Our Boy

Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

 When I found out I was pregnant with my third child and it was a boy, I was a little nervous.  I was used to girls and not really sure how I would handle raising a boy.  Many of my friends warned me that boys are wide open, full of energy and untamable at times.  Then came along Titus.

He was nothing like I had prepared myself for.  He was sweet, tender, well-behaved and wanted to do what his big sisters were doing.  At first, this was cute...especially when they would put dresses on him.  It quickly became obvious to my husband and I that he was choosing to play with "girl" things more than "boy" things.  The world would say, let him be who he is.  Give into his desires to play with girl things.  My husband, being a guy's guy, was having a fit when he would want to play with barbies or other girlie things.  We made a conscious decision to train him to be a boy, point out the differences between boys and girls (besides the obvious), encourage boy activities, have regular wrestle time with daddy and we started cultivating boy friendships and having boy play dates.

My boy, Titus, is still sweet, tender, and (mostly) well-behaved.  The difference now, he desires to play boy things including creative play, toys, wrestling, etc. more than girl things. The other day one of the girls was aggravating him and he turned and burped and blew it in her face.  She was, of course, appalled.  I, secretly, cheered and pulled my closed fist to my hip in victory- only a boy would do that to his sister, right?

God says to not conform to the patterns of this world.  He says he made us in his image and the likeness of man, not the likeness of a woman.  It is my job as his mama to steer him in the right direction to being a godly man.

Warmly,

Jill

Victory

As a Christian, there’s always that fine line of sheltering your children from the world and what it has to offer and exposing them to the world and giving them the tools and strategies to handle it and be an effective witness.  I teach at a very small school that my children attend.  It is a blessing in many ways.  They are getting a great education, there are many Christian families and other families who are just good people.  The Bible says to make disciples and go out into the world and share the love of Jesus.  It says, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.  We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”  (2 Corinthians 5:20) I want to teach my children to be His ambassadors.

Not too long ago, my middle child, who is in 1^st grade, came to me and was appalled by what she saw in a science book from her room.  It showed pictures of evolutionism.  From an early age, we (along with my neighbors) have taught my children that the Bible teaches that God created us.  We have read books to them, watched videos and given them all kinds of important facts to support this view.  My daughter was passionately explaining to me why this was false from the book and also shared the same to another student.  On the way home, I took the opportunity to tell her how proud I was of her sharing her beliefs as it is part of her.  I also told her that we can pray for those who do not believe this.  

However, once she has shared God’s Truth it is up to God to do the rest.  We cannot be disrespectful of other’s views and beliefs.  She understood.  She asked if she could bring her Bible to school and share from God’s Word why she believes God created man and woman. 

I was in awe that my little seven year old would be so bold and evangelistic.  I thought about how ignorant I was at that age.  This is important to her.  Her life’s path and choices will indeed be so different from mine in my childhood because she has Truth and wisdom. I was choked up and crying on the way home that day from school.  One of my kids noticed and said, “Mommy, what’s the matter, why are you crying?”  I simply replied that I was so proud of my children and Truth that they live by.  

Warmly,

Jill

The Birds and The Bees

  

It is inevitable that our children will learn about how babies are made and the intricacies of sex.  As a child, I vividly remember getting my sex education on the bus in 2^nd grade as I listened to the older kids.  I would not say it was healthy or an accurate depiction of the way God intended it to be.  I was well taken care of by my parents, but communicating these types of topics were ignored and uncomfortable.  I remember when I was fourteen and I got my period.  I told my mom while we were on our way to softball practice, she almost hit a tree on our street. 

I made a conscious decision that no matter how uncomfortable it was going to be, I wanted to be the one that gave my children God’s perspective on love, sex and baby making.  My oldest daughter has always been emotionally mature.  So, I knew the day would come sooner than later.  However, I did not expect it when she was seven.  She has always been inquisitive and whenever she asked questions that centered around babies and where they come from I told her that God gave us each one of our children out of love for each other.  That was enough until she started to put two and two together when one of our dogs got neutered.  How was it that he could no longer make babies? 

