Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

I'm sure you've noticed my absence on this blog for the past few weeks.  What have I been doing instead of informing you of the happenings in our lives?  Well, pneumonia and the flu have been visiting our house in the midst of house showings.  Talk about feeling like I couldn't possibly handle anything else.  However, God got me through it with my sanity intact and hopefully all are on the mend.

To start off, last Monday my mom came to visit since she had the day off of school.  I had planned to do something fun with the kids, but it seems like they are always sick when she comes.  I'm incredibly thankful she came that day because Baby M was really sick and I just felt like I needed to take her to the doctor.  She had the same cough that B did when he had walking pneumonia last year.  Daddy T has learned not to second guess me when it comes to the kids and sickness because I'm usually right.  Mom's intuition, I'm told.  I told him Monday morning that I was concerned about her and that I was taking her because I thought it was turning into pneumonia.  I was correct.  Her blood count was high so we she got a shot on Monday (a heavy duty shot) and Tuesday and started her antibiotics on Wednesday of last week.  The chest x-ray showed that it had gone into her right lung but I had caught it early enough that we escaped a hospital visit, thank goodness!

On Thursday, it was such a beautiful day and we needed out of the house.  Since Baby M was on the mend, I figured we'd go with a friend to the park to enjoy the 70 degree weather that has been visiting us over the past few weeks.  I missed the fact that the pollen count was really high, so both kids starting showing their asthma symptoms with the wheezing and coughs and noses.  So the yellow bear became our best friend over the past two weeks with breathing treatments.  Even Baby M's baby dolls received their treatments and naps.

Then this past Monday afternoon, B started running a low grade fever and coughing a lot.  Coughing, as in literally every couple of seconds.  I gave him a treatment hoping it would help, but it only helped a little bit.  We went through the night like that but his fever starting spiking.  So B had a visit to the doctor yesterday because he looked like a basset hound with those droopy eyes, watery eyes constantly, and coughing.  He was incredibly lethargic and just would stare at you.  The doctor was concerned about him because every test he took was negative but he said that he's almost certain he had the onset of the flu, which I wouldn't doubt because I never got him the flu shot.  Since B hadn't slept in a couple of days, the doctor gave him some strong meds that let him sleep but also helped him feel a lot better.  He woke up this morning a new kid.  I think we caught that early enough, as well, which I'm very thankful for.

Now with both kids on the mend, we're gearing up for an eventful next 2 months.  We've had wonderful news on our house and an answer to prayer, but I'm not quite ready to reveal the decisions made just yet.  But I'm so very thankful to know that God revealed His plan to me concerning our house in the SAME EXACT way in which He answered my prayer.  It was incredible and definitely NOT a coincidence.  I'm so thankful that we serve an Sovereign God who has a much better plan for us than we could ever have for ourselves.

I promise it won't take me quite as long to update next.  Perhaps the next will be filled with pictures....

The day I had

So Baby M has run a low-grade fever for the past 2 days.  B has picked up the habit of whining since I think he hasn't gotten as much attention since Baby M needs a bit more at this moment.  With that said, I thought that I was about to lose my mind today!  Daddy T came home and rescued me quickly so that I could have a few minutes of quiet. 

Today was the day that neither child could play with each other or by themselves.  This means that they had to follow me around all day.  The whining got so bad by dinner that I stuck Baby M in the crib (which she thoroughly hates), put B in his room, and turned up my music so incredibly loud that I couldn't hear any crying or talking.  I then preceded to cry because I felt so bad for letting Baby M cry but I was at the end.  I felt like I had nothing like to give.  I needed to be recharged.  I cried.  I prayed.  A miracle didn't happen, but at the end of the night when we were praying in bed, B leaned over and said "Mommy, I'm sorry for disobeying so much.  I love you."  At least my night ended well and I can finally hear my thoughts that are roaming around in my head.  The problem is that I'm too tired to process what my thoughts are!  I just know that I am now sitting and enjoying this moment.

