Mommy vitamin by anonymous writer

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England ..

Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in.

I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself.

I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.'

It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe ..

I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:

'To My Dear Friend, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.

These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.

They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.

The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place.

It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life.

It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'you're going to love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals.. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right.

And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

gorgeous jill phillips song

Go look her up on itunes!

I was just praying that my mothering would MATTER! I so want my children to grow up loving the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. But, oh yess, I can never fill their cosmic needs: Only He can.

I AM by Jill Phillips
Oh gently lay your head upon my chest
And I will comfort you like a mother while you rest
And the tide can change so fast, but I will stay
The same through past, the same in future, same today

I am constant and I am near
I am peace that shatters all your secret fears
I am holy, I am wise
I'm the only one who knows your heart's desires
Your heart's desires

Oh weary, tired and worn, let out your sighs
And drop that heavy load you hold 'cause mine is light
And I know you through and through, there's no need to hide
I want to show you love that is deep and high and wide

'Cause I am constant and I am near
I am peace that shatters all your secret fears
I am holy, I am wise
I'm the only one who knows your heart's desires
Your heart's desires

I am constant, I am near
I am peace that shatters all your secret fears
I am holy, I am wise
I'm the only one who knows your heart's desires
Your heart's desires

Oh gently lay your head upon my chest
And I will comfort you like a mother while you rest

Living life gloriously in miniature

Yesterday as I was reading a bedtime story to my children, I learned the true wisdom of this last Chesterton quote. I was dramatizing Corduroy the way I used to act for highschool/college plays, Which used to be one of my favorite things to do. The question is: why should I put less excellence in my readings for a few little minds as I used to for crowds? And all of a sudden I felt the pleasure of God. His ideas of success are different than our world's.

Lord, I want so much to mother out of freedom and joy and after a trying season of just putting my head down and trying to just get through the day without anyone at the doctor's, I want to learn to mother, not with duty but with passion.

Mommy Vitamin

A Favorite:

"To be Queen Elizabeth within a definite area, deciding sales, banquets, labours, and holidays; to be Whitely within a certain area, providing toys, boots, cakes and books; to be Aristotle within a certain area, teaching morals, manners, theology, and hygiene; I can imagine how this can exhaust the mind, but I cannot imagine how it could narrow it. How can it be a large career to tell other people about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one's own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone and narrow to be everything to someone? No, a woman's function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute."
— G.K. Chesterton

This blog still exists? Hey passionate women

I'm so embarrassed. I started this blog to keep those who were in our fellowship and moving away from South Haven from feeling too far away and then found that they didn't use it after all! Then, I thought it would disappear from not being used, just like the juicer in my basement.

However, since it is still here, I will begin enjoying the sound of typing with the quiet sound of three children in the distance.

So, here it goes: I want to be a passionate spirit-filled "when I run I feel God's pleasure" kind of mom. Remember Chariot's of Fire? Eric Liddell was passionate about running...passionate about God AND passionate about running. He ran IN God's presence and enjoyed His company as his head went back and his arms began flailing, sprinting for the finishline tape (I'm being handed plastic food as I write this and my baby is making adorable growling noises...oh, and there are numerous goals being scored by my 5 yr old against manchester united in our living room. I'll make this short:) I want to be passionate about mothering...for goodness sake, this is what I was created for! I figure that there's no reason why I can't ask the Heavenly Parent to fill me with His parenting ability through the Holy Spirit.

I don't want to just do my duty...but be filled with the spirit to live as a joyful mom, passionate and running toward every bedtime with joyful abandon.

I recently found some podcasts on DESIRE by John Eldredge which was a copy of a conference he had done years ago on this subject. He is inspiring the heck out of me. Thank You God!!!

Love you all!

Days Off

When was your last day off? Motherhood and whatever else you do are more than full time jobs! What replenishes you? How do you get refilled in order to have something to give again?

My dears, we need to find ways to lie fallow in order to be planted again and actually yield something nutritious. Give up false mommy guilt and get a babysitter for at least four hours a week not in order to clean that bathroom more perfectly, but to become a human being for a while, replenish, read, pray, listen to your music loudly (not the Backyardigans), enjoy a sunset, go shopping. The truth is that I lose all perspective if I don't have days off. (I call them Sabbaths in order to justify them to myself on my more people-pleasing days.) I start spinning out of control like a top and forget what my priorities are, worse, I lose touch with God.

JoAnne Weaver in Having a Mary Heart in a Martha world say that she has found a formula for intimacy with God. I hate formulas but this so works:

Bible + Prayer + Time = Intimacy with God.

If I don't give time somehow it all stays on the surface and doesn't sink in.

Anyways, find your own Sabbath and clear out space for it...I'll see you later... I'm going Goodwill shopping and used bookstore hopping today. Happy hunting.

Mommy Vitamin of the Day

Elaine Heffner:
Women do not have to sacrifice personhood if they are mothers. They do not have to sacrifice motherhood in order to be persons.

True Liberation