Don’t Miss Out

When we first moved to Charleston, I was overwhelmed with all of the places to see, good food to eat, and events to attend. I didn’t want to miss out on anything fantastic. I was almost pressuring myself to do all the things right away.

Part of this may be because we just seem to move every few years. As much as I didn’t want to leave Hickory, God had other plans for us. Maybe in the back of my mind I was thinking…I better do it all now because I don’t know how long I have here! Or maybe it was just because I have always been one of those people who wanted to see and do all the things. I honestly don’t know. All I know is I was pressuring myself and thinking, “Don’t miss out!”

This past weekend we visited family in Asheville. I was having a conversation with my mother-in-love in which she was encouraging us to see the beauty around us and be present for it. It had snowed a foot or more, and there were 16 family members under one roof. We hadn’t seen some of our family in over a year. Snow and family weekend? These are some of the things that I don’t want to miss out on.

There will probably be another awesome event in Charleston next week, next month, next year. But none of us are guaranteed tomorrow, so we can be wise in the here and now about how and where we are spending our time.

Are we noticing the beauty around us?

Are we giving ourselves time to pause and enjoy today?

Are we taking the time to be grateful for the present beauty around us?

Sometimes the hard times leave a huge weight on my mind and heart. I get discouraged and can very easily focus on all the things I should be doing, or I could be doing, or that I want or that I am anxious about…Yikes. That was a lot of I’s.

After we left family to return home, my children shared how sad they were to leave. They had the best time with their cousins and just weren’t ready to say goodbye to family. Usually, I want to “fix it”, make the tears stop…make it all better. But the Lord reminded me that it is okay to be sad sometimes. This too is when we can pause, and think…what a beautiful thing for my children to love and appreciate family like they do at such a young age. They understand that this time was precious, and it is okay to be sad about leaving.

What sort of beauty is staring you in the face today? How can we stop and take a moment to shift our focus off of our worries, concerns and desires and see what the Lord has laid out for us today? Sometimes we can only take it one day, even one step at a time. Some have gone through intense pain and loss recently. It may be a chore to simply get out of bed. Sometimes to think about an entire week or a month is just too difficult. And guess what? That’s okay. Let’s see what the Lord is going to do today. There are beautiful things and difficult things we may face today. It may not all be pretty snowflakes and fun, but it’s what is there for us.

I encourage you to read the following verses and pay close attention to the verbs used here. All the things God the Father does and is doing for us on the daily. If we have difficulty thinking of one good and beautiful thing, hopefully this will remind us of the good things that GOD does for us.

Psalm 103:2-5 says,

“Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
    who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

Follow our family adventures in Charleston, SC on Instagram: MomaboutCharleston

Stuck between a rock and a hard place

You’ve probably heard the phrase “I am stuck between a rock and a hard place.” This usually refers to a very difficult situation we find ourselves in in which we must make a decision, but our only choices are equally challenging. We either choose option A, which is the difficult but necessary option or option B, the other difficult but necessary option. It sounds depressing, I know. But sometimes, as they say in the Mandelorian, “This is the way.”

I am a visual learner, and was beginning to actually picture myself being trapped in between a rock and…another rock. It isn’t a pleasant thought. In fact, I hate feeling “stuck.” It is an anxiety trigger of mine. If I feel trapped, it can lead to all sorts of panic. But this morning God reminded me of someone in Scripture who He literally hid in the cleft of a rock…on purpose. He hid him there for his own protection. Yes, I am talking about Moses. Moses wanted to see the Lord, but God knew that His glory and Holiness would literally be too much for Moses, and would kill him. So the Lord devised a brilliant plan.

Exodus 33:21-22 says, “And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by, I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”

The Lord literally puts Moses in the cleft of the rock for his own protection. This is the only way in which Moses may witness the magnificent glory of God. This comforted me so much this morning as I was thinking about feeling trapped, or forced into a difficult position.

Maybe He is placing me here for my own protection.

