During times of sickness

I was recently talking to a young mother who  has been laid out by morning sickness. Not only can I relate on that note (I have intense sickness every single month of each my pregnancies), I have also spent many years dealing with chronic, debilitating health conditions. 

After spending the last handful of years so very sick, my advice is make the most of that time in which when you can do nothing but lie in bed.

Spend your alone resting time listening to things that are GOOD and TRUE and LOVELY, filling your mind and soul, so you have more to pour out to your family when you are well.

 

Listen to an audio Bible, classic audio books that you may not have read yet (or reacquainting yourself with old favorites), podcasts that encourage you in your role as a mother, sermons that help you grow. 

Stepping Heavenward is an encouragement in times of prolonged sickness.

Let the children come and draw, play quiet blocks and dolls on your bedroom floor while you listen to and discuss great audio books together.  

 As hard as the road has been, I have seen many blessings in my infirmities.  You develop such an active prayer life, and a deeper compassion, when you  have nothing else to do but lay down all day.

Still Making Every Day Fun

This is an update on this post, from 7 years ago. Monkey is still at his mischief.
Here are some highlights:

 

You never know where you will find him.

He has a tendency to make Abigail's animals angry at him.

Maybe because he cheats at board games...

He has had zip lining adventures (in armor no less)

Sometimes he does nice things, like make us cookies

But usually, he is naughty :( 

Like when he makes himself and his well fed friend, sugary midnight snacks.

Our The Boxcar Children Picnic

"Jessie...cut the loaf of brown bread into five big pieces..Violet put the bottles of milk on the table, and Jessie put blueberries and cheese at each place. "

Too Old To Be Read To?

 Occasionally when I mention that I still read aloud to all my children, I see raised eyebrows. Yes, it is true, my boys love reading and are fully capable of zipping through novels on their own.Yes, I could hand my boys their history or science books and tell them to handle the assignments alone. But....

I LOVE reading aloud with my children. I LOVE to curl up on the couch with them as they listen to me read. I LOVE experiencing wonderful stories together, and being able to discuss them as we go. Often we stop reading and end up down a rabbit trail that started from something we read, but it is through these rabbit trails I really learn my children's' hearts and am able to speak truth into their lives I may now have thought about mentioning otherwise.

Read aloud time is a time that we are all drawn together and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Stuck at home?

 Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence Acts 28:30-31

We read this scripture in church this week, as we finished up the book of Acts.

This one verse really stuck out at me as a stay at home mom.
My husband takes our only car to work each day, so I can't go anywhere. Not to mention I have homeschooling to do, a house to keep, meals to make and naps to schedule around.  So even when I do have the car, getting out is just not something that can easily be done.

But does that mean I can not further God's kingdom? Absolutely not!

I can keep my door open to anyone who comes through it. I can try to create a comfortable and welcoming home for them to visit, and I can pray that the Lord would give me wisdom and confidence in my conversations and interactions with those who do come visit.  I can invite neighbors, other moms, and friends to share part of their day with me as I serve them tea or a snack and hospitality.

I can pray for those in my life. Friends, family, people in my community or in government.It only takes a few minutes most of the time and it blesses both me and the person I am praying for. You can even include your children in these prayers and bless them as well!

I can send cards of encouragement, or words of encouragement via email when the Lord puts someone on my heart.

I get to raise up a new generation to love and serve the Lord in my very own home.

I can bless my husband by making home a comforting place to come to after a hard day at work.

I can make crafts to use as gifts to bless those I love, or to sell and use that money to further the Lord's kingdom.

Paul had a rich ministry,  writing most of his epistles that make up our Scriptures while he was "stuck at home".
 Mama, do not let the enemy convince you that you are wasting your life being "stuck at home". You can still do so much for the Lord's kingdom!

Mama, don't give up!

