If you're at all like me, - a momma that has lots of little 'uns running around, demanding attention all day - then you find it hard to get consistent, quality quiet-time with the Father. I've heard rumors of women out there who get it done (like at 5am before everyone is awake) but I think it's a myth. We've had glimpses of them in books with outlined plans and such, kind of like those fuzzy videos of Sasquatch, but no true evidence exists.

Yes, getting up thirty minutes earlier to spend time in worship would probably make my day go better. But I'm also a very grumpy momma when I don't get sleep.

Yes, I should go to bed earlier then. But my husband is a night owl and if I want to really talk with him, that's when it happens.

Yes, time with God should be my priority, but sometimes my priority, by default, becomes the sick kid that needs cuddles or a husband that needs... well... we'll refer to that as "cuddles" too.

And yes, I should probably stop blogging and go read my Bible.

Okay, I feel guilty enough, people!

But I discovered something recently, thanks to Louie Giglio , that has helped me think about the Word of God all day, even when I don't have time for a long sit down. He refers to it as the "One Word A Day Study." If there is a verse that God keeps bringing to your mind, then take the time to dwell on one word a day from the verse until you are done with the verse. I'm not talking about getting out your Hebrew-Greek Bible or even cross-referencing scripture (although, do that if you have the time). It's allowing God to speak to you, one word at a time, through one verse that He has already put on your heart.

The verse that kept popping up for me was Hebrews 4:16 ~ "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace in our time of need." A verse I've heard over and over through the years, but lately has been on my mind. So, I thought I would try this One Word A Day Study on it and this is what I have found.

Day 1/let - "let" signifies there is someone else allowing the approach to the throne, it's not of my own independence. someone who is in authority (God) is granting access to the throne. "letting" someone do something means letting them make the choice if they want to or not. they are not being forced. Access to the throne is granted by God's authority, but I am not forced to go.

Day 2/us - "us" is inclusive. it means all of us who trust in Christ's complete work on the cross may approach the throne of grace. not those of "us" who haven't sinned in awhile. not those of "us" that didn't yell at their kids today or wished their life turned out a bit different. All of us, regardless of where we have been or what we have done, have access to the throne of grace. Some days, I need to know I can enter no matter what!

Day 3/then - At first, I was thinking, what am I going to learn from the word "then"? But I remembered some of my grammar training and "then" always means "if this, then this" so I looked at the context of the chapter and realized, this is really the crux of the entire verse! The verse prior says, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are..." The whole reason we can approach the throne of grace with confidence is because Jesus Christ himself has been where we are! He gets it! He understands! There is nothing we can say before the throne that isn't understood!

Day 4/approach - nothing significant about the word itself stood out to me. "approach" means what it means. go up to something. But as I thought through the day, I was acutely aware of and thankful for the invitation to be in the presence of God. I am SO thankful! The throne room is always open!

Day 5/the - a simple word, right? not too significant. but it's the throne of grace. not a throne of grace. or any throne of grace. It is THE throne of grace, THE one where sits the High King of Heaven who listens to our babblings, pleas, cries and when we remember them, our praises and adoration.

And today is Day 6... I'm excited about 21 more days of this...

I can't say every day will be significant. Tomorrow is "of"... hmmm... But the Words spoken by God are constantly on my heart, in the forefront of my mind and I love that. And this verse will be forever committed to memory! I know the day will come when my children are more self-sufficient and consistent quiet-time will return. But right now, I am so thankful God meets me where I am at and gives me what I need, even if it's one word at a time...

And if you're one of those super-moms with lots of little kids who does get up at 5am, I don't want to hear it cause you'll just squelch the encouragement I'm feeling right now. Comparing myself to others: we'll discuss that at a later date.

A couple days ago I asked Patrick, "How can I teach my kids self-control when I have so little of it myself?"

I said this after Caleb stood in front of the toilet and peed all over it, his clothes, the bathroom rug, trashcan, toilet scrubber -- if it was within three feet, it got showered! I have never yelled at my child the way I yelled at him that morning. It was a situation in which Caleb needed to be disciplined (he's been potty-trained awhile and had been doing this exact thing for several days and we were exasperated), but I didn't handle well. Here I was trying to train him in physical self-control and I lost emotional self-control. I spent the day in deep remorse. Questioned my ability to do this mommy-thing. I followed Patrick around, pestering him to reaffirm to me that I was still a fairly good parent. What I was in that moment of outburst, was not a good mom. I was a mom who had stopped relying on God to deal with this temporary, three-year-old monster in my home.

I read this quote and thought it put perfectly into perspective why God makes so many of us parents.

"By God’s marvelous design, few life experiences humble us quite as effectively as parenting. As parents, we exchange our formerly spotless houses, ironed clothes, and ordered lives for the chaos of an incontinent, noisy, spit-producing being with a temper that needs to be tamed and with a piercing cry that rivals the sharpest fingernails ever scraped across a chalkboard. This tiny tyrant is providentially placed in our house with one grand program: to mold his or her parents into the image of our Lord. The way up spiritually, is by looking down physically." ~Gary Thomas

So I'm praying I won't miss what God has for me as I clean up that mess in the bathroom. And that I'll rely on Him completely for how to discipline my children,not how I feel about it in the moment.

Oh, that God would give every mother a vision of the glory and splendor of the work that is given to her when a babe is placed in her bosom to be nursed and trained! Could she have but one glimpse in to the future of that life as it reaches on into eternity; could she look into its soul to see its possibilities; could she be made to understand her own personal responsibility for the training of this child, for the development of its life, and for its destiny,--she would see that in all God's world there is no other work so noble and so worthy of her best powers, and she would commit to no other's hands the sacred and holy trust given to her." -JR Miller

So, I'm having one of those days when by 10AM I've wiped poop off every bottom in this house except my husband's.

It's not that it's a bad day. So far no tantrums. Everyone ate their breakfast. I got the dishwasher unloaded and loaded again. I have a few quiet minutes to sit at my computer. I actually know what I'm cooking for dinner tonight.

It's just that on some days, I get tired of the poop waiting for me on other people's backsides.

I gazed out my kitchen window this morning, ignoring the mess I knew the boys were making in the living room with their Legos and thought of all the women out there who got up super early this morning, did their hair and make up and actually put on an outfit with no denim component to it. I thought about how they'd turn in their projects or tell other people how to do their projects. I thought about how their feet would start to hurt by mid-afternoon from those killer heels, but dang, they'd look good wearing them!

You know what I have on my feet right now? Fuzzy, white slippers from Walmart and their sides are starting to come apart because they were made so cheaply.

And I was starting to wonder what it would be like to put my kids on the magic yellow bus or drop them off at daycare or preschool before driving off to spend 8+ hours in an adult world... thinking that might be the way to go...

Because, seriously, no one at any of my previous jobs hollered at me from the bathroom to wipe their bottom... I have a college degree, for crying out loud and it's not in Poopology!

Then my almost two-year-old toddled up to me with his adorable cowboy boots in hand, saying, "Boys? Peeeesssss?" asking me to put them on him. And I thought, if I wasn't home, where God has called me to be, and I didn't see my children for most of the day, would I even know little Eli calls his cowboy boots "boys"? Or would he be asking some other caregiver to put his boots on for him.

No, I'm not going to get a paycheck with my name on it this Friday. But if what God has called me to is wiping poop off little bottoms, then I'll try to do it with a smile on my face. I'll do it to the best of my God-given ability. I'll do it with all my heart because I know I'm investing in little bottoms that I believe will make a difference in this world for His glory!

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. ~ II Corinthians 9:8

So, do you think in heaven there is a reward for the best bottom-wiper?