Motherhood

As moms we often get caught up on all kinds of dumb stuff, don't we? As I was thinkin' about it, it is so much like our hangups we sometimes have with our relationship with God. Or is it just me?

We often pay more attention to what others think of us. We compare our child to everyone else's. And it's a no win: we either come out of the comparison prideful or insecure. It never really has a positive outcome. What should we do? Just seek the approval of God, and teach and model seeking that approval from God for our kids.

Kind of along the same lines, we often put appearance above relationship. I'll never forget my mother making me lick a Kleenex and wiping my face with it while sitting in church. It just possibly might of scarred me for life. No wonder I never buy Kleenexes. Sometimes to honor God, or to raise our children, we have to sacrifice appearance for the sake of relationship. And if that means you gotta spank the kid in the middle of aisle 5, so be it! If that means your 8 year old wears the same black plaid shirt to church for a solid month...hey, he is loving God, and he comes downstairs wearing it, and we say, "Man, buddy, you look so awesome."

And other times, you just have to let the house go and focus on a 3 day mind-numbing game of Horseopoly. Because, you know, my Gracie Pearl probably won't remember the dishes in the sink, but this marathon game of Horseopoly will probably live on in her memory forever. She's killin' me, by the way, she's got about $2000 horded away over there and I only have about $300.

Sometimes in our pursuit of perfection we try to find reward in the wrong things. We find reward in our children's performance, having our kids dressed "just so," in academic excellence, or sports, in the praise of men. God just wants us to find our reward in a peaceful heart. And sports skills don't always get passed down to the next generation, but for some reason peaceful hearts are highly contagious. Parents who model peace in Christ have kids who know the peace of God - and there is nothing more important than that.

Sometimes in our pursuit of perfection we perpetuate a lie and by doing so we spread disillusionment. I'm as guilty of this as anyone. Especially on this blog. I tend to tell you about all the neat, creative things we do and not how I slept in, yelled at the kids to make their own frozen waffles, and didn't have my quiet time until after lunch. And the girls and I got to thinking this weekend and we realized Daniel hadn't showered in almost 2 weeks. (He HAS been in the pool allot, does this count? Chlorine and all?) As moms AND as Christians we all need someone with whom we can be vulnerable with and honest. We need to not pretend we have it all together when we are falling apart.

Sorry to go missing so long on the blog! We had youth camp and other youth events going on! Summers are like that. Currently, Gracie and I are the only ones not gone on a mission trip. And man, am I filling that middle-child love-tank with some quality time like you wouldn't believe. We are having a blast. Tomorrow we are off shopping and we are going to have a special date at 3 Spoons! I told her we could eat lunch at any restaurant she wanted, I was hoping for some kinda fancy tea-room experience...but I think she wants to go to Wendy's. Oh well, it's about relationship, and as a middle child you so rarely get to make a choice without being pulled about by someone, so I will not try to sway her. Have a great day!