Grace to Face Adventure

Have you seen the orange juice commercial where the mom sits at the breakfast table and people from her day are there to give her a report of the mishaps of the day to come? The principal reports he will be calling about her son, co-worker says there is a problem at the office, other plans change.... Then she says something like, "It's a good thing I had my OJ to face the day."


We don't get a morning briefing or a map of our day. Actually, it is probably a good thing because there are days that if I had known what was coming, I would have just crawled back in bed! Here is one such day...


About 3 years ago, my youngest son was 2 and he woke me up early. He was wet from head to toe! I striped him down, cleaned him up, and got a new diaper. Then I went to his room to change the sheets, but his bed was completely dry. How could he be that wet and his bed be totally dry? About that time my daughter said, "Eew!" as she leaned on big brother's bed. Evidently, my youngest son crawled in my older son's bed after he went to school, and went back to sleep. So I started stripping the bed and cleaning the carpet. I went into my bathroom to get a rag for the carpet job and found my 2 year old spraying bathroom cleaner all over the bathroom! I finally got ALL that cleaned up and got breakfast ready. Thankfully I had just put the lid back on the very full bottle of purple grape juice because it got pushed off the cabinet! Then my daughter proceeded to spill the milk in her cereal. To which I responded in a loud, stern, frustrated mom voice, "Sit down, eat your breakfast, and stop goofin' off!" My daughter replied in a loud, stern, frustrated daughter voice, "Is that the way you talk to your daughter?" (Yes, it is going to get very interesting at our house in a few years!)


We finally made it through breakfast. My mom called to tell me something (more on that in a minute). While I was reading about that online, I heard sounds in the bathroom. I found my youngest picking up a wad of toilet paper out of the potty, squeezing it, and dropping it back in the potty. I really think he dropped it because I scared him when I yelled, "Gross! Gross! Gross!" (I'm praying it was clean water that he put clean paper in!) Got that all cleaned up...again gross! Later I was holding him and kissed his forehead and his hair was wet. I thought Oh, I hope that was just sweat! And it wasn't even lunchtime yet!


The phone call from my mom was to see if I had heard about Steven Curtis Chapman's family. His baby daughter, Maria, who just turned 5 was killed in a car accident. Their story was so similar to my family's that I was just sad all day and cried several times. As I recounted my day to my husband, I laughed about it. And then I cried because I'm sure my Mom, as well as the Chapman family, would treasure another potty diving day, and I spent the day being frustrated with my kids. It was definitely one of those days that I would have crawled back in bed had I known what was coming!


But we do know the One who sees it all and knows what is coming, and He gives us the grace to face whatever may come. Stephen Curtis Chapman has a song that says, "To Him the future is history." Our Heavenly Father invites us to meet with Him each morning, so He can remind us how much He loves us and give us direction for life. Then no matter what adventure may come in the day, we can say, "It is a good thing I have my Jesus to face the day."

Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love,

for I have put my trust in You.

Show me the way I should go,

for to You I lift up my soul.

Psalm 143:8

Posted by Shelly, Mom and Loving It Ministries Assistant

Adventure of a Lifetime!

Marriage--the adventure of a lifetime! Not what you expected to see? If you have been married for more than 5 minutes you know that it is a wild ride with all its ups and downs. Marriage, just as in parenting, you get no real training before you're full-time into the relationship. How are you supposed to know how to be married? TV has lots of suggestions...mostly scary ones! Your parents gave you a picture of marriage, but maybe they divorced and shook your view of a forever relationship. Even if you were raised in a two-parent home, it's possible that they weren't the best example of a loving relationship--maybe they just stayed together "for the kids." Or maybe your parents were terrific. But just because they openly showed their love for each other and they knew how to be married doesn't mean you automatically know how to do this marriage thing. You're a different person than your parents, which means you won't do things exactly like them. And your husband is different as well. Just as every lock has a unique key to make it work, each union between a man and a woman is going to work in its own unique way.





