The Tool You Need Today

And it takes less than a minute to use

Happy Monday, momma friends!

If you’re anything like me (and you’re raising humans…not angelic beings) you have multiple moments in a day in which you know you need Jesus to intervene before you explode in anger or drop to your knees sobbing, but you don’t know how to make space for Him to intervene.

Well, mommas, I have written some quick prayers specifically fitted for those difficult moments–a toddler tantrum, quarreling kiddos, & even when you hit a wall of exhaustion but your babies still need you and it’s time to make dinner. I call them Minute Mom Prayers because you can hide in the bathroom, or sink to your knees in the kitchen (I hide behind our dishwasher and whisper the prayer that fits your moment.

I have six different prayers for you; they’re all available in one simple, 3 page, printable that won’t use all your ink or require a color cartridge. I am so excited to share this powerful tool with you. Here’s the trick, to get the printable, you have to be a subscriber to Letter In October. So, if you love this tool, and you’d like to share it with your friends, you can encourage them to become a subscriber at www.LetterInOctober.com/subscribe.

If you’re already a subscriber, you should have already received this tool in your inbox today! If you aren’t; you’ll receive these Minute Mom Prayers shortly after you subscribe! Now, go hide in the bathroom or behind the play kitchen and pray a hot second!

Goliath – 40 Days to Become a Worse Listener

“As he (David) was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the Philistine ranks.  Then David heard him shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel.” (1 Samuel 17:23, AMP, emphasis mine)

Did you know Goliath taunted the Israelites for forty days–every morning and evening?  While reading David & Goliath with my six-year old, I noticed something new to me; the Bible reports that “the Philistine champion strutted in front of the Israelite army” (1 Samuel 17:16, AMP) to taunt them.

Morning and evening.

I don’t know about the Israelites, but morning and evening tend to be my most vulnerable times of each day–early morning when my alarm goes off, and right around 5 or 6 p.m. are the times of day I am most tired (Read my post, Where Do You Put Your Tired?); and, therefore most susceptible to wrong thoughts & attitudes.

And, my adversary knows it.  And, you know what?  He comes out every morning and evening (and other times during the day too) and starts with his usual taunt–you missed so many teachable moments yesterday, you still didn’t memorize that verse, you should sleep 15 more minutes–Bible study can wait until the afternoon, you have too much to do today, you forgot-again-to fold that laundry in the dryer & bring your bath towels upstairs,

you aren’t enough. 

He’s slick (smarter than Goliath) and knows exactly which of his scripts will be most effective on particular mornings; his evening script is different and has more focus on how weary I am with an emphasis on all the places I’ve fallen short that day.  And, his taunts–they are the real deal, just like Goliath.

He was not just all talk–that guy was over nine-feet tall; his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds, y’all!  He was not easy to dismiss.  The Israelites had sound reasoning to listen and be terrified by his taunts.

But, God.

I am so grateful for this story, and for David who, in the middle of a crowd of knee-knocking cowards, remembered who he was and whose he was.

“You come to me with the sword, spear, and javelin. but I come to you in the name of the

Lord of Heaven’s Armies–the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied.

Today, the Lord will conquer you.”

So, this morning if your sly well-weaponed enemy is taunting you, per his usual, join me and David.  Mommas, let’s say to him, you come to me with accusations, overwhelming emotions, reminders, and dissapointments, but I come to you in the name of Lord of Heaven’s Armies–my God.  And, today (and everyday) the Lord will conquer you.”

The Israelites listened to Goliath’s taunts eighty times before David stepped up, in the name of the Lord.  I don’t know how many times you’ve listened to your adversary’s usual taunts, but today, surprise him with an unusual response, daughter of the king.

 

Let Him be the Dad

Stepping Back When Our Husbands Step Up

In my hustled efforts to make sure my children’s needs are met and love buckets are full, sometimes I knock my husband’s dad-legs right out from under him.  I forget to let him be the dad.

I know Charlotte’s code language for eggs over medium and just the right way to scramble Audrey’s eggs so she’ll devour them rather than pick at them for 20 minutes.  I can tell you how Beckett got the bonk on his forehead and predict (plus or minus 2 minutes) how long it will take him to bonk it again.  In the evening, when Charlotte easily falls apart over a misplaced bouncy ball, I understand because her nap was cut short for grocery shopping.

I am privileged to more of the details of our children’s days because I spend the days with them, while Mark goes out into the world.  Every weekday morning, he leaves with his coffee and his lunch to be used by God as a means of provision for our little family. Everyday he must choose to fight the good fight in the middle of a culture that tosses integrity out the window in lieu of making a little extra money on a business deal.

What a shift it must be for him to come home—still processing the events of his day—and try to catch up on the little, but significant, details of our day.  (The fun part is trying to decipher the details while Audrey & Charlotte talk over each other and Beckett clambers at his pants’ leg).

So, while I’m finishing dinner prep, and Charlotte starts whining about that misplaced bouncy ball, and he holds her to our standard of “a girl with whiny words may be in her room until her words can be sweet,” I swoop in and explain she missed part of her nap and it really isn’t her fault and, knock Daddy right on his bottom.  Charlotte observes that she can whine, when she’s tired, and if she’s not a fan of Daddy’s consequences, Mommy might swoop in anyway.  Yikes.

Now, is the whining that big of a deal?  Not really, especially if I have set her up to fail by not allowing her adequate time to rest.  But, is her seeing Daddy knocked down a big deal? Yes.  Is Mark feeling like I don’t trust his parenting, his discernment, his deep love for his children a big deal?

Double yes. 

So, when Daddy jumps in and provides discipline or consequences even if he doesn’t  have the whole story, I will remember that empowering him to be the dad is far more important than the impact of Audrey having an unnecessary time out or Charlotte losing bouncy ball privileges for the day.  As we moms spend our days immersed in the details of little lives, we make hundreds of mistakes, and as we grow, we trust God to honor our hearts, and as only He can, make our mistakes work for good in our children’s lives.

Can we trust God to do the same as our men come home and transition, in a matter of minutes, from fighting out in the world to fighting for God’s will in the lives of their children?  Can we decide to let them be the dads this week?

Join me in standing behind and beside our husbands as they father our children—let’s trust their love and His love to make even mistakes beautiful.