Are You Ready to Pursue Your Passion?

These are a few of my friends who have encouraged me to pursue my passion. And we are the founders of our new website Her View From Home, set to launch in April. I hope to see you there!

     What is your passion? No, I don't just mean your children, your soap box, or your view on faith. Before we had kids, we had all these talents, skills, and abilities. For some of us, we've boxed em up and are sitting on a shelf collecting dust. Still others think that when the kids are grown, they will have the time to pursue their passions. But here's the question, are you satisfied? Or bigger question still, "Is God satisfied with you shelving your passion?"

Motherhood Isn't All Of Me.

     Don't get me wrong, motherhood is awesome. We have their lives in our hands, day in and day out for the next eighteen years. And the early years are spent trying to find a new routine and surviving sleepless nights. For me, I had this ache to write, I didn't understand it, nor was I really focusing on it. Yet, it was there in the back of my mind gnawing at me. Before I became a mother, I was a child that  dreamed of being a lawyer, counselor or professor. Yet, I had this natural ability to write (writing, spell check and grammar or three different things peeps!), I had a voice and people loved listening to it through the pages of my essays, posts, etc. 

     It wasn't until I heard God's voice very clearly one afternoon while wading through diapers and bottles, He was telling me to write. I'm so thankful I listened. Our passions and our talents spur us on, knowing we are part of a bigger picture. It reminds us that we have a purpose for our lives that no one else can fill. Only we can do it with the combination of gifts, passions, and abilities in a way that no one else can. 

     It brings great satisfaction to peck the keyboard to encourage others while my little ones are sleeping. Now days, I have more free time and I've found that if I get to spend time on my passions, I'm actually a better mom. I am fulfilled and praising God!

What Is Your Passion?

    So here's the question again, what do you want to be when you grow up? What is your passion? Are you willing to pursue it and craft it in these early childhood years? 

    Steps to Pursue Your Passion.

1. Ask God to show you what you were created for.

2. Take smalls steps with it while your kids are little, for example take a class, purchase books about it.

3. Surround yourself with friends who will encourage you to the best of your abilities.

4. Don't give it up. There will come a moment when it's time for you to try it.

5. Jeremiah 29:11 states: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.~ The key is asking God what He created you for!

     For the last few years, I've spent my time encouraging moms, using my voice, and perfecting my writing skills while enjoying motherhood moments of watching my babies turn into big kids. God is now using this new stage in life to publish my first book and launch a new mid-west blog for women. If God can challenge me, steady my hands as I write, and encourage me, He will do the same for you. Go ahead, be brave and ask Him!~

2 Tips to Create Lasting Impressions of Our Faith for Our Kids

First, we as mothers are to love our God with all our hearts, souls, and strength; secondly, we are to impress them onto our kids. How do we help our children cultivate their own faith instead of hanging off our apron strings? Our motto of doing as I say doesn't exactly work in the area of faith!

Children are clearly not impressed with the attitude and saying, “Do as I say, not as I do.” 

And neither am I for that matter, so I've been working hard to break this impression, especially when it comes to loving God. It's in what we say and do! 

Hear O’ Israel: The LORD  our God, the  LORD  is One. Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to upon your hearts. Impress them on your children (Deuteronomy 6:4-7).

And Jesus reminds us the same in Mathew 22:37-40:

“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” All the law and prophets hand on these two commandments.

Our Hearts, Our Strength Create Lasting Impressions.

When I speak to other moms about shaping their children, I bring a box with three little balls of play dough; each represents one of my children. Cheyenne is my brightly multi-colored soft play-dough, she is easy to mold and shape because of the sweet deposition she has. Elijah is my modeling clay, he takes more squeezing and shaping, as does my third child, Tori with her victorious spirit and strong will.

The box itself represents my heart and on top of it, I glued “Love God with all your heart.” Because of God’s commandment to impress His word onto my children, I stretch each piece of play dough and modeling clay and press it over the top of the words on top of the box. As I peel off the dough, it shows God’s words imprinted, backwards.

Breaking The Mold When They Grow Up.

Likewise, what I impress onto my children will only go so far. The play dough will only pick up what is present in my heart. If we live out our words in front of them, they will have a true mold that is waiting to be filled with their own faith as they grow up.

