#I want to be like Anna Jarvis so bad when I grow up

[magpie-trove]

Anna being on her hospital bed and asking Jarvis but where is your friend Peggy and why aren’t you with her? I’m so glad you are here but I’ve got people taking care of me and your friend only has you

[need-a-fugue]

We Grow Together (8)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x OFC

Summary: Relationships can be tough, especially when one person is a recovering-from-being-brainwashed-and-tortured former assassin and the other is an overworked mutant scientist. But hey, every couple has their struggles. Right?

Warning(s): some angst, some emotional and mental turmoil… some bad language words… much fluff

Chapter Summary: The world has been saved - check that off the list. Now it’s time to start planning for the future. But why does that feel so much harder than fighting a killer robot army? Luckily, Natasha’s around to talk some sense and help screw Tessa’s head on straight.

“I am not freaking out!” she shouts at the redhead before downing the shot of bourbon in front of her. She makes a pinched face as the brown liquid sets fire to her insides, then she holds out the tiny glass and shakes it, begging for a refill.

Natasha goes into the cabinet and pulls out two lowball glasses before settling in beside Tessa on the couch. She delicately folds her legs beneath her, leans forward to pour a few fingers into each glass, and hands one to Tessa. “I’m not judging,” she says slowly as she leans back.

With everything that’d been going on lately, most of the team has been pretty damn frazzled. The world didn’t end, which felt like a win. But a lot of innocent lives were lost when Sokovia was attacked. Jarvis got a body and became something… more, which everyone still seemed to be a bit on the fence about. Ultron was defeated. And all of the Avengers survived the battle, some coming out the other side in better shape than others. But the recovery and cleanup had only just begun, and man was it going to be a bitch to get through.

After Ultron and the other killer bots destroyed a good chunk of the tower, Tony had sped up the timeline on moving the Avengers’ home base upstate. Which meant that almost everyone was having to pack up their lives and slowly transition into the half-finished space. Natasha knew it was worse for Tessa because she had to move an entire lab and get to work on designing the new med floor, which Tony only just mentioned to her last week. And there was the more personal issue of deciding on living arrangements in the new compound – which apartment layout to get, what view was preferred, the types of amenities, and of course whether or not to take on a roommate.

For as long as Nat had known Tessa – and that was, what, four years now? – she had never known her to actually date anyone, not for more than a couple of months at a time anyway. But now she had a notorious assassin staying at her place nearly every night. And while they made no secret of their affair, they never actually publicly admitted to being in a relationship, let alone being in love. Even though both were painfully obvious.

“So…” Natasha starts, casually drawing out the word.

Tessa just looks at her with a confused quirk of her head. “So what?”

“Maybe you’re not freaking out, but you’re obviously upset. So…”

She takes a long, deep breath and leans back into the couch with her bourbon in hand. “I don’t know. I’m just… stressed out.”

Natasha lets loose with a small snort. “You thrive on being stressed out. You wouldn’t know how to slow down and relax if someone put you into a coma.” Tessa ducks her head and smiles a bit bashfully, knowing full well that Nat’s words describe her to a tee. “So what’s really bothering you? Because I feel like you’ve been… off for a while now.”

“Since Ultron, you mean?” she asks, sarcasm dripping.

“Yeah, since Ultron.” Natasha shifts into the couch and purses her lips as she thinks of something. “Since the thing with Wanda, really.”

Wanda. There is that. Tessa had gone along with the Avengers to Africa in large part because of the enhanced girl who had the ability to manipulate energy. From the rather limited amount of data that they had at the time, she was confident that the girl’s powers would be no match for hers. Turns out she was wrong. And Wanda was able to fry her brain just like the others.

“I hate that she’s here,” she mumbles into her glass as she finishes off the liquor.

Nat reaches over to hand her the bottle. “She’s just a kid.”

“A kid who tried to kill us and fucked with all our heads.”

“Not Clint’s.” Natasha sips at her drink as she pulls at a loose thread on her yoga pants. “I think he’s ready to adopt her.”

“Good. He can take her home with him.”

Nat gives her a questioning look. “You’d rather have her out in the world right now? With no one to help her hone her skills? She’s dangerous.”

“And we’re going to make her less dangerous?”

“You could.”

“Jesus,” Tessa sighs dramatically. “You sound like Steve.”

Natasha laughs. “Yeah, he said he was working on you.”

“Harassing me, you mean?”

“He thinks you’re the best one to help her, and honestly, he’s right. Your abilities are so similar… no one can identify better with what she’s going through.”

“What she’s going through?” She makes no attempt to hide the disdain in her voice. “She asked someone to experiment on her. She wanted powers so that she could exact revenge.”

“And now she has those powers and she doesn’t know what to do with them. Look, I’m not 100% sold on her either. But she’s here. She’s trying to make up for what she did. And she could be a huge asset to the team.”

Tessa gives a psh and downs some more of her drink.

Nat gives her an assessing look, gazing intensely at her friend for a long moment. “What did she do to you?” she finally asks.

“What do you mean?”

“That day, at the base, she really fucked you up,” she says, no question to her voice.

Tessa looks away as she replies, “She fucked all of us up.”

“Yeah, but I think the rest of us kind of got over it.” Tessa leans forward, reaching for the bourbon, and Natasha stops her, grabbing her hand when she wraps it around the bottle. “What did she show you?”

Tessa looks up into Nat’s eyes, sees that she’s truly interested in knowing, in helping. Natasha isn’t exactly a gossip. She’s usually more than content to be left out of other people’s drama. So the fact that she’s pressing her right now shows how much genuine concern the woman feels for her. “My sister,” she says simply, falling back into the couch cushions.

“Did you see her die?” she asks without preamble.

Tessa shakes her head and squints as though she’s trying to recall. “No. Not really. I just… saw her.” She takes a long pause, a confused and almost pained look on her face. “It was that night, though. The night she killed herself. But…” She shakes her head again, this time her eyes are tightly closed like they’re desperately trying to block something out.

“But what?” Natasha asks, extending her hand and slowly, softly beginning to stroke Tessa’s arm.

When she opens her eyes, they’re glassy and paler green than Nat’s ever seen them. Maybe it’s the bourbon. Maybe the lack of sleep and the abundance of stress. Maybe it’s the thought of a long-lost sister that she never talks about. “I wasn’t there.” She locks eyes with Natasha and repeats, “When she did it, I wasn’t there.”

“Okay,” she says, encouraging her to go as she maintains the delicate eye contact.

