Confessions from Boystown: lessons

Showing posts with label lessons. Show all posts

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Banking on Potential

"And they blessed Rebekah and said unto her,"Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them." Genesis 24:60

On a day like today, I read a statement like that and- if I didn't know better- I'd think Rebekah's family were actually cursing her. Thousands of millions? Really? How mean ARE they? Forget the pain of childbirth- let's just talk about the aftermath: childHOOD.

I can't help thinking this as I'm listening to the regular soundtrack here at Boystown: crying, fighting, shouting, whining, and something that sounds slightly like grunting. I'm having a hard enough time today with just 3- if someone in my family "blessed" me with "thousands of millions", well, that might cause me to disown them. At the very least, they'd stop receiving a Christmas card from us.

Then again, our "little" family probably wouldn't fit on a Christmas card at that point, so...

The logical side of my brain, though, tells me that #1- they weren't cursing Rebekah and #2- they didn't mean for her to literally give birth to all those kids.

Children- despite their tendency to make you want to scream and hide- ARE a blessing from God. They have a whole lifetime of potential and -if we do OUR jobs right- that potential could lead to anything from great jobs (to support us in the lifestyle we'd like to become accustomed to, of course) to helping "thousands of millions" come to know Christ.

Right now, as I'm writing this, I can't help but wonder to myself if Rebekah ever thought back on that day when they blessed her and mumbled a silent curse under her breath for the well-wishers. The thought, honestly, makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. It makes me smile that maybe she, too, pulled her hair out in frustration at her boys' antics. Could HER neighbors hear HER getting on her sons' cases?

But I think that what makes me smile and gives me hope the most is that potential our kids have. If I can somehow survive their childhood and "bring them up in the way they should go", who knows what could happen? I mean, one of Rebekah's sons -Jacob- was the father of Christ's bloodline. If that kind of potential doesn't give a mom hope that her kids will turn out ok, I don't know WHAT will.

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Friday, September 16, 2011

Getting to Know You Friday Blog Hop Week 2!

Hey everybody! Welcome to the Getting to Know you Blog Hop week numero dos! I'm so glad you decided to stop by- as are the rest of the Getting to Know You crew! So, without further ado

Question of the week: If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
If you’d like to get a heads up on the Getting to Know You Friday Question of the Week, contact one of the co-hosts and give them your email. You will be added to the list!
Welcome to the Getting to Know You Friday Blog Hop hosted by: Amber from Confessions from Boystown, Jennifer from mamawolfe, Christina from Spilled Milkshake, & Lisa from insignificant at best.
The idea behind the Getting to Know You Blog Hop, is just that...getting to know you. We also thought it would be a good chance to share thoughts, experiences & lessons learned from life. All 4 of us met through a great little site (Voiceboks) which is founded on -not just promoting blogs- but actually caring about other bloggers, getting to know them, and making friends along the way. That's why I think this blog hop is a great idea- cuz it goes along with that same general ideaology.

So, to keep things orderly and with minimal confusion (we hope), here are the rules:

1. Since there are 4 hosts we thought it was fair to only require you to follow 2 of us. Each host has been partnered with another host. We ask that you follow the host who's blog you submit your link to & their partner, the other 2 hosts are optional. The partnerships are:

Confessions from Boystown with mamawolfe
Spilled Milkshake with insignificant at best

(ex: If submit your link on Confessions from Boystown. You are required to follow Confessions from Boystown & mamawolfe. It is up to you whether or not you'd also like to follow Spilled Milkshake & insignificant at best.)

2. Each week we'll have a new question for you to answer. Write a blog post answering that question & link directly to it in the linky below!

3. Include our blog hop button in the post.

4. Visit a minimum of 3 other blogs & leave a MEANINGFUL comment on their Getting to Know You post. Please do not just go to 3 blogs & ask them to follow you. Everyone is taking time to their thoughts, so please be respectful of that.

5. Have fun getting to know one another! :)

The linky will be open until Sunday evening to make sure everyone has time to write their posts & link up!

If you have any questions or would like to suggest a question for the blog hop please contact one of the hosts! If your question gets picked we will feature your blog & question in that week's hop!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Peace in Fear

1 decade.

