The Pool Store

I just need to vent a minute. I cannot stand going into a pool store. It does not matter which one, for some reason EVERY one around here is just not good for me. Really I suppose the truth is that it is not about me and the pool store but the kids and the pool store. For a reason unknown to myself the pool store seems to hold something in it that effects them in quite a negative way. Perhaps it is the high concentration of chlorine? I have no idea.
Before we even get into the store battle one occurs.
Me: Hannah please let mama put your shoes on.
Hannah: No
Me: Hannah we have to take this water into the store so you have to put your shoes one.
Hannah: No-I want in the stroller.
Me: Fine but you cannot get out of the stroller. (good idea, less potential for problems with her restricted.)

Battle 2
Kaitlyn: Mama can I push Hannah around the store while you are waiting.
Me: Sure honey just be careful. (The store is just one room and quite small, every move they make I can see).
Me: Kaitlyn honey come back to mommy please. (Mommy is seeing temptation to pull things down in their eyes.)
Kaitlyn: Why?
Me: Because I need you to stand next to mommy now.
Kaitlyn: Okay, can I sit on this stool?
Me: That is fine.
Hannah: (Getting out of stroller) I want to sit on the stool too.
Me: No Hannah, you are not allowed out of the stroller with no shoes.
Hannah: (Whine and crying to express her dissatisfaction. Not pleasant to the ears.)
Kaitlyn: (Gets up and starts running around the store. Running around the store-chlorine must be getting to her.)
Me: Kaitlyn you need to stay on the stool.
Kaitlyn: Why? (In her most beautiful whiny tone that can pierce the eardrum of any ones ears.)
Me: (Trying to listen to the instructions of the person while trying to control the babies in their altered pool store state. Boy am I glad they write those instructions down!)
Kaitlyn: (Starts trying to pop wheelies with the stroller again loud noises.)
Me: Thank you so much for your help. (I pay and quickly try to leave and forget what just happened at least nothing got broken or spilled out. Just a couple of wild children and a cup of humility for me. After we leave and the pool store is long behind the effects start wearing off and I get my children back again.

Note to self: next time just find a friend with a pool who will let us swim often instead of a house with one! Perhaps I can humble myself more often as well so that God doesn't have to use the pool store and my children to continually do it. Not looking forward to our next trip but I see it coming in about another week.

A Big Girl's Slumber Party

I had an exciting weekend. The "big" girls got together and had a slumber party! It was like a family reunion of sorts. It was being reunited with those who have been called away. Three wonderful families have been called away from our church recently. Two of us from Chatt-town got to venture out to the big ATL to visit with them. We had such a great time! I think this weekend would have worn any man out. I remember hearing somewhere that men only have a certain number of words a day. Women however far exceed men in their word limit. This was so true this weekend. Our different personalities and stages of life are all different and unique but the common bond we hold is Christ. That is where true friendship is built.

The weekend started out like this.
Friday
1:00pm I pick up Haley for our 2 hour drive which turns into about 3 hours thanks to the infamous ATL traffic. We talk the entire way.
4ish We arrive at Stephanie's home. We continue talking.
7ish Ron and Pam arrive more talking-really the talking never stopped.
8ish Kate arrives with her crew. Talk, talk, talk. Kate's crew leaves. More talking.
Saturday
2:00am bedtime.
3:00am real bedtime because talking kept going on.
7:00am wake up-still talking.
Get my drift here? All we needed was each other and to visit and share. Really all we did was fellowship and share our lives. That is the best thing to do when sisters get together.
1:30pm plan to leave
2:30pm actual leave time because we were not done talking.
2:30-6:00pm more talking in the car. Drop Haley off.
6:10pm arrive home-more talking with kids and daddy.

It was interesting because sharing our lives with each other through communication is such an important thing for women. We needed this so badly. I wonder if I stored up so many words because I miss that sweet fellowship of hanging with just the girls. Most days my words get stored up while I take care of the children, clean the house, and go about my day to day activity. They don't get an outlet. There are way too many to dump on my dear husband at the end of the day. So they just get stored up. This weekend is what we all needed. I was so blessed by it. The funny thing is when I told Tony about the great time we had he wondered what we did. When I told him we just talked, ate, and most importantly drank coffee. He was puzzled. He said what did you talk about for all that time? And my only answer was, I don't even know. Just life. There is no possible way to explain it. It was refreshing and I came back renewed. That is all that really matters. Thanks Steph for having us and your great hospitality!

