Monday, November 19, 2012

Worth Every Minute

3 John 1:4
Complete Jewish Bible

4 Nothing gives me greater joy than hearing that my children are living in the truth.

As Thanksgiving Day draws near, I decided that I would take a moment to express my thankfulness for my children.  So much of what we deal with on a day to day basis can overshadow our appreciation for those closest to us.  I am no exception...have you read any of my other posts?!?!  It is so easy to get distracted by those pesky daily life problems!

I clearly remember being a young mother with two little toddlers and thinking that those days of diapers and no privacy (bathroom door always open) were never going to end.  I thought for a little while that my boys might grow up to be juvenile delinquents because I couldn't get them to mind all the time.  I would go to church and spend the majority of the time, it seemed, in the nursery.  I would wonder, why am I even here?  Why?

Well, this is why.  With my oldest son already moved out of the house and my youngest son nearing adulthood, I see them making their own commitments to God and living in truth.  I am so proud of those two boys and the men they are becoming.  I look back at those days of sitting in the nursery, the worry about whether or not I was doing a good enough job being a mom and feeling like I had lost my own identity, with thankfulness.   There was a purpose and it was worth every minute.

P.S.  Please note, this is just and expression of my own experiences and feelings, I would like to point out that I couldn't have done it without my one and only, the Father of my Children.  I love you!

Sunday, November 4, 2012

My Voice

2 Timothy 3:16
(New Life Version)


16 All the Holy Writings are God-given and are made alive by Him. Man is helped when he is taught God’s Word. It shows what is wrong. It changes the way of a man’s life. It shows him how to be right with God.

After a little over a year into this blog, this is not the first time I have contemplated the whole thing and been a little uncomfortable with how it may come across to people.  It started out as a way to voice my angst and heartbreak over having my oldest child leave home and go off to college.  I soon discovered that there was a certain amount of relief that accompanied the "voicing" and so have continued to use this blog for that purpose. 

The regular reader knows that every post starts off with a scripture or two, followed by my particular rambling (thought, feeling and/or perspective) of that moment.  I have had the thought throughout that I should post here and there without the scriptures so as not to give anyone the wrong idea.  I am not super-spiritual.  I'm not a theologian.  I claim no special insight or knowledge of the Word.  

But...I don't know how to look at the challenges or joys of life without the scripture!  It is the lifeline to me.  I don't always have it together.  Sometimes I look at the footprints in the sand and wonder why God is making me walk it alone.  Sometimes things around me distract me from my purpose.  Sometimes I cry from hurt and frustration.  Sometimes life just seems too hard to handle.  

So, while there is certainly a spiritual perspective and application to all of my posts, it is only because I can't do life without the guidance and divine intervention that only God's Word can give.  I need reminders of who He is, who I am, and that those are His footprints - I'm in His arms.