Worn and Weary
I have seen the signs and I have heard the complaints. Moms across the nation, okay... in my community, begging for school to start because their kids are driving them crazy. These same moms are moms that sign their kids up for all kinds of sports and stay very active. They look to the summer to wrap up baseball and softball and have some down time and enjoy their loving families.
What is the problem? We become worn and weary after just a couple days. We have wonderful plans for the summer of visiting with friends, going to the Zoo, or amusement parks and by the third day of the break we wonder when do they go back.
As parents we have high expectations that we can have the perfect family life even when everybody is running in several different directions. Our family was guilty of this. We had cheerleading/football in the fall, basketball in the winter and softball in the spring. Not to mention all of the school activities and church activities. By the time summer would come along we would be wore out with kids that were used to be kept busy and kept on a schedule. This is unrealistic to maintain, especially if there are more than one or two children involved. Different ages, different genders, and so on. It wears out the family and then when there is a break you are so tired and so weary having relaxing family time seems impossible.
Children learn by their environment. If the environment they are in is in constant motion that is what they will crave. The same is true for the opposite, if the environment is constantly relaxed they will crave that. What is best is a happy medium.
A suggestion on lightening the load, so to speak, would be have your children choose one sport or one activity outside of church and school. Then you prioritize. This also helps the kids focus on what they want to do. This helped with our youngest daughter that is our athletic one. She wanted to be the best cheerleader, the best basketball player and the best softball player. The problem was from being constantly on the go, she wasn't that great and any. Now she is focused on softball and has been doing quite well. She even made the JV team at school this past year. Another thing we try to do is have a family night. Nobody spends the night all the kids are home and we deliberately do something together as a family. It can be watching a movie, playing a board game, catching fireflies, whatever.
Sometimes, it's not just our schedules that have us worn and weary. Sometimes it is life and circumstance. In the times we are facing today with the volatile economy and jobs being hard to come by, it is easy to pick up heavy burdens. For that I encourage you to turn to the Lord.
Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and the burden is light.”
Matthew 11: 28-30Just as with our children we have to change our perspective. We have to get where we need to be.
I know as a wife, a mom and a student that I have to MAKE time for God. Being in the Word and being in touch with God is the only way to keep things under control. With the trials our own family has gone through we are unable to comprehend how those without God in their lives can get through the storms.
Labels: family, matthew 11:28-30, peace, worn and weary
Renewing of the Home
The last week or two have really been quite uplifting for me. And it's not just because school has started.
For about the last two years or maybe 3, God has been working on mine and my husband's hearts. We were no longer where He wanted us to be. We didn't know what this meant and we weren't in the place we needed to be spiritually to know that that was what God was doing. It started with our Sunday School teachers stepping down and they went threw very trying times. We weren't so sure we were suppose to stay in that class, but we did. We were in the word and the other class that we were interested in was during the worship service we typically went to. Our church had two services and Sunday School went on during both. Plus had we changed classes we had 6 kids to change classes too.
So we continued and we were blessed by the Lord with fellowship and growing closer to Him, but there was something missing. We, Jeff and I, started feeling out of place. At first we though it was because we had 6 kids and while we did know other families with many kids, it's not exactly common. After Benji was born, our church family ministered to us and helped us through the trials of his heart condition and the surgery. We felt closer to the Lord and thought that that was what we were missing. You know that spiritual closeness that sometimes we forget about once the daily grind gets ground into us.
Some more time went by and we started feeling lost again when we would go to church. We made excuses and visited my mom's church once or twice but didn't think anything about this missing piece. Everytime the women's group would start a Bible Study I would go to sign up but then something would stop me and I would feel miserable. We lost any touch of the world outside of our home other than sporting events. (Not that we wanted worldly fellowship, but the fellowship that was available we felt we didn't have.)
Finally, a major crisis happened in our family and we were all alone. We struggled, we knew God was the only way we would survive. And it has taken us a year to get to where we could hear God's call on our lives.
We have recently changed churches. Our spiritual needs are now being met as we need them to. All of our kids are being blessed. Little Benji, the youngest, went from kicking and screaming when we would drop him off at the nursery at our old church to running from me when it's time to go to nursery where we are now going. The atmosphere is different to us. I am not saying that God's presence is not at our former church. That is not the case at all. We have just outgrown our former church. Sorta like as you grow up, you go through school and you change school's once you get so far.
So, now that we have changed churches... The kids are loving to go to church and learn about God. And they are really learning. I signed up for Bible Study and I also joined MOPs. I am looking forward to being part of both groups and some of the ladies are in both groups.
All of this going on and it is amazing to say that, now that the spirit man is being fed and we are getting back into the Word the way we are suppose to be. Our home life is getting calmer and renewed. Three of our children have issues that can stress a mom, and dad, out. Two are emotionally/behaviorally challenged and then the other is developmentally challenged. All three are in therapy and getting help, but we have good days and bad days that have to be dealt with.
