Parenting teenagers and, well, just parenting....

 

 

 

Teenagers.

Sweet Lawd! I feel like that word alone, “teenagers”, was a whole blog post.

I can’t stop there, though.

See, you usually start out life as a parent, with a newborn baby. At first you are high on love, and adrenalin does an amazing job of carrying you through the first little bit of life.

But then, the sleepless nights (unless you are one of the LUCKY few) start to get to you. You love your baby, but might start to rethink this whole “MOM” thing. You’re exhausted. You’re a little freaked out. You wonder if even other moms who have “been there” can understand how you feel. And mostly, you are afraid to admit it, and talk about it, because you don’t want it to discount the fact that you do love your baby more fiercely than anything else in this world. It’s like if you cop to the fact that you want to run away some days, you are saying you don’t love your baby. It’s overwhelming.

There are days you seriously question if you will make it; if you will ever get to sleep again, or have quality adult conversation again, or have alone time with your spouse again, of just get to be “yourself” again. Do you even know who you are anymore? Mmm. Doubtful. Because the “real you” is lying underneath a load of laundry full of spit-up-on burp rags and diaper changes and breastfeeding (remember when you used to look at your breasts in a whole different way, BEFORE breastfeeding? Yeah. ) , and sleepless nights, and thoughts of strangling people that made raising a baby look easy. You don’t like to use swear words, but “Damn them!”

But, somehow, you make it. The sun rises again. Things get better. You can breathe again. You realize that you aren’t so bad at the mom thing, even if not perfect.

Then the toddler years set in. Terrible twos? Understatement of the year. More like Terrible Ones, Twos, and Threes…possibly Fours. You may have to hide out for a while. Avoid going into public if at all possible. You’ll have to apologize for things like;  your toddler calling other men, “Daddy”, throwing food across the restaurant, asking the cashier what happened to all her teeth, telling one of your mommy friends that their house stinks, for trying to drown the neighbor’s cat…those sort of things. But again, somehow you survive.  Some of your pride is gone, but that really isn’t so bad…is it?

“Kid years” as I like to call them (the ones between toddler and teen) are actually pretty darn decent. Don’t get me wrong…if you have a girl, you will learn the meaning to “drama” and if you have a boy you will learn the meaning to “wild.” Unless you have one of those perfect kids (trying my very best not to be sarcastic and judgmental here). Besides the occasional fight about what clothing to wear and homework and them cleaning their room, it’s not so bad. I mean, there are definitely rough days that still come along, some families have more issues during these years than others, but as a rule, it feels like you are on the downhill slide. You might finally be getting the hang of parenting.

Then the teen years come. (You realize a cruel joke has been inserted here). What happened to the downhill slide?  Now, thankfully, the two boys in my house that are teens haven’t pulled any crazy stunts. Parenting clause: I didn’t say they were perfect, I just said that thus far, nothing too crazy has happened (We’re all still living, right??). I count my blessing every day for such. For privacy purposes, I won’t name names, but we were very close and involved in a couple of teens that DID pull those stunts regularly. It was exhausting, heartbreaking, and I can tell you…worse than ANY night spent awake during  the years of  breastfeeding (or making bottles) and changing diapers. With an infant, you may not sleep, but you know where that baby is. They are safe in your arms (even if exhausted arms). With a teen that sneaks out, or is even simply spending the night with a friend or away at camp…you really don’t know everything that is going on. With technology and internet, I believe parenting has raised the stress level to a whole new level. How can you sleep peacefully when you are so worried? Sometimes you wish them back into that baby stage so you can keep them at arm’s length, then you realize how insane that is, because you would just have to go through all this again.

You know, I know I was a teen once (my kids would totally laugh at that statement).  I know that at that age, being trapped in between being a child and an adult, is So hard. It is so confusing. I think we adults forget how truly awkward and hard it is. You are pressed to act like an adult…be mature, be responsible…but also follow your parent’s rules, even if you don’t agree. I really think as parents, we get so caught up in them being obedient and following OUR rules, that we sometimes forget the whole point of raising children is to help them grown into successful adults. It can sometimes turn into more about us showing them who is boss rather than lovingly trying to show them the way. Having teenagers, I have realized that parenting has never been harder. They are so close to being “on their own”, and it is So scary. It is an incredible challenge to find the balance of guiding them but also letting them find their own way.

