My mama heart....rescued...once again.

Recently I got to go to a worship night for JUST mama's at a church where our MOPS group meets. We got to sit and soak in the presence of God while listening to my sweet friend's brother play his guitar and sing (with a gorgeous voice) some wonderful worship songs. 

I heard many moms say "I have heard those songs before...but tonight I really heard the lyrics". 

They were so right! One specific thing that stuck out to me in a song that I just can't shake is...

THE SIMPLE GOSPEL.

I was toiling over those words, especially when it came to being Good Friday, and of course Easter Sunday. We watched some shows, read lots of scripture, and like most Christians, we revisited all that Christ did for us that weekend. 

And it seemed like everyone around me was too. Shows on tv, blog posts I follow, and even Facebook and Pinterest were blowing up all about Jesus. 

In the midst of all of that....there was something special about gathering with some of our MOPS mommies and sitting and worshiping that made me relate Easter weekend....

To motherhood,

 there are times of beauty when we are playing outside with our kid and the weather is perfect.  There are times when everyone is laughing over homemade chocolate chip cookies and we get a small taste of the kingdom of heaven here on earth.

But what about all the moments in between the kingdom pockets?  

The sacrifice, the sweat, the tears, the exhaustion –that is where we see messages of the cross pouring into the hearts of future generations.

Do you remember what Jesus did in the hours leading up to his death?  He washed the disciple’s feet.  He served them a meal. He prayed for them.  He endured tremendous amounts of resistance from the people He came to rescue.  He suffered physically.  He brought life.

Can you relate?

To the mama who rises through the night to comfort the colicky baby,

To the mama who daily bends low to tie a shoe or wipe a spill or pick up the toys,

To the mama whose pants don't quite fit the way they did before, because of housing a little person for 9 months,

To the mama who's been up all night with a feverish(or teething) child,

To the mama enduring chronic pain or sickness and still carrying on,

To the mama walking the road of a miscarriage or infertility,

To the mama working a full-time job helping support her family,

To the mama who forgives instead of holds a grudge,

To the mama who has chosen to foster or adopt,

To the mama who faithfully meal preps,

To the mama whose hands are working an endless line of laundry,

To the mama who is a constant referee,

To the mama who's birth plan didn't go quite as expected,

To the mama standing by a child struggling with delays,

To the mama choosing to be faithful and stand by her husband,

To the mama patiently ministering to the strong-willed toddler,

To the mama who lovingly corrects, encourages her child’s hearts to know Jesus – day in and day out…

These are not easy circumstances.

The stuff of motherhood is hard work.

THE JOURNEY TO THE CROSS WAS THE HARDEST WORK EVER DONE.

I am NOT making light of that...

But just as Jesus’ humble submission testified to the world of God’s great name (Philippians 2:6-11), our obedience as mamas to do the hard and good work of raising children DOES bring glory to the Lord

And that is where He rescued my heart last weekend,

And it’s in the daily dying to myself that I find the greatest joy because I know He is making me more like Him.

That is what I saw when my sweet friend, who so faithfully perseveres "to do" for us MOPS mommies, made a night of worship available for us mamas to come too! 

THAT brought a new view into my Easter.

May that be the vision of our hearts as we do the hard work of motherhood.

Let us all be mamas who open up our hands – spreading them as wide as the cross, giving our lives, our kids, our husbands, our comforts, our expectations( Lord, help me), our disappointments, our hopes, and our dreams to Him,

Again....and again...and again! 

The Gospel....The SIMPLE Gospel....

The good news.....

He loves me

He loves me anyways 

He loves me even when

He loves me even though

He loves me unconditionally 

He loves me immeasurably  

He loves me 

The. End. 

"Do small things with great love."

More so when my boys were little I use to get asked 

"are they all yours?" 

I think because my middle son is almost as big as my oldest son and then our baby was a big chunky boy and for a while our 3 year old, 2 year old, and baby all looked WAY too close in age!! Now at 5,4 and 2 I don't hear that as often BUT I did see adorable bag on etsy that says 

"YES they're all mine" 

and of course I told my hubby I may need to order it. 

From that same etsy site there was another bag that I loved even more and it struck me in a big way....

“Do small things with great love.”

What beautiful words from Mother Teresa.

Of course, that sounds pretty. 

But really – think about it. 

What if we stop worrying so much about doing something GREAT, and focus more on doing what is right in front of us – no matter how small – with GREAT LOVE.

