Why I Love Black Friday

I know - I'm crazy. You either love it or you hate it. Here are some great reasons to love it:

1. A great deal. I'm not out the week before camping in the parking lot or anything, but we live on a single-income budget and doing some Black Friday shopping sure does help us cut the Christmas costs down.

2. Decorations and Music. Walking through the mall and drinking a holiday coffee while listening to a little Bing Crosby would put anyone in the holiday spirit.

3. People Watching. As long as your not pushing your way through the crowds to get that one last toy or electronic item, it's so fun to sit back and watch the craziness.

4. Lines. No really! Do I really love standing in line for an hour at the Jo-Ann Fabrics cutting line every year? Well, not for the reason you might think. I love that once people are stuck in line it forces them into conversation with those around them, and who knows if that person in front or behind you needs to feel Jesus this Christmas!

So the next time you are out holiday shopping, don't forget to slow down, enjoy the atmosphere and put your cell phone down for a minute to talk to those around you. Let's bring Christ along to the mall this year, and, of course, leave the kids at home with dad. :)

Heartwarming on a Cold Day

 I saw this on Pinterest and could not resist:

A little boy asked his mother, “Why are you crying?” “Because I’m a woman,” she told him. “I don’t understand,” he said. His Mom just hugged him and said, “And you never will.” Later the little boy asked his father, “Why does mother seem to cry for no reason?” “All women cry for no reason,” was all his dad could say. The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry. Finally he put in a call to God. When God got on the phone, he asked, “God, why do women cry so easily?” God said, “When I made the woman she had to be special. I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world, yet gentle enough to give comfort. I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times comes from her children. I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up, and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue without complaining. I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances, even when her child has hurt her very badly. I gave her strength to carry her husband through his faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart. I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly. And finally, I gave her a tear to shed. This is hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed.” “You see my son,” said God, “the beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart - the place where love resides.” Author: Unknown

God we thank you...

Every preschool has their own little prayer song, and my daughter's goes like this: "God we thank you. God we thank you for this day, for this day. And for all our good food and for all our good friends. Thank you God. Thank you God."

When I really pause and think about what I am truly thankful for, my mind is flooded with options. This time of year makes us more mindful of thanking God. If I have too many things to list, however, why can I not pause and thank God daily for all these things? Despite the difficulties of life, love and loss, hurt and heartbreak - I will choose to be thankful. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose."

Let's join up this Thanksgiving, and sing the Lord's praises for the good things he gives us and for the good He can bring from the things that aren't so good-feeling.

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." Colossians 3:15

When you just gotta dance.

I was raised in what I consider to be a decently musical family. Mom sings. My two sisters and I all played piano and one other instrument through high school, and we all sang in choir at one point or another. Even one of my sisters even became a music teacher! Dad does none of the above but has a real love for music. I'm only 28, and I am already getting more disappointed with music as decades go by. Granted, my parents listened to music from the 60s and 70s, my sisters listened to music from the 80s, and I listened to stuff from the 90s. Beyond about 2005, it gets a little fuzzy for me on what's popular. I just feel like the message, musicality, and emotion is getting lost in fashion and technology. When was the last time we heard someone great just get up with a guitar and a microphone?

No matter what kind of tunes you listen to, whether or not you can sing, or if you were born 80 years ago or 8 months ago - music is important. Just look at how many times singing to the Lord is mentioned in the Bible! Old music takes us back to another time. Slow ballads can make us cry. Listen to a drum beat and tell me you aren't moving your feet!

But what about music and mothering? Maybe you are in the stage when all you hear is Old MacDonald and the B-I-B-L-E. For all of you out there - stick with it! Singing to your kids and playing instruments (even the homemade kind) encourages coordination, rhythm and even confidence with your kids. For those of you with older kids, listen to some of your old favorites with them. Talk about what was going on in the world when it was popular. If they have grandparents, get them involved and have them do the same. Where were you when John Lennon was shot? What music did grandpa listen to when he was in the war? Do mom and dad have a song?

Unfortunately for us, moms, the door swings both ways. You may not like or understand Lady Gaga or Jay-Z, but you can bet the kids at your child's school do. Talk about what they like and listen to it. Look at what the fashion is all about (and talk about that too - especially if you have girls - YIKES!) and keep up with the technology.

I want to make sure my kids know who Aretha Franklin, Nat King Cole, The Bee Gees, The Beatles, and Michael Jackson are so that in some way the gifts God has given these people can touch hearts for all eternity. And perhaps my children will be able to teach me a thing or two in the process.

Jesus is my Airbag

Everywhere I turn lately I'm hearing about friends with job losses, marriage struggles, grief, depression... the list goes on and on. Life is full of unforeseen circumstances, isn't it?

Lamentations 3: 22-24 "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'the Lord is my portion; therefore, I will wait for Him.'"

