Mothering | Grace Full Mama

Put On Your Oxygen Mask First!

August 10, 2012 By Joy

I am thrilled to have my dear friend, Clare from Peak 313, guest posting today! She shares some wisdom from her heart, and I know you will love her as much as I do! Here is a picture of the two of us at the Relevant conference {now Allume} last year.

Here is Clare:

I was flying Friday to Savannah and heard the same spiel that every flight attendant/plane recording says…

“In the event of a decompression, an oxygen mask will automatically appear in front of you….. If you are traveling with a child or someone who requires assistance, secure your mask on first, and then assist the other person.”

Watch the video as I talk about what I want to encourage you with, today!

Clare and her husband and 2 children live in Northeast Ohio. She has her bachelor’s degree in business management and left a promising career to be a stay-at-home mom to her children. She is a certified fitness instructor and teaches pilates and group fitness classes at her church and local university. Clare’s passion (outside of raising and nurturing her children and home) is motivating women of all ages and stages of life to live well physically, emotionally and spiritually. Visit her at Peak313!

Filed Under: mothering, sisterhood

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The Eternal Spring

August 8, 2012 By Joy

And let me not lay my pipe too short of the fountain, never touching the eternal spring, never drawing down water from above. Valley of Vision

I am the Vine you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. John 15:5

The Source for our lives will make all the difference in how our lives are lived day to day. It’s true, we can succeed and even do well for days, weeks, even years on our own muster. But to truly be successful? To keep on enduring without burning out? To keep on loving when there is not love left to give? That takes drawing eternal water from the Eternal Source. I mentioned that I wanted to make this a summer of one thing. And this is why.

As mamas we don’t want to give our children a cheap imitation of Christ’s love, we want to give them the real thing. We want them to see Jesus in and through us each and every day. We can only do this when we spend time with Him, allow Him to love on us, allow Him to heal our hurts, forgive our sins. We need to drink from that beautiful Living Water {His Word}, drink in His grace, His love, His light, in order that we may continue to serve and love our families.

Join me today at The Better Mom for the rest!

Thanks for visiting! I invite you to subscribe to Grace Full Mama here.

Filed Under: God's word, guest posts, mothering

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Cultivating A Home Of Peace

August 1, 2012 By Joy

As a mama to 5, 4 of them rambunctious boys, a home of peace always seemed like a funny joke. I assumed a home of peace meant we listened to instrumental music all the time, everyone spoke in soothing, quiet voices, and nary an unkind word was spoken. How disappointed I was to realize my reality would never match up with my ideal. I was wishing for the equivalent of an English tea room, when reality was more along the lines of a county fair. My aha moment came when I realized that peace has more to do with where my focus lies than what my circumstances look like.

Peace in the home begins and ends in my own heart.

Join me today at Mom Heart as I share what I’ve learned about cultivating peace in my heart. See you there!

Filed Under: mothering

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Using Words To Love {Guest Post}

July 30, 2012 By Joy

*Today’s post is written by my sweet friend, Megan. I am always challenged and inspired to know God and His Word more whenever I read her words. I hope you enjoy her writing as much as I do!*

Half of the year has passed, and I’m still striving to pursue love. A love that stretches beyond myself, beyond my own capabilities. Loving with a love that is deeper than my own, “…to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge…” Ephesians 3:19, and then extend it to others.

A very practical way to love others is through my use of words. This is an area that the Lord is teaching me and refining me in right now (and I am definitely still “in progress”). Why, when, and how to use my words…and how my tone is just as important as my choice of words.

As a parent, this is certainly an area of testing, isn’t it? Our words easily fly out of our mouth without being checked at the door. Our tone and volume can escalate in the blink of an eye. And this can occur right after singing praises or praying to God. Why is this? As James so aptly states, “…from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way” (3:10).

I don’t want my speech to be marred by ugliness. I want it to be life-giving and refreshing and encouraging. “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” Proverbs 16:24.

I want my words to be fitting to the situation and the hearer, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.“ Ephesians 4:29. I confess, I am very familiar with this verse, but to my shame, often times my speech does not reflect my familiarity with it. This ought not to be! And I am not fooled into thinking that I’m the only one who struggles with taming my tongue; I am not alone in this battle, “If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well…but no one can tame the tongue.” James 3:2,8.

