"Is She Prettier Than Me"?

It has been a while since I posted.  Not because I don't have a ton of thoughts running through my mind, but because my shop has been busy lately!  I am so thankful for those of you who have made purchases and those of you who continue to help me share my shop The Teal Egg.

A few weeks ago, we spent the weekend with a family my husband knows better than I do.  We had a great weekend with them.  My daughter was in heaven because one of their children is a little girl the same age.  These girls were so cute together!  They played "Anna and Elsa" like there was no tomorrow.  I wish you could have seen them!!!!

My daughter is super extrovert.  She LOVES people.  She is extremely animated and lives to reenact Disney movies.  She met her match that weekend because our friend's little girl was just as extroverted, just as loving, and just as animated!

There was one time during their play that my daughter came to me and said, "Mommy, am I as pretty as she is?"  I have to tell you, in that moment, my heart sank.  All these thoughts came rushing into my my mind.... "Have I ever made this comment in her presence?", "Has she read my mind when I question this in myself?", "Have I passed along this terrible insecurity to my daughter?", "God, please don't let this be a struggle in my sweet precious baby girl's heart!"

She really stopped me dead in my tracks with this question.  And my heart, literally ached.  Of course my immediate response was, "You both are beautiful because Jesus made you both beautiful."  She smiled and seemed to accept that answer and went back to playing with her new friend.

But over and over and over again, those words played them self to me again on repeat, "Am I as pretty as she is?"  No one had to teach my daughter to ask that question.  But where did it come from?  Is is just a curse on women?  Do we all struggle with this question, whether we admit it or not?  Have I exposed her to something in her everyday world that would cause her to ask this question?

Why must this thought enter my baby girl's mind?  Really and truly if I am just down right honest, because of the broken state of man.  Because of sin.  Because we have been shattered.  That is why it is there in her mind, in my mind.  We wrestle with comparison because our society teaches it to us, shoves it in our face, and serves it up on a silver platter.  BUT, we accept it.  I accept it and I allow it to captivate my thoughts.  I allow it to lessen the relationships with those around me.  If I don't take it captive....it will destroy me and jealousy will breed.

It's ugly, I know.  But what I know to be even more true is that it is a struggle for us all.  In every woman, there is a wrestle "Is she prettier than me?"  "Is she smarter than me?"  "Does she have it more together than me?"  "Is she a better mom than me?"  "Is she a better wife than me?"  "Is she a better _________ than me?"  Whatever it is for you....it is there.

I want my daughter to know, I want myself to know....

God created man/woman in His image and His image is BEAUTIFUL!  Don't cheat yourself out of relationships with other women.  Satan desires to steal, kill and destroy all that is a gift from your Heavenly Father to you.  Friendships with other women are a sweet joy given to you, have several of them.  Don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Find the best in other women and tell them to their face what you see as their best!  Allow Jesus to fill ALL of you and the question "Is she . . . ." will become less and less in your mind.

I've been thinking a lot these past few weeks about my daughter's question.  And, the best way I know how to smother this thought in her mind is to continue to teach her about Jesus, confirm the best qualities I see in her, and lead her in speaking words of encouragement and life into the lives of girls she comes in contact with.  

This has to become my practice too because how can I lead her if this is not true for my life as well.

Engage With Your Kids

Summer is coming to a close.  We are soaking in the last few days and weeks in our house.  Yesterday I spent 30 minutes playing play dough with my daughter.  Today we spent the entire day in a wet swim suit at the water park.

The list below came from our local library.  I love it so much, I decided to post it here.  All of these things can be done throughout the year with your children.  Life with our children doesn't just have to happen during the summer.  Sometimes I find myself striving to check of the "summer fun list" but the truth is my children and I need fun throughout the year.


One of my sweetest friends said these words to me one day regarding her four children.....

"I'm going to make their childhood magical if it kills me"!

