"Just" Lunch

I'd had it in my car for awhile, a ziploc bag tucked neatly under the seat, with no visible opportunities to share it presenting themselves. And now certainly wasn't the most opportune time. My neighbor was following me, and we were on our way to purchase school supplies and do a free craft at a nearby learning store. I was hoping to do what I needed to do and make it home before naptime.

Yet there he was, standing on the street corner, holding his cardboard sign.

"~Homeless~

~Will Work for Food~"

I wanted to ignore him. I wanted to drive by. But here I was stopped at a traffic light at a busy corner, with my preschool son in the car and my neighbor following along behind. Should I open the window? What if it wasn't safe? What if he asked for more? Why, oh why wasn't the light changing?

"Alright LORD," I muttered under my breath. "If you really want me to do this, I will." One more quick glance at the light showed me it wasn't going to change, no matter how much I willed it to.

Slowly, I put down my window. "Excuse me?" I called. "Would you like to share some lunch?" He quickly came over to the car window, and I handed over my offering--the ziploc bag, filled with bottled water, a granola bar, and ready to mix chicken salad and crackers. "Thank you ma'am" he said quietly, and turned and walked away. "God Bless you," I called feebly after him as the light changed and we went on our way.

"Mama, why did we give that man food?" piped a small voice from the back seat as we continued on towards our destination.

"My son, God has given us everything we need. Everything we have is from Him, and because we love Him, we share what we have been given with others. That man had no lunch, and we did, so we shared a lunch with him".

My eyes filled with tears as I reflected on the opportunity I had almost missed, at the attitude I had at serving my King. It was "just" lunch, but it allowed not only me, but my family to share with the "least of these" in the hopes that in some small way, I was serving the King. And the double blessing was that in sharing "just" lunch, I was able to share the upside down values of the Kingdom of God with my son; demonstrating God's love and justice, and His desire for us as His followers.

We made it to the store, completed the craft, and even got home before naptime was over. But all that faded into the background as I realized that I am called not only to be available to my children, but to always be available to my Lord. The time is His, not mine.

Life is Not a Photograph

Looking at a blog site today, I began to think - this woman's life looks like those pictures that comes with your frame. How does she get those bows to stay so neat and prim in girls' hair? Where is the mess? Where is the disobedient child? Where is the toilet left unflushed or worse?

It is easy to look only at pictures and see a perfect life that we do not have ourselves. Life in not a photograph. Do not believe Satan's lie that your life is so much worse when compared to others. No man is perfect except Jesus. Everyone is dealt a different hand. I very much doubt a women would post such pictures only to make others jealous and covet, that would not match the Godly statements that are so helpful and encouraging. While thinking the best in others, be ware of your own sinful thoughts. When negative thoughts pot up, squash them and chose positive thoughts and God's truth.

There is a difference between getting ideas for your own household and putting yourself down. We can view successes of others without being too hard on ourselves because only the picture is perfect. The photo was taken with the purpose to show the good side. No one has it ALL together.

Use Godly successes of other people to make chances in your own life, but remember patience, God's provision for you at this time, seek God's wisdom and apply it to your life. Again, remember not everyone is dealt the same hand. I must say, the woman from the blog mentioned above only has GIRLS, boys are so different. She has a large modern home, which is much easier to keep clean. Perhaps she lives in another state where taxes do not take up 1/3 of their mortgage payment. Or maybe they were determined to live without debt, and are able to afford so much more without owing others. On the other hand, they could be up to their eyeballs in debt too, though I hope not. Maybe she has a maid. You get the idea. I must admit, I really want to go back to the blog to look for an I don't have it all together post!

Once I heard a homeschool speaker talk about a photo taken of his family. It was a beautiful picture with smiling, well-behaved children. Then he told us that it was taken shortly after a huge family argument. There is always a story behind every photograph, and it is not always a perfect one.

The Myth of the Perfect Family Follow this link to an article on perfection that I stumbled upon while looking for a photo for this post.

Photo at top taken from here.

Homeschooling with a Toddler in Tow

REPOST - Sorry link was missing

Teeny Tiny Tot School

This post gave me such a good laugh and encouragement, I wanted to share it. My 3 year old is not really a toddler at all anymore, he is a preschooler now. But, ahh - I remember those days. Maybe I am crazy, but I would love to have a teeny tiny tot again!

Photo of my "baby" during his toddler years.

