Friday night was amazing.
Rachel is an amazing party planner/hostess/friend, and so duh, Friday night was amazing.
I decided that though I am a shy wall flower type at heart I would strike up conversation with women I didn't know, after all, blog sugar was about mingling with other bloggers. I ended up sitting at a table with 4 other ladies who were all different, all interesting, all sweeter than pie, and different from each other. And hearing their stories was my favorite part of the evening.
Well, lo and behold, when it came time for Rachel to pass out all her collected goodies, all from other bloggers, I won!! I was the giddy recipient of an uber cute canvas bag (which I used for the Sunday School goodies this morning) , an adorable necklace (That I have already worn, twice) and a photo shoot, with get this, one of the women I sat by. Sorta serendipitous if you ask me.
Oh yeah, and because having a fun party with fun conversations, yummy food, and prizes to win wasn't nrealy good enough, we got to take home a beautiful handmade broach, and a yummy blog sugar lollipop.
It was a wonderful experience, and I am so thankful for my friend Rachel's vision on bringing all of us together. I'd go again, in a heartbeat!
And as soon as we get our family photos taken (www.Mshantiphoto.com, I'll post them for you to see too!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Who do YOU Say that I am?
This year, as I have blogged about before, I have been blessed with a work, a work God planned for me before He knit me together in my mother's womb. I have been (with the help of a fabulous team of amazing people) writing the curriculum for our Sunday School classes, toddlers-4th grade. The entire year can basically be summed up in these two words "Jesus said..." because every lesson is on the words of Jesus. We have used quite a few different curriculum's over the years, some that I adored and have used for ideas, and some that well, I didn't use at all. But all of them had something in common; they told the same few stories over and over again. They told the wonderful old testament stories, going right along with the "Hebrew's hall of heroes". And they would talk about the birth, miracles, death and resurrection of Jesus. And all of those lessons are vitally important, but the problem is they left out the gems, pure spotless gleaming gems of Jesus' words, not just his miracles.
So far this year we have covered quite a few things that these kids had never heard taught about before. They are hearing the words of their Savior new and fresh, and I am probably just as excited as they are. Because having to write it, means having to read His words, and think about His words, and plan how to explain His words through games, crafts, lessons, and snacks; and this has meant a new love in my own heart for how precious those words are. I have read the Gospel many many times, and have been touched by it over and over again, but this focused attention on Jesus' words has shown me how every page is dripping with the love and heart of Jesus. He laughs, He weeps, He gently leads, He chastises, He has compassion, He has mercy, He extends grace, He lives and breathes all over every page.
Yesterday, the lesson I was teaching my 1st and 2nd graders was the passage Matthew 16:13-19 in which Jesus asks the fork in the road, make it or break it question "Who do you say that I am?". I looked forward to this lesson with eager anticipation, because this is the most important question anyone ever has to answer, including 1st and 2nd graders.
Now maybe as you read this, what I just said is causing you to bubble up inside, and you want to say to the screen in front of you "Here we go again, elitist Christians saying that Jesus is the only way. It's unfair. It's wrong, after all,all religions are basically the same and all roads lead to Heaven. And besides Jesus was just a great moral teacher." Fair questions, fair statements, but...
Here is why I think Jesus' question of "Who do you say that I am?" is the most important question you will ever have to answer.
1. Not all religions are the same, they can't be because they contradict each other completely. Just like 2+3=5 and 3+3=5 can't both be right, one is right, or both are wrong, but they can't BOTH be right. Christians say Jesus is God's son and the only way to salvation. Jews say God is sending a Messiah, but it wasn't Jesus. Muslims say that God is only one being, and it is blasphemy to believe in the trinity or Messiah. Some Buddhist sects don't believe that there is a God AT ALL. They can all be wrong, but they can't all be right.
2. Jesus claimed to be God incarnate. He claimed to be the ONLY road to salvation. So He's either a lair, which means He wasn't a great moral teacher. Or He's a lunatic, in which again He wasn't a great moral teacher, or He is Lord. So who do you say that He is?
