Monthly Archives: December 2019

I Fail As A Mom- Do You?

23 Monday Dec 2019

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Do you ever browse social media only to be met by a myriad of posts portraying perfectly baked cookies, clean houses, and smiling families only to look around at your own burned cookies, floors that needed mopped ages ago and kids wrestling in the living room because someone has the remote and someone else wants it and you question every bit of your worth?

Image by Markus Spiske from Pixabay

Listen, I want you to know right  now that sometimes my house only appears clean because I angled the camera just right.

And my cookies usually turn out pretty good but I admit that at some point I burn a pan every single time I bake. It’s almost laughable.

The truth is- when I get on social media I can always find a reason to beat myself up as a mom, friend, wife…

Just looking at all the posts of holiday decorations and cookie platters I start to feel a bit unworthy of the season. I had good intentions too but the Christmas tree skirt is missing this year and so is the angel for the top so my tree is slightly naked. I’ve decided to just concentrate on the middle and not look at the rest.

The truth is comparison always leads to dwindling self esteem and negative self worth.

Image by Sabrina Ripke from Pixabay

I’m not a good mom because I didn’t bake cookies with my kids and I didn’t build a snowman when we had the latest storm like all the other moms on social media did.

There are a lot of I didn’ts in my life…  

If I’m being totally honest sometimes I’m not a good mom at all. Some days I really do stink at this job.

The reality is we all do. We all wake up and fail miserably. We all forget to put food in our kindergartners lunch pail, we forget the costume for the Halloween parade, we forget… but we don’t give up. That’s what makes us great. It’s not that we keep up with the neighbors or that we get on social media and remind ourselves of all that we “should” be doing to be awesome.

Instead it’s those little sleeping faces that we kiss on the cheek after a hard day and the smiles they give us when they wake up in the morning. It’s the giggling about the dinner that didn’t turn out and the pizza that was ordered instead.

It’s the mess that makes the memories.

Image by Aline Ponce from Pixabay

This weekend my son was in the hospital. Apparently he, like his brothers before him, can’t stand the sight of blood. We learned this the hard way when he cut his finger at school and then took a header onto the hard floor.

This lovely minute of time turned into an overnight hospital stay and a long road of recovery for this kid. Concussions are no joke.

He apologized over and over to me. He knew that I had other plans this weekend and a hospital stay was not one of them. But as we talked I told him this- I don’t remember much about the past few weekends and yes I would never choose for him to be hurt, but this weekend, as we lay in that dark hospital room will be one we talk about for years. We will harass him, we will pick on him, we will remember this.

And he will remember that I slept on a really horrible cold couch next to him all night. He will remember that his dad ran to the store for comfy clothes for him to wear, stayed late with us and returned early because he couldn’t stand to be away. We will remember that dad complained about what a rough night it was because the dog kept him up and how we must have had a much better night than him and how he may need us to rub his feet… (insert laughter and a HUGE NO here)

Image by silviarita from Pixabay

Being a good mom has nothing to do with cookies, crafts, vacations, or smiley family pictures. Being a good mom has everything to do with just being there. That’s it. There isn’t a formula, there isn’t a list that has to be completed. It’s just doing your best and loving them through it all.

Stop comparing yourself, stop failing because you don’t look like the perfect facebook family.

Instead, burn the cookies, mess up the crafts and learn to laugh. Be the mom that smiles not the mom that poses for perfect pictures.

Comparison is a thief of our joy.

God didn’t make a mistake, He knew what he was doing when he chose you to be their mom. So, love them well, pray for them always and enjoy life. Cookies will burn, kids will misbehave, and life will go on. 

Just choose to angle your camera to see the good in it all.

Why Winning Might Just be the Reason You Lose…

16 Monday Dec 2019

Posted by in marriage

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I love winning. Who doesn’t?

In marriage we often take pride in winning arguments and being right.

My husband and I are both really good at this. Then we realized that always having to win regardless of each other, regardless of the consequences to our relationship, and regardless of what is best for our family may not be winning at all.

Image by Karolina Grabowska from Pixabay

It’s pride.

 And pride does no good ever. 

Let’s look at the characteristics of pride together:

* Pride is boastful (1 John 2:16)

* Foolish (Mark 7:21)

* Stubborn (Leviticus 26:19)

* Attacks (Psalm 56:2)

* Causes Strife (Proverbs 13:10)

* Lashes out (Proverbs 14:3)

So why in the world do we fight so hard to win if the consequences damage the very thing we should be fighting FOR?

Sometimes I forget that we are on the same team. I forget that our arguments shouldn’t damage us. When I look at this list I can check every single box. Been there, done that. I’ve even genuinely won a few good “heated” arguments but when I look back, I can’t figure out what my prize was.

Image by pasja1000 from Pixabay

A better relationship? Nope

A closer friendship? Nope

A stronger marriage? Nope

I could go on and on, but the truth is- nothing good comes from pride.

So let’s bring this back to reality for a minute. I’d be lying if I told you that I never get mad, that we never fight and that to this day I don’t care about winning. Oh, I do care and believe me so does he.

BUT- we have also realized a few things over the years. God has spoken to each of us about our hearts, about being humble and kind. About putting others first and taking a deep breath and stepping back and seeing the bigger picture.