My days are filled with small things.

Small children. Small toys. Small errands. Small chores. Small small small. 

So, what does it look like to pack my son’s lunch with great love? to do our family’s laundry with great love? to buy groceries with great love? to cook dinner with great love? to vacuum with great love?

Those all end with a question mark because I don’t really know the answer. But I’d like to give it a shot and see what I find out.

God didn’t command us to “DO SOMETHING GREAT.” 

He told us to LOVE!!

Today I took this picture of Lyric 

because I was going to Instagram something about being a boy mom since I went to get him from the backyard to go get Lane from school and he was chewing on a muddy tractor and I had a "go figure laugh" at how things always are around here and I wiped hims wittle face(with great love?)

But then this afternoon...I got to take this picture

which is not so typical...

He always falls asleep on his own for nap time but today for whatever reason he cried and cried and I got to rock him to sleep (with great love?)

I absolutely LOVED every moment. It's the small things. 

To love is NOT to feel certain feelings. 

To love is to SHOW UP. 

And to KEEP SHOWING UP.

Small things ABOUND.

God, let our love abound greater still.

Friendship...

Friendships are so important and have never lost a place in my heart but I'm not going to lie....

Once we all became wives and mothers we (ok....we??? I guess Me) have lost some sight of the importance and depth of friendships. Ya sure...Of course they won't ever be as close to you as your hubby, sister(or brother), family etc...

And who said they had to be!?

....but running this race of life with friends is essential and SUCH A BLESSING!! 

I realized I spend a lot of time being "surfacy" with some of my friendships new and old....and I know the best way to change that is in prayer!  

I mean is there a sweeter gift for your friends than praying scriptures  over them?

After all, there are few things on earth more precious than friendship.

To have people in your life you can be real with. With no masks. No filters.

No fear of offense because they're quick to give you the benefit of the doubt.

The ones who will tell you what you need to hear…even if it’s not always what you want to hear.

The ones who have your back…but at the same time don’t hesitate to hold your feet to the fire. "Tough love" so to speak. 

I’m blessed to have several people in my life who fit this description. Dearly loved friends, treasured family members who are also friends, and a cherished husband who was first (and remains to be) my very bestest friend.

I must confess that while I pray frequently for specific needs in the lives of my friends when they are going through something, I have room to grow in the realm of praying scriptures for them.

And I too want my boys to learn the importance of good friends and that they too need to pray for their friends. 

Let’s fix that, shall we? I looked up some verses and wrote them in my notebook so I can pray them easily and frequently!

Here are some prayers for your friends and mine.

Ask the Lord to allow your heart to have love and faithfulness to your friend, and that He would bind them around His neck and write them on the tablet of His heart. Remind God of His Word, which teaches that doing this will bring your friend favor and good success in the sight of God and man. Pray that they would trust the Lord with all their hearts, and not lean on his own understanding. Ask that in all their ways they would acknowledge God, and God will make their paths straight. Ask the Lord to help your friend not be wise in their own eyes, but to fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. Claim God’s promise that this will result in healing to your friend’s flesh and refreshment to their bones (Proverbs 3:3-8).

Ask that when your friend walks in the midst of trouble, God would preserve their life. Claim His promise to stretch out His hand against the wrath of your friend’s enemies, to deliver them with His right hand. Remind God of His commitment to fulfill His purpose for your friend, and of His steadfast and endless love for her. Ask Him not to forsake her, the work of His hands (Psalm 138:7-8).

Lord, thank you my friends have your favor upon them!!

Ask the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God your Father, who loved you and gave you eternal comfort and good hope through GRACE, to comfort your friend’s heart and establish it in every good work and word (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).

Pray that the God of endurance and encouragement would grant you and your friend to live in harmony with one another, with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 15:5-6).

I am beyond blessed for the different areas and groups of friends I have in my life. 

I pray our boys are well rounded guys that can be friends to anyone and have a heart to see people past their faults (especially at a young age because even in kindergarten there is hasty competition.) 

I am often finding myself so completely humbled by the people that pour into mylife and my girlfriends hold such a special place in my heart! I spend a lot of time "mom-ing" and doing the family thing but losing sight of being that good good friend is something I don't want to ever lose a grasp on. 

Praying for my friends in a new way starts today!! 

Proverbs 27:17 "An iron sharpens an iron, so a friend sharpens a friend."