Blogger Friend School #13

MEET MY BIBLE

I realize that this is last week's assignment, but I haven't managed to write about it until today.  For those of you who are new to my blog, this is just something fun I subscribe to that gives me something different to write about from time to time.  I hope you enjoy it!

1. How old is your Bible?  a few months shy of 14 years
2. Why did you choose this Bible?  It was a graduation gift from my church.
3. Do you highlight/mark passages in your Bible? I probably highlight more than anyone I know (and probably more than most of the people you know too).  It makes it so much easier to find a passage when I need it, especially since I tend to not be great at remembering exactly where to find a verse.
4. If so, what is your system for marking passages? I don't have much of a system.  If it is a verse or passage that I want to find easily in the future or that makes a strong statement for me, then I highlight it.  There are many verses in my Bible that are highlighted and marked with a date in the margin.  I do this when there is something specific going on in my life that the verse applies to.  When I read that passage again months or years later, this method allows me to reflect upon my faith journey and reminds me of the many storms God has brought me through as well as the many blessings in my life.  It really is a very rewarding little system.
5. Do you have notebooks to record things? I don't really have a notebook, but I have been keeping a journal since I was in junior high school. 
6. If so, how many and what do you record? How many?  I don't even know how many journals I have filled.  We're talking about 20 years here!  I originally used my journal as a diary until midway through high school.  That is when I started using it as a prayer journal as well (although, if I were to pick one of those high school journals up, I am certain I would find some crazy high school girly stuff in there!).  Now I use my journal to record my most private thoughts and reflections,  favorite Bible verses, personal Bible study notes, and poems and worship songs I have written.  It is the story of my life and my faith journey.
7. Where is your favorite spot to read your Bible?   A couple of months ago, we finally set up the family room the way I want it.  That's where I am right now!  Our computer, piano, bookshelves, my desk, and a recliner are all in this room.  I come downstairs during the kids' afternoon rest time, turn on a favorite worship or instrumental CD, and then I read my Bible, journal, and spend time in prayer.  It is absolutely ideal for me.  This has become my favorite room in the house (although, it is a bit cold, so I have to keep a blanket down here).
8. Are there any special thoughts about your Bible you want to share?  I have a Life Application NIV Bible, and I love it.  If the binding ever wears out and I am forced to get a new one, I will miss this one.  I hope to have this Bible with me for the rest of my life.  I do enjoy reading other versions from time to time, particularly New Living, The Message, and The New Century versions, but the NIV is my favorite to use for personal Bible study, reading, and Bible memory.  If you CLICK HERE you can see a few photos of my most precious book (if you know me, then you know that most books are precious to me).  If you do check out the photos, then you'll notice the beautiful cover I have on my Bible.  I bought this at a Bible outlet in Pigeon Forge, TN when we were on our honeymoon almost 10 years ago. 

Thanks for reading about my Bible, one of my most precious possessions.

Snow and Valentine Fun

This week has been different for us.  When the snow storm arrived on Monday night, it made for slick roads on Tuesday.  My mom was here because she had an eye doctor appointment with a specialist in Dublin, and she ended up getting stuck here for a couple of extra days.  Her appointment was changed from Tuesday to Wednesday, which would have been fine if it weren't for the fact that Lukas was sick.  Eric ended up taking Wednesday morning off so that I could take Mom to her appointment, which was totally fine and worked out well.

The weather provided us with a great opportunity to play in the snow, although we weren't out for long before the snow changed to sleet.  I surprised the kids with a new sled, which I bought two months ago and have had hidden in the garage waiting for a snow storm to arrive.  The kids and I have been praying during our morning devotions for snow!  I love snow as much as they do!

The sled was their first sled, believe it or not.  I know that sounds crazy, but we have never bought them one for some reason.  We had a great time, even if it was short and we don't have a hill.  I pulled them around, and Lukas did some pulling around too.  Since my mom was snowed-in at our house, she was able to take some great photos of us outside.

I did grant the kids a partial snow day on Tuesday.  We still had school, but we had a reduced amount of work that day.  Unfortunately, this backfired on us when Lukas started getting sick late Tuesday.  He ended up with a sore throat, tummy ache, headache, and fever by the middle of Tuesday night.  He is feeling better today, but his energy level hasn't fully returned.  We had no school yesterday, and, we only accomplished a little school today before I realized that he was not ready for school work yet.  When your first grader suddenly can't remember what 1 + 7 is, you know that it is time to call it a day.    We still had about 90 minutes of school, but most of that was reading, read-alouds, and crafts.  The kids painted wooden Valentine frames, which this homeschooling mama bought for them to make for ME.  Homeschooled kids need someone to help them make crafts for their mamas!  They also made cute foamie Valentines for Daddy. 

