Ordinary days made holy

On any given workday, this is my life in a nutshell:

12am - baby wakes, feed baby
3am - baby wakes, feed baby
5:30am - wake up, get ready for work, feed baby
6:15am - leave for work
6:30am - get on bus, read today's Bible verses from the #shereadstruth YouVersion plan, pray (or sleep. Or surf Facebook/Twitter)
7:15am - arrive at work, eat breakfast while checking emails
8:30am - pump, then back to work
12:00pm - pump, eat lunch, back to work
3:00pm - pump ( that's a dangerous word to misspell!) :)
3:45pm - leave work, catch my bus, take a nap or read on the way home
4:30pm - pick up J, have a snack while doing dishes and catching up on his day
5:00pm - Nana drops off S, attempt to entertain both while making dinner. (Or decide on takeout and play until Daddy gets home.) :) Feed baby when he gets cranky.
6:15pm - Hubby gets home, eat dinner, clean up
7:00pm - play outside/wrestle time/etc
7:30pm - bath time
8:00pm - feed baby, tuck kids in
8:30pm - put J back in bed (repeat a few times usually...)
9:00pm - get ready for tomorrow, watch tv, talk to the Hubby, or crash on the recliner
10:30pm - crawl into bed

This ordinary life, it's exhausting. There is very little "me" time or couple time. There is little time for housework or hobbies or seeing friends and family. And some days I'm just beat. Other days I remember to look with God's eyes on the important work and worship that is happening here. It is not easy. But Christ makes it worth it, makes me worthy, redeems the ordinary and makes it holy.

These days are meaningful because of Christ. Going to work is not just for the sake of gaining money, power, or success - it is to serve Christ, to love my coworkers and my family. Making dinner and feeding my baby are not just for survival, but to serve Christ, to nourish the bodies He gave us, to enjoy each other's company. The more I recognize Him in the menial, everyday things, the more my heart sees him, the more alive I become.

I've been mulling over Romans 12:1-3 from the Message translation:

"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him." (emphasis mine)

I have a question for you, friends -- do you struggle to see your everyday tasks as worship? How can we consciously offer our ordinary days to God?

Peace...

One year later

It's been a busy, out-of-breath, sore arms, loud house, full heart kind of year. I've been weak, sick, tired, stressed out, but God has given me strength, joy, hope and encouragement.

Samuel James was born on October 19, 2012 - little brother to Josiah (almost 4), the wiggliest baby ever, a lover and a fighter. He was born in an intensely beautiful natural waterbirth, and I will forever be grateful for how peacefully he entered this world. The labor nurse and midwife agreed it was the calmest birth they'd witnessed - all praise to God for that one! He gave me such strength, rest, and peace, and all I learned from birthing Sam stays with me as I continue this labor of motherhood.

Life lessons from labor:

1. God's peace and calm lessen the sting of pain - stress and worry only heightens it
2. Rest when you can! Us mommies never know how much we'll sleep on any given night, or when baby will wake up from a nap. Enjoy those times of rest to the fullest - even if it's just a breath between a contraction. :)
3. Meditate on God's Word - soak it in through prayer, music, reading, talking about it - it is our bread, our sustenance.
4. When in doubt, turn on some calming music and take a bath! Getting in that birthing tub right before transition was so relaxing - and us mamas need to just take some time out every once in awhile. :)

Family photos from Memorial Day 2012:

Hopefully I'll be back more often in the year to come - I look forward to sharing more of what God is doing in my life and in my family!

Peace...

Preparing my Heart

My mind races, constantly coming back to thoughts of how to prepare for our baby. So many things to consider: the boys' room arrangement, baby supplies, daycare options, Christmas shopping, preparing meals, activities for J while I'm recovering, and so much more. My to-do list grows and grows as the day we will meet S nears.

My thoughts betray me: I tend to be a Martha. I'm rushing around trying to do it all, and yet maybe I just need to sit at Jesus' feet and be a Mary. The tasks will be accomplished in due time, but if I don't take the time now to prepare my heart to mother two sweet boys, when will I?

My mind betrays my sin, my pride, my lack of trust that God will provide. To accomplish something, to get things done - is that really my goal? Really my heart just longs to be ready, to be a godly mother, to love ad enjoy my family. My real life is hidden in Christ, not hidden in tasks. So my preparation for baby must focus on Christ, not just on tasks. And as I focus on Him, the tasks will be done with greater joy, for His honor.

Loving Father, thank you for this discipline, for how You're training my heart. Take me, mold me, prepare me, expand my capacity to love. As I learn to live the real life You've given me, equip me for every good work. Help me to set aside the selfishness, the desire to control, and rely on Your strength, patience, and provision. Thank you for the incredible gifts my boys are, and for how You use them to grow me. Thank you for the example of Your sacrificial love, for showing me how to lay down my life and take up my cross. And thank you that this hard love is always worth it - You're always worth it.