Our last two sips...

As we continue to enjoy this encouraging cup of COFFEE, we need to be reminded to…

E – Enjoy every moment…

I remembered being annoyed as a young mom at being constantly told to “enjoy every moment, before you know it they’ll be gone”. I would look at my baby and knew I would have to nearly live my whole life over again before she would even leave for college, I had SO MUCH TIME! But in the blink of an eye, my baby is half-grown and only shorter than me by two inches. Dear friend, you know even better than me at how fast the time goes, your first will be graduating from High School this year.

We have talked about experiencing the joy of the Lord through the days and moments of a mother’s life and as we now consider how to enjoy every moment, I want to share with you one of my favorite mommy verses for when I am struggling with the decision between sitting down to play that game of Candyland with the pleading 4 year old or whether to mop the kitchen floor.

Proverbs 14:4 says, “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.”

I am not advocating that you neglect the care and cleaning your manger, but even here, a proper perspective will help us maintain the joy of the Lord as we are stretched to sacrifice our plans for the needs of others.  Considering the strength of your many oxen, and remembering that oxen as a whole are not the neatest animals ever created will help you maintain an attitude of praise and thanksgiving even after that jar full of sticky jam spills right in the middle of the newly mopped kitchen floor. And it will also help you remember that your oxen will only be in your manger for a short while, and you will have a lifetime after to clean up the hay.

And so we have come to the end, our cup of coffee is nearly gone, our last sip is,

E – Encouragement in the Word…

I hope you have been encouraged by the Scriptures discussed this morning, our sips of COFFEE as we celebrate your sweet new baby's arrival. If there is one thing I remember clearly about the first days and weeks following the arrival of a new baby, it would be a lack of time in God’s Word. 

The sleeplessness of establishing a routine through the wee hours, the demands of other children still so full of energy and exuberance, the general day-to-day things like laundry and cooking and cleaning, can sometimes overwhelm the three minutes of quiet you find yourself with at 2:17 in the afternoon. 

So, I have a gift for you, inspired by Deuteronomy 6:6,9 which say, “And these words I command you today shall be on your heart. … You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” 

For those days when a quiet moment of solitude escapes you, I have made you a print with each of the main verses I have shared with you today, so you can post them in your most frequented locations, the bathroom, kitchen sink, laundry room, near the chair you will feed your little child in, etc. And in those moments, you will be able to look up and be encouraged by God’s Word.

(I will get the signs posted soon...)