home again, home again, jiggity jog..

model of my hometown created by Carl Thorp in 1976...

I love Tennessee…we have made a life and a home here for 17 years. We have relationships that we consider “family” here, we have a nice home, our children have good friends, and lots of opportunities here. I grew up in a small town in Louisiana and I know my children have more opportunities here than they would there, and I certainly have no intention of uprooting them right now, but sometimes I miss home. I miss the small town, and all that goes with that…I feel sad when I think there is nowhere for us to stay if we take a trip home. The home my grandparents built is in the hands of another owner now, and we have no house there to visit, but in my heart it will always be home.  The love I have for that home is different than the love I have for my current one…  It is where I grew up, where I learned to ride a bike, formed relationships, had my first kiss, learned to drive, got engaged and married, and first learned about Jesus…So there is part of me that longs to go back there and live…there is part of me that wants my children to have the love that I have for my hometown, and my youngest really has scarce memories of it now…its kinda heart breaking to me in a way…but then again, we are making memories for them here…they will look back on this home and hopefully have the same emotions that I have for my hometown…I’m not sure I will live in this house forever, or if I will ever move back home to Franklinton…hmm, maybe it’s the trying to hang onto youth, or the memories that makes “going home” so appealing…maybe the longing isn’t to live there as much as it is to re-live there…which we all know can’t happen…and yet still the longing is there…funny, I couldn’t wait to move away when I was younger, thinking I had to get out of that dead-end town…and how appealing a dead-end town is in this fast-paced crazy world today.  Home is where your heart is…I guess that’s true…my heart is here in TN, but it’s there in Franklinton too, that little town in the middle of nowhere where I grew up.

 

Servant for a Day…

Got this in my email inbox this morning and I’m thinking it’s not a bad idea…my kids are constantly bickering with each other even while doing chores together…so instead of cleaning the kitchen together…it becomes a screaming match about how things are getting done…and who’s way is the right way…maybe doing something like this will help teach them what is really important about chores, about helping and about servanthood…I’m sure they will still fight and argue (especially about the fact that they have to be a servant alone) but maybe their hearts will start to change a little…

Parenting Tip
November 16, 2009
Servant For The Day
Children often compete with each other in order to be first or best. This tendency on the part of children comes from selfishness, a major roadblock to sibling harmony. The solution is to learn how to be a servant, but how do you convince a five-year-old or a twelve-year-old that being a servant is a valuable thing?

As parents we have to look for positive ways to frame the maturity issues that we know are best, but seem unreasonable to our children. In this case, you might try having a “Servant for the Day.” This child not only sets the table and takes out the trash but also gets some extra “Mommy time,” helps with dinner, and sits next to Dad during story time. Throughout the course of the day, Mom has an opportunity to talk about more subtle aspects of servanthood that involve how children talk, listen, and even think.

Take time to praise demonstrations of servanthood. One child may not get the first turn or the biggest piece, but he gets the praise of Mom for being the mature one. That’s a far more valuable reward.

Teaching children to be servants will promote harmony in your family. Becoming a servant will help children deal with the continual desire to build themselves up while putting others down. Learning servanthood is a way to honor others in the family and it brings honor back as well.

Who demonstrated servanthood recently in your family? How can you point that out and encourage it today?

For more practical ideas on developing honor in your family consider the book Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes, in You and Your Kids by Dr Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN.

If this tip was sent to you by a friend and you’d like to continue to receive tips yourself, you can sign up at www.biblicalparenting.org.

 

What a parent longs for…

Today my 5 year old shows me this picture and says “Mommy, this is Jesus in my heart!” I told her it was beautiful and gave her a hug, and tried not to let her see me cry.  Now, I’m pretty sure she doesn’t understand a lot of deep theological stuff…and she might have a hard time understanding the Trinity…but she know enough to know where Jesus needs to be…and if you think about it…that simple understanding is what the unbelieving world needs to know…THAT is what we need to share with them…because once people know that…well, to put it in the words of my 5 year old…”It will make your heart very happy!”

 

It’s NOVEMBER…where’d the year go?

