Understanding Love by means of a Bucket List

Loving our children should be easy, right? We moms become moms when the double line shows up on pregnancy test showing positive to “bun in the oven”. We moms become moms before the adoption agency calls with the good news of a child they are entrusting into our care. We moms pray for, wait expectantly for and even worry for our children long before we hold them.

Yet as motherhood sets in, our dreamy ideas of parenting can go awry with sleepless nights, toddlers in hand (those little suckers are fast and rambunctious), and a never ending to-do list. However, my to-do list is often my motivator. When the days seem long, when the kids don’t listen, when my energy wanes, when my irritation increases… my to-do list helps me stay on task. To focus on the things that are most important in my day. It spurs me onward, keeps my sanity, and some days even reminds me to stop the craziness buzzing around me and enjoy the moment with my family.

I love how my friend, Melinda Wong from Freely Feast, is liberated and is understanding love because of the lists she’s created. Bucket list for kids… check. To-do list for mom… check. And a checklist/roadmap for her soul?! YES!

Check out what Melinda writes about how a snow day helped this momma on her journey to yell less and love more

Love and a Bucket List

 

To Yell Less and Love More try meeting expectations with a good bucket list and to-do list.

This helps everyday but especially on snow days!

In the midwest, there are likely to occur in the dead of a winter a few snow days. This week, when I had just put my youngest twins in a new extended period of preschool with an anticipated 6 more hours of free time for myself, a polar vortex hit. There went my free time and in went the polar vortex through my home.

In preparation for the additional snow days, I went to the library to load up on reading material. One of the books talked about making bucket lists. This was a new concept for my kids and I thought I would capitalize on this idea of making lists (also a good writing assignment). These lists would hopefully help me not get frustrated and ultimately yell less throughout the snow days.

 

Yelling less and loving more means both parties feel fulfilled and complete in their purpose…

Lists provide guidelines and boundaries. Lists set expectations. I had my own to-do list set up. In an effort to manage the snow days, I provided a democratic way for everyone to enjoy the time off. The kids would make a bucket list for the snow days (a.k.a. Fun days) and I would have my to do list for them. For each item that was accomplished on their (rather my) to-do list, an item on the bucket list could be fulfilled. Their involvement and enjoyment was equally valuable.

 

Yelling less and loving more means I understand what love is…

God makes lists too. To set guidelines and a road map for the soul. The first list is called the Ten Commandments. This set up some guidelines for God’s people to follow. It created a moral compass. It provided a set of lifestyle standards and ethics for God’s people. These carried them through until the final list of guidelines was fulfilled in Christ Jesus. He completed the list of ten on the cross and summed it up in two moral laws: Love God and Love your neighbor.

 

In a world with turbulence all around us, having a complete and succinct road map is key. Kids need lists for the everyday and a road map for life. Give them both and they will flourish not only on snow days, but everyday. Seasons come and go. Plans change. God remains the same. Constant in the snow storms, rain and sunshine. Ride the polar vortex with your kids and life with Him.

Blessings,
Melinda

 

Melinda Wong profile pictureMelinda Wong lives in suburban Chicago with her loving husband, Chris and their four littles. This family of six consumes lots of food and keeps her busy in the kitchen. Her passion is to love God and others by sharing the gospel of peace wherever she goes. She holds a Masters in Intercultural Studies and Missions from Wheaton College. She is greatly enriched by people, food, cultures and the God who loves her along the journey. Raised as a farm girl in Indiana, she knows the freshest pick of ingredients is found at the source. She writes a food inspired devotional blog to encourage others to receive their nourishment at the source of all truth – God.

    Freelyfeast.com … Come. Taste. See.

 

 

I am a list maker for sure, but I never considered how a simple bucket list could speak so much love into our lives and our kid’s lives. So thankful Melinda shared this perspective with us!

Alisha

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