I have recently really felt the push toward women's ministry lately. We don't have one yet in our church, but my dear friend Sarah and I have felt lead to persue making it happen.
In this small task we have been given, planning a Womens Retreat in a few short weeks, the idea of Martha and Mary keeps coming up. It's not the core topic of our weekend get away, but just part of it. Anyway, I decided to pick up the book "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" and thought it might be interesting and a helpful resource in some of our planning process.
It has proven to be a pretty good book so far. I am still only a few chapters into it, but I had an experience happen last week that I feel is totally worth sharing.
So I'm reading in this book about how distractions can really get in the way of our focus on God, and what He wants us to do. It goes on to describe a short story about a priest who has an extremely successful ministry happening at his church, and everything is on the straight and narrow...doing everything according to God's purpose. So Satan sends his demons to destroy this ministry. They try evertyhing they know to do this, but the priest's faith is strong and they fail. They report back to Satan that they've tried everything they know but still failed "his faith is too strong"...Satan replies with "you fools. go back and whisper in his ear the news of his brothers promotion..." They do so, and wouldn't you know it, the scheme worked. The priest started doubting himself, and feelings of jealousy over his brothers accomplishment distracted him to a point that the ministry fizzled. Satan knows exactly what buttons to push, what whispers to tell that would cut to the core of our weaknesses causing us to feel distracted, doubtful, and eventually undoing all that we've worked so hard for.
Immediately after reading this little snippit, I continue with my day. This particular day, the kids were particularly whiny. It took me over an hour to read two or three pages out of this book, because of the interruptions, fighting, screaming, arguing...I was feeling extremely tested to say the least. With this concept of "Satan working hard to distract us when we're on the right path" in mind, I gave my morning over to God, and allowed Him to provide me the patience and loving attitude I needed to get through these tested moments with the kids. Abby screaming at me angrily because she didn't have any clean dresses to wear, the boys hitting and pestering each other, everyone ignoring everything coming out of my mouth, you know the normal chaotic stuff. I handled it with grace, patience and an overwhelmingly calm, loving attitude. I caught myself in that state and thanked God for helping me. I was feeling very good about it all. Then Satan found his way in.
I have an irrational fear of spiders. It sounds so ridiculous for me to completely lose my cool and allow my whole day to come crashing down on me over a spider the size of a quarter, but alas, that was his way in. I had finally gotten everyone dressed and at the door putting shoes on, when I came face to face with this little day wrecker. After almost having a heart attack, then getting the kids to finally listen to to quick command of "get up to the livingroom now! it's an emergency!" I had completely lost my mind. I started crying, shaking, the kids were like "what is wrong with you? do we need to call 9-1-1?" (they associate "emergency" with calling the fire fighters....) I sobbed..."I just need to be brave. I just need to be brave" I never did find that bravery. I ended up calling Adam home to find and kill the spider. Which didn't happen. He came home, but by the time he'd gotten here, the spider had disappeared (which is why you never take your eyes off a spider) and after a good 10 minutes or more of looking, and not seeing it, we gave up. Now on any other day, I would have just said "forget it" and stayed home rather than running whatever errand, and completetly quarantined that area of the house, avoiding it at all costs, but that day I really did have to go to the store.
As a result of this distraction, I didn't do half the work I planned/needed to (laundry, picking up the basement, cleaning the entryway..etc), Adam missed an hour of work and my confidence in my self and how God was working in me, was completely diminished. I was a failure, a coward, and totally ridiculous for being that way over a stupid bug.
It is really cool (now looking back) to see how much truth was in what I'd read that morning. I have come out of this whole situation (after a few days to recover and get my act back together) feeling even more confident in the direction I'm headed with the womens ministry, and in my daily walk.
I had even had a dream that involved serious spiritual warfare, and my thoughts again were "Satan will NOT distract me again" I am standing firm in the Lord and am even more determined to not let these distractions get the best of me again.
I going to try to add some extra prayer time in my day, to keep me sharp and ready to take on any other attacks that come my way.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Monday, May 20, 2013
I just got served by my 5 year old.