Submission

Submission. What thoughts do you have when you hear that word mentioned? Is it that of someone with no backbone or who has no will? Perhaps it's someone who is weak and gets run over by others. Is submission something that you desire or something that repulses you?

For me and my marriage, submission is not something that I run away from or hate. It's something that I love and that I embrace. I like submission. Is it easy? No. Is it called of me to do by God? Yes. I'm thankful that my husband also knows and understands the word submission and he always takes my opinions and thoughts into consideration, prays over it and seeks counsel when he needs to, and then comes to a final decision. I know that the final decision was made with lots of thoughts and prayer.

John Piper says it best in his book The Momentary Marriage when he says what submission is not:

• It is not agreeing with everything my husband says.
• It does not mean leaving my brain or will at the wedding altar.
• It does not mean every effort to avoid changing my husband.
• It does not mean putting the will of my husband above the will of Christ.
• It does not mean that I get my personal/spiritual strength primarily through my husband.
• It does not mean that I act out of fear.

What Piper says submission is: "Submission is the divine calling of a wife to love and affirm her husband's leadership and help carry it through according to her gifts." This is the submission I embrace in my walk with Christ and in my walk with my husband.

Encouragement for Mothers

If I could share one book with you that has been of the most encouragement to me, this book would be it.  Rachel is so real and honest and creative and is the most encouraging woman that I've read lately.  Most of the mothering books frustrate me because it's all about "me time" and really focuses on how I can change my kids.  But you know what?  It's not about me changing my kids.  I mean, yes, my kids do need to change, but in the words of Michael Jackson, "I'm starting with the man in the mirror." 

In order for my kids to change, my attitude towards my kids have to change.  The way I look at the things that my kids do has to change.  For example, chaos seems to surround me when I need to be out the door.  One kid will need his shoes one.  The other will lose their shoes.  Then the first child will drop their water and make a mess.  Then the second child will have a dirty diaper.  It seems like the cycle continues.  All of this builds up until I feel like I'm loosing my mind and I explode.  Rachel shares that if you break it down, it's really not overwhelming when you think about what child individually needs.  So she sets the timer for 20 minutes and knows that in 20 minutes that this chaos will end.  I love it!  This has been the best thing for me.  Making sure that I'm focusing on my heart and my attitude has made a huge difference. 

Attitude is a heart issue.  I want my children to have a heart to obey and a heart to do things willingly and with the right attitude; not whining or complaining.  How can I make sure that my kids have the right attitude about doing things when my attitude towards them can be described as less than stellar at times?  My prayer is that their hearts are turned to God and that they will always restore the fellowship with others when it's broken.  In my mothering, my goal is to address their heart.  So to do that, I need to start with my own heart....and that's not easy.

Motherhood and Work

1--The Vocation of Motherhood from Canon Wired on Vimeo.

Great article on motherhood!

I read a wonderful article on mothering and Christmas on John Piper's blog, www.desiringgod.org. It is written by Rachel Jankovic who writes one of my favorite books, Learning to Love the Little Years.

If you know me, you know how imperfect I am and how I do not desire to pretend to be someone that I am not. When you read my blog, I hope that you see my imperfections and my flaws, but I also hope that you see my heart. I am human after all! I desire to be what God has called me to be and strive every day to live a life that reflects the glory of Christ. That means I strive to reflect Christ in even my parenting. However, there are many days where I lose my cool and have to bend down and ask forgiveness from my kids and my husband. With that said, I hope that I'm not one of those bloggers who appear to have the perfect family where everything goes perfectly and where I make my readers feel like they just haven't gotten the hang of this thing called motherhood. If I've done that, then I'm incredibly sorry! I'm still learning and figuring it out and making mistakes and probably always will. I'm learning how to be more flexible and not so hard on myself and to let go of that thing we call "mommy guilt" that is often used to make us feel like everyone else has it more together than we do. In fact, the one I struggled with was the feeling that several people I know seem to have their house spotless, watch their kids, have dinner on the table by a certain time, sew, read, blog, and homeschool (along with all that each of those entails), and play with their children. I'm so thankful for my mentor because she pointed out that that's probably what certain people want us to view them as and behind the scenes, they are probably just as frazzled. But letting go of what you think you should be and your idea of what motherhood was supposed to be can be hard, especially when there's not really an immediate reward or acknowledgement from it.

