It's a New Day!

 
This is photo of my parent's farm in Southwest, VA...in the Summer! 

Well, what a GREAT GIFT it is to have FRIENDS! And not just the beautiful blogger Moms that I thank God for everyday, but old friends, and ....my MOM! = ) 

Yesterday was a DOOSY for me in every way! But the blessings of encouragement and reality given by all of these precious friends was AMAZING! AND! KNOWING the prayers that went up for me yesterday....last night I lay down to go to bed and the Spirit of the Lord welled inside of me and all I could speak was...."...I love you, Lord. Thank you."

I wanted to share a message I received yesterday from a dear old friend that I have become reaquainted with in the last few months in this new season of Motherhood. She blessed my SOCKS off with her VISUAL REALITY CHECK...I'm sure many of you will be able to relate and  may it bless you as much as it did me!

"Maybe it isn't ALL about you making your home, kids, blog, etc., into an idol. MAYBE it's that you've made a little "Performance as Mom and Wife" idol and set it up in the corner of the bedroom and you've been so sick that you're hallucinating and you think it's shaking its finger at you and scowling while it snarls, "Bad Cheryl! Bad, bad Cheryl!"


And MAYBE part of the remedy could go like this. You could tell the kids to bring you all the shoes and boots in the house and you could have Caela and Daniel boost you up in bed while Isabella helps Gracie and Liliana to hand you each shoe one by one so you can THROW them at that "Performance" idol until it falls to the floor and SMASHES. And then you can listen to the kids laugh their heads off, yelling, "Go Mommy, go!!" while you take Bill's biggest, heaviest boot in your hands and POUND those broken pieces into smithereens! And then, because you are in the PROCESS of training your kids to help clean up around the house, one of the older girls can go get the broom and dustpan and supervise while Daniel shows the younger girls how to scoop up all the broken pieces and dust and throw them in the trash. Where they BELONG!


And then, maybe you can remember that you've been SICK, and ALL moms get sick sometimes, and the house and the routine falls apart, and cash has to be spent on takeout or McDonald's, but it's not the end of the world, IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT, and God isn't mad at you. Not even for eating the chocolate (although He'd prefer you didn't do that next time).


'Cause, you see, I have one of those "Performance as Mom and Wife" idols hanging around my house, too, and I know very well how nasty and out-of-control it can get when I'm not looking and something unexpected happens. I also know that the horrible things this idol says to you are NOT TRUE and NOT FROM GOD.


So. To review. Repeat after me: "I've been sick. It's not my fault. The house is a mess. That's okay. I've been sick. We had to spend extra money. We'll survive. I've been sick. It's not my fault. God is NOT mad at me. Jesus loves me. My kids love me. Bill loves me. It's gonna be okay."


And while it's true that we're nothing without Jesus, our Jesus is not an unforgiving taskmaster. That's the voice of that nasty Performance idol talking. Don't let it back in the house, okay?!!"

LOVE IT!!! = ) 

Thank you, ladies, and 

MOM, 

for being such a blessing to me yesterday and "Speaking Truth...one to another" as our dear Lord Jesus commands us to do. = ) Nothing like TRUTH to bring us out of the whirlwind of self pity and anxiety, ey? 

May the peace of God dwell in you RICHLY this day!