Category Archives: Encouragement

Offering Grace When I Want to Offer Shame

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Shaming Others

Shame is so prevalent in our culture today– especially in church, which is where I have spent my entire life. Now, nobody walks up to you and says, “Shame on you. You shouldn’t have…” fill in the blank. Nobody actually says that, but it’s implied. So we walk around with feelings of shame for the things we have done wrong. We get so discouraged with ourselves, our mistakes, our failures, and our shortcomings because people keep reminding us of them.

Why is that? We are Christians. We are supposed to be walking around full of grace and extending grace to others. Isn’t that what Jesus does for us? Jesus forgives us day after day for the same things over and over and over again.

Choosing to Extend Grace

You know what’s really hard? To extend grace to someone who has hurt us. Being a pastor’s wife, I am no stranger to hurt. People say things about my husband, about me, and about our ministry. Matt continually tells me, “We have to develop tough skin but keep a tender heart.” Let me tell you– I am bad at both of those things! I am not  good at taking criticism from people. People can be mean. It’s especially hard to take criticism when the criticism isn’t even true.

When I am criticized, there are two things that I am really trying to work on. Number one, I am trying to learn not to defend myself. Number two, I am trying to learn not to shame those who are criticizing me, but extend grace to them, even when they have hurt me.

Choosing to Look Past the Hurt

There is a very familiar saying that says, “Hurting people hurt people.” Whatever is going on in their own personal life is directly impacting why they are lashing out at me. I have to ask God to help me extend grace to them instead of shame. I want to tell everybody around me how they hurt me, how untrue their words are, how unspiritual they are, and so much more. Instead, I have to choose to not talk about it with other people. That is hard! I want to shame them and put them in their place, but I have to choose to offer grace instead. Grace offers them dignity by not talking to others about it. Grace is hard! But grace is what I keep asking Jesus to give to me, so how can I not extend it to others!

Hit the Brakes: I Need to Stop Trying to Fix Life

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Being a Fixer

How many times do we take matters into our own hands when things aren’t going well in our lives? I am a fixer by nature. I naturally want to help fix people and their problems. It’s kind of my Achilles heel. So when my life feels out of control, or when things aren’t going well, I tend to jump in and start trying to fix things. The problem is that sometimes there is nothing I can do to fix it. Sometimes the struggles I am facing cannot be fixed. Only God stepping in and working in my life can fix the problem- whether it’s financial struggles, an illness, a frustration, a hurt, or an offense. Sometimes I step in and make a bigger mess of things, instead of fixing them.

Taking a Break

Last week, we were dealing with some hardships and discouragements in our church ministry. Some things had taken place and the pressures were taking their toll on us. I actually broke down and started crying at church! We decided after that, it was time for a break.

We spontaneously decided to take a trip to Illinois to visit our family. We had a few days free and felt that we could use the break and the encouragement. So we packed up, loaded the kids into the van, and started the thirteen hour trip to the Midwest. While we were there, Matt and I had a chance to talk through the pressures and difficulties but couldn’t come up with any solutions. Early one morning, God got my attention through my Bible reading.

four kids laying on top of each other

Our kids having fun at Grandma’s house

I have been reading in the book of Genesis about Joseph.  Joseph is an Old Testament Bible character that teaches us how to endure hardships. The story of Joseph starts with his brothers hating him, ganging up on him, and selling him into slavery. Thirteen years later, through a series of circumstances, he becomes second in command in all of Egypt. It is during this time that his brothers show up again in his life. The brothers are fearful that Joseph will take revenge on them now that he is a powerful ruler. I love Joseph’s response to his brothers.

And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am in the place of God?

But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Genesis 50:19,20

Stop Trying to Fix Things

I love these verses and have read them many times before. But that day, they stopped me in my tracks. I felt like God was speaking directly to me.

Amanda, are you God? Are you in the place of Me to decide what is good and right? Stop trying to play My role in your life. Everything I am doing in your life is for a reason. I am orchestrating all the events in your life to shape you into the woman I have created you to be. Stop fighting Me and allow Me to mold you and change you. I can do such a better job of running your life than you can if you would just let Me.

