Encouragement

JMom at Lots of Scotts has written a poignant post that encourages those of us "in the trenches" of mothering little ones.

Here's an excerpt:

"The truest stories of heroism and grace of God are found in the walking (sometimes trudging) through the day-to-day, unpredictable challenges of life.

We are called to live with an eternal perspective, with our eyes fixed on "things above," yet the reality is that Moms of little ones spend a lot of our day wiping poopy bottoms, cleaning toilets and dirty floors, trying to shape and mold character of people who still fall apart over spilled milk and the wrong kind of cookies.

What would it look like if we could pray for the ability to REALLY view this all as work for the glory of God? I am going to try. Care to join me?"

Lately I feel like every day there is an unpredictable challenge and the rest of the time I'm dealing with predictable challenges!

Read her whole post here.

A Sweet Friend

Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting with a sweet friend of mine for about an hour at my house. I asked her to come over and talk because I was in need of some encouragement. She's got about 12 years on me and 14+ years of parenting 3 kids, and I needed to hear from someone who's been in the "trenches" with small ones and has come out on the other side. I admire this friend so much because of her devotion to God's Word and her sweet spirit.

She cut right to the point and said, "How can I help you?" What a blessing. She listenened to me recount all I've been feeling lately (physical and otherwise), and offered great advice. Everything she said was something I already knew, but I needed to hear it all again. (Actually it's stuff you've all been saying, too, but it helps to have someone face-to-face saying, "It's OKAY! You're not SuperMom and Caleb will survive all of this!")

This morning that same friend emailed me and said she could go to the grocery store for me today if I needed that.

I love this friend because I know that she will always ask me if I've been in God's Word. She will always be encouraging to me and love on me and be straight with me.

Thank you all for your amazing support. God has been sending people to this blog to encourage me and pray for me, and I couldn't be more grateful for that. As much as I hate to ask for help, I've needed it lately.

I may be one of the last people to find out Beth Moore and her daughter, Amanda, have a blog, but I've been so blessed by what they've written there. Yesterday, Beth posted about being a young mom and the power of other moms in her life. It's worth a read.

A Must-Read!

Katherine at Raising Five has a great post today for moms who are dealing with the adjustment of adding another child to the mix! I'll be there in a few months and I know I'll need to remember her words!

Here's a sample of her wise advice: "If some things have to be put on the back burner for a while, they will eventually work their way to the front. You don't have to solve everything right here, right now. Let people help you, even if their "help" seems harder than doing it yourself. Take some naps. Deal with the big siblings as best you can, but don't stress. They're not leaving home any time soon. Some acting up is expected with a new baby around, so don't take it as a personal affront to your parenting ability."

Go over and see what other great things she has to say!