Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Week 5 Reflection


I am back in the Motherhood book this week. It has been very beneficial for me to switch back and forth between the two books. The information in each seems to blend well with the information in the other- which is very interesting as the two books are not written to go together, in fact they are not even by the same author. I guess they just each meet me where I am at right now.

I am also reading the book of Romans for the first time. Sure I have read parts of it in the past, but I have never sat down to read it over as a whole. So each morning I wake up and read a short little devotional, then I dive into my chapter of Romans for the day. After I have done both of those I journal on what I read and what it means to me. After my journaling I shower and pray while I am in there. It makes for a longer relaxing shower each morning, but I am finding that it starts my day off on the right foot. If I am calmer and have clearer boundaries my children seem to naturally be calmer as well. It is just like Henry Cloud was saying in my reading from last week- Kids NEED parents with boundaries. They also need parents who are not hypocritical. If I am expecting them to acting in a certain way then I darn well better be modeling that for them.

So this week I read two chapters in the Motherhood book. I do not try to read everyday because of 2 reasons: 1) I am super busy but more importantly 2) I want to give myself time to process through what I read and be able to have it have an impact on my life, not just a check mark on a list. The two chapters are entitled: The Mountain Range in Your Backyard and A Base-Camp Confession. Both chapters were amazing. How wonderful to hear that other mothers experience the same frustrations, guilt, doubts, and regret that I do. Julieann Barnhill, the author of this book, calls this phenomenon Mt. Guiltmore National Park. She assures us that we are normal but that when we “learn to scale the peaks of Mt Guiltmore the view is terrific” (p. 19). That rather than stay at the bottom and allow this mountain to “dominate our landscape, we can rise above and live where God intended us to- on the plains of grace and confidence” (P.19). In the second chapter she talks about the things she has done in her past as a mother that have caused her to be overwhelmed with guilt. Some of them I have done as well so it is a comfort to know that the person I am choosing to try to glean information from has her feet firmly on the ground when it comes to “I have been there” statements. It is always disheartening to find out that someone you turned to for help has no knowledge of the subject and is just spouting of what sounds good.

I am anxious to get into the rest of the book, but I know that if I try to rush into the next part that I will overlook something that is important for me to take in. I want to do this God's way, in God's time.

2 comments:

  1. It's really interesting to me, Florence, that the tone of this entry seems to be quite different than earlier ones. It appears that what you write about is actually happening! That's nice, huh? Glad you are finding so much help; Romans is a powerful and complicated letter. Good luck with that! :)

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  2. My goal is to be the best Florence Annette Wood I can be. I am the only one the world will ever have. While books are a help I always remember that they will never replace the reality of applying what God is teaching me. Those lessons come from a variety of sources and I want to be aware of them regardless of where they come from. Part of becoming the Godly woman He wants me to be is to face the negatives head-on, own them and deal with them. What I blog is where I am at that very moment so it is happening to me in the moment.
    Figuring out how to live the life that wants to live in me while at the time dealing with children who do not know how to let their lives live in them is daunting. I pray I am up to the challenge!

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