Creativity flows

Both of my boys like playing with Legos.  But Legos are my oldest son's obsession.  Which can drive me a little crazy at times, I confess.  However, it is quite remarkable how creative a child can be...

This is the firehouse he built, complete with a pole for the fire fighters to slide down.

Here is the fire truck he built himself.  The only Lego fire fighter kit he has is for the fire chief's car, so this was his own design from looking at a Lego catalog! (And if you happened to notice the headless body with a blue suit on the side of the truck, he said that is the fire fighters' chemical suit. Good thinkin'!)

And here is the scene: a house on fire with flames shooting out of the roof of the house. Isn't that cool?!

So yes, Legos are fairly expensive... but the creativity that it draws out is priceless.

Take five!

When it comes to raising young men, this mom is getting more "with the program" all the time. :)  I got a tip that—especially for boys—having a brief interlude between school subjects can be quite beneficial, particularly as it relates to attention span.  So today's activity, between math and reading, was shooting hoops in the basement ala Nerf!

First Day of School

Today was Brandon's first day of 1st Grade!

 Although it is quite a transition from almost zero structure during the summer months behind us, he was eager to begin after he realized:
     1) what a big 1st Grader he would be, and
     2) that he got new LEGO pencils for the first day of school

Hooray! :)



What's up with that?!

What is up with electronics and appliances these days?  So far—since the beginning of 2012—we have had to replace our dishwasher (12 years old), our stove (also 12 years old), our stereo (8 years old), and our portable DVD player (less than 1 year old).  And next on the list will be our desktop computer (7 years old)—but I'll save my rant about technology for a different post another time.

What ever happened to the durable products our parents bought?  My mom & dad had their frig for at least 30 years, if not longer...

What's up with that?!

Worry...

I don't think I'm a real worrier... but sometimes I worry. About my boys. Like, how will they "turn out?" or Are our parenting efforts working? or What about the troublesome character issues we're dealing with?

Unfortunately, worried thoughts upon more worried thoughts can churn themselves into fear... and fearful thoughts can churn into despair. It's useless. There's no hope.

But in Christ, that is NOT TRUE! The Word says God "is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think" (Eph 3:20) and that He "causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them" (Romans 8:28).

So I came up with this little saying:

Let worry
drive you to
prayer—
not despair!

It's a reminder to myself to TALK TO JESUS when everything seems out of control! HE is in control—and He cares! I can leave my worries in His loving hands because of His amazing promises (two of which I listed above).

What hope there is in Jesus... what peace! :)

Homeschooling Goals = Life Goals

I just finished reading The Duggars: 20 and Counting! by Michelle & Jim Bob Duggars. I'm not sure what even possessed me to check out the book from the library... but I found it to be an uplifting story! One of the things that struck me was a comment about why they homeschool their children...

Our homeschooling lessons are designed to prepare them to be successful leaders at home and work, but overriding the practical skills are our two primary goals. I tell our children over and over, "You can gain all kinds of training, but no matter what skills and talents you possess, if you do these two things you'll be successful: first, love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and second, love your neighbor as yourself." [p. 112]

YES!

Life: a process toward progress...

A friend and I were recently discussing various aspects of motherhood. On one hand—how quickly we bash ourselves for our mistakes... Why couldn't I just be perfect? is often my whining utterance. I just want to ARRIVE... to not struggle with selfishness or laziness, or be longing for the past, or be straining to find the easy button...


And on the other hand—to be WILLING to endure the difficulties of parenting... the 24/7/365-ishness of it... the patience that can quickly run dry... the training and retraining of the children... and to know it's OK for your kids to be human, to make mistakes, to recognize that they need time to mature—A LOT of time.


When I can take these things in stride, I will be much more peaceful and joyful in the parenting journey!

Jim Jackson says something about that in his book —that we need to change our perspective to viewing life as a path of God-created opportunities.... and viewing the challenges our children create as an opportunity for God's purposes to be accomplished. This is a HUGE paradigm shift for me! It's like, stop looking for the fruit of "good parenting" but instead view life as a process where God is growing & refining us, as well as our children, and accomplishing His purposes through the challenges!!!

So during this conversation, my friend and I came up with this definition of life:

Life is a PROCESS toward progress, not perfection.

How easily we get frustrated with ourselves when we make mistakes! (Quite often, in my perfectionism, I'd like to throw in the towel!) Yet our goal must not be perfection; rather, it is progress—growth in our character as God uses the circumstances around us to shape us more and more like Christ.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them. 29 For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son [hello, refinement!], so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
Romans 8:28-29, NLT