Because I am the Mom…

I can have it all!!!

I can be all the things I ever dreamed of being… There is nothing I cannot be, nothing I cannot do, no dream I cannot dream…

At a BYU Women's Conference, Sister Beck said, "Women are like a lioness at the gate of a home... Nothing important happens in the home unless the lioness cares about it and makes it a priority... When our priorities are out of order, we loose our power."

In the April 2010 General Conference, Sister Beck also said, "A good woman knows that she does not have enough time, energy or opportunity to take care of all of the people or do all of the worthy things her heart yearns to do.  Life is not calm for most women, and each day seems to require the accomplishment of a million things, most of which are important.  A good woman must constantly resist alluring and deceptive messages from many sources telling her that she is entitled to more time away from her responsibilities and that she deserves a life of greater ease and independence.  But with personal revelation, she can prioritize correctly and navigate this life confidently."

These quotes leave me with an assurance that the things my heart yearns to do can be happening each and every day, within the gates of my home…I am the lioness and therefore have the beautiful, powerful gift of deciding what is important in my home. I can nurture ALL the dreams that my children and I have…we can be ALL that we’ve ever wished or dreamed to be; we can have it all and be it all! Our dreams can and should be a priority because they make up who we are deep inside. When we are better able to recognize our dreams and priorities in our daily lives, we are less likely to fall prey to deceptive messages that can be destructive to ourselves and our families!

How many of you dreamed of becoming a singer, a dancer, an actress, a world traveler, a master chef, an artist, a historian, a photographer, a therapist, a ninja, a horticulturist, a nutritionist, a nurse, an accountant, a scientist, a writer, a daredevil, an inventor, a rock star, a doctor…

If you look at your life, do you feel regret? Not regret for what you have done, but possibly for the things you have not yet done? Do you feel you’ve had to leave your dreams behind for the life you must now live? Well…I would like to help you gain a new perspective. There is no need for regret and certainly no need of letting those dreams go by the wayside.

Each time I sing to my kiddos, I am on the stage. Cranking up our favorite music brings out the dancer in each of us! To become an actress, I need only open a book and perform for the crowd of children at my side. Who wouldn’t wish to be a world traveler…I’ve rarely left my own home, yet we’ve traveled to country after country on our magic carpets, we’ve seen it, we’ve experienced it, we’ve tasted the foods and brought the cultures into our home. I am lucky enough to practice my master chef skills on a daily basis…they can be as grand as I wish or as simplistic as necessary for the moment. The day I became a homeschooling mother I also became a historian, a photographer, a horticulturist, a nutritionist, a scientist, and an inventor as well as a host of other amazing titles! To live my dream of being an artist, I need only pull out a box of crayola’s or watercolors and let my imagination run wild. Each time I kiss the hurt away or patch up a leg after a horrific biking accident I have become a nurse or doctor. When my children feel as though their lives are falling apart and they’ve lost their best friend, I am the therapist. When I dress up in black and learn all the moves…I am a ninja right beside my kiddos. As I attempt to stretch those pennies each month, I play the role of an accountant. I am the daredevil each time I decide to do something brave. I am the writer as I write stories alongside my children or as I steal away little snippets of time in my very own blogging paradise. That dream of becoming a Rock Star…yep…I had it ~ (maybe I still do) Not too sure that one’s going to come to fruition, but I will say I’ve got it going on in the privacy of my car as I sing every word to every song ever sung by all my favorite “musicians.”

The point of all this crazy talk is that we don’t have to take time away from being the mom in our home; we don’t have to leave our first priority in this life to seek another in order to find ourselves, or to fulfill our dreams. Because we are the Mom, we can have it all!

Satan has done a wonderful job of attacking the root of the family…YOU, the Mom.  He has convinced countless women that being a stay at home mom is second class and a waste of our precious time. I so strongly wish to support moms who make this choice…I wish to remind you that it is BECAUSE you are a mom that you can have it all. We may never receive a standing ovation or a fancy plaque to hang upon our wall, we may not even receive a pat on the back for a job well done…but what we will receive will be far more prized than anything; we will at some point hear the voice of a child saying, “Mom, YOU are the best Mommy ever, in the whole wide world!” Or, “Wow Mom, check you out, you can flat dance!” Or, “Mom, I’m glad you’re so cool…I love that you know how to have fun and that you like to have fun with us!” I wouldn’t trade anything in this world for the sweet, heartfelt comments of my children…those are the best rewards of this life.

Recognition from the world, or a validation of what we’ve become, is not a true sign of success. The true sign of success is found in our homes, found in our marriages, found in our children, found in our hearts. We, the lionesses of our homes, the Mothers of our families, can have it all…because we are the Mom!