“But in the… vision… I was there. And I saw her.” She shakes her head and huffs out a breath. “But in the mirror. I saw her in the mirror.” She looks away quickly, almost seeming embarrassed by her words.

This time, when Tessa goes for a refill, Nat lets her have it. “You were twins, right?” She nods as she takes a long sip from her now half-filled glass. “Identical?” Another nod. Natasha leans back and sighs. “Well, that kind of makes sense, right? Our worst fears, our worst memories… that’s what she called to the surface. It makes sense that you’d regret not being there, and that in this… dream –”

“No,” Tessa interrupts quickly. “No, it wasn’t like that. It was… I don’t know how to explain it. I was her. I was Anna. And it didn’t feel… weird or anything. It felt… real.” A sudden shiver takes over her body. “I think…” but she can’t quite finish the thought. Instead she shakes her head again and then shakes out her arms to rid herself of the chill that suddenly overtakes her body. “Never mind. Just… forget it.” She looks up and takes note of the concerned look on Natasha’s face. “Let’s talk about something else. Can we talk about something else?”

Natasha changes her expression on a dime, going from worried frown to sly smirk. “Okay,” she starts. “Are you and the soldier gonna make it official?”

Tessa rolls her eyes. “I’m not sure what official means.” She shifts in her seat, seeming antsy and self-conscious. “I think… it sounds like we might share an apartment. I guess actually live together.”

Nat finishes the rest of her drink and sets the glass down on the coffee table. “You’re okay with that?” she asks, voice thoughtful and sincere. “That’s what you want?”

She shrugs. “It makes sense. He spends the night most nights anyway. It’d be dumb to give him his own place if he’d hardly even use it. And he doesn’t want to keep living with Steve… he deserves his own space back.”

She cocks a brow and gives a gentle mm-hmm. “And how does Steve feel about all of this?”

“Oh, mother Steve is very upset.” Tessa nods dramatically.

“Is he?” she mocks.

“He told James that if he loved me, then he’d marry me and not make me live in sin.” She takes one last sip and sets her glass down beside Nat’s. “They haven’t talked in two days.”

“Damn. I did not know that.” Natasha leans forward and takes Tessa’s hand. In a low, serious tone, she asks, “Is he making you live in sin?”

Tessa holds the eye contact for as long as she can before collapsing into a fit of hysterics. “Oh God,” she says through the laughter. “Will you save me?”

Natasha chuckles softly, which is about as emotive of a laugh as she ever allows. “Sounds like Steve’s already trying.”

“It’s dumb,” she says lightly, shaking her head as the giggles subside. “I know it is. We’re together all the time. He stays at my place all the time.”

“You’re completely in love,” Natasha supplies. Tessa gives her an incredulous side eye. “You’re not fooling anyone, golubushka. Sleeping with the man is one thing, but it’s so obviously way past that. And it has been for a long ass time.”

“I feel like I need wine to continue this conversation,” she says, hauling herself up off the couch and heading into Nat’s kitchen. She goes straight to the cupboard in the corner and pulls out two glasses before eyeballing the wine selection on the second shelf. “It’s so weird to me that the Black Widow’s taste in wine goes from sweet to practically Kool-Aid,” she mumbles, mostly to herself.

“There’s a Riesling in the fridge, you lush,” Natasha shouts from the other room.

Tessa wrinkles her nose. “Of course there is.” But her near disgust doesn’t stop her from grabbing the mostly full bottle of wine from the refrigerator and pouring two giant glasses.

“You know,” Nat starts, accepting the glass of wine as Tessa settles back onto the sofa, “Mixing bourbon and wine is rarely a good idea.”

“I’ve done worse,” she counters with a shrug.

Natasha raises a single brow as she looks at her friend with a smirk. “So… where were we?”

Tessa offers another shrug. “I love him, sure.”

“Sure? That does sound like love.”

“Feelings aren’t the problem.” She turns to face Nat, curling her leg up underneath her and throwing one arm over the back of the couch. She locks eyes with the redhead. “Relationships,” she says, a sort of fear and awe twisted into her voice. “That’s the part I suck at.”

“Don’t we all?” Natasha offers with a small smile. “We live strange lives here.”

“Even before here,” she says with a slow shake of the head. “I’ve always been… single minded.”

“You’re heading up the medical research lab for Stark Industries. You’re the official physician of the Avengers. And you’re not yet thirty. You don’t get here without being single minded.”

“A workaholic, you mean.”

“How about dedicated? Passionate?”

She shifts again, seemingly uncomfortable in her own skin. “It’s just… any other guy… I might’ve felt bad about not giving him my full attention, I should have. But I never really did.”

“You’ve never been in love before.”

“Oh no,” she says, eyes blown wide. “I’ve been in love before. And it did not go well.”

Nat cocks her head to the side. “Interesting…”

“Not today, no,” she responds to her friend’s fishing. That’s a looong story that’ll require more than a half a bottle of sugary Riesling to get out of her.

“Fine. But we will come back to this.”

“I’ve no doubt.”

“Are you afraid to live with him?” Natasha asks, taking no time at all to transition back to the topic at hand.

“I don’t know,” she answers honestly. “Right now, he doesn’t really have a place of his own. It’s either he stays with me or with Steve. So even though he’s usually at my place, it’s easy enough to say that he doesn’t really live there with me. But if he does actually live there… then it’s… I mean that’s…”

“Serious?”

Tessa nods, then stops short, crinkles her nose, and begins to shake her head. “It’s not just that. Or…it’s not that simple. It’s not like I’m afraid of commitment, per se.”

“Really?” Natasha asks with a smirk.

Tess rolls her eyes. “I just mean, I don’t have a problem with intimacy. Or committing to just one man. Or being in love… even though none of that has gone well in the past.” She sips her wine and stares off into the distance, focusing on nothing. “It’s… I don’t know… reliance. Dependence?”

“Explain please.”

“I can love James. I can be in love with James, and I can be intimate with him. Maybe even stay in the same apartment with him. But that’s different from being… with him.”

“How do you figure?”

“Because… I don’t know. Because if we’re together, really together, then I depend on him and he depends on me. And we’re…”

“A team?”

“Yes. I guess so.”

“And you don’t want to be part of a team.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“That wasn’t a question.” She shifts so that she’s sitting upright, and she levels Tessa with a confident stare. “When Clint first met you, you were freelancing for Genetech. Before that you were investigating – on your own – genetic anomalies. Then Clint convinced you to help out with SHIELD, which you would only do on a temporary, contract basis. Tony hired you as an independent contractor. And I know how hesitant you were to take the position as the head of the tier 1 med team. I know how long it took Tony to wear you down.”

