The Calm of His Presence has a new home

Hi Friends,

I know some of you may think I have forgotten about you. I promise I haven't. Life has been crazy busy and I haven't gotten over here to tell you the wonderful news.

The Calm of His Presence has a new home!! For the most part the sawdust and construction tape have been removed and we are settling in. I would love for you to join me over there.

I am hosting a 31 Days to Calm as a welcome to our new home. So what are you waiting for? Coming on by!

 

In His Calm,

Mary

What's going on behind the scenes...

Yes I've been quiet around here but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy.

My days have been busy with cleaning, ministry, helping kids with homework & baseball games.

But one of the things you may be most excited about is The Calm of His Presence will soon have a new home. I have been working with my sister to design a new website for The Calm of His Presence. My plans are to reveal it Oct 1st with a 31 Day series titled 31 Days to Calm. I hope you will join me as I welcome you into the new home of The Calm of His Presence.

Until then here is my new blog button for a little teaser.








In His Calm,

Mary

Five Minute Friday ~ Mercy

Once again I am joining Lisa-Jo for Five Minute Friday. On Friday hundreds of brave writers take 5 minutes and write on a single prompt. You can visit Lisa-Jo here to find out what Five Minute Friday is all about and to read the many other wonderful posts.

On Fridays a bunch of brave writers gather here to all spend 5 collective minutes writing on a single prompt.  - See more at: http://lisajobaker.com/2013/09/five-minute-friday-mercy/#sthash.V4LudN1Q.dpuf

Go.

On Fridays a bunch of brave writers gather here to all spend 5 collective minutes writing on a single prompt.  - See more at: http://lisajobaker.com/2013/09/five-minute-friday-mercy/#sthash.V4LudN1Q.dpuf

On Fridays a bunch of brave writers gather here to all spend 5 collective minutes writing on a single prompt. - See more at: http://lisajobaker.com/2013/09/five-minute-friday-mercy/#sthash.V4LudN1Q.dpuf

On Fridays a bunch of brave writers gather here to all spend 5 collective minutes writing on a single prompt. - See more at: http://lisajobaker.com/2013/09/five-minute-friday-mercy/#sthash.V4LudN1Q.dpuf

Mercy…

What is it? What does it look like?

Mercy is bending down to my daughter, wiping away the tears as she expresses frustration over having trouble reading.

Mercy is sitting on the sidelines of the game cheering my son on as he struggles with anxiety & making the plays he nailed in practice.

Mercy is holding my tongue when all I want to do is snap a quick retort back to my husband.

Mercy is God holding me in His lap when I desperately need someone to understand the frustrations & hurt I feel.

God is Good & His Mercy Endures Forever!

And as He shows me mercy, tenderly supporting me and showing me His Love, I learn how to show mercy to others.

Oh may I give the gift of mercy to others that God has so freely given me.

Stop. 

In His Calm,

Mary

Inspired by the Obedience of my Husband

My husband … he is a man who passionately says Yes to God and stays committed no matter what.

Over the years I have prayed for Jeff to be a strong spiritual leader for our family. I’ve shared it here on The Calm of His Presence. Those prayers have been answered many times.

Jeff is not afraid to take a stand when God calls him even if it’s an unpopular stand in the world. He knows God has a plan for His life and He is committed to following God’s Word.

Most recently He took a stand on an issue with our son and the travel baseball team he plays for. In the world (especially the travel ball world) it is a very unpopular choice not to put baseball before everything including church.

One of Jeff’s priorities is to raise our kids in a family who follows hard after God and shares His Love and Grace to the world around us in our everyday lives.

By making the choice we did to put God first over playing on Sunday’s, we have felt a bit looked down on by other parent’s on the team. To be honest I found myself trying to figure out a way to do both. I even tried to talk Jeff into trying to help me make it work.

Thankfully Jeff stood firm and explained his decision to our son in away Garrett could understand the need to put God and our family first.

This past week we saw a glimpse of the fruits of our obedience. Another father on the team took the time to thank my husband for his example of how to set priorities that turn our family to Christ.

Through our witness he has begun to reevaluate his priorities. He has realized he has been putting other things before God and through that he and his family have fallen away from God. He has made a renewed commitment to being the spiritual leader for his family.

Through my husband’s obedience I have learned that in a world where God’s priorities are looked down on there are people who watch our actions. We may not know they are watching but when we take the bold step of being radically obedient to God and say yes to Him we speak volumes about our walk with Him.

