So much to say.

It’s been a week of so much to think.  So much to say.  So much to learn.  So much to teach.

The thoughts of children, parents, siblings, spouses, old friends, new friends, friends who have passed on…

The thoughts of lacrosse games, meals, Key West, illness, health, beaches, cold weather, warm weather, meals to prepare, a house to clean, a party to host, a Bible study to begin, babies, toddlers, kids, love, aggravation, exhaustion, energy, coffee (one of my new favorite things), pets, splinters, boo-boo’s, bandaids, and on and on and on…

It’s the time of day when I, the student of this life, download.  It’s amazing how much can happen in one week…

7 days

Many amazing things can happen in 7 days.  7 days.  God made everything in 7 days (well, on the 7th day He rested ~ why can’t we learn? There is a day meant for rest).  Yes, I’ve heard it, I’ve believed different ideas at different times of my life… I know some say “7 days,” some say, “well, it’s just a representation of a period of time…”  I’ve heard it.  All I know is The Book says…

7 days

All I know is that I believe The Good Book.

If I can do all of this and think all of this in 7 days… yes, God could have made it all in 7 days.  He’s God.

It’s funny as I sit down to write ~ the thoughts come to me as my fingers pound the keyboard…  this beautiful release… this writing… these words.  God gave us words.  He filled us with words.  Mental words we dare never release… and the words that we set free… words of comfort, words of anger, words of joy, words of sorrow, words of fear, words of love, and on and on and on…

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day.  The day that reminds us of our past, opens our eyes to our present.  There are too many words to cover what a mother is… what a mother does… what a mother does not… what a mother means… what a mother does not mean.  These words inside us.  Sometimes, I, as mom, have released the words I did not mean.  Most of the time, I have showered the words I want to fill my little ones with… the words I hope fill them and carry them into adulthood… knowing Mom loves them… and God loves them more.

This treasure of words inside us.  I make another attempt on this new Mother’s Day to release the words of love and fill my young children with them.

Inside our mommy souls, He has planted treasures to share with them.  The beautiful surprises inside.  His Spirit within, stirring to transform… us and them.

Happy Mother’s Day

John 1:1-2

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.

How do you balance a six pack?  I have been asked this question a few times… more like…

how do you do it?

there’s no way I could do it

you sure do have your hands full…

Well, the answer is…

How do you not?  Yes, you could do it and you would do it – if it were your path to travel.  Yes, my hands are full, and I thank God my arms are not empty.

I have had my moments, my days, of sheer madness… when, at the end of the day, I actually feel myself buzzing.  When, I don’t want to hear one more word from one more person.  Haven’t all mothers had this feeling of complete mental fullness, of over-stimulation to the point of vibration… the feeling that it really has to be 5 o’clock somewhere? It is right here.  It’s 5 o’clock (even at noon) and I have a six pack.  A whining, bickering, question-asking, demanding six pack.

At the end of the day, that wonderful time of utter silence, when those six precious heads gently indent  sleep beckoning pillows… I feel the buzzing come to a sudden… stop.

The silence is almost startling.  I realize how full my days are… how full my house is… how full I am.

I do enjoy the silence… the silence, for now, is brief.

I have spent a decade learning how to balance one addition after another… until the six pack was complete.  It’s the act of balance… that’s where the learning lives.  That’s where the lessons are learned… patience, strength, wisdom, forgiveness, joy, love.

How do you balance a six pack?

Believe that you are right where you are supposed to be

Accept that you will mess up ~ every day ~ and try again

Let them make mistakes ~ and watch you make mistakes

Ask for forgiveness ~ show them how to give it

Nourish their hearts, minds, bodies and souls (and mama’s too)

Communicate ~ the good, the bad, and the ugly

Embrace every moment (even the “5 o’clock somewhere” ones) ~ and every little soul   ~ every day

 

Balance the six beautiful gifts, with arms wide open…

in these long days…

of these too short years.

 

Proverbs 22:6

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Today is my baby girl’s 9th birthday.

It is so cliche’ to say “I can’t believe she’s 9…,” but… I really can’t believe she’s 9.

I look at her beautiful face and still see glimpses of the tiny baby face I nursed, the toothless smile that greeted me every morning (and many times at night), the shining brown eyes – now shine with child wisdom.

Who knew child wisdom exists?  I spend so much time teaching, instructing, directing, redirecting… I don’t see that sometimes these little ones see things more clearly than I do.

She had a good birthday.  Like any other day, siblings bickered, toddlers whined, babies napped at the least opportune time (but, thankfully, napped!)  The rhythm of family life is much the same ~ birthday or not.  Presents were opened, cake was eaten, one adventurous outing was accomplished.

But something was missing

Tired mama preparing for a bath… then I see the little 9-year-old… teary in the hallway.  Something missing for her, too.

what is it?

She tells me that she had hoped for some time, for some things… all to herself.  She wanted to eat her candy alone.  She wanted it to herself.  She didn’t want to give any to the whining little ones.  Quite simply, that.  I take her with me to the bath.  A good place for mama and daughter to talk.  Then, she tells me…

this is the best part.  Mom, this is the best part of my whole birthday. 

That is it.  Time.  Time together.  The connection – soul to soul.  She wanted me all to herself.  Quite simply, that.  A mama and her little girl sharing time.  It is so simple.  This is the gift she gives me, all over again.  Herself.  The peace that transcends all understanding covers us both.  Both of us, happy now.  I thank God for the moment He gives us.  A God moment.  I thank God for my little girl.

happy birthday to my baby

The best gift at the end of the day.  Two hearts turning to each other.

Malachi 4:6

He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.