Presription for Rest

"She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness." Proverbs 31:27

It's 4:30am here. For some reason I can't sleep. I don't know. Maybe, just maybe it was that iced latte I had with a friend before bedtime? Or it could be a combination of that, and the 100 degree heat wave that we are having this weekend. Whatever the reason, I have been tossing and turning all night.

When I can't sleep at night I am in the habit of praying. It always brings me comfort to talk to God about what's happening in my life and the middle of the night just happens to be pretty quiet around here. On this early Sunday morning though, I felt led to get up and write. The above verse kept running through my thoughts. So I got up and revisited Proverbs 31, and here I am.

I don't consider myself to be one that "eats the bread of idleness." After all, I do have 5 small children! Their day to day routine alone keeps me busy! I would say that at least half of my waking hours are spent giving my attention to them in one way or another, from breakfast in the morning, to jammie time at night. I consider myself blessed to be able to be an at home mom. I can't imagine a better occupation at this point in my life.

It's the other 50% of my waking hours that I am considering this morning. I have to confess that lately, I have felt like I deserve to partake of the for mentioned bread. That "I need a vacation" attitude has been creeping up on me for quite some time now. It's when that feeling comes over me that all I want to do in my spare time is sit and veg in front of the tv, or computer.

So, what do I do about this feeling? Well, usually I start with a list. It involves asking myself a few questions. How much time am I spending doing the things that I really love? (i.e. devotional time, reading books, writing in my journal, blogging) What are a few things around the house that I have been meaning to get done but just haven't "had the time?" (Maybe finishing that project in the master bathroom I've been working on?) What kind of creative new games and projects can I come up with to spend time just hanging out with my kids? Finally, I absolutely can't forget my husband. (Although I must admit that sadly, he often comes last when he should rank at the top of my list.) How much time have I spent focusing on my marriage, and love of my life?

All of these questions come down to one thing. What are the priorities in my life? How do I balance each of these areas in the 16 hours or so of my day that I am usually awake? The only thing I can do is work at it. When I feel off balance in one area or another it's usually time for a change in routine. Maybe it's a date night with my spouse. Perhaps I need to have coffee with a friend. (Though not late at night!) Or maybe I just need to get up, read my Bible and pray.

We all need a little down time. Jesus often withdrew to the lonely places for it in Luke 5:16. Mary sat at the Lord's feet for it in Luke 10:38-42. Even God rested after creating the world in Genesis 2:2.

There is a distinct difference between rest and "eating the bread of idleness." The Hebrew translation for "idleness" is "atsluwth" (pronounced ats-looth), meaning sluggishness, or laziness. Matthew 28:11 says "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." The Greek translation of "rest" in this verse is "anapauo" (pronounced an-ap-ow-o), meaning to cause or permit one to cease from any movement or labour in order to recover and collect his strength.

Today I am taking Matthew 28:11 to heart. I am choosing to rest in Him and lay my burdens down. After I take time to recover and collect my strength, everything else will fall into place. And on that thought, I am going to rest my tired eyes before my little ones wake up to begin a new day!

Swimming Fun

While my mom was visiting, we took the kiddos swimming at her motel. They loved it! Especially when our friends joined us with their two kids.

We must have worn them out, because that night they actually requested to go to bed early! : )

Hugs and Stuff

Here are some pictures from when my mom and Grandma came to visit. My Grandma is always knitting or crocheting something, so she took the time to show RL how to crochet. It was sweet to watch her learn the way that I did when I was little. The third picture is of LR getting hugs from Great Gramma. Oh how I love those hugs! Thanks for coming with mom to see us Grandma! Come back soon!

When Waiting is Hard

A couple of weeks ago I had to take my brave five year old to the children's hospital to take a look at his intestines. He has been having constipation issues since he was born and they wanted to make sure that it wasn't a problem that needed surgical attention. He was a very brave patient and it turns out he is fine. He even got a cool robot for being such a good patient.

The morning we arrived at the office, there was a mix-up. My pediatrician had told me they wanted to do the procedure that Monday, but the hospital couldn't fit him in until the following Monday. Luckily, they were very understanding and worked him in. We just had to wait for an hour or two before there was an opening in the busy schedule. While we waited and JS played, I wrote this...

Waiting. I hate waiting. Waiting on the phone, waiting in line, or any other type of waiting you can think of. Yet here I am in the Pediatric Surgery office waiting for someone to come and tell me they have an open time slot for my son to have a necessary procedure done. You see, there was a mix-up in the scheduling and so here we are, waiting for them to fit us in.

The thing about waiting is this; I can handle waiting if I know how long it will be. For example, we were supposed to check in at 7:30am and the procedure was supposed to happen at 8:00am. I know that I was going to be waiting about a 1/2 hour. I can to that. Now though, they have told me it's going to be at least an hour, and that was an hour ago! Open ended waiting is not my idea of fun.

Sometimes it's like that when we're waiting on God, isn't it? We've taken the time to pray and put things in His hands. It's now out of our control. We can trust that He will take care of things in His own timing. The answer is forthcoming and all we have to do now is wait.

Easier said than done. As I sit here and watch my son grow antsy, I am reminded of what I sometimes do when I am waiting for an answer from God. I pace, I worry, I get bored with waiting. I do anything but sit still and know that it's under control.

