Food for Thought....

Happy Sunday, sweet friends.

My heart tonight....

As today reminded me..

"The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good." ~ 1 Peter 5:10 Msg.

Praying tonight.

Running Low on Fun

I determined somewhere, in the everyday drum of life....fun kind of slipped away.  Yes, the last few months have given me enough of a jolt to scare fun completely out of my life but I have decided I want to have fun.  I NEED to have fun.  I used to be fun, I think???  I am ready for some fun and this summer we are going to have some cotton pickin' fun! 

There is going to be laughter and joking and silliness and lots of water and sunshine!  We are going learn new things, try new things and stretch ourselves to smile more.  No more missing minutes which grow into hours which stretch into days....no more.  Life is literally too short and I am terrified of letting it be too late.

So tell me what do you have planned for fun this summer?  Walking in the rain?  Dancing to some ridiculously fun music? Holding hands with a special someone? Eating cake for dinner because you can?  Floating down a lazy river or goofing off and just letting life happen? Blowing bubbles just to see where they land? 

 

Tell me what your fun is going to be?

Father's Day 2014

Another first, my sweet children and I on Father's Day...without Father.  The children made their own choice to spend what was going to be a really hard day together and with me.  We actually made a weekend of it, and this morning...we went to church without a Daddy. We did it.  We are growing our little family and learning new ways and new days and talking about what we want the future to look like.  We are facing  a new, unforeseen challenge but are determined to love each other through it.   I am facing an unforeseen opportunity that my kids have encouraged me wholeheartedly to pursue, though I am not sure I am up for the task and I have a hard decision to make.

It isn't a path we chose, or ever would have chosen...but we are walking.

If you are a Dad or plan to be a Dad,  I hope you feel the words in this video and love your wife and children just a little more...
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Fight!

"Both men and women reflect the image of God, but in distinct ways.
 

I’m convinced that one of the most profound ways has to do with how we use our manhood. God created men to have the heart of a warrior, placing a desire within us to stand up and fight for what’s pure, for what’s true. A man has a warrior’s heart.

You have a warrior’s heart. You itch for a fight. That’s God’s design, not ours. That doesn’t mean that men should be aggressive, alpha-bully punks. (Nor does it mean that women can’t fight for what’s right as well.) It simply means that within every man, God has planted a divine desire to fight for righteousness....

A man with nothing to fight for quickly becomes a frustrated man, often without a clue as to why.

Fighting for what’s right stirs something inside a man. It makes him want to be not just a man but the man. The best man he can be. A man knows deep inside himself what God wants him to be: a hero with a warrior’s heart." Devotional by Craig Groeschel from his book Fight,

I know this is an important message, because I want my boys to have the heart of warriors and I am trying to figure out each day how to create that within them without a Dad around.  I want to feel confident that they are going to lead the next generation to a better place....a place of righteousness.  I want them to feel that confidence within their own hearts!  I want them to grow into men after God's own heart and that of their families. 

An Open Letter to Husbands & Dads....

 

Photo from Chad Stutzman: A Word to Husbands

An Open Letter to Husbands and Dads,

I am a single Mom whose husband chose a different life than that of husband and father so I feel uniquely qualified to write to men (do any even read this blog?) as we near Father’s Dad.  Also, many of you read my “An Open Letter toWives” so I think I should balance the scales a bit.  I believe in the joy and gift of marriage and family so I hope somehow, somewhere these words will help build, repair or just brighten a relationship that might need a little attention.

Our culture isn’t very pro-family, pro-marriage or pro-commitment.  It screams at every chance “grab what you want” “you deserve this or that” “make yourself happy!” Please, men…if you are on that fence, jump down.   If you have already walked to the greener grass, have the courage to walk back and build a foundation that will support your children and family for generations to come. If you are just going through the motions and not feeling the contentment that you should feel,  open your hearts to the family you have been gifted and let God give you a love for them that is beyond anything you could have ever created yourself.  Don’t let the miracle slip through your fingers.  Let yourself fall in love with your wife and your children…let yourself fall inexplicably, undeniably in love with the gift God has created. Just for you.

 

As cliché as it, loving your wife is the greatest gift you can give your children. It sets them up for a lifetime of how to love.  Look at that woman who God created for you and remember what that first kiss felt like, and why you fell in love with her in the first place. Each day tell her something lovely about herself, remind her that you chose HER.  Take down the walls we all build up and walk to her side (even if she isn’t willing) and let God pour into your marriage.  Let yourself fall in love like never before and love with abandon like there is no tomorrow. 

You are a man, created by God, and He created you to love and lead your family and your rewards will far outweigh whatever short term pleasure you see in life on the other side of the fence.

Signed,

Used to be a Wife

"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,"

 Ephesians 5:25

An Open Letter to Wives....

An Open Letter to Wives,
 

I am now, after 25+ years, without a husband.  He walked away.  I was not a perfect wife and I have so many regrets.  One of those regrets is not embracing, loving and celebrating the seasons and the man God created for me.  There are so many things I miss and so many things I wish I had said and done differently.  I see couples now and I want to whisper into the wife’s ear…love him; the season can be gone in a flash.  Don’t put it on the back burner.  Don’t let life get in the way…love him. Hug him, hold him, breathe him in.

Your husband might not walk away like mine did, but you never know what today holds and how quickly he could be gone.  I have watched so many sweet souls mourn the lose of their husbands to death.  No matter how long you have been married, adore him, let him know how much your respect him and his judgment, build him up.  Be his soft place to land when life attacks.  Don’t let a day, or even a moment go by, that he doesn’t feel wanted and loved.  Let God show you how to love him beyond your ability and to pour into your heart a super natural love, full of mercy and grace.  Forgive; continually remember why you fell in love with him and show him your heart and learn his.   

Our culture doesn't reward that kind of devotion but I can assure you it will pay rewards far beyond anything today's world can bring.

Trust me when I say, the season can go too quickly.

Signed,

Used to be a Wife

 "And so train the young women to love their husbands and children,"

 Titus 2:4

School's Out For Summer!

And I, for one,  have wasted no time sticking my toes in the sand!  I pray that we never have another school year marred by the hurt, disappointments and multiple school transfers that this year saw.  It was literally horrible.  My children have been through way too much that was not of their choosing or control and we are so ready for summer.  Summer on, friends....summer on!