HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY? (written by kids)
You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming. -- Alan, age 10
No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with. -- Kristen, age 10
WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?
Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then. -- Camille, age 10
HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?
You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids. -- Derrick, age 8
WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?
Both don't want any more kids. -- Lori, age 8
WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?
Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough. -- Lynnette, age 8(isn't she a treasure)
On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that Usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date. -- Martin, age 10
WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?
I'd run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns. - - Craig, age 9
WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?
When they're rich. -- Pam, age 7
The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that. - - Curt, age 7
The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them. It's the right thing to do. -- Howard, age 8
IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?
It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them. -- Anita, age 9(bless you child)
HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?
There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there? -- Kelvin, age 8
And the #1 Favorite is........
HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?
Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck. -- Ricky, age 10
Friday, August 8, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Wife, Mother, Career Woman...Does Superwoman really exist and keep her sanity intact?
This is a question I have asked myself for years. Can a woman try and fill the shoes of all of the rolls of wife, mother, and career woman and keep her sanity intact? Well, after years of hands-on research, my professional opinion is NO WAY!!!
I used to try and do it all. I worked a full time job, served time on the PTA, homeroom mom, soccer mom, drama mama, girlscout parent, band parent, sunday school teacher, youth group parent, slumber party hostess, birthday party deluxe hostess, cook, maid, fashion buyer, dog washer, home-improvement, super human being!! Whew!! Oh yes, somewhere in there I tried to find time to be a wife to my wonderful and patient husband!
I am not just speaking as someone who doesn't have a clue! I had a clue but, was it the right clue? Did I really think that I could "have it all" or so the world defined as such? I finally got a clue when I looked in the mirror one day and realized how much time was slipping away. I had lost valuable family time and valuable ME time! I decided it was time to adjust my priorities. Was having money for "stuff" really that important? Had I put having "stuff" above my own health and the happiness of me and my family????? I knew we had to downsize in a hurry or I would be dead by the age of 40! NO woman in her right mind, can do each of these jobs and do any of them good enough to be acceptable! I don't care what anyone says! Now, I'm not talking single moms here. I've been there and done that and lived to tell the tale! I admire ALL single moms who manage each of these positions. When you aren't given a choice, you do what you have to do. I just knew that I wasn't in that position any longer and I DID have a choice.
So here's how we did it! We packed up the big city life and opted for small town America. A slower pace of life in a lakeside community. (That REALLY helps with the stress level and I hightly recommend it!). We stopped paying high-dollar private school tuition, and opted for home school. We learned that places like GAP, Abercrombie, and Saks Fifth Avenue would no longer be a part of the budget. It wasn't necessary. Not like it really was before but, you do tend to get caught up in the trends when surrounded by it without even realizing you are being caught up! Who need the mall when you have WALMART in your hometown and that's about it on choices. We traded in our business suits for shorts and flip flops! I even go to the store in my pajama bottoms! I wouldn't have been caught dead like that in the city!!! Most days, it's no make up, our hair up in pony tails, t-shirts and shorts. It doesn't cost us $200 a week in gas because everything is a 5 minute drive or less here in our town. We can make a tank of gas last two weeks or more. We don't go on vacation anymore because we LIVE our vacation everyday! We eat healthier, we live healthier! This town has become our family and we wouldn't have it any other way!
Is trying to be Superwoman really that important? There are other ways to be super for your family. Nothing is more sacred than watching your child grow up before your eyes instead of having to be told by a daycare worker of their accomplishments. My advice: If you have the option of career or motherhood (notice I didn't say "and"), ALWAYS choose motherhood. You will be eternally grateful for having all of the moments instead of just some of the moments.
Our children NEED moms if they are going to survive in this world. A mom is a superhero!! Being called Mom is title enough. The "super" is implied!
I used to try and do it all. I worked a full time job, served time on the PTA, homeroom mom, soccer mom, drama mama, girlscout parent, band parent, sunday school teacher, youth group parent, slumber party hostess, birthday party deluxe hostess, cook, maid, fashion buyer, dog washer, home-improvement, super human being!! Whew!! Oh yes, somewhere in there I tried to find time to be a wife to my wonderful and patient husband!
