Tales of a Thankful Mom

            I have been having a little fold laundry and worship party this morning. As  I was folding t-shirts and shorts, the For King and County song song, “Burn the Ships” played in the background. I thought about how each day I need to chose to burn the ships. Each day as a child of God, I am making a choice I can put on,   “  compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,   13  bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.   14  And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.   15  And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.   17  And whatever you do, in word or deed, do ever

           This weekend I will be reminded of my brokenness. I will be reminded of my broken marriage. My kids are spending the weekend with their Dad. It is interesting that I think more about the fact that I am a single Mom, while my children are visiting their Dad than while there here with me. When my kids are home with me, I am busy caring for them, living life with them and enjoying the time I spend time with them. When they are visiting their Dad the house is much too quiet. I am thankful that God promises to be with me. He is with me the chaotic and loud days of this single Mom life, He is also with me on the quiet lonely days when I am missing my kids. On Saturday, I will be looking forward to Sunday night and my kids stories that they will tell me of their adventures with their Dad.

           Sometimes I let people’s expectations of me steal my joy. Actually, I am not sure if it is really their expectations of me, or my preceptions of their expectations of me. I want to give myself permission to behold beauty and really enjoy it. I want to take time to belly laugh with my kids. I don’t want to be preoccupied with what others think of me all the time. I want to treasure moments with my family. I want to watch sunsets and look at the stars at night. I want to hug and read to my children as I tuck them in a night. There is so much to behold in this life, and I don’t want to waste time being preoccupied any longer.  

            I put myself under a lot of pressure. I want my children to have a better childhood than I did, which is saying something, because my childhood was great. I want to be a loving, attentive mother, and I want to be a caring and helpful daughter. (My children and I live in the same household as my parents.) I need to remember that neither my parents or my children expect me to be perfect. They are not putting pressure on me. The pressure is really in my head. I need to remember that God’s grace is enough. God holds all things together, and He is in control. As Emily Freeman says “I need to focus on doing the next right thing in love.

 Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility,  gentle ness and patience.           Gentleness does not always come naturally to me. Especially the later that it gets in the evening. By 9 in the evening, I am usually thinking, "Is it bedtime. yet?" I need to remember where my gentleness comes from. It comes from remembering that I am dearly loved. It comes from remembering that my children and my other family members are dearly loved. Gentleness is a gift from the Holy Spirit. If I am struggling with being gentle, I need to get alone with God and my Bible and talk to Him about it. It is comforting to me as a Mom to realize that Jesus had so many people wanting his attention. I have three children. Jesus was surrounded by thousands upon thousands of people. Jesus  is my example.  He  handled interruptions perfectly. May I put on gentleness and compassion daily. My eldest daughter favorite shirt