We have now celebrated our first fourth of July without the tyranny of Roe over our heads. Our first time singing, “God shed His grace on thee” without the bloody backdrop and terrible weight on our national conscience of the federally permitted murder of the unborn.
I was stunned the morning the news came out. It seemed hardly possible, although countless individuals had been working and praying toward this goal for almost 50 years.
I wrote this post in December of 2020, but it has been unpublished until now.
Micah has been extra clingy lately. He turned four in December. Suddenly he wants to never be separated from me, even for a milli-second, it seems. And that’s fine by me; I’ve been around this track a few times before. In his case, we are enjoying a little more uninterrupted bonding time than I had with the others at this age. Many of my four-year-olds had at least one if not two younger siblings.
I am well aware that it won’t last. His Mommy radar will inevitably fade with time. But for right now, it’s on high alert.
As a humorous but on-point illustration, here’s what he did the other day. He was having a fussy Saturday, this or that was causing him to fuss about this or that, all while being underfoot of the many tasks I wanted to accomplish that day. While I was doing laundry, I heard him calling me and fussing for me from the kitchen. Then, I clearly heard him call out: “Mommy, when you hear this bell, that means I need you!” A moment later: “DING!” He rang the bell that happened to be sitting on the counter. (One of those silver bells that you ring at a storefront counter top. It belongs with one of our board games in the basement.)
I followed the call of the bell and came into the kitchen to see what he needed. He was quite pleased with his success and I was amused about the bell.
A little bit later, he came hobbling through the dining room with one flip flop on one foot. (I have no idea why the flip flop.) He hobbled over to the bell and rang it loud and clear. Steve and I both started chuckling and I said, “What do you need, Micah?”
“Mommy, I hurt my foot!” So I went over and comforted him and gave him a kiss.
Micah, now age 5. “Give me an underdog, Mommy!”
Between every mother and child is a built-in Mommy Bell.
Who can understand the jibberish of a toddler? Only Mommy. Have you ever noticed that if a little child is trying to say something, other adults automatically look to the mom to find out what the child is trying to say. And she knows, 99% of the time. The child knows that when nobody else understands, they should tell Mommy. She can help.
I heard once about a little girl whose mother was studying in medical school, whose father was caring for her each day. The daddy of this little girl told me, “I take her to story time at the library, and she goes around the room and sits in the laps of all the mommies there. She doesn’t want me.”
Some days we are just so tired. There are needs on every hand and want to resist, ignore, or avoid that incessant bell. We can become depleted and utterly worn out with all the needs. But we have to mentally step back and remember that being called Mommy is an extremely privileged position to be in.
So on this Mother’s Day, I say let the Mommy bell ring! It’s a beautiful (if exhausting and often incessant) sound, and it signifies a position of infinite worth. Along with that figurative bell come the best hugs and the shining eyes and the tiny bouquets and a lifetime of love. Happy Mother’s Day! ♥
Micah is a thoughtful child and he has a way of saying things that my other kids didn’t necessarily verbalize. Here are three recent little exchanges that give us glimpses into the heart and mind of a four-(soon to be five)-year-old boy.
We have a little section of wall in the hallway where the kids mark their height from time to time. We were looking at it a few days ago and remarking over the growth of each one. Me: “Wow Micah, you are getting so big!” Micah: “Well, I don’t want to grow up and get married. I’m never going to get married!” Me: “Why not?” Micah: “Because then I will have to go away from you. I’m never going away from you!”
As another school year comes into focus, I want to give you a heads up about something that often happens at this time of year. You may be experiencing it even as you are reading this post.
The school year is looming and plans are swirling in your head as you prepare for another year of educating your children at home. An overwhelming job, not for the faint of heart. You work at organizing, sorting, and getting all the things ready.
Then, out of nowhere, comes some unforeseen situation or challenge, something you never expected, something utterly discouraging…. leaving you feeling like you’ve been punched in the gut. The wind has effectively been taken out of your sails.
Anything created by God will flourish best wherever it is placed by God. Remove that created thing from where God placed it, and it will die (at worst) or not reach it’s full potential (at best).
