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Random Encouragement for being a Mom

This season has been hard. Have you ever gone through a season that is just rough. It feels like you are coming out of it, and you begin to feel life return to the peaceful norm you are used to, and then BAM smacked in the face by life once again? That is how this season has felt. Little things that have never been issues in life, become random issues that suck the life out of you or you and your family as a whole. 

He is my source.

Life has a way of piling on top of us and weighing us down. And as moms we get up and we keep going, bringing our kids a long with us, sometimes dragging them along with us, just trying to get through each day. Life is tiring, and long, and no fun. 

He is my joy. 

See this last season has been difficult for obvious reasons, Changing jobs, jobs not paying enough, medical needs, medical bills, kids being grumpy, teenagers, cars dying, parents moving, weddings, the list goes on. But these things are all natural. We feel them. They are real. They are difficult. 

He is my strength. 

And then in the midst of all of this is just the normal challenges of having 3 kids and a husband, and navigating our way through life as believers and parents. That in itself is hard. Especially in the time we are living in. So many new challenges to teach our kids about. So many truths to instill in them with what feels like so little time. 

He is my Guide. 

But what’s wrong with this entire picture is that it is lacking Jesus. See Jesus never promised that we would not go through anything. But actually quite the opposite, He let us know there would be many trials. And when we read our Bible we read about the biggest God Lovers going through intense seasons of trial and challenge, and God being a BIG and MIGHTY God in their lives. When and if you read your Bible you see Him, 

Tell you to build an Ark to save your family and all of mankind (Noah)

Help you defeat a giant that was taking out an entire land (David)

Provide food enough for you and an entire nation to eat during a famine (Joseph)

Forgive you for doing something so very terrible and still bring His plan to pass in your life (David)

Provide EVERYTHING you need (Nehemiah)

Use you to influence government, and stand up for God’s people (Esther)

Use you at a very young age to save everyone (Mary)

Heal the sick, time and time and time and time again. (Ministry of Jesus, NT)

The list goes on. 

See the word not only teaches us right from wrong, and teaches us what we need to know about Jesus and what is to come. The Word builds us up like a strong brick wall. Its the wall of our faith. Every day that we spend time reading and meditating on a “story” it adds some truth and confidence to our wall of faith. And our wall gets bigger and bigger and bigger.  The mental picture that I get is like I am the city. And i know that just sitting out there is dangerous attacks coming on me and my household. So I begin to build this brick wall. And as I am building there are still attacks. While my brick wall is short the enemies attacks make it inside, and we have to clean up. But The more I build this wall of faith, the more I protect myself and my family. And before you know it, it doesn’t just look like a brick wall. It looks like a fortress. Which is exactly what it is. When the enemy is walking about looking for a city to attack. When he looks my direction he sees a wall of Faith with JESUS painted all over the outside. It looks big and hard to conquer, it looks secure, and at peace. And he moves along to something that would be easy to overcome. 

This doesn’t mean he won’t attack. This doesn’t mean he won’t shoot arrows, or that life won’t happen. It means that My family and I will feel it a whole lot differently with a brick wall of faith surrounding us. There will be a difference in how you feel it, what you feel, and how you recover. One will be easier. Guarantee it. 

My husband has to wear steel toe boots to work. By wearing those boots it doesn’t magically mean he will no longer drop things on his feet. It means that WHEN HE DOES, His feet have better protection. They will FEEL it differently. Differently that I would in my Rainbow Flip Flops which I wear daily. Which would provide little to no protection.

THAT IS WHAT I WANT. In this season, I have let my guard down. I have let the wall crumble a little bit. Sometimes maybe a lot. And I can tell. My wall of faith is low and sometimes weak. Have you ever been swimming in the ocean and let the waves just splash on you, but then there’s a big one and it just knocks you over, and right when you stand up there is another one. That’s what it was like for me when I lived in Hawaii. I was not used to the strong waves. The weight that they carried. It took every ounce of  my strength just to swim safely in the water of the North Shore. 

Life can feel like the North Shore if we aren’t careful. It can beat us down and wear us out to the point where we feel like there is not much left. But WITH GOD it doesn’t have to.  When I lived in Hawaii I also had the chance to Kayak on the North Shore, and while that was still VERY challenging and quite hard to keep my balance and took my every muscle, It was a lot better view than getting thrown around by the waves. I would like to get to the place where my confidence and my faith in Jesus is so strong that even though the waves of life are there, I am sitting peacefully on a yacht. 

I’m rebuilding my wall. I am rebuilding my faith. It’s all stuff I know, but just like anything, you have to do it continually to be fresh in your relationship and your knowledge of Him. Just because you showered last week doesn't mean you never shower again. Why? Cause you stink. Hahahahaha. We get it when it comes to that. But we don’t always make time for what really matters. And that is sitting at our Father’s feet saying “Here I am, Teach me.” 

He is my Everything. 

With Love, 

Danece

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Dear Valentine...

I know I am a day late, but I still wanted to share my letter to my valentine so here it goes...

Dear Valentine,

Thank you for loving me. Thank you for being the one who holds me wrapped in your arms, and even when you’re done holding me, if I want you to hold me longer, you always do.

Dear Valentine,

Thank you for being my friend. You actually enjoy hanging out with me! What a fun treat to spend forever with your greatest friend. We laugh, we adventure, we do nothing, and we do everything together. There’s no one I would rather be with, and I like knowing you feel the same way.

Dear Valentine,

Thank you for believing in me. Before we were married, I went through a hard situation, I felt alone, lost, confused, like I didn’t know who I was, and what I was called to. You reminded me. You pointed me back to The Father. You always do. Thank you for loving me and always reminding me who I am and where my identity really comes from.