As a Christian parent, I want my children to know, honor, and live for God. But, I can’t force that on them, just like I can’t force any other belief or way of life onto them. I want them to be happy, but I can’t choose happiness for them. I want them to be healthy, but that really isn’t in my hands. I want them to be kind and respectful to others, but again, that’s a choice they have to make.  I want them to be productive and contributing citizens…what say do I get in that? What say did my own parents have as I stepped into adulthood? Not a whole lot. Yes, I had the choice to take the morals and lessons along with me that they had tried to pass on, but it was up to me if I wanted to do so.

When I think about this: What if I COULD choose one thing for my child to take into adulthood with them? One thing? My answer is that they would know and live for God. That’s it. If that is the case, everything else, I understand will fall into place. I don’t really have dreams of my child growing up to be a janitor, but what if that’s what he chooses? I don’t have dreams of my child growing up to marry a spouse that is unfaithful, but what if that happens? I don’t have any dreams, of my child ever having to deal with a serious illness, but what if that fear is realized? What if? What if? What if?

There is so so much that I am not in control of.  It is so scary having your children grow up and go out on their own. But you know, it’s also something that makes you proud, I’d guess. You have poured years of blood, sweat, tears, and hopefully prayer into that moment, and while it’s nice to see the fruits of that…it really isn’t necessary.

Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

 

This verse says it all. God says that if I teach my children right, which is to know and honor Him, that they will not depart from it. If they wander, they will return. I am choosing, this day, to believe God for that promise. I am laying claim to that offer that God has freely given. I want to encourage you to do the same. Worrying and living in fear for our children, do absolutely nothing to help them.

In Mathew 6, we are told NOT to worry. It won’t add anything to our lives, or our children’s lives. It’s not an easy thing to trust, but that is where FAITH waltzes in and saves the day.

My season of parenting right now, includes a toddler, a “kid”, and two teenagers. Of those two teenagers, one just turned 13 and one will be an ADULT in a few months. Honestly, I can’t get through typing that sentence without tears streaming down my face. I just can’t .  I can tell you that although my toddler keeps me much busier than the rest, so much of my heart and prayer is consumed with our oldest. He is so close to going out into this world. And I know how nasty this world can be.  I wish I was a perfect Christian example, and could say I had no fear about the future…but I would be lying to your face. I do fear. But, more than fear, I have faith. I am ever so thankful, that God makes good on His promises, and that because of that, I am able to let my faith outweigh my fear.

 

1 Thessalonians 5: 17 says “Pray continually.”

So. That’s what I aim to do. I encourage you to do the same. Prayer is one of the very few things, a HUGE thing, that we do have control over. Don’t discount its greatness. Don’t let fear steal the joy from today. Don’t let fear about being a less-than-perfect parent, steal the joy of the sweet times spent with your child.

Don’t let fear about your baby, going out into this great big world, steal your joy that comes from knowing God has great things planned for your baby…even if your baby is about to be an adult.

Pray for your baby, pray for your child, pray for your teen, pray for your adult child. Pray continually. God will work it all out so much better than we ever imagined. Also, He has the power that we very much lack. Thank you, God, for looking out for our jewels J

 

One long post about fitness and the way you treat others concerning their fitness...

     Alright. Fitness…eating right, working out, getting healthier, etc.  Let me start by saying this post is not aimed at people, in general, who care about fitness. I think being fit, is a MOSTLY good thing.

 I have friends that I have watched over the course of the last year, or couple of years, transform themselves through courage, hard work, and dedication. I wholeheartedly applaud them. A few of them, I am so proud of, I even get a bit weepy seeing their “before and after” pictures. The difference between them and the people that have irritated me, is that these friends are inspiring and encouraging to other women. They aren’t catty or tacky or saying or posting things that try to make other women feel beneath them because they haven’t yet taken that step.  

There are also women that have stepped into the fitness world, and though they have become more fit, have drug every bit of the bad attitudes and insecurities that they started with, along with them. I believe there are a few women who truly just have the goal of getting healthier, and they go for it. But it seems like a LOT of women have other insecurities or issues that they can NOT change, so they decide they can at least change the way the eat and work out, so they do. But, oftentimes it becomes an obsession. It becomes something they can be prideful about, something they can use to “one up” other women with.

