As we journey together “let us think of ways to motivate one another in acts of love and good works”(Hebrews 10:24 NLT)

Ir really seems like i have to do this every. Single. Day.

My heart grows faint.  I feel as though I fail.   Somedays success is counting all four kids as they sleep.  If they are all there, it’s been a successful day!   Ah you think i jest but in reality losing a child ( literally) is something I have to deal with all the time.  It is probably the biggest worry right now in this phase of having a five year old son with autism!

I never know when or where he will bolt but i literally wake up with panic attacks in the middle of the night  and i have to go check to make sure he is still there.  I have spent SOOOO. Much time keeping my eyes on him that it seems as though EVERYTHING around me is falling apart.  I stand back and i look at half done projects, an unclean  house, devotions needing to be done, one filthy kid who fell asleep before his bath, burnt dinner (or completely forgotten at that). Late paperwork, unreturned phone calls missed emails…and forget the shower!

We like to think that life is this nice, neat little package, that needs to be handled the same way every time.  The problem is that not every day starts the same way!   We can start off the day with getting up early, doing our devos, getting the kids lunches packed….you know the mornings that RARELY start that way…lol we would love them to, but then  reality POPS that little day dream bubble!   It’s usually is with someone needing me for something, burning, barking, puking.  Phones ringing, knocks at the door. AND THE LIST GOES ON AND ON………AND ON!

So at the end of the day when the four little munchkins are safe in their beds, and I collapse in a chair, unable to find the mental capacity let alone the physical ability to continue on, and as I scan the debris scattered around me and of the to-do list that once reached Tokyo that now is headed for Beijing and the mountain of laundry that seemed so accomplishable but now feels like Mount Rushmore, where or where do I turn.   I feel alone, ashamed..a failure!  

I have found solace in a couple of things…..

-God is always with me (even in my biggest of messes)

-my joy is not found in the approval of others

-nor is my purpose, rest or faith

-Christ’s blood covered ALL of my imperfections, AND  that is ALL. I need!

-My best is all i have to offer…..anything more is by the grace of God

Those are my resting points.  Those are the things I am confident in.   

I hope this helps!  It surely did for me, as i remind myself of my purpose…to bring glory to God in all that say and do.

That may not look like what you might expect…or what I might expect….

It might just mean being focused on others rather than that to-do list that now reaches to Turkey!

Have a great night all!

For more  Dear Weary Mom Posts visit Hope for the Weary Mom!

I have a confession to make…i LOVE cookbooks, specifically Amish cookbooks!

This book is a collection of simple Amish recipes collected from the Amish and mennonite communities in Sarasota Florida.   It shares stories along with the recipes but not necessarily connected to  one another.   The delightlyfully simple recipes are  a wonderful addition to any kitchen whether, a novice or greatly skilled.  Dishes ranging from Chicken and dumplings to Amish church cookies are written simply yet are high quality.  And scattered throughout this cookbook were amazing tips and tricks to help guide you in both cooking terms and processes.  (I found the tip about the different types of flour and how to make your own bread flour , self-rising flour and so on to be very helpful and have since used those tips Successfully!)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this cookbook AND it is the first cookbook i have sat down and read cover to cover!   The recipes bring back many memories of living in the Amish region of Pennsylvania.   I can almost taste the chicken and dumplings as I read the recipe!   I learned quite a bit about the Amish community is Sarasota Florida, and am intrigued!   I would one day enjoy visiting there.   The tips and tricks were also very helpful and i think i would have enjoyed learning more of those things.  As for the anecdotes that  were interspersed throughout the book, i think some were very well placed, sharing stories of hospitality, and included a mention of the recipe found either just before or just after the story.  But then there were those that really just seemed as though it was honestly gossip……so and so surprised us all when he brought home a girl, we never thought he would settle down.”  I’m not quite sure how these stories fit into the scope of a cookbook but nonetheless they are there.

On another note entirely, i am not quite sure I like the format of this book.  Meaning, I think I would much prefer a hard copy of a cookbook instead of a digital copy.

