A place of encouragement:

Living By Faith, Walking in the Light, Saved By His Amazing Grace

Thursday, September 20, 2012

The Good Mama Journey

Being a good Mama is being aware that your not always going to get it right. Your bound to mess up...That's the nature of the sin soaked. Being a good Mama is knowing when you have failed and then picking up the pieces to start new again. Being a good Mama .....Well sometimes you have to say your sorry but, it's not just in the sorry, it's in the action after the sorry that really matters.

And I can't ever claim to be the perfect Mama or the Nobel prize winner of the perfect wife......What I can claim is GRACE and how it has washed over me when I've muddied up this God given soul. A lesson is only good if it's a lesson learned and a mistake not repeated again and again.

Some say I'm a veteran Mama because I have been through a variety of ages.....I've had long term experience so to speak. But there are still days that I feel like I'm flailing about. Some days I'm just like that new Mama all scared not knowing what I'm doing...I still need help and guidance.

What I can tell you through all this crazy up and down life is that I don't regret the journey because I have not walked it alone. I've seen the hand of God even when my stubborn eyes were burning with all the wrong I had fallen into.

One Mama comes walking through my door and shares her heart saying she wishes she could be me......Oh sweet friend your sin may be different than mine but it is sin just the same. Your walk has taken you down a different path and as long as you follow the God/Man He will always steer you back on track. Precious friend your witness is one that I'm not equipped for. Your passion is one that I'm not meant to have.

You kept saying you have screwed it all up.....Made too many mistakes......The line has been drawn and you can't seem to cross over.

What I see is a Veteran Mama. A Mama who has a story to tell. A great witness to young Mamas out there that see no way out. I see a loving Mama......One that gives all she can and then some. One that hasn't given up despite of the hard blows that have knocked her down in the past.

You see the journey is not in getting it right the first time....It's not in the perfection or what you think others may have. It's not in wanting to be someone else. The journey......The good Mama Journey is knowing when you have messed up and then asking God to pick up the pieces to put you back together, not the way you used to be but better. So much more Beautiful than what you once were. He can't use you if you have yet to be broken........

And sweet Mama I must tell you I have been broken........I have a story that's all my own. One that you would not want to trade with me. I'm sure of that! But you see what you are looking at now is one who has been put back together in a way that only He can. And some day I know that He will put someone in my path and I will bare witness of all the grace that has washed this sin soaked Mama clean....

But until then I will go on living for today, the way He wants me to live.....And you......You are Beautiful in my eyes......But most importantly You are His BEAUTIFUL. Created for His plan and only you can fill those shoes!


Wednesday, September 19, 2012

What's In A Name?

As I anxiously await the birth of our 6th child I wanted to share with you the two names we have picked out. Why two? Well because we don't find out whether it's a boy or a girl until the sweet blessing is laid in my arms. We get so few genuine surprises these days why not grab them when you can.....I have to tell you for those that think they can wait, it is so worth it!! We have literally been genuinely surprised each and every time.

When our first baby arrived we did not have a name for him until three days after he was born. We always took great care and time in naming our children but, to be honest never really thought of names with meanings behind them until we named our fifth child.  Her first name is Autum not much meaning behind that but, her middle name is Reign. We could of spelled it R-a-i-n but both of us almost immediately agreed that it should be spelled R-e-i-g-n as in our Lord Reigns. Gotta love that!

My husband's name is John which means "God is gracious" and my name....Well Kim means grassy green meadow. Now I've often wondered how that name fits me and my personality......Other than the fact that I love being in and smelling the grassy green meadows up home! Especially after they have just been cut!

 One evening we were chatting with Johnny's cousin and she said she thought the meaning of my name fit me perfectly. I looked at her kind of puzzled and she said. "A meadow is all natural. It's from the earth." And if any of you know me I am an all natura'al  kind of girl! I try very hard to do things naturally from having my babies at home to the health and nutrition of my family. If there is an alternative way I will find it! And believe me I will do the research to make sure it's the best way!!

And now we are on to naming our sixth and probably our last child. I say probably..... because age is setting in and probably.... because sometimes God might have other plans......But for now we are content with the thought and reality of six.

We did not do much name bouncing around with this one. We already had a girls name picked out.

Zoey Anne for a girl. Zoey means "LIFE" and Anne means "He favors her."

For a boy we have chosen John Jesse. Now both of our boys are named after their Daddy but their middle names are what we go by. So it is only right that we continue this trend. As I said previously John means "God is Gracious" And Jesse means "The Lord exists".

Do I wish we would of named our first 4 this way? Well maybe a little bit but in reality I love the names we have for them as well. I think it's important to take your time in coming up with a name but it's not just the name that makes the child who he or she will become, it's two loving parents that will take the time to nurture and raise the child with God's love and guidance. The name is just the icing on the cake so to speak. It's the ingredients that's put into the cake that really matters!

As of this Saturday I will be 39 weeks. Yes I am anxious! Yes I am uncomfortable! Yes being pregnant is all I can think about! And yes even this I know with out a doubt has been orchestrated by God! His timing is PERFECT!








Monday, September 10, 2012

What I Don't Need

Discovering what I don't need lately is like recapturing all the lost in my life........All the things I put on the back burner, the things I save for later that never get touched.

What I don't need is extra time away from my family.....FB tends to do that if you let it......All the technical gadgets seem to steal you away from what you were given.... From the blessing you were meant to be.........From the blessings you need.

Because what you want can surely over power your needs. And you may be surprised when you discover "your needs" were really just wants.
And can't you just see life moving when you drop all that holds you captive? Aren't you more aware of the people in your life? The ones that really need you. The minutes can waste away and turn into hours and days....And before you realize it, years have passed.

I wanna look back and know that my every minute was worth living. There is no worth in waste.
I need to create a space....a life with less because in reality less is definitely more. When your life is cluttered with stuff you have to spend time taking care of that stuff and your mind it tends to wander away from this life your living now and all that it can hold. Clutter and technology turns your heart away from God, family and friends......Makes you untouchable. No longer a physical being who needs touch and fellowship, but a being who becomes self absorbed and lonely. Escaping all the blessings and forgetting how to be a blessing.

And as wonderful as FB is for keeping in touch it can quickly become your idol. Just as the nic nacs and stuff that take up your counter tops can keep you from thinking clearly and seeing the beauty in simplicity.  They say everything in moderation.

God says " Keep your mind on things above and not on earthly things." Colossians 3:2

My life has been a whirl wind of bustling activities and excitement for the arrival of our new baby. I've purposely cut my time back on the things that take me away from being a blessing so that I may see the blessings in front of me.

It's amazing how much more clearly I see...............