Pastor Mom

In many ways, for a lot of years, Emma has come across as a teenager. She looks older than she is and in many ways she also acts older than she is. Well, now she is officially a teenager. 13! I can ask and wonder where time went, but that’s not the point of this post. There are many many mothers than have gone before me into the life of having a teenager. And many of them have shared with me the woes that come with the age. I didn’t believe them. Not Emma. She wasn’t going to get testy or angsty. She wasn’t going to be disrespectful. Not Emma. Let me just state that I know this is absurd. Because why would I assume that my child would not have all the normal emotions and feelings of every other child? Let me just tell you about her birthday. She woke up and immediately asked when she would get her presents. No big deal. That’s what makes birthdays fun. However, for the first time ever, we decided to give a gift card. A gift card to Amazon. And not a tiny one. Honestly, I was exci...

Today is the day. A birthday. Not a special birthday. Not 35 and not 40. Not monumental. Just 37. And if I’m being completely honest, I’m not feeling it. I’m in a funk. I’ve had a lot going on so maybe I am ready for a routine again. Who knows what the cause of my funk is, but it’s not my cup of tea. I’ve had a lot of medical issues in the last few months and that isn’t helping. I have learned I don’t handle stress well and as a result of stress and ibuprofen for my knee have been dealing with numerous ulcers. No fun. As I start another year around the sun, I can’t help but think about what I am going to do with the next 365 days that I pray God gives me. So I’m going to write my thoughts here to hold myself accountable. 1. Find joy in each and every day. Even the really busy, crazy ones. 2. Commit to not taking my stress out on the ones I love the most. 3. Work to find stress relievers. Practice better self-care. 4. Spend more time in conversation with friends. 5. Spend mo...