Does God ever cause you to stop and be still, whether you want to or not? I'm not sure how much you know about me, but I ... don't stop much. I work four jobs, am a mom, a wife, a Bible class teacher, and on several committees at church. Needless to say, I put myself under a lot of stress.
And this week it caught up with me.
I was having weird sensations in my chest. Fluttering, tightening, and shortness of breath. All can be signs of stress and anxiety. In women, they can also be signs of an oncoming heart attack. Needless to say, I didn't wait too long (okay, I waited two days) before being checked out.

I love me some dirt therapy. Do you know what I mean by that? Getting out and digging around in the dirt, pulling weeds, and nurturing flowers. I love it, despite how much it makes my legs and back hurt when I let the weeds grow up and take over like they have. 
Every time I've walked past my front flower garden this spring, I get mixed emotions. One is to cringe because of how badly I've let the grass and weeds take over.
The other is to praise God for the beauty of His creation. Because, y'all. My flowers have been stunning this spring.

The last few years, our family has participated in a huge convention called Lads to Leaders. It's a place where our kids can practice song leading, speeches, Scripture reading, and Bible Bowl, among other things--in other words, practice and learn so they can be leaders in the church in a few years. It's so much fun and rewarding and great, but it's also Easter weekend, which can be exhausting and a bit overwhelming.
Well, silly me, I can't let go of our other traditions we've instigated all these years, which complicates things even more.

The first foot pedal I learned to use wasn't in a vehicle. It was attached to a sewing machine.
I fully admit I have a rather charmed life. I had two grandmothers and a mother who knew how to sew (along with several aunts). I grew up knowing about quilting and crochet and embroidery and cross stitch. Doing crafts. Baking. Gardening and canning. Entering items in the fair to see if we could win a ribbon.
Am I as good as the women who came before me at doing all these things? Probably not. But I carry on the traditions of "homemaker" as best I can, pulling out the sewing machine and preserving veggies in the summer. And my children see me doing it, which means hopefully we'll have another generation after me to carry it forward again.

From the years when our children were little bitty and couldn't sit still through until now, when there are still wiggles and moments it's hard for them to focus, my husband and I have had one goal. Bring our children up to love God. To us, that means being at Sunday school and worship services and all things in between. Every time the doors are open. We also sing hymns and praise songs around the house and in the car. We talk about God in our everyday conversations. Because they need to see God in us more than anything.
But that doesn't mean it's always been easy. Bringing a baby to church sometimes means the mama doesn't get anything out of the services for a while because she's so focused on teaching how to be quiet. Or making sure cheerios aren't spilled all over the floor.

Happy first day of Spring!
​When we first moved into our house back in January of 2018, we had no idea why there were tires in the backyard. Turns out they were used to plant daffodils. We didn't really want tires in our backyard, so we dug them up and later dug up the daffodil bulbs, replanting them in my front flower bed.
Of course, you know what happens if you don't get all the bulbs, don't you?
​See that picture above? It's from a bulb or two we missed when we dug up "all" the daffodils a few years back. And it's from this year.

While I didn't necessarily set new year's resolutions this year, I did set some personal goals for myself. Mostly things that would lower my stress levels which have been building like crazy over the last year or so.
One of the goals is to stay on top of dishes. And to straighten the house every now and then when I can't stand having to hop over legos and books anymore.
But another--one I'm honestly more serious about--is keeping my inbox from overflowing like it was doing last year. Do you know how stressful it is to come in and see you have over 100 unread emails?

His whole life, my son has had us pray with him right before bedtime. Sometimes, we do it all together as a family and sometimes it's either my husband or me with him one-on-one while the other prays with our daughter. In the last few months, my son has worked up the courage to say some prayers himself. And I am learning a lot from my eight-year-old, watching his faith grow.
First and foremost, that he listens when his daddy and I are praying. Because while we do keep it semi-formal, we also are very conversational in the way we talk to God. It is a conversation for us. So, as we do with any other conversation, we add side-notes or just state things the way they are. And my son does too.

I learned to crochet long ago, as a girl. My mom helped me pick up some basics, but my grandmother helped me perfect my technique. I even remember my grandfather commenting to my grandmother one time that I might be even faster than she was. And my grandmother was amazing.
While I don't have tons of time to work on crochet projects anymore, I pick up one here and there--a baby blanket or washcloths for teacher gifts or a hat. Things that don't take long, but still give me that release.

What does your spouse do during the holidays that speaks to your heart? My friend, fellow author Jenny Carlisle tells us about something special her husband did for her. See if you think it's romantic like I do. ;)

In the language of Love, most of us have learned what reaches our hearts. Some react best to receiving gifts. Others melt when someone performs a service for them. Simple physical touch renews the romance for many couples. Spending quality time with your partner may be your magic formula.
 After nearly a half a century with the same man, I can confidently state that words (and deeds) of affirmation keep our home fires burning brightly.