"She's still a baby...she will outgrow it.", they said. "They" also said, "She will eventually sleep through the night, just give it time." I'd like to see each of these people that told me that about my newborn baby girl almost four years ago. I'd like to show them my sleepy eyes each morning, my frazzled nerves after going in for the fifth time to put her back in bed, and my foggy brain that derives from my lack of sleep. Better yet, I'd love for each of those people to come and count how many times "MAMA!" is shouted from her bedroom to mine, alerting me that she is awake yet again, and needs coaxing back to sleep. Yes....this is my child. My child who has never slept, is an insomniac at times, and can somehow manage to find the energy to stay up for countless hours on end. I'm talking marathon awake sessions. While this can probably be related to many things (maybe I did hold her way too much as a baby, maybe letting her sleep with us so long was a mistake) I truly think she is afraid of missing out on something. When she lays in her bed, she watches and listens to my every move, often asking me questions about my activity. She wants to be where all of the action is. She is a curious, inquisitive, and life-of-the-party, type of girl. She wants to pack in any and every activity and event that she can in a 24 hour time period. Fun for her, weariness for Mama.
Ironically enough, this afternoon I fought her for an hour, and tried to get her to lay down and rest after her up-all-night party session last night. I was dragging and honestly I didn't care if she slept or not, I just needed a power nap. She has asked me to take her to pick out a "bat bag" for t-ball all week and I obliged ONLY if she would take a quick nap before hand. Although reluctantly, she finally did and when she woke we made the trip to Winston to pick out her bag and a few things for her new big girl room we are creating for her. I quickly remembered that I wanted to stop by Barnes and Noble to see if they had a book the Pastor's wife had mentioned at ladies prayer meeting Monday night. I was happy to discover that they did, stopped in and made the purchase, made a few more stops and then headed home.
After bath time and bedtime routine (if you can even call it that...our routine isn't a routine because Camdyn is a nocturnal creature after all) I sat down to start reading the book. I had thought of this book all week and had it on my mind, so the fact that I now held it in my hands with it's fresh, crisp pages, and "new book" smell was exhilarating for this book nerd. I definitely could have ordered and read it on the iPad but who doesn't love the feel of a new book in hand? :)
The book is called "A Woman After God's Own Heart" by Elizabeth George.
Ironically enough, this afternoon I fought her for an hour, and tried to get her to lay down and rest after her up-all-night party session last night. I was dragging and honestly I didn't care if she slept or not, I just needed a power nap. She has asked me to take her to pick out a "bat bag" for t-ball all week and I obliged ONLY if she would take a quick nap before hand. Although reluctantly, she finally did and when she woke we made the trip to Winston to pick out her bag and a few things for her new big girl room we are creating for her. I quickly remembered that I wanted to stop by Barnes and Noble to see if they had a book the Pastor's wife had mentioned at ladies prayer meeting Monday night. I was happy to discover that they did, stopped in and made the purchase, made a few more stops and then headed home.
After bath time and bedtime routine (if you can even call it that...our routine isn't a routine because Camdyn is a nocturnal creature after all) I sat down to start reading the book. I had thought of this book all week and had it on my mind, so the fact that I now held it in my hands with it's fresh, crisp pages, and "new book" smell was exhilarating for this book nerd. I definitely could have ordered and read it on the iPad but who doesn't love the feel of a new book in hand? :)
The book is called "A Woman After God's Own Heart" by Elizabeth George.
My goal is to read a chapter a day and I commenced to read the first chapter of this book just a little while ago. While most of what I read was very applicable to my own life and personal heart, there was a portion from the first chapter that I felt lead to share with each of you. As I read, God kept nudging me back to that one small paragraph. I read it and reread it and felt the power of the words reverberate through my heart and my mind.
Daily I live with one fear - a healthy fear if there is such a thing. It is that I will miss something God has for me in this life. It is mind expanding to contemplate all that he wants me to have. I do not want to be robbed of even one of God's riches by not taking time to let him invade my life. By not listening to what he's telling me. By allowing the routine, pressing matters of my minutes to bankrupt me of time for the most exciting and fulfilling relationship in life. - Carole Mayhall of the Christian Discipleship Organization.
Why do I not follow after Camdyn's child like need to not miss out on anything? I should be like the vertically inclined person jumping up at the back of a large crowd, yearning to see what I'm missing up front! This part of the chapter was the most influential for me and the most eye opening. The decisions I make daily could be keeping me from blessings God wants to bestow on me. Outpourings from heaven he wants to richly manifest in my heart and life. Just as Camdyn is my child and I want her to have things in this life, so does the Lord with me, his child. My actions, thoughts, and ways determine what he allows me to experience, what he allows me to take part in, and what he allows my heart to receive from him.
My prayer is that I too will keep the healthy fear of missing out on God's abundance and blessings. I too want to stay awake and alert in my Christian walk so that I will not miss anything God has to offer!
My prayer is that I too will keep the healthy fear of missing out on God's abundance and blessings. I too want to stay awake and alert in my Christian walk so that I will not miss anything God has to offer!