Confession

I'm trying to get organized.
Such is the state of the rest of my life- emphasis on the TRYING.
I married an organized messie. I tend to be a large portion of impulsive with a side of routine that sometimes resembles organization.

So our family devotion time was mainly- "oh hey yea we're done eating. What book is close by that we can read and oh, Honey, by the way, your the MAN of the house so you should be doing this."

It wasn't working well.
=)

Hence my attempt to organize- beginning with our devotional time.

So I chose the verses typed out on the sidebar for our September memory work. Romans 12:9-13. We've worked on these before but they're just good and worth re-instilling.

My confession?
I wanted to drop some of the words in the verses!!
Ok- I wanted to drop the last sentence: "practice hospitality"
Isn't that wretched??
Don't get me wrong- I enjoy having people over! I do!
But I like having people over that I invited over when I invited them!
Just plain ole ugly truth.

Truth be told- I'm having a hard time with neighbor kid drop-ins.
When the older neighbor lady comes in our backdoor I really don't think anything about it and have no problem asking her to stay for some ice cream or iced tea. So maybe my hesitancy on wanting to actually have to TEACH my kids the scripture (and thus needing to actually DO it myself *shock*) is more of the out-of-my-control influence that other kids bring. It's not always bad (altho certainly not always great!) Oh what a long journey I have in front of me if I can't get a handle on this.

So, yes, I did print out ALL the verses for our memory work- including those that may be a bit harder for me to swallow.
So how do you "practice hospitality" ?

The Shrine

Ok, so what exactly is the point of hanging up pictures of people who LIVE in our house anyway? Anyway- I do and did. My (very talented) friend took some amazing pictures of my gang and I finally got around to picking out the frames, mats, etc. My detailed husband is the hero of this story as I would've just "eyeballed" it but he was meticulous in hanging- which I so appreciate! I like how it turned out. What do you think? =)

Another Repost- =)

I was jabbering away with a friend a little while ago and the subject of "peer pressure" came up. It has just occured to me recently (because I am admittedly a bit slow) that peer pressure if not something that really ever goes away! The intensity of it may wane in a season but it is certainly not something just for the teen years! So then I read this post and well, it pretty much sums up EXACTLY what I was saying- only much more neatly. =)

From Jill Savages' blog (www.jillsavage.org)

After spending the past year writing our newest book Living With Less So Your Family Has More, I’ve really been thinking about the reality of adult peer pressure.

The words “peer pressure” usually refer to the pressure to conform that teenagers experience. But if we’re honest, peer pressure doesn’t stop after the teen years…it continues right on into adulthood.

If we’re not aware of the demand to conform, we’ll likely find ourselves pressured into a lifestyle that requires we work more to give our family more. At the end of our life, though, what we give our family materially isn’t nearly as important as what we give our family relationally. Bigger isn’t necessarily better. Less really can be more.

We can’t resist peer pressure if we don’t recognize it’s there. Watch out for these types of adult peer pressure:

Pressure to have debt—Our culture seeks immediate gratification. We want what we want when we want it…even if we have to pay double the price in interest to have it. Believe it or not, there are middle class people who pay cash for a car, refuse the concept of 12 months same as cash, and other than having a mortgage for a home would never take out a loan for anything.

Pressure to give our kids every possible opportunity—In our activity centered life too many of us forget that the best opportunity we can give our kids is simply the opportunity to be a kid. In the preschool years, our kids need to play in the backyard sandbox rather than on an organized sports team.

Pressure to move up the corporate ladder--We have to weigh carefully how much time and energy we want to pour into our career, especially if it will take away from our family. There are those who resist this pressure and choose to step off the corporate ladder. Yes, it limits their earning power, but it increases their availability to their family.

Pressure to live in the right neighborhood and drive the right car---Too often we allow ourselves to be defined by things that we could lose in the blink of an eye…especially in the economic challenges we’ve experienced over the past few years. Those who resist this peer pressure may drive older cars and live in a house and neighborhood they can easily afford.

Adult peer pressure is real, it’s controlling, and it will influence us far more than we realize. Take a minute and think about the impact cultural expectations have on your thinking. Talk it over with your spouse. And then stand firm on what's right for your family...regardless of what others think!


What about you? Where have you experienced adult peer pressure? What helps you stand firm against the pressure to conform?

My rent-a-sister week

I was treated by a visit of a sweet friend of mine from my old stomping grounds in PA. Janelle and I literally grew up together. Many-if not most- of my memories have one or more members of her family in it. While we don't live nearby any long we still share a kindred friendship. We spent the week gabbing as much as we could and enjoying our little boys (4 in all). In the midst of our many conversations it occurs to me that we are STILL growing up together. What a tender blessing. Yet another treat was seeing some....more mature friends of ours who lived in PA for 14 years and now live in Schoolcraft (about an hour from here). I used to look forward to my weekly Randy hug at church - and I got TWO during their brief visit for lunch.Here's Javin and Owen together. Owen is a bit of a bully to youn
ger kids - probably because he finally CAN be- but not so much to the liking of his mama. They had some fun playing at each other though. Aren't they cute? =)

Jaedon turns 7

The toothfairy finally had to get directions to our house lately. Jaedon actually lost his first tooth ON his birthday. He was very excited because he is convinced that he will really remember the day he lost his first tooth now.

Jaedon was (like really a whole lot) excited to get a new game for Wii. I may never quite grasp the thrill of gaming systems. I do, however, see that it is a bonding time between Daddy and son so I am learning to appreciate it for that at least. Anyway, thanks, Mom and Dad- it is loved by all!

We were going to go bowling for big J's birthday- but instead we had a buddy over, played some Apples to Apples and ate some Peanut Butter meltaway cake. Sounds like a pretty decent plan B to me. =)

Star Wars legos and a Nerf gun- the boy is lacking nothing!

Gettin' wet-

We were able to steal away to Amish Country, Indiana with our friends the Gurks. We found a really sweet deal on an indoor waterpark and overnight stay at the hotel. Needless to say, we had a blast.

Naptime for Owen (and Daddy?)