A Letter to my Son - 2011

Nicholas,

Happy Birthday my sweet boy, is it possible that another year has come and gone? I can’t believe it. You are truly a big boy now; you need two hands to show how old you are. Six. Wow. I get tears in my eyes just thinking about it.

How is it possible that every day I love you even more? It’s true, my beautiful son. You are an amazing blessing to me and those around you. Your heart continues to grow by leaps and bounds. Even your teacher at school comments on how you like to help your classmates. When they don’t understand something, you explain it to them in a way that helps them to understand. You have such a giving heart.

What a year it has been for you, sweetie! You finished preschool at the end of May, and then in August you started Kindergarten! You weren’t nervous in the least! As usual, Mommy cried and you sped forward with much enthusiasm! I’m so happy that you love school and your enthusiasm has not waned!

You also lost your first tooth this year! Aren’t we lucky? Mommy actually caught a picture of the toothfairy when she came to visit! I’ll never forget the look on your face when I showed you the picture!

Then you started playing your first organized sport! You played soccer with the same enthusiasm as you tackle everything else. I was a very proud soccer Mom. Your team was the Cavaliers (can you believe that my little Hokie?) and your number was 5. Perfect, because you were 5 years old!

Your next sport has been teeball. We just started the season, but son, I believe we have found your sport! I can’t even put into words how happy I am for you! You are EXCELLENT at teeball! You now play for the Nationals (Go NATS!!) and are number 9. Isn’t that something? You were born on May 9^th (5/9) and your first two jersey numbers were 5 and 9. How about that?

I have also seen you grow into your roll as a big brother with so much love, compassion, patience and yes, enthusiasm. Again, there are no words to describe how joyful it makes my heart to see you and your brother playing together. To see the patience you have with him and how you love teaching him, my wonderful son, makes my cup runneth over. Just as I am blessed to be your mother, Caleb is blessed to have you as his big brother!

And how can we forget your first helicopter ride? How fun was that? You got to be the co-pilot as we flew over Myrtle Beach. I remember reaching from the back seat to hold your hand when we took off, just in case you were a little nervous. You only held it for a few seconds and then there was nothing but exhilaration as you, Larry and I took in the breathtaking views!

As you grow, I also see your faith growing. Like the time you were sick. Poor thing, you had a stomach virus and were throwing up constantly. As you had just finished being sick, I was wiping your mouth and you said to me, “Mommy, we need to pray. I need God’s help to make me better.” We stopped right there and prayed. There have been other times you have had challenges or just needed a little extra courage or help and have stopped to pray. You know who to turn to, who will always take care of you. The One who is more important than Mommy or Daddy or anyone else - Jesus. I am so very thankful for the fact that you turn to Him. I also love that you always remember to pray for others and to give thanks for your blessings. My loving son, a mother could not be happier.

Our church Christmas play this year was “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” You played Linus and remembered ALL of your lines, even the long monologue where Linus explains to Charlie Brown the true meaning of Christmas! I was amazed!

You also won a photo contest this year. Parenting Magazine had a funny face photo contest on their Facebook page and you won! How wonderful that your silly face got to make thousands of people smile, giving you the opportunity to touch the lives of those who never met you.

As you can see, son, it has been a great year! I will close my annual birthday letter to you by telling you something you already know, but think it’s important to say anyway. I can’t imagine my life without you, Nicholas Gabriel. I love you more than all the stars in the sky!

Happy Birthday, my big boy!

Love always,

Mommy

P.S. You can read past birthday letters here: A Letter to my Son - 2010

And this son, is my wish for you:

Nic turns 6! from Donna Cope Sams on Vimeo.

A birthday video for my son. I love you, Nic. This is my wish for you.....

My Royal Beef

In case you've been living under a rock, I have a breaking news story for you. Prince William is getting married tomorrow!

Okay, that's great. I'm happy for him, I REALLY am! If you are one of those people over the moon with happiness over this fairytale, then that's great! I have no problem with the people who are having parties and celebrating. Love is great and in this day, it's wonderful to have something happy, hopeful and full of love to focus on.

Here's my problem: The media.

