celebrations

celebrations are definitely a must for our family. we just celebrated Jeriah's 1st birthday... seems like we have had him forever, though i know he is still so little. i can't imagine life without him.

Some traditions we started for birthdays:

1. Prayer Time: This is a time we set aside (sometimes before the party begins/sometimes during) where we pray over the birthday child and we invite others to join us and lay hands on him if they want. I write down what is being prayed in a book so we can watch God answer these prayers over our little ones.

This year we did it all together at Jeriah's party. We also dedicated ourselves to teach him about God in front of our family and friends. It was so neat to hear all the prayers over Jeriah. It was a very special time hearing family members pray over him.

2. Theme verse: I just started this one. God gave me the verse below and I think it is so fitting for Jeriah since his name means "God notices or God sees".

How precious are your thoughts about me,O God.They cannot be numbered!I can’t even count them;they outnumber the grains of sand! Psalm 139:17-18

I made these cards up with a little decoupage, some sand, and a printer. Note: If you are mailing it coat it once more with decoupage on top and let dry again...so the sand won't all come off in the envelope... sorry grandma! :)

We filled this tub full of sand and hid the kids party favors in it. They loved digging through it and it was a profound reminder that God's thoughts for us are even greater than the millions of grains in that little tub. (p.s. i got the tub at walmart for a few dollars after Christmas one year and just decoupaged some pretty wrapping paper over the funny looking snowmen)

We even held down the balloons with little bags of sand.

Any fun birthday traditions you have started? Let me know your ideas and how your family celebrates!

names of God

idea for teaching your babies who God is #1:

In the back of my Experiencing God Bible Study there was a list of the names of God and verses where that name is found. Since i was a teenager this list has effected the way i see God. So about a month ago, with the help of my hubby, we typed up the list and printed them into little index cards. There was almost enough for every day of the year. Then i made a special "God is..." box and Elijah and i sit down with it several times a week read the name of God, the verse and talk about what it means. He loves choosing the cards and holding them as it read it.

A week ago we had "God is our Master, Luke 9:33". He had been watching the Up movie and i told... him just like that doggie had been calling that man his master, that is one of the relationships that God wants with us. He wants to be our good Master. That He wants to be our boss. We talked about it a little more that day, then nothing else was said about it. 4 days later Elijah came up to me and said "Mommy, God is our Master!" I couldn't beilive that he remembered! It is amaizing what they retain. I pray that he will make our loving God his Master one day.

If you want the list/card document just send me a message or email. :)

P.S. I also love it! It helps me to realize daily who God really is! To the name in the picture above we made up a song and dance and sung it to God together! I love worshiping God with my babies!

mommy = BIG responsibility

Being a mommy today can be a tough job. From the moment you find out you're pregnant the advice starts rolling in.

“Eat more folic acid”, “relax”, “you shouldn’t be walking”, “you should walk more”, “do it all natural”, “take the epidural”, “home birth”, “hospital birth”, “nursing is the best”, “formula is the way to go”, “you’re not holding him right”, “he looks too thin “, “she looks too thick” ,“make sure she is crawling”, “organic?”, “don’t talk baby talk to him”, “spoil her”, “don’t hold him so much”, “family bed”, “let her cry it out” and it continues throughout your child’s life… “time out”, “spank”, “preschool”, “Montessori school”, “public school”, “private school”, “home school” …

The advice comes from everyone; friends, family, facebook, and random people on the street. All telling you the way they see things and all with the most noble intentions.

After hearing from countless advisors and given numerous books, I began to think, where should I be getting my advice from? Who really knows best about how to raise this little one? The answer is the one who created this little one. Who formed him in my womb, who knew him before the existence of the earth.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.You saw me before I was born.Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. Psalm 139:13, 16

Being a mommy and a daddy is a BIG responsibility. We only have a few years with them and what we teach our children will impact them throughout their whole lives and into eternity. Studies say that they will only retain 7% of what we say, 18% of what they learn in shared experiences, and 75% through modeling.

After reading through every verse in the Bible about parenthood, Jonathan and I asked God what He wanted us to teach our children. That is how the 4 goals below came about. Though I am sure there are a billion other “goals” we can have I think if we get these four.. we will be doing well…. and if our kids only retain 4 things from us, these are the things we want them to understand and to grasp for their lifetime.

We want to teach our children…

1. Who God is.

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height… to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Eph. 3:17-19

2. What a love relationship with God is.

“Love God with all their heart, with all their soul, with all their mind, and with all their strength.” Mark 12:30

3. Love others as God does.

“And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:31

And the King will tell them, `I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!' Matthew 25:40

4. Live life with no regrets.

“Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

“This is the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

“My life has been poured out as an offering to God. I have fought the good fight and I have finished the race, I have remained faithful.” 2 Timothy 4:6-7

If they can learn these 4 things from us they will understand how to approach every decision life will present them. For each goal we have been writing down and implementing “action points”. We would love ideas and input from readers. Our “action points” are family traditions, routine practices, activities, and teaching opportunities that support the goal or concept we want our children to learn. If you are working on fun ways to teach your babes… maybe we can swap ideas. I will post our “action points” soon.

We feel so blessed that God would place these children in our home for us to love, teach, and raise. The weight of that responsibility forces us to be pro-active parents. Just like I want to think like Jesus thinks, I want our kids to see the world through His eyes too.

The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9