Family Volley: inspiration

Showing posts with label inspiration. Show all posts

Monday

Thankful for a Legacy

Well it's over. Just like that.

It seems we have been waiting for Thanksgiving for so long, and now, it is gone. I love this holiday.

I can't stop thinking about it. We had a lovely week. One of the best I can remember. (Except we didn't take any pictures). It was just what our family needed. We had very few responsibilities or obligations. I took an extra day off teaching and our children had three days off of school. My husband was around for most of it and we even got some snow.

I helped my mom with Thanksgiving dinner. It is one of my most favorite things to do. I watched her in awe as she orchestrated the preparations perfectly. The end result, the best tasting Thanksgiving ever. Her gravy can't be beat. More than that, my mom can make every situation full of love, warmth, and welcoming.

As we worked together in the kitchen my mind was filled with memories of my grandmother. My mom's mom. She passed away a few years ago. The three of us used to spend hours in the kitchen, talking, cooking, preparing. They are the women in my life I look to for all things. They are the examples that I strive to emulate. I missed her extra this Thanksgiving. I am grateful for the legacy she built and that my mom carries on that legacy.

I just finished checking on our children in bed. All three are asleep. For them I am grateful. So grateful that words don't do justice and thinking about it puts a lump in my throat that I can't swallow.

They are the greatest thing that will ever happened to my husband and me. As their mother, I am humbled to think that the Lord has entrusted me with their care.

Wasn't it just yesterday that I was dreaming about being a mom? Dreaming about what it would be like to be pregnant, nurse a child, teach ABC's, and teach the stories of Jesus. Now, in the blink of an eye I am here.

As I pushed the hair out of our sleeping daughters face tonight, it hit me, she will continue this legacy. She is already dreaming of being a mommy and marrying her prince. Before I know it, both our daughters will be married and having their own children.

This Thanksgiving season I was overwhelmed with gratitude because I am a part of this legacy. A legacy of women who give all for their families and who take the role of mother seriously. Women who are strong, confident, patient, loving and intelligent. Women who have sacrificed all they have to teach and nurture and love. Women like my grandmothers and my mother.

My grandma used to have a stool in her kitchen. I would sit on the stool and watch her and my mom work, cook and fold laundry. Last month the stool got a new home, my kitchen. Now my daughters sit on it and watch me work and cook. I hope I am teaching them just like I was taught. I hope I am living up to the legacy that has come before me. I hope I am teaching our daughters by word and deed that this legacy is worth sacrificing for.

I am thankful this Thanksgiving for my role as a women.

Sharks. Piranhas, and Alligators.

This has been running through my mind a lot lately.

I want to tell you a story my father used to tell me when I was young. It is a story about a king. He was the king of a very small country, and he was a good king.

He decided to have a contest to see who could swim the length of his Olympic size swimming pool. The winner would receive half of the king’s treasure.

He invited everyone in his kingdom to come to his house. Everyone was so excited until they got there, only to find that the pool was filled with sharks, piranhas and alligators.

Several days went by and no one was willing to take the king’s challenge. On the fourth day, all of a sudden there was a huge splash. Everyone turned to see a man swimming with all his might across the pool.

The whole kingdom cheered him on as he made it through the sharks. The man continued to swim as the piranhas nipped at him until finally he had made it through the alligators. He threw himself up on the side of the pool out of breath and exhausted.

The king was quickly at his side.

Congratulations, the king said, now you will be rich. The man continued to catch his breath.

The king looked at the man again waiting for a response and asked what do you have to say about your new treasure? The man still out of breath looked up at the king and said,

King, half of your treasure is great, but what I really want to know is WHO PUSHED ME IN?

Have you ever felt like the man in the swimming pool? I know that I have. We we didn’t ask for the sharks, piranhas and alligators, it seems that someone has pushed us in and now we have to give it all our might to get through the trials and tribulations we are faced with. We have to exercise our faith and know that not only will the swim end but we will be spiritually wealthier because of the challenge. And, We are promised all our King has when the journey is through.

We have all been faced with trials and uncertainties in our lives, and I am sure we will be faced with many more. It's what we do when we are pushed in that determines what we are made of. We are so blessed. We just need to remember that This too shall pass.

Anyone ever felt like SOMEONE PUSHED THEM IN?

Tuesday

Inspiration to Start the Week and the Giveaway Winner

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Ours went by so fast, Yikes. Sometimes I feel like the weekends are crazier than the weekdays. Anyone else?

Lately I have been thinking a lot about how what we used to do, affects what we do now. It is a concept that married couples and families don't always consider. A lot, if not most of what we do and believe comes from the family we grew up in and the experiences we have had. Yep, our past does affect our future. Not meant to be heavy, but on a light note, I like the idea of flashbacks and fast forwards.

Flashback: When I was in high school I collected quotes. I would tear them out of magazines, write them down when I heard them in movies, or saw them on billboards. Some of my favorites came from Nike and Penn (I played a. lot. of tennis in high school.) I appreciated both companies take on a women's strength and abilities. I still have a poster from Nike framed and hanging by my room that says "Go outside and Play." It has a picture of a woman running outside through a trail in the mountains. I pass it everyday and relive the freedom and strength running used to give me. (I long for the days when I will run again. One day.)

Fast forward:Although I don't collect like I used, I am still a sucker for a good quote. Today I have one to share with you that I have been reading over and over. I love it's aesthetic appearance as much as the words. It makes me happy. It makes me want to run, or hit a tennis ball with a lot of top spin.