There is just too much media coverage of this thing! I have not seen one single national news channel give more attention (for that matter, just the same amount of attention or heck even HALF of the attention) to Easter as they have given the royal wedding...and that's my beef. Idolatry is defined as an "immoderate attachment or devotion to something." It appears to me that the media has turned this wedding into modern day idolatry. It should be a joyful, happy occasion. It is now a media circus, complete with tacky trinkets being hocked by street vendors. It gets more attention than the holy week that just past. They are making the royal wedding more important than our Savior.

Think about it. Jesus suffered, was crucified, He died. Three days later, He was alive again! The Easter holiday that just passed did not get a fraction of the attention that this royal wedding is getting and I think that it's a shame.

It makes me wonder how God feels about all this. He gave His only son to us and we give him one day to celebrate the resurrection. For some people this means going to church for an hour on Easter Sunday. Then along comes the Royal wedding and that gets more focus and attention than the miraculous resurrection.

I'm not trying to get up on my soap box and preach and I'm also not saying that if you are super excited for the wedding that you are wrong. I plan on watching a recap of the wedding myself because I love weddings. I am not going to watch the whole thing unfold over countless hours, as I am sure there will be enough coverage and recap of it over the coming weeks that it won't be necessary for me to get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow.

All I'm saying is that the amount of focus put on other people's designer dress choices, when there is little to no focus on what truly matters, makes me sad....and annoys me.

Spring

A brief post to give thanks for my favorite season.

Spring!

Spring represents, new life, rebirth, resurrection. Flowers, trees, grass, butterflies and warm sunshine are all returning or just starting out and growing. It is a beautiful season.

Know what's even more beautiful than the season and all the blessing that unfold during this time? The sacrifice Jesus made for all of us. Jesus loved you even before you were born. He loves you today. This spring, if you haven't already, take this opportunity for rebirth in your own life. Give your heart to Him!

Now, I'm going outside!!

Thankful Thursday

With so much bad news in the world today (the government, Japan, the economy), I wanted to provide some good news and inspiration:

Psalm 34:19

19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all.

Psalms 9:18

But the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish.

Romans 12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Matthew 5:2-12
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Remember in these troubling times, the One who can truly help. Pray for others, read His word and have faith.

Children's Ministry

I’m reading a book. Nothing shocking there, I read books all the time. Here’s what surprised me, what I got from this book has nothing to do with why I read the book.

God is definitely trying to tell me something. He has shown me, once again, that He is with me and has plans for me. I’ve known my whole life that I wanted to work in children’s ministry, seriously my whole life…….even when I was just a little girl myself. He has poked and prodded me throughout my life, but lately He’s been SHOVING me. Even when I doubt it, even when I don’t feel like it; He’s there showing me that this is what I should do.

When growing up (and still to this day actually), my parents did not attend church. My grandmother took me to Sunday school EVERY Sunday. That is where I learned about the Lord, that is where I learned about love. Sunday school was the foundation for the rest of my life. Sunday school is how I became saved. This is one of the reasons why the children’s ministry is so important to me today. I know, first hand, the importance of children’s ministry.

We so often (and rightly so) focus on the importance of the foundation elementary school builds for the rest of our children's lives (reading writing, arithmetic), but focus on the foundation for our children's ETERNAL lives doesn't always get the same focus. Shouldn't it be just as important?

I’ve been teaching Sunday school for a couple of years now. I LOVE it. About six months ago, I was asked to help organize the children’s ministry. WOO HOO! I went in eagerly! I was thrilled to help! I can Shepherd, teach, schedule classes, teachers, etc., no problem.

Fast forward a couple of months. I’m deflated. Turns out, not everyone is as excited about teaching Sunday school as I am. I was shocked to hear all of the complaining and how hard it is to find people who are willing to volunteer to teach. I often felt like it would be easier to just ask everyone to pull out their own front teeth and hand them to me. That would be better received. Then there are the people who are willing to teach, if ever single condition of theirs is met. Ummm….friends, I think you’re missing the point. I can’t imagine Jesus, while ministering to His followers saying, “Yeah, I’ll teach you about my Father today, but you better make sure that the lesson is written out for me and all my supplies are provided.”