Well I posed that very question to a group of squirmy, silly kids on Sunday. Not only did I pose the question, we read Simon Peter's words. "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." I also typed up my own answers to "who do you say that I am?". I wanted to write a thousand different things, but then I remembered that I was talking to kids not adults, and I needed it to be short and to the point. So I told them that He is my Salvation, my Patient God, my Father, my only way to Heaven, My love, My Happiness, my Joy, etc etc.
I poured out my love for my Jesus in front of my squirmy silly kids, and the greatest thing happened. The squirmiest of the bunch, a boy full of imagination and joy stopped squirming, stopped fidgeting and stared at me while I explained who I say Jesus is. I mean intently stared, not a blank zoning out stare, but the kind of stare where you could tell our lesson was going from his head to his heart. He got it. He got how important that question was. A little squirmy wormy 6 year old felt the love and hope of Jesus down in His heart. It was one of the moments that make all the work seem like nothing in comparison. It was a moment in which I had forgotten that I had basically been teaching that class since January, on my own, with just a few Sundays off. It was a moment where I thanked God for allowing me to be His voice that morning to that little tender heart.
After our lesson we went on to our craft. The kids were to write a few phrases of what Jesus meant to them, and then cut them out, and glue them to a coloring page of Jesus. And this same little boy, who usually finishes his craft quickly so that he can play more sat there the longest, asking me to spell word after word after word for him. He had a whole lot of phrases welling up in his heart, and it took him twice as long as everyone else to finish; including the little girls who thrive on coloring precisely.
I left there with more energy than I came with, because when the Holy Spirit moves in you, and through you, there is nothing like it. And the best part of all, of the whole day was that it had nothing to do with me. It wasn't because I am a good teacher, it wasn't because I have a way with words and kids. It was because about 14 years ago Jesus asked me "Who do you say that I am?" And I was lucky enough to say, you are my Lord. It was all for His glory; all for His love to be shown, and boy oh boy was it!
So far this year we have covered quite a few things that these kids had never heard taught about before. They are hearing the words of their Savior new and fresh, and I am probably just as excited as they are. Because having to write it, means having to read His words, and think about His words, and plan how to explain His words through games, crafts, lessons, and snacks; and this has meant a new love in my own heart for how precious those words are. I have read the Gospel many many times, and have been touched by it over and over again, but this focused attention on Jesus' words has shown me how every page is dripping with the love and heart of Jesus. He laughs, He weeps, He gently leads, He chastises, He has compassion, He has mercy, He extends grace, He lives and breathes all over every page.
Yesterday, the lesson I was teaching my 1st and 2nd graders was the passage Matthew 16:13-19 in which Jesus asks the fork in the road, make it or break it question "Who do you say that I am?". I looked forward to this lesson with eager anticipation, because this is the most important question anyone ever has to answer, including 1st and 2nd graders.
Now maybe as you read this, what I just said is causing you to bubble up inside, and you want to say to the screen in front of you "Here we go again, elitist Christians saying that Jesus is the only way. It's unfair. It's wrong, after all,all religions are basically the same and all roads lead to Heaven. And besides Jesus was just a great moral teacher." Fair questions, fair statements, but...
Here is why I think Jesus' question of "Who do you say that I am?" is the most important question you will ever have to answer.
1. Not all religions are the same, they can't be because they contradict each other completely. Just like 2+3=5 and 3+3=5 can't both be right, one is right, or both are wrong, but they can't BOTH be right. Christians say Jesus is God's son and the only way to salvation. Jews say God is sending a Messiah, but it wasn't Jesus. Muslims say that God is only one being, and it is blasphemy to believe in the trinity or Messiah. Some Buddhist sects don't believe that there is a God AT ALL. They can all be wrong, but they can't all be right.
2. Jesus claimed to be God incarnate. He claimed to be the ONLY road to salvation. So He's either a lair, which means He wasn't a great moral teacher. Or He's a lunatic, in which again He wasn't a great moral teacher, or He is Lord. So who do you say that He is?
Well I posed that very question to a group of squirmy, silly kids on Sunday. Not only did I pose the question, we read Simon Peter's words. "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." I also typed up my own answers to "who do you say that I am?". I wanted to write a thousand different things, but then I remembered that I was talking to kids not adults, and I needed it to be short and to the point. So I told them that He is my Salvation, my Patient God, my Father, my only way to Heaven, My love, My Happiness, my Joy, etc etc.
