Moments I Should Cherish

Ok moms, how many of you would give anything to take a shower without one of your kids beating down the door to get in? My favorite is when I have four eyes starring at me while I'm trying to use the bathroom! Not exactly when I want a captive audience. "But mommy, I just want to be with you." These are moments I should cherish for one day they will not take their eyes off of the TV to acknowledge I'm alive, they will be embarrassed to be seen with me at a store, and they would be horrified to have to sit in a bathroom with me. (Don't get worried about me here, I would be horrified if they wanted to be in the bathroom with me!) Joshua and Eli will follow Josh and I around all day, every day. They don't want to be without us...not even for a minute. They love us THAT much. I can try to turn on their favorite show, push them out the door, lock it behind them, & within seconds there they both are...wanting to come in...wanting to be near me. Isn't this how God wants US to be with Him? Constantly seeking Him, wanting to be in His presence, no matter what distractions the world lays around us. Our God is a jealous God, desiring our attention and focus to be on Him. Thankfully, He never closes the door. We can come to Him anywhere at anytime. May you take the opportunity today to come to Him, whether you are in a spirit of gratitude or burden.

Psalm 34

I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.
My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.
This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and he delivers them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing.
The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.
Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and purse it.
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all;
he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.
Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
The Lord redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in Him.

Family Time

A few weeks ago, we agreed to help out our student ministry with their scavenger hunt. We were more than happy to participate but our only catch was that we would have to bring the boys with us. I love things like this, possibly more than the students themselves. However, as everyone was forming teams, Josh was chasing Joshua around the room and I was chasing Eli. We realized that everyone had a driver and we were not needed. I was crushed! I was ready to lead a team to victory. Jason, our student minister told everyone to "Go!" and we just stood there. However, there was one small, approximately 35lb, problem. Joshua spoke up "Come on Mommy! Let's go Daddy! We are on a race!" Oops. I had built this up to Joshua as well. He was ready to win. I thought & said to Josh, "we will look like idiots running around Memphis with just us". But my very wise husband replied, "Who cares. Let's have some fun as a family." And oh man did we. I think it was the most fun we have ever had with just each other. We were running all over the place...pumping a strangers gas, dunking the boys in a friends' bath tub, doing the chicken dance at a busy intersection, and the list goes on! It was a night of JOY. Psalm 126:3 says The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. That night reminded me of two important things: 1. Who cares what people think of you! My initial thought was our church family would think we were dumb for taking a 1 & 3 year old around town on a hunt. Not to mention who we may have run into. But worrying about others' thoughts would have stopped me from having the best family night ever. 2. We were not accomplishing one single thing but having fun as a family! I often wonder how Josh and I are going to make it through our boys school aged years & not get drawn into the craziness of life. I mean, good grief, we are already very busy people! How will we juggle sports, school work & most importantly, keep God our #1 priority? We live in such a busy world, we forget to just have fun. I think we often, for one reason or another, lose our Joy. Why? Because we lose sight of the wonderful blessings God has placed in our lives. We are so busy surviving life, we don't even take time to enjoy it. The Lord has done many many great things for me but the three greatest...Josh, Joshua, & Eli...bring me the MOST joy. Ready for the crazy part? We got 2nd place!

Stevie and Rachel

Happy Valentine's Day! Today is one of my favorite holidays and the main reason is not the romance of it all. My husband sent me beautiful flowers today and I loved them but he shows me he loves me more than just today. I really am reminded of all my friends and family that I am blessed to have in my life because I love them too! Josh and I have two very dear friends that are about to embark on an exciting time in their lives. However, it means they are leaving Memphis to do it. I have been so sad to think about them going! After they left our house the other night I just cried and cried. I told myself...Laura! Get a grip, you have lots of family and many other friends still in your life, why are you so bothered by their leaving? We have known them basically forever so there is familiarty in them being around. But there is one moment in our friendship that I will cherish for the rest of my life. As most have heard the story many times, Joshua was born with a birthmark on his forehead which meant he may have a neurological disorder. Needless to say, we were heartbroken at the thought and with my new motherly hormones I was a basket case. We asked everyone to pray that the CT scan would have good results and he would be a healthy baby. Of course everyone told us they would and I believe they did but this sweet couple did more than just nod their head and go to their homes to pray. That stood in Joshua's nursery and said, "Of course, let's do that right now." They held our hands AND they prayed for our precious baby boy. The next night, their fathers came over and prayed over Joshua. Love me and I am grateful...Love my babies like that and I am in your corner for life! I saw Jesus in them that night and I will never be the same because of it.