Those words stuck with me.  They made me laugh right out loud.  And they echo in my mind when days are hard.  I only have an allotted amount of time with my children.  Why wouldn't I work my hardest to make it magical?!  Magical doesn't have to be big and extravagant and over the top at all times.  Magical can be as simple as the list below.  I believe magical happens when I ENGAGE with my children.  When they know they have MOMMY present 100%.  Those are the moments I believe they will remember as magical.  I have enlarged my most favorite in the list below.  

Visit the library

Play blocks with your child

Read wordless books with your child

Make animal noises together

Look at a picture dictionary together

Sing songs about your day

Talk about the weather with your child. What kind of days do they like best?

Sing counting songs, such as “One, Two, Buckle my Shoe.”

Visit the grocery store with and talk about the many colors you see

Read a nonfiction book with your child

Talk about what is going on around you

Ask your child many questions

Read a story about your child’s favorite animal

Share a story about your childhood

Make a snack together by using a recipe

Do fingerplays and action rhymes any time

Let your child make music with various kitchen items

Read your child a bedtime story

Count with your child as you drive in the car

Make an alphabet book

Collect leaves together and sort them by size and color

Put a puzzle together with your child

Go on a color walk together and point things out that are red, green, etc

Sing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” together

Dance with your child

She Reads Truth: Justice Study

Last week I posted about the Noonday #StyleforJustice trip to Rwanda.  I hope you will take time to read that post here.  The trip consisted of a group of women with so many different gifts and talents.  It is amazing to me the web that their lives and commitments are forming.  I choose the word web in such a positive way....because here is what I started today out of that web.....

I am new to She Reads Truth Bible Study Plans.  You can visit their website here to learn so much more.  Here is what they have to say about themselves.....

The most important players in SheReadsTruth are God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as they speak truth to our hearts through the reading of God’s word. Beyond that, there is you – a vast and beautiful community of women committed to growing closer to Jesus by seeking His face.

As for us, we are a handful of women who manage the site and write the plans. We are just like you, dependent on the grace of Jesus and needy of the Holy Spirit moving in our lives. We are a part of this community and we are committed to reading God’s Word along with you.

Today, they launched a 14 day Justice Study.  What is even better is you can access this study from your iPhone in the She Rhttp://shereadstruth.com/2014/07/18/reads-truth-iphone-app/eads Truth App.  The Justice Study is $1.99 and $1.00 of every purchase is being given to the International Justice Mission.  AMAZING!

The site has several other studies you can join along with too.  Titus, Ruth, Nehemiah, 123 John.... I am so excited to have this access at my fingertips.  So the app includes: The Bible, Study Plans, Notes, Bookmarks, Lock Screens of Scripture for memorization, and a chance to comment on daily readings and see what other people are commenting.

The Justice Study will include posts and thoughts from the following: Gary A. Haugen (founder/ceo of International Justice Mission) Bethany Hoang (director of the Institute for Biblical Justice), Jessica Honegger (founder of Noonday Collection), and Jennie Allen (author).  See huge web from last weeks #styleforjustice trip to Rwanda.

I hope you will check out the She Reads Truth site and learn more for yourself.  And if you are ready to jump in download the She Reads Truth app and get started on the Justice Study with me and a TON of other women!

#Style for Justice {What Makes You Come Alive}

If you know me at all, you know I love the world.  I have an affinity for the nations.  My love for travel began at the age of 14 when I took my first trip overseas.  Since then my feet have trod the soil of Russia, China, India, Ecuador and Peru.  A few of these countries I have been to on several accounts and China was my home one summer between my junior and senior years of nursing school.

My life is forever marked by the time that has been so graciously afforded me around the world.  I was changed as a 14 year old teenager, who stepped on a plane 20 years ago, with limited knowledge of the world outside my homeland.

The last trip I took internationally was to Peru in July of 2009.  Deep down I knew it would be my last for a while.  I was desperately sifting through the pieces of a miscarriage and praying that life would begin in me the following month.  Little did I know, the life of my first born child would begin that month. And now it's July 2014, and I have 3 children ages 4, 3, and 13 months.  God has been faithful!

My heart is wrestling.  My mind is racing.  My feet are longing to jump on a plane and go.  There are tons of thoughts floating through my mind concerning: my husband, my children, location, timing, to do what, to go with whom....

