The hard is what makes it great.....

I like what Tom Hanks' character said in the movie, "A League of Their Own," when Geena Davis' character said she was quitting, because the whole baseball/life thing was too hard:

"It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everybody would do it. The hard... is what makes it great."

Since some just come by the blog to look at pics! haha~ Here is Russ and I before the Lady Antebellum concert this week.

I have had so many “aha” moments the last few weeks I don’t even know where to start. I am realizing sometimes the only way I can learn a lesson is if I am taken completely away from everything I feel “comfortable” with and in control of and then and only then do I realize I am NOT running this show.

Sadly, I am sure many of you have heard me say that God gave me my third baby to “show me” I wasn’t in control and needed help with this life thing. With two I could still “handle it.” I was still going and blowing like nobodies business and thought it was easy. When Will showed up….or more accurately, when Lauren’s personality decided to shine through I was in for it!  God is gently showing me that is NOT how He wants me to view it. He doesn’t want me to fail. He doesn’t want me to fall flat on my face before I come running to Him. In fact, He wants me to SUCCEED. He LOVES me and really WANTS me to be happy and productive. After all, this is His world. As I was telling someone the “show me” story last week it was like He whispered in my ear…..Tenille, I gave you Will because I think you CAN. Through Him I CAN be mom to three 5 and under, I CAN work full time in a very busy neuro practice, I CAN still cook, workout, and not have a house that is falling apart. I CAN have a good attitude and be loving to my kids and husband. It literally took my breath away. He thinks I can do this. In fact, He thinks I can do it well….only through Him. He places our life situations just as they should be to bring out our very BEST.

1 Corinthians 7:20: Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him.

It states this several times in 1 Corinthians 7….It was like God knows I need to hear it more than once to really believe. Tenille, I put your hard headed, spunky, determined, overwhelmed, exhausted, and lonely self in Raleigh, North Carolina for a reason and that reason is for you to have all the distracters taken away so WE (me and God) can get down to business. This life thing is happening NOW and I don’t get a REDO!! He didn’t list all the adjectives….that would be my own description! Haha!

Anyway, this is truly a letter to my kiddos because I don’t want them ever to loose sight of the fact that they are where they are supposed to be IF they are truly seeking His will and allowing Him to direct their paths. If it seems bigger than you it probably is but just HOLD on because you never know just how GOOD it can be if you choose to let HIM show you. Sometimes He likes to show out…..through His children.

This is by NO means tooting my own horn. There is very little that I am doing right now other than surviving, but that in itself right now is pretty big to me. This has been a very tough week…at work, home, and generally all around. : I am certainly no Mother Teresa or "plaster saint." I am just an average sinner, saved by grace. My head knowledge and my emotions are often at war with each other. My life is full of inconsistencies, if not outright hypocrisies. I heard Beth Moore say….is it still hypocritical if you are pretending to be the person you really want to be?.....my answer is yes. I struggle with sin, and I don't always live in "Victory on Praise Mountain." NEVERTHELESS...God answers my prayers, hears my cries, and absolutely adores me...just as I am. I thank God that His grace is granted not because of my goodness, but because of His. The message of these blogs is this: If He is doing this for Tenille Rauls, average sinner; He most certainly will do it for you.

I am excited to admit that I have renewed hope. I don’t think that all I have to do until Will can dress and feed himself is survive. It CAN be more than that and I am claiming His promises…..and I am sure Russ is too!