Thursday Already

As Monday morning rolled around this week I have to be honest--I was dreading the week. I think it was for numerous reasons--that seem so petty now.
Now hear me out--I was not dreading the week with my children or my husband--it was the week in general.I wasn't taking one day at a time but looking at it as a whole. Still-- this isn't something to brag about. I know am being way to honest but there is a point to this.
And you have to admit there has been a week or two in your life that you sorta dreaded. So don't make me sound soooo bad.

Don't take this post as a meltdown or call me a nut case...Because I can assure you I am far from both. 

 It is that I realized early on--thankfully-- that I was being completely selfish. I needed a change of heart and I needed it fast. My priorities needed to change and I needed to just enjoy the time I had with my children and give thanks for all I have been given.

And now, I can't believe it is Thursday. We have had rain everyday at our house but we have made the best of those times. The boys have had a chance to get out and run off some energy and now today, the sun is shining. All those little petty things have gone away and to me nothing is more rewarding then being a stay at home mom/wife. I am so thankful that I was reminded this early on in the week and was able to get my act together with God and my family. It is amazing how we can become so overwhelmed at small and very unimportant things. I refocused my thoughts, my prayers, and thankfully I was brought back to reality that life may not always be fun, we may not always have something planned everyday to go out and do but it will be ok. Cherish those quiet times with the kids and don't be so uptight about the laundry and a clean house.

God had a plan for me this week. It was to get right with him.
Let me share with you real quick about our house--Each week we show our house on an average of 4-6 times. If you didn't know before you know now that we are trying to sell it. Not the best time to sell but we are giving it a shot. This week our house hasn't shown once. Which I honestly feel like it was God giving me a break from having the house perfect everyday. I will kick it in first gear today and get it ready for the weekend but I am thankful for this little break we were given from having to pick up and leave at a moments notice.

I say all this to say, I am not perfect, I have flaws, I make plenty of mistakes in my childrearing, and I'm not always right (which I will admit.) But I have a loving and gracious God who was patient with me and guided me as the necessary changes took place.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
       - Philippians 4: 4-7

{Good Morning Monday}

I know I am a day late at saying Happy Mother's Day to you ladies but better late then never, right?

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope your weekend was filled with wonderful memories with your kids and family. I know mine was. We enjoyed the entire weekend relaxing, spending time with the kids, visiting with our moms and thanking the Lord for all he has done for us. 

I know I am not perfect... I have alot of imperfections but with the Lords help I can be a women, wife, and mom that exemplifies Christ.  I have such a desire to train my children in the way of the Lord. I pray that they will come to know Christ as their personal Saviour. It is a huge responsibility we have and I pray I do not take it lightly. One thing's for sure, with two boys to raise my task will not be easy, I am bound to mess up along the way. It will not always be served with a cherry on top but this is the path the Lord has for me. I am to love, train, discipline, guide and instill God's truth into my children. It is comforting to know that God will be holding my hand along the way and loving me through it it all.

I pray that I will allow God to constantly show me areas that I need to work on, in order to be the kind of mother, wife, and woman of God that He has intended.

  I'm reminded of the wonderful grace that God provides. I'm thankful for the salvation He has given me. And I'm thankful for the opportunity to be a mom...

Hope you enjoyed your Mother's Day. And don't forget, "Mother's Day shouldn't just be one day of the year we show appreciation to our Moms. It should be everyday."

~Amazed~

I am amazed each time I look around me at God's beautiful creation. It is everywhere. When I saw this picture it was another reminder of how GREAT our God is, how MIGHTY He is, and how He knows just what He is doing.

 Psalm 42:1
"As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for you, O God." 

Thinking...

Dads are important, do you agree? They mean more to some of us then we will ever be able to express to them. I want to take you back to when you were a child and talk about how important Dads are to children.

When you were a child, he towered over you. In many ways, he might still. He was the one you called on to kill a spider. The one you came to for the car keys. The one you counted for locking up the house at night to figuring out "some assembly required" on Christmas  morning. He showed you how to whistle, how to bait a hook, how to throw a ball. He taught you to pull a tooth. He footed the bill for almost everything yet he still found enough money for ice cream. He carried a picture of you in his billfold and kept a place for  you in his heart. He had a name for you and a greeting for you. "Hey, tiger! How's m'boy! Hey Sport! There's my little princess!" 

