Joyful Heart

went to the market.

This little piggy stayed home.
This little piggy had roast beef.
This little piggy had none.
And this little piggy said weee, weee, weee, all the way home!

With the start of the Olympics, our children have stayed up late to watch all of the Opening Ceremonies, watched at least a half hour of Olympic coverage every night, read factual books about China, watched a video about life in China, and have even been listening to us read about Eric Liddell (a famous Olympian and missionary to China).  However, we just HAD to participate in our own Olympics to make the experience come alive!

So, look out world!  We have some record breaking Olympians on our hands, right in our own backyard– well at least when it comes to pillowcase hops, spoon and ball races, water relays, and Beanie Baby balancing =)

~~~~~

The night before, we had each chosen a country to represent.  We located these on our globe and colored a flag to wave in our Opening Ceremonies.
We wore another flag from our respective countries on our back as well.(Yes, even the baby.)

We colored in our Olympic coloring book before breakfast.  Then, at our ‘breakfast of champions’, Daddy read some facts about the torch, colors of the Olympics rings, the medals, reason for the games, etc.

We worked on our memory verse throughout the day…

Colossians 3:23-24
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Here are some of our events..

Spoon and Ball Race

Hurdles

Balance Beam

Water Relay

Pillow Case Hopping

At the end, everyone was awarded a gold medal for participating with joyful hearts, helping others, being encouragers, doing their best, trying to learn their Bible memory, etc.

And to round out the full experience of the games, we even ate Chinese food for dinner using chopsticks =)   A fun day for all!

Here are some more fun links to another family’s  Olympics…
The Fairy Olympics
Preschool Olympics - Throwing and Catching
Backwards Olympics

My response would have probably been a firm ‘No.’   However, I was not the one in position to execute the decision and so I left it up to him.   I heard his voice gently speaking to them.  A little later, I heard the clanking of bowls and spoons.  Some, looking in on this scene, might have said that he had given in to them and that he was showing them that they could get their way when they complain loudly enough. 

But I saw a loving father demonstrating God’s grace in a tangible way.

The loud complaining was a ‘But, Daddy!’ and tears - over something as simple as not being able to have a snack before bed.  A request that is sometimes answered by a yes and at other times, due to the lateness or other circumstances, receives a “No, not tonight.”   Yes, they responded poorly to our answer and should have been disciplined appropriately and not have been able to have a snack.  

And so enters unmerited favor from their daddy.   After talking with the girls and explaining that they should not have a snack becasue of their poor response, he then extends grace by forgoing punishment and allowing them to have a small snack.

This showing of grace points me to Christ and His grace that was extended to us.  May their earthly daddy’s small acts of grace towards them point our little ones’ hearts and minds to their Heavenly Father as well.

For it is by grace you have been saved,
 through faith—and this not from yourselves,
it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. 
Ephesians 2:8-9

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
and are justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.   
Romans 3:23-24

Taking our ant problem and making it FUN!

“Ants have three body parts. They have a head, abdomen, and thorax. There is one queen in a colony. They have jaws. They use their antennae to smell. Some ants have stingers. Some ants are brown and some are black. Most of the ants are females. Forager ants collect food. Some of the ants are builder ants. They fix the nest if some of the dirt falls. The male ants meet with the queen. The male ants have wings. After the flighting, the male ants die. The special part about the queen is that she is the only one that lays the eggs.”
by A - age 6

making an anthill with tunnels and rooms for all the ants…

our edible ants….

We also READ a ton of ant books that we gathered from the library, watched The Magic School Bus has Ants in its Pants (way too many times, LOL!), counted out raisin ‘ants’ with tweezers into muffin tins, made a construction paper ant, and read what the Bible has to say about ants …

Proverbs 6:6-8
Go to the ant, you sluggard.  Consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.

I have no problem with insects and spiders being outside.  That’s where they belong - in nature.  Let every insect and spider be forewarned, however, that once they crawl into our home they are traveling into dangerous territory! 