Dear Valentine,

Thank you for being honest, sometimes your black and white way of processing is so offensive to my colorful way of thinking, but you’re always truthful. So many people wonder if someone is being honest with them. Thank you for me not having to worry about that in life. Your honesty is a blessing. Jesus was honest. And His word is pretty clear cut. Thank you for being like Jesus.

Dear Valentine,

Thank you for being home at night. I’ve heard so many stories and seen so many people go through so many things, and here I am sleeping in my warm bed with my husband who is home every night. Thank you for being home at night.

Dear Valentine,

Thank you for never making me feel bad or insecure about my looks or body. You love me. Period. You’ve never made me feel like I’m not good enough or pretty enough, you’ve always loved me. Thank you for that security. When our daughters grow up, I pray they find someone who finds them beautiful, with all their quirks and imperfections, and never makes them feel bad about their shape or looks or how God made them. It’s truly a treasure.

Dear Valentine,

Thank you for going to work everyday. You are generous and giving and you really don’t work for yourself. You work for your family. You support us not only for our livelihood, but also for our fun. You spoil us. You treat me and your girls like royalty.

Dear Valentine,

Thank you for being patient. I have emotions that take me up mountains and back down. I have times where I can’t talk, I can only cry. I have times when I don’t feel good, or I am super tired. I have times when I can’t think straight. Thank you for your patience. And no matter where my emotions travel, there you are on planet earth when I return.

Dear Valentine,  

Thank you for letting me dream. I have lots and lots of dreams. Sometimes a new one everyday. You are always the first person to say go for it! Try it! You could do that!

Dear Valentine,

Thank you for being a present Father. Our daughters get to see an active father. Who loves them, corrects them, leads them, points them in the right direction, forgives them, plays with them, spoils them, cares for them, picks them up when they fall, and helps them when they need strength. You give, lead, protect, and play with your daughters daily. Thank you.

Dear Valentine,

Your love does not go unnoticed. It’s not like the movies, it’s not like reality tv shows. Your love is like I Corinthians 13. And that’s the kind of love I always dreamed of. And when life gets all cloudy, and nothing seems certain, I just go to that chapter and see you in there. You are my Valentine. My everyday Valentine. You are my love. You are my gift. You are my Treasure. You are a rare breed. You are like My Father. You were hard to find, but You Valentine, were well worth the wait.

Thank you for loving me.

Love,

Your Forever Wifey.

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Keep Your Eyes Fixed On Him

Isaiah 40:26New King James Version (NKJV) 26 Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing.

Tonight I was sitting here staring at my wallpaper on my computer, its a stock photo on my mac of Half Dome in Yosemite. I spaced out and remembered when I went there as a youth. I remember my Dad always did his absolute best to make sure that we got to go to as many cool places as possible. He would take us all over. A new town, a new experience, a new adventure. If there was family fun you were sure to find us there. I’ll never forget the summer he took us to Yosemite for vacation. We hiked all over, stared at the huge vast mountains, we swam in the coldest streams that I have ever been in, and we were all together. That’s how it always was, my family of 5 (Dad, mom, older sister, me, little sister) We were always together. We did it all together. We didn’t have cell phones or laptops, or portable dvd players, or other houses that we lived at, we were just together.

Sometimes I get overwhelmed by the challenges of raising a healthy “Blended” family in todays ever changing world. But that is what this blog will be about. My faith, my fears, my failures, my victories, my challenges, all as I walk through this life as a mom.

Today this picture of Yosemite reminded me of a very important spiritual truth. Have you ever noticed that trees always grow straight up on mountains? It doesn’t matter if the trees are on the side of the mountain, they grow straight up to the sky. And I realized that’s my answer and my prayer.

My answer, It doesn’t matter what challenges I have to face in life, marriage, or with my family, I just need to look up. When I looked at that picture of Half Dome, the trees were sticking so straight up, it was almost as if they were saying,

“I don’t care what additional challenges my life has that other trees don’t have, all I need to do is get up to Him, to reach my creator, and I am going to do everything I can to grow as high as I possibly can, to get as close as I possibly can to Him.”

I heard myself saying “It doesn’t matter what challenges that I have or how my family or life is different from another mom, what matters is that I am doing everything that I can possibly can do to look up, to reach out to Him, to get as close as I possibly can to my Father, to do everything I possibly can to tap into Heaven.”

I closed my eyes and saw myself standing on top of Half Dome with my arms stretched straight up to heaven, “You are all I need, you are all I want! You are my everything, no matter what life brings, I will look up to you!”

My prayer, because as I sit with my eyes closed, tears start to fall when I imagine my entire family standing on the top of that mountain crying out to God with the same heart, the same passion, the same desire for their lives no matter what comes their ways.

It starts with me.

This is

Love, Danece

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The rest of this awesome shoot! Thanks again for braving the cold today! Congratulations on your Engagement

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These two braved the cold with me today to get some awesome pics to celebrate their ENGAGEMENT! I am so blessed that they chose me to take their pics and to share their story with. Congratulations! I have two posts because I just couldn't choose my favorites!

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Just a few more, I couldn't resist.

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These two beautiful people are getting married. Their Godly example to those around them is amazing! I cannot wait to see all of what God has in store for them in this next season! It's gonna be good!

I hope you all enjoy the pictures!

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Aaron and Janelle.

My Favorite from today. These two are full of joy! I have a bunch more to post, I just couldn't wait for this one.

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