In Lisa Terkeurst’s book ‘Made to Crave,’ she said something that has stuck with me for a long time. She said that she imagined Jesus looking at us and saying, “I want you to give up the one thing you crave more than me. Then come, follow me.”

Obviously this can cover WAY more things that fitness/health, but that is what I’m writing out, so that is what it applies to.  Maybe it’s being fit that you crave more than God. Maybe it’s food that you crave more than God.

I agree that health should have a place in each of our lives. I agree that God blesses us with one body, and that we should respect it and try and take good care of it. I also believe, without a doubt, he doesn’t want fitness or eating right or exercising or losing weight or getting healthier to be more important to us that HE, alone, is.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

-Matthew 6:25-27

God tells us as plain as day not to worry about our body (Again, yes this verse touches on other things, but I’m staying true to my subject in this particular post). My personal opinion is that that doesn’t mean not to make good choices about our health. It means not to worry, not to obsess, not to let it be our main focus, not to let our desire to “look good” be more important than our family, our friends, and especially Him.

My belief is that God has never intended for us to spend hours in the gym. He never intended for us to focus on our looks. I also believe that He never intended for us to be lazy, sedentary, or stuff our bodies full of junk. After all, the Bible is clear about gluttony being a sin. That all being laid out there, that means our goal should be to find a healthy balance to all of it, without becoming obsessed or letting it hold such a high place in our lives.

 

I can tell you that I, personally, would like to lose about 30 pounds. It’s mostly so I will feel better and be able to be more active with my children. I would be lying if I said the thought didn’t come to mind that I would also look better. However, I haven’t really stepped up to the plate to do anything about it. I have never, and will never do a diet or diet pill. I would like to eat better and walk with my husband. At this point, I don’t believe God’s will for me is to spend time in a gym “working on my fitness” (props to Fergie for that line!). I have far more important things to spend my time on. Are there times when I’m being lazy and could be working out? SURE. Are there times I could choose grilled chicken instead of fried? Absolutely.  Does that mean that people who are “fit” should assume that everyone who carries extra weight is lazy? Absurd.  For kicks and giggles, let’s just assume for a moment that everyone who is out of shape or carrying extra weight is, in fact, lazy…Does that give someone else the place to degrade them because of it? Because I am PRETTY SURE that if someone is being lazy, they know it. They just do. It doesn’t help for someone to be demeaning or point it out to them. It doesn’t make you better than someone else because you deem yourself “not lazy.”

Also, while yes, being healthy includes obvious things such as eating right and not being sedentary, it also has to do with your genes. It drives me insane when “health nuts” say it has nothing to do with your genes. Ummm, yes, it does. Being fit does not give you a right to be ignorant or say ignorant things. Not only is that information READILY available to everyone, but I’ve experienced it firsthand. As younger adults, even after we had had children, I was able to eat whatever I wanted and not workout and still maintain a great figure. Not boasting, just saying. Ok, maybe there was a tad bit of boasting there. Anyway, my best friend could not do that. It wasn’t because I was trying and she wasn’t. It was because our make-up (genes) are totally different. The way our bodies were built, the way they used food, the way they responded to activity…all completely different.

Genes are a BIG part of it. I actually have the body type, which if I were to work out, gains muscle much more easily than lots of other women. I’ve had a personal trainer say they were envious of my body type (That was years ago, after baby #3. HA! If they could see me now! YIKES!). Some women are more, I hate to use the word scrawny, but you know, just a different body type. They have to work their tails off to gain muscle. This all goes for men, too, but I’m a woman talking to women. Some people lose weight more easily, some people gain muscle more easily, some do both more easily. Is it really nice to judge people based on our genes? Really? In case you are confused about the answer, it’s no. No, it’s not nice.

