Yesterday was one of the worst parenting days I’ve ever had. There was not one time during the day that one of my children was not completely out of control. I was livid by the time my husband came home. In fact, I crawled into the bed as he finished eating dinner and hid until he had put the kids to bed. (He could feel my weariness and I didn’t even have to ask!)

After the kids went to bed (screaming), my husband and I sat on the couch and talked—about parenting, God and for some reason about dishes. My husband declared that he was better at keeping the kitchen clean because he put the dishes away immediately instead of letting them pile up. (Which, in all honesty, is kinda true.) But after the day I had, this pointed look at my failure to keep the kitchen clean hurt my feelings deeply.

I couldn’t talk anymore. So, I got up, went to my room, got ready for bed and decided to read. I picked up Don’t Make Me Come Up There! by Kristen Welch. You might know Kristen from We are THAT Family. She’s a blogging genius, an advocate for Compassion International and has started The Mercy House, a maternity home in Kenya. And I am in awe of her. I got her book as a review (because I wanted to share the awesome news of her book!) and had read a few of the short chapters when it first came in the mail.

But this night? It was as if the book was written just for me. I started with Chapter 12 entitled, “When I Fail.” Oh, I had failed this day–as a parent, homemaker and even a wife. Kristen tells of how she blew it as a mom, how she was short-tempered and impatient.

And with each confession, I cried more. I felt the same way. A failure.

Then she relayed something her pastor taught her, “When I cut my hand chopping veggies in the kitchen, the blood in my body rushes out of the wound. That’s what it was created to do. Our blood was designed to wash out the impurities and clot to protect us. When I fail as a parent or wife or a person, His blood goes to my injured heart. It rushes to the place I hurt. Because that’s what it was created to do. He is there to wash away my regret and my sin when I fail.”

By this time I was sobbing.

I try so hard–SO HARD–to teach my  kids to love God. I try so hard to point them to Jesus. But sometimes I forget to do the same. Sometimes I lean on my own understanding. Sometimes I rely on my past experience. Sometimes I just think I know best and I fail to do the best thing I can do:

Lean into Jesus.

Bring him my parenting failures.

Allow His blood to cleanse my bad attitudes towards my kids.

Rely on His strength to be my joy.

I ended up reading the rest of the book that night–all 52 chapters. And the more I read, the more God’s Word and Kristen’s open and honest confessions, stories and comfort healed my wounded heart. I felt like I had a sweet friend saying, “Yup. I’ve done that too.” with every one of my mess-ups.

Oh, and my husband came into the room to apologize and held me as I sobbed into his arms. I forget I need him, too sometimes.

Do you need some encouragement today? You’re not alone. You might fail as a mom every day. (I know I do.) There are moms everywhere going through the same thing as you. And Jesus is here. He made your children. He made you. And He put the two of you together. He can teach you to work together, to love together and to lean on Him together.

I’m giving away one copy of Kristen’s book to one of you. I pray it will encourage you as it did me.

Enter to Win Don’t Make Me Come Up There! by Kristen Welch (do one or all, leave a separate comment for each):

• Leave a comment. Any comment will do but something that says, “I know how you feel, Amanda” would be nice, too.
• Tweet it! Win @weareTHATfamily’s new book at @impressyourkids today! http://bit.ly/gb3VpI
• Share on Facebook. It’s easy – just click the “Like” button at the bottom of this post!
• LIKE Impress Your Kids on facebook (see sidebar) or tell me that you already do.

Contest ends Friday April 1.

ps–all the author royalties from Kristen’s book go to Mercy House Kenya. So even if you don’t win…or even if you do–will you buy the book? You can read it and pass it along to another mom!

comments are closed. congrats to our winner!

I’ve been somewhat chronicling my 8 month journey to GET UP EARLY AND READ MY BIBLE on my personal blog. Yeah, it’s the same New Year’s Resolution I’ve had since I was 15. And finally, this year, I’ve figured it out. Well, I’m in the middle of figuring it out anyway.

The last few weeks, I’ve been reading my Bible daily. In my closet. Hey, what can I say? It’s the most quiet place in the house! I’m not doing a big Bible study. Just reading.  A few days into this new habit, Zondervan contacted me and asked if I’d be interested in reviewing a new Bible. Not a “new” Bible, really, just one with some new devotions and a new package. And oh, the packaging! It’s purple!!

This purple Bible is called the New Mom’s Prayer Bible. I’ve been a mom for 4 years but I consider myself a “new mom”…I mean, every single day is something new! I’ve never been the mom of a 4 and 1 year old. I don’t have any idea what I’m doing! I figured this Bible was perfect for me…and hoped it would be something great to share with you.

Besides the fact that it’s purple, what I really like about it is that the devotions are divided into time increments. So, if you have 1 minute, you read one scripture {that is printed, you don’t have to look it up} and one little paragraph of application. If you have 5 minutes, they suggest reading the scripture in context and praying. And if you have more time, there is a link (no, that’s not the right word…it’s just a page number that you can flip to…hmmm, these old-fashioned things called ‘books’!) for more scriptures that are appropriate to the topic.

The coolest part is that there is a one word idea to take with you for the rest of the day. There’s no pressure to remember history, or memorize a scripture. Just take one word with you. The first day was LIFE. Then FATHER. The third day is the one that has stuck with me the most: SANCTUARY.

As a stay-at-home mom, I’m used to having NO sanctuary. I don’t even get to take a shower without someone pressing their nose against the glass or sitting on the bathmat asking me to read a book. So, a sanctuary? A place to be alone? Quiet? Refreshed? Satisfied? That is attractive…and something I need.

The devotion began with Ezekiel 11:16, then pointed to 3 other scriptures (feel free to look them up if you have a sec): Psalm 22:9-11, Psalm 139:7-10 and Acts 17:26-28.

