My war is not against flesh and blood

Little can be sweeter than victory after nasty defeat!

Naptime and bedtime still rages war in our home.
We have prayed, and prayed, and PRAYED over this situation
We have sought so much (wise) counsel as to how to 'break' Mylin of getting out of bed, or how to 'make' her obedient, and how to do it lovingly, or patiently, or absent of anger
But let me tell you - for a girl who struggles with an angry heart - this has been HARD

Today I was blessed with some very encouraging counsel from my mentor (thank you, Mom Life!!!)
I was reminded that this is my highest calling - to care for, teach, and train these children God has blessed us with
I quit my job for this - a job that I loved...but also used as a 'break' from being a mom
That is not where God wanted my heart

Satan loves to remind me that I could get my job back - or get so flooded with opportunities to serve, or volunteer, or fill my days with 'stuff' that keeps me away from my focus on my children
But Satan's work gets so skewed in my mind and I find myself being angry at Mylin for not staying in bed and not going to sleep and manipulating me
Or I get mad at Joel for 'messing up' our routine by being home and wanting to take over naptime on the weekends (uh, hello - this is a team effort, Rachel - get over yourself and let go of the reins...)

But my war is NOT against flesh and blood
Joel so wisely reminded me a few weekends ago:
"We're on the same team"
Wow, you're right - so why am I so mad at you?!?!?

Get behind (me) us, Satan!
We need to put on our armor (Ephesians 6:10-18) of God daily and remember that we (Joel & I) are united in Christ and fighting with Him agains the evil one.

I so appreciated this reminder and the flood of refreshment it brought to my mind, heart, and spirit
God is using this to teach me self-control...how can I expect my 2 year old to have it, when I cannot even display it during a routine naptime?!?!

This is all about training her heart too...that obedience to mommy is done out of love for mommy
Just like mommy is obedient to God out of her love (and sacrifice of self) to Him

God is using this tiny, frustrating, beautiful, big-grinned, silly goose 2 year old to train my heart
Thank you, God, for an adorable lesson :)