I poured out my love for my Jesus in front of my squirmy silly kids, and the greatest thing happened. The squirmiest of the bunch, a boy full of imagination and joy stopped squirming, stopped fidgeting and stared at me while I explained who I say Jesus is. I mean intently stared, not a blank zoning out stare, but the kind of stare where you could tell our lesson was going from his head to his heart. He got it. He got how important that question was. A little squirmy wormy 6 year old felt the love and hope of Jesus down in His heart. It was one of the moments that make all the work seem like nothing in comparison. It was a moment in which I had forgotten that I had basically been teaching that class since January, on my own, with just a few Sundays off. It was a moment where I thanked God for allowing me to be His voice that morning to that little tender heart.
After our lesson we went on to our craft. The kids were to write a few phrases of what Jesus meant to them, and then cut them out, and glue them to a coloring page of Jesus. And this same little boy, who usually finishes his craft quickly so that he can play more sat there the longest, asking me to spell word after word after word for him. He had a whole lot of phrases welling up in his heart, and it took him twice as long as everyone else to finish; including the little girls who thrive on coloring precisely.
I left there with more energy than I came with, because when the Holy Spirit moves in you, and through you, there is nothing like it. And the best part of all, of the whole day was that it had nothing to do with me. It wasn't because I am a good teacher, it wasn't because I have a way with words and kids. It was because about 14 years ago Jesus asked me "Who do you say that I am?" And I was lucky enough to say, you are my Lord. It was all for His glory; all for His love to be shown, and boy oh boy was it!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
A weekend of Joy
If you know anything about my Serena, you know she loves her long hair, with a passion. And her favorite way to wear it is down, well technically it's curled at the bottoms, but she only gets that on special occasions. Well, being her hair was 5 bazillion feet long, the ends were starting to get rough, and split, and tangly she AGREED to get a trim. I was thinking we'd fight over every 1/2 inch that I wanted to cut, but she volunteered for 4 inches, which was exactly how much she needed, so great we were set.
Now all her previous haircuts were done by yours truly, because she was young, and if it wasn't quite even, well she wasn't old enough to notice or care. But now she's 8, and she does notice those kinds of things, so we finally took her to get it done. At first she was thrilled, then she got anxious, and when we got there she got all antsy. She saw a little girl getting mountains of hair chopped off (I guess she had neglected to brush her hair well enough for a while and yikes, it was a MESS) so she reminded me once again that she was only getting a trim.
When it was finally her turn she asked me to go back with her, and since it wasn't busy I got to simply sit in the chair next to her and talk to her while she got it done. What a joy to sit by her, because she sat there looking at herself in the mirror, making faces (not silly faces, but her photo pose faces), and laughing about her hair being clipped to the top of her head as the bottom layer was cut.
After all was said and done she had a healthy head of still very long hair. As we left, she walked swishing it back and forth and relishing in her dad fawning over how beautiful she looked. Only then it got to her head and as we walked by a car someone glanced at her, she said " I look so good everyone's eyes are buggin out of their heads!" I think previously the weight of her hair had kept her head from inflating, and after that trim it was free to grow.
I am so glad she felt beautiful, but then I had to try to explain humility to her. Everyone always tells her how beautiful she is, which is wonderful, all women want to feel beautiful, but I don't need her growing up thinking her beauty is her identity or grow up to be vain and conceited. BUT all in all, it was a fun experience.
Then Sunday she and Daddy joined a bowling league. The teams are all two people, a junior and a parent. I thought it was all small kids, but I guess it's actually anyone under the age of 18. Serena is the youngest, and the lady running the league had to get everyones permission to let Serena use bumpers. Which worried me until Serena's enthusiastic "YES!" for her 2 and 3 pin frames had everyone cheering her on by the end. The smallest ball they have there almost pulls her down the lane with it, but she loved it. She just loved it. Daddy daughter time was great. And Chloe sat there cheering, loudly, "Go Se-ya, Go Se-ya!" Even Pappa joined in the festivities and came and watched and cheered on his eldest granddaughter.
