Dear Weary Mom,

It seems everything is an argument.  From the fact that yes, underwear needs to be changed on a daily basis to whether or not it is bedtime, there is a rebuttal for every request.  Please tell me there are days like that at your house too?  I don’t think that my expectations are too high.  I mean, all I ask is that the kids are in bed before my energy tank reads empty.  It’s nights like tonight though, that make me wonder if even that minuscule desire is too much.  too big.  insurmountable.  unattainable.

All it takes is a few moments of “impossible” thinking like that and my spaghetti-like female brain has me thinking that if I can’t even get the kids to sleep in their own beds or get dressed without arguing how could I dare to think that I will succeed in raising them?  How could I ever hope to raise Godly children if I can’t even facilitate reading a book with them before bedtime without someone getting in someone else’s personal space?

I’m tired of the ‘no you can’t watch that,’ the ‘no, you can’t eat that,’ and the ‘get in your bed right now and stay there or I will revoke <insert favorite privilege here (ie. iPad, Kindle, Netflix)>.

Nights like tonight are when the job seems too big, the task of being a mom too daunting, and the beautiful horizon of day’s end lingering too far off in the distance.  It’s days like today that remind me how much I need Jesus.  Yes, as my Savior, but also in the nitty gritty reality of my every day responsibilities.  These rough days remind me how very dependent I am on His wisdom {which He promises He will give if only we ask (James 1:5)} and how desperately I need Him to fill in the gaps in my parenting.  And believe me, those gaps are many.

But you know, He never asked us to do this parenting thing alone.  He didn’t randomly stork-drop infants into the arms of waiting parents.  Instead He chose us–child and parent alike.  He promised that He wouldn’t leave us alone in our adventures of parenting, instead He’d stand beside us and equip us.  (Hebrews 13:21 & Deut. 31:6)  No, I believe this Mom thing, this holy calling is one in which we partner with God, even when it’s as basic as instructing the littles on underwear hygiene.

From one weary mom to the next,

xo

Kristina

http://kjtanner.com/

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And now it’s time for our Dear Weary Mom, Link-Up! We were all so blessed by those of you who linked up here with us last week. We hope you’ll join us here again by sharing your hearts, your stories and your encouragement.

Mamas in the trenches of motherhood, slugging it out every day for the hearts of their children…they need hope. So we’ve created a fun way for our writers, and other moms out there called to give hope through their words, to encourage each other to press on and press in to deeper relationship with Jesus.

We call it, “Dear Weary Mom,”

Each Thursday, one of our writers from Team Hope will write a letter to a weary mom—an encouragement—and post it here on the blog. At the end of the post, we’ll invite you to join us by writing your own “Dear Weary Mom,” post and linking it up. If you choose to participate, please consider the following things:

1. This is a family-friendly site. Please only submit a post that builds up and encourages moms. It can be funny, but it can not be crude or contain profanity. We reserve the right to delete offensive posts, BUT we also plan to pin our favorite to our growing Pinterest board!

2. Please include a link back to this post from yours so we can all encourage each other.

3. Please use the graphic above in your post.

That’s it! We’re excited to see what God does through Dear Weary Mom, and can’t wait to see how He leads YOU to participate.

Because the best way to remind ourselves of the hope we have in Jesus, is to share it with someone else.

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Dear Weary Mom, Yesterday I was talking on the phone to a friend, and I found myself talking louder and louder and louder. I realized that my three-year-old was in major melt-down mode, and since my husband was dealing with her, my mind automatically blocked her out. But my voice didn

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