God brought me such a peace that morning as I prayed and once again surrendered to His working in my life. I get so focused on trying to do what’s right and trying to fix myself and everybody around me, that when things don’t go as planned, it can totally rock my world. But God reminded me that I am not Him. I don’t have all the answers, but I can trust that when God is working in me, He’s doing it for His glory and for my good.

lady throwing leaves in the air

 

 

The Hidden Pain- A Peek into the Book I’m Writing

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lady typing on open laptop

In the writing process

Being Hurt By God

What do you do when something bad happens that is out of your control? How do you respond? I know we like to throw Romans 8:28 around a lot as Christians.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Don’t get me wrong. I love this verse, and this verse has comforted my heart on many occasions. But sometimes I hear it tossed around too much. Sometimes something happens that hurts us so deeply, and then somebody comes along and says, “It’s ok. It’s all going to work out for good, sweetie. Just hang in there.” And then you feel like punching them. Well, maybe I’m the only one that feels that way. Sometimes, though, life just hits you, and you can’t see how in the world it’s all going to work out. There are no words that help to comfort you.

What makes the problem an even bigger problem is when you feel the hurt is directly from God Himself. Have you ever been there? Maybe it was something you prayed for that didn’t happen. Maybe something happened in your life that you feel God could have stopped, but didn’t.

A Peek Inside My Book

We all deal with tests and trials in our lives, but I think the hardest ones are the ones when we feel like God is against us. It’s the hidden pain we carry– those trials that are too painful and too personal to share with anyone else. For the last six years, I have felt this way. So much so, that I am writing a book about it entitled The Hidden Pain. Here’s a quick peek from one of the chapters.

Boom! I sat up straight in my bed, my heart thudding in my chest. I didn’t know what had woken me up, but I knew some kind of explosion had. I didn’t know what time it was, but it was some time in the middle of the night. I couldn’t find my voice because of the fear coursing through my body. Before I could wake Matt, I heard banging on the front door. This startled me into action. “Matt, wake up. Something’s wrong. Someone’s banging on the front door.”

Matt was out of bed faster than I. He quickly walked out the door of our bedroom and into the hallway leading to the kids’ room. I pushed aside my covers and crawled out of bed behind him. As I entered the kids’ room, my eyes were drawn to the eerie glow coming from the kids’ window.

Just as noticed it, Matt said, “Bob and Debbie’s house is on fire!” (our neighbors.) A second later, he looked out the window and said, “No, it’s our van. Our van is on fire!”

Those few words pulled me out of the daze I was in and propelled me into action.

“Malachi and Madison, get out of bed now! There’s a fire!” Malachi and Madison woke up and jumped out of bed and started down the stairs towards the front door. I grabbed our little girl out of her crib and flew down the stairs behind Malachi and Madison. Matt had dressed lightning fast and was following us down the stairs to the front door where someone was still banging.

I opened the front door and instantly saw the police officer who had been banging on our door. Beyond him was a confusing mass of neighbors all yelling and shouting advice at the same time. The blast of heat hit me the second I stepped out of the house onto the front porch. Stunned for just a second, I glanced over at our van. Our van was completely engulfed in flames. Flames were shooting high into the sky. “Is everybody out of the house?” the officer asked. “Yes,” I weakly managed. Without looking back at the van, I sped down the steps with the kids and followed one of our neighbors to the safety of her home. Another of our neighbors took Maggie from my arms and carried her for me. He told Matt to stay and he would see to it that the kids and I would be safe.

As I walked away from our home and our burning van in my pajamas, I was in shock. I kept asking God to help the firefighters to get there fast. I begged Him to help the van not to explode. I prayed for him to keep my husband, the police officer, and our other neighbors safe. I understood the gravity of the situation. I knew that the fire was too close to our house, and that it was just a mere few feet from our electrical box.

I walked into the neighbor’s house. The lady brought us over to the couch to sit down. With a promise to keep me updated, the man turned and left to go back and see if he could do anything to help. The sweet neighbor lady put on cartoons for my kids to watch. Nobody said a word. My kids didn’t ask any questions. I was glad because I didn’t have any answers for them. I put a hand on my pregnant belly to reassure myself that our baby girl was ok. I kept listening, but still didn’t hear sirens. I couldn’t look out the window because of the fear I felt…

And an excerpt from later in the book…

This is painful. I feel so broken. I feel that God just keeps hammering away at me. But I choose to believe He has a plan. I know He’s trying to get rid of that anger that so often rears itself in this Mama, He is trying to eradicate the pride that stands out so strongly in my life, He is trying to build a boldness for Him in this introverted person, He is working to toughen me up a little bit—so that I am not so sensitive to every little thing people say or do. He has so much work to do in me! Sometimes it’s so discouraging. The only consolation I have is this—because the tests and trials keep coming, He hasn’t given up on me. He believes I am valuable to Him and to His work; He just needs to develop me more. So I wait and allow God to keep working. To keep changing me. To keep testing and trying me. To keep transforming me. Because He values the trying of my faith more valuable than gold.

I Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

I am excited about this book and can’t wait to finish it and share it with you!

 

Letting Jesus Carry Me Through Today

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My Attitude Stinks

Yesterday, my attitude stank. I was cranky, despondent, discouraged, and frustrated. I was frustrated with some circumstances in my life, I didn’t feel like eating right, I didn’t feel like being nice to my kids, I felt like I deserved a break.

Matt talked to me and tried to encourage me, but I was in a foul mood. It was just a bad day. I decided to go to bed early and get some good sleep. Amazingly this morning, I woke up encouraged, filled with hope, and ready to face the day.

What Was the Difference between Yesterday and Today?

So what was the difference between yesterday and today? Both days I spent time with God in prayer and Bible reading. None of my circumstances changed from yesterday to today. The only thing that changed was my attitude and a good night’s sleep. I woke up this morning to a fresh new day. I was reminded of one of my favorite Bible verses.

Lamentations 3:22-23 says, “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is they faithfulness.”

I often hear people misquote this verse. They say that the Lord’s faithfulness is new every morning. While it is true that God is always faithful, that is not exactly what the verse is saying. This verse says that God’s compassions are new every morning.

Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines compassion as “a suffering with another; pity; commiseration; a mixed passion compounded of love and sorrow.” If we put this definition back into the verse, it says that God suffers through our day with us in pity and commiseration mixed with love. Why does God do this? Because He knows and understands we live in a sinful world full of grief, heartache, problems, and pain. He simply chooses to walk with us through the pain each and every day.

So if you feel like you can’t make it through today, remember that Jesus is hurting with you. Lean on Him and let Him carry you through today. Tomorrow will come, and just as sure as the sun will rise, Jesus will be there again to walk beside you.

When You Can’t See God Working in Your Life

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When You Can’t See God

Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him:

On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: (Job 23:8-9)

These verses written by Job thousands of years ago, accurately describe many people’s lives today. Have you ever felt like Job– that no matter which way you turn, you can’t see God working in your life? I have. Sometimes life gets so complicated. We try our best to do all the “right” things. We go to church, we read our Bible, we love our family and care for them, we are kind to others… we do everything we are supposed to do. Yet, we don’t feel His presence, we can’t see Him working in our life, and we sense that His hand of blessing and favor is not on us.

What do you do when you hit a dry spell like this?

God Sees Me

Job was facing deep discouragement when he wrote these verses. He had just lost all of his wealth and possessions and his children. During this time of tragedy, he looked for God but couldn’t find Him anywhere. He knew God’s hand of blessing had been taken off his life, but he didn’t know why. Job questions God’s presence during this difficult time, but he moves on rather quickly in the next verse.

But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. (Job 23:10)

During this season of life when he couldn’t see God, Job chose to believe that God was still actively involved in His life. He trusted that God was watching over him and taking notice of what Job was doing.

It is during times of discouragement and uncertainty that I have to choose to believe that God is actively present and watching over me. Questioning God during this time doesn’t help. I have to trust that He sees me, even though I may not be able to see Him right now.

lady walking on path

Photo credit: Geran de Klerk

 

Questioning God Doesn’t Help

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Questioning God sounds so horribly wrong, yet most of us do it the moment a trial comes into our life or things don’t go as we had planned.

I have been reading the book of Job as a part of my morning time. Job has so many amazing hidden gems in it. If you have been around church for any length of time, you are probably familiar with the story of Job. Job’s ten children died on the same day that he lost all his livestock and servants. Soon after that, Job lost his health. Job went from being incredibly wealthy and a well-known man of means, to a nobody who lost everything.

Where Is God?

Job 23 finds Job in the midst of his suffering. He is desperately trying to understand what is going on in his life and where God is during this time.

