I Am Able

We are STILL recovering from this crazy virus. I thought I'd share a post I originally wrote when I was pregnant with little Isla. It seems like yesterday! Hope you enjoy and are having a great week!

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Re-posted from April 15, 2011

Hello friends! Today I am guest blogging on CMF's site and really excited! A big welcome to any readers who may have popped over from there. Teagan's Travels is our family blog that captures the adventures of an Irish father, American mom, our two year old daughter Teagan and the arrival of our baby who will be here THIS Wednesday! Topics include those concerning motherhood, toddler fun, our home, entertaining and our faith. This is a place where I hope others will be encouraged and where I find encouragement from readers too. I hope you will stay a while and come back often!

Recently my pregnant self had a long day where Teagan just simply could not and would not take a nap for any amount of love or money. After giving her a lengthy dinner that included almost as much applesauce in her hair as in her tum it was time for a bath. As I ran here and there prepping her and the tub my husband passed me in the hall and asked jovially, "Are you having fun?" Hmpf? Fun? I grumpily answered sure before making my way back to the bath. I still had bills to pay, the kitchen to clean, laundry to fold, rooms to tidy and a neglected to do list for the new baby's arrival to review before I could even think about calling it a day. Fun wasn't exactly what I was having and I was pretty miffed that (on this particular night) he wasn't helping out! But as I made my way briskly down the hall I felt God giving a powerful tug to my heart that almost made me stop in my tracks. It said simply: I.Am.Able.

That simple phrase took me back to a bible study I had with a great group of mom friends about a year ago where we talked about this very topic while studying Lysa TerKeurst's Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl. The gist of the study focused on how it is hard to stay in the moment at times, to be thankful for a sticky table and endless cycle of dishes to wash. But we talked about the power of reframing our thinking so we could be blessed with a new perspective, one that brings joy and thankfulness for all we have and all we do.

So on this night I was able. Instead of being grumpy I opened my eyes to a new perspective. After all, here I was giving my precious two-year old daughter a Dora Bubble bubble bath which gave her such joy as she splished, splashed, played and giggled with delight. It was my chance to wash her little ears and toes and tummy. A chance to marvel at how big she's gotten on the eve of her second birthday. Sure I was tired after a long day but I suddenly remembered those years when we struggled to have a baby and I would have given anything - any free time, any Saturday night, any amount of sleep just to have a little one look up at me with such joy in her eyes and call me Mommy.

As I settled in for a happy, relaxed bath time with Teagan I began to think of other things I am glad I am able to do. I am happy that I have a home to clean. I am so grateful that I have more than one set of clothes to wash...and while I am at it, a washer and dryer that work like a charm and make it easy. I learned from my days of living in a foreign country how difficult it can be to do one load of wash when you have to boil water on the stove, transfer it to a balcony outside where a low tech washer awaits and then wait for your clothes to dry during on a line...during monsoon season.

And those bills? That night I became thankful for money to pay them when times are tough on so many people in this economy. I became thankful I live in a place where we are safe from danger and war, where we can worship our God freely and without fear that we will be hurt or arrested. And on that night I reallystretched my thinking and became thankful I could exercise my body on a planned walk the next morning. That even in my third trimester state that has me moving at a snail's pace that I have two legs that work.

Now, I would love to hear from you! What sweet friends are you happy you are able to do today?

God, thank you so much for the many blessings great and small that you have given me in my life. Please help me to have a spirit of thankfulness and awareness as I move through my busy days.

Girl Talk!

Happy weekend everyone! I've been a bit under the weather this week and trying to fall into bed earlier at night so I didn't blog much. But happily the weekend is here, Brian's mom is visiting from Ireland and the weather has turned positively cold - all good things!

It's 4:40 am here and sleep just won't come so I thought I'd make a quick post to link up with Kelly's Korner's Show Us Your Life series. Today's topic is to show our favourite bible study or devotional book. That's an easy pick for me as I have a book I return to often. I can always glean a bit of new enjoyment and knowledge from it in the process. I've even purchased extra copies of this for girlfriends because in my opinion it is just.that.good.


If you've read my blog you know I love me some Lysa Terkeurst! She is funnnnnnnny! Oh! But that woman can make me laugh. She is so open and honest about life and I gotta say that I see so much of myself in her comedy of errors. Do read about the floating mattress incident or the not-so-perfect mommy moment where 100 wonderfully displayed brownies never made it to their intended recipients. I have never laughed so much while reading a non-fiction book. I've said it before that her writing feels like a good, therapeutic visit with a great girlfriend.

But she is also wise and powerful with her words. This book covers how to get beyond a routine bible study or Sunday-morning-church-service-life filled with checklists of what we think we ought to say and do. Lysa replaces that with the goal of getting us to all the joy and reward that comes from an authentic and dedicated life as a Christian.