That's how long its been.

10 years since every American's life was changed immensely and forever.

240 months ago, we all woke up with the given that any day could be our last, but there were a couple of other "givens" we had originally woken up with:

America is generally a safe country. Wars occur in places like Iraq- we only see those kinds of riots after the Lakers lose... or win.
Planes don't crash into buildings. In fact, if you were to ask anyone, they'd tell you that flying is safer than driving.

But on the morning of September 11, 2001, all of our "givens"- every ignorant assumption we'd held near and dear- were tossed aside. Suddenly, our world was never going to be the same. Our kids and future kids would never know a world where flying didn't include the possible threat of terrorism; where they didn't know at least one person who was heading off to war or had just come back; where there was a 'Twin Towers'.

My oldest was 1 and 1/2 at the time, and I'll never forget holding him, thinking "What a horrible accident!" and then watching as the second plane slammed into the second tower. I'll never forget wondering what kind of life he had ahead of him.

I'll never forget church that Sunday. It was packed to the brim with people hoping for answers- looking for hope itself. Flags were bought by the dozen and flown in every doorway. Candles were lit for the fallen. People sang songs of unity and tolerance and spoke of how we needed to come together, throwing around the phrase "God Bless America".

760 weeks later, most of those thoughts have faded. Flags might still fly, but candles are no longer lit. Many who fled to church right after the attack, soon gave God a nice pat on the back with a "Thanks for being there when I freaked- see you at Christmas." Unity and tolerance were nice ideas until you fit a certain profile or pissed someone off; and "God Bless America" soon became the "Have a nice day" of this generation- which strikes me as odd since "under God" in the pledge of allegiance still offends some people.

In the end, the only REAL thing that has stuck around all these years later is fear. It happened once, could it happen again? Where's Bin Laden and what's he planning? Now we're at war- what now? Oh, now we've found Bin Laden and he's dead... wait, what about zealots for his cause?

So, with so much fear in abundance, what does God's word have to say about it?

"So, do not fear, for I am with you." Isaiah 41:16
"In God, whose word I praise- in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?" Psalm 56:4
"For in the day of trouble, he will keep me safe in his dwelling." Psalm 27:5

When we're afraid, he doesn't turn his back- he opens his arms. He reminds us that -as it was stated so eloquently in Veggietales- "God is bigger than the boogie man." God gave man free will, so there's never going to be World Peace- mankind is prone to sin- but when things go bad, God gives us himself. No matter what we've faced, are facing, or will face, God is always true to his word and he's said that he's with us. He's been there everyday for the last 5320 days- whether we've noticed or not- listening for when we call on him, and he'll continue to be there everyday, waiting on that 1 day when we're afraid and need him.

God is bigger than the boogie man.

So, what's to fear?

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Monday, August 29, 2011

'Bunny Hops' of Faith

"28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus." Matthew 14:28

A lot of times when people talk about Peter the disciple, they laugh and mock him for all his seemingly unintelligent things he did. One such thing was his well known "failed" attempt at walking on water.

What those people -who are so quick to judge- fail to acknowledge, though, is that Peter was also full of trust and faith in his Lord.

I don't know if you realize this, but if not, let me enlighten you- did you know that humans sink? Its true! Throughout the ages, mankind has struggled with the inability to keep afloat solely (get it?) by standing on the water. I'm not joking- these are pure facts, people!

Also, did you know that, when men go off on fishing boats, they generally go out to an area where they can't see the ocean floor.

I'm astounding you with these tidbits, I know.

So, let me play this out for you: Peter- a man- was out at sea- deep water where more than just lil' fishies live- and he saw Jesus, walking on the water. He knew WHAT he -himself- was and WHERE he was, but more importantly, he knew WHO Jesus was. He knew that, sure, man shouldn't be able to walk on water, but he knew that if Jesus told him to, he could.

And, here's the thing- he DID. Jesus said to come, and Peter hopped out. He was walking on the water because Jesus had it all under control. He was walking on the water while all the others on the boat- who hadn't had the guts to attempt what Peter did- stood watching.

It wasn't until he took his eyes off Jesus and started staring at his, by all accounts, impossible situation, and started sinking.

