{God-sized Dreams} He's louder than the noise

My kids rested on me at Keeneland this weekend.

As a momma, quiet sometimes comes in small doses. Holley Gerth challenged us God-sized dreamers to set aside a particular time this week to be with the Giver of dreams to pray, journal, take a walk, or simply sit quiet and listen.

Honestly, my life hasn't been quiet lately. Have you met my kids? Goodness knows if you have, Cate has told you a story and Ben has interrupted hers to tell you one of his own and maybe growled in your face.

But it's not just my kids making noise.

I've had lots of inquiries and details to tend to for our vacation rental lake house and the one I manage for another property owner. A couple weeks ago, I officially became a freelance writer as I accepted two assignments for a local parenting magazine. I have three assignments for the coming month. I've been working on growing my blog. I still have book ideas popping in and out of my head.

And that's just the professional side of life. There's the wife and momma parts, which, you know, entail all sorts of job description. In just the last week, I've been a teacher, nurse, counselor, cook, maid, taxi driver, cheerleader, protector, banker, friend, partner, organizer, communicator, promoter, and shopper. And, really, these are the roles that matter most.

So, yeah, sometimes I have to go to the bathroom. Yes, I need to go. But sometimes I keep the door shut a few minutes longer, take a few deep breaths and return to this job of mine that is the best and hardest I've experienced.

A few times the quiet lasted longer than an extended stay in the bathroom while my kids inevitably needed something and told me about it from the other side of the door. One was when I waited much too long to see my doctor who really just directed me to another doctor farther away. I was frustrated and burdened with a miscommunication I could only partially handle via text. Yet I managed to come away with clarity on a couple areas related to my family, which is my first and dearest calling.

Another was when I decided to go sit on the porch swing with "Start" by Jon Acuff and ignore the noise and chores and lists. My boy slept, so I rested. Well, except the book kept my mind going, reassured me about life and challenged me to take next steps.

There were a couple runs in this spring weather that helped me clear my head, ponder truth and take a break from the many, many other things I could be doing.

Truth is, God meets me wherever I am. Sometimes I can hear him in the noise. Other times I have to shut the bathroom door. There are times I turn up the songs streaming from my iPhone to distract me from the other noise. Some days I'm so grateful for my kids' bedtime to come. And other days I'm counting down the days until summer break so I can have these kids of mine around more. God is mightier and louder than it all if we just seek him, even if {especially when?} our lives are noisy.
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Tuesdays are God-sized Dream days around here and I'm linking this post along with many, many other dreamers on Holley Gerth's blog. You'll find encouragement, truth and community there. 

I'm also linking up with the Soli Deo Gloria party at Finding Heaven

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