True Greatness

Did you make a New Year's Resolution?  This year I haven't made a resolution, but I have changed my focus on what I am doing with my children.  As a mom, I want my children to succeed, to be their very best.  However, have I been challenged to think about raising my children for True Greatness and not success alone.  Want to hear more?  You can read more about it on A Snap Shot of Motherhood.  The title is A New Year, A New Perspective

Blessings to you in 2012!

Prayer and a New Commitment

One thing I have posted about recently on A Snap Shot of Motherhood is prayer.  It is one thing that is so important, and yet to me, it is one of my biggest struggles...especially praying intentionally for my children.

I have resolved this year to be intentional, to let God do His work in the lives of my children, rather than thinking a little better parenting will do the trick.  A great book that I am using to consistently pray for my children is While They are Sleeping  I have two blog posts about this book and the way I am using it this year.  Will you join with me in praying faithfully this year? 

Check out the posts A Confession and Kindness and leave a comment if you'd like to commit to prayer this year too! 

A Wonderful Challenge

Last fall a good friend of mine was interviewed for MomLife Today. She was asked, "What is one thing you have done well in parenting?" Marilyn told the story of how she and her husband Don issued a challenge to each of their children when they reached the age of 13.

The challenge placed before each of their children was to read the Bible through in one year and write a commentary. For each and every chapter of the Bible they had to write a 2-3 sentence summary on the chapter. Each day they would read a chapter in the Old Testament, a chapter in the New Testament, a Psalm and a Proverb. If they completed the challenge within the year (with some grace allowed) they would receive a big prize of their choosing. (Marilyn mentioned each one chose something of their liking...a computer, clothes shopping, a sewing machine, etc).

My oldest two are well past the age of thirteen but I thought it would be a wonderful challenge, so we sat them down and gave them the opportunity to write a commentary as well. What an incredible gift...to have the knowledge of what is in the Word from beginning to end.

I am excited to see how spending the time in the Word and summarizing what each chapter is about will impact my children!

My next child is twelve and his birthday is in October. I had really thought about waiting awhile to issue this challenge to him. However, he WANTS to do this! He is so excited about the opportunity and it has blessed my heart tremendously! Thanks Marilyn, for sharing your words of wisdom!

Graduation

So many memories... When the children were little time seemed to crawl along. Now with our oldest graduating from high school we see how quickly time passes. We are so thankful for all the memories and for the precious gift of our daughter Courtney!

On June 3rd we had the honor of seeing Courtney graduate from high school. She also had the privilege of giving the salutatorian speech for her senior class.

We have a few more pictures posted on our other blog...A Snapshot of Motherhood. You can also see Courtney give her speech on Laura's facebook page.

Ingredients Matter

In honor of Courtney's 18th birthday, and because she has gone vegan, I decided to make her favorite German Chocolate Cake " vegan style". I found a great recipe online and baked the cake. It smelled delicious baking! The frosting however, was a different story. I mixed the ingredients and put it on the stovetop to heat. After awhile the frosting doubled in size and was foamy. I transferred the frosting to my biggest pan and was a little amazed when it continued growing in size. Finally it bubbled out of my pan and onto the stove. I was mortified. I so wanted to bless Courtney, but I had made a mess of the frosting and the stove.

When she came home I told her what happened. She said, "Mom, you did use corn syrup or cornstarch?" I looked up in the cabinet and saw the cornstarch on the shelf and realized I had never taken it out of the cupboard. I had used Baking Soda instead! Oh my. No wonder it acted more like the boys' volcano science experiment rather than frosting. By the way, Josiah fondly calls my concoction "frothing" rather than frosting! With a quick trip to the store and all the right ingredients, the cake was completed. But I sure learned a lesson. Putting something in that doesn't belong can spell disaster. Ingredients are important!

What is your recipe for life? Is your life bubbling out of control like my "frothing"? What kind of ingredients are you putting inside of you? Are there things in your life that you are compromising or substituting for the ingredients that really belong? I know that listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit are so vital in life. Sometimes I ignore what God might be trying to tell me thinking, "Oh, this is no big thing" but God knows what is best for me. He designed me (and He designed you too) and He knows what is best to make each of our lives perfect in His sight.

Happy Birthday Whitney!

Today we celebrate Whitney...a life that started out uncertain and with many trials. We are so thankful for the six years that she has blessed our lives. Several pictures of Whitney's beginning are posted on A Snap Shot of Motherhood.

CollegeReady

With a junior in high school, I am so excited about the newest resource from FamilyLife...CollegeReady CollegeReady is a six part video resource that covers the following topics:

• Vision
• Empowering Friendships
• Excelling Academically
• Dating Right
• Having Fun
• Growing Spiritually

After spending 17 years praying for and teaching Courtney I want to see her succeed in college...not just academically, but to succeed in her relationship with Christ and to be all that God has intended for her to be.

College is a place where so many students walk away from their faith. Why not invest some time to prepare them to stand strong in their faith! Check out the CollegeReady site and see samples of the six different video segments. I'd love to hear your response to this new resource! CollegeReady-Home