Don't Give Up

I was humbled at the grocery store the other day. I ran into the store to pick up a few items before heading home. My husband and my son were sick, I had just left church, I was headed to a birthday party for a little boy our community is celebrating, that has cancer, and I needed a few things from the store.  I rushed in, grabbed the items from the shelves, got in the shortest line I could find, skipped the usual small talk I so enjoy at this particular store, swiped my card and ran out the door. I was bound by time and needed to get stuff done. I ended up spending way more than I had anticipated, while in the store, but it did not even dawn on me until I was pulling out of the parking lot and my eyes fell on a scene that would flood me with conviction. As I flipped my blinker to signal my right turn out of the parking lot, my eye was caught by a little old lady bending over her grocery cart, outside in the cold, flipping through the coupons in her hand. She was wearing a...

Have you ever uttered the words “I quit”, when dealing with your kids, or maybe yelled at them and screamed at them to the top of your lungs like I did the other day!?! I do believe the Holy Ghost left me for a split second while I went on a screaming rant, that had anyone other than my children heard me, I would have been cuffed, stuffed and headed straight to lock down, thrown in a padded room, probably wearing a straight jacket and given some sedatives. And now that I am seeing that written down, it doesn’t sound quite so bad. I could use a timeout. A nice quiet room, a little something to calm my nerves, no one around to make demands and throw fits when they don’t get their way. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not making light of this, or of those that really do need that treatment, but I am telling you, I was mad, stark raving mad! All I want is for my kids to clean their room. That’s it. It is only something I have been asking of them since they were 3. Pick up your toys an...