Your Video Recorder with Legs

This morning I was listening to Angela Chrysler on a conference call. She commented on a quote by Joel Osteen that had impacted her: "Your kids are like a video recorder with legs."

Take a minute to let that sink in. Your kids pick up on your moods, your emotions, your motivations. You can't tell them to do one thing or be one way when you don't live that way yourself. Do you complain about little things? Don't expect them not to complain. Do you treat others without respect? Don't expect them to be respectful. Do you use ugly language? Don't expect them not to.

Your kids are like a video recorder with legs

However, the converse is also true. Do you model respect? They will, too. Do you use loving words? You will hear those same words coming out of their little mouths. Do you pray about your life's circumstances? They will surprise you with the depth and innocence of their faith-filled prayers.

Just a couple of hours after hearing Angela's call this morning, a precious mom came into the store. A couple of months ago we sat in the back of my store praying for her unborn baby whom the doctors had told her to abort because of his chromosomal defect. They had told her he wouldn't live. But they had underestimated the power of God in her life. They had underestimated how fervently she, her husband and her children would pray for her unborn baby.

Trials are best handled with prayer

You see her little video recorders with legs have grown up knowing that trials are best handled with prayer. They have grown up seeing mom and dad trust God in difficult situations. And that is exactly how they have approached the situation with their little brother. He did survive! Although he does have some challenges that will be with him for life, his siblings thank the Lord daily for their baby brother. He will need open heart surgery when he is a little bigger; for now his big sister prays that God will "hold his broken heart together" until he has the surgery.

What  are your little video recorders with legs taking in as they watch you every day?

A Long-Term Vision

If you've been around A Nurturing Moment very much, you know that I often say I have the best job in the world. I love getting to help mothers breastfeed their babies. I love holding sweet newborns on a daily basis! I love encouraging moms and seeing their excitement when baby latches on and nurses well!

You may have also noticed the cross with Jeremiah 29:11 sitting in front of the desktop computer on  our counter. It is there as a constant reminder to me that A Nurturing Moment doesn't belong to me. It belongs to my Lord.  Therefore, as I make plans for the future of this business, I want to make sure that I am simply following His leading. I want to reflect Him in my interactions with customers, vendors, creditors, my landlord...everyone I meet. I know I don't always do as good a job of that as I should...I'm definitely still a work in progress!! But I AM in progress...He is guiding my steps daily! In fact, He often uses you, the mothers I work with, to help me gain wisdom and direction.

A Corner Of Our Own 
I don't remember the exact day when I first felt drawn to consider the piece of property at the corner of Airport Rd. and Memorial Parkway. But I do remember getting chills of confirmation the first time I pulled in the parking lot and actually drove around it. I believe that is supposed to be the ultimate location for A Nurturing Moment! I've told a lot of you that in person, but this is the first time I have actually written it down for the whole world to see! It's one thing to talk about a vision for the future, but quite another to step out in faith and record it for all posterity. After all, what if it doesn't happen?  I guess that's just a risk I will have to take.

So here is the vision that I believe God has placed in my heart for A Nurturing Moment - I will bullet the various parts of it to make it easier to read (and digest!)

View Larger Map
• Purchase the piece of property on the northwest corner of Airport Rd. and Memorial Parkway.
• Tear down the abandoned and dilapidated restaurant that currently occupies that corner, and build a two story building there.
• The first floor will house A Nurturing Moment. Our actual storefront doesn't really need to be much bigger than what we have now. However, we will have a MUCH larger classroom area that will also serve as a Mom Internet Cafe and hangout spot. I also want a small separate classroom for prenatal yoga and infant massage. There will be a couple of offices for lactation consultation and a place for doulas to meet with their clients. The Mom Foundation office will be there as well.
• The second floor will be home to a Birthing Center owned and operated by an Ob/Gyn who employs midwives! It will offer a homelike environment with the security of knowing you are just minutes from the hospital in case of an emergency. Although they are very common in other parts of the country, there is not a single birthing center in Alabama. About 17 years ago, Crestwood actually did open a birthing center with a Certified Nurse Midwife as the administrator. It was phenomenal, as any mother who delivered there will tell you. It was, however, also very short lived. It just wasn't the right time! I also hope to have a chiropracter who specializes in working with mothers and babies in the office space there. 

