Parenting at its finest! I think...

The quickest way for a parent to get a child's attention is to sit down and look comfortable.
~Lane Olinghouse

When my kids become wild and unruly, I use a nice, safe playpen. When they're finished, I climb out.
~Erma Bombeck

 












We all do our best as often as we can.  We are not perfect and, Lord willing, don't claim to be.  This post is to give all the parents out there hope and a good laugh at ourselves.  We share our struggles in many different ways.  The rolling of the eyes, the discreet nods of agreement, the look of, "I'm so sorry because I understand why your kid is screaming bloody murder in the cereal aisle".  Parents have the hardest job on the planet.  Bar none.  The job of a parent is to: spend thousands of dollars raising one child (According to CNN Money, $235,000 by the time they turn 18 per kid, middle income family 2012 report), change hundreds if not thousands of diapers, constantly clean the entire house, drive to all 4,365 different sporting events, learn how to play every board game on the market, give up time and wants for theirs (Parent Rap, funny song), don't do as much with our friends without at least 2 months advance planning and subterfuge, and many other things you are probably thinking about right now. 

Our kids see the best and worst sides of us.  They know when to stay away and when to attack!  They know us sometimes better than we know ourselves!  They know we aren't perfect and honestly don't expect us to be.  Kids are very strange little critters...  They accept us regardless of our issues.  Funny thing is, we don't feel anyone else accepts us.  Parental pressure is present practically permenantly.  In-Laws in many households is a curse word.  So many parents believe that everyone is looking and judging them and their children.  It's like an initiative from the CIA, FBI, and NSA to sneak up and film everything you do with your kids.  Moreover, it is satan's goal to get us to feel like we cannot do it and don't have what it takes to be successful parents.  If this has ever happened to you, raise your hand.  I can see you through your camera on your computer because I have been spying on your parenting, so be honest!  ;-)  It is ok to struggle as long as you don't give up or give in!  The only thing about struggle I would recommend is, DON'T DO IT BY YOURSELF!!!  Get help with your kiddos from someone else you trust.  Get help from a professional you trust.  If you trust your parents or In-L**s, ask them for help.  Read a good recommended book on parenting and discuss it with your spouse.  Satan will try to give you miscues about who is trustworthy and who is not.  Pray.  Pray.  Pray.  As MC Hammer said, "you've got to pray just to make it today!"  It's true too.  Once you find that trustworthy person, or God shows you one, open up.  If they are a really trustworthy person, they will know and understand what is going on and they will be able to help.  I can guarantee we all struggle.  Without a doubt, 100% of us do.  It is high time we get over ourselves and walls we have created in our lives.  Mom's and Dad's for generations have had issues with kids.  You and I are not alone and never have been!  Let's work together on this business!  Let's create an atmosphere and community of love and Godliness so our children can pass on those same two qualities to our decendants. 

Epic. Parenting. Fail.

Don't compare yourself with other parents.  Please don't compare yourself with celebrity parents!  God made it pretty clear that we would each be accountable for our own life.  Do your best and don't be afraid or ashamed to get help when you need it.  Get someone you can decompress with.  Pray and destress in good, healthy ways.  It will help the parenting seem manageable and blessed.  Watch for satan trying to feed you bad fruit in your parenting.  "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit." Luke 6:43  If a thought or feeling is from God, it is good.  If a thought or feeling causes you to be tempted to feel you are bad or inadequate, it is from satan.

Parenting is a very difficult job.  Mom's and Dad's have their own difficulties and rewards.  Work together and with others to succeed with your parenting!  Here is two videos that are highly descriptive of being a Mom or a Dad. Good Laugh! 

Mom Song     Dad Song

I hope and pray you have a very blessed day!  Email me if you need anything or call!  Blessings!
 

Thankfulness

Following is the story of the first Fall Feast/Thanksgiving.  In all the pictures we see of the first Thanksgiving, there is usually a large group of people gathered around a large table with loads of food on it.  We rarely hear of the heart breaking deaths and diseases that happened wiping out half of the original group. 

