A Little Sunday Grace

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Monkey See, Monkey Do

God calls Christian parents to a higher purpose. As "imitators of God," our children learn how to be Christians by watching us and modeling our behavior. Our parenting should aim to provide a safe, loving, God-centered, developmentally-appropriate environment for our children where they can grow up to contribute to society and live the life God intended for them to live as a Christ-follower.

No pressure there.

I think I do okay imitating God in some aspects. And by God, I mean the Wrath of God. You should see my evil eye. When wielded correctly, it can stop disobedience faster than saying "Stop calling your sister Mrs. Poopy Head."

Imitating God's grace, on the other hand, needs some help. I recognize my shortcomings each time I speak to my girls from a place of anger instead a place of love.

Thank God He is more patient and more loving and full of more grace than I am. He is the type of parent I want to be. And even though I fall short, I know that He will forgive me...and one day my children will, too.

Daddy is a Superhero and Mommy goes to the grocery store

I don't own a cape or a spandex uniform. Masks tickle my face. No invisible jets or secret rooms full of gadgets in my house either. And no, I can't stop a speeding bullet, but in all fairness, I haven't tried.

So, armed with that knowledge, I don't know why I was shocked by my daughter's dream last night. At 2 am, she woke up screaming as in "get-in-my-room-right-now-before-this-monster-eats-me" kinda of screaming. So, I did what most sleeping mommies do (or want to do), I sent my husband. 

A few minutes later I hear rapidly approaching tiptoes and barely miss being smacked in the face with Lambie.

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"Are you okay, honey?"

"I'm scared. I had a bad dream."

"Oh, I'm sorry. You are safe now baby. What was it about?"

"Me and Ellery were left at home by ourselves and a bad person was trying to get us. Then Daddy came and he was a Superhero and he saved us."

"Oh, honey, that does sound scary. Where was mommy?"

"You were at the grocery store."

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Um. What? I was at the grocery store?!

My husband gets to be the superhero and I get to go to the grocery store? Is this because I quit work and stay at home with our girls while Daddy disappears most days to that mysterious place called work? Did I hang up my future superhero cape when I hung up my 401k?

Maybe. Maybe not. 

I like to think that all moms--working outside the home and not--are superheros. For how else can our hearts handle the joy and heartache that comes with being a mom. And, yes, some days it takes superhero strength to make it through the day. 

So for now, I'm okay with my husband being the superhero in our daughter's dreams. I'll just settle for a trip to the grocery store. I only hope I brought home something good for dinner.

A Little Sunday Grace

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

Loving my children relentlessly

Leave it to another writer to articulate why I love my children relentlessly.

Question of the Week: Why can't you nap?

Naptime.

Oh, those sweet precious moments when the house falls silent, dirty lunch dishes sit patiently, and my life appears to be my own. For 17 glorious minutes, I believe it to be true.

Such a bold-face lie.

Mamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamama


The name calling starts innocently enough.

My preschooler will settle down, I foolishly tell myself as I log into the Times to see the headlines.

Mamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamama


If I'm quiet, she won't know I can hear her, the denial rising in my self as I switch from the Times to Facebook.

Mamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamama

Hmmm. She will pull herself together, that denial so strong a moment ago now teeters on acceptance as I move to check email.

Mamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamama


Uh oh. Only two beings can hear that high-pitched screech: the toddler and me. I quickly go through what will happen if I let it continue. It's not good.

The toddler will wake up angry from her slumber and start crying. No. Wailing. And she will not go back to sleep. Ever. I do not want to release THAT Kracken.

It's time for an intervention. So I stop pretending that I control my life and go see what's keeping my preschooler from sleeping.

It's Tinker Toys. Apparently, they make noises and turn into marshmallows. How can I expect her to sleep with all that action?

A Mantle of Memories

Sometimes Most of the time it's the simple things in life that make me smile and fill my heart with joy.

Fresh flowers in a recycled Tazo tea glass bottle.

A jar filled with the rocks Emmy gave us each day for a year when she was three.

A smaller jar containing seashells collected during Emmy's first trip to the ocean.

All together now:

A Little Sunday Grace

Dear God,

Thank you for loving us forever. We are thankful because we know that must be hard work. Amen.

--Emmy

Question of the Week: What do you want to do today?

Give kisses.

After 17 months on the job as a stay-at-home mom, the answer is still the same.





I know these moments are fleeting so for now I hold them as tightly as I would a butterfly in my hand. (Not the big creepy-looking butterfly you might find at a butterflyarium or whatever it's called. Those butterflies give me the heebs.)

So, what do you want to do today?

I Need to Christ Up

Yeah, I admit it. I sometimes fall short of God's expectations for my life and relationships.

As in way short.

As in every day.

Yes, even on Sundays and sometimes even during the service. Yikes! Thank goodness no one can hear my inner dialogue when someone comes in late looking for a seat while I'm trying to get my worship on.

Wait a minute, God can hear my thoughts. Holy Yikes!

Forget about needing to Man Up or ("Cowgirl Up" for you Texans), I need to Christ Up.

I'm in good company though.

Even Paul admits his struggles. He confesses in Romans 7:18-20: "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I can not carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it."

Somehow I feel better knowing that a member of God's All Star Team falls short, too. So even in my bench-warmer status, God's grace is sufficient to cover my daily occurrences of needing to Christ Up.

Thank God. Literally. For I know, I will stumble again and again.

A Little Sunday Grace

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." (1 Peter 4:8)

Sending God to Voicemail

God keeps sending my calls to voicemail. I mean, come on, I know that He is home. Pick up or at least text me to say You got my message.

Okay, I admit that I don't always answer when He calls either. I'm busy. He knows I can't talk when I am at home with my 4-year-old and 2-year-old. I'm lucky to go to the bathroom by myself on some days! Plus, when I do answer God's calls, He asks me do stuff like quit my fancy job, become a stay-at-home mom, and move from North Carolina to North Atlanta. That wasn't exactly on my To Do list last year or any year for that matter.

So, yes, sometimes I don't take His calls. But shouldn't he always answer my calls?

I continue to re-learn that sometimes God doesn't answer because He already has. I know I tell my children to stop asking me the same question over and over again because I have already answered it. As future members of a Senate-hearing committee, my girls inevitably ask a follow-up question: But why? (The pitch of the whine is directly proportional to the length of nap time.)

God works that way in my life, too. I ask a question. He answers. If I don't like the answer or I wasn't listening (Top Chef is on!), I ask again. And again. And again. When I finally hear His answer, I ask the same follow-up question as my preschoolers...But why?

You see. I prefer for God to reveal His entire plan for my life. Right now. As in pronto. Then I could, you know, plan around it add it to the family schedule.

• Kindermusik on Monday.
• Grocery store on Tuesday
• Ballet on Thursday.
• God's plan on Friday.

Unfortunately, God prefers me to follow the plan for my life that He has already revealed. Apparently, He has a lot of moving parts and plans could change.

So for today, I will answer His call. And maybe next time, God won't send me straight to voicemail.

After all, I only have one question..."but why?"