So we were outside playing, and the timer goes off to come in for naps (yes this timer thing totally works with my kids, saves us from many tantrums).
I ask Abby and Max to help me put the bikes and scooters away, and with little grumbles about having to go in for stupid naps, they do obey.
I grab a handful of toys and follow them to the back porch. I plop them down and tell them
"I will bring the toys back here, and you guys put them on the porch" Max gets to work without a word, and I turn away and from the corner of my eye Abby's shoulders slumping, head tilting back and a big eye roll happening, she says "We're not your slaves you know..."
I'd say this took me by total surprise, except she's said this once before to Adam. He handled the situation explaining that it was disrespectful to talk to us that way and we are a family, and we are helping each other out...not raising slaves. After that hearty talk, I'd figured this whole "slave" thing had ended.
I take a deep breath and as I am picking up the last of the toys to take back to her, I think hard about what to say. My first thought is "where did she learn this from?" So I asked her, and this is the (very unexpected) response I got :
Me : "Where did you learn about slaves?"
Abby: *Shrugs*
Me: "Well you had to learn it somewhere." (thinking 'what show do I need to ban her from for a while?') "What does it mean to be a slave?"
Abby: "Someone who does all the hard work"
Me: "okay, but really, you had to learn that from someone or something, because Daddy and I haven't talked to you about slaves..."
Abby: (after a minute of brain storming) "The bible"
Me: (okaaay...yeah right) "The Bible? Where in the bible? Can you show me?"
Abby: *sighs* and grabbing her bible, "You know. Where the king of Egypt...what's his name again?"
Me: "Pharo"
Abby: "Right, Pharo, well he stole all the Israelites and made them do all that hard work..you know made them slaves" and she turns to the story of Moses...
At that point, I didn't know what to say. BIG props for knowing your bible stories kiddo! and....HEY! I don't treat you that way! Who do you think you are using that knowledge to sass me?....oy.
We talked about (reiterating what Daddy said) being family and helping each other out. And when I ask her to do something, I am not treating her like a slave, I am asking her to be a helper, and when she talks that way, and talks back like that, it is very disrespectful. It was a tough conversation on my part, because frankly, I felt like I got served a little bit, but I think the end result was good.
She's so smart, and figuring out how to apply what she's learning...it's just amazing. And by the way, that is a story that she's read all on her own. We haven't read it (in a very long time) together and it is not a story they have been covering in church currently or recently...So yes, she put all of this together on her own.
I feel totally blessed to have such a smart girl and one that reads her bible on her own like that, seeking knowledge in the Word. While my heart is overflowing with love (and lets face it...pride) for my little smarty butt girl, I am also learning, as a parent, of those opportunities that require me to step up and show her some guidance in her soaking up these stories like the little sponge she is. I am reminded that it's still my job to teach her when and where it is apporpriate to apply what she's learning, and about still being kind and respectful in her words and actions toward her loved ones.
Today's little encounter was certainly a lesson packed one all around.
I ask Abby and Max to help me put the bikes and scooters away, and with little grumbles about having to go in for stupid naps, they do obey.
I grab a handful of toys and follow them to the back porch. I plop them down and tell them
"I will bring the toys back here, and you guys put them on the porch" Max gets to work without a word, and I turn away and from the corner of my eye Abby's shoulders slumping, head tilting back and a big eye roll happening, she says "We're not your slaves you know..."
I'd say this took me by total surprise, except she's said this once before to Adam. He handled the situation explaining that it was disrespectful to talk to us that way and we are a family, and we are helping each other out...not raising slaves. After that hearty talk, I'd figured this whole "slave" thing had ended.
I take a deep breath and as I am picking up the last of the toys to take back to her, I think hard about what to say. My first thought is "where did she learn this from?" So I asked her, and this is the (very unexpected) response I got :
Me : "Where did you learn about slaves?"
Abby: *Shrugs*
Me: "Well you had to learn it somewhere." (thinking 'what show do I need to ban her from for a while?') "What does it mean to be a slave?"
Abby: "Someone who does all the hard work"
Me: "okay, but really, you had to learn that from someone or something, because Daddy and I haven't talked to you about slaves..."
