Time sure flies when you are having fun! It has been a crazy long time since I added my two cents to anything on this blog, but I’ve been in a writing slump. I would sit down at a computer, begin typing, and realize that my words were empty. PLAIN! Staring back at me with no emotion and lacking in spirit.

I’m sure I’m not too much different than most. I have days go by that are filled with so much activity that I cheat God out on His time; knowing full well that He is there when I choose to reconnect and plug back in.

It’s this “pluggin’ back in thing” I started conversing with God about not too long ago. Sometimes my faith in God is so sure things will turn out exactly how they are supposed to that I don’t do my share of the work so God can bring it about.

That may sound a little confusing. Let me try to explain a little further.

I know God has a wonderful, deep plan. He sacrificed Christ’s life so that I may live eternity in His Kingdom. But, I’m not living in His promised land now. I’m here on Earth and through my connection/relationship with God, I submit to carry out His will. But am I really submitting to His will when I don’t build a connection/relationship with others? If I’m throwing my hands into the air and saying “God’s Will Be Done” but the words are motivated not from faith but from hopelessness, then I am disconnected.

What did you do the last time God challenged you? Did you listen to His call to grow into a more intimate relationship, or did you unplug so you wouldn’t have to be involved and get your hands a little dirty? I know what I’m guilty of lately, so I’m working on being present and plugged in for the even the smallest moments when I can see God’s hand at work. I pray that He finds me a worthy vessel to deliver His blessings.

Cheryl

I am not a go-it-alone-er. I prefer groups. Heck, I can barely buy a new shirt without first consulting a committee. Not that I don’t relish some alone time here and there, but generally I’m a people person.

Even though, God whispers:

“It’s time to try on some wings and do a little solo flyin’.”

I assume I’ve heard wrong because hello? I don’t do solo.

But He keeps speaking the same message to my heart:

“You can do all things through Me.”

So I start to think and act like the God who spoke the earth into existence (Bible gateway ref.) can handle formulating a good plan for moi.

It seems silly, really. Why fret about my little ol’, diminutive corner here? I mean, it’s not like I’m climbing Pike’s Peak. Still, turning inside thoughts to outside words sometimes takes mountain-climbing bravery. Whether you’re read by just your Mama or millions, it takes courage to leak heart through words. And when you do it without the protective cover of friends…well, it’s even scarier.

We are turning a new leaf of sorts at Moms Sharpening Moms. Rebecca, Cheryl, Jen and I may still pop in to write from time to time at our fine first home. Nevertheless, as life goes and seasons change we find God’s desire is for yours truly to try on some wings and do a little flyin’-a little solo flyin’-at her own place. I hope you’ll visit me over there, cuz have I mentioned how I reeeeaaallly hate being alone?

Together we can do some blue skies chasing.

His work-in-progress,

Kristen

Image from www.aholyexperience.com

Wowzers, this book is messin’ with me somethin’ fierce.

And in all the right ways.

I didn’t plan to write about Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts ’til I was finished reading it, but I’ve decided I just can’t wait. I have to brag on this masterpiece pronto.

One Thousand Gifts, A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are is like no other book I’ve read. Through her life experiences and heart, Ann doesn’t tell us how to live fully, she shows us. This book is not a step-by-step self-help book. Oh, no. Rather it is an answer to prayer, a way to see and live gratitude, grace and joy no matter the circumstances. It’s a book that is best savored and enjoyed with its exquisite, unforgettable words that roll around in your head long after you’ve put the book down. It’s a book that calls for a new highlighter for marking nugget after nugget of goodness delivered in Ann’s signature writing style.

How does one live fully? Through eucharisteo, one large word that encompasses thanksgiving, grace and joy.

And lest you think Ann writes with sunshiney-Pollyanna-don’t-worry-be-happy words, think again. From her very young years, tragedy and tribulation plagued her and could have forever stolen any joy or gratitude from her. Learning eucharisteo has been hard fought in the trenches. But the battle scars she holds testify to the ugly-beautiful transformations she finds.

How does one live fully? Ann writes,

“But if we don’t intentionally commit to the hard practice of seeing, don’t we die in barren wilderness? Anger, frustration, emptiness?”

So what do we see? We see all the ways He loves us. We look for and count our blessings and record our thanksgiving. We take the dare to count up to 1000 gifts and maybe even more? But why?

As Ann describes in a One Thousand Gifts interview,

Because “…giving thanks and being attentive to a beauty hunt slows time down.”

Ann also writes,

“Time is life. And if I want the fullest life, I need to find fullest time.”