Truly the older I get the faster time flies…I always remember the “old folks” saying that but it’s really true…I cannot believe how fast this year has flown by…was this the fastest summer on record???…yes, yes I think it was…I’m looking back and don’t think I took enough pictures, did enough fun things with my kids, tried enough new things…and I don’t even want to talk about all those “things” I said I’d start doing and never did…and I’m not even gonna look at my resolutions from last year…at least not yet…! It’s been a good year…but a really fast one…looking back at pictures of my kids from just the beginning of the year, I can’t believe how much they’ve changed and grown…!  As this is the month of Thanksgiving…let me just say that I am so so blessed, beyond what I could ever dream for myself…I have an amazing husband, beautiful children all who bring such joy to my heart, I am blessed with a home that provides comfort for each of us and enough room to have my Mom live with us for awhile, I have the blessing that my kids will have the chance to live with a grandparent and the learning and love they get from that will be with them forever…we have been blessed with enough for us and enough to share with others…I have been blessed to go on a mission trip with my son this year…the trip without him would have been a blessing in itself but seeing him grow and sharing that with him…well, my heart can’t find the words…I have been blessed with a church family that is truly just that, a family…the work we do together is never a burden because we are doing it together, the fun we have is never long enough…and the worship we share together makes one long for heaven…AND I am blessed that this is just a short list of my many many blessings…and I am thankful for these and so so so much more…little things, big things…all gifts from a loving Father…who loves me in spite of myself…and for that, I am MOST thankful…!!!  Here are some pics from the highlites of a great year…from people I love, parties we’ve had…our home filled with friends is really the way I like it best…trips we’ve made and just random days of time well spent with my kids…looking back I wish it didn’t go so fast…but looking back I just feel so so so blessed…and this is how I want to remember this NOV…not the hectic chaos that begins the holiday season…but a reflection of all I’ve been given this year…!!

 

God’s waiting room

All those out there who like to sit in a waiting room please stand up…what? No one is standing? I think we can all agree that sitting in a waiting room stinks, be it for a doctor visit, or waiting for you car to be ready or just waiting for a table at a restaurant. It’s not fun, it tests our patience, it makes us angry, and then we tend to take that anger out on the receptionist, the children we brought with us or other people waiting. We humans don’t wait well.
So, last night before I went to bed I was surfing on the world wide interweb (my husband’s favorite term for the internet he stole from a movie)…anyhoo, I was surfing for statistics about the unreached, the unsaved, the poor, the less fortunate…why, you ask…for a slide show presentation on Mission Sunday at church…SOOooo,  I went to sleep last night with all these things in my head, numbers of unsaved people, massive parts of the world where there are ZERO missionaries, human trafficking, toddlers sold into sex rings (TODDLERS!?!) It was heart wrenching, and some of it nauseating…and CERTAILY CONVICTING!   And,  this morning, with all this still on my mind, in a half sleep/half wake state the thought came to me…what if when we died we find out that we have to sit in a waiting room and wait to get into heaven, wait for that door to open and a friendly angel call our name and lead us back to the room where we would wait some more to see the face of Jesus, sitting in the room, posters of heavenly mansions on the wall, hoping one might be ours, nervous about bad news, that we may not get the “well done, good and faithful servant” when He comes in the room–AND here’s the kicker– all of this waiting that we have to do is directly proportional to how much time we made God wait for our service on earth…! (I told you in my last blog that God talks to me in ways that my simple brain can understand)…but wow, this thought jolted me awake–how long would I be waiting??????  I immediately thanked God for His truly amazing GRACE…and for a glimpse of the pain we cause Him with our short-sightedness about the world around us. I realize that many of us are unable to pick up at a moment’s notice and go to the far reaches of the world…but there is much pain all around us, and we need (what I need to do) is to ask God to see the world through His eyes, with His compassion, and His urgency!  The bible tells us to go, it doesn’t say wait to go,  go if your family thinks it’s alright, go if you have some extra money…it just say to GO…it says we are to feed the hungry, heal the sick, sell our possessions and give to the poor…AND WE CAN DO THESE THINGS IN OUR OWN BACKYARD, IN OUR OWN TOWNS…!!  Lord, make me more aware, burden my heart with Your burdens for Your people…few quotes on this subject that struck me today are:

Here are a few quotes from missionaries that struck me today:

“Let my heart be broken with the things that break God’s heart. –Bob Pierce (founder of World Vision)

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” –Mother Teresa
“This generation of Christians is responsible for this generation of souls on Earth.” –Keith Green

 

Randomness..Neosporin, proud moment, & ancient history!