I will agree, that having children, specifically, doesn’t always have a big effect on your weight. I mean, you technically only have to gain a few pounds to have a child; most of us gain too much.  And some of us lose the weight easily, and some have to work to get it off, and some never get it off. So, yes, the extra weight comes from the time you were pregnant, but again, I think a lot of that has to do with genes. If you have “good genes,” the weight is going to come off more easily. The first three children I had, I did no work afterwards to lose the weight. The last child, I kept a lot of the weight on. Was it because of the baby? Not really. It was because I had gotten older, it was because I had another surgery on my stomach that completely changed its shape, it was because I was busy being a mother of four and I didn’t have the energy or the time to focus on getting the weight off. It was a lot of things. Now that life has balanced out a bit, and the last one is a toddler, I could focus a little more on it. But, I’m just not ready to take that step. I would like for others’ to be just as ok about that choice as I am. As my husband is. As my children are. As my God is.

God knows I have WAY more areas that need work… areas way more important than my body,  in the big scheme of things.

 

So, why do you want to lose weight or get in shape?

Because you are obese and want to be healthier and feel better?

Because you want to take care of the body God blessed you with?

Because you don’t want it to be so hard to find clothes that fit?

Because you want to have something to be proud of?

Because you want to feel like you are better than others?

Because you have other major insecurities that you can’t handle or deal with?

Because you want to look good in a bikini?

Because you think your husband won’t love you if you aren’t fit?

Because you need to feel like you are “good at something”?

 

The whole point of this post, is to say, not everyone is built the same. Not everyone has the same priorities. I agree that we should take care of our health. Taking care of ourselves doesn’t involve putting others down because of your need to feel better, or even simply because you can.

Thank you to those that are inspiring and encouraging. Those that are not, maybe you need to rethink your true goals, and especially your words.  If you are a sister in Christ, then you most especially need to rethink how you are building up or tearing down others….and putting down people over weight? Over not being able to bench press 150 pounds? Here is the truth, no one cares but you…okay, maybe other people in your same boat care, but it’s probably a pretty small boat. Like a dingy. See? Who wants to ride in a dingy? I’m on a yacht, you should join us…and you are welcome to.  But your words must be kind in order to join us. You must lay down your insecurities and your stereotypes and be able to embrace people that are different than you…people that are okay that that they are different than you. People that are okay that you are different than them. J

 

 

Sometimes I wish I was different...

Sometimes I wish I was a real cowgirl
Sometimes I wish I was a from the Bronx
Sometimes I wish I was rich
Sometimes I wish I had more kids (picture the old woman who lived in a shoe)
Sometimes I wish I had a live in nanny
Lots of times I wish I had a housekeeper
Sometimes I wish I could run away
Sometimes I wish I had more will power
Sometimes I wish I was nicer
Sometimes I wish I was bolder
Sometimes I wish I wasn't adhd
Lots of times I wish their were more cures for things
Sometimes I wish I was a better servant
Sometimes I wish i didn't care so much about being a better servant
Sometimes I wish I could be all alone
Sometimes I wish I wasn't so lonely
 Sometimes I wish I could give up 99% of my material possessions and hit the road and just spend my life sharing about Jesus
Lots of times I wish I could just slow down and breath life in a little more delicately
Sometimes I wish I was a better mom
Sometimes I wish I could be appreciated more for the mom that I am
Sometimes I wish I liked to drink
Sometimes I wish I wasn't so judgmental
Sometimes I wish I wasn't so judgmental on myself
Lots of times I wish the world was just a better place...a kinder place...a lovelier place...a more peaceful place...a place that granted more wishes...

Mommies, Moms, Mamas, Mums...

Love this video published originally by Elevation Church, called A New Perspective for Moms ...It shows how HARD us moms are on ourselves. We may not be perfect (who is?!) but we do lots of things right, and even when we do mess up, I think there is so much love there, that it kind of balances things out...

I pray that EVERY mom giving it their all knows how important their role is, in this little thing called life <3 p="">

Do you know me? I’m ADHD.

Do you know me? I’m ADHD. Technically, I think I’m ADD.

     I used to be one of those people that thought ADHD was WAY over diagnosed. And it might be a little these days, but I am here to testify first-hand, it’s real. It goes along with every other disease, diagnoses, and issue that people have, unless you have it or deal with it on a personal level…you don’t get it.

I have a son that is ADHD to the fullest, and sweet Jesus, my patience has been poked, prodded, and tested to the extremes over the years.

ADHD is like a cloud that just stays with me…some days it’s lighter and some days it’s heaver…but it’s always there.

