quiet mornings.

When E was born, I was given a lot of advice: sleep when the baby sleeps, your house won't be clean -- give it up!, don't get up early for anything. Of course, there are seasons with littles and in some of those our house has been less clean than others and in some I have napped much more. My days this time involve disciplining, caring for, and talking to a 2-year-old almost all day. I adore E and love being home with her -- but I cannot spend months checked out and tired. The end of pregnancy is hard on us -- and I already spent more than a few weeks being a bit checked out with my girl and at home. I decided 10 days after Mack was born to trim my diet (not going on a diet -- changing what I was eating) to include foods I knew would nourish me, help me continue nursing, and give me energy. I knew I would be lacking in sleep, but my girl needs a present mama, so I set out to do what I could to give myself the energy I needed. 

One morning I was praying and felt the Lord speak clearly -- that if I wanted to THRIVE in this season of having a newborn and a toddler, if I want to grow in my friendships, if I want my marriage to flourish -- my roots must be deep in Him. 

"But blessed are those who TRUST in the Lord

 and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. 

They are like trees planted along a riverbank, 

with roots that REACH DEEP into the water. 

Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. 

Their leaves stay green, and they go right on producing delicious fruit." 

Jeremiah 17.7-8

The morning I read this, I was immediately convicted. I had settled into the mindset that I could "coast" because I'd just had a baby and there was a lot on my plate. Now, this is true. We are adjusting and transitioning and learning this new season of life. There is a bit more on my plate -- which is all the more reason that I must plant myself next to the water. I desire to live intentionally, to be present with my family, to prosper and produce fruit in each season. I felt clearly that the Lord was asking me to carve out time in the morning to refocus. In years past, this time has been a huge chunk. I remember when I lived alone and would have an hour or more each morning of time to pray and read. That is not the season I am in now -- but He is meeting me in my 10 or 15 minutes and it has changed our home. 

I had a realization (you mamas out there might be thinking, "Yep. I knew that already.") the other day -- when my attitude is off and I am not peaceful and seeking joy, every person in my family suffers. My attitude and heart set the tone for our home. 

On the mornings that I am not up as early as I'd like or Mack is up earlier than I had hoped, I grab coffee (bless that husband of mine for making a pot of coffee for us every morning before I get out of bed!) and sit down to nurse Mack in his room. I read this each morning (from Ann Voskamp's blog -- A Holy Experience), and really sit on it those mornings when it's all the time I'm getting before I hit the ground running (I have it as a photo on my phone -- you can download a PDF copy, so I can easily pull it up): 

10 Grace Prayers for Joyful Parenting
1. Just for today, I will ask for His grace to make our home a house of prayer. I will pray at set times. And I will invite our children to come move into an interior space that lives with God.
2. Just for today, I will ask for His grace to transfigure all things into beauty. He's working to redeem all things, in His time, into the image of His Son.
3. Just for today, I will ask for His grace to see that life is not an emergency. Emergencies 
are sudden, unexpected events— and is anything under the sun unexpected to God? I can slow and I can trust.
4. Just for today, I will ask for His grace, that when stress mounts, I'll dismount it with 
gratitude. My stress coping mechanism will be verbal intervention with verbal thanks. It's impossible to simultaneously feel stress and gratitude at the same time and I choose to give thanks at all times. Fight feeling with feeling!
5. Just for today, I will ask for His grace to speak words that are only strong words, words 
that make these children feel strong. Grace words. Grace is the only non-toxic air.
6. Just for today, I will ask for His grace to be consistently consistent. I will create safe 
rhythms that our children can find security in. I will create daily ceremonies because everyday we are CELEBRATING the gift of now!
7. Just for today, I will ask for His grace, the moment when I am most repelled by a child’s behavior, that is my sign to draw the very closest to that child.
8. Just for today, I will ask for His grace to hug each of my children as many times as I 
serve them meals — because children’s hearts feed on touch. I’ll look for as many opportunities to touch my children today as possible — the taller they are, the more so.
9. Just for today, I will ask for His grace to make my priorities all Things Unseen.
10. Just for today, I will ask for His grace to laugh! And I will let the little children laugh! I will create a culture of JOY!