Pull your husband close and dance barefoot in the kitchen.
Cradle your littles and kiss those chubby cheeks.
Hug your tweens and tell them they’ll always be your baby.
Grab that teenager and tickle those stinky feet.
Pray in the car.
Point to Jesus.
Serve when it’s hard.
Choose love when it hurts.
Be thankful.
Gather your family for meals every day.
Speak life every chance you get.
Choose worship over worry.
Live,
Read,
memorize,
and teach your children
The Word.
Give honor to the One who created your family.
Fall in love with Jesus by falling on your knees.
Courageously pour hope into your home.
Stand your ground, mammas.
have a mother’s courage.
šIt means so much that you’re taking this journey with me.ā¤
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I turned to Aaron last night and said, “If she goes home in April, I don’t think Iāll survive it, baby.”
Taking my hand, he said, “We’ll get through it.”
The depths of human emotion are astounding. As soon as you reach the bottom of the well, your soul strikes a geyser, emotions rush to the surface, shattering the limitations of how you thought you could ever feel, or give.
The number one comment I’ve received after becoming a foster mom is, “I could never do that. I could never love a child and then give them back. It would be too hard.”
I know some of you’ve said those very words to me. You know the first person to say this to me?
Me.
About a gazillion times before you opened your mouth, so don’t sweat it. I’m pretty sure my head will pop off like a Barbie doll when/if she isn’t with us anymore. Soā¦there’s that.
I try not to think of that.
Oh, yes, sweet friends. You’re right, it’s hard.
Loving a child like they’re yours, but they arenāt is like trying to settle untamed land. I’m unsure which attachments to let grow wild and where it’d be wise to put up some fences.
Is she supposed to call me, mommy? I’m not her mommy.
What do I say when someone says, āCongratulationsā? She’s not adopted. In fact, she’s with us because of traumatic circumstances.
Knowing we’ll probably only have her for a season; the knowledge breaks and heals, gives and takes away. I don’t know how to feel, so I feel everything. It’s fascinating and difficult. Please, pray for me.
Some days lunge at me like a ginormous octopus. Emotional tentacles are yanking my gut, trying to reach a new understanding of what God’s love is really about. How can it spread in so many directions at the same time, with the same purpose? Is it even possible for me to love like him?
I promise I’m trying. I’m finding I don’t know how to successfully love my foster daughter, her birth mama, her birth daddy, her paternal grandma, the two social workers, three investigators, three lawyers, and the judge equally.
I’m failing.
Somewhere down the line, I’ve come to believe that if I love one too much, it will interfere with my love for the other. What if I love too hard, will the wells eventually dry up?Ā I don’t want to find myself cracked and parched, unable to love brave again.
The word tells us, “For God loved the world, that he gave his only son,”(John 3:16)
In other words:
He loved, so he did a very hard thing;
He loved, so he gave what was most precious to him;
He loved, so he endured.
He loved, so he hung, his lips cracked, his mouth parched.
The veil was torn. His body was buried. But it wasn’t the bottom of the well.
When the world thought Jesus hit rock bottom, a bigger rock rolled away, and the fierce love of God rose up.
I’m learning we can’t put boundaries and borders upon God’s love. We’re the ones slapping labels on His callings: Too Hard. Not Worth It. I. Just. Can’t.
Of course, we can’t! Love wouldn’t be holy if we could accomplish it on our own. Only through Jesus, “For in him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)
After our last failed adoption, I was convinced a piece of me would never feel again. I was wrong. The death in that experience gave birth to a new depth in me I didn’t know existed. Under the surface of that suffering was an understanding that God’s designed us for more. More perseverance, more strength, more wisdom, more hope, more fight, more courage, and abundant love.
He “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” (Ephesians 3:20)
We’re made in the image of God. So our love story on earth should look a bit like his.
Because he loves, we’ll do hard things. And because he’s with us, we’ll get through it.
I heard the click of his light and waited for the invitation. Silence. Why wasnāt my Eli calling for me?
Maybe heās praying, or stretching, or reading with a book light? Was something wrong?!
Iāll tell you whatās wrong – my boy is growing up. And Iām not ready.
I crept out of bed and peeked into his room. He looked longer, his jaw a bit wider, with those man-boy feet (now bigger than mine) sticking out from his Star Wars blanket,
āAre you okay!? You didnāt call me to āKentuckyā you inā¦ā
He opened his eyes, cracking a smile. Had he lost all his baby teeth?
āOh, my goodness! Youāre freaking out, I just thought it was too late to call you.ā He laughed. Apparently, my mama-meltdown was hilarious.
But something squeezed at my heart, āNever. Itās never too late. You can always call me!ā
And just like that, I realized my longing to be understood was much like my Heavenly Fatherās. How many times had he sung the same ancient truth over my life- Itās never too late, you can always call on me.
āThe Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer you; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am Iā (Psalm 145:18 NIV).
Being a mother reminds me Iām made in the image of God. And although the love I feel for my kiddos is a teeny glimpse of His love for usā¦thereās nothing on earth more consuming and eternal, besides God himself. Itās that big. At times when Iām desperate for my son to hear my words, God confirms -He feels the same way about me. His Spirit pleads, “Why arenāt you calling on me, daughter?”
