Snapshots of the Heart ~ Passion for God

Somehow our kids have all ended up with a little red-headedness in them.  This sneaky, recessive gene passed over a generation or two and showed up in my kids' freckles, follicles and frame of mind.

Some more than others.

Aaron's hair is significantly more red than the girls'.  Norah and Ashley have the fairest skin of all.  And Lydia is our red-headed feisty one.  (Also known as pure stubbornness.)

During moments of frustration with my kids (mine and theirs), I have been known to refer my kids' tempers and tempests as evidence of their passion.  A much nicer word than orneriness or strong-willed!

When Lydia digs in her heels and absolutely, hands-down, I-won't-be-swayed refuses to walk her own little self up the stairs to nap-time, she is sharing a bit of her I Do It My Way Passion.

When Ashley mothers the other kids, reminding them to not bring toys to the table, to wash their hands with soap and to not snitch any chips, she is revealing her I Want You to Listen to Me Passion.

When Norah juts out her chin, squints her eyes and looks away after being corrected for something, she is standing firm on her I Don't Want You to Be the Boss of Me Passion.

When Aaron retells with intricate detail the last Speed Racer game he enjoyed while half-heartedly putting away dishes, he is disclosing his I Want to Do What I Want to Do Passion.

As much as it all makes my head hurt, there is a smidgen of comfort in all this.

It's tough to remember when I'm in the midst of a "red-headed" interaction with my kids, but if they are this strong and passionate about these little bits of life, I can hope and trust that they will be equally passionate and strong in other areas down the road.

Resisting drugs.  Sex.  Peer pressure.

And ...

Loyalty to friends.  School.  Work.

And ...

Embracing truth.  Justice.  Faith.

I pray that their passion for being too big for a nap, their passion for being the bossy-pants, their passion for being too grown up for a correction and their passion for playing and re-playing will prepare them to follow equally passionately after God.

"Lord, please instill in my children a soul 

that 'followeth hard after thee' 

- one that clings passionately to You."  

Psalm 63:8

Starting Anew

I'm sitting here looking at the blinking cursor and feeling a little intimidated with all that white space on the screen.

In all honesty, I really and truly enjoyed this past week of not writing.  I gave myself a super-duper-mini-sabbatical from blogging/writing/trying-to-put-thoughts-to-paper/scribbling.  And it was grand.

But that also bothered me a little bit.

If I truly love writing (which I do) and if I like this platform for sharing my thoughts (which sorta do) and if I feel like this is an opportunity which God has given me (which I think is true) ... then why wouldn't I miss it?

In spite of this feeling of insecurity, I made a decision to jump back in - get the gears working again, work out the squeaks, fall back into a groove - and trust that God would give me direction.  Surely if He intends me to continue on here, He will provide the inspiration, the desire, and a compass for my course.  I started brainstorming what my first post of the new year would be.  And I waited.

As I lay in bed on New Year's Eve at about 11:13 (yes ... that is the pair of party animals we were this year!), my mind was blank regarding what to write.  But it was bursting with other thoughts!

I wrestled with the pressures of writing and the freedoms of the previous, writing-free week
-- maybe I need to release the expectations I have for myself.
I tossed back and forth the idea of pursuing other writing options
-- but with limited time to write, I would have to be picky about where I invest myself.
I questioned the significance of my writing
-- what is the purpose of this labor? do I keep at it? quite honestly, who gives a hootenanny?!


As the digits on the clock marked time toward midnight, inspiration and sleep continued to elude me.  With all these thoughts and more bubbling around in my brain, I finally did the only thing that I knew would help.  I prayed.

"Okay, Jesus ... this is all Yours.  I don't have the energy or the oomph to muscle through all this.  If you want me to keep writing, I need your help.  And I really want to go to sleep.  Amen."

I felt the promised peace settle over me.  And in my mind's eye, Jesus brought to mind an image from earlier that day.

