God Supplies Your Needs {Like Trips to Spain?}

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Philippians 4

We had packed our bags, left our home in the care of friends, and boarded a plane to Spain.

{I know, right? Spain! You like this story already.}

After months of prayer and planning we were taking a much-needed break from ministry to attend a Leadership Development Course in southern Spain. It would be six weeks of prayer and input and people ministering to us.

It would also be six weeks of afternoon siestas by the pool and weekends free to hop on busses that would take us up windy roads so we could explore little villages to our hearts content.

 Missions Break in Spain

Our decade in ministry had left us a little weary – not burnt-out – but weary.

We needed to replenish our souls, our spirits, and our bodies.

Right about now you might be thinking: Must be nice to be able to afford trips like that. Maybe I should get into ministry too.

But hang on, let me fill you in on a secret: my husband and I don’t have a salary. In fact, our support-based income is far less than we made in our early twenties before we took up vocational ministry.

We don’t have a ton of cash flow. We certainly don’t have beefed up bank accounts.

What we do have is a Great Big God who provides for our needs.

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

If you’re like me you’ve read that verse a million times. Yeah, yeah, you think to yourself, God provides.

We know it in theory, but when the rubber hits the road we sometimes forget that it’s truth. {Yes, I said “we” – I’m including myself here.}

How many times have you looked at your bank balance and your expenses and wondered how in the world it was all going to work out?

But you see, he doesn’t provide for us according to our own bank balances. He provides for us according to his.

And there’s more.

He provides for all of our needs, not just the ones we deem necessary.

Needs. Yes, that includes things like feeding our children and paying our electricity bills. But he knows we have other needs too.

Maybe we don’t always have needs like going to Spain {believe me, I’ve tried to convince him that we neeeeed to go again}, but we do have needs that are beyond toothpaste and toilet paper.

Sometimes our need takes the form of a good conversation, a note from a friend, a beautiful cup of coffee, or taking the kids out for ice cream. It might be an unexpected sleep-in when you were desperately tired or a three-day weekend just when you thought you might lose your mind.

Maybe your need is simply to have time with that precious book he gave you.

Whatever our needs are, God provides for them.

He. makes. a. way.

And he does it out of his {inconceivable, immeasurable, unending, beyond awesome} riches.

At times our needs look different to what we think or expect, but always-always-always they are backed and funded by him.

Dear friends, how has God met your needs recently? Is there a need you’re bringing before him right now that you’d like prayer for?

Adriel Sig

Adriel Booker

Adriel Booker is a writer, speaker, and difference-maker living Down Under with her love (and two littles) where they serve in full-time ministry and full-time parenting together. She writes at The Mommyhood Memos, where she's passionate about encouraging and empowering women.

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Broken. . .for the Better

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Broken for the Better

A few weeks ago our Kellen, who just turned 2, broke his arm. He was at a birthday party with his daddy. His brother and I were at a different birthday party. He was playing on a tree house-looking thing poised and ready to go down the slide. His daddy was at the end, ready and waiting to catch him. {you know how we parents are – ready and willing to catch our babies}. But Kellen changed his mind and ran to the steps instead {you know how our babies do, they change their mind and run to a place where we can’t always catch them}. And just like that, he jumped off the other side and my husband couldn’t get there in time to catch him. He crushed his right arm much like when you crush a coke can {these are the words of the doctor, not me}.

My husband texted me and said – “call when you are on your way home please.” So I did, and he said – “where are you? Maybe you should meet me at the emergency room.” So began my breakdown and let’s just say, we now know who has to be the parent in moments like these.

Praise God! It was just simply a broken arm. I mean, it stinks. The pain for him, the next 6 weeks of not being able to use his arm, but people – this is JUST a broken bone, and we could handle that. It made me pause though and think about the horror some parents have to go through – the scary moments of life that are reality for some.

