by Stacey | Mar 29, 2011 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
This rhyme was inspired by Kate back when she was three. I just found it on my computer and thought it was too cute not to share.
I’m Scared
Little girl Katie is jolly and bright, a grin on her face from daybreak to night. Until it is time to turn off the lights, “Mommy,” she calls, “I’m scared!”
She sits in her bed surrounded by dark. Inside her chest pitter- patters her heart. She winds up her lungs and gives a loud bark, “Mommy, come quick, I’m scared!”
Outside her window, the night sky is black. Lightning and thunder flashes and cracks. From under the covers, she calls her mom back, “Mommy, Oh Mommy I’m scared!”
Her heart beating hard, her feet hit the ground. In panic she runs from the night sounds. She clings to her mom, who turns her around. “But, mommy,” she cries, “I’m scared!”
With a sad little face and quivering chin Kate’s unhappy eyes fill to the rim. Mom kisses her forehead and tucks her girl in. “Katie, I know you’re scared.”
Cuddled together they snuggle and pray, “Dear Jesus please help sweet Katie feel brave. Remind her of fun she had through the day, and help her to not be scared”
Morning sun rises and brings a new day. Scary night sounds have melted away. Cupping her fingers Kate wakes mom to say, “Mommy! I’m no longer scared!”
by Stacey | Mar 24, 2011 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
This morning I got a call from the school confirming that Kate was absent. The problem was, I dropped her off at school that morning at 8:35am. Now she was unaccounted for.
In the split-second it took for staff to confirm that she was indeed in classroom, and that the teacher marked the wrong student absent, time stood still. I experienced in one heartbeat how fast circumstances can change and how powerless we are to control our own lives.
After I hung up the phone and thanked God that she was fine I remembered the quote I posted on Facebook this morning by Pam Kidd. Pam says, “Only God gives true peace –a quiet gift He sets within us just when we think we’ve exhausted our search for it. Give me the peace that comes from knowing that where I am, You are, and together we can handle whatever comes.”
I do believe with my whole heart that with God’s help I will handle whatever comes my way. But, I also suspect, until life throws a real curve your way those are easy words to say.
Today I’ve been challenged to examine my heart and discover if I really believe God is able to go with me into those dark places that every parent fears. I pray with everything in me that He will never take me down that path. But if He does, I pray just as fervently that I will turn to Him believing that He is there with me in the dark, committed to walking the road with me no matter how far, long or painful it may be.
by Stacey | Feb 24, 2011 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
The last two weeks the flu has swept through our home knocking each family member down one by one. As a result, I have been the fortunate recipient of helpful advice regarding how to rid my home of this annoying virus. Some of the advice was valid and helpful, some, well… just plain hooey.
That got me thinking about the wisdom handed down from generations past. Which of the following gems do you think are true?
Feed a cold. Starve a fever.
Eating before swimming causes stomach cramps.
Sugar causes acne.
Going outside with wet hair causes a cold.
Cracking your knuckles causes arthritis to form in the joints.
Spicy food causes ulcers.
An itchy nose means company is coming.
If you make an ugly face, it will freeze that way.
Pulling a grey hair causes ten more to grow in its place.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Sitting too close to the TV will ruin your eyes.
Any guesses? All true? All false? I’ll give you a hint; only one is true!
Despite the well-intended statements above a young mother like me is wise to listen respectfully to advice from my elders. Consider Titus 2:4-5, “Then they (older women) can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.”
No one has all the answers but there is wisdom in listening to those who have walked down this road before me.
Therefore, my windows are open, the soup is on, I have purchased bleach, the house shines under a recent cleaning, and the bedding is changed. Thanks everyone for caring enough to advise me on how to protect my family from the 2011 superbug.
by Stacey | Feb 17, 2011 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
Clean the dishes Cinderella. Sort the laundry Cinderella. Scrub the floors Cinderella. Wash the windows Cinderella.