“So you’re saying I’m not a team player?”

“Not at all. I was with you in Africa. And in Sokovia. I was part of the debrief on Mexico. I think you’re great on a team. And in case you’ve forgotten, I’ve seen your SHIELD file. So I know that you were an integral part of another pretty big team for quite a while.”

“Yeah, well…”

“Did the X-Men fuck you up that bad?”

She shakes her head emphatically. “I don’t talk about that.” She pauses for a moment, takes in Natasha’s words and says, “But… maybe it left me feeling like I shouldn’t be part of a team. Yeah. Maybe.”

“Well maybe it’s time to get over that.”

“Did Tony bribe you to try and get me on the team?”

She smiles and leans forward. “Tessa, you’re already part of the team – part of the Avengers team and, I’m pretty sure, part of the Sullivan-and-Barnes team. Whether you like it or not.”

She nods gravely and takes another drink, and the two sit in silence for a long moment. “I don’t want to disappoint him,” Tessa says softly.

“You think he’ll expect something different if you live together?”

She shrugs. “Right now, we’re just… I don’t know… we’re happy together. But – God, this is going to sound so cliché – we’ve never labeled it.”

Natasha snorts out a laugh. “Labels are for children. You don’t have to put a name to a relationship to be happy in it. You’re adults. If you’re happy together, then just be together.”

“That may be the most naïve thing I’ve ever heard you say.”

Nat merely shrugs. “Maybe. Or maybe I’m a genius and you’re just too threatened by my intellect to admit it.”

“Maybe. Doubtful.”

Natasha sets her mostly empty glass down on the coffee table and leans in toward Tessa. “You want to know what I think?” Tessa raises her eyebrows and nods. “I think that he knows you – gets you – in a way that no one else ever has. And I think that you, weirdly, get him too. And all of us in the tower think you both are disgustingly, adorably enamored with each other. And I don’t think that’ll go away because you work late and miss dinner a few nights a week, or because he leaves the toilet seat up, or because one or the other of you drank the last of the milk and put the carton back in the fridge, or whatever other ‘living together’ issues may come up.”

“I got yelled at for putting the empty OJ carton back in the fridge just last week.”

“See?!” She tenderly lays her hand on Tessa’s knee and levels her with an intense stare. “I think you’re nervous because you’re overthinking it. And if you just let go a little, which I know is crazy difficult for you, then you might just end up being happy despite yourself.”

Tessa drops her eyes and feels a hot blush slowly creep up her neck. She knows Natasha’s right. “I think…” she starts slowly, “that you’re a really good friend.” She looks back up at Nat and sees her eyes soften a bit. “And I think that we should go out and get you laid. Because you clearly have forgotten what it’s like to be with a man.”

“That might piss Bruce off.”

Tessa scoffs. “If he doesn’t make his move soon, he’s gonna piss me off. And he wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.”

[imaginetonyandbucky]

Tony is new to some boarding school that Bucky is already at (with his friends, as in, the avengers) He gets assigned as Bukcy's new roommate. He never wanted to go to the boarding school, he misses home and Jarvis terribly, and feels really, utterly alone and scared. Bucky is nice to him, sure, but he doesn't try to make friends with him that much. One night Bucky wakes up to Tony sobbing into his pillow, because he's so sad and lonely and homesick. (he comforts him and avengers take him in?)

“Yeah, well- Ms. Martha hates me, it ain’t really surprising that I got bunked together with some new kid instead of you. ‘Sides, Sam would mope around if you roomed with me.” Barnes sighs, at least that’s what Tony thinks he does from his distorted point of view after being stopped by the not exactly hushed voices coming out of the room- his room, but not really-, and opting to hide behind the wall outside the room instead of going in, his back to the wall and his hand fiddling with the buttons of his shirt, nervous, feeling unwelcome.

When the other person in the room- Steve, the golden boy of the school, Tony’s mind supplies- comes out and bumps into Tony just as he preparing to walk into the room casually as if he isn’t debating whether to come in after Barnes falls asleep every single day, he gives Tony an apologetic look and a guilty greeting, as Tony smiles right back with an unnaturally wide smile and heads into the room, closing the door behind him.

Without sparing a glance at Barnes who very much does not have a shirt on- as usual- he throws his bag on his bed- the bed, not his bed- and promptly locks himself into the bathroom.

It’s been a week since he came here, and his mom’s promises that the boarding school was going to get better as he made progress are starting to seem like blatant lies, told to make getting rid of him easier.

You need to get some manners, Tony. You are childish, not disciplined, and-

I got accepted into MIT  and I’m 15, dad-

Enough. You’ll go to MIT when you learn how to behave.

The splash of water against his face doesn’t seem to take away from the heat that seems to burn within since he woke up today, induced by seeing that there’s only one cookie left from the ones that Jarvis sent with him. He knows it’s ridiculous, but he misses him, and even the cookies don’t taste the same when Jarvis isn’t there to scold him for attempting to eat two of them at the same time.

You eat way too much for someone your size, Anthony.

Only your cooking, Jarvis. And Anna’s, of course.

He misses his mom, too. He knows she never wanted him to leave, either, but she wants him to be happy, and it’s true that he is a hard kid to deal with. She has always been willing to try, though, unlike his father. His father had always wanted Tony to be easy.

He isn’t. And he knows boarding school won’t change that just because he gets yelled at on a daily basis.

I don’t want to go, mom. I don’t want to leave. What will happen to Dummy? I was just about to finish him-

You’ll come back, Bambi. You’ll see, everything will work out.

He jolts when the banging at the door gets persistent.

He shakes his head, huffs out with annoyance, and opens the door, lips thinned and eyes fiery, prepared to face an angry Bucky. He can stay in his own bathroom for however long he wants dammit-

“You okay?”

“Sorry?” Tony makes a face, confused, but his fists loosen.

Bucky shrugs. “You’ve been in there for quite a time.”

“I’m fine,” he says, pushing past him- well, more like his shoulder hitting the guy’s chest as he passes by- and plops down onto the bed.

He gets the cookie jar out, stares at it, and puts it under his bed again. All the while Barnes stares at him with strange, inquiring eyes that Tony ignores. Maybe he will eat the cookies later.

He doesn’t hate his roommate. The guy gives him the time of the day, never calls him out on his age, and doesn’t act like he is a child, or that he is some prize that he needs to attain or stare at. He goes about his day, hangs out with his golden best friend and the scary redhead that Tony secretly admires, and some other people. He doesn’t care about Tony. It’s good.

