About me
When I was a kid, I never wanted desperately to be a mommy. Sure I had my dolls and babysat the neighbor kids, but I honestly never consider one day actually being a mommy to one (or more!) of God’s children. Even when my now husband and I talked about our desires for our lives, having children of our own scared me to death, but I knew it was something he really wanted! The longer took for us to get pregnant (including one miscarriage), the more I knew I had a genuine desire to be a parent. After three years of marriage, our daughter, Lily, was born. Two years later, our son, Oliver, was born. I cannot imagine life without them even though parenting demands emotional, mental, physical and spiritual challenges and rewards simultaneously and individually on a daily basis. It’s EXHAUSTING! It’s nearly impossible to do it ALL alone, so why would we even consider it?
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
I’m a stay-at-home Mom and have been since Lily was born in 2005. We’ve stayed busy these past five years with the usual activities: music classes, swimming lessons, gymnastics, ballet, trips to the parks, zoos, movies and lakes; however, it’s the time I spend with other Christian Moms at our church Bible study and my Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) group that I look forward to the most. It could be because it’s time away from my kids! J But, I know it’s because I get to spend time with other Godly women with similar prayers, praises and desires for themselves and their kids.
Raising kids today by society’s standards is so different than raising them by His standards. Personally, I want the latter and that is why I created this blog: for me, for Y-O-U and for your families.
God bless and happy parenting for Him!
Tiffany R. Olson
1 Corinthians 4:2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
My parents were in town to visit us (I mean the grandkids) recently. After putting the kids down to bed my mother and I were chatting and she said to me “Do you remember what you told me you wanted to be when you grew up?” She has a book at home full of memories, special moments of each of my siblings. In this she told me that when I was 5 or 6, I told her that I wanted to be a mother, a missionary and a nurse.
ReplyDeleteMotherhood has come easily for me. Don’t get me wrong-- not mothering, but the idea of being a Mom was one I had always dreamed of doing. Now as a Mother to my 6, 4 and 2 year old, I think I was idealistic and romantic. Parenting is the most exhausting yet rewarding experience I have had so far. I find myself drawing nearer to God everyday for strength to make up for my weaknesses!
A missionary….really? I was a rebellious teenager and so it is only by God’s grace that I found myself at a small Bible college in a suburb of Minneapolis which is a far cry for a small-town farm girl from rural Saskatchewan. It was at that small college where I was completely transformed by God’s love for me and I there knew that God had a plan for me. I met my husband at that time and although that wasn’t God’s timing for us to be together it was just a small seed in our relationship which blossomed into a God-ordained marriage. He couldn’t have scripted the story better. (For a more detailed version, email my husband. He is the story teller ) In 2002 we were married and in the fall of 2003 Nick entered seminary. I had had 4 years to ponder if I was ready for this role so I stepped in with eyes wide open. So you may not see me as a missionary as some may, but God has called our family to serve a community and we are growing and learning side by side with them daily!
A nurse….not yet. My kids are getting to that precious age of independence and with the pressure of today’s economy I have been forced to evaluate what I will be doing when my kids get to be in school. This may sound far off for some of you but having kids really makes you realize that the age old saying “time flies” is really true. So the things I do best are care-giving, nurturing, serving, and teaching. I am currently working as a Nursing Assistant (to gain experience and tuition reimbursement), at a local nursing home. I know what you are thinking right now….yup you are probably picturing a home with elderly folks, some delirious with dementia, perhaps with that expected odor of aging bodies. Well, that’s what I love. I love the idea that I can help someone with the tasks of everyday living and I really believe that I am blessed to be able to learn from them.
So in a not so short “nutshell”, I am a mother to my 3 wonderful, energetic children; a wife to an amazing God-fearing pastor, and caregiver to people, a friend, a daughter, a sinner saved by grace and a student of God’s word! Proverb 16:9 says “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.”
Looking forward to seeing where His steps take me with all of you!
Shelley