One of the best things I learned here is how to set up my quiet time and personal devotionals with God. I mean, I suppose by my age I should know how to crack the Bible and just "get" what I need from it, right? But I've never felt really comfortable with that and instead rely heavily on someone else to guide me to a verse, give me an anecdote and then tell me what it is I need to know when I walk away from the study. This book teaches you how to analyze, dissect and digest what God is trying to say through those precious words. As a busy mom I want to make the most of these minutes of my day while gaining an in depth knowledge and relationship with Christ. It's something I am admittedly still working on but I am so thankful that I now have the know how through Lysa's book.

Check out some of these awesome chapter titles:
1. Trying to Be Good Enough
3. When I Feel Like I Don't Measure Up
4. Beyond Sunday Morning
5. Devotion Time Blues
10. When My Ugly Comes Out
11. How Jesus Helps Me Get My Groove Back
15. A Glorious Sense of Possibility

Oh man! Don't those titles just get you excited? I wanna read the book all over again! And do get the study guide and DVD that go with the book HERE! I studied this series with a mom's group where about 15 of us met at a friend's house. We paid someone a few dollars each to watch the kids upstairs. That let us have precious time to ourselves and the kids had a blast! We'd read a chapter or two in advance, watche the short DVD section and went through the discussion questions. But it is a great study on your own as well! Happy reading and leave me a post if you have a book to recommend as well or if you've read this one!

I Am Able

Hello friends! Today I am guest blogging on CMF's site and really excited! A big welcome to any readers who may have popped over from there. Teagan's Travels is our family blog that captures the adventures of an Irish father, American mom, our two year old daughter Teagan and the arrival of our baby who will be here THIS Wednesday! Topics include those concerning motherhood, toddler fun, our home, entertaining and our faith. This is a place where I hope others will be encouraged and where I find encouragement from readers too. I hope you will stay a while and come back often!

Recently my pregnant self had a long day where Teagan just simply could not and would not take a nap for any amount of love or money. After giving her a lengthy dinner that included almost as much applesauce in her hair as in her tum it was time for a bath. As I ran here and there prepping her and the tub my husband passed me in the hall and asked jovially, "Are you having fun?" Hmpf? Fun? I grumpily answered sure before making my way back to the bath. I still had bills to pay, the kitchen to clean, laundry to fold, rooms to tidy and a neglected to do list for the new baby's arrival to review before I could even think about calling it a day. Fun wasn't exactly what I was having and I was pretty miffed that (on this particular night) he wasn't helping out! But as I made my way briskly down the hall I felt God giving a powerful tug to my heart that almost made me stop in my tracks. It said simply: I.Am.Able.

That simple phrase took me back to a bible study I had with a great group of mom friends about a year ago where we talked about this very topic while studying Lysa TerKeurst's Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl. The gist of the study focused on how it is hard to stay in the moment at times, to be thankful for a sticky table and endless cycle of dishes to wash. But we talked about the power of reframing our thinking so we could be blessed with a new perspective, one that brings joy and thankfulness for all we have and all we do.

So on this night I was able. Instead of being grumpy I opened my eyes to a new perspective. After all, here I was giving my precious two-year old daughter a Dora Bubble bubble bath which gave her such joy as she splished, splashed, played and giggled with delight. It was my chance to wash her little ears and toes and tummy. A chance to marvel at how big she's gotten on the eve of her second birthday. Sure I was tired after a long day but I suddenly remembered those years when we struggled to have a baby and I would have given anything - any free time, any Saturday night, any amount of sleep just to have a little one look up at me with such joy in her eyes and call me Mommy.

As I settled in for a happy, relaxed bath time with Teagan I began to think of other things I am glad I am able to do. I am happy that I have a home to clean. I am so grateful that I have more than one set of clothes to wash...and while I am at it, a washer and dryer that work like a charm and make it easy. I learned from my days of living in a foreign country how difficult it can be to do one load of wash when you have to boil water on the stove, transfer it to a balcony outside where a low tech washer awaits and then wait for your clothes to dry during on a line...during monsoon season.

And those bills? That night I became thankful for money to pay them when times are tough on so many people in this economy. I became thankful I live in a place where we are safe from danger and war, where we can worship our God freely and without fear that we will be hurt or arrested. And on that night I really stretched my thinking and became thankful I could exercise my body on a planned walk the next morning. That even in my third trimester state that has me moving at a snail's pace that I have two legs that work.

So as we go in to this happy weekend I would love to hear from you! What sweet friends are you happy you are able to do today?

God, thank you so much for the many blessings great and small that you have given me in my life. Please help me to have a spirit of thankfulness and awareness as I move through my busy days.