All in Mommyhood

When Your Quiet Time Isn’t So Quiet - Cultivating Time with God and Littles

When Your Quiet Time Isn’t So Quiet - Cultivating Time with God and Littles

Nicole Lawrence
Mommyhood, Faith

The dawn is beginning to pour in through the shutters and they dance in heavenly beams on the pages of my well worn Bible, the words of my Heavenly Father are coming to life in me one syllable at a time, my pen is furiously pouring out its ink onto the pages of my journal in a worshipful prayer to Him. This is my idea of a perfect quiet time with the Lord. One not interrupted by the whines of a toddler or the cries of a baby. One with a warm mug of coffee in hand, not a half drank cup barely hanging on to any of its warmth from the 5th reheating. One not done in the glowing ambiance of toys wildly scattered around me. But this is my reality right now with little ones.

Shattering Our Expectations of Motherhood with Grace

Shattering Our Expectations of Motherhood with Grace

Nicole Lawrence
Mommyhood, Faith

Did you have these perfect visions in your mind of what motherhood would look like? I sure did, but the realities of my role crashed violently with the expectations I so naively crafted in my mind of what motherhood would look like.

In this devotional we will discover together that the gap between our expectations and experiences as a mom is the space where we can run desperately to God. As we start to shift our expectations from a tightly held grip of control and start releasing them to God, we can re-learn how trusting Him with our motherhood is the only expectation we need.

Go Ahead and Pour From An Empty Cup

Go Ahead and Pour From An Empty Cup

Nicole Lawrence
Faith, Mommyhood

It’s 2:30 am, the baby wakes you up with a scream at decibels only a mother can hear, in your daze of stumbling through your checklist of things to make her settle down you hear the faintest little voice say, “mommy, mommy I need water”, you fill the sippy cup and settle the baby then after your thoughts finish their 30 minute racing cycle you drift off to sleep, but not a restful one because you know this routine so well that the 4 more wake ups will come as sure as baby waking up before the sun ever reflects a single ray onto the dawn.


Sound familiar?

A Chosen Mother

A Chosen Mother

Nicole Lawrence
Faith, Mommyhood

The anticipation of welcoming a child into your home multiplies until the weight of it seems almost too heavy to bear, but there is a safety net. As long as this baby is growing inside me, he or she is safe. The hopes of the future are big and the seeds of plans are small, but mighty in idealistic fruition. When Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin, visited her during her pregnancy with Jesus, she was filled with a bounty of excitement. Her words documented in Luke chapter 2 are dripping with anticipation, joy, and hope. “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed.” I can recall several conversations when I was pregnant with my first baby that were also filled with words that seemed larger than life.

Why Did God Give Me Girls?

Why Did God Give Me Girls?

Nicole Lawrence
Mommyhood

I’ve painfully learned, because God knows I have to learn the hard way, that it’s in our disappointments that God is the most near. We have a choice. We can let our disappointments direct our hearts away from God or allow them to lay a foundation for a life richer in more love, joy and hope than we could have ever imagined for ourselves.

You Might Be a Mom to Bad Sleepers If...

You Might Be a Mom to Bad Sleepers If...

Nicole Lawrence
Mommyhood

-Sleep regressions are laughable to you, because your child came out of the womb regressed.

-Your Google search history has things like, “normal baby sleep patterns”, “is my baby broken?”, “will my baby ever sleep?”, “can a 12 month old actually be a nocturnal creature?” and “how much is a plane ticket to Aruba?” 

We have all faced sleepless nights, so I know every mom can relate to these, some more than others. As much as we know it’s just a season, the night feels like it will last f.o.r.e.v.e.r. I often wonder why God gave me this lot in life. My earnest prayer is that these long years of poor sleep is shaping me. As I sat with my sweet baby in my arms at nap-time today (because she absolutely didn’t want to be put down, of course), God quietly whispered to me, “this is the most important job I will ever give you and it will be the foundation for all the things I ask you to do in the future.” So I soaked in some extra cuddles, thanking God that I am able to enjoy them for this moment in time.

The Unsatisfying PSL - Finding Satisfaction in Jesus

Nicole Lawrence
Faith, Mommyhood

It’s the season again, for many of us the crisp autumn air means that warm familiar taste of the infamous pumpkin spice latte. The feeling you get when that first sip hits your tongue can be intoxicating, filling your body with a warm pumpkin hug. I am guilty of indulging in the PSL craze just as much as the next person, but as I found myself yesterday in the drive thru once again only to be filled with disappointment as the barista glumly tells me, “we are out of pumpkin spice.” I started to make some hard realizations. My internal reaction was like that of my 11 month old unable to find her beloved Minnie Mouse doll. My day felt doomed and my heart felt empty.

Momma, You Aren't Alone - Finding Joy in Our Mundane

Momma, You Aren't Alone - Finding Joy in Our Mundane

Nicole Lawrence
Mommyhood, Faith

Being a momma to two terrible napping, big emotion feeling, stubborn, sensitive girls I can say there are a lot of truths I’ve butted heads with, and a lot of them have more to do with me than with them. You see I’ve been there with you in the trenches, feeling like when will I ever be able to take a bite without being beckoned or will the day of clothing browsing without an agenda come back? Those are small in comparison to the thoughts that scream at me in the middle of the night like – why does my child hate sleep? Are we seriously done taking naps before 2 years old? How in the world do other moms do it, I can barely get a shower! So I beg my mind to sprint away from those thoughts only to jump into the rabbit hole that is my mommy pity party. A part of my battle scars, besides my permanently bruised legs, is a wisdom learned from the classroom of mommyhood. Here are a few pieces of wisdom that I wish I was telling you over a quiet cup of coffee, but I for now moments between the cries of your children on a small illuminated screen will have to do.

Momma Interruptions and My Irritated Heart

Momma Interruptions and My Irritated Heart

Nicole Lawrence
Mommyhood

No one warned me that my life as a mom would be one constant interruption. I cannot remember that last time I completed a full thought. Every conversation is plagued with cries, demands and mispronounced words from little’s ones. Often I give up in scatterbrain defeat. Discovering my triggers are essential for me, and I have found that one of my biggest one's is interruptions.

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