Anyway, read this article if you get a chance. It's very encouraging! Check out her book, too. The article is Of Kids and Christmas.

Book Review: I Am In Here by Elizabeth M. Bonker & Virginia G. Breen

Autism.  Most of you who know me know that this is a passion of mine.  I work with many children with autism and am a firm believer that they can do most anything any other person can do.  All that's needed is a little adaptation to help them find their voice and for them to express themselves.  For many, music is a voice for them.  For others, it's poetry, nature, etc.  For Elizabeth, it's poetry.

Elizabeth and her mom co-write this book, which is filled with poetry written by Elizabeth.  Her poetry offers insight into the world of autism that many of us don't get to hear about.  She is a non-verbal girl, but when she gets her letter board, she's an open book.  She shares about how she hates when people stare at her and she wishes people wouldn't.  She talks about how people look at her when her body does things, and she wishes she could stop it but she can't.  She wishes people would respect her and treat her as smart.  (By the way, she has quite an impressive IQ!) 

Elizabeth's mom writes in between Elizabeth's poetry and shares things from her mother's heart.  You can see the persistence in which she has fought for her daughter and the guilt that she has in her heart that she wants to be rid of so badly.  You see her joy when Elizabeth expresses herself and you hear her sadness when people treat her differently or don't want to offer to her what she needs.  You see the difference caring teachers make in a child vs. the ones that think it's more of a burden to work with Elizabeth.

I think that EVERY person should read this book, but especially EVERY therapist, friend, parent, family member of someone who has autism.  You will find yourself tearing up as you read Elizabeth's heart poured out through poetry.  You will also laugh to find out how she runs a hard ship when she is writing her poetry!  Read this book and tell someone else about it.  What an encouraging book for all.  I hope that Elizabeth releases more poetry so that we can all have another collection of her writings and into her world of autism. 

______________________

I received this book free from Revell Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Our Delightful Girl

Baby M smiles a lot....really unless she's tired, hungry, or doesn't know you.  She is laid back (minus the tantrums she has learned to throw from her big brother) and is growing so much daily.  Where did my tiny baby go?!  She signs about 5-6 signs to us, which is a lot better than her screaming.  Her and B tend to get in squabbles more and more and I find that I spend more of my time breaking that up or disciplining or teaching B better ways to handle getting mad.  Yes...we rehearse scenarios and statements and we've had long talks about selfishness and our sin.  I want both of our kids to be selfless and am excited about some ministry ideas we are going to do.  I want them to learn early on to serve and I think they can learn that at an early age.  I love Charlotte Mason's approach to character qualities/habits and young children.  I'm striving to find all the teachable moments that I can, even though I know that I'm sure I'll miss plenty.

I'm so thankful for this little joy in our lives and for the playtime that we get to spend together.  I'm incredibly thankful to be there to watch her grow up most of the day....even if there are days where I think I'd rather work full time so I can get away from home and the whining! 

This was the best $3 I have ever spent on a toy!  Baby M plays with this for at least 10 minutes every day.  It beeps and turns and opens, which are all pluses for babies.  Did I say it was only $3 at a consignment sale?  So ready for another consignment sale.  They're the best!

What I learned on the farm

I blogged about our camping trip, but I didn't blog about what I did after the camping trip.  The kids and I went to the farm and stayed with my parents.  It was nice and relaxing and I had fun playing with the kids and running with them and playing ball with them.  Those are all things that I suddenly become too busy to do when I come home, although I have changed that as much as I can over the past 2 weeks.