I posted this little snippet that the Lord put on my heart last week on my Facebook:

 Mamas with little ones, I know you feel like each day is the same thing, saying no a million times, cleaning messes.. But be diligent. Teach them how to clean along side you, teach them to do what you are doing even if they don't do it well, take the time to teach them to obey you the first time every time. I am now able to see the fruit of that labor and it is such a blessing! I've been through a child who made me cry daily because I didn't think they would EVER obey me, and she is one sweet helper now! I am able to enjoy a nice long shower in the middle of the day and know the toddler is in good hands and not wrecking anything! I even get many nights a week off from cooking dinner because a child asked to make it, and is capable of doing it on his own. While most dread the teen years, I am looking forward to seeing my son grow into the man God wants him to be! Don't give up!

Now before you go thinking my children are perfect, I feel the need to tell you that all FOUR of the little ones in my house acted up the next day!  But then later in the week, I delivered CHRISTmas cookies to a neighbor we have not really gotten to know in the couple of years she has lived here, and she spoke some really encouraging words to me. 

She said that she notices us from across the street and she wanted to tell me that she appreciates how well behaved my children are. That they don't scream, and she sees them outside working with me, and getting along with each other. She said she could see the work I pour into them paying off. It really blessed my heart so much! And then a few other people this week  mentioned in passing that our children were so sweet and well behaved. And the Lord poured the encouragement He had given to me for other moms, right back into my heart. It was so beautiful.

As I was typing this I remembered another occasion where a different neighbor had commented on my children. She had come over so I could help her with a project, and my boys started to bicker. I made eye contact across the room with the instigator and pointed down the hall. Without a word, he went to wait on his bed for me to get a moment to talk to him. She told me she was impressed and couldn't wait until her children were old enough to go to  their room without being told. Actually quite a few times moms have mentioned looking forward to when  their children grew out of disobedience. 

 I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but children don't grow out of disobedience. Those toddlers who don't listen to you now, will be 8 years olds who talk back and slam doors when you ask the to do something before you know it.  Children are trained out of disobedience. It is expecting and demanding obedience from them the first time, every time from the time they can crawl, and following through on your expectations EVERY SINGLE TIME that causes them to grow into obedience.  It is hard work, every day, many times a day, sometimes many times in just 15 minutes! But the effort and love that you pour into their little lives now will pay you  back many times over as they grow to be a help and a joy and a blessing to you. I am living that blessing first hand!
Be willing to put in that tedious effort that feels never ending when they are young. It is worth every second!  

Stepping Heavenward- On being a Mother

"My darling precious children! For their sakes I am continually constrained to seek after an amended, a sanctified life. What I want them to become, I must become myself. "
  

"People ask me how it happens that my children are all so promptly obedient and happy. As if it chanced that some parents have such children or chanced that some parents have not! I’m afraid it is only too true, as someone has remarked, that this is the age of obedient parents! What then will be the future of the children? How can they yield to God who have never been taught to yield to human authority? And how well fitted to run their own households will they be who have never learned to rule themselves?"

"If I required a little self-denial, I said cheerfully {to them}, 'This is hard, but doing it for our best Friend sweetens it'. If you do this cheerfully and pleasantly my darling, you do it for Jesus, and that will make Him smile upon you."

"When you speak contemptuously of the vocation of motherhood, you dishonor not only the mother who bore you, but the Lord Jesus Himself, who chose to be born of a woman and to be ministered to by her through a helpless infancy."

"I want to see little children adorning every home as flowers adorn every meadow and every wayside. I want to see them welcomed to the homes they enter, to see their parents grow less and less selfish, and more and more loving because they have come. I want to see God's precious gifts accepted, not frowned upon and refused."

[of her sickly daughter]

"Thank God for sparing her to us a year. If he should take her away, I should still rejoice that this life was mingled with ours and has influenced us. Yes, even an infant in an ever-felt influence in the household. What an amazing thought! I have given this precious little one to her Savior and mine, living or dying, she is His. "

“Here is a little mouth to kiss; here are two more feet to make music with their pattering about my nursery. Here is a soul to train for God, and the body in which it dwells is worth all it will cost, since it is abode of a kingly tenant. I may see less of friends, but I have gained one dearer than them all. Yes, my precious baby, you are welcome to your mother’s heart, welcome to her time, her strength, her health, to her most tender cares, to her life~long prayers! Oh how rich I am, how truly, how marvelously blest!”

