May your seconds feel like minutes and your minutes like hours......

As I sat and rocked her...again...all while wishing I was the one to be heading to bed, I began thinking of this moment.  This perfect moment. Her warm body snuggled to me as we rocked in the antique chair passed on by great grandparents, never mind that her leg hurt or I was anxious to head to bed myself.  In that moment, it was just us. Her soft breath on my neck as she slept on my shoulder, unaware of her leg pain anymore.  And in that moment, I wanted the seconds to feel like minutes, and the minutes like hours......so when that time is gone I could hold on to that moment.

You don't have to tell me how fast time will go. It feels like only yesterday that she was my baby (I often tease her that I'm going to squish her up again to be my baby because she is too big), but yet it feels like tomorrow she will already graduate high school.  You never seem to understand your own parents' sentimentalism until you have your own children.


One of the reasons I love my husband is his sense of urgency with time.  Having lost his sister and dad too early, and lost contact with different close1 friends, he doesn't take time with those closest for granted. He is very aware of not letting anything take him away from our family, and very mindful of being intentional with the moments with our kiddos. At this moment, he's out working in the yard with his little shadow, whose heart was crushed when she thought she may not be able to join him. 

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Time waits for no one. I don't take any day for granted with these little ones, for I know none are guaranteed.


I read or heard once about someone who rocked their baby just one minute longer or snuggled just one minute more for they knew that season would soon be over and they would hold to those moments.  Psalm 90:12 (NIV) says "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

Today, lets be intentional.  Let's hug one more time, call just because, "be" in the moment, and reach out again.

May your seconds feel like minutes and your minutes like hours...so when that time is gone, you can hold on to that moment.....and know you spent it well.

When your dreams for others feel as elusive as the promise of Spring.

This past weekend we had a blizzard...yes, a full on record breaking blizzard with over a foot of snow dumped in one day. Yet, the calendar says it's spring. My heart is anxiously waiting...

I have hopes to for my little ones, dreams for their future, hopes for their character. Sometimes, those dreams can feel as elusive as my hope for spring. But I must remember that good things start small. If someday I hope for them to wash the dishes along side me, today I must submit to water spilled on the floor, dirty dishes "washed" and placed still dirty in the drain rack, and a constant begging for more water, more soap, and the other scrub brush while she stands next to me to "help".   I wait....

The snow covers my dreams of spring, and makes me anxious for how planting will happen next month. I wait....

But I must remember to look for the 'spring' moments mixed in with the waiting. Though her "But I don't want to!" and her pushing her brother show me her rebellious nature, her "I'm sorry, mama. Please forgive me for not listening to you" shows me her heart softening. She may kick, scream, or protest when she doesn't get her way, but she is one of the first to show compassion when you are sick, to pray for Jesus to heal you, and to pray for the sirens we hear. Spring is coming.

"While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” Genesis 8:22 ESV   It is promised. We won't be stuck in an endless winter.

"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6 NIV

Whatever your elusive dream is for your child, friend, or loved one, trust that God is working. The spring blizzard may come and all may be buried under 13 inches of snow, but spring will come. The best things start small. As you wait, pray and patiently do your part to model and instruct, God is working to bring forth His new work.  He has blooms and blossoms planned out that we cannot dream of on our own. And one day, the snow will melt away and we'll see the fruit of our prayers, investment......and waiting.

Spring will come. 

Love is said a million ways

Love is said a million ways.  We most often think of the big dramatic first "I love you", which signifies this is more than a simple friendship. I remember standing outside my parents' house with my now-husband, and hearing him ask, "What would you say if I told you 'I love you'?"  It was a defining moment in our relationship, but even more importantly, he had backed up those words through months of invested friendship (getting to know my family, figuring out my favorite coffee, texting me Scripture verses, etc).

In the last couple months, I've been thankful for the many ways I've heard "I love you" through special actions of friends when I've needed it. I suppose this post is more of a gratitude journal coupled with a personal challenge to love others well.

Love looks like getting a text message from a friend just to ask how you're feeling that day.

Love tastes like chicken strips sent home with you by a friend because it's the exact food you've been craving for four days, and you quickly devour that bag in three days.

Love sounds like the quiet prayers of a two year old pleading with Jesus to help mama not be sick.