I am currently following a team of moms, writers, minister's wives, photographers, bloggers, and creators who are in Rwanda.  I have followed Emily's blog for at least three years now.  I have read Jen's book 7 continue to follower her IG feed.  I worked through Jenni's CHASE study with a few of my closets friends and read her book Anything this past winter.  And right now, they with a few others, are partnering with Noonday Style for Justice.   

This summer, we're fusing fashion and justice as Noonday Collection partners with International Justice Mission for the #StyleForJustice Story Team Trip to Rwanda. Join us

as we journey with an influential group of storytellers and introduce them to Rwandan women who have overcome injustice and have been empowered through economic opportunity. By coming alongside these women and sharing their stories, our goal is to raise awareness for the vulnerable and inspire others to get involved and use their voices for good. 

I really love Noonday's Purpose

Noonday Collection's mission is to create economic opportunity for the vulnerable. We partner with artisans in the developing world, empowering them to grow sustainable businesses. By creating a marketplace for their goods, we create dignified jobs at living wages. This allows our artisans to earn more in order to support their families. We also offer no interest loans and make advance payments on orders. This way we are able to shoulder the costs of materials and build a lasting relationship based on trust. We offer scholarship programs and emergency assistance. Noonday Collection also donates a portion of sales to place orphans in forever families.

Noonday Collection is not a charity and we do not believe that providing a hand out is a sustainable long-term solution to poverty. We aim to be a sustainable business that gives women across the United States a way to make a lasting difference in the fight against poverty and injustice. This is what makes this movement so special. To learn more about Noonday's impact, click here: http://www.noondaycollection.com/impact

I encourage you to follow along this journey from the Noonday website or any of the #StyleforJustice Story Team Member's personal sites.  Their individual IG feeds are awesome as well as the Noonday IG feed.  Pray for these ladies. Pray for this country.  Don't you just love the goal of this trip......

 Raise awareness for the vulnerable and inspire others to get involved and use their voices for good. 

{via:jonesdesigncompany.com}

This trip is so encouraging to me right where I am in life: a mom of several littles, a follower who is hungry to jump in again, and a woman who desires to use her gifts to advance others.  My prayer is that you will be challenged and blessed along this journey.  I pray you will understand the beauty and uniqueness in the gifts you have been given.  My pray for you and for me is we would not transform to what we see as the "trending" thing right now, but rather, we would dig deep and find these words to be true of us.....

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs.  

Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, 

because what the world needs is people who have come alive".

 Gil Bailie 

So what makes you come alive?  And how can you use it to change the world?

A Mason Jar Full of Flowers

"And why worry about your clothes?  Look at the lilies and how they grow.  They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.  And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won;t he more surely care for you?  You have so little faith!"

Matthew 6:28-30

For the last several weeks I have been letting my oldest pick out flowers at the grocery store. A month or two ago we got to shop for groceries at Trader Joe's (it's a good distance from our house).  The moment we walked in the door her eyes filled with wonder and she walked immediately over to the flowers begging me to get some.  She carefully selected yellow tulips.  She was filled with JOY over this purchase and if truth be known, so was I.  

We brought those tulips home, cut the ends off, and placed them in a mason jar full of fresh water.  She put the mason jar of tulips on the center of our kitchen table and since that time we have continued to fill the mason jar weekly with a little flower JOY!

She talks to me a lot about the beauty of what she selected.  She talks to me about their need for fresh water.  She asks me why their life span is so short.  She tells me God made "her" flowers.  She is learning much about her Creator through a simple bunch of flowers.

Yes my grocery bill is a little higher than if I had just left them off, but the conversations I have with her over these flowers can never be bought with a price.  My daughter is the MOST thoughtful human being I know.  She genuinely cares for all people.  She loves deeply.  She is teaching me more about myself and living like Jesus than I ever knew possible.  She makes me want to be a better person.  

I pray I will always take the time to let her pick out flowers with which to fill the mason jar full.  I pray she will live in the confidence of knowing if God cared enough to dress the flowers so beautifully that He will surely dress and care for her that much more.  I pray the length of the flowers days will always remind her we are here for a season, live your life with His Kingdom in mind.

