Well, the last time I blogged was shortly after Kayla died. The next year, 2019 was a blur. And then, COVID. Don’t get me started on that. Anyway, one of the blessings of some extra time was processing grief. It started while I was going through Kayla’s blog, which is also on WordPress. I read and re-read her posts. It was as if they were written for me. In that time. In my grief. I started flagging them and thinking about my own story. What came next was a self-published book called, ‘Rescuing Hope- a memoir of Kayla Bonar.’ I hope that you’ll check it out.

https://a.co/d/5J7phUJ

Today marks 8 weeks since our beloved eldest daughter (and child) went to the arms of Jesus.  I’m not sure anyone can ever be prepared for the worst news of their lives. I suppose there are worst things, but right now I can think of none. My emotions go from sadness to anger to disbelief in a matter of minutes.

I’ve been writing down some thoughts on grief and how it is affecting me. People have said in the past, “Grief comes in waves.” I cannot think of a better explanation.  The first few weeks the waves were constant.  I could not even think of her name, “Kayla”, without breaking down. I couldn’t pick up an article of her clothing, or read anything she had written. It was like I was never going to be able to walk, sleep, or live again.

But, life has to continue.

Pretty soon after the news, our focus turned into creating a beautiful memorial service, which I believe it was. Going through pictures, collecting memorabilia, anticipating family visiting, it all kept my mind moving. Then, Bam! It was over. Family left, memorabilia put back in boxes, ironed clothing hung on hangars in the closet.

Since then the waves are still present. But, they are less expected. Here’s some examples:

Sitting in church, and on the big screen you find out your church is having a celebration. The date is her birthday.

Looking at your 7 year old while he’s looking at your phone. “Why does it say Kayla is in our house? I thought she was in heaven.”

Riding in the car and a song comes on that she loved.

You get the picture.  I continue to go (run) to scripture to get my Comfort, Guidance, Healing (even though it feels like not much has taken place). I’d like to share some of those Words that have been breathed by God, and have kept me “walking without fainting” (Isaiah 40:30)

For comfort in knowing He is with me and will never leave me:

Isaiah 43:1-3 “But now says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy one of Israel, your Savior.”

Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

I could copy volumes of scripture for this topic. HE WILL NEVER LEAVE ME.

For the hope I have, knowing where Kayla is.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no HOPE. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”

Kayla is with our Heavenly Father, perfect and whole.

For the hope I have, knowing where all of His people (including me) will be

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 “For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself  will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore ENCOURAGE one another with these words.”

Talk about encouraging! Even if I don’t die and meet Jesus before He comes again, I will be going to Him forever. These words from Paul, breathed by God, are such a lifter of my soul.

Again, there are so many scriptures that speak of this, but I’m trying to keep my readers awake. Ha!

For the hope in knowing my suffering is not wasted

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.”

Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

As hard as it is to swallow some days, these afflictions are momentary. My life is just a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes (James 4:14). This helps me to have an eternal perspective of why I’m suffering. And there is a promise that I can comfort others because of my own suffering.

Hope in knowing this is our temporary home here on earth

2 Corinthians 5:1-2 “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.  For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling.”

Philippians 1:21-23 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.”

This is a rather long first post after almost one year. But, I’d like to end with a verse that again, I have gone back to numerous times. It’s so counterintuitive to our earthly minds and bodies, but it’s spoken through Peter. 1 Peter 4:12-13 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”

Is my joy and hope always seen outwardly as I cry and throw laundry baskets across the room when I’m feeling angry? Is it seen when I’m running and tears are rolling down my face? Is it seen when I’m grumpy to my other children because I just can’t do life that day? Definitely not,  but I pray for grace from God and from other humans. And I hope that through this suffering I can exhibit the perpetual joy we are to have, even in the face of suffering.

Blessings,

Sonya

A couple of days ago, my husband came home and said, ” I don’t know what it is. Is it just that time of year or what? I feel flat!” Yes! That describes how I feel so much! The holidays are a couple of months over, the sun seems gone forever (although we have had some sunny days recently), the school year is over half over yet I’m losing steam. Sigh! How can we not only survive, but thrive these “flat” months?

