My neglect always led to feelings of guilt and fear of what I was going to find when I went downstairs to check on her. Finally, tired of waking up feeling like a failure before my day even started, I prayed and pondered – what was this dream trying to tell me.

It didn’t take me long to realize that I was living out my own version of Julie Ann Barnhill’s book, Motherhood: the Guilt that Keeps on Giving.

Can you relate?

My children are grown with children of their own, and I still feel like I could have and should have done so much more . . .  even though I gave parenting my all and then some.

Praise God! My heavenly Father came to my rescue – Again!

He reminded me that although it is true that I was not then, I’m not now, nor will I ever be a perfect mother, there are no perfect mothers. We are simply doing our best, and that’s what matters.

He reminded me that mothering like every other aspect of my life is covered by His grace and that is sufficient.

He reminded me that my children and grandchildren are His. I have not been called to be perfect nor is it my job to make them perfect. I have been called to love  and guide them by pointing them toward God’s love . . . and that I can do.

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16

It’s been a while since I’ve had a “puppy in the basement” dream. Of course, I still have my mom guilt moments. Sometimes I think they come in the job description. However, now I try to quickly give those feelings over to God’s grace; trusting that His loving forgiveness is sufficient to cover my many weaknesses.

So, take a moment today to remind yourself of how very much the Lord loves you, forgives you, and covers you with His grace . . . then go hug your kids.

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Did you know that God cares about time?

I did a search of the use of the word “time” in the NIV Bible, and discovered that it is used 888 times. The first verse which includes the word “time” is in the Book of Genesis, the first chapter, where in verse 5 it says:

God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

And in verse 14:

And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years.”

I believe our attitudes about time reveal a great deal about our attitudes toward God. Is each moment a gift or does it simply just happen? Were you and I created for a specific time in history, or are we just here by chance?

If we are here in our current time and place for a purpose, are we pursuing that purpose and living each day keeping our purpose in mind? What is your purpose?

Is your purpose to be: a parent, a spouse, a child, an employer, an employee, a friend, a grandchild, a niece, a nephew, aunt or uncle, a sibling, a child of God . . .

As you prepare to welcome 2012 and open a new planner, think about your purpose and how knowing your purpose will influence your use of time.

In the Book of Esther, Mordecai challenges his niece, Esther, with these words:

“who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14b

Your purpose or mine may not influence the lives of an entire nation but then again it may. We may not know how God intends to use us for His purposes, but God knows. Psalm 139: 15-16 reads:

You know me inside and out,
You know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I’d even lived one day. (MSG)

As you prepare to celebrate the beginning of 2012, stop and think about the gift of time.

You were born for, “such a time as this.”

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Have you ever noticed the expression on a three year old’s face when they sing Jingle Bells complete with jingling percussive accompaniment? Priceless smiles and joy-filled enthusiasm!

Now I know you have looked at your calendar and realized that Christmas is l just a couple of days away. There is a lump in your throat and a feeling of panic beginning to settle over you. Relax! I’m here to share a secret I wish I had learned years ago. You may or may not believe me, it all depends upon how you are wired. I wouldn’t have believed me back when I was trying to be “Super-mom” and do it all!

My secret . . . jingle!

Don’t worry if you don’t get every little thing done. Have fun!!

Cookie Baking – Does it really matter if you only bake four kinds of cookies and you don’t have time to bake eight. Buy a dozen or two. No one will care. Their favorite will taste just as good if you bake it in January as a special surprise.

Gift Giving – Are you scrambling because you have six presents for Suzie and only five for Jimmy? You know they are keeping count! Save one of Suzie’s presents for Epiphany and shop the sales for one more gift for Jimmy. They’ll love an extra present on January 6th! You might want to consider keeping a gift closet that you fill with treasures all year long. It’s helpful when you need a last minute gift for an unexpected exchange.

Christmas Cards – I gave myself permission to stop sending them years ago. I only mail a few to family members out of town. I hug the people I see on a regular basis, and email or FB the rest. I have friends who send out Epiphany cards, or Valentine’s cards, even Easter cards. Who says your annual card has to be sent in December?

Christmas Decorating – Each year I question whether or not I will decorate, and I always break down and do it anyway. If I didn’t I wouldn’t know what to write for HomeGoods Openhouse!  I enjoy Christmas decorations and know I would miss them if I avoided them one year. Now I put them up a little earlier and I don’t use as many. Both of these decisions help me “jingle.”

Parties – Holiday gatherings for a family of four or five, even a couple, can get overwhelming. Calendars are filled by the end of October, and when that last minute invitation arrives . . . Aggghhh!! Relax! It’s okay if you can’t attend them all. Sit down as a family and plan your calendar, with the rule that everyone will spend at least one or two nights a week at home together. Sure the kids will protest, but those will be the nights they remember when they are grown and have families of their own.

That’s my list! Are you ready to “jingle” with me!

Let’s make today the day we start anticipating Jesus Birthday Celebration like a three year old – with a priceless smile and joy-filled enthusiasm!

