The realization that my oldest daughter is entering into her last year of being a “tween” has me all in my feels. Childhood goes by too fast, especially when you’re a parent. As she celebrates her 12th birthday in a few short months, I hope she knows….

I hope she knows that she doesn’t have to act a certain way just to fit in.

I hope she knows that she doesn’t need to change her looks or alter her body to be beautiful.

I hope she knows that she doesn’t have to downplay her intelligence to make people feel more comfortable.

I hope she knows that making mistakes are a part of life and that there is beauty in the lessons learned.

I hope she knows that I am going to make mistakes in parenting her and that I too will be learning lessons from them.

I hope she knows that expressing her feelings is ok, and she should never be punished or feel guilty for doing so.

I hope she knows that her time is valuable.

I hope she knows that just because she is soft spoken doesn’t mean that her voice shouldn’t be heard.

I hope she knows that her worth isn’t measured by the amount of things she has.

I hope she knows that she can do anything that she believes she can do.

I hope she knows that friends are one of Gods greatest blessings and to pick them wisely.

I hope she knows that as the years pass and she becomes more independent that I will always be here cheering her on.

I hope she knows, really knows, how much God loves her.

Go look in the mirror. Just go look. What do you see? If you immediately started pointing out all of the flaws you think you have, you’re not alone. It’s easy to look at yourself and criticize all the things that you don’t like.

If you have a child, and you told them to look in the mirror and tell you what they saw, what would they say? What would you want them to say? I have an 11 year old daughter and personally, I would want her to say that she see’s someone looking back at her that has confidence, and is kind, and compassionate. I think any good parent would want their child to say something along those lines. I would be devastated if she immediately named off everything she doesn’t like about herself. I would also be a little heartbroken if everything she said was based solely on her physical appearance. Because, she is so much more than that. And so are you.

Now, let’s go back to us, what do you think our Heavenly Father would want us to say when we look in the mirror? He created us in His image. If we are quick to point out all of our dark spots, wrinkles and blemishes, how do you think that makes Him feel? We’re too focused on our outward appearance and keeping up with the latest trends in makeup and hair to notice how intricately and miraculously He created us both inside and out. God made us to grow old and for our looks to change in the process. Yes, we need to take care of our bodies- eat healthy, good skin care routine, exercise, etc. But most importantly, we need to take care of our souls. We need to speak words of kindness to not only others, but ourselves as well. We need to be good role models to the little people in our lives. Let’s teach them to love the body God gave us, to take care of it, and to radiate beauty from the inside.

Now, go look in the mirror. Just go look. What do you see?

We all have those songs that bring back memories (good or bad,) as soon as we hear them. It happened to me in the drop-off line today at my son’s school. As soon as I heard Tasha Layton belt out “My heart is breaking in a way I never thought it could…” I was immediately transported back to September 2020. To a season of utter anguish. At that time, my heart really was breaking. I don’t want to delve into the whole story again, as I touched on it in my post titled “Faith.” But for all the new readers, I had gone through a loss. That loss happened to be a pregnancy, twins. I still can’t think about it or hear that song without tears. As I was listening to the lyrics this morning, Tasha asks “can you make something from the wreckage?” And that brought on even more waterworks, because He did y’all. Right now, as I am writing this post, my 5-month-old rainbow baby is staring at me with her bright blue eyes and the cutest little grin. While I do mourn the loss of twins, I would not have my sweet and spicy Saylor baby if they had not gone to heaven. My most favorite line in that song is “I can hear my father singing over me, it’s gonna be ok, it’s gonna be ok...” Honestly, at that time it did not feel like it was ever going to be ok. But repeating those lyrics brought on some solace. Taking it one day at a time and knowing that even though it hurt, bad, He was in control, and He was working all things out for good, helped comfort my aching heart.

I don’t know what heartbreak you’re going through right now, maybe a loss of a loved one, an end to a relationship, rejection, defeat, betrayal, or unfulfilled dreams. Honestly the list could go on and on. But know this, Jesus is with you, and it’s gonna be ok. It may take a few months, or a few years. That hurt may always be there, but it will be ok. He will make something from the wreckage, if you let Him. Don’t lose hope.

Endless nights, endless crying, endless cooking, endless cleaning. It’s all endless, right? You get the dishes washed just to come back 5 minutes later to see the sink full again. The clothes are washed, folded and put away and you walk past the laundry hamper on your way to the next chore only to see it at max capacity once again. Motherhood is a full time job in itself. We’re taking care of the littles and the chores, all the while trying to be fit, and not lose ourselves in the depths of dry shampoo and black leggings. We act as detectives, always searching for missing socks, homework, and our sanity. We’re personal assistants always making sure that our kids go to all the doctors appointments, dental checkups, birthday parties, sports and extracurricular activities. And some of us do all of this on top of having jobs. Sometimes we can get lost in all the stress that motherhood entails. I know, it happens to me.

But what puts it all into perspective and keeps me pushing on is the little moments. The glee on my sons face when he sits down to eat breakfast and sees his plate full of his favorite foods. The joy in my daughters eyes when she’s telling me about a birthday party that I just picked her up from. When it’s 3am and I look down to see the bright blue eyes and smile on my 5 month olds face after she was just comforted and fed. When I have a sick kiddo and the only thing they want is to be held and comforted by me.

When I come to the realization that God gifted me this opportunity to be all the things to these little humans, it literally makes my heart burst with gratitude. Let this be a small reminder to soak in all the moments, because these kids, they won’t be little forever. Motherhood is hard, y’all. But us moms, we’re superheroes.