Make lists

I am such a nerd at heart. I was that kid who had to study by a flashlight in the car if I had a test the next day, yet somewhere to go the night before. I am forever being that nerd as an adult by making lists and getting excited about the mundane things I accomplish.  There are days, and I am serious , where I make lists, then throw them away so no one else sees them. They look something like this. 1) Get out of bed when grumpy 3 year old awakes 2) shower 3) make breakfast for little boys that doesn’t involve pop-tarts 4) teach them something until lunch 5) lunch that doesn’t involve cookies 6) fill time until screen time 7) screen time 8) make dinner 9) stare out the window waiting for husband 10) collapse. Anyone? Just being real here. Then I toss the list and hope the next day I’m feeling more inspired.

Pray

“Pray without ceasing” is not just a cliche for me. It’s a command and a blessing written by Paul, but breathed by God. Some “flat” days it’s  a minute by minute routine to pray for grace and all the fruits of the Spirit that seem so hard. My daughter texted me today asking “Is there anything specific that I can be praying for you this week?” Wow! That was a kick in the pants that I should be praying for others without ceasing during this time. It’s hard to be upset with others if you are praying for them, so I’ve heard.

Resist

So, I’m probably the only one, but when I’m ‘flat’ I can fall into bad habits. These include, but are not limited to,not exercising, eating junk, not putting on my makeup and doing my hair (which seems worldly, but actually makes me feel better), being lazy homeschooling, and other things better left “untyped”. However, without remembering “I can do all things through Christ”, just forget it. These flat times I have no “willpower” of my own.

Be Creative

I have started bible journaling. I really love it, except it does involve getting out pens and markers . Living with a lot of little boys ,this can be a challenge. However, I have found that being creative in my bible is really therapeutic for the ‘flat.’ Even just reading a verse over and over and trying to imagine what my journaling would look like lifts my soul. I hope that all of you have an outlet of creativity. I’ve found it helpful!

OK, back to bed for me as it’s 4am. I just had this inspiration to write so maybe now I can sleep. I hope that any of you going through the ‘flat’ will thrive!

During the last four months, I have been training for my first half marathon. The race is this week. A couple of weeks ago when I finished my 10 mile run with my friend, I remember thinking, “Ahh, this is the last time I have to do this before the race.” It got me thinking about all of the “last times”we think we have had.

My first four babies were born before the social media boom. I’m pretty grateful for this, actually. I think I would have worried myself to death having been bombarded with so much information. We had what we call parenting books and that’s about it! A lot of posts have been made recently with videos and stories of all the last times in a mom’s life. You never know when you will wash your daughter’s hair again for the last time. You will have one day when you won’t rock your baby to sleep any longer. Gee whiz, talk about depressing. Moms all over the world are bawling at these videos and wondering what they missed.

I have some encouraging news! We don’t know when our last time is for anything. Who knows that? Only the Good Lord. James 4:13-15 reads, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, we ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

The last time…

I don’t spent a lot of time thinking of when my baby boy’s last bath will be, or when he won’t want me to sing “Jesus Loves Me”10,000 times before he sleeps. Instead, I will choose to live in the moment and look forward to the next stage. I plan to look forward to the first times I will have with grandbabies , daughters in law and sons in law.

Honestly, I am often so tired and ready to get on to the next thing that I don’t live in the moment. That is something I long to change.

No such thing as the last time….

I got to wash my 21 year old daughter’s hair when she was sick in the hospital. I painted her nails, rubbed lotion on her legs, and washed her face. The Lord watched over us during that time and gave me a chance to wash her hair again.

Mommies, don’t get sad about the last time you will do something. Celebrate it and enjoy the next stage of your baby’s life. Look forward to the times you will possibly relive those first times and remember, you don’t know when the last time is you will do anything. You may have another baby, run another marathon, bathe someone else’s babies, and rock toddlers to sleep in the nursery.

If you think you’ve missed those last times, give yourself grace, and remember ..”you don’t even know what will happen tomorrow.”

Bless you!

