Way to Intercede

It amazes me what Jesus uses to get your attention.

Yesterday, my typically well behaved 8 year old son made his first (of what will be many) bad decisions. My husband is a principal, and while he has some of the summer off, he does need to go in for meetings from time to time. Generally, everyone who has little kids that are involved in the meeting bring them with them and the kids play in the gym.

I was at work and my cell phone rings and it is our community’s public pool. They are telling me that my son was ok, but he was involved in an active drowning incident, and that no one under the age of 14 can be left unattended at the pool, and someone needed to come get him right away.

Huh? What? My son isn’t even at the pool, he is with his dad, so this has to be someone else’s child!

You see, the pool is right next to the school, and while the kids were all playing in the gym, one of the older siblings of one of the kids came to take him to the pool. My son decided that really sounded like a lot of fun, and without getting permission, took off with them and went for a dip!

Now, he says he was not close to drowning, but whether he was or wasn’t, I know this was what Jesus was using. He knew my husband and I needed to know about the poor decision my son had made and where he was. I am so thankful Jesus intervened and my son was okay and that we were able to sit down with our son and have a serious conversation and discipline him so he knows what he did was wrong.

How many moments like this happen and we don’t consider that it is Jesus interceding for us? Romans 8:34 states Jesus is at the right hand of God and is interceding for us. Sometimes we forget that Jesus isn’t just there for us in the “big” stuff, but in every aspect of our lives, no matter how big or small.

I definitely lifted up a prayer of thanks for His interceding yesterday, but more than that, thanked Him for all of his intercessions, even the ones that go unrecognized. How has He interceded for you? Have you thanked Him for doing so? Why not thank Him daily for all the ways he interceded for you and those you care for? Because I guarantee he has.

YOLO

You only live once…YOLO.

That phrase has been running through my mind a lot these past few weeks.

It started as a joke between a coworker and myself about online shopping 🙂

Last week I had the opportunity to go to Utah for a conference. To say it was a euphoric experience is an understatement. From the breathtaking scenery, to strong friendships made, to sessions that evoked so many feelings and emotions…to me it was so much more than just another work conference.

Typically “risk taker” is not a phrase associated with me. I have always lived my life very…safe. I have missed out on so much taking this route and I am trying so hard to take more chances and risks, to be daring and bold. Because after all, YOLO…

So while at this conference I had the opportunity to go in a tram up the mountain to 11,000 feet elevation. Old me would have been like, oh no, I’m too afraid of heights, what if the tram cords break, what if I can’t breathe when I get up there, yotta yotta yotta!

But I went. And it was A-MAZING! So glad I did not miss out on that experience. We had dinner up there as well and when we left, the most beautiful sunset was our backdrop.

While I was standing on the top of a mountain that God created, surrounded by the beauty he has provided us, I could not fathom how people can deny the existence of God. I felt him everywhere, all around me. And I was so glad I chose not to be safe that time.

Usually by the last day of a conference, all you can think of is bolting out of there as fast as you can. This conference was different, for everyone. As the last session came to a close, instead of bolting for the door, everyone just…sat there. We didn’t want to leave. We wished it could keep going, and it was Friday at 4pm!

I made so many new friends in just 3 short days that I will hopefully be able to continue to keep in contact with. I witnessed what a company should be like. I fell in love with the mountains and the west part of the US. I miss it and everyone that was part of that journey with me.

Switching gears now, but it still applies to my new YOLO attitude.

I have heard of so many people lately who retire, and then without any warning, they wind up passing away. These people work hard their whole life, longing and dreaming for the days they are retired so they can do this thing, or go to that place. Then, something tragic happens that changes all of that in an instant and there is no more time.

This happened yesterday to the father of some friends of ours. He retired in October and died suddenly on his tractor yesterday of a heart attack. He has never had a health issue and is the picture of health.

These examples have really been the driving force to change my “safe” way of thinking.