The S.P.A. Method

In the desperation of trying to get my girls to stop fighting I blurted out "STOP, PRAY, ASK." It got their attention and they wanted to know more. So I told them when you want something that someone else has instead of whining and grabbing and fighting you just need to stop a moment, pray about the issue, and calmly ask the person for the thing you want. They loved this method. It has a great success rate. We did however fall into the situation of someone not responding in favor of giving a toy back so I changed the A in SPA to act. Think about how Jesus would want you to act. Jesus says to do everything without arguing or complaining and to make every effort to live at peace with everyone so the choice is to walk away or to come up with some sort of compromise. I just love this because all I have to say now is SPA! And then they stop, pray, and act! Try it and let me know if it works for you. Just wanted to share and remind you that God's word is the very best thing for rebuking, correcting, and instructing! It never ceases to amaze me!

References: Philippians 2:15, Romans 12:18, 2 Timothy 3:16

Love

I am have been a bit "off" lately when it has come to this blogging and weekly
devotional writing. I have been in more of a learning mode lately with God. He has been teaching me so much about love. What love
really is all about. God has given me some great examples to model in my life.

One instance is someone close to me who has been wronged so severely that the damage caused them the loss of all they had. They were forced into bankruptcy and starting over life at close to 50. They actually had to live out of their camper for some time because of the way their world was shaken suddenly. But as God always provides they were taken care of. He provided shelter and food. They experienced some rough times but it strengthened them in the end. The perpetrator still comes in contact with them from time to time. It amazes me at the love and grace the hurt person exhibits toward him. Even though life was interrupted due to this persons selfishness, the victim still will sit with him and is civil in better words loving toward him. I asked how this was possible and the response that I was given was "I nailed the wrong to the cross. Jesus took it and it no longer belongs to me." The perp never has offered to make the situation right yet the victim still remains in love. It amazes me.

The other is another dear close person in my life. He has been married 7 years and has an almost 6 year old. The other half of this relationship says that she does not want to be in this marriage any longer. She says perhaps she was too young to get married. She wants to experience life without him. He has asked her to come to counseling with him. Perhaps the problems can be worked out. She will not have that. She is tired of being married. How is his response? He is kind and acts in love. He extends the very hands of Christ to her even though he has been severely wronged.

They were both people I dearly love who were unexpectantly thrown into a pit. Yet they both responded in love. Oh the lessons and things I learn from their situations. I am blessed to watch and see the love of Christ radiate through their lives. Love covers over a multitude of sins. I am learning so much from their example. If you are struggling with life or unfortunate circumstances know that people are watching you walk through them. People are learning how to handle rough situations from your life and example. Walk through it with love and grace and God will take care of the rest.

Motherhood Challenges

Lately I have been greatly challenged by this God assignment of motherhood. I always am reminded of the need of wisdom from God. God will give me the wisdom to get through this if I ask Him. He knows these children better than I can just as He knows us. I do have to persevere in parenting and never give up. Parenting grows our faith walk with God. Much of this is faith based. Are the seeds we are planting growing? Why does it seem I have to redirect 100 times a day? Is anyone listening? Am I even making a difference at all? Questions plague us day by day. I happen to be going through a more difficult season. I am taking it in stride. Obviously there are great things that God is trying to teach me through these precious little ones. They are the best tool He has to teach me, mold me, break me, humble me, stretch me, and bless me. I am thankful for that. I am in the trenches with all of you and as I write this am lifting any of you up in prayer who may read this. Motherhood is a tough task. It is one of life's greatest challenges yet one of life's greatest blessings! From this challenging stage I am going through I will just take a moment to share a quick scene with you. I hope it will bring you a good laugh. First I must preface with I do not normally pinch my children. I think I have used this technique maybe three times and only to get their attention. No children were harmed in the making of this story. However a mother was emotionally damaged from the whole ordeal while crushing her pride!

As we entering Walmart gathering groceries a slapping/hitting war was under way between the two children. The referee, aka mom, had to break these episodes up many times, more than she could count. Finally a swift warning was issued. "There will be no hitting or slapping whatsoever-those are not good manners and someone will get hurt." The children decided that when the referee was looking this behavior would not be acceptable but when she turned away-a hit. Finally at the check out line the following episode took place.