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. Luke 2:10-11

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It’s true in every family.

The sister who always seems to be critical and competing.
The aunt married to your mother’s brother who continually tells you how to raise your children.
The grandparent who insists on telling the same unpleasant story every holiday.
The child who complains and won’t eat anything on the table.
The uncle who insists on arguing about everything and anything.
The ____________________________. (You fill in the blank.)

We all have them. Difficult family members who put us on edge and make us wonder if it’s all worth the effort.

Here are a few tips I’ve gathered that might just help:

1. Cover the day with prayer – Start now. Pray for each person by name and ask the Lord to bless them and your time together.

2. Make table assignments – If you know that Uncle George doesn’t get along with Aunt Patsy put them at opposite ends of the table.

3. Keep everyone busy – Give them jobs before the meal, and plan a game or project for later in the day. Have the children take photos or make place-mats. Set up your Christmas tree without the ornaments – and let them decorate it while you are in the kitchen. You can always move them later if you don’t like the placement.

4. Invite someone new – Inviting someone who is alone for the holiday,  it helps to keep everyone on their best behavior.

5. Write, I’m thankful for you because notes – Place each person’s name at the top of a piece of paper. Without signing any names have each family member write down one or two reasons why they are thankful for them. Read them aloud at the end of the day – and gift each person with their list to take home.

What would you add?

I am praying that each of you enjoy a happy and blessed Thanksgiving. We have so many reasons to praise the Lord for all that He has done for us. Remember He chose our parents and our siblings. He did it for a reason.

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. Ephesians 1:4-6 (NLT)

We were born just four days apart and baptized on the same day. Since the day we met he’s been my best friend. He makes me laugh more than anyone else I know, and his love for the Lord and our family is evident in every decision he makes.

Which is why there was another date on the calendar last week that was even more precious than our birthdays. On October 28th, we celebrated 1500 bonus days of life together.

On September 20, 2007, Rev had a pericardial stripping. Surgery that had a one in three mortality rate, and if he lived a one in the remaining two morbidity rate. Although we had prepared ourselves for the worst, we were covered by the prayers of countless individuals and a peace that was way beyond our understanding.

Since that day, we count everyday a bonus day. An undeserved unexpected but oh so appreciated day we are able to spend together.

Truthfully, each day is a bonus day with our loved ones. A day to be celebrated!

We can so easily get caught up in our normal day in and day out routines that we forget to rejoice over the simple blessing one more day with someone we love.

This month as we prepare for Thanksgiving, let’s take time each day to celebrate the simple blessings in our lives.

How will you celebrate?

I am going to focus on 30 Days of Praise, at Counting My Blessings. Will you join me with your own 30 Days journey of thanks?

**LINK UP AND A GIVEAWAY**

Link up and share your stories of thanks with us. It will be a great way for us to get to know each other as we praise God together for His many blessings.

Let’s join our voices to praise God!

Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise You!
I will praise You as long as I live, lifting up my hands to You in prayer. Psalm 63:3-4

We also have a copy of Rev. Billy Graham’s Daily Devotional, Unto the Hills to give away. This book offers a daily word of encouragement and hope. A place to “get away from it all” and spend some time with God.

¹ I look up to the mountains—does my help come from there?
² My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!
³ He will not let you stumble; the One who watches over you will not slumber.
⁴ Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.

⁵ The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
⁶ The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night.

⁷ The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.
⁸ The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever. Psalm 121

*To enter to win this copy of Unto the Hills, leave a comment here telling us the great things God has done in your life.  This giveaway will end at 10:00pm (PST) on Tuesday, November 15th.  The winner will be drawn randomly from the comments and announced on November 16th.

**This giveaway is void where prohibited. Open to residents of the Continental United States ONLY.  Please see our terms and conditions for complete contest rules. Please note that a copy of Unto the Hills was provided for free for the purposes of this giveaway.

How do you handle this kind of conversation?

I have a few tips to share should you ever find yourself in a similar situation.

1. Don’t Gossip

• Be very careful to discuss the problem without names.
• Details are unnecessary, stick to the big picture.
• Focus on the problem, not the people (the sin not the sinner).

2. Don’t Judge

• Keep your heart tender.
• Recognize your own sins.
• Remember the mission is to extend God’s love to hurting people.

3. Put Away Your Weapons

• Words can be weapons of mass destruction.
• Don’t divide God’s army into regiments by stirring up strife.
• Engage the Sword of the Spirit personally through prayer and Bible study.

4. Be Patient

• Pray.
• Wait on God to open doors for you.
• Pray.
• Trust God’s timing to walk You through open doors.

I’m going to share with you that this list has come through many personal failures.

I used to be a “fixer.” I’d see a problem and charge in wielding my weapon and war would be waged. But wars always leave casualties. Always.

In Scripture, there were certainly times when God led His people into battle quickly . . . but there were also times when He told them to wait while He went ahead of them and prepared the way. Either way, the point is that God was doing the leading.

