Friday Morning Ramblings...again....

I'm in a bloggy slump again.

Mostly because we've been so busy! Which I don't usually mind. I like to be busy. It is nice to just kick back and relax a bit, though. Today is one of those lazy days for us. And you know what? I don't feel bad about it.

I've been quite high strung lately. And I'm trying so hard to just  s l o w  d o w n  and enjoy my little girl and my hubby and the beautiful weather. I'm not saying I've accomplished this - but I am trying.

It's sometimes easy for me to get caught up in the little things. The things that don't really matter. Or at least won't matter in 5, 10 or 20 years. Things like keeping the house picked up and organized (which never actually happens).

Instead I've been trying (key word) to focus on relationships. Relationships are the one thing in this life that really, truly matter. Everything else is secondary.

First, my relationship with Jesus. I've been trying (notice a pattern here?) to get up early to have a "quiet time" with the Lord. I'll be honest. It's been a bit of a struggle.

Here's where I say PRAISE THE LORD FOR AMAZING FRIENDS. I'm so blessed to have friends that stick closer than brothers. (Proverbs 18:24) I have gotten the best advice and encouragement from them lately! You know who you are and THANK YOU! :)

I've been waking up at around 5-5:30am to read my Bible and pray - the only problem is so has Gilly. Not sure why....??? One of my friends mentioned that the same thing happened to her and to PRESS FORWARD because the devil does not want any Christian to grow in their relationship with Christ! What good advice! My hubby is a good reminder of this too! He's very good at seeing things for what they really are - spiritual attacks! Instead of putting the entire blame on the individual.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 6:12

This really helped to encourage me! The first couple of times I got up early and my DD did too I got angry and resentful! My whole day went downhill from there! I'm pretty sure God does not want me to get angry and bitter if I don't spend an hour praying in the morning!! A little counter productive if you ask me! *rolling eyes at self*

The next morning I woke at 5:30am-ish, crept downstairs and sure enough, before I reached the bottom of the stairs, from Gilly's bedroom I hear "Maaaaaaaa-meeeeeeeee!!" Instead of getting angry this time though I just read a couple verses, whispered a quick prayer and got on with my day! What a relief! I didn't blame Gilly or carry it with me through the day. I realized that God understands the season of life I'm in and He knows I'm trying, dernit! (advice from another dear friend :) And I wasn't gonna let the powers that be win this time!

That leads me to working on my relationship with Gilly.

I'll be honest (again). Parenting can be a struggle for me. I'm sure I'm the ONLY one who thinks this. *wink, wink*

I'm constantly questioning myself. "Will she hate me when she's older?", "Is this going to affect her in the long term?", "Will she be laying on a couch in some random psychiatrist's office telling him 'It all started when I was two years old...'".

I've read a plethora of parenting books (and will continue to do so), talked and talked and talked to my friends about it, prayed about it and talked about it some more. The most important things I've learned SO FAR (I've got a LONG ways to go!) are:

#1. There is no formula for parenting the "right" way. One can't take a book (unless it's the Bible) and follow it to a "T" and expect one's children to grow up perfectly. And even if you do follow the Bible completely and are the most godly parent alive (I'll give $1000 to the first parent who admits this) there are still no guarantees! Every single person (including our children) has a free will. At the end of the day (or 18 years), each child has their own mind and own will. Yes, we can guide them and expect them to follow our rules - but there are no guarantees.

#2. The most important aspect of parenting is maintaining a good, open relationship with your child(ren). This rule will probably apply more as our children get older but the patterns are being set now. I can easily get caught up in the "how's" and "do's" of parenting. I'm so hard on myself!! Should I use time outs? Should I spank? Should I let this slide? etc... Instead I need to focus on the relationship. Yes, it's important to have rules and expect our children to abide by them. After all God has rules for us and expects us to follow them. They're for our own good! But our children won't care what our rules are or whether or not they should follow them if they have no respect or true love for us.

As a side note, I just recently listened to a cd by James McDonald titled "What I Would Do Differently If I Could Raise My Kids All Over Again." There is a lot of insight on this cd! I highly recommend it!

And last but most definitely NOT least - the relationship with my hubby!

He's been so gracious these past few months with me and my crabby self!! I'm so thankful to have a loving, thoughtful hubby! One of the things I've been trying to do specifically for him is to give him some time after he walks in the door from work to relax and just breathe. Instead of bombarding him with a to-do list a mile long! (which is what I feel like doing some days!)

After Christ, the relationship with my hubby is most important. In fact, I believe that one of the things that affects children's relationships with their parents is the parent's relationships with each other! (sorry! that was a LOT of "relationships"!!)

To sum it all up I guess I would say that I'm thankful the Lord is forgiving and his grace is sufficient for me. I don't know where I would be without Him! God's grace is definitely one of life's Finer Things!!!

Sorry this was so long winded and thanks for listening (if you're still there)! And after reading this I thinks to myself, "Someone has an over analyzing problem!" Can any of you other mamas out there relate???

So much for my "bloggy slump"!

Head on over to The Finer Things in life to add your Friday Finer Things Post!!