Thanksgiving at Plymouth

In September 1620, a small ship called the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, carrying 102 passengers—an assortment of religious separatists seeking a new home where they could freely practice their faith and other individuals lured by the promise of prosperity and land ownership in the New World. After a treacherous and uncomfortable crossing that lasted 66 days, they dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, far north of their intended destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. One month later, the Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay, where the Pilgrims, as they are now commonly known, began the work of establishing a village at Plymouth.

Throughout that first brutal winter, most of the colonists remained on board the ship, where they suffered from exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disease. Only half of the Mayflower’s original passengers and crew lived to see their first New England spring. In March, the remaining settlers moved ashore, where they received an astonishing visit from an Abenaki Indian who greeted them in English. Several days later, he returned with another Native American, Squanto, a member of the Pawtuxet tribe who had been kidnapped by an English sea captain and sold into slavery before escaping to London and returning to his homeland on an exploratory expedition. Squanto taught the Pilgrims, weakened by malnutrition and illness, how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants. He also helped the settlers forge an alliance with the Wampanoag, a local tribe, which would endure for more than 50 years and tragically remains one of the sole examples of harmony between European colonists and Native Americans.

In November 1621, after the Pilgrims’ first corn harvest proved successful, Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast and invited a group of the fledgling colony’s Native American allies, including the Wampanoag chief Massasoit. Now remembered as American’s “first Thanksgiving”—although the Pilgrims themselves may not have used the term at the time—the festival lasted for three days. While no record exists of the historic banquet’s exact menu, the Pilgrim chronicler Edward Winslow wrote in his journal that Governor Bradford sent four men on a “fowling” mission in preparation for the event, and that the Wampanoag guests arrived bearing five deer. Historians have suggested that many of the dishes were likely prepared using traditional Native American spices and cooking methods. Because the Pilgrims had no oven and the Mayflower’s sugar supply had dwindled by the fall of 1621, the meal did not feature pies, cakes or other desserts, which have become a hallmark of contemporary celebrations

What We Have to be Thankful for!

First off, and I mean this as humorous as I possibly can, I'm thankful I don't live in Massachusetts...  I have been up there many times and love the people, but I am so thankful I don't live up there.  God has blessed us all incredibly in the 391 years since the first Thanksgiving feast.  Our life expectancey is higher than back then and is not in direct correlation to the local bear and wolf population.  We live in places without dirt for floors.  If we run out of sugar, we may complain for a bit and then hop in our car/truck/SUV/minivan and get some from the local grocery store.  Or, better yet, have them deliver it to us via internet order.  Our lives have been so blessed by God that sometimes through all the gifts He has given, we all get complacent and forgetful for our HUGE bunch of blessings! 

For tomorrow, click here for a starter list of things to be thankful for!  Most of all, be thankful to God for your blessings.  There are things going on in each of our lives that stress us out.  Jobs, marriage issues, kids, money problems, etc...  Look for the small blessings and use those as a foundation to build your thankfulness on.  Keep on building from there and teach your kids through your own thankfulness how to be grateful for all they have been given.  May God bless you deeply this season with all the richness of His love!  Have a Happy Thanksgiving 2012!

Crumb Grabbers and Ankle Biters

This post is going to be short and sweet, ALL KIDS ARE DIFFERENT!  Ok, that's all there is to know...  Have a great day!

Just kidding... 

There happens to be approximately 874 billion ways to raise children.  Give or take a trillion or so.  Every book you read is the correct way to raise them, discipline them, feed them, care for them, etc...  Every parent has a sense of what their child is like.  What motivates them (money, punishment, stuff, time, etc.) to do what they should or should not do is generally different per kid.  I have 4 kids.  They did not come from the stork or a cabbage patch.  They are not "cookie cutter" kids.  They have completely different personalities, wants, needs, loves, ways to be loved, favorite sports, favorite teams, colors, soap scent preferences, what color the sky is...  Suffice it to say, they differ a bit. 

So why did God bless us with 4 kids of such differing personalities?  Some of you may have guessed because of His great sense of humor.  Not a bad guess.  That may ring true some days more than others.   

