My Life as a Mom

I'm Moving!

2011-01-22T15:14:00.003-05:00

I'm in the process of moving my blog to another site. I've decided to want to change the name and theme of my blog and moving it seemed the best way to do it. I still have more work to do but here's my new home:

http://www.toshowthemjesus.com/

Looking forward to seeing you at my new home!

Orchaboky

2011-01-22T12:53:00.000-05:00

Orcha what? I'll explain, but let me say first that I am so fascinated by the highly gifted brain. I guess it's because I don't think the same way so I find it so interesting. Ever since Ethan was a baby I just followed along in whatever he wanted to learn. One of his first words was "clock" so I exposed him to lots of clocks. When he asked to learn math, I taught him math. When he wanted to learn about space, we studied everything we could find on space. When he wanted to learn cursive, I showed him how. When he wanted to memorize the 50 states, I got him a map. His mind has an insatiable desire to learn and he has led me on quite an adventure!

One of his daily challenges is getting his mind to slow down enough so he can sleep at night. We try to give him tons of books to read, drawing supplies and give him ideas for what to do in his bed at night. One night he came out and said that he had nothing to do. I suggested he invent his own country and tell us about it in the morning. Well, that's just what he did.

Most nights since then he has been working on the country he invented: Orchaboky. He created a flag and can tell you about their natural resources and their industry. He has been working on a power point presentation of his country and the other day we all sat down to listen to his presentation. It was really cute and we had fun raising our hands asking him questions. It's an ongoing project that will hopefully keep his mind engaged for quite some time.

River of Grace

2011-01-19T19:13:00.000-05:00

I've still been meditating on God's grace and mercy in lives of rebels such as myself. Even though I've been a Christ Follower for so many years, my sin nature continues to pull me away from him. Yet he continues to pursue and draw me back. This is a poem reflecting those thoughts.

I am a leaf, fallen from the tree.
The wind carries me, I know not where.
The worlds distractions take hold of me;
I follow it's fads, concerns and cares.

Lord, plant me firmly in your vine
growing in your light that shines.

I am Gomer, restless, weak and untrue.
The idols of my heart consume me.
Loving myself and things more than you,
in the prison of shame I can't flee.

Lord, cleanse my heart and make me new.
Fill my heart with passion just for you.

I am a young child lost in a storm.
Fearful, I curl up tight and small.
There's nowhere to go that's safe and warm;
scared there's no end to the rain that falls.

Lord, may I find my shelter in you.
No matter the storms, you'll see me through.

An adopted child of the King,
I'm cherished, loved, and accepted.
If I stray from my Source of being,
I know I'll be found just as He said.

Lord, help me to seek and love you more
as your river of grace on me pours.

Gratitude List

2011-01-18T12:30:00.001-05:00

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him." John Piper

One of the ways we can show our satisfaction in God is through our gratitude. That's what the Gratitude Community is all about. My list is growing each day:

216. That God is with us even when we turn away from him.
217. That he loves and pursues even messed up prophets like Jonah--what can he do with me?
218. The body of believers.
219. Peace in my heart.
220. Good music.
221. The imagination of children--watching my boys turn my bed into a ship that went off to war
222. Hearing the sadness in my son's voice and knowing he loves Jesus when he said this morning that he doesn't like to hear the passages in scripture about Jesus being beaten and whipped.
223. Clean laundrey and a washer that works.
224. Helping little hands do crafts in Sunday school.
225. The power of God's word to change lives.

Abortion:a rational look at an emotional issue

2011-01-17T07:20:00.000-05:00

The following is a book review for a new book by R.C. Sproul titled, "Abortion: a rational look at an emotional issue. Copyright information: © 2010 by R.C. Sproul, Published by Reformation Trust Publishing. All Rights Reserved. I receive compensation for a fair review in the form of a copy of the book reviewed. The opinions stated below are my own.

It's been 20 years since the first edition of this book was published. It has been updated to reflect recent politics and thoughts on the subject. I never read the first edition and am honored to be asked to review it for Reformation Trust Publishing. Abortion is an intensely emotional, highly debated issue in our country. Dr. Sproul has written a fair, reasoned, and biblical response to the arguments for abortion. He is a trained philosopher and theologian and in this book he thoroughly discusses both sides of the topic using biblical texts, laws of logic and natural and civil law. He includes important historical information showing the development of the pro-abortion and pro-choice views.

For someone who is not quite sure of what they believe concerning this controversy, this is an excellent book to read. He addresses each argument in support of abortion in a considerate manner. Dr. Sproul argues that the debate about abortion can essentially be boiled down to one question: "When does life begin?" He believes that the majority of people, once they are convinced that life begins at conception, will in turn see abortion as wrong. His arguments are mostly directed not to militant pro-abortionists but those who call themselves pro-choice--those who say "I wouldn't get an abortion myself but I wouldn't want to restrict someone else's freedom in getting one." The ethical arguments directed toward those persons are logical and thorough.

An excerpt from the book:

"The fear of divine judgment governs my actions regarding

abortion. As a theologian, I am firmly convinced that God hates

abortion and will judge it thoroughly. I also recognize that not

everyone shares my view of God’s opinions and intentions.

If there is a God, and if we are convinced that the evidence

for His existence is compelling, then without question we are

accountable to Him for our actions. Before we choose to participate

in abortion, we must give serious consideration to what

God’s views in the matter might be. To ignore this is to ignore

the call of conscience and to place ourselves in a perilous position.

If an act against conscience is an act against God, then we

can easily see how dangerous such an action is.

This book is addressed primarily to those who are not sure

about the ethics of abortion. If you remain uncertain, I urge you

again not to engage in abortion unless you are absolutely certain

for clear and sound reasons (which I’m not aware of) that

abortion is an ethically justifiable action. The simple adage of

common wisdom applies to you: “When in doubt, don’t.” (p. 72)

The book includes a compassionate chapter on repentance and forgiveness for those who suffer from the guilt of a previous abortion. There is also a well thought out chapter on specific ways those who are pro-life can effect change in our country. The Appendixes provide interesting scientific information on the beginning of life as well as a list of pro-life resources.

As one who was born after the Roe v. Wade decision, I have never known a time when the abortion debate was not going strong. Having been involved in pro-life rallies and marches and volunteered in a crisis pregnancy center, I have been involved in the debate myself. I really appreciate Dr. Sproul's use of logic and biblical scholarship to explain the reasons that abortion on demand is wrong and should be illegal. I believe this book is an excellent resource to use when discussing the issue with those who consider themselves pro-choice or are undecided about where they stand on abortion.

The Maker Changes Me

2011-01-14T16:20:00.000-05:00

I've been studying Jonah a lot lately and thinking about how God disciplines his children when they rebel. I've also been thinking about the way C.S. Lewis described the process of sanctification in "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" and that led to this poem.

Stomping my feet, I turn my back.
Questioning the fairness of life
and complaining of what I lack.
I feel bitter and full of strife.

The Potter says to me, "My child, I made you think way for a purpose."

Like scales of skin that rip and tear
is the pain of becoming pure.
Why is this change so hard to bear
and how much more can I edure?

The Refiner says to me, "My child, you will shine as silver when I am done."

Finding myself in a new place,
I grow and flourish like a tree.
Pruning may bring a wince on my face,
yet I know it's what makes me free.

The Gardner says, "My child, I have planted and watered you into something beautiful for me."

I may wander and I may roam,
but back to the fold I am led.
I will always be brought back home
and there I find rest and am fed.

The Great Shephard says, "My child, you are mine and for you I died."

"The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off."

Eustice in "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" by C.S. Lewis

Words for Him

2011-01-13T12:37:00.001-05:00

The first question in the Westminster Catechism is "What is the chief end of man?" The answer is "To glorify God and enjoy him forever." I keep coming back to this catechism question as I think about my blogging. A couple of months ago I wrote a post, thinking out loud about why I was blogging and whether my motives were right. I've been convicted that I should write for one Person alone--God.

My prayer lately has been that when I write a post, He would be glorified. If only one person in the world reads this blog and they are in some way helped or encouraged and God is glorified, then I have done what he has called me to do. So each time I write a post, I am challenging myself to write for Him and for His glory. I've taught my oldest that to glorify God means that when people looks at us they see God in us. As the moon reflects the light of the sun, so we are to reflect to others who God is through how we live our lives.

And so my words that I type can be used to bring glory to Him. My title for my blog is "My Life as a Mom" and as I write about what God is doing in my life to refine me to be the mother I am called to be, I can point to God and his work in and through me. My posts "Teach me Jesus" and "God's still working on me" should be less about me and more about him. My book reviews, poetry I write and even stories of our family events and adventures should all point back to the one who graciously gives me the hands to write these words. And instead of holding back a part of myself because of fear of judgment, I can share what God has done in my heart so that others might see the hope that is in Christ.

This year, my resolve is to share more about my experiences with depression and God's unending grace to me through those difficult times. I resolve that this blog will become less about me and more about Him. I also resolve to care little for comments on my posts but more that my posts would be glorifying to God. I echo Jonathan Edwards resolution: "Resolved, never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more, but what tends to the glory of God; nor be, nor suffer it, if I can avoid it."

"For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." Eph 3:14-19

A New Year for New Books

2011-01-11T17:02:00.002-05:00

At the beginning of a new year, it seems natural to make plans for the year. We've already discussed our trips for the year (D.C. in March, Tennessee in the summer). I've also been thinking about books I'd like to read this year. On the left column of my blog I keep a running list of books I'm currently reading but I have a list of books I'd like to read sometime this year.

I am always spoiled by getting new books for Christmas so some of these I already have waiting for me to read. The rest I'll have to find along the way;











That should be a good start! I'm sure I'll mix in some Amish fiction along the way. And I really should finish a few books I started but never finished like the Imitation of Christ and one on the Psalms by C.S. Lewis. If you a had list of books to read this year, what would be on it?

New Year Brings Many Thanks

2011-01-08T19:07:00.000-05:00

There are many things to be grateful for as I start a new year which is good because I still have a ways to go to reach a thousand!

201. Another year on this earth.
202. A savior who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses (Heb 4:15)
203. A bounty of new books to read.
204. Unity on the pastoral search committee that I'm on.
205. Getting to hear the word of God preached numerous times throughout the week as I listen to sermons from prospective pastors.
206. Listening to the sighs and watching the facial expressions of a friend's newborn.
207. The Body of Christ at work: a friend took my kids for a couple of hours yesterday and sent me home with dark chocolate and tea and orders to rest.
208. Dark chocolate with raspberry filling.
209. Coconut cocoa tea.
210. Answered prayers.
211. The joy of my son when I come to pick him up from school--seeing him running toward me shouting "mommy!"
212. Getting the digital scrapbooks in the mail that I worked on all last year and watching the excitment on the kids faces as they flip through their books.
213. Having down time to organize my house.
214. The anticipation of what God is going to do in and through me this year.
215. Listening to Ian read.

That's all for now...

Failing

2011-01-07T12:25:00.000-05:00

While we were on vacation, we had an opportunity to speak with a professor of education who teaches on gifted education. Yes, I did pick her brain! One of the things we discussed was the spiritual challenges gifted learners confront because of their perfectionism. She shared examples of other families with gifted children and how they handle sin in their lives.

Perfectionism is a common trait in the gifted. For perfectionists like my oldest son, sin is a big problem. Failing at anything is a big problem. When he first started to play board games, it was the end of the world for him when he didn't win. He is hesitant to try anything new unless he feels confident he will excel at it. We encourage him to fail at something everyday. We had a debate with him yesterday about the fact that failure can be a good thing; it challenges you to try harder the next time and you learn from your mistakes. He was adamant that what we said was not true.

In our catechism devotional (Training Hearts Teaching Minds: Family Devotions Based on the Shorter Catechism), we've been discussing the Fall, Original Sin, and the effects of sin in our lives. He acknowledges that he is sinful, that everyone sins, and that one day everything will be restored when Christ returns. However, he does not handle it well when he is corrected. He gets upset and berates himself, "I am the worst person!"

This will be an ongoing challenge for him and for us as parents as we remind him of his worth in God's eyes and help him deal with the fact that he is not perfect, cannot be, and sin brings consequences. Battling perfectionism will be a lifelong internal war for him I'm afraid. But isn't sin a battle we all face each and every day?

"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Romans 7:15-25

Pensive Thoughts

2011-01-04T20:10:00.000-05:00

I'm recovering from a bad sinus infection, and because of the medication I'm taking, I haven't been sleeping. This has given me a lot of extra time for thinking--thus my title, pensive thoughts. I've so much time to think in the middle of the night that my thoughts have thoughts!

With school starting back this week for my oldest, I found that neither of us were excited about it. He frequently complains of boredom and says he doesn't want to go to school. This isn't good for me because I continue deep in my heart to want to homeschool him. I started having an interest in homsechooling when he was about 18months and it has not gone away. (My husband and I compromised on Christian school but then the school we chose turned out to be the wrong fit and so Ethan ended up at the public school). I still don't feel right when I drop him off at school in the mornings, I just feel like something's not quite right. I keep thinking this desire to homeschool will go away and lately I've been praying to the Lord that if this desire is not from him, to please take it away.

The reasons for wanting to homeschool are many and too much for this post. I think I'm in one of those times in my life that we all face where we think we should go one direction but maybe we're really supposed to go another. Sometimes the choices we have to make in life are not that clear, maybe all the choices are good options. How do you pick one? For me, it's one of continual prayer and waiting for God to make things clear. In the meantime, we'll get up bright and early each morning and head for carline trusting in faith that God is sovereign over all our cares and that he has a good plan for us.

New Year

2011-01-02T15:08:00.000-05:00

I think that January is turning out to be one of my favorite months of the year. It seems like it wouldn't be as many people feel the post Chrismas "blahs" during this month. We had a marathon from September through December and I was counting down the days until January. I think we had a revolving door at our house all during the Fall: parties, bbq's, bible studies, etc. It was fun but I am ready for some down time.

I've been given some down time this past week. We returned from being gone almost two weeks, started getting sick on Christmas Day and have been sick ever since. So I've barely left the house and have enjoyed every minute of being here. I think the kids have too. My New Year's Resolution is to spend as much time as I can in January hibernating in my house. Can you have a New Year's Resolution that lasts only a month?

Starting a new year always gives opportunity for reflection on the past year and hope for the one ahead. And seriously I'm not one who makes resolutions but last year I reviewed the book: The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards and Jonathan Edwards at a young age had a great list of resolutions for his life. Here are a few that I want to think on this year:

#19. Resolved, never to do anything, which i should be afraid to do, if I expected it would not be above an hour, before I should hear the last trump.

#25. Resolved, to examine carefully and constantly, what that one thing in me is, which causes me in the least to doubt of the love of God; and to direct all my forces against it.

#65. Resolved, very much to exercise myself in this all my life long, viz, with the greatest openness I am capable of, to declare my ways to God, and lay open my soul to him; all my sins, temptations, difficulties, sorrows fears, hopes, desires, and everything, and every circumstatnce.

#67. Resolved, after afflictions, to inquire, what I am the better for them, what good I have got by them, and what I might have got by them.

Oh yeah, I guess I should add that I want to go to the gym more often:)

Christmas Adventures

2010-12-27T20:39:00.000-05:00

We were gone almost two weeks on our wirlwind tour. The day we were leaving, Ian's preschool called to tell me he was throwing up. He threw up the entire drive to our first destination. He had a bowl in his lap and I have to say, he's got good aim!

