Giving Thanks Thursday

Thank you Lord for mild winter weather.


Thank you for technology for FaceTime, phone calls, webinars, and photos sent back and forth.


Thank you for time to spend with others. To share in mutual experiences and life.


Thank you for hikes and walks as a family.


Thank you for forgiveness and fallen snow.


Thanks for swag.

Falling Ashes

Today marks an important day in the church year, Ash Wednesday. This is the beginning of the season of Lent. A time for people to reflect on the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross for their sins. Lent is a journey of 40 days to the empty tomb on Easter Sunday morning. 

My husband walked to work today and took this picture of our church.

Monday evening it snow/iced/sleeted. Some melted away yesterday, but this was the result after a very cold night. 

Now, as I look out my window, snow is falling and it is beautiful. I do enjoy just getting to sit and watch the snow from inside a warm house.  

Have you ever watched ashes fall? When you are outside with a great bonfire or campfire sometimes ashes will start to blow and fall and land just like snow. Ash doesn't just wipe away easily, it usually leaves a mark and clothing has to be washed. Sin, the bad things we do, does the same thing in our lives. It leaves marks on our heart and it doesn't easily come off.  As we thinking of Ash Wednesday we are reminded of our sin. We are reminded that from dust we came and to dust we will return. The consequence of sin is death. It is something we completely deserve. We are forever separated from God in death.

But then it snows. Beautiful snow falls and washes the earth clean. Jesus death on the cross washes the ash off and makes us white as snow. Sin isn't pretty and Jesus sacrifice wasn't either, but through His death and resurrection we are with God again.  Can you imagine a sacrifice so big that would pay for the sins of the world? 

We are no longer marked with sin. Our hearts are clean. We are white as snow. 

Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."

Small Kindness

There are many days that errands seem like a thousand times more difficult that they need to be. I have to carefully coordinate nap times, hunger pains, bags, carriers, and traffic to make it out of my house.

The other day I tried to time my trip to Sam's Club at just the right moment of the day. I decided not to bring in a bag in and just put everything in my carrier pocket to make it easier for me. I had been watching the sky all day and thought I had enough time to run in, get my goods, and get out before the rain. However, as I was getting my receipt checked, I noticed the sky had opened and rain was falling. I never park close to the door because I refuse to drive around to find a prime spot. Plus, I figure the extra steps are good for me. I put on baby boy's hat and put the carrier's cover over his head. My concern was getting him in the car without being drenched. I did bring an umbrella, but I figured there was no way I could manage a cart, baby, and an umbrella. I just left my cart next to the car why getting Elijah in his seat. Everything was getting soaked, but I figured nothing was getting ruined. All of a sudden a sweet woman came over and said let me put my umbrella over your cart. She told me she had 3 grandchildren and understood it was hard to errands with little ones. She covered my head while I literally threw things in the back seat of the car. I thanked her and let her know it really meant a lot of me that she took the time to help me.

I said a little prayer of thanksgiving for that woman and her kind heart.

There have been many moments since becoming a mother that I have become very annoyed while running errands. I will see people watching me struggle and just walk past or stare. When did it become hard to help your neighbor?

Small kindness. That is all it takes to make the day of someone else. It doesn't mean you need to spend money or think of an elaborate act of kindness. Being kind can be very small but have a very large impact.

As I think about parenting, I am reminded that I want my son to stop to help others. I want him to be award of the people God has placed in his life. I want him to notice other people. It make seem obvious, but I think it takes a concentrated effort to teach the next generation about kindness.

Have you been kind lately? What are ways your family can take time to see other people around you?

Ephesians 4:32, "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."

Giving Thanks

Today I am thankful for quiet moments in the early morning hours, sisters, moms, dads, this journey of motherhood, sanity trips to Target, coupons, Little Man smiles, warm cheeks to kiss, heaters, sweaters, rain boots, work, blow dryers, God's mercy and a courageous husband.

What are you thankful for today? Link up or comment below!

#momfail

Lately, I have felt like I am failing at keeping my little one safe. He fell off a little love seat the other day and got a carpet burn on his forehead. He screamed and wailed. And, let's face it, so did I. It was totally preventable, but I turned my back and there he went.

There have a been a few other little things that I have thought to myself TOTAL MOM FAIL. I knew some day it would happen. I knew there would be accidents, but there was nothing that prepared me for the emotions that came along with failure as a mother. There is this overwhelming guilt factor that comes when you become a mother. God designed women and moms different. WE feel for those little ones when they get hurt. We hurt right a long with them. Since I am new to the whole mothering thing I am willing to guess that it never gets easier. Watching your child in pain,  suffering with a cold or getting crushed by friends is never easy.