I used to not be open about this, but I have learned SO much from others that share their stories, that I think it’s only fair that I share a little of what I know.  

It is way too huge a subject to cover it all, but the point of this post, is to say that I live with ADD and ADHD every day of my life, it’s real, and it’s real hard.

I am used to being disorganized and forgetful and I am used to having my mind wander even though I have threatened it not to. I remember as a little girl in school, LONG before I knew what ADD was or that I had ADD, I remember giving myself pep talks before a lesson, “Ok, Katy, you are going to listen to the teacher. To every word she says, you will listen. You will NOT think about other things. You will not day dream. Focus, Katy, focus.”   And I can tell you that 9 times out of 10 the teacher would call on me and I would have NO clue what she had been talking about. I felt like a fool all the time. However, I was very well behaved, and the teachers still liked me. I also was smart and desired good grades, so if that meant going back over the lesson on my own later so I could stay caught up, then I did it. I just never understood WHY I couldn’t control my mind, why I couldn’t be more disciplined. Then, I got older and I found out I was ADD.  

Please don’t think that ADHD people are lazy or that they don’t care. Please don’t think that when they ask you to repeat yourself, they are not purposefully trying to be rude by not paying close enough attention. I am not hyper but my son is. Please don’t think that when you have asked them to sit still and they absolutely cannot resist movement, that they are trying to be difficult.

Fast forward several years, I now have a son with ADHD. I got my first inkling that he had it when a teacher told me, “When we sit on the carpet he just can’t sit still. He sits on his little hands and shudders trying not to move, but he just can’t hold it in.”  I don’t imagine anyone will ever feel what I felt in that moment. The helplessness I felt as a parent was and is overwhelming.

 I could go on and on and on about individual stories and situations with him, but it’s too much. Let’s just say that the decision to medicate your child is far from easy. It’s painful, It’s heart breaking. It’s a lot to think you need to give your child a pill each morning just for them to be “normal.” It’s not a choice you make and then move on from, it’s a battle that takes place every single morning when I open the medicine cabinet.

Getting the diagnosis, gives you a starting point, it gives you an understanding of “why”, but it still doesn’t “fix” your issues.

 I couldn’t tell you the number of times I have felt judged for making the choice to give him medicine and I couldn’t tell you the number of tears that have fallen over the struggle of it all…because both of those add up to far more than I could ever keep track of. I do wish that some of you would become more informed about ADHD/ADD, and if you don’t want to become more informed, then I wish you would at least become less judgmental. If you are a teacher, or in the education field, it is your JOB to be informed.  I hate to be so blunt, but quite frankly I have dealt with some true idiots at the schools. That being said, I have also dealt with some really caring individuals. No matter what, a parent is always their child’s best advocate. Parents, fight for what is right for your child. Never let anyone make you or your child feel stupid, unimportant, or little.

And how about trying to take care of an ADHD child, being an ADD parent? Complicated, trying, stressful, exhausting, overwhelming…the list goes on.

When I started school I decided to give medicine a try for my own ADD. Not an easy thing to put out there, but this is me. The verdict? Night and day. NIGHT AND DAY. My medicine was a low dose, and before without meds, I was so so scatter brained and forgetful no matter how much I despised being that way (although I have learned to cope with ADD over the years and am much more self-disciplined than I was years ago), but with the medicine…Wow. It was like “to do “ lists just popped up in my head when I tried the medicine…things that had been forgotten or put off…there, neatly organized on a list in my head. I describe my brain as being a system of cubbies…things are taken into my mind and according to their “subject” should go into a certain cubby. Before meds, it was like nothing ever made it into the right place, it was all just tossed on the floor into a big pile and when I needed something I just had to start digging. But, with the medicine, everything went into place, and was right where it should be when I needed it. The difference was huge. If you are ADD as an adult, and you are struggling, and have never tried medication for it, it’s worth it. I’m here to let you know that.

