Five Minute Friday: Quiet

Guys, be quiet!

Will you be quiet for a minute?

If ya'll would be quiet, you could hear what I was saying.


Do you know how many times this teacher mama asks little ones to be quiet each day? Well, me neither, but I know it's a lot.

Sometimes all we gals need is a little peace and quiet. Time to relax. Time to speak.  Just no noise, silence, to do or say what needs to be done or said.

It feels like noise is never-ending.

As a mama, I try to get my boys to stop yelling.  I try to get them quiet while I'm on the phone - well, because you know our kids don't want to talk to us until someone calls us.

Quiet please! For just 5 minutes.


But one of these days, that quiet will come for every mama.

For whatever reason.....

The heartbreaking loss of a child or the inevitable growing up of a child.

The house will be come quiet.

Too quiet.

Too soon.



We will ache.

We will ache for those arguments.

We will ache for that laughter, those unstoppable giggles.

We will ache for that call in the middle of the night, "Mama, come lay down with me."



When my middle son was just a wee bit younger, he had this VERY high pitched voice.  It was loud and squeaky, and well, loud.

I remember telling him many times, "SHHHHH! Be a little quieter."

Then we got the book Holler Loudly.

My five minutes is up, but let me finish.

We got the book Holler Loudly through Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.  We read the book and this mama cried.

You see. Holler was born loud.  That's just who he was.  His parents, his teachers, and everyone in town was annoyed by his loudness and just wanted him to be quiet. It broke his spirit, but one day, Holler saved his town by being heard.

And it was in that moment that I realized that this loud, squeaky, high pitched voice was who Carson was and that one day too soon, that voice will be gone.  And it is changing.  He's a few years older, but that voice isn't the same.

And this mama misses it.

I miss how Colin used to say geen instead of green and sampoo instead of shampoo and Meeus Leaaazzzleeee.

I miss how Carson used to say aaaand as loudly and high pitched as he could get and how everything else included "well, actually."

And Carter, our youngest,  I already miss "I wuv you, Mama" and "Wook what I can do" and "Tootie too."

And just last night during our devotion about peace and trust and worry, he said this, "Mama, I have worries."

What??? He's five! What does he have to worry about?????

And he's worried about speech. That when he goes to see Mrs. Nisha to work on his sounds that he will mess up.

Oh, baby its ok.  Your speech is one of the things that makes you special and one day those sounds and your incorrect usage of her and she will be gone and Mama is going to miss it.

The laughter from, "Who farted?"

Their noise

The anger of "You're a liar! You said you would play with me."

Their voices

The singing of God's Not Dead, Kick the Dust Up, and Whose Gonna Fill Their Shoes from the backseat

The bedtime prayers that start like dinnertime blessings

I love you, Mama fifty gazillion times a day


I'm gonna miss it because one day it will be too quiet too soon.

Thank you for hanging in there with me on this week's FMF post.  The timer went off, but I couldn't stop.  Don't forget to head over to Kate's place to read some other thoughts on the prompt Quiet.

Five Minute Friday on Monday: Present

It's time for us to be present.  To really be awake and alert.

Things happen that cause me to shudder, cause me to consider the brevity of life.

We are not promised tomorrow.  A crisis can change all we know and love.



We've been blessed with a foot of snow.  Yes, a blessing.

I've stopped.

I've cuddled with my boys and their daddy.  We played in the snow, built Harold the Snowman, made snow angels, threw snowballs, went sledding.  We were there together in those cold snowy moments making memories.

When we are present, truly there, we do that.

We enjoy life, soak it in, cherish it.

We need more moments like that because in this busy world of going here and there, we get in ruts and routines, and we forget.

We forget that we are not promised tomorrow, but we only have the promise of the present moment.

So make it count.

Our children are depending on us.  They are looking to us for guidance, for love, for fun, for life.  We owe it to them.  We owe them our time.

So it is time to do Five Minute Friday on Monday.

It is time to stay up late and watch movies.

It is time to go slow.

It is time to put on layers of clothes to brave the elements (and seriously not be able to put our arms down).

It is time to bake a cake and make snow cream.

It is time to say YES.

It is time to be fully present and put family first.

I hope that whatever weather you are having, that you've found time to be present in the moment.  Thank you for joining me on this beautiful day.  Don't forget to head over to Kate's to read other great posts about Friday's Prompt: Present. 

52 Books in 52 Weeks: Book 3

Today, I feel like Dora the Explorer. So here's a little song for you.