I am not just speaking as someone who doesn't have a clue! I had a clue but, was it the right clue? Did I really think that I could "have it all" or so the world defined as such? I finally got a clue when I looked in the mirror one day and realized how much time was slipping away. I had lost valuable family time and valuable ME time! I decided it was time to adjust my priorities. Was having money for "stuff" really that important? Had I put having "stuff" above my own health and the happiness of me and my family????? I knew we had to downsize in a hurry or I would be dead by the age of 40! NO woman in her right mind, can do each of these jobs and do any of them good enough to be acceptable! I don't care what anyone says! Now, I'm not talking single moms here. I've been there and done that and lived to tell the tale! I admire ALL single moms who manage each of these positions. When you aren't given a choice, you do what you have to do. I just knew that I wasn't in that position any longer and I DID have a choice.
So here's how we did it! We packed up the big city life and opted for small town America. A slower pace of life in a lakeside community. (That REALLY helps with the stress level and I hightly recommend it!). We stopped paying high-dollar private school tuition, and opted for home school. We learned that places like GAP, Abercrombie, and Saks Fifth Avenue would no longer be a part of the budget. It wasn't necessary. Not like it really was before but, you do tend to get caught up in the trends when surrounded by it without even realizing you are being caught up! Who need the mall when you have WALMART in your hometown and that's about it on choices. We traded in our business suits for shorts and flip flops! I even go to the store in my pajama bottoms! I wouldn't have been caught dead like that in the city!!! Most days, it's no make up, our hair up in pony tails, t-shirts and shorts. It doesn't cost us $200 a week in gas because everything is a 5 minute drive or less here in our town. We can make a tank of gas last two weeks or more. We don't go on vacation anymore because we LIVE our vacation everyday! We eat healthier, we live healthier! This town has become our family and we wouldn't have it any other way!
Is trying to be Superwoman really that important? There are other ways to be super for your family. Nothing is more sacred than watching your child grow up before your eyes instead of having to be told by a daycare worker of their accomplishments. My advice: If you have the option of career or motherhood (notice I didn't say "and"), ALWAYS choose motherhood. You will be eternally grateful for having all of the moments instead of just some of the moments.
Our children NEED moms if they are going to survive in this world. A mom is a superhero!! Being called Mom is title enough. The "super" is implied!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
GOD LIVES UNDER THE BED-UPDATE!!!
I should clarify! Kevin is not my brother. I was sent this precious story by my good friend, Erin. I thought it was such a wonderful story of how we should all be child-like in our faith. I just wanted to share the beauty of it. I didn't even think that anyone would think Kevin is MY brother!!! After reading it again, I can see how it might appear that way! SORRY!!!!
Why do some people only cry out to God in times of crisis?
How many times have we heard someone cry out to God in times of crisis? I think back to instances such as 9/11, Columbine, Hurricane Katrina, etc. and think about our media, who otherwise would put up a tremendous fight about religion, call on us to PRAY as a nation for those who are suffering. We are raising a confused generation here. They are told that God has no place in our schools or in our government, even though this is a nation founded on religious freedoms and principles. Yet, when we suffer, we want to turn to God to ask his help and forget that God needs to be thanked when we are blessed! People want to pray to God to ease the pain and suffering but out of the other sides of their mouths, they will blame God for allowing such tradgedy to occur. Do you really think that our God would allow pain and suffering just to feed his ego so that we are forced to call on him for his help?? I don't think so!
My God is a God of peace, love, mercy, and grace. He is there on the mountain tops and rejoices with me. He carries me through the valleys when I am too weak to stand. The founding fathers of this nation got it right. In God We Trust.....and we should! Until we do as a unified nation, it is up to the individual to raise up their children to know their God, trust their God, and love their God with all of their heart. Above all else, our children need to know the meaning and live the definition of the word "RESPECT". If this is a foundation building block, the structure of their lives will remain strong and steady.
This is an email I received from my good friend, Erin. This is what got me to thinking about what I wrote above:
An atheist was walking through the woods. 'What majestic trees'! 'What powerful rivers'! 'What beautiful animals'! He said to himself. As he was walking alongside the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned to look. He saw a 7-foot grizzly bear charge towards him. He ran as fast as he could up the path. He looked over his shoulder & saw that the bear was closing in on him. He looked over his shoulder again, & the bear was even closer . He tripped & fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up but saw that the bear was right on top of him, reaching for him with his left paw & ; raising his right paw to strike him. At that instant the Atheist cried out, 'Oh my God!' Time Stopped.The bear froze.The forest was silent.As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky. 'You deny my existence for all these years, teach others I don't exist and even credit creation to cosmic accident.' 'Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? A m I to count you as a believer'? The atheist looked directly into the lig ht, 'It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps you could make the BEAR a Christian'?'Very Well,' said the voice. The light went out. The sounds of the forest resumed. And the bear dropped his right paw, brought both paws together, bowed his head & spoke: 'Lord bless this food, which I am about to receive from thy bounty through Christ our Lord, Amen.'