Why is marriage so hard? I knew there would be struggles, but this is so much work, and now that I'm a mom, I'm really tired! I was relieved to find compassion in Jesus' teaching in Mathew 19. He says, "'Not everyone is mature enough to live a married life. It requires a certain aptitude and grace. Marriage isn't for everyone....But if you're capable of growing into the largeness of marriage, do it'" (vv.11-12 The Message). I'm convinced that if we are married, we are capable of growing into the largeness of marriage with God's strength. But it is a huge undertaking, something we must grow into. Marriage is a relationship we start learning about the day we get married, and if we're smart we'll keep learning for the rest of our lives.





It's encouraging to know that marriage is no picnic for anyone. Marriage is work for every couple, no matter how easy they make it look. Research shows that the couples that have good marriages have the same amount of conflict that people with troubled marriages have. The difference is in how they deal with it. Marriage is worth the work. Don't give in just because it gets hard.





Father,

You know my heart for my husband. You know when I'm glad to be married to him and You know when I'm not so happy about being committed to him. With the demands of children and life sometimes I forget him, Lord. I forget why I was so giggly about him and what we did before we were married. Help me to remember. Restore what we have lost and grow us beyond what we can imagine. Forgive me for missing opportunities to encourage him and for the times when I chose to tear him down instead. Help me to work on myself rather than always trying to "fix" him. I want to love being his wife, just as I want to love being a mom. Help me to persevere when times are tough. Please help us both to grow into the couple You want us to be. Trusting You as I begin again, I pray in Jesus' Name. Amen.







Adapted from Laurie and Sharon's book Mom...And Loving It!

No matter what adventure

We recently had grassfires burning in our area, and the TV kept broadcasting evacuations for the people in danger. The fires were probably within 10 miles of our house, but thankfully we were not in immediate danger. Unfortunately, many people lost their homes, but no lives were lost. With the news reports, my husband and I talked through what we might try to get if we had to be evacuated. That conversation only heightened my daughter's anxiety about the situation. She asked if she could get her stuff together. I told her she could get one bag if that would make her feel better. I went in her room later and this is what I found. She could not quite fit all of her life in one bag! That is ok, I couldn't either! And again, thankfully we didn't have to put our plan into action, but she was ready!


Our theme for March is adventures. Along our life journey, events can be life changing, and they can be good or... well...not so good. In fact, they can be down right scary and painful! There are some adventures that you anticipate, pack for and are very excited about! Like Spring Break Trips! Those are fun and I'm so glad we have those in life! Then there are some adventures that you get a little warning to prepare and you don't really want to put the plan in action. Sometimes it happenes and sometimes it doesn't. Then some adventures you find your self right in the middle of it before you even know what is happening--a loss, a change, a surprise, an earthquake. We have to enjoy the ones that we can. And the tough ones, know that our Heavenly Father is with us no matter what comes. Our job is to trust Him.


The Bible tells us of many of Paul's adventures. Sometimes he found wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ who encouraged him on his way. Other times he was run out of town, barely escaping with his life. This is what he said:

I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances.

I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little.

I've found the recipe for being happy

whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty.
Whatever I have, wherever I am,

I can make it through anything

in the One who makes me who I am.
Philippians 4:11-13 The Message

I wrote this before the disaster in Japan, and a little grassfire seems to pale in comparison. We are praying for the people of Japan, as they have found themselves in the middle of a very hard situation.

Posted by Shelly, Mom and Loving It Ministries Assistant

Adventures Close to Home

A few years ago we were in the middle of Dave Ramsey's baby steps to pay off debt, and there was not a lot of extra money for a Spring Break Adventure. Anybody else been there? So that year we had adventures close to home! We rode the light rail train to our local zoo. And the kids loved it! You can tell they are kids of the safety seat era because they felt so free they raised their hands like they were on a roller coaster!





















One night we slept in tents in our backyard. We set up two tents--two kids in one, and Mom with one kid in the other. That was the plan anyway. Reality found all four of us and the dog in one kid-sized tent! For breakfast we had pancakes (which is a treat at our house) just like we do when we go camping in Colorado in the summer.






The next day we had a bike ride to the playground. It wasn't anything too expensive, but it was out of our ordinary. Perfect for a spring break adventure close to home!


Do you have adventurous spring break plans? Even if it is close to home!


Posted by Shelly, Mom and Loving It Ministries Assistant