I almost forgot to mention how my day began...the kids and Eric greeted me in bed this morning with homemade Valentines from the kids and gifts.  Lukas built and painted a plastic bag holder/dispenser that Eric found as a kit at a yard sale last summer.  Lukas said it was from him and Ava, which I thought was sweet because he included his sister.  Eric bought me tickets to see Michael Buble in April!!!!  I cannot wait!  I love listening to Michael Buble.  He also had roses sent yesterday, and they are gorgeous! 

I am glad to be part of a family that shows each other love every day, not just on Valentine's Day.  At the same time, Valentine's Day is an important day in our house.  I love having the opportunity to lavish a little extra love on my family, and I love having love lavished on me as well.  Who doesn't?  In just a little while, Eric and I are going to enjoy a late romantic dinner for two here at home while the kiddos are fast asleep.  I hope that each of you has felt loved today and that you all have had a Happy Valentine's Day!

CLICK HERE to see photos of our snow play and a few shots from today.

Sheltering

I read a brief article today about sheltering our children.  You may read it here if you are interested as this blog post deals mostly with my personal beliefs on this same topic and is mostly in reponse to having read the article.   A friend of mine wrote to me today asking me what I thought about the article, and when I started to write back to her, I realized that I had a lot to say about this very hot topic in Christian circles, especially where homeschooling is concerned.  Homeschooling aside, I think that more Christians need to be working harder to shelter their children.  I believe that it is what God calls us to do.  The following is a more detailed description of why I believe this.

I do agree with what this article is saying, although I don't think that I totally disagree with my friend's opinion on the topic.  I don't think that in today's world it is even possible to over-shelter a child unless you lock them in your house and have no media and are as perfect as God himself.  In our household, my children are automatically exposed to the "real world."  I don't know how most kids aren't regardless of their schooling choice.  Since we live in a very multi-cultural city, my kids are exposed to other religions and cultures regularly.  There is a huge Islamic culture here in Columbus, and I think that about 1/3 of Eric's clients are Buddhists.  Just a trip to the grocery store usually involves encountering someone who is noticably Hindu or Islamic because of the way they are dressed.  We have not taken the time to educate them about other religions yet because I don't think they would get it beyond the basic, "Not everyone believes in God the way the Bible says."  We will when we believe they are old enough to fully grasp this concept, but, at this point, this is something that we believe requires a certain amount of sheltering.   Plus, there is the fact that we are imperfect people who are from an extended family of imperfect people who teach our children daily that we need the grace of  God.   My children know the non-Christian world.

Add to this well-meaning friends and relatives who feel the need to expose our children to things when we are not around, and they get a pretty good taste of what the world is like.  I don't intend for my kids to live in a bubble, but there is a very age-appropriate amount of sheltering that is a high priority in our household.  I can't imagine how different my children would be if they were public schooled.  Sheltering helps them to hold onto their childhood and their innocense, which I think is so extremely important.  It is one of the biggest reasons we have chosen to homeschool.  My child does not need to know what a condom is at the age of 9, which is something we have discovered some of the children in our church already know, and I'm talking about children who come from Christian households and attend church every week.  Please don't take this as a judgemental comment towards those parents, because it definitely is not.  I have no idea how this child came about knowing this information.  I just know that it is not necessary information for a child to know.

My child also does not need to think about dating at the age of 12 as many children are doing these days.  Honestly, I think that philosophy is completely ridiculous.  If a parent does not believe their child is old enough or mature enough to choose a mate and marry, then what purpose does dating serve?  It merely puts their child into situations which they are not yet equipped to handle because they shouldn't have to.  It is our job as parents to shelter our children from things they are not yet ready for.

I think there is a very dangerous theme in a lot of churches and Christian households today.  For example, I have heard of someone who has decided that allowing her children to be exposed to whatever they want on t.v. is okay because she wants them to understand that when she tells them no about something, it is very important.  In other words, her "no" is too serious for something like a bad choice on t.v. because some day her kids might want to use drugs.  So, instead of sheltering them from the many, MANY poor t.v. shows there are and educating them about making Godly choices,  better choices,  when they choose t.v. programs, her household is, for the most part, a t.v. free-for-all.  That is where the danger lies, in my opinion at least.  I don't believe that we should ever purposely expose our children to ungodly things simply for the sake of exposing them to the real world.  I didn't need to smoke a cigarette to know that it was bad for me because I was well-educated concerning that topic.  I didn't need to have sex with 10 people prior to my husband so that I would know that he was the right one. God lead me to the right one because I was educated about where to look and how to find my way into the center of God's will for my life.