The Sound of Family

This past Sunday, we were attending a christening service. At the sound of a child crying, the Deacon officiating the service pointed it out. He said, "Do you hear that? That is the sound of family and it is okay." He went on to explain that you expect those noises where families are present, and that the church (in this case the Catholic church) wants families as apart of their service, noise and all. I mentioned to my husband that the Deacon's statement was a nice change. He said, "Yeah, that sure does beat -'Umm, Did you know we have children's ministry ma'am.' "

My husband grew up in the Catholic church, and he remembers going to church as a family. He remembers babies crying and the adults just learned to block it out. I think Protestants could learn something from our Catholic brothers and sisters on this issue.

We are fortunate that our Pastor is fine with children in the service because not all pastors are okay with that. Once when our 5 year old went through a period when he wanted to stay with us in church instead of going to his class, our pastor came up at the end and congratulated him for sitting through the service. However, there are people at our church that have mention to me that they do NOT like children in the service. In fact, a number of home groups do not let children to be present, the children must be in a separate room. When our home group had low attendance, one of the elders of our church explained it might be because we had children present. I understand how any noise can be distracting, but I think a little noise briefly should be tolerated, especially during a training process. There should be no screaming and running down the isles. As long as the noise level or behavior is not over the top, let the little ones come. It does not mean families rule and adult single are left ignored, but that the whole community worships together. We need all parts of the body.

People will say to me, "But it is different with you, your children are well behaved." Let me tell you, my children are VERY Normal. If they do behave, it is from training and God changing their hearts toward Him. Parenting is hard and heart work! If I can do it, I am sure any Believer can too. The 5 year old I mentioned above happens to be very bouncy by the way - he is ALL boy. Self control is a very good trait to learn, but not an easy one to teach. These things are true for single parents too. As the church body, we should help them any way we can offer as not only Christian behavior, but as a Pro-Life statement as well.

After all, is not one of the ways we are building God's Kingdom through having and raising children in His Church? We want to encourage family - right? We are Pro Life - right? Do we want families to go to church together? Why do we always have to be separated by age? Do not my children need to see their parents worship in church and listening to the sermon?

My children do enjoy kid's church, but sometimes I long for a family church service with children's classes at a different time. I also felt very encouraged by the Deacon's words, and wanted to share they with you.

Postscript by my husband~
I wonder if the ubiquitous images of the Holy family prevalent in Roman Catholic art have influenced the RCC to maintain the family centerness though the years. Of course, I cannot speak for all Protestant churches, but it seems to me that the culture in many modern Protestant churches have adopted segregation policy concerning children.

Painting above:
The Holy Family with Saints Anne and Catherine of Alexandria
1648
Jusepe de Ribera (Spanish, 1591-1652)

Now is the Time to Shop

Here is a reminder to take stock of what you have in your children's sizes for next year. Now is a great time to buy what you need for next year. You can get new items for the same price for used ones.

I personally like Children's Place. When their monster sale goes to the additional 50% off, then I buy (You can see this on main page of their website). Since Mr. Z has a January birthday, I also can use a b-day coupon the store e-mails me. By using the coupon and my store credit card discount I saved an extra 20% off my bill on top of the sale price. Gymboree has some good deals too. Look for the rack with deep discounted prices, like $6 for a jumper dress.

It does not really matter what store, most have wonderful deals this time of year on clothes. Just carefully calculate, it is not a deal if you do not need it. Less is more! Also, using a store credit card can save you money, but always pay the credit card as soon as you get home by paying on-line. If you use on-line banking, this is very easy to do. Interest or late fees will blow your savings, and I must say I really prefer using real cash at all times.

What deals have you found?

A Bit Too Much

These GAP carpenter pants for kids come with paint splattered on them, they could be yours for the bargain price of $30.99 - on sale from $34.50. Or you could just burn your money, at least it will give you warmth for a few seconds. It is ironic, you could buy this pants or feed a family of five for a month in a 3rd world country. I suppose people who would buy these pants hire someone to pant, so their kids would not have the opportunity to get the "worked in" look. Wealth is a blessing, to be enjoyed, used wisely, bless others less fortunate and to further Christ's Kingdom. Even if you are not a Christian, how could you buy these pants and sleep at night. Buying ripped jeans okay, but pants stained with pant - come on!

Paint splatter carpenter khakis

Because We LOVE You!

Our hearts are a-flutter with visions of red and pink for Valentine's Day. Visit DaisyBows, the cutest little Etsy shop, (ok, we're a wee bit biased since it's Sara and Catherine's shop) for the most adorable hair bows for your little darlings. :)

And because we LOVE you all, the shipping is on us when you enter "I LOVE DAISYBOWS" in the Message to Seller Box upon checkout. Your shipping charge will be manually refunded to you through Paypal.

Love,
Catherine and Sara