Kellen did just fine! He looked like Bob Dole for a few weeks because he couldn’t be in a cast so he was in a sling and a wrap, but his cuteness was magnified 100X and I am sure I took way too many pictures.

The doctor told us last week that his recovery is finished. 6 weeks in a sling and after seeing a few pictures on the screen he says the new bone Kellen has growing is strong and healthy and maybe even stronger than the bone he had before this accident.

Broken. And now growing. Maybe even stronger for it.

Ahhhh, that’s the gospel right there in a nutshell.

Friends, we are ALL so very broken. In a million different ways. And this life – the world around us – the wear and tear of walking in a place that is just simply not our home – makes us all beaten, battered, and no matter what – BROKEN.

Bad choices, bad luck. . .whatever it is the slingshot of life has thrown at you has probably hit you in the face, more than a time or two. . .

So that’s the bad news, but here, HERE is the good news – this is NOT meant to feel like home. I am certain many of us have seen, heard, or read that at some point. We probably have it tucked away in our hearts for the hard days. We need to bring it back out. Tattoo it on our arms. Paint a pretty picture that outlines that truth and hang it in the most prominent place in our homes. Then tell ourselces, every.single.day. Life is only for the living and we are often stronger because of our broken places.

I think Hemmingway had it half right when he said in A Farewell to Arms – “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong in the broken places.” He went on to say, “But those that it will not break, it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.”

I don’t agree with the second part of this. . .I believe that people are stronger in the broken places. Christ makes those broken places part of your story, your journey, your gold – if you will. Without Christ, those broken places may be stronger, but they are calloused.

Don’t allow your heart to be calloused. The Creator has big plans to turn your brokenness into HIS glory. And if you allow him – pushing quickly past pride, heartache, and the rejection of this world – he will shine a light through the cracks of our heart to show the world who HE is and what He can do.

Of one thing I am certain, there IS a God. I couldn’t go through carrying two baby boys into this world without knowing that He is here as sure as I live and breathe. And this I know to be true – HE has never stopped loving you and me. And sometimes, like parenting, love looks a little more like discipline or even sometimes pain. That is because this part of life is truly the backside of our canvas. Someday, we will see other side and just how beautifully the twists and turns of our journey have made for an incredibly beautiful portrait that only HE can paint.

And one more thing, since I am on my preaching soapbox today. . .how about we all {especially us mothers} cut each other some slack? A little less judgment of each other’s broken places or the speck in someone else’s eye {please know, I am talking to myself here, too}. We all have those things and no one needs to point them out or call them wrong – not even in the name of Jesus. As we have seen, He can stand up for himself. We just need to follow Him. Period.

The ruins he makes beautiful. The broken, he heals. Stronger. Better. Than. Before.

How is he making your broken places stronger during this season?

Jess Sig

{Photo Credit}

Jess Chambers

Jess Chambers juggles the best of both worlds on a daily basis … a family she adores and a job she loves (well, most days). Wife to Aaron and mom to two amazing, energetic little boys – Brody Rayf (3 ½) and Kellen Rhys (1), she aims daily to make the chaos look classy.

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Longing for Heaven After Loss, Heartache, and Grief

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Longing for heaven after loss, heartache, and grief.

Last month I joined that horrible, beautiful, painful, holy club – the one with membership not decided by the members themselves. The one spoken of in hushed tones and with downward glances. The one filled with women who never wanted “in” to begin with.

I joined the mothers-who’ve-lost-babies club just days after Easter when we lost our little girl to miscarriage.

I’m still navigating the waves of grief, and to be honest, most days I don’t find a huge amount of comfort that my baby is safe in heaven… without me. That knowledge gives me hope—absolutely—but doesn’t always make me feel better. In the words of my husband, “I don’t want her there. I want her here with us.”

My feet are firmly planted here on earth… and most of the time heaven feels so, so far away. (Obviously we’re still grappling with this stuff.)

