You’re on My List

May 6, 2015May 6, 2015 Consider the Birds

Since becoming a mom, I have had the most joy, frustration, happiness, and anxiety all rolled into one, BIG, emotional roller coaster. Not only do I appreciate my own mom so much more, I also have a whole new appreciation for sleep, privacy, and the ability to have any kind of social life!

In honor of this particular time of year, I wanted to share a list of mine. This list reminds me to choose happy even on not so happy days!

Here it is:

We are chosen. Everyday. God chooses me. He choses you. My husband chooses me, and my kids choose me (for the most part anyway). I’ll be honest, some days I wake up and can’t imagine anyone willingly wanting to be around me! I am sure you can identify with the days you realize that you can’t even stand yourself…..even on those days we are chosen. Even on those days it’s you and me who are put on this earth to be the best we can be for those who love us in spite of ourselves.

You and I were known by God before time. That is pretty outstanding! He knows each and everyone of us! He knew me, the real me! The me who loves to laugh with her husband, and can’t stand to be talked to before 9 am (that doesn’t work so well when you’re a mom). The me who wants to make everybody happy, the me who argues with Him all the time, and the me who is grateful beyond words for this life. He knew all of us before he even created this world, and even though he knew all beautiful and ugly details he did it anyway, for us! Wow…just, wow!

Read Psalm 139; it’s pretty awesome!

We get to be part of THESE lives! I get to walk alongside a guy who was made for me, and me for him. I was the one who saw Jaden take his first breath. It’s me who gets to help Bella practice for volleyball after school. And, I am the one who gets to be mother of the bride at Olivia’s wedding. Even though on some days it doesn’t seem so glamorous, I’m still the only one who gets to do these things. Including, never ending track meets, endless laundry, and late night hugs when they just need their mama. I am pretty confident it’s only gonna get better from here on out! For you too! Each and everyone of you plays a unique and very important part in the lives you’ve been given. Please, don’t believe the lie that you are not needed or insignificant in this. It’s the most important role we have. It may not always be filled with adventure but it’s a part that only you can play.

Finally, we love our families! Bottom line. End of the day. After all is said and done, I love them more than life itself. I know you all feel the exact same way. So, no matter what the day brings, or how little sleep you get at night, let that love make you happy! This love, gets us through the failed math tests, the drama that is picking out clothes in the morning with the girls, and makes me a happy girl even though my husband is still working at 11:30 pm. And guess what?!! This love doesn’t even compare to the love God has for them!

So there it is! A list of happy thoughts to get you through the days where being a mom seems kind of thankless; I hope it brought you some encouragement!

Oh, and I am all for starting a movement to make it Mother’s WEEK not just Mother’s DAY. Who’s with me?

Have a wonderful weekend!

**part of this was published last year; so your are not crazy if you think you’ve seen some of this before**

Psalm 139

January 23, 2015January 24, 2015 Consider the Birds

A simple post for the weekend.

It doesn’t matter where I go. It doesn’t matter what my thoughts are consumed with. It doesn’t matter how I worship Him. I choose happy this weekend because God knows me. He knows my name. He knows my path. He knows EVERYTHING that makes me who I am;

and

He loves me anyway.

Psalm 139

A David Psalm

139 ^1-6God, investigate my life;
    get all the facts firsthand.
I’m an open book to you;
    even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
    I’m never out of your sight.
You know everything I’m going to say
    before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you’re there,
    then up ahead and you’re there, too—
    your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
    I can’t take it all in!

^7-12Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?
    to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you’re there!
    If I go underground, you’re there!
If I flew on morning’s wings
    to the far western horizon,
You’d find me in a minute—
    you’re already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
    At night I’m immersed in the light!”
It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you;
    night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.

^13-16Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
    you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
    Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
    I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
    you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
    how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
    all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
    before I’d even lived one day.

^17-22Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!
    God, I’ll never comprehend them!
I couldn’t even begin to count them—
    any more than I could count the sand of the sea.
Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!
    And please, God, do away with wickedness for good!
And you murderers—out of here!—
    all the men and women who belittle you, God,
    infatuated with cheap god-imitations.
See how I hate those who hate you, God,
    see how I loathe all this godless arrogance;
I hate it with pure, unadulterated hatred.
    Your enemies are my enemies!

^23-24Investigate my life, O God,
    find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
    get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—
    then guide me on the road to eternal life.

My Happy List

May 6, 2014May 21, 2014 Consider the Birds

Not to sound selfish but this week was made for me! I should probably explain…..it’s Nurses week (I am a nurse), Mother’s Day is Sunday (I’m a mom), and my wedding anniversary is Saturday (yep, I’ve been married 17 years). If only I had been lucky enough to be born in May too! Anyway, what I am trying to say is that this week I should get a ton of presents, right?!!! Okay, maybe not but I do have a lot of reasons to choose happy this week. Plus, it looks like Spring has actually decided to stay around, yay!

In honor of it being Mother’s Day I wanted to share a list of mine. This is a list I made to remind me of why I love being who God made me to be; the wife to a really great guy and the mommy to three really great kids. This list reminds me to choose happy even on not so happy days! Here it is:

1). I am chosen. Everyday. God chooses me, my husband chooses me, and my kids choose me (for the most part anyway). I’ll be honest, some days I wake up and can’t imagine anyone willingly wanting to be around me! I am sure you can identify with the days you realize that you can’t even stand yourself…..even on those days I am chosen. Even on those days it’s me who is put on this earth to be the best I can be for those who love me in spite of myself.

2). I was known by God before time. That is pretty outstanding! He knew me, the real me! The me who loves to laugh with her husband, and can’t stand to be talked to before 9 am (that doesn’t work so well when you have children). The me who wants to make everybody happy, the me who argues with Him all the time, and the me who is grateful beyond words for this life. He knew all of me before he even created this world, and even though he knew all of this he did it anyway, for me! Wow, just wow! Read Psalm 139; it’s pretty awesome!

3). I get to be part of THESE lives! I get to walk alongside a guy, who is so great to me I don’t have words to tell you exactly how great; seriously we were made for each other! I am the one who got to witness Jaden’s first breath, see Isabella’s first steps, and hear Olivia say mama for the first time. Even though on some days it doesn’t seem so glamorous, I’m still the one who gets to experience never ending track meets, endless laundry, and late night hugs when they just need their mama. And it’s only gonna get better from here on out!

4). I get to laugh pretty much everyday. If you have ever met my husband or any of my children, especially Isabella, I don’t even need to explain why this is on my list. Jesus knew I was gonna need some levity in my life and he gave me Clint. We laugh a lot, to the point where I was getting some strange looks from the nurses when we went in to deliver our youngest 8 weeks early. But I was stressed and he knew how to calm me; we just get each other.

5). Finally, I love my family! Bottom line, end of the day, after all is said and done I love them more than life itself. So, no matter what the day brings or how little sleep I get at night that love makes me happy! This love gets me through the failed math tests, the drama that is picking out clothes in the morning with the girls, and makes me a happy girl even though my husband is still working even though it’s 11:30 pm. And what really makes me choose happy is that this love doesn’t even compare to the love God has for them!

So there it is, my list of happy!