That is what sheltering is to me.  We shelter them from situations, people, and places that they are not ready for because that is what God does for us.  We protect them from abusive people, ungodly practices, and compromising situations, but, as we do so, we teach them the reasons why we are doing so.  We show them what the truth is according to God's Word.  We teach them how to research on their own so that they can make well-informed, Godly decisions on their own. 

A funny cartoon character who tells ungodly jokes, uses poor manners, teases other characters, or acts in any way we that goes against our personal moral belief or the way we want our children to act is something that our children should be sheltered from.  Just because it is animated, that doesn't make it okay.  Just because a movie appears to be about a topic that we think would interest our children does not mean that it is appropriate for our children to watch it.  I tell my children that certain shows are not necessarily ungodly, but that there are better choices for them to make, and that is why we make the entertainment choices that we do.  No amount of subtlety is overlooked in our home because I don't believe that is what God would want us to do.  It is just another form of sheltering and protecting our children while we teach them what is right and what is wrong. 

This is a very long reponse to a topic that is a very hot one for me, obviously.  I am sure that some of my readers disagree to some extent or maybe even on all points, but this is where God has taken my thoughts in my journey at this point in my life.  We are called to train up our children in the way they should go, and we take that calling very seriously.  If more parents did so, then I think that the world would be a much better place.

A Trip to the Art Museum

We had a wonderful, family outing yesterday.  The Columbus Museum of Art has a special program called Family Sundays.  Admission is totally free, and they have lots of fun, free activities scheduled for families.  We headed downtown after church yesterday and spent a relaxing afternoon checking out the art museum and had some great family time. 

Yesterday was "Dance in Art Family Sunday".  We arrived just in time to see the Columbus Dance Theater perform and instruct the audience about dance.  Ava had the opportunity to volunteer (so did Lukas, which, of course, he was totally not interested in).  She was sure to tell the director that she takes dance lessons, and she loved dancing around on the stage for a few minutes.  One of the performances that we watched was a modern dance to a Philip Glass piece.  Last night Ava was plodding around the living room trying to do what she saw the dancer perform during that piece.  It was so cute to watch!  As soon as I saw her doing it, I knew that she was trying to mimic the girl from the dance studio.  Ava loves to dance!

Most of the first floor of the art museum has kid-friendly exhibits.  There was lots of hands-on stuff for the kids to do.  I appreciated that because it made it a great first art museum experience for the kids and for us.  If we were merely walking around looking at works of arts, I don't know if my kids would have lasted more than an hour.  That would have been okay with us since Sunday museum admission is free, but it was even better that we ended up being there for about three hours.

The kids also got to create a dance mat while we were there.  They traced one of their feet to make a pattern, and then they cut out 8 feet on patterned paper, planned their dance steps, and glued the feet on the mat.  They had such fun creating and decorating their mats with glitter glue.

I took lots of photos at the museum, and I was surprised at how well they turned out since you aren't allowed to use flash.  My camera kind of blurs photos sometimes when you don't have the flash on (maybe Mindy or Cathy or Danielle or someone with a Canon Rebel can tell me if I'm doing something wrong there).   You can check out the photos by clicking ART MUSEUM.  You'll notice several Monet paintings.  I took those, first of all, because I love impressionism, and, second, for my sister who would probably plaster Monet all over her house if she had all the money in the world and his paintings were available for purchase.  Anyway, enjoy looking at our day at the museum!

First Haircut

I know you are probably thinking that our children are both too old to be having their first hair cut, and, you are sort-of right.  Most children have their first cut much younger.  I once cut maybe a quarter inch off the ends of Ava's hair when she was 2 1/2 or 3, but that's it.  Have you seen the pictures of Ava or seen her in person?  Her hair is not long by any means.

Today, I had to go back to the salon to have my hair re-colored.  It was fading fast, and my hairdresser re-did it for free and put some kind of filler on it so that it would hold the color better, hopefully.  We'll see.  I really hope that it stays this time because I am loving it!

While we were at the salon, Laurie, my hair dresser, told me that cutting Ava's hair would actually help it grow.  She has told me this before, which is why I cut the quarter inch a year or so ago to begin with.  Today, I decided to go for it.  Ava's hair was two or three inches longer in the back than it was on the sides, and it was all different lengths and looking stringy. 

Ava was thrilled, of course.  She is the girliest of little girls.  They washed her hair and put her in the chair, and she was smiling the entire time.  It is now layered and curly.  Laurie thought to get a couple of photos, and she saved the first piece of hair that she cut for me too.  I know it is crazy that Ava is 4 and we're just now doing this.  Lukas had his first hair cut at 13 months and has had one regularly ever since!

Ava has been beaming and enjoying her curly locks all day.  CLICK HERE to see her cut in progress as well as an after shot of her cute curls.