So, how do we love and raise our kids in a changing world?  How do we guide them through the "shark infested waters"?  What do we do to teach them about and what do we shelter them from?  With the way the world seem to be going sometimes, I would like to lock my kids in a bunker with no television service of any kind except for the occasional VeggieTales.  Bill Cosby said on child rearing, "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out and make another one that looks just like you!"  But since that is not really an option, what do we do? 

 

We have to pray.  God calls Himself Father for a reason.  He did a good job too!  In the days of Roman occupation of Israel, even with all the debauchery and craziness, He raised a perfect son.  He sent Jesus at just the right time, to just the right people, in just the right place, and raised Him to be just the right man.  So, I think we can learn from God on this one.  Pray for every aspect of your parenting.  Pray for everyone who your child comes in contact with.  Pray for their future spouses (this one scares me half to death).  Pray for their choices that will come before them. Romans 8:31 "If God is for us, who can be against us?"

There will be many times of indecision when it comes to raising our kiddos.  Satan works like that.  He tempts us to lose focus and forget to pray.  We need to guide our kids in the various ways God shows us.  He will answer when we ask Him for help in any situation regarding our kids or anything else.  He said, For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.  Sounds like He's available.

Two rules I know from being a parent.  No one is a perfect parent here on earth.  All kids will mess up.  The difference is we do our best and if we mess up, we make a comeback and keep trying.  God is there for us when we make our mistakes in life and in parenting.  Don't ever be afraid to ask for help.  We try our best, do the best we know how, fall down, mess up, and ask God and others for help.  We need to help and be available for each other.  Be open and honest with our common struggles and help each other back up.  When we help and support each other, life gets easier to deal with.

Hope this post was not too convoluded.  This subject has been written and discussed since kids were first around.  I hope this post gives you Hope, Help, and a Blessing.  Try to make time to pray with and for your children as soon as possible.  Start something new if you don't yet.  May you and yours have a blessed day!

The Foundation



 

So, what does "The Foundation" mean?  It means we are going to begin from the beginning...  What does it take to build up a strong foundation at church?  Strong Families.  

Here is a link to a current story about Georgia Head Football Coach, Mark Richt. Click Here  Coach Richt has built his career on his faith and how it intertwines with being a head coach. He is not afraid to live it out in a place where SEC Football is a religion. He is very open about his faith and how using it has helped him build a successful team over the last 12 years.

There is a lot that goes into the foundation of building a strong house.  As the picture shows above, there are many materials and steps to go through to get a strong, sturdy, lasting foundation.  If any of the materials or steps are overlooked in the laying of the foundation, you can expect weakness to show up.  It may not happen for years, but when it does, it can topple the whole house at a moments notice.

 

Sounds a lot like the kids song, "The wise man built his house upon the rock..."  If it's not built right, it isn't going to stand up to whatever blows against it.  By strengthening our families, we strengthen our foundation.

The main foundation, in a family, starts with the parents.  Dad and Mom are the two most important beings in a kid's life.  They have the most influence for good or bad on their children.  It is not their surroundings that always makes the difference, it is what they experience at home.  Kids have a strange 6th sense when it comes to issues and problems in a family. They are like a serious OCD home inspector who looks in every nook and cranny for flaws or weakness in their family. If there is one, you can bet your kiddo is going to expose it. Kids are very honest like that at times.  If there is a flaw in our Rachel and my marriage, you can bet the kids are going to know.  Not that we don't discuss things in front of them, but they sense what is going on and if there is frustration between us.  Sometimes they will act out (in their own loving way) to see if their going off their nut will help bring us together.  If you have been at odds with your spouse lately, check and see if the kids are acting up.  Sometimes, kids just have to test the boundries and make sure they are still there, that's natural.  Once the boundry has been tested as secure, they more than likely settle down unless their is another boundry they need to check.  Rachel and I (here comes my really sarcastic saying for this post) love this time of testing.  Keeps us on our toes and heightens our nerves and senses to razor sharp keeness......  Yes, we hate it too...  But, we do need to check our marriage and see how we are doing to make sure that is not what is going on with our doodlebritches kid, because it may be us.  

More on this subject later and next week on Wednesday night, we will be beginning a video and discussion series on marriage.  Thanks for your time on this post and may God bless your week!