Mom The Ultimate Survior All Star

The Ultimate Survivor All-Star

SHOW SURVIVOR VIDEO CLIP…

HAVE – you noticed that all across America today, there is an obsession with watching reality-based TV shows. I MEAN – they are popping up all over the place. AND – we better get used to them because they are here to stay… not only because they are making big bucks, but because they are meeting a big need…

YOU SEE – people today are hungry for relationships… they are hungry to be involved in the loves of ‘real’ people… AND SO – they will even settle for pseudo ones (virtual ones) on TV. AND - tonight million of Americans will tune in to watch the final two-hour episode to find out who is going to be the Ultimate Survivor All Star…

HEY - have you heard about the next Survivor show they have planned? Six men will be dropped off on an island with 1 van and 4 kids for 6 weeks. Each kid plays two sports and takes music or dance lessons. There’s no access to fast food. Each man must take care of his 4 kids, keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, complete science projects, cook, and do laundry.

The men have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done. But there’s only one TV between them and no remote control.

They must be able to get a four year old to eat green beans. The men must shave their legs and wear makeup daily, which they must apply themselves while driving or while making lunches.

They’ll be judged on how well they can make an Indian hut model with six toothpicks, a tortilla, and one magic marker. The winner gets voted off of the island and gets his old job back!

NOW - to win in these ‘survivor’ contests (that we see on TV), you must outwit, outplay, and outlast your fellow contestants. It’s a test of the wills, a test of endurance, a fight to the finish. AND - those who participate in these contests must sacrifice sleep and convenience and face many hardships. These contests are not for the weak or the faint of heart.

OKAY – here’s a trivia question for you: What is the name of the oldest & longest running, reality-based survival contest in the world? You guessed it--motherhood. And this morning on Mother’s Day, I want to speak to the moms about surviving motherhood. IN - our time together, I want to share with you some survival strategies that will help you not only survive, BUT - thrive as a mom.

LISTEN – motherhood is not an easy thing… UNDERSTAND - to win in this contest, you must outwit, outplay, and outlast your fellow contestants. This is a test of the wills, a test of endurance, a fight to the finish. Those who participate must sacrifice sleep and convenience and face many hardships. Motherhood is not for the weak or faint of heart.

Erma Bombeck writes;

For the first 4 or 5 years after I had children, I considered motherhood a temporary condition -- not a calling. It was a time of my life set aside for exhaustion and long hours. It would pass. Then one afternoon, with 3 kids in tow, I came out of a supermarket pushing a cart (with four wheels that went in opposite directions) when my toddler son got away from me. Just outside the door, he ran toward a machine holding bubble gum in a glass dome. In a voice that shattered glass he shouted, "Gimme! Gimme!" I told him I would give him what for if he didn’t stop shouting and get in the car.

As I physically tried to pry his body from around the bubble gum machine, he pulled the entire thing over. Glass and balls of bubble gum went all over the parking lot. We had now attracted a sizable crowd. I told him he would never see a cartoon as long as he lived, and if he didn’t control his temper, he was going to be making license plates for the state.

He tried to stifle his sobs as he looked around at the staring crowd. Then he did something that I was to remember for the rest of my life. In his helpless quest for comfort, he turned to the only one he trusted his emotions with -- me. He threw his arms around my knees and held on for dear life.

I had humiliated him, chastised him, and berated him, but I was still all he had. That single incident defined my role. I was a major force in this child’s life. Sometimes we forget how important stability is to a child. I’ve always told mine, "The easiest part of being a mother is giving birth.... the hardest part is showing up for it each day..."