We had our lawn service spray the foundations of our home a couple weeks ago - to keep the insects and spiders OUTside.  Well, all this week we have been seeing ants INside on our main floor and up in our bedrooms.  Argh!  The lawn service came back out and reapplied the spray and left a note stating, “Please remember:  This is a barrier treatment.  It not only stops insects trying to come in, but also prevents them from going out…”  So, since the ants were here before they sprayed, they are now stuck inside our home and have no place to go, except up and inside our house.  Just what I wanted to hear =)

So, to eradicate the ant colony(ies) we need to get some ant bait/traps.  (Love, if you are reading this, please stop by and get some ASAP =))  Until then, I have been seen on my hands and knees, squishing the ants, sweeping multiple times, and removing rugs or anything else that would normally be on the floor in the areas where we have spotted the little guys.  I have been doing this so much in fact that one day this week our toddler was calling to me from the basement playroom and asking, “Smoosh ants, Mommy?”  Um, yes.  The kids have even got in on the ‘fun’ of finding them…

You know, I am going to great lengths to make sure we get rid of the ants in our home, but what measures am I willing to take to eradicate the sin areas in my life?  One of the areas that God has recently pointed out to me is my use of time -specifically my time spent on (uh, oh) the computer.  Do I really need to check my email every time I go to the office to get something? Must I check the homeschool forum to see if any additional answers to my question have been added -again?   Do I have to check your blog to see if you have posted any new entries for me to read ?  The answer I am hearing - No! At least not as often as I have been.  Nothing is wrong with these things in and of themselves.  I need to have support and correspondence with other moms, but I also need to set some limits so that I can better manage the affairs of my household.  

Maybe I should place my Bible or a verse to memorize near my computer and read that instead.  Then, I could go read a book to my children, sit on the floor and play a game with them, play cars, etc.   I want to build strong and deep relationships with my children.  That doesn’t just happen by chance.  I have to make my little ones a priority over those times of ‘quick’ checking of my email and what I am discovering are actually a few moments of trying to escape my responsibilities.

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
Ephesians 5:15-17

Yes, you read that correctly -
A lesson FROM my two year old, not a lesson FOR my two year old.

Whenever something isn’t working right, our little two year old guy brings it to us saying it is ‘boke’ and to ‘fi  it’ (translations: “Broke.” and “Fix it.”)  Often it is a toy that needs the batteries replaced.  Today, I specifically remember him saying that two times, but not for toys.  This morning, he pointed to one of our lights in the kitchen.  It has burnt out and needs replaced.  He wanted me to turn it on and I told him that it couldn’t be turned on because it was broke.  He quickly replied back, “Ba rees!”.  I tried to explain that it didn’t take batteries to fix it, but that we needed a new lightbulb.  I don’t think he quite got it.  Anyway, tonight, at church, he was in the nursing room with me and his baby sister when he noticed that there was a TV.  (We are blessed at our church to have a nursing room with a TV hooked up so that nursing moms can still watch and hear the sermon on Sunday mornings while they care for their littlest ones .)  Well, you guessed it, the TV has not been working for a couple weeks.  I told him it was broke and he thought we could ‘fi it’ with ‘ba rees!’  Too cute. 

While I was thinking about this tonight, I thought, ‘Wow.  Wouldn’t it be great if we could fix everything with batteries?  Just switch out the old batteries when they are used up and replace them with new?’  I don’t know about you, but as a stay at home mom to four little ones  five and under, I am feeling like my ‘batteries’ are pretty worn down right now.  I see it.  I feel it.  I hear it in my voice.  I’m tired and at the end of my energy.    

But wait!  Whose strength am I relying on?  Whose ‘batteries’ have been charging me to get up and go each morning (and to keep going throughout the day and into the night)?  Hmmm.  I have been doing lots of ‘good’ things that do indeed have to get done for my family or for church, but I have not been making time for what I know I need first thing each and every day in order to complete them to the best of my ability and for the glory of the Lord.  If I am honest, I would have to say that I have been lax in my time spent with God each day - the Source of my strength.  I need to go make a point to read, and pray, and fall at my Savior’s feet. 

Do you not know? 
      Have you not heard?
       The LORD is the everlasting God,
       the Creator of the ends of the earth.
       He will not grow tired or weary,
       and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
       and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
       and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
       will renew their strength.
       They will soar on wings like eagles;
       they will run and not grow weary,
       they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:28-31

Linda Dillow, in Satisfy My Thirsty Soul, gives several practical ways to cultivate a grateful heart.  Here are two of the ways that she mentioned that I would like to attempt to implement in my own day to day life….

1) Thankful Triggers:  Dillow describes a ‘thankful trigger’ as some thing, sound, or place that you come across frequently during your day that will ‘trigger’ or remind you to say a prayer of thanks to God.  She gave examples of passing a certain church or hearing the sound of a train whistle.  At this point in time, I think that I would like to try to remember to lift up thanks to God whenever I hear our new baby cry.  She should be a good, regular reminder to thank my Lord at least every 2 1/2 to 3 hours for awhile =)

2) Make a Sign:  Dillow shared how her daughter in law had posted a sign in her kitchen to remind her to thank God for her three young children.  Here are words for me to remember as I daily care for our four precious children, ages 5 1/2,  4,  2,  and  3 weeks.

What is truly important for each day?

• Sing praises and songs of worship together.
• Give thanks in ALL things.
• Hugs and kisses.
• Think before committing to a yes or no.  (Try to say yes more often.)
• Stop, look, and listen when they speak.
• Respond with patience and love.
