a great book.

Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture

I very nearly didn’t buy this book… but it was so well recommended.  The ‘postmodern’ in the title put me off.  Just because I didn’t want a “flee the evil culture” book, or… I don’t know… a myriad of thoughts.  I don’t think the postmodern trends are a bad thing.  Its just a different paradigm.  A modern paradigm isn’t any more biblical than a postmodern paradigm.

So I was pleasantly surprised, when I picked up this book.  It gave a short postmodern paradigm explanation.  Wasn’t afraid to point out the obviously GOOD aspects of this shift in thinking.  And gave IDEAS (not a how to 1.2.3.) on how to prepare ourselves and our children for now and later as they are grown.

I figure a parenting book is good when it leaves you longing for a heart more like Christ’s, for a more selfless life and attitude, and a desire to seek God fervently for wisdom regarding your own children.

It has lots of neat ideas for family time that I hadn’t heard before.  And the author (Mary E. DeMuth) is so REFRESHINGLY on honest about her own failings and journey.

So there you go.  If you would like to read a book that won’t tell you how to do the parenting thing, I highly recommend this one.

Christmas play

Something I am enjoying in our current “church situation”  (what is that – I don’t know)

Anyway, I like how we are the body of Christ across church “lines”  we participate in many of another church’s activities for kids (since ours is so small that  we don’t have much)  They bless us.  Imagine that.  One body, different buildings.  A beautiful thing.

So the boys participated in this other church’s Christmas pageant. 🙂  Here are some pics.

This was the one time I saw anything on his face besides pure boredom.  He faced away from the director the whole time on his hay bale, and sang the words he knew 🙂 in between trying his hat on different ways.

Keenan takes it all very seriously, sings his little heart out, and makes such a handsome cowboy ( as does Thad, I forgot to mention that, but its not like you need me to see that! 🙂 )  He even took his role as an angel seriously.  Though I had a hard time taking him seriously with the little fairy wings and fluffy halo they had him wear.  NOW I know why he wanted to take his sword to practice!!

And here are a few REALLY cute shots of the boys afterwards.  Handsome little tykes.

   

I know… moderation…

a compliment?

So I’m leaning over the bathtub, bathing Shand… picture it. nah, don’t. ANYWAY

Bryan is behind me and says “Now that is just a beautiful thing …”

you MIGHT think you know what he’s talking about… you MIGHT. But I think you’d be wrong.

He was referring to my….

SCAB on my lower back from getting a mole removed!!!!

BOYS!

Advent Week 3 using Jesse tree

Our theme this week was “joy” – focusing in on the prophets and joy through repentance… no really! 🙂

there was a plan, and then the Spirit changed it mid set… which was beautiful… and led to communion.  Totally not the plan, but so God.  I love it when the Spirit speaks and I HEAR and FOLLOW!!

• O Come, O Come Emmanuel (v1 and 2)

 

Prayer / Intro to Advent/ J.T. (Renee/Bryan)

Advent Candle – Joy (Morris Family)

 

Isaiah 11:1-9 – Jesse Tree – Renee

Micah 5:2-5 – Bethlehem – Kimberley

Isaiah 9:2-7 – Light – Phil

 

o         O Little Town of Bethlehem (V1, ch, 3, 4, ch)

• Emmanuel (using as a chorus between Bethlehem verses)
• Here I Am to Worship (no bridge)
• The Gift of Promise

 

Teaching – sermonette from MJ on next 2 prophets

• Habbakuk Habbakuk 2:1, 3:16-19
• Elijah I Kings 18: 17-39

 

• Purify My Heart

(continue playing music)

 

Matthew 3: 1-6 John the Baptist (Bryan)

 

• Purify My Heart

 

Closing Prayer – I know – it seems a bit early… it just worked… kind of. J

 

• Prepare the Way

 

• Days of Elijah

thanks girls…

in real life and on the net… God’s family is good.  GOD is good!!

And what do you know… life is better!! (imagine that!)

we had a neat time of prayer tonight… spent some time “releasing” – as in releasing our garbage and such to Jesus, and worshiping, and moved into intercession for our home churches and Souljourn, and then leadership in our church.

We sang more after that…  I didn’t know if we were done, by “I” didn’t have anything more… but I didn’t feel certain that we had accomplished what God had for us.  We had specifically asked God to pray His heart and sense His burdens… and I wasn’t sure we were done.  then one of the guys shared a vision (he had forgotten – he had fallen asleep afterwards before he shared:) – it is finals week after all!)

SO we then prayed for fallen leadership.  I believe we were lifting up specifically a “fallen” leader here in Anchorage, though I have no idea who… but what an honor.  To pray what God lays on your heart… praying into visions He shows… we can’t do that without God giving a vision to someone, and that one sharing it, and the rest being available to hear and pray.  When we were done with that, I sensed a definite completion of “our” task for the evening.  I pray we continue praying and seeking His heart… not only on Thursdays!!

bad days

we have them.  all of us, right?  this is my third in a row.  I hate bad days.  I’m a grumpy mom.  a livid dog owner.  a messy housekeeper, if you can even call me one.  I’m tired.  Did I mention grumpy?

