Review:::Eternal Encouragements Magazine

I want to introduce you all to my friend...



She arrived back in March as a part of my Gabby Mom's review program. It could be her portable size {9 x 6"} or her imminent readability or her wise counsel, but somewhere in the last two months we got close. She has traveled with me in two different diaper bags, making the cut over later realized necessities...um, like wipes. She has also traveled in 3 different purses and has seen me through lag time at the emissions car place, the doctors office and even a very long check out line at Target. She has been spit up on by my baby and "read" by my 4 almost 5 year old. Imagine her surprise when he found an article about superheroes and took her with him on an impressive leap off of the couch. There was even a week when I thought I lost her and rediscovered her in my bible, snuggled between the pages of 1 Timothy. Its her slim size, I chastised her..

I have been hungry for perspective, its true. It could be because my baby is crawling, my four year old is on the eve of turning five or that my six year old lost his first tooth. They are growing up. I am growing up. Sometimes when that fact mixes with emotion and hits me, I spiral into a desperate need of eternal mindset. Big picture ideas, the intrinsic value of this moment. Thanking God for each moment I get to be a wife and mother devoted to Him. That I have purpose; that the laundry I fold and the dishes I wash matter eternally. That the little hearts that flutter around me during the day will grow up to have impact for Him.

As the evidence mounts in my day to day life that we are evolving and changing and growing, I grab my friend and skip to page #39 and read this poem:

A Mother Who Takes Time

(author unknown)

I hope my children

Look back on today

And remember a mother

Who took time to play.

There will be time

For cleaning and cooking

But children grow up

While we aren't looking.

I thank God for the reminder and then I sink into the next article, so thoroughly enjoyed and highlighted and marked up that the magazine opens right up to Robin McKay's thoughtful words...I counted that I underlined and asterisked 23 quotes that feel pertinent to share, but really it is this sentiment that she captures so well, "have I romanced my child's heart to the point that he is captured by mine? Does he know without question I am prouder than proud of who he is - not what he does or how he acts? Would he choose to be my friend if I were not his mom?...Am I forgetting how blessed I am and how rewarding it is to mother these children, walk alongside this man and glorify God by simply enjoying Him in the everyday experiences of home?" The first time I read those words, I knew I had a friend for life. Good friends remind you of what is real, what is true, they help encourage you on your path and point you back to Jesus. If you are interested in making a purse or bible-sized friend of your own, go here to subscribe for $25.97 per year, plus receive a free gift:
http://www.subscribe.eternalencouragement.com/

Disclaimer:: I reviewed Eternal Encouragement Magazine as an official member of The Gabby Moms blogging program. I did not receive compensation for this post and all opinions are solely my own.