Making the Most of Every Opportunity

I loved this post from the resurgence on Daddy-dates and think every Dad I know should read it! What a sweet idea. I remember Monday night Chinese dinners with my dad when my mom was on a board and at her meetings. He could have just ordered something in and sat in front of the tv, but instead, he took my sister and I out each week and spent time with us. Those memories are cherished and my relationship with my Dad is still real and precious. I think that regular time with him affirmed His love for me and I'm so glad he took time to show me in action. My kids have an incredible father who regularly takes them fishing, makes special pancake breakfasts, buys matching pjs, and has lots of tickling and wrestling time set aside for them. It takes time together to pour into your kids. I'm thankful Andy does the hard work and gets to enjoy the fun of it. typical Daddy tickle/wrestle floor time in our home... But back to the link. Here's one of my favorite parts of the Da...

Spending today looking back and thanking God for the incredible gift of our firstborn son. He waited two extra weeks beyond my due date and only came because the doctors went in after him. He cried continuously for weeks. He was a projectile vomiter. And yet the JOY he brought into our lives is indescribable. How was this 6 years ago? I'm so very thankful for our solid helper. Our always smiling, incredibly tall, son with gorgeous eyes. The kind hearted big brother who leaves his friends to be sure his little brother has a playmate. The quality time guy who thanks us for playing games and reading books with him and tells us he knows we love him because we do. Our silly, funny kid. The boy who asks hard questions and does not jump quickly as he seeks for himself to see if he believes that God is the loving, true Savior that we've taught him He is. Oh what a joy and privilege to be his Mommy. Thank you Lord for this good and perfect gift from you to our family.

Playing together is so fun! But rainy, yucky days that go on day after day are hard. I'm praying we will begin to see that they are also opportunities to share Christ in our time at home with our young kid s. So I pray our hearts will stay on Him, our kids will burn some energy in fun activities, and we'll engage their hearts in our time spent with them. I shared lots of ideas how in my last 2 posts (read them here and here ), but here are a few more: 1) Read your kids favorite Bible stories and then help them make a picture book to tell the stories to others! 2) Listen to audio books that engage and pour Christ in through allegory! We love The Chronicles of Narnia, The Mighty Acts of God (narrated bible stories with family discussion questions/application) and when a bit older, Adventures In Odyssey.  3) Clean the house together . It is so good to instill hard work and serving others into our children. Find the fun things (like racing each other while sorting cloth...

I shared in my first post that I desire to do more than just entertain my kids on long indoor days. I want to engage their hearts and pour Christ into them. I know many of you are facing the same long days we do with the same desire for your time to be spent pouring into them. So here is another handful of ideas for yucky weather indoor days spent for the glory of God: 1) Pray for family members. Then make construction paper cards to encourage them with things you love about them. Decorate the cards with stamps, stickers, markers or whatever you have around. This is also a fun time to call people you love and tell them you love them. 2) Teach your kids about the important role a person that loves them has and make a short video to thank them . Example- Teach how God calls the husband to love his wife, provide for his family, etc. Share how God loves what a hard worker Daddy is and we are so thankful for him. Pray for Daddy and then plan and make a short video (usually on my phone)...

In Florida, I tend to spend summer inside (since it's so hot) and winter outside, since it's beautiful here then.  I love to read ideas for indoor play. We don't mind tv/movies, but really like to use that minimally and instead I want to engage my kids. If I'm honest, most of the lists I read online are fun ideas that engage body and mind, but totally neglect the heart. I want to enjoy time with my kids in fun ways, but always intentionally pointing them to Jesus. And long summers (or long winters for my friends up north) provide an opportunity to do that within our home. Day after day after day. How do I entertain them for months? Eek! I'll post a few posts with some things I've done that both entertain AND engage the heart. Here's today's list: 1) Genesis 1 creation art. Go as creative as you want doing layers with different art/craft supplies. Paint sky and land and water, then draw/color plants, then make play dough animals, and last make pipe ...

Recently, I identified a struggle God is lovingly freeing me from: a desire for my kids to love God and walk with Him all their days. It may not sound like a struggle, but it is. I struggle, because there are many dry seasons with no fruit. In it, I'm painfully aware that I cannot do that work in them! I can (and should) point them to Christ, love them tangibly, and pray with them. But I can't change their hearts. Only God can and He does. He is freeing my heart to find great comfort in that truth. This overwhelming desire can turn to fear and lack of trust in the Lord. It also reveals in me my own selfish desire to succeed. If I fail as a parent, my kids are no better or worse than if I "succeed" in my desire to raise them in a way that points them to our hope and joy: Jesus. He brings fruit in them, not me. And He is well pleased as I step out in faith in this huge task that is clearly waaay beyond me. God reminded me sweetly that He delights in my love for our ch...

I am having so much fun with my kids and it's a blast to be their Mommy. But somedays I wonder how my house is dirty again, the laundry from last week isn't put away (and it's laundry day), and how can we possibly be behind in school year academics already even though we started two weeks ahead??? But today God sweetly reminded me that these days of playing with my boys and spending all my hours with them will fly by quickly. Babies don't stay babies for long. Here's a sweet poem a friend shared that reminds me why the house can wait- because I'm rocking my babies and babies don't keep. Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth, Empty the dustpan, poison the moth, Hang out the washing, make up the bed, Sew on a button and butter the bread. Where is the mother whose house is so shocking? She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking. Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue, Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo. Dishes are waiting and bills are past due P...

