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Influence

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  • On the blog I shared a bunch of my favorite quiet time resources including tools, highlighters, my Bible, books and more! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ LEAVE A COMMENT ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I’d love to hear some of your favorites from the post and great ones I didn’t mention!!
  • "I had valid reasons to be grumpy. Or so I told myself. The past several weeks had been pushing all my mom buttons: my workload was overwhelming; my youngest daughter, Vana, was teething; my oldest daughter, Vivi, was constantly whining; and my husband, Tyler, kept coming home late from work. On top of all that, the Louisiana summer made it too hot to function outside. The world had handed me my scepter and crown and made me Lady Grumpy Mom over all Woerner land and beyond. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ My days consisted of walking around on pin and needles waiting for (and dreading) the moment one of my two bundles of joy would burst into tears or whines. When the house was quiet—if they were giggling together or playing quietly in their separate corners—instead of enjoying the moment of peace, I braced myself to release Grumpy Mom as soon as I got orders to pounce. It was as if I thought any bump of life demanded her presence. And motherhood will certainly give you plenty of bumps to test that theory if you let it. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ So there I was, floundering through the witching hour and waiting at the door like a puppy dog for my husband to come home—not because I longed to enjoy his company, but because I wanted to tap out and escape the circumstances I was convinced were stealing my joy. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ We’ve all been there as moms, haven’t we? We know, deep down, that our children are gifts and that we have so much to be grateful for. But the grumpy sneaks into our hearts anyway, and we find ourselves huddled in the bathroom or in the closet, sulking about how hard it is to parent day in and day out. ... In our hearts, we are longing for some sort of escape, preferably involving the sound of ocean waves, seas, and sand." - GM intro ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ These days, I'd rather escape to waves, seas and sand with these two and their papa. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Maybe you aren't grumpy. Maybe you just know that what you're experiencing right now in motherhood isn't God's abundant definition of motherhood. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I wrote #GrumpyMomTakesaHoliday for the ungrumpy moms too!😉
  • I randomly picked up this book on humility (swipe to see) from my mom's old stack of books the other day. Truthfully, I like to learn about a lot of things but I haven't cared so much for humility. It seems like a minor character in my world that longs for peace and joy, wonder and discipline. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ What's humility? And why is it that important? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ As I read more on it though, my heart has softened, my voice has quieted, my rebuttals have slowed, my awareness of my pride shot through the roof and my desire for more humility did too. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Andrew Murray talks about humility as the most important virtue. Without it, we cannot submit to God. Without it, we can't fully experience what it means to have Christ live in us. Sure, as a believer, He's always there but there's a big difference that happens when we empty ourselves of us in hopes there will be more of Christ than more of me. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ "This is the true self-denial to which our Savior calls us-the acknowledgment that self has nothing good in it except as an empty vessel which God must fill...Just as water always seeks and fills the lowest place, so the moment God finds men abased and empty, His glory and power flow in to exalt and to bless. He that humbles himself-that must be our one care-will be exalted; that is God's care." ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I don't want to be afraid of a life with less me but excited that that means more of God in my life. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ If you need a swift reminder of our total dependence on God, read Psalm 104:27-30 below. It humbles me in the best way: "All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground." ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Tyler and I are headed on a little adventure today! Excited to share a bit of it in stories! 🙌🏼 #valandwords
  • We haven't had birthday parties the last year or so. At some point I had gotten overwhelmed with the production of it all. I used to be a wedding planner so maybe it stems from that? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Regardless, I've avoided a lot of the pomp and circumstance in favor of small and humble celebrations. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ This year though, I felt a tug to throw Vivi a party. Is it weird to feel like they just deserve it? She's such a good kid and I really wanted to go all out for her. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ All that said, I started planning 10 days before her birthday with a text to her friends moms that said "So I'm waaaay late planning Vivi's party but wanted to tell you she's have one Oct 5..." ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I texted my craftiest friend @jennyggilbert and she gave me ALLL the ideas!! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ We spent the next 10 days taking care of all the details, including cleaning up our shabby-looking summer neglected porch (because it's mainly when it's not 100 degrees) so we could be outside too! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ That morning as we prepared on an unusually hot October day, I felt really glad to get to do all this for Vivi and learned a valuable lesson. A big party isn't for show. It's to show love for the person you are celebrating. We live in a world that "doesn't want to go to too much trouble" or keep things simple which y'all know I'm all for. But I'm learning sometimes "going to some trouble" is really really worth it. It's an opportunity to love with action. To love with newly cleaned porches and pepperonis cut in shapes for fun decorating. To love with a random llama pinata that catches Vivi's eye everytime we buy a gift bag in Target. To love with a house FULL of girls and fun. To love with doing all the work without her and letting her sleep at Nanzy's the night before so we could surprise her with it all ready. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I'm pretty sure I enjoyed Vivi's party and all that lead up to it BECAUSE we went to some trouble. Serving others brings joy and Vivi Mae Woerner, it's a joy to get to serve you! BIG PS if you ordered a yearly check your inboxes today for a MAJOR giveaway happening!