Abby: (after a minute of brain storming) "The bible"
Me: (okaaay...yeah right) "The Bible? Where in the bible? Can you show me?"
Abby: *sighs* and grabbing her bible, "You know. Where the king of Egypt...what's his name again?"
Me: "Pharo"
Abby: "Right, Pharo, well he stole all the Israelites and made them do all that hard work..you know made them slaves" and she turns to the story of Moses...
At that point, I didn't know what to say. BIG props for knowing your bible stories kiddo! and....HEY! I don't treat you that way! Who do you think you are using that knowledge to sass me?....oy.
We talked about (reiterating what Daddy said) being family and helping each other out. And when I ask her to do something, I am not treating her like a slave, I am asking her to be a helper, and when she talks that way, and talks back like that, it is very disrespectful. It was a tough conversation on my part, because frankly, I felt like I got served a little bit, but I think the end result was good.
She's so smart, and figuring out how to apply what she's learning...it's just amazing. And by the way, that is a story that she's read all on her own. We haven't read it (in a very long time) together and it is not a story they have been covering in church currently or recently...So yes, she put all of this together on her own.
I feel totally blessed to have such a smart girl and one that reads her bible on her own like that, seeking knowledge in the Word. While my heart is overflowing with love (and lets face it...pride) for my little smarty butt girl, I am also learning, as a parent, of those opportunities that require me to step up and show her some guidance in her soaking up these stories like the little sponge she is. I am reminded that it's still my job to teach her when and where it is apporpriate to apply what she's learning, and about still being kind and respectful in her words and actions toward her loved ones.
Today's little encounter was certainly a lesson packed one all around.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Coming September 2013: Baby Moreland #4
So I think we have figured out how it happens. It has something to do with going to Arizona for sure!
Here's the pattern:
Conceived Abby in AZ before moving out here. We visited just before she turned one,
Within a month of coming home from our visit, we conceived Max.
We visited just before Max turned one
Within weeks of coming home, conceived Titus.
We visited when Ti was a year and half, conceived while we were out there....
I'm pretty sure it's AZ. Because it couldn't possibly be the "other" stuff we do ;o)
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Helltrack in the Livingroom
"Rad", if you don't know, is BMX movie from the 80's. I had never heard of it until Adam and I got married and were combining our DVD collection and it happened to come up. I was then subject to an unpredictable movie night with the hubby. We'd had many of these in our dating days. The "You haven't seen that? really? we must watch it together!" some were big hits, others were "I can't believe you held me down and forced me to watch this". (for those of you in the dating phase of life... "holding down and forcing to stay" can very easily be mistaken for "snuggling")
Anyway, "Rad" is somewhere in between. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't an instant all time favorite, must watch several times kind of movie either. Until we introduced it to the kids.
Needless to say, it has become an iconic movie in our house. From the product placement that started the Kix movement, to the motivational music that starts their little engines and gets them running, biking and playing "just like Crew!", even a few of Max's fashion statements!
All this to say, that Max was running his laps around the ottoman this morning belting out one of the racing songs Thunder in your Heart.
As any 3 year old would, he only had the first line stuck in his head which is supposed to be "Taking a chance, risking it all, for the thrill of the moment"
Max's version was "Taking a chance, risking it all....FEEL LIKE A MO-LAND!"
He was very serious about this song. It lasted about 15 minutes.
I love this kid.
Anyway, "Rad" is somewhere in between. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't an instant all time favorite, must watch several times kind of movie either. Until we introduced it to the kids.
Needless to say, it has become an iconic movie in our house. From the product placement that started the Kix movement, to the motivational music that starts their little engines and gets them running, biking and playing "just like Crew!", even a few of Max's fashion statements!
All this to say, that Max was running his laps around the ottoman this morning belting out one of the racing songs Thunder in your Heart.
As any 3 year old would, he only had the first line stuck in his head which is supposed to be "Taking a chance, risking it all, for the thrill of the moment"
Max's version was "Taking a chance, risking it all....FEEL LIKE A MO-LAND!"