A few years back I lost a friend due to some very tragic circumstances, and the feeling reminded me of being in a car accident. We were just going along in life, cruising at a comfortable speed. She was climbing in her nursing career, and I had just given birth to my first child. Life was hard, but it was good. Then the day we got the call that she was killed was like an oncoming car smashing head-on into my nice cruise. I felt like if I had seen it coming, I could have braced my hands on the wheel, closed my eyes, slowed down, or taken an entirely different path to avoid the hurt. Nope. When unexpected things happen, the only place we have to fall is on Jesus. He's the airbag of our life. No matter how big the crash, He reaches out to us and holds us, protects us, as we fall. I can't imagine how I could drive through life without knowing He's there to protect me. It doesn't mean that crashes don't hurt us, and it doesn't mean that we will avoid them. It DOES mean that we will always have a safe place to fall and the knowledge that we will not be consumed when a cruise comes to a halt.

We're praying for you, moms. We pray that you invite the Lord into your life daily and that He will protect you in your journeys.

Mommy Reboot

Sometimes moms just need a break. I stepped back from routine life this weekend and went out of town with my family. It was mostly to visit some friends but also to get a mommy reboot. Since the family came along, I can't say it was a total break, but I had the chance to get away from cooking and cleaning, emails and phone calls, texts and facebook. I needed to turn myself off for a while and get back to the basics. We took walks, went to parks, and talked face to face. When we left on Friday, I was in sad condition. I felt like nothing was ever going to get done, and I was overwhelmed. Now that we're back and rebooted, I realized that cutting myself off for a while is just what I needed to get going again.

Perhaps you are feeling frazzled and overwhelmed like I was last week. Even if you can't go away, what can you give up for a day or a few days to allow you the chance to reboot?

The Speed Limit

I learned to drive mostly from my dad. To say that my dad is laid back is an understatement, but when it comes to being behind the wheel he's all about control. I can probably count on one hand the times I have been in the car with my mom driving and my dad as the passenger. He was an excellent teacher, but I could tell it made him nervous not to be in the driver's seat. Another thing you should know about my dad is that he ALWAYS goes the speed limit. Most people I know go at least 5 over to "keep up with the flow of traffic." Not my dad. When I was learning, he always used to say:

Just because it says 65 doesn't mean you have to go that fast.

I got to thinking about that this week as I was making my to do list. The world tells us that our speed limit is 65, but do we really have to go that fast to keep up? And who are we keeping up with - ourselves, our neighbors, other moms? I started to weed out those things that I didn't really "need" to do this week and some white space started to appear on my calendar. Hmm... that looked pretty good. Then the week started and life got hectic again. I started thinking about the world's speed limit and how I was just keeping up witht he flow of traffic. Then my Gram's words popped into my head:

Jesus never hurried, and He got everything done that God needed Him to do.

Well, that was it. I just needed to slow down and take it one thing at a time. I needed to prioritize and set goals for myself instead of speeding up, saying yes to everything, and cramming at the last minute. Things started to fall into place, and God started opening doors for me to do some special ministry work. Hey, I even had time to enjoy a date with my husband and some alone time too.

How do you keep yourself from putting the pedal to the metal?

A True Mom to Mom Experience

Matthew 25:40 "...Truly I tell you, whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."

My husband and I recently took a trip to Las Vegas. He had been there before on business, but it was my first Vegas experience. Frankly, I was a little bit nervous. Neither of us drink. Neither of us gamble. So really, what's left? A LOT! I think it's something everyone should see once in a lifetime. The lights, the shows, the beautiful hotels, the breathtaking Bellagio fountain... and the people watching. After just one day there I told Adam that I think Vegas is such an interesting representation of the American people. At 28, I couldn't quite figure out if I was too old for the place or too young. College kids were there doing things their parents would never approve of, and the senior citizens were burning their hard-earned money left and right. But somewhere in the middle, there were people just like us. 

I could have spent my entire vacation praying over Sin City, and deep down I think I did. Regardless of what people were doing, I couldn't help but look at them and wonder what their circumstances were, if they knew Jesus, if the Church was holding them up or letting them down, if one smile or kind word from me was all the Jesus they had seen that day. As we passed by the many homeless people outside Caesar's Palace, I saw a pregnant woman sitting with a sign asking for food. I had just left my 9 month old baby home in very capable grandparent hands for the first time, and my soul just ached. We were on our way to dinner, and I just couldn't get her out of my mind. Adam and I decided we would bring her something to eat on the way back. With food in hand, we walked back to where she was sitting. My heart sank deep into my toes and a lump went into my throat. She was already gone. We decided to just keep walking and ask God to lead us to the person who really needed that food. After all, there were countless people on the street who needed it.

Just from a tug in my heart, we decided to walk a different way back to our hotel that night. We turned a corner, and there was Brandi. This woman was sitting all alone by the street with her five month old son and an Enfamil can. I wanted to shout, "Hallelujah!!!" Clearly, she was the right person. I stooped down to her level and asked if she wanted the food. She turned to her son and said, "Look, we have dinner from the nice lady." She told me their names. I said how beautiful her son was, even though he looked as though he hadn't seen a bath for a while. I told her that we would be praying for her, and she thanked us and said she needed it. As we walked away, I just lost it and wept the whole way back to our room.

