Encouragement for the Journey

It can be hard to see straight sometimes when we look directly into our lives. The wreckage to our dreams that comes with the territory of being a human being on planet earth can many times be too much.

Lately, I have seen friends stand amongst the ruins of their lives in bewilderment and as I too face challenges, I think we all need a little encouragement. Take it from me, you are amazing. Don't let the stuff around you tell you any differently.

Look around you and see the faces that come and go past you on a Sunday through Saturday. Let them know they are special. Give out hugs (guess what they are free). The thing is you may need some encouragement but most likely someone else needs it too and the great thing about smiling and hugging is that two people can benefit. :)

Don't give up! I'm here with you in the thick of it myself and while I can't see down the road too far in the distance, I can tell you we will make it! This dream may have crashed and burned but there is another one down the pike. We can do this! Find your wings and fly from the mess you stand in, into the light. Circumstances don't always change, but I am tired of being a victim of all thats around me. So I'm ready to walk out with my joy and spirit still intact. Anyone want to join me?

Let's Go!!!

Mountains in the Road

Its no secret life is hard, and if you don't know that you are either delusional or incredibly lucky. The thing is no matter what each day brings, and how hard it can get, I see how God has a plan. He shows me that he hears me and takes care of the things that are really important to me.

As a girl, I dreamed of growing up and having an easy life. I dreamed of everything going exactly perfectly with few hiccups, if any at all. Unfortunately, that just isn't reality. Just as I get past one mountain, I only walk a short way before I come up to another seemingly insurmountable hurtle in the road. The truth is they will keep coming on this side of heaven. Its not trusting God to keep them from coming, but trusting him to take care of me in the midst of them. I can rest in him to carry me through. I don't know what tomorrow brings, but God does and he will direct my path.

The fact is, he already has. As I approach another difficulty, I see God's hand. I see situations in my recent past that let me know he was preparing me and giving me his best at just the right time. That gives me hope and encourages me through the journey. God cares about my deepest desires and he is at work in each part of my life. That's pretty cool if you ask me.

Falling in Love

Nothing monumental happened today, and yet it happened. I fell even more in love with my little boy. I am just mesmerized by his actual being. It's official he has me wrapped around his little finger (and usually shoving it in his mouth).

Adventures in Mothering - Poopy No Diaper

Today, I found myself again in a precarious situation. My sister and I went to Target to get a few things that I needed. We were concluding our trip and Caleb got increasingly fussy, I bent down to pick him up out of the carseat and noticed a smell. As I grabbed him I saw wet spots revealing a poop explosion. I grabbed him and the diaper bag and made my way to the restroom. I left my wallet and items with Alexandra and stated a meeting place.

I got to the bathroom took off the dirty diaper, reached for the wipes and diaper to notice, I was diaperless. I had back up in the car, but those would do me no good now with a bear bottom baby. Luckily, one of the things on my list was diapers, but I had didn't have my cell phone. There was another mother in the bathroom waiting to use the changing table so I asked her to borrow her phone.

My sister answered and she brought the unpurchased bag of diapers to my aid. My next issue soon revealed itself - Caleb has grown so fast that the extra clothes in my bag no longer fit (note: they fit just a week before). So here I am with an open bag of diapers and a naked baby. Not one of my finest moments. But we survived.

Adventures in Mothering - Pumping in the Dark

Getting off of maternity leave came at interesting time with my job as a youth pastor. It was just before Spring Break and we had two trips planned. The first trip was to The Revolve Tour, a teen girl conference, and the second a week in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco on a mission trip with YWAM and Project Sixty-One. It was a first step out into life with a newborn baby, a task that looked all to daunting.

Here's a spoiler, but thanks to a great group of teens and a husband that took off work to help make it happen, both trips were a success. However, I didn't go through it without a few stories to tell. Here is the first (I know of many) adventures in mothering.

The Revolve Tour took place in an arena and was a Friday evening and all-day Saturday event. Kevin, my husband, took Caleb during the conference to visit family in the area. I had called ahead of time to be sure I could take in my pump, as I am a breast-feeding mother. I was assured I would have no problem. I was informed that there would be a place for myself and other mothers to pump.

I arrived Friday evening and went to the information desk and asked where I was supposed to pump. The woman looked at me as if I had asked a question in another language and then she got on her intercom and asked the same question. Guess what, there was no place for me to go. They directed me to a meeting room on the opposite side of the arena from where my seats were located. In that meeting area, there was a bathroom. I was told I could use that room.

That night I had not brought my nursing apron so I walked in the bathroom and went to the back stall. I began to pump. A few short minutes into the pumping process, I discovered the bathroom was equipped with motion sensor lights. I was in the dark, literally. However, there were no sensors in the stalls, but by the sinks. So I had to run out exposed, getting wet with milk, flailing my arms, praying no one would walk in so I could be in the light. I knew at that moment this would be an interesting weekend.

Needless to say, I brought my apron the next day and found a place by the sinks so the light would stay on in future pumping sessions.