A "WOW" Moment

So far my kindergartener's first week of school is going well.  She likes the bus, likes her teacher and has already made new friends.  It brings peace to this mama knowing she is quick to make friends and will jump head first in to her school experience.  I hope other kindergarteners who are in their first week of school are having as much fun as mine is.

Have you ever been stopped dead in your tracks with an overwhelming flashback?  I had just served my kids breakfast and was gathering lunch items to put in my kinder's lunch box when I was captured and thrown back in time to my elementary school days and would wake up to my mom in the kitchen, the smell of coffee brewing along with breakfast cooking, and she would be getting lunch items together to put in my lunch box.  My first reaction was one of those, I am my mother!  But, as the moment sunk in, my heart began to smile.  I found myself whispering, "Wow, I am so thankful I have those memories.  I am so thankful for my mom." 

As a woman I had the best example of what a woman should be.  I was shown how to be a lady.  How to sit while in a dress which should be the same way you sit with pants.  That can preach to our teenagers today couldn't it?!?!  I was shown how to respect people, function socially, and to use manners.  I learned how to love my future husband, raise good kids, and serve my Lord and Savior.  All this I learned from a lady who sacrificed of herself everyday, day in and day out, to make sure my brother and I could succeed and be cared for.  I have the privilege of calling her mom and my kids get to call her Nonni.

I am honored to be the woman I am today.  I am proud to stay home with my kids and be able to be to them what this lady, who I get to call mom, was to me.  I love that my daughter will have these memories of me just like I have them of my mom.  I strive to be like my mother.  I hope to encourage, support and love my kids like she did and still does. 

Go, hug your mom, grandmother, aunt, family friend.  Whoever made you breakfast, packed your lunch and encouraged you.  Hug them.  Tell them you love them and appreciate them.  Be reminded of those times and let your heart smile.  I am honored to say I have become my mother.  Thank you Lord for giving my mother to me.  Help me keep the precedent she has set for my kids so they can copy and be that for my grand kids.  Bless my generations to come.  Amen.

Here's to more WOW moments.

Blessings.

Time for a New Role

Well, the time has come.  My 5 1/2 year old daughter is off to kindergarten on Monday.  My first little bird to test out their wings.  I am so excited for her!  Not only is she going to have a blast meeting new friends and learning but I can't wait to see what colors her wings are going to be.  In this last year I have seen small glimpses of those colors but this new life experience is going to reveal a lot.  Revelations of how other people operate, how not everyone loves and strives to be like Jesus, and how she can be an example for them.  This brings me to my topic of blogging ;)

As a parent of a child who is school ready, you go through all the options.  Do you home school, go to private school, or choose public school.  You weigh all the pros and cons and you take your child's personality in to consideration.  What can she handle? Where will she be most successful?  What do I want to protect her from?  All these question come in a flood of overwhelming thought as your child turns five.  Trust me, those parents who have a five year old know what I am talking about and those with children not yet five...just wait ;)  Yes.  You want to take all these valid questions in to consideration.  Yes.  You want to make the best decision for your child and family.  But, the most important question you should be asking is directed to our Lord   You, as a parent, need to do what you feel the Lord is calling your family to.  I can guarantee you one thing...what the Lord calls your family to will be different than your neighbors, friends, and family.  Each family dynamic is unique and individual and God is creative and called each of us to something different to show His love to His people.  Ask the Lord.  He will answer.  Then you have an easy job...obey ;)

I can't wait to see my child be an example of Jesus to her peers.  I look forward to answering her Jesus questions that are sure to come.  I am very excited to encourage her to be like Jesus in those difficult situations.  Getting to work through situations that arise, going to God's word to see what He says about that situation, and what that looks like in her daily life.  I Am So Excited!!!!  I can't wait to see Jesus work in her life.  That is our ultimate goal as a parent.  To walk like Jesus so our kids know how to walk as well.  To allow our children to experience things that will show them how real Jesus is and how they should apply Jesus to their daily life.  Yes, we educate our children and teach them what they need to know to be successful but, as scripture tells us, we first must lead them to Christ.  If we don't lead them to Christ we have failed as a parent, even if our child is the valedictorian.

