She Never Thought About The String

It hit me the moment I saw her smile.  The complete feeling of freedom and trust and pure joy.  She was not worried that the string would break.  She was not wondering how long she would get to ride the swing.  All she knew was that her Daddy was pushing her, he would keep her safe, and that it was fun.

I look inside my self and desire so to be like my little girl on a swing, but so often, I am stuck in the distractions and worry of the day:

How can my children stay safe? What will I do if my husband loses his job? Why can't our car ever work for more than a few days in a row?  What if something happens to my string?

I need to take a few pointers from my daughter and trust in my Daddy, my Heavenly Father, who holds the string to my life.  Oh, he doesn't promise that it will be all fun.  And there will be times when I want to get off the swing, but what I know with complete certainty is... He will never let go of the string.  He will never let go of me.

And that makes me want to ride this thing called motherhood and life for as long as He gives me breath!

Want to hear more of His Story?  Come connect to other writers who share that means to them:

When Our Snowmobile Tipped...

Oh, the picture of the happy family, right?
Well, the day before this was not quite the same...

And I am bummed to say we did NOT have the camera when I tipped the snowmobile over on my daughter and me!

It was a beautiful day of trail riding and sightseeing.  We even saw three deer!  And then we came to a bigger bank where the plow had pushed up the snow.  It was not a huge bump.  In fact, my husband, Mike, made it over with the snowmobile and sled.

My problem is that I had never gone over such a big one and I made the mistake of trying to go over it on an angle.  Part of me was unsure and thought that if I went straight over it, it could flip back over on us (I have since found out that would not happen as the snowmobile is quite front heavy).  SO I tried to make it less scary and "easier" and go over an an angle.

EPIC FAIL!

My daughter and I landed under the snowmobile, kind of getting thrown off to the side, yet the black rubber thing did run against her helmet.

The boys were scared by what they saw, my daughter was scared by what just happened to her and I was scared that she would never trust me on the snowmobile again.

SO I did what I thought would help:

We tried again.

But this time, I got instruction from my husband.

He told me what I needed to know in order to get over the hill.

My daughter was unsure at first, but then she accepted the fact that this was something that she needed to do and we went over the hill together the right way!  She was still a bit shaken, of course, but by the end of the trip, we had actually traded spots and she was able to drive on the straightaway on the last leg of the trip back to the cabin.

People say you learn through failures, and I really found that out.  I will never forget the lesson to go straight over the hill if you are snowmobiling.

The wonderful thing is that God not only kept us safe during this time, but He also gave us a life lesson that we could teach the kids. He does that an awful lot, doesn't He?

In the same way that I needed instruction to make it over the hill, God wants to give us that instruction in spending time with us.  He wants to encourage us and give us the wisdom that we need to parent, to write, to work, to connect, and to ultimately live out His purpose for our lives.

The second thing is to get right back up and do it again.  Get up in the morning and wash those dishes and wipe those bottoms, get into work and connect with clients and make presentations, teach those students, read those books, file those papers, but get right back into what He is calling you at this MOMent whether you are scared, unsure, or even if you are just tired and you do not feel like it.  God will give you the strength to continue on.

You can not just go on an angle and take the "easy" way out.  It rarely turns out well!

My husband actually had a unique take on the fall since He was watching it.  He said as we were flipping, he was thinking he knew that was going to happen as soon as he saw us go on an angle.  He was thinking, "Oh, I should have told them."  In the same way, he told the kids, you cannot expect that people know Christ.  But you can tell them.  If you know His love, you can share His hope and love with someone.  You might be helping them avoid the some pitfalls found in this life, as well as sharing the ultimate hope for eternal life with Jesus.

Hmm, so many lessons for one big fall.  Worth it?  Yes!  To see my children interact with the truth of God's love, law, and grace...

EPIC GIFT! 

Any fun life MOMent connections that you have had lately with your kids?  I would love to hear...

Five Minute Friday: Remember

Happy Friday!

Today I’m linking up with Lisa-Jo for Five-Minute Friday.

Join me!

The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, overthinking, or backtracking. Just write.


Today’s Topic: 

Remember

 

We had matching dresses.

But you wore a bow.

We kept giggling at each other because I was tickling you and you were tickling me.

It was a little chilly but we didn't want to wear coats because no one would be able to see our pretty dresses.

"I smiling Daddy. And I tickling Mommy."

Oh, those days of tickling.  And ice cream chins.  And Bitty Babies. And holding you late at night sitting on the toilet while the shower runs hot. Steam trying to chase away the cough.  That scary cough that hurt my heart with every breath.

The cough went away.  The tickles have too.  At least not as often.  

No more matching dresses. Although we wore matching striped shirts just the other day.   Moms and tweens do that sometimes. I loved it and you did too.

The giggles are still here. 

I thank God for those giggles.

Our Daughters Deserve Better!

                                                                 photo credit


I pray for my children.
I cry for my children.
I hope for my children.

And there are sometimes when I do all three.

Having one daughter and three sons, the world is telling me something different every day on how to raise them.  Instead of looking to the world for my ways, I constantly am driven to is the Bible which is God's truth.

I am involved with a wonderful ministry that wants to empower young girls to focus on the Truth in their lives instead of the lies that the world tells us.  I am joining up with them to promote a new campaign:

Our Daughters Deserve Better!

Please go to the link below and read on how the world is selling lies to our daughters and read on how we can make a difference.  May the Voice of Truth be heard, my friends...

Please click here to find out how you can help because our daughters deserve better.

An acronym for HOME - no laundry allowed!

Home:

I look around the floor and see the laundry strewn about.  I am wondering what other homes look like on a Friday morning?    I cannot possibly talk about laundry again.  I just cannot.  It is beginning to define my home.  It is beginning to define me.

So, HOME:

H - Honor - I want my kids to honor one another.  Putting other's needs before their own. To look out for them, be loyal, let each other win while playing Big Deal.

O - Obey  - I desire my children to obey God's word as Truth, not becasue of fear of punishment. but out of a love for their Lord and the wanting to please Him. Oh, and ahem, I need to do that too.

M - Me - I am such a crucial part on making this house into a home and so often, I forget that.  God has chosen me to be passionate about these four kids, to be head over heels for my husband, and to bring glory to Him in all I do.

E - Excitement - I want my children to be as excited about spending time at home as going out.  I need to be intentional about ways to foster that excitement and love of home.  If it is a place filled with love, they will love being here. 

Dear God, you are the ultimate parent.  Please help me to make them feel your love today.

Enjoy your MOMents!

Linking up with other writers here.