Training

There is a lot of training going on at our house these days. Miles is at the tail end of potty training. You might even consider him newly trained. Owen is in training to be a better listener. He is attending Kindercamp at our church this week and gets a little encouragement and reminder each day to listen to the teachers. So far, he has gotten really good reports. I am training my body. I’m training my body to get up early, to exercise, to eat better, and to go to sleep on time.

Twelve days ago, I committed to doing an exercise DVD that challenged me to exercise for 30 days in a row. The first challenge was starting. You would not believe the excuses I threw out there to avoid beginning this venture. As I sat and encouraged a good friend to do some training in another area, I was convicted to take my own and advice and just do it!

The first few days went smoothly. I could barely move, but I didn’t mind because I knew it was working. Then on days six and seven I faced some crossroads. My regular training routine and schedule had been interrupted. How would I handle it? Would I give up or would I press on and honor the commitment I had made? I chose to stick with it and find a way to keep going.

Yesterday, I noticed that my pants weren’t quite so tight. Although I don’t look forward to or enjoy my early morning workouts, I do delight in the results. I’ve recently been put through some pretty tough training. I didn’t want to be put through this training and there was not any part of it that I enjoyed. However, with my eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, I am beginning to recognize some of the results; a deeper faith, a greater joy, and a peace beyond understanding. Thanks be to the skilled trainer who has taken me on with grace, mercy, and compassion to shape me into the woman He has called me to be.

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11

Random Pictures

In April, Brandon and I headed south to Cancun, Mexico for an early celebration of our 10 year wedding anniversary coming up in August. This picture was taken at Chichen Itza.

Brandon and I were taking pictures as we walked along with our tour group. We were in the middle of the Mexican jungle and it was HOT!
This is where I spent most of my mornings. I spent my time reading a missionary biography and working on a Bible study about prayer.
My friend Rose got married in June. These are most of the girls from my Bible study group. Rose was the last one to get married. Our other Bible study buddy Erin wasn't in the picture because she was on her honeymoon!
Owen played soccer for the first time this year. He was part of AYSO which is all about having fun and learning. He had a great coach and his team improved very much over the 10 weeks!
Owen was so excited about receiving his first ever trophy!
On July 3rd, we celebrated Miles' golden birthday! We had a Diego party, excelente!
My friend Tona and I lead a small group of Jr High girls. We really enjoy spending time with the girls and getting to know them better.
To celebrate Brandon's return from a week long missions trip to Chicago, we made a trip to Volcano Falls for a little mini-golf. Miles insisted on using the putting technique Grammy taught him for croquet!

Spiritual Homeschooling

I’m sending my oldest off to Kindergarten this fall. As I look forward to helping him with school assignments and projects, I realize that one subject won’t be taught in his public school--the Bible. Over the past 5 years, I’ve fallen in love with the Bible. The more I study this incredible book, the more I depend on it to survive.

Brandon and I take primary responsibility for the spiritual development of our children. We read the Bible together, we talk about God, we pray. We are supported in this endeavor by our church and it’s various ministries. With the recent implementation of a family routine, devotional time has been an important addition to our schedule.

The boys love The Beginner’s Bible. Each received this Bible as a gift on their 3rd birthday. Owen and I have read through the Bible multiple times. Miles is showing more and more interest in the stories and pictures presented. I want to nurture this interest and model a growing and vibrant relationship with the Lord.

After getting dressed and eating breakfast each morning, the boys know it will be devotional time. They grab a special chair to sit in or plop down on a pillow. Sometimes we sit at the kitchen table. We begin by patting the Bible and singing a special song they learned at church. Next, we say our verse of the week. We all open our Bibles to the story for the day. We are starting at the beginning and going straight through. Between creativity from the Lord and some google searches, I look for coloring pages, mazes, experiments, crafts, etc. to go along with the Bible story. We finish with a prayer/thankfulness time and a few songs. We all really enjoy this time. Throughout the week, I seek out teachable moments to apply the lessons we are learning to everyday life.

This all takes a bit of creativity and planning ahead, but the investment is so worth it. I am finding the planning to be fun and I am even learning things as I seek to pull out important precepts to teach my children.

Below are two pictures from the days we talked about Noah's Ark. We focused on the story of Noah's Ark the first day and rainbows the second day. The boy's and I really got into our rainbow experiment using milk, food coloring, and soap. The last two pictures were a snack we had the day we talked about Adam and Eve. We used apple slices to make a mouth. This snack idea was in one of Owen's High Five magazines.