I’ve seen a lot of blogs about being a “boymom”. This title is a fairly new one, I think. Maybe because moms of boys are a special breed, chosen by God himself! Don’t get me wrong, girls need special mommies too! But, God has been teaching me some things that I believe I have learned just from being a boymom. Boys! They are ours for the borrowing. We love and train them the best we can. Their ultimate purpose is to go into the world and make a difference! We want them to stand up for Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. Boy is this hard. God gives complete sinners the task of raising men. This intimidates me and makes me want to wave my white flag daily. I give up. I’m failing, yelling, and showing my anger. I’m a failure sometimes to these future men. Does this sound familiar to fellow moms of boys?

Here are some things my boys have taught me.

1.I have very little control.

I can’t control much. My boys have gotten lost in the store, been left behind at grandmas, told a woman she has a big bottom, called a passing dog walker a “turd”, peed off of the deck, pooped in the yard, yelled “danger”out the window to a stranger…..The list could go on for days. We have studied scripture, completed (a few times) The 21 Rules of This House, disciplined, and lectured. Still, this species has a mind of its own. Their brains work WAY differently than mine. May I add that I recently found out that a few years ago, my college age son bought ‘caution’ tape from Home Depot and had a blast at the Taco Bell drive through. Too late to punish for THAT one!

2. My house will not be featured in Martha Stewart’s Living Magazine.

I have had 3 (yes 3!) mantel mirrors broken by flying objects. Our walls are dented, scraped, colored on, and finger printed. The furniture is used for forts, obstacle courses, and trampolines. For crying out loud, I homeschool and it rains six months out of the year. We’re in the house A LOT!! Carpet? We thought about getting some new, but what’s the point. That being said, I have learned to let go of some things. Don’t get me wrong, it still drives me crazy some days. Especially when the sun comes out!

3. Wrestling matches will break out randomly, and injuries happen daily.

With our six boys, we have had five surgeries, five broken bones, a climbing wall accident, a baseball bat to the head, falls off of our retaining wall into blackberries, many bike and scooter falls, and some burns. This list could also go on for days. I’m a careful person. I watch them! I really do! Let’s face it, I’m outnumbered. When the wrestling matches break out, I make some coffee and watch.

4.I have to ask for help.

This has been a hard thing for me. I figure since the kids are mine, I should be able to take care of them 24/7. Wrong! These guys are full of energy, and let’s face it, I am an OLDER mom now. My energy is not like it was in my 20s and 30s, although it’s still pretty good! I have had to learn how to give myself breaks. Thankful for grandparents who take a couple now and then. Also, I would highly recommend to get weekly help if you can. I had a college age gal coming in twice a week for a while. That made a HUGE difference in my week. Just knowing I could run an errand or finish school work with the older kids gave me peace. She got a new job, so I’m searching for someone else! Yes, my big kids help. But, they also have school and jobs and their own activities. They will help me when they can and I appreciate that immensely. Plus, their little brothers adore them!

5.My heart has more love than I ever thought possible.

After a long day, when my little red-head fireball comes up and gives me a kiss and a flower he picked out of our flower bed, my heart melts. When I see them being kind to each other (yes , it does happen), I can see the fruit of our labor. When I watch them sleep, I look at them and thank Jesus for allowing me to be their mom.

I hope that all of you fellow moms out there can be encouraged and know that you are not alone in your daily fight to raise your children. God will equip you for what you need. May God give you strength today! Now go make a fort!

I put on my raincoat and went for a walk in the rain (again). Those kinds of walks are pretty frequent here in the Pacific Northwest. I needed to get out of the house, away from the noise of just everyday life.

My phone died right away, which forced me to walk with my own thoughts instead of my music. It’s a good thing. Turning off the noise gives God time to stir my thoughts.

I began to wonder what we as Christians end up celebrating during this season. Are we truly celebrating Christmas for what it is, or have we become like the world trying to outdo each other with the best card, lights on our houses and gifts under the tree. What are we celebrating?

