Quotable Kiddos: Bring It On, Bobby Flay

The only way my boys would ever watch a cooking show is if there is some sort of competition involved. Throw Down With Bobby Flay is one we have seen a few times. In case you aren’t familiar, the premise is that Bobby Flay, a famous chef, surprises a local cook to their specialty (Philly Cheese Steaks, Cupcakes, Fried Chicken, etc.) and challenges them to a throw down (each cooking the specialty which is then judged).

A couple of weeks ago I made one of my kids favorites, monkey bread. Monkey Bread is canned biscuits cut in quarters and covered in cinnamon, sugar, and butter. I had to laugh when one of my boys said, “Hey mom, you should challenge Bobby Flay to a throw down for your Monkey Bread!”

My culinary expertise is simply staggering.

Bring it on Bobby Flay.

Dave Harvey on Family Life Today

For the next three days Dave Harvey is going to be the guest on Family Life Today. You can listen online right here. I’m sure he will be covering material from his outstanding (what I’ve read so far) marriage book, When Sinners Say I Do. In this easy to read book, Dave is not only insightful and humble with regard to marriage, he teaches gospel connections that apply to broader areas for application. I am so excited for even more of the Christian community to be exposed to Dave Harvey via Family Life Today.

HT:Family Life Blog (Covenant Fellowship Church)

Ideas for Summer

I would love to hear some ideas about things to do during the summer when school doesn’t take up a bulk of our day. Too much free time combined with bored kids is a disaster waiting to happen. I would love to be proactive and plan things for the kids to do. My children are 10, 10, 9, and almost 7 years old.

To get your juices flowing I’d love to here about:

1. good read aloud books for the summer

2.  craft ideas

3. outdoorsy activities

4.  educational options

5.  community opportunities (reading programs, service projects, etc.)

6.  Serving in the church potential especially for the boys.

Even if you don’t have kids, or if your kids aren’t my kids’ ages,  please feel free to respond. I’m sure my girlfriends with preschoolers would love ideas as well, so fill up the comment box, or write a post and let us know about it.

C.J. andCarolyn On Parenting

Here is a helpful audio clip of C.J. and Carolyn Mahaney answering the question, “What does gospel centered parenting look like for a two year old child?” Sometimes we can get paralyzed by how in the world to make the gospel relevant to little ones. Here is excellent counsel about the role of obedience-training and preparing hearts to be responsive to gospel truth.

The Great Escape

My mom tells a funny story about my sister when she was little. Karyn, prone to drama, was frustrated after being corrected by my mom and decided to run away. She headed out of the house on her tricycle with only the bare necessities…her baby sister (me, standing on the back), and my diapers. She headed off up a huge hill pedalling feverishly. It was a futile escape. She eventually went back home to where people loved her, cared for her, provided for her, and protected her.

It dawned on me at some point in my life as wife, mother, and homemaker, that I too try to escape at times. Rather than pick up and leave, I do something more socially acceptable. In the past some of my great escapes were t.v., sleep, shopping. More recently God is showing me that the internet is my vacation of choice. I love getting online and checking blogs, reading the latest and the greatest. It gets me out of my world for a little while. None of my escapes in and of themselves are wrong. In fact, each one could be a means of grace. But I am convicted lately about hopping on my tricycle of blogworld, and e-mail and running away from the life God has called me to.

God’s will for me as a woman, is safe. If I try to avoid disciplining my kids, or doing quality homeschooling. If I let the laundry pile up, or play, “tag, you’re it” when Jason comes home. If I know there is something I could be doing, but have decided to click from blog to blog instead – it is like running away on a tricycle. God is so gracious to remind me to “come home”. Yes, I’m here bodily, but is my heart here?

God help me to know when I am escaping life on the tricycle of an acceptable activity. Help me to obey you and return to the beautiful life you’ve called me to as a woman.

*I first wrote this a few years ago, and it is so humbling to re-read it and find that it is still true of me today. So often I still try to escape when life gets hard on my tricycle of acceptable activity. I am grateful that another truth remains the same: God persistently pursues me and calls me to come back to Him. It is sweet restraining grace that never lets me wander too far.