Getting From Here to There

A dream is a wonderful thing to have. All too often, however, we look at our dreams and think they are impossible to attain, so we just give up. If I didn't feel so certain that this is the direction the Lord wants us to go, I certainly wouldn't think there is any way we can ever get there. But I am absolutely convinced that this IS the path we're supposed to be on. So I am taking the necessary steps to move in that direction.

We are in a 5 year lease that began last October. So we have 4 years to purchase our corner and build A Nurturing Moment there. The asking price for that corner was somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.6 million dollars the last time I checked. Then we have to demolish the building that is there and rebuild. And I really don't think that I am supposed to incur any more debt. In fact, the more I learn about business, the more I really hate debt.

That sounds like a pretty impossible order. Actually from a purely human standpoint it sounds just plain foolish. So how in the world are we going to get there? 

As I pray about it, several action steps stand out in my mind:

1. Be the very best at what we do. We provide education, information, support and encouragement for hopeful, expectant and new parents. We need to be the #1 resource in North Alabama for new parents. We need to make every mother who walks through our door know how special she is and how glad we are that she came to see us. If we don't have what she needs, we need to figure out who does and help her get it as quickly as possible.
2. Seek partners for The Mom Foundation. We are the only non-profit that I know of in North Alabama dedicated to providing professional breastfeeding support to low-income and teen moms. We have attempted to write several grant proposals, but don't really know what we're doing. We need someone experienced in non-profit fundraising to come alongside us and guide us as we grow the non-profit arm of A Nurturing Moment. On average we provide about $250 worth of lactation services a month right now to mothers who would not otherwise be able to get the help. We also give out numerous nursing bras each month to moms in the WIC progam.
3. Publish The Creator's Guide to Infant Feeding. Although many outstanding books have been written about breastfeeding, not a single one that I've ever read approaches it from a Christian perspective. So several years ago, I wrote this book. I have looked at several publishing options and even had a literary agent working with me for a while. Unfortunately the one deal we were able to get with a major publisher fell through. However, with renewed interest in breastfeeding in this country, I think it is time to publish.
4. Talk openly about our vision any time I have the opportunity. It is amazing how God puts the right people in your path at the right time. I have no idea who all will be involved in the project, but I do know that I certainly won't achieve it by myself! I've already met an amazing commercial interior architectural designer who I know will be instrumental in the design of our new facility.
5. Build a team of families who will become an integral part of this vision. We are already doing this
   
   through Team National, an innovative purchasing co-op concept that allows members to save money on the things they buy every day for their families. It also allows them to create a Plan B income that they can use as a college fund, retirement plan or to pay off debt. Many families actually find that the income will allow them to gain more time freedom to actually spend quality time with their children. I am convinced that without Team National, this dream would be nothing more than a pipe dream for me. However, Team National is giving me a way to earn the capitol I will need to make this vision a reality by October of 2017!

Get Involved 

The one thing of which I'm certain is that it will be impossible to achieve this dream by myself. Our Nurturing Moment family will accomplish this together! I need your input. I need to know what we're doing right and where we need to improve. As we get closer, I will put together a focus group of moms to help us design the ideal space. Your suggestions are our lifeblood!

As you read through the action steps, maybe one of them struck you. Maybe you have a specific talent that you would like to offer. It has been so exciting to see various ANM moms take leadership in different local outreaches to other moms that have come out of our store. Maybe you have professional abilities or a relationship with a foundation or corporation that would align well with our goals. Maybe you just like the idea of saving money or making money.

 Perhaps you don't feel like you have much to offer aside from your prayers; that is definitely our greatest need! Please pray for wisdom for me and for clear direction. Pray for God's provision, and pray that we would be a tremendous blessing to moms all over North Alabama.

