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The secret to joy is hidden in the view

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sunrise

His head was down, fingers flipping through his Bible. I paused at the doorway reflecting on the gift he is to me. The house was quiet, it was just the 2 of us. Looking up from his bed, his eyes did that thing that makes my heart melt. They’ve done it since he was a baby. Such life is in his eyes, such joy. When he smiles, he smiles with his eyes more than his mouth. No matter what I have going on in my heart, his eyes can soften me in an instant.

“Well, buddy, you are almost 9.” His smile spread a touch wider. Folding down the covers and positioning his body, gratitude filled me that he allows me to do this.  And then I began singing a silly song about this being the last night ever he would be 8 years old.

Snapping his head up, he sucked in his breath. The eyes so filled with peace moments earlier teared up, “Mom, what? Don’t do that. Don’t say that. I’m about to cry. I’ve never thought of it that way before. If I think about this being the last time I’ll ever be 8, it will make me less excited about being 9.”

I quickly changed the tune to a silly song about being 9. His shoulders relaxed releasing apprehension to make room for contentment.

He was right. How we think impacts our view of the horizon. His view is always one of longing for sunrise rather than despairing over sunset. Mine is not. For me it takes daily effort and asking God to help me view life in a way that brings joy.

When my oldest was 5 months old, I sat on the front porch bench swing. It was March, the air was cool hinting at spring ahead after a long winter. I held him in my arms as we rocked back and forth. I watched as his eyes lost the fight to keep focused on my eyes. I never released my eyes from his.

I’d begun to have fewer and fewer moments of him falling asleep in my arms. A reminder that moments that seem so ordinary likely come to an end to make room for new moments. It’s good, not a bad thing. But a mama always longs to hold her babies. As I watched him sleeping in my arms, I thanked God for that very moment with him because I had the opportunity for one more. I was keenly aware how fast he was growing and all moments would end and make way for new developments. I knew he wouldn’t be 10 sleeping in my arms.

That was the last time he fell asleep on me like that. And I look back not with sadness but with such joy that I experienced it, fully aware that all moments are gifts from God.

As I tucked in my middle son, growing at a rate I can barely keep pace with, I felt that sense of gratitude I’d felt 10 years prior swinging his older brother as an infant.

He is growing. But so am I. And that is how I can view these moments through a lens of joy rather than sadness. He grows, I grow. Together we grow.

Today he is 9. Yesterday he was one. Tomorrow he will be 18. Next week he will be 30. I know how this goes. Today as we celebrate Zachary turning 9, I’m reminded again that every moment is a gift from God. This child has brought a gift to me that words can never fully express.

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What to remember when school is in full swing

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Butterfly

The excitement of new school routines quickly morphs into the stress of the realities of life.

Can you relate here?

Week 1: Lunches packed hours before bedtime, clothes laid out neatly the night before, children showered before bed with plenty of time for stories and snuggles, menus planned and groceries stocked, hot breakfast on the table, mom sings sweet wake up songs through the hall to awaken sleeping angels, spirits high, encouraging words come easily, the world looks bright.

Week 2: Honeymoon fading fast, lunches remembered right before bed, kitchen is destroyed in the haste of lunch packing, no time left for showers- they can wait one more day, rush them to bed so we can squeeze in a quick story and a speedy snuggle session, hit the bed grateful for rest to realize they will have no clean clothes for the morning, jump out of bed and smell the dirties – make a decision, choose to start clothes now and wake early to dry, go to sleep praying you remember to start the dryer when you wake up, wake and realize there is no time for playing, skip the singing and begin barking wake up orders, rushing begins, shakes on the go, breathe when everyone is where they need to go, pray your voice sounded sweet and pleasant or they will at least think it did.

Week 3: Honeymoon over, sports and activities begin, showers become weekend events, lunches become something I will not put on Instagram, dinner planning becomes a bit more spontaneous, my voice becomes a little edgier, I realize I have been holding my breath, they fight over who is wearing whose belt and who stole someone’s socks, rush, rush, rush, we make it to the end of the day, we try to remember to be grateful, we try to remember to be positive, we realize we simply can’t do it all.