Ashley and Lydia are standing side-by-side on the gymnastic mat.  In front of them is the play highchair from the basement, but today it has a different job.  Propped up on the tray of the chair is "The Treasury of Amelia Bedelia".  The girls ask for our attention and begin to sing.

"Follow the star, follow the star, follow the star, follow the star ..." (That's a shout out to you, Cousin Rebekah!)

They mumble through the other lyrics, "reading" from their "sheet music" and return to the chorus, "Follow the star, follow the star to Bethlehem!"

They finish and smile.  A little bow as we clap.  And before the ovation quiets down, they jump back in.

In their own little way, they are sharing a bit of beauty with us.  And they are enjoying it.  A lot.

I see again their little tootsies standing on the hot-pink mat - their stage.  I see their joy in singing for us - their gift.  I see their satisfaction in the smiles and applause of their meager audience - their joy.

And I hear God speaking to my heart.  Again.

Sitting here on this scruffy folding chair with my fingers finding the letters to my thoughts, I am perched on my own little stage.  As letters become words, words become sentences, and sentences become thoughts, I am sharing this God-given gift in my own small way.  As I sense God's pleasure in my simple use of this passion, I experience joy.

And I get to share a little beauty, and enjoy it, too.

So ... I guess I'll be back again tomorrow!  Because I want to share with you about last week ...

But what about you?

Where is your stage?
What is your gift?
What gives you joy?
How are you sharing a little beauty?

Who is Me? {part 3}

For the past two days I have been sharing about how God finds us beautiful on the inside and about how He wants that beauty to shine on the outside.  Today I am excited to share about God's desire for us to follow our Passions ... and add to His beauty around us!

Here is the final installment of my mini-series on our identity.  Enjoy ... and be inspired!

If you were to ask my mom, she would tell you that I’ve always loved to write.  At a very young age, maybe 7 or 8, I wrote my first book.  It was about a girl and her horse and I remember I used the word “humongous” multiple times.  Later on, I was famous for my storytelling.  As kids, my siblings and I would pile into one room and I would tell silly stories until my audience drifted off to sleep.  Even now, if I have a episode with the kids to retell, I can’t just say:  “Ashley stepped in some red ants and nuts.”  I have to tell you just what happened.  For example, I recently recounted just such an adventure.  Here's a snippet ...

Sweet Le-le screamed and started tap-dancing in place.  Her little legs were flailing around.  She flapped her arms wildly, sending her jangle-y bracelets up into the air, scattering across the sidewalk.  She was terrified.  (And so was that poor little ant.)

I got back into the habit of writing when Aaron was born.  I would of send out to family and friends newsy little emails sharing our adventures with pureed peas and trips down that twisty slide at the park.  I loved chronicling my stay-at-home days (it gave them significance) and people loved hearing from me.

As you can see, I love words and I’ve always loved how you could string them together to create a story.  But, I would never have considered myself to be a writer.  That title, that identity was not something I could claim as my own.  It was too lofty, too esteemed, too highly regarded for little ol’ me.

That is until God started calling me out.  A few years ago, I had people (people besides my mom, that is) asking me what I was going to do with my writing.  I would shrug and shake my head ... just as curious as my inquirers.  Then last year, my mom suggested I start a blog.  The first thing I did when I got home was to Google, “Blog”.

It was then that I really felt like God opened a door for a passion that He has been nurturing for a long time.  Suddenly at my fingertips was a place for all these words and sentences and stories that were piling up in my head.  Within reach was a platform for sharing my heart about the worthiness, the challenges, the exasperations and the privileges of mothering.  In my hands was an opportunity to grow in a whole new way, to develop a gift that God had given me and share His grace and beauty with my readers.  

Since that first post here on, Snapshots, I have discovered that I am in fact a writer.  This doesn’t surprise my mom ... but I am daily stunned and humbled by that title.  

