Calling

Every year my heart gets a calling... a calling to go to the Mountains. It is undeniable, I yearn to go every year. Doesn't mean I get to go but my heart is always there. The smell of the brisk air, the sound of the water, the leaves in fall, it is where I want to be one day, every day.

 

A Memory

Seeing pictures of the Thanksgiving Parade in Plymouth, brought up memories or the lack there of from last year. I don't remember much. The things I do remember are snippets of time, a flashing scene in my head that doesn't last long. I looked through photos from last year's parade and don't remember any of that day. I imagine that the snacks that were in my bag were quickly pulled out and eaten. The kids complaining and asking when the parade would start. Maddie sliding down the hill and then crawling back up on her knees, oh that girl of mine. Ha!

The year before, we were all sick with the flu and strep. That Thanksgiving parade day, I vividly remember. Mike and Milo were the only two healthy ones that day. That was to be short lived as they got sick the next day. Last year was Max's first parade. I am sure he enjoyed it. I wish I could remember his expressions and sayings that day. But that lumber jack hat of his sure was the cutest! Mike was so great in taking all the pictures. I am so thankful for that. I complain all the time that he takes too many. But this year, I am more thankful for pictures than I have ever been. They fill in the gaps, those moments I can't recall. They help to heal the void I feel at times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh my girl, you have more sass than sassafras. Always up for an adventure. Look at those grass stained polka dot jeans and glitter boots.

Life Is NOT an Emergency!

Day in and day out, we have tasks and lists. They occupy our hours, our minutes, our seconds, our thoughts. We rush and rush and never stop, STOP, to enjoy the sweet song of life. Our life is a gift, a moment in history, a moment in HIS story. We are blessed with every breath. I pray today, tomorrow, and the days to come, I remember to listen to my song of life. The sweet sound of my husband playing with my kids, my daughter laughing in her room, my son singing in the car, the baby babbling with his toys, these are my melodies. I pray I slow down to listen to them, because in a blink of an eye they will be a different tune.

My Superhero's

The kids decided that they were going to be superhero's. In order for this to happen, they needed capes (red and blue bandanas), shoes (they both had crocs on), and hats.

 

Love their imaginations!

 

"Slow: Children at Play"

This morning I felt a need to sit and take time to do my devotional. I don't make this a priority as I feel like I have so much more in my life more important. I forced myself to sit. I opened my devotional and could not concentrate. I skimmed the chapter, like most of us do, trying to get through this. My mind racing on what I need to do. The baby is in his bed napping... the other two are at school... this is my time... my time to get something done. I finished the chapter and had no idea what I just read. Guilt set in. I have made so much else a priority over God. Is work or school so much more important than my relationship with Christ?

I opened the devotional again. Read the chapter, really read the chapter. Set everything else aside in my mind. Like a slap in the face, the devotional was what I needed today.

It was about slowing down, making God a priority and enjoying those small moments with Him and my children. I tend to discount the moments when the kids are loud, playing,  and laughing, because they are a disruption. A disruption to the things that I have made important in the wrong order. Deadlines at work and school are deadlines. But at what sacrifice do we make in our lives by living by deadlines that in the end will matter nothing when our kids are grown and we have no real relationship with God?

I love this quote, "What if instead of discounting the current moment, the uncontrollable, the simply given - what if I counted it - and on the God who controls it all? It is only the present moment alone that holds the possibility of coming into the presence of God. Look around, breathe deep, enter into this moment." - Ann Voskamp

Today, I will live in the moments with God. The one I had while despite everything else, sat and spent time with Him. The moments with my children. When they come home from school and tell me all about their day. The moments when the house is so loud I can't get anything done. The moments when my daughter gives me a kiss and says "I love you, mommy." These are the moments of life that will mean everything in the end. These are the important things.

 

"Slow: Children at Play"