Heās listening at the door of my heart while I sit in the dark, cold and unsure. Always present, but desiring me to utter His name, to invite Him to turn on the light. But I make excuses- Iāve waited too long, my need is too great, or the most dangerousā¦my need is too small.
What areas of your life do you hold back from Godās loving comfort? In what space do you prefer Him not to come? Where have you cuddled under the lie, āMy longing is too insignificant for Him to careā? Push these things aside; theyāre smothering your access to child-like faith. All we need to do is, ācry for help, and He will say: Here am I.ā
P.S. I reserve the right to tuck my “babies” into bed as long as they live under my roof. I’m fairly certain it’s in the Constitution somewhere…or a Dr. Suess book. Either way.
Iād love to travel the globe with my kids.Ā I imagine weād get lost down colorful alleys, pop into every restaurant oozing with the smell of butter and spiceā¦but right now, we spend most our time at soccer practice, and in the school drop off lines. Itās our life stage and I adore it. But I long to instill a sense of passion for the world and all Godās created into my children.Ā Teaching our children to pray for the world is a powerful act of love.
Godās entrusted us with the upbringing of eternal souls. If we desire these precious souls to be world-changers for Jesus,Ā theyāll need a love for its people, because āGod so loved the world that he gave his one and only Sonā (John 3:16). How doĀ weĀ do this?
This is one tradition thatās brought us a step closer to Godās heart; one small way to start loving on a global level. I pray it inspires you to have some meaningful fun this summer!
how to teach our children to pray for the world
Choose! Each week we take turns choosing a country on our world map. We have a map that you can scratch off the color of each country as you go, but I also love the idea of sticking a colorful pin in a cork map.
Pray! After weāve chosen a country we open up our book,Ā āOperation World:Ā The definitive prayer guide to every nationāĀ by Jason Mandryk. I canāt emphasize how I cherish this book. Here youāll find all sorts of interesting nuggets about the country. My favorite āĀ the most urgent prayer needs. This is what we focus on. Whatever those prayer needs are (poverty, persecution, government corruption, child exploitation, orphans, lack of natural resources, etc.), we include them in our family prayers over dinner. The book also includes a section of answered prayers for each country!
Give!Ā After our eyes have been opened to the immediate needs of others, the heart is always moved to action. If one of your kiddos shows particular interest in the need of another nation, help them research an organization that they can support through their allowance. My kiddos have even set up lemonade stands in the past to raise money for water wells in Africa.
Cook! We chose recipes from our chosen culture and cook meals together. This can be a beautiful mess at times! Some of my major #kitchenfails include Russian borscht and Ethiopian injera (Yes Eli, Iām sure I followed the recipe. No, I donāt know why it doesnāt look like the picture!)
Learn! We go to the library. I let the kids run amuck and grab whatever books they can find about the country. Itās so fun to share with each other what weāve learned after we read our books.
Have fun! We plan a fun movie night. If your kids are older, you can choose a documentary. The library has great choices for documentaries for littles too! You donāt have to get super serious about this. When my kids were babes we totally counted āBeauty and the Beastā as French culture (ya know, because of all the baguettes and bonjours in the opening scene). Youāre making the effort, no oneās judging you!
Hereās the point: Taking time to learn and pray for others around the world, demonstrates to our kids that we should care; we should care about hearing peopleās stories who are different than us. We should be intentional to understand the needs of the world outside America. Our children wonāt learn to cultivate a love for all Godās people if we donāt model to them that itās the heart of Jesus.
here are some resources to help teach your children to pray for the world:
Last week, I had a –how did my walls get this dirty?! – kind of day. Our adoption social worker was coming over to redo our home safety report (because they LOST the original. Yup.)
I can’t even. I found myself, knees pressed to the wood floors, scrubbing off fingerprints…or maybe they’re toe-prints? I don’t even know.
One smudge rallied so hard against my efforts- it was like a caveman painting fighting to not be erased from our home history.
So how did my walls get so dirty? Because people live here; little dirty people and big dirty people. This is our safe place; our “come as you are “place.
Let’s be real- Our safest walls are always the messiest.
When they walk through the doors of this house, I don’t demand they clean up right away. I don’t insist on showers the second they burst through the door from hours of bike-riding, or soccer-playing or middle-school surviving.
I let them rest a bit. Breathe a bit. Eat a snack. Grab a drink. I let them just…be. And although this is a picture of grace, it’s still not excusable for them to intentionally wipe a muddy cleat on my hypothetical white rug, or smudge a happy face on walls with their grubby fingers.
Our home parallels our relationships. The more intimate the relationship, the messier it can get. The safer we feel, the more careless we can become. There are days my hubby comes home and I soil his spirit with careless words, sarcastic comebacks, and hurtful eye rolls. All the junk that’s clung to my shoes and wedged under my skin from the day, I carry straight to my people.
It’s OKā¦but it’s not OK. We have to take responsibility for checking the condition of our hearts when we enter our safe spaces. We canāt treat our people like itās their job to stand still and let us wipe our junk all over them.