So each day, I look at my box and I remember God’s commandment for my kids and each day is a chance to impress on them to love God. We sing songs, we go to church, we pray at meals, we right the wrongs, and we work at molding and shaping each of our kids. Our kids won’t live godly lives because we commanded them to, it has to be impressed upon them and walked out in front of them. 

Aloha Ice Cream Treats (Without the Ice Cream)

     Okay we all know that I generally talk about encouragement. But today's a little different, I'm encouraged that I am learning some new skills in the kitchen--I don't cook--I BURN stuff. So my son, Elijah is the Star of the day today and this is what I created in the kitchen! 

ALOHA FRUIT CUP IN AN ICE CREAM CONE

These are super easy and fun to make. Can we say YUM-O?

Instructions:

1. Purchase your favorite fruits, including strawberries, blueberries, pineapple (I bought the pre-sliced in a can), watermelon, etc. Don't forget to purchase muffin liners, and ice cream cones of your choice!

2. Wash up the fruit, slice 'em & dice 'em. If you need to store overnight, toss the fruit into some lemon juice and sugar or use the juice from the canned pineapple. 

3. Insert muffin liners & scoop fruit into ice cream cones. Viola, you're an amazing mom with an amazing treat!

Calling Me Out When I'm Wounded: Responding to My Daughter's Take on Life

     Another crazy afternoon, a day in the life of me. Except this time, we had just picked up my oldest from school and she is still struggling to keep herself together. I juggle her assignments, Elijah's off the wall energy and Tori's victorious antics. We settle in for the evening, supper, showers, stories, and bedtime. After I get the little ones to bed, I hustle Chy into the shower. 

     She takes longer than usual, forty five minutes later, she is out, dripping wet and her eyes hold a brokenness in them. She asks me quietly if I would straighten her mound of golden brown hair.
"Sure," I say as I begin the tedious process of de-tangling and blow-drying her Shirley Temple curls. She's looking at herself in the mirror but something is different, I don't like the way she is looking at herself. She doesn't say it, so I say it for her,

     "You don't think you're good enough, do you?" Her big brown eyes begin to mist, the pressure of being in sixth grade and trying to compute the world the way everyone else does, is just too much. For those of you who have been following this blog, you know that Cheyenne has struggled in school since the beginning.

   In first grade, she floundered because she couldn't see the words like everyone else. She had to learn a completely new way to read by memorizing the look of a word. 

  In second grade, we found out, she was nearly blind on one eye. It required sporting an eye patch all day, everyday. In third, she was the little girl that the girls left out in their games, making themselves superior in her eyes. In fourth, we realized she couldn't focus and required different learning strategies with the diagnosis of Inattentive A.D.D. and recently the missing piece of the puzzle of Cheyenne was Aspergers. 

     Middle school holds all new challenges which Cheyenne has to fight through to make sense of the world. She wants to fit in, to look like everyone else, to be able to laugh at jokes, and be silly like the rest of her peers. But Cheyenne doesn't get jokes, she has curly hair, glasses, and is taller than her teacher. 
     In sixth grade, she is realizing her world is not like everyone else's, she has to fight the way her mind interprets all of its sensory mis-communications (Imagine trying to have a conversation while standing in the middle of a casino with every machine hitting jackpot at once and confetti blowing everywhere). Everything from smells wafting in the air,  to the the way her clothing feels on her body, she has to learn to tune out in order to process what is happening within the bounds of the socialization happening around her. 

     As I straighten her hair, I begin to tell her how perfect she is. 
    "God created you for something special, I don't know what it is yet, Chy, but you have gifts, abilities, and talent for the purpose God planned for you. Everything from your hair, to your heart has been made absolutely perfect. You're stunning, you're powerful because you're a child of God."
   As we stand there in the silence, the song Mean by Taylor Swift plays over the radio and we get silly. Grabbing our hairbrushes, singing along together, "You, with your words like knives, swords and weapons that you use against me. You--You've knocked me off my feet again, got me feeling like a nothing..." As we dance around our bathroom, somewhere in the middle of it, I get what she's going through, someday and soon I hope, she will be strengthened enough in who she is and not what everyone makes her out to be. 