You see, my dad is the most patient person I know.  Let me clarify: yes, he can be pushed over the edge, but when he knows in your heart that you want to do something, he supports you and tries to help you learn or understand.  Case in point: On Friday night, Pop told B that they were going to have to eat a big breakfast the next morning because they were going to be going to do some hard work the next day.  The water trough had a leak in it so Pop was going to take B with him to fix it.  Pop easily could have had us watch B until he was done (which I would have done because it would have been much faster).  However, he let B tag along, which B loved, and Pop showed him what he was doing and talked about it.  Pop was so patient with B and when I went out to check on them and to bring B his brown bag lunch (which he was delighted with), I could tell he was having a blast.  He thought he was so big. 

Just watching Pop interact with B in this way reminded me that sometimes (and probably MOST of the time) it is so important that B works WITH me even if it does take a whole day to do things.  I know they say that you enjoy your grandchildren more because you've learned by then what is truly important.  However, I don't want to enjoy my grandchildren more.  I want to enjoy my own children right now.  I'm so thankful for a godly father who demonstrates godly characteristics to me.  He knew I was watching when I was little, but I don't know if he realizes that I'm still watching him today and learning from him.  Thank you Pop for your example in my life and in the lives of your grandchildren.

Side note: we completed this day with a ride on the trailer to check on the cows and to go see the horse and mule.  Baby M and B took turns riding with Pop on the big tractor while Mama and I rode in the trailer with whichever child wasn't driving.  It's really difficult to say which of the kids love the farm more!

Cabin Camping

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, the kids and I had a wonderful and relaxing trip this past weekend.  We went hiking, made campfires, and played outside all day.

Yes...we let them jump on the bed.  They loved it and no one got injured.

We were thankful for Summer's campfire skills!  Thanks to her random things in the car, she was able to start the fire.  The S'mores were great!

They loved throwing rocks in the water.

Thanks Confessions of a Misplaced Alaskan and The V Files for spending a wonderful weekend with us!  I miss all the noise from the kids!

Refreshed

I had a wonderful past two days that I'll share more about later.  I'll sum it up by saying that I was with 2 wonderful friends and was so encouraged in my journey through motherhood.  I was forced to spend the entire day with nothing taking my attention away from my kids.  It was great!  I'm so thankful for the opportunity we had to go camping.  Like I said, I'll share more about that later, along with pictures.  This post is mostly to say that I feel refreshed.  I feel like my vision for my family and for my children is more clear.  I see the strengths and weaknesses of both my children AND myself more clearly.  I found out that I am apparently more patient than I thought I was.  We talked a lot about judgment from others (whether it's based on food, nursing, bottle feeding, etc.) when we really do want the best for our family and that mommy guilt others give when we leave our children to keep our marriages strong.  We were reminded how important it was for us to keep our husbands 2nd and our children 3rd.  We got to see God's beautiful creation and spend all day out in it playing with our kids.  I can't believe how much better I feel after having been cut off from the world for a few days.  It was REALLY nice!  I'd highly recommend all moms take a trip with their kids where it's you and them and no house to clean, no work to do, no phones or emails to answer to.  Refreshment.  That was just what my family needed.

Fearless Swimmer

B is fearless when it comes to the water.  That's one reason that we're going to try to do swimming lessons this winter/spring.  I took his floats off one day in the pool and decided to try to let him swim on his own.  I thought that if he started to sink, then he'd be scared and wouldn't jump in without us.  Nope.  He didn't care!  He likes to put his face in the water and swim by breathing how you normally would when you're swimming.  He also likes to jump off anything...boats, diving boards, the side, a raft, truly anything.  I have one picture (if I can ever find it) of him hanging on to a basketball goal at Uncle M's house.  He likes to have Daddy T lift him up so he can hold on to it and then he falls into the pool when he lets go.  I love my fearless boy, but there are many times I wish he was fearful!  I have to work with him on having a healthy fear of certain things.  I love this little boy!

