Joy in the Journey

  At church we were talking about God's design, male and female and the family. The pastor gave a charge to the men and then to the women. He talked about enjoying womanhood and being a women. Then he hit home when he said. "Moms, be there for your kids, no one else  can do what you do. Wives, be there for your husband, no one else can do what you do. This is your highest calling." Careers are awesome. Pursuing your dreams are important. Finding joy and fulfillment is necessary BUT, don't give up what is truly  and eternally important for lesser things. This is your greatest calling.  What you do in your home will  make more life-altering impact than anywhere else you will serve. The investment you make in your family, in your marriage (if you are married), in your children will return far fuller than any financial decision you will ever make!  This is your highest  calling. NO ONE else can do what you do! I thought about this on the way home and ...

My daughter is a spit fire.  She's a fighter at heart. Sure, she struggles with insecurities that makes her self-defensive answers more adamant. Sure, she has times that she gives, but mostly, nearly always, she fights. That has only increased with age and normal puberty development. There's been major fights and fits and times my husband and I are at a complete loss at what to do with our strong-willed child. There's moments of deep discouragement by her actions and hurt by her words. It's really hard some times. She's a fighter and she fights everything. After a particularly horrible fight, my husband told her that her attitude was similar to her birth mom and that she got to choose to use it for good or for evil... That didn't sit right with me. It made it sound like who she was, connected with her birth mom, was such a negative thing. I went to talk to her. I told her, that yes, she does take after her birth mom but that is NOT a bad thing, it's a gift. ...

My youngest child just turned two. As I reflected on his birth and him coming into our lives, I thought also about how my older two came. I thought about how my experiences with bonding and "falling in love" with my kids were all different. I remember my first child, and how I was just swept away with love. I was overcome. I remember realizing "I'm in love with this little girl". I remember being distraught when I was away from her and elated when I got to be with her. I remember it was intense and loud and full of fireworks. My other daughter I remember it being a slower process. It wasn't fireworks and instantly falling in love. I liken falling in love with her more like the current of a river. A current is steady and it moves you, before you know it you are downstream. Falling in love with my second child felt more like that. I remember one day just looking at her and thinking she was the most beautiful girl on earth. Then came my baby, my f...

I recently listened to the audio book called  Love Without Borders by Angela Braniff.  Angla Braniff is a YouTuber and adoptive mama that I just adore. She's a women of faith and humor and I've enjoyed watching her videos for years. I expected her book to be about her motherhood journey, her kids, and even her channel but what I ended up listening to was a story of BOLD FAITH, of breaking the mold and following Jesus no matter what. It was inspiring and thrilling and I walked away with more courage than when I started listening to it. One particular part, near the end, stood out to me that I really wanted to share with you! It's about a caterpillar... Well, not really. Angela shared about how us moms often long for the women they used  to be before our child(ren) changed our bodies, our lives, and how we see the world. She shared that she felt differently. That, for her, it was like the transformation between a caterpillar and b...

Aww, I just finished watching the movie Instant Family with my husband. Tears! Heart touching, gut wrenching movie. It's real, it's raw, and it takes on difficult content with humor and heart.  I was struck the most by a scene near the middle. The foster family, the Wagners, are in turmoil with the difficulties and challenges of their foster kids. They are doubting themselves and their family. They love their foster kids but it's so hard! They go to some fellow foster parents in need of a pep talk. They get irritated and a little angry when they find out that this couples' adopted daughter still struggles with addiction. That things don't always work out like we hope. The adopted Mom reacts big and asks "You feel lost right now? Frustrated? Confused?" they asked the Wagners. "Yes! That's exactly how we feel." was the reply....  "That's what you kid feels every single day ..."  That line penetrated my heart and stuck in my ...

Wow... I can't tell you how intimidating it is to write this particular blog post. Like all my guts are going to be smooshed out onto the page and I'll be left a gooey, yucky, exposed mess... Why a blog? Why this blog? Why the passion to encourage Mamas in the trenches of motherhood? Why? Where does my passion come from? Why do I have this heart to say every day to you all "YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE!"... because I personally KNOW the difference you are making... The only way someone can truly know the difference of something so foundational, so crucial, so impactful... is if they didn't have it. That contrast, my personal experience, is how I KNOW, without a shadow of a doubt, the HUGE impact you are making as a Mom... You are a Mom who shows up in the little and big things, in the daily. That is huge! This is the point where my heart sticks in my chest and my throat gets tight, were tears prick at my eyes and my nose begins to tickle. I KNOW you are maki...