Not any one of us is guaranteed a tomorrow, or even the rest of the day. Life can change in an instant.

If we don’t live our lives on earth NOW, we may not get that opportunity. I hope I am blessed with many, many years of wonderful opportunities on Earth, but that is not something that is promised to me.

No, I can’t just skip out of my job and responsibilities and have a wild, crazy adventure every day of my life. But I can make time for them, and I can seek out little adventures daily.

You are here NOW. YOLO people, so get out there and live it!

I’m Glad I Work Here

Last night as I was sitting dinner on the table, my 8 year old son says to me “Mom, I’m glad you work here.” Quickly followed by “I didn’t mean to say that, I meant to say I’m glad you are my mom” as he tried to dig himself out of the grave he had just put himself in. My husband was half laughing, half concerned for our sons safety as I shot him the “mom glare.”

Not going to lie, I was a little miffed at the comment. But the more I thought about it, the more I started to take it as a compliment.

I DO work here! This parenting gig is not for the faint of heart. It is a lot of WORK! Keeping these tiny humans we have been gifted with alive and looking good is no easy task.

I am blessed with a husband and son who willingly help out, but there are some things they just cannot do. I will not let my husband near an iron. We would never arrive somewhere we needed to be, on the day we needed to be there, at the correct time, and with everything we needed if he was in charge of the schedule. My husband and son would never wear anything that matched.

On the flip side, my husband does cook some things better than I can, helps with the laundry, takes care of all the yard work, runs errands, helps with dishes, and helps our son with his math, which at 2nd grade is already over his mothers head at times.

I am glad my son has noticed that I “work” at our house. I am glad he knows that it takes a lot of work to keep a house running smoothly. I am thankful he took time to recognize the work I do. I hope he will grow up and be a man that helps with all the “work.” I hope he will look for a life mate that is hard working.

I come from a long line of hard working people. Work is in my family’s DNA. As is appreciation for people who work hard. So here’s to all of you who work hard at your jobs at work and at home. Keep it up and know that it does not go unnoticed although it may feel that way at times.

I couldn’t ask for a better place to “work” at than for the family I have. They are the best bosses I have ever had, and I wouldn’t want to “work” or be anywhere else than with them. I like doing life with them. They are my people, my tribe.

And they are mine. 

Stop Glorifying Busy

So in my initial blog post this year I talked about how a site had accepted my initial application to be a guest blogger on their site. My submission was not picked at this time, which in all honesty, I am not too shocked about since I am very new at this and really have no clue what I am doing 🙂 I will keep trying and stick with it though!!

I still wanted to go ahead and share my submission with you all! I wrote it around the topic of how we sometimes get so caught with things we end up glorifying busy. I know I am totally guilty of this. So, for your reading pleasure…

Stop Glorifying Busy

I have always considered myself a “words” person. I love anything to do with words. Reading, writing, and I always love a good quote or phrase. A few years back I saw a simple phrase that stopped me dead in my tracks. Stop Glorying Busy. Talk about God reaching down and smacking me right on the head, He sure did with that one. To say the least it got my attention and really made me think. What I realized is that was what I was doing with my life.

I look at this phrase in two different ways, and I think we can all be a little guilty of both. The first thing it made me do is question am I as busy as I think I am? I am a wife, mom, and have a full-time job which naturally keeps me busy, but am I really that busy? What am I busy doing? My day ran typical to any working moms. I got up, got myself ready, got the kiddo up, fed, dressed, and out the door we went. I put in my 8 hours and came home, cooked dinner, bath time, then back to bed we went so we could do it all again tomorrow. All things that need done and all things that keep you busy.

But it was the bits of time in my day where I wasn’t working or taking care of my family that this phrase made me think about. In those moments that I could pick what I got to do for whatever time I might have, what was I choosing? Was I reaching for my bible, spending quality time with my family, calling a friend or family member to check in on them?

