Jenni on Skype: jclayville 
I’m sitting here watching my 4-year-old.
He grabs a little cup from one of the bottom cabinets (we put all the kids dishes where they can reach them so they can help themselves), scurries over to the fridge, fills his cup with water and drinks from it. Then he grabs a couple apple slices I’ve cut for them and runs over to his 1-year-old little brother.
“Here Paxton… want an apple?”
As they both snack, they sit side-by-side and Chance “reads” to Paxton. Then… out of nowhere… Chance says:
“Hey Mom… you wanna come and read with us?”
ABSOLUTELY!!!
I could have easily done all that water-fetching and snack-handling for Chance and Paxton… but there was so much more pride when I saw he was self-sufficiently taking care of his own needs, sharing with his brother, playing quietly… and then he invited ME to come and play with him.
I love walking alongside my kids.
I love listening to the silliest rambling and chatter their little minds offer.
I love to watch them grow.
I love holding them close and cuddling in.
I love experiencing every milestone with them.
I even love their temper tantrums because it reveals passion.
I love being WITH them.
That’s when it hit me: This is what God wants from ME!
God loves to see me taking care of myself… taking care of others… living out my purpose. He’s always present, just like I’m present with my kids… but to be invited into the simplest, daily activities of our lives?
God loves walking alongside me.
God loves listening to the silliest rambling and chatter of my mind.
God loves to watch me grow… especially if I take a lesson in with it.
God loves holding me close… in joy or in my tears.
God loves when I experience my milestones THROUGH Him.
God even loves my passionate outbursts because I’m using the feelings He gave me.
God loves being with me.
Awesome thoughts Jenni. I need to invite Him along more often.
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jenni Reply:
January 27th, 2010 at 9:39 am
me too!
i mean… obviously He’s there… but the invitation is everything, right?
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Great thoughts!
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jenni Reply:
January 27th, 2010 at 9:39 am
thanks, becky. it’s so rare and in-between that I get a great thought too. hahaha!
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Sweet, simple, true. I’m a point-of-reference person, and this is a perfectly wonderful analogy. Thanks for sharing!
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jenni Reply:
January 27th, 2010 at 9:52 am
thank, kelly. i’m all about teachable moments… and God seems to be giving me PLENTY recently.
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I love it…Chance is totally becoming self-sufficient!! He is such a caring and passionate little boy! Good thoughts friend!
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jenni Reply:
January 27th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
thanks, honey! Chance sure is growing into someone I’m quite proud of. God is good!!!
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That’s a really cool analogy. Hadn’t heard it quite like that before. It’s a great example. Thanks. =)
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jenni Reply:
January 27th, 2010 at 6:38 pm
amazing what God can teach us through kids, huh?
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This is a great post Jen.
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jenni Reply:
January 27th, 2010 at 6:38 pm
thanks!
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Although my daughter is now 23, it excites me to no end when she calls me 5 or 6 times in a day. “I forgot to tell you…” is how a lot of those calls go. Now I’m 2000 miles away (instead of 300) and they make my day more than ever.
I missed a lot when I was in active addiction. I was there, but not really present. When I started doing the twitter thing Nov 08, she thought I had lost my mind!! One of my fav moments was when she sent me a friend request in May! Ha! She invited me to play! Now if she would just be my friend on facebook. She gets hung up on what I might say to her friends! That comes from my bad behavior during my active addiction. One of these days……
You know, God never left me then. He’s still here today. No matter how hard I tried to shut Him out! I choose to grow from that today. Don’t you know how excited He gets when we take Him with us!?
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jenni Reply:
January 27th, 2010 at 6:39 pm
love this comment, shellie.
how awesome that you get to live out your second chance. how awesome for ALL of us that we get to experience restoration! God is good!!!
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Loved this post. I definitely need to get better about inviting God along. Thanks for the beautiful picture of what that might look like. Kids are such great teachers
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jenni Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 3:14 pm
ABSOLUTELY. my kids teach me things everyday… even if it’s a reminder that I MAY be crazy!
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I love when a post hits my heart and makes me stop for a minute. Changing my vision to His is something I should do more often. Great perspective.
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jenni Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 3:13 pm
thanks, honey. i’m still learning it all myself too!
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They are SO cute! Also, you have a typo: This IS what God wants from ME!
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jenni Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 3:13 pm
thanks, grammar nazi. love you!
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I love how you intentionally parent. I am often too task oriented to enjoy all those moments.
Then to tie in the spiritual analysis, brilliant!
Love You.
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jenni Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 3:13 pm
you’re an aMAZing Dad. i wouldn’t want to do this with anyone else. i love you, babe!
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