Wisdom Wednesday: According To Who

According to His Grace

As I collapsed in bed after a long day of  three kids, cleaning, managing bills, errands, etc etc etc   LIFE! I was drained physically but I couldn't stop myself from reviewing my day and realized I had not been the best Mommy nor did I even draw on the Lord for my daily strength. I felt that I utterly failed to really focus on the big picture and ended up making my "To Do" list the reason for working hard for the day. The funny thing is after completing my 'To Do" list I didn't have that satisfaction as I thought I would. That is where my personal dialog of negative inside chatter began.

"Will I ever get this right"

"It has been years and I still struggle with..."

"I am a horrible Christian"

"God, why can't I just do..."

"I can't stand my selfishness..."


The dialog went on and on until I had literally beat myself up! I couldn't be satisfied with just being physically exhausted I had to drain myself mentally and emotionally to justify my own failures. It was as if I needed to punish myself for my failures and shortfalls.  That I was not only setting my standard for the whole day with a check list to complete but then I sat myself down after the day and reviewed my failures to somehow make myself feel better.WHAT IN THE WORLD! Then the sweet words from the book of Ephesians chapter one came to my heart. This is not my story but HIS story...that I had done enough self loathing and condemnation over my day and had forgotten it was really His day. That I had literally been so absorbed in my day, my children, my household management, my definition of an effective day that I forgot that the Lord himself had given me this day!

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him…"                                                                            Ephesians 1:7-9

So I lay my head down tonight and remember according to HIS grace which HE lavished on me! Praise the Lord for His grace and mercy that He so generously lavishes on me during the times when I need it most but am too busy or prideful to notice. Therefore, I go to rest my mind and body knowing that His mercy is new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23) and I shall arise refreshed and renewed remembering that my day is not for me but it's for Him. I choose to rejoice with the Psalmist when he says: "This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24)

Blessings & Good Night,

KtMaude

Driving Out Our Fear

6:24 am is when I was awakened from my sleep due to a bad dream. It was a "Mommy" dream that painted all the horrible things that could happen to my children, marriage, and future. It was a dream that was driven by fear and sadness. I rolled over immediately and asked my husband to pray for all of these things that happened in the dream and he listened closely to every word that I said. Thankfully, he prayed as I had requested and after closing the prayer he gently began speaking these words of scripture to me.

"6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness."       1 Timothy 6:6-11 (NIV)

I was comforted by his words and thankful for him to speak over me the Word of God. There was one thing that was said that really resounded within my heart as a mother and wife. Thankfulness is the force which drives out fear. It is my contentment in our good God that will sustain me through all my deepest fears and failures.

How will you walk in thankfulness today? I will remind myself that in 2 Timothy 1:7 the Amplified Bible  "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control." In this truth I will remind myself to walk in His strength and not my own.

Blessings,

KtMaude

Wisdom Wednesday: Beyond the small perimeter of me

My bread box is my daily reminder

Those Little Eyes

By Richard Netherland Cook

Little eyes are watching you 

Each and every day, 

And little ears are listening too 

Every word you say. 

Little hands are fast at work 

Doing what you do, 

And a little mind is dreaming 

To grow up just like you. 

To him you are the wisest 

He leans on your every word 

He believes in you with all his heart, 

And all from you he's heard. 

When he grows up he wants to be 

A man who's just like you 

So watch the all of what you say, 

And all the things you do.

A humbling thought that our lives have the power to impact so many people. I encourage you to never forget that everyday is an opportunity to use your life, gifts, talents and failures to better the life of someone else. This poem has been my daily reminder of how I must choose to live my life before my children. I have to make a choice everyday to live a honest and simple life that is for the betterment of others and for the glory of God. Our family has been serving in ministry for seven years and with this privilege comes great joy, challenges, and at times pain.  The great joy of ministry has always outweighed the painful moments and by God's grace our family has endured. Many of our hardest seasons as a family has been when ministry has demanded more than our family could give but with the help of wonderful mentors and prayer warriors for friends we have always ...but not easily... made the choice to keep our small family the main priority.  

In what way do you remind yourself to live a life beyond the small perimeter of "me"?  During the hard times  I must run to the Word of God and hide His Word in my heart...one my favorite hidden treasures is: "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."  In other words, everyday of my life, I must choose to live beyond myself- to use my daily opportunities to live as a good example before my little children. This life we live will not be perfect but our imperfect lives are God's masterpiece and that is what brings beauty to our current moment.

Seize the moment to live and love well today

KtMaude

A Beautiful Teacher

Christine Anne

My beautiful sister is a treasure beyond this world. This woman is a wife, mother, sister, friend, daughter, and teacher. Since she was a little girl she always dreamed of becoming a teacher and through her hard work and sheer determination she is one of the best educators I know. As a child I still remember her loving and educational (bossy) ways which I believe were a foreshadow of her greatness in the classroom. As a sister and oldest of four, she has had a tremendous influence within my life and I can only imagine the lasting impact she has had on her students and community. As an educator, Christine Anne has always found unique ways to grow and nurture her own gifts so that she may better educate and inspire her pupils.