About two weeks ago at the end of an “easy” day (i.e. no huge meltdowns or massive mood swings) I was thinking about how my life had felt normal for most of the day. I was still missing her, but I felt good, even a tiny bit strong. I climbed into bed happy and settled and reflective in a sweet, sentimental way. (I continue to think of her constantly.)

But as soon as the lights went out I grew restless and fidgety.

I wanted to cry, and grieve, and connect with the sadness that lingered in the most tender part of my heart. (I struggle to describe this, because often the urge to connect with the sadness also comes with a simultaneous urge to run away and hide from all of it, as if it might disappear if ignored long enough.)

After tossing and turning for a while I got back out of bed and took a long, hot shower while I poured my heart out to God and let the water wash over and sooth my weary soul. I want to share part of what I wrote in my journal later that night:

I think of Moses’ mother – carrying her baby boy and fearing for his life when it was threatened. Because of her love she handed him over to be cared for by another.

She handed him over.

And once she did so he had the world at his fingertips. Her little babe had the highest education, the best of the best for everything he ate, wore, and came into contact with. He was protected and safe – every tangible need being met. He was in a place where he would never know lack. (A place that sounds a bit like heaven, perhaps?)

And yet how must she have felt? Knowing he had all the riches of the world surely didn’t make it easier to know that he was being raised by another.

She was his mother.

Did her arms feel empty? Did she grieve the future they would never have together? Did she feel like her life was turned up side down as she was forced to let go and move on?

Surely she did. Surely.

Maybe she began to long for a place where she’d see him once more. Maybe heaven became more real in those hours and days and months as she grieved her loss and grappled to find her new normal.

I can only imagine that her longing for heaven was at least as intense as what I feel in this moment.

I’m not sure if I’ve really known longing for heaven before my darkest day.

But the truth that we’re aliens in this land has never been more real to me. All of a sudden it feels like the fact that my home is not here has been written in neon lights above my doorstep.

Never before have I longed to be there more than I do now.

And I don’t know about you, friends – if you’ve lost babies or sisters or fathers or aunties. But nothing brings heaven into sharper focus than being faced with death on earth.

Nothing makes the longing for heaven more real than heartache and loss and grief.

Whether you’re a believer or not, grieving is hard. But I’ll tell you one thing I know for certain — grieving with hope is far better than grieving with hopelessness.

And so in my grief and my healing and my longing for heaven, I pray that God would show me what it means to keep pulling heaven down so that we all can be a little more surrounded by what should be and what will be as we wait for that place where everything is made new.

Just as we are a community of mothers seeking Grace, may we also be mothers marked with a longing for heaven and an ability to see it and respond to it and birth it into being right around us in our homes and communities and to the ends of the earth, even when things around us seem to be crumbling.

And in the midst of our longing may we receive comfort from the hope that heaven holds.

“We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)” –Romans 8:24-25

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” -2 Corinthians 4:18

This ground we stand on in the midst of our pain is holy, because there’s more to The Story than we can yet see.

Friends, do you think about heaven much? What is one way you can “bring heaven” into your home this week? How do you cope with the tension between the current reality of our world and the hope of what’s to come?

Adriel Sig

Adriel Booker

Adriel Booker is a writer, speaker, and difference-maker living Down Under with her love (and two littles) where they serve in full-time ministry and full-time parenting together. She writes at The Mommyhood Memos, where she's passionate about encouraging and empowering women.

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Travel Your Path, Find Your Passion

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Path Quote

For me, passions come in seasons and based on what I’m living through. When my children were very young, my passion area was to encourage other young moms in their mothering. When my children got a bit older, my passion was to encourage women to integrate their faith into the whole of their lives. When injustice swept into my life, my passion shifted towards the social injustices of the world and I advocated for international adoption, and clean water and eradicating AIDS.

Now that my difficult Christian marriage has ended, my passion areas have shifted.

I want to reach out to young women on the brink of marriage and if they are seeing red flags, I want to gently encourage them to take some time before saying I do.

