Kisses

OK, I cannot believe I went all week without posting! Wow, not sure where it went! However, today's is so important to me as a Mommy...kisses! I am a Mommy of two girls who are very loving, so to say that we kiss a lot is an understatement!
I kiss foreheads...
I kiss hands...
I kiss cheeks...
I kiss clean toes...
I kiss lips...
I kiss noses...
I kiss like an Eskimo on the nose.

I love kissing my giggly girls! I love kissing my hubby! We get a bunch of 'ewwwws' from the girls, but it doesn't stop us. :) I also come from a very huggy & kissy kind of family. And bless any visitors' hearts, but that family doesn't care if you're blood or not, you're getting a kiss and a hug!

This says it all! - May 2012 - Photo courtesy of LaFeather Photography

Well a couple days ago while cuddled in my recliner with the girls watching the Olympics, my sweet red headed angel leans over and kisses me on the shoulder. I cannot begin to explain the love & joy in my heart at that moment! Crazy, but at that moment I finally realized the kind of love and affection I was instilling into my girls' lives! I also realized how very special one simple kiss can be!

I have had to make a conscience effort to slow our lives down, say 'no' to activities that take us away from home, & to listen more to the cues of my hubby and girls. What this has blessed me with is many priceless moments of cuddling with my girls & making sweet, irreplaceable memories with just our family. We are blessed with an amazingly loving family & truly supportive friends, but Chris and I also know that God has blessed us with each other...the 4 of us with a marriage that will forever take time to grow & glorify God and also with two girls who we are called to teach and encourage to love the Lord!

With all of the day to day demands from work, bills, laundry, meals, doctors, and yes even family & friends, it is so hard to keep our priorities in check. God should always be first. I fail, I'm a sinner, but I do try to start off my days with a "Good Morning God" even if I can't spend time in His word at that minute. A simple pray helps me prepare my head & heart for the blessing of a day God has given me. Waking up early to even read a daily devotional, a verse, or pray, helps keep God at the top of our priority list where He should be!

Matthew 6:31-33         
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 

Chris should always come second. Many would argue with this saying that maybe my kids should...or those of you working might say your job has to. That's simply not true. Without the love I have for Chris, I wouldn't even have my daughters. And I want our marriage to not only glorify God, but also be an example to the girls of what they should wait for, pray for in a marriage. And your job may come & go, but God will always provide & calls us to love & respect our husbands (likewise they are called to love & lead us). I urge all of you to read Proverbs 31 & take it to heart as a challenge of a new way of life that women are called to live.

And then yes, my precious angels come third. God has blessed me with these girls, hand picked me & knit them in my womb for me to nurture & love! When my priorities begin with God and then Chris, I am a far better Mama! I am a Mama who is in God's word that gives me wisdom, strength, encouragement, joy, hope...and with all of these, I am able to feel the love & completion I need to pay it forward to love them. I am able to teach them with a stern but loving tone in a way that reminds them of the everlasting love their Heavenly Father has for them and all of us!

Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Deuteronomy 6:7You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Daily struggles, daily chores, daily crisis...we all have them. It is part of this fallen world we live in, but we cannot let it consume us. Instead we have God's promises, God's love, God's words to get us through each day. We have...Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, & Self-Control (Galatians 5:22-23). We have the amazing blessings God has given to us with the promise of an incredible plan for our lives.

In the middle of all the 'stuff' I find pulling at me daily, it is my responsibility, calling, honor to put those priorities in the correct order so that I can love...

God
Hubby
Daughters

...with a Proverbs 31 heart. I need to always remember to take time to enjoy all those kisses & listen to Giggles from Heaven!

Tammy Jones
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11