changing the norm

yesterday in the midst of chaos, we received our operation christmas child form. 

so around our dinner table we discussed how some little boys and girls do not get to celebrate Christmas. 

we talked about how wonderfully blessed we are... and that we should be good stewards of what God has given us. 

we get to share. we get to give.

so we planned out how each boy will pick out their own shoebox full of goodies for little boys in faraway places. 

after talking about this opportunity, gabe drew this. the orange t-shirt says, "caring friend."

the caring friend is giving a gift. ---even though it might look like an ominous black box, it's really a gift, don't be fooled.

after reading this and this by jami nato, it really made me think. we really try to keep Christmas simple around here because, after all, we are not celebrating ourselves, we are celebrating Him. the ultimate gift. but when i read those posts by jami (apparently we're on a first-name basis...yah know...when we shop together at the grocery store and braid each other's hair and stuff) i thought, "you know, our family could do better." i don't want to just give of our excess...i want to give in a way that is sacrificial. 

i'm not exactly sure what steps in addition to prayer to take...but i'm determined to make it happen. this upcoming Christmas season will not pass without us truly basking in the awesomeness that is Jesus. 

so whether it's operation Christmas child or any other wonderful way to give... around here, we're gonna step it up a notch. and this is not a, "hey look at us, we're awesome and sacrificial," because anyone who knows us knows that's not true, but it IS a public way to hold myself and our family accountable to make sure conviction turns into action. so if come january, you haven't heard any more about this and all i post is outlandish pictures of Christmas-gone-crazy, you can comment and say, "what the crap, maggie may, you suck." and i'll appreciate that. because that's what real friends do. and despite the fact we might not have ever met or know each other's last names, we can still be real friends. now gimme a hug.

*if you'd like more info on operation Christmas child, visit 

www.samaritanspurse.org/occ

**and a special thanks to jami nato for her awesome, deep thoughts that stir up people to action. 

way to go, chiquita bonita. 

revolutionary parenting and dry-heaving

ever feel overwhelmed with the idea of teaching your children about the Lord? i know i do. 

and being in a pit of bright and colorful balls is pretty much synonymous with the word "overwhelmed," right? i thought you'd agree. 

 i'm aware that we're not alone in this endeavor of raising our children to be godly adults. we serve the powerful, almighty God. if He can part a sea and rain manna down from heaven, i'm pretty sure He can aid me in teaching my children to love Him and love their neighbor as themselves. 

as a sunday school group, we've been reading "revolutionary parenting" by george barna.

he's the one who does all the Christian-based studies that they mention on christian radio stations, in between the 10 songs they play over and over again. 

anyway, the study came about because out of all children raised going to church, only 20% continue to go after high school. so mr. barna did a study on the 20% and what their parents did that helped them to continue in their walk of faith as an adult.

i love this study. it discusses what it takes to raise spiritual champions. --which, as we all know, is a pretty daunting task. --one many feel so overwhelmed by, they leave it to the church to accomplish it. we are half-way through the study and i am enjoying it so much. 

 in chapter 4, it discusses godly character traits that we should work on developing in our children, such as honesty, kindness, etc. and the whole class really struggled with how to carry this out in day-to-day life. later that week, one of the women in the study sent me a link to this wonderful blog, sarah's sweeties,  that actually had the character traits not only listed, but had free printables, one for each trait, with a verse and a definition of each one. amazing. i plan on printing them out and laminating them. you can, too, and then we'll be printing buddies. i know you've always wanted a printing buddy. today's the day that dream comes true, friend. i know... it's an emotional moment for both of us. 

so...peeps...if you are interested in raising children who become godly adults or think you might be interested someday or you are bored and want something to read or your friend is having a baby or adopting a child or you want to be able to strike up a conversation with someone about discipling children, check out this study. it is very rewarding. 

and i'll provide the paper bags for all of us when the dry-heaving and hyperventilating starts because we are all so overwhelmed by such a huge task.

you're welcome.

this book rocked my face off

i read a book yesterday that i believe is the best parenting book i've ever read. it actually might be the only one i've ever finished, besides family driven faith, which was also a great book. it's 100 pages of wisdom and insight. and it flies by because the writer is hilarious.

it's called "loving the little years: motherhood in the trenches" by rachel jankovic. it's amazing.
if you have kids under the age of 10, i think this book will benefit you to no end!
i read the whole thing in one evening after putting kids down to bed. and then suggested to my husband that he should read it, even though it has "motherhood" in the title. i think any parent would understand and relate to it.

you have to understand that i don't enjoy how-to books or books that have listed points. i like books that flow. and this one does.
check it out. read it. and let me know what you think.
i laughed out loud so many times i think my husband was concerned i was losing it.

