LIttle Man Play

It was just me and Sam, my 4 year old.  Ben was home, but he was busy watching a movie. Everyone else had somewhere to be tonight.   Sam asked me if I would play army guys with him upstairs in the playroom.

I'm not an "army guy" kind of person.

"Please Mom?" Sam asked  "We will have so much fun!"  And he was right.

I closed down my computer & followed my little boy upstairs.  He lead me to a table that had strategically placed army guys on it.
"This is where you are" he said as he lead me to sit down on one side of the table.

And the battle begun!

We fought the Transformers.
We fought the Rescue Heroes.
And then to top it off we fought & defeated the "Rides", which I quickly found out were all of his cars.
I tried really hard to be the best soldier I could be, but it was very obvious that I didn't have near the experience as Sam.

"Mom, that isn't how you make gun sounds!  Do this...spfh!  spfh!"

I tried, but my mouth just would do what his was doing.  He was gracious though.

"It's ok Mom, it is because you are a girl."

Oh well, I tried!  We had fun.

Why I am on Facebook

Several years ago our teenagers asked to get on Facebook.  I didn't want to let them because I knew it would increase their computer time & mine too.  If I let my kids on there then I would get on Facebook as well to keep an eye on their activity.  I had no idea what it would become for me.

2 years later, here I am...still on Facebook, but not just to keep up with my kids.  It isn't about letting people know what I'm preparing for dinner (even though I get some real good idea's from my friends).  It isn't about having the most friends.  It isn't even about keeping up with my friends (even though I love that part).  It has become more than that for me.  I post scripture that is encouraging me and keeping my heart above my circumstances.  I post links that help me to better understand difficult spiritual concepts or that encourage me.  Through my little updates, I share a little bit of myself.
But there are days when I really wonder why I am even messing with Facebook.  I occasionally will get in a discussion with someone who believes differently than I do.  I don't know why I do this.  It often brings me down.
I was contemplating getting off of Facebook.

Lord, I can think of many other ways to encourage others than through Facebook. It is just a social networking waste of time.

And then I got this note...

I just wanted to thank you for all of your brilliant posts throughout the day. I have been having a crazy time and I have found solace and comfort through many of your posts. I am not sure if you get a lot of thanks so I just wanted to let you know that you are definitely ministering to me and I really appreciate it! Have a great day! Thanks again!

It touched my heart. It touched my heart because this note came from a  school mate of whom I even forgot I was friends with on Facebook.  I never see her on & never hear from her.  I know nothing of what is going on in her life.
The next day at church, someone caught me in passing and thanked me for being such a big encouragement in her life through Facebook.

I'm not writing this to toot my own horn.  I definitely am not doing that!  I am writing this to encourage you to be aware of how the Lord can use you in ways you don't even realize to minister to the heart of others.

I post things on Facebook for myself, because it encourages me not knowing how it could encourage others.  Yes, you can comment on someone's post, but those who thanked me for encouraging them NEVER comment on my page.  I had no idea they ever read anything I wrote.  Knowing this, also makes me more aware of how my posts affect others.

So, now I remain on Facebook praying that my words will encourage others to seek a deeper relationship with Christ.  I hope that when I share a scripture that it will touch the heart of someone needing it at that moment.  I love how God can use something even like Facebook to reach the heart of others.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Just a Mom

I wrote this for The Confident Mom blog in February.  I have another post coming to her site next week.



As I stood by my husbands’ side, I could feel many eyes on me. I tried hard to only glance in their direction and not make complete eye contact. I felt very inferior and unimportant. As long as no one talks to me, I will be just fine.

I was standing among women with perfect manicures and hair styles. Their clothes were stylish and classy. And then there was me.

My husband had brought me with him to a business dinner. All real estate agents in his office were meeting for dinner with their spouses. I only knew one other couple but they were busy, so I stood by Scott, happy to not speak to anyone.

One woman did speak to me, “Dana, what do you do?” I hate questions like that. I answered as confidently as I could, “I stay home with our kids.”

“Oh, that is great! Do you work?”she asked. Really? Do I work?

“No, I’m just a mom” I answered.

On the way home I began thinking; why did I feel that what I was doing was so unimportant? Why did I let this professional woman make me want to curl up in the corner because I’m just a mom?

“Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” Proverbs 127:1

Maria Magdelena Keverich

Mothers are much like the builders of great structures. Often we only know of the structures built and not of the ones who design it and worked to build it. Chances are, you do not know about Maria Magdalena Keverich, mother of Ludwig van Beethoven. And I doubt you have heard of Ida Stover, mother of Dwight D. Eisenhower. We know of their sons and the great impact they made on our world, but rarely do we talk about the impact their mothers made on them. I often wonder what kind of mother did Daniel (Daniel 1:8-20) have. She raised a son who stood boldly for what he believed was right in spite of possible consequences.

As a mom, I must remember who the architect is and who the builder is. God is the ultimate architect. He has already designed your child with gifts and talents that are meant to be used for His glory. He wants to use me to accomplish that purpose; he has made me the builder. We will not know the end result of our labors until we get to Heaven and meet those who our children have impacted and influenced. How exciting is it to know that God has a special purpose for our children and he wants to use us to accomplish that purpose!

As the builder I must keep my focus on the architect (God), not on what I’m building (my children) or I will lose focus and get discouraged. I do this by studying His plans (Bible) and staying in conversation with my architect on a regular basis. By keeping my heart and mind focused on God, he will guide me and equip me with all I need to raise my children to be the ones he can use for his great purpose. It is not my plan for my children that will succeed, but the plans of God.

My goal as a mom is not to build up godly children, but to be godly myself so that God can use me to build up a heritage of children who will worship Him and love them with all their heart, soul, strength & mind.

For that brief moment at dinner with my husband (that felt like forever) I had lost sight of the amazing ministry that God has called me to. He has called me to be a mom. He has entrusted in my care his children to be raised and trained according to his Word. He has given me the opportunity to be part of a greater purpose as I walk with my children every day, teaching them by my example. God wants to use me to build a lasting legacy through my children!

You are not just a mom! You are a builder in the Kingdom of God, training up his children to become mighty men & women for His glory! Karol Ladd of Positive Life Principles calls us Molders of Mankind (MoM). I love that!

1 Peter 2:5, “you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood”

I'm still here!

It has been a while since I posted...like a whole month!

Life has been crazy & we just have a lot going on. My daughter is graduating in a few weeks and we are busy planning for her graduation party and ceremony. My son's baseball schedule has taken over my calendar, but we are enjoying his first season.  My sister is due to have a baby any day now and if that isn't enough, I want a puppy!  :o)  Not really, but yes really!

 I have a couple of reviews to post soon & a few posts rolling through my head.  So hopefully I can get that done before the year is over. :o)

I would appreciate prayers for me & my family as we continue to endure difficult days.  We have good days & not so good days.  Please pray for us that our faith would be strong and our eyes will stay focused on Jesus, the author & perfecter of our faith.

Here is a verse that I am holding on to these days.

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 

Hebrews 10:23