Giving or Receiving? This time of year we are so busy. I made a deliberate effort a couple of months ago to commit to at least a couple of serving opportunities. There are so many. In some seasons of life, it’s all we can do to just make it through our day—homeschooling (if God has chosen that path for us), meals, laundry, disciplining the kids, shopping, more discipline….you get my point. Then add Christmas on to that, and it can be a recipe for much stress for a busy mom or any busy person!

Our family participated in collecting toiletries and other needed items for the homeless. Our children’s minister did an excellent job of motivating the kids. We then had a pizza and packing party. We assembled hundreds of bags of essentials for our homeless ministry to hand out. My kids even spent their own money donating items. Another opportunity we have as a family is to visit an adult family home. We will deliver cards we have made and goodies.

I’m not saying a person has to do these kinds of things to give. There are many ways to use our time, talent, and touch to minister to others. The point is, Christ gave us the ultimate gift of his life so that we may have eternal life. No gift under the tree will replace that.

Giving is fun. I love giving gifts to my children, hoping that I have really tuned in to their needs and wants. We should love to give and receive! It’s a balance.

Gluttony or moderation? How much time have we spent thinking about the gifts we hope that someone will buy for us? Do we spend too much time making our lists and checking it twice? I think it’s OK to desire worldly goods. I mean, heck, there’s a lot of cool gadgets, clothes, gear for hobbies and yummy food! However, if this becomes something we indulge in too much, it can become a habit of sin. I’m guilty! You? Let’s try and live in moderation this season. Enjoying the world, but not over-indulging.

Peace or chaos? For me, this is probably my biggest struggle. I will be honest. I have not spent a lot of time just basking in the truth of what God did for us when he sent his son, Jesus, to live as fully human, yet fully God. Pretty amazing. I have spent way more time scrolling down web sites, groaning when something is sold out, fussing at my computer for being slow, running here and there to pick up last minute things, and stressing about what food we will have for Christmas Eve! Uh, so not God’s plan for us as believers this time of year. Yet, we all seem to fall into the chaos in some way or another. With God’s help, I hope to live in a more peaceful state the rest of this season. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27. Let’s claim this gift of Peace so freely given.

Merry Christmas, Friends!

Peace and Love,

Sonya

Recently I have been allowing myself to be anxious and stressed out. Instead of taking all of my anxieties and worries and throwing them at the feet of Jesus, I’ve been internalizing and trying to handle my stress on my own. This leads to unhealthy ways of handling it which affects my kids, my husband, and my own health. It doesn’t matter how we handle it, if we don’t go to Jesus, read our bible, pray and ask for help, it leads to trouble. At least in my life.

I know all moms have struggles. If you don’t, you’re lying! Ha! Maybe if I share some of my struggles you won’t feel alone. You can think “It’s not just me!” I know this sounds bad, but I think we are all a little relieved when we hear moms struggling with the same issues. We can share ideas, but most importantly, pray for one another. Whether you have one child or 8 (like me) or even more, it’s a daily decision to give our anxieties over to the One who can handle them.

I have two kids leaving for college this fall. I honestly know I don’t have the strength on my to do this again 6 times. I’m already allowing myself to worry about what might happen when they get to college.

My oldest daughter, 20, will be leaving for the second time. She had a terrible epileptic event last fall which put her in the hospital for 2 weeks, rehab appts for 2 months, and more healing emotionally and physically after that. She is passionate about her college, her church there, and her major, which is journalism/media production. Needless to say, this is causing me a lot of anxiety. I will share her story some time on another post.

My second son, 18, will be going to the same college. I’m going to miss him. He makes me laugh and brings lightness to stressful situations. He is super smart. So much so that he passed me up in homeschooling math several years ago! Just knowing that he will be off on his own soon brings many emotions. It will be so with all of my children.

My twins….they will be turning 16 next month. Can you say driving? Yes, we are preparing both of them to get their license by trying to get in their 50 hours each. That’s a lot of practice driving, gripping the door, closing my eyes and praying. They are doing wonderfully, but still there is that learning curve. People in Seattle are road ragers it seems. That stupid bumper sticker that says “student driver”means nothing if you are slowing them down for the next red light. Being this age brings a lot of changes….they are great kids, but the things kids struggle with these days is rough–social media being one. They are never disconnected very long from anything. They are also very smart and finishing up their second year in public school.

