Monthly Archives: August 2026

For the Weary Mom

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This post goes out to all the moms today. I think it’s so ironic that I wrote last week’s post, Hope for the Uphill Days, on Saturday morning. Later that night, we checked into the emergency room with our twelve-year-old, Maggie. Maggie had been having stomach pains all day and throwing up. Eventually, the pain transferred to her right side; and we knew we had to take her in. We started all the prep work at the hospital for surgery to take her appendix out. It was a long night followed by early morning prep for surgery.

Sunday Surgery

Sunday is not a super great day to have surgery, especially when your husband’s a pastor and you run the kids program and play the piano for worship time. Add to that, Sunday morning was a big day as we had two baptisms that day and were planning on a good amount of visitors. I watched my phone all morning and waited for a time for surgery. Eventually, I realized, there was no way I was going to make it for service. Matt would have to fly solo for this one.

Sunday morning in a hospital is a weird time. The hospital still functions normally, but it’s quiet. I was the only one in the huge waiting room as I waited for Maggie’s surgery to take place. I didn’t even think to bring my morning time stuff, and I didn’t have a plug for my charge cord. I’d forgotten to bring that. So there was literally nothing I could do except pray, worry, and pray some more. When I got too sleepy, I would stand up and walk around. I was very aware of the fact that church was taking place while I was in the waiting room. People were showing up at church, drinking coffee, celebrating, cheering for the baptisms, and worshiping together…all while I sat in silence at the hospital in an empty waiting room.

Being a Mom Isn’t Glamorous

I’ve thought about those hours in the hospital a lot this week. They brought back so many memories of another trip to the hospital–a trip that ended with five days in the ICU and a Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis for our then five-year-old, Macey. This time, while everyone else was celebrating at church, I was holding my daughter’s hand, helping her out of bed to go to the bathroom, helping her shower, praying with her, discussing her fears, and holding her hair back when she threw up. It’s not always glamorous being a mom. We moms know that there are times we serve and love and take care of our kids that no one knows about.

Maggie won’t really remember a whole lot of details about this weekend in the hospital as she was out of it a lot. But do you know what she would remember for sure? She would remember if I chose to leave her at the hospital in someone else’s care, so I could be at church. She probably won’t remember all the times she threw up, or how she was in so much pain, or even how long it took for the anesthesia to completely wear off. But she’ll remember that her mama was there at her bedside every step of the way.

Being a mom means sitting beside your child in the hospital bed. It also means being woken out of a dead sleep at two in the morning because your son tells you something is beeping in his room. Yep, Matt and I dug through the trash can in Malachi’s room at two in the morning the other night because he couldn’t sleep and couldn’t find what was beeping. I was pretty sure he was losing it and told him that myself. Come to find out, there actually was something beeping. It was an old omnipod that didn’t get disconnected; those are the worst. They beep for hours! So, I was wrong; he was right.

The Weary Mom

Sometimes, we get tired as moms. I’m in the teen mom stage of life, but maybe you have a newborn, or you have toddlers. Maybe you have grown children that need you constantly, or you have grandchildren you babysit. Whatever it is, our jobs as moms are never done. Most of the time, nobody will see. Nobody will know all the hours you stayed up the first six month’s of your baby’s life. Your precious baby won’t even know. But God sees; He knows. He’s pleased when we take care of the ones He’s entrusted to us. After all, He gave us the example. He’s our shepherd, and He carries us.

He protects his flock like a shepherd;
he gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them in the fold of his garment.
He gently leads those that are nursing.

Isaiah 40:11 CSB

Let Jesus Carry You

So if you’re tired today, Mama, I hear you. I get it; we all do. Being a mom is exhausting. Whether you’re nursing, caring for a sick child, potty training, training, correcting, sitting at a hospital bed, or even looking for something beeping in the middle of the night, motherhood is not for the weak. Jesus’ answer is the same to moms as it is to all believers. Come to Him; bring your weariness and your burdens to Him. Lay them at His feet, and let Him carry those burdens. Let Him carry your exhaustion.

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28 NLT

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

I Peter 5:7 NLT

The Job That’s Never Done

Mamas, our job is never done, and that’s a good thing. We don’t want this particular job to ever end. So wherever you find yourself in these days of mothering, be all there. Love on those God’s entrusted to you. Give those adult kids a text or a call, remind your teen that they’re loved and worthy, watch those elementary kids perform that trick another hundred times, put a bandaid on that toddler again, and kiss that baby. The day is going to come when we pack them up and send them off to college, and they take our heart with them. There may be a day they don’t live close by, and we will wish to see them more often. Savor these days God’s given us, and choose to enjoy one of God’s greatest blessings–being a mom.

Hope for the Uphill Days

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Yesterday was one of those days when everything kind of crashed and burned. Ever had one of those uphill days? I should have known because our kids were tired after having spent the day at Six Flags the day before with the teens from church. Our downfall started early when everyone started fighting over the details of something that had happened the day before. It continued to train wreck when Matt and I got frustrated with each other. It was an uphill battle from then on.

An Uphill Day

By last night, I was just ready for the day to be over. When Matt and Maggie left to go on a walk before bed, I didn’t want to go. But when I looked outside, I could see the sunset was really pretty. So I grabbed my sneakers and socks and got ready to head out. But by the time I made it out the door, the color was gone. It was just a plain evening sky once again. Irritation reared its head, and I almost decided to go back home. But I pushed myself to get up the long, gradual hill and past house after house. The further I went the more frustrated I got. Several times, I almost turned around. But I finally got to the top of the hill and turned a corner, and there it was. Color. From this view, I could still see some of the sunset. I smiled to myself and thanked God I hadn’t given up and gone back home.