Chances are, it was years before you learned he even had a name. The only one you knew him by was "Daddy." Somewhere along the road to growing up, you began to drop the Y and simply call him, Dad. Your middle school and high school years came and went and the business of studying, sports, and sleep overs begin to take the place of wrestling matches, playing Barbie, or playing outside. 

We often forgot to say that simple word "Thanks." Thanks for working so hard, for giving so much and for never giving up. 

As I think about all the things above I know I have a huge responsibility with my children and in teaching them how to be respectful and never take there Daddy for granted.  Even if you don't have children you might one day and the effect that Daddy's have on children is detrimental to the bringing up of children.

Today I entitled this 'Thinking' and the reason is because I wanted to get you to think about how important Dads are to children. Pray for your husband to-be, or husbands to be a Godly leader and Father. My son looks up to my husband as the greatest thing that walks the earth. My son has a tender heart for his daddy and loves him dearly. Knowing this, my husband prays to be the best Father and example that he can possibly be.

So today.....Think about how important Fathers are to children. 

Have a great Monday!

Ps. 23:1-4

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside still waters. 

He restores my soul;

He guides me in the paths of rightousness 

For His name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 

I fear no evil, for You are with me.

(Some notes taken from the book Thanks, Dad by Ken Gire)

Parenting: Boys Is the Topic

Raising healthy, well-educated, self-disciplined children who love God is I believe, the most challenging responsibility of all. And of course, the job is even more difficult today when the culture undermines and contradicts everything Christian parents are trying to accomplish at home. Fortunately, we are not asked to do everything perfectly as moms and dads. Phew-- Isn't that a relief? Our kids usually manage to survive our mistakes and failures and turn out better than we have any right to boast about.

Even though with young children, are role and influence is far from over.

I truly believe that the spiritual welfare of our children is our most important responsibility with them. The only way to build their faith is to pour scripture into them, model it personally, and to stay on your knees in prayer. Our desire should be for our children to have a heart that wants to know God.

A little side note: It is so special to hear your young children pray. It personally touches my heart to hear my 3 year old say his prayers, pray for food, and it especially makes me tear up when he prays for the rescue trucks as they zoom by us with there lights and sirens on.

Your kids that around your feet will grow and be gone before you know it. Don't let the opportunity of these days slip away from you. We only have one chance. No professional accomplishment or success is worth that cost in my opinion.

It saddens me to know that there are people who think that kids past a certain number are a burden.

God is the giver and taker of life and we are not to play God.
Sorry--I had to vent for a second!

 I have often thought about how important father's are in a child's life but until I had my own I couldn't really grasp how important the role of a father really is. 

Daddy's play differently, they discipline differently, they communicate differently, they build confidence, and they provide a look at the world from a man's view.

Fathers have a huge responsibility as the head of the home to lead and guide the family in the right direction. 

So it is important for us as wives to encourage, pray, and support our husbands.

For those of you who have little boys and little girls (but today I want to talk about the boys), wow-- You have a responsibility that as they grow to teach them how to lead, to be a gentlemen, to be honest, to be strong but sensitive, Godly men and the list goes on....

Don't forget that sons grow up to become husbands and fathers.As moms we probably spend the majority of the time with them and therefore we need to give/teach the basis of there foundation.

I hope that as you read this you don't take it the wrong way or think I am lecturing anyone, I am simply sharing from my heart.

Being a mom is a huge responsibility and I can not take my job lightly.

I pray that you feel the same.

~Keeping Christ in Christmas~

~Keeping Christ In Christmas~

I know many of us have already been reminded this year about keeping Christ in Christmas but I have not had a chance to write about it and share with you!

With Christmas being 7 days away, I know we are all making mad dashes to finish up with everything we need to do before Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

But are we taking time to dwell on Christ and the true reason for why we celebrate Christmas?

Let me start out by saying:

I love the Christmas Story- The birth of our Saviour.

Reading God's word never gets old or tiring. There is always something new to learn from God's Word.