When my kids come in stinky and tired, it’s true, I let them rest. But eventually, they’re getting in that shower y’all! It’s the same with our attitudes and spirits.
The home is where grace and discipleship should be profoundly weaved together. Healthy homes cannot have discipleship without grace, and grace is not effective without discipleship.
I try to hold my tongue when someone spills in my home. It’s simply human nature to mess up, but even more so, to sin. There’s no value gained by verbally ripping into my family, “Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues” (Proverbs 10:19).
However, I don’t allow them to walk away without taking responsibility to clean up. When the mess is dripping off the table, soaking my rug, I’ll snatch another towel and jump on the floor with my kiddo to help. At times, the stain is so tricky, I’ll need to explain how I know white wine gets out most anything. Ā Our kids are still kids. We need to guide them on how to clean up the messes they make.
This same model of discipleship can be used when our kiddos verbally smear their siblings. I’m struck by The Message’s version of Matthew 18, āBut what comes out of the mouth gets its start in the heart. Itās from the heart that we vomit up evil arguments…”
As parents, don’t we get it?! I know I struggle to remember this! It’s not the words we should be scurrying to mop up- itās the āvomitā collecting in our hearts. We offer astounding love when we help our kids notice thereās a well from which they draw their words. Harsh words and attitudes don’t pollute the heart; they ooze from a polluted heart.
We all have days that leave our souls caked with mud-like frustration. It’s expected weāll need a safe space to wash up. But showing someone our dirty hands is different than shoving it on them.
Itās my instinctual reaction to yell, donāt you dare say that! or apologize right now! But Iām praying for patience and wisdom. Maybe the question I should really pull my kiddos aside and ask is, why do you think you just said that? And instead of demanding a flippant apology, challenge them to think, why do you think Iām asking you to apologize?
If we donāt teach our kids, (and ourselves!) how to āheart checkā in the midst of bubbling emotions, weāll be spewing all over our beloved home asking, how did our walls get so dirty?!
God’s word beautifully reminds us that our words have the power to give life.Ā Check out these Bible verses for inspiration: God’s Word Marked by Love
Once, I swung open the front door of my mini-van, jumped inside, heard a growl, peeked over my shoulder and found myself face to face with two black dogs.
Seriously, who the heck put their stinkinā dogs in my mini-van?!
Um. Yeah. Not my mini-van.
Itās a bit terrifying how long it took to realize my mistake.
No one in the van was happy…and somebody definitely peed a little.
Hereās the deal: Donāt climb into someone elseās mini-van uninvited. It doesnāt matter how much it looks like yours. Same goes for our lives. Someone may appear to have a similar life, outlook, circumstance, parenting triumph or woe – but until youāve entered in, youāve no clue whatās really going on inside.
Never assume. Itās a waste of time. And donāt barge in. Itās too risky.
Wait to be invited.
This can be so tricky. Especially if the door of their life appears wide open. Ā Dusty goldfish are pouring out, the leaking juice box under the backpack has puddled next to a runaway credit card. You just want to offering a suggestion…right?! Stop. There could be some snarling teeth in there. Someoneās going to get hurt.
I canāt tell you how many friendships in my life have been strained because weāve felt judged by one another. Ā It makes all of us shut down and pull away. Ask yourself two questions:
Have I established mutual trust with this person?
If you havenāt known this person long, and you get all up in their business, it can feel like judgement. It may not be your heart! But remember, they donāt trust you yet. Itās not fair to expect them to know your intentions. Be wise and hold your tongue. But love them like crazy. Be a constant in their life.
Has this person indicated they want your opinion?
I have friends who I know donāt want my opinion- even though they love and trust me. Bummer is, Iām still prone to give it. Weāve got to know our audience yāall. Ā Itās hard for this Italian/Irish girl to shut it down! Iām learning at the speed of molasses ā I need to discipline myself in this area.
Does your friend let her kids watch rated R movies at the age of nineā¦guess what?!
Thatās not your mini-van!
Or maybe a friend doesnāt believe in vaccinations, or home-school, or private school, or public school, or any school!!
Yeah. Thatās not your mini-van either. Get out girl!
Itās hard to be a mom these days. Everyone and every book out there hisses, āYouāre doing it wrongā or, āYou can do it better.ā Our generation has trouble trusting God can equip us properly.
We turn to the next, āHow to…ā book, before we turn to Godās book.
We ask Siri before we ask the Spirit.
I believe the enemy’s in this; undermining our God-given instincts to parent our children well. He uses social media, articles and most aggressively- he baits us to tear each other down. We don’t need to be another blasting horn of judgement towards our sisters! Godās heart is for us to, āEncourage one another and build each other up.ā(1 Thessalonians 5:11)
Donāt know how to do this? I think it starts with less worrying about getting into someone elseās life, and inviting them authentically into your own. Living out grace is a powerful witness and gift; loving people regardless of their parenting choices. If a friend does ask your opinion, it’s a safe place to practice honesty. Any fiery pups in her mini-van should know you well enough not to snap.
He didnāt ask me to tuck him in last night.