Until it isn’t.

(Watch out for the break!)

It happens when he jolts awake from a dream. He is sitting with Jarvis and Anna at their breakfast table, the smell of fresh bagels coming out, and the cat Tony found when he was five and hid in their home, and never got around to name, wandering around the kitchen, Jarvis pouring tea and Anna laughing at something his husband said. Tony is happy. Tony is home.

But he isn’t really, as it becomes clear to him when the unfamiliar scent of his sheets engulf him, and he opens his eyes to the dark room, his heart beating fast and his hands clutching the sheets tightly, flowing tears on his cheeks, and he can’t help but sob.

He has his back turned to Barnes who is still sleeping, so he curls into himself and tries to muffle his crying, and he thinks he is succeeding until there’s a weight pressing down on his bed, and a hesitant hand on his shoulder.

“When I first came here, two years ago- I was about your age, I think- not taking the classes you do, obviously, but you get what I mean. I hated this place. I mean, I still do, but I have some friends to hate it with. Ms. Martha says the more friends I get, the more trouble I get into. Just the other day, I kicked someone’s ass for calling Nat names. After she kicked his ass. I just couldn’t hold it in, ya know? ” The weight shifts, Bucky crosses his legs, Tony assumes, and for some reason, Tony doesn’t turn around or tell him to fuck off.

“Guess what I mean is, I know it sucks, and you’ve been givin’ me the cold shoulder, but we still don’t have a genius in our group even though Clint seems to think he is one.”

Tony snorts at that, and wipes at his face, kind of embarrassed, but not yet feeling inclined to kick Bucky off his bed. Instead, he turns around to face him, and backs away till he is plastered against the wall, a silent invitation, maybe a step too far away.

Bucky doesn’t hesitate as he slips right in, though, careful to keep away at a distance but with a light smile on his lips, understanding, not at all like that indifferent with a hint of bad-boy-with-a-leather-jacket-and-a-cigarette vibe he always seems to have going on.

It all goes downhill from there.

——————————

It’s six months after they sleep in the same bed that Tony finally feels like he belongs in the school, and that he is- albeit relatively- happy to be where he is.

This realisation hits when they are at lunch, and Nat is feeding him crackers because he is refusing to eat anything else and she is very adamant that he eats- surprisingly, Nat seems to have a really soft spot for him and actually shows it- and Steve is sitting across them trying not to fall asleep and fall into his lunch as he was at football practice all weekend, as Sam yells at some guy over Steve’s head about something. The others are scattered around the table, Clint and Thor focused on their food entirely, and Bruce is at the library for a biology project with Betty who he still denies having feelings for.

Bucky is sitting right beside Tony. Tony has a leg dangling off from Bucky’s right leg and a hand on Bucky’s hair, fingers tangling and untangling themselves almost reflexively as he finally swats Nat’s away and focuses on Bucky, positioning his body to see him better. Nat seems to be content with how much he ate, because she just smiles knowingly and directs her attention to a now half-sleeping Steve.

He is happy.

Bucky, though, seems to stare into his meat as if he wants to butcher the animal all over again, eyes focused on one spot and cold, motionless.

“Attention.” Tony demands, leaning in until his lips almost hit Bucky’s face.

With that, Bucky snaps out of it and turns to the side to the face him, almost causing their lips to touch, and making Tony duck his head and blush without meaning to.

Subtle. His growing crush really is starting to affect his ability to appear as a confident and able individual who doesn’t stutter and blush at the slightest attention and touch from their crush.

Bucky hooks a hand under Tony’s chin and raises it, an inquiring look that he always seems to have when looking to Tony.

“What, you can’t get enough attention from all the eyes already on you, doll?” He teases, and bumps their noses together before letting Tony’s face go, making Tony want to cling to him, but Bucky seems to avoid his eyes even when saying the words, making Tony’s heart sink.

He is probably being overdramatic.

“I want yours.” He pushes, now throwing his other leg over Bucky’s legs, both feet dangling and his elbows resting on his own legs, eyes looking up at Bucky’s strong jawline and grey eyes.

The word crush may not cover it, but he refuses to think about that.

Bucky seems to crack then, turning his steel gaze to Tony’s.

He opens his mouth.

“You have sex hair, Stark. Tell him next time so he doesn’t go so hard on you.” Ty ruffles Tony’s hair as he passes by, throwing a wink to him, making him almost squawk- but he will deny that till he dies.

In hindsight, Tony probably shouldn’t have ever befriended Tiberius Stone, and only did so because he thought it would make his father accept him into their home again, something about making good connections with beneficial people- Ty’s father being the CEO and owner of Viastone- an extremely successful- and dirty company that Tony wants nothing to do with.

Ty is an asshole, but Tony thought he wasn’t so bad. Until he decided that he wanted to date Tony and actively started ruining every moment he had with Bucky when he saw them having one. It is, to say the least, annoying, but it’s not like Bucky is into Tony, or anything.

He just huffs out in annoyance and attempts to fix his hair, cheeks reddening, and he pulls his legs away, sitting properly and not looking at Bucky.

That is, until Bucky shoots to his feet and punches Ty right in the face.

Now, Tony isn’t a stranger to Bucky Barnes being overprotective when it comes to his friends, but Tony can almost see the unnecessary force Bucky puts into the blow, making Ty crash into the nearest table with blood gushing from his nose.

“Buck!” Steve exclaims, seemingly not at all sleepy as he stands and basically jumps over the table to restrain Bucky who is still radiating with anger that he doesn’t seem to want to contain.

“He told you he ain’t interested. Leave him alone or next time blood won’t be the only thing you’re losin’.” Bucky’s voice is surprisingly calm, but cold, and warning.

After Ty leaves with muttered promises of revenge, Tony gives one betrayed look at Bucky and takes his bag, leaving the hall, his head thumping and voices getting distant.

He doesn’t feel very good.

Bucky finds him an hour after, his back against the wall just out the back entrance to his favourite building in the school. It’s his favourite because there aren’t many people who like to hang out there, except a few guys who secretly smoke and lots of cats. Tony is in the process of appreciating a black cat when Bucky materialises in front of him.

“Go away.” Tony demands, trying to look over his shoulder to see the cat again stubbornly. “Leia needs my attention.”

“She can wait for his turn, doll. Look at me.”

Tony does, face scrunched up and trying to look indifferent.