My best advice is to have a good support system. The school, the doctors, family, friends, etc. You don’t have to tell the world, but you have to have people you can trust and talk to about it. You have to have people you believe are on your side and are fighting for you (or your child). I know that I completely quit sharing with those that I felt were being judgmental about the issues we were dealing with. But, you just have to keep pushing forward until you find a solid place where you feel like “Ok, this person is going to be helpful, I can trust them.” And obviously, pray pray pray. God knows all about the struggle, He hears you, He gets you…He can help you handle it. Read…books, the internet, there is information everywhere. Get informed, you can’t battle for yourself or your child if you don’t have the knowledge.

And…if you are in a situation where you know someone who struggles with this, be a help, or get out of the way. Please don’t be a hindrance, please don’t add to the war that’s already raging in someone else’s life. Pray for them, become informed for them, encourage them.

When I am having a most terrible day, I find comfort in the fact that God has designed each and every one of us, according to His plan…not ours. I find comfort in the fact that even though living with ADHD/ADD isn’t easy, there is a reason for it. He didn’t design me or my children to sit uniformly in a classroom, all the same, all the time. We each have characteristics and talents and dreams that line up OH SO PERFECTLY with God’s most amazing plan for us. Praise God that even in these storms, even in these trials, He has it all worked out, down to the very last detail…even if one of those details is ADHD. J

Because we all know kids are funny, especially mine :)

Let’s face it, kids are funny. Our own kids are even funnier. I love the way they talk, reason, and their honesty…though those things can sometimes get them into big trouble. This post is a little different than most of mine, but it felt like a fun thing to do, so here are a few funny moments from this past week…THIS IS MY LIFE and It's awesome!

Conversation between Izzy and I , while we were taking turns thinking of things and letting the other one guess what we were thinking about…

Izzy: Here’s a clue mom, it’s on your face

Me: Oh, ok…ummm, nose? Eyes? Mouth? Skin? Freckles?

Izzy: Nope! (at this point she leans in really close examining my face) Here’s another clue….it appears you have recently shaved yours off, but I still see a couple of hairs

Me: A mustache? Are you saying I have a mustache?

Izzy: Yes, that’s it!

(Insert me feeling really NOT good about myself here)

Blake was sitting naked at the dinner table (no judgment here, people…you have no idea how LITTLE I need judgment) and said a word that wasn’t very nice. It’s starts with an “F” and I don’t use it, but apparently someone does. I’m not huge on spankings but I felt like he needed a good swat on his bare bottom. After I swatted him I went back to cooking dinner and he started bawling (of course). He came right up to me and you could tell he was forcing himself to hold his hands down by his side. Then he cried out in between the pouring tears, “ Mooooooom, I just want to hit you so bad right now.” I became overwhelmed with his cuteness and the way he just seemed so mature by using honesty and self-restraint…and so uncontrollable laughter may or may not have ensued….

Most mature mom moment right there, folks!

Funny moment from dinner a few nights ago:

 I made taco soup and cornbread for dinner. I gave Izzy a cornbread muffin, she took a couple bites and said, "these cupcakes are awful! They need icing!"
I'm laughing uncontrollably and said, "It's cornbread, not a cupcake, crazy kid!"
She replies, "It still needs icing..."

Really, who can blame the girl? What isn’t better with icing???

I was laying Blake down at bedtime and after we said our prayers I was about to get up and go finish doing other things, when he said so softly, “Mom, Jesus wants you to rub my back.”

Really? Who could not then lay there for an hour rubbing that sweet boy’s back??

The thing about this is SINCE THAT MOMENT, Everything Blake wants, he says Jesus wants. “No, Blake, you can’t have any candy.” “But Jesus said YES I can have candy, Mama!”  This type of thing now happens all day, every day.

Just this morning the hubs gave Blake a cinnamon roll to try and told him it had lemon in it. After taking a bite, Blake says, “I weally weally like the women, Dad!”  Obviously he thought “lemon” was “women”…to his benefit, they do rhyme ;)

I have noticed through all these funny little moments in life, that they happen less often as they grow up. It kind of makes me said knowing that these situation are happening less with Izzy and pretty much never with Andrew and Joseph. Well, not the “F” word one, it doesn’t make me sad when they don’t say that. J  So, for good measure I thought I would add one of my favorite “oldie but goodie” moments…

When Andrew was probably 8 or 9, we were driving along in the car and I kept noticing Andrew looking under his arms. He would check one out, then the other…one out , then the other…back and forth. I finally said, “Son! What on earth are you doing?” His response? “I’m looking for puberty, Mom!!”