Oh that I knew where I might find him (God)! that I might come even to his seat! (verse 3)

I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. (verse 4)

I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me. (verse 5)

As you read these words, can you feel Job’s desperation? His greatest desire in the midst of his  trial is to find God. He wants to argue his case before God. He wants to ask the questions that we all desire to ask of God when we are in a trial. Why God? Why me? What have I done wrong? Where are You? Do you see my pain? Do you care?

Will God Answer?

Job wants to ask God these questions; then He wants to hear God’s answers. What would God say? Job wants to know and be able to understand God’s answers. The next few words out of Job’s mouth give a really good picture of the wisdom that Job has. Job says in the first part of verse 6:

Will he plead against me with his great power? No… (verse 6)

The word plead here means “to grapple, to contend, to debate.” Job ponders– “If I was able to plead my case directly with God Himself and ask Him all my questions, would He debate with me?” Don’t miss Job’s answer. He answers for God– no. Deep in his heart, Job knows that even if he had a chance to talk to God about his pain and hurt that God would not use His great power to force Job to see things God’s way.

God Doesn’t Give an Explanation

Job recognized that God doesn’t owe us an explanation. Even if He did give us an explanation, our finite minds couldn’t even understand it. God is not going to fight with us to prove His point or debate with us. That is not how our loving Heavenly Father works.

Notice the next few words from Job:

Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me. (verse 6)

Job understood that God was not going to debate with him to answer his questions. Instead, Job understood that God would simply fill him with strength to endure his trial.

We Won’t Get the Answers Now

As much as we want answers, I don’t know that it would change anything. I don’t even know if I would want to know. It could be painful. What if God told me right now why our church plant won’t take off– would I want to know? If God were to tell my mom why she has had a debilitating disease most of her life– would it make it any easier? If God told my dear friend why her precious grandson got cancer and passed away just weeks before his 20th birthday– would the pain be any easier to bear?

As much as we want answers, even demand them, God knows we probably couldn’t handle them. So until we get to Heaven, God just gives us the strength to handle what comes our way.

As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. (Psalm 18:30, 32)

 

person walking on rocks

Photo credit: Jordan Whitt

 

The Best Part of a Beach Vacation

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Matt with our crazies at the beach

Summertime at the Beach

It’s summertime! For us, that means it’s time to pack up and head to the beach for a few days. There are a few reasons I love going to the beach for a week. First of all, it’s a change of pace. I get to take a break from schedules, to-do-lists, and pressures. I get to spend more time playing with my kids and talking with my husband and extended family. Second, it’s a change of place. Because I am not at home, I don’t have as many responsibilities to tend to. I get extra time to read and relax.

My Favorite Thing to Do at the Beach

But my most favorite reason for spending a week at the beach is the chance to get closer to God. My favorite thing to do is to get up early in the morning, make a cup of coffee, grab my Bible and my journal and head outside to the patio. Outside I feel the cool breeze and hear the lull of the waves. I soak in the peace and quiet and beauty of the early morning and begin the best part of my day.

I open my journal and write down my praises, my sins to confess, and my prayer requests for the day. Next, I pray through those; then I usually spend a few extra minutes just talking to God and telling Him what’s on my heart. After that, I take a few minutes to be quiet and still. Finally, I open my Bible and read.

The peace that I feel when I have finished my morning time with God is amazing. It is always good to spend time with God, but there is something extra special about it at the beach! I always feel closer to God when I am at the beach. I love that feeling of closeness.

Getting Closer to God

One morning while I was at the beach, I read James chapter 4 and came across a familiar verse.

James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.

I love this verse, and I spent a few minutes thinking about it. This verse is so simple, yet so profound. Sometimes I come to a point where I feel so far away from God. I feel like He doesn’t hear me, like He isn’t there for me. During these times, I need to remember that God hasn’t gone anywhere; He is still right where He was. It’s me that’s moved. Maybe I have gotten too busy to hear His voice in the rush of things, maybe I haven’t spent as much time as I need to in my morning time with Him, or maybe sin has separated me from feeling His presence. Whatever the case, this verse is a reminder to draw close to God once again. I need to stop the craziness, grab my Bible and journal, and spend some quality time talking to God, listening to Him, and reading His Word.

The beach is my favorite place to get closer to God, but I don’t have to be at the beach for that to happen. I simply have to choose to take the time and effort to draw close to God, and He in turn will draw close to me.

