distractions, idols and a gift

Yesterday, I was reminded once again of a gift that's been placed in my hands.  It's the most valuable gift of anything else I've ever been given, and yet I seem to ignore it's value and the undeniable difference it can make in my life.

 

 devotion from Abundant Life by Nancy Guthrie

The struggle is close way to close to home for comfort. It's a struggle of simple distraction and busyness --  TV, internet, iPhones, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest. It's a battle for the need to feel connected - but wanting to be connected to the wrong things.  It's a struggle of setting out to do one thing, and ending up doing 15 other things. It's a struggle of allowing seemingly "good" things to have a negative impact in my life.  It's a struggle of priorities and idols.

See, because as humbling as it is to say, anything that I give more of my time and thoughts to than I do my relationship with Christ- is an idol in my life.

They aren't the idols we typically think of, but they are things we turn to many times, before turning to God.

I'll admit, I've done it.  I've sat down to have my quiet time with the Lord, my phone setting next to me. I say to myself "I'll just check my email really quick before I start" But then I also respond to a text, make a few additions to the grocery list because they just popped in my head,  jump over to Facebook, catch up Instagram.

All while my Bible sits on my lap.

These other things can be consuming.  And I forget that God has the desire to consume completely himself.

Eventually I open my Bible and get my "quiet time" in.  But I didn't give him the best of me.
I gave him my leftover time.

 

And then I complain...I can't get it all done.  I have way too much on my plate.

I get frazzled and stressed, I get short with my family, and negative in my thoughts and words.

But sitting right there in front of me, are the things that matter the most, the ones that matter forever - right there in the pages of God's Holy Word.

The answer to everything.  The way to do life.  And the message of God's love for me, and the grace I'm given every single day when I get frazzled and stressed, and short with my family

 

1 Corinthians 10:23 has been a huge verse for me over the last few months.

“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.”

It is crazy to think of all the things we can make idols out of.  Working out, beauty, blogging, facebook, body image, food, money, a job, an opportunity, keeping up with the Jones'...

Lately, I have thought a lot about the legacy that I'm leaving behind.  I, like most moms today, am so busy taking care of my home, trying to support my husband and raise our kids, and many of us also working to help meet financial needs as well.  And that busyness can get very much in the way of what truly matters. Will our children remember us by our deep, growing passion for God, or will we be remembered for things that don’t matter? If I have the right to do something, is it really beneficial and constructive?  What am I doing that is making a difference.  What will my children remember the most about their years at home with me?
Are my efforts for today, or are my efforts for eternity?

I have the freedom to choose God first. 
And I have the freedom not to.

 

Being in His Word, giving Him the best of me, and spending time with Him each day is a true blessing, and a gift each day. 
Why is it so easy to forget this? 



encouragement

I am so thankful that the Lord uses so many different things around me to encourage my heart.  Sometimes it's a friend, a book, a passage of scripture, a new understanding, or a song.  But whatever it is, encouragement is kind of like little love notes left for us in the midst of our busy days.
So I wanted to share a few of the ways that my heart has been encouraged lately, in hopes that maybe it will help bring some encouragement to someone else. 


Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up...
1 Thessalonians 5:11
 

 

The Promised One, by Nancy Guthrie

  It's going to be really hard to really explain to you how much I have enjoyed this study and what an impact it's had on me.  Let's just say it is far at the top of my list of best studies I've ever done.  I'm sure that my perspective and limited understanding of the Bible as a whole is very similar to many others'.  I grew up hearing the hero and miracle stories, and have also understood that in the heart of the book, you'll find the Gospel and hope for eternity.  But I also grew to view the Bible as primarily a book of rules and guidelines of how we should be living our lives.  While part of my understandings were correct, the Bible does guide us to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord out of love and devotion to him, so much of my understanding has been so very skewed.
I am learning in such a powerful way that the Bible is not just a book full of disconnected stories of great men who do great things for the Lord.  In fact, to be perfectly honest, my journey of understanding the Bible in a new and more meaningful way began a few years ago when we first opened The Jesus Storybook Bible with our children. Best children's bible ever!  I would have never imagined it would speak to me way more than it was speaking to my children as we read through every page.  And now Nancy Guthrie's study of Genesis is adding to this understanding even more, as it is helping me to truly see Jesus and hear his name whispered from the very beginning of creation.  He isn't a Savior who showed up in the middle of the story, he's a Savior who was there all along.  And the story is one of a great rescue plan that unfolds through every page.

