We are still waiting to meet Sweet Baby Girl May! No action over the long weekend so we will see what this week brings.
Please keep Ryan and Stacy in your prayers. The doctor says they will schedule Stacy for induction next Tuesday 9/15 if she doesn't go into labor on her own. Ryan and Stacy really want to avoid that if possible.
Keep checking...hopefully, it will be soon. Thanks for all your notes, prayers and support for this new little miracle.
Today's my birthday!
What a perfect time to write about perseverance! As I sit and think about my life, I would have to admit that I am very good at STARTING a task, but not so good when it comes to FINISHING a project.
So what does that mean as far as finishing each season of life well? Perseverance is a valuable but often overlooked quality in a woman, I think. Perseverance is what is needed to really make each year of your life count for something.
I have found two 'checkpoints' in my life that help me maintain perseverance.
The first is vision. As long as I can hold on to a vision that inspires me to keep going for my goal, I can persevere through the tough times. Without vision, it is easy for me to leave a task or a discipline behind.
The second 'checkpoint'is vitality. Perseverance requires discipline. Discipline brings vitality into my life because it means I am choosing my path. I need to be disciplined in my spiritual life, my physical habits, my emotional health and my mental state in order to experience vitality.
I have found if I grow weary in what I really want to do, I remind myself of the big picture-the vision-I have and that usually will encourage me to stay the course.
If the vision doesn't inspire me, it's usually because one of my disciplines are off-kilter. My spiritual life is dry. My physical body is in need of attention (more sleep, more exercise, better food, etc). My emotional needs are raw or my mental state needs some stimulation.
Birthdays are a great time to get a vision for the future. It's a great time make sure that all areas of my life-spiritual, emotional, physical and mental-are full of vitality.
The Bible says that perseverance produces character. That's what makes birthdays a perfect time to talk about perseverance. What better gift can you give yourself and your loved ones.
That's what I heard on this day, at this time...33 years ago! Happy Birthday, Ryan!
Every year I pull out Ryan's baby-book and re-live the memories. This morning I read a note an older cousin had written to him. The note ended with;
"I think you're a very lucky kid and good luck in your new life."
33 years later I can say that Ryan was a very lucky (blessed!)kid who met a wonderful girl who he somehow managed to persuade to marry him.
He has needed more than 'luck' from a blarney stone, however to experience the life he has lived up to this point.
If you're a young mom, do you ever wonder what you are going to do when your kids are grown and gone? Well, you will spend alot of time 'remembering' and alot of time praising God that He had His hand in your children's lives and but for His grace, you may not still be standing!
Raising kids is hard...so take time to celebrate along the way. Make their birthdays memorable and then record something special each year so as a mom, you can look back and see how very 'lucky' your child was.
Never let them forget that they are "fearfully and wonderfully made" and that God has plans to give them "hope and a future".
Yesterday was my friend's birthday! I have sent her a birthday card for over 50 years!!! We grew up together but weren't particularly close. Sandy lived on my block and occasionally I would play at her house and she would come over to mine. We had dogs in common. My family owned a big, beautiful collie and Sandy absolutely adored our dog.
For some reason, we just kept sending each other birthday cards as we grew up! It didn't surprise me to learn that she has become the proud owner of 5 dogs (3 collies, all at one time!).
As I sent off a card to her on Monday, I enclosed a little clipping about getting older and wrote a brief paragraph about what I was up to. I realize with each passing year how precious it is to be able to send a card off to her. Memories beyond measure fill me up as I look for her address. Abit of nostagia and wonder are written at the bottom of my card as I realize how quick the years pass and how a simple habit...sending a birthday card, has anchored me to my past and made me appreciate the fleeting years.
I am looking forward to receiving a card from Sandy in a couple of weeks when my birthday rolls around again. If someone had told me the impact of receiving a card from a friend each year, I probably would have agreed with them. If someone had told me the impact of sending a friend a card each year, I am not sure I would have understood...until I discovered for myself the treasure of sending off a card filled with memories and remembrances of my childhood, that only Sandy can appreciate.
Any chance you have a friend you may want to send a birthday card to this year...and for the next 50 years?!
Have you heard of or read the book The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman? The premise of the book is that we all have languages in which we prefer to show love to others and be loved ourselves.
