Parenting and Religion

My heart and prayers go out the Steven Curtis Chapman family, who lost a precious little girl on Wed.
There is no greater loss than the loss of a child.
The tragic accident that claimed her earthly life must not be allowed to claim control of her brother’s life, by harrassing him with guilt and condemnation.
Accidents happen, and sometimes they cause horrible things when they happen.
But accidents can be used against us, in our hearts and in our minds.
I am asking you to pray for this family, and specifically for the older brother who hit the little sister.
It was an accident.
But it happened with him at the wheel.
Please pray for peace, comfort, freedom from self condemnation, and that the enemy of our souls not reach his heart or mind with the lies he will try to speak.
Pray that the word of God rings loud and clear in his heart and mind, giving him victory and hope- even in the midst of pain.
Please pray.
I am.
If you want to read about the family and see what a special child their daughter was, visit this websit:
Steven Curtis Chapman.

Making a difference in the lives of people is a never ending goal. Writing things that will encourage, uplift, make a difference, and lead people to know and love God, that is my goal.
Knowing how to accomplish that goal, well, that is another goal.
I guess that in order to know how to do what the desire of my heart is, I have to keep doing what I know how to do.
That is not always easy, as it involves doing what I have been doing, and adding more to it all.
Oh well, I guess rambling on won’t help reach the goal, but knowing what I know might.
I know I have it in me to write.
I know who my redeemer is, and that He loves me and He loves you.
I know how to express myself, but sometimes find it difficult to be too honest, for fear of being thought too sentimental, too sappy, too much of a girl.
I am a sentimental, sappy, girl.
I am also a woman who has always found it hard to let myself feel, or more acurately, to let my true deepest feelings be known.
I have always struggled with emotions. With being real. With letting people see insideof me.
When I write, I am able to cope with expressing those things a little better,
but I still struggle with them.
Being open and honest isn’t always easy.
But that is part of the goal, of touching people, of encouraging them, and helping them see the truth……that they (you) are not alone, and they (you) need God.
Not just some higher power, but GOD.
GOD, who sent JESUS.
JESUS, who loves you enough to make a way for you to know GOD.
JESUS, who has taken the consequences for your sin.
JESUS, who is there, with you right now, waiting for you to call on His name, and acknowledge Him as your Lord and Savior.
That is truth.
That is my goal, to show you the truth.
You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
I may be a sentimental, sappy girl, but I know who GOD says I am.
I am His.

There is a new autho on the Life as a Christian Woman website. Linda Williams writes about being a woman of faith, and living the Christian Life. I would encourage you to read her post “Who Sets the Example for Your Children?”Being the main example for your children is important, and too often parents in general trust in the world to be good examples. Maybe not consciously, but when we allow our kids to be greatly influenced by movie stars, video games, the latest fashions, and even seemingly innocent family programmes, we are not only allowing, but encouraging influence that may not measure up to the standard God wants us to have. (Read the Bible- parents are to be the main influence).
Being the example is a hige responsibility, but even if we allow others to be the example, we- the parents- are still accountable for who and how they are influenced.
Take control, be a good example of how to live, love, and serve God in your gifts.
Like the movie “Field of Dreams” says….If we build it, they will come.

May 15 is the International Day of Families, worldwide.
Happy family day, and remember to love and appreciate the ones who you call family.
Friends will come and go all through life, but your family is yours forever.

My daughter an her husband have a new baby. He is smokey gray, and his name is Bert.
I guess that makes me a grandmother??
This little guy is so cute, and he is very lovable.
What a nice first pet for them, and of course they will treat him like he’s their baby, because he is a baby.
Dan and I had a cat for about four years before we had our first human baby. I can relate to their excitement over him.