~Stepping Heavenward by Mrs. E. Prentiss in the 1800s

Breakfast- Peter Rabbit Style

Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail, who were good little bunnies, went down the lane to gather blackberries;

-Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter

My good little bunnies went down the lane with me to pick blackberries early this morning, so we had fresh picked blackberries, milk and bread for our breakfast today.

Ruth

I absolutely love reading the book of Ruth to kindergartners.  I still remember the first time Peter and I read it, and this week I found out he does too! They "get it" so quickly. I love that God has made his Word so accessible, even to children! 

⁹ “ To whom will he teach knowledge?
      And whom will he make to understand the message?
      Those just weaned from milk?
      Those just drawn from the breasts?
       ¹⁰ For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept,
      Line upon line, line upon line,
      Here a little, there a little.”

~Isaiah 28

Ruth is especially fun though. There are so many ways to bring it to their level. 

 

 I scattered grain in the back yard so they could "reap" like Ruth did. I gave them barley and they  tried to make it into flour. After about 15  minutes they were glad when I tossed it in the Vitamix and did it the easy way.  We used the flour to make bread (and math turned to science when it didn’t rise quite right for them).

  We talked about the Israelite culture a lot(social studies).  From family structure, to farming practices, to the impact of redemption. We talked about character. There is so much to learn from both Boaz and Ruth.
This time the Lord really showed me specifically about Ruth’s respect for authority. She asked for permission, she followed orders with a good attitude. She was know as "excellent" among everyone in the town.

How blessed I am to be their teacher! ♥

Making Everyday Fun

One of my best memories from when I was a child was the days my Dad got off work early. I’d come home and find my stuffed dog "Fluffy" in some kind of mischief. He’d set up scenes with laundry baskets, ransom notes… It was always a fun surprise.

Fluffy and Monkey reminiscent of my childhood

 So last year when I was on bed rest and I allowed my boys to go to a birthday party without me for a good friend of ours (I am NEVER without my children), I was at home miserably lonely, missing them when I saw Fluffy laying on Andrew’s bed. I decided I wanted to leave my children those kinds of memories. So that afternoon I started my own tradition, similar but updated and adapted to our family! 

Monkey on the treadmill

I took Andrew’s "Monkey" and placed him in several mischievous situations and snapped pictures. When they got home I told them I was so tired because Monkey had been acting naughty all afternoon! They giggled and said "What do you mean?" so I showed them on my computer all the times I had "caught" Monkey being naughty! They thought it was great, and I printed the pictures to place in a small album that Andrew keeps on his bed. Since that day we’ve added many other pictures from when they were sleeping, or playing outside….

Monkey making cereal for breakfast
 

We also occasionally tell Curious George type stories about the time our family went on a field trip and Monkey climbed into the space ship at the museum and took a trip through space…. or when Monkey went with us to the grocery store and ate every single banana… The boys ask for these stories a lot more often than my imagination can come up with them, but they mean so much to them I love to do it!

What kind of memories are you making with your children?

Passover reality

I blog to encourage other women, but I have realized lately that sometimes being reminded that you are not the only one who struggles is an encouragement as well. So on that note I am sharing the reality of the Passover  dinner.

It was actually a very simple dinner, nothing elaborate at all. We(well my 8 year old actually planned the menu) decided on lamb meatballs (seasoned with fresh garlic and rosemary and they were awesome but not till after I made them did I realized they were not "scriptural"! oops), salad, cucumbers, apples dipped in honey  matzoh and grape juice.


I had a cranky girl from the beginning who had to be bribed with ranch to dip her matzoh in just to stop crying long enough for me to get through the verses I wanted to read and the prayer before we ate. Even with that she managed to grab a handful of the salad that was set too close to her seat and toss it on the floor. As dinner went on my boys were more hyper and silly than somber and spiritual.  Abigail pegged the dog in the head with a meatball, and one of my boys decided to, out of nowhere, start dancing in his chair, which knocked one of those pretty antique goblets across the kitchen resulting in hundreds of pieces of shattered glass on the floor.