Sometimes God will give you a sign as big as a billboard on the side of a freeway. It'll have huge neon letters, flashing lights, and sirens to ensure you won't miss it. Sometimes, however, it just takes a leap of faith that He won't allow you to get in over your head- especially if its something that you know He would want you to do. The key is to keep your eyes on Jesus and not on your situation.

My little family isn't rich. I'd complain more, but God has always given us enough to get by, and while we struggle financially, we have a marriage that I pray my sons will have with their spouses when they grow up. I'll gladly trade riches for a happy marriage.

The thing about a lack of money, though, is that you really start to analyze what you can and can't spend money on:

Food? Can.
Candy? Shouldn't.
Gas? Need to.
Toys? Probably not.

When it comes to the things God wants you to have or do, though, God will always make a way. All lights will be green, all roadblocks removed. If its something you want and its in His will (meaning, its not something the Bible says is a no-no), then God will give His blessing.

Like I said, our pockets aren't deep, but when it comes to the things God wants for us, we've always gotten it. The funny thing is, when we do what God asks of us, we're usually blessed with even more.

And, the times when its scary (especially financially) to do what we know God wants, we ask for His strength and we keep our eyes on Who we're doing it for. Yeah, it can be terrifying- the water is deep, the storm is raging and what we're about to do seems like it can't be done- but its only truly terrifying when we take our eyes off the One we're walking towards.

So, we make a leap of faith.

Well, ok, its more of a bunny hop. Leaps can happen later- after we've gotten our feet wet.

Hey, Peter didn't RUN on the water. A bunny hop is more than some people make in a lifetime.

Besides, we're only human.

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Monday, August 22, 2011

The heart of the matter

This is my Sunday devotional. Yeah, I know its not Sunday, but I've been holding the littlest one so much lately that I'm lucky to have use of my arms, let alone, the ability to FINALLY have time to write my entry. So, here it is.

A man's heart reflects the man. Proverbs 27:19

Somebody once told me (or maybe it was something I heard in church? Dang 'Mommy Brain') that who you are in the dark is who you really are. In other words, who you really are, is who you are when you think no one sees you. Its what lies deep in your heart.

Its also called character.

If you knew you'd NEVER get caught, what would you do? What would you attempt?

There's a quote by Ralph Waldo Emmerson that goes like this

Sow a thought, reap an action;

Sow an action, reap a habit;

Sow a habit, reap a character;

Sow a character, reap a destiny.

"Sow a thought, reap an action." It all starts with your heart. What's in YOUR heart? If all your thoughts were to suddenly be put on a loudspeaker, would you be ashamed? Embarrassed? If so, THINK about THAT. When you think about something long enough and enough times, its only a matter of time before you follow through. Ever notice on a woman's post-partum visit questionnaire that it asks if she ever has thoughts of hurting her baby? If thoughts never led to actions and if they weren't a problem, would they still ask that question?

"Sow an action, reap a habit." If you've ever talked to a Life Coach or a personal trainer, then I'm sure you've heard that it takes around 21 days to create a new habit and roughly 6 months for it to become a regular part of your lifestyle- give or take. Every time you make a choice to act on a thought, you're working on creating a habit and affecting your lifestyle.

"Sow a habit, reap a character." You can adamantly deny that what you do is who you are, but actions speak louder than words, and by this point, your actions are telling the world,"Listen up! THIS is who I am." Regardless of whether or not you meant to come off that way, if it walks like a duck, has webbed feet, a duck bill, and feathers- does it really matter if you're trying to call it something else?

"Sow a character, reap a destiny." From the time our kids (or from the time we ourselves) were little, its always been stressed that in order to make a good life for ourselves, we need to get good grades and continuously work hard because it won't be handed to us on a silver platter. Everything we were taught- everything we've taught our kids- is that you need to work on who you are now because your future depends on it.

Everyday we sow seeds that contribute to our character. We water them through our habits, our actions and our thoughts- and it all comes to fruition when God either says,"Well done, good and faithful servant" or "Depart from me- I never knew you".

And it all begins with the heart.

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Monday, August 8, 2011

K.O.

First of all- I'm excited. I reached 100 followers! Yay! Go me- and you, lol. I wouldn't have made it to 100 without you. So, yeah- thanks!

