Raising Shepherds: Hands Full of Good Things!

I was just reading an article about the calling of motherhood, and wanted to share part of it here...

Hands Full of Good Things

"When my little girl told me, “Your hands are full!” I was so thankful that she already knew what my answer would be. It was the same one that I always gave: “Yes they are—full of good things!”

Live the gospel in the things that no one sees. Sacrifice for your children in places that only they will know about. Put their value ahead of yours. Grow them up in the clean air of gospel living. Your testimony to the gospel in the little details of your life is more valuable to them than you can imagine. If you tell them the gospel, but live to yourself, they will never believe it. Give your life for theirs every day, joyfully. Lay down pettiness. Lay down fussiness. Lay down resentment about the dishes, about the laundry, about how no one knows how hard you work.

Stop clinging to yourself and cling to the cross. There is more joy and more life and more laughter on the other side of death than you can possibly carry alone."

The part I liked the most about this section of the article was about growing them up in the clean air of gospel living. It was so encouraging to me because I often feel that we're raising our sweet babies in a dirty, germ infested, dangerous, chemicals in the air and in our food and in our house cleaning supplies and even in our soaps and shampoos kind of world... and that feels almost hopeless and pretty overwhelming to me in my tough moments. How will I shield them from hard times, from all the potential cancer causing things in this world, how can I keep them safe?.... So this idea that there is reprieve, there is clean and fresh air in Christ. He is where we must live in order to truly have Life.

I know we can't be protected from the other things that are in this world, but I can live today knowing that I'm enjoying these 4 sweet kids that God gave me, and He's filled my hands and my heart with good things in Teda, Dane, Jett, and Deklan! God doesn't promise that we will always be safe, and that we won't endure hard times. In fact, He tells me that we will have hard times. But the key to getting through them with grace and even learning something in the process is clinging to Him. To seek Him first and His Kingdom... so that's just what I am going to do my best to do.

This is what I read today in my Jesus Calling devotional (I'm loving it!)...
"You are on the path of My choosing. There is no randomness about your life. Here and Now comprise the coordinates of your daily life. Most people let their moments slip through their fingers, half-lived. They avoid the present by worrying about the future or longing for a better time and place. They forget that they are creatures who are subject to the limitations of time and space. They forget their Creator, who walks with them only in the present.

Every moment is alive with My glorius Presence, to those whose hearts are intimately connected with Mine. As you give yourself more and more to a life of constant communion with Me, you will find that you simply have no time for worry. Thus, you are freed to let My Spirit direct your steps, enabling you to walk along the path of peace."

This was so encouraging to me! I actually woke up this morning thinking about why do we live in Arizona, how did we all end up here and not somewhere like Paris or something? Then my next thought was that God placed us here, and we're supposed to be here. So imagine how awesome it was to read this and be reminded that yes, God has placed us here for a reason. Not just here in Arizona, but all of our circumstances are not just an accident. They have been planned since the beginning of time. It's just a really incredible thought, almost too much for me! I'm grateful though, and I want to live in the moment- so that I can experience His Presence. And when I do that, I can enjoy things like a few of these pictures I took that to me are the definition of what I just wrote about.

I'm also going to try my hand at taking a picture a day for the month of May. I found a cute idea for what kinds of pictures to take each day from fatmumslim.com, and I plan to follow it.
Here's what each day will be:

Today's picture is Peace.

Dallas and Jett are truly living in the moment. They ran across a huge grassy field to get here, and they immediately picked up rocks to throw them into the other rocks... then they climbed a little and rolled down a grassy hill. Living like this is how to experience Jesus' Presence. No worries about tomorrow, no thinking about yesterday, just enjoying the "now". I love this picture!

Dane has been enjoying a sweet bird's nest that is on our fence. The mama bird just sits quietly on her egg, protecting it. She even let Dane get this close, and looked unafraid. That's love right there!