I finished book 3 of the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Reading Challenge.....

War and Peace: A book with more than 600 pages.

I started this book back in 2015 and was going to put it under the category "a book with antonyms in the title.  However,  I lost it in our summer move and just recently picked it back up.  But it is finished!  And NO, I don't feel guilty for including it in this year's challenge.


This book was HUGE.

Intimidating.

But over all

really good.

It was action packed.

Included a love story or two or three or.....well, lots of love stories and triangles.

All in all, I've come to realize this.....

The characters in this book are like many of us.....

wanting to love and be loved and wanting to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, searching for that one thing that makes us whole. And what some of the characters found out was that something is the love of Christ.

Now that is not something I expected from this book, but it is spot on.

So, now that this book is finished, I can eagerly finish the miniseries and explain to my husband what's going on (because I read the book and understand it).

And on to something lighter.....much lighter!

How's your reading going?  I'd love to hear about it. 

It is all Important

Do you ever struggle through certain parts of the Bible?

I'll admit, that the genealogy listings can really cause me to zone out.  I find myself skimming and looking to see were the "begot" list ends.

I've come to realize, though, that every part of the Bible is important.  There are things I've read multiple times and never thought much about until one day.....BAM!  It hit me. It made sense. It connected to something else.

If we look at certain things in the Bible as nonsense or unimportant, we can miss out.  One of my favorite parts of scripture is found in a list of genealogy.

Read it with me.

"and Koz begot Anub, Zobebah, and he families of Aharhel the son of Haram. Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, "because I bore him in pain." And Jabez called to the God of Israel saying, Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!" So God granted him what he requested. Cheleub the brother of Shuhah begot Mehir, who was the father of Eston. And Eshton begot Beth-Rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of Ir-Nahash. These were the men of Rechah."

Did you see that?  Right there in the middle of 1Chronicles 4, there was something big in the midst of the who begot who list.

There was Jabez and his prayer..

Jabez was more honorable than his brothers.

In the entire genealogy for the family of Judah, Jabez was the only one described.  And he was described as more honorable than his brothers.

Jabez prayed.

He asked God to bless him.  No, I don't believe this is selfish.  Don't we all want God's blessings?  Yes, so we need to ask for them. Our Father wants us to ask.

God answered his prayer.

Jabez asked, and he received.  What an amazing lesson for us.  Matthew 7:7, Luke 11:9, and James 1:5 are other examples of when we are told to ask for things in God's name.

There is a book called The Prayer of Jabez by Dr. Bruce Wilkinson.  In this book, readers are challenge to pray The Prayer of Jabez wholeheartedly and await the results.

If we ask God to bless us, He will.

If we ask Him for opportunity to serve, He will provide.

If we ask of Him, in His Name, we will receive.


You see, God's Word is important. All of it.  I pray that as you read your Bible, that you'll hang in there through the parts that don't seem to matter.  It all matters.  And if you look and ask God to speak to you through His Word.....He'll do it.  Just listen.

How's your Bible reading/studying going on this 18th day of 2016?  Have you set any goals?  Do you have a specific Bible you are reading from?

I am currently reading through my One Year Chronologic Bible.  I started this last year, so I'm not on "today's" daily reading.

I am also beginning my ESV Journaling Bible. With a whole lot of reluctance,  I've made my first entry.

I am not artistic by any means, but I think I will enjoy growing in God's Word with it.  My initial fear was that I would mess it up.  I just have to understand that it won't be Pinterest Perfect, but it will show how God is speaking through me.  

Five Minute Friday: Time

Time can be your friend or time can be your enemy.  You have the choice on how you view it.

Time.

It's short.

It's long.

There's never enough of it.

My favorite thing my husband has said recently, "You've got one shot. You've got to make the most of it."

Its about time.

Friends,  we are not promised tomorrow.  God knows how many days we have. We don't, and we shouldn't pretend to.

As I'm typing these words, a young mother of 3 is in a coma.

Another mother is battling breast cancer.

Another woman has lost her baby.

A family has had their daughter ripped from their lives from a murderer.

A family is destroyed by a drunken driver, a texting driver, a home invasion, a terrorist attack, an accident.........

Time.

We thought we had more time with our loved ones.

We thought we had more time with our children.

Time runs out.

We don't want to talk about it.

We don't want to think about it.

But it's truth.

So take this time.

Count your blessings; count them one by one.