Maybe I need to be here so that I can experience His glory.

He may not allow me to see all the reasons for this difficulty, or even what life will look like in the midst of it, but I can be assured that His hand will guard me from danger.

The rock He is placing me in is sheltering me.

I hope this comforts you today as we begin another year. The last two years have been meh, to put it mildly. We have all been forced to make difficult yet necessary decisions for ourselves and for our family. This will continue into 2022. Sometimes we may literally feel like we are stuck between a rock and a hard place. We may throw our hands up and say, “You’re giving me no choice here, Lord.” But God has us there for a reason. Maybe He has to place us there in order for us to witness His hand on us and in our lives. No matter what, we can be assured that He has put us here for a purpose. And for this season (not necessarily forever). We may just need to ask Him to open our eyes so we can see His glory in the midst of our circumstance.

I hope this post blesses you today. If you want to follow our family and our adventures in Charleston, SC and other areas, please find me on Instagram! My name is momaboutcharleston.

My Word (not resolution) for 2022

Do you make new year’s resolutions?  I used to make one every year, but then became quickly disappointed in myself when I didn’t follow through…by February or sooner.  But according to statistics, I am not alone!  My editor at Lowcountry Parent magazine told me some interesting facts about this:

Studies have shown that less than 25% of the population stays committed to their resolutions after thirty days and only 8% accomplish them!  Wow. It feels good to not be alone in my failures if I am being honest here. Haha! However, if you are in the 8% of the population, I applaud you and encourage you to continue!  If you are in the other 92% like I am, that struggles to come up with a resolution-much less stick to one-then let’s try something different for 2022.

Several years ago, some of my family members encouraged me to choose a word for the new year instead of a resolution.  It could be any word that mirrored a goal or something to press towards in the new year.  Since then, I have chosen several words that have helped me grow mentally, physically, and spiritually.   All these words have encouraged me and helped me remain focused on a healthy goal throughout the year.  One year my word was present.  I was so tired of worrying about the future or being stuck in the past.  I truly wanted to live in the present.  Last year my word was bold, and I guess it’s a good thing since we made a major family move and lived through a pandemic!  For 2022, my year is peace.  I want my heart, soul and mind to be more at peace in the coming year.  With all that is going on in the world, I know this will be challenging.   I am expecting it to be truly difficult, actually. But just because peace is my word for the year, doesn’t mean I will be at peace in time for 2023. It just means I will be focusing on this word, and reminding myself to seek peace each day. I’ll be praying for the Lord to give me His peace every day. I will strive towards maintaining peace in my life and household. I believe it will help me breathe, take things slowly and even work on self-care which I usually stink at doing. 

There are several ways you can try choosing a word for 2022.  You can choose one on your own for individual growth or you can choose one word together as a family that you want to focus on for the upcoming year.  If you choose one individually, you can set aside a special dinnertime to share the words you’ve chosen with the family.  Sometimes it helps to have encouragement from those you love when it comes to challenging ourselves with a goal or priority.  For children, they can choose a word, a fruit of the spirit, a Bible verse, a character trait or even a positive affirmation.  There are so many ways you can make this work for family members of all ages.  Sometimes families like to create goals and plans together.  If this sounds like a good idea to you, your family can set aside time to discuss goals and values.  Together, you can come up with ideas for a family word or two for the new year.  Yes, you can choose more than one.  You can even choose a phrase!  It is completely up to you.  

I find that choosing a word is a lot less intimidating, and much more helpful than trying to keep a resolution for 365 days.  Especially when February comes around and my resolutions had already failed.  You can’t really fail at a word.  It is meant to be inspiring, and goal focused.  And setting goals is always a healthy practice for everyone, right?  

Let’s make a resolution not to make any more resolutions from now on and choose words as goals instead. What will your word or phrase be for 2022?  Tell me in the comments!

John 14:27 says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

Follow my family’s adventures in Charleston, SC on Instagram: momaboutcharleston