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It’s almost that time of year again. You know, out with the old in with the new. The time for New Year’s resolutions, new dreams, and new goals. if you’re anything like me, you completely failed at your 2023 goals. But, we’re in luck because 2024 is right around the corner. And next year, we’ll get it right…right?

I spent some time this morning going through my mess of an email inbox. I realized that I was subscribed to way too many mailing lists. As I was unsubscribing, I thought about how most times my mind is like my inbox. Subscribed to way too much junk. The kind of junk that causes distractions and keeps me unmotivated. The kind of junk that holds me back and keeps me spinning circles around myself never moving forward to reach any of my goals. That junk comes in the form of feelings of comparison, shame, guilt, regret and many other feeling that hold my mind captive.

This upcoming year is the year to unsubscribe from those feelings that keep us stuck. It’s time to release them and clear up our minds. It’s time to reach for those goals. Put down the phone, stay off of social media so much, let go of the drama and hold on to Jesus. Unsubscribe to the distractions, and subscribe to Jesus.

You Can’t Get No Satisfaction

Do you have a longing in your soul? Have you ever tried to satisfy it? Do you ever feel irritable and take it out on those around you? Do you feel the constant need to complain about something or everything? Does your temper get the best of you and in turn you can’t control your anger or the words that come out of your mouth? Are you constantly looking at the number of “likes” and followers you have on your social media pages? Do you buy things in hopes that they will bring you joy? Seek out relationships to make you happy?

In all of the above scenarios, it’s satisfaction that you’re after. I’ve been there friends, and I still struggle from time to time. But let me tell you a little secret, you will never find true satisfaction until you have a pure, all-in relationship with Jesus. I’m not just talking about going to church and reading your Bible (those things are important though,) or following religious rules. I’m talking about a relationship with Jesus. He is the true fulfillment that our souls need. When we’re in relationship with Him, we find it easier to control our tempers. We take it to Him before we let the words fly. When we’re seeking Him, we tend to see the positive and not so much of the negative, because He is the light. Buying things will not fill that void that you’re feeling. Those material things may bring you brief happiness, but they will not bring you eternal happiness (so go ahead and empty out that “save for later cart” on Amazon.) Eternal happiness comes from Jesus and only Jesus.

So, what does this relationship with Jesus look like? For me, it looks like praying before I get out of bed each morning, and before I go to bed at night. It’s being in constant communication with Him. Talking to Him through out my day. Spending time in His word. Thanking Him and praising Him. It’s seeking out opportunities to be like Him, by helping others, loving others, putting others needs before my own. All the while giving Him the glory.

Trust me, while I’ve always been a believer, I’ve lived life while not in a relationship with Jesus. It’s so much better with Him leading the way. It’s like a security blanket. Going through hard times is inevitable, but having his secure arms around me makes whatever it is, more bearable!

Gratitude and Confetti

The beauty of God’s artistry stopped me in my tracks this morning. I had just made my way downstairs and glanced out the back sliding glass door. The sunlight was glistening off the pond water out back in such a way that my heart was immediately filled with gratitude and awe of how wonderful God is. That gratitude set the tone for my morning.

I turned Spotify on to a Christian Morning Vibes playlist while my kids were eating breakfast. As I was taking my 10-month old out of her high chair, Jamie Grace’s Beautiful Day came on. It’s a catchy tune, so of course we had to dance! Again, my heart was filled with with so much gratitude. Even though mothering is hard and filled with all the emotions of ups and downs, God trusted and believed in me enough to gift me with these kids. Who I now have the privilege of raising in His light. As Jamie Grace’s angelic voice filled our house with the lyrics “there’s something about the way the sun shines on my face, this feeling can’t be wrong I’m about to get my worship on…”that’s exactly what my youngest two kids and I did as we danced around the kitchen. Gratitude. Just full out gratitude for moments like that. Because it’s moments like that, that shape memories for our kids.

It’s not always sunshine and rainbows around here, my kids act out just like everyone else’s, and I react in not so kind ways. I let those frustrated emotions rule my mind and it’s hard to bounce back from. But from now on, I’m going to work on letting gratitude and joy rule my mind and soul.

Even though we may be going through hard times right now and the enemy is trying to steer your focus on the bad, we have the choice to focus on the good instead. If all we do is focus on the negative then that’s what we will see. But if we focus on the positive we will be filled with gratitude and joy. Those good things are harder to find during certain seasons of life, but they’re there.

Express that gratitude to others as well. The bagger at the grocery store, your waiter or waitress, your kids, spouse, friends, and family. You never know who’s life you might touch, or who you might inspire. So go and sprinkle that gratitude around like confetti. Be blessed y’all.

Planting Seeds

Hi friends! I hope this post finds you doing well. The kids (we have three for you new readers-ages 11 and 6 years old and a 10-month old,) have been out of school for summer break for over a month now. We’ve been off of our routine around here, so it’s been hard to sit down and write. But here I am with a few minutes of “me time!” You parents know how hard that is to come by.

Over the last several weeks I’ve been delving into the book of Luke. God has really opened my eyes to the golden nuggets in this section of the Bible. The parable of the sower being one of them. Actually, this one kind of slapped me in the face. Before you read on, go open your Bible or Bible app and read Luke 8:4-15.