Mother puts groceries on the register.
Hannah loudly screams: AWWWW!
Mother turns and looks-Kaitlyn quickly moves back from the offense.
Mother gives stern look trying to use the power of her eyes to correct child.
Kaitlyn gives mischievous grin. I believe she thinks mother cannot regain control in this enviroment.
Mother turns again. Another blow is made behind mother's back.
Mother gives an attention getting pinch to the offender.
Kaitlyn loudly for the entire surrounding area to hear: OW! Why did you pinch me. Wailing takes place. Loud continual wailing.
Mother: Apologizes to the lady at the register.
Hannah trying to over shout her sister starts in knowing she is also at fault: Don't pinch me mama! Don't pinch me! Please don't pinch me!
Mother embarrassed continues to try to keep her composure and get the groceries paid for and into the cart so we can make a quick escape.

Well this is just one of the fun episodes from this week. Stay tuned, it may be good medicine to share more as I cry this out! God is good though and is teaching me to persevere and to fall face down before Him. He has the answers and will get me though this season!

Mother/Daughter Tea, Kingston, TN

Okay, I just have to tell you that I had the best time ever in Kingston! Those precious women were wonderful and it was such a pleasure to serve them! I would love to do that every Saturday! Okay maybe not every Saturday. I got to travel with some of my most cherished people. It was a blast. It was a fun road trip and growth in the Lord all wrapped in a fun-filled 8 hour day! We were served such lovely food by those women and the greatest beauty of the whole event was it was very multi-generational. We had about 50 women there and they ranged in ages from 8-80. Women got to share great memories they had of their mothers. It really blessed my heart. I do look forward to serving them again in the future. I was so blessed by them all. Rachel, their women's ministry direction is such a blessing to me. I met her a year and a half ago in Nashville before God put the call on my life (or at least before He clued me into it) and she told me she knew she was going to use me for something in the future. She wasn't sure what but she knew that there was something there. Little did I know it would be in this capacity but it was an extreme honor. I am so thankful to her and her support of our ministry. Stay tuned to our podcast, we may be posting the message on there so you can listen. It would be a good mother's day message to hear.

Girlfriends

Let me just tell you something that I way too often take for granted. That is those special women in my life who spurn me on, who pray for me, who support me, and who sharpen me. They are the ones who except me for who I am even when I am irrational, unstable, and obnoxious. I always wanted a sister (even though I absolutely adore my brother!) but I never had one. Instead I got something better--girlfriends who are my sisters in Christ! These are pics of just a few of the fun things we get to do together. These were two women's ministry events that took place about a year ago. Our women's ministry team brought in Lisa Whelchel to speak. She is the most precious, kind, and down to earth woman. I just loved her. She was all I expected and more. She has a way of sharing the Lord that is lasting. My pastor even enjoyed it. He usually does not sit in on these things but he found he could not leave! It was a fun time indeed. The best part of it was that us girls got to pull this event off as a team. We are currently praying about what to do this year. God will show us in due time. Anyway, with the exception of a few special ladies in my life the rest are pictured above. I am so thankful for them. I just wanted to share an example of how God uses them.

First, I am an extremely shy person. I am the girl who just wants to blend into the background. I do love people but just struggle with carrying on conversation! So before the last Uprising speaking event I shared my insecurities and asked them all to pray for me. They all agreed. This would be the first event my husband would be present for and the first my sisters would not be. As the event started filling up, I started to notice that there were a majority of guys present. In fact it ended up to be about 30 guys and 6 girls. This made me completely insecure. God called me to speak at this event but the dynamics through me off. I froze and became a complete mess--at least in my mind. After it was all done many people said I did a great job. But in my mind I could not figure out what happened to me. Were people praying? I just could not understand what happened to me. When I arrived home my sweet husband and I discussed this event through tears (all mine). It was really sweet because he affirmed my call and showed the support at a new level. It was a blessing. See, for me it would be real easy to give this whole thing up. However, this girl who just wants to blend in was not made for that. God has other plans. Our plans are not always His plans. God uses these special sisters in my life to confirm that all the time. That next morning I got 6 phone calls and each one started this same way..."Hey, how'd it go last night? I was praying for you." Each greeting though the same followed by me tearing up and saying, "I did horrible......." Each time, each precious woman had a patient ear and prayerfully spoke wisdom into my life. I am so thankful for each one. Perhaps one day I will get some pics of those tearful times or perhaps those times are better left for the imagination! God knew we would desperately need this. Perhaps that is why His word states, "A friend loves at all times" (Proverbs 17:17a).