I’ve always been the mom that for the most part made one meal (there is always the offer of PB&J if she didn’t like dinner and at one point, when she was sick, I let her eat endless amount of spaghetti’os that didn’t last too long)… I’ve been the mom who didn’t pay for doing chores and expected help around the house. She’s the one who does the laundry for the most part (I do too but she keeps it going) and she’s the bathroom cleaner. She can cook, clean, do the dishes.
We both are very busy, we’ve always been very busy. Because we believe in striving for excellence, there is often a lot of stress in our house. And sometimes we get a little crabby with each other. We appreciate each other, but as the mom, when I notice that things get a little snippy in our house, I know that it is time for some ‘mom&Phyllis time’. Sometimes it’s just dinner at Panera, this weekend it was 2 hours each way to Lansing, catching up, and enjoying each other’s company. It doesn’t have to be fancy, it just needs to be us. It doesn’t take long for us to get back to our normal selves.
I cannot express to anyone how much I love my girl. I don’t just love her because she’s my daughter, I love her for who she is. I love hearing about her interests, her goals, I love just listening to her.
Last night before I went to bed I asked her to do some ‘darks’ and I hung them up this morning. We make a good team. And we’ve got clean clothes for the week.
As a mom, I’ve learned a lot about relationships. I’ve learned a lot about talking about how things make me feel, and asking when I need help. I’ve learned how to love more than I ever thought possible. And in that, I’ve raised a girl who is appreciative and a proverbs 31 young lady.
Eze 16:44 “‘Everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.”
My second thought of the day… is about a sermon I heard yesterday. Generousity.
Yesterday I touched on it a little, but today, I actually had to live it. You see, a lot of people that that I am a great ‘giver’ but sometimes I am so stingy with my blessings, especially if someone is getting on my nerves. Today, I really wanted to ‘pass ‘ someone on a blessing I could have given them. It wasn’t some magical thing, but a small gesture. I mean my flesh was like ‘blah blah blah’ but then I thought back to a verse that one of my girls had sent me…
Proverbs 3:3
3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
Now, I am not going to lie, when she sent it to me I wanted to send that scripture about spec/plank thing… But instead I used it as a time to really reflect on my heart. I knew she was right.
When I woke up this morning, emptied the dishwasher, hung up laundry (see above), packed lunch, and all the other things I did this morning, I was praying. And as I prayed on my way into work… ‘Give me ways to live generously Lord’ was my prayer. And it’s easy to make Katie & Adam and the boys food, I love them and they don’t get on my nerves (LOL), and it’s easy to get Bobby Starbucks when I am there getting my tea (IT’S NOT SUNDAY SO IT’S ALLOWED!), but when someone hurts me or gets on my nerves, then it’s NOT easy. But I remember reading in the book Crazy Love, it’s easy to love your family, but the people who you find it hardest to love are the ones who need it the most. Man, that’s good I remember thinking after I read that.
So as I set out this holiday season… I don’t just want to give generously of my time and money, I want to LIVE generously with my time, money, AND my heart. May everything I do reflect Jesus.
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