“I’m not a kid. I can defend myself.” He says out of the blue after a moment, looking at Bucky pointedly. “So what if he thinks we are… doing /that/? It doesn’t matter. He’s just saying it. Doesn’t make it true. You didn’t need to punch him.” He huffs out, almost offended.

He knows it’s stupid to be hurt because Bucky is angry at Ty implying they were an item, but it just hurts, he isn’t saying that it makes sense. It doesn’t.

“You think that’s why I punched him? He’s been verbally assaulting you for months, Tony, just cause you don’t wanna date him. He had it comin’.” Bucky shrugs, slings an arm around Tony’s waist. “I don’t regret it, but I’m sorry if you are angry at me.”

Tony looks at him, and is convinced that Bucky is telling the truth, so he leans his head against Bucky’s chest and sighs. “It’s fine.”

“No. ‘M not letting him talk to you like that. Or anyone else, for that matter.” Bucky replies with confidence.

“I can defend myse-”

“You are a baby.”

“I’m a genius and-”

“A baby.”

“Am not.”

“Yes, you are.” Bucky’s lips curl, and Tony knows  that he is teasing, but he takes it as a challenge.

He gets on his tiptoes and plants a light kiss on Bucky’s lips, just meant to be teasing, and pulls away, looking at him daringly. “What were you saying?” He hums.

Bucky is gaping at him, cheeks red and eyes wide, and just as Tony is starting to get worried about breaking Bucky, he is slammed against the wall with lips, hot and needy, against his.

An involuntary moan escapes his lips as his arms wrap themselves around Bucky’s neck and he presses himself against him.

When Bucky finally pulls away, he is looking at Tony with eyes that promise more later.

“You are not a baby.”

Tony can only hum in approval.

[darinb]

Mother's Day 2018

Mother’s Day was established in 1914 by President Woodrow Wilson after years of campaigning by Mrs Anna Jarvis, and it has since been established around the world as a special day to honour mothers.

Becoming a mother is not the same as being a mother. Becoming a mother is a biological process, and it takes only a moment. Being a mother is not so easy, because it is a lifelong commitment for which there is no preparation, no training and often very little help.

 One woman’s said, “Before I got married I had 3 theories on how to raise children. Now I have 3 children, and no theories!”

Being a mum or a dad is a tough job. But we ought to honour them, because this is the first commandment that comes with a direct promise…

 Exodus 20:12 (ESV Strong's)

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

 So today I want to highlight motherhood and the awesome role mums play in our lives…

 BEING A MOTHER- THE WORLD’S MOST UNDERPAID JOB

 Men, you go out to work and expect to get paid for a job well done. Motherhood has been jointly described as the world’s most underpaid job, or the most highly paid job if you count love and goodwill instead of just money… So check this out…

 Salary.com conducted a survey in 2010 that attempted to place a monetary value on the work of a stay-at-home mom. They determined that if mothers were to be paid for their ten most common tasks in the home (laundry machine operator, janitor, van driver, computer operator, housekeeper, day care center teacher, cook, chief executive officer, psychologist, and facilities manager) they would be paid $117,855.86 per annum. The largest piece of the pie came from overtime pay because a man works from 9 to 5, but a woman’s work is never done.

Milton Berle once quipped, “If evolution is real,  how come mothers only have 2 hands!”

So mums, I hope you feel honoured by that amount of earning power. Maybe you can demand a raise at home!

But in the meantime, what does God call you to be when you become a mother?

1.      GROWER

 Psalms 127:3 (ESV Strong's)

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.

 Mums, you have given birth to and nurtured your children. Some are still doing this, while others have seen them grow into mature, and sometimes not so mature adults. Your mission in life was to grow your children, and “the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.”

 But you don’t know what you’re growing! If a farmer grows wheat, he gets wheat. If he plants corn, he doesn’t get cucumbers, he gets corn.

 But mums, you could be growing a prime minister, or a doctor, or a pastor, or you could be growing another mum, or a drug dealer or possibly even worse, a lawyer. You have no idea, right?

 Yours is the great challenge, and the great joy of seeing potential realised. When a painter begins to put brush to canvas, and when a musician strums a few chords or sings a few notes, there is tremendous expectation. And when the masterpiece unfolds, or a beautiful song evolves, there is a great sense of accomplishment.

 Mothers, you are growers and nurturers and you will see rewards as your children grow and mature.

 2.      TEACHER

 2 Timothy 1:5 (ESV Strong's)

I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.

 Timothy was a great leader in the church, and he was brought to faith by the teaching and influence of his mother and grandmother. Teaching your children is an important job mothers have, and we are not talking about sewing or cooking here… mums need to teach their children about life, about love, about success and about faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!

 Mums, we honour you for the way you’ve taught us truths about life.

 3.      COMFORTER

 Isaiah 66:13 (ESV Strong's)

As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you;

 Whether it’s a skinned knee, a shattered dream or a broken heart, great mums are there to comfort you. Even if they felt their mums never comforted them, great mums still comfort those they love.

  4.      ADVISOR

 Even today at my age my mother is able to advise me, and I listen. Why? Because she has earned the right to speak into my life, and that’s what great mums do!

 Proverbs 1:8 (ESV Strong's)

Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching,

 Mothers, whether you like it or not, tend to have advice on everything. Now we all know the kind of advice mothers give, but I want to share with you a list of things you will likely never hear your mother say…

 “Just leave all the lights on...it makes the house look more cheery.”

“Let me smell that shirt—Yeah, it’s good for another week.”

“Go ahead and keep that stray dog, honey. I’ll be glad to feed and walk him every day.”

“I know I said no, but if Timmy’s mom says it’s OK, that’s good enough for me.”

“Come home when you like, the curfew is just a general time to shoot for. It’s not like I’m running a prison around here.”

“I don’t have a tissue with me...just use your sleeve.”

 How many of you know that, when facing choices in your life, many times your mother’s advice comes to mind. So mums, be careful what you advise your children, because they take it all in, even if they don’t appear to act upon it.

  5.      COUNCILLOR

 Proverbs 31:26 (ESV Strong's)

She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

 Mothers, you have wisdom. It might be worldly wisdom from beneath, or it might be godly wisdom from above.

 When your mother asks, "Do you want a piece of advice?" it's a mere formality. It doesn't matter if you answer yes or no. You're going to get it anyway.

— ERMA BOMBECK

Many great people, from Abraham Lincoln to Michael Jordon to Liza Minnelli attribute their success to advice their mums gave them.

