a heartful

Sometimes days as a stay at home Mama are easy. 

Sometimes A lot of the time, they're not. 

As we are in the home stretch of our basement bathroom & laundry room renovation (hooray) and closing in on purchasing a (dream) car after two months of being a one-car family and searching endlessly, I find myself feeling pretty exhausted lately and worn out from long days without a break. I am forever grateful to have days like this, though, and continue to remind myself that life is so short and that each moment with my baby girl is a treasure and a gift to cherish. 

Olivia is constantly on the move these days, and getting into everything she can get her little hands on. She has such a sense of adventure, it melts my heart. She never stops exploring. Even when she's tired, she keeps going-going-going. And then she randomly just lays down on the floor, usually in the kitchen, on her stomach, to let me know she's ready to be carried upstairs for her nap. With all this newfound freedom of (nearly) walking and fast lightning-speed crawling, it keeps me moving all day right there with her. 

Days are so much busier now than they were even a few weeks ago. Once Olivia hit the 11-month mark, we knew we were in for a wild ride. Despite the busyness, I love watching V discover new things, learn & play, and explore the house that we call home. But all her exploration often leads to more chaos and sometimes, even more stress. On top of everything else going on, I recently found myself thinking out loud, saying, "Today, Olivia was a handful" or "Ah, she's such a handful" or worse yet, saying, "You can be such a handful" directly to her. My husband agreed that yes, she sometimes requires a lot of extra attention and she is more "work" than she has been in the past. 

But then we both stopped mid-sentence and realized something...

The bible talks about how there is power of life and death in the tongue [Proverbs 18:21], and I believe words are so powerful. If you know me (outside of the blogging world), you will know I walk around constantly trying to speak life and truth and positivity into every corner, circumstance, and challenge I face. Lately some of the things I have been saying include, "There is a perfect car out there waiting for our family," and "Olivia will have no pain in teething," and "Dustin and I will both wake each morning feeling refreshed and energized." I apply my positive words and confessions to the hurdles that are right in front of me: finding a car, a teething toddler, and an exhausted husband (and wife).

Words can build a person up or break a person down. They can make a situation worse or they can turn a whole day around. Isn't that incredible? And as parents, it is especially important to be aware of the words we are speaking -- both around our children and especially directly to our children. By speaking something, whether positive or negative, you can bring it into existence; you are giving it life. Confessing the truth and speaking positively over your life and your child's life can have a huge influence in how things turn out and how the future unfolds. I ultimately believe that God wants the best for all of his sons and daughters and know our need to trust in Him, but He has also given us a voice and language and the freedom to use our words for positive or negative influence.

Here's an example:

Maybe you are going through financial hardship right now, but you are walking around saying, "We'll never have enough money" or "I'll never get a raise," or "We can't ever get out of debt." Honestly? If that is your attitude and that is what you are confessing on a regular basis, you probably won't. But instead of speaking those negative things, say, "God meets all our needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus" [Philippians 4:19] or "I am living life abundantly" or "Every day we are moving toward eliminating our debt." See the difference? Maybe your circumstances haven't immediately changed, but your words have, and your words can and will change your circumstances. 

Why am I telling you all this? Well, do I really want to be walking around saying that Olivia is a handful? Yes, some days as a Mama are harder than others and it is natural to want to vent and express how we feel -- whether out loud to ourselves, to our children, or to our spouse. But I believe saying that Olivia is a handful is a negative confession because when I think of the word "handful," I think of something or someone that is difficult to manage or control. I certainly would prefer to have a child that is easily managed and who listens to what I say and follows my instructions. Wouldn't you?

So rather than saying she is a handful, I am speaking positively over her every day -- just as we did during my entire pregnancy -- and when I become frustrated or tired and feel like my little adventurer is testing my patience, I am instead going to say, "She is such a heartful."