He was very serious about this song. It lasted about 15 minutes.
I love this kid.
Friday, October 19, 2012
The Blohms
I had the pleasure of capturing some tender moments with this sweet couple last weekend. They truly are an amazing story. This pregnancy is nothing short of a real miracle and their willing to allow me to document this huge moment in their lives was just awesome.
Here are some of my favorite shots:
Here are some of my favorite shots:
Mischief Fairy Strikes!!!
I'm pretty sure there's a Mischief Fairy. I imagine it being a little orange guy with a big pouch of special mischief pixie dust. He comes during nap time, quiet time, or really any time you are not in the room or have your eyes on your children. He whispers ideas in your little ones innocent little ears, while sprinkling said dust over their little hands. He's so quick in stealthy about it that even your little ones don't know how they got the idea to do what they've done. So when you ask, "What were you thinking??" and they answer "I don't know!" They are right! because this little devil fairy planted the stinking idea into their little heads with their magic dust!!!
Where did I come up with this you might ask??
It wasn't until yesterday, when I discovered Max in the living room, naked from the waste down, covered in diaper cream. But it doesn't end there! OH NO!! He ventured into my bedroom where he found all kinds of treasures! Like my lotion, Adam's deoderant, a vicks vapor fan, a big jug of little orange bb's for the air soft guns. We found all of these "treasures" in his room on his bed. thankfully the bb's container was closed tight enough that he couldn't sprinkle his room with them. the deoderant was picked clean leaving his bed smelling very strong of Old Spice. You can imagine the disturbance in finding the bottle of lotion in his bed though. Thankfully he left little to no mess (that I've seen yet).
The fun didn't even stop there...oh no. The toothpaste exploded in the bathroom all over the sink too. By the time I discovered that...i just threw up my hands and said "of course. why not!"
How did he do so much without my knowing? Well, when it's quiet upstairs at nap time,I assume it's because they are sleeping.
This morning, he had a little extra mischief left over. While I was upstairs listening to Abby read me a story, he got into a brand new set of Crayola paint. He emptied three whole containers into a paper plate.
So when I do write things on FB like, "Dear mischief fairy, please don't pay us a visit anymore, I think you overdosed my son" just know that behind such posts there are usually little ornery boys getting into trouble, keeping me on my toes.
I love this little mischievous nut.
Where did I come up with this you might ask??
It wasn't until yesterday, when I discovered Max in the living room, naked from the waste down, covered in diaper cream. But it doesn't end there! OH NO!! He ventured into my bedroom where he found all kinds of treasures! Like my lotion, Adam's deoderant, a vicks vapor fan, a big jug of little orange bb's for the air soft guns. We found all of these "treasures" in his room on his bed. thankfully the bb's container was closed tight enough that he couldn't sprinkle his room with them. the deoderant was picked clean leaving his bed smelling very strong of Old Spice. You can imagine the disturbance in finding the bottle of lotion in his bed though. Thankfully he left little to no mess (that I've seen yet).
The fun didn't even stop there...oh no. The toothpaste exploded in the bathroom all over the sink too. By the time I discovered that...i just threw up my hands and said "of course. why not!"
How did he do so much without my knowing? Well, when it's quiet upstairs at nap time,I assume it's because they are sleeping.
This morning, he had a little extra mischief left over. While I was upstairs listening to Abby read me a story, he got into a brand new set of Crayola paint. He emptied three whole containers into a paper plate.
So when I do write things on FB like, "Dear mischief fairy, please don't pay us a visit anymore, I think you overdosed my son" just know that behind such posts there are usually little ornery boys getting into trouble, keeping me on my toes.
I love this little mischievous nut.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Princesses and Their Moms...What's Up with It Anyway?
**************UPDATE AT THE BOTTOM FROM 5-20-13************************
I was thinking the other day...well about a lot of things, so forgive me if I run off here or there on tangents because really my thoughts were everywhere about this, which is why I decided to write about it.