Vacation Photos 2

our view from the deck

Charli in the sun

sweet girls

jack in the sun

Abby and Jimmy

Joshy

Karyn in the sun

freezing cold water

I love her ocean hair

playing in the sand on our one sunny day

my beautiful girl

Si Si again

My beautiful niece Sierra

The girls sang a song and did hand motions for the talent show

The boys did a cool dance for the talent show

Merciful Mom

“Grace is especially associated with men in their sins; mercy is especially associated with men in their misery. In other words, while grace looks down upon sin as a whole, mercy looks especially upon the miserable consequences of sin. So that mercy really means a sense of pity plus a desire to relieve the suffering. That is the essential meaning of being merciful; it is pity plus the action. So the Christian has a feeling of pity. His concern about the misery of men and women leads to an anxiety to relieve it.”  D Martin Lloyd-Jones from Studies in Sermon on the Mount, pg. 99

One of my first thoughts in reading this was with regard to being a mother. How many opportunities do I have to show mercy to the children God has entrusted to me. How often have I seen my children miserable in their sins? Their hearts left unsatisfied by leisure and entertainment. Their idolatrous cravings for power and control leaving them angry and at war with others.  Such familiar misery!

Is my heart, “I told you so…”

Is my heart, “this is a huge inconvenience to my plans!”

Is my heart, “One day they’ll learn their lesson”

Is my heart, “How could you?”

What conviction I am experiencing over a lack of mercy for my children in their all-too-familiar struggles with sin. Many times I avoid the opportunity to intervene, to take action on their behalf, to show them mercy. Other times when I intervene it is at least partly because their sin is hooking one of my own idols.  I don’t think I ever connected these issues in my mothering with a lack of mercy.  When I ignore their sin, I am not being merciful. When I reduce discipline to managing behavior, I’m not being merciful. When I am lazy, indulgent, or harsh and manipulative, I am obviously not showing mercy.

Being a merciful mom is more than kissing a boo-boo, or soothing a sick child. It is being part of the rescue mission when my child chooses to live for self rather than live for God. And the goal isn’t just to show him mercy, but to bring him to the source of all mercy: the cross of Jesus Christ. And here at the cross a sinful mom and a sinful child lift their gaze to a merciful Savior and find that He demonstrated the greatest act of mercy ever when He took our place on the cross. Part of my calling as a mother, as a believer, is to show mercy. This begins with those right here in my home.  Blessed are the merciful, indeed!

Fun Times on Vacation

We are having a fabulous time here in NC. It has been rainy until today, but that doesn’t stop us from enjoying each other’s company.

school work isn’t so bad when you do it with cousins

three syllables

Jimmy helping my dad in his charades

charades master, Jason Reyes

Sweet Charli face

Josh and Charli

Conjugating Jimmy’s name for his cup (Karyn’t been creative with cup names all week).

Kiddie devotions at breakfast

enjoying cousins and doritos! (Daniel and Israel)

Pretty girls: Charli, Sierra, and Maggs

Izzy reading the Bible to Jack

It might be cold and windy, but we are committed to beach time!

honoring the moms on mother’s day

Here is one of two 1000 piece puzzles we’ve put together so far

*by the way, the photos are so much easier to upload on WordPress now. I am very happy with this gallery feature. Woo Hoo! I knew if I hung in there long enough, WordPress would improve things.

Don’t Know When I’ll be Back Again…

We are headed to the beach this week. If we have internet access I will try to post some pictures. We are so excited about spending time with our family at Nag’s Head. Woo Hoo!!!

Prayer Request: Ashes to Beauty

Diana, of Praise His Name With Dancing, did mention her request in the comment section for the upcoming event, Ashes to Beauty, but I wanted to put the request in a more public place so as many who read will consider praying. Here is what Diana said in an email:

A number of you have requested that I share with you the prayer needs for our celebration “Ashes to Beauty.“  Things are coming along very well.  I see God’s hand moving and ordering our steps.  The Lord has given us a Scripture that company members are praying together at the beginning of classes over the show – it goes with our theme.  I would invite all of you that would like to pray to join with us in praying the Scripture in the next paragraph over the celebration.  (“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword..”)

Blessings to All!

Please be inviting people.  We have e-mail invitations as well as post card invitations available.

Many unbelievers as well as others from all kinds of denominations come to our celebrations.  We would love to have you join with us in prayer.  We know that we need the Lord to show up in every detail, or at best it might be a nice dance show.

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has annointed me to preach the good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of BEAUTY INSTEAD OF ASHES the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.  They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting for the Lord for the display of His splendor.”  Isaiah 61: 1-3