Did any of you Michael Jackson fans sing the title of this post like I did? I thought of the title for this post and had to look up the lyrics to the song because it immediately popped into my head. Michael Jackson wasn’t wrong, y’all. You are not alone. Whatever season we’re in right now, there are others who are right there with us. But most of all, Jesus is right there with us. Friends, I don’t know what you’re facing today, maybe a broken heart, or financial problems, marital problems, addictions, distractions, YOU are never alone. Reach out to a friend or support group, I promise there are others who are going through or have gone through the same season you’re in right now. Are you possibly a stay-at-home mom or work from home mom who is craving connection with other adults? Reach out! There are play groups in most cities now, look for them. If you’re an introvert like me, sometimes that can be so hard to do, but take that step, you won’t regret it. Maybe you’re not getting any younger (aging gracefully of course!) and you’re in a season of waiting for that special someone, reach out to singles groups, look for others in your area that are in the same season. I am not at all saying that your friends that aren’t in the same season as you cannot be of any help, but it’s good to go through things with people who understand.

If you know of someone who is going through a tough season right now, reach out to them. You might not know firsthand what they’re going through but sometimes a listening ear or a new perspective is all that is needed. Jesus made us for community, and as much as some of us would like to, we aren’t made to sit around with just our pets for company. We were made to get out there and seek connection. Even Jesus had community! He traveled along with 12 disciples. You could be someone’s missing puzzle piece or find the best friend that you never knew you needed! Sometimes what we’re looking for is closer that we thought. As much as social media can keep you distracted from more important things (i.e., your kids,) it can also be used as a tool for connection. Take that step, you got this!

The Sin Cycle. No, it’s not a setting on your washing machine. It is a setting in our lives from time to time though. It happens when we stray away from Jesus and get stuck in a swirly pool of up to no good. We knew God’s plan before we got sucked in, but we chose to do our own thing, anyway. It gets to the point that we can’t take anymore and God, being the rescuer and redeemer that He is, swoops in and saves the day. But not without us learning some lessons. We then repent and thank God for His love and grace. We receive forgiveness and for a while everything is dandy. We’re reading our Bibles and praying like we should, we’re living in purpose and helping others when we can. Then Satan comes along in the form of something shiny and we decide that “hey, maybe the grass is greener over there” and against our better judgement we fall once more into the pool of sin.

It happens to all of us, whether we want to admit it or not. The sins that suck us in are unique to everyone. You know, those temptations that you try to so hard to resist, the addictions that you won’t call an addiction, but in actuality that’s what it is. The things that pull us away from talking to Jesus and reading our Bibles. Distractions-scrolling, binge watching Netflix, gaming, you get the picture. You know what though, we have the power to break free. That power lies within us because Jesus gave His life on that cross to save us, from ourselves. We have the power to wake up every morning and talk to God before we step foot out of our bed. We have the power to continually speak to Him throughout the day. To ask Him to help us when we feel we’re being sucked in again. We have the power to read our Bibles, which in turn will keep us in tune with His word. We have the power to kneel beside our beds at night and pray, pray, pray for His guidance, wisdom and help. He can break the cycle folks. But you have to let Him in.

The Bible study that goes along with The Chosen series, does a wonderful job of illustrating the Sin Cycle right from the beginning. Please, please, please start the series, you won’t regret it! Until next time, “don’t let those praying knees get lazy,”(wise words from Lee Brice.)

Whoa. The year 2022 flew by. It was a big one for my family and me. New baby, new house, new neighbors, new friends. All good things, thankfully! I do have a confession though, I got distracted wait too much this year. Those distractions caused me to not prioritize my time. The main distraction-scrolling. It’s so easy to get distracted when your distraction is scrolling. Whether it be, Facebook, Instagram, Tik-tok (which is something I do not have,) or even scrolling Amazon (I’m so bad about this!) Once that thumb starts going it’s hard to get it to stop. That’s where discipline comes in. Discipline is one of my main goals for 2023. Discipline with my nutrition, exercise, and my time. Thinking back on all the missed opportunities of spending time with Jesus because I was too busy scrolling literally makes me cringe. Along with discipline, my next goal is intention. Intention with my time. Am I spending time with Jesus every day? Am I spending time with my kids and focusing on them in that moment? Am I intentionally eating and moving my body? During the next few days, I will be setting myself up for a successful 2023! Getting my Bible studies ready, along with my exercise programs and preparing my mind to focus. 2023 is going to be a good one! What are some goals that you have set for the new year?

Phew! The last 3 months have been a whirlwind of no sleep and baby spit up. I have been operating in zombie mode and the post-partum brain fog has been real! But amongst all the chaos that comes with the blessing of a new baby are many moments of miracles. Seeing our oldest two kiddos, who were 11 and 5 at that time of our youngest’s birth, evolve into the sweetest big sister and big brother both doting on their tiny sibling has been nothing short of heart melting. They will both gladly drop everything to jump in and entertain and cuddle her when needed. Watching them in these moments and soaking in the warmth that they bring makes the chaos calm. As mothers we often get caught up in the to-do list of everyday life. And the to-do list grows when you add more kiddos. It’s not only the piles of laundry and dishes, sweeping the crumbs and mounds of dog hair up off the floor or making sure that lunches are packed that can feel so overwhelming, but also trying to make sure that you’re giving each child the one-on-one time that they crave. In an ideal world, this one-on-one time would like planning a special day with each kiddo by themselves, without siblings tagging along. But honestly, when you work, and have a spouse who works long hours, this is not always possible. So, every time my 6-year-old comes up to me and says “mommy, watch this,” or “come look what I made,” or when my 11-year-old wants to show me something that she found on Amazon or a tumbling trick that she has been working on, I will try hard to drop what I am doing and focus on them in that moment. These are the memories they will hold on to. Honestly, the chores can wait. But this time that I have with my kids at the very ages they are right now, it won’t wait. And truth be told, I don’t want to miss it!