Sunday, December 26, 2010

Santa?

Last year my kids asked me if Santa was real.  Wanting to always tell them the truth, I let them know that he was pretend.  They decided they want to believe in Santa anyway!  Pretty funny.

Today, my 5 1/2 year old daughter said to me, "Mommy, I don't believe in Santa anymore.  Well, actually I do.  But when I turn six, I'll stop believing in him."

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Intentions

It has been a frustrating day.  Did anyone else have one of those?  It was the kind of day where I was tired and in lots of pain.  The kids were fighting and misbehaving and I wasn't as patient as I should have been.  It left me frustrated with them, but much more frustrated with myself. 

I often become focused on all the good intentions that I have or have had, and how I've failed to follow through on so many of them.  It is frustrating.  And even more so when I think how that might impact my kids.  When I establish a rule or habit for them, follow through with it for a couple weeks, and then mostly forget about it, what am I teaching them?  When I set a goal for myself and fail to reach it, fail to even keep trying, what am I teaching them?

Part of the problem lies in my desire for perfection.  I tend to set my expectations too high.  The remainder of the problem comes from giving up completely when I realize I have run out of the energy needed to live up to my own expectations.

Dear Jesus,  Please help me to seek you and your will first.  Please give me wisdom to determine what goals you want me to set, which you want me to work on now, and which ones are for later.  Please forgive me for my impatience today with my kids and with myself.  Thank you for your patience with me.  Please help me to train my children in your ways, with love and grace.  Amen.