Then to top it off, we took Chloe to preschool soccer yesterday, and Serena got to run around the park with the other older siblings, and I watched with a big grin on my face as I recalled my days running around my brothers little games making friends with any other girl there, never watching a single game (even when I was the score keeper, oops) but having a blast nonetheless. As we were pulling out of the parking lot, she said "I never thought Chloe's soccer could be so much fun!"
The continuous smile on Serena's face this weekend did my heart well, I love watching her enjoy life with all of her heart.
Now all her previous haircuts were done by yours truly, because she was young, and if it wasn't quite even, well she wasn't old enough to notice or care. But now she's 8, and she does notice those kinds of things, so we finally took her to get it done. At first she was thrilled, then she got anxious, and when we got there she got all antsy. She saw a little girl getting mountains of hair chopped off (I guess she had neglected to brush her hair well enough for a while and yikes, it was a MESS) so she reminded me once again that she was only getting a trim.
When it was finally her turn she asked me to go back with her, and since it wasn't busy I got to simply sit in the chair next to her and talk to her while she got it done. What a joy to sit by her, because she sat there looking at herself in the mirror, making faces (not silly faces, but her photo pose faces), and laughing about her hair being clipped to the top of her head as the bottom layer was cut.
After all was said and done she had a healthy head of still very long hair. As we left, she walked swishing it back and forth and relishing in her dad fawning over how beautiful she looked. Only then it got to her head and as we walked by a car someone glanced at her, she said " I look so good everyone's eyes are buggin out of their heads!" I think previously the weight of her hair had kept her head from inflating, and after that trim it was free to grow.
I am so glad she felt beautiful, but then I had to try to explain humility to her. Everyone always tells her how beautiful she is, which is wonderful, all women want to feel beautiful, but I don't need her growing up thinking her beauty is her identity or grow up to be vain and conceited. BUT all in all, it was a fun experience.
Then Sunday she and Daddy joined a bowling league. The teams are all two people, a junior and a parent. I thought it was all small kids, but I guess it's actually anyone under the age of 18. Serena is the youngest, and the lady running the league had to get everyones permission to let Serena use bumpers. Which worried me until Serena's enthusiastic "YES!" for her 2 and 3 pin frames had everyone cheering her on by the end. The smallest ball they have there almost pulls her down the lane with it, but she loved it. She just loved it. Daddy daughter time was great. And Chloe sat there cheering, loudly, "Go Se-ya, Go Se-ya!" Even Pappa joined in the festivities and came and watched and cheered on his eldest granddaughter.
Then to top it off, we took Chloe to preschool soccer yesterday, and Serena got to run around the park with the other older siblings, and I watched with a big grin on my face as I recalled my days running around my brothers little games making friends with any other girl there, never watching a single game (even when I was the score keeper, oops) but having a blast nonetheless. As we were pulling out of the parking lot, she said "I never thought Chloe's soccer could be so much fun!"
The continuous smile on Serena's face this weekend did my heart well, I love watching her enjoy life with all of her heart.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Human Nature....sigh
I awoke this morning as usual, checked the weather report, checked my emails, and yikes. I had an email from my fellow room mom, apparently my child had spread a hurtful rumor about her son at school yesterday.
Are you shocked? Cause I was. My gut instinct was to go rip my child a new one, after all, she will NOT be that girl if I have anything to say about it. But then it just made me sad. She has a good heart, a really good heart, but she is still human. And her sin side shone through yesterday rather than her beautiful, kind, Jesus-loving heart.
So I calmly (but by the grace of God) walked downstairs, and tried as kindly as I could to listen to her side of the story (which was the EXACT same as the story from the mom in the email). Then I calmly explained to her that what she had done was gossip, and that she had spread a rumor that hurt this boy. I wanted to make sure she knew I wasn't attacking her, but trying to explain to her why it was wrong. I didn't want her to have any reason to feel defensive, after all she was going to have to eat a piece of humble pie to go to school and apologize.
I told her that even though she didn't think it was okay to keep saying the rumor (By lunch she had realized it was wrong), that she now had no control over what anyone else did with that rumor. She may not have continued teasing the boy, but because of what she said he was being hurt. Now if you know my daughter, you can see the guilt welling up in her now, as she realized the consequences of her actions. She got kinda squirmy, and I knew exactly how she felt. She was crawling in her own skin.
