reap to sow: Chapters 11 & 12

If you're just joining us (and we're so glad to have you along!), we're taking two chapter per week from the book, The Power of a Positive Mom: Revised Edition by Karol Ladd.

On Mondays we focus on reaping: What are we gleaning, discerning from the reading?

On Fridays we focus on sowing: What actions from the Power Points can we apply in our lives in order to become more positive mothers?

(For a link to previous discussions, please click here.)

Wow! We're half way done already. A couple of items before I reap from the fields of Chapters 11 &12: I made a slight, but extremely important revision to this post on Chapters 7 & 8. Also, a reminder to let us know if you'd like to join in a Reap to Sow Prayer Group (it would be through email). Please leave a comment indicating your interest or you may email me.

"Life would be more enjoyable if only..."

Karol invites us to fill in that blank early in Chapter 11, but this is no call to dream of the perfect life. She uses it as a challenge to turn these "if only's" into an opportunity to invite God into a challenging situation and ask for His help. She also reminds us to apply what we learned in Chapter 10 - to give God thanks in all circumstances.

God continues the theme of having me live these principles out before sharing with you...He is good in the way, yes?

I've been experiencing a season of challenges on many fronts...a polishing me of the dirt and grime collected from years in this world. One of the challenges is coming at me from the direction of my children... (positive mom theme continues strong here : ) ).

Ever experience a time when, if you have more than one child, most or all of them seem to decide it's once again time to test out those boundaries you thought were so firmly fixed? I am in the thick of one of those...at least I was last week. Since it's early Monday morning, it's hard to gauge whether God's brought us out yet. I'll know once the kids get up. ;)

When I go through these times, I often get frustrated because I feel at a loss as to how to effectively and permanently correct the problem. Funnily enough, my mentor helped me see exactly what Karol pointed out in this Chapter...I needed to invite God into the situation and ask for His help. So simple, yet so profound.

As I've done this over the past few days, I discovered that God is faithful to come to my side when I ask Him to be there in my challenges. It doesn't always change the situation, but it does change my heart.


And from Chapter 12...
I loved the "Fire Builders" from this chapter, especially #3: "Enjoy Him."

Maybe it's because I already know about the loving and respecting, but sometimes I forget to be intentional about the "enjoyment" part. Don't get me wrong, I've always enjoyed my husband and am thankful God chose him for me. But there's something about being purposeful in that enjoyment...

The image which keeps coming to mind is a gift. What if, every day, I saw my husband as a gift to be unwrapped. The anticipation of discovering the treasure that lays inside. The delight in discovering he is exactly what I needed. And wanted. And then the thrill of experiencing the gift as part of my life.

Hmmm...

I wonder if sometimes we forget our husbands are gifts to be treasured. I know I do, especially when we don't see eye to eye on a matter.

So I'm thankful for the seeds gathered from this chapter - the reminder to keep the home fires burning by kindling it with love, respect, enjoyment, and above all, a committed relationship with God.