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The Dior Woman and True Freedom

Many people would look at my life (with a husband and three children) and say that I have no freedom. Today I share my heart on these things at CBMW. 

  I usually do not give much notice to commercials (fast forwarding whenever possible), but recently an advertisement for the perfume, Miss Dior, did exactly what the producer intended – it caught my full attention.

In the film, Natalie Portman stars as a runaway bride. The wedding venue and dress exude absolute perfection. But the film is strangely black and white.

Read the rest here 

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December: What We’ve Been Loving

IMG_3776.jpgThe holiday season is so much fun with kids. It really is.

I recently read a blogpost that contained tips on how to color coordinate your Christmas decorations for the perfectly styled tree.

Nope, that’s not us.

Our tree is decorated with an increasing number of handmade ornaments which the girls are ever so proud of. We also have snowflakes, texas stars, a&m and clemson globes, and a menagerie of Grant’s childhood ornaments.

Ah yes, the tree is just right. Perfectly styled. All colors represented. Even if the bottom of the tree is sparsely decorated … because Charles.

Along with the girls enjoying our tree this year, here are a few other things we’ve been loving in the Castleberry home.

FullSizeRender-2The Snowman. Have you read this book? Or I guess I shouldn’t say “read” since there aren’t any words. Grant’s Aunt gave this book to us a couple Christmases ago and it is so sweet. The girls also LOVE the movie which is just like the book. It’s also wordless and is a wonderfully imaginative film.

Christmas Carols for a Kid’s Heart. Love this series and the Christmas Carols one is no exception (thanks to my sis-in-law who gifted it to us this year)! It comes with a CD that we put in the van and listen to when we drive around and look at Christmas lights.

The Biggest Story by Kevin DeYoung {how the snake crusher brings us back to the garden}. Grant picked this up at a conference a few weeks ago and it has been an evening tradition. I also saw a copy at the public library!

IMG_4183.jpgCall me a granny but nothing says  winter vacation quite like a puzzle.  I would never take the time to put together a puzzle in regular life when I have laundry, and cleaning, and life to be living. But I have a little girl who LOVES puzzles and so our mother/daughter Christmas project is putting together Santa’s Workshop. Costco has 100, 500, and 1,000 piece Christmas puzzles right now for $7.99. The same ones retail on Amazon for close to $20.

Prepare Him Room. I mentioned this CD last year and I am loving it again this year. We also have the accompanying advent book though the girls are still a little young for it.

I’ve also been enjoying baking Christmas cookies with the girls to gift, talking about Jesus’ birth, Christmas movies and books (many we checked out from the library), and playing with our Fisher Price nativity set.

I would love to hear what you are enjoying with your family this December!

 

 

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On Treasuring The Trundle


The past few years since the explosion of the iPhone camera, I have taken copious pictures of my girls and now little boy. I have tried to the best of my ability to soak up these little years with them.

 
I’ve heard many people say things will get easier as my children become more independent. These comments have come more often now that I have three children instead of just two. And in many ways I am glad to hear it because I wouldn’t want my children to stay ever dependent on me.

 

Who knew a search for a matching shoe in a hurry or pouring everyone’s milk in a non-favorite color sippy cup all while teaching them the world does not revolve around their little lives could be such a challenge?

 

And while I am joyous about each coming stage of my children’s lives, I never want to wish today away.

 

Years from now, I will look back on the pictures I took today and yesterday, and I will want to travel back in time for just a moment and hug and kiss their baby and toddler faces. The eager eyes, the dramatic expressions, the way they say “mama” and “will you lay down with me?” And “you’re the best mama ever!”

 
I am smiling at the future, but I don’t want to miss today. I don’t want the dirty dishes and crumbs and daily training to ever get the better of me.

 

 

Moms of little ones, let’s ignore the voices who tell us to long for an easier time. Let’s not allow longing for tomorrow rob us of the goodness of today (Psalm 118:24). Let’s hold on to what we can never get back.

 
We have been given a precious gift this Christmas – hearts who need us. Of the many lessons of the incarnation, may we never forget that a mother caring for a needy babe has cataclysmic significance.

 

Tomorrow will come soon enough, for now let’s treasure the crib and the toddler bed and the trundle. And let’s pray for the young men and women who will one day need them no longer.

 

 

Woman, how divine your mission,

Here upon our natal sod;

Keep—oh, keep the young heart open

Always to the breath of God!

All true trophies of the ages

Are from mother-love impearled,

For the hand that rocks the cradle

Is the hand that rules the world.

-William Ross Wallace (born in Lexington, KY)

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Praise, Pray, and Peg Away

  
I really want to be a good mom. I want to be generous in love and consistent in discipline. I want to dig in, not merely get through the day or a stage. 
And the honest truth is, I love this task I’ve been called to. I really do. 
I love the newborn and baby stage. I love the toddler age. 

I know there are many events and opportunities I’ve “missed” these past four and a half years, but I don’t even care. The moments spent with my children have been worth any experience I could have had otherwise. 

But with that being said, this job is hard. Really hard. And there are two realities that annoyingly get in the way:

1). I am a sinner. 2). My kids are sinners. 

And some days, we seem to be a little more sinful than on others. 

I was recently having such a day and I expressed my frustration to Grant saying, “I don’t know if it’s me or if it’s them.” 

He replied, “Both.” 

“Thanks, Grant.”

This week, we have been in Wheaton, IL while Grant is conducting PhD research in the Billy Graham Archives. 

Today, while he was going through documents, he thoughtfully pulled an article he knew I would like. It is a little piece published in June of 1957 on Ruth Graham, highlighting her role as wife and mother. 

I haven’t read much on Mrs. Graham’s life, but the article mentioned that she had a motto she put into practice, “Praise and Pray and Peg away.” 

Mrs. Graham was often mothering alone (5 kids) while her famous husband was away preaching. 

She did not have it easy. 

As moms, at times we may be tempted to think that our lives are particularly difficult. 

Our child is more strong willed than someone else’s. Or our husband travels more. Or you name it. I know I’ve been down that road. 

While this may be true in some situations, I’ve humbly come to realize that for the most part it is probably not. Everyone has their struggles.

The biggest punch in the gut comparison is more accurately how we handle it.

Mrs. Graham, for example, lived by a little motto. 

Praise. Pray. Peg away. 

I love that. 

Praise God when the first inclination is to complain. Praise Him that He is doing something good even when it feels like He is not. Thank Him for His innumerable blessings. Praise Him for His ever available grace.   

Pray. Get on your knees and cry out to God for help. The bed wetting situation? Pray. The picky eater? Pray. The obedience problem? Pray. 

He didn’t just promise to listen when you are in the pew. He is always listening! 

“For you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.” Psalm 9:10

Peg away. Keep moving. Do the next thing. Wash the next dish. Wipe the tears. Make dinner. Trust God to work in great ways. 

I don’t know what tomorrow will hold, but thank you Mrs. Graham for living by a motto that aligns my heart in the good way. 

That’s better than any “pick me up,” “me time,” or “break.” 

Because being a good mother means quite simply walking in the good way. 

So tomorrow I want praise more, pray more, and keep pegging away. And as the insightful Anne Shirley said, “Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”