Chocolate and prayer

"I like you as a mom"! Kyle told me that this morning, as I got him his granola bar and juice. Little punkin! That is so nice to hear, especially after the frustrating mornings we have had in our house the past couple days. After having two weeks off, it was a little hard for the boys to transition back into the school routine. Wednesday and Thursday mornings were fraught with a significant amount of whining, grumbling, and stalling - and the kids weren't too happy either. But not today! They were up & out of bed on time, got ready for school with little input from me, and were even ready to go early enough to watch a little tv (Nick) and play a little gameboy (Kyle).

So, what made this morning go so much more smoothly? I think it was a combination of two things: chocolate and prayer. Just so you know, I am not above bribing my children. I count it as one of the most successful parenting techniques there is. Get out of bed and get dressed, you get chocolate. Works for me! And it is pretty effective on my six year old too =) But I'm versed enough in mommyhood to know that bribes only work on the short term. It may have worked today to get Kyle up & going, but there is no guarantee that it will work tomorrow. When that child makes up his mind that he is or isn't going to do something, it takes an act of God to move him. And that is just what I am counting on....an act of God. Many, many acts of God. Every single day. That's the only way I make it as a mom...to rely on the ONLY source of strength, wisdom, and patience that there is....Jesus. I simply don't have enough within myself to do it. Oh, some days I try! I forget to go to God, and I try to handle things on my own. Train wreck. I know exactly when I do this. When I am faced with an unruly child and I find myself doing the "big sigh", that's a clue that I'm trying to muster up the patience within myself to deal with it. And time after time I find that it's just not there. Not enough to sustain me for very long anyway. So I am reminded to take it to the Lord....everyday. Every morning I wake up thirsty, and I need to come to the fountain to be refreshed and renewed.

"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters...As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:1,10-11
I know without a doubt, that one of the greatest callings on my life is to be a mother. To raise my children to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. To equip them, as much as I can, to fulfill the calling that He has placed on their lives. Oh, that I would wake up every morning reminded of this! It makes the little things seem that much more insignificant. But wait a minute....they really aren't insignificant now, are they? (hey, who said that?). It is in the little things that I need to let the light of Christ shine through. It is only through God that I can have the patience and the wisdom to deal with the little things....to impart patience and wisdom to my children. If I can't do that on a daily basis, why in the world would they listen to me when I try to guide them in the big things of life?

As I apply those words of Isaiah to my life, I see that I am thirsty. I desperately need God to send down His rain from Heaven. Without it, I am dry and parched. And when I open my soul to Him every day, through prayer and reading His Word, to receive the water that He is eager to pour out...He will not only satisfy my thirst, but will accomplish His purposes in my life. He will yield the seed for me to sow into my children. God, do ever I need You. Help me Lord, to be a faithful sower of Your seed. To accomplish the purposes that You have laid out for me as a mother...not only for my precious boys, but for the beautiful children that You are entrusting me with in just a few short months. Let our home be a house of peace, a house of prayer, a home that reflects Your image and design. A home that points our children to Jesus.

"All your children shall be taught by the LORD, And great shall be the peace of your children." Isaiah 54:13