Legacy App by the ReThink Group

Sunday we attended Baby Dedication practice at our church.  We will be dedicating our youngest child on Saturday.  Minutes after our babies were born Matt and I gave thanks to the Lord for them and vowed to raise them in a home that acknowledges Jesus first.  We vowed to lead them and to teach them about Jesus.  We know their salvation is not based upon us.  We know salvation is a choice they must make for themselves individually.  We prayed and we continue to pray daily for the Holy Spirit to bend their hearts toward Jesus and that they would love Him with all of their hearts, minds and souls.

Saturday will be an intimate celebration with our family and a physical marking of our commitment before God and man.  I think of it much like a marriage ceremony.  Each of our children's baby dedications have meant so much to Matt and me.  They have been surreal humbling moments.  And no matter how hard we try......we never are able to make it through one with a dry eye.

While at practice (just learning the logistics of the day), we were introduced to the Legacy App.  If you have not seen this, I encourage you to check it out.  It was designed by the ReThink Group.  Many of you may know them as Orange (the curriculum your church uses for Next Generation Ministries: Birth through High School).

Here is the App description....

"Legacy Countdown was designed specifically for anyone who works with kids or teenagers.  Why not put a visual number to the time you have left....before someone graduates? before an event happens?  before something is due?  When you count the weeks you have left with a kid, you stand a better chance of making your weeks count."

It's simple.....enter your child's name and birthday and a countdown clock to their high school graduation will begin.  It will count down the: weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds you have left  with your child before graduation.

Oh to see this count down really did my heart in.  I wanted to push PAUSE!!!  But there is no pause button on the app because there is no pause in real life.  Just a chance for us to spend every moment we have with our children making them count.  Pouring real truth, real principles, real life, real expectations, and real love into their lives.

Days are sometimes rough around here.  They are not always squeaky clean and organized (no matter how much I want them to be).  I probably fail more than I succeed, but I am trying and that is what counts.  When the crying and the fussing is more than I can handle....I want to remember their legacy and that I only have a short window of time.

I'm praying this app will be a constant reminder to me of the moments that have been entrusted to me as their mommy.  I long to dig deep.  I long to wrestle hard.  And above all.....I want them to know Jesus because I took the time shared with me to teach them about Him.

I hope you will take the time to download this app for yourself and share with another mommy friend who might need some encouragement today as well.

{Via}

For more information about why what you do this week matters for a kid, go to LosingYourMarblesBook.com  

A Date With My Daughter

A few weeks ago our older kids went to see their grandparents.  That left my husband and me with just one baby.  We laughed at how difficult we once thought one baby was.  Now we see life differently and having one baby in our house felt like a vacation.

"Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds".

Proverbs 27:23

We enjoyed our baby and our time together and lots of days sleeping in.  Our baby slept until 8:30 most mornings (so not the norm with our other two 7am risers).  We enjoyed our baby in ways we never knew.  He had our undivided attention 24/7.  He learned things about us and we learned things about him.

It made us think a lot about our children's needs for one on one time with us.  It made us think a lot about our needs for one on one time with our children.  We even talked about once a year letting them each have a week at home as the only child.

While our daughter was away, she kept telling her MiMi that she and her mommy go on dates.  We do go on dates.  I really try hard to do something with just "the girls" even if it is just a trip to the grocery store.  When she returned home from MiMi's first thing she asked was to go on a date with mommy.

So we ate dinner one night with the boys and then jumped in the car for a mommy/daughter date.  She chose the library and a few swings and twirls in the park.  I helped her finish out her date by suggesting milk and a cake pop at Starbucks.  Mommy always enjoys an excuse for a cup of coffee.

We had the best time.  She held my hand and I held hers back with deep intentionality (not just trying to save her from the cars in the parking lot).  We skipped.  She looked up at me and said, "I love you mommy and our just girl dates".  She checked scanned books out at the library.  I pushed her in the swing at the park and enjoyed her little giggle.  We danced in the parks open field and when she had to go the bathroom (cause don't they always) we raced to see who could get there the fastest.