But that does not mean dinner was not a success. It was still a tradition I hope my children will remember through out their lives. I know that  they were at least exposed to the truth of Christ’s love even if it is not yet meaningful to them. Reality is life is not picture perfect, but that does not make it any less meaningful or worth it!

Make Every Day Special

Titus 2:4
Train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God

    Mothers, I hope to inspire you to make every day special for your children. Just little gestures that make them see God’s beauty in every day occurrences, that make them feel special and loved. It will change your mindset as well!
    I let my children drink milk out of fancy tea cups sometimes.  I serve meals and snacks occasionally just for them on my best china, the set my great grandmother gave me that were hers.  Children are more careful than you’d think when they see that they are given the chance to use something special. And if they were to break , my children and the memories I am making with them are so much more important than  "stuff of this world".

    It doesn’t even have to be anything extraordinary.  Rainbow sprinkles on their pancakes,  a heart made of chocolate chips on their oatmeal. Bread made in a shaped mold. These things make all the world to children and it is so fun to do these things for them and see their eyes light up!

    One thing I need a reminder of sometimes is to let  them help. Yes I could do it myself twice as fast and make 100 times less of a mess, but what memories would that be making? What skills would the children be learning? Is the beauty of the finished product more important that the confidence they  have when they make something "themselves"? I learned today that my younger son is an expert potato peeler (which is great because I hate peeling), even though he peels the skins onto the floor. And my oldest is great at chopping potatoes to put in the pot!  Abigail is great at banging measuring cups against her high chair, and that is her favorite place to be when I’m cooking because then she is high enough to see the counter tops and see what I am doing!

    I love to search for books at our library to find new recipes and decorating ideas to please  my children, husband and any guests who may come into our home. I find lots of fun stuff that way. Mothering and homemaking and being a wife are all processes that involve constant learning, and I aim to improve every day!

A Quiet Clear Mother

"It is a universal rule that the more excited or naughty the children are, the more quiet and clear the mother should be. A mother who realizes this for the first time, and works with herself until she is free from all excited and strained resistance, discovers that it is through her care for her children that she herself has learned how to live. Blessed are the children who have such a mother, and blessed is the mother of those children!…All vehemence is weak; quiet, clear decision is strong; and the child not only feels the strength of the quiet, decisive action, but he feels the help from his mother’s quiet atmosphere which comes with it.

–Annie Payson Call

Obedient Parents

"People ask me  how it happens that my children are all so promptly obedient and happy. As if it chanced that some parents have such children or chanced that some parents have not! I’m afraid it is only too true, as someone has remarked, that this is the age of obedient parents! What then will be the future of the children? How can they yield to God who have never been taught  to yield to human authority? And how well fitted to run their own households will they be who have never learned to rule themselves?"
~Mrs E Prentiss is Stepping Heavenward in the 1800s  

If this was true then, what about now? I think the attitude we have of children is downright SCARY!

There is nothing better

than seeing a little person scan the room and break into a giant grin as soon as she sees YOUR face! Or when someone thinks your goofiest kissy face is the funniest thing she has ever seen! Thank you Lord for the reward of children!
Abigail may be my hardest baby so far, but she is also the smiliest by far as well.
Psalm 113: 9 He gives the childless woman a family,
      making her a happy mother.

Psalm 37  Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
         Nor his descendants begging bread.
 26 He is ever merciful, and lends;
         And his children are a blessing.
Matthew 18:5 “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf <sup>is welcoming me.

Proverbs 31:28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;</sup>

Peter Rabbit Tea with my own Peter Rabbit

My firstborn happens to be named Peter, so the book Peter Rabbit has always  been a favorite of ours.

We love to drink "Peter Rabbit Tea" together, at night before bed. {chamomile}

These pretty flowers grow in our garden, and I love drying them to use for our special tea time.