Or, was I choosing instead to peruse my multiple social media sites, gossip about someone, and veg out on the sofa? When I did a heart and gut check I found out that unfortunately it was the later. I always claimed to have no time to read my bible, but if I picked it up more than I did my phone, I would have plenty of time to read something a lot more beneficial than reading what my friend from high school (that I have not actually spoken with, or for that matter seen since graduation), had for dinner tonight. I was glorifying busy and not glorifying God.

The second way I think we glorify busy is by making our schedules so jammed packed because since everyone else is running around busy, we should be too. We feel like we must have our kids in every sport, club, and activity that all the other kids in the cul-de-sac is in. So instead of spending quality time together as a family on nights and weekends, we are running to practices, events, and games that may not even bring us any joy! Extracurricular activities certainly are important and have their place, but only if we get joy out of doing them. Let me tell you from experience, there is no joy in watching your child participate in something that they have no desire to do. It would bring more glory to God if we had a movie night at home where everyone was together versus passing each other backing in and out of the drive rushing to things that glorify busy.

Please know I am not judging anyone here because I am guilty of all the above and God still has to smack me on the head and tell me to stop glorifying busy. I just want to encourage you to really look at your “busy” and who is getting the glory from it. God, your family, and yourself will reap all the benefits.

In this crazy world, listen to Ozzy Osbourne?

My favorite line in an Ozzy song comes from Crazy Train…”Maybe it’s not too late to learn how to love and forget how to hate.”

Oh how I wish we could all forget how to hate. I wish it were that simple.

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day, a day that is supposed to be all about love. But on the 45th day of 2018, the 18th school shooting this year alone occurred. Being married to someone in the education field, having numerous other family members who work in education, and sending my son to school everyday, this is something I think about often.

This is just my opinion, please know I am not trying to offend or push any political views on anyone with this. But, to me, we have two major issues in this country that contributes to these events. First we have a gun issue, and second we have a hate issue. I think both need addressed before we see these acts of violence stop. If it were as easy as removing the guns, that would be wonderful. But let us remember Cain killed Abel with stones, not a gun. I know a lot of good people who have guns that are not violent and would never hurt anyone. Because all of these people have experienced love from someone in their life. They have been loved, nurtured, supported, and empowered by someone. In some cases, it was not by a parent. It can be a friend, coworker, etc etc etc. It just takes one person to show people that they care about them to give them self worth. If you see someone who doesn’t have someone like that in their life, I urge you to become that person for them.

So as I was all upset about this latest shooting and about to entirely give up on humanity, I see this story:

http://www.kmbc.com/article/2-olathe-north-seniors-deliver-flowers-to-every-girl-in-school/18194134

On the same day that one school experienced violence and fear, another school experienced this. 2 players on Olathe North’s baseball team got the team involved with an effort to deliver a flower to every single girl in their school on Valentine’s Day. Wow! No matter if that was one of many deliveries those girls got or if it was the only thing they received, they left school yesterday feeling valued.

This. This is what I want shared. I want the media everywhere, not just in the Kansas City area, to share the heck out of this story. I don’t want to discredit any school who has experienced any violent acts. We need to remember them, learn from their terror, help them move forward, and we need to do better as a country. But we also have got to promote love of any kind and saturate the world in as much of it as possible.

It’s not too late for anyone to hop on Ozzy’s Crazy Train 🙂

New Rules

Did you all make New Years Resolutions? I don’t want to say I really make resolutions, but there are always things I want to work on. This year I was really honest with myself and knew there were several things I had gotten really lazy with and needed to do better with. I know you are typically more successful if you focus on one or two things at a time versus attacking everything all at once, so that’s what I am trying to do.

One thing I wanted to do was begin doing things I enjoy more often, and since I didn’t want to put that off any longer than I already have, I got started on that right away (i.e. this blog)! I have also started crafting again, reading, etc. One goal I have set for myself is to read the entire bible in 2018 and I have started on that goal as well.

