And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. Luke 2:52 NIV
Earlier this month, we started talking about what it takes to raise godly men. I shared a little bit about how God captured my heart and gave me the desire to be a boy mom. If you have not had a chance to read it yet, then take a minute to go back and read it (Raising Godly Men, Part 1).
I shared about how to get started if your boys are in preschool and now I want to take a minute to talk about elementary, middle, and high school boys.
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We live about 20 miles outside of a major city and we love the beautiful drive we have along forested highway to get to and from church, work, etc. Each time I prepare to make the drive, my dh (dear husband) says, “Watch out for deer and trucks!”
So, when I saw the Associated Press article titled, Wisconsin Runner Collides with Deer During Race, I had to know more. It seems that a high school sophmore was running a cross country race when a deer ran into her path. Thankfully, no injuries more serious than a bruised leg were sustained, and they each continued on their way.
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It’s past the middle of January.
We’ve had a good three plus weeks to work on those resolutions. Over 26 days. Many hours. Maybe you’re right on track with those goals for 2011. Or maybe, just maybe, you’re like me and haven’t been perfect with those new resolutions. Or you stopped.
That’s okay.
Life isn’t about a one time commitment to change something. Developing a new habit involves persistence and constant diligence. Oh yeah, and faith. Faith? Yes, faith. Because deep down we need to begin to replace the doubts that we can do something with the new belief and mindset that we will accomplish those goals.
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As a mom, I have often sent my children to the “time out” chair or corner. Sometimes it would be 15 minutes, or 30 minutes. It was an opportunity for my children to sit quietly and reflect on their behaviors, attitudes and motives. I cannot say that it always worked, but when it did, I was thankful because their hearts were changed.
Lately, I have been wanting to give myself a time out. Not so much for discipline, but just to simply be alone. I feel an increased need for moments in my day where I can breathe in Jesus and exhale the cares of the world.
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I drove along the unfamiliar road, going maybe 50 mph at best. The sun was quickly setting in the west, much faster than I had hoped. I had left my house forty minutes earlier for the hour and a half road trip, equipped with nothing more than anxiety over navigating country roads by myself and – of course – my trusty GPS.
His name is Walter. You know, the faceless guy who gives you minute-by-minute driving directions. The same one that announces, “You missed your exit. One moment. Redirecting.” Walter and I had made several trips together before this night, and he’d not given me any reason to doubt him before now.
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“O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You…” Psalm 63:1 (NKJV)
I never expected the Lord to use the hound dogs next door to bless my life. They are just your everyday, ordinary hounds…the kind that get to howling in the middle of the night and that bark their heads off at anything that moves during the day. I had never paid them much attention, that is until one particularly cold, winter morning.
I held a delightfully warm cup of coffee in my hands and gazed out my kitchen window. As I sipped and pondered what I should do next with my day, I noticed the dogs.
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Written on
January 17, 2011 by
Amy in
Blog
Ever had those days when you felt you were throwing up emergency prayers that seemed unimportant in the big scheme of things? You know the ones. “Lord, please let me find my car keys or I’m going to be late, again.” “Lord, please let me find a parking place close to the door, because I have to get these children and all this stuff in that store quickly in the rain.” “Lord, please let my child sleep through the night, because I have to get some sleep.”
If you are a mom, I’m sure you’ve prayed one or more of these prayers on some occasion.
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Written on
January 14, 2011 by
Mary in
Blog
“Pblllltttt”
“Moooom! He’s spitting!”
I don’t know about you, but I don’t have any patience for tattling. If someone is in imminent danger of physical harm, I want to know about it, but otherwise, deal with it or drop it.
I’ve tried to empower my kids to let someone else know when they’re breaking a rule or doing something they shouldn’t; they don’t need me to intervene for every random thing. At least, that’s my theory.
I thought I’d outgrown tattling a long time ago. “Deal with it or drop it.” But how often do I sit in church and think, “So-and-so really needs to hear this,” or fill my prayers with, “Lord did you see…?”
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