As more of the failures creep into my mind, it makes it harder to sleep at night. I seem to dwell on the mistakes I make as a mother and that "I am no good" thought pattern begins. As I was praying this morning I was praying, "Lord have mercy." I was in a moment where there was nothing else to say. In my sinfulness as a mother all I can ask my Lord is to have mercy on me. And you know what? He did. He does. My Lord sees me and protects my child in the moments when I fail. Thank you Lord for your mercy and grace!

I realized that trust God with everything I am. There are moments when I have a hard time focusing on God and my trust fails. As a Christian, there is always this trust that God will (and does) protect me. I know that he is in every moment of my life and watches over me. This does not mean that nothing bad is ever going to happen. It also does not mean that God allows bad things to happen. It means that I am sinner in need of Savior to forgive my brokenness.

As I think about what is must have been like for God the Father to watch his one and only son, Jesus, suffer and die, I take a deep breath and remember it was all for his children. I am a child of God. He sees my sin and forgives me. He sees my mistakes and cares for me. I am in awe of Jesus' sacrifice.

I had a few mom fails this week, but God covered my failures with his grace. Praise be to Him alone.

Giving Thanks

We just got back from a getaway to the mountains for a weekend with my in-laws. It was a fun weekend in a secluded cabin that even included snow! We got to take fun little day trips to Asheville and Black Mountain. We did a little shopping, eating great food and playing! Elijah enjoyed getting to spend time with his grandparents. They made his first Halloween special with inflatables outside the cabin, carving a giant pumpkin, and getting to dress up like t-rex.

I really enjoy little family moments like this. It is fun to see Elijah light up when he is playing with different people. It is fun to watch him observe life and the people around him.

Thank you God for pumpkins, inflatables, weekend getaways, in-laws, candy, snow, mountains, yummy food, grandparents, plat time, costumes, and rest. 

Join me in giving thanks! Link up in the comments to your Giving Thanks post! #givingthanks

target and marriage

I really have a deep love for Target. I know I probably shouldn't like it so much, but it just seems to have everything I could ever possibly want in 5 different colors! I think I am the type of person you could call a Target connoisseur. Did I just type that?

I do really love Super Targets, though. I mean they do seem to have more than normal Targets. They get a wide selection of clothing. Have an awesome grocery section. And the clearance aisles, oh my! These aisles are, by far, my favorite. I could peruse down those aisle for hours. Just looking at all the discarded junk that is waiting for me to see as a treasure. There have even been some impulse buys down those aisles.

My husband on the other hand, really does not like Target. I don't think I can use the word hate. I don't think he has a hatred. I mean let's face it, he has found some good things there too or maybe I did and brought it home to him.

Recently, my husband was leading a marriage retreat for our church. I was able to go along too, with our little boy. I didn't get to make every part of the retreat, but I really enjoyed the moments when I did. We were a little tired going into the retreat. The previous two days we had been at at a conference and the days before that had received little sleep at night. Even though we were tired and just needing some down time at our home we also need a little retreat to reflect on our marriage. We communicated. We laughed. And, we realized that children running through the halls at 9:00 pm does not make tired parents happy.

My hubby shared a story about Target. You see, I usually save all my Target trips for his day off so we can go together and spend an hour or so just walking around. He. hated. every. minute. I learned this one Friday when he seemed to want to go hiking and do house projects before my need to go to Target. He explained that he just didn't see why he needed to go along and that he hated just walking around. At first, I was really hurt. In my mind, I heard that he didn't like spending time with me. He them asked me why I saved the trip for his day off when I could go any other day of the week. I realized in that moment that I loved going to Target with him because I received his undivided attention. Toward the back of Target, our cells phones receive no service. He cannot receive any calls or texts and that was just fine with me. He is on call all the time, but sometimes I just need him to not be thinking about others. Selfish? Yes it is. When I communicated this need to him, his whole attitude turned around. We both realized that focused attention on one another is a key part to our relationship.

Since that conversation, I try not to save all my errands for his day off. I try to plan family hikes or projects for the house we can do together. My hubby works on not checking his phone all the time and we have a firm no email policy. This seems to make both of us happy. Communicating our needs to one another so we can honor and respect each other. I have really tried to be more aware of my communication with him. This includes when I feel like I just need his attention or our family needs to be his primary focus.

I thank God for Target.  I think my husband does too!