Holidays

I love Christmas, really I do, the birth of my Savior, the lights, family, and oh the music!!! But oh how I hate what this time of year has become.  All the hustle and bustle and hollering and stress, UGH! Makes me want to say bah-humbug and sleep in till next year.  So, what is a single mom who desperately wants my 3 children to learn that Christmas is about Christ the King being born???  I think everyone who knows what Christmas is truly about struggles with this very question.
So, here are a few things that I have decided.  One, we don't do Santa.  I told the children from the very beginning that Santa was a real man a very long time ago and that we remember the way that he loved others at Christmas time to point us to the love that God has for each and every one of us.  We talk about it and that there is a "santa" everywhere.  Now to everyone else out there who does perpetuate the Santa story with their children, relax my children have been told and taught to respect others and their ways of celebrating, so they won't blow it for other children who do believe.
Second, our church is celebrating Christmas by serving a free Christmas dinner to anyone who needs a place to go for ANY reason, there is a warm, safe, loving place for any and everyone who needs it.  They are just asking people to register by calling the church or going onto the website to register so there are enough gifts for the children and food.  That said, I have decided to volunteer to help cook and serve this Christmas dinner with my children.  I want them to know that the true joy of the holidays is in giving: our time, our possessions, and more than anything, the love that we know because of Christ and His amazing gift to each of us!  So, on Christmas morning we will get up have a very small Christmas in our apartment, and head to the church to be a blessing to others.  I am SO looking forward to this and seeing how God works through this special time.
Finally, I am trying to cut back on all the chaos of the season.  I love parties and events as much as anyone, but really this time is about remembrance, so sorry I am only one mom, and definitely NOT a superhero, so I can only do so much.  Where do I put my time? To that which I value most.  First and foremost, my children.  Second, my family.  Third my friends and if there is any time left after this then others.
I pray that you all are blessed enormously this season, and that you take time out for the things that really matter.... your Savior and your loved ones.  God Bless you all.....

Needing a rewashing

I think I have struggled my whole life with being a perfectionist, now on the surface there isn't really anything wrong with striving to do things to the best of your ability.  My motto has been if you don't do it well, then why do it?  Well, when taken to the next levels, this goes down inside and I've been telling myself lies all this time too!  When I stopped and listened yesterday what I heard was horrifying, and I know so many others hear this record too...."you are never going to ammount to anything, why are you even trying, hey you screwed it up so many times in the past do you really think you are going to do any better this time? and on and on the record plays" (yes this record can be contributed to by the words of others, but I allow it to continue playing) I realized that I didn't even know that I was beating myself up even when I was not doing or trying anything!!! YIKES!  So what to do about this?
I've started putting encouraging scriptures and quotes up all over my apartment to rebrainwash myself with truth, love and encouragement!  I am human and I am going to make mistakes, lots of them everyday, but that isn't what defines me.  I am defined by continuing to get up and try again and by the One who holds my todays and tomorrows, so I am going to keep getting up and trying again everytime I get knocked down (which is often for anyone who knows my story!) and I am going to remind myself of my favorite verse Deuteronomy 31:8 "the Lord himself goes before you and will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
I pray that we will each continue to stand up and try again today!

Momentary Bliss

Have you ever just sat back and just watched you life?  Sometimes it seems that it is all speeding by the good, the bad, the embarrassing, and the ugly, as well as the sublime. 
Today I took a little time to just watch, it was a moment of just  bliss to watch my children play and to just hear the chaos of life and appreciate it, to just revel in the joys of the little things.  I think far too often we are so busy being busy that we don't appreciate really anything!  How sad it is to go through life just hurrying and doing!!! So, I have set a goal for myself to take 10 minutes out of each 1440 minutes that we are given as a gift by God each day to just sit and revel at His majesty and the life that He has given to me.  Some days there will be joy, some days pain, some anger, and some just sheer agony, but that is life and this is the life that He has gifted to me to enjoy! 
Thank you Lord, for loving me and trusting me, open my eyes every day to the moments of bliss that You have given!