Burgers and Blessings

Sometimes the smell of a good burger just seems to draw you in. And you end up doing crazy things like taking three kids inside just to eat one of those terribly bad for you burgers!

So "flying solo" momma decided to take the risk and go on in. As soon as we sat down and ordered our drinks, I told the waitress,"Could you bring the fries out first. I feel a meltdown coming on." And she completely got my drift. Within seconds, fries for all were sat in the middle of the table and the kids went wild. 

The entire dinner went surprisingly well. The only real tough part was when Baby Girl had to "go." So all four of us had to load up and take her to the bathroom. 

My "almost 4 year old" held hands with her "almost 2 year old brother" to the

bathroom. And I followed behind with Tiny. As we walked past two women chowing down on burgers and milkshakes, I heard one say to the other,"I can't believe she wanted another one." 

At first, I thought about how rude they were and wanted to turn around and say something equally nasty. But I bit my tongue and moved on...not wanting Baby Girl to hear what I might say.

I have no positive ending to this story but only to say that sometimes happiness is what you make of it. I'm not gonna lay down and die just because I have three kids. No, I'm gonna say,"Get your shoes on kids. We've got beautiful places to see and momma can't wait to see your equally beautiful smile."

I love these kids. They are not a burden. They are a blessing. Sure, it's tough but as I look back at my life, there were a lot of other tough kidless and lonely moments too. The joy in this part of my life is getting to spend each day with three tiny little blessings that see the beauty in the small things.

Three Ways to Handle Persecution

We all sin-even Christians. It's because this earthly world we live in is inhabited by evil. Don't believe me? Look at Ephesians 6:12.

"For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places."

Satan is always looking for a way to make you sin. He knows your weakest spot. He knows what sets you off. And he likes to insert his opinion into your very own thoughts. Just think of it like this. Think of someone in your life who you feel has wronged you. Don't you silently curse them? Don't you secretly think of ways to get them back? You plot your revenge. But most of the time (not all the time) but for the most part, I bet they don't even have a clue that they've done something to offend you.  It is Satan who is getting you all riled up. He wants to see you fall. He wants to see you lose trust in Jesus Christ.

Let me take it a step further. Wouldn't it surprise you to know that those who hurt you are still loved by God. I can't explain it or how it's even possible but God still loves them too. Don't get me wrong. He hates when they persecute you. He hates when their thoughts of you are filled with jealousy, anger and malice. But He created them too. Look at Psalm 139:13-16.

"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed."

You ask, "How is it possible for God to love them?" And believe me, I've asked that same question countless number of times. All I know is what I read in the Bible. And if He loves them despite their sin, the only thing I can know to be true is that He also loves us despite our sin.

 

The way, I see it. We have two choices on how to handle the situation...no-three choices.

 

1) Confront them one on one...gently but firmly.

 

"If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over." Matthew 18:15

 

2) Decide in your heart to forgive and leave it at the feet of Jesus.

 

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.  And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” Mark 11:24-26

 

3) And last, for your own sanity (after doing 1 and 2) if reconciliation can't be achieved then the best thing to do is remove yourself. Remove your heart from the situation; realizing that you wish them nothing but the very best in their life. Express genuine kindness for them to succeed in all that they do. Understand that the Lord created them and loves them, just as He loves you. But put behind you all forms of hatred and malice. Remind yourself that Jesus Christ was crucified by people just like you and I, so that we may be saved from the very sin we committed. If you are a believer in Christ, then you understand that your job, being spiritually alive, is to offer spiritual sacrifices to the Lord daily. Trust that He will take care of the situation and be done with it.