Ok, now that you’ve done your reading I’ll go on. Which seed are you? Are you the seed along the path? You’ve heard the Word but are not yet a believer? Or maybe you’re the seed on the rock? You’ve heard the Word and received it with so much joy but when temptations come along you’re easily swayed, therefore having no roots to be your anchor to Jesus. Possibly you’re the seed among the thorns, you’ve heard the word but do not apply it to your daily life. Instead you go after the pleasures of this world with a me first mentality. If you’re the seed on good ground you’ve heard the Word AND you hold on to it and produce fruit. Produce fruit? What does that mean? You live out Gods word. It’s buried so deep inside of your heart that both your actions and words point people to Jesus.

While processing all of this, I realized that I’m not producing fruit the way God intended me to do. Yes, I go to church, serve at church, pray everyday and read scripture most every day. But what am I doing with that? Is it coming out in my everyday interactions? Not so much. Am I living my life in a way that points people to Jesus, not so much. Am I showing kindness and compassion to those around me, not so much as I should be. Most importantly, am I sharing the gospel at all opportunities. Not so much.

So, I need to make some changes. Maybe you do too. Let’s start at home with our kids and move on from there. Set good examples for them, let them see us not only reading our Bibles but living out the Word. Let’s pray with our families everyday and seek out ways to help those around us. Because that’s what Jesus would do. That’s what Jesus does. Will you join me on this journey of change? At home, in your workplace, with your friends? Can you imagine how peaceful the world would be if we loved and lived more like Jesus? It’s a lot to think about, but take it one action at a time, one sentence at a time.

Leave some changes that you’re going to make in the comments section. You never know who you might inspire. Until next time, be blessed y’all.

I Hope She Knows

The realization that my oldest daughter is entering into her last year of being a “tween” has me all in my feels. Childhood goes by too fast, especially when you’re a parent. As she celebrates her 12th birthday in a few short months, I hope she knows….

I hope she knows that she doesn’t have to act a certain way just to fit in.

I hope she knows that she doesn’t need to change her looks or alter her body to be beautiful.

I hope she knows that she doesn’t have to downplay her intelligence to make people feel more comfortable.

I hope she knows that making mistakes are a part of life and that there is beauty in the lessons learned.

I hope she knows that I am going to make mistakes in parenting her and that I too will be learning lessons from them.

I hope she knows that expressing her feelings is ok, and she should never be punished or feel guilty for doing so.

I hope she knows that her time is valuable.

I hope she knows that just because she is soft spoken doesn’t mean that her voice shouldn’t be heard.

I hope she knows that her worth isn’t measured by the amount of things she has.

I hope she knows that she can do anything that she believes she can do.

I hope she knows that friends are one of Gods greatest blessings and to pick them wisely.

I hope she knows that as the years pass and she becomes more independent that I will always be here cheering her on.

I hope she knows, really knows, how much God loves her.

What do you see?

Go look in the mirror. Just go look. What do you see? If you immediately started pointing out all of the flaws you think you have, you’re not alone. It’s easy to look at yourself and criticize all the things that you don’t like.

If you have a child, and you told them to look in the mirror and tell you what they saw, what would they say? What would you want them to say? I have an 11 year old daughter and personally, I would want her to say that she see’s someone looking back at her that has confidence, and is kind, and compassionate. I think any good parent would want their child to say something along those lines. I would be devastated if she immediately named off everything she doesn’t like about herself. I would also be a little heartbroken if everything she said was based solely on her physical appearance. Because, she is so much more than that. And so are you.

Now, let’s go back to us, what do you think our Heavenly Father would want us to say when we look in the mirror? He created us in His image. If we are quick to point out all of our dark spots, wrinkles and blemishes, how do you think that makes Him feel? We’re too focused on our outward appearance and keeping up with the latest trends in makeup and hair to notice how intricately and miraculously He created us both inside and out. God made us to grow old and for our looks to change in the process. Yes, we need to take care of our bodies- eat healthy, good skin care routine, exercise, etc. But most importantly, we need to take care of our souls. We need to speak words of kindness to not only others, but ourselves as well. We need to be good role models to the little people in our lives. Let’s teach them to love the body God gave us, to take care of it, and to radiate beauty from the inside.

Now, go look in the mirror. Just go look. What do you see?

Heartbreak

We all have those songs that bring back memories (good or bad,) as soon as we hear them. It happened to me in the drop-off line today at my son’s school. As soon as I heard Tasha Layton belt out “My heart is breaking in a way I never thought it could…” I was immediately transported back to September 2020. To a season of utter anguish. At that time, my heart really was breaking. I don’t want to delve into the whole story again, as I touched on it in my post titled “Faith.” But for all the new readers, I had gone through a loss. That loss happened to be a pregnancy, twins. I still can’t think about it or hear that song without tears. As I was listening to the lyrics this morning, Tasha asks “can you make something from the wreckage?” And that brought on even more waterworks, because He did y’all. Right now, as I am writing this post, my 5-month-old rainbow baby is staring at me with her bright blue eyes and the cutest little grin. While I do mourn the loss of twins, I would not have my sweet and spicy Saylor baby if they had not gone to heaven. My most favorite line in that song is “I can hear my father singing over me, it’s gonna be ok, it’s gonna be ok...” Honestly, at that time it did not feel like it was ever going to be ok. But repeating those lyrics brought on some solace. Taking it one day at a time and knowing that even though it hurt, bad, He was in control, and He was working all things out for good, helped comfort my aching heart.

