have been learned along the way. If we “pick our fruit” too soon, we will miss out on all of the powerful flavors. I guess I need to be more patient and trust that in time, all things will come to fruition according to God’s plan.

One On One

My daughters just returned from a week at Camp Grammie. They were finally old enough to spend about 5 days away with their grandparents without missing us too much! Having just lost my Grandmother, I was so excited for my daughters to get this special one on one time with their Grammie and start building memories of a lifetime with her. They came home in their camp shirts and hats, so excited to share their stories and crafts with us! I got the joy of having only one child for the week. My first babies were twins, so I never got to experience life with just one baby! At first I really didn’t know what to do with my one year old son. I make it a habit to never take my children to the grocery store or mall for obvious reasons! But I had a few errands to run. I talked to a girlfriend of mine who has one baby the same age and she said, “at this age, he doesn’t care what you are doing, he just wants your undivided attention.” I pushed my guilt aside of indulging in my own needs and took him on all my errands. It was true – he didn’t care where we were, just as long as we were together. It’s amazing what one on one time can do for us. My girls came home feeling so loved and special because they had one on one time with Grammie and Papa. I felt so special and blessed that I got one on one time with my son. And I know that the little dude missed his sissys, but loved the undivided attention! The same gifts await us when we get alone with God. It is wonderful to go to church or be involved in small group Bible studies, but, we can grow so much when we get alone with God for one on one time. Our undivided attention focused only on Him – His delight of simply being alone with one of His children.

Unexpected Blessings

I recently stopped to buy some strawberries from my favorite “Strawberry Lady” who picks in the morning, then sells in the afternoon! I love her. When I got out of my car, I looked down to find a Home Depot gift card laying in the street, obviously bruised from cars running over it. I picked it up, excited at the possibility of what was on that card. Today, a few weeks later, I went into Home Depot and asked how much money was left on the card, they said $50! I felt guilty knowing that it really wasn’t my money. I didn’t steal it. I couldn’t possibly find who it originally belonged to because there were no houses or people around when I found it (except the Strawberry Lady, and I know it was not hers!). It was truly a case of finders keepers! But yet I felt like a thief using it to buy flowers. As a child I would find money all the time. There was a season when I wouldn’t go more than a week without finding at least $5. My friend and I would ride our bikes to the local junior college in the Summer and find tons of money under the vending machines and use it to buy snacks! At Home Depot, one side of me felt like that thrilled little girl again who struck it rich! Another part of me felt like I needed to keep looking over my shoulder, afraid that I was going to get caught. Sometimes life gives us unexpected blessings. Better to just receive them and completely enjoy rather than feeling guilty.

Independence

As we just celebrated The 4th of July, or Independence Day, I’ve been thinking about the word “independence.” My daughters are 4 years old and I see their independence growing every day. This week they are up at Grammie Camp – a true sign that they are growing up as we’ve waited until we thought they could make it through a week without missing Mommy too much! Independence is something we strive for in our lives and something we work towards developing in our children as parents. We try to get them to feed themselves, teach them to go potty on their own, and show them how to dress themselves – it is all an effort to give them independence and thrust them away from their dependence on us. This idea of creating a person who is self sufficient seems so natural and positive. We praise their every accomplishment and cheer them onto the next. Isn’t it odd then that as an adult I strive to be less independent and more dependent on God? To trust His guidance rather than trying to master my own sense of direction. To rely on His strength rather than doing reps to build up my own muscle. To put my weight down on His Word rather than straining to find my own wisdom. I guess the beauty of Independence Day is that many lost their lives so that we could find ours in Christ. They gave us the “independence” or freedom from an authority that dictated religion, so that we could freely place our dependence upon the god of our choice. As I continue to help my children grow and develop into little people who no longer need Mommy to do everything for them, I hope to also point them towards Jesus who can do everything for them. Independent from me, dependent on God.