So, what ought I to do? How can I speak words of life, joy, peace, and love in my day-to-day life? How can I be better prepared for the times when I am unaware that the temptation to speak otherwise is just one slip of the tongue away? How might my hearers (most often, my husband and children) be recipients of grace through my words? By spending plenty of time with the Word – Jesus! He is the perfect, life-giving, and most holy speaker that ever was or will be! I can learn from Him. I can sit as His feet and allow Him to teach me how to use words purposefully and appropriately, carefully and gracefully. As well as, looking to Him for the discernment to know when it is prudent and beneficial to simply remain silent. I can drench myself in His Word so deeply that, as Sinclair Ferguson describes, “I cannot speak with any other accent.” “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you” so that “with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Colossians 3:16.

What a wonder it would be for the heart of my hearers to relate to my words in the same way that the Psalmist described God’s Word, “How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” Psalm 119:103. May their response be this way because, and only because, my words are adorned withGod’s own words and it leaves them with the lingering fragrance of His grace and a longing for more of Him. And all this for the glory of my King!

His Word changes my words, because His Word changes my heart. O Lord, help me to love You and others by using my words according to Your purpose and for Your glory.

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14.

*Thank you Megan!*

Here is just a little about dear Megan:

Megan is just a normal girl with an amazing God. She is passionate about God’s Word and seeks to live her life in such a way that causes her name to fade into the background while Jesus’ Name is magnified and lifted high. She also enjoys fresh flowers, rainbow sprinkles, and spending time with her family. She blogs at The Kirkwoods.

Filed Under: God's word, mothering

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Refresh

July 23, 2012 By Joy

At the beginning of this year, I wrote this post thinking over what I wanted to focus on for this year. As I am re-evaluating at the “half-way” mark, I thought I would repost it to remind myself of my goals.

Our family just returned from an amazing family vacation that involved a lot of swimming, eating, and reading.

The Lord knew exactly what I needed to fill my soul…quiet time alone with Him, lots of fun family time, and lots of books. I have come back with a tan, a full heart, and I feel refreshed for the New Year.

I soaked up Sally’s thoughts in her book, Dancing with My Father, and it touched deep into my soul. She talked about cultivating joy through a deep relationship with the Father, “Joy is established in the secret places of our heart, where we receive the love of our King and love Him back.“

So, at the risk of sounding narcissistic {my name is Joy, ya know}, my year is going to be about pursuing joy, true joy, in His presence. “In Your presence there is fullness of joy.” Psalm 16:11

And, as an overflow of that, this is a full picture of my hopes for this year…..

I want to…..

Cultivate and Reflect Joy

Create A Life-Giving Home

Be Here and Now

Fill My Soul With Truth, Beauty, and Goodness

Live in Grace

Make Home a Sanctuary

Rest, Enjoy, Quiet

Create a Haven

Pursue Simplicity

Savor the Moments of My Life

Embrace Serving

Worship

Enjoy Stillness

Find the Glorious in the Mundane

Perhaps these things don’t sound very radical, very world-changing, very big and flashy {especially for a missionary!}…. they aren’t.

But I strongly believe these are the things that will radically change the world.

“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.“ John 15:5

Care to join me?

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Linking up: Women Living Well , Time Warp Wife, and GraceLaced

Filed Under: contentment, God's word, mothering

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The Freedom To Be Us

July 9, 2012 By Joy

Comparison. Measuring up. Cookie cutters. Not good enough.

In my early years of my mothering, I spent a lot of time comparing myself as a mother to other women I knew, or women I read about in books I read. We would eat at a family’s home and I would come back thinking, “We need to have all of our children play the violin just like their children.”

Then we would spend some time with another family, and I would think, “Oh my, if I want to raise great children, I need to get them some goats, chickens, and maybe a cow.”

And yet another family, “See how great those kids are at soccer? My kids need to play soccer!”

And pretty soon, without even knowing it, I had this huge backpack on my back of all the “shoulds” that I had taken on from many different families. Instead of looking at how God has uniquely created my family, I was looking at the gifts, callings, and abilities of others and thinking we needed to look like them.

And then….I decided to take it off and embrace the kind of family God made US to be.

Who are we? Come join me at Mom Heart today to find out….and I want to hear about what makes YOUR family unique!!

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Filed Under: guest posts, mothering

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Need a Little Time?

July 5, 2012 By Joy

I have heard from you. Many of you want to be radical by getting in the Word and spending time in prayer. You want to make this a summer of One Thing. The question is: How do I find time? I know it can be hard to find time in your day to brush your teeth, let alone soak up His Word. So, here is just one idea. It may work for you, and it may not. It is just something that is working really well for us right now!