Compassion and World Vision: It does make a difference

We are so blessed to be sponsoring children through these 2 programs.  I absolutely love hearing from "our kids" and hearing from them quite often.  We have mostly younger kids, but we do have 2 older ones that are fun to hear from because they themselves write to us.  One is in Uganda and the other is in Rwanda.  The one in Uganda writes us in English with no translator.  His handwriting is pretty good!  I was shocked when I got my first letter from him!  Of course, it is in some broken sentences but we don't care.  His mom is sick. He is in an AIDS-prone part of the country, which is another reason we wanted him.  He had been waiting for a sponsor and after 3 years is about to graduate to the next level for someone else to help him through college.  He has huge dreams and we were able to make sure that happened.  All he needed was a chance. 

We got a letter from our son in Uganda (who always writes that he's our son forever) on Monday.  I couldn't help but tear up when I read part of what he wrote to us.  He said that he wishes we could visit him because we are his friend from out of the country.  He shared his memory verse he was learning and told us what it meant to him.  Then he said, "I thank  you for the gifts you have given to me.  I pray that God can give you more than you have given to me."  I have thought about that all week because it brought up so much emotion in me.  This boy has no idea how much we are blessed and how much we take for granted.  He thinks we've sacrificed so much for him when all we've done is eliminated some of our comfort purchases or entertainment.  I love the blessings we've received but not so we can use it for ourselves.  I love it because it means we can adopt another child or support another missionary or find some other way to help someone.  It was so humbling for me to know that this boy in situations much more detestable than mine is praying that we will be blessed.  Could it be that he feels sorry for me and how he hears that Americans take so much for granted?  That we can't be happy despite how much we buy?  How lonely many of us are?  How we foolishly use our time and money on things that will so quickly pass away once we die?  I don't really know what his thoughts truly are, but I do know that it made me want to give more and do more for the Kingdom.  I love all our kids, biological and "adopted."  I do think of my sponsored kids as ours.  We pray for them daily, we write letters to them, we talk about them, and we learn about their countries.  For the most part, we have specific reasons why we chose the countries it did.  It varies from matching up the kid's birthdays with a child with the same birthday so that my children can write to them and relate to them as they get older.  In some cases, we had missionaries in that country and it was one small way for us to get involved in that country.  In other cases, we WANTED to be in an AIDS community to give hope to the children who have lost so much and in many cases think that there is no hope for them so they go ahead and contract the disease since they think they will get it anyway.

I pray that someone who reads this will see the difference such a small sacrifice can make.   It's a commitment.  It's life-changing.  I'd dare say it'll change you more than it will them if you let it.  Dare to care.

Consistency

Growing up, I remember hearing parents, moms especially, say that they were just tired.  It had been a long day for them and all they did was listen to their children whine or break up arguments or deal out consequences.  I honestly remember thinking that didn't sound that bad.  I mean, how could whining or disciplining so much turn your day into a bad day.

Now that I'm a mom, I understand.  That's one of those things that you'll never know until you experience it.  And now I know why it's so tiring.  It goes back to consistency.  It's hard and tiring to be consistent.  It's hard and tiring to follow through with what you said would happen.  It's hard and tiring to always give and not hear a "thank you" very often.  It's hard and tiring when you are trying to lay aside yourself and focus on someone else when you're exhausted from never sitting down all day.  It's hard and tiring when you are constantly breaking up arguments with toys, etc.  Despite knowing how important it is for me to be consistent in my disciplining, it's hard.  There are days when Daddy T walks in the house and I say "they're all yours.  I can't deal with it anymore."  I honestly feel like my head has taken so much stimulation in that it can't take in anything else. 

I can tell the days where I'm consistent and the days I'm not because B's behavior is so much better when I'm hard on him and keep him in line from the get go.  We always have fun on those days because he knows that he can test me but won't get away with it.  He also knows that by the end of the day, I'm exhausted and he tests me more then because he does know he can get away with more at that point.  I've been working hard at focusing more on this issue the past week and for the most part, we've had a great week.  There's been peace at the house because he knows that I only give my instructions once and I know he can obey the first time.  He's smart and doesn't need me to remind him.  He proved my point on Tuesday when I told him that we needed to clean his room.  I was cleaning the living room and I called back to him to make sure he was obeying.  He told me he wasn't cleaning, so I went back there to discipline him.  However, as soon as I walked in I noticed the clean floor.  He had obeyed and put EVERYTHING where it should be.  I didn't have to discipline him, although we did have a talk about lying.  That's the other issue that's come up lately.  (He doesn't understand the word, yet, so that makes it a little difficult.)