One of the big things I had gotten really lazy with (and it is very hard to admit to this) is with my parenting. Ugh, it sounds so awful just to type that! But it is the honest truth. Jackson is rarely seen without the iPad or one of our phones, and while I have liked to place the blame on him, it really is my fault as a parent to allow him to have it all the time. I used the excuse “It’s the only way I can get things done” and I created a digital monster.

I have noticed a change in Jackson’s behavior, attitude, attention span, and concentration. I also started reading all the studies on kids and screen time and the negative effects it has on their brains, eyes, etc. Plus it wasn’t just Jackson who was bad about being on electronics…Luke and I are both really bad too. I knew we had to make some changes, and so I developed some new house rules. Most of them centered around the use of electronics, but there were a few about respectful behavior, helping out around the house, etc.

The biggest change is where we currently had no restrictions on electronic use, Jackson can now only have the iPad or play on one of our phones for a total of 45 minutes a day. We set a timer and when he has used up his 45 minutes everything is turned off until tomorrow! Jackson had a full on panic attack when he first heard what the new rules were 🙂 Which really just solidified the fact that we needed to do this pronto.

So far the rules have been a huge success. I wish I could tell you we have been doing this for weeks, but in truth, it has only been 3 days 🙂 However, I have to say this past weekend was the best one we have had in a while. Since it was warmer out Jackson spent a lot of time outside playing, played with toys he hasn’t even looked at in a long time, was super well behaved, and even asked me to read to him which he hasn’t done in a long time. Lately when I have asked him if he wanted to read or wanted me to read to him he would automatically say “no I don’t like to read.” He didn’t pitch a fit when I would tell him times up and actually on Saturday he never even touched the iPad at all.

I certainly think technology has its place, but for our family, it was overtaking things and was being used way too much.

What things are you all working on improving? Do you face similar problems with your kiddos? Comment below, I would love to hear about it! I remember asking the nurse after I delivered Jackson where the instruction manual was at and I still wish he would have come with one!

Taking a chance…

So I initially created an account on here in 2016. I never had the courage to even share with anyone that I had done it. I knew everyone would think I was crazy to think that what I could have to share would help them in any way. Or, that anyone would even want to read about my life and what I had to say. Fast forward a couple of years. I have felt for several years that I am just “stuck.” Stuck in some sort of rut I cannot get out of. I have finally figured out that I am not really doing a lot of things that give me pure joy. I go to work and I take care of my family, which there is absolutely nothing wrong with and I would not trade for anything. But I don’t really do a lot of stuff that I enjoy doing. I have tons of interests but just got stuck in the mundane.

So I have decided to do something about it. Life is too short to not enjoy it to its fullest. I have started doing things I enjoy, like reading, crafting, and…writing. I have always liked to write. I was the true nerdy kid in school who actually got super excited when a teacher would assign a paper while everyone else grumbled. I have decided to revisit the notion of having a blog and actually sharing it with people this time. I read tons of blogs, books, and attend women’s conferences and always think,  “I sure wish I could do that!” I don’t know if anything will come from blogging other than me just getting joy out of writing, and if that is all it amounts to, then it is still a good thing in my eyes. But it certainly is not going to go anywhere if I don’t start and give it a try.

Even though I have had this notion to blog, I have still been reluctant. I was looking at the “Open Door Sisterhood” site and saw where you could apply to be a guest blogger on their blog. I said to myself, okay, I will do this and if I don’t get anything back from them, it is a sign that I am not supposed to do this. But if I hear back, it is God slapping me on the head telling me to stop being a scaredy cat (we’ve all seen those memes of “this must be what my guardian angel looks like”) so this must be what mine was doing this entire time:

After just a week, I heard back. They have considered my application and would like me to submit a piece for consideration! What?!?! Okay God, I get it now, I will finally listen to you…

So I am working on a piece to submit and we will see where it goes. I will keep everyone posted 🙂

School Supplies

I just got through labeling all of my sons school supplies for the upcoming school year, and I can’t help to think about how much I truly love a box of brand new crayons and sharpened pencils. It’s the little things…

I have really been struggling with the fact that I will have a 1st grader. No more pre-k or K we are in an actual numbered grade. I always kind of dread the start of school because I know there will be no more care free days. Things will go back to being very “scheduled.” I always dread the school supply list. It is so specific, down to the brand things need to be, the amount, etc, etc, etc.

