Mama, I know this coterie is a very new thing, but I missed showing up here with you last week!
Right in the middle of fasting, I was left barely standing, tending to and entertaining my sick family who had all decided to set aside sweets and their devices (!!) for five days.
During our hours awake, we made it through way too many read-alouds read by me and focused on miracles (hello, healing) and rest. Not a lot of food was eaten, hair and lesson plans were neglected—and I was just trying to make it! Overnights, in those moments my people were trying to find sleep, I sat alone in my feelings.
I may have kept all of my food down and not been coughing or sneezing, but I also wanted, needed, and still desire healing from the diagnosis of idiopathic peripheral neuropathy. One night, I expressed to the Lord my sadness and my anger. I questioned his why and his timing, asked him to return hope to me, and to help my unbelief.
Your healing is not for one, it’s for many. Your healing is to be done in community.
That is what he spoke clearly. The need and gift to be more vulnerable and more transparent with those he has (already) given me to walk out life with. My privilege to know him more through his refining and my assignment to let him be known by sharing my healing.
My testimony is worthy of community. And, my community is worthy of my testimony.
That is what I now hear clearly. With hope renewed, I am here for my testimony and I am renouncing any and all of my feelings opposite of it.
Amongst everything, in the middle of last week, I joined a small group for the first time since 2020. With my heart to cultivate further this coterie, I also want see this through with you.
My miracle will be for many.
And, so will yours too.
Amen.
If you’ve been debating whether or not to ask them to pray with you, mama, ask.
If you’ve been wrestling with the idea to join that mom group or Bible study, mama, join.
If you’ve been wanting to know her and be known better by her, mama, invite her over.
He’s got you.
What will you do with the miracle he is giving to share himself through you?
I believe that we can catch moments for his glory in the ministry of our mothering.
While we study Black history year-round, my girl's are always looking for a holiday, birthday, and any other thing to learn about and celebrate.
During our read-aloud marathon last week, we read so much about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life. Today—the day marking his January 15th birth date—we plan to memorize the quote below and walk through how it compares and contrasts to this scripture and how we are serving.
“Use me, God. Show me how to take who I am,
who I want to be, and what I can do, and
use it for a purpose greater than myself.”
― Martin Luther King, Jr.
The LuvScrub body exfoliator is finally back in stock at my favorite store. Since I purchased my first one from the Black-owned, woman-owned business three years ago, it's been my go-to and a great, small self-care gift. My husband always sticks with Midnight, while I've alternated between Naked Sunset and Summer Shower because the colors are just pretty.
My kids love to listen to this podcast full of fun and full of Jesus. I love it for them.
This is the newest version of the thermometer that has gotten me through every kid-illness since I became a mama in 2014. It's trusty.
Am I allowed to share a newsletter for mamas within my newsletter for mamas? As a self-care and wellness coach, Melissa recently began The WELLthy Mama. Through it, she helps us live well through resources that encourage us to Write, Eliminate, Learn, and Love. It is good and it is one that I look forward to.
This version of Great is Thy Faithfulness. Thank my music dealer, LaToya, for it.
I’ve been committed to getting back to my love of reading, by any means necessary. I read 16 books in 2022, compared to the two I read in their entirety in 2021. My husband and my girls gave me a Kindle for Christmas and to my surprise, it fits perfectly in my 2L everywhere belt bag. The combo is a love language that goes everywhere with me. Not to be judged—but, I’m currently reading The Warmth of Other Suns, The Hiding Place, The Vanishing Half, The Mamas, and The Deeply Formed Life.
In my opinion, the best or worst thing about pizza is its sauce. We've been making a lot of pizza at home lately, and this one is by far the best one I've found, outside of homemade. It's become a pantry staple, and has even found its way onto our spaghetti—I always have at least three.
Here is the family devotional, focused on miracles, that we journeyed through beside our church with prayer, consecration, and fasting. It's so good for any week.