First stop, Disney. We decided not to go into any of the theme parks because of Ian's stomach bug but we did go to Ice and Disney Quest.

Ethan sliding down the ice slide at Ice.

All bundled up, even before they gave us parka's to wear (it was 9 degrees inside)

Brrrr!

It's really shameful when the first time your child gets to slide down a hill of snow, it's in Orlando.

I gave it a try too.

Taught the kids how to make a proper snowball.

Ethan loved tubing.

Our pirate hotel.

Disney Quest

Then we headed to Chattanooga to visit friends and our usual hangouts.

We sure do love the cookies at the DoubleTree.

And the big jetted tub!

No trip is complete without a stop at Ted's. Momma sure loves her bison.

Next to the Tennessee Aquarium.

One of the few times they were nice to each other.

Got to have at least one picture of them being silly!

We got to wish our friend's daughter a happy birthday.

She loved eating the presents we got her:)

Ethan enjoyed an art class at the Creative Discovery Museum.

Their favorite was making a virtual snowman.

At the mountain maze on Lookout Mountain.

George teaching the boys Lava Tag.

We took a short hike to Sunset Rock to show the boys the view.

I don't know who was more concerned, me or George that one of the boys would jump off the cliff.

We also played at the Pumpkin Patch playground on Signal Mountain.

Then on to Atlanta where we visited some more old college friends. Imagine all these boys at Covenant College in the future!

Playing dress up at a Civil War Museum.

Checking out Old General.

Digging for dinosaur bones at the Tellus Museum.

And panning for gems. We also enjoyed the planetarium where we saw all the stars in the night sky.

From Georgia, we headed south to the inlaws house for Christmas.

Ethan is excited to dig up some gems.

Hurry, mom. Take the picture quick. This is too heavy!

Thanks so much grandma!

Last, but not least, my desk. I picked this antique desk up at an antique shop in Chattanooga. My husband is in charge of packing the car and he had packed it standing upright in the back of the van. While in Georgia at our friends house, I drove to one of the museums. The desk went flying back and I thought for sure it would go out the back window. Thankfully it didn't but it was pretty banged up. But George's stepdad can fix anything and it was a Christmas day guys project for George, his stepdad and brother-in-law. I did supervise a little:) It is as good as new.

Ian got sick again while at our inlaws for Christmas. A fever and cold symptoms. I will spend the next few days wiping noses and doing two weeks worth of laundrey. Sigh...

Annual Christmas Party

2010-12-12T19:32:00.000-05:00

I survived the week and made it to the Christmas party. I was mostly on my own in putting it all together, that's why I'm amazed I made it:) Lots of yummy food, laughter and of course the gift exchange game. Another fun party with friends! Now on to packing for our trip to TN...

On the Edge

2010-12-11T09:03:00.000-05:00

One of the incidious things about depression is that it can sneak up on you when you least expect it. I have been feeling the stress the past couple of months of many responsibilities and too much on my plate. But I'm organized enough that I think I can manage it. Yet, I'm in that position where if one little thing is added, everything will crash down. I think the kids constant fighting may be that one thing. I was on the verge of tears yesterday from their fighting and I realized that my depression symptoms were trying to squeeze their way in. We are in the midst of party preparations for our annual Christmas party and I've had a few other events going on this week as well so when the kids start fighting, I can't take it. I guess it feels like I've emptied myself of everything I have to hold it all together. That's where the Holy Spirit steps in and reminds me that I am not alone and he strengthens me to pull myself together. It's a good thing because tonight is our party! Praise God for his unending grace!

Compassion Gift Catalog

2010-12-10T10:12:00.000-05:00

Do you have someone on your Christmas list who has everything? You want to give them a gift but can't think of anything? Compassion International has an on-line gift catalog of gift ideas that will help make a difference in the life of a child living in one of the poorest communities of the world. These gifts help provide clean drinking water, medical treatment, disaster relief, food supplies and much, much more for Compassion-assisted children and their families.

Some of the gifts include chickens, goats, clean water, mosquito nets and gift prices range from $10 to $5000. You can purchase these gifts in the honor of a friend or family member and make difference in the lives of those who need it most.

Jesus says in Matthew 25: When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Click here to view the catalog and provide for the least of these in the name of Jesus.

Christmas Doings

2010-12-09T15:25:00.000-05:00

Decorating our Christmas Tree

Somehow all the ornaments were around the bottom of the tree:)

All finished.

Grandma and PopPop braved the cold air to join us for the parade.

Gang enjoying the parade.

Friends at dinner

Ethan's school's float in the parade

Ian and Me

Gratitude 191-200

2010-12-07T15:01:00.000-05:00

191. Cold weather
192. Snuggly sweaters
193. Jars of Clay Christmas Concert
194. Going to the movies with a friend. "I didn't mean to kill you, just maime or seriously injure."
195. The ladies who continue to come to my bible study.
196. God works through weak and broken vessels like me to share his word.
197. God pursues me when I've sinned, no matter how far, even to the ends of the earth.
198. His mercy and compassion is greater than my capacity to rebel against him.
199. That One Greater than Jonah has come.
200. He is Immanuel, God with us.

What to do with Santa

2010-12-06T11:03:00.000-05:00

For those who read my post about our Advent Box, I mentioned that we don't do Santa with our kids. (If you didn't read that post, you can see it here.) At first I had hoped to just ignore Santa and maybe it wouldn't become an issue. When my oldest was in a church preschool and Santa came to their Christmas play, I knew I had to have a different tactic. I told my son then that Santa was a character in tv and in a book, like Mickey Mouse. As he's gotten older and everywhere we go people ask "what did you ask Santa to get you for Christmas?" I've had to help him understand more about the difference between what we do during Christmas and the rest of our culture. He's under strict orders to not say anything to kids at school and to let them believe what they want about Santa. The only reply he's allowed to give is "We don't celebrate Santa."

Today is St. Nicholas day and it is widely celebrated in Europe. My guess is that the Dec. 6th celebration somehow got merged over the years with our Christmas celebration on the 25th. What I have been doing is teaching the kids that there was a real Santa Claus whose name was St. Nicholas. I have a book called, Santa, Are You For Real? that we read each year on St. Nicholas Day. This morning in our Advent Box, was a tiny cup (actually a communion cup). We read the passage from scripture where Jesus says in Matthew 25:

"But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.
34“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’37“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’40“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

I tell them that the cup represents the part of the verse where Jesus says "I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink." We read the story about St. Nicholas and talked about his generosity to the poor. Our activity today was to fill stockings with items that homeless men in our community need: socks, soap, toothbrushes,etc. We are going to give them to a ministry that works with the homeless in our area.

After about five years of instructing Ethan in the true meaning of Christmas through our Advent Box, he now looks for Jesus in what he sees at Christmas time. When were were decorating our Christmas tree, he asked, "What will we put at the top of the tree, a star?" I said yes and he replied "Do we do that because there was a star over the manger where Jesus was born?"

Where do you find Jesus this Christmas?

Babies and the Babysitter

2010-12-06T06:57:00.000-05:00

Our babysitter has a special way of teaching our kids new things. Oftentimes it's things we wouldn't have thought to teach them ourselves. Like when she taught them how to use a blow gun or the jumping on the bed game. We tease her about it a lot and laugh when she tells us the stories of how and why she taught them something.

For some reason, they also ask her deep questions about life that they don't ever ask us. Apparently last night was one of those nights. Ian wanted to know how babies get out of their mommies belly. I have a book about that very subject that I have read to Ethan a few times (The Story of Me (God's Design for Sex)). I didn't realize that Ian was interested in the topic as well. He's never asked me, though one time in a public restroom he yelled at the top of his lungs "Mommy, you're peeing out of your but." The other women in the bathroom enjoyed his comments and were laughing to themselves.

So last night, Ian asks about how babies are born and says "My mommy pooped me out." Our babysitter says she didn't want him to go to bed thinking that so she talked to him about it. When she told me the story, I thought I would die laughing!

Guess I have to get that book out to read to Ian too. For goodness sakes, he just turned 3!

Tearing Down and Building Up

2010-12-03T15:48:00.000-05:00

"So encourage each other and build each up." 1Thessalonians 5:11

We have an ongoing problem in our house with boys who say mean things to each other when they're angry. Today it was Ian telling Ethan "I hate you!" After he completed his timeout I had the boys sit down with me and do an activity to teach them about how Christ wants them to treat each other.

They both built a house out of Lego's and we talked about what a builder does. They start from a pile of supplies and after a lot of hard work they have a house. I had Ethan read the verse from 1Thessalonians and we talked about what it means to build up a person and what it means to tear them down. (Ian of course took it literally and talked about how to build a person:) I took them by surprise and knocked down Ethan's house and it broke into a bunch of pieces. (On one hand it wasn't wise for me to do it because he got extremely upset but on the other hand, it helped with the message I was trying to relay). After I helped Ethan calm down, I pointed out to both of them that when they say hurtful things or call each other names, they are tearing each other down like I did Ethan's house. I also pointed out that like the house Ethan built was a masterpiece to him that he worked hard on, so is each person in the world a masterpiece that God created. When they say hurtful things to someone else they are also hurting God. I then knocked down Ian's house and explained to them that before they say anything hurtful in the future, I wanted them to remember what it felt like to have their house torn down. I encouraged Ethan to remember just how hurt he was when I knocked down his house so that he would remember that God is just as hurt when we treat each other unkindly.

I had a moment of thinking that I ruined the teaching moment when I saw how upset Ethan was but when he realized that it was part of the lesson I was teaching, he told me he forgave me, gave me a hug and he then helped Ian understand the meaning behind what we did.

Advent Week 1

2010-12-02T08:17:00.000-05:00

I posted about our Advent Box a few days ago. I thought I would try and post more specifically what we are doing. Sunday began the Advent Season. We began the Advent Season by lighting our family Advent Wreath and reading Isaiah 9:2-6

Here's a summary of our devotionals and objects in our Advent Box for the first week:

1. Object: a small scroll Verse: Gen 3:15 the promise of redemption

2. Object: Praying Hands Verses: Luke 1 Zechariah received an answer to prayer and told that Elizabeth would have a child; John the Baptist who prepared the way for Christ.

3. Object: Trumpet Verse: 1 Thess. 4:14-18 about Jesus' second advent Activity: see our local Christmas Parade (where lots of trumpets will be played:)

4. Object: Angel Verse: Luke 1:26-38 Mary is told she will have a child

5. Object: Magnifying Glass Verse: Luke 1:46-56 Mary's Song ("My soul magnifies the Lord")

Grownups shouldn't be left out of Advent! Since all my shopping is done ( I had to shop and wrap it all before Thanksgiving to give to my mother-in-law to hold onto until Christmas because we will be traveling for the two weeks prior to Christmas), I am able to focus more on Advent and dwell on it's meaning. I'm reading an Advent devotional that has been wonderful: Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas. Christmas isn't just for children to enjoy--I trust that your heart is full with the wonder of God's love in sending his son to earth for us. Take time today to meditate on the promises of the Messiah.

Check Up

2010-12-01T06:57:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I had my bi-annual checkup with my doctor regarding my antidepressant medication. Six months ago, I had thought about decreasing the dosage I am taking but with the craziness with George's schedule the past six months, I decided not to. And I think it was a good decision since I got through all those months of him studying without any major meltdowns. So I talked it over with my doctor again and she said, "Don't mess with what's working." Sounds good to me! I'm pretty much resolved to the fact that depression will be a life long battle and I am prepared to take medication as long as I need to. I mentioned my ongoing problem with night waking. I usually don't have much trouble falling asleep at night but if I wake up in the middle of the night, I can't go back to sleep. And in our house, someone is always waking me up! I've had this problem for a few years now--after Ian was born I took benadryl at night for a year to help me stay asleep all night. Come to find out, I can't take my medication at night because it interferes with sleep. AHHH! Why didn't they tell me this before? I take a high dosage so I have to divide it up throughout the day which is why I took some of it in the evening. Well, at least now I know. More sleep ahead for me--yay!

Fighting Sin

2010-11-30T07:01:00.000-05:00

Oftentimes it seems easier to confront a child with their sin, tell them they've disobeyed and give them their consequence than to also work with them on what "to do" or how to prevent the problem to begin with. At least that's how it is for me. So many teaching moments pass me by during the day when I could have spent time teaching the boys how to battle their sin. I pray each night that God would reveal those teaching moments to me so that I won't miss them.

We had one the other day. Ethan, being a perfectionist, often has trouble when he doesn't win a game. People with high IQ's expect a lot from themselves and perfection at games is a big one. Lately, when he has not won a game or not excelled at some challenge in his life, Ethan has been doing a lot of negative self-talk. "I'm terrible, I never do anything right." "See, I told you I'm bad." "I never win, I'll never get it right." You get the picture. A couple of days ago he had an emotional outburst following loosing a game to his little brother. I sent him to his room to calm down. While Ethan was in his room, Ian brought me some books to read to him. One of the books was: The Armor of God (My Favorite Verses). It's a really cute book about putting on the armor of God and one of our favorites. God opened my eyes to realize that he was giving me a teaching moment.

Ethan came out to listen to me read and as I read, I related it to the negative self-talk he had just said and the emotional outburst. I pointed out to him that Satan was whispering those lies to him and wanted him to stumble into sin. We talked about how every day we need to put on the helmet of salvation and think God's thoughts instead. God has provided us everything we need to battle sin and evil in our lives, we just have to use it. Since armor and knighthood is something the kids can relate to, it's a great way to teach them how to battle their sin. Everytime a negative thought pops into our minds, we need to stop it with God's word. We need to use our faith to repel the arrows of doubt that Satan flies at us.

Ethan will struggle with perfectionism his whole life but I believe it's important that he knows where the power lies to fight that battle. As a parent, I also need to be suited up in my battle gear to fight the sin and evil in my own life and be in constant prayer that I will be always ready to take advantage of teaching moments so that I can ward off the arrows of evil that are constantly threatening the hearts of the kids.

Praise!

2010-11-29T14:00:00.000-05:00

We had anticipated Ian having to have surgery this fall. Certainly his adnoids removed, possibly tubes in his ears. The ENT told us to try a particular vaccine first before scheduling the surgery. The pneumo-vax vaccine often will help people who get frequent sinus infections. Coincidentally, my allergist also had me get the same vaccine. I didn't hold much hope in it being effective because our oldest had the vaccine and still needed surgery. Well, Ian has had two colds this month and no infections! I don't remember our kids ever having just a cold! And I have been healthy as well! I'm thinking maybe I should go on a speaking tour to promote the vaccine:) Seriously, this is a major praise for our family-I did not want my little Ian to undergo surgery. Thank you Lord!

Advent Box

2010-11-28T20:01:00.005-05:00

The smell of a Christmas tree, the taste of gingerbread cookies, the joy of being with loved ones, these are some thoughts that often come to mind when thinking about the Christmas season. Like most parents, before I ever had kids, I had thought about the traditions I'd want our family to have. We generally pass on those traditions from our family of origin that meant the most to us. I too enjoy the scents and tastes that are associated with Christmas but I wanted to be intentional when it came to thinking about how to celebrate Christmas with my own children. I knew I didn't want to focus on Santa but I wasn't sure exactly what I would do to keep the focus on Christ. After I had my first child, I began thinking earnestly about how to celebrate Jesus' birth without getting wrapped up in the commercialism of our culture. A friend introduced me to a book called Christmas Out of the Advent Box: Reclaiming Christmas for Fun, Faith and Family.