Cook the meals Cinderella. Teach the children Cinderella. Run the carpool Cinderella. Balance the checkbook Cinderella.
Mend the clothing Cinderella. Plant the garden Cinderella. Do the shopping Cinderella…
I always dreamed of a fairytale life; somehow I imagined it differently.
Thirteen years after my Prince Charming rode into my life (yes, I’m talking about Kevin) I can say without a doubt I am living the fairytale. But, like all good stories, it panned out a bit different from predicted.
What’s a Cinderella to do?
This Cinderella tapped the wisdom of other mothers. By applying a few simple organizational tips my day felt more manageable and yours can too.
Helpful tips I’ve picked up from the super moms in my life:
*Make your bed as soon as you get up. It takes five minutes and it feels good to have accomplished something so early.
*Do a load of laundry first thing in the morning and before you go to bed at night. This way you rarely fall behind.
*Start dinner prep in the morning while the kids are still in a good mood. (Or if you work outside the home use a crock pot with a timer)
*Create a cleaning schedule dividing household chores into 15 minute manageable chunks. A lot can be done in 15 focused minutes a day.
*Create a meal plan for dinnertime so you can shop accordingly and always have on hand the ingredients you need.
*Make school lunches the night before. Lay out clothing the night before.
*Use a small dollar store laundry basket as your child’s bedroom doorstop. As you pick up around the house put Junior’s toys and clutter into the basket. Junior puts those things away when he returns from school.
*Ignore Supermommy and her polished children, Yummy-mommy wearing her pre-pregnancy jeans, and Martha-mommy fussing over her perfect house and serving hors d’oeuvres that are better dressed than most of her guests. The comparison game is not fun, fair or beneficial.
*Remember you don’t need to be Supermommy to be a super mommy.
And they all lived happily ever after.
by Stacey | Feb 14, 2011 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
This morning my daughter woke-up at 6:15 am. She went straight to her desk and started to craft a Valentine for each member of the family. By the time the rest of us lazy bums arose she had created a beautiful card to celebrate her love for each one of us.
As I lay there in bed listening to her papers rustle and the scissors snap the verses from Romans 5:7-9 flashed through my mind.
“Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
How fitting on Valentine’s Day, when the whole world celebrates the feeling of love, God would remind me of His choice to love.
When I was my most unlovable Jesus died for me. He didn’t do it because I wooed Him with my charms or won Him over with my beauty. He chose to love me. He gave me the best Valentine’s Day gift ever – the option to enter into eternal life with Him.
Now the choice is mine. Will I choose to love Him in return?
Happy Valentine’s Day. I pray you will all know the great love of our God.
by Stacey | Feb 12, 2011 | Devotionals, reflections, and encouragement
Once upon a time I believed I was a patient woman. I calmly dealt with interruptions, edited and re-wrote entire chapters with ambition and energy.
Now those days feel like a fairytale.
My overwhelming book project looms unfinished before me. Although it has brought equal measures of discouragement and excitement, today as my creative juices are at an all time low, I feel the sting of frustrating tears. I fight a desire to rip up the entire book and give up. (Or burn it – shred it – pick your pleasure.)
Recalling a time when my father used a blowtorch on the back hedge to rid himself of a pesky hornet’s nest I weigh the wisdom in rash decisions. Yes, he killed the hornets, but he also set the hedge on fire. Overreacting is out.
So what’s a writer to do?
A quick search on the internet provided me with plenty of suggestions. I can:
Take a vacation.
Take care of myself.
Relax.
Read a good book.
Discard my self-imposed deadline and stop driving myself so hard.
Since I am a hobby writer and not a career writer with no impending deadlines on the horizon I plan to take a vacation from my tough writing schedule. I’ve set the book aside (for a short time) to write something fun – like my blog. I plan to use the dusty elliptical decorating our basement a little more often, find a good book and soak in a hot bath. The re-write can wait.
You may all hold me accountable.
