CoppeliaMarie
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Today's stress relief is brought to you by the letter H.
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
God, did you really see me?
Saturday, July 18, 2015
The "Worst Disney Mom" made me get teary-eyed ... in a good way!
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
For Future Moms
We'll come back to those verses. First, I asked the college girls to think about their "Ideal Life Plan."
At what age would you like to get married?
At what age would you like to have kids & become a mom?
Do you want to be a stay at home / work from home / work outside the home mom?
Yeah, that was fun. ;)
But remember that "Ideal Life Plan"? Unexpected changes can happen.
Our "Ideal Life Plan" was:
What actually happened was:
I wrote that down in my journal, shortly after my new husband's brain tumor surgery. We had appointments with oncologists and a neurosurgeon to follow up on a craniotomy and gamma knife surgeries.
I was SUPER excited because I was going to be a MOM!
I was ready to be a mom.
Adam and I both believed that God had spoken to us as we prayed through the brain tumor ordeal, the job offer, the relocation. We prayed, prayed, prayed, prayed and prayed some more.
We both had peace and saw God provide in miraculous ways. Everything we needed, God provided. When things went great and when the road got bumpy, we kept turning to the Lord, praying, and seeing Him move.
We had moved away from family for our first baby. Yet somehow, with a new job in a new town and a new church, we ended up with THREE baby showers and surrounded by more love than we had ever expected from people who had been strangers just a few months before.
Wow God.
I was ready to go into labor and get this mom thing officially started. I couldn't wait to meet my little boy, Christopher! Come on, already!!
But here comes the "Ideal Life Plan Can Get Messed Up" thing again.
I was not ready to be a mom like that!
But there I was, shaking (cuz that happens after birth), trying to nurse my infant, recover from a c-section and start this "mom thing."
It was definitely a rocky start.
My hubby and I did our best. We prayed. We made mistakes. We tried again. We lost our temper. We forgave each other. We tried to stay close as a couple, at the same time that this adorable baby boy Christopher was consuming almost every waking moment!
Since those early "first mom" days, God has blessed us with our daughter Allyson and I have continued to grow as a mom.
1. Grow closer to God
2. Grow closer to your husband (2become1)
3. Build a strong community
This is where we revisit those Bible verses: Proverbs 31:26 and 28.
First, as you grow closer to God, you'll find that the source of all Wisdom and Kindness loves you and is here with you. He can give you all the wisdom and kindness you need to be a mom.
Wisdom comes especially handy when it comes to making decisions like staying home with the baby or going back to work; what to do with your budget; etc...
Kindness is much needed, especially when you want to throw the remote control at that cute framed picture you hung on the wall because your precious little infant will not ... stop...crying...and...you... can't ... take ... it.
God can fill you with kindness when you need it most.
Second, as you grow closer to your husband, you will be stronger together to handle all the changes that come with being a mom (and being a dad!)
Like God's word tells us, a three-strand cord is not easily broken.
You'll find, like Proverbs 31:28 says, as you grow closer to your hubby, you'll discover that "her husband praises her" will be a dream come true. How could your future hubby not praise you, his wife, when you are a three-strand cord, not easily broken, and you are a godly woman, filled with God's wisdom and kindness? It works!
Finally, as you build a strong community, you will find that being a mom is way better when you are surrounded by people who love you and your new little family.
Adam and I had moved from our home, Puerto Rico (where we had a seemingly endless supply of family and friends), to California (where we knew one family because they were friends with my sister.) That was it.
Surprisingly, in a short amount of time, I got to know my co-workers and we made amazing friends at our new church.
Not only did we make new friends for life (and had built-in friends for playdates for Christopher through our friends' kids), but we had support during the pregnancy (3 baby showers!)
We also had help finding support to help me recover both physically and emotionally from a c-section through ICAN, the International Cesarean Awareness Network. (It really is a thing! And God used them to change my life.)
Another benefit of community is what Proverbs 31:28 says about how children will bless their mom.
It's easy to see how your children will bless you as their mom when you build a loving, caring community for them. When you have people around you to gather and celebrate each other's baby showers, births, birthdays ... and you have people to help and pray for you when things get difficult, your children will bless you for that.
I wish someone had told me, when I was a college student, how hard some parts of mothering would be. Leaving your 6 WEEK old infant to go to back work was unbearable.
There are many parts of mothering that are hard. Really, really hard.
But as I prepared to share about "mothering" with the awesome Sparkle Bible Study girls, I felt like God spoke to me. (I actually wasn't expecting that!)
As I read Proverbs 31, prayed and sought God to see what HE wanted me to share, He left me with my jaw on the floor, as I realized that:
I have a husband who praises me.
My children bless me (they're huge blessings!)
I have wisdom on tap! (And I need it 24/7)
I'm growing in kindness more each day (and I need to keep growing)
And I have direct access to the source of everything I need.
Thank You, Lord. 🙏🏻❤️
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Disney, Andrea Bocelli & dreams coming true
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Mo-om, I'm Hun-gry!
Mom, we're hungry!! My kids can get tired, sluggish, cranky & whiny if they get hungry.
But you know what? I get worse than them!
(In this photo, we're all happy, including my hubby. Ice cream always helps.) :)
I'm a breakfast/snack/lunch/snack/dinner/dessert person. They don't have to be huge meals, but I need to eat something every few hours or CRANKY MOM comes out!!!
It was really cool this morning when I got the opportunity to share the Bible verse of the day with the kids & talk about hunger.
When we get physically hungry, we can get all sorts of crazy. Pretty much the same thing happens when we get spiritually hungry.
We were able to pray that, just as we eat food every day (and we can be very thankful for the abundance of food that we enjoy), we also need to eat every day "bread of life and living water (reading the Bible, praying & abiding in Jesus!)
"Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." (John 6:35 ESV)
Thank you, Lord, that when we come to you we don't ever have to be hungry or thirsty again.
❤️Coppe