Instagram Writings

Instagram Posts:

I like remembering things that the Lord has put on my heart as well as keeping little moments on here to look back on. I've heard people say that Instagram ate their blogs and it's true! So much quicker and easier to post there. But, this I'll have longer and it's a place my kids can peek back into many years down the road so I'm saving some little moments here too.

The biggest thing that the Lord is teaching me each day towards motherhood has been in this verse: "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." (1 Peter 4:8) I feel the Lord whisper this to me every time one of my children pushes back, has an attitude, is shut down, or is struggling in their behavior. I am to love them, bless them, pray for them and over them and give the same amount of grace and forgiveness that the Lord has given to me. I heard a mom share about her tween's behavior and how she felt frustrated until the Lord reminded her that that was her opportunity to get on her knees for her child. Wouldn't that be so life-giving to have someone on their knees for you in your moments of struggling instead of getting upset with you? Such a beautiful perspective that really changed my heart as a mama. Love covers so much. ❤️

I've heard it said that mothers are the guardians of the hearts of their children. "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." -Proverbs 4:23 (NLT)
Until they are able to guard their own hearts, mothers are to stand guard and protect what flows in and out of them. God has given us such a huge responsibility with these precious and tender hearts. I have to fix my eyes daily on Jesus. Lately I've even had to start praying out loud and reading scripture out loud just to center my busy mind to be still enough to focus on the Lord. I'm easily distracted so I have to be intentional with my time with the Lord. As we guard the hearts of our children, they will fight against it, but our strength and our resolve comes from the One whose supply never runs out. Mothers are doing kingdom work day in and day out. "Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." -Galatians 6:9 (NKJV)
Don't lose heart, sweet mamas.

Don't be discouraged with where you are right now. On this side of life, we are all on a journey. Sometimes it feels too heavy to bear and other times it feels so adventurous that ours hearts might burst! But we're all walking this road of life. We will never arrive at perfection until that blessed day that we will be standing face to face with Jesus. Can you even imagine that moment?! The Lord has us each living our OWN story that is not to be compared with another's. Nothing is wasted. I'm learning that all the time. He redeems all that seems lost if you just trust Him in your process. Surrendering your life into the arms of Jesus is the safest and most life-giving and life-transforming thing you could ever do. Truly. When I was little, my dad was a pastor of a little church called, Church of the Redeemer. That was like a prophetic word over my life from the start. No one is too far. Nothing is too lost when it's the Heavenly Father that is looking. "For the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost." (Luke 19:10) Be encouraged, friends, that no matter where you are, the Lord sees you and He loves the snot outta you! 😘

Be faithful in the small things, in the small years, in the daily steps that may seem so teeny tiny and insignificant. Be faithful in the small whispers of prayer, in the small books you read aloud to little hearts listening, in the small acts of kindness and patience you offer to a tired little one (or grown one!). The little things, in hindsight, turn into to the big things that you'll treasure for years to come. The little handprints on every window and mirror or the crayon marks in the hallways or the Cheerios in the couch cushions or the dinosaurs in the bathtub or the mystery meat you find under the car seat 🤔 or the toilet paper rolls undone all over the bathroom floor...  these are all small things that tell the stories that prove we have lived and survived through one of the most cherished, fleeting and precious seasons of life that we could possibly be apart of. Motherhood is hard but in the most beautiful of ways. We learn more about ourselves and this world from the teeniest of ones. What a blessed gift it is to raise a life! Every bedtime prayer, every dish you wash, every diaper you change, every-everything  that you do is building "HOME" for a little life that won't stay little for long. And there's no place like home. Kingdom work, mamas. Faithful in the small things is truly faithfulness to the big things!

A good marriage doesn't come easy. A strong relationship with the Lord doesn't come easy. A healthy body doesn't come easy. Raising children doesn't come easy. To do all these things it takes being disciplined and being intentional. Building a beautiful legacy for your children and your children's children takes being intentional with your life - owning your life. Not being a victim to your life but finding victory IN your life and passing down that hope to others. It's not living in the excuse that you aren't naturally disciplined but rising above that and believing for something bigger! I am not naturally disciplined but I'm choosing to become one every day. Each day you have the choice to step into your life and take steps towards something greater. You can let life happen or you can make life happen. If your goal is a good marriage, then every day step into it and own your part in it. Forgive, bless, encourage, kiss, throw on something sesssy and own it! #fourkidslater  If your goal is getting healthy, than every day step into it and start making that happen. Go on a walk,  drink more water, cut out sugar,  eat your veggies, use your oils. Abs don't happen overnight. If your goal is strengthening your faith, then every day step into that. Pray, read your Bible, listen to worship. You MAKE TIME for what you think is important in life. Write it down and go for it! What seems impossible to us is possible with the Lord! Believe that he can do something amazing with your life! Cuz #YOLO

"Mothers should cultivate their souls so that in turn they may cultivate the souls of their children." (Billy Graham)

Your day-to-day rhythms and habits are building memories and images in your children's minds that will stick with them in their hearts for a lifetime, whether you are being intentional or not. The smell of your mom, her laugh, her cry, her voice, all those little things are stuck in your memories, and now, in the same way, are being built in your children of you.  It's so valuable to take the time to feed your soul.  It's not selfish to be a godly mother.  It's not selfish to be a strong and healthy mother.  It's not selfish to be a mother that steps into the giftings and talents that God has given her.  God has made each of us unique and put parts of Himself into our very being. It's not selfish to use the gifts that God is given us to bring glory back to Him and to stir and inspire the hearts of our children. You are passing down strength to your children when they see their mama run towards her calling. If their mama can do it, then so can they!  Filling our souls brings glory and honor back to the One who created us. It's showing that we recognize we are made by a creative God, full of imagination. Let's not waste what God has given us and let's fill our souls so that we can pour so much more back into our children and into our families and to those around us. Even Jesus got alone to seek the face of His Father. When I skip my time with the Lord in the morning or skip my workout or give too much without putting goodness and truth in me, it shows up in a bad way. Find what feeds your soul and then go do it! Read a great book, paint, sing, dance, drink your coffee while it's still hot, laugh, write, take a bubble bath, run to Target by yourself, blast some good tunes when the kids are restless, pray with a godly friend. Whatever feeds your soul, do it and enjoy it guilt-free because the more you are filled, the more you can pour out. And you know those babies need their mamas!