My Daughter's Birthday

Today is my older daughter's 6th birthday. I am making today a special day for her. I picked out a cute outfit for her to wear to school and pinned a birthday ribbon on her shirt. She gets to eat a special lunch - a fluffer nutter sandwich and candy corn - and I put a birthday note in her lunch. She got to take a book to school for the teacher to read to the class. She took Pride and Prejudice. When she handed it to the teacher, the teacher said, "What?! If we read that it would take all day and you wouldn't get to eat lunch." Then she laughed. So my daughter handed her the other book she brought and the teacher read My Lucky Day. We are going to my parents' house for supper and cake tonight.

Most of today I am getting ready for her birthday party, which will be tomorrow. We are all excited about the party. The theme is a surprise. I will write all about it and post pictures after the party.

I am so thankful for my daughter. It has been a joy to watch her grow up. As I care for her baby sister, I have flashbacks of caring for her when she was that little. How time flies. She has grown into a beautiful, smart, vibrant little girl. She loves to draw, write, and dance. She has a sweet spirit and likes to do things for others. She adores her baby sister and is a big helper. I love her so much!

Filling the Gap

Wow. It has been a long time since I have posted anything. So much has happened since the last post. My family has moved to Pennsylvania where we bought our first home. We have a new baby daughter who is a delight. My older daughter is in 1st grade and about to turn 6 this week. She adores her baby sister. My husband got a wonderful new job allowing him to work from home, then was laid off a few months later with everyone else in the company. Now he's job hunting again. Life is uncertain, but God is in control and we can trust Him.

I Like To Move It, Move It

We're gonna move it, move it
We're gonna move it, move it
We're gonna move it, move it
We're gonna... MOVE IT!

Can't wait to move it, move it
Can't wait to move it, move it
Can't wait to move it, move it
Can't wait to... MOVE IT!

I like to move it, move it
I like to move it, move it
I like to move it, move it
We like to... MOVE IT!

It's official now. We're moving to PA! Yaaaaay!

Sir John Hawkins' Secret Treasure

For my daughter's 5th birthday we had a pirate themed party. All of the children (and some of the adults) dressed up as pirates. One of the activities was a treasure hunt. To introduce the treasure hunt to them, I made up this story.

Most of you don't know this, but I am related to a real pirate: Sir John Hawkins. He was a famous pirate, but there is something about him you won't find in any books . Sir John Hawkins had a secret; a secret treasure that he didn't tell anyone about. He didn't even tell his own crew because he wanted to keep it all for himself. To keep anyone from finding the treasure, he buried it in a place that only he knew about. Unfortunately, he never got to enjoy his treasure. Shortly before his last voyage he made a map. But he didn't want just anyone to find the treasure and was afraid the map would fall into the wrong hands. So he tore the map into several pieces and hid each piece in a different place. Then he gave one piece to his son and told him about the treasure. He said that if he could find the rest of the map he could have the treasure. His son never found the rest of the map or the treasure, so he passed his piece of the map on to his children. And so it has passed from generation to generation and finally to me. Today I am passing it on to my daughter. Maybe with your help the long lost secret treasure of Sir John Hawkins will be found. You will know when you have found a piece of the map because he hid a gold nugget with each. Each piece of the map will lead you to the next. Once you have found all the pieces, put the map back together and it will lead you to the treasure.

The treasure hunt was a huge success. There was only one snag. About halfway through the hunt I realized that the treasure had driven off. We hid the treasure in the trunk of our car and my husband had gone home briefly to grill the hotdogs. My father-in-law came to the rescue. He went and fetched back the treasure and by the end of the hunt the pirates found the treasure in the trunk of his car. The treasure was a pinata.

What's the Magic Word?

Yesterday I volunteered in my daughter's kindergarten class. I really enjoyed it. It reminded me of my old job. For the most part the children were delightful and very polite. During recess I sat at a small picnic table watching the children and chatting with them. Then I met a little boy who stood out from all the rest. He plopped down on the bench next to mine, flung his foot on the table in front of me and demanded, "Tie my shoe" in a very obnoxious voice. I was slightly taken aback by his tone after talking to all these polite children. I replied, "Excuse me? Could you ask me nicely?" He said, "No, we don't talk nicely at my house." I told him, "Well, that's not going to get you very far. People won't want to help you if you don't ask nice." He demanded several more times that I tie his shoe for him, refusing to be polite. Each time I told him that I would be glad to tie it for him when he said "please". Finally, he kind of glared at me and grudgingly said, "Please tie my shoe for me." It wasn't quite the response I was looking for but I gave him credit for for saying please and smiled at him as I tied his shoe.