I don’t know what heartbreak you’re going through right now, maybe a loss of a loved one, an end to a relationship, rejection, defeat, betrayal, or unfulfilled dreams. Honestly the list could go on and on. But know this, Jesus is with you, and it’s gonna be ok. It may take a few months, or a few years. That hurt may always be there, but it will be ok. He will make something from the wreckage, if you let Him. Don’t lose hope.

Motherhood

Endless nights, endless crying, endless cooking, endless cleaning. It’s all endless, right? You get the dishes washed just to come back 5 minutes later to see the sink full again. The clothes are washed, folded and put away and you walk past the laundry hamper on your way to the next chore only to see it at max capacity once again. Motherhood is a full time job in itself. We’re taking care of the littles and the chores, all the while trying to be fit, and not lose ourselves in the depths of dry shampoo and black leggings. We act as detectives, always searching for missing socks, homework, and our sanity. We’re personal assistants always making sure that our kids go to all the doctors appointments, dental checkups, birthday parties, sports and extracurricular activities. And some of us do all of this on top of having jobs. Sometimes we can get lost in all the stress that motherhood entails. I know, it happens to me.

But what puts it all into perspective and keeps me pushing on is the little moments. The glee on my sons face when he sits down to eat breakfast and sees his plate full of his favorite foods. The joy in my daughters eyes when she’s telling me about a birthday party that I just picked her up from. When it’s 3am and I look down to see the bright blue eyes and smile on my 5 month olds face after she was just comforted and fed. When I have a sick kiddo and the only thing they want is to be held and comforted by me.

When I come to the realization that God gifted me this opportunity to be all the things to these little humans, it literally makes my heart burst with gratitude. Let this be a small reminder to soak in all the moments, because these kids, they won’t be little forever. Motherhood is hard, y’all. But us moms, we’re superheroes.

Guilt

Lately my mind keeps pondering how Peter must have been feeling after that rooster crowed. Guilt for sure. Shame, lousy, and pretty pathetic. Jesus told Peter what was going to happen, that Peter would deny Jesus three times before the rooster crowed after Jesus was arrested. And just like every other time Jesus made a prediction like that, it happened. It makes me think of all the times I’ve felt guilty. Guilt over yelling at my kids, or not being so nice to my husband. Guilt over bad decisions I made in the past. Guilt makes you feel pretty down. It’s a sickening feeling in the pit of your stomach that continuously gnaws at you. What amazes and astonishes me, is that when Jesus rose and saw Peter again, Peter was instantly forgiven. Instantly. Just like that. Clean slate. No hard feelings. The same way that Jesus forgives us when we repent. If we ask for forgiveness, we have to forgive ourselves as well and let go of the guilt. And if you’re forgiven, don’t keep bringing up your sins of the past. Use them as lessons learned and let them go. Only you have the will power to make better choices and change for the good. Praying is absolutely necessary but you have to be willing to put in the work as well. Be obedient to the Lord. Read your Bible, spend time with Him. He has a plan for you, but if you’re not close to Him, you’ll never know what it is.

You Are Not Alone

Did any of you Michael Jackson fans sing the title of this post like I did? I thought of the title for this post and had to look up the lyrics to the song because it immediately popped into my head. Michael Jackson wasn’t wrong, y’all. You are not alone. Whatever season we’re in right now, there are others who are right there with us. But most of all, Jesus is right there with us. Friends, I don’t know what you’re facing today, maybe a broken heart, or financial problems, marital problems, addictions, distractions, YOU are never alone. Reach out to a friend or support group, I promise there are others who are going through or have gone through the same season you’re in right now. Are you possibly a stay-at-home mom or work from home mom who is craving connection with other adults? Reach out! There are play groups in most cities now, look for them. If you’re an introvert like me, sometimes that can be so hard to do, but take that step, you won’t regret it. Maybe you’re not getting any younger (aging gracefully of course!) and you’re in a season of waiting for that special someone, reach out to singles groups, look for others in your area that are in the same season. I am not at all saying that your friends that aren’t in the same season as you cannot be of any help, but it’s good to go through things with people who understand.

If you know of someone who is going through a tough season right now, reach out to them. You might not know firsthand what they’re going through but sometimes a listening ear or a new perspective is all that is needed. Jesus made us for community, and as much as some of us would like to, we aren’t made to sit around with just our pets for company. We were made to get out there and seek connection. Even Jesus had community! He traveled along with 12 disciples. You could be someone’s missing puzzle piece or find the best friend that you never knew you needed! Sometimes what we’re looking for is closer that we thought. As much as social media can keep you distracted from more important things (i.e., your kids,) it can also be used as a tool for connection. Take that step, you got this!