Oh this is SO fun and we have only just begun!!! My next friend sharing a post is Hope, from Defining Hope. She exudes confidence and health, with a nice balance of motherhood and faith. She is a wife and mother of two children ages 5 and 2 (soon to be 6 and 3). She and her husband are chiropractic physicians. They live and work together. She loves being a mom. She enjoys baking, running, books and blogging. Christ is the Center of their home and in Him they live, move and have their being.
LIMITLESS!
There are two things besides cuddling that my soon to be 3 year old son loves to do: suck his thumb and EAT. Now and then he tries to do them both at the same time. My husband and I have gotten pretty creative when it comes to incorporating learning opportunities with things that he loves. We try to feed our kids healthy snacks, but occasionally we’re not as successful. The other day when my son asked for some Cheetos Puffs, I figured it would be a great chance to practice his numbers. He grabbed a Ziploc bag and we had the following conversation.
Him: Mommy, can I please have some Cheetos.
Me: Sure. How many?
Him: (very enthusiastically as he thinks to himself): Um One! (I gave him one Cheetos.)
Him: Please can I have some more?
Me: Sure. How many?
Him: OKaay… Two! (I put one more Cheetos in the bag. He looked very puzzled.)
Him: Mommy that’s not enough.
Me: Well how many do you want? (He tilts his head to the side and looks up and to the left as if he’s thinking.)
Him: (In a very discouraged voice) Mommy You count!
Me: No baby, you tell me how many you want and I’ll give it to you.
He looks at his hand as he struggles to hold up three fingers. We’ve been teaching him that he’ll be 3 fingers old on his next birthday. After he successfully holds up 3 fingers, he blurts out: Six!
He was growing weary of our little game and wanted out. So I gave him 6 Cheetos total and a big hug. He had no idea that I was prepared to give him 10 or more (He can count to 20).
There were so many lessons that came to mind from our interaction; but it really made me think about how we ask God to meet particular needs in our lives. Sometimes we ask for “just enough”; and when He answers our “just enough” prayer, we wonder is it really not enough. It’s not that He’s powerless to perform; we often limit God to the finite boundaries of our own mind and our own thinking.
Scripture reminds us that He’s able to do EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANTLY ABOVE all we may ASK or THINK according to the power that works within us. (Eph 3:20).
Have you asked God to meet a need in your home, your business, your finance or family? Not only is He able to meet that need, He’s able to exceed your expectations. He’ll blow your mind. Let’s not limit God by diminishing our expectations of Him. His power and His provision are unlimited.
Be sure to go visit Hope at her blog: Defining Hope
Check out some of our other posts click the links to read Life is Hard and Five Values I Hope to Teach my Children.
Wow. What a great reminder of the amazing power of God. He truly can do anything, and I think my own lack of trust or faith in this prevents me from seeing this. This is such a beautiful encouragement to pray with expectation and hope!
Meredith, I think many of us are are blinded by our own lack of trust or faith, but God continually gives us opportunities to get it right…and we will. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Yes, He will exceed your expectations and more! This is an awesome guest post to remind us not to limit ourselves by placing limitations on the power of God!
Amen and so be it. Thank you Joi.
{Melinda} Love this!! I know I am so guilty — limiting God, asking for “just enough,” because I don’t want to risk disappointment if it doesn’t happen. But I think He wants to give us so much more. I want to boldly come before the throne of grace! 🙂
I think you’ve hit the nail on its head Melinda… limiting God to avoid the risk of disappointment. I think we can all relate. Thanks for sharing Melinda.
What a beautiful post. I will think about it next time my 4 yo is trying to negotiate dessert without having to eat his veggies. 🙂
Hahaha! Yes! Thanks Jennifer.
Fantastic post and a message that is wonderful and so, so true!
So glad to discover Hope’s writing!! 🙂
Thank you so much!
Such good stuff. Definitely needed the reminder.
Thank you so much Tammy. Sometimes a gentle reminder is all we need.
I love this post! There are so many lessons we can learn from our kids. Simply awesome.
It’s amazing how much we learn from our children when we think we’re “teaching” them. Thank you so much for your support Renee.
A wonderful reminder for me. Life is so full of God’s surprises.
Life is indeed full of God’s surprises.
Hi Hope! Great to see you guest posting!
You are so right; we keep under-asking and are surprised when we get the minimum. Our God wants to bless our socks off and we keep praying “below the radar”. He’s a big God; let’s pray big, outrageous prayers (I’m preaching to myself here as well!)!
AMEN TO THAT ALISON! He wants to bless our socks off! Love that! Thanks for the mini sermon 🙂 Blessings.