 6.      RELEASER

 Great mums realise that they don’t own their children, they steward them. Many of you older mums are at this point right now. You bring children up the best you can, maybe teach them all about the Lord, but at some point you need to let them go, and they make their own choices, many of which you may not agree with.

 I don’t agree with all the decisions my kids make, but I make sure that it never diminishes how much I love them. One of the fallacies of our modern world is that people say if you love me you’ll let me. Listen, you can love someone and still disagree with them.

 Mothers, you need to be releasers, and release them to the Lord. Samuel’s mother, who had waited so long for a child, prayer so fervently for a child, when she had her first she dedicated him to God…

 1 Samuel 1:27-28 (ESV Strong's)

For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.”

 My mother did exactly this. As is typical of me, I was rushing ahead of time into the world at only 6 months, and the doctors told my mum that her waters had broken, and she needed to go home and that I would be born dead unless she remained perfectly still for 3 months. But that night God spoke to her audibly and told her that her womb was healed. When the doctor came in to his horror she was bouncing on the bed, and she told him God had healed her.

 I was eventually born normally, and she dedicated my life to the service of God, and here I am!

 Mothers, many of your hearts are breaking for kids gone astray, kids who have rejected Christ. 2 things, first stop blaming yourself. At some point your children make their own decision, and it’s not your fault. But secondly, never stop praying and believing for your children!

  7.      PRAYER

 A mother’s prayer has saved many a soul, so whatever you do, never give up on your children. Never stop praying for your children…

 1 John 5:14-15 (ESV Strong's)

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

 Mothers, your prayers are powerful and I know myself, when I was rebelling against my parents, I believe it was the prayers of my mother that kept me from harm and brought me back to God.

 Prayer of mothers protects their children, just like Mt Pinatubo in 1991 in the eruption, where mothers saved children by laying over them, so your prayers protect your children.

  8.      BELIEVER- THE ROLE OF A MOTHER

 And finally, never stop believing for your children.

 Galatians 6:9 (ESV Strong's)

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

 Mums want to believe in you, whether you believe in you or not. They see the good in their children, even if no one else does.

For example, Hitler’s mum Klara took him to church and wanted him to be a civil servant. Napoleon’s mum was married at 13 and accompanied him into exile on the island of Elba.  Osama Bin Laden’s mum wanted him to stop fighting the west and come home to Saudi like a good boy. Donald Trump described his mum as smart as hell and  he said he's had trouble finding women to marry who compared to his her!

I read about Ted Bundy’s mother Louise, who loved her son so much that she refused to believe he was a killer, until a series of death row confessions of 36 murders put the matter beyond doubt. These mums saw the best in their children even when others saw them as tyrants and killers.

 Mums believe in us when others give up on us. Mums always want the best for their kids and grandkids, as I bet every mum in this room does.

 So mothers, don’t give up on your kids, no matter how bad you might think they have become.  One of the greatest church fathers in history owed his ministry and life to his mother’s faithfulness…

St Augustine’s mother was a godly woman who lived around 350AD. She loved her wayward son, and the young Augustine lived with a girl and had an illegitimate child, then followed this by joining a heretical sect for 9 long years. He refused to listen to her, and she was so distraught she prayed and prayed and God gave her a dream that settled her heart, and then a mother's faith checked in.

A short time after the dream Augustine came to Christ, and became one of the most significant church fathers of his generation! He was once lost, but then through a mother's faith and love, he was found.

My mother was a believer for me too! She believed that the Lord would use me, even when I was wandering far from His ways, and she prayed and believed even when it hurt and when she was discouraged!

 HOW MUCH?

 We said before that what mums do is worth $117,855 a year, but in reality it is worth far more than that. Here’s a poem I love, written by Harland Howard and once sung by Tammy Winette…

   My little girl came into the kitchen this evenin', While I was fixin' supper, And she handed me a piece of paper she'd been writin' on, And after wipin' my hands on my apron, I read it - and this is what it said:

 For mowin' the yard - five dollars, And for makin' my own bed this week - one dollar, And for goin' to the store - fifty cents, An' playin' with little sister, while you went to the store - twenty-five cents, Takin' out the trash - one dollar, Gettin' a good report card - five dollars, And for rakin' the yard - two dollars, Total owed - fourteen dollars and seventy-five cents.

Well, I looked at her standin' there expectantly, And a thousand mem'ries flashed through my mind, So I picked up the pen, turnin' the paper over, This is what I wrote:

 For the nine months I carried you, Growin' inside me - NO CHARGE, For the nights I've sat up with you, Doctored you, prayed for you - NO CHARGE, For the toys, food and clothes. And for wiping your nose, there's NO CHARGE, When you add it all up. The full cost of my love is NO CHARGE.

 Well, when she finished readin', She had great big old tears in her eyes, And she looked up at me and said, "Mama, I sure do love you." Then she took the pen, And in great big letters, She wrote: "PAID IN FULL."

When you add it all up, The cost of real love is - NO CHARGE

 We can learn that lesson from Jesus. He laid His life down for you and for me, and the cost of real love was simply this… NO CHARGE.

 You can’t buy salvation, and you can’t earn it. This Mother’s Day and every day, Jesus love and sacrifice is freely given… NO CHARGE.

 MOTHERHOOD.. A TOUGH BUT POWERFUL GIG

 So mums, we salute you today and recognise the tough job you have been doing selflessly.

 Lord Shaftesbury was correct in his famous utterance, “Give me a generation of Christian mothers, and I will undertake to change the whole face of society in twelve months.”

 Billy Graham said, “If we had more Christian mothers, we would have less delinquency, less immorality, less ungodliness, and fewer broken homes. Every mother owes it to her children to accept Christ as her personal Savior, so that she may be the influence for good in the lives of those whom Christ has graciously given to her.”

 Whether you are a mum today, or a child, you can have the opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour. It’s a gift, it’s at no charge, but it’s a life changing event.

 Mums, you need Jesus to be the mother you should be. And some of you children, you’ve broken you mum’s heart long enough! It’s time to ask Jesus into your life, it’s time to make your mother’s prayers be answered!

 I asked the Lord for something special for mums today, something we could pray for you, something that would mean a lot in your life. I asked the Lord for a verse that would encourage every mother on this special day. Something that would say, “Hey mum, keep believing, don’t give up on your kids.. Your sacrifice and hard work will be rewarded.”

