For My Girls

This season of life has been a particularly peculiar one. One in which I'm learning to settle into. (Change doesn't always come easily or naturally.)

The sweet little girls that I dedicated so much time journaling about for the past sixteen years have since grown and (for the most part) flown from the nest. It all happened so fast - it may take me a few years still to process it all. (And perhaps in some ways my heart is temporarily refusing to process certain aspect of it.) While my days are still quite busy keeping our twin boy-joys alive, I find myself most recently mourning the loss of days gone by for my "season of girls".  I find myself pondering how fast c time could have possibly flown and what I would have done differently, as well as wondering if I showed and taught them everything I wanted to....
It's an overthinking mom problem. 
But in case I left anything out...here's a few more ponderings from this mama's heart to her grown-women-but-always-my-babies girls...
(And I'm sure this list will be added to regularly. Because...overthinking, you know...)

*Don't get caught up in the business of impressing people that you entertain in your home. Get caught up learning them. Knowing them. No one cares if your house was clean or the meal perfect - they just want to be known and loved. 

*When fixing yourself up in front of the mirror for the day - be aware of your thoughts. Be thankful for each and every feature on your body; shrug off negativity. God gave us a body as a place in which our soul lives. When we become critical of it or long for something different than the house our soul lives in, we're cheapening his creation. Your temple is perfectly suited for the soul He gave you. 

*Practice gratitude in the little things - thankfulness has a supernatural way of posturing the heart towards our Creator.  

*Don't allow other's careless or hurtful words to penetrate your heart. What others speak is more of a reflection of them and their struggles than it is of you. 

*Give people the benefit of the doubt. Don't assign motives to their actions. There's an entire lifetime of stories that causes us all to act/react in particular ways.

*Guard your mouth. Words are powerful and, once spoken, they can be forgiven - but their impact can be felt for a lifetime. 

*Never hesitate to speak words of life. Tell people you love them. Tell them why you love them. 

*Be vulnerable. If you are a child of the King, you are promised eternity - anything you have to lose here on earth was only temporal anyhow...

*Assess and reassess your heart regularly. Be honest with its contents. Learn to recognize when the idols of self-interest are present. 

*Hold everything loosely. Dream and hope always - but know that gripping too tightly to people, things and ideas has the potential to keep us from receiving good gifts from the Father. 

*Protect your heart against comparison. It destroys contentment. Strive to be who God intended YOU to be, and be grateful for the path and journey He has YOU on. Our stories are intended to be unique and different - and you only see a portion of someone else's...

*Remain in community. Work through relational problems in the family of God. Strive for unity. Seek peace and restoration. Allow for mistakes and growth. Seek out wisdom, seek to offer wisdom. Invite admonishment and accountability.  

*Search your own heart as to its motives. Be alert of manipulative behaviors. Own your actions, words and thoughts. 

*Be teachable. Know that even your best insights are still limited. Be humble to admit when you're wrong; be humble even when you're right.