  After hugging her skinny, five foot seven inch frame, I send her off to bed, feeling like I have no clue what I'm doing in this stage of motherhood but being real with her has somehow helped. 

    How do I encourage her when I don't understand how she sees her world? How can I cheer her on if she cannot believe in herself? All I can do is love her the best I can and continue praying that God reveals to Cheyenne the beauty and a strength that she holds all on her own. 

Are You Intentional?

      These last few days have had me deep in the trenches of mothering. My youngest came down with the stomach bug, which meant, schedules, outings, dates, and carpooling were thrown out the window. While I was wading in puke and “Mommy I don’t feel good,” cries; I actually welcomed it.  Recently my plate has been more than full of my goals, projects, lists, editing manuscripts, and prepping a new website. Added to this was the pressure to ensure I was on top of my responsibilities for our local MOPS group, and my new position has Community Coach for MOPS International. Let’s not forget the extra concern for my oldest and her school work while I was balancing appointments for an evaluation for my son. My plate wasn’t just full, it looked like a small version of Mount Everest.

        Gone were the list of to-dos, and in came a chance to be at rest with my daughter. As I cleaned the bedding and monitored her spew progress, it also gave me a chance to be intentional about loving her and reminded me of why I became a mommy in the first place. 
     How is it that we have a deep desire to become a mom and once the chance presents itself, we get sidetracked with our other passions and goals? Motherhood isn’t just about giving birth and keeping our little ones entertained, it’s about making them smile while we watch Diego for the hundredth time, playing war zone with my son’s action figures, and watching my oldest create her pastel masterpieces.

         Watching our children grow up can be lost in the throngs of our careers, passions, and dreams. But in the end, I don’t want to be remembered by my kids as always being on the phone or sitting behind my computer screen; I want to be remembered for the forts I helped build, taking them to the Children’s Museum, baking cookies with them and giving them my full attention when they needed me. So when Tori became ill, it was a chance to regain the ground I lost to focus on her. I turned off my computer and phone, tucked my to-do list away and focused on being fully present with my sick babe. We spent these last three days, watching movies in my bed, playing house with her Toy Story Squinkies, and making snakes with her play dough.

        Are you intentional about spending time with your kids? Do you welcome interruptions like sick days or do you find yourself saying, “Just a minute, let Mommy get this done!” I invite you to free fall back into the joy of mothering. Your to-do list can wait while you bake cookies or build a fort, and watch Diego again for the millionth time!

Is Your Life In His Hands?

Family Rescued From Car Dangling Off Bridge: ABCNEWS.COM - Rescuers save a California mother and her two daughters.

     Do you know that your life is in God's hands? It's hard to remember as you're rushing to get out the door in the mornings. Between getting kids dressed, packing lunches and the diaper bag; you tend to forget that God is there. I wonder if that's what Kelly was doing last Friday morning. As she headed out the door that morning, she had no idea that in less that an hour, her car would be dangling over a 100 foot drop, along with her two daughters, ages ten and ten months old. 
     Before she even got out of bed that morning, God knew what was going happen, her life as well as her daughters were in His hands. Because He had a plan, several divine interventions had taken place to save all of their lives. About the same time she was cruising down the interstate, troops of Army soldiers with construction vehicles were stuck in traffic within radio distance of her soon to be crash site. When the semi-truck hit her car, the truck careened over the bridge and into the ravine below, killing the driver. Moments after impact, her mangled car teetered on the edge of the bridge, with her feet dangling into nothing but air. 
     What makes this story so amazing is how God intervened with the Army Troops, and Rescue teams. Her infant daughter who was in the back seat made it out with only minor bumps and bruises. Within minutes of the crash, those soldiers had the equipment needed to keep her car from going over the edge and aided the rescue teams!
     Does stories like this cause you to pause and thank God that your life is in His hands? No matter the trouble or issues that you are facing, remember that God has it all under control, your life is in His hands. Before you get out of bed in the morning, God is there and knows what lays ahead. 
     When I  seemingly hit a wall, I trust that God already knows and has a plan. Do you have question whether God is there? Or maybe, you struggle with trusting God? Share your thoughts!

What Voice Do You Listen To?

