Am I Missing Out?

When I was still teaching and just had one kid, I couldn't wrap my mind around leaving my profession. I love teaching! There was so much I wanted to do to improve my teaching practice, and I loved reflecting, developing professionally, and being creative. I didn't feel like it was something I could ever leave. It is who I am to help and teach, and my classroom was my second home. 

I was thinking today about how much I enjoy my time at home these days (most days, let's be realistic here!), and started to think about why I was so resistant to staying home for so many years. I came up with a few thoughts.

1. Financial Fear

I was terrified of the thought of one income. I didn't think we could swing it to live off of just Adam's teaching salary. I didn't see what we could give up in our life to make it work, and I wasn't willing to compromise our lifestyle. 

It turns out, we can live off of one income. Very frugally, but it works and we haven't had to completely change our lifestyle either. We have had to become smarter with our money (which didn't happen overnight, it's been a process), and find other opportunities for income (this also hasn't happened overnight, but boy has it been an amazing process!).

2. Teaching was My Identity

This was a tough one. For 8 years, teaching kids what who I was. It was the majority of my life. I spent more time in my classroom than I did at home it seemed. Because of that, I couldn't see myself outside the label of "teacher". My classroom was my safe place, and I didn't know anything else. I thought that if I left teaching, I wouldn't have a purpose.

I'm so glad I was wrong about that. God gives things to us for seasons, and then sometimes takes them away. I am incredibly thankful for my season as a teacher, and am equally thankful that God led me to the place I am now. I am not only a teacher now. He has allowed me to expand and realize my identity. 
I am 

• a child of God
• a MOM 
• an entrepreneur with a vision to help people
• a teacher (yes I still get to teach, I have little ones to raise!) 
• a WIFE (focusing on this one is such an incredibly rewarding journey!) 
• and some who can inspire others 
• and more

3. Missing the Opportunity to Help Kids Grow (Those lightbulb moments and the long awaited progress.)

I was kidding myself with this one. I mean, yes, I do miss those moments in the classroom, but I am in no way lacking! I have three (soon four) beautiful kiddos of my own to inspire, mold, teach, and see their own lightbulb moments. As a stay at home mom I get to see those moments often. The trick is to be mindful of them happening. I get to see my oldest son learn how to read, play sports, and take on the role of mentorship with his siblings. When older brother is at school, I get to watch my daughter play her imaginary games that are so creative, be mommy's helper, and be the mentor for her little brother. And then there is little bro who is about to become a big bro. I get to watch him solve problems, become independent, learn more words, and read him so many many books. 

Above picture is a real life example! Just now, as I was putting little bro to bed, my daughter asked if she could color on my desk and this picture is what I found. So proud of this girl!

In addition to helping my own kids grow, I get to teach Sunday kids church every once and a while (investing in the growth of the Kingdom of God and our church family!), teach my team of entrepreneurs, and teach people about my passion! Win, Win, Win.

When I told my school director I was pregnant with my third baby and wasn't coming back, he told me something that I've never forgotten. He said that he has never regretted any time he took to stay home with his kids. 

I loved my time as a teacher (most of it),
I love my time as a stay at home mom (most of it).
And I'm challenging myself to love ALL of it and soak it up! 

If you have been thinking about making the jump to stay home, or already have and need encouragement, message me on FB and we can get to know each other.

If you stay at home or have been thinking about it and want to learn about opportunities to make a side income, message me and we can chat. 

If you like my blog, please go like my Facebook page "Emily Coe"!

Thank you and God bless your day!

~Emily

Live with Intentionality

Isn't this beautiful? This picture says a lot to me. It is one of hope, a reminder of light, of friendship and Glory.

Spring is such a promising time. It's a time when people get inspired, the house gets clean, people begin planning for the nice days ahead, and making changes within their jobs. As a teacher, Spring was always a time of looking for ways to make things better next year. What can I do differently? How can I improve? Spring for me has always been a time of reflection and promise.

This year is no different. I'm no longer an active classroom teacher, but the desire to reflect, become better, and make positive changes in my life and home business are there just the same. It's something about the human soul that feeds off of Light. I don't think its a coincidence that sunlight and colorful flowers bring about happiness in people, and God is Light.

"No longer will you have the sun for light by day, Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; But you will have the LORD for an everlasting light and your God for your glory."

Isaiah 60:19

So with this sun, the flowers, and the warmer days comes a sort of motivation to improve. But here's the thing: Motivation will get you going, but intentionality keeps you going.

Over the weekend I was able to hear from a best selling author and personal development coach, John Maxwell. He spoke to us about how important personal growth is if we want to achieve our dreams and ambitions. He said that the most important thing to practice while going after those ambitions is intentionality.

For me it has always been easy to begin things. I get good ideas or I find solutions to problems. As a teacher I had fun being creative and thinking up new projects and ways to learn/teach things. But I've often been too quick to lose momentum.

This Law of Intentionality (as John Maxwell calls it in his book, 15 Laws of Personal Growth) made sense to me as what I have been lacking. For me, if I want to succeed in my business, my marriage, as a parent, etc, I need to be intentional with how I get there. But having good intentions also takes good actions. It's exciting for me to realize this is what it takes to improve.

