10.3.14
























Dear Gabrielle,

do you remember that conversation we had in my kitchen, right before you left?  The one about being kind to our children?

I have that conversation tucked away into my pocket.

Sometimes it's so tucked away that it remains there, forgotten.

Sometimes I put my hand into my pocket and my fingers wrap around it, and I am prompted to set down my dishrag and go into the other room where my boy is screaming at me to come check out his new, amazing block tower . . . *

Sometimes I pull it out of my pocket and turn it around and around in my hand - examining it from every angle. . .  I think about how being a fun mama (or a sporty mama, or a healthy mama, or a creative mama) is ok, but what I really want is to be a kind mama; I think about how being kind isn't just the absence of rudeness or harshness, but instead the presence of something actively good. I think about how my ability to show kindness to my kids is limited if I'm not enjoying Jesus - the Creator of love.  I think about how kindness, planted into the hearts of my family, will produce life and beauty.

And then I put it back into my pocket again.
I'll keep pulling it out; I think this will do me some good.

This week, Gabrielle and I agreed to somehow include the color green into our shared blogging series. In her blog post, she found a way to seamlessly transition from cod liver oil to the green pastures of Psalm 23.  She's good, I tell you . . .  
I posted green pictures. (that counts, right?)
























 *also, not to brag or anything, but this week, when Malachai came into my room at 3am, doubled over with the pain of a tummy ache, I snuggled up with him on the couch and rubbed his back instead of calmly telling him that I couldn't do anything to make his tummy ache go away and that really, he should leave me alone so that at least one of us could get a good night's rest (which I may or may not have done the last time he interrupted my sleep with a tummy ache).

4 comments:

  1. Ah yes, the law of kindness on our lips--I still think about that conversation so much! Thanks for then encouragement!

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  2. I like this one. It will stay with me.

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  3. I am so happy I stumbled upon your blog from A CUP OF JO. My family and I are scheduled to move to Mexico City this summer and your post/blog helped squelch some of our fears and anxieties; thank you so much! Any recommendations on how to find a church in Mexico City? Our searches have been fruitless.

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    1. Karen! I am so glad that you came over - and I am delighted to think that I may have eased (at least some!) of your fears; we love our city! We know of so, so many great churches here in the city, but the truth is, that they are often hard to track down - - not a whole lot of online presence! :) So really, I think that the best way for me to recommend one to you is to have you over for a coffee so that we can hear about where you will be living, and what excites you about a church, what language you are hoping for, etc. . . . really - we would love to chat! email me and we can start up the conversation! naomismith.hellohellohola(at)gmail.com

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