 

 

 

Spontaneous Summer Fun

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kids having fun on side of pool

Pool Fun– my kids and my sister’s kids (minus one of her kids that wasn’t around for this pic)

I am a very planned-out person. I love making plans, schedules, to-do lists, etc. I am not one of those spur-of-the moment types of people. Some people call that boring; I call it productive. Anyway, it is something I am trying to work on. I want to be a more fun person to be around, especially for my kids! Well, this week I got my chance to work on it.

On Sunday night around 11pm, just as I was drifting off to sleep, my phone rang. I picked it up and looked at it. It was my sister. I answered, and she told me that she and her husband and four kids were headed on family vacation the next day. They were going to be stopping just about an hour away from our house, and she wanted to know if we wanted to meet up with them. We only get to see them once or twice a year, so this was really exciting news. I hesitated for just a split second, thinking about how I would make all the details work. I stopped myself before I could talk myself out of it and said, “Yes. We would love to!” We finished talking and hung up.

I realized as I hung up that I didn’t really know any of the details, or how this was all going to work. I looked at my husband and said, “So, we are going to meet up with my sister and her kiddos tomorrow. Is that OK?” He graciously said yes, and we went to bed.

The next morning was a flurry of activity, getting our kids up and ready for the day. They were ecstatic when we told them they were going to spend the day with their cousins. My sister asked the manager at the hotel they were staying at if it would be OK for us to come swim with them.The manager said it was fine. So we grabbed swimsuits, towels, goggles, pool noodles, and packed the van and hit the road.

We met them for a fun lunch at Sonic. Then we headed back to their hotel to get ready to swim. Sometime during the craziness of getting seven kids ages eight and under ready to go swimming in one small hotel room, my husband came and told me that he was going to book us a room for the night. My initial “planner” personality kicked in… We didn’t plan that into our budget. What about clothes? What about cosmetics? But I decided in that moment to put all that aside and just roll with it– definitely something I am not good at doing.

two little girls sitting on edge of pool having fun

Our two little girls– cousins

We ended up having an amazing time! I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time! We had so much fun swimming together. That night we all went to Friday’s for dinner. You should have seen the hostess’s face when we asked for a table for 12! We got endless appetizers and yummy meals and enjoyed talking and laughing some more. After dinner, we went back to the pool and let the kids  go swimming again. I ran to Dollar Tree and got a few cosmetics and then hit Target to grab t-shirts for our family for the next day.

It all worked out. It was a crazy but amazing 24 hours. I can’t think of how much I would have missed if I had said no. It’s summer! It’s the time for crazy plans, pool parties, and family fun. I am so glad I just said yes and went with it!

What is something you have done that was crazy and last minute but turned out awesome? I would love to hear about it! Leave me a message in the comments section!

kids sitting on couch having fun

Five of the eight cousins waiting for a table at Friday’s

When God Doesn’t Meet My Need

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The Struggle

It seems that no matter how long we have been married, how much we have learned and grown, finances still seem to get the best of us. We just always seem to have trials based on money. I don’t know why. It must be our Achilles heel. Well, this year has been no exception. We had dentist appointments in March. Dentist appointments for our whole family are expensive! Add to that, one of our children always needs extra work done– which is always costly. So we were already behind financially when we found out from our accountant  (nine days before taxes were due) that our payroll company had messed up our taxes last year. We now owed a nice chunk of money to the IRS. We had some other minor bills that added to the stress of all this until it felt like it was just too much.

I get into these kinds of situations and panic. I know God is going to take care of us, and I know we are going to be fine. But the “planner” side of me starts to panic, especially when it doesn’t work out on paper. For weeks, I prayed and prayed, asked our kids to pray, and asked Matt to pray that God would miraculously provide all the money we needed. God didn’t answer that prayer; He didn’t provide extra money to help us out. Frankly, it didn’t feel like He was listening. When the time came for each of the bills to be paid, we were able to scrape together money, take money from our savings account, moved money from one place to another, and barely pay our bills.

I don’t know why God sometimes provides for these kinds of needs and doesn’t at other times.  We have had other times that an unexpected bill came or some other financial need, and God miraculously provided for it. Someone will send us a check in the mail, or somebody will give us money at church. Not this time. This time God seemed to be silent, almost like He was leaving it up to us to figure out.

