The above photos were taken by my photographer friend, Lisa Tarplee
I always thought I would have girls. I pictured myself seated on a comfy chair, quietly reading books to sweet little girls. But God knew better.
Welcome to my blog, To Show Them Jesus. I am Christina and I am the mom of two active boys, Ethan (7.5) and Ian (4.5). We live in sunny South Florida, on the east coast. My boys have stretched me in ways I never knew I needed stretching. Through this journey of motherhood, I have learned so many things about myself and have seen my need for God in deeper and more profound ways.
Yes, God knew just what I needed.
This blog is a place where I live out redemption’s story, from the inside out. I write transparently, with an open heart, sharing all the ways God is changing me through my life as a mom, a wife, a writer, and homeschool teacher. I write here about struggles with depression and my journey to knowing and trusting God in deeper ways through that battle. I also share stories of how I share the gospel of grace with my boys, including conversations, hands on activities, books, and teaching moments.
As an avid reader, I often share about the books I am currently reading as well as books I am reading with my boys. Currently, my oldest is enjoying the old, blue, classic Hardy Boys series. He’s also enjoyed the science fiction stories by Jules Verne, books by Roald Dahl, and anything scientific or historical.
I am in the process of writing a book and am terrified of the process. I could use all the prayers I can get-won’t you pray for me?
Thanks for stopping by here! It’s so nice to “meet” you!
I’ve always been interested in the past. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to understand my family and the ancestors that came before me. Like a detective that solves a mystery, I have wanted to understand the mystery of how my family developed into who we are today. I’ve long probed the deeper questions of what factors shaped a person’s life, how they faced life’s challenges, and why they made particular decisions and choices.
Want to read more? I’m over at Leaving a Legacy today. Click here to read the rest of this post.
Each time I look at you, I can’t believe how quickly the time has passed. The hours that crawled by so slowly during those early morning hours when you were babies have now sped up like a roller coaster going downhill. I regret those early days when I wanted you to mature so you could be a bit more independent.
How did you go from toddling to playing chess? How did you go from a sweet baby on my hips to one who tells stories to anyone who wants to listen? How did we go from me reading you board books to you reading to me?
These days are busy and I miss out on so much. I’m afraid that too often you hear, “In a minute, I’m busy with something.” “As soon as I finish this I can help you.” “Just let me finish folding the laundry.”
I don’t want to finish folding laundry and find that you’ve become adolescents.
Today, let’s seize the moments together before they slip away.
I want to join you in new experiences, seeing the excitement and wonder in your face. Let’s explore the world and God’s creation together.
I want to taste the sweetness of each new day with you, squeezing each and every moment out of it that I can.
Let’s jump into life together and feel the exhilarating splash of a life lived fully.
Go ahead. You lead, I’m right behind you.
Love, Mommy
Linking up with:
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!
Two blogging friends (Tuning my heart and Always Simply Begin), recently honored me with the Leibster Award. The fun thing about receiving an award like this is that you get to pass it on. The blessing isn’t mine to keep so I’m passing it on to five blogging friends.
Here are the rules for the Leibster Award:
1. Show your thanks to the blogger that nominated you.
2. Reveal your top picks and let them know.
3. Post the award on your blog.
4.Bask in the love and support in blogsphere.
5. And best of all…have fun and share it too.
This award is given to bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers all in the spirit of fostering new connections. Liebster is German and means ‘dearest’ or ‘beloved’ but it can mean favorite.
Since I can only choose 5 I wish to acknowledge the five following blogs for their diverse styles of blogging. They are unique with what they share and contribute to the world of blogging.
In no particular order:
1. Meredith is a sweet friend in the blogsphere. I love how she shares her life how it really is. A teacher, mother, pastor’s wife and musician, her blog is a joy to read. You can find her here: Journey 2 Authenticity
2. Craig at Deep into Scripture is a favorite blogging friend of mine. I have learned so much from the way he dives deep into the Word. He shares from the depths of his heart the work God is doing in and through him. He is such an encouragement to me!