You know how you can know something, but it doesn't become personal until you've heard it when you're ready to hear it? Well, I think that was me this weekend hearing about intentionality.

So, with the sun and the spring, I get to practice being intentional with many things in my life.
A few things I am committing to be intentional about are:

Time with my wonderful husband.

Intentional increments of time during the day with my kids. (Without having my phone nearby)

Sharing my passion with people.

Starting the day with the Word and prayer.

I'd love to share my passion with you. I'd love to get to know you. I respond to any and all messages on my blog, as well as my personal Facebook or email.

Have a marvelous spring day!

-Emily

*I took the flower picture while on a business trip in Salt Lake City.

Letting Go

"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of them all." What does that mean? I think it means that it is rare for people to prosper through hard times. Why? Why is it so hard to be successful when times are tough? 

For me personally when a lot of hard things happen at once it is hard to see anything except what is being thrown at me. Looking beyond what is right in front of me is a challenge. It's when I am trying to take control of everything on my own and I'm carrying my own burden that I can't see past my own situation.

But God didn't design us to carry our own burdens. He came and died and rose again so that He could carry them for us. For me. For you. 

Psalm 68:19  says "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens."

Matthew 11:28-30 says "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

But notice in the verse in Matthew that it is our job to come to Jesus, it is our job to receive His rest. He offers rest, and a light burden instead of the heavy one we carry ourselves, but we need to be willing to give over our control. 

Letting go of control is one of the hardest things I have done, and I continue to struggle with it.  But I've been taught over and over that His control is beautiful. And the more I hand over, the less overwhelmed I feel. His yoke, and light burden bring hope and joy. 

So to me, a flower that blooms in adversity is a picture of someone choosing to hand over their burdens to the Lord and gathering the reward. When our soul has rest, we can rise above adversity and bloom.

Beautiful.

Take Notice

I really enjoy when God speaks a word to me and I hear it. I'm beginning to understand that when those revelations or random thoughts of clarity happen, it's often a word from the Lord.

The words I hear today on my drive to pick up Arthur from school were, Take Notice.

Take notice. Of what?

The sky was beautiful. The clouds were the kind of clouds that are all level and flat on the bottom and puffy on top. In between clouds was that gorgeous blue that just speaks of spring. And then you add the country scene and I could go on. But as I was thinking these things about the sky those words came to the surface. Take Notice. 

(This was actually a picture of clouds from yesterday. I believe this idea of noticing began with these clouds, which this picture does not do justice.)

God was telling me to take notice of His beautiful masterpiece. 

But then I thought of people, and the book Harriet the Spy came to mind. This was my favorite novel in fifth grade, but in case you don't know it, here's the gist: Harriet is a writer and an observer. She takes it upon herself to observe everything and everyone-- including all of her friends. She writes down everything she observes her friends doing, things about their appearance, etc. 

I believe the take away from that memory is how Harriet takes notice of everything she sees. Obviously, I do not think spying, being critical and judgmental with our observations like Harriet was  the word to remember. However, I do think that we as people need to come out of our own self focus and take notice of the people around us. I've been hearing lately from different sources how important emotional intelligence is. The ability to see other people and read their emotions and body language, and to use our knowledge of emotions to guide our actions. We will make better connections with people if we respond to them in a way that shows we are taking notice of how they are feeling. I know that I am constantly re-learning this with my children. I need to take notice of how they react to things and how I respond to their emotions as well. Taking notice of their emotions allows me to reconsider if my actions are necessary or selfish.

Thoughts are funny, bumpy, skipping things. My drive to school bounced from the words take notice to Harriet the Spy, to coming outside of ourselves to notice people, and having emotional intelligence to guide our connections. 

This word was for me today because I am quick to be aware of myself, and slow to notice those around me. I'm usually just wrapped up in my task, narrow focused and wanting to finish with my little bunch of kids before something goes awry. 

But God didn't call me to be self focused. 

I did a search for the word notice in the bible, and here are a couple examples of what I found:

"God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them." Exodus 2:25

"Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, 'why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?'" Ruth 2:10

Many of the verses I found spoke of God taking notice of us. God notices me. God notices you. That means he's paying attention. He's listening, seeing, and responding. 

But I believe he's not just taking notice of us, but calling us to grow our awareness and notice his creation. His beautiful painted natural world and His people created in His own image. If I am worthy of His notice, the people I encounter, and the people of this world are worthy also.

So my new challenge for myself is to notice my surroundings, the people I encounter, and make deeper connections.

There's a little humor in this being my lesson for the day because my wonderful husband has a blog called The Interest of Others. I mean, just the name of his blog shows that he is already on this path. Sometimes things are reoccurring lessons and apparently I need further instruction! My husband is an inspiration. You can follow his blog at www.theinterestofothers.blogspot.com and on Twitter @Mister_Coe for inspiration and updates.

Thanks for reading! Visualize beautiful 💜💜💜

Beautiful Control

Sometimes we are reminded that we are in control of nothing.