Our witness and obedience to God may be just what someone needs to be drawn back to Him.

Thank you Lord for a husband who obediently follows your direction for our family. Thank you that He is not concerned with the opinion of the world but that he is concerned with saying yes to you. Lord, give me the strength to continue to obediently follow you in the call you have placed on my life. In Your Name I Pray, Amen.

I am linked to do with the P31 OBS Say Yes to God study where other women are sharing their journey of saying Yes to God.

In His Calm,

Mary

Things I learned in August

Over the last several months I've quietly read Emily's list of things she learned each month. So, today  I thought I would share a few things I learned in August & might actually throw some things in I learned over the summer :-). Some of these I actually learned over a fun conversation with my husband and kids as we waited way to long for pizza one night.

My husband led us through a series of questions that really made me feel quite dumb for not knowing.

1. What are the 2 best conductors of electricity? silver & copper

2. What are 2 metals that don't corrode of oxidize? gold & platinum

3. What metal when exposed to water will explode but when combined with a poisonous gas tastes good? Sodium    Sodium + Chlorine = Sodium Chloride aka table salt

4. The first commercial printing press was invented by Gutenberg, the first book printed on it was the Gutenberg Bible. I actually knew this but had completely forgotten. I loved that I was reminded of this wonderful fact.

5 I have a daughter who has a couple of molars coming in. As we were discussing that one night I learned that an elephant's molar weighs 10lbs & is the size of a gallon of milk. Now that is a big tooth :-).

6 A sharks skin is made up of many microscopic teeth which is why shark skin used to be used as sandpaper.

So there you have it a few things I learned over the summer. I know it's not my typical post but I thought I might have a little fun today with Emily over at Chatting at the Sky. Why don't you jump over there and take a look at some of the things she learned. You might learn a little bit yourself. I know I did.

Five Minute Friday ~ Worship

I've been absent for a bit here on The Calm of His Presence. Life has been crazy, busy these last few weeks with school starting and all that goes with it. I haven't shared about it yet but I have a surprise that I'm working hard on for you. So would you pray for me and the direction God is leading the Calm of His Presence. 

In the mean time God woke me way to early this Saturday morning asking me to spend some quiet time with Him. During that quiet time I took 5 minutes to join Lisa-Jo and a few hundred other bloggers to simply just write...for 5 minutes on the prompt ~ Worship. I've linked up at (in)courage for this weeks Five Minute Friday post. 

Start...

Oh my God I will worship you when my life is falling apart & my heart is breaking in two.

I will worship you when I see you in the morning sun breaking through the trees.

I will worship you when I stand in the spotlight but my heart & face want to run to the shadows where I can hide from the world.

I will worship you when pride is spilling over as I watch my son succeed.

I will worship you when times get hard and I don’t understand this journey you have called me to.

I will worship you with my hands in the air praising you for all the wonderful blessings you give.

I will worship you as I fall to my knees begging you to take the pain away.

I will worship you as I sing of your amazing love.

Lord, I will worship you in the good, the bad, and all the in between times.

Stop...

In His Calm,

Mary

When it would be easier to say No God

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

John 15:4

There are days when the journey of Saying Yes to God is so very hard.

On those days fear, doubt, discouragement, pain, despair & hopelessness take center stage leaving nothing left but an empty ache where hope, strength & life once were.

I know these days. I lived these days. I AM living these days.

And now as I live the hard days it is very easy to say, “I’m sorry God I didn’t sign up for this - I didn’t sign up for the attacks, the pain, the loss. I can’t do this anymore I quit.”

Telling God no, -turning around and walking away- would be the easy way out.

It would be easy to say, “Sorry God I don’t have the strength to stand up & follow you. I don’t have the will power to go against the popular choice. So, God No, I won’t follow you in the calling you have placed on my life.”

It would be easy to continue living my comfortable, oh-hum doing the next thing that comes along life. But, that’s not what God asked me to do.

God didn’t ask me to live a life of comfort & routine.

He asked me to “Come follow Him.” He asked me to join Him on the adventure He has planned for me.

God never promised it would be easy but He did promise that as long as I remained in Him, He would remain in me.

In a day where I have been discouraged, broken hearted & just plain mad I realized I was losing sight of the Light of Christ.

Today I dug deep in His Word & focused on His Truth that he will always remain with me as long as I remain in Him. Today I used His Word as a Weapon & in doing so I was strengthened to continue saying Yes to Him.