That book gave me great direction toward establishing traditions that instruct the hearts of my children in what Christmas is about. Since then I've collected other books, compiled ideas from each of them, and have come up with our family's Christmas traditions. "Many of the special days that could be spiritual anchors in your children's lives and hearts have had the spiritual content either secularized or commercialized right out of them. When you add the spiritual content back in, and take it further by showing the meaning, you are injecting spiritual life into those special times...Holidays were God's idea. He created several for the Jews who apparently liked the idea so much that they created others. These were never simply recreational days as our holidays have become; they were first and foremost educational. Christianity has followed the same pattern in creating holidays around key biblical events. Christmas and Easter have no biblical mandate, but they are patterned after God's use of holidays to commemorate His actions in history and in our lives. God is never opposed to traditions except when they become empty observances that serve no purpose for Him or require adherence to man-made rules over God's requirements." (Heartfelt Discipline: The Gentle Art of Training and Guiding Your Child)

My goal is to use the Advent season to point my kids to Christ, teach them the gospel and about the hope we have in our Savior. Instead of just focusing on his birth, we talk about the prophecies preceeding his birth, his life, death and resurrection. As John Donne put it "Christmas Day and his Good Friday are but the evening and the morning of one and the same day. Christmas only points forward to Good Friday and Easter. It can have no meaning apart from that, where the Son of God displayed his glory by his death."

One of the main ways we do that in our house is with our Advent Box.

Each day the children open a door on the Advent box and inside they find an object. The object represents something related to what we are learning about Jesus and/or an activity we are doing that day. In addition, I have selected a number of bible passages including prophecies about Christ's birth, the story surrounding his birth, some about his life, death, and resurrection as well as verses regarding his second Advent. We discuss the meaning of the object and read and discuss the selected passage for that day. Most days during Advent there is some activity, craft or story we are reading and I try to incorporate that into what we are learning. There are activities that we do every year such as baking cookies, going to our town's Christmas parade, going through a live nativity, etc. For the days that we are doing a specific activity, I incorporate a scripture passage that relates to it. For baking cookies I might use the passages about Jesus being the bread of life or God's words being sweet and we'll talk about the story of Ruth. For attending a parade, I use the passages about Jesus' second advent like 1 Thess. 4:14-18 (because of the school bands in the parade, I put a little trumpet in the box). Many of the small objects are little ornaments so as the month goes on, the kids put their little ornament on their own tree in their room.

Day number one has a little scroll inside the door. This represents the old testament and we will read about the promise of redemption in Gen. 3:15.

This little bow reprsents that we will be wrapping presents together that day. We will read John 3:16 and talk about the gift of eternal life through Jesus our Lord.

This little angel ornament represents the angel coming to Mary to announce that she will be with child. We'll read from Luke 1:26-38

In case anyone is wondering, what do we do about Santa? He can't be avoided because I've tried that:) Actually, I do have a book I read on St. Nicholas day that talks about the real Santa. This year we are going to be "Saint Nick's" ourselves as we plan to put items in stockings for the homeless. Other than that, when they've asked about him, I've told them he's a character in a story and in books. I tell them our family prefers not to celebrate Santa the way most people do and that we prefer to focus on Jesus's birth. Last year, a child in the neighborhood asked Ethan what Santa brought him for Christmas. Ethan said, "We don't celebrate Santa, we celebrate Jesus." So far, no parent has put a contract out on me for anything my kids have said:)

While the Advent Box is a huge part of our traditions, I like to add new things to make things interesting. In January of this year, we met as a family to talk about what we would do this year to give back to God. I got an idea from something I read recently to instead incorporate the idea of giving back to God at Christmas time. So this year on Christmas Eve we will pretend we are wisemen searching for Jesus and will present him 3 gifts: a gift of service to someone in our family, a gift to him of something we want to grow and change in our spiritual walk, and a gift to some ministry.

If I am organized enough this Advent Season, I'll try to post more of the scriptures we are reading each day.

For additonal resources:

Thanks and Giving

2010-11-27T09:28:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving was at our house this year. My husbands family came in to town for the holiday and we invited two couples from church. I had made place cards for the grown up table and Ethan decided that the kids table deserved to look just as nice so he made place cards and decorated their table. I don't cook whole turkey, usually we fry one. This year fried turkey was rejected so I compromised by baking stuffed turkey breasts (stuffed with cherry pie filling and stuffing mix with a cherry and pecan sauce). It turned out well, very tender. The older kids played with the little ones, taking them out on the zip line and playing Wii with them. So nice to sit at the grown up table and not have to jump up every 5 seconds to help a child!

Ethan baking a birthday cake with grandma.

My husband's birthday is always around Thanksgiving so we celebrated as a family.

Thankful for friends.

Kids table

Grown up table

Turkey platter

The hosts

Yum, who made this?

So much to be thankful for:

181. Another year with my husband--happy birthday honey!

182. Friends and family to celebrate Thanksgiving with.

183. My experiment with the turkey worked!

184. God blesses us in abundance everyday.

185. Yummy food: sweet potatoes, pineapple casserole, butternut squash...

186. How cute it is to see Ethan setting up the kids table.

187. Being woken up by Ian crawling in bed with us.

188. Getting to just sit around on Thanksgiving--so rare, so enjoyed.

189. Bear hugs.

190. Christmas music!

Should I keep doing this?

2010-11-24T15:06:00.000-05:00

I've really enjoyed this blog and the way it has helped me process my thoughts and feelings about being a mom. In recent months I've wondered if I should keep it going. I was brousing through older posts from a few years ago and found a time when I had more comments. Getting comments on a blog is not an indicator that it's a "successful" blog but it is helpful to know if what you are writing about strikes a cord with someone else. Questions I've asked myself lately: Should I keep it going even if there are no comments or any way of knowing if a post is helpful to someone? Is it bringing glory to God in any way?Is it helping someone in some way? Is it a waste of time? Should I maybe change it to a closed blog so it's just between God and myself?

I would like for God to use me to impact a reader's life, bring hope and encouragement. I'd like to share how God has used the experiences in my life for good. However, that may not be what He wants me to do. Just because something may appear to be a good idea on the outside, it may not be God's will. I've encountered this fact a hundred times in my life and I'm thinking this may one of those things.

Interestingly, I've found over the years that as my blog became more serious and less about photos of kids, stories of cute things they did and said, I received less and less comments. This makes me think that the things I am currently going through and thinking about are not relevant to the blog world and changing this to a closed blog or one with a password for just a few people might be an idea to consider.

In the end, the only reader that really counts is God. Now if He'd just leave a comment to tell me what I'm supposed to do...

My Heart Aflame

2010-11-23T09:05:00.000-05:00

We had date night last night. As we were wandering through a book store, I found a book about the Hubble Space Telescope. My oldest has always loved anything to do with space, so I'm always searching for a good book on space for him. Books I've gotten in the past are always oozing with references to the big bang theory and I've had to get rid of them. So I past on the first book I looked at. Then later, I found a book titled, The Heavens Proclaim His Glory: A Spectacular View of Creation Through the Lens of the NASA Hubble Telescope.

Looking through the pages of pictures of galaxies, nebula's, planets, asteroids, etc. and reading the passages from scripture and as well as quotes from godly writers, my heart begins to worship. God speaks to my soul and draws me to himself. I remember years ago (back when projectors were used in churches) my pastor showed photos of our planet and it in relation to the solar system to point out how small we really are in the vastness of space and how amazing it is that God chose us to be his people.

Isn't is amazing to think about how we are tiny specks compared to the wonder and vastness of space?

AND GOD MADE IT ALL.

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." Psalm 19:1-4.

Lately, we have been so busy I have not slowed down to really worship God and being in awe of him. I get so caught up in the daily activities of life, some of which are even related to church, but in the midst of those activities I am thinking about myself rather than the one who created me. My "to do" lists govern my life, rather than the word of God. I worry whether I will remember everything I need to get for some church function rather than remember that the one who holds the world in his hands has everything under control. I get caught up in planning and preparing for the bible study I'm teaching rather than asking the one whom I am teaching about what he would like me to say. I run around town buying presents for family, hoping I've picked out just the right thing, rather than singing praises to the one whom I am supposed to be celebrating this Christmas season.

And at the end of the day I don't feel like I've really connected with what God has called me to do. My heart has not connected with him. I am not living the life I have been created for. I long for sweet communion with my savior and my maker. And for my heart to be aflame with the fire of the one who spoke and revealed himself from a bush. I desire to be in the very presence of God. This is what I was made for.

What do you believe you were made for? What do you see and feel when you look up to the heavens?

"This is why we are called to worship Him. His art, His handiwork, and His creation all echo the truth that He is glorious." Francis Chan, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God

"Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and the name of his son? Tell me if you know!" Proverbs 30:4

I'll end this post with a poem of worship I wrote last month:

In His Love

Long before the stars lit the night sky

and the planets danced around the sun;

before I made my very first cry

and learned about all your love had done

In your love, you planned for me.

Your crazy love stretches far beyond

the distance from the east to the west.

It is brighter than the morning dawn;

stronger than any empire's conquest.

In your love, you chose me.

You rest your feet upon the planets

and are dressed in brilliant light.

The sun obeys when to rise and set

and by your breath the mountains ignite.

In your love, you draw me close.

You are the King without a shadow

and you invite me before your throne.

Ashamed and guilty of all you know;

yet you changed me and call me your own.

In your love, you saved me.

When I stumble and flee from you to hide,

your Spirit can always find me.

Even when I sin, you're by my side.

Humbled, I delight in your mercy.

In your love, you heal me.

When I close my eyes in that final sleep,

and walk through the gates of gold.

The beauty of your Glory makes me weep,

for you are a wonder to behold.

Because of His love, I will live.

Sleepwalking

2010-11-21T14:50:00.000-05:00

When Ethan was 8 months old, he started having night terrors. Since it's very rare for babies to experience night terrors, it took us a while to figure out that's what it was. (Night terrors are not nightmares and they occur when a person gets stuck between sleep cycles. Children usually scream and cry in a way that is different from their usual crying and they sound terrified. Often they can be kicking and screaming and will have their eyes opened, almost looking possessed. Around the time Ian was born, Ethan's night terrors stopped. He has always experienced intense nightmares as well, though those aren't quite as frequent as they were when he was 2 and 3yrs of age. I can still remember in vivid detail how scared I was the first few times Ethan experienced night terrors and how upset it made me.

A week or so ago, Ethan had two episodes of wetting his bed in the middle of the night. He hasn't done that in well over a year so it came as a big suprise to both of us. Ethan told me that he thought he was using the bathroom and then woke up to find that he was in his bed and had wet it. I determined that he must have dreamt that he was in the bathroom.

Last night, he came into our room, got into the bed and just stared at me. I kept asking him "Ethan, what do you need? Why did you come in here?" He didn't answer and just made noises and kept moving around. He finally got up and went back to his room. I realized after he left that he must have been sleepwalking. This morning I asked him about his coming into my room to see if maybe he had woken up at some point when I was talking with him last night but he said that he never came into my room. He was quite upset to learn about the sleepwalking.

I remember my sister sleepwalking when she was a child and I know that this can run in families. I had trouble going back to sleep last night because I started worrying that between the bed wetting and now the sleepwalking, he was developing a serious problem. When he was a baby and I read everything I could find about night terrors, I read about the bizarre and scary things that can happen to people while they are sleepwalking. I had to stop myself and confess to God my anxiety about it and ask him to protect Ethan.

In my research today, I've found that Sleep Terror Disorder and Sleepwalking Disorder are more prevelant in gifted children, and more so with boys. I haven't found much advice on how to deal with it. A friend of mine has a gifted child who was a sleepwalker and she cautioned me to make sure that the doors are locked at night for safety. I've read that having a regular bedtime routine is important, which we've always had one, so there isn't much to change there. I will be praying that God would keep Ethan from trying to go outside and that we would always wake up and hear him if this continues.

What's your destiny?

2010-11-18T10:34:00.000-05:00

I've been teaching a study on the book of Jonah at church. I've thoroughly enjoyed all the reading and preparation involved. I've found a few commentary's especially helpful. It may seem strange to be teaching a study on Jonah, after all isn't that a child's story? Since all of scripture is God breathed and useful for instruction, this little book actually contains deep truth that speaks to the heart of every Christian. We can all relate to Jonah's running from God, after all aren't we always running when we sin? God's love and compassion for us in response to our running from him is a reminder of the gospel and how much we need Jesus.

"The word of the Lord came to Jonah son Amittai: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord." Jonah 1:1-3

One commentary I have been reading points out that Jonah, being a prophet, had a special calling. He was privileged to hear from God and see into God's will for his people. Yet in running away, he was running from his "destiny." The name Jonah means "dove" and we often use the image of a dove for "peace" or "love." Even by his very name, Jonah was called to bring peace and love to those who did not have it, in this case the Ninevites. Sinclair Ferguson in Man Overboard!: The Story of Jonah says, "To be a true prophet of God, and to be made aware that God has a destiny for one's life, were almost synonymous in the thinking of the Old Testament. In every age those who have been of service to God's kingdom, whether publicly or privately, known or unknown, have been conscious of this sense of destiny." All of us who are in Christ have a destiny, a calling, that God has prepared for us in advance. "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10). Over and over again in scripture we see God's people were sustained during difficult times because of this understanding of their destiny. "Few things are more important for the Christian than to have a conscious sense of God's destiny." (Ferguson) When we are in God's will and fulfilling that destiny, there is true peace and joy in our hearts. When we run from that destiny and go our own way, (as Jonah did) God will pull us back to himself and remind us of what "we are for" or what our destiny is in God's plan.
"There appears to be a direct relationship between our usefulness in the service of God and the sense of destiny we have that, whatever happens, we are doing the work to which God has called us." (Ferguson) How am I resisting my destiny today? Have I turned my back to God's calling, saying in effect "I know you're the creator and you know all things, but in this situation, I have a better plan"?

What is the Nineveh you are fleeing from?

Boudreaux's Butt Paste

2010-11-17T18:01:00.001-05:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Boudreaux's Butt Paste. All opinions are 100% mine.

I recently hosted a baby shower for a friend who was having her second baby. I decided to get her gift collection of basic necessities. As I went down the aisle's choosing items, I came across Boudreaux's Butt Paste and bought some to add to the gift. I remember well using this product with my kids. We all have skin allergies in our family and I needed to use a product that was effective yet not too harsh on the kids skin. After trying all the different brands, Boudreaux's Butt Paste was the one we settled on and one I felt confident in buying for my friend.

I received this opportunity to write a post about the butt paste and in reading more about it, I learned that it was formulated by a pharmacist with guidance from an esteemed pediatrician to provide effective diaper rash care. I also learned that if you visit their website, you can get a free sample to try out for yourself. Additional pluses: it really works to treat diaper rash and soothe irriated skin, it goes on and comes off easily, has a flip top cap, comes in travel size as well as a number of other sizes, and has a pleasant scent. Boudreaux's Butt Paste is made of 16% zinc oxide and Peruvian Balsam.