 This study has given me the desire more than ever to continue turning every page of the bible, even after my study of Genesis is over, to really truly see God's plan to bring us back into oneness with him.
Here are some things from my journaled  that popped out the most to me...

*The Bible is not primarily about what God wants us to do but about who God wants us to see.
*This is not just a story outside of us, but a story God is accomplishing in us through Christ. (We are a PART of this story, just like the great men of the bible!)
*Sometimes when we think we've got Jesus all figured out, we simply can't hear or can't see that our understanding is distorted or diminished.  And sometimes we think we have Jesus figured out when really all we've done is create in our own minds the Jesus we want, the Jesus we can be comfortable with.
 

 

 

The Bible Series on The History Channel

 

 Are you watching??  Oh, it's so good!  It comes with it's own controversy, as anything does, but overall, the message of God's love and faithfulness and his plan to rescue the world is weaved into every story. It's violent, so obviously it's not something our 5 and 6 year old are watching, other than the occasional clip. But regardless of any of the complaints out there, I think the bottom line is that millions of people are hearing the powerful stories of God, through a series that is getting their attention, and possibly causing them to open their bibles for the first time ever.
Even being a believer, the series has me wanting to read and read and read and hear these stories again straight from the Bible.

 

 

Duck Dynasty on A&E
 

 I know, I know, kind of funny this is on my list.  But I have definitely been encouraged by this new series.  Maybe not so much the show itself, but more just learning about who the Robertson Family is, and their genuine faith in God and the platform they have to share the Gospel.  When there is so much yucky stuff filling the TV these days, the Robertson family is a breath of fresh air. I know millions of people are falling in love with this family and their funny antics on the show, and it's so encouraging to know that the real life people of this show are pointing people to Jesus.

 

 

Real Moms, Real Jesus  by Jill Savage

I think I've mentioned this book before. It's the book I'm doing with my bible study group.  And the Lord has brought this book at the perfect timing, in the perfect season of my life. If you're a mom who has ever felt like there's just not enough of you to go around, or the needs around you on a day to day basis are overwhelming, or that you just have too much on your plate, I know you'll find encouragement through this book. He is the friend who understands and who loves us regardless of our faults.  He's the friend who will never leave you feeling lonely, even during seasons that may leave you feeling super lonely in the friendship department.

Some of my favorite underlines in the book:
*My children need to learn who Jesus is first, through my character.  I need to aspire to be like Jesus - tender, compassionate, & gentle in my interactions with other people.
*There's a God-shaped hole in each of our hearts, and whether we realize it or not, we are constantly trying to fill it. Every time we try to fill that hole with something other than God we build an idol: a false God in our life.  The more we pursues the false god, the moer we turn our worship (deeming something worth our time and energy) away from the Creator and more toward the created.  And we'll always come up short every time.
*There are seasons of my life when I move along and kind of forget to talk with God.  Life's going along just fine and so long as there's no crisis, I unconsciously move God from the front burner to the back burner.  "What's wrong with that?" you might ask.  In reality many of us go day after day without praying.  Is that really a sin?  Well, it's a sin of pride because pride says "I can do it on my own, thank you very much.  I don't need your help, God.
*When your mind is cluttered, you are not mentally available to your family.
*Jesus understands what you're going through.  His friends disappointed Him, but He is the one Friend who will never disappoint us.

 

 

Abundant Life
a devotion book by Nancy Guthrie

One of my favorite devotion books of all time is the Hope book, by Nancy Guthrie, that was given to me by my dear friend Jess, after she found such encouragement in it's pages, after her sweet Cora died.  I read it through all the way and then over again.  I finally went on the search for a new devotion book. I always like starting my quiet time with the Lord with a devotion book, it clears my mind, and prepares my heart.  I found another one by Nancy Guthrie, called Abundant Life.    
I absolutely love the perspective this is written in, as if God is talking personally with me.  Each day it's like a little love note from my Savior, and I love the prayer that is included that helps me make it more personal.



So there you go.  Just a few of the sources of my encouragement lately.
Where are you finding your encouragement lately?
I pray you are finding in the only One who gives your life a purpose and an eternal future.
Find ways to get to know him more, and I promise you'll be SUPER encouraged!

