Joyful Mom Monday - Think Before You Speak

Happy Monday!  Hope you're Monday has been nice to you! ;)  Today's Joyful Mom Monday topic is probably the number one obstacle I face as a mom.  It is one that I work on every day and still have a loooonnnngggg way before I can claim any victory!  The topic...thinking before I speak!  We moms have a particular responsibility in making a habit of thinking before we speak.  I was reminded this weekend that what I habitually do, my children will do.  The way I react to problems will be the way they react.  If I continually speak with grace and love, they will do the same.  How much more joyful would our homes be if we would think before we speak and then speak with nothing but graciousness and kindness?

The Bible tells us in Colossians 4:6 to "let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man."  There are so many times that I completely deflate my children with my words.  Instead of graciously reminding them (for the 100th time) to do something properly, I become frustrated and very ungraciously get in their face and remind them that is the 100th time that I have asked them to do this, etc, etc...And, I have found, sometimes it is how we say something that can be more detrimental or helpful than what we actually say.J esus repeated himself over and over to his disciples - but always graciously and patiently.  I have to remind myself that my children are learning so many new things, and they will not be able to learn it all in one day.  If I am not perfect, why do I expect them to be?  If I tell them to speak kindly, why do I talk down to them when I correct them?  

Our homes will be more joyful - I will be more joyful - if I strive to be always be gracious with my words - whether correcting a child or just reacting to a situation.  I want my children to remember me as a gracious and gentle mom whom they could talk to about anything without fear of being made fun of, preached at or talked down to.  There is a place for unwavering firmness and discipline, but even that should be done with a gracious heart.  So....my challenge to myself this week is to speak graciously to my children.  I love this little acronym I found on pinterest.  I printed it out, and it hangs in several different places around our home.  It's a wonderful reminder to our family to think before we speak!   How do you help yourself remember to think before you speak?  I'd love to hear your ideas!

Wishing you a day full of blessings,

Christy

Counting God's Little Blessings - 3 Every Day:

31.  We are pouring the footers for our dream home (that we have been dreaming of for MANY years)   

       TOMORROW!!!

32.  A certain friend who is always willing to keep all 5 of our kiddos so that the Mr. and I can get away for

       a weekend! ;

33.  My kiddos for the most part enjoy each other and are truly each others' best friends!

When My Heart Is Overwhelmed...

I love to be an encouragement with this blog, but I also feel the need to be real as well.  There is nothing perfect about my life, and I never have it all together.  Truthfully, my heart is overwhelmed in so many different ways today.  My kiddos seem to be taking 5 steps backward and absolutely no steps forward in things that they know to do.  I have friends who are hurting and facing some serious decisions that will affect their entire life and for some their children's lives.  And then, there are just the everyday things as well...one more school assignment that needs to be checked, one more phone call that needs to be answered, one more note I really feel I need to write and send out, even just the fact that one more prayer needs to be sent up.  Life becomes tiring, and I find myself continually asking the question, "Why should I keep trying when everything I am doing goes backward instead of forward?"  As I have been mulling many different thoughts over in my mind particularly during these last two days, God, in His wonderfully gracious and faithful way, has been reminding me of some things I have forgotten.

I have realized, first of all, that I have much to be thankful for.  It is only because of God's grace that I am not facing some of the things that others are.  I am thankful that God is sovereign and that even though there are some heartbreaking circumstances happening, God knows and has planned every detail of each situation and nothing has taken Him by surprise. I have also been reminded to pray that God prepares my heart now for whatever future plans He may have for my life.

God has also reminded me that He is God, and I am not.  I am finite; He is incomprehensible.  I can only see right in front of me; He sees it all - every choice, every consequence, every detail that leads to the next detail.  He sees it all.  So, as I am looking at the road directly in front of me, He is seeing all around me, ahead of me and behind me, and He has it all mapped out.  He is gently guiding, leading, directing, orchestrating life that it might bring glory to Him and give this world a better glimpse of His beauty and holiness.

I am also thankful that God is working in me.  The need that I feel to fix my world and everyone else's is a God-given compassion, and it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit's working in me.  Not that I have by any means achieved any great accomplishment.  It has only been because of what God has done in my heart.  This thought has made me realize that God has given me this compassion so that I can show His love to others in a more real way than before.