'But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.' 2 Corinthians 4:7-8

Looking back, I'm pretty sure that 2009 was the worst year of my life:

~lost 2 babies
~lost the home we were living in
~our car finally completely died

And that was on top of all the other daily stressors that make you want to bang your head against a wall.

In church, we always hear our pastor say,"If you aren't going through a tough time, you're about to. If you aren't, ask yourself why not." It isn't because you aren't so morally untouchable that the devil is afraid; its that the devil is probably looking at your life and sees you as a minor threat- if a threat at all.

Now, I'm not going to get all up on my "morality high horse" and tell you that the devil must've seen me as a major threat and that's why I had the year -literally- from hell. I won't because the devil doesn't- CAN'T- do anything in the life of a Christian without God's say so.

I can practically hear skeptics everywhere saying," So, you're saying God did it?" Not necessarily. I'm saying that God ALLOWED everything that happened to me and my family for a specific reason.

Maybe it was to make way for something better. After we lost Christopher and the other baby after him, we got pregnant with Nicholas. I miss my babies more than anyone could possibly imagine, but I'm thinking that God must have something pretty special planned for Nicholas, and that's why we needed him. After we lost that home, we moved into a better one where we -Corey most of all- aren't as stressed. And after our REALLY OLD car died, a friend came forward about how she needed to sell a car she had- which we got for a pretty great price with a pretty great payment plan.

Or maybe God allowed all of what happened to get me to a point where I'd finally start relying on Him more. Sometimes the only time we seek God to lift us up is when life has pushed us to our knees.

Or, maybe God allowed it all because He knew that I could take it; that I would be able to walk away from the situation stronger for it. That I would be 'struck down but not destroyed.'

Not a lot of families- marriages- can survive what we went through and come away from it stronger, but I'm not going to say that we did it through our own shear willpower. Absolutely not. That would be a lie, in all honesty. There was one moment, after we lost our second baby, that I was standing in our living room, crying to my mom, and asking her why God hated me so much- what did I do that was so bad that this was my punishment? That if He didn't love me, then I didn't want to love Him. And after we lost the house and our car went to that big car lot in the sky, I wrote to my pastor and asked Him why God had it in for me, and that if God did anything else to me or my family, that I'd stop believing in Him.

Does any of that sound like someone who's strong enough to get through things on WILLPOWER? Yeah, I don't think so either.

Humans- we're weak. Much like a clay pot, it isn't until you put it through the fire that it gets stronger. God made us this way so that we can't boast of our own greatness; so that when people look at us, they don't see how strong Amber is that she made it through all that unscathed. He made it so that when people look at me, they see that what I went through was an impossible situation to have come out without His help and they see the scars left on my life and they ask me where I got them.

So that I can point them to The One who got me through it.

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Friday, August 5, 2011

Friday's Writing Prompt: My son's heroes

Mama's Losing It: 1.) Write about a time you or someone you know saved the day!

he·ro/ˈhi(ə)rō/Noun
1. A person, typically a man, who is admired for courage or noble qualities.

When you're young, teachers will sometimes ask you to write about your hero.

For some, that hero might be a professional athlete. For others, they might write about police and fire men and women. Some might even write about all those men and women overseas that are putting their lives on the line to maintain our freedom.

I've met firemen and women, police men and women- I even have people near and dear to me that are off at war right now.

And, while I question idolizing athletes and calling THEM heroes, I think its safe to say that a hero can be found almost anywhere...

...I just never thought that I would be considered a hero.

When my oldest son, Cameron, was a toddler, we went to visit my parents after church one Sunday. I remember that my mom hadn't been home, but my dad was there. I was actually really happy about that because my husband and I had just gotten a new computer and I wanted to tell my dad -a computer know-it-all, in my eyes- all about it.

When we got in the front door, I set Camo on the living room floor and went to talk with my dad who was near the kitchen. I couldn't see Camo (there was a couch in my view), but considering that we were in front of the door that led out to the back yard, I wasn't worried. I laughed to myself that the most he would be able to do is destroy their TV equipment.

I thought.

