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Do you ever get to the evening and feel like you just don’t have anything left to give?  After giving to my children all day, by the time dinner is over sometimes I feel as though I am wrung out to my last drop of energy.  I was feeling a little bad about this, after all I really love my family and want to give them my all.  Also, didn’t Jesus go to the cross and literally give us His everything, right to His last drop of blood?

Obviously I am not Jesus, but I was still feeling a little guilty about how “done” I feel by the end of the day.  Then I came across Mark 6:30-32 in the Bible.  In the passage, the apostles were coming to Jesus to give Him a report of all they had been doing, and the things they had been teaching.  In other words, it was the end of a long day.  The passage goes on to say that because so many people were coming and going that they didn’t even get to eat.  I know about that!  Sometimes I realize that my mood has more to do with a lack of food than with anything else.

What happens next in the account though, was what really caught my attention.  Jesus tells them to come with Him to a quiet place to rest, (and I would assume, eat.)  Now if even the apostles needed to take some time out, I guess that means a busy mother needs some rest as well.  After all, it is probably my pride getting in my way if I think I don’t need something that even Jesus and His disciples needed.

I have now found that if I take a five minute break here and there, to take a deep breath and regroup, I can come back in ready to give and love again.  Rest for each of us can look different, and I do take a longer time in the morning to mentally and spiritually prepare for my day.  I would encourage you to find what works for you, to find what fills you up in order to pour out to those you love.  Whatever it is Jesus is waiting, saying, “Come with me by yourself to a quiet place and get some rest.”

“The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.  Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’ So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.”  Mark 6:30-32

I happened to see a deer through my window today. She looked so calm and peaceful. I knew, though, that if I were to open my door she would flee at once in a blind panic. I thought then of our faithful guardian dog, Sasha. She too looks peaceful and calm most of the time. However, when she is startled she leaps into action, ready to perform her duty as protector of our family.

When faced with possible danger the responses of these two animals are very different. Deer will run in what they hope is the opposite direction of the threat, while dogs focus in on the danger and run towards it. This made me think of us as people. I know there are lots of people that panic whenever something unexpected comes their way. When we panic, we can put ourselves and others into almost as much difficulty as the deer ends up in: tangled up in something, scraped up, or staring into some headlights. Maybe the unexpected event wasn’t really that bad, but if we react without stopping to think or pray, we can end up causing more harm.

I would rather be like a well-trained guardian dog. When the unexpected happens, I hope I can take a moment to pray and assess the situation through God’s eyes. Then I can act instead of reacting. As I act, God will give me courage and wisdom to face the issue head on. “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:37

Whatever may come into your life today, I pray that God gives you peace and courage to move toward it in His strength.

I think my all-time favorite child-ism is when they tell me, “It hurts when I do this!”  My inevitable answer, “Then don’t do that!”  The lack of logic in children can be funny sometimes.

As we get older the lack of logic can become painful though.  How many of us do the same thing in relationships?  It hurts when I get in this kind of relationship.  Or, it hurts when I use something, (busyness, food, substances) to cover up what is really going on inside me.  Or, one that is very familiar to me, it hurts when I try to control everything.  Maybe we shouldn’t be in the relationship; maybe we need to stop and give God the circumstance that is causing discomfort; and maybe we should give control to God.

It is hard work to get out of an emotional rut.  It takes a lot of courage to stop doing the familiar and try something new.  The fear of trying and failing can be absolutely paralyzing.  Sometimes we can’t seem to make a change until what we are currently doing hurts so bad that we just have to stop.

I am a control freak by nature, (my sinful nature) and I work every day to give that part of me over to God.  Some days I am more successful at it than others, but the great thing is God’s grace is new for me every morning, in fact it is new every minute.

There is a story about a person walking down the street and falling into a hole.  The next day they walk down the street, but walk around the hole.  The next day they decide to simply walk down a different street altogether.  I hope this is where we can all get to in our lives, making a positive, conscious decision to try something different even though it might scare us to death.

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”  Isaiah 43:18-19

How many times have you said to your children, “What’s the magic word?”  Or asked them to say “please.”  I even taught my babies how to say “please” in sign language.  The funny thing was they turned it around and used the sign to try to get us to give them things.  Kind of like the dog doing a trick to make his owner give him a treat.

It’s good to teach children to be patient and polite when speaking to others.  As they mature, the babies eventually learn that this word is not actually a magic word used just to get treats.  I wonder though, as we pray or talk to our Heavenly Father if we might not be trying to do the very same thing?