Here are two main places you can find the Christmas Story:

Matthew 1:18-25; 2:1-15

Luke 1:5-2:38

The Nativity story is found in Luke 2:1-38

These will get you started if you have not had a chance to read the Birth of Christ. 

“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”  (Matthew 1: 21)

 

During the Christmas season we are surrounded by reminders of Christ.  The manger scene at the corner church, the greeting cards adorned with angels and the carols playing in every store. Being surrounded by all the decor, and music it should cause us to stop and worship.  Yet often we don’t stop.

See-- sometimes as busy women we can get so caught up in the externals of the season that Christmas can be a dry time for us spiritually.  We rush around baking, visiting, decorating and shopping, hoping to create the best Christmas season ever.  Yet these externals don’t satisfy the deep longings of our hearts.  Like the Psalmist, our spirits cry out,

“my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Psalm 63: 1

 In the midst of this busy season or anytime for that matter, the Lord invites us to, “Be still and know that I am God.”  His Spirit calls out to us to quench our thirsty souls in Christ.

We need to be reminded of the Gospel of grace daily.

That the baby in the manger was,“Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth.”

Every family has its own set of holiday traditions.  Traditions can be wonderful and cause you to look forward to a special holiday of bringing the family together.  But we have to be careful to not let the holiday or tradition take away from the real reason of why we celebrate Christmas.

I know when I was little each Christmas Eve my mom would make cinnamon rolls and my dad would sit down in the living room and read us all the Christmas Story. I have such fond memories of singing Happy Birthday to Jesus on Christmas morning and pondering on why we celebrate Christmas.

But think about traditions for a minute.....

We can go can from one extreme to the other.

You may be continuing year after year with a tradition that was only meant for a "season".  Or perhaps you’d like to try something new, but your Christmas season is already overflowing with activities that you are simply doing it for old time’s sake.  Well, slowly, over time, you can become a slave to your traditions, which may leave you busy, tired and frazzled. 

This is Satan' plan, Isn’t it? 

He loves to keep us so busy that we’re too distracted to fulfill our godly purpose?

You know-- this past year I have been giving a lot of thought as to why we start certain traditions? 

I am not saying there is anything wrong with them but we need to make sure it isn't consuming us or our time and leaving God out.

Because after-all---Christmas is about Christ and His birth. 

Christmas is all about celebrating the birth of Christ.  Yet year after year we see less of Christ in Christmas and more of-- it’s all about me, my family, the shopping and all the stuff.

God has given us the best, most expensive and powerful gift of all:  His Son Jesus. 

Just remember this as you go through the next week. Christmas is just 7 days away. Make sure you keep Christ in Christmas and that your traditions are done for the right reasons.

So take time this busy holiday season.

Pause and meditate on who Christ is.  

Think on Him as you read your devotions, praying that the Lord will minister to you through the songs and Scriptures presented. 

Have a blessed Christ-centered Christmas.

"Don't make me count to Three" Chapters 3-4

 Chapter 3-4 Overview

Basically for those of you just joining in on these Book Overviews, what we are doing is going through "Parenting in the Pew" and "Don't make me count to Three." I give you a week or two to read through some chapters and then I give a brief (well sometimes) overview of the book.. I highlight what I think stood out in that chapter and then I post it for you all to read. So join in with us!  

Chapter 3-4

Drawing issues out from the Heart

We should seek to understand what is in the heart of our children as well as show them how to understand and evaluate what is in their hearts.

When you help your child understand what is in his heart, you are teaching him to evaluate his own motives, which will help to equip him for his walk with Christ as he grows into an adult. And as we saw in Proverbs 31, "such a child will grow up and call his mother blessed."

• God has given us His Word and He expects us to use it in training our children. 

When issues are not directly addressed in the Bible, He has given us open communication with Him through prayers. He tell us in James 1:5, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."

 1 Corinthians says, "Love is not rude"

Your first objection in correction must be not to tell your child how you feel about what they have done or said but to draw out the cause of the behavior.

Draw out the attitude of the heart by asking heart-related questions. You must help them in order to understand what is going on inside them. So look at the world through their eyes.