As a mom, I am blessed to have what I need to care for my children. As a Christian, I am blessed to give to others what God has graciously given to me. As a child of God, I am blessed to be cradled in the arms of the Father when I am most needy. Tonight, I hope Brandi feels the same.

Finding Something for Myself

When I first started staying at home, finding time to do things that I loved was a lot easier. Sure, I had a baby, but she could go anywhere I went and sit in one of her millions of seats while I did what I wanted to do. I'll never forget the day that last seat (the jumperoo) went in basement storage. I thought, "what am I going to do now?" That lovely time of doing the things I wanted to do when I wanted to do them went right out the window. And when I had my second child, well you can just forget it! I am robot-mom. I am wife. I clean. I change diapers. I feed people.

At some point, I realized that EVERYTHING I did revolved around my husband or children. I didn't have any hobbies and rarely took time for myself. While I had Mom2Mom (hooray!) that encouraged me in my role as a mom, I still ended up talking about my husband and kids all the time. What I needed was something just for myself, someplace where people would actually use my name, Ashley, instead of calling me Natalie's mom. Now I want to say that I am so proud to be a mom and that I would have it no other way than to be at home with my kids. When they are your daytime, nighttime, every time job, however, it's so easy to sacrifice yourself and the things you love. I didn't even know I was doing it!!! If I continued on this path for too long, I knew that I would be lost as soon as my kids hit school. Simply said, God called me to be Ashley. When my parents named me, they didn't name me Mom. I am a person with passions, interests and God calls me to use those things for His glory.

Okay, so I needed something in my life just for myself. Maybe I could take a class? No, that sounded like a lot of money. Maybe I could join a club? I really need a hobby first if I'm going to join a club. Maybe I'm just not cut out for staying at home, and I should go back to work? No, God called me to this, and I'm committed to it. I prayed through it and decided to start a small business at home selling cosmetics. I gave it my absolute all for a year and then knew it would be too much once my son was born. At the time, it was just what I needed. Time out. A chance to dress up. A chance to make some goals for myself and be rewarded for meeting them. But when all those things became hindrances more than rewards, I knew it was no longer meeting my needs. (Side note: I did this because I wanted the fun - not the money. If you have a small business and are doing it because you need the money - DON'T QUIT.) It was time for me to move on. I ended on learning to sew, and it has been a great blessing. It has been a great chance for me to connect with my mom since she spends much of her retirement in her sewing room. Also, God has opened up many doors for me to make things for people in need. Yes, sometimes I still sew things for my kids, but mainly I just sew. It's my own little place to be creative, and finishing something is just the reward I need.

What do you have in your life that is just for you? If you see yourself in this, what can you do today to help you find "that thing" you need? Here are some questions to ask yourself:
1. Did God give me a special talent that I enjoy and that can be used for His glory?
2. How does our family schedule look and where can I carve out the time to do this?
3. Is there an activity or group that speaks to my heart and that I can find a way to serve?  (In blessing others, we also receive blessing and satisfaction!)
4. What is it that I crave - more time alone? more time in God's Word? more time with people? a creative outlet?

Monday Can Be Rough

(Not so good Monday)

After a long weekend, I sometimes find it difficult to pull myself together on Monday morning. I drag myself out of bed and think "Oh Lord, I just want to curl up in my bed and add another day to my weekend." The truth is, however, that God created rest (aka Sunday) not only so that we could reflect on Him but also to rejuvenate us for the work to come. So now we can say with joy, "Thank you, Lord, for giving me the rest I need. What do you have for me to do today that will help others and glorify Your name?" If I find myself craving more and more and MORE rest, I have to ask myself - am I doing too much and not honoring God with my rest so He can rejuvenate me? More times than not, the answer is yes. This week think about the work that needs to be done and how you can schedule your Sunday Sabbath rest in so that next Monday you can wake with joy and thanksgiving in your heart!

(Joy in the morning!)

Back to School...

It's about that time again! So bittersweet when Summer turns to Fall. We wait all year for the warm weather, for our kids to be home and for a chance to start knocking things off our "to do" list. But all good things must come to an end. August rolls around and the kids start fighting more, you are ready for some personal space and that warm weather you prayed so desperately for is starting to feel just a little bit too hot right about now! So it's back to school...

Since this is my daughter's first year in preschool, we are just starting this whole experience. I am starting to realize that this is also time to get back to "mommy school." Don't we all just let things go a little bit more in the summer? I know I do. The dishes aren't done? Eh, I'd rather take a walk. No plans for dinner? No problem - we'll just grab something on our way to the park tonight. And when you have older kids, I'm guessing you also have your full-time summer job as a professional driver and cheerleader that trumps all other items on your list. Schedules just seem to bend easier in the summer. But when we bend too much, we break.

So now it's time to get your school supplies together, mom. I'm hoping to get my schedule back together, get a good devotional started, organize my meal plans better, and do a little Fall cleaning so my house is in tip-top shape.

What are you doing to get ready for this Fall?