I find myself praying in those terms, “Jesus, please work in that situation.  Please give me an answer.  Please be with me today.”  And then I add in the extra magic words, “In Jesus name, amen.”  Yes, we are absolutely supposed to ask God for things, He says this very clearly in the Bible, but if I look closely I see I am actually asking Him for things He has already given me.  Maybe I should be thanking Him for the gifts already in my life and claiming the promises He has clearly set before me.  I would probably walk in a lot more victory and whine a lot less!

When I pray in a way that acknowledges Jesus’ presence in my life, and the fact that He always has the best planned for me even in hard circumstances, I can relax and be a lot more joyful.  I am free to move forward knowing that my Father has me in His hand and I can trust Him.

My desire is to practice this trust so much that it will look like a magic trick, “How is she so calm when all that is going on around her?”  But, unlike magicians, I will be glad to share how it is done!

“God is my Father, He loves me, I will never think of anything He will forget, why should I worry?”  Oswald Chambers My Utmost For His Highest

Trying to find some “quiet” time at the lake, take two…Last week I was talking about how great my whole 60 seconds of quiet were the evening we went camping.  I had high hopes for the next morning, for some coffee and quiet Bible reading/journaling at the water’s edge.  I had made sure the children knew what was for breakfast and told them they could play with their friends until I was fully awake.

It was so perfect, a beautiful morning.  I settled into my chair with my hot coffee and books.  I am pretty sure I got a whole 2 minutes this time.In my last post I had promised to tell you how my four year old did while camping.  He did surprisingly well!  I found that as long as he had a little snack baggy, he was a happy camper.  I would just refill it now and then, and he was set.  I think he only had two meltdowns the whole trip.  (Side note:  I have tried to continue this since we got home and it has not been as successful.  I guess it is just too much fun to tell me he is hungry every twenty minutes!)

So back to my morning.  After two minutes here he came, my little man.  He was so excited to show me how far he could throw a rock into the lake.  Over and over.  I tried to get away with continuing to read and just say, “Wow, that’s amazing!” every now and then, but no, he had to show me each rock and then make sure I was watching.

I put my books aside as I realized, the lake will always be here, my little boy will not.  As I mentioned, my oldest was already off on a mission trip this past month.  It really wasn’t that long ago that he was the little boy throwing rocks into the water.  Even though, as I said last week, that it is important to find quiet little moments for ourselves now and then, it is important to use wisdom in choosing those times.  I could have asked my little guy to give me some space, but this time, while Bible reading and journaling are good, giving my little boy my attention was the best.

“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”  Proverbs 22:6

All I can say is that if you plan on having a large family or already have one, you better learn to relax quickly.We recently got to go camping overnight with some friends.  I was strategic and left my 6 year old, who is not a fan of the great outdoors, and my 2 year old, who is well, 2, with my sister.  That left me with only five kids.  (My oldest is on a mission trip right now and my husband had to work.)  I was cautiously optimistic.  The two older boys are seasoned Boy Scout campers so I left the packing of equipment up to them.  The two girls are fairly self-sufficient, so the only one that could have been challenging was my 4 year old little guy.

We ended up having a great day and that evening my friends took a few of the kids out on the boat.  The other children were playing nicely, the sun was setting over the lake.  The fire was crackling at my feet as I sat in front of it.  It was amazing, I got 60 WHOLE seconds to relax.  It was beautiful.  Then children came back to chat by the fire.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids, but when you have child-chaos around you most of the day it is very important to try to find a minute here and there to just take a breath.  There are quite a few types of exercise regimens that teach you how to relax quickly, or breathe deeply.  I think the reason they teach some of those before you have a baby is not so much for the delivery, but for the next 18 to 20 years of raising your child!

It was really wonderful to get to spend some time outdoors camping by the lake, but I can’t always wait for those kind of opportunities to relax.  The great thing is in Exodus 33:14, God promises, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”  That means wherever we are at, with however many kids!  Right now some things I am doing to take a minute to breathe are: stepping outside for a couple minutes while the children are starting to clean up from a meal; watering my garden by myself in the morning; going out in the evening and watering my patio plants.  The tricky thing about even stepping away for a minute is “Mommy guilt” kicks in fairly quickly.  Don’t feel guilty!  We moms give so much all the time that we will not make it if we don’t take a little break every now and then.

“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.”  Isaiah 30:15

What are some ways you take 60 seconds to relax?  I would love to hear some of your ideas!  Also, next week I will tell you how my four year old did camping…