get a cup of something yummy and warm, bundle up on your couch, and enjoy!

what it all boils down to

it's 68 degrees outside. i wish it was scarf and sweater weather,
but i shall choose to be thankful ;)


the holidays always get me thinking about how we do things around here. what do we want our traditions to be? what do we want our kids to remember...

i remember eating really hot stuffing right from the oven in a pyrex dish because i stole the idea from my sister, getting out the lovely china and setting out all the pretty place settings to commemorate the importance of the day, watching the parade on tv, pretending to play football outside after dinner, and watching white christmas or whatever movie was on that night.
what will my kids remember? what do i WANT them to remember....

and what it all comes down to for us is Christ.

sure we are blessed beyond measure that my husband has a job, we are healthy for the most part, we have a home that we can afford to pay for heating and cooling, we have a family that is growing by leaps and bounds, but the most important part is Christ.





we have been so richly blessed by His grace and His mercy. by His forgiveness and His redemption.

i am so thankful that the all-knowing, all-powerful, creator of the heavens and the earth chose to create a way for myself and Him to have a relationship together. i'm thankful that God, in His infinite power and wisdom, sent Christ to die for my sins so that by accepting Him, God no longer sees my iniquities but Christ's perfection.

so while i love turkey and dressing and family time and a warm home and yummy candles and kids all bundled up ready to play, even if there were none of that, i would still be blessed. i hope my children can look back at our holiday traditions and see that through all of it was the underlying concept that God is worthy to be praised --in every season. whether we can see the blessings or not, He is worthy.

thank You, God, for providing us with everything we need through Christ.

over breakfast

we've been reading about Jesus's birth over breakfast. gabe loves the part where the angel gabriel talks to mary. we are using the book called "The Jesus Storybook Bible" and i really really like it. i read a review once that said children have trouble seeing the Bible as something different than short, separate, fictional stories. the Jesus Storybook Bible carries Jesus thru the entire Bible for children to know that He was promised and God delivered.

we are trying to impart in our children that Christmas is about Christ. --the greatest gift. we talk about God giving us everything we have and to be thankful for that. we have all we need and more.

it's exciting because gabe is finally seeming to get what it's all about...in small pieces. and it's amazing to see the fruit of that. monkey sits and smiles and is attentive, but has yet to declare "Emmanuel, God with us" or anything like that yet. :) maybe next Christmas.

on another note, i was telling someone that gabe was going to visit his previous foster family (the family he lived with before we adopted him) for a short playdate. later, he asked "where's your foster family?" what a great question! i love that his mind is thinking about things like that. it was a great chance to explain that we're a foster family for monkey, how God made families, and that there are lots of different kinds of families.
good teaching moment!

primary discipler

i recently heard a sermon from voddie baucham about child training. it was amazing and very convicting. everyone should check it out.

it got me to thinking about the way i go about discipling my children. our foster son, monkey, is at an age where he is absorbing everything. and while explaining transubstantiation to him might be a bit much, never underestimate how much "Jesus loves me" or "this little light of mine" along with a Bible verse and prayer will do. children at any age can learn: this is a point of contention between myself and some other parents at our church.

so after hearing this sermon, i have set aside some time each morning to disciple my children actively. there are tons of moments each day where i have been missing teachable times. so here's what i've changed and see if you like it. what i figure is: if you lay the foundation at breakfast, the rest of the day follows suit.

each morning at breakfast (since the children are sitting and contained) i read a daily devotional for toddlers along with a thing i got from a NANC conference (national assoc of nouthetic counseling) that has 10 scriptural principles to teach your children. these 10 principles each have around 3-5 scripture references. (at NANC they suggested going over 1 each month with your kiddos). we go over one scripture reference a day. while doing so, we go over where to find it in the Bible. then we go over some theological questions that voddie poses in his sermon, such as "who made you?" or "why did God make you?" etc.

another thing we've done is change our house rules. as a foster family, we have to have house rules posted somewhere. so we changed our rules to this:
1. obey your parents (ephesians 6:1)
2. love your neighbor as yourself (matthew 22:39)
throughout the day when gabe is acting up, we go over what sin is and what the two rules are as well as which one he did not follow. we talk about how sin is displeasing to God and how we want to obey God and His word because He made us and we want to glorify Him. (and these things we've discussed during breakfast).

it's really changed my attitude about parenting and it's exciting because it's no longer just mommy saying "don't do that..." it's God's word saying it. and with gabe memorizing these verses, it helps him as well.

you should really check out Voddie and his child training sermon. (note: it's like 45 minutes long and you might want to take notes. sit down during nap time or something with a notebook, drink some tea, and enjoy! it'll amp you up!)