I seem to be sharing my experience with potty training a lot through email, facebook, and in conversations, so here's a post for you all to read and me to look back on as my younger kids come up to this big step. Pee and poop should not make me angry, but I feared they would. Which is why I waited until Jimmy was almost 3 , and then we committed to potty training him. Life is far easier without diapers, so you may want to start sooner. I waited because an easy training experience mattered more to me than months without dirty diapers.  My biggest issue in potty training was me. I prayed that I'd be calm and just enjoy seeing him take this big step in his life (since really we can guide, but it's his/her step to take). And as I sought God, I saw that it was important for me not to take it too seriously, but to enjoy even the trials of it all without pressure on him. This was hard for me and took a LOT of prayer. I hate how much I want him to perform. Ouch! I think you ...

I read another amazing post  by Rachel Jankovic about motherhood (see my previous posts for more I've learned from her here and here .) and want you to read it too. Here are a few quotes from her: "Our culture is simply afraid of death. Laying down your own life, in any way, is terrifying. Strangely, it is that fear that drives the abortion industry: fear that your dreams will die, that your future will die, that your freedom will die—and trying to escape that death by running into the arms of death..." "But a Christian should have a different paradigm. We should run to to the cross. To death. So lay down your hopes. Lay down your future. Lay down your petty annoyances. Lay down your desire to be recognized. Lay down your fussiness at your children. Lay down your perfectly clean house. Lay down your grievances about the life you are living. Lay down the imaginary life you could have had by yourself. Let it go.  Death to yourself is not the end of the story. We,...

I shared about a post I read about motherhood that has really set my eyes straight on my mission as Mommy. I want to share some more thoughts I had and encourage you to read Rachel's post . Giving up what you cannot keep does not mean giving up your home, or your job so you can go serve somewhere else. It is giving up yourself.  Lay yourself down. Sacrifice yourself here, now . Cheerfully wipe the nose for the fiftieth time today. Make dinner again for the people who don’t like the green beans. Laugh when your plans are thwarted by a vomiting child. Lay yourself down for the people here with you... Rejoice in them. Sacrifice for them. Gain that which you cannot lose  in them . It is easy to think you have a heart for orphans on the other side of the world, but if you spend your time at home resenting the imposition your children are on you, you do not. You cannot have a heart for the gospel and a fussiness about your life at the same time. You will never make any difference...

"Jesus said,  “ Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven."   And he laid his hands on them and went away." - Matthew 19:14-15 Though days with my five year old are filled with conversation that often lead to things of God, days with my one year old are much simpler. And I'm enjoying the opportunity to pour Christ into him now in simple ways that I pray will one day produce the fruit of the gospel down the road as he grows.  My sweet one year old enjoying God's creation There are some obvious things we do: praying for him each evening and together at meals, reading baby's first bible, pointing out things God made (the trees, birds, our toes, grass, big brother), sitting together at church in corporate worship before the sermon/kids classes, etc.  But there are a few intentional things I do in the "everyday" of life to prepare the way for Jesus conversations to be normal and daily in ou...

Jesus said  “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul mind and strength… and love your neighbor as yourself.”  (Matthew 22:38-39) In my last post I talked about the debate some bloggers are having of whether or not "1950s style" wives are outdated or even foolish. I landed with a wife-style waaay more outdated than 1950s. Instead, I strive to be a wife, mom, daughter, sister, neighbor, friend, coworker, etc. who lays down my life for others just as Christ laid down His life for me (Philippians 2). And I believe that starts in my own home daily . There are a lot of details in our day. There are a lot of opinions on how our time, money, and energy should be guarded or spent. But God says to weigh it ALL through the lens of Him. Is how I’m spending my day leading me closer to Him? Am I loving others as much as I love me?  Here are 3 examples of how I weigh daily life/big decisions through Christ’s call to love Him and then love others: 1)  A Clean Home : An...

"A woman who creates a home does on a personal level what the Church does for Christ on a corporate level; and also what Christ does in His Father’s House on an eternal, heavenly level—She creates an environment that’s welcoming, nourishing, healing, and conducive to life and growth." - Mary Kassian I read this quote and felt like it so aptly sums up my ministry. I enjoy learning about simplifying our home, reading financial wisdom, biblical parenting tips, and creative family night ideas. I want to learn from others who excel in those areas, not because that's what a "stay-at-home-mom" does, but because I see the value they have in creating a great home environment. It's not just about having a fun (and clean) home and good memories. It's about Jesus. In other words, I care for our home, but it's not all about the home, it's about pointing to Christ through it. I learn and grow in those areas (and many more) to create an environment that exude...

Please read post 1 , 2 , 3 , and  4 to gain a better perspective of this post. All correction in our home comes from a loving call from God to engage our children to see their hearts, know their need for a Savior, and see the incredible love and grace of Jesus Christ who is that Savior. Today, we'll look at our "next step" beyond questions in correction when there is outright disobedience. God lead us here through a children's pastor (who our friends introduced us to through a conference cd) As he shared his wisdom and experience with a local church body, we gleaned so much biblical truth. We later read a similar process in Tedd Tripp's book, "Shepherding A Child's Heart" . *Let me stress here that I believe the MOST loving thing God has done was to lay down His life for us. Correction shows love and is an important way to show Christ's love for us, but I do not say it's the only or even the best way . Just one way to show love out of ...

I've shared throughout these posts about our call as parents to show our boys their heart of sin so they can better see the beauty of Christ's great forgiveness for those who are His and how by beating death, He redeemed ALL that our sin destroys. You can read more in post 1 , post 2 , post 3 . Before I share our full process of correction in sin, I thought I should share how we gauge when to correct. We always look at character and heart, not action! Many things are bad and harmful, but we want our boys to see their sin and seek God. We know that once they are Christ's, their actions will begin to change over time to reflect Him. So we set boundaries to reveal their sin and teach them God's ways.  "Train up a child in the way he should go;  even when he is old he will not depart from it." - Proverbs 22:6 We start showing their sin while they are young. This is to lay a foundation of boundaries and show them how they continually fail. Seeing sin and failu...