Children and the Kingdom of God

2010-11-16T20:33:00.000-05:00

My boys rediscovered some marbles they had gotten for their birthday recently and had a blast discovering what they could do. As I observed them going around the house looking for objects that their magnetic marbles would attach to, I was struck by their wonder and excitment. They ended up deciding the bathtub was the best source for adventure and spent quite some time spinning the marbles around the tub, making sculptures, and other inventive things with the marbles.

It reminded me of Jesus' reference to children when he said that unless we become like little children, we can never enter the kingdom of God. (Matthew 18:3). Usually I see that verse and think about the faith that children have in things that don't seem real to adults. Children aren't concerned about scientific proof, they just believe. When I read Jesus' words I think he means that we need to believe our heavenly father the way young children believe and trust their parents. And that is all true. Yet today I've been thinking more about how children become so obsessed with something they are interested in and so unrestrained in their joy about it. How simple a magnetic marble is yet how awe inspiring to a child. I wonder if Jesus may have also been referring to the passion children have for life and could this also be what he says we need to have to enter the kingdom of heaven?

God doesn't only want our verbal assent that we believe in him. He's not selling life insurance. He doesn't want godly actions that come from a heart that doesn't love him. What does it mean to "love the Lord you God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind?" I think Jesus wants us to fall in love with him, to be willing to sell all we have to buy that eternal treasure, to be so obsessed with him that nothing else matters. He wants us to take joy in the things he has made, to spend time thinking about him, talking with him, learning from him. He wants us to have no inhibitions in running straight into his arms and calling him "Abba."

When my kids spend all afternoon thoroughly enjoying life, I think that God wants me to learn from them. God wants me to have that same passion for him--- to have the heart of a child.

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." Matthew 13:44

"O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy. I lie awak thinking of you, meditating on you through the night. Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely." Psalm 63: 1-8

Air Show

2010-11-14T20:14:00.000-05:00

Going to the air show in our town is an annual event. Usually it's just a guy thing (or I've tried to make it that way:). But this year my husband was working so I took the kids, along with some friends. The boys love seeing all the military planes, jets, and helicopters up close. They were able to sit in the pilot's seat and try it on for size. Instead of staying at the show to watch the planes do their stunts in the air, we went to a friends home to watch it from her yard.

Handsome brothers

The only time Ethan is allowed to hold a gun.

Learning how the interior of the military plane is used to hold cargo.

Ian helped too

Pilot Ethan

Co-pilot Ian

Ready for take off

This plane made me cringe and hold my ears

Plane stunts

The only time in his life he'll ever hold cigarettes

The gang

God is gracious

2010-11-14T15:06:00.000-05:00

Praise God from whom all blessings flow,

Praise Him all creatures here below,

Praise Him above the heavenly hosts,

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Indeed, all blessings come to us from our Father in heaven. Here are some of the blessings I've been reflecting on this past week:

171. God has brought me from death to life.
172. He has given us His word to teach us how to live this life.
173. Speaking of life, I got to go with a friend to her babies 8 month ultrasound!
174. Yummy pumpkin bread.
175. Friends to share food and fellowship with.
176. Going crib shopping with a friend this week who needed a crib--so fun to look at baby stuff and not need it for myself:)!
177. Planning a Christmas party.
178. Nice weather where I can leave the doors open.
179. God's patience with me.
180. My oldest will still sit on my lap and snuggle.

The Word Lights Our Path

2010-11-12T08:05:00.000-05:00

Last night we did an activity with the boys to understand how we live in darkness until God brings us into his light. My husband and the boys read The Lightlings while I hid some "treasures" around the house. The Lightlings is an allegory written by R.C. Sproul (I highly recommend all his children's books) to help children understand the fall and our need for a savior. After we talked about the story and why we are in darkness without God, I told them they were to pretend they were the Lightlings trying to make their way in the world without God. We talked about how we can't find anything good--the eternal treasures, blessings and joys awaiting us without light from God.

So we walked around the house in pitch black darkness to see if we could find any "treasures." After discovering that it was impossible, I gave them small bibles to which I had attached flashlights. "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." Psalm 199:105. With the light of the word we were able to search the house and find all the hidden treasures.

"...God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. " 1 Timothy 6: 16-16.

May His word give you light for your path today and everyday!

Recent Pictures

2010-11-11T07:44:00.001-05:00

Me at Steven Curtis Chapman concert

Friends who came with us

Marilyn and Lisa

Steven and Geoff Moore

SCC and his son Caleb

Hanging out with PopPop at the arcade

Practicing on Grandma's dock

At the arcade

Being silly

Pretending to be knight's and defending the kingdom

Who am I going to be?

2010-11-10T12:08:00.000-05:00

Birth order theory is a theory about a person's personality being determined by their order of birth. I believe there is a lot of truth to that. Most oldest children are pretty responsible and dependable. And the second usually tries to be the opposite of the first. And so I've wondered about Ian.

Even at a young age I've seen him trying to establish his role in our home with who he is as separate from his big brother. Since Ethan has the status as the "smart one" who loves learning, I've seen Ian resist being seen as smart. He can read, do math, has great verbal skills and is very bright like his brother but he doesn't want to be thought of that way. At Ian's age, Ethan loved to sit down with me and do educational workbooks. Ian does not like to do that so any educational activity we do has to be in the form of a game and has to be fun in order for him to do it. And even then he often purposefully gets wrong answers.

Yesterday, I found Ian trying to spell words with magnets on the fridge. He has a worm magnet he had made in school and I heard him playing with the magnets. I quietly observed (so he wouldn't stop if he knew I was watching) and he was sounding out the word "worm" and choosing the letters to spell the word. He ended up with WRM. I let him know I saw and helped him find the missing letter and then encouraged him to spell some other words using the Word Whammer. I thought he might stop playing with making words but he kept doing it and spelled a number of words all on his own.

The psychologist we've used for Ethan has talked with us a few times about Ian and what to expect from him intellectually. He assumed that Ian would end up being gifted as well but stressed that it would show itself probably different from Ethan. What do you do with a kid who is obviously quite intelligent yet who doesn't want to be found out to be smart? How do I help him grow and learn in a way where he can still define himself as different from his big brother? I want to encourage him to enjoy learning and I don't want him to waste or suppress his abilities. I think these are going to be ongoing questions for many years to come. If anyone knows of any fun activities or books I can read on the subject please let me know.

Christmas 2010

2010-11-09T10:46:00.002-05:00

Initially Yours Cocoa Christmas Card

Make a statement with Shutterfly Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

I posted recently about the Christmas cards Shutterfly had this holiday season. Originally I was going to choose one of the cards that included a space to write a letter but I couldn't think of what to write so I chose the above card instead. It came in the mail yesterday and I am thrilled with the results. It's very classic and the pictures came out great. I chose this one because I thought the colors went well with the pictures and also because it fit five photos. (It's always hard for me to choose just one!) Anyway, just thought I would share. Let me know what you think of it.

Cheerful Giver

2010-11-06T11:43:00.001-04:00

It's the time of year where my kids become obsessed with getting new stuff. Well, more obsessed than usual. Both of their birthdays are in the fall, followed by Christmas so they get a lot of new stuff in a short period of time. It doesn't help that the toy catalogs start coming in the mail on a daily basis. How to keep them focused on Christ instead of things?

When I take them shopping, I usually tell them in advance whether it is a shopping day for them or not. That way they know whether to expect anything or not. If they see something they like, they can tell me they like it and that they want to put it on their Christmas list. Earlier this week, I took my younger one to Target to look for birthday presents for friends kids. Ian kept saying, "you always buy stuff for other people but not for me." Then he told me that he was really upset and that the only thing that would help him feel better was if I bought him something. Filling that God shaped hole with things other than God starts early doesn't it? I took both the boys to the craft store yesterday to choose some items for our shoe box gift that we give each year for children who are less fortunate. I talked with them in advance about how our focus would be on others, not on them. I asked them to look around the store to find crafts that little boys their age might like. Boy, was it a miserable experience! Lots of "why don't you ever buy anything for me?"

Often, when I am dealing with sin in my children's life it is as though God is holding up a mirror so that I can see the sin in my own life. Do I focus more on things than on building treasures in heaven? Am I setting an example for them to follow? How much time do I spend shopping or searching online for the best price for something? What am I doing to teach them the importance of people and eternity rather than the newest toy?

These questions continue to run through my mind. We've been talking about how God loves a "cheerful giver" and what that means. I've also talked with them about the responsbility we have to share with others when God has blessed us. When God blesses us with abundance, it's not to hold on to it selfishly but to keep our hands open wide and hand it off to others. This year, my husband and I have been regularly strategizing how to live this out in practical ways. I often refer to our Compassion child to help the boys understand how most of the world lives. When we write letters and the boys draw pictures we talk about how much of the things they might draw would be something our sponsored child would know nothing about. Also, how when we share with him what our family is doing, he wouldn't understand or be able to relate to. We are also supporting an organization that helps orphans (Show Hope) and we've been showing them the website and teaching them about orphans and how many children don't even have their basic needs met.

So what to do this Christmas season to keep focused on eternal treasure rather than the treasures at the toy store? In additon to our shoe box gifts, we plan on preparing gifts with the girls in my accountability group for local homeless people. Every year during the Advent Season we have daily activities and scripture readings to keep the kids focused on the good news of the gospel and Christ's incarnation (I'll post more about that in December). For now I need to focus on my own heart and pray and repent for the ways I am not a cheerful giver and live a life that demonstrates to the boys what it means to have an open hand to "the least of these." How can I demand from them if I can't do it myself?

And I think I'll ditch all the toy magazines immediately after I get them in the mail!

Additional resources:

161-170

2010-11-03T06:49:00.001-04:00

"Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done." 1 Chron 16:8

161. Another year on this earth.
162. Suprises for my birthday
163. A yummy meal made by a friend.
164. Seeing the work God is doing with the Chapman family.
165. Being able to join them in helping their ministry Showhope.
166. Teaching the boys about what an orphan is and God's love for orphans.
167. Gearing up for to teach a new bible study at church on the book of Jonah.
168. All scripture is God breathed and useful for teaching, correcting and training. (including the book of Jonah!)
169. God providing time for me to do all I need to do.
170. Including, doing most of my Christmas shopping on Amazon--how convenient is that!

35

2010-11-02T19:20:00.000-04:00

I celebrated my 35th year on Friday. As I've gotten older, birthdays haven't been as exciting but this year was pretty fun. I was spoiled by my friends and family and enjoyed every minute of it:) We went to my in-laws on my birthday to celebrate all of us who had birthdays this fall. The boys got me another broken china necklace (love those!) and I got a necklace made out of a vintage typewriter key (always wanted one of those). My husband suprised me with Jars of Clay tickets to a Christmas concert (whoo hoo!). I also got one of my favorite gifts of all time--books!

Saturday night we celebrated by going to see the Chapman's in concert with a group of friends. A friend of our's who is a chef, made us all dinner (couldn't get any better!) A friend suprised me with some artwork she had made for me (how awesome is that?!). The concert with Steven, Mary Beth, and their sons was AWESOME! Loved it!

And so after being spoiled with lots of fun gifts (my friends and family know me so well--books, Starbucks, Williams Sonoma, vintage stuff) and fun times, now on to real life. Sigh...

Pumpkins, Costumes, Candy and More

2010-11-01T14:59:00.000-04:00

Last week started out with pumpkin center day at Ethan's school. The parents were asked to come help with the centers: trail mix, decorating cookies, and other crafts.

On the 28th, Ethan and Ian had their Halloween events at their school.

Ian was dressed up as a chef.

Ethan dressed up as an Air Force pilot and we went to watch the parade at his school.

Our little pilot.

Later that evening, Ethan's school had a Fall Fest. The kids went trunk or treating and played on bounce houses. We passed on the haunted house.

Ian decided instead of a chef, he wanted to be muscle man.

What's your story?

2010-10-29T21:10:00.000-04:00

His name was Pete. As with most adolescents, I struggled with peer pressure, desires to fit in, and had a wrong self image of myself. Add to that a struggle with depressive thoughts that often threatened to overtake me. I honestly wasn't sure I would make it through adolescence. But thanks to God's use of other people in my life, such as Pete, here I am.

I was a lone teen in my church and didn't know anyone else my age who was a believer. Then God brought Pete into my life. He was in his early 20's and new to our church. He wanted to get involved with youth but I was the only one, so he offered to take me to another church's youth program. That's where I began to find love and acceptance and truly experience the community of The body. Pete remained a youth leader throughout my adolescent years. I learned much from him about scripture and God's unconditional love for me. I remember times of feeling intense despondency and was able to call him at any time for a listening ear. He truy was an older brother in Christ. I really believe that God brought him and my youth group into my life at a crucial time. Without it, I would not be where I am today. His influence encouraged me to go to Christian college where I studied counseling. I then went on to get my Masters in psychology and ultimately I ended up working with children with similar aches and pains as my own.

Compassion International has asked their bloggers to share their stories of how an adult in their life spoke
hope into their world at an important time in their life. My friend, mentor, youth leader and brother in Christ, Pete was the one who God used in my life. Who influenced you in your life and spoke hope into your heart? And to whom are you speaking hope to today?

Compassion International's mission is to bring hope to children around the world through education, food, clothing, and the hope of Christ in the gospel. Our families compassion child is in Africa and supporting him has opened our heart to someone half way around the world. Our children have learned more about the area he is from and learned that most children do not have tha advantages they have. We pray for our child and his family and teach our children about how Jesus loved those who were considered less fortunate, poor, and weak in the eyes of the world and has given us that calling as well.

So, what is your story?

Dog-Eared Mommy

2010-10-27T18:08:00.000-04:00

I was reading a book recently and every time I came across a section I wanted to remember, I folded down the pages, thinking that I would copy the quotes into my quote book. By the end of the book, I had so many folded down pages there was no way I was going to be able to write it all down. Looking at all the folded pages made me think about being a "dog-eared mommy."

Some people think you shouldn't fold down pages in a book. But I believe books are to be used, read again and again. Folding down a page or underlining something helps us remember something that stood out to us when we read the book. And sometimes I feel like a mommy who has been dog-eared. Weary, worn, and tossed around. The pages of my life are folded down to remind me of where I've been and what God has done in my life. God likes to use dog-earred people rather than those who are like coffee table books that are put on a table just for looks. Coffee table books are not used or haven't any life experiences. It's through the challenges in life that God molds us into what He is creating us to be. And like a good book that gets passed around to friends, we share with others what God has been doing in our lives and teach them about the road of faith.

I own many books and when my shelves are overflowing, I have a difficult time getting rid of them. Each one holds a memory of what I was going through when I read it and what I learned. Often when I need a reminder about a particular topic, I know just the book to pull out so I can reread it. And some books on my shelf remind me of such difficult and painful times in my life that I may never pull them out, but they are still on the shelf because they are part of my story. Each of us has a story that God has written and each day we live out one more page. Some of the pages in our life may be more worn than others, some we may want to rip out completely, and others have never been read yet.