Sweet friend, are you discouraged & wondering why you ever said Yes to God?

Will you please hear my heart? Don’t give up! Keep fighting & keep following the plans God has for your life. Lean on Him and He will strengthen you.

Choose to stay focused on His Light & His Truth & He will stay with you giving you the strength & endurance you need.

Dear Lord, Help me to choose to stay with you, help me to abide, rest & endure the hard, discouraging days with you. For I know Lord that when I remain in you, you will suffer & bear with patience, abide & stay with me. Lord I know that no branch, limb or member of a body can hold up or remain firm by its self. I know that it must remain attached to the stem that is attached to the root, the source of its life. Help me Lord remain, abide & rest in you so that I can hold up & remain firm under pressure. For you Jesus, are one with God & will be my source of strength & life. In Your Name I Pray, Amen.

I am linking up today to P31 OBS blog Hop for What Happens When Women Say Yes to God.


In His Calm,

Mary

When Saying Yes to God Causes you to #SayWhat?

When Saying Yes to God Causes you to #SayWhat?

It was loud & clear. I knew God was calling me to follow Him in a plan He had for me. Although I didn’t hear His voice audibly He confirmed through scripture, messages, conversation, & situations He wanted to use me.

So I said Yes to God and was ready to jump in full steam ahead. I was excited and telling everyone I could that He had called me to serve Him.

And then just as sure as I knew He was calling me to serve Him the door slammed shut.

And I said “Say What God? You’ve called me to follow you & serve you and now you are telling me to wait? Are you kidding me? How do I contain the excitement that I have? How do I not serve you?”

To be honest I was rather put out with God. I was frustrated and questioned myself - “Did I really hear God right? Was I wrong? Maybe He really didn’t want to use me.”

Through prayer and studying scripture I realized I did hear God right He did want to use me, only it wasn’t the way I expected to be used at that time.

There is a time for everything,

And a season for every activity under heaven:

Ecclesiastes 3:1

He had a specific purpose for me, I just needed to slow down & let Him show me what it was.

I was reminded that God has a plan and He knows what I need in the perfect time to prepare for the next adventure He has for me.

It may not be in the timing that I expect but His Ways are perfect and higher than mine.

So I let go of my frustrations and questions and committed to serve Him quietly right where He wanted me.

The beauty of where He wanted me to quietly serve is that it was coming along side my husband, supporting and praying for him, being his ear & confidant.

Serving God quietly alongside my husband gave us the opportunity to strengthen our marriage & gain an intimacy we would not have otherwise.

So my sisters, when God calls you to serve Him and you try to run full steam ahead and end up having a #SayWhat moment, remember “there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven”.

God has a plan and He knows the best way to prepare you for that plan. He knows the perfect place for you to serve, you just need to slow down and allow Him, in His Perfect Timing, to put you in that place.

Dear Lord, Thank you that you have a perfect plan for my life. Thank you that your timing is perfect. Help me to slow down and follow your timing so that I may follow your will for my life. In Your Name I Pray, Amen.

I am linked today with the P31 OBS #YesToGod Blog Hop.

In His Calm,

Mary

Saying Yes to God

I sat alone in my room with my Bible & journal open on my lap.

It wasn’t my normal quiet time but I needed to be out of the way for a meeting my husband had at our house so I thought, “Why not spend some time in God’s Word”.

What I didn’t realize was that God had planned on meeting with me to stretch me, mold me & make me into the woman He wanted me to be, I just needed to say #YesToGod.

My quiet time never looks the same; there are times I will find a passage to read, write in my prayer journal, listen to music, read a book or do a topical study.

This time I opened my bible & read Isaiah 64:8

“Yet, O Lord, you are our Father.

We are the clay, you are the potter;

we are all the work of your hand.”

Those words absolutely jumped off the page!

Yes God is my Father! He wants what is best for me & He wants to mold me into a woman who can be used by Him to bring others closer to Him. But, He can’t do it if I don’t allow Him to shape me into a new vessel.

So that night as I sat on my bed I said “Yes to God”. I committed to follow Him and do whatever He asked of me.

Little did I know that He would test that Yes to God the very next day when I was asked to step WAY out of my comfort zone and lead a Sanctuary full of women in worship with 5 minutes notice.

“Outside our comfort zone… is where we experience the true awesomeness of God.”