My God is a God of peace, love, mercy, and grace. He is there on the mountain tops and rejoices with me. He carries me through the valleys when I am too weak to stand. The founding fathers of this nation got it right. In God We Trust.....and we should! Until we do as a unified nation, it is up to the individual to raise up their children to know their God, trust their God, and love their God with all of their heart. Above all else, our children need to know the meaning and live the definition of the word "RESPECT". If this is a foundation building block, the structure of their lives will remain strong and steady.
This is an email I received from my good friend, Erin. This is what got me to thinking about what I wrote above:
An atheist was walking through the woods. 'What majestic trees'! 'What powerful rivers'! 'What beautiful animals'! He said to himself. As he was walking alongside the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned to look. He saw a 7-foot grizzly bear charge towards him. He ran as fast as he could up the path. He looked over his shoulder & saw that the bear was closing in on him. He looked over his shoulder again, & the bear was even closer . He tripped & fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up but saw that the bear was right on top of him, reaching for him with his left paw & ; raising his right paw to strike him. At that instant the Atheist cried out, 'Oh my God!' Time Stopped.The bear froze.The forest was silent.As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky. 'You deny my existence for all these years, teach others I don't exist and even credit creation to cosmic accident.' 'Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? A m I to count you as a believer'? The atheist looked directly into the lig ht, 'It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps you could make the BEAR a Christian'?'Very Well,' said the voice. The light went out. The sounds of the forest resumed. And the bear dropped his right paw, brought both paws together, bowed his head & spoke: 'Lord bless this food, which I am about to receive from thy bounty through Christ our Lord, Amen.'
Friday, August 1, 2008
GOD LIVES UNDER THE BED
This was sent to me by my good friend. Kevin is not my biological brother, but he is my brother-in-christ. I look forward to meeting him someday.
GOD LIVES UNDER THE BED
I envy Kevin. My brother, Kevin, thinks God lives under his bed. At least that's what I heard him say one night.
He was praying out loud in his dark bedroom, and I stopped to listen, 'Are you there, God?' he said. 'Where are you? Oh, I see. Under the bed...'
I giggled softly and tiptoed off to my own room. Kevin's unique perspectives are often a source of amusement. But that night something else lingered long after the humor. I realized for the first time the very different world Kevin lives in.
He was born 30 years ago, mentally disabled as a result of difficulties during labor. Apart from his size (he's 6-foot-2), there are few ways in which he is an adult.
He reasons and communicates with the capabilities of a 7-year-old, and he always will. He will probably always believe that God lives under his bed, that Santa Claus is the one who fills the space under our tree every Christmas and that airplanes stay up in the sky because angels carry them.
I remember wondering if Kevin realizes he is different. Is he ever dissatisfied with his monotonous life?
Up before dawn each day, off to work at a workshop for the disabled, home to walk our cocker spaniel, return to eat his favorite macaroni-and-cheese for dinner, and later to bed.
The only variation in the entire scheme is laundry, when he hovers excitedly over the washing machine like a mother with her newborn child.
He does not seem dissatisfied.
He lopes out to the bus every morning at 7:05, eager for a day of simple work.
He wrings his hands excitedly while the water boils on the stove before dinner, and he stays up late twice a week to gather our dirty laundry for his next day's laundry chores.
And Saturdays - oh, the bliss of Saturdays! That's the day my Dad takes Kevin to the airport to have a soft drink, watch the planes land, and speculate loudly on the destination of each passenger inside. 'That one's goin' to Chi-car-go! ' Kevin shouts as he claps his hands.
His anticipation is so great he can hardly sleep on Friday nights.
And so goes his world of daily rituals and weekend field trips.
He doesn't know what it means to be discontent.
His life is simple.
He will never know the entanglements of wealth of power, and he does not care what brand of clothing he wears or what kind of food he eats. His needs have always been met, and he never worries that one day they may not be.
His hands are diligent. Kevin is never so happy as when he is working. When he unloads the dishwasher or vacuums the carpet, his heart is completely in it. '
He does not shrink from a job when it is begun, and he does not leave a job until it is finished. But when his tasks are done, Kevin knows how to relax.
He is not obsessed with his work or the work of others. His heart is pure.
He still believes everyone tells the truth, promises must be kept, and when you are wrong, you apologize instead of argue.
Free from pride and unconcerned with appearances, Kevin is not afraid to cry when he is hurt, angry or sorry. He is always transparent, always sincere. And he trusts God.
