God Working in My Life

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Wow! It's been a busy weekend. We were out of town from early Saturday morning (we left around 7 AM) until after 3 PM today. It was long! It was a great time to be with our family members, but I am glad to be home now. There were tons of people, tons of (not-so-healthy) food, and not much sleep. A lot of the stuff I've done on this blog in the last few days (I spent some time when others were napping or engaged in other activities checking comments and such) has been in a sleep-deprived, distracted haze. So if anything or anyone got overlooked, or if maybe I said some things I shouldn't have...I'm sorry. :) Like I said, it's been a little crazy.

In the past few months, God has really been working in my life. He's driven me to do a lot of different things that I might not have otherwise, or which were hard for me to do. I just wanted to share with you some of these things that have been going on, in hopes that it might inspire you.

I'll admit it: I LOVE the internet. I like to talk to people, and I like to research and learn new things. It's been hard for me to limit myself on computer time some days so I can spend enough time with my kids. There are days that they are quietly playing happily and I have some work that I want to get done and it's easy to justify doing it while they're happy, or even while they're on my lap sometimes. But God's been pushing me away from this more and more (by the way, as I write this, Daniel sleeps on me in his sling, and Bekah's running around her grandparents' house playing).

I have found that God is giving us more time in the mornings to play and get dressed (over an hour usually) before we even get downstairs. My kids and my house have been demanding more of my attention. I enjoy the chance to get up and chase them around, and involve them in the other things I'm doing, and to just stop and play with them (Bekah loves to get chased or tickled on the ground, so we take time everyday to do this with her!).

I've also been getting more involved in the community around me. God has provided a small group at church and many friends with kids Bekah's age. I've also found other playgroups and communities and we're getting involved with. I've been really seeking community in the last few months. I'm trying to find like-minded people here to befriend, and it's been going really well. I have a lot of really great friends here now, with kids Bekah's age. It's been great for her, too, to have her own little friends, and she knows a few by name now. God has really provided opportunities for me to find this community.

I've also found that God has placed certain books in my life, or people, or blog posts (from others) that really show me things I need to work on. For example, earlier I was reading another blog where the blog owner and a reader were having a bit of a debate about a subject. The blog owner was being very gentle and happy and really made the whole debate light-hearted. I thought, this is really timely for me to read because I don't think I've handled debates on my blog very well. It's been hard for me to sort out what is well-intentioned from what isn't and I know I've alienated a few readers by becoming defensive when it wasn't warranted. It was so great to see an example of a disagreement handled well, so that in the future maybe I can handle mine better, too. If you were affected by this -- I'm very sorry. I do not always handle things the way I should and I am trying to do better now.

I've also had similar things placed in my life to show me how to be gentler and more consistent with my children. I've been rewarded already with happier and more obedient children (well...child...Daniel's too little). I've been attempting to teach Bekah two major things lately: that if she gets hurt or upset, a kiss or hug from mommy can make it all better (and she now asks for a hug or kiss if she is upset, then happily goes to play again), and that if she makes a mess, she will have to clean it up herself (she now makes fewer messes, and often cleans up the ones she has made without being asked).

I find that the more I am willing to accept what I see and hear around me, the more I see the ways God is really working in my life. He really provides me all the answers and encouragement I need, and He is gently trying to correct me and show me a better way. He is pushing me to be a better parent (more present for my kids, more consistent, gentler, more loving), to be more loving and encouraging to those around me, to be more humble and teachable and less defensive. I am working very hard, and all the encouraging words I find in others' blog posts or the Bible or other sources are really helping me, and making me feel stronger.

Now, I hate to say this, but I was pretty upset by some of the comments I received over the weekend. I am really working hard to post and respond to any and all comments that I can. But the ones that use name-calling are very upsetting to me. And I really hope that, as adults, we can really all be respectful and share nicely. I know that people have a hard time, first of all, noting tone or intentions over the internet, so things can be easily misconstrued. But I also know that sometimes the anonymity of a computer screen can make people feel bold and they say things they wouldn't say to someone's face. Please think about how the person on the receiving end of your comment will feel before you hit send. I am trying very hard to think more about this myself, so please work on this with me.

Second, I also HIGHLY ENCOURAGE you all to leave your names! I feel like so many of you read this blog and "know" me, but I don't "know" you at all. I would really like to know you, too, so I can have a rapport with my faithful readers. Seeing anonymous comments, nice or mean, is a little discouraging to me! Also, it's unfortunate, but all of the rude comments come through anonymously. If that continues, I will have to turn off anonymous commenting (because of that whole boldness because of anonymity through a computer screen, etc.). I don't want to do this because we've had a lot of really great contributions, but if people are not able to be mature and polite, it will have to stop. I'm so sorry to have to say all this, but I really do find it upsetting to read some of the comments, and I really want to get to know my readers better. So if you stop by, please leave your first name! Thanks!