             The Amazing Christine Anne

• B.S. in Elementary Education
• Major Science with a Minor in Language Arts and Middle Level Education
• Certified to teach 5th - 9th Science and Language Arts
• Certified to teach K-8th grade all subjects self contained settings
• M.S. in Special Education - Learning Disabilities
• Special Education Teacher Consultant
• Master of giving and loving with her whole heart

Take time today to love and encourage a teacher that has impacted your life or the life of a loved one. This is a perfect opportunity to do good for those who give and sacrifice so much for our children's education. Taking advantage of an opportunity to do good is just as simple as communicating your affections the moment you think of them. This can be done by a simple card, Facebook message, text message or a phone call...never underestimate the power of a kind "Thank You".

 

"One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child" Carl Jung

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week

KtMaude

Cobwebs, Giggles, and Shadowlight Theater

An afternoon of reading with my daughter is the highlight of my day. It's a special time for us to snuggle, unwind and travel to new towns or far off lands. We love to meet new friends and I enjoy introducing her to some of my old, favorite ones all within the pages of a book. My Omi and I finished E.B. White's Charlotte's Web (again) and it was so much fun to read together now that she is old enough to engage with the story. We did not want the adventure to end! As a parent, I want to encourage her excitement for reading….so I felt compelled to create something educational for her while keeping it eco-friendly and  crafty. What could we do?  I immediately thought of our family trip to Colonial Williamsburg, located in Virginia, and how much she loved watching the Victorian Shadowlight Theatre performance. Perfect! We could continue our adventure with Charlotte and Wilbur by learning more about the history of Shadowlight Theatre and creating our very own shadowlight show about Charlotte’s Web!

Shadowlight Theater DIY: Before you get started make sure you have the following supplies.

• pencils
• Old cereal boxes cut apart and flattened
• Scissors 
• X-Acto knife 
• Tape and glue
• Bag of lollipop sticks
• Stencils or pictures of animals
• Clip lamp for light source
• White sheet 

Tips on how to decide the characters to make: Try to focus on a few of the characters/ animals that make your children/audience laugh or the ones that invoke the most questions. If this is a project for home and not storytelling then let your child(ren) choose how the characters should stand or what expressions they should have. Once you have your characters decided then practice sketching out the animals freehand or using stencils. If you are not gifted in drawing you can trace a picture or use a stencil to get the perfect puppet.  Then if the child is old enough to use scissors begin to cut out the puppet character being mindful that you need nice clean edges for a good shadow. Below I given you a glimpse at our own puppets that we created. 

Mr. Zuckerman's Barn & Charlotte's Web

The Gander

The Goose

Wilbur

Wilbur with a sad/scared expression

Charlotte

Templeton

Fern Arable

 Once  you have all the puppets designed and cut to your liking have the children set up the "stage" using chairs or anything sturdy to hang the white sheet. Then place the clip lamp/light source behind the white sheet so that it can create the shadows needed for the Shadowlight Theatre. The children will be excited and after some practice they will be ready to perform their first interpretation of the book for family and friends. Remember to let the children have this opportunity for fun, imaginative play as well as learning how to retell a story that they learned. Giving this gift of imaginative play as well as a chance to practice reading comprehension is a beautiful gift that will spark a greater love for learning.


Don't forget to bring out the camera and document this fun adventure!

KtMaude

The Perspective of Gratitude

It was 7:47 am and I was holding my hands under the water at the kitchen sink and quickly turned to run my damp hands through my daughters curls. Rushing...look at the clock...fix a curl...grab backpack...snack... and all of the sudden my husband's voice says with a smile "Mothers and daughters."  I stopped suddenly looked at my daughters big brown eyes, rustled her curls and smiled. "I love you and I would do this everyday for the rest of my life if I could."  I was so grateful for that moment and the wise short words of my husband that truly gave me perspective for the day. It was for that moment that I didn't dwell on my downfalls of not being a early riser or not being able to pack Naomi's lunch the night before type of Mommy. Instead, I was able to enjoy the moment and find perspective for my day.

The perspective of gratitude...so simple but yet so difficult to keep in the flow of life. I am so thankful for my husband who is my daily reminder that I need to come to a position of gratitude daily or my heart's posture will surely stink of entitlement, ungratefulness, and selfishness. When I mentor younger women here on Princeton's campus or encourage friends I find it easy to see the things to be grateful for. Yet, in my alone time when my children have said "Mommy" a zillion times and my dishes are piled high with expected guests in an hour...I tend to lose perspective. Therefore to help keep perspective (with a nudge from my handsome husband) I started a gratitude journal at the beginning of this year. It has been such a blessing as well as a reality check for me to have documented moments in time for which I can return to and remember how good I really do have it. This sweet journal, my Gratitude Journal has been such a blessing for me that I wanted to share it with you.

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."  -Marcel Proust (1871-1922)

"In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for." Henry Lewis Mencken (1880-1956)

May you enter today with gratitude and joy!