Hug your children. Play with them. Build blanket forts. Paint. Build Legos. Build a snowman. Sing terribly loud in the car.  Cuddle. Laugh. Soak up each moment.

And my five minutes are up, but my words are still many.

See, in this five minute time slot, I have more to say. More to share. More life to live.

Thank you so much for joining me for my first Five Minute Friday post of 2016.  I hope that you will take the time to leave a comment and visit Kate's to read more amazing words.  I pray that you would take time this weekend to spend quality time with God and your family.  Cherish those moments and hold them close.

Blessings to you!

Book 1 - 52 Books in 52 Weeks 2016 Edition

I have begun my reading challenge for the year and have one book under my belt.  I am placing this book under the category "a book with a title that describes my life."

Today, I finished reading All I Need is Jesus and a Good Pair of Jeans. I came across this book a couple of years ago at Barnes and Noble and flipped through it. I was hooked, but never bought it.  One of my students gave me a B&N gift card for Christmas this year, so I knew I had to order it.

I absolutely LOVED this book.  When I got to about the 17th chapter, I had the thought, "This would be even better with study questions!  I can't believe it doesn't have them."

It did.

So, it looks like I'll be reading this again this year!  Anyone interested in doing a study group with me?

When the Christmas Decorations are Put Away

Yesterday, I took down and put away all of my Christmas decorations.

To tell you the truth.....

I didn't want to.

Seriously, I love the soft glow of the lights.  I love how the stockings hang from the mantle.  I love the Christmas cards taped to the doorway.    I love the sound of the jingle bells on the front door.

But it had to be done.

As we put away or decorations, we do one other thing (and I credit this to a blog post I found online a couple of years ago).   We write notes to God.  Each member of our family takes a note card and writes a wish, a promise, a goal, something to God.

Maybe we want to read the Bible more.  Maybe we want to be more available to Him.  Something different for each of us.

We write these out privately. Seal them in an envelope. Place them in our stockings. Pack them away.

The next year as we retrieve our Christmas stockings, we open our notes and share them aloud.

It's amazing to see that we've kept our promises or grew beyond what we wanted.  It's almost like giving a Christmas present to God, but He blesses us more.

These notes help give us a purpose for the year.  We don't want to look back upon reading the letters and realize that we let God down.  We want to live each day intentionally for Him.

One Word 2016

On the eve of this upcoming year, I am ready.  Ready to commit to my One Word that will shape my life, not only for the next 365 days, but for the rest of my lifetime.

We all have different ways of selecting that one word.  Sometimes we choose it randomly.  Sometimes God chooses it for us. Sometimes it is easy to select. Sometimes it comes with a bitter taste.

I was all prepared to announce my One Word days ago.  But then......

I went to the mail and found my Faithbox.  What a nice surprise it was!  I really wasn't expecting it until the first of the year, but was delighted to open it.

Greeting cards. Tea. Devotional. Planner. Bracelet.

And that question......

What's your purpose?

Isn't that the question we all want the answer to???

What is my purpose?

Author

Stay at home mom

Soldier

Factory Worker

Pastor

Teacher

Musician

Lawyer

And the list continues.

Throughout our lives, we make decisions based on what we feel our purpose should be.  We plan our futures based off this idea and it determines which college we go to, which company we work for, the person we marry, the number of children we have, the neighborhood we live in.  Many times we choose our purpose without considering God's purpose for our lives.

I'm no theologian or Bible scholar, but I do know this......

I was created to have a relationship with Christ. To know Him. To love Him. To glorify Him. To lead others to Him.

That's my purpose in life.  

Author Susanna Foth Aughtmon said, "It is not so much about following a career path as it is about following the path of Christ."  

I couldn't agree more.  

That is a difficult thing to admit because we all have hopes and dreams for our careers.  What I wouldn't give to be a stay at home writer/mama.  To be able to plan my day around Bible study, coffee, reading, and writing.  Ahhhh!  

I understand, and accept that this option is not in the cards for me right now.  I choose to be ok with that and will continue to take part in bible study each day and read and write when I can.  And coffee, well, as long as there's Folgers, and Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks......I'll always have coffee. 

But my purpose other than to live for Christ?  

What is that?

I've considered this a lot lately.  

And I've thought this.....

Sure, I love Jesus. I live for Him, but do I really live with PURPOSE?  Do I have a purposes each and every day?  

And no, not really.

I am a fly by the seat of my pants kinda girl.

