Have you ever had one of those days?
This morning, I had all kinds of plans. I even posted my scheduled productivity on Facebook. Then, life happened.
I was awakened (on my day to "sleep in") to a crying baby who has a cold and had taken a spill, hitting the table. We left home to run a few errands. At the grocery store we picked up a few essentials. When I dug in the diaper bag to grab my wallet to pay, I discovered it wasn't there. Really?!? Our next scheduled stop was the gas station, since our gas light was lit. I scrounged up $4 in "emergency drink/snack" funds hidden in the van to avoid completely running out of gas. Apparently, $4 doesn't make the gas light go off in a minivan! UGH!!! On the way home the kids fought over the balloon--yes, there was only one--we got from the grocery store. While I put away the groceries and folded a load of clothes, the boys fought over the Nerf darts, the Nerf guns, who was touching who, and whatever little offense they could dream up. While I vacuumed, there was strife over who got to push the toy vacuum. We headed outside for a change of scenery and the sibling rivalry continued. I attempted to clean out the van and bashed me head on the ceiling. Give me a break!!!
Have you ever had one of those days?
I went to the bathroom (with the door open, of course, because I must be ready at any moment, even the most private ones, to step in and save the day) and tried to get a grip on things. I sat there and felt sorry for myself. I doubted my parenting ability. I pondered what a failure I had been so far today. Even as I heard the children starting in with each other again, I wondered if I could do it. Oh boy, did I throw a pity party.
Then I felt that gentle nudge! That reminder that I'm not doing this alone. That reminder that I can't do this alone. And, I gave it to Him. "God, I can't do this. They're really pushing my buttons. I don't know what to do next. I need You to help me!" That peace that passes all understanding never ceases to amaze me. The short-fuse, the frustration, the anger, the helplessness, the defeat was gone! I stepped out of the bathroom refreshed and took on the rest of my morning, with my God by my side. He's always with me. I just have to pause and acknowledge His presence. I have to stop trying to do it all by myself! What a blessing to know that I'm not alone!
So, have you ever had one of those days? Of course, we all have! But, today I was reminded that I'm not struggling alone. I don't have to walk around defeated. I am a child of God!! So, look out Monday afternoon, here WE come!
As we were running errands Monday morning, Eli asked from the backseat, "Mama, will you praise with me?" I assured him that I would love to praise with him and asked if he wanted to sing to God. He looked a little confused (in my rearview mirror), so I asked him what he wanted to do. He said, "What does praise mean?" I explained how we can tell God how wonderful he is with our words, or our hands, or singing songs. "Well, Mama, I want to ask Jesus to be my friend," he replied. It caused me to pause a minute, but I told him that Jesus is our friend and reminded him that He loves us so much! Then, Eli said, "Well, I want to ask him." Without hesitation, he asked aloud, "Jesus, will you be my friend?" Then he looked at me smiling and pointing to his chest, and told me, "Now, He's in my heart!"
Well, Praise God and WOW!!
Although we've talked about Jesus living in our hearts, we've never walked him through the "process" so to speak. Since he's three and a half, which is quite young to understand salvation, I went to some church staff and leaders with this exciting news to hear their thoughts and advice. It's such a blessing to be under their leadership and wisdom. They were so helpful!
I'm so excited that Eli has taken this first step of faith and chosen to make his relationship with Christ his own. His asking Jesus to be his friend is laying the foundation for his Christian walk. As he gets older and his understanding of his sinful nature and need for a Savior expands, he may choose to re-commit his life to Christ and be baptized. Until then, we will just continue to guide him as he grows in the Lord.
While Eli does his workboxes for "school," Abel plays with learning toys. On Monday, I gave him wooden blocks to play with. Confession: The preschool teacher in me really wanted to see where he scored on the "block tower building" portion of the Brigance Scales. I modeled building a "tall" tower, then gave Abel the blocks to play with. He had so much fun stacking blocks and watching them topple! I turned my attention to Eli and when I looked back, I caught this cute little sequence. Not only was he having a great time, but he built a seven-block tower without any help!! Yay, Abel! It is such a blessing to be home with my boys!
Last night was Halloween night, and I had two little boys itching to trick or treat. It was cold and raining, which just doesn't go well with walking door to door with a one year old and a three year old. You could easily say that I wasn't looking forward to trick or treating, so when I ran out to my WW meeting to weigh in and discovered very few lit porch lights, I wasn't disappointed.
While waiting at my meeting, I had time to think. It was then I remembered that Halloween and trick or treating isn't about me and I knew two little boys who would be very disappointed that the porch lights were off. I pondered the idea of loading them in the van to travel our neighborhood, but the idea of loading and unloading two children who require help at every house just didn't seem worth the effort. On my drive home, I began to feel sad for my little ones, then I pulled into our cul-de-sac. Let me just say that my cul-de-sac neighbors are the BEST! Not only were all their porch lights on, but I quickly realized we could hit just these houses, visit with good friends, get the all-important goodies, never leave the cul-de-sac, and have two very happy boys!
With the covering of two umbrellas (one of which we snagged from the Little Tikes picnic table--I know, I know), we loaded the wagon and happily hit the cul-de-sac. Our beloved cul-de-sac!