So Sunday at church during a prayer, we were asked to ask God to reveal himself to us that day, to show us who He really was…and I did..and what came to my mind was Neosporin (I promise I really was praying–I think God reveals Himself to me in ways that my simple mind can understand) but as I was feeling silly for thinking “Neosporin–what?!?” I realized that God is a healing ointment that soothes pain, kills bacteria, & helps heal faster than other ointments we might try…He is maximum strength!

Another random and proud moment for me this week was yesterday, my sweet son (and clearly goofy son, as the picture is proof) and I got to spend some time alone while I took him to the dermatolgist and then to run and errand…I took him home after and left him there alone (his Dad & sisters were playing golf) while I ran to Goodwill, and Target…anyway, we have a rule in our house, TV stays off til 5pm…so here this 13 year old teenage boy is alone at home…and he calls me before I get to the end of our street and said, “Hey, Mom it’s 4:45…do you mind if I go ahead and watch TV?” It thrilled my soul to see the true character of my son come through…I know as a 13 year old girl, my thought would have been “Mom’ll never know…I’m watching TV”…but my son is a better person than I was at that age…It makes me so proud and filled with so much joy to see what a fine man that God is turning him into, I can’t wait to see what plans God has planned…someone once said “character is what you do when no one is looking,” …I’m glad…no, pleased as punch that my son is showing such strong character!

And finally homeschooling is not always easy, not always fun, it certainly isn’t the cheaper alternative…but I love love love that I can pick what my children are learning (and that’s just one of the things I love about it)…the history that we are using this year is “The Mystery of History”…it’s awesome…it’s fun, interesting, bible based cirriculum…It works for multiple age groups, and I can’t say enough good about it…I’m grateful for the precious new friend that introduced it to me and super dooper glad I bought it…AND it’s affordable, especially when you divide the amount by however many children you’re using it with…LOVE LOVE it!! My children are acutally learning history…ancient history…and it’s not boring them…Thanks Mystery of History and it FAB author, Linda Lacour Hobar! (She rocks!)

 

How did I pray today?

At the prompting of my sweet friend Debi, I am writing once again on my blog…my so very neglected blog. Here’s hoping I’m more consistent with it!!

The kids and I are reading everyday from a series of books that I call the “10 boys” and “10 girls” books, they are fully titled things like “10 Boys Who Changed the World”, “10 Girls Who Didn’t Give In”, (along with several other titles) all about real people in history and telling their stories from childhood to adult, how they came to know Jesus and let God use them in some way in their life. Today’s story was from “10 Boys Who Used Their Talents”  about Samuel Morse (of Morse code fame)…what stuck with me from his story is not the fact the he invented a way of communicating that is used in such widespread ways today…that part is amazing enough…and I could write a lot on it…but what stuck with me today about this story was this paragraph…

“…Samuel took his faith seriously. He kept a diary and each day answered these questions: How did I pray? Did I feel weighed down with sin? Did I pray like the self-righteous Pharisee? Have I received blessings for which I’ve not been thankful?”

I thought…I need to post these questions somewhere that I can see them and be remind myself every day to ask these as well.  And then when I read them again I thought, if I’m NOT feeling weighed down with sin AM I praying like a Pharisee?  Shouldn’t I, as I focus on growing closer to Christ, feel more and more weighed down by my own sin?  I’m not saying I think we should all start self-loathing & flogging ourselves…but asking the question, as we grow closer to Christ shouldn’t we be more aware and weighed down by the sin in our lives…and if we pray ignoring that sin aren’t we acting like a self-righteous Pharisee?  Too deep?  Maybe, I’m still trying to wrap my head around it…as for the rest of the quote…how many blessings have I received and not given thanks for…I’m sure I am thankful for the bigs things…but how often do I forget to say thanks for the blessings I take for granted, for my car that works, and the job that helps pay for it, for the fact that I have been given the opportunity to stay at home with my children and watch them grow, that our pantry always has something in it…I would imagine if we thought about it we could all spend a little more prayer time every day just saying thanks, (remembering to be specific)…thanks for so many many blessings that we take for granted.  Hey, and you know what?   I bet after we’ve spent some time just expressing our gratitude to our Heavenly Father…our hearts will be a whole lot LESS likely to pray like a Pharisee…hmmm, what do you think?

