Mother Mess, I Am

I have been asking the Lord for something to share that would be unique and encouraging.  He asked me right back,  "What have I given you?  Talk about that."

GENTLENESS - FAITHFULNESS

He has given me the most amazing gift .....kids....lots of them...all different kinds of them.

I don't really like talking about "mothering" because I can give you thousands of posts about how I have messed up, big mother of all messes, every kind you can imagine, past, present and future.
I have made every mistake, repeatedly, you can make as a human, and especially as a mother.  I don't want to misrepresent this Brewer Bunch because the minute I try to sing our praises my kids will run off (literally) and eat tide pods (or something really close) or we will forget one or more of them (this has happened on more than 1 occasion) and the list is really endless of what has happened and will still happen.

 I do have a unique situation,  I have children spread out over a lot of years, so I can speak into the subject as someone who has been thru it, and is still in it.
  People often won't speak out in the heat of it, until they know how it will all shake out, or they shrink back, after they have made it thru,  thinking "things are different these days," but God has allowed us to stay in the heat of it.
 It may be, that He knows how much He has to give me, to finally get it.
 In any case, this is how I see it, I have 25/23/20, 3 teen/2 elementary, and 1 toddler vision.

 Mother Mess with Long-Term Vision.

 I'm the first to admit,
 I'm not the parenting poster mom,
 I'm more like the mom on the warning label.

GOODNESS - LOVE

There is a couple of things I have learned along the way, things that have stood the test of time since the beginning of time, and I will put it in a check list / 3 step process...every Mother loves a checklist and  process: 

Love God! Love God more than our kids, our family, our pets, our jobs, our stuff.

Make God the center of your life everyday, not our kids, our ministry, our bodies or hobbies.

Pay attention to God more that anyone or anything.

When we make our kids the center of our lives, they believe the world revolves around them. 

 If we make God the center of our lives, our kids believe in GOD'S SON,  whom the world revolves around.

PATIENCE - SELF CONTROL

God, the creator and owner of our lives and our kids' lives, gave us an owner's manual to live by.  He also gave us a direct line to call Him every single day, all day long over the biggest challenges and the littlest concerns.

We have a manual and a direct line to call! 

The manual is called:  The Bible 

The number to call is:  PRAYER

PEACE

Recently I have struggled with knowing if we are doing the best thing for our kids by moving;  Mik pointed out to me that living here, with us in this house, has been the longest he has lived anywhere in his whole life....my heart sank and I began to panic...what are we doing??

KINDNESS

 I was asking God to help us know what to do and where to go that is BEST for everyone of our kids, not just one or a few, but everyone in their current stage of life and considering all their history.

He reminded me of this:

Joshua 1:8-9 New Living Translation (NLT)

8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. 9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

JOY

Galatians 5:22-23 New Living Translation (NLT)

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!