I was just responding to my dad's question about RAM when we couldn't hear Camo anymore. We weren't worried- like I said, we were in front of the only accessible door to the back yard- but we just wanted to make sure he wasn't destroying a bit more than TV equipment.

When we couldn't find him in any of the bedrooms, we got a little worried, but we weren't panicking. Like I said, we were in front of the only accessible door to the back yard, and my parents room had been closed to keep him out.

After rechecking the rooms, though, my dad asked me if I thought he could have gone in the back yard. How, though? He rushed out to the backyard while I rechecked their room which had a door to the backyard.

Nope- the slider and the curtain covering it had been closed. Wouldn't he have left the door open if he had gone out that way?

That's when I heard my dad scream my name.

He was pulling Camo out of their fishpond.

Ya know, when you take CPR courses, you never ACTUALLY think you'll have to use them. Most sane people only take them 'just in case'. That was the day I found out that CPR really does save lives.

While my dad called 9-1-1, I continued to try and get my baby to breathe. He finally did right before the paramedics showed up.

So, that day, there were actually quite a few heroes and angels in the mix- my dad and I were just a couple.

Some people might chastise me by saying,"Well, you and your dad wouldn't have had to save your son if you had kept a better eye on him." Maybe that's true.

And, maybe we should have expected a 1 1/2 year old to be able to open a closed door EVEN THOUGH he was always too lazy to even look under a blanket for his shoes.

And, maybe we -I- shouldn't have assumed he hadn't gone into a room simply because the door had been closed- ALL the doors had been closed- leading out to the back yard, EVEN THOUGH he had never closed a door a day in his life.

And, maybe my parents were stupid and foolish to have a pond in their back yard knowing full well that they had a grandson EVEN THOUGH hundreds and thousands of adults buy homes SPECIFICALLY looking for homes with pools EVEN THOUGH kids have DIED in pool related accidents over the years and I don't see anyone saying that those people are fool hardy.

(And, FYI- even if your pond/pool is above ground, did you know its still a drowning hazard? Its true! Trust me- if a 1 1/2 year old has the piece of mind to cover his tracks and close all the doors behind him, then they can DEFINITELY climb steps/ stairs/what not to get into it. Just a thought.)

So, what could most definitely have turned out to be a tragedy, wasn't, because -with a few angels watching out for us- my dad and I became my son's heroes that day.

Too bad he doesn't treat me as such anymore, but whatev.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Oh, so tired...

(This was SUPPOSED to be published YESTERDAY, so sorry for the delay.)

"Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

Its days like today that reading something like that really speaks to me.

If you've ever traveled Stay At Home Rd., you know how exhausting it can be. I remember working at one of those jobs where you put on grown up people clothes and you get in a car to go there; and when you got there, you'd speak to other adults! Sure, some of those adults had less commonsense than my 7 month old, but they had considerably larger vocabularies, so that almost made up for their VAST stupidity. The fact was, I had conversations with them that allowed me to flex my grey matter and practice synonyms- like dimwit, stupid, blockhead, bonehead... you get the picture.

And just as I was about to bang my head against a wall until everything was fuzzy and less complicated, it was time to go home. I'd clock out, get in my car, and head to the place where there was peace... to a degree.

And, when I got tired of home, well, you see how this goes.

Working away from home gave me a change of scenery and a change of frustrations. No matter how hard I had it one place, I was able to escape shortly.

The fact is, when you're a stay at home mom, you LIVE with your most annoying, clingy, bossy, horrible customers. There's no escaping...

(Well, there is, but we'll get back to that in another entry I think I'll title: "Running toward paradise".)

But, when you're a responsible parent, there isn't any other option but to stay and take it.

Today, I dealt with an 11 year old child that doesn't QUITE get the fact his birthday is only supposed to be ONE day.

Not 2.

Not a week.

In fact, if he would have REALLY analyzed the situation, he would have grasped the fact that he was only having a birthday because of ME, therefore, I'M the one who should have been celebrated.

But, no. My sweet, little, ungrateful, entitled newly 11 year old son thought that not only could HE fight with me, but that he would bring in his brother and 2 of his friends to back him up in certain conversations.

Did I mention, I had just baked my gorgeous, highly selfish son cupcakes for his birthday?