I homeschool my last four little blessings. They are ages 8 and under. I would not be lying if I say some days i’m just plain lonely. That sounds ridiculous! It’s hard to share life’s struggles when you are home with people under 8 most of the day. Our two youngest struggle with their emotions. There is a lot of yelling, crying, hitting, and more crying. Did I mention injuries? This is partly because they are all boys. Someone in our nursery at our homeschool co-op said Elias has problems hitting. She says they just protect the other kids. Yikes! Well, he has 5 older brothers who rough house him constantly.

There is the sadness of watching our youngest grow into a toddler. Knowing he is our last baby makes me sad. “It’s been a good run. Time to grow old,”as my husband would say.

There’s the stress of feeling like there is never enough time with my husband. We joke that one day all our kids will be gone and we won’t know each other. It’s not really funny. We try to get in time together, but it’s very difficult.

Summer. Yep. This causes me anxiety. Maybe another post on that! Even with homeschooling and being used to most of my kids home all the time, the schedule changes, the driving kids around, the expectations of the older kids, and the myriad of choices of things to do causes me stress. My husband and I are working on planning some things, but that doesn’t change the day to day.

These are just a few of my recent struggles. But, behind all this is a daily choice to be thankful. Even when I don’t seem thankful, my heart is usually there. I am humbled every day by what God has entrusted to me with His help.

Proofreading this makes me feel like a real basket case. But, maybe some of you can relate. Whether you are sending kids to college, taking care of babies, or all of it and everything in between, may you rest in Hope.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NASB) Therefore, we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Blessings,

Sonya

Recently, I feel like I’ve been grumbling in my spirit about different things going on in our family. To most people, I keep my complaints to myself. I ask God every day for a thankful heart.

The thing is, as a mom with 8 children, I feel like I can never complain. I have t hold it all together. I see it in their eyes, “well, what did you think life would be like with so many kids?” I’ve even had someone say, “Well, you created this.” Funny, if a full time teacher with kids complained about his/her job, would we say, “Well, maybe you should reconsider this whole teaching thing.”Hey, we moms with a lot of kids know that we created this and what a beautiful thing it is! It’s only with GOD’S GRACE that we received so many blessings. He will empower us for the journey, but that doesn’t mean it will be a cakewalk. I feel like large families are viewed through a different lens.

Biblically, complaining is a sin. “Do everything without complaining or arguing.” Phil 2:14. Oh yeah, you can bet I’ve recited that verse millions of times to my kids! But, wait, what about me? We are all human, so let’s just admit we complain!

A Time to Complain

• Not right when your husband walks in from work. Yep, preaching to the choir here. I am so guilty of this. I’ve been trying to work on it and I hope he notices.
• Not in the heat of the battle. Usually, those moments will calm down in a matter of minutes, if not seconds ,so complaining about the situation in front of your kids is usually not good.
• Not to your friends who have no children and desire them. Or to the friend that has to work for financial reasons and would love to stay home
• DO: Tell your husband specific areas you are struggling and ask for his counsel. Just saying, “I”M DONE! I CANT DO THIS ANYMORE!” is not helpful to him. In fact, I’m pretty sure he will withdraw from the whole conversation!
• DO: Tell a good friend your struggles and ask for prayer and some suggestions. Most of us have been through the same thing at one time or another if we have more than one child.

A Place

• Not out in public where you seem out of control. You want those “Wow, so many kids, don’t you know how this happens?”comments, complain to the grocery clerk.
• Not on a day when you know it was just an off day. Have hope that tomorrow will be better.
• Not to people who are going through much more than just dealing with daily kid issues. I’ve been on this side and most people just want to say, “Shut up already.”

I write all of this because we moms of large or small families get overwhelmed. We have days (sometimes seasons!) where we have to vent to let someone else know our struggles.

Some days we literally count down the hours until bedtime. Just yesterday, my six year old said, “MOM! Only 4 and a half more hours until bedtime!” I laughed because I thought only moms did this countdown.