      What is that in your hand? I asked my oldest as she trudged her way through the kitchen. Instead of showing me, she fisted her hand and put it behind her back. After reaching around her and prying it out of her hands, I read the crumpled note. Dated September 18, 2009, “Chy I love you so very much, you are amazing and God has given you so much talent.”

     It was a note I had written and stuck in her lunch box over three years ago. Chy began crying softly as I hugged her. She had just been disciplined for disobeying her dad, on top of having a school meeting with her teacher about making more effort in the classroom. The voice that was screaming in her head about how she wasn’t good enough was choking the life out of her. Despite her struggles, we as parents agreed that she needed to be treated just like everyone else, regardless of her disabilities. Yet to our precious daughter, she felt she lacked what she needed to succeed.

     Frustrated, I hugged her and sent her off to a hot shower, replaying our conversations. As her cheerleader, I’ve made every effort to encourage and reinforce she is a beautiful, talented, gifted, compassionate child. Actions speak louder than words and so do the voices in our heads. How many times have you failed at something and told yourself, “That was awesome, let’s do it again!”? I’m going to venture to guess, the conversations you have in your head tend to be more like, “Well that was sure fun, sure ain’t gonna do that again, I don’t need the world knowing that I’m a failure, I can’t get anything right!

     I am afraid to believe in myself. Everything I have ever put my heart into has backfired or failed. I’ve either created a big mess that I couldn’t clean up on my own, or I’ve gotten arrested, slapped with a fine or lost relationships over it. The voice that has set the tone for my life has been, “Don’t bother trying, you’re going to fall right on your butt, and everyone who already knows the truth, will be there to say, I told you so.”

     So when I got the letter stating, “Heather, I’ve had the opportunity to read your  manuscript(older version) and I just love it! I remember meeting you and your passion for the subject of motherhood, as a mother myself and with my background as head editor of Today’s Christian Woman magazine for 7 years, I LOVE THIS TOPIC. I also love your writing style—natural, yet pithy and very insightful and helpful. We definitely want to publish your book.”

I was completely floored. This had been the dream I had been working towards for the last two years of writing my book, Mama Needs A Time-Out.  This moment reinforced that my perspective was wrong and so was my daughter’s.  Some of us have the natural tendency to think we aren't good enough, life comes along with it’s bumps and challenges, further reinforcing the warped view we see of ourselves.

     This warped view is in the back of our minds, painting every conversation, every interaction, every struggle, and our success. It’s time to replace this warped view with how we are created. We. Do. Not. Lack. Anything.  We may be born with a predisposition of struggling with certain weaknesses, but that’s the beauty of knowing God. He works through our weaknesses, that’s when His power, His abilities, and His strength are unleashed in our lives…if we allow Him. My daughter’s principle gave me a great word picture, if you’re given a dull ax, you’re going to have to swing harder.

      No matter your inabilities, insecurities, trip ups, hang ups, mess ups. We have one choice, we can agree with the voices in our head or we can ask God for the strength to swing harder. We can either view ourselves as lacking or we can ask God for the courage and the insight to see ourselves as He sees us.

     There is power in positive thinking, but that positive thinking works better in the form of seeing ourselves with our spiritual eyes. What are your hang ups? What are your inabilities? Are you willing to step beyond yourself and ask God to give you the strength, courage and ability to swing that ax harder or rely on yourself?

Snack Ideas and New Years Resolutions

    It’s that time of the year again. 

     You know what I’m talking about, your sweatpants agree with me, diet time! Swim suit season is only six months away, so we have plenty of time to start this New Year’s resolutions. Instead of dieting, let’s look at some ways that we can start shedding the pounds by making life style changes, starting with what we feed our kids.

    If you’re anything like me, your kids drive your bonkers most days and you eat snacks that aren’t the healthiest, and let’s not mention portion control. Most days I’m grazing off their plates or eating right out of the snack boxes. My kids are picking up on these habits too, not such a good thing, if we all want to eat healthier. So here are a few ideas!

Independent Grazers

My Tupperware bowl, you can add raisins, pretzels, whole
wheat crackers, oreos, etc in snack bags too!