The languages are:
Quality time
Physical touch
Words of affirmation
Gifts
Acts of service
It is incredibly valuable to know the way in which you desire to be shown love and the way in which your spouse and other family members desire to be loved.
When it comes to celebrating your spouse’s birthday, this is especially helpful. Case in point: My husband Ryan’s top two love languages are quality time and physical touch. Ryan celebrated his 32nd birthday on March 17. On March 16 we had a get together at his parent’s house with about 11 people. We had lunch together and played the Wii all afternoon. I surprised Ryan with a gift I knew he would enjoy -- a new pair of Rollerblades! It was so fun!
I assumed that because we were all together that afternoon, that was plenty of quality time for Ryan.
Not so.
He informed me that spending time with 10 other people was not the one-on-one quality time that fills his love tank. So on Monday night, March 17, we ate dinner at home together, watched a movie and just hung out. He loved it! I wanted to go out. I wanted to do something. I wanted to celebrate him!
Turns out, I wanted to celebrate my way, not his.
His idea of celebrating was staying home and having quality time with his wife. And that's exactly what we did.
I highly recommend The Five Love Languages book (there is one written about children's love languages as well). And I especially recommend putting what you learn into practice when it comes to celebrating your husband’s birthday!
While I know my husband will enjoy his Rollerblades, and I REALLY enjoyed giving them to him because I have gift giving as a love language, I learned some good lessons this year about being mindful of how my husband wants to celebrate.
Wow…it’s only taken me 7 years!
That should be one of the sweetest sounds a child can hear!
"Happy Day...you were born on this day,and the world has never been the same!"
I won't compete with web sites and books on how to put a great birthday party together for your child, but I would like to emphasize the importance of simply making your child feel like the world stood still on the day he/she was born! That's it. That is all that is really necessary from a good mom.
Take some time to process the miracle of your child's birth or adoption and have that wonderment spill over to your child as they realize how special they are to you. Taking time to count the blessings that they have brought into your life will give you the right attitude to handle the spills, interruptions, messes and expense that children create in a family.
This year try slowing down before your child's birthday approaches and take a good look at that scrapbook you created for him/her. It wasn't a masterpiece to show the world, it was a way for you to capture the miracle of your child's birthday...for you.
As you sing the "Happy Birthday" song to your child from now on, consider singing a second verse to yourself...giving thanks for all that your child has brought into your life.
I heard on the news last weekend that a couple was spending $50,000 for their child's first birthday party! The reporter went on to tell about the full buffet that would be offered the adults, while the children could enjoy all the toys and rented equipment that would be brought in for the special day. I wish I could document who these folks were and where they were from, but I was blown away by the story and thought there would be a twist at the end saying it was all a joke. Not true, it went on to tell of other parents that were also spending huge amounts of money on their toddlers, so the children would look back some day and realize just how much mommy and daddy loved them! Excuse me, but what is their definition of love?!
Back when we were planning our children's birthday parties, we went by the simple formula of inviting one friend for every year that the child was celebrating. For example, if the child was one, we would have one friend over for a small party. At age two, there would be two friends, at three, three friends and that would continue as the child aged. It kept expectations within reason and that was about all our child could handle.
One fun tradition we did was to take a picture of our child at each birthday, sitting in approximately the same place each year. As a mere one year old, they could barely 'sit' in a huge overstuffed chair, but as they grew, they would sit tall and proud and assure us that they were one year closer to leaving the 'nest'. That's what birthdays are for...to remember the miracle of birth and celebrate the wonder of tomorrow. That to me is priceless.
PS: Check out Kaboose.com for other simple ideas for birthdays!
OK, so it's not a milestone birthday, but it does give me pause to consider. Oh, it's not MY birthday, thirty one years ago on St Patrick's Day, Ryan, my son was born and that changed my life forever. Ever since his birth, I've been mindful every year of the verse in Psalms 90:12 "teach me to number my days aright, so I might gain a heart of wisdom." That means I should be 11,315 days (+4 for leap year) totally 11,319 days wiser than the day he was born. What a humbling exercise this is each year, for every year the number of days increases so quickly while my skill for living seems to struggle daily. The many birthdays I celebrate with my family always reminds me to slow down and live for today. Who knows what I might learn and what wisdom I might gain. It's the days that count more than the passing years.
Tomorrow I just may have to wish Ryan "Happy 11,319 days"!!
