"Business as usual"

I love when you go to church and the pastor is talking about something that makes you really think hard about where your life is headed. On Easter Sunday, the pastor of the church I went to talked about "business as usual". This applies to a lot of people and it is crazy. What it means is when you go to church and tell God "I am going to change, I am going to read the bible every day and I am going to give up all my bad habits" and then Monday comes around and you continue on with business as usual. You go back to your busy, hectic life and forget all about the bible in the corner with dust on it's cover.

I find myself doing that a lot. I am trying though to make changes in myself little by little. It is hard. When you make a decision to change something about yourself, the devil is right in your face and trying his best to break you down. I fight with the devil constantly. When I am awaken by my nine month old in the middle of the night and I have no comprehension of what is actual and what isn't, the devil is right there to try and run my patience thin. I have to sit and look at myself and say "Hey, this beautiful baby boy is only trying to tell me something, breathe and cuddle with him, even if it means I will be flopped over on my desk at work tomorrow." Then you say to the devil - Hit the road jack, I won't run out of patience now or anywhere in the near future.

We actually just talked about how the devil constantly tries to break you down in my Thursdsay night group. Once you accept Christ into your life as your Savior, the devil is on you like flies on food. He pesters you and pesters you trying to get you to cave into his way of life. My sister had a good analogy. In order to keep your self from going back to "business as usual" you have to indulge yourself into the Living Word every single minute of the day. If you were to go without food for three days, would you be hungry? That's how it is if you go three days or four without indulging in the Word. Your hungry and weak and a good target for the devil.

Thank you Lord for coming to my rescue every single day. I would be lost without your unconditional love. I thank you for every blessing that you rain down on me and ask you for your continued love and security. Please protect my baby boy from all harm and danger and everyone else. I love you, in Jesus name, Amen.

Life's Little Instructions

Here's something I like to read every once in a while to remind myself to be nice on crabby days:

Life’s little Instructions
Sing in the Shower
Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated
Watch a sunrise at least once a year
Leave the toilet seat in the down position
Never refuse homemade brownies
Strive for excellence, not perfection
Plant a tree on your birthday
Learn three clean jokes
Return borrowed vehicles with the gas tank full
Compliment three people every day
Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them
Leave everything a little better than you found it
Keep it simple
Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures
Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know
Floss your teeth
Ask for a raise when you feel you’ve earned it
Be forgiving of yourself and others
Over tip a breakfast waitress
Say “thank you” and “please” a lot
Avoid negative people
Buy whatever kids are selling on card tables in their front yards
Wear polished shoes
Remember other people’s birthdays
Commit yourself to constant improvement
Carry jumper cables in your trunk
Have a firm handshake
Send lots of Valentine cards, Sign them “someone thinks your terrific”
Look people in the eye
Be the first to say “Hello”
Use the good silver
Return all things you borrow
Make new friends but cherish the old ones
Keep secrets
Sing in a choir
Plant flowers every spring
Have a dog
Always accept an outstretched hand
Stop blaming others, Take responsibility for every area of your life
Wave at kids on school buses
Be there when people need you
Feed a stranger’s expired parking meter
Don’t expect life to be fair
Never underestimate the power of love
Live your life as an exclamation, not an explanation
Don’t be afraid to say “I made a mistake”
Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know”
Compliment even small improvements
Keep your promises (no matter what)
Marry only for love
Rekindle old friendships
Count your blessings
Call your mother

By: H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Enlightened

I was just reading my sisters blog and she was also talking about her son. I know this may be a duh to some people but I just thought about something and it makes a lot of sense to me now. I was given this wonderful child who I would do anything for. I love him more than I can imagine. That is the way God feels about me. Wow. The love I have for my child is unconditional and I haven't ever really experienced that. Besides the love I share with my immediate family. It's a little different with your own child. Imagine how many children God has unconditional love for...

Busy Little Bumble Bee

My little angel is such a busy bee. He wants to touch everything he sees. The waxed floor, ooh, Gotta have it. The wood on the back of the couch, ooh, gotta have it. The newspaper, ooh, gotta have it. I have been so exhausted lately I am surprised I have not fallen on my face yet from being so tired. I don't know if this is exactly what I was expecting when I was pregnant but I am enjoying every bit of my insomnia. It is all worth it in the end. In the middle of the night when he wakes up screaming and you just fell asleep thirty minutes ago, you just want to be angry but you can't. How can you resist the cute little bundle of joy looking up at you waiting for you to comply with his needs. The chubby cheeks and the mouth full of gums and two white little specks, oh wait those are teeth. Every inch of a child is precious and sacred.

Oh how I get off track of what I was writing about originally. Just like my mother. My son has just started rolling over and instead of going forward on his tummy he goes backwards. Its hilarious. What really isn't hilarious is when I am coming from the car to the house and I have my pump, the diaper bag, my purse and a cooler on one shoulder and I have my son on the other and out of nowhere he decides the microscopic rock on the ground is something he absolutely must have. And he goes for it. I think my back is going to break.

Anyways it is all part of the wonderful makeup that God has given to us in the gift of a child. I love it, maybe not at the time my back is breaking but about a minute later.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for my precious baby boy and for the many joys that come a long with him. Thank you for keeping him healthy and I pray that you always protect him and keep him safe from all harm and danger. I pray that he lives a long happy, healthy life and that you would bless his future with only the best. I also pray that I am here long enough to see my great grand children, if you bless me with those also.

Amen.