Just because I am agitated about something doesn’t mean that God is preparing me for battle. He might be, but He might just be inviting me to pray for the individuals whose battle it is to fight.

Pray and wait!

When it comes to battles I pray and then I pray more. I ask God to help me to keep my eyes on Him and trust His guidance. Then I wait for Him to open doors, and I ask Him to give me a nudge through those He intends for me to walk through.

I said to the Lord, “You are my God!”  Listen, O Lord, to my cries for mercy!
O Sovereign Lord, the strong one who rescued me, You protected me on the day of battle.
Lord, do not let evil people have their way.
Do not let their evil schemes succeed, or they will become proud. Psalm 140:6-8

But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.
So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:15-16,22-23a

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. Isaiah 60:1

I used to awaken our children by entering their rooms waving my hands in the air and singing, “Rise and shine and give God the glory. Glory. Children of the Lord.”

I can still hear their groans as they covered their heads and tried to postpone the start of another day.

Some days are like that. We don’t feel ready to arise, and we definitely aren’t ready to shine!  LOL

But isn’t God awesome. With the gift of each new day we are invited to rise and shine.  And through His love and grace we are given the ability to do just that. Breath to fill our lungs and strength to shine.

What a blessing it is to know that we don’t have to get up and sparkle on our own. We are just reflectors of the Lord’s love and grace in our lives. A life filled with praise shines the light of God’s love on others and sparkles in a way that gives Him glory.

So, for today let’s arise and shine with His help and for His glory. One day at a time . . . shining and sparkling. To God alone be the glory!!

This family didn’t ask themselves all of the questions they might have asked as they tried to talk themselves out of doing something “crazy” like taking in another child when they already had so little for themselves. They responded to her need. They gave her a home. They adopted her to be their own.

Praise God!

You know we are much like Arminda. We were abandoned in our sins, in need of a home, and in need of love when God provided for us.

We were weak and could not help ourselves. Then Christ came at the right time and gave His life for all sinners. But God showed His love to us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5: 6 & 8 (NLV)

Do you want to know what Arminda’s reaction has been to her new home and her new life?

Just look at her face. It tells it all.

As we visited with Arminda and her family, her infectious joy worked its way into each one of our hearts. She was loved. She was happy. It showed!

I wonder whether my life in Christ shows? I wonder . . . do I share infectious joy?

I learned something very important from Arminda, a little adopted girl in Bolivia. I want my life to look like hers.

I want . . . life saving grace = infectious joy!

This reminded me of an experience we had a few years ago when our determined feathered friends were more successful. Day after day I would remove partially constructed nests only to open the door to new ones again and again and again.

Well, you can see who won!  One beautiful morning, I opened the front door and found a completed nest and these three little eggs.  Wow, talk about getting the job done!

I wonder how often I am deliberate about finishing the job God has for me. I can so quickly and easily become discouraged, disappointed, and deterred by fear.

Fear that I might . . . fail, look foolish, disappoint my friends and family or even the Lord.

Fear that the job . . . won’t be good enough, isn’t really in God’s plan for me, or would be better done by someone else.

Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s permission. Every hair on your head has been counted. Don’t be afraid! You are worth more than many sparrows. Matthew 19:28-30 (GWT)

Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid!”  I am called to trust and obey. He promised that He will never leave me nor forsake me. He promised that the Father is sovereign.

Surrounded by His presence I am free to do whatever it is He has called me to do, to the best of my ability and to the glory of His holy name.

This is a post I wrote for Counting My Blessings about a year and a half ago. I thought it might be worth sharing with you here at 5Min.

I began my morning by reading Psalm 117 and 119 as God had led me to set my thoughts on the center of His Word.

Psalm 117 is the shortest chapter in the Bible, and Psalm 119 the longest.

Look with me for a moment at the words of Psalm 117:

Praise the Lord, all you nations;
extol Him, all you peoples.
For great is His love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD! (Hallelu Yah - Hebrew)

Psalm 118:8 is often the verse quoted as being in the center of the Bible. If it’s not the center it certainly is the core:

It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.

Psalm 119 is an acrostic, it contains 22 segments each beginning with a consecutive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Aleph, Beth, Gimel . . . to Taw. I want to share with you a few of the verses that spoke to my heart and blessed me.

Blessed are those who obey His written instructions. They wholeheartedly search for Him. v. 2

In deed, your written instructions make me happy. They are my best friends. v. 24

Remember the word you gave me. Through it you gave me hope. v. 49

Your hands created me and made me what I am. Help me understand so that I may learn your commandments. v. 73

Oh, how I love your teachings! They are in my thoughts all day long. v. 97

Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. v. 105

Your written instructions are mine forever. They are the joy of my heart. v. 111

You are my hiding place and my shield My hope is based on Your Word. v. 114

There is nothing but truth in Your Word, and all of Your righteous regulations endure forever. v. 160

May you find blessings galore in the center of God’s Word!