But we are not alone. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to hep us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:14,15. Our Lord is part of this world's story. He knows the challenges and difficult times we go through in this sinful world. He came here knowing how his story would end...and that it would begin again. In the garden, he prayed three times asking God to change the plan but willingly submitted to his Father's will. Jesus, "being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross!" Phil 2:6-8

One of the pages in my dog-eared book puts it this way, "Anyone God uses significantly is always deeply wounded...We are, each and every one of us, insignificant people whom God has called and graced to use in a significant way...On the last day, Jesus will look us over not for medals, diplomas, or honors, but for scars."
(Ruthless Trust: The Ragamuffin's Path to God)

"If all my years were summer, could I know what my Lord means by His "made white as snow?" If all my days were sunny, could I say, "In His fair land He wipes all tears away?" If I were never weary, could I keep close to my heart, "He gives His loved one sleep?" Were no griefs mine, might I not come to deem the eternal life but a baseless dream? My winter, and my tears, and my weariness, even my griefs maybe His way to bless. I call them ills, yet they can surely be nothing bu love that shows my Lord to me." Amy Carmichal

So when I look at my life and see the worn pages of past pains, tears, worries, and problems of this life, may I also see the hand of God as he carried me through each page of my history. And may I pass on what I have learned of God and His great love for us by sharing His story.

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." 2 Corinthians 4:16, 17.

3 Years

2010-10-25T06:53:00.000-04:00

My baby is no longer a baby. Ian turned 3 yesterday and as it happens, we are also in the process of taking down his crib. So he's officially all grown up:)

I've seen a light bulb go off in recent months with Ian. He is increasingly interested in reading and has been learning his sight words. He's mostly reading small three letter words but he's making steady progress. He also recently asked me to teach him subtraction. He found some of Ethan's flashcards and asked me to help him with them so we've been doing those. He caught on quickly to the concepts. He's also been learning to write his name. It took him a while to be willing to sit down and practice writing it. He kept saying "I'm aweful at writing my name!" I think his teacher has been encouraging him at school to write his name as well as other letters and numbers. He's also started drawing people.

Ian continues to love sports and is very naturally athletic. (Have not figured out where he got that from). He's also kind of a ham and is pretty dramatic. He makes great faces and dramatizes about everything. Ian is also very cuddly and is a momma's boy. He still hangs on to my legs and acts shy around people. He adores his big brother and can't wait to pick Ethan up from school every day.

Happy 3rd birthday Ian!

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-23T07:56:00.000-04:00

Which one should I get?

This is the one!

Look here everyone!

I said smile, not stick your tongue out!

That's better.

There's the smiles I was looking for!

Give Thanks to the Lord

2010-10-22T19:06:00.000-04:00

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. Psalm 107:1

And so the list continues:

151. Dear friends of ours from college days came to town to visit.
152. Smiles and laughter from their daughter.
153. Cooler mornings.
154. God's never ending forgiveness
155. The wonderful ladies in my bible study.
156. The community of believers in my church.
157. Seeing God's work in my husband.
158. The best chocolate cake I've ever had with the best icing in the world--thanks Karen!
159. Seeing Ian's excitement about turning 3 on Sunday.
160. Dinner out with a friend to a nice restaurant.

Ready to do Christmas Cards yet?

2010-10-22T18:43:00.000-04:00

Well it's that time of year again when I start thinking about Christmas cards. The past few years I've been doing photo cards. It is usually challenging to get cute pictures of the boys where they are both smiling so I start early so I have plenty of time to take tons of pictures. (Because truthfully, everyone wants to see pictures of the kids, not the parents). I've been using Shutterfly for photo cards and have really found the site to be user friendly with a large variety of designs to choose from.

I've even used the site for Christmas party invitations (I've had fun including party pictures from previous years of various friends). This year, I've been considering using this Christmas card design to mail out with pictures of the boys. What's neat is that there's an area to include a little letter of what your family did during the year. They are currently running a special: 20% off all holiday cards which is a great deal.

So I guess there won't be any suprise for those on my Christmas card mailing list--you already know what they might look like!

In His Love

2010-10-21T12:31:00.000-04:00

Long before the stars lit the nite sky
and the planets danced around the sun;
before I made my very first cry
and learned about all your love had done

In your love, you planned for me.

Your crazy love stretches far beyond
the distance from the east to the west.
It is brighter than the morning dawn;
stronger than any empire's conquest.

In your love, you chose me.

You rest your feet upon the planets
and are dressed in brilliant light.
The sun obeys when to rise and set
and by your breath the mountains ignite.

In your love, you draw me close.

You are the King without a shadow
and you invite me before your throne.
Ashamed and guilty of all you know;
yet you changed me and call me your own.

In your love, you saved me.

When I stumble and flee from you to hide,
your Spirit can always find me.
Even when I sin, you're by my side.
Humbled, I delight in your mercy.

In your love, you heal me.

When I close my eyes in that final sleep,
and walk through the gates of gold.
The beauty of your Glory makes me weep,
for you are a wonder to behold.

Because of His love, I will live.

And no one threw tomatoes

2010-10-21T12:24:00.000-04:00

This morning I made a presentation to a class at the local college on the field of psychology. A friend of mine teaches a class on the health care field and asked me to come and speak. I haven't worked in six years and was suprised she asked. I really don't like public speaking but I have improved over the years. In fact, I wasn't nervous and I expected that I would be. Anyway, no one threw tomatoes so it wasn't that bad of a presentation. Of course my husband followed me in presenting the fire/ems profession. His job is a lot cooler than mine so there was a lot of interest in what he does. It did get me thinking though that it would be fun to teach psychology at the college level. Hmmm....

Scripture Memorization

2010-10-20T12:37:00.001-04:00

I am frequently amazed at the memorizing capability that children have. A long time ago, I met a two year old girl whose parents had taught her the shorter catechism. I couldn't believe that one so young could learn something so complicated. I never forgot it and when I had children of my own, I began as soon as they could talk having them learn God's word.

In our kitchen, next to the table where we eat all our meals, is a bulletin board. We post our family rules as well as verses and catechism questions the kids are learning. Every morning we review the verse during our morning devotions. Even after the kids have learned a verse, I frequently reference it during teaching moments to ensure they continue to remember it.

Another way I've found our kids learn verses is through music. When my oldest was a toddler, I purchased a few of Steve Green's cd's for children including: Hide Em in Your Heart Vol 1 & 2 and Hide'em in Your Heart Praise & Worship for Kids. He and a group of children sing scripture that he has turned into songs. There have been times when we are in the car and I have the cd playing and my oldest will say "Hey, they're singing the verse we are learning!"

An added benefit is that I too am learning the verses and often when I'm reading my bible and I come across a passage that I have learned in song, I can't help but hum it in my head. I often remind the kids, as well as myself, the truth that David wrote in the Psalms, "Your word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you." (119:11). I'm finding this verse to be more true for me as I have grown in my faith. The more I read and learn in scripture, the more the Spirit uses it to remind me of God's loving plan for me and convicts me of sin. We know that the "word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12).

I pray that as I learn scripture and am changed by it, this will in turn teach my children, setting an example for them of a walk lived by faith and fed by the very word of God.

Party Pictures

2010-10-19T14:49:00.001-04:00

Swimming in the "lake"

Hot dogs for dinner

The boys

Dirt Cake with campers in their sleeping bags around campfire

Boys and their cake

Wildlife Hunt

Ethan on the zip line

Friend Andrew on the zip line

Our wild Ian on the zip line

Friend Jackson on the zip line

Time for smores

Ethan and Smores

Friend Braden and smores

Our friend Andrew enjoying his smore

Learning how to put up tents

Ian chilling with his friends in tent

Tent city

Movie before bed

Presents before breakfast

Happy Birthday Ethan and Ian!

Crazy Love

2010-10-16T11:32:00.002-04:00

This post has been on my mind for quite a while now. I guess I haven't written it because all I have are questions, rather than answers. A couple of years ago a friend and I read the book Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God and I went through a time of self-inspection and conviction by the Holy Spirit. Less than a year later, we read it in my accountability group. And now I am helping facilitate a study at church on the book.

So three times diving into the book, being convicted, have I changed any?

Through my inner work I've realized how much living in our neighborhood has changed me. After having Ethan, staying home and participating in mommy and me groups, my worldly values increased greatly. Obviously, my heart was ready and willing to pursue worldly ideas and concerns, no one had to force me. I think that the years I worked with the poor had kept me grateful and focused on what really matters and being in a different context with more well-to-do mom's helped me forget that. I began shopping at stores I had never stepped in before, I gladly participated in conversations about the latest sales at those same stores. Even listened to women share their experiences with plastic surgery and those who desired it. I obsessed over decorating the boy's rooms, about every detail. Shameful, I know.

I have confessed and continue to confess this sin to the Lord and ask him to change me.

"What good is it for man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his soul?" Luke 9:25

"Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter." Tim Kizziar

The book doesn't reveal anything new that hadn't read in scripture before, but in taking all the passages in scripture in which God shows us how we are to live as Christians and putting them together in one book, it opens ones eyes to see the complete picture of God's calling on our lives.

"This is true joy in life, the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy." George Bernard Shaw

The questions I'm left with and continue to struggle with is how to apply Jesus' teaching to my life:

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing, I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison and you visited me. Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the king will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!" Matthew 25:34-40

"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you." James 1:27

"Don't store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Where your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be." Matthew 6:19-21

"Then he said to the crowd, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?" Luke: 23-25

What does it look like to care for widows and orphans, to carry my cross, to store treasures in heaven? The book encourages readers to 'downsize' remembering that 53% of the world lives on less than $2 a day. What does it look like for me and my family to 'downsize'? How do I practically live out the gospel in my life everyday?

Because after all, think about what Jesus did for me:

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us." 1 John 3:16-20

Dear Lord and Savior, I set my heart at rest in your presence because my heart condemns me. Show me how to truly love others so that I will then be truly loving you. Help me to daily carry my cross and seek treasure that lasts. Amen.

Play as Therapy

2010-10-14T11:51:00.000-04:00

Play therapy is the predominant form of therapy for children receiving counseling for whatever issues they are going through. Much of it is Jungian in origin, involving the therapist providing toys or objects for the child to play with an observe their play. Taking more of a back seat and not intervening much, the therapist allows the child to process through play what is occuring in their psyche. On the other end of the spectrum, play can be used to make a child comfortable and help them to open up and talk. That was more my speed with child therapy. I often found games to be beneficial in teaching anger management and social skills as well.

All that to say, I think play is a great opportunity for any parent (therapist or not) to create a safe, comfortable opportunity for talking about deeper issues with our children. In fact, I believe children are more likely to learn and retain what we teach them during play than when we are responding to them in the heat of the moment when they have done something wrong.

This morning Ian and I were playing with a new game he got this morning and he started talking on his own about his anger. At first I didn't understand what he was saying (kids to me seem to sometimes show a flight of ideas in their thinking and its hard to figure out where they are going) but I realized that he was telling me about the last time we had played that game. He had gotten angry and was messing up the game for the rest of us, tossing the pieces around. Today he was telling me that he was angry at me the last time we played because I had won the game. I asked him if responding in anger like that was honoring to God and he said it wasn't. I asked what he thought we should do instead when we are angry and he said "leave and go be by ourselves until we calm down." The interesting thing to me is that I have not talked with him about how to handle his feelings very much, usually it is just with Ethan since it is a predominant issue in his life. So I talked to him about where he feels safe to go and calm down and he said his room with his blankie. A great opportunity to share what it means to "in your anger, do not sin." (Ephesians 4:26)

God often gives us opportunities where we aren't even expecting it to disciple and teach our kids. I often pray that God makes me aware of when he places those opportunities are before me because often my mind is not in tune with what God is doing. My prayer is that I always keep Deuteronomy 6 before me:

"You must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are going to bed and when you are getting up."

Longing for My Lord

2010-10-12T16:49:00.002-04:00

I've had this longing lately to just leave all the busyness of my life and walk into my Father's arms. Sometimes it feels like I have a long distance relationship with Him. Kind of like when a dating couple is divided by one person living on the east coast and the other on the west. Many times I wish for a small room in my house devoted just to prayer, like a prayer closet where I can escape to be with the Lord. I've had lines of poetry dancing in my head the past couple of months and I so long to write them down as an offering to God, but time escapes me. Why do I let so many things rob me of time with God? The ironic thing is that most of my busyness is devoted to His work in the Kingdom. Whether they good things like ministry opportunities, helping out a friend, even preparing for teaching Sunday school or worldly concerns like hitting the sales at the mall, I am only promised today and I want each today that I'm given to be lived out in worship to Him who gives me each day.

How do we stay connected to God in the busyness of life? How do we stay madly in love with Him? How do we keep the cross always before us? How do we satisfy our hunger for the Bread of Life? I am not alone as even the Psalmist felt the same way:

"As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?" Psalm 42:1,2

The scriptures direct me to the answers I seek. "Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again--my Savior and my God!" (Ps 42:11)

"Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found." (Ps 119:35)

"...I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and one earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower yo with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God." Ephesians 3:14-19

God has given means of grace for us to be able to come before Him, two of those being prayer and his word. Since I never allow myself to go physically hungry for too long without finding food, I must seek out God through prayer and his word when I hunger for him.

May Paul's prayer be true in my heart--Selah!

Birthday Campout

2010-10-10T16:18:00.000-04:00

For the boys birthday party this year we decided to do a campout. So this past Friday night we had seven other boys over for a camping themed party. They swam in our "lake" (pool), rode the zip line in the yard, learned how to put up tents, went on a wildlife hunt and of course roasted marshmallows over a fire. The dads and the boys spent the night in our yard in tents and had breakfast with us in the morning. After another swim in the "lake" the kids headed home. It was a ton of fun, except for all the dads who didn't get any sleep:) Apparently, we forgot to turn off the sprinkler system in advance and they came on in the middle of the night, soaking the tents.
Pictures will soon follow.

He Carries Our Burdens

2010-10-06T10:20:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, one more item was added to my already full plate turning it into more of a tray than just a plate. I could feel the weight of it all afternoon. As I became more tense and burdened, I stepped away from God rather than to him. My heart was not at peace and instead I could feel agitation and even anxiety. Rather than turn to God right away for him to carry this heavy burden, I kept carrying that tray into the evening. I carried it as I tried to get the kids ready for bed and found I could not parent effectively while carrying the tray. But I insisted on carrying it anyway. And instead of stopping and focusing on what was happening with the kids (who were irritable and hyper from steroids because of sinus issues) I expected more of them than I would have otherwise. It turned into a miserable night for us. As I got into bed and picked up my bible for my evening bible reading time, I realized that I felt disconnected from God. I didn't have that normal eagerness to be with him and instead felt ashamed and angry with myself.

But as always, the one who gives more than we ever could, stepped in to give me grace and reminded me that I do not have to carry my burdens alone.

"Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light." Matthew 14:28-30

And so I lift up my heavy tray filled with duties, responsibilities, tasks, chores, events, worries, and stress to the one who holds the world in his hand.