So here are my top reason’s why I enjoyed this book

1.  Simple down home recipes without crazy, hard to find ingredients!

2.  The tips and tricks.   Making my life easier by not needing to keeps all types of flours (and other foods) on hand.

3.  I enjoyed learning the history, and some other tidbits about the Amish Community in Sarasota Florida.

4.  Some of the anecdotes made me laugh….OUT LOUD!    

So. I give this book a

I know what you are thinking…”This is going to be about one of her kids breaking a plate and her forgiving them”.   and I would have to say , WRONG”.  Truth be told I break more dishes than the kids!  Anyway, this blog post is about laundry!  You are completely confused , Right?  Well Keep reading!  I promise it will make sense in the end!

(Now i want you to know right up front that the two picture quotes i’m going to use from Facebook are not mine but they belong to and were created by someone else.  I tried finding the rightful owners but to no avail!  So please note i would have asked permission if I knew who to ask!)

So here are the two pictures:

Which of these two is based in biblical principle?

Not sure…well there is a discussion based on the plate picture……by smashing a plate on the floor , it becomes virtually useless. Have you ever seen a plate fall onto tile floor? Let’s just put it this way…only an act of God could put the pieces back together. In this manner the people discussing this plate idea is saying that by saying things we are rendering someone useless? I struggle with that big time! Yes it hurts, yes it does damage, yes there are consequences but that picture? Murder does that, rape could do that, but words of a child? I think that’s is pretty harsh.

After all, mobs of people were yelling crucify him, crucify him, he had been beaten with a whip with pieces of pottery, bone and metal at the ends, he was being mocked and spit on, he had a crown of thorns pushed on his head, he was nailed to a cross and still he spoke out to his Father and said “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Other than a simple repentance, nothing is asked of us. I don’t have to repay my debt to Jesus. I choose to live my life as a sacrifice to him.I might have smaller consequence s to pay for sins i do, but the ULTIMATE Consequence is covered. I find it funny how before once single repentance was uttered Christ requested forgiveness! Of all circumstances of all time, Christ was the ultimate smashed plate! And yet he was NEVER BROKEN! He forgave before an apology was ever given.

So what about the laundry?

Well before i saw the plate picture last night, i had trouble with my 7 year old daughter. She is my helper. When i need something done I can count on her to help me out, but last night was different. I had placed two laundry baskets of laundry in her room to be folded. When i came upstairs I found the two laundry baskets empty outside of the laundry room but didn’t see anything folded and the laundry pile had grown—SIGNIFICANTLY! Now after being sick for nearly a week I was frustrated with her! She had never done anything like this before. I let her know i wasn’t happy with the situation and I also let her know my trust was broken! after a tearful apology about 10 minutes later, I “forgave”her but I assured her, my trust in her was still damaged. (But in all reality…i deserved to be angry. She did make more work for me…and after i had been so far behind because I have been sick)

A couple hours later as i climbed into bed I saw the plate picture had been posted by a couple of different people, and God spoke to me through it……convicted I resolved to apologize to my daughter this morning due to my bitterness! Yes she did wrong, yes she had consequences this morning but do I chose to still trust her….the short answer is yes! Why? Because I chose to give her a second chance, for this very reason Christ doesn’t take back eternal life. GRACE AND MERCY!.

Grace is giving someone something they don’t deserve. (A second chance)

Mercy is NOT Giving someone what they do deserve. (A lack of trust)

So yes my daughter may not deserve my trust but I chose to give it to her.

Why should have Christ trusted Peter with the ministry he would have later? After all he denied not once, not twice but three times. Talk about broken trust! Yet God chose to use Peter! AND bless Peter! Did Peter get away with it? No he had to answer to Jesus himself. Jesus CHOSE to give Peter a second, third and fourth chance Did my daughter get away with creating extra work for me and not obeying me? No she is having to do extra work too! And i will be watching her in her chores!

Let’s be honest what you teach your kids, may be a detriment to your relationship with your child later in life.

Because not only do they make mistakes so do you and inevitably someday you will say something that will hurt them deeply. You may not mean it, but that broken plate lesson will come back to mind. And your relationship with that child will be damaged forever, because what you really taught them was it’s okay to let people break you, and it’s ok to hold a grudge and be bitter.

Is that really what you want them to learn or would you rather them learn what true grace, mercy, and forgiveness really looks like. After all I know that when I get to heaven all of those times I have asked God to forgive me of certain things, they won’t be recounted. They were wiped away!