Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Bold Voices
I believe that God has given all of us a voice. Sometimes though, our voices get silenced - sometimes by outside influences beyond our control, or sometimes by our own doing. In the past, I allowed MY voice to be stifled by others, dictating what was and was not "acceptable" for me to say or do. My once confident, bold voice, slowly transformed into nothing more than a whisper.
I have since been reminded that God did not create me to be a silent bystander. He created me with the boldness and courage needed to defend the weak, to speak out against injustices, and to even ruffle some feathers if needed, by courageously confronting issues no one else will address. I wasn't created with a voice just to sit idly by and neither were YOU! We were created to speak out! To stand up! To be a voice of reason! To speak the truth to a world in need of it! I know I am here to make a difference during my time here on earth, but using the voice God gave me. This verse gave me a extra "push" today to take back my confidence and find my voice again:
"The wicked run away when no one is chasing them, but the godly are as bold as lions." - Proverbs 28:1
Be bold, friends! It's time to pull the tape off of our mouths. If you don't use your voice, someone else will use theirs, and it may not be to speak what the hurting world needs to hear....
Friday, June 12, 2015
To all the stay-at-home moms just trying to survive another day
I overhead a conversation between two moms today when I was picking up my kids from vbs.
Mom #1: "What was I thinking, quitting my full-time job to do 'this'? Work is so much easier!"
Mom#2: "I know! I shouldn't have quit my job to stay home with him all day. I get nothing done around the house! I think I'm going to go back to work before I go insane!"
It made me sad to hear them talking like that.
You see, I quit a well-paying, full time job that I loved, 10 years ago when my first child was born, and I haven't had a "job" since. Let me tell you - it hasn't been easy!
When my children were babies, there were countless days that my health issues left me so sick that I would lay on the floor with them playing around me, praying someone would come relieve me so I could "leave work" and go to bed. But the needs of my babies wouldn't allow for that, afterall, stay-at-home moms don't get sick days. So, I had to press through!
Of course there have been days that I have longed for a change of pace, or the "freedom" to go somewhere alone without having to load my kids up and take them with me. Some days I've had the desire to just interact with other moms. In the season we are in now (with a 10 and 8 year old) the trials are different, but the trials still exist nonetheless. However, I can honestly say that I have never once regretted my decision to stay home and raise my children.
I just felt like writing this today, to offer any stay-at-home mom (including myself) who is reading this some encouragement. Encouragement that moms like us rarely get.
<** I am not writing this blog to "diss" working moms. So many of you have been put in a situation that you have no choice but to work. I pray you find encouragement today as well.>
Dear overwhelmed & under-appreciated mom,
Don't give up!! Your hard work (while sometimes unnoticed) WILL pay off! Your efforts are going to have lasting effects for years to come. Be thankful for the time you have with your kids - they won't be this age for long, and when they are gone, you will have more "me time" than you know what to do with! You may not see the rewards now, especially if you are a young mother, but trust me, you WILL. YOU are teaching them right from wrong, YOU are kissing their boo-boos as soon as they scrape their knee. It is YOU they come running to when they are scared or hurt. And it will be YOU that they remember when they look back on their lives as adults, and realize that their mother made sacrifices....sacrifices that she didn't have to make - all to do something she felt called to do - stay at home with them. Don't regret your decision. Don't complain. There are many mothers who don't have the privilege to stay home like you do. Embrace the hardships of motherhood one day at a time. One day, your kids will thank you for it. *hugs*
I will leave you with this writing from C.S. Lewis:
“I think I can understand that feeling about a housewife’s work being like that of Sisyphus (who was the stone rolling gentleman). But it is surely in reality the most important work in the world. What do ships, railways, miners, cars, government etc exist for except that people may be fed, warmed, and safe in their own homes? As Dr. Johnson said, “To be happy at home is the end of all human endeavor”. (1st to be happy to prepare for being happy in our own real home hereafter: 2nd in the meantime to be happy in our houses.) We wage war in order to have peace, we work in order to have leisure, we produce food in order to eat it. So your job is the one for which all others exist…” (pg 447-Letter of CS Lewis 1988 ed.)
Mom #1: "What was I thinking, quitting my full-time job to do 'this'? Work is so much easier!"
Mom#2: "I know! I shouldn't have quit my job to stay home with him all day. I get nothing done around the house! I think I'm going to go back to work before I go insane!"
It made me sad to hear them talking like that.
You see, I quit a well-paying, full time job that I loved, 10 years ago when my first child was born, and I haven't had a "job" since. Let me tell you - it hasn't been easy!
When my children were babies, there were countless days that my health issues left me so sick that I would lay on the floor with them playing around me, praying someone would come relieve me so I could "leave work" and go to bed. But the needs of my babies wouldn't allow for that, afterall, stay-at-home moms don't get sick days. So, I had to press through!
Of course there have been days that I have longed for a change of pace, or the "freedom" to go somewhere alone without having to load my kids up and take them with me. Some days I've had the desire to just interact with other moms. In the season we are in now (with a 10 and 8 year old) the trials are different, but the trials still exist nonetheless. However, I can honestly say that I have never once regretted my decision to stay home and raise my children.
I just felt like writing this today, to offer any stay-at-home mom (including myself) who is reading this some encouragement. Encouragement that moms like us rarely get.
<** I am not writing this blog to "diss" working moms. So many of you have been put in a situation that you have no choice but to work. I pray you find encouragement today as well.>
Dear overwhelmed & under-appreciated mom,
Don't give up!! Your hard work (while sometimes unnoticed) WILL pay off! Your efforts are going to have lasting effects for years to come. Be thankful for the time you have with your kids - they won't be this age for long, and when they are gone, you will have more "me time" than you know what to do with! You may not see the rewards now, especially if you are a young mother, but trust me, you WILL. YOU are teaching them right from wrong, YOU are kissing their boo-boos as soon as they scrape their knee. It is YOU they come running to when they are scared or hurt. And it will be YOU that they remember when they look back on their lives as adults, and realize that their mother made sacrifices....sacrifices that she didn't have to make - all to do something she felt called to do - stay at home with them. Don't regret your decision. Don't complain. There are many mothers who don't have the privilege to stay home like you do. Embrace the hardships of motherhood one day at a time. One day, your kids will thank you for it. *hugs*
I will leave you with this writing from C.S. Lewis:
“I think I can understand that feeling about a housewife’s work being like that of Sisyphus (who was the stone rolling gentleman). But it is surely in reality the most important work in the world. What do ships, railways, miners, cars, government etc exist for except that people may be fed, warmed, and safe in their own homes? As Dr. Johnson said, “To be happy at home is the end of all human endeavor”. (1st to be happy to prepare for being happy in our own real home hereafter: 2nd in the meantime to be happy in our houses.) We wage war in order to have peace, we work in order to have leisure, we produce food in order to eat it. So your job is the one for which all others exist…” (pg 447-Letter of CS Lewis 1988 ed.)
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