Thursday, February 4, 2010

Just being honest ... ramblings

Normally, this blog serves as a baby book for my kiddos. Just for posts about their lives in general but I just had to post this because it's been on my mind ...

Over the past few weeks I have been thinking about "life" more than usual. Not sure if it is because there is about to be a new life around here but none the less here are my ramblings ...

I went to hear a speaker on parenting at a local church a few weeks ago. This is extremely out of character for me as I have never read any baby books, discipline books, food labels, rarely remember doctors apts(actually missed Annie's last week), my kids are getting the normal shots, etc ... love me or hate me that's the kinda mom that I am ... just being honest ... Doesn't mean that I don't care about or love my kids more than life, I just don't buy into a lot of the current psychobabble fed to mommies everywhere ... that we need to read a zillion books, spend endless hours researching every disease that was ever on the planet that they could come in contact with, feed them only things you can get from pick nature(though healthy just not at all practical all the time) .. blah blah blah ...

Also...

I am a people person - love to be with, talk to, hang with people in general(now I can get my fill and need alone time) but in general I am energized by socializing for the most part ...

So my dilema ... NO ONE TAKE OFFENSE PLEASE ...

What is it about mommies that we are so obsessed with our children, that it seems no one ever talks about anything else besides parenting, baby sleep or lack there of, diapers, naps, etc??!! I love to talk about other things!! By gosh even to talk about the weather these days is a departure from the norm .. Don't get me wrong there is a time for getting advice on sleeping, discipline, etc ... but I am determined to be more mindful of my conversation because I like any other mom could ramble about my kids forever!

Our pastor has also been preaching a series on reaching out to the lost within our own community .. like really stepping outside of the box and doing some ministry ... wow .. um convicting ... step outside of my "mommy box"?? yes!!

I guess my lesson the last few weeks is I am a mom for sure but I need to not let it define all my conversations, hold me back from ministry around me, and from making my relationship with the Lord the center of my universe SECOND to my husband then to my kids(who currently rule the roost) ...

All you ladies that I know that may read this probably have this under control, but I DON'T ...
I am still processing how one juggles all of the above ...

Anyone out there understand??

8 comments:

Bekah4321 said...

amen.
I am guilty of having child centered (obsessed) talk as well and i'm tired of it. I want to be more interesting :) it is one of the reasons i started to not look forward to mom's night out anymore. . . i think we should call it "mamalogue-ing". he he. of course there is a time for talking about these things. . . just not all the time.
and yay for being convicted about ministry. . . although you are generally one of the more involved ppl i know. i need to improve in this dept as well.
ps. don't let those kids rule the roost! :) love u!

Abby said...

ahhh man! just as juicy as i had originally suspected! :-)

i usually find that most people who only talk about their children (or their work, or their singleness) don't have much else going on. and is it just me or does there seem to be a large correlation between blogging & stay at home moms without many hobbies?
i've enjoyed the occasional parenting articles (as long as they are sarcastic) only because i spent most of my educational days immersed in german, business, and missiology books....which historically can produce some pretty messed up children. :-)

lots of love to you & the fam! give the babe in utero a pat for me!

cejer said...

Glad it could live up to it's juiciness Abby:) Just been on my mind lately .. and I too see the correlation in blogging and stay-at-home moms .. honestly it is good for me to post something every week and a half or so but I have found this blog to when printed serve at a darn good baby book so I will continue ... Miss ya'll ... Z left to ski in Colorado today ... one day we will make it there again! Glad we took advantage and at least went the year we did!!

Bekah4321 said...

this is also why i started my food blog. .. needed to pursue another hobby/interest and nurture that a little. :)

Momma Mig said...

i agree that it's easy to get wrapped up in mommy-ing. but i also think God made us that way for a reason. i can't think of one mom i know that isn't completely thorough (in one way or another) in different aspects of how they are raising their children. i just want what's best for my babies.

who knew this maternal instinct thing could be so strong!?!? i'm a follow-your-instincts kinda' gal. :)

but i'm also a crafty kinda' gal, a research-happy kinda' gal, a procrastinating kinda' gal, and a fixated kinda' gal (it get my blood pumping to really get excited about things - i jump on any opportunity - and within a month i'm on to something else).

but... i also don't know one mom who doesn't miss aspects of her life before babies (reading a whole book in a day, college classes, starting and completing a project all at one time, doing what "i" want to do - when "i" want to do it, etc.) - so there is hope!! no mom wants to be a mom and nothing else all day every day!! sometimes, we just have to gently guide the conversation to different things!

c'mon! who doesn't want to talk about their favorite thing all day long!?!?! and babies are certainly wonderful things to talk about. i learn so much from ya'll and your stories.

when i get really stressed and need a break, it's difficult for me not to compartmentalize my life. i think that is dangerous ground. me doing ministry is always and will ALWAYS be effected by the fact that i'm a momma (more compassion towards certain people, issues, situation, more understanding, more relate-ability, a better ability to teach my babies about others thus assisting with their ministries, etc.).

yay. i like this conversation. cj - you should ramble much more often. ;)

cejer said...

linds I totally get ya girl ... i am a project then move on kinda gal as well ... mine usually never get completed and sometimes never pass the "thought phase" of life .. and you are right every mother is obsessive about at least one portion of the mothering process and the fact that we are moms will definitely effect the type of ministry and the type of person we can relate most easily to ... and duh I love to talk about the funny things my kids do and about their future, etc ... you are a good example of a mom with a healthy amount of hobbies:) I appreciate being around a bunch of very different moms it makes me a better one for sure but I just want to be mindful of not letting that define me and my conversations ..

lizzynash said...

ohhh, CJ... I love you. :) You are such an awesome girl!! Just so you know, I don't see you as JUST a "mama"!! I see you as a great friend, very thoughtful person, HILARIOUS, eclectic, honest, fun-loving, laid-back, interesting, and definitely a godly woman with a heart for people.. But, you are a pretty great mom too!! :) own it! be proud! It's great to have the versatility and still be faithful to your calling, and I think you do it with style! haha

Let's hang out!!

Momma Mig said...

i agree! even though i've only known you since you've been a mama... i don't see you as "cj, mac and annie's mom". you are cj, a friend from church, that goes on trips with the high schoolers, z's wife -also a military wife, a great inshape work-out-er (lol), so fun at mom's night, great story teller AND the cherry on top: you just happen to have two (here comes THREE) of the cutest babies in town!! i'm sure there's a ton more about you that i don't know... let's remedy that!