I want to reach out to women in difficult Christian marriages and let them know that they are not alone and they don’t have to settle for just getting through, but that help is available.

I want to reach out to Christian women who find themselves divorcing and tell them that there is grace large enough to cover over anything and that this isn’t their final story.

And I want to reach out to pastors and church leaders and help them to see that there’s a better way to minister to women in hurting marriages and that abuse and addiction cannot be treated the same as a couple who just needs to go out on a date.

So this is what I’m doing about it right now:

  • I have a blog where I tackle issues related to difficult marriages, abuse, divorce, and single mothering.
  • I moderate two private groups on Facebook – one for women in difficult marriage, one for women who are divorcing – in an effort to offer encouragement and support.
  • I’ve written a book for women who are divorcing called Unraveling that will be coming out this fall.

I’m kicking around what’s next for me in all this. So much is at stake. My marriage has ended. This has maybe surprisingly made me even more of a proponent for marriage. I know that marriages can be beautiful. I believe that marriages can be saved.  And I also believe that ended marriages do not have to define the woman who is no longer a wife.

This is my passion right now.  I hope it’s my passion for the rest of my life.  Because there are too many women who are hurting and something needs to be done, and something can be done. The huge grace of God can enfold us all, no matter what.

Friends, what circumstances or seasons are defining your passions? What can you do with what you have, right now, to make a difference in the lives of those around you?

“Traveler, there is no path, the path must be forged as you walk.”  Antonio Machado

Elisabeth Sig

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Elisabeth Corcoran

Elisabeth is mom to two teenagers. She is the author of several books including, In Search of Calm: Renewal for a Mother’s Heart and Calm in My Chaos: Encouragement for a Mom’s Weary Soul. Learn more about Elisabeth at www.elisabethcorcoran.com.

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Hone Your Passion and Find Your Purpose

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Hone your passion, find your purpose.

Long before becoming a mother I had a passion for justice, a heart for the poor, and a desire to see the Church infused with identity and purpose and holy ambition. But after becoming a mom I discovered an avenue to hone some of those passions with a bit more purpose and intention.

We were approaching Mothers Day 2011 and my husband was in Papua New Guinea (PNG) on outreach, while I stayed home with our one-year-old son. I was pregnant with our second son, exhausted, overwhelmed, and lonely. While counting down the days until Ryan returned, I felt incredibly sorry for myself that I wouldn’t get breakfast in bed or a cute hand-made card that year.

I was new to the mom gig and in need of as much encouragement and validation as I could get. (Understandable, right?) But somehow in my mind this translated into a sense of entitlement. (Yikes, that’s never a good thing.)

As I poured out my woes to Jesus from the bottom of my well of self-pity, He reminded me of a shocking statistic that I had recently learned:

1 in 7 women in rural Papua New Guinea die in childbirth.

I thought about the women from the areas where Ryan and our team was working and it didn’t take me long to be jolted out of my selfishness. Surely these women weren’t as self-absorbed as me, lamenting that Mothers Day would come and go without fresh flowers on my table and a sparkly clean kitchen.

Instead these women were hoping and praying and crying out to God that they, their sisters, their friends, their daughters, and their babies would survive childbirth.

Purpose is born out of revelation and passion

Out of that season of revelation was born a new passion for maternal health in the developing world. The more I began to understand the needs and opportunities, the more convicted I became that these precious women need a voice.

And why couldn’t I lend mine? I thought.

Through a few little campaigns on my personal blog during the last two Mothers Days, the girls and I have been able to raise thousands of clean birth kits to help the women of rural PNG give birth safely. The birth kits are only part of the solution, but they are a critical part, especially for women like Bokoro – a woman who’s birth I attended during my last trip to PNG. (Would you believe that she gave birth in ankle-deep mud? And that this is not at all uncommon in villages like hers?)