Photobook a Friend Made for Us

2010-10-04T15:53:00.001-04:00

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Girls Away

2010-10-03T20:50:00.000-04:00

My husband recently learned that he excelled on his promotional exam and so as a thank you to me for my patience the past six months, he sent me and a couple of friends out of town overnight. We decided to go to a huge outlet mall and Ikea. Before we left for our trip, he gave me another suprise--an Iphone. Something I had been asking for, well begging for really. So I got to start off my trip with my cool new phone. We walked for miles it seems while shopping. Got some great deals and enjoyed getting away. Sadly, we found ourselves humming the theme song from "Dora" one too many times. I guess one night wasn't enough to clear our minds:)

All of Life as Grace

2010-09-30T20:21:00.000-04:00

Each week I add to my list of graces God gives me each and every day. I'm making my way to a thousand graces and hopefully beyond. Gratitude I'm finding, is life transforming and the source of Joy. The real test of gratitude is whether I have it during times of trial and difficulty because God is at work during those times as well as the good times. That for me is the hard part, especially given my propensity to depressive thinking. But the more time I spend in prayer and in God's word, feasting on the graces he's given me, the more I am able to see grace in everything in my life.

"The foremost quality of a trusting disciple is gratefulness. Gratitude arises from the lived perception, evaluation, and acceptance of all of life as grace--as an undeserved and unearned gift from the Father's hand. Such recognition is itself the work of grace,and acceptance of the gift is implicitly an acknowledgement of the Giver. The grateful heart cries out in the morning, "Thank you, Lord, for the gift of a new day." Brennan Manning

141. When I was in despair this week, my husband made a surprise stop home from work for a couple of hours.
142. The Holy Spirit who confronts me and points out my sin to me.
143. My children who immediately forgive me when I apologize for my unkind tone of voice and frustration.
144. Encouragement from friends who speak God's word to me.
145. Seeing Ethan more inspired to learn than ever--I think he's on a mission to learn the names of every country in the world. His gifted teacher likes to think he'll be a social studies teacher.
146. Seeing Ian's increased interest in reading.
147. Feeding on God's word during a time of fasting this week for our church.
148. The slightly cooler air that a tropical storm brought us.
149. Getting to go out of town overnight with friends.
150. Getting to go shopping while out of town with friends.

"To be grateful for the good things that happen in our lives is easy, but to be grateful for all of our lives--the good as well as the bad, the moments of joy as well as the moments of sorrow, the successes as well as the failures, the rewards as well as the rejections--that requires hard spiritual work. Still, we are only grateful people when we can say thank you to all that has brought us to the present moment. As long as we keep dividing our lives between events and people we would like to remember and those we would rather forget, we cannot claim the fullness of our beings as a gift of God to be grateful for. Let's not be afraid to look at everything that has brought us to where we are now and trust that we will soon see in it the guiding hand of a loving God." Henri Nouwen

"For all things give thanks to God, because this is what God expects you to do in Christ Jesus." 1Thess. 5:18

Weekend with Grandparents

2010-09-29T19:51:00.000-04:00

My parents came into town from WVA to visit and celebrate Ethan's 6th birthday. Six years has gone by quickly! He is very excited to be 6. He recently lost his first tooth (the right way), in fact it fell out at school. We had a little family thing for his birthday last night. George reminded Ethan of the hurricanes that came that year to announce his arrival:) He's heard it so many times, it's not interesting to him anymore. He requested blueberry pancakes for dinner and asked for cupcakes with strawberry icing. I'm not a cake baker so thankfully strawberry icing exists in a tub at the grocery store. Poor thing had to wait all day and until after dinner to open his presents. By dinner time he was running circles around the house. I think his favorite thing was a $2 whistle I had gotten him. He had been saying for weeks that he wanted a whistle, if I had known it was that important, I wouldn't have gotten anything else:)

My parents with the boys

Legos!

Love big boxes!

Yummy, breakfast for dinner!

Lighening McQueen sprinkles on strawberry icing--an acquired taste I'm convinced.

Ian in the tunnel at the park

Ethan in the tunnel

My mom and Ethan battled it out in the pool

She got him!

The Fiery Tongue

2010-09-27T10:52:00.000-04:00

Ethan stayed home sick from church with me yesterday so we had Sunday school at home. Since daddy is a fire fighter, the boys understand fire and how it spreads. So we did an activity using fire fighting stickers to help him understand the passage from James that says:

"We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth." 3:3-10

One of our Family Ways is "We encourage one another using only words that build up and bless others." As in most families with siblings, this is an ongoing battle. So after reading the above passage, we talked about how our minds control our feelings and then trigger the words we say. So if Ian takes a toy from Ethan and Ethan thinks to himself, "How dare he take that from me, it's mine!" Those thoughts trigger angry feelings and then sinful words come out of his mouth toward his brother. In our firefighting analogy, we had small stickers of "sparks" of fire which we labeled different thoughts and behaviors (jealousy, pride, cursing). The water that the fire fighters used to put out the fire is God's word, prayer, repentence and the power of the Holy Spirit.

I think this project will be one we'll hang up and consult quite regularly or until sibling rivalry ends...maybe when they're in their 50's?

A Godly View of Self

2010-09-23T12:14:00.000-04:00

As the older child, Ethan has always been one to boss others around. I remember him being not yet three and telling another child at the grocery store that they were sitting in the shopping cart incorrectly. It's only become more frequent as he has gotten older. When you add the intelligence factor, it seems to make him more bossy. How do you teach someone to have a Godly view of themselves?

One of the things that I do regularly is tell him that God gave him his ability to learn things quickly for a special reason. God planned good works for us before the creation of the world and whatever attributes, skills or abilities He has given us, they are to be used for His glory. "For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Ephesians 2:10 And so we talk about God having a plan to use Ethan for the building up of his kingdom--whether it's as a scientist, a pilot, a teacher or whatever his calling may be. One of the obvious reasons I tell him this is so that he would remember that his abilities come from God, not himself. But an additional reason is that it is part of my blessing that I give him (see The Blessing). Encouragement is often underused or misused with our children. We are pretty good at saying "You're such a good runner." or "Your such a handsome little boy." But true encouragement is "the verbal affirmation of someone's strength, giftedness, or accomplishment, along with the realization that God the creator is the ultimate source behind whatever's being affirmed." (see Unfashionable: Making a Difference in the World by Being Different). "The secret to true encouragement is learning to see God's reflection in others, not just in Christians but in everyone. Encouragement is noticing God's reflection in other people's strengths and gifts, then verbally affirming what we see." (Unfashionable: Making a Difference in the World by Being Different).

Now that he is around other kids of high intelligence, I have concerns that he will struggle with humility. So in addtion to the blessing or encouragement I give him, I also remind him of what he can and cannot boast about. He has come home saying something like "the other kids in my class notice that I am smart too because they copy what I am doing." We looked up and read this passage from Jeremiah and whenever he makes a comment like that, I remind him of what the scripture says: "This is what the Lord says: 'Don't let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken!'" 9:23,24.

Grandma's Visit

2010-09-22T08:18:00.000-04:00

We haven't seen my mother-in-law in quite a while (they've been traveling the world--well just Spain and France). They just got back into town and so she decided to come over for a visit the past weekend. The highlight for the boys was showing her their wood planes they put together and flying them outside (requiring only one tree rescue).

Thankful 131-140

2010-09-20T08:02:00.000-04:00

I'm steadily making my way through my 1,000 graces God has given me. The Gratitude Community is pretty large and it's neat to see what God is doing in other people's lives.

131. Just when I thought I couldn't make it another day parenting by myself, George's mom came into town to visit and help out.
132. That means I got to sleep in until 8am on Saturday.
133. That also means I got to work a little on my digital scrapbook.
134. Our house has been much neglected the past six months. A friend came over to help fix things that have broken. I have a long list so he'll be back:)
135. The final part to my husbands promotional exam is tomorrow--yay!
136. I got to teach the 2yr olds in church yesterday. They were so cute!
137. I've been praying each day that God would use me to do his kingdom work and that he would lead me to where he wants me. I've been asked by the elders at my church to be on the pastoral search committee. It's an honor and I'm excited about it.
138. That means I get to read fun theological stuff about choosing a pastor, get to talk about fun theological stuff with the members of the committee, and get to hear lots of sermons--what could be better than that?
139. This morning my husband offerred to take Ethan to school.
140. That means I did not have to set my alarm and instead got up when Ian got up:)

Volunteering

2010-09-16T10:46:00.000-04:00

I always assumed I would volunteer wherever Ethan went to school. I even thought I might like to volunteer in the classroom. When we did kindergarten orientation I started feeling like the PTA members were like used car salesmen as they tried to get me to commit to volunteer at the school. Yesterday I went to a volunteer orientation to get more details on volunteer opportunities. I had thought I'd like to volunteer in the guidance office or in the gifted class so I wanted to find out more about what's involved. I missed the "get dressed up" memo, arriving in my shorts and tank; thankful that one other mom arrived in her gym clothes. I also had to bring Ian with me, thankfully there was a lot of food for him to be distracted by. ( I was told by a PTA person that I could bring Ian because other moms would bring their kids--he was the only one not in a baby carrier).

As time went on I started getting a feeling that being involved as a regular volunteer might not be the right thing. The school prides itself on the fact that they have SO many parent volunteers and they have won a number of awards for the amount of hours the volunteers put in. And they mentioned each and every award at the meeting I attended. It was hard for me to not feel uncomfortable about all the bragging. I know its great that so many parents participate in the life of the school because many other schools never have parents involved. It seems that if you are a stay at home mom, it is assumed and expected that you will commit to be there every week volunteering. I've quickly realized I am not the "classroom mom" type and that it would probably be torture for me to do that. And so I've been debating in my mind about the level of commitment I should have at the school.

I've also been thinking about the fact that the school doesn't really NEED me as a volunteer in the sense that I wouldn't be doing anything all that helpful. The kids are overprivileged and have every advantage at the school. The PTA does a lot of fundraisers to raise money for high tech gadgets for the teachers to use in the classroom. And they recruit heavily to get people to help out at those events. Part of me thinks that if I were to dedicate time to volunteering at a school I ought to do it at an underprivileged school where none of the parents volunteer and I could actually be of help to the students. I know from my past work for Big Brothers Big Sisters that the kids in more underprivileged schools often need tutoring and just contact from an adult who cares. In fact, I also think that maybe the PTA should consider giving the money they make in fundraising to an underprivileged school. I know, I'm crazy to think such a thing.

But then I think, aren't I supposed to be involved at the school where my child attends? At least so I can get to know the teacher and see who his friends are? For right now I think I'm just going to go whenever I can to a Wednesday morning volunteer time where they do a lot of prep. work for the teachers (like for craft activities). And they say I can bring Ian. I've also been told that the Wednesday morning time is great for getting to know other moms. My problem is that I struggle so much with trying to socialize with the wealthy moms in our community. I'm so bad at small talk that I never know what to say and I usually have little in common. But I will give it a try and in the meantime I will be praying that my attitude improves because I know I sound snarky (I stole that word from a friend:)

The Word and the Strainer

2010-09-13T18:56:00.000-04:00

In my ongoing quest to teach the boys about the Way to Life and staying on the Path of Life, we often talk about the wisdom of Solomon and his words of caution to seek after Wisdom rather than foolishness. I want the boys to develop a Christian worldview early in life that will help them make those important choices to keep them on the Path. While Kant may have first used the term "worldview," scripture is the first and only source for our Christian worldview.

Today we read from Philippians: "Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." (4:8,9). I was a philosophy minor in college and a recurring theme in those courses was the concept of a cognitive grid or framework through which we filter ideas through our worldview. I can still see the drawing of the grid on the chalkboard drawn by my prof. and that inspired me for an activity we did today. After reading the passage from Philippians, we talked about what a filter does; specifically the ones we have in our house (allergy filters that filter dust particles out of the air). I got out a strainer that I use (kind of like a collandar with smaller holes) and told the boys to pretend that the strainer was God's word. I got out a can of tomatoes with habanaros (why did I buy those?) and said that the can was a situation we were confronted with that we needed to make a choice about (a movie to watch, words to say, an activity to participate in). In this case, the can was a specific situation that occurred over the weekend where a friend of Ethan's had come up with a plan for treating some other people unkindly and I happened to overhear it and intervened. And as I poured out the can into the strainer, we went through each item in the list that Paul made: was this true? honoring to God? right with God's commands?, lovely?, etc. I described the list of Paul's as a brain test or tool for our minds to use to filter each situation through and whatever is able to get through the filter of God's word is a wise choice, and whatever cannot, is not a wise choice.

"My child, listen to me and do as I say, and you will have a long, good life. I will teach you wisdom's ways and lead you in straight paths. When you walk, you won't be held back; when you run, you won't stumble. Take hold of my instructions; don't let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life." Proverbs 4:10-13

Resources for parenting and developing a Christian worldview:

Hospitality

2010-09-12T19:00:00.001-04:00

I posted recently about spiritual gifts and I've been praying for a while for God to provide opportunities for me to use mine. Hospitality is one of those gifts and I have used that one in abundance this past week. A month ago I had planned to have a large group over for a bbq on Labor Day. Then I learned that our small group needed someone to host for this past Friday night so I volunteered. And then I learned that a women's event needed a house to host the event on Saturday so I volunteered for that as well. So three events at our house this past week. Very tiring of course but I enjoyed the fellowship and the opportunity to serve.

Hospitatilty does not come naturally to me. We really appreciated people in our lives who extended hospitality to us when we were in college and also after we were first married. We both really wanted to learn how to extend biblical hospitality to others and so I asked those people to share with me how they used their gift, observed them in action, and tried to use the gift myself. I didn't know how to cook anything when I was first married but I could follow a recipe so I got recipes from friends, books and magazines and through trial and error learned how to make a meal for a group to enjoy. I'm not outgoing and am pretty shy so hosting a group of people at our house is definitely a work of God in and through me.

Since I am shy, I usually need some time to myself after a lot of social interaction so I'll probably take a couple weeks off before I host another event:)

Sharing the Gospel

2010-09-11T12:57:00.000-04:00

Ian has been interested in talking and learning about Jesus recently so I've been thinking a lot about what it means to share the gospel with our children. It seems like most Christian children's books focus on stories from the bible, disconnected from the rest of scripture. Little kids love learning about Noah and the ark and David and Goliath. And while those stories are good to read, I don't want my kids to learn those stories from a moralistic perspective, but rather how those stories fit into God's redemptive plan.

I also don't want to be a parent whose main concern is getting my child to say "the sinner's prayer" and then take a deep breath as though my job is done. I want my kids to understand the holiness of God and what it really means for a holy and righteous God to leave his heavenly throne to come to earth, live a sinless life, and die for our sins. I want them to have a deep love for God that changes them; where they love God more than anything else. And that has been my daily prayer.

And so as I've been sharing the gospel with Ian and teaching him about who God is and what he has done for us, my prayer is that Ian would never remember a day in his life when he did not know and love God. And while it is the Holy Spirit who does the work of bringing his dead soul to life, I do have a responsibility to teach and model for him the love of Christ.

And so sharing the gospel with my kids is not a one time event, but a conversation that happens daily. It happens when they are struggling with getting along and we talk about how God created both of them and when we mistreat one another, we are showing God that we do not like what he has created. And when they are having difficulty sharing and we talk about what it means to love God with all our heart and when we do, we understand that it means loving Him more than toys. That we need to hold onto our belongings loosely so that when God calls us to share, we do it freely. And when the kids (especially my oldest) begins to brag about his learning abilities and how much better he is at things than others, we read and learn from Jeremiah that we are not to brag about anything, not our smarts, our power, our money. But the only thing we can boast in is that we know the Lord.

I ask Ian his catechism questions about whether there is more than one true God and he answers, "just one and He's the one that's in our heart right?" The Holy Spirit is giving me an opportunity right then to share with him all that God has done for us in his son Jesus. But not just at that moment, everyday.