I feel sorry for the rude little boy who hasn't been taught even the basics of courtesy and politeness; who lives in a place where "we don't talk nicely at my house."

Colossians 4:6 "Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man."

Second Generation Christians

I've recently had a few discussions with a friend who was saved later in life. We were talking about the differences between Christians who were saved later in life and second generation Christians who were saved at an early age and lived a very sheltered life. Both types of Christians have their pros and cons which can strengthen or hinder their work in various ministries. As a second generation Christian myself, I have experienced the negative aspects and am working on trying to figure out how to fix them to make them positive. My friend who was saved later in life has helped me put some things into perspective.

Heather, who is also studying second generation Christians, wrote in her blog post that she believes strongly in exposure to and interaction with the "real world". I agree with that. Some Christians try to keep themselves and their children too separated from the world. This can create some problems. It can hinder their ministry to the unsaved and new Christians because they can't identify with them or understand them. Sometimes it can cause them to look down on "worldly" people and they could end up unintentionally offending them. Christians who have been exposed to the world know where they're coming from and can tactfully present the truth without offending. I'm not saying a sheltered Christian can't do the same but it will be harder for them.

Children who live an overly sheltered life will have a big shock when they grow up and enter the "real world". If they are not prepared it could lead to problems later in life. They may end up experimenting in worldly things to see what they missed out on. Or they might become very legalistic, defining their spirituality by the "good deeds" they do and the moral lifestyle they live.

Faith is strengthened by the trials we face and many Christians saved at an early age are sheltered from the challenges that could anchor their faith. People who are saved from the world know what they are saved from. One of the problems I faced as a young Christian is that I didn't notice a big change in my life when I was saved. Yes, I was a sinner and did bad things, but how wicked can a four year old be? Those saved later in life can appreciate their salvation much more as they experience the power of the Holy Spirit turning their life around.

I'm not saying that people should put off salvation until they're older or that Christians need to experience a worldly life before they can be used by God or appreciate their salvation. I heard the story of one man who lived a sheltered life. Then he heard the testimony of another man who talked about how he was saved out of a life of drugs, immorality, and who knows what else, and praising God for saving him out of that life. After hearing that testimony, the sheltered Christian said, "Wow, I need to go out and get me a testimony like that." And he proceeded to go out and live a wicked life. The experience didn't give him a better testimony; it ruined his testimony and his life. One of the things I praise God for is that I was saved from a wicked life, not out of one.

I led a fairly sheltered life but I don't consider myself to have been completely sheltered. From a very early age I faced internal spiritual battles. I can remember at the age of 5 or 6 thinking things like, "Even though I'm a Christian, I could go out and steal something or even kill someone, and God would still love me. I would still go to heaven." I would contemplate doing some really horrible things, but then I would think, "If I did those things, it would make Jesus very sad, and I don't want to do that." So I chose not to live a wicked life. God has helped me to stay away from really bad things, but I have still been tempted by things in this world, and made bad choices. Most of my convictions today aren't ones my parents taught me or ones I learned in a Christian setting. My strongest convictions are ones I learned the hard way or studied myself to find out why I should believe or live a certain way.

When it comes to interacting with the "real world" I believe there needs to be a balance. The Bible teaches that we should be separated from the world. So we shouldn't try to look like them and act like them and think we'll reach them that way. But we also can't bury our heads in the sand, then look down on unsaved people and act shocked when they act worldly. Without partaking in worldly sins, we need to be aware of the ways of the world, understand where they're coming from so we can best help them.

Time Changes Everything

An unintentional gift given
A lesson learned
A test passed
A wrong forgiven
A grudge ended
A heart mended
A relationship restored
A peace delivered
A freedom gained
A new beginning
True love discovered
Real joy uncovered
A life changed

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;

Time changes everything.
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