She carefully selected her milk at Starbucks and asked the lady for no less than a pink cake pop.  When we got to the table she sat across from me, took one bite out of the cake pop and said, "This is so good.  Mommy would you like a bite"?  I love how she savors every moment and is extremely generous.

Intentional.  That is what I want to be with my children.  It is easy to lose who they are individually in the mundane of our everyday.  It is easy for me to wish they were just all the same and fit them into a box nicely.  But they are all very different from one another.  I don't want to miss out on who they are.  I don't want to miss out on their dreams.  I do not want to miss out on the little detail of each one of them.

Dates with your children don't have to cost one penny.  At the end of the day there is no amount of money that can replace the time we spent with our children.  Dates with your children are most fun when you let them choose how to spend the time together.  It may not be the most fun activity for you but will give you deep insight into what is going on in their little mind.

God's been speaking to me a lot about the intentional individual time I spend with my children.  He has been talking to me a lot about not lumping them together.  For me, a once a month intentional date with my children is what I can balance right now.

What about you?  Do you spend intentional individual time with your children?  What does it look like?  How often do you do it?  How has it changed your relationship with him/her?  What ways do you hope it will change your relationship with him/her?

Book Review: EverAfter

"Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale"

~Hans Christian Andersen

L.O.V.E.D.

this 

book.

I hope you get your hands on a copy and read away.

Vicki is an empty-nester who now gives great words of wisdom learned from her trenches.

This book is geared towards wives and mothers.

It is much from the mentality of do what I learned....not as I did.

Here are a few things that I highlighted....

.....on HOME....

"If I get caught up in the comparison trap of always wanting what I don't have, I miss the joy of appreciating what I do have.  Once I realized that dream houses don't always translate into dream homes, I was ale to see my house through a different filter.  We alone determine whether or not our houses will be homes.  And we will pass that attitude along to our children.

"Dream homes, on the other hand, have living rooms that are lived in and furniture that is comfortable.  Dream homes are places where the neighbor kids gather to play because they are always welcome.  They have walls with tiny handprint smudges and kitchens with sticky floors and doggie nose prints on the storm door.   Dream homes have garages that store sports equipment, bikes, and all other manner of riding toys but rarely the family cars.  They have dinner tables where family members sit for a meal and talk about their day.  Dream homes have chair cushions that have been flipped over to hide the scribble marks from the toddler who got into his older sister's craft box.  Dream homes have squeaky ceiling fans from little boys who thought it would be fun to see how far their stuffed animals would fly if tossed into the blades.  They have Lego pieces under the sofa cushions and stickers on the bathroom mirror."

....on MARRIAGE....

"There is no such thing as the "whole package" when it comes to a husband or a wife.  Every person comes with flaws, so let's be careful not to cherry-pick the best qualities we see in other men and create a mental prototype of our perfect soul mate."

....on FAMILY....

"At the end of the day, your family doesn't particularly care if the things you said 'yes' to made the world a better place.  You still said 'no' to them.  But your family members aren't the only ones who suffer.  When you say 'yes' to too much, you also say 'no' to time with God - valuable time you need to refuel and rest.  Ecclesiastes 4:6 says, 'Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind'." 

....on BUSYNESS....

"Everything is permissible for me'- but not everything is beneficial. 'Everything is permissible for me' - but I will not be mastered by anything" (1 Corinthians 6:12 NIV)

"At the end of the day, you are in charge of the family calendar and the only one who can make the necessary changes.  Every family is different, and only you and your husband are qualified to know what needs to be eliminated from the calendar or where you can cut corners to redeem a more simple life.  Pray about it and ask God to show you the areas in your day that can be eliminated or adjusted."