I took a deep breath and brought her into the guest bedroom at my parent’s house,  as we were visiting there over the summer.  I explained to her body parts, what they do and how a baby is conceived.  She asked questions like, “Do you and daddy still do it?”  I went on to explain that God intended it to be an act of love shared between a husband and wife, although some people in the world abuse it and do not do it out of love.  I told her  that daddy and I did because we loved each other.  She asked some other mature questions and it turned out to be a great conversation.  Until…my mom and I were putting all three kids to bed that night and my daughter looked at my mom and said, “Do you and Papa still do it?”  I fell on the ground laughing and I think my mom was speechless.  So I quickly recued her and said, “Remember I told you it was an act of love.  Nana and Papa still love each other.” 

It made a great story to tell and laugh about.  I am grateful that God was preparing my heart to share this with her.  My other two children are not quite old enough and emotionally mature enough to handle that conversation.  But, I’m ready when they are. 

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”  Genesis 2:24

“Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”  Hebrews 13:4

Warmly,

Jill

Is There Gluten in Heaven?

Is there gluten in heaven?

We are reading Heaven for Kids by Randy Alcorn with our kids right now.  Three out of five of us in our family have gluten allergies.  We have certainly gotten used to this lifestyle change, but it was not fun or easy in the beginning.  Titus, my five year old, asked one day as he was being denied some sort of yummy gluten treat, “Is there gluten in heaven?”

My immediate response was, “Of course not!  You can eat anything you want in Heaven.  There’s no such thing as a gluten allergy.”  His eyes got wide and a smile appeared ear to ear.  Truthfully, I do not know if we even eat in Heaven.  The Bible talks about the tree of life that bears twelve fruits.  (Revelation 22:1-3)  The text never says if we will actually eat the fruit of the tree of life.  The Bible also refers to “the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 8:11)  There are many more references that would make me think there will be food that we will eat.  I do know that our bodies will be made perfect and there will be no such thing as allergies or any other bodily ailments for that matter.  Now that is something to look forward to! (Revelation 22:3)

The whole point is, I want to get my children (along with myself) excited for Heaven.  We are all born and we will all die.  It is a choice to follow Jesus and go to Heaven or deny Him and live in eternally separated from Him.  It’s like getting ready to move to a new city or take a fancy, expensive vacation.  You would never move or take that vacation without learning about the area, examining its details and features, and weighing its pros and cons.   It’s not enough to teach my kids about Jesus, how to follow Him and become more Christ-like.  I want them to be building God’s Kingdom and not their kingdom here on earth.  I want them to know what they have to look forward to.  I want them to know that being heavenly minded has its rewards and blessings here on earth as well as in heaven.

 “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”  Colossians 3:1-2

Warmly,
Jill

Disciplining

Disciplining

 This summer my husband and I have been diligent to try and correct poor attitudes and helping my children to listen without five thousand reminders.  We have locked arms to try and have a unified force.  Tough love is hard.  I’m sure my children do not consider it pure joy  (James 1:2-4) when we discipline them so that they can mature. 

Recently, we had what I call an explosion of disobedience that needed action.  Two of my children lost the privilege of going to our local pool the next day.  They were crushed and broken.  And so was I.  As I had pillow talk with my husband that evening I had a hard time holding back tears.  I did not want them to miss out of their favorite summer activity.  Couldn’t I give them one more chance?  I rewound the words I had just told them an hour before, “If you are caught speeding on the highway a police officer is not going to give you a ticket and then take it away.”  I had to look beyond the moment.  I am trying to teach my children to live respectfully, obey, tame their tongue and listen to what is important.

The next morning there were no grudges.  My two children loved me the same.  They were over the initial sting of being disciplined.  They also knew mommy and daddy meant business.  God also reminded me that I was able to have some “special time” with my third child at the pool that day, as the other stayed home while daddy worked from home.  Just as the Lord tells us to endure hardship as discipline; God is treating us as his children (Hebrews 12:7)—so it is with our children on loan from Him.  

Warmly,

Jill