Great Resources For Teaching About God:

Praise

2010-09-08T18:30:00.000-04:00

Today George had the first part of his Captain's test for work, the written portion. He's been studying since the end of last year and most intensely since June. I prayed with he and Ethan this morning praying that he would ace the test and get the highest score out of all the test takers. God can do abundantly more than we believe He can do. George chuckled after I prayed and said, "If that happened, it would definitely be divine intervention." (it's all divine intervention and if he did poorly on the test that would mean God has something better in store for him and different plan).

So he called me this afternoon to inform me he had a 97%, the highest score of anyone! God is good. The boys have been going around saying "Daddy won, daddy won!" The next portion of the test is in a couple of weeks so he's back to studying to get ready for it.

On the way home from the test it seemed like it was taking him longer to get home than I expected. When I finally reached him he told me there was an accident on the highway that he pulled over for. There was a child about Ethan's age who had broken his femur in the accident so George attended to him and made sure that a trauma helicopter came due to the seriousness of the injury. It wasn't in the city he worked for, just on his way home. The child's family can be confident knowing that George really knows his stuff--more than anyone else in fact! :)

So thanks to everyone who has been praying, we are grateful!

List of Graces 121-130

2010-09-07T18:57:00.000-04:00

121. It's September so that means Fall is almost here. Even though I don't get to experience real Fall here at least I know it's going to be a little cooler soon.
122. And since it's Fall, it's also Pumpkin Spice Latte time at Starbucks!
123. God has blessed us with great friends to share Labor Day with.
124. Awesome friends who help set up and take down after parties
125. God has been gracious to keep the kids from any major meltdowns which is good because I've been a single parent the past month or so.
126. George's test is tomorrow, part 1
127. God's crazy love for us. We had an awesome study this morning at church and spent some time meditating on Revelation 4.
128. A wonderful friend volunteered in the nursery so mom's could come to my study
129. We get to host small group this Friday night at our house and I'm looking forward to our study on Philippians
130. Getting to share the gospel with Ian. Little kids are so cute. I asked Ian his catechism question about how many God's there are and he says, "Only one true God. He's the one in our heart right?

We have everything

2010-09-05T19:06:00.002-04:00

We've been having guest preacher's at our church the last few weeks and today the guest preacher taught from Philippians 4. It's funny how many times you can read a passage and feel like you really know it and then hear someone speak on it and you are struck by something new. That's God speaking to us through his word. We were taught from verses 4 and 5 and he spent a lot of time talking about joy, our source of joy, and why we can demonstrate "reasonableness" no matter the circumstances at hand. When the HS moves into our heart He comes with all the tools necessary to do the work in our hearts. He comes with gifts and fruits--one of those fruits is Joy. The thing that struck me was when the speaker pointed out that we have everything we need to accomplish anything because we have the HS. It doesn't matter what trial or difficulty or problem that may be before us--we have everything we need. And in the midst of those problems we can have real joy because we know who holds the world. We know intimately the One who gave His life for us so that we can have life with Him. And everything else fades.

And so I've been thinking about this today because on Tuesday I begin co-leading a bible study at church on the book Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God by Francis Chan. It's one of my absolute favorite books in recent years so I'm excited to go through it with other women at our church. I've not led a study with a group larger than 5 and so I've been a little apprehensive. I've been praying for each woman that God leads to the study that He will equip me with the wisdom to share His word with them and that their hearts would be open to learn and grow in their relationship with Him.

And tonight as I reflect on this passage from Philippians, I know that I have everything I need to lead this study. And no matter what may come up to complicate things, the HS is active and working to accomplish God's will.

Won't you pray with me for the study this week?

Learning God's Word

2010-09-03T19:31:00.000-04:00

We're getting back into our school year routine. After taking a break from the catechism during the summer to review Our 24 Family Ways (2010), we've started back up where we left off. I had started Ethan on the catechism by the time he was two and beginning this year decided to switch to the adult version. Ian is doing the kids version and we are learning a verse each week as well. I don't remember to do things unless it's right in front of my face, so on the wall in the kitchen is a bulletin board where I have our verses and catchism questions posted. I also have our family ways listed and a whole section for the ministries we support so that we can pray for them and for our Compassion child. Each morning at breakfast we practice our verse and that week's catechism question and do a devotional.

In my continued effort to reach Ethan's heart with the word of God, I decided to highlight a number of passages in his bible and put tabs on the pages. He doesn't know how to find different verses in the bible yet but I want him to learn to hide God's word in his heart so my hope is that when he is reading in bed at night, he can read those select passages and get a feel for where they are in scripture and learn for himself what God teaches. I chose his favorite passages in the old testament as well as a few in Proverbs and a number of passages in the new testament including John 3:16 and parts of Ephesians 4 and 5.

Additional resources:

Gifted Class

2010-09-02T08:28:00.000-04:00

Ethan started his gifted class this week. He seemed to really like it and reported more on what he did in there than he has about his regular class. One thing I did notice is that his perfectionism was more pronounced that day after being in the gifted class (yes, it is possible for him to be even more of a perfectionist). I think he's so used to being the smartest one in the class and in the gifted class, he's not. He was beating himself up all afternoon, saying "I can't do anything right." When I picked him up from school, he soon remembered that he had left a drawing on his desk that he had been working on in the gifted class. He was very upset and cried for quite a while. The school has a policy that the kids are responsible for their own things and if they forget or lose something, they experience the consequences for it. For example, if they forget their lunch at home their parents are not to bring it to the school for them. It will be challenging for him to adjust to not always knowing everything but I know it will be good for him.

Last night I went to the curriculum night at the gifted class. They will be doing a world traveling theme this year and will be learning a lot about geography and other cultures. The teacher will incorporate math, reading and science into what they are learning. She is really great and totally GETS gifted kids. She understands their idiosyncrasies, sensitivities, energy, and desire to learn. They are not supposed to have to make up missed work from their regular class, just show proficiency at whatever skill they may have missed. I know he is going to love being in her class and will probably wish he was in there everyday.

Rambler's Way

2010-08-31T19:21:00.000-04:00

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Ramblers Way. All opinions are 100% mine.

Eight years ago during a trip to Scotland, I got to tour a mill where they made wool clothing. I would have loved to have gotten some sweaters but I knew I would rarely get the chance to wear them especially because it rarely gets that cold where I live.

There's a company called Rambler's Way that makes next to skin soft wool that you can wear year round. I couldn't imagine wool that can be worn year round; it's usually so hot and itchy. Yet, when I browsed their site to learn more, I found that they really do make products that are intended to wear year round and they're soft and comfortable. The products are made from superfine American Rambouillet 18.5 micron wool. It wicks away moisture keeping you cool and it naturally repels odors so you don't have to wash it every time you wear it. The added benefit is that it is a family owned company (ever heard of Tom's of Maine?), their products are made in the U.S. and are sustainably farmed and produced.

While exploring the site, I thought about what I would like to order and I found this camisole that would work great underneath tops and just to wear around the house. It looks sooo soft. There's also a short sleeve top that would be heavenly to wear to bed. Rambler's Way used state of the art technology using custom built sewing machines to creat the light weight, soft wool clothing. The flat seams are smooth, invisible, and do not scratch.

The site is pretty impressive and if the families success with Tom's of Maine is any indicator, then Rambler's Way will carry on the belief in creating eco-friendly, quality, American made products.

Week 2

2010-08-31T11:16:00.000-04:00

So this is week two of Ethan in public school. Today he started his gifted class and he seemed excited about going. It's still really weird to me to drop him off every morning and never talk to the teacher. I got an update everyday from his preschool teacher on how he was doing. So I feel disconnected. I've been encouraged to volunteer so that I can be more connected at the school. And I have plans to and was going to this week. But Ian got sick with tonsilitis. And I'm actually glad that's what he has because I was afraid it was an ear infection and that we would have to put him through surgery this fall.

So week two of school and Ian is already sick. Thankfully I didn't have anything too major planned that I had to cancel. Next week starts a bible study I'm co-teaching at church and I'm glad he is sick this week--I'd hate to miss the first week of bible study. We are all very tired from getting up early everyday to take Ethan to school. Ethan is extremely tired and trying really hard to hold it together. We've had a few tough moments but God has been gracious and he is teaching Ethan how to handle things.

And most importantly, I have not lamented about not homeschooling or sending him to private school. So far that is:) I'm working really hard on being more intential at home with his biblical education and as long as I don't develop a habit of hitting snooze, I'll be okay:)

Graces 111-120

2010-08-30T10:31:00.000-04:00

I have enjoyed doing a list of 1,000 graces God gives to me each day. I have indeed "tasted the sweet nectar" of gratitude and it is changing me. The past few months have been incredibly difficult with my husband busier than ever. I believe keeping my mind on these graces have played a part in keeping me from symptoms of depression (which usually are very prevelent when my husband isn't around much) along with my accountability group, God's word and lots of prayer.

So the list continues:

111. Getting to sleep in until 10am on Saturday
112. Experiencing community and fellowship with our small group
113. My accountability group who always prays for me
114. Strength despite being tired all week
115. Seeing God work in Ethan's heart
116. Answered prayer
117. Leading a new study at church
118. Ian being in good spirits and praying for others at bedtime despite having a high fever
119. Making fun birthday invitations
120. The way rain makes it feel cooler outside.

Being a Christian Parent

2010-08-29T14:08:00.001-04:00

Parenting for me is often like the process of sanctification. I grow and move forward in holiness and then I sin and am reminded of just how sinful I am. It would be so much easier to parent if I didn't have the goal and intention of raising the kids in the instruction of the Lord.

But how can I ignore Deuteronomy 6:6,7 "And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up."

Being convicted of this means that I can't just send them to timeout and that's the end of it. I have to take the time to instruct them in the word and remind them of the job God has given me. This takes extra time and many times I miss the opportunities. Maybe it's because I'm in a rush or I'm tired and irritable, or am just plain lazy. And then there are times when I realize things I've said or my tone of voice and I feel loaded with guilt that I have said the very things I told myself I wouldn't say. There are also times when I hear myself in Ethan and realized where he has learned his behavior from. At the end of the day when I'm writing in my prayer journal, God shows me those missed opportunities and times when I was impatient and I'm reminded of his grace. How many times must he have the right to be impatient or frustrated with me but instead extends grace and mercy to me?

And O how I relate to what I talked with Ethan about the other day. After he had been in timeout for an altercation with his brother, I asked him to sit with me and talk. He wanted the timeout to be the end of it and said "Why do you have to talk to me too?" (I guess it's easier for them to just do timeout too!). And so I reminded him of my job as his parent; to keep him on the path of Life. I reminded him of our activity we did not that long ago where we drew a picture of trucks carrying their treasures that were on the path of Life and those that had gotten off the path and were headed for destruction. I said "If I let you get off the path and head down the path to destruction I would not be loving you and would not be doing what God has instructed me to do." Ethan said "Mom, what I did is not that big of a deal, it's not going to lead me to hell." Me: "That may be true, but if I overlook each little thing that you do and you head off the path of Life a little more each time, before you know it you won't be able to see the path of Life anymore because it will be so far away. And so each time you wander off the path, I will have to direct you back onto it whether you like it or not because I love you." I reminded him of what happened to Christian in the Pilgrim's Progressand how each time he got off the path, how dangerous it was and how he almost died along the way on the path to the Celestial City.

And so I am convicted of how many times as a parent I wander off the path God has set for me and am so grateful that he directs me back on and reminds me of the journey I am on and the eternal goal: teaching and training and leading these two eternal souls to Christ and preparing them for the journey God has in store for them in their future work for the Kingdom. And I pray that God would point out to me the teaching opportunities and give me wisdom to know how to use those times to share God's truth with them. I pray as well that I would have patience to take the extra time to share God with them, regardless of what plan or agenda I may have.

"My child, listen to me and do as I say, and you will have a long, good life. I will teach you wisdom's ways and lead you in straight paths. When you walk, you won't be held back; when you run, you won't stumble. Take hold of my instructions; don't let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life." Proverbs 4:10-13

Gifts

2010-08-27T11:58:00.003-04:00

(I feel I should mention before I begin my post that I just passed my 1,000 posts, so this is post is 1,001. Woohoo!)

There has been a lot of discussion recently at our church about spiritual gifts. We've been encouraged to step up and use our gifts to help build up the body. Sadly, this developed because we've been in a crisis mode but better late than never. The term spiritual gifts sometimes seems tritely overused but not often understood.

When a Christian is connected to the vine, they cannot help but bear fruit and I believe that when we do bear fruit, that fruit helps to spur us to utilize our gifts. The first concern in my mind would be, are we connected to the vine? Do we know what it means to be watered and fed and nourished by our Lord? Do we love the Lord with all our heart soul, mind,and strength and love our neighbor as ourself?

"But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." Galations 5:22When we are filled with these fruits, the desire to serve and use our gifts to God's glory will be an automatic response.

"There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other." 1Cor 12:4-7

This week when Ethan started school, I had numerous people contact me and ask me to volunteer at the school. There was a list of volunteer opportunities I was given to select where I wanted to volunteer. It wasn't asked whether I wanted to, but where. I think this is because we know how much mom's love their children and they want to help make their school a better place, they want to get to know the teacher and children in their child's classroom, and they want to see their child during the day. The number of volunteers at Ethan's school certainly must match or outnumber the number of staff they have.

Imagine if each member of our body had the commitment to serving their Lord and each other the way that mom's do in volunteering at their child's school. I've been praying that not only myself and my church but also the churches in our nation would eat from the Bread of Life, taste God's word and respond to God's work in our heart's through using our gifts for the Kingdom.

"We find out that no one individual is responsible for all the work in the world, but only for a small share. Our duty ceases to be universal, and becomes personal and individual. The Master does not say to us, "Go and do everything," but He marks out a special path for each one of us and gives each one of us a special duty. There are "deversities of gifts" (1Cor 12:4) in the Kingdom of God, and these gifts are divided to "every man according to his several ability" (Matt25:15). I may have five talents or two or only one. I may be called to do twenty things or one thing. My responsibility is simply to do that which I am called to do, and nothing more. --Hanna Whitall Smith.

Showers of Grace

2010-08-24T08:33:00.001-04:00

God continues to rain down his blessings. Here are some more:

101. Movie night with a friend.
102. That I survived my child's first day of kindergarten.
103. My husband who encourages me to hire a babysitter so I can go out.
104. Bible studies with members of my church family
105. The work God is doing even in the midst of chaos
106. Strength he gives when I am tired
107. Opportunities to grow and use gifts
108. The joy in planning birthday parties
109. Stickers--amazing how something so simple can create peace and quiet
110. Awesome babysitter's who are also friends

First Day of Kindergarten

2010-08-23T11:41:00.000-04:00

Ethan started kindergarten today. I did better than I anticipated I would do. I cried a little when we did our morning prayer and devotions as I prayed for his day. And then of course after I dropped him off. A friend of ours whose husband works with George, called to check in and said she was volunteering today at the school and that she would keep an eye on him.

First day of kindergarten

First day of preschool

A Lesson in Redemptive History

2010-08-22T15:50:00.000-04:00

We had a rather difficult day around our house yesterday. Ethan had a rather lengthy melt down that lasted for hours; all triggered by having problems with a computer game he was playing. I was extra firm with him and implemented some of the ideas the psychologist had given us. I think he was suprised by this and of course this made him angrier.