I pray I will be a blessing like that to someone one day. I pray people will see Jesus in me...just as I saw Him in my friends. I am so thankful to our Heavenly Father for them. Who has been a blessing to you? Who has shown you Jesus? Have you thanked God for them lately?

I thank my God every time I remember you. Philippians 1:3

Where's my Focus?

I have to be honest and say...it's been one of those days! You know, the kind where nothing seems to go right. It started with me oversleeping...definitely not living the Proverbs 31 "gets up while it's still dark and provides food" verse today. Shortly after, here comes my three year old, "mommy when you get off work, will you paint my room red?" Seriously! Then came the total meltdown, because of course I'm not painting his room. "Wahhhhh!! But red is my fravrite...not yucky blue. Wahhh!!"
I get to work & realize I have lost something rather important! Search the office...nothing. Search the car...nothing. Back home to search the house...nothing. I use my lunch break to search my husband's car...nothing! Just great, now I have to admit to several people that yes, over the past 3 and half years something (or some things) has caused most of my brain to be sucked out and now I tend to lose things, which never happened to me in the past.
Ok...I'm getting over it, I'm moving on and then a conversation is brought up about soccer. Oh yea, I have promised Joshua he can play this year. Hmm...wonder when I need to sign him up. Oh...15 DAYS AGO! Nice...now I get worst mommy of the year award.
Then I'm reminded of Matthew West Song "My Own Little World"

Start breaking my heart for what breaks yours
Give me open hands and open doors
Put your light in my eyes and let me see
That my own little world is not about me

Ouch. I made this entire day about ME. I worried about how others would perceive ME, if MY kids would like ME, and how to get control of MY day back. Forgive me God. Each day should be about YOU. May I be a light for you & put my selfish ways behind me!

Who Would Have Thought?

We were recently blessed with the opportunity to go to Disney World on vacation. For Josh and I, knowing the trip would include a 15 hour drive, the dreaded double stroller, diaper bags, nap time, mad dashes to a public "potty" & then a 15 hour drive to get back home, knew this may not be the place where dreams come true for us. But I was determined to seize the moment and make these memories with the boys. The trip went surprisingly well! No major catastrophes or even meltdowns and there were several moments that I will cherish...Joshua's pure excitement to meet the characters (especially Lightening & Mater), Eli's first hair cut at the Barber Shop in Magic Kingdom, Joshua's laugh when he rode Goofy's Wild Ride roller coaster, & the way Eli kept smacking Daisey Duck when she was trying to sign their autograph book. However, none of them compare to that one priceless moment that makes the whole trip worth it and just when I least expected it...Boom! there it was. One night, we had decided to stay and watch the fireworks at Magic Kingdom. I figured we may not last through the whole thing because Joshua scares easily at loud noises and after all, it was just fireworks. We had surely experienced more exciting things that day. Those fireworks started shooting off one after the other and my very active three year old froze in his place. He was in awe. It literally took his breath away to watch them. "Mommy, Mickey is doing this for us!" And then...the moment...the four words that made the trip ALL worth it...right in the middle of that beautiful fireworks show..."I LOVE YOU MOMMY". That was it, my heart melted, my mom got teary eyed (we still tease her about it) and for the rest of the show we all watched that precious boy instead of any fireworks.

It made me think...when is the last time I have stopped and been in awe of God's glory? How must He feel when I rush about by day and never pause to say "I love you?" Wow! The blessings He has given us is overflowing. The next time you have a moment that takes your breath away, stop and praise God for it. He does these awesome wonders for us, is it not the least we can do for Him?

The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;

where morning dawns, where evening fades,

you call forth sounds of joy.

Psalm 65:8