But more than just rallying some clean birth kits, this whole thing amplified a drive within me to not only see the needs of these dear mamas being met, but also to see women around the world find purpose and passion as they reach across borders to help one another.

Now you have to understand, I don’t have a big name blog with a massive following… and I also don’t have “expertise” in this whole area of maternal health. But I didn’t let that stop me. I used what I had at my fingertips and let God carry it forward.

A few rocks can make all the difference

Little shepherd-boy-future-king David did that too. When he faced Goliath all the odds were stacked against him. Yes, he had some experience fighting beasts in the field, but he certainly didn’t have any actual battle experience.

What he did have was a faith in God, a conviction for what needed to be done, and a few little rocks in his pocket.

And that’s exactly what you and I need to ask ourselves – what are the rocks already in our pockets?

For me, some of the rocks in my pocket were my connection with PNG through our family’s work with YWAM, my little blog and some wonderfully faithful and compassionate readers, the unlimited power of social media, and a firm conviction that if a few of us banded together we could make an impact into a specific area of need.

That first year my hope was to rally 300 birth kits by the end of the year. A few days later that goal had been obliterated, and by the end of the month we had collected about 2000 kits.

Last year our figure hovered somewhere close to 10,000.

Since then we’ve taken on a few more projects to address needs of maternal (and infant) health in PNG, and together we’re making a tangible impact on the area.

The best part? All of these initiatives are fuelled by regular women across the globe (connected online!) who are knitted together by our willingness to identify with moms who are less-resourced than we are.

God has a plan for you

I’m telling you this, friends, because you have to understand that God has a way of weaving together our passions and talents and resources in ways that we would have never thought to consider. He helps us find our niche, yes, but in doing so he also wants to help others find theirs and address the needs of the world. He works simultaneously on all of these levels to see his dreams realized.

How do we find it?

I believe we can take some cues from David:

  1. Look in your pocket.
  2. Identify your rocks.
  3. Present them to God with the intention of sharing them with the world.

I know it sounds simple, but that’s the whole point. It is simple. Everything we have has been given to us in order that we might share it with others.

Nothing is wasted in the heart of God. He just doesn’t work that way.

Every experience we’ve had, season we’ve walked through, interest that’s developed, gift that’s been bestowed, personality trait we possess, dream on our heart – it’s all for something.

There’s a lot of need out there, friends. But for every need there is more than enough resource and gift and hope and creativity within the Body of Christ to address it (and then some).

So here’s my challenge to you:

Identify your rocks. Present them to the Lord. Ask Him to show you an opportunity (which is often a need that you can already see around you!). And then try something – lean into God as you step out in faith… and throw those rocks!

Remember David as he set out with a few rocks in his pocket. We all know the end of the story. And it’s good friends. It’s really, really good.

Friends, does your life have purpose and passion or are you in need of fresh perspective in this area? If so, I encourage you to ask yourself today, “what are my rocks? what’s already in my hand?” and then spend some time with the Lord – the author of your story – asking Him which direction you’re meant to throw them.

Adriel Sig

Adriel Booker

Adriel Booker is a writer, speaker, and difference-maker living Down Under with her love (and two littles) where they serve in full-time ministry and full-time parenting together. She writes at The Mommyhood Memos, where she's passionate about encouraging and empowering women.

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Comfort Calling

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Comfort Calling

I often pray for my children to know the will of God for their lives.  Perhaps it is because it is difficult for me to remember a time when I was uncertain as to what I would do in life.  I believe God has placed me on this earth to do many things— be a wife, mother, daughter and friend to name a few.  However, since elementary school there is one calling I have never been able to shake.

On the eve of my fifth birthday my 9 week old brother passed away.  I came down the hall to get a drink of water after a long, fun-filled day and what I saw there forever changed my life.  At the young age of five I found myself deeply feeling and emphasizing with the pain of others around me.  First of my family members and then of others who were suffering that crossed my path.  Specifically, I remembering reaching out to two classmates in elementary school whose mothers passed away.