Learning to Suffer Need

There are some interesting verses that caught my attention when I was wrestling in my mind and prayer life with all of this. These verses, written by Paul, are found in the book of Philippians. I read these verses in my devotions one morning, and they were such an encouragement to me.

I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound; every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. Philippians 4:12

I love how these verses are written, because I feel like they are a description of my life! There have been times in my life when I feel like God has opened the windows of Heaven and poured out His blessings financially into our lives. When we first started the work of getting ready to plant a church, I felt like this happened. God blessed and blessed us financially. We had so much money given to us and to the church. Soon after we started the church, though, it felt as if God turned the flow of blessings off. We have had many times of need since then. I feel just like Paul– I know both how to abound and how to suffer need.

Encouragement from Paul

What I find so interesting is the verse that comes next. The next verse is so familiar to me, but I don’t think I have ever put it into context before.

I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

Bible open to a verse

Paul says he knows both how to abound and how to suffer need, and then he writes that He can do all things through Christ. I love this! Paul’s philosophy was this: “Whether abundance comes my way or great need, God will strengthen me to be able to handle it.” What an encouragement! God allows everything into my life for a reason, and He will give me the strength to be able to handle it.

I so needed this encouragement that God was not ignoring our needs. He did know and did care. Maybe He was allowing us to go through this time of need, just like Paul, so that through it we could say, “We made it through because Christ strengthened us.” God could so easily provide the money, but perhaps this was about so much more than money. Maybe He wanted to work on my heart instead, the part that has to trust Him completely. We have trusted God through financial difficulties before when He provided the money, but could we trust Him this time, even if He didn’t provide the money?

Are you are going through a season of need right now? Maybe it’s hospital bills, maybe it’s a mountain of debt, maybe it’s unemployment, maybe it’s a paycheck that just never seems to be enough to meet your family’s needs… Whatever it is, God sees your need, and He is allowing you to suffer that need right now. I don’t know why or how it is all going to work out, but I know Jesus will strengthen you to be able to handle it. You can make it through and be able to say, like Paul, “Whether abundance comes my way or great need, God will strengthen me to be able to handle it.”

Guaranteed Success for Moms

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All Different Mom Types

There are so many types of moms out there. There are strict moms, fun moms, organized moms, scatterbrained moms, funny moms, serious moms, boring moms, safe moms, edgy moms, creative moms, techie moms, sporty moms, artsy moms, saver moms, spender moms, fashion moms, entrepreneurial moms, working moms, stay-at-home moms, leader moms, baker moms, and so many more. That list intimidates me. When I see a list like that, I feel like I have to be every one of those, plus some. I don’t do many play dates, coffee dates with friends, phone calls with friends, and more because I always compare myself to whoever I am hanging out with; and I always fall short. Do you ever feel that way?

There is a verse in the Bible that applies to this issue that always catches my attention.

II Corinthians 10:12 …but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

This is something I have really struggled with over the years and am trying to work on. I have spent the past few years trying to figure out who I am, what I am passionate about, and learning to be comfortable with my own personality, passions, and talents. Thanks to Mark Gungor and his flag page test, I am learning to step into who I am. I am faithful, creative, independent, musical, and inspirational. There are a lot of characteristics and attributes that I do not have, but I choose not to focus on those. I choose to focus on my strengths and not get frustrated and discouraged when I see my weaknesses as strengths in other Moms.  I can rest content in the Mom I am because God made me specifically this way to be a Mom to Malachi, Madison, Maggie, and Macey.

Content to be Me

I am learning to be OK with who I am, and I’m making progress! Last week I called two of my friends and scheduled a play date for last Friday. We had an awesome time! I saw in them strengths that I don’t have, but that’s OK. God made them perfectly to be the best Mom they can be to their own children.

God has made each of us specifically and uniquely. He has given you talents and abilities and passions that He has not given me; that’s why we can be friends. If we were the same, one of us wouldn’t be needed. I am the only one that can be my children’s Mom, and you are the only one that can be the Mom your children need.

On this Mother’s Day, I am choosing to be OK with who I am. I am loved by God, loved by my husband, and loved by my kids… and that is enough. I am guaranteed success as a Mom when I choose to be who God created me to be, when I choose to simply be me.

picture of my kids and I

Left to Right: Madison, Maggie, Malachi, my Mother-in-law, me, and Macey