I don't make plans.

I don't make lists.

I just go with it (usually).

But what if I tried to intentionally live with purpose each day?

What if I made lists and goals?

What if?

Well, why not?  

So, there we have it.

My One Word for 2016.

So for the next 365 days, I will work to live with purpose, not that I want to be chained to To Do Lists, but that I know what I'm doing and why I'm doing it.  That I am being intentional and doing things that are worthwhile and meaningful. And that in all of these things, I am doing them for the Lord, to grow His kingdom.

We need to know that there is purpose in all things.  God has a plan and why shouldn't we?  I need to be reminded that there is a purpose to getting the laundry done. I need to be reminded that there is purpose in the mess of life.  I need to know that my purpose as a teacher isn't always academic.  I want to be able to live with purpose AND see purpose in my daily life.

And letting my five year old write my One Word for me.....yes, there is purpose in that.

A Year of Yes

It's that time of year for us...to look back on 2015 and reflect on how things worked out.

I'm one of those really indecisive people.  I can't even choose what's for dinner.  So, for me to say, "Yes" to something is huge.

Saying "Yes" is very difficult, especially if the outcome will be life changing.  Sometimes that little 3 letter word just takes you out of your comfort zone.  

Here's a look back at some of my YES moments for 2015.

Active Duty

My husband and I talked a lot about the possibility of moving from Reserves to Active Duty.  Before that happened though, he took a leap from Reserves to National Guard.  Then we said YES to sending off the active duty packet.  That's a major commitment....you risk uprooting your family, leaving all that is comfortable for the the unknown.  But we said YES.  

God said NO.

Jeff submitted his packet.  For whatever reason, his packet did not go before the board.

I'll admit, it was a somewhat disappointing.  I felt certain that God had called my husband to be an active duty Army Chaplain.  Maybe he has, but this just wasn't the time.  I don't know.  But we talked and prayed and said YES.  I think sometimes that's all God wants us to do,  just show we trust him.

Teacher of All Things

Really, I didn't have a choice in this.  At my school this year, we were told that we were going to teach ALL subject areas.  Yes, the girl that must have pencil and paper or a calculator to work out her math......I was going to be a math teacher for the first time in about 15 years.  I was not excited, but I knew there was absolutely NOTHING I could do about it.  

Mindset people!

I changed my mindset and said, "YES! I can do this!"

And I did.

Now, I'm not saying I was the perfect math teacher. NO WAY!  But I learned along with my students. I gave them my best effort, and you know.....It wasn't terrible.  Not everyday anyways!  There were days I enjoyed it. There were days my kids had fun and light bulbs went off.  There were notes and blog messages about how fun math class was. There was the parent conference where I heard, "Thank you. She is having such good year in math this year. She is so much more confident."

Because I said YES to changing my mindset about something I was uncomfortable with, I made it through a trying time.  And I encouraged some children along the way.

We Moved!

For a few years now, we have been unhappy with where we lived. Well, maybe not unhappy, just a little frustrated.  We had some amazing neighbors and some not so amazing neighbors. We lived on a dead end street that was busier than Grand Central Station.  So, we house hunted. For years.  In late winter and early spring, we got serious about finding a new home.  The Army had said "no," so it was time to move on, or across town anyway.  

There was a house we had been looking at for a couple of years. Yeah, we actually took a tour of this house several times, even during melting snow to make sure the basement didn't leak.  We wanted this house.....it was huge, in a good neighborhood, and well, huge.  It was a bit expensive and the owner wasn't budging on the price. And it needed updating. Lots of it. We looked at some other houses, said yes to one, but was told it sold 15 minutes after we left. Shucks.

Then we found The One. Although I didn't realize it was The One.  It was in the perfect neighborhood, but wasn't really what I expected. I just wasn't sure about it.  Jeff and I had a trip to Starbucks to discuss our reasons for wanting to move. This house was the answer.  We said YES and are loving our new home.  Great neighbors (I didn't know people actually welcomed you to the neighborhood with cookies).  Wonderful neighborhood. Horse farm in the backyard.  Kids for our boys to play with.  Almost no traffic.

We closed in May. Remodeled in June and July. Moved in days before Colin's 13th birthday (just in time for his party). And it's home.

Family and Fun

What good is life if we aren't enjoying it?  It's so easy to say NO to things because of messes, time, selfishness.....the list can go on.  But I'll tell you this, I have not regretted saying YES to fun this year, whether for me or my family.