How dare I, though, suggest that we should do anything but what HE wanted to do.

Ok, so there was my rant.

After all that, though, I still had a ton of other items on my mile long to do list. To be perfectly honest, I was near my breaking point.

How did I get myself into this mess? WHY did I get myself into this mess? I'm just SO TIRED...

Come to me... I will give you rest.

Its funny how sometimes I'll be in a particular situation and something will jump out at me or creep into mind to remind me that I have another person that knows what exactly I'm dealing with. And, no, I'm not talking about my husband. He's probably going to be the co-writer on that other entry I'm thinking about writing.

Its nice to know that when I'm ready to give up, there's Someone who's willing to take it from me. When I'm ready to collapse, there are arms outstretched that I can collapse into that won't let me go.

Arms that will give me rest.

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Sunday, July 24, 2011

Waiting on Perfection

"He that has began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6

Ever seen those cars with the sign 'Student Driver'? Most of us have. I don't know about you, but I usually try to avoid them. Whoever is in the driver seat, more often than not, has the timid behavior of a field mouse and drives slower than molasses. I know that, if I'm behind them, I'll either be late to where I'm headed or end up rear-ending them when they slam on their brakes due to a low-flying bird... or what they THOUGHT was a low-flying bird.

I know its stereotyping and kind of mean, but we've all been in that seat, so you know I'm right. In the beginning, none of us were the *ahem* EXCELLENT drivers we are now. It took practice, persistence, prayer, and patience on the part of our teachers to get us through those tremulous first months.

Actually, if you've ever driven in SoCal, you'd think that none of the drivers on the road had graduated from those first months. But, I digress.

Have you ever known an actual artist? Most of us have gone to museums, but what you're seeing when you look at those masterpieces is the finished product. You don't see the practice sketches, the thought process, the doodles, or the pieces that didn't make it. You don't see the ones the masters even thought weren't half bad, because in their eyes, if it wasn't perfection, it just wasn't.

Nope. The only thing you're seeing is the shiny, sparkly 1% inspiration that came after that 99% perspiration. I have a small idea, because my brother in law is an artist. I've seen some of his stuff from high school and I've even seen one or two of his childhood drawings. In my opinion -no matter how good I think they are- they aren't nearly as good as what he's doing now. And the thing is, even when he's doing a piece now, there's a thought process and hours of work (most of the time) to get it to the point to where he's happy. When you see one of his pieces in the beginning, you have no clue what it will look like, but he knows- or, at least, he has a MUCH better idea than you or I.

And -not to be conceited by lumping myself in with artists, but- when I write, its a process: words crossed out, rewritten, crossed out again; statements written and rewritten; statements said out loud to see how they sound; and -more often than not- everything is a first draft in a lined notebook before typed up. All of this done so that, when I look at the final product, I'm happy.

Just like any other piece of artwork, we're a process.

I try to remind myself of that fact every time I screw up- with my kids, with my husband, friends... Sometimes I'd just like a shirt that says "Work in Progress- please be patient". I feel that it would make life a whole lot easier.

Its all too easy to get frustrated with myself when I mess up, but I'm just thankful that this isn't the final product. I'm not the 'Mona Lisa' yet. I'm still a sketch- a doodle. And thank God for that because there are times when I don't just feel like a doodle; I feel like a doodle that wasn't even worthy enough to remain in the sketch pad, so it was torn out, crumbled up, and thrown away.

So, I'll patiently wait til I'm perfected. While I'm waiting, however, I think I'll buy that shirt.

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Sunday, July 17, 2011

Be quiet and stop moving already!

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

A long time ago, I saw a shirt that said,"My parents couldn't wait for me to walk and talk- now all I hear is sit down and shut up." I'm pretty sure God feels that way about me.

Anyone who knows me- I mean, REALLY knows me- knows that I'm always on the move. And talking. constantly talking.

Always.

I always have somewhere I'm going, someplace I need to be, something I need/ want to be doing, someone to talk to about something SUPER important...

2 of my boys start school in August- one in Jr. High (man, that statement makes me feel OLD) and one in kindergarten- and I'm already making plans to be the Box Tops coordinator and class mom for the kindergartener.

