Wednesday, May 24, 2006
A glimmer of hope
Posted in Mothering
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Since I'm The Mommy, I have the honor
and priviledge (really, it is both. It just doesn't always feel like
it) of being the one to carry out most of the training that goes on
with our little ones. Jimmy and I will have our occasional Staff
Meeting where we will discuss the different strengths and weaknesses of
each child and come up with the "how's" of helping them to excell still
more in those strengths and work through those weaknesses (and
eventually - prayerfully - out of them). Each of our children have many strengths and each of them have a few weaknesses... today I'm going to write about our Sam and I'm just going to say it out loud... Sam is lazy. Pathetically lazy. He just is. All the parenting books tell me to "Just give them jobs! Preschoolers LOVE to help!". Travis? Yes. Caroline? Can empty a drier like no other toddler. Sam? It takes him about 23 minutes, many reminders, a CD of silly songs, a CD of hymns and a few "reminder swats" to trudge through the cruel task of emptying the silverware basket from the dishwasher. All the while crying for someone to "Plleeaassee help me!". I feel like I've tried everything over the past month (since we finally allowed ourselves to acknowledge that it was, in fact, sin) to teach him about how we are created to work and how much our family needs his contribution and how much God loves it when we serve others with a happy heart... We pray together in the morning that God would give him cheerfulness and he really does seem to be ready and willing to be joyful. Then the time comes for the dreaded dishwasher (and it's not just that chore because I wondered if he just really hated that job - it's ANY task or job). After several weeks of the aforementioned routine, I honestly felt like just throwing in the towel and doing it myself. It would be so much more peaceful (and quick!). This past Monday was the real kicker. After they had all gone to bed I confessed to Jimmy that I felt like a complete failure with Sam and that, certainly, I must be doing things all wrong with him because not only do I not see any improvement but it seems to be getting worse! Like the sweet husband that he is, he reminded me to "not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." (Gal 6:9) It was encouraging (mostly just to know that he didn't agree with my self-evaluation), but I wasn't sure that it would actually be true for us.... Yesterday morning began just like any other. We snuggled, read a few books, got everyone dressed, ate some breakfast then, holding my breath and preparing for battle (a gentle and loving battle, of course), set out for dishwasher duty. Sam cheerfully got the chair that he stands on. Then cheerfully retrieved the silverware basket from the dishwasher. Then cheerfully (and quickly!) put it all away! And what's more, Travis had to make a pit stop in the middle of doing his part and Sam finished Travis' part for him before he got back! Cheerfully!! LAter in the day he still had some cheerfulness left over for washcloth folding (another dreaded event). He received much praise and many "thank you's" and I made a huge deal of telling daddy all about it over dinner, where he received even more praise. Now, I'm not going to count my chickens, but today brought cheerfulness again. There is certainly a light at the end of the tunnel. And isn't that just like the Lord to give us a little glimmer of hope, just when your "doing good" seems way too hard? I am very grateful. |
Thursday, May 18, 2006
And we're off!
Posted in Mothering
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So
here I am, my inaugural entry into my first blog. I thought this would
be an appropriate title since, not only am I kicking off what I hope
will be a long-running chronicle of our homeschooling adventures, but
we're also preparing to begin our home school (officially anyway,
though I maintain that we've been homeschooling since March of 2001!)
in just a few short months. We will have a kindergartener! The days of
his babyhood have certainly flown by. I'l start by explaining the title of my blog, "my401K". I'll confess that I'm not very creative when it comes to naming things (our first born is a "3rd" and I had a cat named Kitty when I was in second grade). So when I decided to start this blog I enlisted the help of a few creative friends and family members. My sister was actually the one who came up with this title for me and as soon as I saw it I knew it would be perfect. Before I even read "Now, it might sound weird at first...", I had already taken it in the very same direction that she had intended. Let me explain... Since we were newly married, and especially since starting a family, it has become very important to us to challenge what is seen as societies "norm" and hold those things up to the light of scripture. Every facet of life, from the way men and women are to relate to eachother in marriage, to how many children they should have, how they should discipline them, and so on and so on, is challenged in our society. One area most commonly and most ferociously attacked is how mothers should spend their days. Society tells us that women are wise to plan for their financial futures by getting back to work as soon as those 6 weeks maternity leave are over. After all, families need two nice cars, a couple of fun vacations during the year and LOTS of great presents at Christmastime, right? And we need to be able to feel secure that we will be taken care of financially in our golden years, right? And the kids will be just fine in daycare. That's the way of life for tons of kids and they're turing out fine, right? Right?! So one of those notions that we challenged early on (before we were even married, actually) was where and how I would spend my time once we were blessed with children. Was it savvy for me to charge into the working world every morning right beside my husband so that, together, we could ensure our financial freedom? We decided that the most wise investment that we could make would not come by way of money. It would come by way of my time, my love, my patience, my diligence, my care, essentially my entire life, invested for the sake of our family. The payoff down the road will not be monetary, instead it will bring something that money can never buy. This investment into our family, into our children specifically, is "my401K". I look so forward to the day when our children are grown and walking in Truth; when they are wise, mature, godly men and women raising up their children - our grandchildren! That will be a sweet payoff, far sweeter than a few thousand bucks. |