Lysa TerKeurst – What Happens When Women Say Yes to God

Now before you start thinking I was still in my #YesToGod high from the night before & jumped at the chance to do it, I need to correct you. I did everything I could NOT to say yes! I gave every excuse I could think of,

·      “Lord, I don’t have any experience leading worship.”

·      “Lord, sure, I sing in the choir BUT I am not a soloist.”

·      “Lord, I am terrified.”

And with each one of those excuses He said “my child let me mold you into the woman who I can use to reach others, trust me.”

So with knees & voice shaking I stood before 200 women as we worshipped our Lord and Savior.

In that moment God gave me the strength I needed to stretch beyond what I thought I could do. I learned to trust Him in what I thought was an impossible task. And I learned that His Ways are Higher than my ways.

Since that night of committing to say #YesToGod He has stretched me beyond anything I could ever imagine.

·      I have watched Him bring hundreds of women together for a time of prayer & worship as we sought revival for our area.

·      I’ve watched him bringing thousands of women together from all walks of life to worship & grow in the Word of God.

·      But most importantly I’ve experienced the profound peace, strength & exhilaration of watching God work within my life one Yes at a time.

So as we travel through the study of Lysa TerKeurst’s book, What Happens When Women Say Yes To God with P31 OBS will you say #YesToGod? Will you allow Him to mold you and make you into the woman He knows you can be? Will you be the clay & allow Him to be your potter?

Will you be the work of God’s Hand?

Oh Lord, you are a mighty, awesome God! I thank you that you want me to be involved with your work. Lord, give me the strength to say yes to you. Mold me into the woman you want me to be so that I can reach others in your name. In Your Name I Pray, Amen.

 

Today I am linked up with P31 OBS for Lysa TerKeurst's What Happens When Women Say Yes to God. Will you join me there & see what happens when other women say "YesToGod?

In His Calm,

Mary

God's plans

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways,”

declares the Lord,

“As the heavens are higher than the earth.

So are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:8,9

I know I’ve been a bit sporadic in my blogging lately.

Going into the summer I had grand plans of writing every morning here on the blog, fun activities for the kids, lots of reading, lots of cooking & lots of resting. I had goals personally & with my ministry. As much as I wanted to be successful with my goals my prayer was that my life this summer would line up with God’s plans.

As I’ve spent time in His Word each morning I’ve found His plans for my time were not always what I envisioned.

One thing I have found consistent is spending time with my kids & husband. Where I thought I needed to spend time focused on my blog, God said your ministry this summer is with your family.

And boy has that ministry been fun – days spent by the pool, running around on the beach, snuggled on the couch reading with my daughter, throwing the baseball with my son, planning & praying over a new ministry opportunity with my husband. This summer my family & I have built memories & bonds that were built & planned by God.

Memories and bonds built and planned by God exceed our human expectations.

This coming school year will look totally different for my family as we change schools. And while the changes are exciting they hold a bit of nervousness & anxiety. My prayer is that this summer of family time will prepare us for the changes that are to come.

So if I continue to be a bit sporadic with my postings please bear with me. I promise once school starts up I will be here more often.

Please know that although I may not be posting as often, there is still a lot going on behind the scenes of The Calm of His Presence. God is leading me in some wonderful new directions. I can’t wait to tell you more about it in the coming months.

So my sweet bloggy friends, I pray that God is building memories & bonds for you and your family that exceed your expectations.

In His Calm,

Mary

Guest Post on Come Have a Peace

Have there been times in your marriage when you and your husband just don’t seem to click? When no matter what you do there are misunderstandings, tempers flair, feelings get hurt and walls go up.

Join me today as I guest post on my friend, Julie Sanders' blog Come Have a Peace. 

In His Calm,

Mary

Five Minute Friday ~ Present

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Its another week of Five Minute Friday. Today's prompt is Present. Take some time to visit the other wonderful writers at Five Minute Friday.

GO

Birthday Presents

Mother’s Day Presents

Anniversary Presents

There are so many days each year when I receive presents but today I received the best present.

It wasn’t wrapped in pretty paper with a bow on top. It wasn’t wrapped in a designer bag with bright colored tissue paper coming out of the top. It wasn’t a card with money enclosed.

It was wrapped in a warm blanket given to me on a regular day with clothes piled high, dishes in the sink, toys covering the floor & dust on the dresser.

This present… was the gift of living in the moment with my son & daughter snuggled under a warm blanket in the middle of the afternoon, reading out loud - moments we don’t often receive but a precious gift of time to bond & and a moment when my to do list was nowhere on my mind.