Did I mention I'm the organizer for my mom's group, run this blog and am Boystown co-manager extraordinaire?

One might think my philosophy almost seems like its,"I want to be wherever I'm not right now."

I say all of this to try and get through to you that I'm not the type of person to sit around; to be quiet; to be still and do nothing.

When there's something to be done, I do it; when there's a problem, I want an answer right away. If I can't get it done or don't FIND an answer, it bugs me.

I'm a doer, and a doer without something to do feels useless.

So, when something is going on in my life- a crisis, if you will- well, let's be honest now, shall we? The first thing I usually do is try to see how I- the almighty, powerful, super heroic SortaSuperMom- can come to my own rescue.

And sometimes it works, and I'll walk away, patting myself on the back, saying,"Well, its a good thing you figured out how to make the impossible, possible."

And then there are those times that all my might and mastery doesn't work. That's when I find myself saying,"Ok, God- I guess we'll give you a try. You're up to bat- let's see what you can do. This is a hard one, though- I wasn't able to figure it out."

I can almost imagine God laughing at me.

And then I wait. And I wait. And I wait.

And its funny, because me -with my all-important time table- I can't seem to figure out why its taking God so long to answer my prayer. I mean, its GOD; if ANYone could snap their fingers and *poof* its done, it should be him, right?

I'm telling God to jump and He's saying,"Wait- watch this. You want this one tiny thing, but if you'll just chill out for a moment- kick back; relax; take your shoes off and hang out for a while- you'll see what I can really do. Stop moving around and trying to fix everything; stop trying to be everything to everyone and just sit. Be still, because what I have planned is so much better and what I can teach you will far surpass what you're asking for. And if I give you JUST what you're asking for, then I know you'll be happy; and if I give you MORE, you'll be ecstatic; but you need to know that if I don't give you what you want, it will still be ok, because I'm God, and in the end, I know what you really need more than you do."

It reminds me of that part in the Bible where Jesus was visiting Mary and Martha, and Martha was running around like a chicken with her head cut off and getting upset because Mary was sitting at Jesus' feet.

So, tonight, now that I've gotten the kids in bed and I've taken off the mommy hat- ok, I've stuffed it in my pocket- I'm going to attempt this whole 'being still' thing. I'm going to be a "Mary" after being a "Martha" all day.

Good night!

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Sunday, June 12, 2011

Worrying is for the birds

Like I said in a previous post, I was thinking of ways to "spice up my blog" a bit, if you will. I'm not someone who will normally 'force' a post- I feel like it makes for a very boring piece to read, and -as I've said before- I won't write something that I wouldn't want to read, so there have been times where I won't come up with a post for days.

This is all well and good, and I'm not ashamed or anything, but I'm also the type of person who feels most comfortable with a pen and paper in front of me, or -as it is in this day and age- a computer screen and keyboard in front of me. I sometimes just want to sit in front of the computer even if I have nothing to say.

So, what to do about this predicament? I've decided to designate certain days to certain subjects. Today, for example, is Sunday. Being a Christian, I thought I would designate Sundays to my devotionals. I'll have something for the other days, too, with one day being specifically for a normal "Boystown" post.

I just thought I would let you all know because I'm considerate like that.

*Cue audience laughing hysterically*

Anyways, here's today's devotional:

Matthew 6:25-34

New International Version (NIV)

Do Not Worry

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[a]?

Every time we have a tough time money-wise, or I miss Corey because of how much he works, I can't help but think,"If God would just make them see the light and promote him, things would be better." And then my mind wanders into 'What if' territory: What if next month we don't have enough money for all our bills? What if our only car has another issue and we don't have the money to fix it?

Sometimes its hard to see past the 'what ifs' and focus on who's in charge and what I mean to Him.

We have this cat- he' a great cat. His name is Stever. Camo is in charge of feeding him, but since we know that Camo is 10 and doesn't always remember, Corey and I always check to see that Stever is taken care of. Why? Because he's family.

The funny thing, though, is he's a cat. Sure, he IS a great cat and he IS part of our family, but he's a cat nonetheless. My kids, though- they're part of ME. While I'm ok with my 10 year old heading up cat care duty, my kids will always be first on MY list.

