In the week after my husband lost his job, I remember the feeling of desperation that crept in at night. I would lie awake in bed, wondering how we were going to make it, financially and practically.
My husband was sending out his resume and applying for positions; he was making calls and networking. But as the weeks piled up, he still had no job offers. I felt overwhelmed every time I thought about our future and how we wanted — and needed — to provide for our children. Emotions in our home ran high.
Nothing changed.
After three months of the same, I felt helpless. I tried to insist that Michael apply more places and send out more copies of his resume. But as the options for job opportunities narrowed down to almost nothing, my husband became clear in his conviction that it was time for us to wait on the Lord rather than pushing ahead with anything we could manufacture on our own.
Read the entire article here, at (in)courage!
As a teacher at the time, her birth in May was convenient; I had the whole summer to get used to being a new mom. But the months s
Too often, the Christmas season starts to feel like an overwhelming amount of work for moms. For many of us, there are decorations to put up, presents to purchase or make, school activities to help with, meals to prepare, travel arrangements to plan, and—in the midst of it all—Advent to (hopefully) attend to.
But what if instead of working to make Christmas “happen” for ourselves and our families this year—what if we played? What if we took our own kind of break and set down the culture-induced pressure to strive for a perfect Christmas? Then, we could focus on the true play of Christmastime: delighting in and celebrating the gift that has already been given to us in the form of the Christ child who came as a baby.
As mothers, we have the choice this season to take a break from the world’s expectations and focus on playing during Advent, rather than working. That’s not to say that there won’t be work involved this year—no matter the season, motherhood is full of good and holy work. But there are ways that we can attend to the season of Advent with an attitude of playfulness and rest that has the opportunity to encourage our souls.
This Christmas, let’s seek to enable our souls to benefit from play in the truest sense: the intentional enjoyment of God and his good gifts. Why? Here are three reasons…
Read the rest of the article here, at Risen Motherhood!