Abby and I don't have an Amazing mother daughter relationship. I know she's only 4 (almost 5) and like any relationship it just needs time to grow and strengthen, but even considering, we just aren't super cozy bundles of sunshine and roses with each other. We love each other, very much. She tells me all the time that she loves me...I tell her all the time that I love her. We send each other notes, we give passing hugs and kisses, we snuggle up with a book....but ask her to help me do something she doesn't want to do? and the gloves are off and the power struggle begins. I think it has a lot to do with our similarities that cause us to butt heads.
So anyway, thinking about this the other day while I was driving and it hit me...NONE of the Princess movies we've seen show a good healthy Mother-Daughter relationship! Lets take a look:
Cinderella - mom is dead, step mom hates her and turns her into a servant
Snow White - mom is dead, step mom tries to kill her
Sleeping Beauty - mom sends her away to protect her, so fairies raise her.
Jasmine - mom is dead
Pocahontas- did she have a mother? I know she had Dad.
Belle - mom is dead
Gizelle (Enchanted) - No Parents!
Tiawna- oddly enough, she did have a pretty good relationship with mom...but it didn't show a lot.
Ariel - no mom
Mulan - while mom was there she did not play much of a role except getting her ready for her "test" in the beginning of the movie, the focus was more on Mulan and her dads relationship.
Rapunzel- her parents love her very much, but she was kidnapped as a baby by Mother Gothel and grows up believing MG is her real mother....now this one is one messed up example.
Merida- While I haven't actually seen this one yet, (Adam and Abby have) I hear that it does show struggle between mom and daughter. I'm sure I will see it and see a bit of the same pattern as above, if mom is in the picture, there is a struggle of some kind or she doesn't play a very big role in the story.
If you know me at all, you know that I've always struggled with the Rapunzel movie. Abby and I throughly enjoyed it,and it is among the top princess movies that play in our house. However the relationship between Rapunzel and Mother Gothel is pretty complicated, especially to my four year old and served as quite the hurdle to get over when we first brought the movie home and watched it. How do you explain to her that Rapunzels "mother" doesn't really love her? That when they say "I love you", "I love you more", "I love you most" and embrace in a tender moment hug that she's lying and is really the bad guy? Abby went through a phase (after seeing the movie and my explaining that MG is really the bad guy and lies to her about loving her) and called me "mother" for the longest time. I was afraid that she thought I was lying when I told her I loved her. We've had a few talks since then, reassuring her that I am not lying when I hug and kiss her and tell her I love her.
Where I'm going with this is, it occurred to me the other day while I was thinking about all of this that there aren't really any movies (or shows) that depict a healthy good mother daughter relationship or family dianamic! It makes me want to write Disney with a challenge....show me a movie that gives a good example of a WHOLE family (no dead relatives) that really love , respect, protect and support each other. (Instantly after reading that last sentence the Incredibles came to mind). Bigger challenge?? make it a princess movie! I recently saw a little video, I AM A PRINCESS . It was really good, a great message, and I hope that Abby gets all of that out of seeing these movies, but still, there's a lack of family structure that, I'm afraid, will leave our little princesses thinking that they have to be from a broken hurt home to become something special? I don't know. It's just an opinion. I'm sure there's a lot I've left out and haven't thought about.
We love the princess thing, obviously, have you seen my daughter? I also know that I can't leave it up to Disney to show her what a real (good) family looks like. I'm just thinkin'.
************UPDATE BELOW***************
I am so glad I came back through some of my posts and read this one. I wanted to take a moment and give Disney Props for the movie Brave. I finally have seen it (about a million times by now) and was so pleasantly surprised by the family dynamic change! Mom and Dad are married and from the booty pinches and snuggles, conversations, and support shown between them, they really seem to love each other! Dad's a bit of a doofus at some points giving Mom a stronger woman kind of roll, but otherwise, I am quite impressed with how the family is depicted in the story.
While there were other aspects of the movie I wasn't super amazed and keen on, the family message was a vast improvement. so there you have it. Disney, you have done something really good here. Lets keep moving in this direction. :)
I was thinking the other day...well about a lot of things, so forgive me if I run off here or there on tangents because really my thoughts were everywhere about this, which is why I decided to write about it.