We've been busy this year. Some of our favorite activities have been:

Singing in the car

Cuddling on the couch

Reading

Baseball

Soccer (rec league and middle school)

Academic Team

Robotics

Swimming

Sleepovers

Boating

KYA

Winter Xtreme

Birthday parties

Cookouts

Sitting around the fire

And the list could go on.  Regardless of the activity, we spent time together. We spent time apart. We enjoyed doing things that were meant for fun.  

Jesus

Not only have I enjoyed saying YES to fun times with my family, but saying YES to Jesus is always a blessing.  Sunday School, VBS, Camp Creative, Back Yard Bible Club, Pancakes with Santa, Wednesday Night Nursery Duty.  You can never go wrong with saying YES to Jesus.  

I have found this year that the more I said YES to Him, the more my kids did too.  Colin has gotten more involved at church. He is involved in the Youth Group, Praise Band, and Adult Choir.  He also serves as an usher and runs the sound and video system.  Carson and Carter have also enjoyed staying dedicated to their nightly devotions and taking part in their classes and children's choir.  We have a lot of great conversations about faith and Jesus. There's nothing like serving God as a family. 

It is a wonderful feeling to look back and see that we are changed for the better for spending time with and saying YES to God. 

Five Minute Friday Retreat

I'm a big chicken when it comes to meeting new people.  And the thought of attending a weekend with 20 or more people I had never met in person......terrifying.  But with the encouragement of my husband, I signed up for the first ever Five Minute Friday Retreat. God never let me get nervous, and even though it was a crazy time of year, I never opted to back out.  

The retreat was a blessing in so many ways. 

Writing

Food

New Friends

Books

Jewelry

Opportunity

Devotionals

Confidence

So much from a weekend at the lake with perfect strangers......sisters in Christ.....lovers of Jesus and words.   It's possible that I could never see these women in real life again, but they will always hold a special place in my heart.  

These, my friends, are some of my YES moments.  One thing I've learned is that someone else's big is our little (and vice versa).  And I'm ok with that.  My big is just learning to say YES more and see what God has in store for me.

What about you?  What did you say YES to this year.  

Was I Gentle?

As 2015 came knocking on my door, I began to consider a word that I wanted to shape my life for the next 365 days.  That's hard to do if you want to be intentional about living the life God has planned for you.  Sometimes it takes looking in the mirror and finding that log that separates you from Christ.  

For me, that log was reacting instead of responding which caused me to be hateful and ill-tempered....aka....angry and yelling a lot.  

No mama wants to be remembered for that.  

At first I thought my problem was patience, or the lack of.  However, after a discussion during Sunday School, I realized that I wasn't gentle. Not the bull in a china shop gentle, but gentle, as in how I used my words and what my reactions were.

So, I vowed to be more gentle in 2015.  

To start, I had to find out what caused me to be ungentle.  That was easy.  I reacted.  I chose to spit out the first thing on my tongue.  Matthew 5:18 says, But the words you speak come from the heart--that's what defiles you.  

That, my friend, is a hard pill to swallow....that I had that "stuff" in my heart.  Not something you want to admit, although deep down, I knew it.  But why?  Why was it in my heart?

Plain and simple?  My relationship with God wasn't what it needed to be.

Now, I'm not saying that my relationship with Him is absolutely perfect now. It's not.  There are days I still give God a headache.  I'm the sweat on His brow, but He loves me anyway.

Little by little, I worked am working on my heart. Little by little my heart softens and I respond instead of react.

I'm dedicated to being the kind of mother that honors God.  The kind of mother that my children can be proud of, not live in fear of.  I'm dedicated to being the woman God has intended me to be.  I will extend grace by responding, not reacting.

Being gentle is a life long journey.  Some days are easier than others, but I have to remember to extend grace to myself, not if, but when I mess up.  Because mess up I will.

I thank God for walking on this journey with me, for helping me see my heart problem.

I will continue to listen for God's still small voice in those intense moments when I'm ready to fly off the handle.  I will continue to spend time with Him, not just once a day, but throughout the day to know Him, and be whom He wants me to be. My lifelong goal is to have Jesus inside each moment of my day, not just 30 minutes before work or at meal or bedtime prayers.  When I make Christ an integral part of my day, He is a part of me.  And that will cause love to flow from me in all that I do.

What about you, dear friend?  Did you chose a word to shape your year?  How did it go?