The one thing I can remember always wanting in life, even when I was a little girl, was to be a mom. For a few years, I wondered if my dream would remain just that, only a dream. Then God answered my prayers, and my dream was coming true before my eyes….and it has gotten bigger and better ever since.
I am a mom.
My greatest satisfaction with my life comes from the gifts God has blessed me with- being a wife and being a mother.
I was telling some of my kids today that whenever I have been given something that’s similar to what someone else has, I have always liked mine best…all of my life it’s been that way. I liked my dolls best, I liked my bike best….
Now that I am a grown up, I like my husband best (it’s a good thing since I am happily stuck ever after), and I like my kids best.
Not to ever make my kids seem like they are better than anyone else’s, but that they are the perfect kids for me to have…it’s a good fit and they are a gift from God.
Mother’s day to me is celebrating being mom, and rejoicing with the best example God could have given me of a mom….my mom.
Being mom is something I wouldn’t trade, and having my mom is something I wouldn’t trade.
Celebrate being mom, celebrate having a mom, celebrate the gift of moms- after all, life wouldn’t get very far without them.
Happy Mother’s Day!

Taking time for the important things is something that needs to be done on purpose, especially when you work at home and have deadlines to meet.
I find myself getting better at prioritizing my time, sometimes anyhow. Learning how much work is enough, and how much is too much. Turning down work when there is too much of it coming in, and taking the time to put first things first…that is my goal right now. (although first I need to be getting too much work!)
Being a freelance writer is nice. It gives me the opportunity to work from home, be available to my family, and make money.
One big benefit is that I don’t have to spend an ever increasing amount of money on gas to go to work.
Another is that I can choose when I work and when I don’t.
I can order my days around what needs to be done.
When I’m working on a deadline, though, it can be tempting to just want to work until it’s done. When my five year old comes up to me and asks me, “Mom, will you do something with me?”, the priority changes quickly. Now the priority is to play a game or go for a walk.
The wonder of it is, I always end up getting all of my work done, and have only once been a little late (as in a few hours) of a deadline.
Working from home is great….being mom is greater.
Bring on the games, bring on the spelling tests, bring on the time well spent with my kids.
The deadlines will be met, and there will always be more work to do.
Kids grow up too fast to put off the good times, the memory making times, the times I will hold in my heart forever.
One of my favorite questions is “Will you do something with me mom?”
I want my answer to be “yes!”

Everyone has something they are good at. Sometimes our gifts can’t be hidden, no matter how much we try to ignore them. Take artists for example. They can see simple things, such as garbage, or food, but in thier minds they see a creation that isn’t visible to the unartistic eye.
My son, Shawn is such a person.
We were eating at a local Chinese restaurant today, and Shawn had a plate of pudding that he made a face out of (See picture above). The people in the restaurant who saw it were amazed. I was too.
I was reminded that no matter where we are or what we are doing, our gift will find us out.
As a parent, it’s my desire to see my kids use their gifts. It can become easy to take abilities for granted, but I hope I never will.
My kids all have talent or are gifted in one way or another. Yours are too. When you begin looking for it, you will be amazed at what they can do, and how much they are good at.
Look for the gift, encourage the gift, and help them know how to use the gift.
After all, it is our job as parents to show them the way they should go…and that includes helping them be the best they can be- using their gifts to the best of their ability.
Finding the things they are good at, helping them excell, and being encouraging to them, will go a long way in helping them have a wonderful future of using their gifts.

Dan and I are making plans to go away for a few days…something we have NEVER done without the kids…..I’d say it’s about time.
Planning our few days takes a little more than our own plans. It also takes preparing the kids (one of them especially) for us to be gone for a while. We have an attached child who has a problem with separation. He’s a lot better than he used to be, but still worries and gets scared when we are gone for long periods of time.
Praying helps. We have been working with him teaching him how to pray for himself, and to rely on God to give him peace. But the endless questions about who will take care of him and how long we’ll be gone are already growing old with me. I feel like I have been blessed with the patience to deal with this, but I am growing weary of being patient.
It does help that he adores his older siblings who will be watching him and taking care of him, but at night when he’s tired, the worries begin.
Please pray for us, and for him… to have peace and be content, even when we are gone. Thank you.