Happy Friday, friends! Let the weekend begin!
Let’s play along with Lisa-Jo and pour out our hearts for five minutes without editing, backtracking, or second-guessing your words. Just let loose and write!
Want to play along? Today’s prompt is IDENTITY, with a special nod to mamas. (ooh – I totally just got goose bumps!)
{P.S. I’m honored to be posting today over at the Allume blog for our Bloom in Blogging series! Be sure to stop by and say hello — I’d love to see you there, too!}
– GO –
You wreck me, you three. My beautiful kids, three little monkeys, all dirt and laughter and silliness mixed up together. I never dreamed I could love you this much, never dreamed it would be this hard to be a mama, never dreamed it could be this good.
I have so many dreams for you, so much I need to teach you. I hold on tightly and forget you don’t really belong to me — you’re His. I pray you’ll always know this, always know how He holds you in His mighty hands.
I want so much for you to to find your identity in Jesus, not the stone-throwing ugliness of this world.
I pray you’ll learn to see yourself as He sees you — beloved, gifted, set apart, cherished. I pray you’ll run hard after Him and cling to His robe as if your very life depended on it, for it does, my babies. It does.
I pray you’ll find the path He planned for you, not the dreams I want to recapture from my own childhood. I pray you’ll be mighty warriors in this land, that you’ll know the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living and reap the blessings of obedience He has for those who serve Him.
I pray as I let you go, die this slow death one tiny moment at a time, you’ll realize you’ve been in His arms the whole time, and He is strong enough to handle anything this world throws at you.
Laugh hard and play hard, love deeply and believe with your whole hearts. Say yes to Him, and be all He created you to be.
– STOP –
{I think I’m just gonna boo-hoo by myself for a minute now. *sniff*
Talk amongst yourselves, or feel free to leave a comment below.
I love y’all.}
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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Linking up with Lisa-Jo at The Gypsy Mama
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Such sweetness, Jana. We learn again and again that we must turn them over to Him repeatedly. Love your mama heart, your faith in Christ! How you bless and challenge me. XOXO
Oh thank you, dear friend. I’m so grateful for you, so glad we can challenge and hold each other accountable. Our chat yesterday prompted a lot if this post.
. Love you so! XOXO
Amen, sweet friend. And they will, because the Lord is faithful to a praying mom and because they are watching and learning from a mom doing just that.
You bless me so much, Anne. You’ve done so well with your kids – you’re a wonderful example of how a gentle, godly spirit should look. Can’t wait to Get together this summer, sweet friend!
You can’t know how your words bless me. God has done an amazing work both in me and in each of my kids. And He isn’t finished yet!
Such a sweet post!
Thanks, Jamie.
Can’t write. Too busy boo-hooing.
This is a wonderful prayer for all moms. I especially like the part about letting go of who we want our children to be and allowing them to grow into who God designed them to be. Easier said than done, but so much more rewarding!
(passing a tissue) Thanks, Kim. You’re right: it’s easy to say, but so much harder to actually let them go so they can grow into their God-ordained footprint. This mom thing isn’t for sissies!
Thank you for stopping by, friend!
Just beautiful, Jana. I love the wildness of it all — this parenting business. How we keep on holding onto the Father and see Him wrap His arms these amazing children of His and marvel, wow, You entrusted these beautiful lives to me? And we give them all right back. Amazing! So humbling. I love your sweet, aching, soft, beautiful heart. Praying you have a beautiful weekend.
Oh Jennifer, I had several comments slip through the cracks somehow – I’m sorry!
You’re so right – parenting is wild, wooly, wonderful stuff. I still can’t believe He’s entrusted me with three precious souls! I pray I can rise to the challenge and teach them to press into Him. Love your tender heart, my friend. Your words always resonate with my soul and challenge me to love more deeply. Can’t wait to see what you come up with this Friday!
Wow… what you could pour out in just 5 minutes. Proof of a well spring of life inside of you. There is so much in truth wrapped up in a few sentences, so much of my heart, too.
Motherhood — this hard and this good.
Their identity — finding it in God and not in this world…
and the truth that struck a chord, even today, while I struggle with a determined pre-teen — They are HIS.
Thank you for this… truly.
Oh friend, I’m sorry I missed this! Thank you, truly.
And PS – I understand completely about the “determined pre-teen” thing. Glad to have your company in the boat!
I never pictured myself as a mom. But this hard/good, I wouldn’t want it any other way. This prayer, it makes my mama heart say “yes, this Lord, grant me this. That they would know themselves only in your eyes.” I hope and pray I reflect how God sees them in my love for them no matter how imperfect I am. Adorable pictures, by the way. I see joy.
Oh thank you, Alia Joy, for your sweet words here. I so wish I had seen them right away! Yes, I need God’s eyes for my kids — for HIS kids — every day. He can turn my imperfection into beauty, no matter what.
I am having the worst luck with comments today. Disqus ate mine on another site and I just lost mine here. So this one will be short and sweet.
Love this. Beautiful motherhood. Both hard and good. The prayer of a mama’s heart. Let them know you, God. Let them see themselves through you.
Not sure exactly what’s up with comments lately, but they keep getting eaten/misplaced/misdirected. ??? Both of your comments resurfaced tonight, and they were so sweet I posted them both. Hope you don’t mind!
Love and hugs from one mama’s heart to another.
Oh, that “dying this slow death, one tiny moment at a time…” got me! It’s so true. Every moment of every day, giving them up, relinquishing our hold on them, turning them over to the One whom they really belong to. Golly, that’s hard on all of us! Thanks for sharing this today!
It’s so hard to let go, but it gets a little easier when I consider I’m turning them over to One who loves them far more than I ever could.
I’m so glad you stopped by and commented, Jamie. Sorry I’m just now seeing your kind words! Bless you, sister.
How blessed they are to have a praying Momma in their corner! “I want so much for you to find your identity in Jesus, not the stone-throwing ugliness of this world.”~This is the cry of my heart for my children as well! Happy Mother’s Day Jana!
Thank you, Stacy. I want so much to shield them from the pain they’ll encounter in life, yet I know Jesus can turn that pain into a place of beauty. If I can help them find Him and put their worth in *His* opinion, they’ll make it.
I’m sorry my blog ate your comment, and I’m so glad it turned up again. Silly computer.
I hope your Mother’s Day was wonderful, Stacy!
Talk amongst yourselves, that tickled me! I get carried away myself when I get to writing about what matters to me. It’s amazing how our identity with Jesus is so tied up in their identity with Jesus. They’re watching and I feel it!
You’re right: they’re watching. I’m trying so hard to remember who *I* am in Christ so I can help them see who THEY are. Beloved, cherished, redeemed.
PS – You aren’t by chance a Mike Myers SNL fan, are you, Beck? I’d have said “verklempt” if I’d have known how to spell it.
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