Hi my name is Courtney. I am a stay at home, home schooling mom of four absolutely wonderful children; Alexis, Boston, Xavier and Quincie. I am going on 13 years of marriage to my high school sweetheart, Josh, whom I love dearly. I enjoy spending time with my family, reading, studying God’s Word and baking. Jesus Christ is my strength and peace. I love that He has called me to be a wife and a mother. He stretches me daily as I learn to better serve Him instead of me.
“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11: 28-30
Pull my hair out…that was the day I had; all mom’s are familiar with “those” days. My routine was all messed up. The kids were all excited because daddy was home when they woke up. We had to drop him off at work that morning because he was going out of town for a few days. We wanted to eat breakfast together and hang out a bit before he took off. In all this extra morning craziness I made a crucial mistake and the worst part about this mistake was I knew I was making it, it was not the first time I had made it. I had skipped my morning closet time.
I do this thing every morning where I close myself in the closet; my kids know to leave me alone. When I get up in the morning I start talking with God, I meditate on my memory verses but my closet time is something more. It is quiet; I relax, empty out the junk and ask God to fill me up with what I need for my day. I know I need His strength to get through my day. I need His wisdom, His discernment, His patience, His smile and so much more.
That night when I was putting the kids to bed I just had this sad feeling. My day had been one where you just feel on edge all day. The kind where you are hanging out on a precipice and the tiniest bump or rub could push you over. A whole day I spent like that because I neglected the most important 15 minutes of my day.
God has called me to be transparent; what you see is what you get. I am far from perfect, but I am a woman who loves God with all my heart soul, mind and strength. I am better today than I was yesterday and plan to continue on that journey until God takes me home. I love more than anything being a wife and mom. But, man, is it hard. I need God’s help. And even when I think ‘I got this’ well, it always turns out that I am wrong. There isn’t a day or a moment that goes by that I don’t need God.
God has given me encouragers, beautiful people that lift me up and cheer me on in different ways. That’s what this blog is meant to be…an encouragement. So mom to mom, and as a daughter of the most high God, I come to you to tell you that God loves you. He adores you, delights in you, He is fighting for you and He is and will always be your friend. He longs for you to invite Him to spend the day with you. He wants to be there to give you strength when you just want to lock yourself in the bathroom and hide from your kids, the laundry, dinner or when you feel like you are about to bubble over with anger and frustration. He wants to whisper in your ear and tell you it will all be okay. He wants to be there to laugh with you and cheer you up. There is so much He wants to do and be for you, if you will let Him. But most of all He just wants to love you.
The most important thing we can do for our families and ourselves is to invite God to spend the day with us. Open the lines of communication with Him first thing in the morning. He is there waiting for us. He hasn’t gone anywhere but most of the time we have. We are already thinking of our schedules, what are kids are doing that day, wondering why it is so hard for our husband to put their dirty clothes in the basket, remembering that we have no milk. Our brains our going crazy and we haven’t rolled out of bed yet. So in that craziness, pause, take a time out for God, empty the clutter in your head and heart, and invite God to join you in your craziness. He wants to.
Click on this link for a great song by Jamie Smith called Come Unto Me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR9CMbaWyAo
Pull my hair out…that was the day I had; all mom’s are familiar with “those” days. My routine was all messed up. The kids were all excited because daddy was home when they woke up. We had to drop him off at work that morning because he was going out of town for a few days. We wanted to eat breakfast together and hang out a bit before he took off. In all this extra morning craziness I made a crucial mistake and the worst part about this mistake was I knew I was making it, it was not the first time I had made it. I had skipped my morning closet time.
I do this thing every morning where I close myself in the closet; my kids know to leave me alone. When I get up in the morning I start talking with God, I meditate on my memory verses but my closet time is something more. It is quiet; I relax, empty out the junk and ask God to fill me up with what I need for my day. I know I need His strength to get through my day. I need His wisdom, His discernment, His patience, His smile and so much more.
That night when I was putting the kids to bed I just had this sad feeling. My day had been one where you just feel on edge all day. The kind where you are hanging out on a precipice and the tiniest bump or rub could push you over. A whole day I spent like that because I neglected the most important 15 minutes of my day.
God has called me to be transparent; what you see is what you get. I am far from perfect, but I am a woman who loves God with all my heart soul, mind and strength. I am better today than I was yesterday and plan to continue on that journey until God takes me home. I love more than anything being a wife and mom. But, man, is it hard. I need God’s help. And even when I think ‘I got this’ well, it always turns out that I am wrong. There isn’t a day or a moment that goes by that I don’t need God.
God has given me encouragers, beautiful people that lift me up and cheer me on in different ways. That’s what this blog is meant to be…an encouragement. So mom to mom, and as a daughter of the most high God, I come to you to tell you that God loves you. He adores you, delights in you, He is fighting for you and He is and will always be your friend. He longs for you to invite Him to spend the day with you. He wants to be there to give you strength when you just want to lock yourself in the bathroom and hide from your kids, the laundry, dinner or when you feel like you are about to bubble over with anger and frustration. He wants to whisper in your ear and tell you it will all be okay. He wants to be there to laugh with you and cheer you up. There is so much He wants to do and be for you, if you will let Him. But most of all He just wants to love you.The most important thing we can do for our families and ourselves is to invite God to spend the day with us. Open the lines of communication with Him first thing in the morning. He is there waiting for us. He hasn’t gone anywhere but most of the time we have. We are already thinking of our schedules, what are kids are doing that day, wondering why it is so hard for our husband to put their dirty clothes in the basket, remembering that we have no milk. Our brains our going crazy and we haven’t rolled out of bed yet. So in that craziness, pause, take a time out for God, empty the clutter in your head and heart, and invite God to join you in your craziness. He wants to.
Click on this link for a great song by Jamie Smith called Come Unto Me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR9CMbaWyAo
Beautifully said Courtney! So encouraging and such a great reminder of who we will become if we just can put Him first in our day. Such a simple step that leads to great rewards. So convicting too... knowing I have struggled with forgoing the most important for things that will fall apart if I don't seek His face first!
ReplyDeleteI am so encouraged by this, Courtney! I often lay in bed thinking about getting up early but then lie still. And I've had a few too many days in the last week or so where I've been edgy with my kids...thanks for putting things into perspective!
ReplyDeleteThank you for that reminder... Since having my little guy I have neglected my precious morning quiet time... I miss it.. so I appreciate the reminder of how important it is and how it changes our days, thanks girl!
ReplyDeleteCourtney, this was so timely for me. Wednesday was one of "those days." I love your phrase "invite God to join you in the craziness." Amen to that! :)
ReplyDelete