So for you moms like me that are tired and need a little encouragement, do know that consistency pays off.  At least that's what my dad says!  (As he looks at me and says, "I remember.  Been there done that."  Then he tries to tell me how I acted that way.  I never believe him about his examples.  I know I never acted that bad.....)

A True Girl

It's weird how different boys and girls are from birth.  I know there are some exceptions, but B knew how to make car sounds without me ever thinking to utter it to him.  He would just pick up a car and make it zoom.  I was amazed.  (I still say their lack of focusing on more than one thing comes at birth, too.  Come to think of it, I wonder if they have a nothing box at that age, too.  You know...when you ask your husband what he's thinking and he says "nothing."  Seriously?!  How can you NOT be thinking about anything?)  I digress.

Baby M has come ingrained with some natural girl behaviors as well, such as talking on the phone, wanting a purse (or a bag, really, anything with a handle will suffice), and taking care of her babies with hugs and kisses.  Its so funny to watch the difference.  My dad always says that she's such a girl.  Loves the tractor, but hates the vacuum cleaner.  How does that work?  I mean, the tractor is MUCH louder than the vacuum cleaner.

So what about you?  Have you noticed anything that boys and girls seem to come with from birth that are characteristics of what you think of when you think of their gender?

First Dress

That's right...I made this!  I sewed this all by myself in class.  I can't wait to go pick out some more fabric to make a few more for Baby M to wear next year.  I'm going to do some in plain fabric and have my mom embroider things on it for me.  They were so much fun to make!  If anyone wants me to make one and have my mom embroider on it, let me know.  I loved doing it.  I could have made more last night when I finished this one.  Best of all, it only took 2 hours to make.  Amazing!  Next up are pajama pants.  I want to make Christmas pajama bottoms for the kiddos.  Oh...and a purse.  So many things to make.  I'm also going to take a knitting and crocheting class so I can actually learn to read the patterns instead of making up my own stitches.  I love being crafty!

Oh, my favorite line last night was when I brought my dress home.  I was so excited and showed it to Daddy T.  He said, "It looks like a pillowcase."  I told him it was supposed to, since that was the name of the dress.  I showed it to B and he touched it and looked at me and said, "WOW!"  That was the response I was looking for from Daddy T!

Etched in my memory

I'll tell you a secret.  I love to watch my kiddos while they are sleeping.  I think that's the favorite part of my nighttime routine, even though it's not because of the reason you'd think.  Not because I'm thrilled it's the end of the day and I can finally crash.  Not because it's been a rough day and now I have time to myself (although that has been a fleeting thought once or twice).  Not because it means I don't have to discipline anymore.  So the reason?  The reason is because when I stare at their sweet sleeping faces, I still see my little babies.  Their faces look like their baby pictures of when they were sleeping.  I'm reminded of how they looked when they were held in my arms BEFORE their feet started to hang off my lap!  I'm reminded of the time when I rocked them, thinking they could do no wrong and I'd never even think of raising my voice with them.  Why, of course, they were perfect!  (I knew they weren't, but at night, they seem like they are.)  Tell me I'm not alone in this nightly ritual.  I mean, those sleeping babies are absolutely precious.  It reminds me of the opportunities I missed during the day to spend time with both of them or moments that I selfishly kept to myself instead of setting my tasks aside.  I love those subtle reminders given to me.

Oh...and did I forget to mention that B is now 3?!!!  That post is for another day, along with pictures.  He had the best day and we loved it because he was so excited about his special day.  I love it now that he asks to spend his special day with certain people.  And...I think he invited his ENTIRE Sunday School class to his birthday party.  I don't even have a clue who all is in there, so it's a good thing that most of them won't remember yet! 