So, even though I am very excited for my child to embark on this new adventure, I will be sad to see her go.  I have had the honor of staying home and raising my children for such a time as this.  To do my job as a parent, leading them to Christ, and now watching them spread their wings on a new adventure is a bitter sweet experience.  I will miss not having her with me everyday, all day.  I will miss not getting to experience everything new or first with her.  I will definitely be going to the Boo Hoo Breakfast her school is sponsoring for kinder moms after I have waved goodbye to the school bus fading in to the distance.  My role will change a bit.  Right now I am her only caregiver, her only educator, and really her only connection to the "real" world.  I have been able to shelter, sensor, and monitor everything, everyday, all day long.  I will shift in to her greatest ally, her safe place to ask and share, her strongest advocate and a voice of wisdom and truth in times of confusion.  Lord give me what I need for this new role.  Keep me soft to change and keep me on the path of leading my children to You.

Go!  Lead your children to their Lord.  Experience new things with them and welcome new experiences for them.  They will grow, you will learn and God will direct.  Ask Him to.  You will need Him.  And last but not least...enjoy the ride :)

Blessings.

Searching for the Heart

Sometimes I feel I have too high of expectations for my children.  At ages 5 1/2, 3 & 2 they definitely act like children and have their crazy people moments.  The delicate balance that a parent must have is determining which of those moments are allowed so they can just be children and which of those moments can be molded into something a bit more productive.  Sometimes I catch myself being bothered by their childish behaviors and I want to correct and change it for MY own comfort. 

My son is a brilliant example of this.  I have the most incredible 3 year old boy who has more energy and imagination in his little toe than most people do in their entire body.  If you were to look up the definition of dreamer in the dictionary his picture would be there.  I have learned so much from him and his beautiful mind.  The never ending possibilities that his mind gives him is inspirational to me.  But, what comes with my dreamer is what could look like disobedience, arguing, and ignoring. 

Ex. #1:
It is cleaning day in The Womack World and each of my children are required to participate.  It takes everyone's help keeping a house hold of 5 functioning.  They each have their areas of cleaning that are assigned by mommy and they are very good about doing their part.  
Point #1:  Give them responsibilities that are age appropriate and they will exceed your   expectations.  Don't think they can't do anything or finish an assigned task because they are small.  Small hands can do small things.
My son picks up one item, puts it where it belongs and then runs off.  I find him riding his spring horse in his room while singing at the top of his lungs.  This is not what I asked him to do.  I asked him to put all the cars in the cars bucket and put the bucket on the shelf.  So, I say, "Son, you are being disobedient.  Get off the horse and go pick up the cars." To which my brilliant, big, beautiful brained son replies, "I did. I put one away."  At this point I could punish him for disobedience and say he was being defiant.  But, if you search for their heart you will find motive and reason for behavior.
Point #2:  In everything they do you should search for their heart.  Don't just punish behavior because it's wrong.  Try and find out what the root of that behavior is.  Of course a 3 year old can not tell you why they do things.  They do not have the capability to reason.  But, you can ask easy yes or no questions to find where their heart is.
In search of my son's heart I say, "Mommy told you to pick up the cars."  His answer is, "I did pick up a car."  To which I respond, "Please go pick up ALL the cars right now."  To which he promptly gets off his horse and goes to finish the task.  Granted there are about 2 more reminders to finish the job but his heart is not to disobey.  His imagination carries him away to places other than the task at hand.  There are those times when he just doesn't want to do what he was told and punishment definitely follows those times.  His answer to my question though is different.  He says, "I don't want to" to my heart searching questions.  Well, there is the motive for the behavior without having reasoned with my child and that motive needs to be corrected.  You can't reason with a child that is physiologically unable to reason like an adult.  Stop trying and you will be saved a few headaches :)

