Seasons

When was the last time you held a baby only hours old? I was blessed with the opportunity just this last week as I was able to be with my sister and brother-in-law for the birth of their new baby. Having four of my own children and having been with my sister for the birth of both her children, the awesomeness of these events just becomes more breathtaking each time. It doesn’t diminish in any way...I am only left in awe of God’s creation and His love.

I don’t know if this is true for every mother but for me it was most difficult to go from one baby to two. With the first one there was time to sleep when they slept, time to sit and enjoy feeding them and rock them to sleep. With baby number one you thought you knew what exhaustion was but now with number two you really get to find out. You are awake all day with your older child counting down the hours until naptime where you are praying that the new baby will be sleeping so that you can catch a few minutes of rest. You are awake all night with that precious new baby who hasn’t yet figured out that nighttime is for sleeping. There are dishes and laundry piling up and a bathroom that…well…maybe we shouldn’t even go there.

My point is that I was there and when I was there I would think about all those books that I used to have time to read. All those books that told me to have a quiet time every morning, study my bible, pray, to be a good wife and mom. AHHHHHH………… It just all made me wanna cry or scream or do both. I remember telling my husband once, “you know what would be nice, is if a women who actually has babies could tell me how to fit all this in.” It wasn’t that all these other women had never had babies because they did, they too had been where I was, but when you are in the forest all you see are the trees.

I look back on those days and what I did was cope and adjust. My mornings were no longer quiet they were feeding babies, crying babies, changing diapers and wondering if I was going to get to shower and if I did would I have to skip washing my hair or shaving my legs. There was no way I was getting up earlier than my kids because I was exhausted and lucky if I got 3 hours of sleep in a row.

Oswald Chambers said, “Never make a principle out of your experiences, let God be as original with other people as He is with you.” And that is what I did… I let God be original with me. I took the principles that I had learned; that it is important to spend time with God in quiet, study my Bible and pray and well…I had to get creative. When I nursed I would read, give the other children a book or have them watch a short video. Occasionally, they would lose interest and loving that mommy was preoccupied do something like play in the toilet. I also started writing scripture on index cards and putting them everywhere in my house or in my pockets. I was then able to memorize and meditate on scripture while doing dishes, showering, or putting on makeup. Laundry time became my designated prayer time. I could fold and pray and eventually that just flowed over into everything I did, I prayed all the time. And as far as quiet time goes… I took it when I could get it everyday was different.

photo found here

My reason for sharing this is because life has many seasons, babies is just one of them and the important thing is that we do come to Jesus, that we learn about Him, that our faith grows and that our relationship with Him strengthens in each of those seasons. The principles of spending time in quiet with God, reading His word and praying aren’t going to change but our methods of how we do them may change. And you know… that’s okay. It took me awhile to get that. I was putting myself under a law that I had created, not God. Beating myself up for not doing things the way I thought they should be done. I was making the method the principle.

I watch my sister, I listen to her tell me about her struggles but I know she will make it out all right to the other side of the forest. It is just that sometimes those trees are redwoods; we are exhausted and the thought of there being another side is at times inconceivable.

I want to encourage you this week to let God be original with you. Get creative if you are struggling to get time with God. This blog is to encourage moms, you have access to seven moms for sure...in addition to anyone else reading. If you could use some help getting creative, share your struggle in the comments and ask for some creative solutions. You are not alone, let other moms come alongside you to encourage and help you in your journey to a better relationship with Christ.

" Therefore encourage one another and build each other up..."

1 Thessalonians 5:11

How Do You Do It?

“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


Have you ever had someone say to you, “I just don’t know how you do it”? When that happens to me I wonder if they are seeing the same thing I am. What are they talking about? I am stumbling and learning my way through this thing called life just like every other mom. No matter how organized I am it doesn’t change that my kids are still little individual human beings with their own ideas of how things should go and that idea usually conflicts with mine. No matter how much sleep I get they still exhaust me. I cry with my kids, laugh with them, yell at them and when they have forgotten whom they are talking to, they occasionally yell at me.

As a mom there are days where I can feel so weary and burdened, my load feels too heavy. I know I am not the only one that has mornings where I wake-up knowing what the day has in store for me and wishes I could hide under the covers. But mom doesn’t get to call in sick so I roll out of bed, put my big girl panties on and ready myself for the day. On days like that, I am praying for God’s help before I lift my head off the pillow.

The truth is I am not some extra special woman that has the ability to do things that others can’t. But there is, inside of me, someone who is extra special and that is Jesus. He deserves all the credit for anything that I do that gets an “I don’t know how you do it.” All I do is draw on His strength because in my own I am a mess of weakness that just wants to stay hidden under the covers.

In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus is telling us how to ‘do it’ whatever ‘it’ maybe. He tells us to take up his yoke. In order for me to take up His yoke, it means I am going to have to set aside my own. Picture with me two oxen separately yoked and ready to pull their own loads. I don’t know much about yoking oxen together but it seems to me that it would be rather difficult to have two separate yokes on, connected to two separate loads. So in order to take His yoke upon me, which we also learned in this verse, is easy with a light burden, I am going to have to set aside my own load. I don’t know about you but my load can be very heavy so I am all for a lighter burden.

So what happens to my load? Does it just sit there collecting dust as I forget all about it? That’s very unlikely, burdens have a way of reminding you they are there, especially the little ones that walk and talk and pull on the back of your shirt when they need something. And before anyone gets their panties in a bunch that I just called their child a burden, a burden does not mean a nuisance or a pest, it is simply a load that you carry, a difficult load. I would say that children fall into that category, a blessing, yet a load, and at times, difficult. Now look at what Jesus tells us in this verse once we have taken His yoke upon us. He says to learn all about me. As we learn all about Jesus we are going to learn better how to deal with our load or burden and realize that we are not alone in dealing with it. We have the super power of all super powers yoked up with us ready to help.

Jesus loves you more than you can even fathom. He is on your side. He is doing more than cheering you on…He is with you putting his muscle into it. He will walk with you through your mess, sometimes He will carry you, He will hug you, but mostly He will love you. He is strong and mighty. There is no one I would rather be yoked up with.

I encourage you this week to take some time to learn about Jesus. What is He teaching you about Himself? Is it how much He loves you, His patience, His understanding, His devotion, His forgiveness? Whatever it is, take the time to yoke up with Him and learn all about Him.

by Courtney


Click on this link for Tenth Avenue North, By Your Side http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J95rAr0gOFU

Get a Little Closet Time

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.”

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