I felt defeated, I felt STRESSED. I would walk in to church Sunday mornings worried if I would have enough teachers for these precious children. A lot of times, someone just doesn't show up and I’m left scrambling. I’m exhausted by the time I leave church. But, just when I was about to throw my hands up, God showed me that I shouldn’t.

I came to church one Sunday seriously thinking about quitting the children’s ministry, feeling like I wasn’t really making a difference and maybe someone else would do a better job. I sit down and the sermon begins. Know what it was about? Missions. Children’s ministry is my mission! Hey, God’s trying to tell me something here! I leave church remembering that the best missions are not easy. I leave remembering how God has never quit on me, so I shouldn’t quit on Him. Think about Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” I know that children’s ministry is the race God has marked out for me. I was letting others hinder that. Satan will work to obstruct any of God’s plans and it was made obvious to me during that sermon that this is exactly what was happening. I decided not to let others dampen my spirits when it came to children’s ministry. I decided that no matter what, I will not quit. I will joyfully serve the Lord and know that He is using me to help these children and to make a difference in the rest of their lives.

Now, don’t get me wrong, we do have some great children’s programs at our church. We have many people who are very dedicated and work hard for our children and without their help, I just couldn’t do it. But, as a whole, I worry that our children are not the focus they should be. Not just in my church, but everywhere. So, I’m working to change that.

Oh, back to what I was writing this post about....the book! Another way God has told me to keep at it. Last night, I was thinking about children’s ministry while reading the book, “Heaven is for Real.” The book is written by a Pastor and while reading it, this popped out:

“Statistics show most people who profess faith in Christ do so at a young age.”

And right after it, came this:

“Over the years, I’d had to fight to get people to sign up to teach Sunday school. They would give me the verbal stiff-arm, saying, “I did my turn last year,” or “I’m too old for that.”

And it goes further,

“…..I lovingly reminded people that Jesus clearly viewed children as precious-and that if He loved kids enough to say that adults should be more like them, we should spend more time loving them too.”

AMEN!

Finally, I can see that I’m not alone! Other churches have this problem too! I thanked God immediately for showing me, once again, that He is with me and I’m not the only cookie in the cookie jar.

And, isn’t he right? I mean, Jesus does tell us that we need to be like little children in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus tells us Himself how important children are, yet they so often seem to be at the bottom of the priority list.

There are other examples I could list of how God has been showing me to stick with it when it comes to the Children’s Ministry, but in the interest of time, you’ll have to take my word for it.

What are you doing to help the children at your church? What are you doing to help minister to youth beyond your church? Make the time, it will be worth it!

Short, Sweet and to the Point

I LOVE MY FAMILY!

My "Thankful Thursday" post, one day late. You will find out why in my next post, to be written later today (if there's time).

I love my beautiful boys, my handsome husband and the wonderful life we have created. It is a busy and sometimes crazy life, but it is full of love and happiness and I am truly thankful to God for our many blessings.

The Work at Home Mom Myth

Some people think that because I work from home I have all sorts of time on my hands.

I wish.

Yes, working from home is convenient, but no, it's not easy.

Ever try to have a conference call with a 1 year old tugging at your pant leg? How about trying to be creative and design a great ad while the dog is scratching at your leg to be taken out? Try talking to a client, designing a stationary package, feeding a baby and making a pb&j for the 5 year old all at once.

I haven't even touched on what I have to do while I clean the bathroom.

It's not for sissies.

Most of the time, I end up doing even more work after the kids are in bed, which means I have a lot of late nights.

And that's just work, people.

I also help teach Sunday school and organize our Sunday school ministry. I am currently designing our church directory, volunteer my time for a local community festival, as well as committees for the Chamber of Commerce. Oh, and let's not forget the workshops I teach for non-profit organizations or the class I'm teaching next week at the community college for high school students.

Please understand, I am NOT saying any of these things because I want a pat on the back or any type of recognition whatsoever, because I don't give of myself for that reason. I am just clearing up a common misconception about stay at home Mom's and in the process hoping to inspire others to give back more.

Did I mention I have a house, a husband, two kids and a dog?

Yeah, I'm busy...

But No, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I love my life and the people in it. I am truly blessed. It is what I am thankful for this Thursday. Even with all of the craziness, my heart is the happiest it has ever been.

I'd love to write more, but seriously....who has the time???