Check out the characteristics of being humble and kind-

Image by Bessi from Pixabay

* You will be sustained (Psalm 147:6)

* Victorious (Psalm 149:4) (I liked that one….) sorry…not sorry.

* Exalted by God (Matthew 23:12)

* Have Favor (1 Peter 5:5)

Still feel like you won that argument? I know I don’t. Pride causes us to say and do things we shouldn’t. Having a humble heart causes us to look with eyes of love and not worry about winning or losing, but to be concerned with the greater good of the relationship in the long term.

Jesus became a man, was mistreated, beaten, and died on a terrible cross by people who were mocking him. Yet, the whole time the scriptures say that he was praying for God to forgive them. Not a great way to win a fight, but an awesome way to win a war.

Pride has the potential to destroy our marriages, while a humble heart has the potential to build something we may have never thought possible.  

Image by Fathromi Ramdlon from Pixabay

Maybe it’s not about right or wrong, maybe we don’t have to win. Just maybe we can disagree and work through our issues (and believe me we have quite a few…) without doing so much damage. I have started looking at what winning really means lately and for me, winning is still being married to this guy. (preferably happy) I’m not always great at backing down, seeing the other side of an argument, or being the better person, but I am a work in progress that wants to win more than the current battle that I am in.

I want to win the whole war.

Marriage Monday: Should I Respect My Partner Even If They Don’t Deserve It?

09 Monday Dec 2019

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Respect is earned, that’s for sure. So why should you ever be respectful of your partner if your partner is not respectful of you?

 I have to be honest here. I was the most disrespectful wife. The walls I had put up even before we married gave me the gift of a sharp tongue and a nasty disposition. I was owed something in this life and I let my husband know it. I didn’t trust easily and I wasn’t about to let my guard down.

Image by Luisella Planeta Leoni from Pixabay

 Did I deserve respect? I’m so embarrassed to admit this but the truth is I didn’t, not even a little. Thankfully, God had given Ryan the gift of forgiveness. He was able to look past my faults and love me anyway. He looked for things to appreciate about me and I’m sure if he were honest he would say that sometimes he had to search pretty hard.

Over time I softened and began to treat him with honor and respect as well.

We reap what we sow.

Ryan reaped respect because he had sown it for years. I reaped many ridiculously hard days because of my poor attitude. Today you choose which side you’re on. Your partner may not be worthy of respect either but you can still decide to give it.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

God says that respect is a must. The dictionary describes it as a deep feeling of admiration for someone’s abilities. It changes us to know that someone actually believes in us like that. It was Ryan’s ability to think so highly of me when I knew I didn’t deserve it, that caused me to want to live up to that belief.

Today choose to be respectful of your spouse. Choose to focus on the good in them and start right where you are. Sow today what you want to reap tomorrow and you will reap great rewards in your relationship.

  • Just a little disclaimer here too- we fully realize that some situations may not fit the parameters of this blog. Certainly we don’t condone abuse of any kind and are not claiming that any of you should respect abusers. In fact, we encourage anyone who may be in an unhealthy or abusive situation to seek professional help. Our situation was neither abusive or unhealthy, we were just stubborn people with bad attitudes that needed work on our issues.

Ephesians 5:33

However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Prayer: Lord, show me how to better respect my spouse. Open my eyes to all of the great qualities that you have given them and help me to respect them for it. You say that respect is a must; I know there are many areas that I have fallen short in regards to respect. Please help me to do better beginning today. In Jesus name, Amen.

Marriage Monday – Why We Should Compliment Our Spouse!

02 Monday Dec 2019

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I remember a number of years ago, I had been asked to be in a wedding. My hair was done, I had put the bridesmaid dress on and Ryan walked into the room. He took one look at me and his eyes lit up and he said “Wow, you look amazing”.

I can’t tell you how great that moment made me feel.

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

My day to day routine doesn’t usually lend itself to him noticing me the way he did that day. My ripped up sweat pants, t-shirts, and pony tail certainly don’t match a really cute dress and a great hair stylist but I still think there are opportunities to show our spouse how much we like them.

Seriously LIKE them.

By finding opportunities to really build each other up, we also begin to build confidence in our spouse and our relationship. When you see your spouse doing something you appreciate, tell them. It seems that the longer couples are together the less they feel the need to express those little moments to each other.

But notice the scripture reference for this one. “How handsome you are, my beloved! Oh, how charming! And our bed is verdant.”

Image by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay

A few good compliments and then a description of their bed being “verdant”. I couldn’t resist- so I looked up the meaning and found that it means- green, fresh, and flourishing. (and people say the bible is boring…)

Doesn’t sound too bad now does it? Listen, we all need to feel wanted, desired, and appreciated. We want to know that we matter and are not taken for granted. After we get married we get into a routine and routines often lead to complacency. It’s not intentional, sometimes it’s just survival. Today let’s start to build each other up and hopefully we can have that green, fresh, and flourishing relationship that deep down we all wish for.

Scripture reference:

Song of Songs 1:16 “How handsome you are, my beloved! Oh, how charming! And our bed is verdant.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving me a spouse that is unique and wonderful. Help us both to see and appreciate all that they do and to remember not to take any of these things for granted. Let us look with new eyes today and always remember how important it is to express our appreciation for the many things that they do for us. Open our hearts to each other and renew our love to the point that it spills out into our words. In Jesus name, Amen.