Trouble Sleeping? Here's a Stress-Free Solution.

 
She is up again.  It’s 2:30 am and I only fell asleep an hour earlier and then I hear it, the all too familiar cry of a sweet sweet baby girl- however, at 2:30 am she is a selfish monster with no concern for anyone else in this house but herself.  Harsh? I know.  But when you have a 2 1/2 year old that gets up just a few hours later, and a husband who wakes before that to work hard for his household, that cry comes and stirs my heart in a way I am not proud of.
Sometimes I hear this cry multiple times in one night and I just sink deep into the ocean of self pity.  I start to convince myself that I have ‘it’ horrible and the negativity just piles on…  Really, its a hard place to be and an even harder place to get out of- like a mental quicksand of ‘woes’ that loves to suck me right in!

#MINDFUL MONDAYS

                         

Happy Monday, friends!  I know it has been a few weeks since I have posted (you will hear more about that soon!), but I used my time away to think and pray about this blog, this ministry, and, most importantly, YOU!

Three years ago when I dared to dip a tiny trembling toe into the vast blogosphere ocean, I promised my family and a few close friends (who are great at keeping me accountable!), that I would not write for myself, for more followers, or for anything or anybody else…that I would only write if God gave me something to say.

In the past few weeks that has been a hard promise to keep.

Not because I do not have anything to say (rarely am I at a loss for words), but because God is sometimes silent.

What Women {Really} Want to Know… (Nope, sorry. No Mel Gibson in this post!)

 

You’re somebody’s princess, not because you are the most fair of the land
and not because some earthly prince showed up and asked for your hand

You’re somebody’s princess not based on beauty rare,
not power nor prestige nor the clothes that you wear

You’re somebody’s princess even if your earthly father was never a king
You’re somebody’s princess even if you are lacking the bling! {got nothin’ else, just keep reading…}

IMPORTANT DO’s and DON’T’s WHEN A FRIEND IS STRUGGLING

One of my favorite things about meeting here AT THE CROSSROADS is the opportunity this platform gives me to share the faith stories of women whom God has placed on my path.

One of my sweetest and dearest friends, Esther Morse, shared her story last year to a group of women.

She called it her journey to thankfulness through breast cancer.

Wow. Pretty amazing, right?

When It Rains It Pours! How to Cope in the Downpour…

We’ve had a lot of rain in Cleveland lately.  I mean record rainfalls, days in a row and my flowers have drowned kind of rain.  It can be a little depressing to say the least.  The saying- when it rains, it pours, kept ringing in my head.  Surely, by looking outside, this saying deemed true but it was also true in my life a few weeks earlier…

The Simple Things

As the police sirens passed loudly and I covered the ears of my infant, I couldn’t help but to think of how blessed I was. This 4th of July holiday was simply amazing. Watching my 2 year old reach out for hugs from all the animation characters, while my 6 and 9 year old charged the side of the street for candy simply melted my heart. Knowing that even my 14 and 16 year old step children were secretly enjoying each moment of this parade made my heart smile. Getting to chat with an old friend then sitting down with my 71 year old dad until the 2 hour parade came to an end was a blessing in itself. It really made me realize how it’s not about the big things, it’s about the simple things. These are the things that our children will carry with them.