Ex. #2
We are visiting my in-laws one afternoon and they have a 2 story house.  We do not have a 2 story house for one reason.  I did not want the constant battle of children and stairs.  Call me lazy.  I don't mind ;)  So, my son is coming down the stairs and is about in the middle of the staircase when he stops and starts to act silly and play.  I say, "Son, get off the stairs. You can't play and be silly up there you will fall."  To which my son replies, "I'm not on the stairs."  I'm sorry, were my eyes playing tricks on me.  I could have sworn he was on the stairs.  He was definitely on the stairs.  I look at him like he had just grown a 3rd eye and tell him again, "Get. Off. The. Stairs."  To which he again responds, "Mom, I'm not on the stairs."  By this time I am up out of my chair and about to go into "Mean Mommy Mode" when a simple question pops into my brain.  "Son, if you are not on the stairs than where are you?" The answer was amazing.  "I am on my pirate ship bridge and I have to protect it!!!!!!!!"  To him, he was not on the stairs.  He was not trying to argue his behavior with me.  I was saying untruth to him.  He was not playing on the stairs, he was protecting his pirate bridge.  I just had to smile and say, "Please don't use the stairs as your pirate bridge.  Use the playroom."  To which he says, "Yes ma'am" and promptly gets down and goes to play elsewhere.  I could have punished him after his first response and told him not to argue with me.  I could have enforced my authority and "taught him a lesson."  But, I asked 1 simple heart searching question and found that no arguing was going on because once I realized he wasn't "on the stairs" he obeyed promptly with no argument.

As a mother I want open communication between my children and I.  I want to know where their heart is and what is going on inside of it.  Just as small hands can do small things, small hearts can feel BIG things.  They may seem small to us as adults, but they are very big to them as children.  If you squash your communication with your child while they are young you will not have any communication with your child as they get older.  Be open to seeing things differently.  I could have easily seen his arguing on the stairs as unacceptable behavior and disciplined.  But, I wanted to know where his heart and mind were so I asked a question which encouraged communication and opened those lines of communication up even more than they were before. 

Talk to your child.  Ask easy yes or no child like questions.  They will feel valued as a person and know that you, as their parent, are on their side and want to know and search out their heart.  Do It!!  You will be changed.

Blessings.

Moment for Today

Welcome to The Womack World take 2 ;)  I think I will be better at blogging this go around...I think.

Spontaneous worship.  Those times during the day where there is just something bubbling up out of you and you have to stop, raise your hands to our Maker and give Him praise.  Those times are happening for me today.  They are sweet and energizing.  I know for a fact they make the Lord smile and that is really our goal as Jesus followers.  Making the Lord smile and obeying what He lays out for us in His word and challenges He places in our hearts.  Spontaneous worship...a great thing.

As a mom it helps me see my 3 children differently.  My patience endures a bit more, my view of the day is revived, and I look for times to show my kids Jesus.  That is our job as mothers.  To show our kids Jesus and point them to Him.  We have several jobs as mothers.  We care for their physical needs, emotional needs, and all around their well being in this life.  BUT...as Jesus followers ourselves we are to first and foremost point them to our Lord.  We are to be an example of what it means to live like Jesus.  We, mothers, are the first experience our kids have with Jesus.  We must make sure our actions line up with His word.  We must make sure we are going to the Lord in prayer everyday as we roll out of bed, with kids at our feet waiting for a morning beverage, and asking Him to dwell among us.  Asking Him to fill us so we may give out to our kids.  Asking Him to reveal Himself to us, first and foremost, so we can be a good example to our kids.  Asking Him to capture our kid's hearts early and keeping them so they will not stray from Him.  That is what we must do as mothers.  That is what spontaneous worship helps me do as a mother.  Try it.  You will see.

As a wife, spontaneous worship helps me serve my husband.  It makes me appreciative of what all he does for our family and how hard he works to make us successful.  It makes my job of doing the laundry, straightening up our home, and making sure he has what he needs more meaningful and all that more important.  It makes me want to be his helper and his companion as scripture says the woman was made to be for the man.  It prepares my heart to put aside the troubles of my day, which having 3 children can cause, and welcoming him home with a smile and a kiss.  That is what spontaneous worship helps me do as a wife.  Try it.  You will see.

Be encouraged today in your roles as mothers and/or wives.  You are a vital part of the Lord's plan and you should strive to do all YOU can to fight for that plan. 

Blessings.