Today I commit to turning my grumbles into prayers of thankfulness. James 1: 1-2 reads, “My brothers and sisters, you will face all kinds of trouble. When you do, think of it as pure joy”

Have a blessed day!

Sonya

I recently got to fly to Washington, DC with 2 of my children and my husband. We tagged along on a business trip he had. While flying back, I had a window seat on one of the flights. I was gazing out at the beautiful, white, puffy clouds. How serene and peaceful everything is above the clouds. I found myself wondering what was going on below the clouds. Whose houses were we flying over and what was happening there? Sounds weird, probably.

Mamahood is like this. Some days are above the clouds. We have a great homeschool day. Maybe one of our teens sends us a random text saying they love us. Maybe our husband checks in periodically with words of encouragement. Oh, better yet! The three year old only colors on paper!

Then comes an “under the cloud”day. The child with epilepsy has a bad medical day. We get in a fight with one of our teenagers and don’t watch our tongue. Babies are sick, the laundry is piled to the ceiling. Oh, after a $400 trip to Costco, “There’s no food in the house.” You get the idea.

The “above the cloud days” are amazing. I recently had some of these when I was in DC. I was only mothering two children and we were out of our day to day element. We learned a lot and I didn’t cook a single meal!

Yesterday, I definitely had the other kind of day. I was literally thinking, “How am I going to survive this?” It led me to think about all the other women and moms having bad days. Maybe there is something I can say that would encourage you.

Here are my thoughts for those days:

1. Scrap the schedule- some days will be successful if you get some reading done, make dinner, and still have the kids alive when the day is over.

2. Reset your expectations- Frustration ensues when you expect things to keep on track when there are troubles

3. Pray without ceasing–again, I’m preaching to myself.

4. Put your own wants on hold- exercise, computer time, reading, quiet time….these things won’t happen on those days. Just accept it.

5. Reach out–I have a few people I text frequently. Just getting a response helps me know I’m not alone and someone else might be thinking about me.

6. Do something for someone else- yesterday, we got out the card making stuff and made a couple of cards for other people. That helps take MY mind off of the day I’m having.

7. Journal the good and the bad. You will get some perspective if you can read back on the “above the cloud” days.

I hope that you are all having an “above the cloud day!” If not, one is coming soon!

Blessings,

Sonya

I wasn’t planning to do another post so soon…but, considering this is a blog geared towards moms, I need to! I think Mother’s Day can be a time of many emotions for women. For a mother, it can be a time of celebration. For those who wished to be mothers, but aren’t, a time of sadness of other negative feelings.

For you moms “in the trenches of motherhood”, it can be a time of weariness and disappointment. Maybe you have set your expectations high, and then your family didn’t  follow through. You end up getting up with the fussy babies and making breakfast just like any other old day. You do the cooking and the laundry.

My love languages include acts of service and words of affirmation. I have (admittedly) over the years dreamed of breakfast in bed or a day at the spa. Maybe the kids would clean the house and do all the laundry and meal planning. How silly!

My husband loves to give gifts. So, I can always count on getting something special from him and the kids. I look forward to that. I am grateful that he is setting that example of generosity for them to follow. I also have a plethora of homemade cards and gifts, which I treasure!

My point to all this is to encourage you moms feeling less than excited about this day. Maybe you are one who gets up excited to see what is going on for the day. Maybe you are one who dreads what won’t happen today.

I would like to remind you that we are so fortunate and blessed to have children. My friend Holly explains the way she views Mother’s Day. She reminds herself that she is “living her dream.”She always wanted a family and God has blessed her in that way. That is a true attitude of thankfulness.

Instead of waiting to be served, let’s spend our day thanking God for what we have. If you have children, remember they are blessings from the Lord, as scripture says. I’m preaching to myself. I sometimes get in the “what are you going to do for me today” mode, and that is not a healthy place.

Today I will focus on Thankfulness:

Psalm 100:4  “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. give thanks to him and praise his name.”

Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, whether in word of deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

1 Thessalonians 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Dear moms, whatever your circumstances today, I pray that you will find gratitude. Happy Mother’s Day!

Sonya