In getting back to the Lord, our home is renewed by His love and grace. We are growing closer to Him day by day and that renewal is awesome.
In God's Love,
Labels: bible study, church, family, home, MOPs, renewal
Spiriutal Awakening
Isn't it wonderful when you are sitting in a church service and all of a sudden the Lord touches you? I had a Sunday Service like that yesterday. It was marvelous and it is what my soul has been craving for too long.
The last few months our family has been in a spiritual drought. About a month ago we decided to go to my mother's church just to test the waters. The church we were going to we had become very comfortable and while there were some changes we didn't completely agree with, we stayed. Now, we know that the Lord was calling us to move away from the church we called home for nearly ten years.
I am not advocating to change churches if things get stagnant, I do advocate listening to the Lord and heeding his call. Our former church has blessed as tremendously, our spiritual needs have merely outgrown the church.
Anyhow, back to the spiritual awakening. Sunday during the sermon, the preacher spoke of Christian love. Sundays' sermon was a sequel from last week's and it was a true blessing.
Love must be completely sincere. Hate what is evil, hold on to what is good. Love one another warmly as Christians, and be eager to show respect for one another. Work hard and do not be lazy. Serve the Lord with a heart full of devotion. Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times. Share your belongings with your needy fellow Christians, and open your homes to strangers. Ask God to bless those who persecute you---yes, ask him to bless, not to curse. Be happy with those who are happy, weep with those who weep. Have the same concern for everyone. Do not be proud, but accept humble duties. Do not think of yourselves as wise. If someone has done you wrong, do not repay him with a wrong. Try to do what everyone considers to be good. Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody. Never take revenge, my friends, but instead let God's anger do it. For the scripture says, "I will take revenge, I will pay back, says the Lord." Instead, as the scripture says: "If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them a drink; for by doing this you will make them burn with shame." Do not let evil defeat you; instead, conquer evil with good.
(Romans 12:9-21 GNB)
Being a Christian is being LOVE.
If we are rich and see others in need, yet close our hearts against them, how can we claim that we love God?
(1 John 3:17 GNB)
What is impressed upon me is that we are to reach out to others. If we see people in need, we should help them. If a fellow Christian has fallen, pick them back up.
We are still on our journey looking for the church that the Lord wants us in, so I do ask for prayer that the answer is obvious. I pray that the church we move to will be the church that will meet all of our family's needs now and in the future.
I will say one more thing, just because we left the church we were attending does not mean that it is not following the will of the Lord. It's just not the road we are suppose to be on. There are many people I know that go there and are blessed to be there. It is where the Lord has put them.
Labels: christian, church, family, God's Love, moving
SpiderMan 3
So, last night we decided that we would go and see Spiderman 3. Especially after reading the opinion on it at the link below.
Perspectives: Spider-Man 3 and the dark web of sinWe went to our local drive in, trust me I would much rather spend $16 with our brood at the drive in than nearly $50 at the cinema. The kids really enjoyed it as we got there about 2 hours before the movie started and they played down just below the screen. They really had alot of fun. The boys were good and worn out by the time the movie was starting and for the most part stayed still and watched the movie. Benji tried to fight sitting still about 20 minutes into it.
On to the movie... Overall I enjoyed the movie. The storyline was good although there was a little bit of confusion and some cheese. The cheese being when Peter Parker acts like John Travolta walking down the sidewalk. Very 70s, very cheese.
In the movie, it seems Peter Parker finally has it together. He is doing good in school, working freelance for the Bugle, finally has the girlfriend he's wanted all his life. It couldn't be better right? Wrong. That's when there is a meteorite with a parasite that lands not far from where Peter and MJ are on a date at.
Then there is Sandman, who really seems to be a good guy with rotten luck. His daughter is very ill and he got scared and had to do the crimes he did to provide for her. This is a role I believe that man parents can relate to and after seeing the entire movie can feel sorry for.
The New Goblin/Harry Osborn is yet again another character that doesn't understand the situation and allows his frustration and anger over his father's death eat at him and nearly consume him in the form of hatred towards SpiderMan/Peter Parker. The ending on this was a good one as Harry saw the error of his bitterness and the end of the movie brought the two friends back together before the inevitable.
Venom is the alien that was on the meteor. It is a parasite that after giving a go at Peter, ends up taking over Eddie Brock.
Personally none of our children that saw the movie were affected negatively by it. I could easily see however that if a child that has aggressive tendencies were to see it, regardless of age could have issues. Or I suppose I should say their parents would have issues in dealing with an out lash of behaviors.
Our girls enjoyed both the action and the love story. Our boys really enjoyed the action.
My opinion this is a good movie and it's a great way to talk to your kids or friends about forgiveness and that if you don't forgive it will eat at you, like a parasite.
Labels: family, movies, spiderman 3