So I take a cue from Ann and start my own beauty hunt. Let me tell ya…it’s addictive. And a blast! God literally showers blessings on us, and I’m ashamed at how often I’ve grumbled and ignored and said, “No thanks!” to them. I’ve missed so much because I was looking through squinty, narrow eyes.

I’m learning how ingratitude starves the heart but also how He turns the ugly into beautiful.

So to keep feeding my soul, I am recording my gifts. And on this Ash Wednesday, I am inviting my young’uns to join in the meal. While owning this journal would be lovely, I have 3 spiral binders with their names on it. Maybe we can use this season of Lent to become more practiced at giving up ingratitude and discontent?

As we remember the slow walk towards Calvary, I am seeing Jesus’ death and resurrection as the ultimate ugly-beautiful transformation.

Through Ann’s book, I’m finding transformation in my own life, too.

If you would like more insights into this book straight from the horse’s mouth, check out the (In)Courage Bloom Book Club. There you can watch conversations with Ann as well as read how this book has moved others to find and embrace the eucharisteo in their own lives.

His work-in-progress,

Kristen

~~~~~~

Winter has never been my friend.

It is cold and slushy and freezy and drizzly and yucky. How in the Sam Hill can anyone really enjoy it?

After moving to Colorado Springs, I’m starting to see how.

It still snows here, to be sure, but it snows and then it goes. Sunshine pours down so abundantly that the snow can’t last long. The snow capped mountains display their snow like a trophy, and it is beautiful. Stunningly so. And I get to look at all the snowy beauty but often enjoy that there isn’t any under my feet.

When it does snow, I love to go outside and just look at the little flakes, all individual and unique. Snowflakes are proof enough that God has limitless creativity. I love to take pictures of the ice on trees when the frozen fog comes transforming everything into a scene from Narnia. It is gorgeous.

And then it dawns on me…if I would have given more attention to the beauty in the snow before, into the blessings of it, I wouldn’t have minded winter so much. I may not be ready to move to North Dakota, but I’m thankful for Colorado and the change in perspective this high desert town has given me concerning winter.

Have you had a change in perspective on anything causing you to enjoy what you once didn’t?

His work-in-progress,

Kristen

My 6th minute thought: I just now see I completely ignored Lisa-Jo’s “Five Years Ago” prompt. Shoot, fire. So, to tie it all in, 5 years ago I was living where winter lasted 9 months. But now I’m not.

Nothin’ beats playing tourist.

You know, getting in the car and exploring a part of your town or state you’ve not seen.

On Saturday, my favorite four and I hit the open road together. We did have an end destination in mind: Estes Park, Colorado. Here, a swanky model train show was the happening thing.

My man and kiddos love model trains, and since I love the four of them I went along for the fun. Actually, I like seeing how creative people are with them. And the fellas that build these elaborate sets? They are often sweet Grandpas who love chatting with “youngsters.”

After dining at a local brewery (my man’s favorite kind of restaurant) we found the train show. It had all sorts of cool little train towns set up. Our favorite? An exhibit made entirely of legos.

Oh, the lego heaven!

And with the exception of my daughter almost knocking a train off its track and giving 3 heart attacks to the Lego rep, a good time was had by all.

My favorite part of the trip? Slowly moseying our way home. As we wound down the magnificent mountain road, we stopped at a couple “mom and pop” stores. One of them offered us this perfect cherry creation.

Yummy oh-so!

We took our time, getting out of the car here and there to look around, take pictures, and enjoy no responsibilities. It was all about soaking up each other and this unexplored environment.

Sometimes I am no good at letting go of distractions ’til I am removed from all the distractions. Playing tourist is a mighty fine way to do this.

Have you played tourist in your neck of the woods? What’s your favorite thing to do out and about?

His work-in-progress,

Kristen

~~~~~

A little side note…we have a few changes coming to our neck of the woods here. Stay tuned for more details!

Still, he looked anyway and saw beauty where I just saw ugly.

After 15 years of marriage, I am learning to follow his lead of minimizing the ugly while highlighting the good.

That’s hard sometimes.

Real love is hard. Glorious but hard. I stumbled through so much as a new bride and didn’t have a clue about what love is and how marriage works. God and His oceans of grace intervened and glued us together when destructive habits could have torn us apart.

When I was a newlywed, I wish I had known that relationship is more important than being right.

I wish I had known that an actions-speaks-louder-than-words kind of living is the best way to show love.

I wish I had known that no one on God’s green earth “completes me.”

