THAT kind of day!

Sam is getting at the age where I am again down on my knees before the Lord begging for... patience? perseverance? deliverance? Probably all three went through my mind today at any given moment. I am reminded again - even after having raised and launched one young man - that I cannot fathom the male mind.
It is a black hole of incomprehensible hormones and there is not enough coffee in the world to help me follow it.
He is almost 12.
And may not see thirteen... no, just kidding, really. I am sure this will just be a trying time for the two of us as he grows and becomes the young man God wants him to be. He is very sweet in some ways and just has such a passion for the lost - he goes out with Danny Hughes and our youth Pastor sometimes twice a week to talk to people downtown and share the Gospel. He weeps when he sees the orphans in war torn places in Africa and prays for weeks afterward that God would care for them, send someone to reach them. He is moved by how many people are hurting and in the need of God's redemption.
And he bosses his younger brothers around and goes out of his way to irritate his two sisters. I am tired just thinking about it! I guess God is using this to keep me close and teach me perseverance. Something I apparently didn't learn the first time around!

So today I read on "books and bairns" blog something that cheered me greatly and encouraged me so much. The reminder that God doesn't expect me to be perfect - He works through my imperfections to reach and teach my children. The fact that they aren't always under my nose isn't a sign of failure... I dont know how to explain it, but I book marked it, and plan to read it when I need encouragement. Thank you, Mary Grace.

And on the subject of Grace, I got my Bible studies in today! Living in His Grace is my new journey and my study book (other than the Bible) is "Grace, and invitation to a way of Life" and to just read - "Families where grace is in place". When I go in, I go all in!