Awesome realization

My children are currently working on memorizing the Lord's prayer for their Bible work for school. As an aside, my husband is highly irritated by that name, since Jesus would never have needed to pray this prayer, but I digress.

As part of our Bible memory, I try very hard to relate the verses to things my children can understand. It's not enough that they memorize the words -- they need to understand them, to truly get what God was trying to say.

During my explanation of this prayer, it struck me how many times I said things like, "just like your daddy does." Now, my husband is not God. Trust me, I am not able to confuse the two. If ANYONE knows his faults and foibles, I do.

But he truly models that fatherly relationship to our children, in a way I can't even describe. The boys have no doubt that God loves them and wants to spend time with them. After all, He is their Father, and as far as they know, all fathers spend time with their children. All fathers teach their children. All fathers love their children, at times discipline their children, and have their children's very best interests at heart every second of every day. Because, after all, their daddy does.

I love my husband for many reasons, far too numerous to list in a blog post. But today I realize that one of reason I love him more and more each day is his shining example and love for our children. He is not a perfect father -- but he does his best at every moment to point the way to the One who is.

Yay, a Carnival!!!!!!

Okay, what homeschooling mother couldn't use some tips on getting more organized?!?! Heck, what mom couldn't handle being more organized whether you homeschool or not?

If you could use a tip or two, check out the Organized Homeschool Carnival posted by Heart of the Matter, an awesome online homeschooling magazine!

Check it out!

A Kool-Aid Mom

Throughout my nine years, so far, of being a mother, I've discovered that there are lots of different kinds of moms. No one way is right, of course, but each mom is created by God with a different parenting style. There are extremes that are problematic, but for the most part, mothers fall along a contiuum. Some moms are very strict, very scheduled, very organized. Other moms are very laid back, completely go-with-the-flow, and thrive on chaos. Most moms fall somewhere in the middle.

I am currently babysitting a beautiful little six week old girl and a handsome two year old little boy. These two children come from very different families, and have very different types of moms. The little girl's mom is young, a first-time mom, who is very open to advice and extremely flexible. The little boy's mom is not as young, also a first-time mom, who is happy to hear advice but has a certain way she wants things done. I have no problem with either style, as far as the babysitter, but exposure to their disparate approaches has caused me to examine my parenting style.

I came to the conclusion that I'm a Kool Aid mom. Let me explain. Some moms are all about organic food and organic cleansing products; they bake their own bread from the wheat they ground themselves, and then clean the counter with vinegar and baking soda. I'm more into Scrubbing Bubbles and Sunbeam. Easier, but still effective - like Kool Aid versus home-pressed apple juice. Some moms keep their children very scheduled, with lots of sports and clubs. I like my kids to have time to run and play in the yard and just hang out. Picture summer time, playing in the sprinkler and enjoying a tall glass of red Kool Aid. Some moms hover over their children, staying very close as they play outside. They are protective and concerned. I tend to shove my kids out the door as soon as the chance of frostbite has passed over, and tell them not to come back inside. I have been known to lock them out on the porch, from time to time. I don't worry about stains, serving them only water. I give 'em all the grape Kool Aid they can drink.

See? I'm a Kool Aid mom.

Cute

My Justin stories tend to be active in nature. He is a very . . . active little boy. I am far more likely to find him standing on the back of the sofa than sitting on it. But every once in a while, he does something really cute. Today was one of those Once in a while's.

I am babysitting a precious little baby girl who is 6 weeks old. Justin said something about having her get up and walk. I told him, "Baby A can't walk, sweetheart."

He looked at me with brown eyes wide open and said, "We need to pray for her, so she will feel better and walk."

Cute, huh?

Good Little Christian Family

Okay, I am officially a Christian. I mean, I was saved at the age of 9, but recently I've been feeling a little left out of Christian culture. See, despite the fact that my husband is a pastor --- we had not seen Fireproof. We still haven't seen Facing The Giants, although we've owned it for months.

First off, the movie was pretty good. I thought it was kind of predictable, since I knew how it was going to end. That could have been because we saw it so late, though. The couple fighting reminded me of some people we knew, and I think they might be able to get something out of this movie. It likely would have meant a lot more if Nate and I were in a struggling or new relationship. It's certainly a movie that a newly married Christian couple or a couple that is having issues could benefit from.

However, the hype around this made me think of the Christian sub-culture. We seem to be a sub-culture of fads, of movements. Doesn't it seem to you like things go in waves, through all the churches, and you aren't really considered part of the Christian "in" crowd unless you've read/seen/done whatever it is? Like the Purpose Driven Life. I'm not anti-Purpose Driven Life, really, but the hype got old. FAST.

It makes me wonder how many of the marketing people, advertising people, publishing people are truly Christians who want to impact the world for God's goodness.

Or, is it more likely that they know by stamping "Christian" on a product, it has a guaranteed audience? Is it about Jesus? Or is it about money?