Dear God,
Help me to be a mom who says “I love you” far more often than bedtime.
Help me to a mom who remembers that to play is to have fun.
Help me to be a mom who doesn’t spend more time managing my home than raising my children.
Help me to be a mom who isn’t afraid to get dirty on purpose every once and a while.
Help me to be a mom who gets more excited about wake-ups than bedtimes.
Help me to be a mom who prays more than I worry.
Help me to be a mom who listens more than I lecture.
Help me to be a mom who gives thanks more than I complain about parenting challenges that stretch and grow me.
Help me to be a mom who disciplines proactively with the future in mind rather than one who punishes out of reaction to the present.
Help me to be a mom who wisely nourishes her children’s bodies as well as lets them indulge in Sunday morning waffles laden with syrup and Friday night ice cream cones.
Help me to be a mom who excels at creativity and who can skillfully draw it out of my littles, even—especially—when they’re bored.
Help me to be a mom who turns the music up a bit louder when the kids are really feeling the groove.
Help me to be a mom who doesn’t pressure my children to perform and yet spurs them on to do their best.
Help me to be a mom who creates a home environment that neighbor kids and schoolmates will be drawn to.
Help me to be a mom who always makes enough dinner for someone extra to drop by.
Help me to be a mom who makes family traditions something to look forward to while not being stuck in my ways and unable to change them when needed.
Help me to be a mom who slows down enough to breathe in freshly washed munchkin hair and notice new scratches on knees that need kisses.
Help me to be a mom who takes as much care in planning family days as I do planning to-do lists.
Help me to be a mom who always has a song in my back pocket, ready to pull out at a moment’s notice.
Help me to be a mom who shows my kids what a good marriage looks and sounds and feels like.
Help me to be a mom who consistently demonstrates my faith and one who teaches my kids to earnestly find their own.
Help me to be a mom who models writing thank you notes, calling grandmas, and inviting friends over for tea.
Help me to be a mom who guards the sacredness of our family while also opening wide our doors for those in need of a family of their own.
Help me to be a mom who lives to make others’ lives better but who also remembers to care for myself as needed.
Help me to be a mom who never tires of making sugar cookies at Christmas, colored eggs at Easter, cupcakes at birthdays, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on Tuesdays.
Dear God, help me.
Dear friends, what kind of mom do you want to be?
love,
{above photo: last weekend – 35 weeks pregnant with our second son}
i’m a mom. and i am perfect.
breastfeeding is a big deal: normalizing what’s already normal
5 meaningful mothers day gifts under $15
who’s the expert, anyway? | the struggle between parenting books and trusting yourself
bloggers for birth kits approaches 1000 kits donated
join me for a cuppa | the dishes, birth kits, and europe edition
bloggers for birth kits: helping moms in developing nations by reducing maternal mortality
mother letters | will you remember her?
join me for a cuppa | waiting and flying
parenting to build relationships, not robots
This is a post that is so timely in my life today. Thanks.
yay, that makes me happy.
“tru-dat” ;P
Thanks Adriel, it’s nice to see other mommy’s praying for the same things. Our babies are so worth every atom of us. Every second, every day, every thought and prayer.
Just love on your babies, the rest of life will be there when they have grown.
This time is fleeting, and this time is special.
Don’t waste it.
I may have to link to you today.
So beautiful!
It’s amazing how many songs one’s back pocket can hold hey? I find myself recalling so many songs from childhood that I’m clapping and saying ‘yay!’ at the end of the song, more for me than Xave.
My prayer lately, has been, help me to be the Mum that embraces the present, not dwells in the past or longs for the future but soaks up the here and now. Ten months old is such a blast and I can’t believe he’ll be having his first birthday next month! I want to squeeze as much as I can out of today.
every age is fun of course… but 10 months was a particular favorite of mine!!! so much personality and so playful… yet still a baby (not walking or talking, still breastfeeding, etc.). can’t believe he’s about to turn one soon though. that went really fast. and yes, like you, living in the present is a constant challenge – a great and enjoyable challenge.
i want to be that kind of mom! thanks for expressing it so beautifully!
lately, I’ve been praying to be a compassionate mom, because I lose sight of their perspective for the sake of my agenda. I’ve also been praying to be a mom with wisdom from God, not wisdom from books or self-reliance.
thanks for sharing your heart. it’s a great reminder for all the different aspects of motherhood to ponder and grow in! *hugs*
oh, and regarding a few of your post recently about the difficulties of pregnancy with a young toddler, and the desperate need for perspective… all I want to say is, I HEAR ya. mine were 16 months apart and I struggled with perspective so much. I cried so much. but God truly is faithful in the most profound ways. *double hugs*
Oh, I love your two points there Yolanda – compassion to help remember the kid’s perspective and wisdom from God and not just books, etc. And thank you for your hugs and prayers.
Yes, this has not been easy, but actually even in the last week or so I feel like things have really taken a turn. I can just feel grace in such a tangible way at the moment and am feeling really good and confident… for now at least. 
I think I’m also just getting so excited to see our little baby in our arms soon!!!
Love this Adriel. You are an inspiration. Thinking of you in these final few weeks.
thanks friend xx
love it! thanks for the great post!
I love this and agree with this list 100%. I pray for strength to be a mom who teaches my daughter to cherish every day. So inspiring friend. Pray that you have a wonderful weekend!
Well said. Sounds like you want to be super mom, me too. Sadly, always feel I am missing the mark. It is good to have goals to aspire to, but also trying to be realistic and kind to myself. It ain’t easy!
I think being kind to yourself is such a big key to being supermom actually! Because really… supermom doesn’t always look like we think it “should” if you know what I mean. It’s so much more about the heart and attitude than anything I think. And I’m sure you’re more of a supermom than you think. xx
I love your list; I have definitely prayed for some of those same things. Lately, I’ve been praying to be the kind of mom who can let the outside stressors stay outside while I’m with my sweet girl. It can be so hard to feel like playing when you’ve got other things on your mind, but she deserves to get the best parts of me, not just the leftovers. You are looking beautiful at 35 weeks!
Why is it so hard not to give our kids “left-overs” when they are the most important thing in the world to us??! I’m so with you – really wanting to be in the moment more, especially when it comes to play time.
Oh Adriel….this is so, so beautiful. And so perfect. I NEEDED to read this today. Thank you for sharing this! Hope you are having a wonderful start to your week!
That’s wonderful to hear Courtney. Thanks for taking the time to stop and comment and share your encouragement. xx
Love Love Love These make my heart happy and make me want to pray hard for all the same things.
well your comment just makes my heart happy.
and yes, i think i need to print this off and read/pray it often for myself!!!
Beautiful Adriel! I want to be the kind of mom who turns off the computer to play. That’s so hard sometimes as a mom blogger, you know?
yes, it’s hard to unplug… even for moms who don’t blog… but even more so for those that do. we need to be setting good boundaries for ourselves in addition to our great and ambitious goals. easier said than done, right??
Truer words have never been written! This is a beautiful prayer!
You Site Open My idea..
Master Your Mind Power!
Unleash The Power of Subconcious Mind to Achieve Success in Your Life.
You can see ..Many Video Guide
http://changelife.us
Watt
[...] an awesome video I found that I wish every mom-to-be would take the time to watch. I also wrote a heart-felt prayer that I believe any mother can relate to (dear God, help [...]