3 days...that's all

So this week is Easter week.  This morning I was thinking about the week leading up to Jesus' crucifixion.  As a mother I thought about Mary and how she must have felt.  To see her son beaten, mocked and hung on a cross. How many times did she want to intervene and beg them to stop? How many tears did she cry?  I can't imagine the pain she must have felt. I can see her kneeling at the foot of the cross crying and remembering herself in the manger holding Jesus as a tiny baby.  I think in that moment she was probably wishing for that manger again when she could protect Jesus from all the hurt and danger. Through all the hurt and pain she knew in her heart that what was happening had to be done.  That her son, Jesus was saving the world.  

I thought about Jesus and the sacrifice he made so that we could have eternal life.  As he walked that journey to the place he would be crucified he didn't complain or call for help.  Instead he took every one of those stripes and beating for us.  

I wonder on that 3rd day what those guards thought when that tomb was rolled away and Jesus stepped out alive. I'm sure their were in shock and disbelief because they thought evil had won.  Little did they know that victory was on its way.  

I'm so thankful that God loved us so much that He sent His son to die in our place and that our sins are washed away and we can have eternal life.  And that by each stripe upon Jesus' back we can have healing.  

Doomed to be clumsy

So anyone that has known me a while knows I'm not the most coordinated person out there.  All I need is a floor and some air and I will trip.  

In January I decided it was time to start exercising and get healthier.  So we joined the gym at our civic center.  I'm not one that loves to exercise.  I've been to one step class and one spin class in my life.  At the step class it was all I could do to not trip over my step and take out a row of skinny girls.  Of course at the spin class there isn't too much I could mess up - just felt like I was getting closer to Heaven with each spin (the pain was real).  

Anyway so my first day in the room with all the equipment was scary.  How do I decide the perfect machine to pick? I didn't even know the names of them.  I decided on one and started pushing buttons - nothing happened.  To avoid completed humiliation I asked another girl how to make the machine cut on.  Apparently you get on the machine and start moving and it cuts on. So I got in my groove and before I knew it I was a pro on the machine within a week. The track is my favorite place - good music in the ears and a good pace.  Sometimes if the song is good I will do a little dance combo in my walking. Well I did before I realized they had cameras above watching (sorry to everyone who saw my mad dance skills).  The only problem with the track is I trip - a lot and I do t have a clue why.  At first I was embarrassed but I've learned how to recover from it.  If I trip I just start jogging to make people think I was going into jog mode.  

So here we are in March and I'm still exercising.  Last month I got the sinus crud and a bad cough. I wasn't able to do the machines because they made me cough more so I just stuck to walking.  That is until this week when I went to the room with the machines.  The normal people were in there and they were glad to see me back.  I put my fitbit on my shoelace, music in my ears and got on the machine. Everything was going great until my shoe came untied and my fitbit came off.  I got off the machine and was about to pick up my Fitbit when the pedal of the elliptical hit me in the ankle (OUCH).  I moved and tried to pick up my Fitbit again when it hit me again on the other side of my ankle. At this point I was angry at this machine so I got it to stop and once again I bent over to pick up my Fitbit.  I was about to get it when I reached too far and my headphones stretched and my phone fell and hit the floor.  After picking all my stuff up and regaining composure the lady next to me smiled and said "see what happens when you don't come and get out of training".  Thankfully I was able to laugh it off and just keep going.  And I'm sure that yall are all laughing at the mental image in your head! 

Moral of the story - no matter how silly you feel or look don't give up on something because success is right around the corner.  I may be uncoordinated but I'm at 11 lbs gone and I'm having fun!  

Proverbs 17:22

A joyful heart is good medicine,
But a broken spirit dries up the bones.

How much do you know?

As a mom I have come to realize that my kids are not going to tell me everything.  But that doesn't mean I don't ask lots of questions. How was school? - Fine.  What did yall do today? - Nothing. Who is that your texting? - my friends. What are you doing in your room? - Nothing.  It can be frustrating to want to know so much about your kids and get very short answers back.  I look at them and think - so what you're telling me is you sat at school all day and did nothing but that was fine and then you come home only to go in your room and still do nothing?   With that much free time on your hands how could you possibly be so tired when asked to help clean up around the house?  :)   Who are we kidding??  A lot of things go on with our children but it is up to us to get more info out of them.  They may be small but they have so much going on in their lives and I want to be apart of that.  I want to know how they are feeling, what happened throughout their day and the friends they are hanging out with.

In our house the rule is if we pay the cell phone bill we get full rights to what's on it.  This means we will always know the password and sometimes we might just pick it up and go through it. That is not a very popular rule with our teenage daughter but one that she knows to obey or we get to keep the phone and she gets a nice flip phone that she can call her friends on and the worst part - no selfies with a cute duck face!! 

As a Christian parent I firmly believe in keeping up with what my kids are doing. Whether it be who they hang out with, the music they listen to, what they watch on TV, etc. Right now they are at very impressionable ages and they are being molded each day and what they are allowed to put in their lives will be apart of that molding.  One thing we love in our house is music!  We love to dance around and act silly whether it be at home or in the car (yes even while I am driving). There are all types of music out there to listen to.  I love Christian music but I also like to listen to 80's and some pop.  But what I have taught my kids is be careful of music you listen to because while it might have a good beat sometimes the lyrics are not something that you need going into your ears because it makes a huge impact. 

I love my kids so much and I thank God for both of them.  They are not perfect at all but I want them to know how important it is to live a life for God.  And I believe that while we are raising our children we are held accountable for what we allow in their lives and what we allow them to do.

In Proverbs 22:6 it says to train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.

In Deuteronomy 6:6-9 it says These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

I am not a professional blogger and may not have a whole lot of stuff to blog about but sometimes I do have a lot of thoughts that I want to express and I thought this would be the best place to do it.