Change

We have entered the season in our lives where change is happening.  We've had to make many decisions as to where and which ministry we feel God is leading us to, house decisions leading up to selling, job decisions, and more.  I hate change.  I think I can say I despise it.  I am like my father.  I like routines and predictability.  I don't like not knowing what's coming up because I like to plan.  I like familiarity.  At this moment in our lives, change is happening almost daily and important decisions are being made.  I'm learning to let go and to take things on that I'd never thought I was capable of doing.  I've sought a lot of wisdom on these matters and feel at peace with all but 1 work decision so far.  However, I think God may have started to answer that prayer today!  So, if you remember, pray for me to accept the changes coming and that have already occurred and to "go with the flow."  This is one time I wish I was more like Daddy T....laid back and change can happen and he hardly notices.

On another note, please add our nephew D to your prayer list.  He found out Friday that his father died.  Uncle Mike had to break the news to him.  Pray for Uncle Mike, Aunt Lea, and K to be able to know how to encourage D and to know how to love on him.  Pray for D especially over the next few days as there is the funeral and all the events that go on with that.  Pray for comfort for D.

Something to Ponder

As I mentioned in my book review below, I am really enjoying reading the book Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman.  He has done an excellent job in making the reader really think about our relationship with Christ.  I tend to pull out some top things in a series of posts that really spoke to me and have left me saying "wow...good point.  I need to think about that some more and let it resonate."

I'll mention the first one today.  I'm just going to quote the paragraph because I can't do it justice if I don't.  It's powerful and I don't want you to miss it, either.

"A few months ago I was speaking in Houston, Texas, and a good-sized man, with a good-sized belt buckle, came up to me with tears in his eyes.  He began to tell me the story of his prodigal daughter, how she went to college and totally turned her back on the faith.  As soon as he started the story, I knew how it would go.  I've heard it so many times, even the details seem predictable.  But when he finished, he didn't ask me why she was doing this or what had gone wrong.  He wasn't looking for an explanation.  Instead, with one sentence he put his finger on what he thought happened.  Here's what he said...'We raised her in Church, but we didn't raise her in Christ.'

You hear what he is saying?  We raised her to look right on the outside but didn't teach her about the inside.  We taught her to keep all the rules, but she never really had a relationship.  We made her feel guilty for the wrong things she did, but somehow she missed God's amazing grace.  We taught her to be a fan of Jesus--instead of a follower of Jesus."

Wow.  Yet, how true is this statement in some of our own lives?  We're taught religion and rules, but often we don't teach our children to fall in love with Christ.  To want Him like no other.  To want to please Him.  To love Him and trust Him no matter what.  If you were honest, are you a rule-follower or are you deeply in love with Jesus?  Not to the point where you just do what He says because you HAVE to, but because you WANT to?  When your children look at you, do they see a reflection of Christ or do they see someone who thinks Jesus is good and all but will only follow Him to a certain extent or when it's convenient or when it doesn't make too many waves?  I think another powerful statement Kyle made was,

"The biggest threat to the church today is fans who call themselves Christians but aren't actually interested in following Christ.  They want to be close enough to Jesus to get all the benefits, but not so close that it requires anything."

I find this is true in so many churches and in Christianity, in general.  Why do we stop following Jesus when it requires us to give of ourselves or our resources?  I don't want to just be an enthusiastic admirer.  I want to be a whole-hearted devoted follower of Christ. 

Potty Training Boot Camp

We are working through a new milestone in our household.  B is going through potty training boot camp.  He's been peeing in the toilet when we tell him to go, but I felt like he needed to start initiating it on his own.  He was always too scared to poop on the toilet, so thus the reason for potty training boot camp.  After reading and researching a bit, we've been using the half-naked approach.  The theory behind it is that he will not like the feel of it coming out on his legs so he'll use the toilet.  So far, so good.  Not one accident since yesterday and he's going when he feels the need to go.  We are quite proud of him, if you can imagine.  We're actually more excited about getting to stop changing diapers/pull-ups/undies less often.  We've gotten lots of prizes and at the end of the week he will get a pool if he manages to go all week without an accident.  He'll do anything for a good swim!