~Biblical VS. Unbiblical Goals For Parents~

Let me start by saying that this post has been on my heart for weeks now....even long before Christmas...but, I was having a bit of trouble articulating what I wanted to say...and what it may mean to all of you. I've always been one of great self-awareness...meaning, I always...or, at least I always try to consider other's feelings regarding what I say & do...whether it be verbal or nonverbal. So...anything I say here..and, in any post, for that matter, shouldn't be taken personally. I am speaking from my own convictions...and, I certainly am not one to place judgment on another. So...with that said, I wanted to share with you some of the goals of parenting that I've been reading about in Shepherding a Child's Heart (Tedd Tripp). First of all, this book is one of the best I've EVER read....EVER. In a nutshell, the book is about foundations for biblical childrearing.

One chapter, in particular, focuses on examining goals for your children. **Until this point, I had not thoroughly considered my goals for Noah & Sailer in terms of biblical OR UN-biblical...at least....I mean, sure, I have goals for Noah and Sailer, but are they biblical or unbiblical? What I quickly learned is that many of us, Christian parents included, have scores of goals for our kids and even more ways to help them achieve those goals...the only problem here is that our goals are not necessarily aligned with biblical principles. Rather, they are based on society's views of success as well as our OWN view of success....but, what about God's view of success? Where does the Almighty One come into play? After all, our children are made for God and by God...why would we not intently follow his lead in rearing our children? He has a specific purpose for them, and it's FAR better than what we could build for them....I know that for sure. It just doesn't make sense....and, it's incredibly convicting...at least, it was for me. The root of all of this for me was how to gain a clearer understanding of what success is....not mine, not society's version, but God's....

It's not developing special skills that determines success in God's eyes...and, it's not teaching your child to be a social butterfly or life of the party...it's not pushing them to say the sinner's prayer...it's not family worship....it's not raising well-behaved children....it's not a good education...and, it's not control. Some of these things are sought after...sure....but, reaching true success in the Lord's eyes is keeping the chief end of man in sight....and, that is to glorify God & to enjoy Him forever. This is the only worthy goal that we should have as parents, b/c once this is understood, our children will learn to function in this corrupt society based on God's terms....not ours and not theirs. They will seek the Lord's wisdom in their lives, and they will adopt biblical principles through having a Godward orientation.

That is MY hope...my prayer, my plea to God...that my children would develop this.....and, it all starts with ME. It's my job to provide biblical counsel to my children. It's my job to stay consistent with that biblical objective...."Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire but you..." (Psalms 73:25).

I challenge you to consider your goals for your children....are they biblical or UN-biblical? Are you trying to please others? yourselves? family? friends? society? in how you raise your children? Or, are you keeping the chief end of man in sight???

Let's all pray for our children.....that they may know Jesus...that they may understand that they were made by God and for God.....

Take care~ Summer <3

Business As Usual....

So, hi everyone! Here we are....Day 4 of being snowed in, and it's business as usual in our house....pertaining to homeschooling, that is:) Except....today, we had a special guest...you may know her....she's a super sweet curly-headed 2 year old.....:-). Let's just say it makes for an interesting homeschooling day when she's around. So, I decided to roll with it, and experiment a little with Noah's new camcorder that he got for Christmas. There are 2 videos here....one is a short interview w/Noah....who was VERY tired in the video....you'll see. He had just finished an hour of Math. And, another of our warm up for school...with our special guest...:) There's a 3rd video of Sailer's bedtime stories that I finally gave up on after 3 failed attempts to upload it....this is all new to me...but, hopefully, the audio is set right on these videos so you can hear...cause, if it's not, I have no clue how to adjust it on the camcorder..lol. Anyway, you get the point..enjoy! Hope to have some other videos up soon!

**It may take a few seconds for the videos to load before it will allow you to push play.....

2011: Ready, Set, Go!!!!

So, hooray for the first official post of 2011! And, boy..what a year its been so far! For the past 3 days, our little community has been house-bound due to a burst of Winter! And, we've just learned that tomorrow will be Day 4. And, while a part of me has grown anxious, I truly have LOVED every second of this down-time with my sweet family of 4. We've been quite busy........snow-sledding, games (The Cat in the Hat & UNO-Moo are our current faves), lots of reading (luckily, I took the kids book-shopping last weekend before the storm hit, so we had NEW books!), a full day of homeschooling for Noah, more sledding, a few battles (not literally, of course) on the Wii, a little movie-watching, a little baking, and lots and lots of loving on each other! It's been a JOY! I'd say the only pet peeve of mine this week has been the "clutter" around the house...mostly consisting of wet clothes and snow boots. But, no complaining here. In a sense, these past few days have been the relaxing portion of Christmas break that we never really got....so, for that, I'm grateful. Hope you guys have had a special & safe time with your families too! Here are some pictures of our snow fun...plus a few from NYE 2010. Ready, Set, GOOOOOO!

Here we are....wind-blown, frozen faces and all! We had to make a run to Waffle House after this one...ha! Don't judge...:P
On the tip top of the world..this boy was!!!!! Weeeeeeeeeee!

And, this girl was pretty giddy too!
It takes skill to walk on this stuff mommy!
Once I explained to Sailer that she had to "stomp" on the snow to gain her footing, she was all good...she actually loved the stomping part...what child wouldn't???
Giving thumbs up to Daddy on Day 1 of snow-playing...
Snow sweetie!
A game a ring around the rosey is always fun!!!!!

Oh, boy!!!!!! Snow is AWESOME!
The kids looked so sweet on Sunday morning before church, so we HAD to take a picture....you know we barely miss an opportunity for picture-taking, right?

Sailer on NYE.....can we say crazy hair?????
Sailer modeling her new accessories that DD got her for Christmas....pretty bangles and furry hairbands to match her outfit....thank you DD!
I love you, my girl!
Jason & I...NYE. I'll take responsibility for his messed-up hair....I was playing with it before the picture:)
From right...Laura (my soon-to-be sis-n-law...Nov. '11), me, and my current sis-n-law, Kristin! We had such great conversation on NYE. Beats being out 100%!!!!
Goofy bros! All I can say....
Kristin & I.....Happy New Year!!!
And, the absolute BEST picture of all!!!! Our sweet children and cousins! Lord, thank you for these beautiful and sweet blessings!!!!! I couldn't imagine a better way to celebrate a new year!!!!