My Mommy Minute: November 5

"Believe you are receiving His grace--right now at this very moment. Believe His love for you has not changed despite the fact that you have not loved your children well today. God's love is never based on your behavior. Look to Christ when you are tempted to yell, and remember He lives in you. He will help you through the most difficult times. Go to your little ones and ask them to forgive you. Tell them that Mommy is a sinner who has a great Savior. Pray with them and believe there is nothing you can do to thwart God's plan for them. We are all bad moms. That's why we need Jesus.

-Kimm Crandall, "Christ in the Chaos"

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." Ephesians 4:2

A Perfect Mom Can't Share the Gospel by Sara Wallace at The Gospel Centered Mom

Are You a Control Freak at Home? by Jenna Fleming at True Woman

3 Fads That Are Killing Your Joy by Sara Wallace at The Gospel Centered Mom

When All I Can Say Are Arrow Prayers by Sarah at The Gospel at Home

Screwtape Letter to an Exhausted Mom by Kelsey at To Love Honor and Vacuum

My Mommy Minute: October 25

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:4-7

When You Feel Like a Failure by Carolyn Mahaney at GirlTalk
I have mentioned what she talks about here several times in the past.  It's hard to face reality and our sinful nature and the fact that we will mess up.  It's what we do when we are down that counts.
Contentment Does Not Come Naturally by Matt Smethurst at The Gospel Coalition
A short video discussion of contentment with Nancy Guthrie, Jen Wilkin, and Melissa Kruger

When I Feel Afraid by Leeann Stiles at The Gospel Coalition

Fear, anxiety, and worry is all too familiar for us.  Three things to remember in helping overcome it.

Giving Grace in the Moment as a Mom by Joy at The Better Mom
8 ways to give grace in the moments of frustration

Using God's Word to Correct in Your Family  by Kara Chupp at The Better MomGod's Word always trumps our words.  Let's use that instead.  Five ways we can.

Chipping Polish by Heather Tencza at Coffee + Crumbs
A sweet story from a new mom's perspective

My Mommy Minute: October 4

Hi friend,
Thanks for stopping by.  Can I tell you something?
It was a long day.  A good day.  A fun day.  A day that found me singing when the evening came.  But it was a day that I cooked and served dinner to my four kids and then cleaned up dinner and gave them all baths without daddy here.  (insert: I am SO grateful for my amazing husband who is normally wrestling on the ground during dish cleanup) Daddy was away for the entire day and I am not used to entertaining the kids while cooking and cleaning and doing baths.  (insert: mama is no fun at bath time)  Daddy usually does baths.  Daddy is super fun at bath time.  I on the other hand don't like splashing and just want to finish bath time so it can be bed time.  No excuses, but because I have an awesome husband who is such a present and hands on father, I am not used to doing this and things sort of crumbled.  It was a "we don't need to brush our teeth tonight, let's just go to bed" night. {Maybe I shouldn't have tried cornrowing my daughter's hair for the first time on a night like this?} Sometimes I wonder how God could use such a flawed person like me as a mother. I felt defeated. We ended the evening with mama holding my precious babies in my lap explaining how I need a Savior, too.  I was able to share the Gospel with my children because of my mistakes.  Because of my sin and shortcomings I was able to show them what it is to ask God for forgiveness and seek theirs as well.  A beautiful mess.  Beauty from ashes. And that is how God can use me. A night that I didn't have to feel defeated because I am not defeated.  Christ who died for my sins lives and reigns and the Spirit is living in me.  And when the Spirit prompts, don't quench it. I am not defeated. Greater is He who is living in me than he who is living in the world. After our big group hug and four kids tucked into bed, I went downstairs.  I praised God for forgiveness and the freedom we have in Christ.  And then I went straight back up to each one of them for some 'noses' because mama rushed past that during our bed time routine. And it was so sweet. God is so good. 

"Your children are the greatest gift God will give to you, and their souls the heaviest responsibility He will place in your hands.  Take time with them, teach them to have faith in God, be a person whom they can have faith.  When you are old nothing else you've done will matter as much." -Lisa Wingate

"There is no such thing as a perfect parent.  Just be a real one." -Sue Atkins


And now for the links:

The Day My Son Gave Up On Me by Lauren Cormier at The Huffington Post Blog

The Hidden Years of Being a Stay-At-Home-Mom by Emily Wierenga at The Better Mom

 

The Hard 'No' (Consistency with a Strong Willed Child) by Shannon McKee

 

3 Ways To Raise a Pharisee by Loving My Lot

My Mommy Minute: September 5

 Hi friends,

 

This is the second Mommy Minute coming to you this week because there are just so many good reads out there! Keeping the list short again.  All of these are good and worth the read. 

 

I hope you are encouraged and filled with joy.  Press on, mama.  Work out your salvation with fear and trembling and do not forget that Christ is our rock and our hiding place.  In Him and Him alone is our righteousness found.  Our lives are in His hand. From the smiles to the tears. God is always good.  All the time. To God be the glory. Have a great weekend!



 

 

"I'll referee another squabble and pick up disparate shoes and coats and happily clean food wrappers from under the seats of our suburban for the God who whispers 'I love it when you serve them and no one knows.'"

-Sara Hagerty

I Forgive You Mom by Natalie Falls at The Better Mom
Wow.  It is like she reads my journal. So true and so beautiful. If we fail to glorify God in our actions toward our children, we can glorify Him as we reconcile with them, repent, and ask for forgiveness. 

 

Is Being a Stay At Home Mom Enough? by Abbie at Unsteady Saint
We are enough when we are in Jesus.

Are You Tired of Waiting on the Lord? by Colleen Chao at True Woman

We are all waiting on something it seems.  If we aren't, then we probably know someone who is and could use encouragement.

5 Ways to Move from Overwhelmed to Overjoyed by Rachel Wojnarowski

I agree with these five points.  I also think it's helpful to step back and look at my schedule. Am I too busy? If I'm always carting my kids around then we don't have time to work on training them at home. It is much harder to train in public. Also recognizing what triggers me helps a lot.  Knowing my points of weakness has helped me grow in this area. Trying to get somewhere on time early in the morning is just one example:)  What about you? Do you have any to add?