Bowling and 2 Timothy 4:7-10

Fun times bowling with the 3 older kids

Had to share with you Dad's best score.

6 strikes in a row!

The Football player...

...and his audience

2 Timothy 4:7-10

⁷ Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. ⁸ For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. ⁹ This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. ¹⁰ That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.

Our family has been studying the above verses for the past week. "Train yourself to be Godly" has been the main point of our discussions. My sports-minded son has especially connected with this, as did his sister who also trains in a sport. They both take tennis lessons where they spend a lot of time practicing the same movements and steps over and over again. We've had many talks comparing physical training to spiritual training. They are both hard to do no matter what age you are, and they also both require determination. I want my kids to do well in sports, and enjoy themselves as they stay healthy. But, more importantly, I want them to excell in training to be godly. We(hubby and I) are training them to be more patient, loving, and merciful. We have to train to be patient with them as they train lol. Training to be godly is not an easy thing when you are with your siblings 24/7. Spending so much time together provides great bonding time, but also provides time to sharpen your "fruit of the spirit" skills.

These verses have been on my mind lately as I strive to be a more patient, loving, and merciful mom.

One thing that I love about teaching my kids, is that I am learning so much! I've learned a ton while studing history, or doing science work with them. But more then anything, I have really learned so much about the Bible. This is one area of my life that I want to grow leaps and bounds. I am trying to read as much as possible and glean off of other Christians the wisdom and knowledge that they have attained. I also am trying to read the Bible a lot more. I want so much to fill my kids with wisdom and knowledge....to send them off as adults with their minds and hearts so full of the word of God that they can handle anything that comes their way. Sometimes, I feel so ill-equiped for this job. I have 5 souls that I am loving, raising, and teaching. I feel so incredibly blessed to have this job, but I also understand the importance of doing it right. I realize that I only have a short time to do those 3 things well. What I fill them with will have a great effect on the rest of their lives. What I do today will affect their tomorrow.

Lamplighter

Can I please share with you one of my FAVORITE parenting tools that we use in character training. Might I add too, that these "tools" are also VERY entertaining for all!

My family is a HUGE fan of Lamlighter Publishing. We have read a lot of their books and listened to hours and hours of their audio dramas.

This is a wonderful company started by a man named Mark Hamby, who has a passion for great Christian literature. On the Lamplighter site, you will find a wealth of wonderful literature along with some very well done Audio Dramas.

The paragraph below is taken from the "welcome" page.

"Lamplighter stories are much more than good and wholesome reading. The character traits children assimilate during their formative years are the foundation from which a life of faith in God is built. Inspiring role models found in Lamplighter books demonstrate that outward compliance alone will not carry a child through the stresses and disappointments soon to be faced in adolescence and adulthood. Though life isn’t always fair, we can be confident that each disappointment and trial is designed by a loving God for our good"

http://www.lamplighterpublishing.com/

Give them a try, you will not be disappointed!

Walking, walking, and more walking

My studious daughter at her desk

The boys playing Connect Four.

They really were taking turns.

This lil' baker did it all on her own!

*Love*

Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm

- Winston Churchill

First time his new car seat.

Thought he would be so excited....guess I was wrong.

Love this picture

Love the brotherly love

Our 3 lil' ones

The weather has been so beautiful.

He loves to do his worksheets

Spelling Bee

Where have I been?

Well, aside from teaching, homemaking, and caring for a 1 year-old

who was very sick for a week, I've been...

...... saving my sons life more then a few times a day.

I have never had such a climber before!

...... playing tennis a lot.

......celebrating our sweet baby turning 1!!!!

(Pictures of the 8 year-olds birthday to come)

......enjoying time with friends we regularly see

.......and enjoying time with friends we don't see often enough

(had to share the back of this cutie's head.

How beautiful is that full head of hair!!!)

.......going to see my sporty kids have a great time at their track meet

(Walter,thank you sooo much for the great pictures!!!!!)

.....enjoying time with my goofy kids

....spending time staring at my baby at night, wondering how he is already 1 :o(