"And the pizza guy..."

My boys and I like listening to good music. There is an awesome series of CDs called "Seeds Family Worship" that features songs set to Scripture. Our favorite is Seeds of Courage.


Yesterday on the way home from preschool we were listening to "Do Not Be Anxious" (based on Philippians 4:6-7), a very catchy tune. The verse goes like this...

Do not be anxious
About anything
But in everything
By prayer and petition
With thanksgiving
Present your requests to God

Then the chorus began, and this is what I heard my 5-year-old son singing from the back seat:

"And the pizza guy..."

I burst out laughing! He wasn't sure what was so funny, but he started laughing too.

The actual words are, of course, "And the peace of God..." :)

You are made holy

For God's will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.
Hebrews 10:10, NLT

Note that God's will is for us to be made holy. "Me, holy?" you say. "How?" By our righteous deeds? No! Only by the sacrifice of Jesus' body on the cross. We cannot nor will not ever be able to earn it. Jesus did it for us, and our part is to BELIEVE it and RECEIVE it!

Happy Easter!

My emerging reader :)

My Brandon is learning to read!! He is pretty excited about it, thanks in part to a series of books I came across called Bob Books.

There are 12 booklets in the first series, and each story contains short vowels and three-letter words in simple sentences. The first story has only 4 letters (m, a, t, and s) so children can read the whole book themselves! New sounds are added gradually, until they've read books with all letters of the alphabet (except Q).

I could tell Brandon's sense of satisfaction was high, as he read the first three booklets in one sitting! It was fun to observe his progress within those few minutes, how sounding out the words began to click for him.

I'm a proud momma!

Riding the red bike

Today my oldest son, Brandon, rode a real bike for the first time!




He's been sort of practicing on a "balance bike" (a 12" bike with no pedals), so he didn't even need training wheels. He did great! At first Dad helped him get moving, but he got the hang of it quickly, and soon Dad was having to run to catch up!

I am so proud of him... I'm actually kind of speechless. :) Maybe I'm just a little shocked at the way he's growing up before my very eyes...

Spring is on its way!

I've been hemming and hawing for several weeks, debating as to whether I should spend money on rain boots for the boys. Would it be worth it?

Finally I was swayed today, as we had a lovely 40-degree almost-spring day... complete with lots and lots of puddles! (And in Minneapolis, there is A LOT of snow yet to melt!) The boys had a blast splashing around as we went for a short walk this afternoon, and it was so wonderful to be out in the fresh air!

The verdict: worth it. ☺

Diligence contributes to a "fat soul"

This little blurb is written by one of our pastors, Brent Knox—an excerpt from “In Case of 'Work Avoidance Syndrome'...” which I found to be insightful when applied to mothering...

Think about this Proverb, “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the soul of the diligent is made fat” (Proverbs 13:4, NAS). Do you notice the difference between the soul of the sluggard and the soul of the diligent? Do you want a soul that is fat? Do you want a rich, inward life? Being diligent contributes to a rich, inward life. Working hard is a blessing, not a curse. Besides, God worked and is still working. He worked for six days creating the world. And Jesus said, “My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I, too, am working” (John 5:17, NIV). So, it is godly to work...

I confess, sometimes I want life to be all about my needs, my desires, my convenience... but this reminds me that working hard and being diligent in my roles as a mother and a wife “contributes to a rich inward life.” I want to have a “fat soul!” PLUS, Jesus said, “If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for Me, you will find it” (Matthew 10:39, NLT).

Clarifying your vision

"Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be! Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to You; at best, each of us is but a breath."
~Psalm 39:4-5 (NLT)

The truth is, no matter how long we live, our lives are short. So I asked myself this morning, "If I only had six months to live, what would I do? How might I live differently? What things that currently absorb my attention wouldn't matter quite so much in the scheme of things?"

Well, I'm pretty sure I would be a lot more intentional. I started making a list of things I would do if I only had six months to live, and I came up with 10 things (so far). I thought I'd share a couple of them:

* Watch little or no TV—too many more important things to do...

* Invest more of myself in my kids—more time and love, and especially my faith in Jesus.

* More quality time with my husband and my folks/in-laws.

* Feel no obligation to attend parties or gatherings—only where the Lord is leading.

Et cetera! And you know what? This list clarified my vision for how I want to live. Try this little exercise for yourself! How would you live if you knew you only had six months left?