 

a football party

When Mason told me he wanted a football party, to be honest, I tried to give him some other suggestions.  He's so into Legos, that would be a fun party!  Or at one time awhile back he told me he wanted a Hot Wheel party, so I tried to remind him of that.  I think I could have gotten creative with that one too.  But football?  I guess I wasn't too excited about the level of creativity it would provide me, but he wanted it badly, so football it was.

 

And to be honest, it ended up being one of my favorite parties!

 

I got most of my inspiration from here and here. 

When I first saw this vintage football party, I realized this may be more fun that I thought. And although we didn't really take a vintage spin to it, I was definitely inspired to have fun with this theme!

 

 

I think Dave liked this theme the best too!  He was pretty crucial is the making of the football field table cloth and the field goal.

The tablecloth was my favorite detail of the party!  We have had "green grass carpet" on our camping list for a few years now, and never seem to go get one.  So when I saw that we could use it for this party and then still be able to use it for camping, it was the perfect reason to finally go buy one.  We got the 6x8 ft. prepackaged roll at Home Depot for $18 I think.  You can also buy 6ft. or 12ft. widths by the yard.  But the 6x8 already packaged was the perfect size.
We could have bought skinnier white tape, but we just chose to use the fat roll that Dave already had and we just used my fabric cutting board and rotary cutter to slice long pieces in half. This added a little bit of time, but we already had it on hand.  Dave's detail to measurements was definitely helpful.  I can be a perfectionist in some areas, but in other areas, I don't seem to mind just guesstimating and eyeballing things.  I kept saying "it's fine, as long as it's close", and he kept calculating exact measurements.  So thanks to him, the field turned out great!
We used stencil numbers and letters and a small can of white spray paint to do the yard lines and "MASON" in the end zone.  We almost did "Happy Birthday" in one end zone and "Mason" in the other, but we opted for the least amount of work.
 

 

 

Ok, I changed my mind.  The scoreboard was my favorite detail of the party. I finally tried out a chalk pen and it helped SO much in making my scoreboard look nice.  And at the last minute I decided to incorporate his birth info into the scoreboard.  

 Born at 12:30pm, 6 lbs, 14oz, and 19.5 inches long.

 

All of Mason's friends were sent home with a Sprite referee. (referee coozies and whistles both from Windy City Novelties).  At $1.75 per favor, I think they were one of my favorite party favors.

 

I loved the idea from Paper & Pigtails of having a backyard football game, with "draft notice" invitations and colored tshirts for the kids to wear when they came to the party that signified what team they were on.  But we were in the middle of the "blizzard of Oz" while I was planning this party, so no outdoor football game would be happening unless it was done in full snow gear.

  But such a fun idea if you can plan a game of football.  Even better, order a set of cheap flag football belts, and have a much less aggressive game.

 

I as thankful for this free printable invitation, since I forgot about invitations until about a week before. I failed to take pictures, as I was managing 10 kiddos, but we played football bingo and a wall football game.  The bingo game was a little hard for them, but thankfully I had some other adult help, so we made it work.  I failed to think that through ahead of time, but it would have been better to have pictures and not just words, but who wants to go to extra work when a printable version is so easy!



 

Mason loved being surrounded by friends for the first time to celebrate a birthday, and they all spoiled him so much with gifts.  

 



 

It was such a fun day celebrating our new 5 year old.

The things I want to remember about him at this age are:

*He loves to play basketball in the house. He has a hoop that goes on the door, and the hard wood floor makes it easy to dribble. He plays ALL the time.

*He could do Legos all day. He can do them pretty much by himself, with just a little help from time to time.

*His ears are super sensitive. He has major issues when his baby brother is screaming at the dinner table or in the car. He just can't handle it.

*He loves oatmeal and PBJ. He doesn't eat much at all, and typically asks how many bites he has to eat before the plate is even put in front of him.

*He sleeps with the same 3 baby blankets he's had since the day he was born, the same ones he was swaddled in.

*He still falls asleep during "rest time" nearly every afternoon even though he doesn't technically have to take a nap anymore

*He still likes to pretend he's not capable of dressing himself

*He loves his MP3 player, and is caught all the time singing sweet worship songs with his headphones on, and he doesn't know anyone is listening.

*He knows more about how to get the fire in our wood-burning stove going, and keep it going, than I do. He has watched and helped his dad MANY times.