What I discovered is that I am able to sit and bear witness to people experiencing great pain.  Sometimes, I am even able to encourage them.  My heart’s cry always is that people feel supported and validated in their suffering and somehow find the light awaiting them.  Furthermore, I enjoy helping people make and find meaning in their lives.  When people are facing their darkest hours, I love helping them realize the character and resiliency that emerges in the midst of great trials and tribulations.  Most of all, I think, I love witnessing the resiliency of the human spirit.  My belief in peoples’ need to feel heard and their ability to overcome the direst of circumstance is what spurred me to become a licensed mental health counselor.

The Bible says we are able to comfort those with the comfort we have received from God.  In 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Paul writes, “Blessed be…the God of all mercies who comforts us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”  For me, this verse has become my heartbeat, my passion.  My encouragement for you today is that whatever you are facing, God is ready and able to comfort you, always.  Moreover, at the right time you can comfort others in the way God comforted you on your journey.

What has been of most comfort to you in a time of great need? Who? What? Which scripture has helped you through?

Jenevieve Sig

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Jenevieve Wardell

Jenevieve lives in Charlotte with her husband Randy and two children, Isaac and Hope. She is a licensed mental health counselor who practiced for five years, and now writes for a monthly psychotherapy blog. She is currently a stay-at-home mom who is learning to embrace grace in a whole new way.

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Coming Out of the Dark

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Overcoming Depression

I have a thing about light. I love the light.

The past several years have taken me on a discovery-journey, learning to identify what exactly it is that I am most passionate about. What is my story? What is my life’s message? I actually went through a training/mentoring class that tugged, pulled, pressed and squeezed those things out of me. Come to find out, I really love light. And I hate darkness. Not the darkness of the natural night––no, I’m talking about soul darkness.

I experienced two knock-down, drag-out fights with depression in my past, and those were very dark times for me. I could sense darkness all around me. I couldn’t find the light, even when I searched and clambered for it. I was so desperate to see again––to get out of the haze and the mental chaos––but darkness exhausted all my efforts and I just wanted to curl up and die. The amazing thing was, even though I couldn’t see light emotionally, God helped me resolve to believe it was still there. Even in the darkest night of my soul, God was with me, convincing me that He had never left me. He dropped a flicker of faith into my heart, and that was the spark I needed to get the flame going inside me again.

Through a process over time, God gently led me out of the shadow-places and into an open field of His grace. He set me free from the chokehold of depression that would eventually have killed me!

I experienced God as Light. He IS my light.

Are you tired of the darkness? Do you need more light in your life? Here are the steps God showed me to get there:

1. Silence the negative voices. (Even your own.) Start speaking life, and start surrounding yourself with truth from His Word. Your new best friends are an audio Bible, worship music, uplifting Christian messages/sermons, whatever is pumping the truth of God’s word into your soul.

2. Meditate on the truth. It is one thing to play truth through your earbuds, but it is another thing altogether to grab on to that truth and chew it and digest it. Listen for the words the Holy Spirit will point out to you. Write them down. Repeat them out loud. Burn them in your memory and plant them in your heart.

3. Believe what God tells you. Ask Him how He sees you, what He thinks of you. Don’t shy away from it! Write it down, read it often and choose to believe that you ARE the exact person God says you are. You are NOT darkness. You are light because of what Jesus did for you. You were created to shine, but you might need that little flicker of faith to get your flame going again. Choose to believe!

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1

What is keeping you in the dark?  What is God saying to you?

 Crista Sig

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Crista Ashworth

Crista Ashworth is a thirty-something wife and mom who is passionate about Jesus. She is a newbie homeschooler on top of the other million things she does as a mom. She considers herself a professional laugher, a foodie and a covert operative for the Kingdom. You can also find Crista writing regularly at Destiny in Bloom online magazine and on her personal blog Dishes and Diapers.