During the course of his tantrum, he trashed his room. I had sent him in there to calm down, knowing that was a possibility. I had warned him when I saw him beginning to throw around toys that whatever mess he made, he would have to pick up later. This did not deter him. When he finished, I reminded him that he would have to pick up the mess prior to bedtime and that whatever was left on the floor, I was getting rid of.

He expected me to help him clean it all up and he ended up crying for an hour about the fact that I wouldn't help him. He really was in shock that I expected him to clean up his room (every inch was covered) and was completely overwhelmed by how to begin. I encouraged him to sit down, have a snack and rest before he tackled the job. When he was snacking and seemed to have calmed down we began to talk about the task before him. He kept asking me why I wouldn't help him. I sat down, opened my bible and began to tell him the story of how Israel disobeyed God.

We had recently read about the Israelites behavior in the desert and how they had to wander there for 40 years because of their sin, so instead I started with what happened after David was king. (David is one of his favorite characters in scripture and I often take advantage of that). We talked about how Israel thrived under David's leadership and how David loved and obeyed God. I then read about the sins of those generations following David's reign, how God sent them prophets to warn them and call them to repent and about the consequences for their sins. We talked about what happened to the Northern and Southern kingdoms and about their time in exile (this includes Daniel's story) I told him that just like God, I had to follow through on the consequences I give him. We talked about how God had warned the Israelites about the consequences and how even though he loved the Israelites (they were his chosen people) he still could not tolerate sin. I then read from scripture God's promise of a perfect king, a perfect priest, a perfect prophet who would take the ultimate punishment for sins so that our relationship with God could be restored. We looked at how the Israelites made sacrifices for their sins before Christ came and I had him imagine how often we would have to make sacrifices for our sin--including his sin from that very day. For without Christ's death on the cross for our sins, we would have no hope of heaven and eternity with God. I ended our talk by reviewing one of the things we always talk about with the boys when they have sinned: the fact that we cannot obey without the help of the Holy Spirit and how when we pray and ask him to help, he will answer our prayer.

After our talk, Ethan went straight to his room and spent the next hour cleaning it up.

Related Resources:

Brothers Reading

2010-08-21T08:10:00.000-04:00

Five minutes after they had a fight and went their separate ways, I heard Ethan talking. It sounded like he was reading so I snuck into their room and got these pictures. It looks like Ethan couldn't pull Ian all the way up onto his lap:)

Open Houses

2010-08-20T15:36:00.000-04:00

Last night and today I attended open house and orientation for kindergarten and open house for preschool. I think I have more to read and sign than I ever did for buying a house. I'm a little overwhelmed by all the information that has been thrown at me. But Ethan is in a good class with a good teacher. He seems pretty excited about going to school and doesn't seem nervous at all. I talked to the guidance counselor and apparently all of Ethan's gifted paperwork has not made it to the school yet and his educational plan can't be done until they have it. We're a little frustrated with that because it means he may miss a week or two of the gifted class. There's another child in his class who will be attending the gifted program so that will be nice for Ethan to have someone else to go with.

Ian's preschool open house was nothing new though he does have a different teacher than I had requested. But the teacher did tell me that she will challenge the kids who already know the information she is teaching and provide homework and other activities to help them learn more. I think Ian is a little confused because he has been there all summer and had a different teacher and even though I kept telling him he was moving to a bigger kid class, he still thought he was in his old class. Ethan saw his teacher from pre-k and ran to give her a hug--so cute.

Well I'm off to do a bit of reading...and signing. Sigh.

A New Chapter

2010-08-19T07:45:00.000-04:00

This is the last week before the kids go back to school; Ethan to kindergarten and Ian back to his preschool. We've been doing fun activities this week to end out the summer on a fun note. Yesterday we went to an indoor play place, today we're going to the science museum.

I've seen hints here and there that I am entering a new chapter in this mom thing but it really hit me today. The boys were so excited about going to the play place that Ethan decided to get Ian dressed and brush his teeth before I ever told them they needed to get ready. When we were there, I looked around and realized I didn't need to watch them. Ethan took it upon himself to keep an eye on Ian and instead of making new friends, he and Ian played together and he took Ian from one activity to the next. It was packed and I noticed that most of the moms were having to follow their kids around and keep up with them. Many had infants and toddlers. It wasn't that long ago that I was having to constantly watch the kids when we were doing some activity whether it was at the park, a playdate, church, etc. I was struck by the fact that I wasn't really needed and I could have brought a book and sat and read for two hours. A new chapter indeed.

Ethan is starting kindergarten and is very independent. Ian still needs help with getting ready, but Ethan will often help me with him. I can actually take a shower and leave them both to play together without having to turn on the tv to babysit. I often let them swim in the pool while I'm inside in the kitchen preparing dinner. It's so strange how quickly I've gotten to this stage, I remember thinking it would never come. There is some sadness that comes with knowing I am out of the baby and toddler stage but more than that is the excitement that new things await me around the corner. New opportunities, new experiences, new freedoms; not only for me but also for the kids.

Sometimes it can be difficult to let go of wanting to be needed all the time by our little ones. But they need to become their own people, spread their wings and explore their world without us. It's extra special when they return and tell you about all they have done, what they've learned, what they have created.

And so I say all this for myself, to encourage myself when my little one heads off to kindergarten for the first time. I will remain at the nest for his return flight, anxious to hear how his first flight went. To new opportunities!

Hope Filled

2010-08-18T08:15:00.001-04:00

This past week has been a sad time at our church. There have been some unexpected changes in our church that initially brought about a hopeless feeling in me. I mourned and felt discouraged; it's as though I forgot God is sovereign even over the happenings in our church. God was gracious to give me time to mourn and then revealed my sin to me.

A book I've been reading by Hanna Whitall Smith reminded me of the truth of God's involvement in everything:
"If our Father permits a trial to come, we must accept it with thanks from His dear hand....It is not hard to do this, when we have learned to know that His will is the will of love and is, therefore, always lovely...The people around us are often the bottles that hold our medicine, but it is our Father's hand of love that pour out the medicine and compels us to drink it. The human bottle is the "second cause" of our trial. The medicine that these human "bottles" hold is prescribed for us and given to us by the Great Physician of our soul, who is seeking to heal all our spiritual diseases. Will we then rebel against the human bottles? Will we not rather take thankfully from our Father's hand the medicine they contain? We must lose sight of the second cause and say joyfully, "Thy will be done, in everyting that comes to us, no matter what its source may be." Seeing our Faher in everything makes life one long thanksgiving and gives a rest of heart. More than that , it gives a joyfulness that cannot be described. God is sure to have His own way concerning those who abandon themselves to Him in perfect trust. He will lead them into wonderful green pastures of inward rest and beside blessedly still waters of inward refreshment! He who sides with God cannot fail to win in every encounter. In all circumstances we can join in the Apostle's shout of victory, "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to truimph in Christ" (2 Corinthians 2:14)."

JOY

2010-08-16T08:22:00.000-04:00

Jesus First Others Second Yourself Last

It may be an overused saying but it's truth. The concept of putting anyone else before ourselves is very difficult, some would say it's a crazy idea. But it's what Christ did for us.

"Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross." Phil 2:6-8

When Ethan first started playing games, he had a hard time with losing. I talked with him a lot about how Jesus taught that the "first shall be last and the last shall be first." Now with two boys, there are almost constant battles. The past six months we've been talking about putting others first, it seems like almost constantly.

During our family devotions last night we read scripture and talked about what it really meant for the God who created all things to humble himself and take on human flesh. We talked about how He put us first by His sacrifice on the cross for our sins. Then we read from John 13. In an effort to give the boys a word picture to remember when they think about putting others first, we did a foot washing. Ethan thought it was the coolest activity and wanted to wash Ian's feet. We talked about what it meant in their culture to have their Lord wash their feet and how Jesus set an example for us for how he wants us to treat others. And almost immediately we had a situation arise where they were arguing over a toy. A perfect opportunity to practice what we learned! It's a lifelong habit that most of us adults have trouble doing and one I know we will continue to work on each day at our house. It's a "long obedience in the same direction."

"Do you understand what I was doing? You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and you are right because that's what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other's feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you." John 13:12-15

Chattanooga Pictures

2010-08-14T11:57:00.000-04:00

Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge

Ethan at the Pumpkin Patch

Three mommies at Coolidge Park

Boys at Point Park

Point Park

Ethan playing Operation at Children's Museum

Ian at the Children's Museum

Ethan and Braden digging for dinosaurs

Ian at the digging site

Ian at the fountains at Coolidge Park

Ethan on the zip line at the Pumpkin Patch

Ian and Andrew playing on the drums sculpture

Playing the bells

Ethan at Point Park

All four boys overlooking Tennessee River

Ethan and Ian on the river

Downtown

The boys at Covenant

Playing soccer with Brian

Ian playing soccer at Brian's house

The Graces Continue 91-100

2010-08-12T07:59:00.001-04:00

Yay! I've reached 100 in my ongoing list of graces God has given me.

91. Watching my grandfather teach my son how to fish
92. Remembering when I learned how to fish and the summers I spent at my grandparents house
93. My wonderful pastor who is a good listener and truly has a heart to minister to his flock
94. Having a friend volunteer to babysit so I could meet with my pastor
95. My boys playing the whispering game whispering in my ear: "I love you" and "You're the best mommy"
96. Girl's night out to see Ramona and Beezus--great movie!
97. Gelato--need I say more?
98. Mac and Cheese at Panera's--Mmmm..
99. Hearing Ian pray before bed, asking God to help him obey
100. The power of prayer!

Hiding God's Word

2010-08-11T14:45:00.001-04:00

I'm pretty sure one of the first verses I learned was from Isaiah "All we like sheep have gone astray." We had a list of verses that started with each letter of the alphabet. As I grew, I learned larger passages. One thing I don't think I'll ever forget the headmaster of my highschool saying was "You can have everything taken away from you: money, your home, your freedom, but they can never take away what you have learned." I've often thought about this over the years since then, especially how it relates to what I learn when I read God's word.

One of the verses we frequently talk about and recite around our house is "They word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee (Psalm 119:11)." It's a simple verse that carries much weight. The more scripture we memorize, ponder, meditate on, the less likely we are to sin. And so, whenever we have a conflict in our house, a discipline problem, a question about life, and really anytime I can fit it in, I try to quote scripture to the kids. One of the very first ones I worked with Ethan on when he was really little was Matthew 7:12 "Do to others as you would have them do to you." I remember him being in play group and having conflicts with sharing and I would always say "Jesus tells that we are to treat others the way we want to be treated. Do you like it when someone grabs a toy out of your hand?" (I have lots of opportunities to say the same thing to both Ethan and Ian now:).

As the boys get older it seems like there are so many more opportunities to teach them scripture. Not only do they work on memorizing scripture during the school year but we continue to talk about verses or stories in the bible that relate to what is going on in our lives. Today I took Ethan back to the doctor about a rash on his leg that is not getting any better. He seems to be concerned about it and he asked me what would we do if the new medicine didn't work. I told him not to worry about it that we would continue to talk about it with the doctor. He said, "And the bible says not to worry doesn't it mom?" I said, "You're right, and the rest of the verse you're talking about says that we are to bring everything to God in prayer."

I have collected a number of great books that encourage children in learning scripture but I have also found that music can be an easy way for them to learn it as well. A few recommendations:

Parenting Help

2010-08-10T16:46:00.000-04:00

Last night for our date night, we saw Ethan's psychologist. I know, kind of lame even the Dr. teased us about it. He suggested that we at least go out for drinks afterward so it feels a little like a date night:) We met with him to get parenting advice on raising a kid who is smarter than we are. He was VERY helpful, encouraging, and supportive. One thing he wants us to do is make sure we treat him like an average 5 yr old even though he can process like a much older child, i.e. no logical discussions about rules and consequences. On occassion I have had to restrain Ethan using restraining techniques we had used at my last job. The Dr. runs the EAP at the local sheriff's dept. and suggested we use the restraining techniques he teaches them there. I think it will actually work better for me and tire me out less.

We all agreed that things will improve once he is in school and has a consistent routine where his mind is continually stimulated. He's convinced that Ethan will love the gifted program at his school and will thrive there. We talked about ways to keep him stimulated at home until then, but acknowledged the challenge that can be when I also have a two yr. old around at the same time. We also talked about Ethan's love language being quality time and how to go about filling that. He suggested that Ethan have a later bedtime than Ian, partly so we can spend one on one time with him. (that'll be tough to convince Ian of!). I'm very glad we made the appointment and am hopeful we can get him back on track.

Time with Grandpa

2010-08-08T14:51:00.000-04:00

We went out of town this weekend to visit my grandparents. My grandfather bought Ethan his first fishing rod and I had a lot of nostalgic feelings as I watched him teach Ethan how to fish. How many hours I spent with my grandfather fishing when I was a child! Ethan caught on quickly and really enjoyed it. No fish were caught though. The boys always have fun playing with his pool table and George taught them how to use their new laptop. My grandfather is 84 and is learning to use the computer for the first time. I can only imagine how challenging that is with all the terms and techno talk we all use when talking about the computer. It was a short visit but a good one. Here are some pictures:

VBS over

2010-08-06T15:28:00.000-04:00

As I type this I am in the car heading north a few hours to visit family. VBS finished up today and I'm tired. I guess I never really got back into my routine from being out of town last week. I decided that if I teach VBS again I will spend time in advance coming up with alternative activities and ways to teach the lesson other than what the curriculum has. I really did not like the curriculum we used. It's good and important stuff to learn but I don't like the way they designed it. Part of what made it difficult to teach was trying to adapt what I had to the kids I was teaching. (today I had to give kids a worksheet that not even an adult would be able to figure out).

So I a hoping next week will be a little slower so I can at least do laundry from last weeks trip! And I have to get myself mentally prepared for when Ethan starts school in two weeks:(

Second Try

2010-08-05T07:21:00.000-04:00

Monday we went to the dr. to check on how Ethan was doing since getting sick while we were out of town. After an hour of waiting in a small room with two active boys, I decided to leave. I was sure that if we stayed one more minute they would kill each other. So we rescheduled for yesterday. We weren't there long, thankfully, and were told Ethan has a sinus infection. He also had an allergic reaction to something they used in VBS so we got some medication for that.

We decided to be wild and crazy and I kept an appointment we had at the chiropractor so we went there as well. My back is actually doing a lot better so I figured I better stick with what works. Before we went in I encouraged both boys to use the restroom. Ethan did but Ian would not. Me: "Ian you should use the bathroom, remember you had a lot to drink." Ian: "I don't need to go." Me: "If we're in the room and the dr. is working on me I won't be able to take you right away when you have to go." Ian: "I don't need to go."

So we all saw the chiropractor and then I had my electrical stim. time where I'm stuck to a machine. Ian says "I have to go potty!" I told him it would be a few more minutes until my thing was done, please hold it. Two minutes later, "Mommy I'm peeing!" Sure enough he was, but not just a little, so much so that it was running down his legs and onto his shoes. I couldn't believe it. So I carried him out of the dr.'s office so everyone couldn't see but ended up getting soaked myself. Ahhh! Ian: "I'm sorry mommy."