Forever Beloved

Faith, Love & Truth

i am

i am a mama.

i am a mama who has, admittedly, gotten wrapped up in the lies the world loves to throw at us.  they love to target families, women and especially mothers.  children are a burden.  they are an inconvenience.  they are expensive.  they take up valuable time that should be yours.  they disobey.  they whine.  and they get in your way.

avoid having them.  if you do have children, limit yourself.  and don’t you dare have more than two.  if you do, the world will scoff and complain.  {prime example, the Duggar family.}  surely your possessions, money, pleasure and success are more important than having children.

oh, sweet mama’s, what i want to tell you today is something the world never will.  the work you are doing today, inside your home, is the most important work you will ever do.  and those children that disobey and whine?  they are a priceless, unique treasure and one of our greatest blessings in life.  a privileged responsibility.  a precious delight.  a gift directly from God.

take time to step out of the busy, crazy, face-paced life the world shoves at you to simply enjoy your littles.  snuggle them, laugh with them, look at the picture they drew you (really look at it), listen to what they are saying and just focus on being in the moment.  these are the moments they’ll remember.  these are the moments that will shape their lives.  they won’t remember how clean your house was or that all the laundry was done.  they will simply remember you took the time to be with them and love them.

don’t spend your life trying to be a perfect mama.  there aren’t any perfect mothers (or fathers), only great women who love their children to the very end.  through lost teeth, middle of the night sicknesses, bumps and bruises, packed lunches, tears and homework.  throughout it all, you’ve woven the thread of love.  and with that love you’ve been building something amazing…a legacy!

what you are doing every single day is oh-so-important.  those little nuggets of wisdom shared across the dinner table, during bedtime snuggles or while driving the car, those are what your littles will remember and pass on to their kids.  the wisdom you whisper in your child’s ear during a moment of crisis.  those words will someday be whispered to your grandchildren.

so today sweet mama, when your soul is weary and you feel less than perfect, know we are all there with you.  there isn’t a single one of us that is perfect at motherhood.  but what we are perfect at is loving.  through tears, sleepy eyes, throw-up on the carpet, diapers needing changed, dirty floors and uncooked dinners we always always always keep loving.  that is what we find perfection in.

you are amazing.

you are so, so very important.

you are a mama.

[jetpack-related-posts]

and we are off…

on another cutler family roadtrip {minus the littles}.  we are off to cleveland to meet with my kidney specialist.  i’ve been having just a few little teeny tiny issues that i want checked out.  and i may have canceled my post-surgery appointment and never rescheduled.  i know, i know.  prayers would totally be appreciated for travel safety 🙂  thanks

[jetpack-related-posts]

kindness matters {especially to your littles}

oh kindness, so powerful yet so underused. in today’s society, it’s so easy to come in contact with someone who is unkind. the person at the mall you hold the door open for, who walks right past you without saying thank you. the person you accidentally pulled out in front of who gives you an unkind gesture. and at Christmas time, what should be the most loving time of the year, people completely lose all sense of kindness.

kindness is honestly one of the greatest gifts you can give someone. as Christians, kindness is something He expects from us. it allows Christ’s love to shine through us. He doesn’t want us to be unkind, we are to be different.

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:32

as parents, kindness is so so super important. kindness is basically love in action. and one of the greatest expressions of genuine love is showing kindness to our children. it’s easy to think that because we are the parents, because we are so much more mature and have sacrificed so much for them, we can treat them however we want. but love reminds us that our sacrifices certainly don’t give us a license to be uncaring or harsh.

your littles are more sensitive to you than anyone else on earth. when you treat them unkindly, resist them or ignore them they will likely struggle inside and not respond well to you. but when you create an environment of tender love and kindness, they become more open to sharing their heart with you and listening to the words you say and the lessons you share.

we need to learn to be gentle, sensitive and tenderhearted. when we start being tenderhearted, it’s easy to be kind. having a heart that is easily touched and sensitive doesn’t mean your weak, although that’s what the world would say. if we are sensitive to those around us, we start seeing their needs instead of our own. have a loving, tenderhearted, compassionate attitude and let it shine for everyone to see.

Do to others as you would have them do to you
Luke 6:31

love leads you to look for opportunities to show kindness to your littles. this doesn’t mean doing everything
for them. it doesn’t mean buying them everything under the sun.  it just means loving them, isn’t that easy?  when they talk, listen.  when they cry, hug them.  when they laugh, laugh with them.  when they have a bad day, cook them their fav meal.  when they make a mistake, love them.  when you’re shopping, buy them a treat.  let them pick a show to watch, a game to play or a song to listen to.   

kindness is also finding a balance between loving them well and teaching them to love others. part of them becoming an effective adult is learning as a child to have a servants heart (aka…kindness in action). that’s a heart they should see reflected in us as parents.  if they watch us being kind to others, they will reflect that as adults. acts of kindness don’t have to be be huge, expensive, flashy ordeals. smile at someone, hold the door for them, give them the 30 cents they are searching for to pay for their McDonald’s order, help them carry their bags to the car, hug them when you can see they need one, take time to talk to them and pray with them and for them.


you can change lives with your actions. you can change lives by your words.  you can change lives with your kindness. you can change lives by allowing Christ’s love to shine through you. you might be the one voice in their life at the moment that they need to hear. your encouragement might be the one thing that keeps them going. maybe you are the one who is to help them see Jesus.

your actions, words, prayers and love matter. your kindness matters.  in your home and outside of it.  it matters to those who receive it and it matters to Him. you might not be able to help everyone, but you can help someone.

[jetpack-related-posts]