As I read all these verses I was deeply impressed with how intimate God desires to be with me and my life. I wrote this in my journal:

As a mother

Isolated

Alone.

Satisfy me with Your Presence.

Always Near.

Always Enough.

I really wasn’t trying to poetic. (Believe me, I know that’s not poetic!) It was just my shorthand for the themes that stood out in those passages. But it stood out to me like a big promise AND prayer. That even though my days may be isolated, my decisions misunderstood, my attitudes unreadable, my thoughts imperceptible—God is always near. Not just in a magisterial overlord position. But in a way that is Always Enough.

And for this new mom? It’s what I needed. A sanctuary with the One who is enough. A sanctuary in my closet with a purple Bible.

:: :: ::

Would you like to win a copy of this purple New Mom’s Bible from Zondervan? All you have to do is leave a comment with your favorite scripture {say John 3:16 if you can’t think of anything else} and I’ll pick one winner via random.org on Saturday.

If you’d like an additional entry update your twitter, facebook or blog with a link to this post: http://bit.ly/purpleBible then leave me a comment for each.

Thank you, Zondervan!

see my disclosure policy

I finally sat down to watch Veggie Tales: Saint Nicholas: A Story of Joyful Givingdvd this week. I have to admit that I previewed it before Lydia saw it because I have a “thing” about Santa. Kinda similar to the Easter and Halloween issues I have. I’m not fanatically opposed to the jolly old elf. But we don’t get our picture taken with Santa. I don’t have a lot of Santa paraphernalia at our house. In fact, when Lydia was 2 she saw a giant Santa figurine at the store and said, “Noah!” (*giggle*)

So, I was just wondering where Veggie Tales was going to go with a Saint Nicholas/Santa Claus movie. It started off in modern day with all the veggie kids (Junior, Laura, etc.) discussing all the great things they were going to get from Santa. Junior had a gold coin that he was going to use to buy a gift for himself on top of all the Christmas gifts he was going to get the next day. Bob interrupts their greedy musings by asking them if they know Santa’s real name. This leads them into the story of Saint Nicholas’ life.

Nicholas was a small boy pepper in Greece. His parents loved Jesus and gave freely to everyone around them. They soon died and Nicholas was devastated. He ran away and eventually landed in Israel. He stumbles upon a church and sees a woman giving away bread in Jesus’ name. He recognizes the same love in her that was in his parents. He learns that “we love because He loved. We give because He gave.” (<—that is not an exact quote.)

God eventually tells Nicholas to go back home. When he does he sees his town has been taken over by an evil non-gift-giving gourd. And this is where Nicholas’ gift giving begins. Nicholas hears of three girls (uhm, scallions) that must pay a fine to the gourd or be thrown in jail. He dons a costume (a la Larry-Boy. *snicker*) and drops a bag of gold into a sock drying in the window. He does this for the next two nights and saves all three of the girls.

There is much chasing and rigmarole as Nicholas tries to outwit the Gourd. It’s quite funny and loaded with silly Americanized-Santa humor.

In the end, the veggie kids are inspired by Nicholas’ life. Junior decides to give his gold coin to Laura’s dad so he can fix his broken down work truck. The entire town gets involved and a la It’s a Wonderful Life, Christmas is saved.

WHY EVERY CHILD SHOULD SEE THIS MOVIE:

The turning of greed to giving was perfectly displayed. Nicholas began as an unimpressed kid, had a significant encounter with Jesus and then used his life to show Jesus’ love to others. Veggie Tales is rarely this blatant in their Jesus-ness.

I also loved that this DVD will now be on rotation with Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman in living rooms around the country. I love that kids will have a true view of the saint turned legend. When kids can see what the true story is behind this man, I think it will take the glow of magic off of him–in a good way! Overall, I think it will help kids see that the gifts we receive have a history in Jesus’ love and giving.

Not to mention, the movie was hilarious. Mr. Lunt had some great one-liners, as usual. Plus, there are some great partnerships in the Christian music world and with Operation Christmas Child to go along with the movie. They are putting into action the message of this movie.

WHY NOT EVERY CHILD SHOULD SEE THIS MOVIE:

This is why I hate am so over Santa. Do we really have to combine Santa with Jesus’ birth any more? The ending of the movie kind of gave this idea, “Give this Christmas because of baby Jesus. JUST LIKE SAINT NICHOLAS DID.” And although that’s a great sentiment, can’t we give because of Jesus’ gift PERIOD?

For Lydia, who barely understands the difference between Mickey and Santa and Jesus, I think this movie may confuse her further. I’ve been pounding “Santa is a character in a book” for so long that watching a movie that explains Santa IS real and actually has a connection to Jesus might muddy the waters. I’d almost let her watch Prep and Landing or Holly and Hal because it’s so out there that it has nothing to do with our our family traditions. I mean, the North Pole, elves and a flying reindeer seem fictional. So, Santa seems fictional. Does that make sense?

I might wait till next year until we watch this Saint Nicholas movie. Last year Lydia still didn’t even know who Santa was. This year she’s recognizing him and talking about him all with the underlying knowledge that he’s “not real”. When I ask her who Santa is or what his deal is she says, “He’s just pretend. He’s in a book!” Next year she’ll start hearing her friends talk about him and realize they believe he’s real. So, then we can take it a step further by finding out about his origins.

Overall, I think it’s a great one to own. But if you have small kids and you are trying to steer them away from believing in Santa, you’ll just have to decide if this movie helps or hurts your efforts.

Did you see the movie? What did you think? Did your kids like it?

I’ve got a few more Santa posts lined up—perspectives from all over. Stay tuned, we’d love to hear what you have to say, too!