That backfired only slightly!

On Sunday Brianna had a soccer game,  on the way to our church picnic that was before her game Brianna told me she often feels nervous before her games.  I asked her what does she do when she feels nervous she replied "nothing", I laughed and said "What should you do?". She sat there for a minute and then said "Well I guess I could pray?"

Im trying to make sure that my children know that every problem they have in life can be lifted up in prayer and the Lord will help them make since of it. I told Brianna that prayer sounded like a great idea! I told her that most football games, or baseball games are started in the locker rooms with prayer. She looked slightly puzzled by this. She then looks at me and said "Well what do I pray for???"

I had to actually think about that for a minute What do you pray for before a sporting event? So I sat there and then said "Well first Thank God for the blessing of be able to play something you love so much, ask for strength to endure the sport, ask for the wisdom to make good judgement, ask for the knowledge to make good plays, watch over and protect the players of the game to keep them safe and free from injury and most importantly ask God to bless you with encouraging words to say to your teammates as well as your opponets.  She looked at me and smiled and say AWESOME Thanks Mom! That made me smile!

Well  the game was going full force and those girls we fighting each other tooth and nail for the ball. It was a hard game being played by both teams. I starting noticing that the girl on the opposing team #5 was not playing very fair and who was she covering...BRIANNA! I am very vocal on the sidelines (Go figure right) well #5 kept throwing her arm up across Briannas chest when she was trying to go around her to block her...In case you don't know soccer, that is not allowed you can use your whole body or arm at a angle but not straight across the chest...The ref was calling NOTHING! We all love when that happens dont we! I had an INCREDIBLE since of yelling raging inside my body. My insides were screaming to yell "KEEP IT UP #5 IM WATCHING YOU" I walked up and down the sidelines briskly and my heart was racing and I realized...This soccer mom stuff is tough buisness! I prayed for calming...didnt happen LOL. Well forth quarter we were up 1-0 and the opposing team was NOT happy about that. The gloves were coming off at this point. Brianna is a Midfeilder and had already had two oppurtunities to score and either missed the net or didnt pull the trigger and she was down on the other side of the feild opposite of the goal they score into. She was able to get the ball and was running..I MEAN RUNNING! Like Forrest Gump running with the ball dribbling really fast probably the fastest I had ever seen her dribble the ball down field!! Then guess what HERE COMES  #5 with a quick TRIP!!!! I watched my daughter CHEST plant in the middle of the feild!! I mean like CHEST first and her feet flipped up almost touching the back of her head with her arms CRUMPLED under her! My heart stopped! Then she got up and took off down the feild!!! I was astonished! The ref NEVER called the Penalty!

As she kept playing I noticed she was holding her arm and opening and closing her hand and favoring it ALOT. I yelled out CRUSH and when she looked my way I gave her a thumbs up she signaled back WITH THE OTHER ARM and thumbs up. We were nearing the end of the game and her coach switched out the line....never pulling Brianna....She played till the end. As she ran up and down the feild again coming SUPER close to scoring I could see the swelling in her arm. At the end of the game her team won they held them to the 1-0 lead. When she made it to the sidelines  I asked if she was okay she said NO. I looked at her arm and it was swollen I could have sworn it was broke. She was able to move it and she decided she didnt want to go the ER she was fine. I respected her decision and she came home and went to Awana.

Later that night she came to me and said "You know Mom I did what you said and I prayed before the game and asked for Gods protection for my teammates and I got hurt???" Why would he let me get hurt?? My response was "Well was your arm broken?" She replied No I said right Gods gonna let you fall and maybe even scrape your knees alittle but understand one thing....He will always PICK YOU UP! Did you get up? She said Yes, I said right and did you finish your game? she said Well yeah....I said Right! He gave you the protection you asked for and the strenght and the wisdom to make decisions that didnt involve retaliation and that can also fit into encouragement...Think about how your teammates may have felt after they watched you fall HARD onto the ground and even with your arm aching you got up and you CONTINUED your game. That Babygirl was God.....

My ideal marriage...With the help of my Faith.

As much of us are very well aware fairy tales dont exist. The Knight in shining armour is never gonna whisk you up and carry you off into the sunset or to the top of a tower overlooking a gorgeous kingdom. This was a hard concept for me to come to. I always wanted that TV show marriage not King of Queens but the Leave it to Beaver one. I had such a hard life as a child, my parents didnt show me the picture perfect version of a marriage. I set up unrealistic expectations of what a marriage was and then expected my husband to live up to those standards based soley on what I wanted and didn't want from what I saw in my parents marriage. I then realized that the only knight in shining armour to come swoop me up and take to my tower over looking the kingdom was Jesus Christ when he comes back. My happily ever after starts then and only then not while I am here.

Friends around us are divorcing left and right and believe me when I say my marriage has been on the battlefield more than I care to admit and on countless times almost collapsed to a ashy pile of smoky dust at the front lines of that battlefield. I have recently decided to pray about what my marriage was meant to be by Gods standards and not the standards of Disney Princess lives. This is my new standard and what I want in my marriage and what God intended our marriage to be.

1. I will and I want my husband to have patience. Fights occur when patiece is lost....

2. I will not easily anger....see #1 :) I will go to prayer before I speak. Only words to lift my husband not words to discourage him.

3. I will chose to be kind in all things. How I speak, my ACTIONS (equally as important then my words)

4. I will make it a point to kiss my husband when he walks in the door to show him that I missed him while he was gone and how THANKFUL I am the Lord brough him home each and every day!

5. My only addiction......My husband. Good bye facebook.

6. I will pray with my husband and become submissive in the way of religion. I will submit to his leadership in our faith.

7. I want to work as a team together holding hands facing down the darker paths of life with the Light of the Lords Glory shining on us. Through Christ who gives us strentgh those dark paths will be lite through him.

8. I want a relationship full of mutual respect.

9. I want to rely on my husband for help. Teamwork. Always be his equal.

10. Most impotantly I want a marriage filled with all the blessing the Lord has bestowed upon us...with that being said Grace and Forgiveness.