Oh how nice plans go astray

Last week I blogged all my lovely St. Patrick’s Day plans. Well, there should be a saying about the well meant plans of mothers. Those lovely plans do have a tendency to go south pretty darn quick don’t they?
Last Monday, the girls came home excited to make the St. Patrick’s Day cookies that we made last year. They donned their cute little aprons from Auntie Fara and we set to work. Well, half way through, Sarah decided they really should be green cookies with white frosting this year instead of the other way around. I thought I shouldn’t be a control freak – after all, it is about the experience of cooking together not the end product right? Well, no. A few moments into Sarah squirting a LOT of food coloring into our dough, I realized, it wasn’t. As much as I want to be that calm “who cares what the cookies that we bring to Grandma’s St. Patties dinner look like,” kind of mom. I am just not really that mom. Deep down (actually not that deep) I wanted pretty cookies. Now the dough had way too much coloring and was overly mushy but I decided to just plop them on the baking sheet and throw them in the oven. By this point I was getting testy, and so were the girls. When the first batch came out of the oven, it was all over. The mushy dough had just sort of spread all over the cookie sheet instead of turning into cookies. I tried to be funny and said we had made leprechaun poop. (that’s funny, right?) Sarah was distraught that her cookies were ugly, and Emily wisely wandered off. End of happy bonding time.
An hour or so later, I emerged from a cleaned up kitchen, I had salvaged some of the dough and made some respectable cookies, but our happy afternoon was gone. Sure, I was frustrated with the cookies, but I was mostly frustrated with my loss of good time with the girls. Time with the girls seems to be in shorter and shorter supply these days, I hate to waste it. Looking back I realize that going into our baking adventure, I was rushed for time and stressed out from work. Sarah wisely said that evening, “Mommy I wish we could have just played a game together.” That’s exactly what we should have done, instead of trying to shove creating cute cookies into our busy calendar.
So friends, I really think there needs to be a saying about how the well meant plans of moms go astray, to help remind me when to throw my plans out the window, and also to make me laugh.

Making cookies when there’s too much to do, results in sticky leprechaun poo…
Or ... I don't know, what do you think? Send me your mommy saying ideas.

Week 5 Devotion

Here is the devotion for this week. I pray it is a blessing to your family.

Introduction: In the last two weeks, we have read about Jesus’ disciples and the miracles he performed. But what was Jesus saying when he was preaching? What was he teaching? This week we will look at two readings about how Jesus wanted us to treat others.

Readings: Luke 6:27-36 Love for our enemies (Discuss questions 1 and 2 before the second reading)
Matthew 7:1-5 Judging others
Discussion Questions:
1. There are many people in our lives who we love, such as our families and friends. But what about our enemies? The kid at school who always has something hurtful to say. The co-worker who makes the office difficult to face at times, do we love them? “Of course not,” you say? What does Jesus call us to do?

2. In today’s reading, Jesus names several things we can do for our enemies. Bless them, pray for them, love them, give to them, and show them mercy. Do you have any enemies, or people you just don’t particularly like? If so which of these things can you do for them?

3. Have you ever been judged by someone else? How did that make you feel?

4. Re read Matthew 7: 1 Jesus teaches that we will be measured by the same measure that we use against other people. If we judge others, we too will be judged! Discuss as a family ways in which you have judged people in the past and how you can grow to stop judging others.