 

Mission Fargo…

Sorry, I’ve been a bad blogger…life has been hectic recently…but a group from my church along with my son & myself leave Fri to go to Fargo ND…here is a copy of the blog I wrote for it…check out that blog at www.fargond09.wordpress.com

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We’re goin’ ta Fargo doncha know…I’m practicing my Farganese., been listening to Francis McDormond in the movie Fargo this past week so I’d be able to converse with the natives. I’m just joking they speak English there, maybe not MY version of English but it’s all good, Shivonne will help me communicate. Seriously, I’m pretty pumped about going to North Dakota, I haven’t been on a mission trip since the year 19– something or other…let’s just say I was much younger. I’m excited to see a part of the country I’ve never seen, I’m excited to share this experience with my son, and excited to get to know some fellow Bridgers better. But I am most excited to get to be the hands and feet of Jesus to people who even though they live here in the United States have never experienced my Savior on a personal level.

I read recently that non-believers must hear the gospel an average of 7.6 times before they receive it, and the bible says to GO & TELL…so that’s what we’re doing, we’re gonna go to Fargo, and tell people we meet about Jesus, about how much He loves them. If we are obedient to that, we may meet a person whose hearing the gospel the 7th time and we may get to be a part of the joy of a life changing experience for them or we may meet someone whose hearing it for the 1st time. The important thing to remember is that God’s word NEVER returns void, and the Holy Spirit will use people whose hearts are motivated by love. And if we share our faith with people in love we cannot fail.

How will we do this you ask? We will be walking around the city and neighborhoods, sharing with people about John & Abby Fisher and the work they are doing there, and letting them know that they have a place to go and people to go to for any need they have. We will be inviting them to a block party we’re hosting at the end of the week in a local park. We are hoping to be able to help people clean up their homes from the flood & generally doing whatever John & Abby might need us to do to help with their ministry.

It’s kind of exciting and a little bit scary to think that I may impact someone’s life—and that’s where you come in—you can help this team of people who are going to Fargo by committing to praying for us every day, as part of your morning or evening prayer time, praying. Pray for our safety, for God’s words to be ever present in our hearts and minds when talking to others, and for our boldness to truly be the hands and feet of Christ to this part of the world. Check out our blog during the week and hear about what we’re doing and what things you might be able to pray for leave comments for the team to encourage them. Also pray for John & Abby Fisher, they are brand new parents, and church planters…pray for the relationships they will build as they meet the needs of the people there. And pray that through all of this God will be glorified and Jesus will be made famous.

 

This story bugs me…

There are so many things about this story that bug me…I don’t understand why the public school needs the child to get permission from anyone other than his parents to go to prom, I don’t understand why the Christian school principal signed the permission slip with the condition of “there will be consequences”–why give permission to something you don’t agree with– and I don’t understand how the school’s board, as Christians, can say this child’s parents don’t have the ability alone to handle this situation, and that this child is taking a path that is against God’s will. It bothers me that the general public will read this story and assume all Christians are just that judgemental toward everyone and might also think “well I might believe in Christ but if I make one mistake I’ll be kicked out so it’s not worth it”…and it bugs me that stories like this one make it to the news everyday…but seldom do the stories of the good things Christians do make it to the news…not that we, as Christians, do things for our own glory…but it seems the media is only interested tearing down the church…am I way of base here?  Do you think this school is right in it’s declaration of suspension, should this student just follow the school’s policy?  When I was a junior in high school I was told I couldn’t be a cheerleader that year if I didn’t go to camp…camp that year happened to be the same time as my youth group’s youth revival…(the teacher in charge of the cheerleaders was the wife of a youth minister from another church by the way)…I chose to stay and help my youth group and missed being a cheerleader that year…I tell my kids all the time there are consequences to every action…which I think is true…but isn’t part of growing up learning to make those choices?  If the school believes this child should just obey…then why sign the permission slip for him to go and if we as adults are suppose to help children become responsible adults don’t we have to let them learn what it means to make their own decisions mistakes & all…what do  y’all think?

Ohio Christian school tells student to skip prom

FINDLAY, Ohio – A student at a fundamentalist Baptist school that forbids dancing, rock music, hand-holding and kissing will be suspended if he takes his girlfriend to her public high school prom, his principal said.

Despite the warning, 17-year-old Tyler Frost, who has never been to a dance before, said he plans to attend Findlay High School’s prom Saturday.

