Are You Empty...Or Full?

I recently watched a Louie Giglio video, and in it, he was discussing the fact that 'life' in general can pull each of us down throughout the day. And it is so true. There are millions of things that put weight on our shoulders on any given day.

For me, I find that I am constantly out of something. Especially with the hustle and bustle that we just came out of called Christmas. I sometimes feel empty, finished, done. I have composed a list of things that I never have enough of...I am sure that you will have at least a few in common with me.

1. Is there ever enough time? I mean, really. I could work nonstop for 24 hours and still not be done with everything that needs to be done in my little world. Why is it that at the end of the day, I look at the clock and realize that time is up? There are no more hours... game over. And there are still dishes in the sink, clothes in the wash, and toys to be picked up.

2. Money-need I say more? It always seems to be spread so thin. Every time that I turn around, someone needs $10 for this, or $5 for that. I just don't know how much money would be 'enough'...I have learned to roll coins like.a.pro.

3. Patience. Am I talking to anyone else here??? I usually start the day off pretty good, but by the end, patience runs thinner than the latest winner of 'America's Next Top Model'. After arguments over whose turn it is for the iPad, wanting cookies instead of apples, Sprite instead of water, and wearing a summer dress when it is 10 degrees outside, I am literally cooked. I have heard the story of a lady that was running for the position of a judge, and she had been a stay at home mom to many children for years. The press kept asking her how she could possibly be qualified for the position of judge. Her response was that she settled arguments all.day.long.for.years. Word.

4. Gas. Really. How can it burn so quickly? I go from one end of town to the other, and my nice little 'reminder' dings...50 miles to empty. Again. Time to put ten more dollars in...

5. Diapers and wipes. They walk out the door. Literally.  I would never have guessed that we would spend so much money on something to clean and contain poo...but we do. I applaud the moms that do the cloth diaper deal. And I realize that in some regions, there are actually cloth diaper services that pick up, wash, and replace these diapers. But in one of these regions, we do not live. So please forgive me for contributing to the landfills, but remember my first issue...time? Yeah...I do not have time to clean cloth diapers. So money I do spend on disposable wipes and diapers...and lots of it.

6. Milk and cheese. We should seriously consider investing in a Jersey named Daisy. Really. Enough said...

7. Coffee creamer/wine. These two friends of mine get me through the morning and the night. I double fist coffee in the mornings. Although, to call it coffee may be going a bit far-it truly is creamer with a bit of coffee added. But it gives me the energy to keep up with three toddlers. The glass of wine at night gets me through the 'witching hour' at my house. This is the time when all 3 kids melt down simultaneously because of mere exhaustion. It starts around 5pm, and can be pretty intense until their little noggins hit the hay. It is 3 against 1...and I never win.

8. Cell phone/iPad charge. Really? Our technology is so stinkin' advanced, and we can't come up with a self charging device??? I NEED my phone and the iPads to STAY CHARGED! Someone please get on this! Mothers around the world will forever sing your praises!!!

9. Dinner ideas. It's crazy. Dinner has to be cooked EVERY NIGHT! Who decided that? It is so hard to come up with new ideas. And then...someone decided that we needed this little food pyramid, and that the meals also need to be balanced...what??? I'm only human.

10. Energy. How do kids have so much? I could never match theirs...ever. When I finally take a second to sit down and breathe, it is inevitable that someone will need something right then. A diaper change, some water, a snack...you name it. There is no rest for the weary. Must.invest.in.redbull.

Anybody's shoulders feeling heavy yet????? The feeling of emptiness is overwhelming. You give and give, and almost never get replenished. Am I right?

11. Clean clothes. I cannot stress this enough. How do you keep up with laundry for five? If you know, please share! It is a rare thing to have a clean laundry room. I could honestly employ someone full time to do nothing but laundry. R.I.D.I.C.U.L.O.U.S.

12. Style. I am totally out of it. There is no way to keep up with trends when you are taking care of three small children. a.it's too expensive, and b. new clothes will just get ruined anyway. Refer to my previous post here.

13. Sorts. I am totally out of sorts most of the time. I don't know which way is up. Shuttling kids to and fro...I forget what I'm doing half of the time. Just a few weeks ago, I got the mail and I said to Nick, 'Oh no! We got one of our Christmas cards returned!'. Which could have been true-- had we sent them already--but we hadn't. I'm not kidding. He told me to go to bed. I'll get right on that...

14. Touch. Out of touch. It is so easy to find yourself out of touch with reality. The things that are real and actually important. When the trials of the day find you in this place...think of my cure for the droopy shoulders...ahem...my revelation.

I reach out my hand...and a chubby little chocolate smudged palm grabs mine. That little hand squeezes and he moves forward with complete confidence that whatever I am doing, and wherever I am going, he's coming along-and he's going to be okay. He has no idea where mommy is leading...but there is no hesitation in his following. And this makes my heart smile.

Hence-- the revelation.

Isn't that all that God wants from us?

He simply wants us to take His hand with the confidence and innocence of a child. His child.

He wants us to trust that wherever He takes us, He's going to be there to protect us.

He wants us to grab His hand and walk off into the next adventure, arms swinging.

And He loves that feeling of confidence that we have in Him--just the same as I love the confidence that Linebacker places in me with that chubby little hand.

Is that too much for God to ask of us? Don't think so.

So when our world starts spinning out if control, all that we need to do is grab tightly to His hand...and tell Him that we will go wherever He leads us.

It's just that simple.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."--Matthew 11:28-30

*Note: 'A yoke is a heavy wooden harness that fits over the shoulders of an ox or oxen. It is attached to a piece of equipment the oxen are to pull. A person may be carrying heavy burdens. Jesus frees people from these burdens. The rest that Jesus promises is love, healing, and peace with God, not the end of all labor. A relationship with God changes meaningless, wearisome toil into spiritual productivity and purpose.'

