February 26th, 2013 by Kim

I like this chapter a lot. It’s humbling. It gives me compassion for my children and it shows me that I am the same as my children in [at least] one way, full of sin.

I know this in my head of course, but probably my day to day life and schedule doesn’t model it so well. I am the parent. I am the one to lead and discipline them. I think it is easy to fall into a “prideful” authoritative posture with my children. But the reality is that I need daily leading and discipline as well. This doesn’t always (most always) feel very good.

I think when I am able to understand Sarahmae’s  point, “There is a darkness in each of us that bends toward rebellion,”  (and that means me too) then I have more compassion when it comes to patience, understanding and discipline for my children. My love is easier shown when that compassion is there.

I don’t have to think long for an example. Yesterday, Read the rest of this entry »

February 20th, 2013 by Kim

Easter is our favorite celebration of the year. Melting snow, sunny days, somewhat warmer, new growth. Then there is Jesus. Hardest part of his life to know: his death, his suffering. It’s good for me to see that these soft hearts can’t bear to watch it visualized on the screen, brought to real life. It is important to know it, to understand what He did for us. It has also been during the Easter season most all of my kids have come to understand this saving work Christ did for them. They get it. This makes it more favorite.

I laugh a little bit at this title because this is a typical question we ask ourselves every year around this time! You would think we would learn from year’s past, or better yet, just google it! I even used my calendar to count 40 days before Easter this time and I was certain that it started today! However, I am wrong, not in my counting, but apparently in how to count those days coming up to Easter (Sundays aren’t counted). So that makes Lent 2013 actually 47 days! Anyway, we started. “Better late than never” and all that.

I don’t remember “doing” or hearing about Lent growing up in the States. Here, it is taught in school! So living in Slovakia has exposed me more to Lent and the meaning/purpose. I like the ideas: giving up something, remembering Jesus’ death, reminding me of my sin. It starts with Ash Wednesday (last week 🙂 and I learned something new this year about the ashes: Read the rest of this entry »

February 19th, 2013 by Kim

I continue to glean really good things from this new book. Sarah Mae is extremely honest and vulnerable. I like that kind of writing. I like that she doesn’t have it all figured out and is now offering advice on how we can “do it right.”   In fact, chapter 3, “formulas don’t always work” she confesses how she thought she knew everything and how to “do it right,” for a while anyway. Then by experience, she learned that her daughter, Caroline,  “was not going to fit in any box. There would be no pat answer for how to raise and discipline her.”  

She refers to her girl as “out of the box” instead of labeling as ‘stubborn’ or ‘strong-willed’. With older kids now, I can see how terribly important this is, not label your kids. I think when they are little, it’s easy to say or talk about them in this way (stubborn, strong willed, etc), since they don’t understand your words. However, there will be a day when they will understand your words. What affect will our words have on them?

Our first Prayer card!

I remember a time in our early years here in Slovakia, Emili was taking violin lessons, she was 6 or 7. I was speaking (in Slovak) to her teacher, he was encouraging me to practice more, to get the fingering. I went on to explain how that when Emili was young she had an accident that left her “behind” in skills. It was a story I had told many times. Read the rest of this entry »

February 12th, 2013 by Kim

On any given day, you can pretty much guess the first question from any of my children’s mouth upon arriving home from school: “what’s for supper?”  and usually the next question is, “anyone coming?”. Somehow they have learned along the way: food is important, friends are important.

I don’t think it’s just eating but the whole experience:  cooking together, and having someone to enjoy it with.

As a mom, I like to have my day “finished” by the time my kids get home from school. I try (may times with fail) to reserve this time just for them. I try not to take calls or work on my computer; I just want to be with the kids: homework, talking, being together

Cooking however, gets in the way with this “plan” since it takes me about 1 ½ hours each day to prepare a meal.

So I came up with this great idea to have a bit of a schedule in the kitchen: assigning each child a certain day to help  with meal prep. It gives me one on one time with them, teaches them some cooking skills and  just helps to get it done quicker.

I love the experience and good for me,  so do my kids. They love being in the kitchen and especially doing daring acts with hazardous tools.  I try to hold a balance in this area between “live and learn” and “preventative parenting.”  Most of the time it works out. Read the rest of this entry »

February 7th, 2013 by Kim

I’ve seen this book advertised on many of the blogs I read, and although the idea seemed wonderful, I found it easy to pass on the idea of reading it.  Since my oldest is almost 15, I didn’t think it was something I needed at this stage in Motherhood. Then simple advertising changed to several posts being written about it and even weekly book clubs talking about it. Since it doesn’t cost me anything to try a sample from Amazon, I decided to see what all the talk is about.

I read the sample in one sitting and immediately decided to purchase the book. It is a book for me, it is a book for all mom’s (if not all women). I even decided to follow one of the online book study!

Each chapter is real for me, and it is real for many of the women I know. As I read the text, the Lord brings women to my mind, women I want this with.

So far, here are some of the highlights i’ve taken from the chapters I’ve read: Read the rest of this entry »