Meekness not Weakness

Happy weekend! As a quick follow-up to my post a few days ago, Baby McNamee #2 is NOT on the way. As much as I told myself that I would be fine with either outcome, I truly was disappointed. With Caleb, we simply stopped preventing for one month (I didn't even know when I ovulated!), and God blessed us with a positive pregnancy test two weeks later. It honestly was that easy. I suppose I expected that this time would also be that easy, and so I was shocked when it didn't happen. But, I will be the first one to wholeheartedly believe and proclaim that His timing is always perfect. My husband and I vowed this morning to wait patiently for His divine plan. Moving on to today's topic...

During several of my quiet times this week, I came across verses describing and discussing meekness. I have never really thought much about the word/character trait, but my interest was piqued this week. According to dictionary.com, meek means:

-quiet, gentle, and easily imposed on; submissive
-gentle - mild - humble - submissive - tame - soft

In a society where so much emphasis and importance is placed on independent strength, a person who is meek hardly stands a chance. But God doesn't see it that way. Instead, God seems to encourage those who love Him to strive for a meek quality in their character. Look at these verses on meekness:

"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."

Matthew 5:5

"But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity."

Psalm 37:11

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness (or meekness), and patience."

Colossians 3:12

As I did a search through my Bible app, it seemed that meekness and gentleness are used interchangeably throughout the different translations. Have you ever met someone who seems harsh, abrasive, blunt, or simply has a tell-it-like-it-is attitude? Are you that someone? Often times, we will just excuse that behavior as the manifested traits of a strong and honest personality. Why tiptoe on eggshells, when we can get to the bottom of something by using some head-on tough love? I'm the first one to admit that I can be guilty of this behavior. The "efficient" part of my personality desires to get things done in a timely manner and move on to the next, even if gentleness/meekness would be a better approach to the situation. God doesn't call us to hit someone over the head with a figurative sledge hammer, and call it our personality. Instead, He calls us to be gentle, mild, humble, submissive, tame, and soft. I felt convicted about displaying this quality of Jesus this week, especially when it came to my family--both immediate and extended. I can be harsh due to a lack of patience. But God desires that we have self-control. If I exhibit self-control, then I can take a deep breath and remember His instruction on showing meekness in my dealings with others.

Before I close, let's remember to not confuse meekness with weakness. We have the strength of the Lord running through our veins. As mothers, He has called us to be women of supernatural power! And with much power, comes much responsibility. We are called to be responsible to submission to Him and to our husbands. We are called to gentleness and softness in loving and disciplining our children. He never asks us to be showy and flashy, but mild and tame. 

Mommies, he created each of us as unique beings. Some of us have a little more firecracker in us than others :-) Let's just not let that feisty spark outshine the character traits we are called to display as daughters of Christ.

Today, and everyday, be blessed!

I added a new page to the website called "Pinteresting Projects." Check it out!

Project #2 - 

I found the original idea at:

Homemade Playdough 

Here is mine...

Sooooo easy! I followed her recipe exactly, and mine came out perfect! I noticed that she used a non-stick pan in her pictures, but mine worked using stainless steel. There was some sticking, but it didn't seem to alter the consistency. I'm storing ours in a leftover animal crackers container from Walmart. It has an air-tight lid, and there will be room for playdough tools. She says that it keeps for up to a year. We shall see!

Project #1 -

I found the original idea at:  

Newborn Shadowbox

Here is mine...

Instead of keeping these precious treasures hidden away in his baby book that isn't (or may never be!) finished, why not put them on display! I bought the shadow box at Hobby Lobby for $12, after using a 40% off coupon, and I printed the photos for 25 cents at Walgreens, after using a coupon. I lined the back of the frame with light blue scrapbook paper, and mounted a few items to black scrapbook paper, and I used a glue gun and double-sided Scotch tape to arrange the pieces. I love how it turned out, and it now hangs in our master bedroom to always remind us of this special day!