The Soul Of My Feet

We have been potty training lately and it has been a mix of emotions for the whole family. The first two days were the hardest, our 2 year old just didn’t want to embrace the new feeling of undies and desperately needed the security of a nappy. In the toughest moments of 2 year old stubbornness, I wondered whether he was ready for potty training. ButI decided to forge ahead and endure a few more days plus add in a bag of jelly beans now known as ‘potty beans’ and a few milky ways to assist in a little motivation (not bribery!). And presto after 2 weeks he is now letting us know when he needs to go and now he goes through the night! It got me thinking though, it wasn’t until he felt how uncomfortable it was to have a poo in his undies that he realised going to the toilet was a far better option (for everyone!). I reckon you could compare it to peoples reaction of the Gospel. People that do not understand the Gospel are basically still in nappies. They like the feel of their comfortable, cozy life, where they can pretty much control most of it (or think they do) but it’s not until the nappy is taken away that they feel vulnerable, exposed and aware of their insecurities and weaknesses. Initially they try in desperation to return to that cozy, comfortable, predictable life but that time has gone and a decision has to be made. They can choose to continue to have ‘accidents’ and mess things up or they can choose to believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and follow him and in doing so their life becomes better, more fulfilling, more purposeful because they are trusting in the one that does have it in control. So are you in nappies today or are you wearing undies?

After showering, drip dry onto floor tiles then run a towel over the tiles to dry. Floor Clean!

My hubby came to me with this BIG revelation recently. You see I recently took off on my own for a little holiday and he stayed home and looked after the boys and he made a few observations. He worked out that as long as he was looking after their needs then they generally remained happy and content. However, the moment he attempted to do something for himself, then, well, all hell broke loose. I guess little people live in the same world as us and their life is about themselves. My first reaction to his revelation was well “that’s not fair ! Surely we can look after our own needs sometimes!! But then, thinking deeper, I realised that it comes back to servanthood. Once we humbly submit to serving our children, that means discliplining as well and creating healthy boundaries then they know that they are loved and secure and therefore they are happier and become a real blessing in our lives. I guessing that’s why our own Heavenly Father came to serve us so that we could remain in his care and love forever….hmmmm

There has been a lot going on lately in life, loads of ministry, work, study and family stuff but I can finally breath again and I have been slowing down to hear God in all of it. One of the things he is speaking to me about at the moment is how I define myself. For many years I have run a small business and whilst I have loved every minute of it and the way God has used it for his glory I think it has slowly defined me and I think ever so slowly I have begun to place my trust in it. I have been at a CrossRoads lately and have two directions I could travel but I’m pretty sure I know which path God wants me to take. But more importantly he wants me to take a path where I am defined, not by what I do but who I am in the middle of what I am doing. And above all, I am His, forever, defined not by my status, but His.

Amen

One of my ears has been blocked for some time now and I keep thinking it will eventually unblock but I’m going to have to think about seeing a doctor soon because it’s making me feel a little dizzy. Anyhow I was playing piano today in Church and I was convinced that hardly anyone was singing and I kept turning myself up to make sure they could hear the music. But then mid-way into the song my ear unblocked and whoa everything was louder, clearer and I could hear again. Life wasn’t muffled anymore, it was so nice and lasted, well, for at least minute and then became blocked again…but it got me thinking. Perhaps our ears unblock sometimes and during those moments we hear God speak, then, a few moments later Gods voice becomes muffled, lost in the surrounding noise of life…I’ll let you know when my ears are all good again!

I am sitting here on the lounge in some gorgeous morning sun, sipping a freshly brewed coffee and watching my kids play lego together. They are not fighting… oops… i spoke to soon.

Okay, well for at least a minute, life with two boys was simply blissful! Isn’t it funny when sometimes we begin to cruise in our life and think it couldn’t possibly end but sure enough the tears roll in again. Why do good times have to end? I once saw a billboard outside a shop that said  “after a time of living it up there’s always a time of living it down”. How true, there is a season for everything – I’m just hoping my quiet time this morning lasts a little longer than a minute….

You know that famous cliché about slowing down to smell the roses? Well, I don’t recommend it! Because I nearly took a short cut to Heaven this week.

We were walking back from a little trip to our corner store for some much needed lollies and I let go of my two year-olds hand for a few seconds to smell some beautiful roses, however, in my moment of contemplation over God’s creation, my little boy decided that the middle of the road was far more interesting. So from slowing down to smell the roses, the adrenalin kicked in and without even thinking I darted onto the road to collect him before a car did… thankfully the driver anticipated the situation and slowed down but it could have been a different story and life may have been taken from my family in a second. It made me think though that it was pure instinct to lay down my life for his and I would not have hesitated. Our love for our children is simply so great… in that same way Jesus laid down his life for us  so that we might be saved…

My little boys taught me something this week, you see a lot of time they get up to mischief, but the one thing they struggle with is the thought that they have dissapointed Mummy. They just don’t like getting into trouble, yet they make mistakes, make the wrong choices and as a result there can be negative consequences. But I realised that the important aspect of the disciplining process is to allow reconciliation and a chance for a cuddle and the reassurance that Mummy still loves them even though they just rubbed red crayon into the white carpet

So I wanted to make a mental note today to always try to love my kids without conditions. Even if they stuff it up I want them to know that they can always come back and make the relationship right again. Even as an adult I continually seem to ‘stuff it up’  and it breaks my heart to think I have hurt someone unintentionally,  I can’t seem to function properly if there is any brokenness in a relationship, in fact it breaks me to think that I have let someone down… and there is no way for me to make it up or repair the damage. I guess I’m thankful that God will always forgive me and allow me to come back to him, he is the best Father and parent of all and hopefully I can try with his help to model this with my own children.

‘Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.’ (Col 3:13)

The rain has been pouring down this last week and I caught a glimpse of sunshine today, it was amazing, it made me think that sometimes life can be so drizzly and cold that all you want to do is curl up in bed and wait until it has all passed. But with little ones around that never seem to let you have a sleep it’s difficult to hibernate while life is a little hard. We have to still put on a brave and confident face for our kids even though we’re feeling like an absolute failure inside.

We took a trip to the library today, it was lovely, caught up with familiar mums and we swapped our mummy stories –  it’s amazing that when you’re absolutely honest with the way you are feeling, it somehow liberates others to open up about their struggles and it enables us to bear one another’s loads… and realise that we are all going through the same joys and trials of motherhood and life for that matter… There’s somebody else that wants to listen to our burdens and take them off our shoulders, his name is Jesus…

‘Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver you, and you will honour me’ (Psalm 50:15)

You may be thinking why is Nada blogging every single minute of the day at the moment? Well, I’m under a bit of a deadline to write a collection of life moments that will soon go to air on our local Christian radio station. So I’m madly trying to get the last few together to record this week whilst my hubby is getting the music together which will run behind my voice. Now this is most definitely a God thing because there is no way that my voice was ever meant for radio I mean I sound about 5 when I talk and sometimes even have a lisp. So it will either soar or be a complete flop… but somewhere in it all someone thought I could do it, so here goes…