Love smells like your husband faithfully cooking supper each night because you're to tired to do it all.

Love feels like your bed when you are sent upstairs for a nap, when your eyes just can't stay open anymore.

Love tastes like Juice Stop picked up by your husband on the way home, because it's the only thing you can eat.

Love sounds like washing the dishes, because he knows you hate the dishes. And you simply say, "I love you too."

Love looks like flowers given just because.

Love sounds like prayers on your behalf being sent up.


Love looks, feels, tastes, sounds and smells like many things. The words may be great to hear,  but the actions give it power.


Today, how can you say "I love you" without using words?  And perhaps, start recording how often you "hear" it too. You may be surprised by the number of ways you've heard it just this week.

The book that read my mind: Decluttering at the Speed of Life

     

Have you ever read a book that seemed to have read your mind?  Somehow the author had thought of all your reasoning, excuses, fears, or imaginary scenarios and answered each one.  As you read through the book, you chuckled to yourself wondering how the author knew you.

Or perhaps you've had the opposite reaction to an informational book, where you wonder if the author has ever really struggled with the issue.   While they seem to have great ideas or even great photo proof of their successes, they seem to fire off good ideas and new solutions without any acknowledgement of the struggle to implement them. You may pick up some good ideas, but you'll never feel like a team member with them.

Deluttering at the Speed of Life is a book for real life people. Dana K. White is a real life messy house person who simply tells her story.  She shares real examples of stuff she's collected with grand dreams of marvelous projects or things she's stored for the possible 'future need'....for years.

Dana shares on the value of breathing room vs. the cost of storing something (your mortgage payment divided by the square feet of your home), our emotional attachments to things and dreams, and how to just start...even when we only have five minutes.

One of the best parts?  She writes it all with humor, grace, and a realness that makes it clear she's right there with you.

I bought her first book How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind and loved it for all the same reasons.  Her podcasts are also pretty simple, practical and humorous.

If you are a 'real life' person, who just wants another 'real life' person to share your journey, this book is for you. She will not share some fancy new organization system she invented or tell you how many shirts you should own.  Dana just lays out basic principles for simple home management in an easy to relate to way.

I was super excited to see this book available on the Booklook Blogger review program, and thankful to receive a review copy.  All of the views in this post are mine, and are not affected by receiving a review copy.

How to be the Spring for someone's Winter

Spring...that elusive, teasing, bi-polar season that likes to pop in and out for weeks until it finally decides to stay. I get so hopeful waiting for the ONE day this week the sun will shine, but then sad again as I read of the chance for snow. When those few days come where the sun finally breaks through, the kids and I hurry outside to catch the sun's rays, if only for 15 minutes, to last us through the cloudy days to follow.

Spring reminds us that winter is not forever. The season of barrenness and waiting is not our future, but will eventually be in the past. Hope beckons us forward with promises of warmth, and sun rays to brighten the dark corners of our weary souls. 

For the last nearly month and a half, I have been so sick that I've felt the 'winter of the soul'.  Yes, it's been winter outside, because winter here in the north lasts.....FOREVER (with some repeat appearances made as it fights it out with spring).  But it's also been a soul winter as I have felt like a prisoner in my house, unable to leave till late in the afternoon, and always afraid that my stomach contents would make a guest appearance in public.

In this season, I have been immensely grateful for dear friends who have brought moments of 'spring' to my soul.  Never underestimate the power of your words, texts, visits, etc in the life of another. It may be the moment that they look forward to all day.  It may be the word that drives the storm clouds away and gives strength for the day's tasks.

Getting a text message that said, "Hey, how are you? Thinking of you and praying for you today", felt like a warm sun ray just passed through the clouds.  Getting visits was my motivation to get something done, and also helped the days not drag on.  And getting a surprise bouquet of flowers reminded me that I was not alone in this rough season.

Often people just need you to 'be' the spring. When some of my friends offered to pick up my kids so I could rest, I responded with "I don't need someone to watch them, I need someone to 'be' with me and remind me this won't last forever and that I will make it through."  When our hope runs low, we need others to share their hope with us.