God created birds that pretty much take care of themselves, and yet, as the Bible says:
²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

He even provides for the BIRDS. So why the 'what ifs' on my end?

Every single month we've made it. Sometimes we have more money and we can splurge; sometimes we have less. In the end, though, God has always provided- whether its through a bill that is lower than we expected or family that is always there to help.

And, a side note to anyone who says that 'family that is always there to help' isn't something God provided, well, you must have never been in a situation where you literally found yourself thanking God for their help. I have been, and each family member that has helped us deserves a special commendation from God in my book.

Anyways, somehow, someway, God always provides.

Corey has an interview for a promotion tomorrow, and while I want him to get it (because I want the proof that THEY appreciate him as much as I do), I'm going to try and remember that -no matter what- we'll be taken care of. Why? Because we've got top rank in God's eyes.

Take that, birds.

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Wednesday, May 11, 2011

You, too, can raise an Einstein!

I fell into the trap.

You know the one- “Act now and you, too, can teach your baby to read by hooking them on phonics by the time they're 2!”

In my defense, I didn't buy the program with this kiddo. No. With THIS child, I'm a little older, a little wiser, and a little poorer.

Nope, I bought the entire $5,000,000 system when Cameron was a baby. I had dreams of him lying there, in his crib, reading Nietzsche, Poe, Mark Twain...

Or, at least, Dr. Suess.

They made it seem SO easy. “All you have to do is slip a flash card under his sippy cup with his morning cereal every day and you, too, can have your baby reading 'War and Peace' in NO time!”

So, I gave it a go.

The problem is that they didn't ever stress HOW MANY sippy cups I'd have to slip flash cards under. At this rate, I'd have to give him 50 sippy cups with every meal. He would HAVE to lie in bed reading- he'd be too full of liquids to slosh anywhere else. And I wasn't going to have a life outside of that first bright yellow box- was I really ready to do that?

Luckily, Cameron was one of those kids that just happened to absorb the material through the box.

Ok, so it wasn't that.

In any case, the ultra expensive system sat in our closet, and the “free” backpack we got with our order was the only thing put to use with our first child.

With Jacob, I knew things could be different. With him, we could finally see what heights his intelligence could take by using the reading program. With him, we could FINALLY unwrap more than just the flash cards! With him, we could show up all our friends babies with a child that could read Shakespeare at 2!

Of course, first we'd have to find it in our storage.

Ok, so maybe it wasn't going to happen with our second child.

But we've got another chance at toddler brilliance with Nicholas. And don't they say that reading comes easier with kids that know a second language? And don't we have that sign language program around here somewhere?

Why stop at reading? Why, if we REALLY work at it, we can have a child that reads AND knows 2 languages before his first birthday...

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Things I've learned from my 4 year old

1. The '5 Second Rule' is less of a RULE and more of a GUIDELINE- it just depends on how much you spent on the item, or in his case, how much you really wanted to eat it.
2. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you... the first time. If they continue to piss you off, throw your juice cup at them.
3. Clothes are ALWAYS optional. Save yourself money and time- wear your birthday suit.
4. Sharing is nice- unless its candy or a toy you really love. If that's the case, give them your runner up and make it seem special.
5. Man CAN live on chocolate milk and bananas alone.
6. Toilets are optional- God gave us the 'great outdoors' for a reason.
7. Be your own person. Don't do something just because that's the norm. Just because most individuals put their socks on and THEN their shoes, it doesn't mean YOU have to.
8. If you jump off the couch and fail to actually fly, try, try, try again.
9. Sometimes you don't need to "just try it" to know you won't like it.
10. You can TOO have multiple best friends, and its even better if they're imaginary because then you don't have to share them with anyone else.
11. Everyone has days where they wish they were someone else, and on those days, its perfectly acceptable to be Mario, Luigi, Bowser, or -in my case- Princess Peach.
12. Think outside the box- if your big brother won't leave you alone, lick him. He's sure to stay away, then.
13. Nothing starts a conversation quite like a good poop joke.
14. When in doubt, throw it in the laundry- after all, YOU know the type of days you've been having. That's probably the safer choice, anyways.

15. Sometimes nothing can make it all better except being held by someone you love.