Smile

The other day, I noticed my 9 year old was smiling a lot more than usual. I kept asking her what was going on because it was unusual to see her smile so frequently. (Little insight on my girl: she tends to see the glass as half empty. But you better believe I am combatting that now because that is not a perspective that I want her live with the rest of her life.) She never really gave me a good answer, just kinda giggled and said, "I don't know!" 

Since that day I have been pointing out her smile and telling her how much I love it. And when she is not smiling, I tease her until she is! Not only is her 9 year old smile beautiful to me, it's infectious.

People, we need to smile more! It is good for the smiler and for anyone who sees it. When I see the grins on my kiddos faces, I can't help but grin back. And when I see them in good moods, it puts me in a good mood.

While I'm at it, let me just tell you about one of my pet peeves: when I walk past someone, make eye contact and smile and they make no acknowledgement, no reciprocation of the smile...they just keep walking their grumpy rear-end past me. That drives me crazy! I know sometimes there is other stuff going on in life, but is being polite really that difficult?

Ok, let me just come down off my soapbox by telling you this: your smile could make a difference in the life of someone today. So why not share it? Besides, you look so much more gorgeous with it on that without it. 

KC

my reason

It's late.

But my eternally-encouraging, all-knowing Mom told me that I should write.

I took a break, a pretty long one for me.

But that's because I let doubt creep in.

I strive to let God use my writing for His purpose.

But my head tells me that I'm not worthy.

I'm not good enough.

Why should God use me?

I don't know about you, but that's the story of my life, friends!

I'm not very good at this Mom thing. Sometimes I'm downright horrible at it.

And I still have a lot to learn about marriage.

I'm lucky to have any friends with all the birthdays I've forgotten.

My priorities are pretty much always askew.

Homeschooling. If you ever want to feel like a failure, try homeschooling!

Self-discipline? Ha!

Cleaning bathrooms? Another Ha!

And that list could go on for quite a while...

But I think I'll take another run at this writing thing again.

Because although I bring a lot of imperfections to everything I do,

God can take my shortcomings and turn them into something great. 

And if I can end up giving Him the glory for what I write...

Or for my successes as a Mom...

Or this happy marriage...

Then I won't give up.

I'll keep working toward my calling.

Thanks for reading.

God has me writing for a reason.

Maybe you're the reason why.

KC

always, always, always...

We have so much stuff! And when I say we, I say it collectively including probably every one of you reading this blog because if you are reading this blog, then you are on some kind of electronic device meaning that you, too, have stuff. And probably plenty.

I'm not saying that having stuff is wrong. 

But I am one to say that having a lack of gratitude in the face of owning all kinds of stuff is not cool.

We have our fair share of stuff and more:

Beds

Books

Bacon 

Chocolate

Cheezits

(And now I need a snack)

Lights

Running water

Being warm

Not running out of toilet paper

Comfy clothing

More than one pair of shoes

Paper

Crayons

Artwork on the walls

Children who create masterpieces

Phone calls and texts from friends

Encouraging words

Having all our teeth, or at least enough to eat

Sunshine

Grace

It is so easy to focus on material goods and to compare. Theirs is better, nicer, cleaner, fancier (more fancy?). Mine has stains, isn't the top of the line, is not a name brand... the complaint list can get very long.

I'm just sayin that maybe we should make sure our grateful list far outnumbers the list of complaints.

Look around: we have so, so, much to be grateful for.

(Via Pinterest)

KC

grace

Every once in a while I like to give my kids a little lesson in grace. 

Grace: undeserved favor, or getting something that you do not deserve. 

The other day my daughter could not find her wallet. We were heading to Target or some place similar and she was desperately searching for her wallet that might have a tad bit of change in it. She was quite distraught...which doesn't mean a whole lot in our house because she often runs in "drama overdrive." 

The entire 15-20 minute drive to the store, she was so disappointed. So sad. So frustrated. I listened to her whine and moan and complain. Again, this is a usual occurance in our home as she often takes a small thing and turns it into some life-threatening situation in her mind.

(I'm not over-exaggerating. My daughter will someday be an amazing actress or very convincing lawyer. I know there are great things in store for this little girl - her personality is proving her potential everyday! But unfortunately God put me in charge of shaping her and I'm pretty sure I'm not qualified. So glad He's guiding me! And now to get back to the point...)

I managed to keep my calm and not pull my hair out on the drive over and I came up with a plan to demonstrate grace to her. 

