Writing for sanity's sake

Random, insane rantings

Give me a book...

I now have pictures of all my girls falling asleep with a book - to which both of their parents plead guilty on multiple occasions - and now one of Lily's favorite bedtime "necessities" is a book. And, yes, she hugs it as if it were one of her precious stuffed animals (the other necessity), after lying on her pillow with it propped open on her tummy "reading" it out loud as if it were her bedtime story, complete with the rise and fall of voice cadence and intonation. I LOVE IT!!! I'll post pictures as soon as I figure out how :)

Covenant children pt.1

This is only the beginning of a line of thought on which I've been ruminating for some time. I was raised to take making a vow as a very serious matter, and yet I wonder how many church members who raise their hands vowing to help the new parents of a child being baptized in said child's spiritual upbringing, etc. actually make a conscious point of acting on that pledge? I would like to see some way we parents could post things about our children's personalities, learning styles, struggles and strengths, and areas of parenting where we are searching for answers and help - even if it's only a night out every other week. We need to be serious about getting to know the kids in our church, about forming realtionships with them and their parents and keeping up with what's going on in their world. How else are we going to know how to pray? How else are we going to know how if there is some physical way we can answer a question, help with a need, give a child another trusted source of counsel and encouragement? Are we not to be a family? This is how a family that wants to be strong and healthy communicates. But how would this picture flesh out in real life? How does a family maintain it's privacy and intimacy and balance that with being part of a larger family in the Church……? Anyone have ideas? I'll be throwing out different ideas that come to mind when they, well, come to mind :) Please add your thoughts.

Child-training

It's only naptime and I'm pooped-mentally and physically. Yet, at the same time peaceful. Odd bed-fellows after the strife, disobedience, anger, frustration, etc. that filled the first third of the day. Biblical child training is quite a workout! Shame we don't end up with toned muscles as a bonus for all the hard work :) The sheer amount of prayer seems to both exhaust and refresh me at the same time. Exhausting as I'm pleading for wisdom, words, change in my children's hearts-not to mention energy just to make it until naptime; refreshing as I'm reminded that God is completely in control of the final outcome, the fruit of my labor when the girls are grown. Praise God I don't have to shoulder that burden!

But, I have to say-why does the sanctification process have to include cat mess where it most certainly should NOT be, mutiple spills and bookoos of mess on my fresh clean floor, and a 2 year old that's way too good at finding a way to climb and get what she wants, oh so stealthily?!

Part of how I imagine Heaven is that it is self-cleaning, and with no home-improvement projects half-finished until the next time I'm alone in the house. I mean, come on! Streets of gold? And a place of eternal rest? Sounds self-cleaning to me!