grace, love, and the dishes.

Being a Mom of four I often get asked questions about parenting. (what did I do when so and so wouldn't sleep, potty training, nursing, home schooling, you get the idea.) For a while now I have wanted to take time to write down some of our trials and adventures in parenting, and for that matter, being a wife.

I honestly don't know how well I will do at it, but I am going to give it a go.

"Think Orange!" For the last month our Pastor has been preaching on the topic of parenting and the church and how together they can help us show our children the love of Christ. I think that as a christian Mom, that part of parenting has been the toughest. Living the love of Christ when I have been worn-out, sleep deprived, running errands with toddlers, new-borns, and even older kids, car seats, too many co-pays at the doctor, forgetting diapers... I remember one year when there was a verse in Galations 5:16 "Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit. Then you won't feed the compulsions of selfishness." I would say over and over to help me have extra patience when I was at my end. Some days I know I haven't lived that, mainly because there was/and is, too much of my desire to do it without help, and not enough allowing God in there.

As I reach new milestones as everyone keeps growing up, I find new hinderances that seem to stop me in my tracks. And if I don't just try to railroad my way through it, we all grow from it. However, when I try to just keep moving to keep up with all the outside "stuff" calling for my time, we end up in reverse for a while.