STOP

Dear Weary Mom~tired & short tempered

Dear Weary Mom,

I know you are looking to me for help but can I confess something to you?

I blew it yesterday. I lost my temper & my coping skills. I was short fused & unwilling to take a deep breath, instead of going into a heated situation calmly I ended up making it worse.

I behaved just as bad as my 6 year old. She didn’t like my answer to a question so she screamed, moaned & groaned, stomped around & slammed doors.

My response? I yelled & fussed & stomped around & made ultimatums. Yep, I was the one in my late 30s acting like a 6-year-old little girl.

Enter in the point when I start beating myself up for being a horrible mom… I felt awful.

I questioned how in the world I was going to break the cycle of yelling & screaming I grew up with if I behaved that way to my daughter.

I beat myself up for being so kind & loving with the 100+ preschoolers in VBS this week, only to come home & lose my patience with my daughter.

It was then that I realized just like my daughter needed a nap I too, was totally exhausted & needed some time to myself.

I took a deep breath & asked God to help me make it through the rest of my day showing her love & grace. I knew I needed Him to help me use the coping skills I have in order to teach her how best to handle a situation.

And then my husband walked in the door and diffused her mood completely.

I took some time to myself & refocused on showing her love & grace.

And now, the morning after a good nights rest I am ready to start the day fresh by apologizing for my behavior & extending grace & love to her as needed.

So, my weary friend, please know there will be days when you both are tired & short tempered. In those days remember to take a deep breath, ask God for help in extending grace. Allow your husband the opportunity to come in & “save the day”. And be willing to “suck it up” and say you’re sorry to your little girl.

I am linked today with the ladies at Hope for the Weary Mom.

In His Calm,

Mary

Five Minute Friday ~ Rhythm

Five Minute Friday – Rhythm

GO

Quiet & slow with feet stumbling on the cold floor I move as I start the rhythm of my day.

I open a window & listen quietly as I hear the flutter of birds waking in the trees. They move slowly at first & then in the quick rhythmic burst of their wings they are off in flight gathering food for their young.

I have coffee now so I’m moving a bit faster not quite ready to gather the food on the table for my young.

It takes a little while before I’m ready for the rhythm of the day.

And then my son awakes with a start…he stumbles out of the bedroom door & quickly heads to the kitchen ready for breakfast.

My rhythm quickens to come in line with his.

Later, my daughter wakens…her rhythm is slow, quiet & steady as she softly pads out of her room. Gently she lays on the couch not ready to face the fast rhythm in the house for the day.

And these, these are the rhythms that begin our days.

STOP

  I'm joining Lisa-Jo Baker again today for Five Minute Friday. Won't you stop by & visit with her & the other lovely ladies who link up there?

In His Calm,

Mary

Five Minute Friday~Listen

I have grown to love Five Minute Friday! Now that summer is here life is very busy. There are days & sometimes a week goes by where I don't have time to sit & write a post but on Friday I'm "given permission" to take just a few minutes to write what comes to my mind about a given word. Today's word is Listen.

Five Minute Friday – Listen

GO.

Crisp, cool icy blue water surrounds me as I float under the bright warm sunshine.

I rest quietly listening to the laughter, water splashing, giggling, & cheers from “award-winning” belly flops.

Grandparents float around catching up on the week’s events & Moms give their little ones the encouragement they need to take the first step into the water.

These are the sounds of summer.

I don’t need to listen hard to hear them, I just need to stop & enjoy the sound of joy & light-hearted fun.

STOP.

Its Five Minute Friday time again where I link up with Lisa-Jo Baker for 5 minute Friday for a time of writing for "5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking."

In His Calm,

Mary

not a perfect post, not a profound post, just five minutes of focused writing - See more at: http://lisajobaker.com/#sthash.H4RWVsbv.dpuf

not a perfect post, not a profound post, just five minutes of focused writing. - See more at: http://lisajobaker.com/#sthash.H4RWVsbv.dpuf

not a perfect post, not a profound post, just five minutes of focused writing. - See more at: http://lisajobaker.com/#sthash.H4RWVsbv.dpuf

not a perfect post, not a profound post, just five minutes of focused writing. - See more at: http://lisajobaker.com/#sthash.H4RWVsbv.dpuf

not a perfect post, not a profound post, just five minutes of focused writing. - See more at: http://lisajobaker.com/#sthash.H4RWVsbv.dpuf

Five Minute Friday ~ Fall

Go.

photo courtesy: pixaby.com

“Be careful” I tell my son, “or you will fall.”