*He loves watching K-State football and basketball

*He's still the best cuddler of all 3 of my kiddos

*He is still a roller coaster of emotions, highs and lows, you never know what you might get.

*and He drives his new remote controlled helicopter better than his dad (who accidentally landed it in the birthday cake at the end of the night).

 

 

 

After the last friend left, Mason was asleep within 5 minutes. 

We had our family party starting in 2 hours! It was a pretty easy transition from party to party, I kind of liked the way it worked out.  I even laid down and dozed off for 30 minutes and was ready to go again.

 

We tidied up just a bit, wiped down the table and did a quick vacuum of the floor where all the kids ate, and then picked up pizza from Papa Murphy's. I added a pepperoni football to one of them.  We threw out a salad and were ready for our entire house full of family. 

 



It's always so fun having cousins, aunts and uncles, grandmas and grandpas and neighbors who are like family, all here to help celebrate.

 



 





Five is done. Just like that.

 

A few other party details:

Day party banner, Football plates, and napkins - Windy City Novelties
Football cake was done with Wilton's Tshirt cake pan (thanks Julie and Tonya for helping me with this!)
#5 and juice boxes covered with textured football paper from Hobby Lobby.

 

**************************************

 

I want to leave you with a few thoughts on birthday parties.  I've read these little disclaimers on party posts before and now I know the reason they are included.  I want to respond to a lot of the comments I've gotten in person, on my blog and on Facebook about my parties.

Birthday parties give me a reason and an opportunity to bring out my creative side.  Whether I am using original ideas or borrowed ideas, they give me a chance to create and decorate. I enjoy planning and implementing birthday parties a lot.  I love to be creative, but I just don't get the opportunity very often with 3 busy kids all over the place.

As moms, there are so many things in life that can make us feel inadequate and can cause us to play the comparison game. While party planning can be fun and enjoyable for one mom, and offer a creative outlet, it can be stressful and exasperating for another mom, and can bring a sense of pressure.  We all have different skills, talents and interests. We are all uniquely designed by God.  

I love the world of blogs and Pinterest (although there are negatives too) because it gives us a chance to learn and see ideas from others in areas that we may not be strong in, or simply just things we would have not thought of.  While someone may say that I'm
"great" at parties, I can promise you I am lacking big time in other areas.  While my kids will have special memories of certain things I did with them and did for them, other kids will have completely different memories...and ALL are special to that child.  Memory making can consist of whatever you choose it to consist of.  We all give and receive love differently.  But in the end, it's whether our kids know how much they are loved.  I know it can be a battle as we fight our feelings of inadequacy, and I am far from perfect in this area. But it's so important as women, and as moms, to know that we are already good enough, because God made each of us to be special, with different skills, talents and interests. 

Just be you.  Find your worth and value as a mother through God's description and requirements, and not those put out there by our culture and social media. Do what you enjoy because you enjoy it. And don't do what you don't enjoy.  And just love your kids and make memories.  :-)

That's what matters.

 

 

 

mason turns five!

It's really hard to believe we've now had another child turn 5.  5 just seems like such a big deal.  The first time around it was more emotional, and this 2nd time, well, just kind of made me feel like I'm definitely getting older.

 

 

The celebrations started with football cookies at preschool.  I asked Mason what treat he wanted to take and mentioned that I'd make cupcakes.  He insisted on cookies.  He didn't care what kind.  He just wanted cookies.  So I used this opportunity to try out some cookie decorating.  I have never been much of a cookie decorator before.  For our Christmas cookies, I like to slop on some quick powdered sugar and milk frosting, and maybe add some sprinkles.  But after spending more than I would have like to when I had someone else make sugar cookies for Taylor's birthday, I decided I was going to learn how!

 

I used this link to help me out.  I used the recipe and learned about the consistincies that I needed all through this link.  She has some great videos to watch that were lots of help too.  It's all about the consistency of the frosting (which I messed up on with my white).  But overall, I think they were a good first try.  And Mason LOVED them and was so proud to hand them out.