As I go about my day, I feel like my eyes are open to everyday experiences that actually have spiritual significance.  I have front row seats to the snapshots God points out and suddenly the ordinary aspects of my day (laundry, dishes, walking to school and bed time routines) are sacred.  I get so excited when I finally get to sit down at the computer to transfer those thoughts to the computer screen.  And no one is mores surprised than me at what comes out of my fingertips!  This writing gig is 100% God!

I fully believe each of us is hardwired with passions God has given us.  Think through your life and interests.  Maybe it’s music, art, cooking, teaching, crafting, dance, serving, sports, a church ministry, hospitality, interior design, make-up and hairstyling, sewing, gardening, crafting ... the list goes on and on.  


In order to discern what your passion is (and distinguish it from, say, an interest), I would encourage you to ask the following questions:

• What energizes you? (actually charges your batteries)
• What excites you?  (you think and talk about it a lot)
• What do you think about doing with longing?  (wishing you had more time to do it)
• What activity can you lose yourself in?  (5 o’clock already?!)
• What makes you sad or frustrated if it’s lacking?
• What gifts and abilities has God given you? (others can help here)

Once you have pinpointed your passion, it’s time to cultivate it.  And this is the most challenging aspect!  Especially as mothers of preschoolers.  The demands on our time and energy often result in our allowing our God-given passions to go dormant.  That’s perfectly natural for this season of life, but we don’t have to ignore it completely.  In fact, I don’t think it’s healthy for us to put our passions into a MOPS-induced coma!

God gave us these passions with three purposes:  to bring Him glory, to benefit others and to fill us with joy as we share the beauty He has imparted to us in our own unique way.  If we neglect our passions, those things don’t happen.  And personally, I don’t want to miss out on the satisfaction, joy and fullness that comes with writing!

So ... what does this look like in my life today?

• I have to be intentional about carving out time to write.  (nap time and some evenings)
• I have to be realistic.  (not my first priority ... it will get bumped)
• I have to be willing to sacrifice a bit.  (giving up other pleasures to capture available moments)
• I have to be creative. (any opportunity to write, jotting down thoughts for later times)
• I have to be patient.  (not my season to devote hours to writing ... but someday)
• I have to be focused.  (the purpose of this passion is to join God in sharing His beauty)

I want to leave you with a song of encouragement.  This is by one of my favorite, passionate musicians.  Sara Groves is an inspiration to me.  She is a songwriter, a story-teller, a transparent lover of Jesus and a mom.  Her songs have ministered to me in powerful ways throughout this journey of redeeming my Person, revamping my Package and releasing my Passion.

Add To The Beauty

by Sara Groves & Matt Bronlewee

We come with beautiful secrets
We come with purposes written on our hearts, written on our souls
We come to every new morning
With possibilities only we can hold, that only we can hold

Redemption comes in strange place, small spaces
Calling out the best of who we are

And I want to add to the beauty
To tell a better story
I want to shine with the light
That's burning up inside

It comes in small inspirations
It brings redemption to life and work
To our lives and our work

It comes in loving community

It comes in helping a soul find it's worth

Redemption comes in strange places, small spaces
Calling out the best of who we are

And I want to add to the beauty
To tell a better story
I want to shine with the light
That's burning up inside

This is grace, an invitation to be beautiful
This is grace, an invitation

Redemption comes in strange places, small spaces
Calling out our best

And I want to add to the beauty
To tell a better story
I want to shine with the light
That's burning up inside

Now it's your turn ... how are you going to add to the beauty?

___________________________________

Day 1:  Mom in the Midst

Day 2:  My Button is Lame

Day 3:  Splendidly Lavish

Day 4:  Keeping My Head Above Water

Day 5:  Time-Warp Wednesday ~ Little Me

Day 6:  Me, Myself & I

Day 7:  Food For Though ~ Bacon

Day 8:  The Aches and Pains of Service

Day 9:  I Heart You

Day 10:  Who is Me? {part 1}

Day 11:  Who is Me? {part 2}

Day 12:  Who is Me? {part 3}