    Kids between the ages of 2 and 101 like to have control. They begin developing a sense of independence the moment they take their first breathe; at around two they really like to tell us, they can do things themselves, so why not let them develop a keen edge on portion control? My kids are grazers and very independent. So each time I go to the grocery store, I purchase a variety of healthy snacks and some not so healthy snacks. When I get home, I put the serving into snack bags and throw it all into the bowl. It sits in the bottom of my pantry where they can grab a snack when they want.

This also goes the same for my refrigerator. I have apples, cuties, whole and some in baggies with a little bit of lemon juice, sitting in my crisper drawer.

This idea is great to not only help give them independence, teach proper portions, but it’s great when you’re in the run to the next dance recital or park. Just grab a few bags and go!

Lunch Time

Lunch time is another area where we tend to get stuck in a rut, either we think our kids won’t eat it, or we are tired of the choices we have. So make the choices you have fun and visit one of my favorite sites that my friend Stacy directed me to, www.superhealthykids.com.  Here is what I do for lunch because my kids like it simple.

Elijah’s green tray with snowman turkey, star whole wheat bread and string cheese. 

Fun lunch with snowman and start cookie cutters, the kids can help create the shapes.

Okay I had to add the pink tray picture, per Tori's request, She didn't think it was fair to  upload just her brother's!

RECAP

1. Purchase snacks and snack baggies.

2. Read the labels of your snacks and scoop the measured portion into baggies.

3. For fresh fruit, make a few bags ahead of time, wash and slice, add a squeeze of lemon juice.

4. Designate an area in your pantry for your kids and a drawer in your fridge. 

5. Less whining and hearing "I'm hungry" from your child, and they are learning the proper portions!

Exciting News and Happenings!

Okay, so I've REALLY missed my blog, and these last two weeks have been more than just eventful! So grab your coffee and scroll on down, I'll show you what you've missed!

My brother, Doyle and I, with my potato gun.

Yes, that tube you see in the picture isn't just PVC pipe, it's a potato gun! You can take the girl out of the country...and that's about it. My brother came up from Wyoming as a surprise visit. We spent Christmas afternoon out on the Platte River, shooting potatoes, rocks, arrows, and anything else that could be stuffed to fit into his tube. It was a real blast--no pun intended!

Two of my three brother's stuffing the potato gun.

If you look closely at the picture, you see a can of hair spray, this helps ignite the gun! Does anyone want to guess how this turns out? 

Me, I just finished shooting my daughter's new bow--with no makeup, I'm a bit vain!

Cheyenne, getting ready to release her arrow. 

When I wasn't out blowing things up with my brothers, we took some time off to target practice with our daughter. She got a new bow for Christmas, so far we have four of the twenty arrows left...We both need a little practice, well...maybe I do. However, I must say I worry about Cheyenne's future husband, she has my temper and a VERY. GOOD. AIM!

My brother Dave.

When we thought all was quiet, the boys came over and had a shoot out in my home. Four toy guns and four rowdy boys....Needless to say, the evening wasn't quite peaceful to enjoy my new Nook I got for Christmas!

Okay, okay, enough of the pictures and family stuff. I've got some REALLY exciting news. Saved by Love is now being posted at FaithVillage. Stop by to read the latest in the realms of faith mixed with motherhood. Leave a comment and let them know you want me to come back!

Next on the exciting list is that I am the new columnist for Eternal Encouragement Magazine online! What am I writing about, encouragement for moms! I can't wait for you to see my first article! It's a goody, my next one is about transformers, instructions, and motherhood--you get the point!

More blessings to be sure, I have been asked to be a guest on Good Morning Nebraska, with Marylyn Barnett, I'll be on the show bright and early to give you  some great tips on snacks and lunch ideas for your kids. You don't want to miss this one. January 10!!!!

And at last, some really big news, in March, I will be launching Her View From Home with some friends of mine.  Her View From Home is a Mid-West Blog created by women to encourage, inspire and connect. We will have forums for towns to post events, daily deals, date night ideas, recipes, tips for home & garden; plus articles about faith, parenting, family and more. I can't wait for it to launch and hope you'll stop by! You can visit us on Facebook at our fan page and stay up to date until we officially launch, Her View from Home.

Hurry up March, in the meantime, I can't wait to connect with you and share what God has been laying on my heart to encourage you!

Our new logo! We can't wait to launch the site!