So now came the tough part; she needed to take action. Humble pie is a bitter thing to swallow, but it does a soul good. So we came up with a plan that she should say sorry to him; look him in the eye and say sorry for saying it, and acknowledging that she had hurt him. Then she was now responsible for standing up for him if anyone said anything about the rumor she started.
I have been praying for her this morning that she will be humble, and diligent to to the right thing. And that she remembers that squirmy feeling the next time she is tempted to start a rumor. After all, gossip in a woman's biggest temptation, even if she is all of eight years old.
And in all of this, I am thankful that the mom let me know about this, after all it afforded me a chance to teach my child an important lesson, now, when the consequences are relatively small. Hopefully she has learned this lesson now, and doesn't need to re-learn this lesson, again, later.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Dress-up
I have a specific view on my Kids clothing. It should be fun, and whimsical, not sexy or constricting. After all, it won't be long before junior high hits and my girls will want to look just like everyone else. And they will have decades to worry about looking just right, and worrying how everyone else perceives them. Now is the time when they can have fun, and wear whatever suits, even if ***GASP*** it doesn't quite match. So for now, I am pretty okay with anything from their closet being worn. They can pick out their own clothes (within reason, no shorts in January, etc). So Serena has gone to school in outfits that are...different...and I was okay (mostly) with it.
Chloe being three has an even different take on what she wants to wear. She likes to get dressed by herself, and so you will quite often see her in inside out or backwards clothes. I have learned to not fix it, and let her be proud of getting herself dressed, for reasons said above.
She also likes to wear dress-up clothes. I know, shocking, right? Well the looks I get from moms sure make it seem CRAZY that a 3 year old would wear dress-up clothes. We live directly across the 2 lane street from Serena's school. So when Chloe is dressed as a princess and donning her dress up shoes, I let her stay that way to go pick up her sister. After all, she is 3 and to her that's the best fashion possible.
But more moms than not stare at her, then me as if I have committed some crime. AS if I have my child outside in her skivvies or something. I mean, seriously over-the-top expressions, over a three year old in a princess dress.
Well today Sleeping Beauty and I walked to get Serena, and the same moms, gave me the same looks, while their children looked at Chloe as if she were some sort of rock star.
And as we walked past all the looks, we came up to Serena and two of her friends at the school, who immediately said "welcome Princess Chloe!"
Eight year olds get it. Chloe is three, and her imagination is boundless, so why the glares from moms who should understand this even more?
With the "Princess Chloe" remarks came a beaming ray of sunshine strutting her stuff, feeling like a true princess. It was perfect. I mean I couldn't have planned it better. Chloe walked home gleaming, just shining. It made her day to have her big sister's friends play along.
If only those moms would get it; life is too short to fret over a three year old in dress-up clothes. Just go along for the ride, it's a fun one.
Chloe being three has an even different take on what she wants to wear. She likes to get dressed by herself, and so you will quite often see her in inside out or backwards clothes. I have learned to not fix it, and let her be proud of getting herself dressed, for reasons said above.
She also likes to wear dress-up clothes. I know, shocking, right? Well the looks I get from moms sure make it seem CRAZY that a 3 year old would wear dress-up clothes. We live directly across the 2 lane street from Serena's school. So when Chloe is dressed as a princess and donning her dress up shoes, I let her stay that way to go pick up her sister. After all, she is 3 and to her that's the best fashion possible.
But more moms than not stare at her, then me as if I have committed some crime. AS if I have my child outside in her skivvies or something. I mean, seriously over-the-top expressions, over a three year old in a princess dress.
Well today Sleeping Beauty and I walked to get Serena, and the same moms, gave me the same looks, while their children looked at Chloe as if she were some sort of rock star.
And as we walked past all the looks, we came up to Serena and two of her friends at the school, who immediately said "welcome Princess Chloe!"
Eight year olds get it. Chloe is three, and her imagination is boundless, so why the glares from moms who should understand this even more?
With the "Princess Chloe" remarks came a beaming ray of sunshine strutting her stuff, feeling like a true princess. It was perfect. I mean I couldn't have planned it better. Chloe walked home gleaming, just shining. It made her day to have her big sister's friends play along.
If only those moms would get it; life is too short to fret over a three year old in dress-up clothes. Just go along for the ride, it's a fun one.
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