I happened to have about $3 in change in my pocket. Once we pulled I to a parking spot, I pulled it out and gave it to her. She kinda looked at me in shock and asked why I was giving it to her. 

She knew she didn't deserve it. Not only had she not earned it, she had acted like a sad and mournful little kid making her brother and me both miserable for the while ride. 

So we talked about grace. 

Undeserved favor.

Then I asked her how she felt after getting the money: grateful. 

And I elaborated. I wanted her to see that when you are grateful for grace, you are more willing to try and please the person who showed it to you.

Jayne knows about the grace that God showed when He sent His son to take every smudge of sin off of us and provided us with our only way into heaven. It's something we've talked about many times. 

But to feel it. To get a little glimpse of what our hearts should be full of: gratitude. That is a valuable lesson because it takes what she knows in her mind and applies it to her heart. 

And that feeling makes all the difference in a relationship with a God.

KC

the battle

The battle.

The uphill climb.

The fight against the odds. 

The struggle.

That feeling of UGH when you know you are traveling in the right direction, going where God wants you to go, but everything seems to be fighting against you.

Creating a routine for devotions, but you are constantly interrupted.

Getting to church regularly so you can be fed, but someone is sick or you slept in or the outfit looks terrible or some other excuse.

Trying to spend more time with your children, but the "to-do" list gets in the way. 

Building a closer relationship with your spouse, but the irritations and petty arguments are more evident than usual.

I've had a couple of "trying" weeks this month. I am striving. Working to create good habits for myself and my family. But around every corner there seems to be something to frustrate me or to make me disappointed in myself. 

But I won't give up. Even when it feels like I have taken one step forward and two steps back, I will keep striving. Because I know those frustrations, those obstacles are not from God, but are the devil's little tricks to keep me from following God.

Don't give up. If God is pushing and prodding you to go in one direction, fight the battle that the devil is going to wage on you so you can keep going where God wants you to go.

The battle you are in simply means you're headed in the right direction.

KC

true value and worth

When I was pregnant with our first child, I had already made the decision to stay at home, giving up my teaching position at a nearby Christian school. This is what I wanted, what I dreamed of doing: being a stay-at-home mommy.

Turns out it was more difficult than I thought it would be. For many reasons. But I was reminded of one reason in particular while I was having a conversation with a friend earlier today. 

There came a point in the first few months after having our baby girl, where I felt my worth had dissipated. I has been a contributing member of our family, working and bringing in an income to pay bills and buy groceries and all that good stuff. But being at home with a baby, I didn't bring in anything to support our family.

I struggled with this for many months. I was bustling around our home, being mom and wife amd a homemaker, but I struggled to find my value. When I finally confided the depths of these feelings to my husband, he made my value and worth very clear to me.

Essentially he told me that if he could put a monetary value on everything I did for our family, he wouldn't be able to afford me with his paycheck. I should earn more than that! But you can't (even though some have tried) put a monetary value on being a mom.

I was so used to seeing my contributions to the family in the form of money that I failed to see my value outside of that. My worth is so much bigger than that! 

I am a wife. 

I am a mother.

I take care of the family God gave me.

These make me valuable.

Everything else that I do in my life is secondary.

KC

TEAM ANGEL

Last night I tried to write, but every time I tried, I sobbed. My dearest friend from many years ago and her husband and their two youngest had to say good-bye for now to their 15-year-old son and brother yesterday. 

Their story of the past 12 years is full of amazingness, miracles, superheroes, incredibleness, and much that is beyond belief simply because it has been governed by the hands of God. And God's hands are now holding their son's hands. Goodness, people - can you imagine that?! The feeling of being with God?! He knows now - their son knows that feeling...

So I don't sob for him - my heart is full of joy for him.

I sob for my friends, his family, who are here on earth left with a huge void. I sob for his brother and sister who feel this loss to their core. I sob for unties and uncles, cousins and grandparents who have deep bonds with this amazing boy. I sob for the numerous people whose lives he touched just by being his superhero self. 

I sob because I am a mother and I cannot imagine or even fathom the loss of one of my children.

Life here on earth is hard. It is unfair. It is devastating and unbelievably overwhelming. We were not created for this. We were not made to understand and know how to deal with death. 

But even with this great and heavy sadness, there is beauty. Because that is God's way. If you have the opportunity to read Angel's story (copy and paste: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-Angel/222567347803759 or simply go to Team Angel on Facebook), you will see so much beauty that it would be impossible to miss God's hand in Angel's life. 

Praise God for His beauty from the ashes because that is where we find hope.