• Be consistent.
• Let the princesses dance.
• Let them help.
• Be their encourager.
• Pray.
• Smile and laugh.
• Sing and read God’s Word together.
• Making messes makes for fun memories.
• Start and end the day with thanksgiving to our Lord.
• Our children will not always be this little. 
  Train them now, but also enjoy them now!

Psalm 118:24
This is the day that the Lord has made. 
Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Bowing my words…

Okay, so anyone who knows me in person knows that I am a woman of very few words.  So, why am I blogging about bowing my words?  Well, I really don’t talk much … except with my kids.  I am a typical stay at home mom who must communicate with her children.  Any mom who has lost her voice and has experienced being home alone with one, two, three, or yes - maybe even four little ones knows how difficult it is to not  talk with your kids throughout the day! So, in a normal day, I must give instructions, discipline, explain, question, answer questions, paraphrase, interpret cries and toddler speech, help resolve conflicts, pray over hurts, etc.  Whew!  For someone who doesn’t like to talk much, I sure have to do a lot of it =) 

And, with that much talking throughout the course of the day, it brings about many opportunities to stumble in regards to words - word choices, tone of voice, and words thought through (or not) before being spoken.  Will my words be a cursing or a blessing to my children each day?  Will my words be filled with encouragement or discouragement towards my little ones?  I must remember Proverbs 12:18…

 Reckless words pierce like a sword,
       but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Dillow states, in her book Satisfy My Thirsty Soul, that “bowing our words as an act of worship is not easy.  It is a sacrifice, an offering.”     I want to bow my words so that they bring healing, blessing, and encouragement to those around me.  So, instead of words doused with a harsh, angry tone, I need to be slow to speak and quick to listen and to remember to fill my speech towards my children with qualities found in Ephesians5:19-20…

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,
always giving thanks to God the Father for everything,
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Lord Jesus, help me not to grieve the Holy Spirit with my words and tone of voice towards my children.  Help my words to be encouraging and a blessing.  May you help my words to be timely, gentle, and loving.  Amen.

Our baby Olive made it safe and sound into the world one week ago today.  Praise God!  You can read details about her birth on my husband’s blog.  (Yes, he blogged her birth - just a sign of the times I guess.)  At this point, she sleeps and eats … and then sleeps and eats some more = )  A typical one week old who has already stolen our hearts with her sweet, sleepy smiles, her great big yawns, and her ‘I’m not quite awake’ stretches.  Oh yes, she cries and tends to have her days and nights mixed up still, but let’s not think about that right now.  With all of the ’round the clock feedings happening this past week, I realized that for the next few months I get to do something I haven’t been able to do a lot of in the past year or so…  I get to read again!

So, next to the nursing chair, squeezed in with my nursing arsenal (my glass of water, my feeding chart, my Lansinoh, my Medela pump, etc.)  are several books I have been waiting to read…

• Satisfy My Thirsty Soul: For I am Desperate For Your Presence by Linda Dillow 
  (I have read Calm My Anxious Heartby this same author.   I still refer back to it!  I enjoy the way she writes and how she uses biblical references and personal experiences to speak to me and challenge me in areas tht I am struggling with. )
• Having a Mary Spirit by Joanna Weaver 
  (I’ve read her first book about Mary and Martha - Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World and could relate well!  I look forward to this second one.)
• Feminine Appeal: Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother by Carolyn Mahaney 
  (My sister in law bought this for me two Chrismas’ ago!  I am ashamed to say that I started it, but never got to finish it.)
• My Bible!
  (I’ll have no excuse for missing my daily reading and devotions for awhile!)

I can’t wait to delve into these books - to refresh my spirit, to glean from other Christian women, and to study and apply God’s Word .. even if it is at 2:30 in the morning when everyone else is asleep =)

Each December, we work our way through the Nativity Story as found in the Bible.  We do daily, sequential readings and related crafts with our three young children.  No account of the Christmas story would be complete, however, without knowing and sharing why Jesus came and why His birth was and continues to be so important to each one of us.

In 1 John 4, verses 9 through 10, it states that, ” This is how God showed His love among us:  He sent His One and Only Son into the world that we might live through Him.  This is love:  not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ”  1 John 4:14 continues to say, “…we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the World.”
Without Christ, we would still be heaped in our sins and completely seperated from God - without HOPE.

This was recently written from the heart of our 5 1/2 year old daughter right before delivering Christmas Gospel Cookies to our neighbors…
‘I hope you will know God the Father in Heaven and He will forgive…I hope that you will know that He is the Christ.’

Lord, December seems to be such a  busy time - with gift giving and cards (and this year preperation for a new little one joining our family).  Please help me to keep in the forefont of my mind this busy Christmas season the gracious gift of Your Son, Jesus - My Savior.  Help me to continually see Christ in Christmas.