The Front lines

Parenting is definitely the most difficult job that some of us will endure and I can just say

if parenting were a war, I'm on the Front Lines. When you have little ones the parenting is physically exhausting, yes? Can I get an Amen?! And that is met with it's own challenges but as your sweet darlings get older the exhaustion changes to one of a mental exhaustion. Between, trying to be there for them in the hurts and growing pains of life and then parenting them through the attitudes and body changes that are occurring, it is enough to make us want to give up, cry, scream or send them off to boarding school. Just kidding, kinda:-0

But fear not, my momma didn't raise no quitter!

My children are thrilled!

I've heard lots of quotes on parenting lately. I heard an expert on the Today show talking about how if your teen is giving lots of resistance and strife in EVERY situation, that is their way of pushing away and detaching themselves from you. Some children are more connected to you than others, therefore, they have to push away more often and harder-this kinda made sense for our family and was comforting to me, to some degree.

I also have heard (and use as my mantra), If parenting is easy than you must not be doing it

right! This I do believe is on a case by case, child by child basis. But right now, we are hitting a high score on parenting the teenager of the house;-)

Our church has just kicked off a Devoted Hearts and Homes series and boy, it is exactly what we need here in the Evans family. It is helping us to devote ourselves to becoming intentional about our prayer life and our spiritual life. I totally believe in prayer and the power of it- but it's hard to tell that from my daily life. In examining why my prayer life has taken a turn, God made me aware of distractions- does anyone else have those?

Facebook........TV.......Nate Berkus........E-mail...........Volunteer work..........XMRadio.....Blog Reading(this one just hurts) ..........

If it weren't for these distractions my prayer life would be right on track. So, over the next 12o days we have been challenged to the 7-5-2 method of prayer.

Pray 7 days a week

Pray 5 days with your family

Pray 2 days with your Spouse or some other special person

I recently heard someone say that they are pretty much in constant conversation with God(Tim Tebow) and when I heard that, I remembered a time, not very long ago, that I felt the

same way about my prayer life. I talked to God constantly when I was a new Mom, to

little people who didn't talk to me. I

want that again- and I hope that over the

next few months I will get that back.

If I have ever need prayer it is now, parenting a teenager and covering him in

the protection that only God can give.