Mama's Maze: Navigating the Twists and Turns of Godly Motherhood

My dearest Jason,
Today we are celebrating your 8th birthday as well as Mother's Day. I am so thankful that God has allowed me to be your mother. Your arrival into this world changed the course of my life and I am forever grateful.
Jason, ever since you were born you have brought joy to the lives of the many people you have come into contact with. You light up the room with your smile. You are a very loving individual and it shows through your interactions with your peers and your family. You are full of surprises. Your dad and I are constantly amazed by the many gifts and talents that are working inside of you and we cannot wait to see them exhibited throughout your life.
I often reflect on the day you were born and how we were so nervous and excited. Our first child, the one we had been praying for, was finally ready to make his debut. I remember crying when I heard your first little cry.I was crying because God was fulfilling a promise he had made to us. You, my son, were an a…

My dearest Trent,
Today is your 6th birthday and I am so grateful that we are able to share it with you. You are a very special little boy and I thank God for blessing us with you. I wanted to write a letter just to show you how much you are loved.
Trent, I am sure it can be hard being the middle child sometimes. But please understand that God's timing for your entrance into this world was just right. I remember when I found out you were on the way. It was quite a surprise even though we had prayed to have another child someday. The look on your dad's face was priceless. (I have video footage if you ever want to see it!) A few months later, you made your debut in dramatic fashion. That day was a day that your dad and I will never forget.  It was the day that we weren't sure if I was going to make it through your birth. You had decided to come early with no warning at all. I was in a LOT of pain! I can remember laying on that table screaming and crying because something wa…

I can remember growing up wishing that I had a sister. Yes, I had my brother, but there was only so much he could understand as a male. And with us being 7 1/2 years apart, we didn’t have a whole lot in common. When I was really small, I was so desperate to have a sister, I would pretend that Janet Jackson was my sister! Ha! Although I was young, I longed for someone to talk to that could understand me and just be my friend.  Well, unfortunately mom and dad never had any more kids, so that was it. No sisters for me--at least not biologically.
However, over the years, I have come to realize that God had a different plan for me. He brought several sisters into my life at various points to fill that empty spot in my heart. Some were only in my life for a season and others are still very much a part of my life today. And as time has gone on, I have come to appreciate what real sisterhood looks like.
As women and as mothers we often need those "sister" relationships. These are t…

My dearest Joshua,
Today, we celebrate your second birthday. I thought it would be a good idea to write you a letter. I know you won't remember much about this day, but this is a really special day and I want you to always know that on this day we honored you.
Over the last few days, as we anticipated this day, many thoughts crossed my mind. It was on my heart to share with you just how special you are and how grateful we are for your presence. I think back to when I first found out we were expecting you. I was shocked needless to say. You were a total surprise…a pleasant one. I was a bit overwhelmed at first because I wasn’t sure how we would handle three kids. I was scared because I had such a traumatic experience during and after the birth of your brother Trent. I was worried because your brother Jason had challenges and I did not want that for your life. But after filtering through all of those feelings, I found myself back in a place of hope. I became hopeful because I knew …

Well here we are. The final hours of 2017.  As I reflect on this year, I am reminded of the ups, downs, victories, defeats, joys and sorrows that we have encountered. But through it all, God has remained faithful to my family and I would not change a thing. I am a firm believer that everything, good and bad, happens for a reason. I am grateful for the people I have met and those that I have reconnected with this year. If I have learned anything this year, it's that we should always seek to be better neighbors, better spouses, better parents and better friends. I hope that I have done just that for someone this year.
One of the biggest things I am grateful for this year is my family. The move from Knoxville to Huntsville was not the easiest. There were many moments when I questioned if this was where we needed to be. But God always reminded us of how he orchestrated our transition here. So there is no doubt we are where we need to be at this time. God has provided for us in many w…

Well its finally here. Mother's Day. The one day a year where moms everywhere are supposed to feel loved, appreciated, and adored. For me it’s a day of relaxation or a day to just do some of the things that I want to do. It is one of the days that I look forward to each year.
As the day approached this year, I started to think about what motherhood should look like as it relates to Christians. It's our ministry.  It's our calling. While thinking about this, I was reminded of a message I shared a few years ago with a church in Tennessee for their Mother's Day Luncheon. So I would like to share some brief thoughts from that message with you over the next couple of blog posts. ****************************************************************************** Are you striving to be a "good" mother or a godly mother? When God first spoke this question to me, it immediately struck my heart because for so long I was worried about being a good mother and concerned with what…