mothering

Sending Love

Michael has told me, many times over the course of our marriage, that I have helped him learn how to celebrate. It’s not something I think about as an abstract concept very often–this idea of being a celebrator, this way that I look for any opportunity to have a party or gather others together. But it’s in me; it’s how I’m wired. Celebrating–and taking the time to acknowledge accomplishments or milestones–it’s something I deeply love.

In my mind, however, events or milestones don’t need to hit some sort of threshold in order to merit a celebration. Birthday? To the nines! Long weekend? Celebrate! Acceptance to grad school? Party central! Half-anniversary? Why not! I don’t discriminate when it comes to celebration. In my humble opinion, we don’t celebrate one another–and God’s presence in our lives–nearly enough.

Which is why, in the midst of preparing our home to sell and the busy start of a new semester, I still wanted to have some Valentine’s Day cards for Ella to give to friends and family. I’m not in a season of life where I’m gluing glitter and hand-lettering envelopes, but I sure can whip up a cute card over at Minted. I’ve used them before for our Christmas cards and even bought my parent’s Christmas present–a photo art-print–from Minted this year. Their quality is lovely, and their website is user-friendly (a must for this mama).

Even though Ella has no idea what Valentine’s Day is, and even though it’s not particularly one of my favorite holidays, I think the concept of giving and receiving notes of friendship and love is a tradition that would do well to continue throughout the year! Love comes in hundreds of forms, and I’m hoping that Ella will learn, early, that the love found through good friendship is one of God’s greatest gifts–and is something worth celebrating any day of the year!

So, I (quickly) found this card that I knew Ella would like–she is very into coloring these days–and added her name and a cute photo of her on the back. Grandparents? Check. Little toddler friends? Check. Memory book? Check.

There’s still time to order a set of valentines from Minted–even foil-pressed ones!–if you’re looking for something adorable and easy.

And if you’re not feeling particularly celebrated this time of year, remember: God himself is singing over you, rejoicing in you.

You are loved more than you could ever imagine.

Affiliate links are included in this post, as I am an affiliate for Minted!

3 Prayers for Every Mom to Pray

Earlier this week I had the gift of getting to speak to a MOPS group several suburbs away. The time we shared together was refreshing and fun, and I was able to speak to the group about growing spiritually in a season with little ones. I think that, as moms, we often feel tired—and that makes us feel like growing spiritually is a luxury that we can’t afford between nap times, play-dates, and crazy schedules. My heart was to offer these fellow moms some practical tools for how to stay connected to God even in this wild season of mothering with small kids. And as I’m reflecting on our time together, my heart is turning toward how we, as women, might be able to pray for ourselves and for one another. Not all of us are moms, but all moms need prayer—and lots of it! If you would, take a moment to pray these prayers for the moms that you interact with at work, at church, at the gym. We all need God’s guidance and help as we navigate these waters of learning how to love and live as moms.

Pray that the moms you know would connect meaningfully with Jesus and that they would know their worth in Christ. Getting much-needed quiet time with God can be increasingly difficult in a season where the “quiet” in “quiet time” is MIA for months—or years. Pray that the moms around you would have the space to meet with Jesus consistently and that their personal worth would only stem from who God says they are—not who culture tells them they should be.

Pray that the moms you know would have Godly wisdom to know how to parent their particular children. Mothering isn’t a generic role to fill—each child has their own needs, quirks, and desires. We need God’s wisdom to know how to love our children and lead them as He does.

Pray that the moms you know would have supernatural energy to do all that they need to do in order to mother with love and grace. Kids usually have a lot more energy than their parents—ha! Oftentimes, our fuses are short because we are t-i-r-e-d. Pray that God would refresh and renew the moms that you know.

How might our parenting change if we, as women, prayed these simple prayers for one another consistently? I’d love to join you in praying for the moms in our lives–ourselves included!

Sending Love

3 Prayers for Every Mom to Pray

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