Faithful Mommy

It’s been a crazy long time since I’ve written a blog entry. It’s also been a crazy time in general.    The past couple of months have been an absolute whirlwind, yet I have no idea why... and somehow I’ve stumbled upon November. Wasn’t it just July?  July was maybe the last time I truly felt like myself for an extended period of time. Since then, I’ve struggled. I had gotten pretty low and was basically existing between naps (long ones). I have been dealing with a mixture of some delayed grief that I had finally allowed myself to feel, PMDD symptoms (Pre-Menstrual Dysphoric Disorder), and the typical    affective changes with the changing of seasons. I’ve felt like a horrible wife, mother, and person in general. I allowed Satan’s lies to tell me over and over again that everyone else I know is such a better wife and mother than me. Then I allowed myself a lot of pity parties along the way. And in the meantime, I neglected my time with God so I wasn’...

I pray daily. Multiple times per day even. I make sure and thank God for my many blessings. I let him know everything that I’m sorry about or feeling convicted about. I pray for myself, for my family and friends, strangers, my pastors, my community, my country and countless other things. I even pray for others to come to know Christ. I ask God to guide me, show me, and tell me what to do in various situations or circumstances. I ask Him to speak to me. Sounds like a great prayer life, right? On the surface, sure! I’ve noticed two problems recently, though: 1. I rarely, if ever, pray for God’s will. And 2. I often forget prayer is a two-way conversation and even though I’ve asked God to speak, I forget to listen for Him to do so.  How often do we say “amen” and not even bother to sit and listen to God’s reply? I’m so convicted of this! God has a lot to say to us whether through His word or directly. Yes, I do believe God still speaks directly to us as groups and individua...

Lately, I’ve been kind of stagnant in my prayer life, burnt out on worship, and just worn down spiritually. Though I’m not able to pinpoint the reason(s) why I feel this way, I recognize that this happens from time to time. Anyone else? Maybe you’re feeling guilty about a particular sin that has a stronghold on you. Maybe you’re going through a tough season where everything is just overwhelming. Maybe you’re a tad angry with God or with others. Whatever the reason may be, when we experience times like this, it is us who puts the distance between us and God. Not the other way around. What I’ve found is that, every once in awhile, I need a sort of reset with God. Through these times, even if I feel like I’m just going through the motions, it’s important to just keep going. To keep praying. To keep reading His word. To be persistent in seeking Him. I am, for the millionth time probably, praying for a renewed spirit. To get back on track in my relationship with God. I will pray t...

We can do hard things. My seven year old daughter attends a small, close-knit private elementary school. Truly, the students, teachers, parents and administrators are like one big family. When one member of the “family” hurts, we all hurt. A couple of weeks ago, a member of the “family” was killed in a car accident. Her son has been in my daughter’s class since Kindergarten and they’ve become quite good friends. They started second grade together just a few days ago. Not only was Megan a wife and mother, she was ever present at the school and very involved in the community. She loved Jesus and that was clear by the way she loved on others. She had a motto that she used to encourage herself and others: We can do hard things. As our entire community has been grieving the loss of Megan, we’ve all thought a lot about these words. We’ve clung to them and we’ve repeated them many times over. I know I have. She was so very right. We can do hard things. In fact, we must do hard thing...

"In all your ways, submit to Him and He will make your paths straight." --Proverbs 3:6 At the beginning of June, my husband (Brian) and I went on a vacation. Just the two of us. It was the first time since our honeymoon that we'd been on the beach without our kids. I love family vacations, but there is something about being able to just be still and not have to focus on much of anything. Last year was such a tough year in watching my dad's battle with stomach cancer and then ultimately losing him last July. This vacation was the first time I've truly been able to face my own grief without having someone else to care for. Grief had gotten my attention. Fortunately, God was also able to get my attention. Not that I hadn't been focusing on God much, but I had realized that up until the point of our vacation, I'd struggled to truly hear God. My mind had been so focused on the million other things also going on in my life and in the lives of those ...

 “Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.” -Matthew 19:13-15 Friends, the single most important thing we can do for our children is take them to Jesus. And how do we do that? We take them to church. We take them to Vacation Bible School. We take them with us to serve people and share God’s love. We talk to them about Jesus’ gift of salvation and encourage them to seek a personal relationship with Jesus.  Sometimes as adults we make the decision to skip church here and there (or several weeks in a row...guilty over here 🙋🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️) because we are tired or we feel the kids didn’t get enough rest or we have a busy day ahead of us. Or maybe we are the family who has kids involved in ...