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Hillsong United: ZION {Review and Giveaway}

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zion

In my previous life, I was known as “worship girl.” The marketing manager for a very influential worship record label {even before worship was cool}, I was so passionate about music that ushered people into God’s presence.

And then worship got “cool” and everybody was doing it. And it got predictable and formulaic and I moved on. Checked out even. In fact, it’s been a long time since I’ve purchased a worship album.

Throughout my worship “hiatus” I continued to have a great respect for what the talented folks over at Hillsong have brought to the church. I could bet if we were singing it on Sunday morning and I liked it, it was Hillsong. It’s all just.so.good!

Although I wasn’t waiting with baited breath for a new worship album, I was thrilled to hear it when Hillsong United announced the release of Zion. In true United fashion, this album is passionate and progressive. An eclectic mix of sounds and voices, Zion is a beautiful journey of worship from beginning to end.

My favorite tracks include Up In Arms {track 2} and Oceans {track 4}, sung by Taya Smith – a new but incredible addition to the United team. Her voice is beautifully haunting. It’s so easy to follow her vocal journey as she lingers through the bridge of the song. . .

“Spirit lead me when my trust is without borders. Let me walk upon the waters wherever you would call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander and my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Savior.”

There are many other highlights on this record but I’ll let you decide favorites for yourself. Check it out here online or head to the itunes store to download right now!

Our friends over at Sparrow/Hillsong have blessed us with a copy of Hillsong United’s ZION to give away today!! Enter below!

We haven’t talked about worship much on the blog before. But this is an area where the Lord is bringing about rebirth in my life so I am hoping to share more about it in the future. We hope you’ll help start the conversation by sharing with us your favorite place to worship. Is it at church? In the car? In your living room?

Jessica Sig
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Jessica Wolstenholm

Jessica Wolstenholm is co-founder of Grace for Moms. She is passionate about writing words of grace for moms and moms-to-be. Co-author of The Pregnancy Companion book, she also blogs about TTC, infertility & pregnancy at ThePregnancyCompanion.com

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What My 5 Year Old Taught Me About Easter

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What My 5 Year Old Taught Me About Easter

As a kid, Easter usually meant a new dress for church, and maybe just maybe, an Easter egg hunt with candy. Childhood traditions become childhood memories, until you become a parent.  Then suddenly you find yourself faced with the decision to create theses traditions for your children.  What do you want it to look like?  What does the holiday mean and how will you teach them it’s meaning?  How do cultural norms influence our traditions?

I’m sure many of you have already defined what Easter will look like for your family.  Last year, instead of baskets full of stuff that I end up throwing away, I gave each of my kids a surprise.  It was something that each of them wanted, but wasn’t expecting.  Just as Mary and Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and were surprised that the tomb was empty, my little preschoolers were met Easter morning with a surprise.  It was the perfect way to begin celebrating His resurrection with my preschoolers.

This year feels different.  I found myself collecting little surprises here and there (some of which they need anyway). Then Boothe’s post reminded me of how giving a basket of goodies is a picture of God’s overflowing love for us.  I had decided that a basket of little surprises would be a great way to demonstrate the meaning of Easter to my kids.

I went shopping the other night and found a few things to finish off our Easter baskets.  I got home and arranged the contents of each kid’s basket and was pleased with my efforts.  The next morning, we were continuing our discussion of Holy Week. Then my daughter, Savannah says, “I have a good idea, we should take candy to all of our neighbors.”   She explained that Easter was all about God’s love and that we should share it with our neighbors.  Suddenly I found myself being schooled by my 5 year old. Here I’ve been focusing on clothes and gifts for my own kids, and my daughter is only thinking about how we can show our neighbors that God loves them.