Those words have been uttered more times than I can count this week after he received a pair of Healy’s for making the A Honor Roll for the year.

It wasn’t my first choice but he has wanted them all year & what could a proud mama do? Now the praying for protection begins.

He slipped them on tentatively, took a lunge forward and arms went flailing everywhere searching for a place to grab before he fell.

Many hours he has spent with hands up against our hall wall trying to keep his balance. While in the hall with something to hold onto he has stayed upright.

When out in the open the falls have taken place. Each time he has fallen he has dusted off his hands & knees & picked himself up again.

As I watch him I think, aren’t we like that? Do we surround ourselves with Christ and hold on for support & strength and then when we find ourselves out in the open, we fall to the ground?

The wonderful thing is that when we fall God is there to pick us up again. He’s there to help us dust our hands & knees off and take back off again.

Yes, sometimes it’s tentative small steps but other times its freewheeling & arms out wide feeling his Grace & Love.

Stop.

Its Five Minute Friday time again where I link up with Lisa-Jo Baker for 5 minute friday for a time of writing for "5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking."

In His Calm,

Mary

When a daughter's words cut the heart...

“I am leaving my house and will continue my life as an orphan”, -words written by my 6 year old daughter.

As I tried to make sense of the words written in red ink by a little girl who is just learning to read & write she angrily decoded the words on the page.

I sat stunned by the pain my little girl had just caused. Did I really just hear those words? Did my sweet, loving, kind-hearted baby girl just cut my heart with a knife by her words?

My son stood over my shoulder shocked too, waiting for my response.

But how do I respond? Do I express how much she just hurt me or do I remind myself of the truth that she is just a 6-year-old little girl who doesn’t completely understand the full effect of her words?

She was mad. I get that. But I can’t respond the same way she responded by using hurtful words & letting my emotions get the best of me.

So, I calmly told both kids to get their pajamas on & get in bed.

I couldn’t believe our first official day of summer (filled with swimming, laughter & working together) was going to end like this- all because my daughter was mad because she didn’t get a popsicle when she refused to eat her dinner.

By the time I tucked her into bed my daughter had begun to understand the full effects of her words. I hadn’t said a word, I wasn’t stomping around, I was just quiet – my heart was aching & I was weary. I just needed some time to nurse my broken spirit.

During bedtime prayers she cried & told me how sorry she was, and as she cried I comforted her. Because that’s what mommas do, we comfort our kids & tell them we love them even when they say hurtful things to us. Because we know they are just little beings that we are charged with raising.

It is our responsibility to teach them between right & wrong.

It is our responsibility to teach them the right way to respond when they are hurt.

It is our responsibility to teach them that when they make a mistake they can ask for forgiveness & through our forgiveness of them they may catch a glimpse of God’s forgiveness.

My husband came home just after the kids went to bed and as he kissed them goodnight my daughter shared everything with her daddy. I sat quietly in the den nursing my weary soul, trying to speak words of God’s truth to my heart. Trying desperately to push the words of question & frustration out of my head…

·      What’s the point in trying hard to plan a fun, exciting summer for the kids?

·      Does anybody know or really care what I do around here?

·      Why did I give up my career in nursing to stay home & take care of the kids?

words I know that are not true but words I still struggled with.

And then I overheard my husband talking with my children. He answered each of those questions as he talked with our kids. Did he have a direct line to my thoughts?

With each answer to those questions God used Jeff’s words to speak to my weary heart. God reminded me why I stay home to care for the kids. He reminded me why I clean crumbs off the floor again, pick up a toy I’ve stepped on with my bare feet again, wash & fold the 10^th load of laundry for the day, & move over at 3:00 in the morning when my daughter has a bad dream.

I do all these things because that is what God has called me to do.

·      He has called me to love my children.

·      He has called me to raise them in His Truths.

·      He has called me to stay at home & take care of things while my husband is at work.

God has called me to a task that will take years to see the full effects of my work. There will be days of joy & laughter and there will be days of heartbreak & weariness. But, in all the days I will cling to God and give my actions & my words to Him & trust Him to help me raise them in His Ways.

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.” Proverbs 16:3

So, are you a weary Mom like me? Today I'm linked with other Moms who are traveling the journey of motherhood. I would love for you to visit Hope for the Weary Mom.