"In God-centric homes, time devoted to God is a priority rather than an afterthought.  In God-centric homes, the family bows to God rather than a calendar of activities. . . or worse yet, the children.  In God-centric homes, the marriage is prioritized over the children and date nights are not shoved aside for the children's activities.  In God-centric homes, children are taught the value of hard work and service to others.  In God-centric homes, children are taught that money is a gift from God and to be used according to his will.  In God-centric homes children grow up knowing it's all about God because their parents have made it all about God"

"Happily-ever-after is a choice, 

not a prize offered to a chosen few who find the fairy tale"

>>>>>This book was on my Fall Reading List<<<<<

{2 Books that are Currently Rocking My World}

Two books that are currently rocking my world

//1//

{via}

We have always tucked our kids at night together with a Bible story and prayer.  Our kids are now old enough that they hold us to this sacred time.  They never let us get away with.....it's too late....we are so tired....

For years we have read to them out of another children's Bible.

Last week we decided that they might be old enough to hold an attention span for the stories out of The Jesus Storybook Bible.  They have done pretty well (our 3 year old better than our 2 year old...but we are working on that one)

I honestly love reading out of this Bible to our children.  Every story whispers the name of Jesus.  I  love how each story clearly echoes God's love for mankind and His eternal desire to restore mankind.  Truly, I feel God speaking deeply and personally through this children's Bible.

"But all the stars and the mountains and oceans and galaxies and everything were nothing compared to how much God loved his children.  He would move heaven and earth to be near them.  Always.  Whatever happened, whatever it cost him, he would always love them.  And so it was that the wonderful love story began..." ~The Storybook Bible

//2//

{via}

My small group has been working through this Jennie Allen study, STUCK.

And the word that comes to mind is OUCH! 

 Ouch because I get stuck in everyone of these places

::Broken::

::Mad::

::Discontent::

::Scared::

::Overwhelmed::

::Sad::

Honestly, I am getting a beating through this study.  My eyes are being opened to how selfish I am and how my selfishness creates these quicksands where I get stuck.  It's not pretty.  And sometimes these stuck places come out just down right ugly {yes pastor's wives are real people who have not so pretty moments that are U.G.L.Y}

If you are a woman, you want to get your hands on this study.  It will be most beneficial if you work through it with other women so that you do not fall into the lie of believing that no other women you are around suffer from these stuck places.  

Real live wrestle occurs personally through this study.

You will become undone and hopefully reshaped.

Just plain L.O.V.E. this study!

{Thanks to my sweet friend Laura for the recommendation}  

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Have you entered for a chance to win the November Giveaway?

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Click on this post to enter.

{You have until Friday}

  

The Farm Table and Corners Cut

{via}

I follow Ann Voskamp on Instagram.  And if you have been reading along for any amount of time you know that I love her book, 1000 Gifts.  Yesterday she posted a picture of a farm table in the middle of the woods surrounded by pumpkins and mums.

By the IG post, I gathered it was a celebration dinner she and her family share each year.  It was a beautiful picture full of earth's bounty.  Someone made a comment on the feed about Ann posting perfect pictures....and how did she do it all....homeschool, mother 6 children, cook dinner.....(you get the picture).

Ann's response resonated so deep with me.  She said something to the effect of.....my son dragged the table out into the woods, my kids brought out the pumpkins and mums, my momma made the turkey, someone else brought..... Her response was gracious and honest.

And I LOVED IT!  But as of today, the post has been deleted.  Maybe the thread of the post became more than she wanted it to be, who knows.

Ann got me thinking.....we all cut corners.  We don't live perfect Susie homemaker lives.  There is no way we could.  Everyone "cuts corners" with something(s) when it comes to life and creating memories for your family.  But often times we only see the snapshots of the perfect memory.

Here are some ways I cut corners......

I may arrive at church with 3 children and myself dressed but....

my house is a wreck and my husband helped me get them in the car.

We may be eating a home cooked meal.....

but it came out of the crockpot and was the most SIMPLE recipe ever (dump and heat).

I may be on a walk around the lake with 3 kids and 2 dogs but....

I forgot the snacks and the sippies. 

I am not super woman, I just need a mental break from the walls of my home

where the fussing keeps echoing.  I am praying the open air will swallow up

their dispute.

My house may be decorated for the current holiday but.....

my hardwoods have dried dog drool on them and I am hoping you won't notice.