Life is exhausting. Life will always be full. I can’t plan and organize EVER the way I would like to. The life of others will intercede and take us off the course from simply doing our own thing (and this is a good thing). I am more fragile than I thought. I am stronger than I thought.

We moms are incapable of being all we want to be. But there are 2 key verses to remember when we get into the full swing of a new school year.

Moms, whether we like it or not, we set the tone. The days I begin grumpy, my attitude slithers through my home like a stink bomb. On the flip side, I’ve seen days I choose to smile, I choose to breathe deeply, I choose to pray, I choose to speak kindly, I choose to let go of the small things. On these days, I see the power of my tone in setting my family up for a day that begins with joy rather than clawing their way to joy.

Proverbs 14:1 The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.

As a mom I have the power to build a home or tear one down.

I can choose joy. I can choose gentleness. I can choose kindness. I can choose to be ok with getting less done. I can choose to be ok with not being all to everyone, but being all to the ones I’m called to first. I can choose to find the things that cause me to tear my house down and tear them out of my life instead. I can choose to look for the reminders of His grace that will inspire me to truly build a home.

Proverbs 15:30 A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.

I can choose what look to wear on my face. I can choose a cheerful look, or I can choose a grumpy face. The face I choose holds power in directing my heart while setting the course for the day of the one who looks into my face.

When I don’t feel like it, I can choose to smile. That smile might actually cause me the slightest shift towards a change in my own heart. It might be just the thing that tears a wall down between me and the ones I love the most.

A cheerful look brings joy to the heart.

Moms, as the school year gets into full swing, let’s unite to be home builders, not home wreckers. We can’t do it alone. We can’t do it perfectly. But by His grace, we can do it better than we imagined possible in ways that are far simpler than we ever fathomed.

We start with Him, we fill up with Him, we give out of Him.

The key to building a home begins with asking God to grant us the wisdom we need to build a home that lasts. Then we take one step. We put on a cheerful look, and we walk through life looking for His grace each step of the way.

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The Blessing of You

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Rain porch

After a full fall schedule, I sit here with few words.  Seeking Christmas released the last week of August, and I haven’t stopped until this week.  My last official event took place Thursday and Friday, so now I breathe.

The Lord has challenged me, encouraged me, and sustained me.  And He has blessed me wildly.  And not the way the world may recognize. (Remember this post?)  Seeking Christmas hasn’t broken records, topped charts, or won awards in its first season….yet I feel wildly blessed.  One of the ways the Lord has blessed me is through you.

Your words slipped into my inbox, your notes coming quietly through Facebook messages have filled my heart with encouragement and allowed me a glimpse at the work the Lord is doing in each of you.

I write to inspire and encourage….you.  I pray for you.  I connect with you when I write.  And the Lord has blessed me by bringing each of you into my life.  Writing has brought me an unexpected gift.  You are a gift and a treasure to me.

Through readers of this blog and readers of Seeking Christmas, I have come to love people I have never even met in person.  I have seen the goodness of the Lord in the lives of once strangers brought into my life through words shared, hearts revealed, and passions grown.

I sit here now watching the rain puddle on the porch- realizing I have months worth of life to catch up on.  But it can wait 2 more weeks. We are quietly seeking Christmas in our home. Each Christmas holds the same truths, yet each Christmas looks different.  Even when we are living out traditions year after year, each season may look different.

My prayer today is that we pause.  That we pause and reflect on the true meaning of it all-that we seek the true holiness of it all.  He is coming.  His birth was humble and simple, the message profound and turned the world inside out.  May he do that in our lives this season with the simple gifts of Christmas:  hope, love, peace, and joy.

Seeking Christmas is a 7 day family devotion that guides families into intentional times of worship and activities that focus on discovering the true meaning and gifts of Christmas.  It holds the same truths for each family using it, but will look different in each home.  Your family can create your own unique memories and experiences while Seeking Christmas together through guided devotions and activities.