This past week all three of my babies have been sick. With the Flu. Fevers, throwing up, lethargy, and lots and lots of TV. 

When there is sickness, nothing else is important but taking care of and nurturing the people you care most about. So the dishes pile up, the laundry becomes a mountain, and snuggles abound. 

For the past two days my littlest has been unhappy unless he is being held and snuggled... by me. It's been a transition for me. A transition of priorities. A reminder of the most important gifts in my life.

And it's been a reminder that I have no control.... but there is One who loves me, and loves my kids, who does have control. And when we surrender things to His hands, His control is beautiful.

The past few days I've witnessed my oldest progressing a very scary sounding cough, my middle very lethargic and sad, and my baby growing more and more listless and unresponsive. 

Sure we can do things that might help one thing or another. We've been diffusing essential oils, using a humidifier in their bedroom, and some other things to aid in comfort. But ultimately their life and health is not in my hands. It's in the hands of my Lord, Jesus Christ. 

It's easy to be terrified. It's easy to submit to fear and uncertainty. It is hard to let go and give the situation--and my babies-- to the Lord. 

But the growth of trust and surrender becomes easier when we admit our lack of control. A peace and calming envelopes over us when we submit our fears to the God above.

I'm writing this while holding my sleeping baby hooked up to an IV in the ER. This has not been easy. And I am in awe of people who have chronically sick children. But I have had peace here in this little room. God has met me here. 

As my son kept crying out, I began to hum. My hum turned into a recognizable tune, and as I began to sing it quietly I realized how true the words are, and His peace washed over me.

Our God is an awesome God

He reigns from heaven above

With wisdom, power and love, 

Our God is an awesome God.

Just those simple words... God's wisdom. His Power. And His love. 

That is all I need to focus on to know that my baby is in good hands. 

What a glorious set of truths. What Beautiful Control.

Power of Smell

If there's one sense I'd say I have mastered, it's SMELL. I'm sure my nose is not as keen as a dog or an ant, but I'm pretty decent at identifying scents. Especially, the difference between good and disgusting.

Ever since I was pregnant for the first time, my sense of smell has been awesome...and incredibly annoying. For some reason, smells find my nose and linger until either I can't take it anymore, or find a way to magically blend it into the rest of the air I'm breathing.

When you're pregnant, it's fairly likely that it's the repulsive smells that get the most attention. Walking into the house, and the garbage can has decided to become the air freshener. Yep. Going into the bathroom, I can tell right away if the toilet has not been flushed. Most often I am the first one to smell the toddler's dirty diaper... thanks bud.

It's kinda funny because Adam has almost no sense of smell. Yes, we are a good match. It only presents a problem when I am trying to determine the reason for the smell, and he can't even smell it.

But today, what presented me with this idea of a lovely, smelly blogpost is the laundry. Ever leave the clothes in the washer for, say an extra day? Yep. ME. All the time. Maybe because I have about a hundred thousand things I'm doing all day? There's a timer on the washer, but it doesn't do any good unless you're ready to transfer clothes at that very moment. So, often, they get left in. And if there is something my nose tells me it just can't handle, it's stinky been-in-the-washer-to-long clothes.

The big dilemma is, if they smell ok, but you know they've been left too long, do you dry them or re-wash them? Half the time if you dry them, they end up needing a re-wash anyway.

I deal. And I've learned some cool tricks for getting stink out of clothes. But tonight, I just wanted to curl up in a blanket on the couch. Pregnancy makes you tired too... and both my blankets were stinky.

So I get to practice visualizing beautiful. I'm learning to let these little things go. I can draw my rainbow, and find something beautiful. Like how amazing God made us with our five senses. Smell is a blessing.

Visualize Beautiful

Sometimes I forget to see the beautiful. The Bible says, "He will bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair" (Isaiah 61:3). So there's really no reason I shouldn't see the beauty in everyday life. It's a matter of perception and a willingness to visualize the beautiful.

It is so easy to soak in the sunshine--the big positive moments in life--and see the beautiful. It seems like everyone is re-energized after a day of sun and warmth. Myself included! I don't enjoy the cold and the rain, but I am continually reminded of the true beauty--the beauty for ashes.

You know, when you're driving down the gray road, staring at the gray clouds, and noticing the absence of color everywhere you look? That was me last week. Then the Lord saw fit to show me four rainbows in the course of the next few days! VisualizeBeautiful.

The trick is to see the beauty in the midst gray. To visualize the rainbows before they appear.

Sometimes I forget to see the beautiful. You know when the house is a mess, and the kid's diaper is stinky...when the bills are stacking up and all the energy has escaped the body...when there's a chorus of crying and joining in is tempting...VisualizeBeautiful. 

This is what Jesus has been teaching me. He gives beauty for ashes. Much of this world cries with a spirit of despair, yet God gives us a garment of praise. Lately, division in the world has been growing wider, but I'm choosing the oil of JOY, and the crown of BEAUTY.

For the world and for my life, I will VisualizeBeautiful.