 Mothers I would ask you to stand. Now, remain standing if you are tired and weary, because this is what the Lord has laid on my heart for you…

 Isaiah 40:11 (ESV Strong's)

He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms;

he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

 Some of you mums have been struggling, overwhelmed by life, fearful and worried for your kids. Maybe your children have been letting you down and breaking your heart, maybe you’ve been trying to juggle work, family, church and everything else. You’ve kept all the balls in the air, you’ve had your heart broken a time of two, but you haven’t given up. However, you get tired and weary and let me tell you that, right now, Jesus loves you and knows how you feel. His arms are outstretched to you and he says,

 Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV Strong's)

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

 When you come to Him you don’t get a free pass, you don’t get everything for nothing. You still have burdens, you still face struggles, but the difference is it’s a yoke that fits. You can pull a far greater weight if your burden fits well, and nothing is rubbing or painful.

 This morning, Mother’s Day, Jesus calls to all mums and say, “Come.” If you’re burdened, if you’re weary, if you’re fearful, come and let Jesus carry the burden for you.

 https://ignitechurch.org.au/mothers-day-2018/

[darinb]

Mother's Day 2018

Mother’s Day was established in 1914 by President Woodrow Wilson after years of campaigning by Mrs Anna Jarvis, and it has since been established around the world as a special day to honour mothers.

Becoming a mother is not the same as being a mother. Becoming a mother is a biological process, and it takes only a moment. Being a mother is not so easy, because it is a lifelong commitment for which there is no preparation, no training and often very little help.   One woman’s said, “Before I got married I had 3 theories on how to raise children. Now I have 3 children, and no theories!”

Being a mum or a dad is a tough job. But we ought to honour them, because this is the first commandment that comes with a direct promise…   Exodus 20:12 (ESV Strong's) “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.   So today I want to highlight motherhood and the awesome role mums play in our lives…  

BEING A MOTHER- THE WORLD’S MOST UNDERPAID JOB

  Men, you go out to work and expect to get paid for a job well done. Motherhood has been jointly described as the world’s most underpaid job, or the most highly paid job if you count love and goodwill instead of just money… So check this out…   Salary.com conducted a survey in 2010 that attempted to place a monetary value on the work of a stay-at-home mom. They determined that if mothers were to be paid for their ten most common tasks in the home (laundry machine operator, janitor, van driver, computer operator, housekeeper, day care center teacher, cook, chief executive officer, psychologist, and facilities manager) they would be paid $117,855.86 per annum. The largest piece of the pie came from overtime pay because a man works from 9 to 5, but a woman’s work is never done. Milton Berle once quipped, “If evolution is real,  how come mothers only have 2 hands!” So mums, I hope you feel honoured by that amount of earning power. Maybe you can demand a raise at home! But in the meantime, what does God call you to be when you become a mother?

1.      GROWER

  Psalms 127:3 (ESV Strong's) Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.   Mums, you have given birth to and nurtured your children. Some are still doing this, while others have seen them grow into mature, and sometimes not so mature adults. Your mission in life was to grow your children, and “the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.”   But you don’t know what you’re growing! If a farmer grows wheat, he gets wheat. If he plants corn, he doesn’t get cucumbers, he gets corn.   But mums, you could be growing a prime minister, or a doctor, or a pastor, or you could be growing another mum, or a drug dealer or possibly even worse, a lawyer. You have no idea, right?   Yours is the great challenge, and the great joy of seeing potential realised. When a painter begins to put brush to canvas, and when a musician strums a few chords or sings a few notes, there is tremendous expectation. And when the masterpiece unfolds, or a beautiful song evolves, there is a great sense of accomplishment.   Mothers, you are growers and nurturers and you will see rewards as your children grow and mature.  

2.      TEACHER

  2 Timothy 1:5 (ESV Strong's) I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.   Timothy was a great leader in the church, and he was brought to faith by the teaching and influence of his mother and grandmother. Teaching your children is an important job mothers have, and we are not talking about sewing or cooking here… mums need to teach their children about life, about love, about success and about faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!   Mums, we honour you for the way you’ve taught us truths about life.  

3.      COMFORTER

  Isaiah 66:13 (ESV Strong's) As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you;   Whether it’s a skinned knee, a shattered dream or a broken heart, great mums are there to comfort you. Even if they felt their mums never comforted them, great mums still comfort those they love.    

4.      ADVISOR

  Even today at my age my mother is able to advise me, and I listen. Why? Because she has earned the right to speak into my life, and that’s what great mums do!   Proverbs 1:8 (ESV Strong's) Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching,   Mothers, whether you like it or not, tend to have advice on everything. Now we all know the kind of advice mothers give, but I want to share with you a list of things you will likely never hear your mother say…   “Just leave all the lights on...it makes the house look more cheery.” “Let me smell that shirt—Yeah, it’s good for another week.” “Go ahead and keep that stray dog, honey. I’ll be glad to feed and walk him every day.” “I know I said no, but if Timmy’s mom says it’s OK, that’s good enough for me.” “Come home when you like, the curfew is just a general time to shoot for. It’s not like I’m running a prison around here.” “I don’t have a tissue with me...just use your sleeve.”   How many of you know that, when facing choices in your life, many times your mother’s advice comes to mind. So mums, be careful what you advise your children, because they take it all in, even if they don’t appear to act upon it.    

5.      COUNCILLOR

  Proverbs 31:26 (ESV Strong's) She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.   Mothers, you have wisdom. It might be worldly wisdom from beneath, or it might be godly wisdom from above.   When your mother asks, "Do you want a piece of advice?" it's a mere formality. It doesn't matter if you answer yes or no. You're going to get it anyway. — ERMA BOMBECK Many great people, from Abraham Lincoln to Michael Jordon to Liza Minnelli attribute their success to advice their mums gave them.  

6.      RELEASER

  Great mums realise that they don’t own their children, they steward them. Many of you older mums are at this point right now. You bring children up the best you can, maybe teach them all about the Lord, but at some point you need to let them go, and they make their own choices, many of which you may not agree with.   I don’t agree with all the decisions my kids make, but I make sure that it never diminishes how much I love them. One of the fallacies of our modern world is that people say if you love me you’ll let me. Listen, you can love someone and still disagree with them.   Mothers, you need to be releasers, and release them to the Lord. Samuel’s mother, who had waited so long for a child, prayer so fervently for a child, when she had her first she dedicated him to God…   1 Samuel 1:27-28 (ESV Strong's) For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.”   My mother did exactly this. As is typical of me, I was rushing ahead of time into the world at only 6 months, and the doctors told my mum that her waters had broken, and she needed to go home and that I would be born dead unless she remained perfectly still for 3 months. But that night God spoke to her audibly and told her that her womb was healed. When the doctor came in to his horror she was bouncing on the bed, and she told him God had healed her.   I was eventually born normally, and she dedicated my life to the service of God, and here I am!   Mothers, many of your hearts are breaking for kids gone astray, kids who have rejected Christ. 2 things, first stop blaming yourself. At some point your children make their own decision, and it’s not your fault. But secondly, never stop praying and believing for your children!    