“…the wise tried to see where God placed individuals in the natural order of things, the assumption being that since God is good, the environments that He puts things in naturally help them to flourish.” – C.R. Wiley
As we seek to raise a child so that he will thrive, not just survive, in this harsh world, we should remember where God placed the child to start with. The child is placed within the mother’s body first, and then in her arms, and then by her side– and all within a home and in a family. This placement has everything to do with allowing the child to flourish.
The Household and the War for the Cosmos This is an excellent series with deep and relevant content. We have watched the short videos and are soon going to be reading the book. I wish every Christian parent today could hear, understand, and emulate these concepts. From the book description: Because people saw themselves as part of an ordered whole, they also believed that they had obligations to the people around them. They were not just autonomous individuals, but members of households with unique duties to past and future generations. Words like “piety” and “religion” did not refer to what you did in your quiet time, but were more like the seemingly obsolete values of “duty” and “honor.”
Ring-a-Majigs I found these little toys at a consignment shop while we were deep in the winter doldrums about a month ago. I was instantly taken back to my childhood! I had these toys as a child, in the same container. Anyone else remember these? Turns out they are as much fun today as they were back then.
K’nex Also during the winter doldrums, this classic toy provided hours (literally hour upon hour) of constructive entertainment. Toby and Sammy especially enjoyed making some very complicated creations, including some with moving parts connected to a little motor. We have some books of designs with detailed instructions which helped them with ideas and specifics. Did I mind having K’nex all over the living room floor, 24/7, for weeks on end….? Yes, but not really, if that makes sense.
Here on Treasuring Home, we will be giving away a lovely one-of-a-kind piece, skillfully created by my talented sister-in-law Esther. She designed and wood-burned this beautiful piece of home decor, by hand. I love placing decor around our home that will remind us of truths, especially Scripture.
We tried hard to capture some photos that would do this piece justice. We *almost* succeeded.
To enter the drawing:
Sign up on the email list for Treasuring Home (if you are not on it already). Use the subscribe button at the bottom on mobile devices, or on the sidebar on a desktop. **Be sure to check your email, in order to confirm your subscription. You may have to check your promotions folder or your spam folder. You are not actually subscribed until you click the link in the confirmation email.**
Next, leave a comment on this post, here on the blog. (A Facebook or Instagram comment will unfortunately not be counted.)
Doing the two things above will give you one entry into the contest.
After you have done that, if you would like a bonus entry, either share this post on Facebook and tag me (Jennifer Hall), or tag my account in an Instagram post or story (@treasuringhome). If you do both, it will count for two bonus entries.
That’s it! The giveaway will close on October 31, a name will be randomly drawn (out of a literal hat 😜), the winner will be notified.
“The one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.” Romans 12:8
Showing mercy is pretty much the business of motherhood. Here are two definitions of mercy that seem SO fitting when applied to the everyday life of a mom:
Compassionate treatment of those in distress.
Compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one’s power.
Don’t you love that… “those in distress”? Sounds all. too. familiar.
God has you where you are for a reason, even though you may not understand what that reason is. None of us fully understands God’s plan at work in our individual lives. It’s tempting to think that something really important, something that makes a lot more sense, is out there somewhere.
“That something else is, in our imagination, a very important thing, and it has an imagined importance that makes sense to us. It is a creature of ours. And if it makes sense to us, then it is a sure thing that we are flying blinkered and blind.” -Douglas Wilson, Ploductivity
Trust the Master Planner. He is working all things together for His kingdom, and He has given you a part in it that is uniquely yours. Continue reading “Stay at Your Post”→
I wanted to create a “collage” post of ideas and thoughts about this quarantine period. So, a few weeks ago I asked– What has God been teaching you? What activities have you been doing with your family that are a little bit different from your normal routine? What recipes have you tried? Has something funny happened that you’d like to share? Has your family found a unique way to encourage others? Please send me anything you’d like to share, and I will put it all together into one post.
I have been so blessed and encouraged by the various contributions that were sent in. Keep it up ladies, building your homes during this time! It’s what we do best! God has uniquely gifted you to provide a haven and a place of comfort for your dear ones.
Thanks to everyone who took time to contribute to this post.
♥From Connie (my sister in law, mother of four boys, ages 11 and under):
Treasuring Home 