Frost, a senior at Heritage Christian School in northwest Ohio, agreed to the school’s rules when he signed a statement of cooperation at the beginning of the year, principal Tim England said.

The teen, who is scheduled to receive his diploma May 24, would be suspended from classes and receive an “incomplete” on remaining assignments, England said. Frost also would not be permitted to attend graduation but would get a diploma once he completes final exams. If Frost is involved with alcohol or sex at the prom, he will be expelled, England said.

Frost’s stepfather Stephan Johnson said the school’s rules should not apply outside the classroom.

“He deserves to wear that cap and gown,” Johnson said.

Frost said he thought he had handled the situation properly. Findlay requires students from other schools attending the prom to get a signature from their principal, which Frost did.

“I expected a short lecture about making the right decisions and not doing something stupid,” Frost said. “I thought I would get his signature and that would be the end.”

England acknowledged signing the form but warned Frost there would be consequences if he attended the dance. England then took the issue to a school committee made up of church members, who decided to threaten Frost with suspension.

“In life, we constantly make decisions whether we are going to please self or please God. (Frost) chose one path, and the school committee chose the other,” England said.

The handbook for the 84-student Christian school says rock music “is part of the counterculture which seeks to implant seeds of rebellion in young people’s hearts and minds.”

England said Frost’s family should not be surprised by the school’s position.

“For the parents to claim any injustice regarding this issue is at best forgetful and at worst disingenuous,” he said. “It is our hope that the student and his parents will abide by the policies they have already agreed to.”

The principal at Findlay High School, whose graduates include Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, said he respects, but does not agree with, Heritage Christian School’s view of prom.

“I don’t see (dancing and rock music) as immoral acts,” Craig Kupferberg said.

 

what a busy week!!

WARNING:  This blog may (read will probably) contain misspelled words and bad grammar…I’m just sayin…

Well this marks the 6th blog I’ve started in the last month…wonder if I’ll finish it? This past week was super full of events and friends and activities…on top of trying to finish the homeschooling year, keeping my house tidy…nay, not tidy decent would be the word…(currently there is a smell I can’t find, but you can walk in the living room without stepping on a toy or something else that would hurt so…decent)…the week started out on

Mon. with homeschooling in the car on the way to McKenna’s ballet/tap class…she has her recital on the 17th of May so we (the parents) got a preview rehearsal of the girls dance…at least I think there were other girls in there–all I could see was my little one…too sweet, can’t wait to see her in her little costume & I hope she doesn’t get stage fright!!

Tues. we had a visit from our sweet friend Steve & Debi Ogle…it was so good to see them and visit with them…but it was TOO SHORT!! We had dinner with other friends that came to see the Ogle’s too…hmmm, I’m gonna have to steal pictures from Debi, as I forgot to take any…you know, I think we have friends that pass through our life and move on and as hard as it is to say goodbye, we know that we will get to spend eternity together…and I really feel like when we do have  those times when we all get a minute (read extra time) to sit around in a living room, on a deck, around a fire, and just tell stories, and laugh & just be together that those moments are little glimpses into the joy we will experience in heaven…at least that’s what I think.

Wednesday…small group…we host small group at our house, we started a new bible study on the gospel of John…it was a good discussion, and I’m looking forward to this week.

Thurs. hmmm, I think Thurs. was mainly school work and housework–and a little yard work…

Friday was when the rain started…I was tired, and kinda spent the day being lazy…which may have helped get me through the weekend…

Sat.–my wonderful church The Bridge had our One Great Day…we take the first Sat. in May every year to go out and serve the community however we can….this year our group had $300 in gas cards…and we were giving it away $5 at a time…would you take it? If you passed someone holding a sign in the rain that said FREE $5 GAS…would you take it? It was really hard to give away…people are conditioned by the world we live in to be suspicious about anything that says free…even when I put NO STRINGS on the back of my sign people would still question our motives…and found it hard to believe that we would just give away free gas for nothing…they were thankful…and always left still surprised and hopefully left understanding grace a little bit more…maybe like Susan said to us yesterday…we planted a seed in them that someone else will come and water…or maybe we were watering a seed…ONE THING I do know, giving to others blessed me more than I can express…

Sun. worshipping this morning, lunch with friends, then 3 new baptisms with my church family…and home to put my feet up…

ahhh…a wonderful week full of precious memories made…what does the Lord have in store for me this week…