 

"Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”^" 

1 Peter 2:1-6 

 

 

 

^{Dear Readers,}

 

^{I struggle with this daily. BUT I believe He is using this to help mold and transform me into a wiser and much more spiritual person....to make me acceptable for heaven one day.}

 

^Kim

 

I'd Do It All Again and Again

Well, I'm FINALLY back at it. It's been three months adjusting to our third child and I finally found a chance to just sit and write. I figure, you get one month break per child, so three months seemed fitting for three kids. "Shoo," as I wipe the sweat from my brow. It has been an intense three months, a joyous three months, a complete whirlwind. The laundry has increased dramatically, The Hubs and I are doing all the housecleaning, we have become a two can green bean family now and I am pumping four times a day. On top of that, I feel incredibly guilty if I don't try and get all these kids outside at least three times a week, so we keep the roads hot. Oh-and more on that guilt thing. Sometimes, I feel incredibly guilty towards my children. I just can't seem to find enough time to hug them all and snuggle up on the couch with them. So because of that, The Hubs and I have decided that three kids is our limit...not for our own sanity but for the attention they need to be getting from us. I know it's different for each family but for The Hubs and I, we feel complete with where we are.

 

There is never a dull moment here. Just the other day, Baby Girl (who is my Big Girl now) told me she found a way to create more toothpaste. Little did I know, she put hand soap in the toothpaste tube. But we sure found out later,when Baby Boy started foaming at the mouth!

 

Baby Girl has really stepped up to the plate. I don't know what I would have done without her. In the morning, while I'm pumping, I hear her little feet come down the stairs. I've already laid out her breakfast for her and she usually is already fully dressed. Then Baby Boy wakes up and she walks back up the stairs to open his door. I'm still pumping (it takes 40 minutes in the morning). Baby Boy comes downstairs and he too eats his breakfast at the table. When I'm finally done pumping Tiny wakes up and I feed her...or Baby Girl asks to feed her. So that's when I take this free moment to do a load of dishes and change Baby Boy's diaper. But enough about that, it's exhausting to write and I'm sure it's exhausting for you to read!

 

Baby Boy is adjusting semi-well. It's hard being a boy and almost two. I told someone the other day, "All he wants to do is wholler her," and they just stared at me. I quickly realized my southern slang wasn't being translated correctly. Basically, he's a bull in a china shop and Tiny is the china doll. And ohhhh he just wants to smush her and climb on top of her. He is learning to tame his Wild Man Syndrome (haha) and be gentle. Sometimes, he'll take his hand and try his best to pet her while saying, "Genn-nul, genn-nul." It's so cute. Having a new baby means he's no longer the baby but he still acts like it-which I absolutely love. Usually in the morning, he drags his Spiderman fleece blanket over and wants to sit beside me. So I put my arm around him and feed Tiny with the other hand. Do you see how my heart strings are pulling here? I just want to give them all the love and

attention they deserve but I only have two hands. I just do the best I can.

 

And now to introduce our newest addition...Tiny Blessing. She made her way into the world on December 8, 2014 at 3:04 PM weighing in at 7 lb. 11 oz and 20 inches long. I want to fully write her birth story later but need to express what a true miracle she is. My labor was hard (not by choice-the epidural didn't work until 9.5 cm) but completely fulfilling for my last pregnancy. As weird as that sounds, I need to process that further before trying to explain how labor can be fulfilling. But I can just tell you that I was searching for God with all my might during the transition stage. The pain was just so mind blowing that I had a hard time finding a prayer worth praying. I would just say, "Oh God, help me." And when she finally arrived, I was completely speechless. My Tiny Blessing had what the doctor called a, "true knot" in her cord. I was shocked to realize she could have been a stillbirth. I was so thankful for the high blood pressure I had had during the pregnancy because if she had stayed inside me any longer, the knot could have tightened. She could have not been here.

 

Sometimes, I just can't stop staring at her. She brings me so much joy. It's like she and I are connected on some kind of deeper level. I'm really not trying to be dramatic here but that's how I feel. She'll smile at me and it's like I know exactly what she's thinking. And when I talk to her, she looks right in my eyes as if she can fully comprehend everything I'm saying. I am just so so thankful she is here. From the very moment we found out we were going to be blessed with our Tiny surprise to the moment when they laid her on my chest, I felt complete love for this child.

 

 

The other day, I heard Lionel Richie singing, "You Are" and I automatically thought about our little McKinlea Faith...

 

"You are the sun
You are the rain
That makes my life this foolish game
You need to know
I love you so
And I'd do it all again and again."

 

 

 

 

 

 





Can you imagine taking three kids to the grocery store?! What a trip that was : )



This is how we roll these days.