{Funny, how what I write in the morning can come back to bite me. This post was supposed to go up yesterday, but the internet was having a Monday. All day there were opportunities to throw in the towel - countless times of closing my eyes and counting silently down to peace. But I had written this in the morning.
So I made pancakes for breakfast, at the request of the only kid downstairs on time. At lunch, we had pumpkin lattes and I lit a candle. Someone roasted their kidney bean on a paperclip over my candle (seriously)..I closed my eyes and sipped my latte.
The butter dropped on the toaster, the schedule got overwhelming, practice ran late, dad came home after the kids were in bed and we had to talk about money...
But the sun came up beautifully this morning and He shocks us, right in the middle of Mondays, and I'll shock them again today.}
Mondays can be hard.
I am really focusing these days, these young-adult and hormone-filled days, on setting the tone here and not being influenced by rising and falling emotions. Not Pollyanna, but not tossed about by every circling crisis.
But sometimes the emotions are mine and I set the tone, alright. I can cut slack for others because living grace-filled means that I remember who I am, who I was and who I'm supposed to be.
Saved by grace, and completely shocked by it.
So I open my eyes to all the shocking things He does this morning, and I see how He glows when His children smile. I see how God does the unexpected and some of us protest (not on the Sabbath!) and how some of us marvel.
I see how He never changes, how He always loves and desires to be known, yadha, in the Hebrew. To be reverently familiar, intimately known.
Shockingly good.
I like to shock my kids, too. Sometimes I think I embarrass them, but they smile and I glow.
So on a Monday morning, maybe start your week this way?
Put a note in a book you know they'll open today. A sticky note, with something funny, sweet, memorable. Maybe a message to find you for a hug or just a simple three words - I love you. I see you.
Say yes before they even ask. Did they want to do something yesterday and you said no? Because you were sensible and reasonable, I know. Throw out caution today and lavish the blessing. For us it's always sweets. Them always asking, me constantly saying no. Whatever it is, if the value of blessing them with it today outweighs the risks associated with it...say yes.
Do their chores. I know, children need to learn responsibility and hard work. But they also need to see how to bless others, and what could be better on a Monday than someone doing your work for you? Declare it a chore-free day, or do it for them with a smile.
Make them bacon. My kids always think this is a special occasion. Or maybe it's hot chocolate, or chocolate chips on their oatmeal. Maybe it's a pumpkin spice latte?
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/8 cup espresso or 1/4 cup REALLY strong coffee (use more if you want a strong coffee flavor)
In a glass jar with lid, combine milk, pumpkin puree, and sugar. Shake vigorously until slightly foamy, and microwave for one minute. Shake again, and microwave again. Repeat until foamy and hot. Add vanilla extract. Pour into mug, with a spoon holding back the foam. add espresso. Then top with the foam. Voila!
(recipe from here)
Shock them with grace for the Monday mistakes and always, always point out His glory. They'll remember those times and their eyes will be opened to His shocking love. Just because.
{How about you? Share with us ways that you shock your kids and scatter unexpected gifts.}
Linked with A Holy Experience, The Better Mom, Scribing the Journey, Titus 2sdays, Sarah Mae, and Imperfect Prose