I may be working a 12 hour shift and saving your child's life but...

my husband gives his "off" day to keep our 3 littles all by himself.

All this said....I am a wife, a mother of 3 littles and 2 big dogs, a nurse, a host to this blog, and I create every once in a while for a little ETSY shop but I DON'T do it alone.  I DON'T do it all perfect.  I cut corners along the way with frozen pizza for dinner and closing the lids on toilets that have pink stuff growing in them.  I even cut corners on this blog by not killing myself to post when life is too busy 

(ie, the last several weeks)  

I think we as women can do so much better.  I think we can give each other a break and stop the critical eye dead in its tracks and rest in knowing, everyone cuts corner.  I am speaking loudest to myself in this post.  I think Ann would say she was creating a moment of memory and thanksgiving for her family.  She "cut corners" by allowing others to help her along the way.  She knows she can't do it alone.  I can't do it alone.  We can't do it alone.  So let's stop trying, cut some corners, and get on with making moments of thankful memories with the ones we love most!  

   

For Today.

                    The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth

He does not faint or grow weary;

his understanding is unsearchable. 

                                     …….Isaiah 40:28

What I Would Say to My Childhood Self {Compassion Blog Month}

I am joining up with Compassion International for Blog Month.  The hope is to raise awareness of childhood poverty and for 3160 children to be sponsored through Compassion International.  You can click on the button on my side bar to learn more.

I will post more this month on the child we have sponsored for nine years, John in Kenya.  I have a dream that one day we will see him face to face and laugh and cry and rejoice!  I have a dream that one day we will go to his village as a family and meet his family.

This week Compassion has asked bloggers to write on the topic "What I Would Say to My Childhood Self". How appropriate that this would be the topic as I celebrate my 33rd birthday today.  I think a lot lately about my childhood, because I am in the thick of my children's childhood.

To my childhood self I would say......

It's okay that you are always youngest in your class, one day age won't matter.

Keep esteeming others as better than yourself and you will always be reminded of the grace that was lavished upon you.

It's okay that you are in the slowest reading group and your best friends are in the highest, 

you will one day love to read for pleasure.

One day you and your sister will no longer fight and she will become your best friend.

Let the boy go who broke your heart, God has better for you.

Keep saying "Yes" to Jesus, whatever He asks you to do.

Your mom and dad love you and they have sacrificed more for you than you know right now, but someday when you raise your own babies....you will know.

When you feel the nudging in your soul to do something good, DO IT!

If you think you can YOU CAN.

If you think you can't you can't.

There will always be someone better than you and there will always be someone worse than you,

so stop comparing yourself and get to work on you.

Be an initiator.

Be diligent in ALL THINGS.

Spend time with Jesus daily.

Work hard.

Pray for your Husband.

Pray for your children.

 Serve others.

Be proud of your country and the freedoms you have.

Never take your health for granted, remember the ONE who created you.

Start how you want to finish.

Be content with what God has given you.

REST.

DREAM. 

LOVE.

GIVE.

LIVE.

To learn more about Compassion International and how you can help click here.  I have personally been a Compassion Sponsor for 9 years.  I would love to answer any questions you may have.  Please email me {email address located on side bar}.

School Lunch and a Hair "Do"

It has been a super busy week around here.  We had a long holiday weekend and I feel like I can't recover.  Lots of fun things are happening this week in our home.  One being, our daughter started preschool!

She was so excited to jump out of the car and go to her new class.  But, when I picked her up I had to pry things out of her.... when I asked her how her day was she said "good".  "Good" that's it?  Yep!  That is all I got.  Well, that and "I want skittles".  Seriously?  Her teacher rewarded good behavior with skittles?  My sugar loving girl could not handle just one skittle.  I would much rather her teacher reward with stickers, a coloring page, being the line leader..... Hopefully this is just a "week one, at a new school" kinda thing.

I found myself at the kitchen counter this week preparing my baby girl's lunch.  It is the first lunch I have prepared for her and put in a lunch box that she did not eat with me.  Usually when I pack her lunch it is for the park.  Weird for me to think about her eating lunch outside of our home without me.