Let me encourage you to 'be' the spring for someone's winter season of the soul.  The power of your words, visits, and presence will be like the daffodil stems peeking up through the dirt.  They give hope that this cold season will not last forever, but someday in the (I hope near) future the sun's warm rays will be given free reign.  And when your 'spring season of the soul' comes, (be it next month when it should be warmer or in 28 weeks for me), may it cause you to rejoice with even greater gratitude because of how long the winter was.

And may it remind you to in turn....
                      Be the spring for someone else.

God made the World: a book review

I  was pretty excited to see this little treasure arrive in the mail!  Now I just have to keep it tucked away till some dear toddler's birthday this summer. :-) I can't wait to see her light up when she pulls it out! It's a board book, so it will even be safe from her not so careful younger sibling. (always a plus in this house).

The illustrations are simple, yet in beautiful full color. The book goes day by day through the six days of Creation and God's final day of rest. (I still love that He modeled rest for us, because He knew we would struggle to sit still)  Each pages illustrates the next step in Creation through artistic renditions of the sea, moon, trees etc. And it typical children's book fashion, each set of pages ends in rhyming words (made/played, kind/find).

This book is perfect for preschool age children.  My only wish was that it had the number of the day on each page so she could connect what God made on Day 1, Day 2 etc. Now I just need to find a good hiding place to stash it away for her birthday. :-)

I received this book as part of the Tyndale Publishers Blogger review program, however all of the views are mine.  And I specifically requested this book, because I thought I would enjoy it.

Hello Mornings: a book review

For years I've risen (though not always early) to start my day with time in the Bible. It was a simple habit, based on a simple need....to have the right focus for the day. I also knew that life's craziness would probably happen, and if I didn't get it done then, I probably wouldn't get it done. It was also simple because I was only responsible for me. That was it. Barring unforseen circumstances, my mornings went as I planned them. That's not how it is currently.....

Currently we creep out of bed at 6:30 trying to make as little noise as possible so we can extend the quiet as long as we can.  When I get downstairs, I rush to let the dog out so her frantic "Help, I've been in my kennel all night! Let me out!" noises don't become high pitched shrieks and wake the sleeping littles. Should we hear the toddler's voice begin the initial calls, instantly my husband and I lock eyes and one of us says in a voice like we just woke the sleeping dragon..."she's up". Lately it's been 7 or 7:15, so our quiet time is short and sacred.

I've enjoyed listening to Kat Lee's podcasts 'Inspired to Action' and 'Hello Mornings' and was excited.....no...ecstatic when I saw her book, Hello Mornings, was out to review. My expectations were met in this book!  I've drawn stars by key points, folded down corners to mark favorite sections, quoted on Facebook, and shared a couple Instagram snapshots of the pages.

Kat Lee's platform, which she shares on her website, podcasts, Facebook community and now her book, is for women to start their day intentionally.  Her three minute morning routine (which you can expand on in time) focused on soul care, time management, and your health.  Starting simple eliminates most of the excuses we give for not spending time with God, nor being mindful of our time and health. In three minutes, you can read and pray Psalm 143:8, read your calendar/pray over your day, and drink some water. In time, you can expand the Bible time to include your own devotional plan, expand the planning time to include writing out and prioritizing items on your to-do list, and expand the health time to include a short workout or walk.

Kat focuses on developing a solid habit or ritual that part of who you are. In each season of life, it will grow and shrink due to the demands on your time, but it will always be there. Some of the points she covers include the importance of planning, setting up your personal space, developing accountability, establishing a habit, and the blessings that follow when you commit your first moments and your day to God.

This is more of a heart book, dealing with our personal excuses for avoiding this habit and calling us forward to see that more is possible. Honestly, I'm not sure what that looks like in this season. For me, it currently involves writing out my daily intentions the night before because my day starts off running, dealing with two hungry littles and a cooped up dog.  I would love to have a slow morning to sit and savor the Word, make a plan, and exercise, but I can't convince myself to get up at 5 yet. :-) Especially not as long as at least one of the kiddos is up in the night.  But Kat's book is grace filled, just calling us to do what we can in our season. If nothing else, we have three minutes in the shower  or the work commute to pray, plan, and think of something to care for yourself (fill your water bottle, plan a healthy supper, stretch, walk the long route to the office, etc).


I received a complimentary copy of this book as part of the blogger review program with Booklook Bloggers. However, this book was on my dream wish list and all of the opinions are mine.