I wish I had known that love is a choice and not a feeling.

I wish I had known that building his spirit is more important than building my ego.

I wish I had known that criticism is the anti-viagra (thank you Elisabeth for this gem).

I wish I had known that grace given to him means grace given to me.

I wish I had known that picking up “I’m sorry” and laying down my pride is a good way to live grace.

I wish I had known to show respect even when I didn’t think it was deserved.

I wish I had known the only way to love is to lay down.

I wish I had known to minimize the bad and highlight the good.

Lord have mercy, I still have mountains to learn about marriage. While I may not be where I want to be, I thank Him I’m not where I was.

I pray I keep my eyes wide open to the beauty and blind to the ugly as I discover how God is using my husband to change me instead of the other way around.

He patiently waits while God patiently teaches me to love better.

And this makes my marriage stronger.

His work-in-progress,

Kristen

This post has been happily linked to the (In)Courage Love Carnival and the Faith Barista’s Marriage Jam.

I wonder if any Mamas out there are like me and have a child who is stinkin’ hard to discipline because said child is rather laid back and easy going so therefore no punishment really gets to him or if it does get to him, he quickly gets over it because of the aforementioned easy going personality?

Ya, I’m sure I’m the only one.

This child. This child is sweet and kind and more thoughtful than most kids I know. He is quirky and cute, which is good ’cause I like quirky and cute.

He is also ornery as can be and has no problem risking possible punishment if he thinks there is a 0.00001% chance he will get away with it.

One of our consequences is manual labor. None of our kids are fans of it, and this child is no exception. But about 30 seconds into cleaning our patio doors, he is knocking on the glass to get my attention.

I look up to see a Windex-sprayed-happy-face.

Excuse me? There will be no Windex-happy-faces-on-the-patio-door when you’re being punished! Or turning cleaning products into smoking guns!

Sigh.

In spite of myself, I had to laugh at this boy of mine. My children teach me so much, like how to get over it and just do the thing. When an unpleasant task must be done, I can grumble, whine, complain, kick, scream, stomp, bellyache and throw a diva-sized fit.

Or, I can just buckle down, strap on my 6 shooter and get ‘r done.

And maybe smile while doing it. Maybe.

What lessons have you learned from your young’uns?

And if you don’t mind helping a Sister out, what advice do you have for disciplining your child who is unfazed by most disciplining?

For me, too much clutter is like a room full of 50 preschoolers. Lots and lots of chaotic noise. Come to think of it, I would handle 50 preschoolers better than a super cluttery room. Clutter makes me crazy. There, I said it. But when my chase for clean has me barking at family members to help with this or put up that? Then, it’s time for me to simmer down and see the big picture. Like everyone else, I have my own tolerance level of clean, that is how much mess I can or cannot live with and function in. When the messes pile up and my tolerance level is reached I can start grumbling and stop shining. I putter and clean and put off more important matters in my one-track-mind.

It finally dawns on me I sometimes worship a clean house.

I don’t think it’s wrong to want and encourage picked-up clean, but to worship it? Not good. When I worship it, I’m elevating its importance to an unhealthy level. I’m saying yes to my way, no to His.

I want to be able to thrive in a semi-organized house without missing out on the big picture. What do you do to manage the mess but not get riled over it?

His work-in-progress,

Kristen

Welcome! You’ve found Moms Sharpening Moms, a place where brand new and we-go-way-back moms and friends encourage. In our little corner of the ‘net, we live to love on each other because heaven knows this thing called parenting isn’t for the solitary. It isn’t for wimps, either. It is challenging, it is amazing! Also? It can be done better if we don’t go it alone.

You can read about the girls behind the stories here by checking the Sharpening Stones link. Also, you can read about the story behind the blog under Our Story.

If you have a mind to, please come back and share your thoughts here so we may be sharpened as we sharpen others. Your struggles, joys and unique parenting perspective is just what this place needs!

Much love to you and yours,

The MSM Girls

This child is not one to wear his heart on his sleeve. He is more fighter than lover. In the past, he’s shown love in many ways,

But lately? This 11 year old has been living love to me like I’ve not seen since the toddler years. He snuggles me. He tells me he loves me multiple times a day. He asks my advice.

And he listens to what I say. Sometimes.

His passionate personality knows no middle ground. This child has a strong willed nature that runs a mile wide and I’ve been on my knees more than a few times begging for parenting smarts. When times are hard I can feel like I’m not qualified to parent a fence post much less any child.

Will you join me here to read the rest?

His work-in-progress,

Kristen