Gentle Reminders

There is nothing like the innocence of a child to show you non skeptical, non stereotyped thinking.

Over the weekend, my 5 year old spotted a homeless man on the side of the road.  She asked what he was doing, read his sign that said "Need Help", and observed quietly for a few minutes.  Her conclusion about the whole situation had nothing to do with the way he looked or why he didn't have a job, but "why are there so many people passing by him and not helping??!!"

I am guilty of being one of those people.  Sure, I gather items and donate to the homeless shelter and give money to needy kids, but I also sometimes find myself being skeptical of those asking for money or even judging them.  Thank you, Rachel, for the reminder to love my neighbor as myself.


"She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy." Proverbs 31:20 


"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

monkey see monkey do

I don't know about other 4 year olds, but mine is terrible about holding her pee until the very last minute. And that minute usually happens in the middle of the grocery store when I have a full cart and a curious toddler to tote along with us into the tiny, nasty public bathroom. [as a side note: Thank God for the family bathrooms at Target!]
To keep this from happening more often, I'm really trying to remember - and get Rachel to remember - to use the bathroom before we leave the house. Today, I remembered while walking out to the car (better late than never!), so I told her to go back in and potty and come back out to the car. After a few minutes, she runs back out with an armful of sale papers from Sunday's newspaper proclaiming, "Mom! I brought all these coupons for Target for you!" What a good kid. I love how she picks up on my habits so quickly. Maybe I should start going potty before we leave the house too...

On Becoming My Mother...

I grew up in a house with a strict, Christian mother and a father who was a little more lenient but usually just went along with my mother to keep the peace. We had all sorts of rules growing up that I never thought I would impress upon my own children. But now, it's happening. Now that my oldest is beginning to pick up song lyrics that I'd rather her not know and attitudes that I could definitely do without, I'm beginning to impose the guidelines from my own childhood into our household.
The day when I heard my 4-year old daughter singing Britney's "Womanizer" is when I really knew it had to start. No more listening to my own top-40 in the car; we have since then switched to the Christian radio station. Which is probably what I should have been listening to anyway - using my time to praise my Savior instead of Lady Gaga. This also goes for tv and movies. No more watching "big people" shows with the kiddos around. Who knows what they would pick up and say to me in public!
This year has brought us to a bigger decision to make: public school, private school or homeschool? I'll admit that for the first 27 or so years of my life, I would not even consider homeschooling. Mostly because all of the homeschooled kids I knew growing up were "sheltered" or not socialized or just generally dorky. And also because my mother has been trying to persuade me to do it (maybe out of guilt since she didn't homeschool us). Since having children of my own, I had hoped that we would be able to just sent them to a Christian school, but alas, we cannot afford it. So here I am, getting ready to start homeschooling. Partly because she's such a smart cookie and she already knows so much, so why not continue filling that little sponge and letting her be ahead of the gang? And since she's a sponge, I want to fill her with all the wisdom and grace and knowledge of God's love in hopes that she will be salt and light in the world. After all, she is just like her daddy - already a chatty, "people" person. :) And an obvious perk is that we get to spend more precious time together; I'll get to watch her learn new things and see her eyes light up as she figures something out. The decision I have to make now is what support group to join, what extra classes and activities she'll be taking, and how many extra cups of coffee I'll be needing to get me through the end of the day.
So even though I thought my mom's rules were sometimes ridiculous, I know (and deep down knew then) that she was just trying to do what was right for us. Which is exactly what I'm trying to do now.