3. Carrie is a homeschooling mom of four. She has a heart similar to mine and shares her struggles in this journey we walk through together. I hope you’ll visit her at One Mother’s True Heart and be blessed by her too.
4. You’ve already met my friend Wick when he wrote a guest post for me recently. He writes about parenting with the same heart as I do. You can find him at Different Parent.
5. I enjoy visiting Home with Us to get homeschooling ideas. Mariah uses the same curriculum as I do and she’s very creative. I’ve stolen a few of her ideas:)
Hope you get a chance to visit these blogs. Enjoy!
I am kind of a sentimentalist. When there’s a hurricane headed our way, I load up all my photo albums, grandma’s china, my wedding dress, and the boys baby stuff and take it with me to wherever we evacuate.
Capturing sweet memories is important to me. When I look at a photo or item belonging to a long gone relative, the memories return fresh to my mind. I also enjoy remembering special moments with my family. I have shadow boxes for each of my sons and inside I placed their first picture in the hospital, their hospital blanket, little hat they were given and their name tag that had been on the hospital bassinet. I also have shadow boxes to remember special trips my husband and I have taken in years past. The one from our trip to England and Scotland holds train tickets, photos, British coins, and other memorabilia.
Since we’ve returned from Paris, I’ve wanted to capture those memories as well. Since I’m pretty much out of wall space (that’s what sentimentality does to you:), I decided to capture our Paris memories in a glass container and place it on my dresser. In the jar, I’ve placed a map that we used each day, a favorite photo, museum passes, metro and other train tickets, a little Eiffel Tower, coins, and a bust of Napoleon. Each day when I walk by my dresser, I see the memories captured and my heart swells with joy as I recall our beautiful trip to the “City of Lights.”
Have you any memories to capture?
May the Lord be with you in whatever storms that are stirring your soul into turmoil this day.
“Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.” Psalm 57:1
“And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.” Matthew 8:26
Today I’m linking up with other bloggers to the Blog Bash at Women Living Well. We are sharing posts about our blog.
About Me: Once a child psychotherapist, now a stay at home mom. This journey of motherhood has been a life changing one. God has used parenting in His process of transforming me. So far this journey has been filled with joy, tears, laughter, challenges, precious moments, fears, and lots of love. A broken and wounded mom, I transparently share my struggles on my blog. I have long battled depression and I openly share how this impacts my ability to parent. God is good and gracious and it is my prayer that His grace is reflected in my writing.
Some of the differnt types of posts I write:
“Teach Me Jesus Thursdays” are posts I write each week about spiritual teaching moments with children. I often include practical ideas for teaching Jesus to our children everywhere, all the time, and in all situations (Deut. 6).
I write many posts related to God’s work in my heart. These are often related to spiritual growth, depression, worry and how God is transforming me. I write for a couple of other web sites as well and I often link to the spiritual growth or devotional articles I’ve written for those sites.
I’m also a homeschooling mom so I like to write about what we have been learning in school.
Thanks for visiting!
In the business world, one is expected to network. Meeting people in the community, handing out business cards and getting your name and company out there for people to know about.
In the blogging world, networking occurs too. It happens when bloggers link their posts on another’s site. It happens when bloggers join forums and other networking sites. I’ve been blogging since 2005 and it took me a long time to start networking and linking up to other sites.
I’m just as shy in the blog world as I am in the real world.
Slowly and timidly I’ve been networking, handing out my “card,” and letting the blog world know I exist. Initially I cringed and I could feel my stomach tighten as I pushed that key, sending my information out there for the world to see. A few networking sites I joined, I regretted immediately. Recently I joined The High Calling network of bloggers. They have been very kind and friendly. Instead of getting an automatic “thank you for joining” response, I actually got a personal email from a real person welcoming me. It’s nice to be a part of a group of like-minded bloggers. Other bloggers like myself who write about faith issues.
This shy girl will continue to step out of her comfort zone, with cheeks reddening as though she’s giving a speech in front of the class. With each step, she becomes more confident and sure. Who knows what God might be calling her to do next?