I hate bad days.

This is the day that the Lord hath made.  I will be …. glad… and rejoice … in it.

I’ll try.  But for now I’m going to bed.  I’ll try again tomorrow.

Advent Week 2 using Jesse Tree

  Here is our service run-up for tonight.  It went well, with even a spot of spontaneous stuff…

 

Prayer / Intro to Advent (MJ)

Advent Candle (Quick Family)

 

• The Gift of Promise
• Son of God

 

Passover  (music continues)

Communion (MJ) (music continues)

 

• Son of God (vs 1 and ch)

 

10 Commandments (Alexis & Keenan) transition

Joshua and Battle of Jericho (kids) SONG

 

• Awesome God
• Awesome is the Lord Most High (ch in G, Ps, v1 C)

Psalm 100 – continue Awesome is the Lord Most High

• All Things Are Possible

 

Video (God’s army of inadequate/ imperfect people)

Ruth (Heather) (piano plays)

• He Knows My Name (Heather starts)

Gideon (Rob)

 

Katie shares about her upcoming 2 yr commitment with YWAM

 

• Take My Life (D)

 

Samuel / David (David)

Wrap-up (MJ)

 

• (Humble Thyself) Majesty
• We Fall Down
• The Gift of Promise (ch first)

Bottom wiping, hair loss and regrowth and other random things

what do these things have in common? Me!

FIRST: How do you work yourself OUT of the job of wiping bottoms that are not your own?

• My eldest – hearing loss, big balance issues, the poor kiddo would about fall off the toilet every time he tried. I have been compassionate and encouraging… (and now… get back ON the pot and WIPE YOUR BUTT (WYB)!! at least three times! – I do the laundry after all!!!) he is almost 8, and is now independent, as long as I continue to give the WYB reminders. My goal was just to get him independent before the memory of his mother doing the deed was burned permanently on his brain and he had to have counseling for WYB trauma.
• My next – 4 – almost 5 – has SHORT arms and a long torso. He can’t actually reach. So he only gets one butt cheek. I’ve been encouraging him to try. He assures me when he is 5 he will do it all by himself and never need my help ever again. I assure him he MUST practice with a little supervision before I turn him loose when he is 5.

Next, just a little random observation. I lost 3 heads of hair after this last pregnancy, I am convinced. AMAZING stuff. And its growing back in now – it looks WEIRD around my hairline. very strange.

Right now Thad is in the bath tub singing “give me solvent” – I have NO IDEA what that means 🙂 – I hope its not related to above paragraph.

Christmas photo album to record each year.

Does that sound lovely?  I thought so.  I have been planning on creating one for… lets see… almost 4 years now.  I bought the album to scrapbook it in at Thaddeus’ first Christmas.  3 years later I bought all the papers that I thought I might like to use at a scrapbooking sale.  This year I FINALLY… finally… I can’t believe it… have gotten out pictures to do it.

GUESS WHAT?!?!? Do you know how FEW decent pictures we have of Christmas?  How many pictures do you really want to record of presents under a tree… and people around the dinner table… and snap shots that didn’t turn out, because that was before we exclusively used a digital camera and we didn’t know they didn’t turn out till Christmas was over and it was too late to take some more.

SO what do I do with my beautiful red album?  Maybe I’ll scrapbook our 10 anniversaries years of being married.  our finest and not so finest moments.  (obviously, I haven’t captured our anniversary celebrations on camera)  Yeah.  That could be fun.  A family scrapbook with a focus on us / family, instead of the individual child.

MOM!!!  I NEED YOU!!!

Christmas Around the World – Russia and Ukraine

So Thursday through Monday was not days of great productivity as far as Christmas studying goes.

We are mixing Russian and Ukraine (our Saturday country – but I didn’t want to skip it) Here are the things we did, besides looking up the country on the map and reading about other general customs, flags, currencies, etc in our other country / culture / geography type books.

• Legend of the Snow Maiden
• Stained Glass photography
• Stained glass craft, melting crayons on wax paper… That was fun. click on link for the picture

dec-07-044.jpg

• Make Ukrainian Christmas Kalach (braided festive bread) click on link for the picture

dec-07-041.jpg

• Put strands of hay on our table at dinner time, to remind us of baby Jesus in the manger.

• Don’t start dinner until we see the first star of the evening in the east, which remembers the wise men’s trek.

EDIT TO ADD: Our home church leader came and made us Russian borsch (cabbage and beet soup – he does that once and a while, I thought the timing was perfect!)

We forgot the hay for the table, and the boys were VERY disappointed!! 🙂

We watched the Nutcracker, and I bought them a nutcracker… which they have been asking for a couple years now!