I have really bared my heart  tonight. But I believe that this is the right time to do so. I'm excited about what the future holds for us and can't wait to see it unfold! Thanks for coming along for the ride!!

Tragedy, Love and Hope

From Daily Prayer

Yesterday was a heartbreaking day. Blogger Jeff Goins said that there are no words for a time like this. He's absolutely right!

As I watched the horror unfold yesterday morning, I thought about my four children and couldn't wait to give each one a hug. Even though they're in their teens and twenties, I still want to hug them as often as I can and make sure I tell them I love them every day.

I really didn't have any words to express what I was feeling last night. My son Daniel put my feelings into words quite well in his Facebook post:

In between the silence and pain, we will find a new tomorrow. My heart goes out to every mother and father that said goodbye to their child this morning, and who will be waiting for 3:00 to come for the rest of their lives. I am praying for you.

 I thought a lot about all of you, the moms I look forward to seeing every day, and your precious little ones. Some of your babies that I have worked with are the same age as those first graders who were senselessly shot. I cannot imagine the unfathomable grief those mothers and fathers in Connecticut are experiencing today.

One first grade teacher told her students how very much she loved them as she huddled in hiding with them; she was certain that was the last thing they would hear, and she wanted them to know they were loved. Fortunately, she and her class survived. Another first grade teacher hid her children, shielding them from the gunman. Her children survived; she did not.

How do we respond and carry on from here? How do we talk to our school-age children about this? I truly believe the most important thing we can do is simply reassure our little ones that we love them and are there for them. Hold them just a little closer for a little longer. Whether you have babies, teenagers or grandchildren, know that you can't ever say "I love you" too much!

In 1999 Steven Curtis Chapman released the album Speechless.  He wrote one very special song on that album for friends who had lost a child. Later that song, "With Hope" was sung after a shooting at Chapman's alma mater in Paducah, KY. As you think about yesterday's tragedy, I pray this song will help comfort and give perspective.

Tonight I am praying for those families in New Town, CT, who grieve, for those whose hearts are broken, for those who will have unopened presents under the Christmas tree. May the God of all comfort somehow grant them peace.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.  Matthew 5:4

First Things First This Year

Let's face it, parents today are under tremendous time pressure. Mothers have a million things to do, and there are only so many hours in a day. Often in the middle of our crazy busy-ness, priorities get a bit muddled.

Yesterday as we were traveling from Huntsville to Orlando for the Capital One bowl (Christmas present for dh and ds), I was thinking through my goals for this year. I wrote them down and even put them on the desktop of my computer. I hope that having them there in front of me will help me be mindful of them even after the excitement of the New Year has worn off.

I have 4 goals in different areas, family and spiritual, business, personal, and household. But the first and most important goal is the one I want to talk about here. It says: "Daily time of prayer for each child and grandchild."

"A Mother's Love" by Ron DiCianni

I've always prayed for my children. When they were little (and not so little) we would have a "snuggle prayer" every night together where I would hold each child close as I prayed for him or her. I usually woke them up with a prayer, too. My youngest is now 13, and I still pray with him before bed many nights. But this goal is different. As my children are growing up, I am more and more aware of the vital importance of concentrated prayer for each one. I have four kids, ranging in age from 23 to 13, and each one has specific areas where I hope to see God work this year.

Praying for my children individually on a daily basis accomplishes several things. First, it helps me focus on each child's areas of weakness. As I pray, I believe the Lord gives me insights as a mother so I can better help each child (or young adult). It also forces me to objectively evaluate where each child is. I may see areas where I need to respond differently.  Finally, it unleashes the power of Heaven in my children's lives. The Bible is very clear about the power of fervent prayer. I long to see God at work in each one of their lives this year!

This year I will become a grandmother for the first time. I'm already praying for the precious little boy that my oldest daughter is carrying. Everybody says that being a grandmother is the most rewarding thing imaginable, and I can't wait to find out! But I know it already feels amazing to pray for him as I pray for his mama and daddy.

So I want to put first things first this year! Feel free to ask me how I'm doing with that when you see me! A little accountability isn't a bad thing at all.