Showing posts with label motherhood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label motherhood. Show all posts

Monday, September 29, 2014

To Be Made in God's Image: Creating With The One

"In the Beginning God CREATED the Heavens and the Earth." Genesis 1:1


As a Stay-at-Home Momma of two, I’ve seen my share of “art” work. Scribbles on the wall. Paint splattered and dried to tiles on the kitchen floor. Chalk drawings covering nearly every inch of our sidewalk.  Playdough pieces clinging to carpet fibers. Glue. Glitter. Stickers. Scissors. Scrap paper. Yep, that’s my house living with two kiddos who love to create. I bet many of you can relate.

Most of the time I find myself grumbling as I clean up their artistic scenes and frustrated when they want to drag out all the craft supplies. Sigh, groan, eye-roll. Don’t they know what an inconvenience it is to get all that stuff out and clean it back up?
No. They don’t know. It’s fun for them to create and it occurred to me not so long ago that they are doing just exactly what God wants them to do.

God wants them to make a mess? Ha! Maybe. God wants them to create because when they create they are creating with Him, the One! A beautiful thought, right?
Our God is creative. He is the creator! With His words He fashioned the universe and all its contents. He sculpted un-countable varieties of life in all shapes, sizes, and colors. He continues to create to this day with each changing of the season, wedding union, the birth of child, and in the heart of someone inviting Him in.

Our God is a creative God and we are made in His image. We create! We build, design, write, draw, cook, craft, forgive, love, clean, decorate—all aspects of creating.

When I stop grumbling at the mess my children have made and look, really look, at what they’ve fashioned, I’m amazed. I clap. I hug them. I hang their work on a wall for all to see. Being made in the image of God means many things, but for that moment, staring at glittering globs of glue, my children are reflecting a portion of their Creator. They’ve created with Him.

How beautiful is that?! The ONE, who is the All-Creator, allows us to create alongside of Him!
When we stand in front of the stove preparing a meal for our family, we create with our God. When we clean up a mess, we create a clean environment with our God. When we bring life into this world, we create  with the One. When we sit with our children and finger-paint, or glue, or color, we create alongside our God. He must clap for us. Cheer for us. Brag on us. We do that for our children, right?  

So this week, let’s ask God to give an awareness of Him, how He works in us, through us, and around us to create! How creative can we get?!

Many Blessing!
 
Leave a comment on this blog for a chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card AND an eCopy of Hannah's debut novel, The Wounded Warrior's Wife!

About the Author:

Hannah Conway is the author of The Wounded Warrior's Wife and Wedding the Warrior. She is an Army wife of more than a decade, mother of two, writer and speaker.
 
A Kentucky native, Hannah lives near Fort Campbell where she and her family are currently stationed.  She holds a BA in History from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and is active in ministry, Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS), as well as the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), and My Book Therapy (MBT).

 
Connect with Hannah:

About The Wounded Warrior’s Wife:
Battles Raging Within Are Those You Must Fight To Win

http://www.amazon.com/Wounded-Warriors-Wife-Hannah-Conway/dp/1939603587/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412004590&sr=8-1&keywords=the+wounded+warrior%27s+wifeWHITLEIGH CROMWELL dreamt of a happy life with her newlywed husband. Army Private First Class COLLIER CROMWELL loved God, his wife, and his country, though the military demanded he pay a high cost.

When an unexpected deployment during the height of war sends Collier away for another year, their lives tumble down a path marked with struggle, and fatalities.  War weary, and faith crippled, Collier brings home a war of another kind leaving Whitleigh staring at the shattered pieces of their broken marriage. 
Are there wounds too deep, and marriages too broken that they’re beyond even God’s ability to restore?

Friday, October 25, 2013

Money Mess: Finances and Budgeting

Give. Save. Spend.
MOPS tackled the almighty dollar and put it in its place!


Does our money control us? No way. We control it! That's how the ladies at MOPS roll.

It's a fact. Americans spend more than they save. We bury ourselves in debt. Financial Stress/Money Fights is one of the leading causes of divorce. In our more, more, more, bigger, better, we can have it all society, one thing is very evident: We need help managing our money.

Where to find help? The Bible.  It's FULL of money managing concepts; check out Proverbs. Financial Advisor, Dave Ramsey uses the concepts in Proverbs that helped us provide pointers to the Moms in our group on money management. Concepts so easy, a child can do it. SO! We decided to teach our kids about money while we were learning. We made Give, Save, Spend containers for our kids, and you can do it too!

To download the MOPS Money Mess: Finance and Budgeting presentation, click here.

Article by: Hannah Conway
www.hannahrconway.com


good idea for kids to save money
Pringles Cans or Peanut Butter Jars work Great for this


Envelope Budgeting . . . A Simple Way To Gain Control of Your Money, there's a neat pdf for these cute envelopes

Create your own stylish envelopes to help you budget


Friday, September 27, 2013

Sticky Sticky Fingers From Candy

Yogurt in the Hair!

Fingerprints everywhere. 


"Keep them," my Mother says. It's hard not to clean them off, but I put my rag and cleaner down with a sigh.

"You're gonna miss seeing them one day." She smiles looking at them. Little prints on the screen door, bathroom mirror, and TV screen. How are those sticky, sticky fingers from candy not driving her nuts, 'cause I'm about to lose it if I don't clean them off. What if someone unexpected comes over? They'll think I'm a mess--I like to pretend I've got it all together you know.

"Enjoy these little messes." She laughs as my daughter runs around naked, covered in finger paint, hair completely not the way I fixed it. I huff. It's like I clean, and clean, pick up, fix stuff, and then redo it over and over. How do I enjoy the messes? How is my Mom enjoying watching my kids make the messes?

It's because she has perspective. Wisdom. She has the ability to see past the now, through all the clutter, dirt, tears, stress and know what's really worth it...what it's really all about. Embracing the mess. And if I'm willing to listen to wisdom--it's a continuous prayer--then I can learn from my Mom, and from all the other Moms who are cheering me on...cheering all Moms on to have perspective. Life is Messy, but nonetheless beautiful.

Close friends of mine, musicians Matt & Joanna Black have a song entitled "The Sticky Fingers Song." Give it a listen...it helps me smile, and helps add a bit of perspective of the messes my kids make.

By: Hannah Conway
www.hannahrconway.com

Wednesday, August 28, 2013