As soon as my friend, Beth, pinned this idea from Traci at Beneath My Heart, I knew I had to give it a try. She had this great idea of setting up stations for your kids to rotate through {separately} to give you a little breathing room. Go here to read her awesome post!

We have nicknamed it, Rotation Station Day here, and the kids beg for it!

Here is how we set it up at our house:

Station 1: TV {kids pick a DVD to watch for 30 minutes}:

Station 2: Crafting or Playing Quietly {Legos, Drawing, Games, any crafts}:

Station 3: Music {piano for Hannah, guitar for Britton, Hudson listens to music and the twins dance around to their favorite VBS songs!}:

Station 4: Listen to a book on the iPod {here Britton is listening to The Call of the Wild}:

And this is what I do: an extended time in the Word and prayer. Ahhhh. Really refreshing. {And, yes, I have to let other things go in order to preserve this time as a time of refreshment.}

We have done this twice a week for two weeks now. I set the timer for 30 minutes and then spend a few minutes helping everyone get settled in their new station.

Also, in the afternoon, while the twins rest, the older kids also rotate through reading, computer time, and writing.

I hope this helps and encourages you to come up with an idea that works for you! What ideas or thoughts do you have to share?

Thanks for visiting! I invite you to subscribe to Grace Full Mama here:

Filed Under: God's word, mothering

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Need Some Summer Party Ideas?

May 15, 2012 By Joy

It is just about that time, friends! School is almost over and the summer is ready to begin! What bett

er way to make the transition than with a fun party?! Yet, we are all busy moms and there isn’t a lot of time or energy to put into planning something special. If you are anything like me, I have the best of intentions, but I often get overwhelmed by the planning and organizing of a fun memory.

Come join me at The Better Mom for some fun and simple party ideas!

Filed Under: guest posts, mothering

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Ideas for Mothers and Daughters

May 9, 2012 By Joy

Connecting with my daughter isn’t hard. She is a sweet, fun-loving girl that shares a common love to read with me. The hard part about spending quality time with her is planning ahead and finding special things we can do together. And, since she has 4 brothers, a little girl time is always welcome! Here are some ways that we have found to connect…maybe they will inspire you!

Join me at Roo Mag for simple, doable ideas for mothers and daughters and share your ideas too!

Filed Under: guest posts, mothering

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Spinning

April 18, 2012 By Joy

“The children who actually end up performing better are those who understand that their relationship with God doesn’t depend on their performance for Jesus but on Jesus’s performance for them.” -Tullian Tchividjian

For many years, although I knew the gospel story in my head, it wasn’t a reality in my day. As a first-born pastor’s kid of a large church, I spent most of my growing up years sick with anxiety and guilt over not being good enough in some area of my life. In my mind, there was some magical measuring stick that I was jumping up trying to reach, and I was never making it. I was searching for the elusive thing that would make me “good enough” and trying to keep all of those plates spinning, or at least keep everyone thinking they were spinning.

But inside that is what I was doing, spinning.

It wasn’t until I truly understood this verse that I was able to embrace the true message of the Gospel: “For it is by grace you have been saved and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8-9

And, now I want to pass that radical acceptance on to my precious children. I want to stop the cycle of spinning. What about you? Do you want your children to obey one more list of rules? One more box to check on their list of “good enough”? Or, do you want to lead your children into the most amazing grace they have ever experienced? Do you want them to taste the fruit of true acceptance and help them to know exactly where they stand?

Here are some ways I thought of to do just that:

1. Let your failings lead you and your kids to the Cross. Be honest with your kids when you fail. Don’t hide it. Admit it, and show them that you are a recipient of amazing grace just the same as them.

2. Preach it to yourself first. Do you believe that you are enough because He is enough? Have you let it sink down into your bones? Do you really understand how vile of a sinner you are and how MUCH the Savior did for you?

3. Tell them the Story. The Gospel story is the one thing that your children should hear again and again. Start and end the day with it. Let it always be on your tongue. Find some time today to get alone with yourself and your Bible. Read these words, and let them sink into your soul.

Let HIS words spill over into your parenting today.

How do you communicate the gospel to your kids?

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Photos are taken by my wonderful hubby, Dave. Top photo is Hannah and bottom photo is me during a fun family night with glow-sticks.

Linking up with: Women Living Well