Nothing Can Prepare You~

Nothing can ever prepare a mother for the day when she sends her children off to college. This year my youngest will leave the nest to join her older sister in the ranks of college life. You can talk to other mom's who have gone through this process before, share inspirations, prayers, advice and ideas, but one thing I know for sure is that you will have to experience all of the emotions by yourself. I have prayed countless days and nights for my girls, I have encouraged them, I have prepared them for this and I hope that they know that they can always come home.

When the moment arrives…nothing and I do mean NOTHING can prepare you for the whirlwind of emotions that you will experience once the house is empty. There will be no more pitter patter of feet across the hall, no sudden outburst of sporadic laughter coming from upstairs, and no afternoon family time. As I count down these last few days to an EMPTY NEST, I almost feel like I am losing my breath. I am emotional, agitated and happy all at the same time. I don't want them to see me cry so I try to contain myself every day. My friends keep telling me that I have prepared them for this very moment and it's time to let them spread their wings and fly. I just want a little more mommy time. Although I went down this same road three years ago with my oldest daughter, there is something about a quite house that is just unnerving at this point for me. I know it's time for my baby girl to journey into the next chapter of her life and I know it's all in God's plan. I know that he will protect her, guide her and I pray that she makes wise decisions. But knowing those truths does not make saying goodbye hurt any less. I say to myself "how can you encourage other friends, if you don't first go through the process yourself"? I have to be the example for so many others along the way. How do I live each day knowing her bright, smiling face won’t be walking through the door every afternoon. How do I prepare dinner for only two people? How do I deal with the fact that there will be no more Sunday afternoon movie dates? My girls are everywhere throughout my home, every corner I turn, every room I go in are sentiments of my lovely ladies. How will I walk this walk? The only way I know how…one step at a time…just leaning and depending on Jesus for strength. My prayer is that the Lord give me just enough light for the step I'm on. I will depend on him to settle my nerves and give me joy in the midst of this separation. It is such a lonely feeling, yet I know that my father will help me along the way. So, I will wait patiently for him to give me peace in the midst of my storm and ease this anxiety in my spirit. So for now I will just breathe!

Forgiveness

"When you truly love someone, you have to accept they're human and are going to make mistakes. Love is the good, bad, and ugly. It's not easy to forgive, but it's truly divine. Forgiveness doesn't have to be instantaneous! Open your heart and allow yourself to gradually grow into forgiveness"- Single Girl Summer

The Gazelle

“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a lion or gazelle - when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”

Guard Your Heart

Guard your heart more than anything else, because the source of your life flows from it-Proverbs 4:23

"Everyone Can't Be In Your Front Row" Author: Unknown

Life is a theater so invite your audiences carefully. Not everyone is holy enough and healthy enough to have a FRONT ROW seat in our lives. There are some people in your life that need to be loved from a distance.

It's amazing what you can accomplish when you let go, or at least minimize your time with draining, negative, incompatible, not-going-anywhere relationships, friendships, fellowships and family! Everyone Can't be in Your FRONT ROW.

Observe the relationships around you. Pay attention to: Which ones lift and which ones lean? Which ones encourage and which ones discourage? Which ones are on a path of growth uphill and which ones are just going downhill?

When you leave certain people, do you feel better or feel worse? Which ones always have drama or don't really understand, know and appreciate you and the gift that lies within you? Everyone Can't be in Your FRONT ROW.

The more you seek God and the things of God, the more you seek quality, the more you seek not just the hand of God but the face of God, the more you seek things honorable, the more you seek growth, peace of mind, love and truth around you, the easier it will become for you to decide who gets to sit in the FRONT ROW and who should be moved to the balcony of your life. Everyone Can't be in Your FRONT ROW.

You cannot change the people around you...but you can change the people you are around! Ask God for wisdom and discernment and choose wisely the people who sit in the FRONT ROW of your life.

Remember that FRONT ROW seats are for special and deserving people and those who sit in your FRONT ROW should be chosen carefully. Everyone Can't be in Your FRONT ROW

JUST BREATHE~

One day I was talking to a friend about some problems that they were experiencing and I remembered a time when I was in the same boat telling my friend all of my worries. I clearly remember my friend saying to me “Mia just breathe!” Her one statement, made all of the difference in how I looked at my situation. Sometimes we become so consumed with what’s going on around us that we hold our breath in anticipation and forget to breathe!

We also view are problems to be bigger than life itself when in reality they are but small in nature. It’s easy to see the problems in our lives because they can sometimes overwhelm us and this feeling makes us overlook the small things. It is the small things that we often times take for granted. These are the moments that we should just sit still, breathe and let go!

Georgia O’Keeffe once said in reference to her artwork “Everyone sees the big things,but the smaller things are so beautiful and people might not notice them if I didn’t emphasize them.” That’s the way it is with gratitude and letting go. It’s easy to see the problems in our lives because they're like mountains. But sometimes we overlook the smaller things; we don’t notice how truly beautiful they are.

So if you’re going to make anything bigger than life itself then let it be your gratefulness, and don’t forget to BREATHE!

Be Blessed

God's Love is Unconditional and that's FOREVER!

Sometimes it is so hard to understand that God wants what is best for us and that he loves us unconditionally! God's love for us is more than we often deserve, even though we can find ourselves rejecting him- he still loves us unconditionally. No matter what situations we find ourselves in, he is still there for us with open arms to welcome us with LOVE. Now does this mean that he isn't concerned when we do wrong? No he is very concerned and we don't understand that when we do wrong, we are rejecting him. Even in our rejection he still loves us because LOVE is who he is. God's love is persona, he knows each of us individually and loves us personally. His has a mighty love that has no beginning and no end. Just as God loves us unconditionally so should we love one another in this same manner. Love has no boundaries and it definitely has no limits. We shouldn't put stipulations or conditions on how we love others. The bible says in John 13:34-35 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." So you see my friends, just as God loves us, we should also love others because that is what he commands us to do.

Let's be thankful and give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever (Psalm 136:26).

Be Blessed

A Mothers Prayer

“I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers” Isaiah 65:24

One of the things that my mom always reminds me of as an adult is that she prayed for us when we were growing up and even after we were out of the house on our own. She says that sometimes her prayers covered us when we were doing things that maybe we should not have been doing LOL. Her words inspired me as a mom to now do the same for my children. One good way to maintain your prayer life is to create is a prayer journal. This will help you write down your requests so that you have them right there when it’s time to spend time with the savior. A prayer journal is a wonderful way to have that intimate time alone with him. It helps keep you focused and also opens your heart to hear God’s word. It’s just another way to pour your heart out to him. We must always cover our children in prayer because it today’s society they are struggling with so much, and there are so many influences around them. Let’s strive in 2012 to cover our children in prayer, not only them but their friends and those around them that can have an influence on them. Always remember that no case is hopeless while Jesus lives.