The True Measure

Thought this was really good...

Whether it was back in seventh-grade or just yesterday, females compare themselves to each other constantly, if quietly. Are you there? Battered by the winds of insecurity or possessions?

At the root of these feelings is a fear that who we are is not enough. A deceptive voice that tells us we're threatened by others. And a profound desire to have, that tramples on the blessings God has already given us. If left to fester, these feelings can erode a woman's inner peace, and eat away at her family's views of God's provision as well.

You can pray your way out. God adores you. Every baby-scarred, bleary-eyed, doubting inch of you. Ask him to free you from self-destructive comparisons. Imagine a world where we celebrate each woman's strengths, without making them our own weaknesses.

Susan Besze Wallace

One

My baby girl turned one today.

I have been thinking a lot about what it means to have a daughter. A baby who will grow into a girl, then turn into a teenager, then transform into a woman...

I've been thinking about innocence. About confidence. About beauty. About strength...and all the other things I want Eva to have and to be...

I love my daughter! She is funny, outgoing and affectionate. Unafraid of large dogs or heights, she explores her world with wonder and abandon. She has a little vampire smile and sparkling hazel eyes. She adores her big brothers.

She is a gift.

Happy birthday, Eva!

Going Rogue

I have no qualms about turning 30.

In fact, I have found myself amazed at how comfortable I've become with who I am. How confident I feel in my own skin. How much I've learned. How much I am growing.

The only thing that has surprised me is my hair. I have always pictured myself as a woman who ages gracefully and naturally, with a laugh-lined face and silver hair...

I just didn't expect that silver hair to start appearing in my twenties.

Enough

I have had a crazy swirl of thoughts in my brain for the past week. Nothing I could really pin down, but tragic news from Haiti, thoughts of a friend's brave humility in facing her family's needs, our own tight budget, the cold, grey weather...all have been combining to make me a little sad and a little thoughtful, with a dash of sudden clarity.

We have enough.

I am not mixing up mud pies to take the edge off my children's starvation. I am not pulling my husband's mangled body from the wreckage of our home. I am not singing praises to my God with tears streaming down my face as I stand near the pile of rubble that used to be my church. I am not suddenly robbed of my family and alone in my fears and brokenness.

I am rich.

Regret

Fathers be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers be good to your daughters too

I'm not a John Mayer fan, but this song is definitely one woven into the fabric of my being. I have a very quick boiling point when I see thoughtless fathers tearing down their precious daughters. I witnessed such an "incident" while out grocery shopping last night, and it's been hurting me ever since.

Wish there was something I could do.

Growing Up

We went to a local kid's playplace this morning so the boys could run off some energy.

After a while, Ash came up to me with this picture in hand. He'd made a new friend.

And I had a glimpse into the future.

Dragons

It was -3 degrees when we left for the gym this morning.

Colin sat quietly in the back of the van, watching his breath come out in smokey puffs.

After a few minutes, he asked me seriously, "Mom, are we dragons?"