Not confined by intellectual reasoning, when he comes to Christ, he comes as a child.. Kevin seems to know God - to really be friends with Him in a way that is difficult for an 'educated' person to grasp. God seems like his closest companion.
In my moments of doubt and frustrations with my Christianity, I envy the security Kevin has in his simple faith.
It is then that I am most willing to admit that he has some divine knowledge that rises above my mortal questions.
It is then I realize that perhaps he is not the one with the handicap. I am. My obligations, my fear, my pride, my circumstances - they all become disabilities when I do not trust them to God's care.
Who knows if Kevin comprehends things I can never learn? After all, he has spent his whole life in that kind of innocence, praying after dark and soaking up the goodness and love of God.
And one day, when the mysteries of heaven are opened, and we are all amazed at how close God really is to our hearts, I'll realize that God heard the simple prayers of a boy who believed that God lived under his bed.
Kevin won't be surprised at all!
GOD LIVES UNDER THE BED
I envy Kevin. My brother, Kevin, thinks God lives under his bed. At least that's what I heard him say one night.
He was praying out loud in his dark bedroom, and I stopped to listen, 'Are you there, God?' he said. 'Where are you? Oh, I see. Under the bed...'
I giggled softly and tiptoed off to my own room. Kevin's unique perspectives are often a source of amusement. But that night something else lingered long after the humor. I realized for the first time the very different world Kevin lives in.
He was born 30 years ago, mentally disabled as a result of difficulties during labor. Apart from his size (he's 6-foot-2), there are few ways in which he is an adult.
He reasons and communicates with the capabilities of a 7-year-old, and he always will. He will probably always believe that God lives under his bed, that Santa Claus is the one who fills the space under our tree every Christmas and that airplanes stay up in the sky because angels carry them.
I remember wondering if Kevin realizes he is different. Is he ever dissatisfied with his monotonous life?
Up before dawn each day, off to work at a workshop for the disabled, home to walk our cocker spaniel, return to eat his favorite macaroni-and-cheese for dinner, and later to bed.
The only variation in the entire scheme is laundry, when he hovers excitedly over the washing machine like a mother with her newborn child.
He does not seem dissatisfied.
He lopes out to the bus every morning at 7:05, eager for a day of simple work.
He wrings his hands excitedly while the water boils on the stove before dinner, and he stays up late twice a week to gather our dirty laundry for his next day's laundry chores.
And Saturdays - oh, the bliss of Saturdays! That's the day my Dad takes Kevin to the airport to have a soft drink, watch the planes land, and speculate loudly on the destination of each passenger inside. 'That one's goin' to Chi-car-go! ' Kevin shouts as he claps his hands.
His anticipation is so great he can hardly sleep on Friday nights.
And so goes his world of daily rituals and weekend field trips.
He doesn't know what it means to be discontent.
His life is simple.
He will never know the entanglements of wealth of power, and he does not care what brand of clothing he wears or what kind of food he eats. His needs have always been met, and he never worries that one day they may not be.
His hands are diligent. Kevin is never so happy as when he is working. When he unloads the dishwasher or vacuums the carpet, his heart is completely in it. '
He does not shrink from a job when it is begun, and he does not leave a job until it is finished. But when his tasks are done, Kevin knows how to relax.
He is not obsessed with his work or the work of others. His heart is pure.
He still believes everyone tells the truth, promises must be kept, and when you are wrong, you apologize instead of argue.
Free from pride and unconcerned with appearances, Kevin is not afraid to cry when he is hurt, angry or sorry. He is always transparent, always sincere. And he trusts God.
Not confined by intellectual reasoning, when he comes to Christ, he comes as a child.. Kevin seems to know God - to really be friends with Him in a way that is difficult for an 'educated' person to grasp. God seems like his closest companion.
In my moments of doubt and frustrations with my Christianity, I envy the security Kevin has in his simple faith.
It is then that I am most willing to admit that he has some divine knowledge that rises above my mortal questions.
It is then I realize that perhaps he is not the one with the handicap. I am. My obligations, my fear, my pride, my circumstances - they all become disabilities when I do not trust them to God's care.
Who knows if Kevin comprehends things I can never learn? After all, he has spent his whole life in that kind of innocence, praying after dark and soaking up the goodness and love of God.
And one day, when the mysteries of heaven are opened, and we are all amazed at how close God really is to our hearts, I'll realize that God heard the simple prayers of a boy who believed that God lived under his bed.
Kevin won't be surprised at all!
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