Abby and I don't have an Amazing mother daughter relationship. I know she's only 4 (almost 5) and like any relationship it just needs time to grow and strengthen, but even considering, we just aren't super cozy bundles of sunshine and roses with each other. We love each other, very much. She tells me all the time that she loves me...I tell her all the time that I love her. We send each other notes, we give passing hugs and kisses, we snuggle up with a book....but ask her to help me do something she doesn't want to do? and the gloves are off and the power struggle begins. I think it has a lot to do with our similarities that cause us to butt heads.
So anyway, thinking about this the other day while I was driving and it hit me...NONE of the Princess movies we've seen show a good healthy Mother-Daughter relationship! Lets take a look:
Cinderella - mom is dead, step mom hates her and turns her into a servant
Snow White - mom is dead, step mom tries to kill her
Sleeping Beauty - mom sends her away to protect her, so fairies raise her.
Jasmine - mom is dead
Pocahontas- did she have a mother? I know she had Dad.
Belle - mom is dead
Gizelle (Enchanted) - No Parents!
Tiawna- oddly enough, she did have a pretty good relationship with mom...but it didn't show a lot.
Ariel - no mom
Mulan - while mom was there she did not play much of a role except getting her ready for her "test" in the beginning of the movie, the focus was more on Mulan and her dads relationship.
Rapunzel- her parents love her very much, but she was kidnapped as a baby by Mother Gothel and grows up believing MG is her real mother....now this one is one messed up example.
Merida- While I haven't actually seen this one yet, (Adam and Abby have) I hear that it does show struggle between mom and daughter. I'm sure I will see it and see a bit of the same pattern as above, if mom is in the picture, there is a struggle of some kind or she doesn't play a very big role in the story.
If you know me at all, you know that I've always struggled with the Rapunzel movie. Abby and I throughly enjoyed it,and it is among the top princess movies that play in our house. However the relationship between Rapunzel and Mother Gothel is pretty complicated, especially to my four year old and served as quite the hurdle to get over when we first brought the movie home and watched it. How do you explain to her that Rapunzels "mother" doesn't really love her? That when they say "I love you", "I love you more", "I love you most" and embrace in a tender moment hug that she's lying and is really the bad guy? Abby went through a phase (after seeing the movie and my explaining that MG is really the bad guy and lies to her about loving her) and called me "mother" for the longest time. I was afraid that she thought I was lying when I told her I loved her. We've had a few talks since then, reassuring her that I am not lying when I hug and kiss her and tell her I love her.
Where I'm going with this is, it occurred to me the other day while I was thinking about all of this that there aren't really any movies (or shows) that depict a healthy good mother daughter relationship or family dianamic! It makes me want to write Disney with a challenge....show me a movie that gives a good example of a WHOLE family (no dead relatives) that really love , respect, protect and support each other. (Instantly after reading that last sentence the Incredibles came to mind). Bigger challenge?? make it a princess movie! I recently saw a little video, I AM A PRINCESS . It was really good, a great message, and I hope that Abby gets all of that out of seeing these movies, but still, there's a lack of family structure that, I'm afraid, will leave our little princesses thinking that they have to be from a broken hurt home to become something special? I don't know. It's just an opinion. I'm sure there's a lot I've left out and haven't thought about.
We love the princess thing, obviously, have you seen my daughter? I also know that I can't leave it up to Disney to show her what a real (good) family looks like. I'm just thinkin'.
************UPDATE BELOW***************
I am so glad I came back through some of my posts and read this one. I wanted to take a moment and give Disney Props for the movie Brave. I finally have seen it (about a million times by now) and was so pleasantly surprised by the family dynamic change! Mom and Dad are married and from the booty pinches and snuggles, conversations, and support shown between them, they really seem to love each other! Dad's a bit of a doofus at some points giving Mom a stronger woman kind of roll, but otherwise, I am quite impressed with how the family is depicted in the story.
While there were other aspects of the movie I wasn't super amazed and keen on, the family message was a vast improvement. so there you have it. Disney, you have done something really good here. Lets keep moving in this direction. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)