God has my answer, just like JS will have his appointment. The difference is that God doesn't need to "fit me in". He is almighty, and He is there for me always, by my side, while I wait. I'm working on it. Meanwhile, I am thankful that God is patient with me while I fidget and squirm.

Psalm 46:10 Be still and know that I am God

Happy Father's Day!

I wanted to take a minute and talk about the dads in my life. First of all, there's the one that's been there since I was born. He is not a man of many words, but when he speaks to me across the miles into the telephone, I feel loved. He cares about his grandkids, and what's going on in our lives, and I love that about him. I sometimes wish that we lived closer, but I think that being across the mountains from each other makes our relationship special. I love you dad!

14 years ago, I was blessed with another type of dad in my life. My step-dad. He is gentle, and kind, and loves to hear how my family is doing. Since I was an adult when he walked into my life, I was pretty hard on him at first. But he was patient with me and earned my trust. He has done nothing but shown love to me, and I love him back. Thank you Hal. I am blessed to have you in my life. (Remind me to get a picture of you with my kids next time we see you!)

Around the same time that Hal came into my life, I got married. The third dad that has been a big part of my life is my father in law. I consider myself lucky! I love my in-laws! Doug is quiet, but funny. And wise. He is a great father to his children and his step children. I really enjoy the time I get to spend with him. I am so glad that he is a part of my life. Thank you Doug, for loving our family. We love you too!

I saved the best for last. Words can't express how much I love the father of my children. We have been married for almost 14 years now. For almost half of those years, he has been a father. He loves them in so many ways. He plays with them, teaches them, disciplines them, and encourages them. He is my pillar of strength, and makes me feel loved both as a mother, and his wife. Thank you for always being there by my side in this adventure called parenting. We all love you very much!

Daddy with his 1st born and forever baby girl!

Daddy and 2nd born (1st son), yawning together.

Daddy and 3rd born (2nd son) chillin' together.

Daddy with his two baby girls at the hospital.

Daddy with his last born. (3rd son) Whew! Having five kids really wears you out!

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; -Psalm 127:4-5a

Happy Birthday and "The End!"

Now I have to admit, I am a little behind on my posts so this is my second one today. This week we celebrated my middle son's 5th birthday. It was a big deal. He has been waiting to turn five all year! According to him, five year olds have all the fun. Apparently, something magical happens when you turn 5. It's like you grow up all of a sudden and get to do the things big kids do. On the morning of his birthday my son said to me "Mommy, since I'm five now, do I get to go to school today?" Oh how I hope he keeps his enthusiasm! Happy birthday BC!

Actually, for one month, I can say I have two five year olds. No, we didn't take on the youngest exchange student ever! Two of my boys are just 11months apart. JS will be turning six next month. People ask me everywhere we go if they are twins. Sometimes you would think they were since they like to cause double the trouble!

Tonight I had a good laugh at just the right moment though. BC was really trying my patience when he asked for more pasta for the thirteenth time when I looked him in the eye and said very slowly, hoping he would finally listen, "there is no more pasta!" And then JS chimed in "THE END!" He looked at me with those big brown eyes waiting for my response and I just cracked up laughing.

That was a teaching moment for me about what matters most. My response for the situation was the right choice. Sometimes a little laughter and a lot of love go a long way!

Summer Fun

School's out and we are ready for a fun packed summer! Hopefully, the summer weather is here to stay. Last week we had snow advisories. In June! I don't want heat wave like the East Coast, but 70's would be nice!

This week my mom and grandma are coming to visit. We are really looking forward to it. My grandma is near 95 so they are staying at a nearby motel instead of here at the house. That gives her a quiet place to rest if things get crazy around here. (Crazy at our house? No, never!) Plus that gives us access to a pool, (I haven't told them yet in case it rains) which the kids will love.

We are also preparing for a garage sale to happen next weekend. I haven't ever been a big garage sale girl, but our garage is full of junk, um, I mean treasures, waiting for someone else to buy. In the past, we have moved, and thus purged things in the process. Since we are going on four years here, you can imagine what we have collected! So a garage sale it is! I am sharing the weekend and our driveway with a friend and my sister in law. Hopefully, it will be nice weather and we will send the boys with our sons camping. Then we have half the kids to entertain, and I must say, girls are easier to entertain than boys!

I'll leave the rest of our summer for another post, because this one is getting lengthy. I will say that I am glad summer is finally here. It brings family reunions, water fun, birthdays, and lots of activity. This is one mom that is going to enjoy it while my kids are still small enough to want to stick close to home!

Peace and Quiet

Ahhhh....the banana bread is in the oven, and the kids are playing. That gives me a moment of peace and quiet, at least for now.

Peace and quiet doesn't happen very often around here. Unless of course, it's in the early hours of the morning when no one else is up yet! From the moment the kids wake up, to the moment the kids go to bed, the day is packed full of loud, crazy, fun times. So how do I cultivate moments of peace in our family? I schedule them!

I think it's important for everyone to have a little down time in their day. Even children. Since only two of my five kids take naps these days, I try to make nap time "quiet time" for my other three blessings. They can color, read, or even play quietly with toys if they want. Of course, it doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes you have to allow for life's interruptions. But I'll save that for another post!

And now for that banana bread!