So as I went in to label crayons, #2 pencils, pencil box, and erasers, I realized something. It will seem like no time at all when school supplies is going to be something entirely different. In no time at all school supplies will potentially mean mini fridges and long twin sheet sets. It’s going to mean meal plans and computers. It’s going to mean my baby is truly grown up and being left at college.

So, I will hang on to those crayons and #2’s for as long as I can and enjoy this ride called parenting.

Just One…

It seems like since our wedding day, my husband and I have been asked questions regarding our family size. As a matter of fact, at our wedding we were asked when we would be having kids, how many kids we wanted, etc. We were like can we at least get through the reception first before we start contemplating these questions! We waited four years to have our first child and I wish I had a dime for every time in that four years we were asked “when are you going to have a baby?” because I could already be retired by now! So In October of 2009 when our bouncing baby boy arrived, I thought, phewww, no more questions on when we are going to have a baby. Boy, was I ever wrong…

Now I started getting asked when I would be having another baby, because apparently children are like Oreo’s or chips, you can’t just stop at one. I had no idea when I would want another child, or to the astonishment of everyone around me, if I would ever want to have another child. Our son is now 6 and going in to first grade. I still get asked when I am going to have another child because my son is “getting up there” in age and if we wait any longer to have children, they will be too far a part, I won’t want to start everything all over again, etc, etc, etc!!! Can I just say…ENOUGH ALREADY! I have had enough of the questions on when I am having another child and the statements like you surely are not going to have JUST ONE child are you??? I have had enough of the appalled looks I sometimes get when I am asked how many children I have and I answer one. I am even more sick of the response to the question how many children do you have and I reply one, and the person asking the question gets this disappointed look on their face and say oh, JUST ONE…like I am not doing my share of populating the earth or how I am not a “real” mom because I don’t have at least 2 children in tow. I also love the lecture that typically follows on how I cannot allow my son to be an only child because every child needs a sibling and what a horrible future I am preparing for him if he doesn’t have a sibling.

I admit, I am guilty of asking women when they are having a baby, if they want to have another child, etc. However, since being asked since my wedding day about my plans for my uterus, I have vowed to never ask a woman any questions related to their plans for children and their family. I have had too many friends who have gone through horrible circumstances trying to conceive, having miscarriages, or losing a baby late in a pregnancy to ever ask this question of another woman ever again. The woman you are asking these questions to might love to have their first child, or their second, or third, or fourth, but for whatever reason, their bodies are not able to right now or maybe they never will be able to. The woman you are asking those questions to may have just had to return a foster child they were in the process of adopting to the birth parents because they “changed their minds.” That woman may have just had to go through a loss of an infant. Or, that woman may just not want children. Unless they are a close family member or friend,  we may not know their circumstances, and we don’t need to. We need to support and be encouraging to all women because this is a tough world and motherhood is a tough calling. We do not need one other person asking us questions we do not want to answer, judging us, tearing us down, saying we are not good enough. Instead embrace the differences and help build each other up.

So, yes, I have JUST ONE child. JUST ONE child that is involved in anything he can get signed up for, that I want to spend time with, that has been called “spirited” by a teacher and that sums him up completely. I also have JUST ONE job that requires me to work 40+ hours a week, JUST ONE husband that is a Principal and has never worked in the same town in which we live,  JUST ONE two story house to keep up with, JUST ONE church family I love and want to participate in. I could go on about all the JUST ONE’s that I have in my life, however, I will stop with JUST ONE challenge to us. To stop making women feel like they are not good enough or that they are letting the world down by what their family looks like, acts like, is.