The Winner!!!

And the winner is.....

Amber Gonzales Harrington!!!! Get Excited!

Amber, PM me your address and your book will be in the mail! If you didn't win the book, you can still get it at Create Space here, or Amazon here. There is still time for Christmas orders. And...don't forget that I have adorable handmade dolls in the likeness of the two main characters in the book. Message me for details....

FREE book!!!

It's a Give Away!!!

 

I am giving away one of my books, 'Hand Picked', to a lucky winner! It is just in time for Christmas, so if you have any children on your shopping list...enter to win!!! All that you have to do is like OR share my adopted accepted page on facebook and comment here or on this blog that you did just that. And you are entered in the drawing! This give away will end on Friday morning at 9am....so.....what are you waiting for??? Go!!!!

Here It Is...An Adoption Book For Children!

So...drum roll please!!!! My book is finished! As in...you can now purchase it! It is on the virtual shelves! I am really excited, if you can't tell by all of the exclamation points. I have put a lot of time, thought, and prayer into this little project of mine.

I truly hope that it helps moms and dads introduce their tiny blessings to the most special way that they became their children. I equally hope that it is a tool to explain to biological children that families are created in different ways-and that each way is simply amazing.

I hope that you will get a copy and enjoy it...and share it with friends! Here it is...

 

 

You can purchase my book on Amazon here 

OR you can purchase it through Create Space here

The first 20 people at Create Space can use code GLSHNG6C for 20% off!

 

 

And that is not all! I have handmade dolls available that look like two of the characters in the book. How stinkin' adorable are they?

 

 

And for you only...a sneak peek at my title page so that you can see how much these precious dolls look like my book characters...

 

 

Please email me your thoughts if you get a chance to read my little story...and it would be awesome if you would leave a review!!! Thanks so much for following...

 

 

How out is your reach?

Where is your bubble?

 Is it your church-- your city--your school-- your neighborhood?

We tend to live inside of little bubbles. We surround ourselves with people who look like us, act like us, and think like us. And we encase ourselves in that world. It is human nature to be drawn to others similar to us--because it is comfortable. I am guilty. It is a happy place to be.

I get it.

But what would happen if we got out of that comfort zone and included some people that were not like us? Would we add more richness to our lives? Would it be as scary as we think?

I say yes, and no.

I believe that it is safe to say that Nick and I got out of our bubble through adoption. We jumped into a completely foreign world to us. After all, the normal path is to fall in love, get married, have a baby, maybe another. And for the super brave... a third. But after falling in love and getting married, we realized that our path would not be normal. We were going to have to pave our own way, and it was not inside of our bubble. We did a lot of research, met a lot of new friends, and pressed on way far away from our comfort zone at the time.

It was not easy. We faced some battles. Loved ones had doubts, questions, hesitations. A lot of them. It was a tough road. We had to hunker down as a couple and move forward towards the goal that God had set before us.

But....did this action enrich our lives? Absolutely. The end result is two amazing children, and a third unexpected blessing. But even in the midst of the struggles, we had blessings. We became closer as a couple, closer to God, and met a lot of amazing people that we would not have met otherwise.

Ours is not the normal American picket fence life, but it is rich. I dare say richer than we, ourselves, could have planned or imagined. If you had asked us on our wedding day what we saw 10 years down the road-we could have never guessed where we are now. Three kids under 4, one of them with big brown eyes and olive skin, 2 boys six months apart-never.would.have.guessed.

But I thank Jesus for giving us the strength to step out of our bubble, and into that great unknown.

Many people tell us how Sister and Little Man have hit the jackpot with us. But we strongly argue that we--Nick and I--are the ones that have hit the jackpot... and I cannot even begin to describe how big. I really can't. Really.

But stepping out of your bubble does not have to be the big step of adoption. There are so many needs and opportunities in our world, our country, our cities.

I saw Jen Hatmaker speak a few weeks ago--and girlfriend brought it. She spoke about outreach in our world, and stressed the fact that God is all about it. After all, aren't we here to share His love?

She discussed the fact that Jesus did spend time in the temple(church), but he spent A LOT of time out and about with people. All people...not just people like him.

She also talked about how she began feeling a pull towards outreach in her own life, and she acted on it by simply giving a hamburger to a homeless person. That act snowballed as her eyes were opened to need after need. She is still spearheading outreach projects, but one of the outcomes of this was the adoption of two precious children.

See that? Hamburger for homeless=adoption.

Crazy right?

But she stressed how much she has been blessed by blessing others...and not just others in her circle. Others that a lot of us don't 'see'. Because it is so easy to close our eyes and pull down that shield and pretend that there is nothing ugly going on around us.

I guess my point is this...we are blessed by blessing. When we step out, God steps in. So I challenge all of you-as I also challenge myself-to step out into this world-and love.

 It's that easy, and that hard.

 Love the unlovable. Take care of those who can't do it for themselves.

Although it is certainly not the easy road, I believe that you will be the one with infinite blessings falling into your lap.

Amen and amen.

"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"--Matthew 22:37-39

Where In The World Is Amy???

Where have I been, you ask??? Well, proof number 3 of my children's book is on its way to me. Hopefully the third time will be the charm, and I will soon be showing you where you can buy it! But I will have a new post up soon-and hopefully some interesting guest one's as well! So please hang with me!!!

And The Winner Is...

JONI HALL!!!!

Joni wins a copy of Robin O'Bryant's New York Times Best Seller, Ketchup is a Vegetable, and Other Lies Moms Tell Themselves! Very exciting! Thank you all for reading my blog, and participating in the give away. I hope to have more soon. Stay tuned for my next post...