What FUN!!!

We had a blast with our friends! There are not many families (actually I do not know of any other family) that I could spend 12 days with and wish they could stay longer! Our approach to child rearing is very similar. Their kids are very polite and helpful...full of laughter and a heart to serve. I laughed till I hurt on more than one occasion.

We did go about half way through the "Do hard things" book. That was so good...it brought up so much conversation with the kids. It challenged me and I know it challenged the kids as well.

One day we joined my sisters at my moms house for a tea party...it was such a fun time. We will make that a tradition. Now we are trying to figure out how Eric and I can speak in churches down through FL so we can plan a visit soon.

It all reminds me of the importance of having good friends who you can laugh and cry with but also friends who have the freedom to speak truth into your lives. We love the Zaldivar's!!!!

Teenagers?

Ok...If you have young children...get ready! I am loving the middle school and high school years thus far with my 3 oldest. Yes you read that correctly...I love it! We will see if what I have observed from others is correct or not but my observances tell me that if you do your work when they are young...your job will be easier when they are older. Thus far that has been true. But let me just give you a hint....they are the most talkative at night....LATE at night! If you want those moments to really hear their heart and pour Jesus back into them.....SPEEP IN!!!!! That way you will be ready for the night! :) By the way if my own bed looked like the picture above...I would never get up! Love those babies!

Life is just embarassing sometimes!

I had the awesome privilege of speaking to a wonderful group of women in Douglasville this past Friday night. I love to encourage women to be passionate about the things that God created them for! The ladies were wonderful...the entire night was planned out so nicely......and as someone who speaks at womens events.....sometimes it is crazy unorganized! :) Not this one! I took Lindsey my 15 year old daughter with me. We had a blast. She is so fun....she makes parenting a joy! After the night was over she was my biggest cheerleader. What an encouragement she was!

Now for the embarrassing part????!!!! I took our video camera just to get a few clips for a video that our church is putting together for our ministry. On Saturday morning I picked it up to download it on the computer and I of course saw myself........AAAAAHHHHHH I called Lindsey...."Please tell me that this is a mistake on the camera...because I am pretty sure that my pants look really short!" You know.......when it looks like your grandma went to the bathroom and pulled her pants up way too high!!! Not a little short...way short!!! How could I do that?? Lindsey told me that they were indeed to short and she(my total fashion girl!) didn't want to hurt my feelings and she didn't know if I could afford new pants so she thought it might make me sad! OK that is very sweet!!! BUT I do have other clothes! I wear those pants all the time but not with the shoes...I told her that I guess that was the problem and she said no that just made it worse but basically they were always a little short. We then had a nice conversation about how she can help me without hurting my feelings or making me sad that I don't have money to buy new pants!!!:)

I will try to post a picture of it soon so you can join in the laughter! Thank goodness the night wasn't about me but about Him and I did my dead level best to honor and glorify Him!

Love those babies!

Disrespect- Older Children

I have been thinking and praying about this post all day. I felt the desperation in those who emailed me. I am so aware that I can't write a few words and make it all better! I wish I could! I will start with this..and if you read my blog long enough you will see this written over and over again.... Jesus Christ wants the best for you and for your children. He wants them to honor Him in all that they do and you too for that matter! Absolutely the first thing that you need to do is get on your face and ask the Lord for guidance....fast and pray specifically for your child and for guidance as a parent.

Disrespect is not something to be ignored. How many of you have heard these..or maybe even said them......"Oh, she is in the terrible two's"...... "Boys will be boys"......"It's just sibling rivalry"...."She is so hormonal"....."AH...girls and their attitudes"....."The middle school years are awful"..."The high school years are awful"...."I can't wait until they grow up!" We have made excuses for our children's behavior at every stage in their lives. You need to recognize it for what it is...sin. This is a heart issue. I have known parents who let "sibling rivalry" go on constantly...honestly that is just bullying in your home...it is NEVER OK.

Do not allow your children to talk to you or to each other rudely or disrespectfully. We have never tolerated these attitudes here......do we still deal with them...yes! My kids are imperfect people like the rest of us....my teenage daughter...who is very much like her mama...struggles with her attitude. She is an amazing daughter and I am blown away at the way the Lord uses her but if she is upset she has to keep her attitude in check. Just today I had to pull my oldest son aside and talk with him about the way he responded to his younger brother. I asked him if it was Christlike and I asked him what would have been a better way to handle himself and how he intended to make it right. Parenting is definitely a marathon and not a sprint! It takes a great amount of time and patience to do it the right way.

If you are having trouble with your kids I would, after much prayer....have a family meeting with the entire family and discuss the "new rules" which should include how they are expected to respond and what the consequences will be if they do not abide by the new rules. You need to let them participate in this discussion and you should try to understand their view point. You should give them examples of the best way to handle a disagreement. Children should be able to disagree with their parents. They should be able to come to you calmly and tell you that they want to talk with you and they should be allowed to express frustration or even anger. If you do not help them understand how they should go about this...you will see explosions. When they do express this...be quick to hear and slow to speak! We have many grown men and women who were never taught the right way to handle frustration, anger, sadness and many other emotions and boy are the marriages of today paying the price.

Remember a few things...You are the parent!!!! You do not need to be afraid to lead! Training takes time. Look for ways to spend time alone with your children and engage them in conversation. Tell them about areas that you struggled in when you were a kid. Tell them often how much you love them. Look for behavior that is good and praise them. Everyone of us wants others to notice when we are trying to change a bad habit!

I hope that this has helped someone. I will be praying for you!
LOVE THOSE BABIES...even the teenage ones!