I decided that this was a learning opportunity for us all.  I could have left it as just a good idea, but then we would have forgotten it.  So we loaded up and headed to the store.  They each chose two bags of candy.  I purchased some spring treat bags, and then we made distributing the candy into the bags a great sorting activity.  Savannah wanted to also include a card with each one.  So we began making and decorating cards for each one. I explained that I would print out the wording that we could glue to each card, but that it would be her words.  This is what she wanted it to say-

You are the best! Happy Easter!

Love, Savannah, Caleb, and Daniel

HE IS RISEN!

The treat bags are assembled and the cards are almost done.  Before we head out to our Good Friday service, the kids and I will be going door to door, passing out treat bags.  It will probably seem odd to most of our neighbors, but the message it will communicate to my kids will be priceless.

At first I questioned the choice of words “You are the best!” for people that we don’t really know, but then I realized that those words are what Jesus really wants each of us to hear, even if it comes from a 5 year old stranger. Today we all need to be reminded that, “You are the best!” It is the reason why God sent His only son to die for us.  

What do Easter celebrations look like in your home?  How do you teach your kids about the meaning of Easter?  What traditions do you have that you love?

K-Signature

Kristy Chowning

Kristy Chowning is a mom of three little miracles. She is co-founder of Grace for Moms, a homemaker, and a 'retired' nurse practitioner.

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Filed Under: Faith, Family, Holiday, Motherhood Tagged With: , , , ,

The Gospel According to People Magazine

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People mag

People magazine is like white-flour for the female imagination. We certainly don’t neeeeed it, but a little bit doesn’t hurt and it tastes oh so good going down.

Last week, I was nearing the end of one such brain pastry when I stumbled upon a review of the book Lucky Me by Sachi Parker, daughter of actress, Shirley Mclaine. The book’s title replies to the often asked question by adoring fans, “Gosh, don’t you feel so lucky to be Shirley Mclaine’s daughter?”, to which Sachi replies, “I am lucky. I am here. And I survived“. Her memoir reveals a devastated relationship between mother and daughter not to mention some of the embarrassingly eccentric details of Mclaine’s personal life. I kept my feet under the infrared heat lamp long after my toenails had dried because I was so struck by the audacity of a woman who dared to print the family secrets of one of America’s most beloved film stars.

A few days later, I came across a New York Times article, by Jacob Bernstein, son of the late film director Nora Ephron. His words revealed the mysterious essence of the exclusive bond between mother and son as he poetically depicted her life, her talent, and her death with such thoughtful tenderness. If my life ever merited a remembrance article in the Times, I would hope someone would cast my story in such a beautiful light.

While it might be fun to chat about the lives of these two high-profile families over a pedicure, the polar depictions of Shirley’s life and Nora’s death have suddenly exposed a less presentable part of my own human nature. It pains me to admit that I can be so critical of other people’s lives today rather than dwelling on who they are in light of eternity. The dirty details of other people’s addictions and affairs qualify as entertainment in the salons, in the cafes, and in the check-out lines while a person’s unique character and legacy is more often complimented in retrospect. Why is that?

Jesus, Himself was the victim of this human propensity. The riotous crowds hurled murderous insults at Him before He endured the cross, and after his death they confessed, “Surely He was the King of the Jews.” And yet, He sacrificed Himself to renovate the twisted parts of my broken humanity that take pleasure in highlighting the faults and failures of others because it somehow helps me to forget about my own. Jesus was fully aware of my tabloid tendencies even before People magazine wreaked of acetone.

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy reading about what Kate wore to have tea with the queen as much as the next person. But if my sweet tooth for a juicy scoop trumps having more grace for people today, then that is all the more reason to confess my need for a Savior this Easter.

How about you? Has anything made you more aware of your need for grace this Holy Week?

Salina

Salina Beasley

Salina Beasley lives in Atlanta, Ga with her husband and two children. She is a blogger, runner, interior design lover, and an advocate for her son with Autism. Her deepest passion is for singing/songwriting and worship leading alongside her husband, Clark. You can follow Salina's blog on marriage, parenting, and artful homemaking at ladylullabuy.wordpress.com.

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