John couldn’t believe his luck. Just a few weeks ago, he had been lamenting to a co-worker that he didn’t spend enough time with his family and now here he was with his youngest son Fishing in Alaska!
It all started weeks before when he escorted some clients to the Ducks game on the corporate account, hoping to land a big deal. Usually he enjoyed the “perks” that came with his business, but lately the hours had been adding up.
A typical morning may start like this:
Child 1: “Mom, can we have chocolate pudding for breakfast?’
Me: “No, it’s not a healthy breakfast.”
Child 1: “Then can we have vanilla pudding?”
Child 2: “Mom, I got already poured the milk in the pan with the chocolate pudding. Can we have chocolate pudding?”
Me: “No.”
Child 2: “You’re not being a very good steward if you throw out the pudding.”
Child 3: “I want chocolate pudding.”
Me: “No.”
Child 3: “I WANT CHOCOLATE PUDDING! I WANT CHOCOLATE PUDDING! I WANT CHOCOLATE PUDDING…”
Child 4: “Hey, Tyler, go ask Mom if we can have chocolate pudding for breakfast.”
Me: “I heard that.”
I have 4 children with vastly distinct personalities. All were raised in the same home with the same parents, but are all unique. Raising them in a manner that allowed them their differences and cultivated their strengths while maintaining my sanity was a challenge. I was not a Christian when I first became a parent. God graciously saved my husband and me soon after the birth of our second child. I wanted to be the perfect parent to give God glory. While my motive may have been pure, the goal disregarded my, and their, fallen natures.
I don’t believe I ever planned to be a mom, quite the opposite I planned to be the first one in my family to graduate from college. I planned to be a scientist. When my husband begged me for a child, I convinced him to get a dog instead. I loved my life, I had everything I needed, and I knew where I was going. I had the five year plan down to a science. Marry the man, get the house, get your BS and apply to graduate school. I believed in God and spent time with him, especially during finals. I would pray, “please let me pass, please let me get chosen, please get my husband off the baby talk, Amen and thank you Jesus.” To me, God was the genie in the bottle, there to grant my wishes and desires.
Looking for music we used at this year’s VBS? Look no further than The Rizers, a band that sings Scripture verses in the form of upbeat, kid-friendly music. We just can’t get enough of this band, and we’re sure you’re kids will feel the same way! To get their albums, follow the links below!
Endearing sweet, irresistibly cuddly, and oh-so-photogenic! Yes, babies are all of those things, but they are also incontrovertibly needy. Babies are born into this world utterly dependent upon their parents. Parents play a key role in determining how their baby-turned-toddler-turned-child is disciplined, educated, and influenced. Hence, it is the parents’ inherent responsibility to