Whole Mommy: Day Three of the Twelve Days of Christmas Meditations

On the Third Day of Christmas...

Welcome to DAY Three of our Twelve Days of Christmas Meditations
If possible, I encourage you to give yourself the gift of 10-20 minutes without your kids today. You can do the children routine in addition to this self-time.

A practice for Moms & Dads today: I woke up feeling actually ill today, and I've learned I sometimes experience this when I haven't really given myself the time and space to FEEL my feelings(or maybe I just have a bug). In any case, the school tragedy in CT affects all of us as Americans, as parents, as people. I invite you to listen to this song twice. The song is BLISS's THIS LOVE. It's truly transformative. You can play it through youtube.com, here.

First, listen to the song with the intention of feeling your own feelings today. Simply allow yourself to feel what you are physically feeling, and emotionally feeling? Also you can make a list of "I feel __________". If you need an example, here is my list. I feel sick, I feel angry, I feel so sad, I feel hopeless, I feel shocked, I feel afraid, I feel misunderstood, I feel confused, God.

Second, say a prayer. This by Max Lucado really resonated with me today. Use it or replace it with your own.

Dear Jesus,It’s a good thing you were born at night. This world sure seems dark. I have a good eye for silver linings. But they seem dimmer lately.These killings, Lord. These children, Lord. Innocence violated. Raw evil demonstrated. The whole world seems on edge. Trigger-happy. Ticked off. We hear threats of chemical weapons and nuclear bombs. Are we one button-push away from annihilation?Your world seems a bit darker this Christmas. But you were born in the dark, right? You came at night. The shepherds were nightshift workers. The Wise Men followed a star. Your first cries were heard in the shadows. To see your face, Mary and Joseph needed a candle flame. It was dark. Dark with Herod’s jealousy. Dark with Roman oppression. Dark with poverty. Dark with violence.Herod went on a rampage, killing babies. Joseph took you and your mom into Egypt. You were an immigrant before you were a Nazarene.Oh, Lord Jesus, you entered the dark world of your day. Won’t you enter ours? We are weary of bloodshed. We, like the wise men, are looking for a star. We, like the shepherds, are kneeling at a manger.This Christmas, we ask you, heal us, help us, be born anew in us.Hopefully,Your Children - A CHRISTMAS PRAYER by MAX LUCADO

Third, listen to the song again. This time, It is our most sincere and heartfelt intention to send love and comfort to all of the families affected by this upsetting experience. May they feel wrapped in the COMFORT & LOVE a MOTHER's Love provides... if only for these few moments today. You can play it through youtube.com, here.

Rego routine with the kiddies:

CANDLE

WE LIGHT. “We light this candle as a reminder of the Christ that is Light within ALL of us”

STILLNESS

WE SIT. SOMETIMES WE DANCE. In a circle, prayer hands or not, open hands or not, holding hands in a circle could work. {Baby B was much better at sitting and she even started saying "OOOO" as we sat together, so cute! I'm inteding that the more I sit and demonstrate stillness, the more likely they will be to try it. Sometimes they are dancing around me while I set example of being still}. The activity of bowing can help. G really loves “Namaste” and bowing. Namaste translates into “The light in me bows to the light in you”, for me this means “the Christ in me acknowledges the Christ in you.” Lovely! So, we do three Namaste’s and three bows, and sometimes I can't get them to stop. :)

SONG

WE SING. Our song for DAY THREE is This Love by BLISS. You can play it through youtube.com, here. For me, few things in this world bring me into the Love of God, our Mother, like this SONG does. Yes, God is our Mother and our Father, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. -Revelations 22:13, NLT.

Listen to THIS LOVE by BLISS. Set the intention to allow your feelings to come up, to feel the love of the Holy Spirit as our Mother comfort us on this day.

MINI-DEVOTIONAL
God wants to know our full hearts, not just the parts WE think HE will like. There is nothing we can ever say to God that would make us guilty or him angry at us. For pure love is an unconditional love. In fact, God wants us to come to him with our feelings- even when they are angry at him, or confused, or very sad. When we come to Spirit with our heavy hearts, we make room for the Love that is seeking us ALWAYS. God wants us to come to him with ALL of our thoughts, concerns, and upsets... that only by the power of LOVE may our hearts be cleansed and renewed again, renewed by the Light of an unending Love.

THANKFULNESS

WE PRAY. Both of my littles are familiar with the “God Our Father”, a blessing song they’ve both learned at their pre-school class before lunch.

God Our Father(to tune of Where is Thumper)

God our Father

Once Again

Thank you for our blessings

Amen

Amen.

Nothing like a little gratitude to open our hearts and invite love in. Then we did a few “Thank you God for ____”. I choose to never judge them for their thankful list. Sometimes it’s people or leaves, cookies or Mickey. I love the sweet gift of hearing what they’ll share!!

THREE OM’S TO PRACTICE RECEIVING BREATH

WE BREATHE. Hilarious and Oh-so-fun for the littles. An ideal way to teach them to feel their breath. Deep breath in, and exhale OM{sounds like A U M}. Three times. No idea how to "Om"? Click here for the how, or just make up your own way!

And so It is!

Lots of love to you today. Remember to give yourself permission to feel your feelings throughout this time.