Mr. Sunshine himself

This morning Ryan opened his curtain and said,

"Good morning, sunshine!"  What a great way to start the day. :)

Prayer for upcoming election

Father God, let our nation's upcoming presidential election be fair and just... and help us all remember that, no matter how it turns out, those in positions of authority have been placed there by You (Romans 13:1).

You are good, Lord, and You are worthy of our trust!

Prayer

Prayer is to the spiritual life

what the beating of the pulse

and the drawing of the breath are

to the life of the body.

- John Henry Newman

  

Prayer is a work to which

we must commit ourselves

if we are to make sense of our lives

in the light of eternity.

- Terry Glaspey

 

I love the LORD because

HE hears my voice and my prayer for mercy.

- Psalm 116:1, NLT  

Pizza and food intolerances

We have some food intolerance issues at our house.  My husband and oldest son are gluten-free and yeast-free, and my husband is also dairy-free (amongst a few other things).  Found this out from a naturopath.  (Incidentally, I have zero food intolerances myself. PTL!)

So, what do to about our favorite meal, pizza?  Can one truly live without it?  Thankfully, I found a pizza crust mix by a company called Chébé (pronounced chee-bee) that is gluten-free and yeast-free!  Yahoo!  Yes, it takes more work to mix up the dough and press it into a pan, but the alternative is no pizza.

We also found a decent cheese alternative—a brand called Daiya—that my husband likes. Go easy on the Daiya, though—in other words, don't pile it on like the regular mozzarella—it has a strong flavor and a little goes a long way.

 

Here is one of our first homemade pizzas a few months ago... 2/3 traditional pepperoni & mozzarella and 1/3 with Daiya cheese.  It turned out delicious!  Since then, we make one pan of each—left-overs are a tasty treat too. ;)

Hubby and me

Our example to our children

Have you ever realized that there are things we do, as adults, that are acceptable (or accepted) in the context of adulthood, but not what you want your child to do? Earlier this week I had the opportunity to think about the example I set..... in the car. 

 

Consider the way you talk to other drivers. Maybe you don't do that. I do quite often. "Wake up, dude!" I say if they take too long to accelerate when the light turns green. What's wrong with that, right? It's not like I cursed at him. But what if your children start using that tone and similarly impatient phrases in everyday life situations?

 

Or you're in a hurry and zip through a traffic light as it's turning red. Brandon says to me, "Uh, Mom... didn't you just go through that red light?" And right away I'm thinking, Well, we're in a hurry! We're going to be late if we don't...  Hmm.  Reality check.  So it's OK to break the law if you have a good reason for it, then? Is that the message I want to send my kids? Aren't I always saying, "Do the right thing, no matter what"?? 

 

What example am I setting without realizing it?

 

Interesting how God can use parenting like a mirror to us... we are able to see more clearly the things that we ourselves are doing that may be unkind, unwise, or just plain wrong. After we've been Christians for awhile, it's like we start to become blind to some of these things... or we start making excuses for bending the rules. Nothing like children to help you see your own flaws. :) The older they get, the more astute they are when it comes to right and wrong (shockingly, even though their conduct may not reflect that!).

 

Just strikes me as profound. And complicated.