Great Things

     Today my fabulous son told my sister that he is going to do great things with his life.  I love that he knows that- he knows he was made for great things.  I want to always remind him of that.  I want him to remember that God DOES have things that are better than he can even think or imagine.  I too want to remember that I am going to do great things with my life.  Even on my bad days, I need to continue to tell myself TRUTH.  You too are going to do great things with your life!  Thanks for reading.  :-)

Oops!

     My baby girl accidently broke my parents' glass top coffee table.  :-(  It was really scary- huge bad chunks of glass broken all over the top of the table.  She didn't get hurt at all, which was a miracle, given that there were glass slivers all over.  My sister was over with her kids too, so she took all four kiddos down stairs to keep them from getting glass in them.  It was scary.  I kept looking for little glass pieces everywhere.  It was a little while before I actually felt good about letting the kids come back upstairs. 
     After the kids were back up, my baby princess was so sad that the glass was gone.  I kept telling her it was broken.  She got really sad.  I thought she was going to cry.  She just did not understand that her accident had consequences.  Again, it makes me think of life.  Sometimes, I make mistakes.  I really didn't mean for anything bad to happen, but it does.  Then people might be scared or hurt or angry (none of us were angry with her though).  When something is an accident, it isn't like I could have necessarily done anything to prevent it.  But, I have to look at when happened and talk to the people I should about the outcome. 
     After a little while though, my baby girl was ok.  She didn't hold onto the sadness.  I know, she is only two, so she doesn't necessarily get it, but the point works for me too.  Once I have talked to those I should, I need to not keep beating myself up over things.  I cannot prevent every accident (like a glass coffee table top breaking), so once I have done what I can- I need to let it go and move on.  What about you?  Are there things that you are claiming responsibility for that you don't need to be?  Forgive yourself.  :-)  Thanks for reading.  :-)

Patience

     You know the days you have that are just long and hard?  Today wasn't totally like that, but a lot of it was.  My kiddos are both tired and sick from having bad nights last nights.  My baby girl didn't really get her nap and neither did I.  :-/  Little princess does not like to take medicine.  At. all.  I tried to give her some tonight and she spit it all over herself.  Twice...  Grr......  At that moment, I did not have the patience that I should have.  I know it.  Which is then even more frustrating.  I know that God can give me His patience, I don't ask for it enough.  I want to come to Him.  I want to ask Him.  Why don't I?  I wish I knew.  It's just a reminder that I need to call on Him always.  Ask the Holy Spirit to be working in and through me always.  These cranky moments of mine do give me a chance to teach my kids about saying sorry and forgiveness, so I guess there is an up side.  :-)  But, I know they will have enough opportunities to learn that other times, so I really want them to know that Jesus is in me because I do what He would do.  I have His fruit.  Pray for me and you and all of those you love that we can all show each other and everyone else around us the Fruit of the Holy Spirit.  Thanks for reading.  :-)

Snow Day

     Today my kids , my Dad, my sister, her fiancé, and I got to play in the snow.  My baby girl has never played in the snow before and my son has only played a few times in his four and a half years.  I don't think he has ever been sledding.  It was so fun watching them enjoy the snow.  :-). They might not get to play in it for a while again, but today was awesome.  I asked my son, after having sledded down the hill a few times, if he wanted to play in the snow.  He asked me, "Mommy, how do I play in the snow?"  I loved that he asked.  He didn't know what to do, so he asked.  How many times in my life do I not know what to do, but I just try to fake it?  Wouldn't it just be better to ask those people around me who actually know?  Ask those who have the answers?  I love my kids.  They remind me of the way that I should approach life.  They also make me laugh and smile and help me enjoy this fabulous life I have!  Thanks for reading.  :-)

Game Night

     Tonight some of my family sat around and played a game.  It is so fun to be able to just spend time with family.  I really love being with family.  I enjoy having the shared experience and the quality time together.  My husband's family plays game when we are visiting them too.  I really enjoy playing games.  :-)  So, if you like to play games, make some time to play with the people you love.  Have a fun day!  Thanks for reading.  :-)

Words of Affirmation

     The final love language is words of affirmation.  These can come in several different ways.  The first is verbal compliments.  An example of this would be telling someone how good her hair looks or the accessories she is wearing or her smile.  Encouraging words are another form of this love language.  These words will inspire people to be what they can be.  It can encourage them to do more than they think they can.  The words will inspire courage in the one you love.
     An important part of words of affirmation is HOW you say something.  What does your tone sound like?  Does it seem irritated?  Or can the person hear that you are being loving toward them?  Also, it is important to use humble words- to request things from those you love and not demand them.  So ask, "would you please...," instead of rudely telling someone to do something.
     Remember, if words of affirmation are a person's love language, words that are mean or not encouraging will hurt them WAY more than someone whose love language is not words of affirmation.  As you have read through the five love languages, what stuck out to you?  Are there ones that you know are your spouse's and you have some apologizing to do?  Do you know what yours are and you might need to explain the idea or love languages to those around you?  Do things to fill the love tank of those around you and see the difference that it makes.  Thanks for reading.  :-)

Acts of Service

     The fourth love language is acts of service.  Acts of service are when you do something for someone else.  It might be something you like to do, like bake cookies.  Or it could be something you don't necessarily like to do, such as the dishes or scrubbing the floors.  This love language, like all of them, are not about what YOU want to do, but what the other person wants.  It could be that you think vacuuming is an awesome thing to do to show your love.  When in reality, your spouse would rather you fold the mountain of laundry to show them you love them.
     If your spouse keeps asking you to do things, like cleaning or other things around the house, or washing the car, his or her love language is probably acts of service.  Listen to what they ask you to do and DO those things, even if they are not the things you think should show love.  If acts of service are the love of language of someone you love, do what they are asking to fill up his or her love tank.  Thanks for reading.  :-)