  • A practical exercise to help us answer the question “is God worthy of trust?” - I was reading a business book, Boundaries for Leaders by Henry Cloud and he talked about the 5 reasons you can trust someone. As I started reading the 5 reasons, I saw how they applied to us trusting God to. - Maybe you aren't sure you can trust GOD. See if these things are true: - 1. CONNECTION THROUGH UNDERSTANDING Q: Does God know and understand you? A: He formed you (Psalm 139:13) and knows everything (1 John 3:20). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 2. MOTIVATION AND INTENT Q: Does God intend good for you? A: He won't let anything separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39) and has good works for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 3. CHARACTER Q: What is God’s nature and character? A: He sent His only son to die for us (John 3:16) and is our refuge and strength (Psalm 62:5-8). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 4. CAPACITY AND ABILITY Q: Is God capable? A: He can do immeasurably more (Ephesian 3:20) and nothing is too hard for Him (Jeremiah 32:27). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 5. TRACK RECORD Q: What has God already done? A: This one? Look at your own life. Ask friends for evidence of God in their life and if they've seen it in yours. This is why we created the Prayer Memoirs. To be a memoir, not just of our life but of God's faithfulness (Psalms 102:18) and something that encourages future generations. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Is God worthy of your trust? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ And one more question for ya! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Maybe you trust God with your life but not your calendar. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Or maybe you trust God through cancer but not the cold that knocks you out during a big project. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Walk through these questions with that small thing that's still nagging at you and find freedom as you fully trust God with it!
  • The Woerner gals are working on memorizing a verse that's almost too close to my heart that I forgot its significance. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I wrote it out on the chalkboard in our kitchen, grabbed my piece of chalk and taught. These girls love playing school with each other so I hammed it up pretty big to keep their attention and even made a teacher name that blended their two teachers' names and made them giggle. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ On the board I wrote. REJOICE always PRAY continually GIVE THANKS in all circumstances. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It's the verse on the cover of our @valmariepaper journals. One I know a little too well some days. As I talked about rejoicing, praying and giving thanks, for the first time in a long time (maybe ever?), I noticed the significance of the last words on each line. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ALWAYS CONTINUALLY IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ How redundant no? Know what that means? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ HOW IMPORTANT! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It can be a weary business doing life some days but this verse doesn't let up. It doesn't offer exceptions for when it's ok to complain and go negative. It doesn't mean we need to plaster a phony smile in the really hard moments. More than anything I think it reminds us that God is still bigger than all the junk we may face. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ If you are facing a hard day, month or year, and praise and rejoicing feel impossible, can I praise the Lord on your behalf? Can I give words to something you know to be true but still struggle to do yourself? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Father God, praising feels hard right now, but I will praise you still. I trust that your command to rejoice always, pray continually and to give thanks in all circumstances wasn't given without knowledge of my present circumstances. You know God. And while I don't, I'll trust you and offer everything I have, no matter how small it feels. Thank you God for going with me. In Jesus Name, Amen. - I’ll be in stories today sharing some books that recently released. Also except some Vivi pics this weekend! She turns 6 and we throwing a party! 😍😍 - #tootsieandgoldie #grumpymomtakesaholiday #valdoesmotherhood
  • Worship. It's more than a powerful song. - Worship. It's more than looking at a pretty sunset. - Worship. It's more than a feeling. - Worship. It has the power to change our life. - Worship. It's our duty. It's our privilege. - Head to the blog to read a practical guide to worship and my favorite recent resources on the topic. - #valmarieblog
  • It can be exhausting to be consistent to discipline our kids but I know in my heart it's worth it. This pic was from our month in Georgia where there were consistent opportunities to teach our girls about pushing themselves (and truthfully, taught us the same thing). - So today, I'M PRAYING FOR ALL OF US TO HAVE ENERGY TO DISCIPLINE. I'm praying for energy to not let things slide that shouldn't slide just because I'm too tired because it's sooo easy when I'm already exhausted! - The tired mom is one of the greatest, but possibly most true stereotypes about motherhood. In Grumpy Mom Takes a Holiday, I wrote a chapter on energy and how we CAN find it, no matter how we sleep. I shared lots of internal things that make us tired and one was this idea of discipline. Here's a snippet: - "Proverbs 29:17 (ESV) says, 'Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart.' There is a certain ease that comes from disciplining our kids. Wait, back up. To be clear, I’m not saying that it’s easy but that there’s an ease that comes with it. When my husband and I fail to discipline, we inevitably feel exhausted and full of dread about the future. We start dealing with our kids in a reactionary way, and that requires us to always be on guard mentally. When we discipline wisely, however, we do so with the hope that we will see our kids transformed." - Can you relate? - Consistency in discipline can be so hard but as our kids learn from that discipline and grow, it requires less energy to constantly fight a behavior we've sporadically tried to train. - Consistency in discipline is important, but in all my humanness, I'm completely aware I cannot do it without the Lord energizing my efforts! - Pray this with me today? 🙋🏻‍♀️ I shared a prayer on insta stories too! - Also hop on over to @valmariepaper’s stories today to see @jenniferdukeslee share her prayer journal prep work for October! - #vanajameswoerner #valdoesmotherhood #grumpymomtakesaholiday
  • RECENT READS - I haven't shared my monthly reads for a while so here's a bunch!! More to come! - • The Home Edit - helped me get excited about organizing our home! • The Screwtape Letters - reminded me of our enemy's tactics and just like Grumpy Mom did, it helps me remember not every thought that comes in my mind can be trusted as truth. • Garlic and Sapphires - a memoir of restaurant critic Ruth Reichl. Loved it and it's got me wanting more stories before bed! • Boundaries for Leaders - great for anyone managing any sort of team • Seamless - Highly recommend this high-level overview of the Bible to help show how it all fits together. • The Telomere Effect - Super science-y and some stuff I knew but other things about how to lengthen our telomeres (which basically translate to a longer, healthier life) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Audible: • The Ideal Team Player - Can you tell I'm working on being a better manager of people? Never thought I'd lead a team! • Letters to the Church - A good reminder of God's intention for the church and opened my eyes to how we can do that in our own community. - What are you currently reading? What's a recent favorite book? I'm just getting into fiction but I honestly am very picky! I don't want to read about tragedies or heavy topics OR serious romance novels. I feel like every story that looks interesting starts with "(Main character name" who lost her parents/husband had an affair/ got diagnosed with terminal cancer". - #valandwords 👈🏻 books I’ve read

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