 

 

 

On his actual birthday he spent the morning with me, running errands in Wichita.  Not his favorite thing, but he was glad to have the individual attention.  We had last minute things to get for the party, and then met everyone else for lunch at Pizza Hut.  We stopped at Hobby Lobby, Home Depot, the Mall, Gander Mountain and then Target...all before lunch.  Let's just say a few times I picked him up and carried him so we could keep up with the speed we needed to get it all in.  This is what happens when these "big city" trips only happen once in a blue moon.  I'm determined to get everything done in one trip.  But regardless, it was such a fun morning with just my sweet boy.

 

 

 



His actual birthday began with Drubers with Papa and Mema, and then his first indoor soccer game.

And then it was PARTY time!

I still have yet to figure out how to do both family and friend parties. Or whether or not to do both, or what years to do both, or to just do them together.  So far we have just taken each year at a time, and there has been no consistency.  But the one thing we have decided is that on their 5th birthday, the kids get to have their first "friend" party. We've had a few friends to the parties before, but usually that is more Mommy and Daddy's doings, and not the kids'.  It's so fun to see them get so excited for the first time to have friends help them celebrate.  For Mason, that meant his whole preschool class (8 others) and some a few other friends from church.

 

 Soccer was over at 1, and the football party started at 2. It was a packed day.

Stay tuned for more party pics!

 

Cora's Joyful Life Celebration

Mason turned 5 on February 28, and we had a big weekend of celebrations!!  5 is a big deal!

 

But every year around Mason's birthday, in the middle of all the decorations and birthday treats and parties, there's a part of my heart that is always so heavy.

See, one of my best friends should also be planning a birthday party around the same time.

We would have both been planning 5th birthday parties this year.

This was Mason's first year to get to invite friends to his party, and I just know Cora would have been on his guest list. Instead, we were honored to have one of the Mac boys here.

They were birthday buddies.  Born just 6 days apart (some years 5 days apart).

They would have been going to Kindergarten together this year.  What a big year.

But instead, Cora has celebrated the last 4 birthdays in heaven.  And instead, we get to tell Mason stories of his birthday friend in heaven, and how many people know Jesus because of her.

 

 

So before I share with you Mason's birthday memories, I wanted to share something super special with you.

 

A BIG celebration for Cora is happening right now, and I would love for you to be a part of it.





 

 

Cora's mommy is teaming up with Heather of The Joyful Life Library  to open a Joyful Life Library at Wesley Medical Center on the PEDS/PICU floor where Cora spent her days battling cancer.

 You can donate books to fill the library with, and also have a chance to win some GREAT giveaways!!

 

You can read all about this awesome celebration over at The Macs. She'll explain everything you need to know about donating and entering your name in for the giveaways.

 

So while we can't celebrate with Cora here on earth, we can celebrate in a MUCH more JOYFUL way. A joy that can come only from the Lord.  God has worked through Cora's short little life to change lives for eternity, and 5 years later, is continuing to do so.

I'll hope you'll be a part of the celebration.

 

Happy Birthday Cora!  We miss you dearly.

We love you Mac Family!

 



snow day

A school week that begins on Tuesday and ends on Wednesday is definitely a good week.  I so enjoyed all the extra time with my littles this week.

Monday I was home with all three because they were out of school for the holiday, or inservice, or something.  It was a nice day to be home with them after being away all weekend.

Tuesday I sent one to school.

Wednesday I sent both to school.  And the snow began.  In total, I think we are somewhere between 10 and 15 inches.

And today we were all 5 home together.

Warm fire going, sledding behind the 4-wheeler, snow ice cream with friends, naps and cuddles, dinner in the crock pot, movie and popcorn...lots of my favorite things all packed into one day.

And one of the reasons that winter is my favorite!

 

On Wednesday I didn't let Gavin go out in the snow.  I wasn't sure how he'd like it and I hadn't rounded up any of his winter gear yet.  Luckily he was pretty content watching his brother and sister from the window.

 

 

But today, all 5 of us got in on the fun.

 

 

 Even though he looked pretty serious in a lot of the pictures, he really loved the snow. 

 It's hard to believe our little baby was out riding on a sled pulled by a 4-wheeler today.  And loving every minute of it.  When we stopped and tried to get him off for someone else's turn, he wasn't ever very happy. It's hard to get good pictures while playing in the snow, but he was so cute to watch, he would wave and squeal as he rode along.

 Proof I was actually participating.  I even got my turn on the sled with Gavin.

 

And as much fun as the snow is, nothing beats coming back in to enjoy the warm fire.

Definitely one of the best.days.ever.