I took a trip down memory lane, as I cut out a star shaped turkey and cheese sandwich and I remembered my dad.  My dad standing at the kitchen counter every morning before school making my and my sister's lunches.  Yep!  He had an assembly line going.  That man could whip out some lunches in no time.  I am thankful for my dad and for the way that he stepped in to make lunches and ease some of the load off of my mom. I was blessed and I am blessed with a dad who took/takes an active role in my life, even if sometimes the sandwich had a little too much mustard for my liking.

I then remembered my mom waking up to "do" my hair and my sister's hair before we walked out the door.  Why did she not make lunches?  Oh, she had been up several times during the night nursing a baby.  Or stayed up way late doing "mom  things".  I never understood this until I had my own children......You work all day, sun up to sun down.  You get them into bed and then there are all of the things that you were supposed to get done during the day that are staring you in the face.  All you want to do is sit down and chill but you know you need to knock out at least one thing, or it will be staring you in the face again tomorrow.  And then you crash into your bed, with lights on and when the baby wakes at midnight to eat....you wonder: how long have I been asleep, who turned out the lights, who covered me up and you are thankful for that sweet man laying in the bed next to you who fills in the gaps when you can not go one step further!

What I witnessed in my parents was teamwork.  They didn't parent alone.  They worked together for us.  I am truly thankful for the example that was set before me.  I'm so thankful for those lunches and hair "do's" that got my sister and me off to a great start.  And I am so thankful for a husband who fills in the gaps that I miss with our children.  A man who parents with me.  I am blessed beyond measure by his service to our family.  He loves us well!

Book Review: Parenting with Love and Logic

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Parenting with Love and Logic is one of the books on my summer reading list.  I got the Kindle version of this book a while ago when it was available for a free download.  It has been on my device for quite a while.  {Thanks to my friend Ashley who told me about the free download}.

Here is what Amazon has to say about this book:

This parenting book shows you how to raise self-confident, motivated children who are ready for the real world. Learn how to parent effectively while teaching your children responsibility and growing their character.  Establish healthy control through easy-to-implement steps without anger, threats, nagging, or power struggles

I love these words in the description: self-confident, motivated, ready for the real world, parent effectively, teaching responsibility, growing character, and healthy control.  We have 3 children and no two are alike.  There are ways we guide our first born that never work with our second born and vise versa.  As far as the 3rd one.....he's too young to know.

We all want choices in life.  So it is only natural that my children want choices in life.  The boundaries are set and you get a choice if you are going to stay in the boundary or not.  If you stay in the boundary there is reward.  If you go outside of the boundary there are consequences.  This is true for ALL of us.

Here are a few words from the book that really hit home for me..... 

"We must equip our darling offspring to make the move from total dependence on us to independence, from being controlled by us to controlling themselves.  What will they do when we are no longer pouring wise words into their ears?  Will merely telling them to be responsible get the job done?  Why do young people sometimes seem so stupidly self-destructive?  The tragic truth is that many of these foolish choices are the first real decisions they have ever made."

"Nothing in parenting is sure.  However, we increase the odds of raising responsible kids when we take thoughtful risks.  We do that when we allow our children to fail.  In fact, unless we allow them to fail, sometimes grandiosely, we cannot allow our children to choose success."

"Kids get the most out of what they accomplish for themselves.  Children will get more out of making their own decision - even if it is wrong - than they will out of parents making that decision for them.  Sometimes that means standing by as our kids struggle to complete a task we could easily help them with or do for them".

"If we never let our kid's struggle to get something they want or work through a problem for themselves, then when things get difficult later in life, they won't suddenly turn tough and get going; instead, they will just quit".

Of course, with any book, there are parts you can take away and parts you can leave.  Parenting allows for some creative thinking and several ways to "get it right".  I do highly recommend this book for parents.  It has changed several of my approaches with my children.

Other parenting books I have read and love: 

Don't Make Me Count to Three by Ginger Plowman
Bringing Up Boys by Dr. James Dobson
Brining Up Girls by Dr. James Dobson