7.      PRAYER

  A mother’s prayer has saved many a soul, so whatever you do, never give up on your children. Never stop praying for your children…   1 John 5:14-15 (ESV Strong's) And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.   Mothers, your prayers are powerful and I know myself, when I was rebelling against my parents, I believe it was the prayers of my mother that kept me from harm and brought me back to God.   Prayer of mothers protects their children, just like Mt Pinatubo in 1991 in the eruption, where mothers saved children by laying over them, so your prayers protect your children.    

8.      BELIEVER- THE ROLE OF A MOTHER

  And finally, never stop believing for your children.   Galatians 6:9 (ESV Strong's) And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.   Mums want to believe in you, whether you believe in you or not. They see the good in their children, even if no one else does. For example, Hitler’s mum Klara took him to church and wanted him to be a civil servant. Napoleon’s mum was married at 13 and accompanied him into exile on the island of Elba.  Osama Bin Laden’s mum wanted him to stop fighting the west and come home to Saudi like a good boy. Donald Trump described his mum as smart as hell and  he said he's had trouble finding women to marry who compared to his her! I read about Ted Bundy’s mother Louise, who loved her son so much that she refused to believe he was a killer, until a series of death row confessions of 36 murders put the matter beyond doubt. These mums saw the best in their children even when others saw them as tyrants and killers.   Mums believe in us when others give up on us. Mums always want the best for their kids and grandkids, as I bet every mum in this room does.   So mothers, don’t give up on your kids, no matter how bad you might think they have become.  One of the greatest church fathers in history owed his ministry and life to his mother’s faithfulness… St Augustine’s mother was a godly woman who lived around 350AD. She loved her wayward son, and the young Augustine lived with a girl and had an illegitimate child, then followed this by joining a heretical sect for 9 long years. He refused to listen to her, and she was so distraught she prayed and prayed and God gave her a dream that settled her heart, and then a mother's faith checked in. A short time after the dream Augustine came to Christ, and became one of the most significant church fathers of his generation! He was once lost, but then through a mother's faith and love, he was found. My mother was a believer for me too! She believed that the Lord would use me, even when I was wandering far from His ways, and she prayed and believed even when it hurt and when she was discouraged!  

HOW MUCH?

  We said before that what mums do is worth $117,855 a year, but in reality it is worth far more than that. Here’s a poem I love, written by Harland Howard and once sung by Tammy Winette…       My little girl came into the kitchen this evenin', While I was fixin' supper, And she handed me a piece of paper she'd been writin' on, And after wipin' my hands on my apron, I read it - and this is what it said:   For mowin' the yard - five dollars, And for makin' my own bed this week - one dollar, And for goin' to the store - fifty cents, An' playin' with little sister, while you went to the store - twenty-five cents, Takin' out the trash - one dollar, Gettin' a good report card - five dollars, And for rakin' the yard - two dollars, Total owed - fourteen dollars and seventy-five cents. Well, I looked at her standin' there expectantly, And a thousand mem'ries flashed through my mind, So I picked up the pen, turnin' the paper over, This is what I wrote:   For the nine months I carried you, Growin' inside me - NO CHARGE, For the nights I've sat up with you, Doctored you, prayed for you - NO CHARGE, For the toys, food and clothes. And for wiping your nose, there's NO CHARGE, When you add it all up. The full cost of my love is NO CHARGE.   Well, when she finished readin', She had great big old tears in her eyes, And she looked up at me and said, "Mama, I sure do love you." Then she took the pen, And in great big letters, She wrote: "PAID IN FULL." When you add it all up, The cost of real love is - NO CHARGE   We can learn that lesson from Jesus. He laid His life down for you and for me, and the cost of real love was simply this… NO CHARGE.   You can’t buy salvation, and you can’t earn it. This Mother’s Day and every day, Jesus love and sacrifice is freely given… NO CHARGE.  

MOTHERHOOD.. A TOUGH BUT POWERFUL GIG

  So mums, we salute you today and recognise the tough job you have been doing selflessly.   Lord Shaftesbury was correct in his famous utterance, “Give me a generation of Christian mothers, and I will undertake to change the whole face of society in twelve months.”   Billy Graham said, “If we had more Christian mothers, we would have less delinquency, less immorality, less ungodliness, and fewer broken homes. Every mother owes it to her children to accept Christ as her personal Savior, so that she may be the influence for good in the lives of those whom Christ has graciously given to her.”   Whether you are a mum today, or a child, you can have the opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour. It’s a gift, it’s at no charge, but it’s a life changing event.   Mums, you need Jesus to be the mother you should be. And some of you children, you’ve broken you mum’s heart long enough! It’s time to ask Jesus into your life, it’s time to make your mother’s prayers be answered!   I asked the Lord for something special for mums today, something we could pray for you, something that would mean a lot in your life. I asked the Lord for a verse that would encourage every mother on this special day. Something that would say, “Hey mum, keep believing, don’t give up on your kids.. Your sacrifice and hard work will be rewarded.”   Mothers I would ask you to stand. Now, remain standing if you are tired and weary, because this is what the Lord has laid on my heart for you…   Isaiah 40:11 (ESV Strong's) He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.   Some of you mums have been struggling, overwhelmed by life, fearful and worried for your kids. Maybe your children have been letting you down and breaking your heart, maybe you’ve been trying to juggle work, family, church and everything else. You’ve kept all the balls in the air, you’ve had your heart broken a time of two, but you haven’t given up. However, you get tired and weary and let me tell you that, right now, Jesus loves you and knows how you feel. His arms are outstretched to you and he says,   Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV Strong's) Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”   When you come to Him you don’t get a free pass, you don’t get everything for nothing. You still have burdens, you still face struggles, but the difference is it’s a yoke that fits. You can pull a far greater weight if your burden fits well, and nothing is rubbing or painful.   This morning, Mother’s Day, Jesus calls to all mums and say, “Come.” If you’re burdened, if you’re weary, if you’re fearful, come and let Jesus carry the burden for you.  

https://ignitechurch.org.au/mothers-day-2018/