Honestly, that one STILL cracks me up after all these years, one of my funniest Mom memories! I’m drawing a blank on Joseph moments right now, but out of all of them, he has probably been the most entertaining kid, ever…but Blake is definitely giving him a run for his money. Annnnnd since I don’t have a funny moment written down with Jojo beans, I will include a picture of him from our beach trip summer before last. We were all tired of driving and stopped to fuel up. I go in to pay and come back out and this is was is standing there waiting for me:

I really wish I would have written down more of what the now older ones said when they were younger.

Ah well, life moves forward. Happy Thursday, people…Friday is so close I can smell it!!!

Worry, anxiety, and God's power to take care of it all!

Worry. I used to never be much of a worrier. I’m not sure why I have turned into more of a worrier than I used to be. I find it ironic because my relationship with Christ is stronger than ever, and He calls us NOT to worry. Why, then, do I worry? Why do I grow so anxious?

Matthew 6:25-34

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?  "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

He says “Do not worry about tomorrow.” I believe all the worry we have is about “tomorrow” or “later” or “what’s coming next.” We worry about money and bills and health and weight and about the rising cost of EVERYTHING and about our children and our jobs (or lack of a job) and about our parents and about our siblings and about having the right shoes for the right outfit and about our friendships and about car trouble and about people we don’t even know and about our country and even about God’s will for our lives, and…and…and. So many of us are just worriers. So many of us filled to the brim with anxiety.

So I ask myself, “If I truly believe in God’s plan for me, why am I spending one second of my life on worry?” Also, when has worry EVER been beneficial? When has it ever helped us? When has worry ever solved a problem?

Not once. Not once is it EVER conducive for our lives.

God reminds us that He even makes sure a bird has food, and wants to know, then, how can we ever doubt that He won’t care for us? When we worry, we are in fear that it won’t turn out right…but with God for us, that isn't even a possibility. Granted, it may not turn out the way we desire, but it will turn out according to God’s plan for us. And God has our best interest at heart every. single. time.

Sometimes when I am in the midst of a worry-fest, I talk myself down. “
OK, Katy, the worst thing that could happen is that we could go completely broke. If we go broke, we won’t be able to buy any food. We will starve to death. But then, when we die, we will be together with Jesus and all will be well.” OR “Ok, Katy, if someone kidnaps you and tortures you and kills you, it will hurt, it will be painful, but then you will be with Jesus.”

Now I know some of you think I just went off into the deep end, but hey, whatever helps me (or you) not to worry, then work it out! J God never promised that we won’t ever have trials or suffering, but you can BANK ON IT when He has said He will care for us. There is ZERO need to worry. It is what it is, and God will FOREVER remain on the throne. I have decided that I need a sign hung up in my house that says, “HE REIGNS.” That way I have a constant reminder that nothing on earth can ever dethrone my God, nothing can ever make Him stop caring for me, nothing can get in between He and I.

Although I have “talked myself down” from worry too many times to count, in my rational state, I know that the best weapon against worry is prayer. God gives us the freedom to call out to Him whenever and wherever and claim His victory over our troubles, our problems, our concerns…our worries. So, I feel the need to do that just now, in case anyone else is a worrier and is having a hard time handing it over to God…

Most Holy Father, I come to you right now and first of all, thank you for our many, many blessings. Thank you that you care about every detail of our lives. Thank you that you never, ever forsake us. Lord, you know we fall so short in our walk with you and you know that we struggle with worry. I ask that you would just remind us of your Holy Word that instructs us not to worry…and we know you don’t give us that word to be bossy but truly for our benefit. You know that worry will do nothing for us, and you want us to walk in that truth. Father, whether it’s our health, our finances, the government, our loved ones, big life decisions needing to be made, or any other fear known to man, give us peace in the TRUTH that you have it all worked out and there is no reason at all to fear or worry. Bless us with a peace only you can give. Remind us daily that you sit on the throne and that you are most capable of holding us in Your Hand. Take away all our worry and replace it with faith in You! We ask this in the most Holy Name of our Savior <3 amen="" o:p="">

May today be 100% worry free for you (and me) and may we just relish in the fact that God has us<3 o:p="">