Gently, God has reminded me that even though this compassion was given to me by Him, it is not my job to fix everything.  I cannot.  I am only a human - full of sin and selfishness - who must rely on the Holy Spirit for even the smallest decision I make if I am to be assured it is the right decision.  There is nothing I can do in my own strength and the harder I try, the more I will fail.  

And so, today, the prayer of my heart has been Ephesians 1:17-19.  

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you (me) a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.  I pray that the eyes of your (my) heart may be enlightened, so that you (I) will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us (me) who believe(s).

Because, after all, when life gets overwhelming, the only place to go for true comfort and reassurance is to our Heavenly Father who so delights in showing Himself to us and spending time with us.  I pray that you have taken the time today to quietly sit in the presence of the One who loves you so.

Wishing you a day full of blessings,

Christy

Counting God's Little Blessing - 3 Every Day:

31.  The comfort of God's love and sovereignty.
32.  This song that I've been teaching to our kiddos.  The timing is truly a God-thing! (This version isn't my
       favorite, but I couldn't find the one that we have on CD, and it is definitely worth listening to!)
33.  God is every thing I need. 
       Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee? My flesh and        my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. ~Psalm 73:25-26

Joyful Mom Monday - Just Have Fun!

Happy Monday, All!  I hope it's off to a wonderful start!  Today, I thought I'd share a few fun ideas that you might enjoy doing with your kiddos.  I am a "project" mom.  I enjoy sitting down and doing a craft or playing a specific game, but I am not much of a "get down in the floor and hang out together" kind of mom.  I used to feel guilty about that, but I have reassured myself that that is part of the reason I went to the trouble of having 5 children! (Just kidding! Well, slightly!)  At any rate, I have found that the best thing that works for me is to schedule play time with my kids.  I admire you moms out there who are thinking, "What in the world?  Schedule play time?"  But that is truly me!  Since I have begun doing this, though, I have found myself enjoying being a mom even more. My kids enjoy time with me, and I enjoy making them happy and having fun with them.  Here are a few things we do at our house, and by all means, please share your fun ideas as well!  

*We love tea parties!  As a matter of fact, we have one almost every week.  I make a special treat, and we get out the special dishes.  We even have these cutesie little sugar cubes that are reserved just for tea time.  We usually read out loud while we drink our tea, and we also use this time to plan future fun things or discuss the things we did or did not like about our school week.

*Game afternoons are popular here - especially during the winter.  This is the first year that most of the kiddos are big enough to play games I actually enjoy, and for this, I must admit, I am deeply grateful!  We enjoy UNO, Trouble, Mexican Train, Scavenger Hunt, Kid's Clue, Monopoly and several others.

*We act out plays that are usually written by our drama-loving nine year old!  This takes a little while and some prodding by mom before the boys join in, but in the end, we all enjoy the performance and have a ton of laughs.  I am on the hunt for a few small, well-written, one-scene plays that the kids would enjoy practicing and performing.

*Crafts and painting are always a big hit!  I keep a couple of shelves full of miscellaneous craft supplies and am usually able to find a new creation from kaboose.com.  My drama lover is also a craft lover and enjoys coming up with her own ideas then coercing her siblings and myself into joining in the fun!

*The kids and I also enjoy taking walks together.  Something we do to add to the fun is to give everyone a paper bag and tell them to fill it up with "treasures."  It's amazing what can fit into a paper bag, and it is a wonderful learning experience as well!  This month, we have begun keeping nature journals and are attempting to draw things that we see.  This has been a somewhat humorous attempt for our family because we (very) apparently did not inherit any drawing genes.

Those are some things we do for fun here in our home.  Again, I would love to hear your ideas because we are always looking for more things to do.  And if your style of having fun with your kiddos is different, please share because I am always eager to try new things as well!  I hope you have a wonderful week planned for you and your family - a week full of purpose, fun and laughter!

Wishing you a day full of blessings,

Christy

Counting God's Little Blessings - 3 Every Day:
28.  A wonderfully clean car and the satisfaction of a job completed!
29.  A fresh start to a new week
30.  Having fun with my family