By the time I got back home, my spirit was better. I was still ready to go to bed, and everything wasn’t magically better. But I had hope, and that was enough to get through the night.

The Hope of Good to Come

I thought about last night’s walk as I went to sleep and what a picture of our walk of faith it is. There are so many days when it feels like we’re walking uphill and not making any progress. There’s no light at the end of the tunnel; there’s no beautiful sunset. There’s the only the hope of something good to come; and sometimes, there’s not even hope. But we keep going; we keep trusting, believing, doing what we know God wants us to do. Then one day, we get a glimpse of God’s goodness. It’s air in our lungs, wind in our sails, and just enough to keep us going.

I read this verse this week in Isaiah and love it so much. It’s the kind of verse we need to write down and hang up in a visible place in our homes to be reminded of daily.

Therefore the Lord is waiting to show you mercy,
and is rising up to show you compassion,
for the Lord is a just God.
All who wait patiently for him are happy.

Isaiah 30:18 CSB

Wait Patiently

Find comfort in those words today if you’re going through a difficult season or simply just a bad day. God sees you. He is waiting to show you mercy, rising up to show you compassion. If you will simply wait patiently for Him, He will go to work on you behalf.

Wherever you are today, keep going. The sunset is waiting just around the next bend. You never know when God is going to break through. It’s too soon to quit. Your breakthrough might be just around the corner, and you won’t see it if you give up now. So keep loving, trusting, being faithful, and doing what God’s called you to do today.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement on this topic, check out Matt’s book, Breakthrough: Transforming the Death of a Dream into the Birth of a Breakthrough or check out my post, Don’t Give Up on the Dream God has Given You.

The Most Important Thing You’ll Do Today

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I was reminded of a simple truth this week in my morning time. It’s a truth I know but one I need to be reminded of again and again. And that truth is this: time with Jesus is the most important part of my day. In fact, if I get nothing else done but spend time with Jesus, I’ve accomplished all I need to for the day for it to be considered a “success,” according to Jesus. We learn this lesson from Martha.

This was at one of our favorite coffee shops in Lancaster, where we did our morning time routine.

Martha’s Distraction

Martha wasn’t a bad person; she was doing really good things. She was making food for guests, cleaning her home, and being hospitable. After all, you can’t have company without doing all those things. And yet, Luke says she was distracted by her many tasks.

As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

Luke 10:38-40 NLT

Martha’s Complaint

Martha comes to Jesus to complain about the unfairness of her situation. She’s been left alone to prepare everything while her sister simply sits as Jesus’ feet. I get it. As a person often running an event or preparing my home or food for company, I get it. She was probably sweating, working furiously to get both her home and a meal ready for company. And this wasn’t just any company; this was Jesus coming to visit. And when she’s at her wit’s end, she looks around for her sister because she needs help. She finds her sister…not helping. Mary as the audacity to be sitting, listening to Jesus teach, as if there’s nothing to be done. Martha’s had enough and goes right to Jesus.

Jesus’ Rebuke

Jesus sees and knows all this, but He rebukes her gently and reminds her what’s really important.

But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:41-42 NLT

The CSB, which is the Bible I’m currently studying, puts it this way.

The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 1041-42 CSB

Martha’s Distraction

Martha was distracted. She had so many tasks to accomplish, more than she had time for. She was worried and upset about many things. Sound familiar? This is an every day thing for me. There’s too much in a day to ever possibly accomplish. There are bills to pay, housework to start, piles of laundry to fold and put away, work projects to complete, another meal to prepare, dirty dishes in the sink, a phone call I’ve been putting off, paperwork to complete, homework to check, dessert to bake for church on Sunday….and on and on the list goes. If you’re anything like me, all of this crashes down around me around oh, one or two in the morning.

I wake up in a cold sweat thinking of all the things I need to do, all the ways I’m a failure, and all the things I’m not doing right. Shame and regret wrap themselves like a noose around my neck, and I can’t catch a full breath.

I wonder if Martha was feeling all this when she came to Jesus. Could Jesus see the overwhelm, the helplessness at getting it all done, weighing her down? Of course, He could. Not only that, He knew her every thought.

Jesus’ Answer

Jesus’ answer to her stress, her frustration, her distraction was this: “There is only one thing to worry about.” What’s crazy is that He doesn’t even tell her what that one thing is. Instead, He essentially points to Mary and says, “She’s figured it out; she’s doing it.” Jesus was often ambiguous in His teaching, and this lesson is no different. Maybe Martha’s eyes darted to Mary, still seated at Jesus’ feet, after Jesus said these words. Possibly, just looking at Jesus and remembering Who He was triggered a response, and she understood His teaching. The answer was found in the action. The action was sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening to Him. That was the most important thing.

Most Important Thing Today

The next time you’re feeling overwhelmed with the pressures of life, too long of a to-do list, shame and regret, remember the words of Jesus. “One thing is necessary; only one thing is worth being concerned about.” That one thing is spending time with Jesus. If you spent time with Him today, then you did what He wants you to do today. You got the most important thing in. Everything else is just extra credit.

When the stress builds, and you feel the overwhelm of it all, remember to carve out some time to sit with Jesus, to talk to Him, and read His word. When you do, you’ll find the grace and strength to face the rest of your day.

More Encouragement

Need help getting a morning time routine started? Check out our free morning time routine guide or read my post, Jumpstart Your Morning Time Routine.