So we all know that when we figure something else out on our own we are more likely to remember it. So when your child learns how to recognize what is in his own heart, he is more likely to demonstrate godly responses on his own. in doing this he is growing in wisdom.

Here are some questions you can ask to get to the heart of the problem:

• What were you feeling when you hit your sister?
• What did you sister do to make you mad?
• Did hitting her seem to make things better or worse between you two?
• What was the problem with what she was doing to you?

Gods Word is profitable and beneficial for all ages. God's word NEVER changes...

So in all conflicts we should begin our training by seeking to understand the nature of the internal conflict that is expressed in the outward behaviour. For probing their heart, teaching them how to think like christians, and helping them discern the matters of their hearts, there are three issues to walk then through:

1.What was the nature of the temptation?

2.How did he respond to the temptation?

3.What other ways could have been responded that would have been better?

So encourage yourself to pull out what is in the heart of your child, work through how your child can replace what is wrong witht what is right, and then have your hild put what he has learned into practice. That is how to train them in righteousness.

Remember this is a process, and will not happen over night.

"Don't make me count to three": A moms look at heart-oriented discipline

by:Ginger Plowman

"Parenting in the Pew" Chapters 3-4

(Chapter 3-4 Overview)

Basically for those of you just joining in on these Book Overviews, what we are doing is going through "Parenting in the Pew" and "Don't make me count to Three." I give you a week or two to read through some chapters and then I give a brief (well sometimes) overview of the book.. I highlight what I think stood out in that chapter and then I post it for you all to read. So join in with us! 

Chapter 3

God delights in children, in their expectancy, in their vulnerability and ability to believe. These are gifts of grace that children bring to a church family. Parenting in the pew encourages children to participate in the life of a church, to share these gifts of unfettered faith and expectation. Children can enhance the worship of God for the whole congregation.

Children Believe:

Children are a symbol of the kingdom, indeed the "greatest" in the kingdom. (Matthew records, At the time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" He called a little child and had him stand among them. And He said: " I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." Matthew 18:1-5)

We need children in our churches. They can remind us vividly what it means to be great believers. Young children have the capacity to accept as truth what is told to them by adults. Even at fairly early ages they can learn to tell the difference between the imaginary and the real if this distinction is made by trusted adults. But children delight in believing what adults find difficult to swallow. The ideas of faith we share need careful telling.

• Children are willing to believe, and this mans that their hearts have great capacity for worship
• Parents are the best people to teach their children what it means to worship God. 
  
• Children help us to pay attentions to what God is really saying.... 
  
  
  
  
  Chapter 4
  
  
  
  • Sunday Morning should be a time of joyous expectation for a family who loves the Lord. But too often it is a morning riddles with strife and filled with regret. 

  There is a way to turn the hearts of our children to worship and take the worry and worn out from the Sunday-Morning agenda. The key lies in another, better "w" word:work.
  
  Worship is work, hard work. It is also rewarding work. To worship the Lord "in spirit and in truth" does not come easily, and it certainly does not come naturally to us. It is difficult to worship on the leftover energy of a long week and a late Saturday. The Sunday morning encounter with God is worthy of our best energy, not our least.
  
  
  
  Note: Worship should not just be on Sunday Morning. This book refers to Sunday Momrning alot but every time we step foot in Gods house for church we should be ready to worship.
  
  • Worship is loving the Lord with an attitude. (a good attitude.)

  Parenting in the Pew comes with an attitude check.
  
  • Teaching our children to worship, is a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving that God rejoices to receive.
  • Teaching our children to tithe can help develop a generous attitude about giving praise, time, goods and blessing to God. 

  
  
  • Children need to sense our excitement about worship with God's people.  
  • Keeping Sunday simple can help keep Sunday special for God.

  
  God is worthy of our worship. The call to worship centers on the One who calls us. This call is not a friendly suggestion but a loving command.
  God sees us. He sees our posture, our faces, our antics, and he knows our hearts and minds.
  Well so does our children. Lead in good example!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Parenting in the Pew: Guiding your children into the joy of worship
  
  by: Robbie Castleman
  
  Forward by: Ruth Bell Graham