Even Mommies have Boogers!

“Oh, I just hate that.” I mumbled under my breath as my son just happened to walk by. Well, we don’t say “hate” in our house. So, like any good kid, he took that opportunity and ran with it. It was only a short lecture with a reminder that we don’t use words like that in our house and then an explanation as to why I needed to say I was sorry. (Yes, he keeps me in line).

This, I thought, is a great opportunity to have the “mommies and daddies aren’t perfect” talk with them.  Which led to me telling them that even mommies have boogers and make mistakes. Our children often think we are perfect and don’t make mistakes. They look up to us and think we are superheros, and that makes us feel great inside – even if we know it isn’t true. But, we do our kids and other women a disservice if we allow them to believe in this illusion of perfection. They need to hear that we make mistakes and learned lessons from those mistakes. They need to hear us ask for forgiveness and to offer forgiveness when someone has hurt us.

Have you heard another mom yell at her kids or a wife confess she had a meltdown and cried because she couldn’t keep up with everything on her plate? Did you feel a sense of relief because you realized that you weren’t the only one on the planet who had (or was) experiencing that same thing – that wasn’t perfect?

The Bible is full of amazing people, their stories and how they served the Lord. However, other than Jesus, not one of them was perfect. They all made mistakes. In Jonah 1:1-3, God asks Jonah to go and speak to His people about their sins and He ran away from God. In Job 2:7-10, Job’s wife tells him to “curse God and die!” because Job is in so much pain from the sores on his body and she can’t stand to see him suffer any longer. In 2 Samuel 11:1-4, David is overwhelmed by the desires of the flesh and commits adultery. In Ruth 1:20-21, Naomi blames the Lord for all her loss and changes her name to Mara (which means bitter). I could go on, but I’m sure you are getting the point. (Take some time during your week to look up these verses and read more about each one of them. They are all amazing stories.)

These people are the rock stars of the Bible and they ran from God, told those they love to curse Him, broke His commandments and blamed Him for their loss, but they also loved Him! They recognized their weaknesses, asked forgiveness and found strength in the Lord again. We all mess up. We all have moments of weakness, we lose our way, our faith falters, we lean on others instead of Him and, Yes, we all have boogers, but God loves us anyway! Praise the Lord!

“Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.” Acts 13:38

Warming Up . . .

I was volunteering at church recently and needed to make a few copies for one of the projects I was working on. Of course, as soon as it was my turn the toner ran out. After replacing the toner, we had to wait for the copier to “warm up”.  If you have ever used a copier you know that after every paper jam, toner change and start or stop it needs to warm up. So, making 6 copies took 15 or 20 minutes, but I got it done and they looked great with the new toner.

The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.Proverbs 4:18-19

I like the concept of warming up. It is very beneficial to the person taking the “warm up” and even though it can take time and be frustrating for others while they wait for a response or action they benefit as well.  I wish this function came naturally to me, but it takes a conscious effort on my part to stop – pause – take it to God and then respond or react.

We live in a fast pace world that never slows down. If we are going to change that for ourselves and those we care about –  we have to make it happen. How would things change if we hit the “warm up” button and found time for God daily? What if we paused and asked for God’s direction and guidance in all we did and said? What if we sat still to hear God’s whisper daily?  What if we pushed the “warm up” button before we responded with words or actions?

Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. James 1:26

If we develop the self-discipline to take it all to God first think of how our marriages and parenting would improve, our friends would benefit and most importantly our relationship with the Lord would blossom.

She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. Proverbs 31:26

New Book . . . Coming Spring 2011

I wanted to let you all know that my weekly blogs may not be as consistent as they usually are. In fact, there might be a week or two you don’t even receive one.

Along with several upcoming speaking engagements, I am in the middle of the final touches of a six-week bible study called In the Mid[God]le: Keys to keeping God in the middle of all you think, do and say. It is going through editing now and will be headed to publishing in the next few weeks.

Thanks for your patience and I hope to be back and in full swing soon. I appreciate the prayers, encouragement and support from all of you.

Allison “GodChick”