Today I feel so privileged to introduce our TtT readers to a dear friend of mine. Sarah Urbassik always has a word of encouragement and wisdom for me – and I can’t wait for her to share more with all of us today! Sarah, can you show us a recent photo and tell us a little about your family?
Of course! Here is a picture of our family taken this past Labor Day weekend.
My husband and I have four kids: Micah 7th grade, Caleb 5th grade, Josie 2nd grade, and Aidan preschool.
Do you have a favorite book, podcast, or blog?
The Lazy Genius Podcast! I loved Episode #121 How to Build a Fall Dinner Queue. She has some great easy recipes and ideas. We love Change Your Life Chicken and her food in bowl ideas!
Ooooh, that sounds delicious!? I’m going to have to check out that recipe! What is your favorite mom product?
Batiste Dry Shampoo Cherry Scent!
I need to jump on the dry shampoo wagon. I hate to admit, I still haven’t tried it! What is the last thing you made for dinner or your favorite simple meal to throw together?
Tacos. My kids love tacos, and I can throw it on a salad and be a little healthier! If only I didn’t love chips and salsa so much!
Yum! Us, too! We have some variety of tacos at our house about once a week!!
What is the funniest thing your kids have said or done recently?
We’ve been using “OUR MOMENTS Kids: 100 Thought Provoking Conversation Starters for Great Parent-Child Relationship Building” cards at dinner with the kids. The other day, the question was “What two things would you take with you if your house was on fire?” All of us older people talked about our phones, wallets, pictures, etc. Aidan listened to all of us, thought for a while and piped up, “I’d bring a fire sprayer (fire extinguisher) and a hose.” Such practical advice from our 4-year-old!
LOL! I love that! A fire extinguisher probably would be the most helpful if the house was on fire!? And, more seriously, I love how your family is being intentional about conversation around the dinner table!
Sarah, can you share with us a recent experience that has challenged your mothering?
My oldest started junior high this year.? New school, teachers, schedules, friends . . . and more freedoms.
Middle school seems like such a big milestone transition – for kids and parents both!
Yes! Micah’s supply list was different from my younger kids as each subject needed specific things. We purchased all the needed items, and we sat the dining room table to organize binders and needs according to class. He was pretty confident that he could just put them in his bag and transfer to his locker and be all good. I, on the other hand, remember what it was like to have to get to my locker, open it, remember and retrieve what was needed for the next class or classes, close it, and get to class in the allotted amount of time. I could feel myself getting frustrated that he wasn’t listening to my wisdom. I wanted to make it easier for him, so that he didn’t have to feel the anxiety that I felt in those transitions. (In the end, I let him do it his way, but he did some semi organization per my advice.)
Sounds like you handled that situation expertly, mama! I’m not sure I would have been so good at letting go of the control.
It’s definitely not easy! I feel like this similar situation is happening a lot in parenting my now teenager. For 13 years, it has been our privilege as parents to provide a safe and loving home. As he is growing, it is our responsibility to continue to provide that as well as let him slowly have some freedoms and opportunities to make decisions for himself – which will be both good and bad. This scares me when I think of decisions that he could make, but I am learning that God can be trusted to work in his life. I’m so thankful we have a God who loves our children more than we ever could and delights in them and us and works all things together for His good.
What a beautiful truth to remember – that God loves our children even more than we ever could. I think if I really let that truth sink into my heart in would completely transform the way I view my responsibilities as a mother.
I am learning that I’m not ultimately in control. I cannot control the decisions my kids make or when they get sick and what they get sick with…. I am not God! I was wrestling with this last week when several immediate circumstances were out of my control. I wrote in my journal, “Can I trust the Lord? Can I trust Him for today’s stresses? Can I trust Him with my children, husband, and church concerns? Can I trust Him if my worst fears came to be my reality?” I’ve been reading in Isaiah and over and over God says to Israel “I am the Lord (or God) and there is no other…” (45:5, 45:18b, 46:9). The Israelites needed reminders, and I need to be reminded daily that He is God and I am not. It doesn’t make every situation easy, but I can rest knowing that I don’t have to control it all. “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” He is able to be trusted!
So true! He can always be trusted!
Do you have any general words of encouragement for other moms in the trenches like you?
Run to Jesus. Seek Him in His word and find friends who can pray for you and your family. Trust in (lean your whole weight on) God.
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