Time Out

It was one of those days where she was whining from the moment she got up until she went down for a nap.  Nothing I did would please her.  My daughter was now 3 and the whining stage had begun.  It was so rough that I found myself burning inside with the urge to scream.  I came out of my shell and told her: “go to your room, mommy needs a time-out.”  I literally took a time-out for myself.  My daughter went into her room, as she kept whining, and I went into my own room to breathe. I thought the madness would never end.  I can’t handle the whining and part of it is my fault because I have to learn to work with my daughter. And although not to accept her whining, I still need to allow her to express herself and give her some time to settle down and relax. 

“Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for him and patiently lean yourself upon him…” (Psalm 37:7). It is in that still moment that we are able to be replenished in the Lord.  So I prayed and I asked God to help me get through the day.  As I was in my room, my daughter got upset because I was now in a time-out. She then knew that she needed to settle herself down before she received mommy’s attention.  Once I composed myself, she settled down, and then we were able to resume our day with less whining.  At that point, she understood that if she didn’t calm down, she would need to go back into her room.

Allow yourself as a mommy to take a time out; it is totally okay and it’s healthy.  Make sure your child is in a safe place and allow yourself to breathe.  As much as our children need timeouts to allow themselves time to think about their actions, we need one too.  Sometimes if we don’t take a time out and stop feeding into the madness, we get overwhelmed with the negativity and in turn, take our actions to a foolish state of mind that will make matters worse.  Taking that extra time to yourself will allow you to get composure and rethink what the punishment should be, if any. Then when going back into ‘the real world,’ you are somewhat replenished.  Give yourself a time out, reload, and set yourself up for a positive outcome!

 

Sweet-Smelling Aroma

As I soaked in a bubble bath, I took a deep breath and absorbed the scent of my bath gel.  It was such a soothing, sweet aroma that it made me feel at ease and at peace.  At that moment, the following verse came to mind. “And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and gave himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma “ (Ephesians 5:2).

 

 

How many of you want to be a sweet-smelling aroma to the Lord just like my bath gel was to me?  Well, the way we can accomplish this is by walking in love.  So what does that mean, walking in love? Matthew 5:44 says: “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” Sounds tough, huh? However, through the Holy Spirit, we can build on this fruit of the Spirit, and learn to love like Jesus loved.  We can take simple steps each day to develop in this area and show love to others whether or not we think they deserve our love. 

Remember that 1 John 4:16 says: “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us.  God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him.” So if we want to abide in God, we must abide in love because God himself is love.  I encourage you to practice loving others.  A simple act of kindness, generosity, mercy, and compassion goes a long way.  Be the light this world needs and overcome evil or wrong doings by showing the love that is within you. 

 

What's Not to Like

Ask yourself the question:  “What’s not to like about my life?” 

 

At times we get caught up on what everyone else has, how others do things, how relationships are different and the materialistic things in life that we forget the mere importance of it.  Be grateful for your life, what you have and who is in it. 

 

If there is an aspect you don’t like, you have the power to change it.  There are only 5 essential things you need in your life:

1.     God

2.     Food

3.     Clothing

4.     Shelter

5.     Water 

All the rest is not a necessity; they are wants.  Let’s stop wanting what we don’t need.  If we do, we will live a more appreciative life and enjoy the simple things in life. 

 

Life in itself has become so complicated, and at times because we want what others have, we make it more difficult.  We get ourselves into debt, we quarrel with our significant other, we let our children believe that they can have whatever they want and we allow ourselves to get upset if we don’t have the means to buy those wants. There is nothing wrong with your life and what you have because God has allowed us to have the essential things in life. Wanting more and more is not meaningful.  Be thankful for what you have.    Let’s stop asking for more because what’s not to like?

Finding Time for Him

Sometimes, I can honestly say that I’m running around on empty. I’m so exhausted about life’s ups and downs and all around that I find myself blaming God for things that happen. Sometimes I find myself overwhelmed, hurting or plainly just feeling ‘blah’ about everything. I think this happens in any good relationship. Our deepest bonds are with people who we walk through life with through all the highs and lows. God wants to walk with us just as we are.

It’s amazing that as I read and meditate on his Word, how quickly He can snap me back into place, and align my heart with His heart. There are times I’ll pray about the smallest things, and he will answer me. Do you know how amazing it is to realize that the God of the universe is reaching out to you?

 

“The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”  Psalm 145:18

At times I whine and complain about feeling far from God, but I only have to look at my time management to figure out what went wrong. Then I make a choice to be still before God. I make all the craziness of my life pause for a while and I draw near to God. God promises that when we do this, He will come near to us. He isn’t hiding from us. When we go to Him with a humble heart, He listens.