682 - Are you Fireproof?

Is marriage ever hard for you? It is for me. I have a very wonderful husband that I love and I know he loves me, and yet marriage is still hard and takes much work. It is in those times when I quit working or neglect the relationship that I really notice things can, at best, get rough. Marriage takes a constant evaluation, constant communication, and constant forgiveness - receiving and giving.

I have not met anyone that just woke up and didn't love or was not "in love" anymore after just one night of sleep. Like the song from Casting Crown, "it is a slow fade". Things may even seem like they are overnight, but the process of falling out of love starts little by little. This is why marriage needs the constant attention and evaluation!

Clay and I have started a "sort of" young marrieds Sunday School class at our church in Carmi. (I say "sort of" because we are just barely on that road considered young so we have been told. ha ha!) It has been amazing to see the class blossom in no time flat. It seems to me that people do want their marriages to work, but it is hard knowing what to do. Clay and I are on a mission to strengthen our own marriage and anyone else that wants to come along with us on this adventure! It certainly pleases the Lord, and Clay and I have made a promise to our kids that we would do all we can to make sure daddy and mommy always stay together.

Not this Saturday, but the next Saturday, Feb. 7, First Baptist Church will be showing the movie Fireproof to the community. Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend. We as a church have made a large investment to house this movie and it is all in the name of strengthening marriages. Even the best, most healthy marriages can benefit from this movie. Please come and bring many friends. FREE FREE FREE!!!

Feb. 7 - Saturday evening

6:00pm - finger foods in fellowship hall
6:30pm - Fireproof begins
8:30ish - desserts

Please feel free to call me - 383*4856 or email me with any questions. cletus104 at gmail. I look forward to seeing you there!!

676 - Not for the Weak!

There is not anything more fearful or daunting than the training of the child. I often, I mean VERY often, wonder why in the world God gave me any kids, and especially 4 to raise. I know I am not in this all by myself, and am so thankful to have friends, family, and a plethora of resources to help in this endeavor! But still I get overwhelm by my own personal shortcomings and how they will certainly affect my children.

Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.” I know many parents that hold on to that verse as if it is magic potion insuring their child will turn out right. They almost see it as an excuse for their own behavior because they are “giving” their kids all the right things. I will take them to church, I will make sure they have the right friends, I will make sure they are in all the right activities, and I will make sure they know who God is – even if I have to force it. And in our minds we feel like God will bless those things, and if the child goes away from what they have been taught they will come back to it. That is really not what this verse is talking about and certainly not promising.

As quite a self-proclaimed control freak it is very easy for me to want to force the kids to do exactly what I want. I will make all their choices and things will be great. But as my commentary was explaining this approach to parenting can many times only hurt the kids. In parenting it is vitally important to teach the child to make choices themselves, and hopefully the right ones. We train them in all the appropriate ways, but we leave the choosing up to them.

One of my kids made the choice to “go out” with someone even though it hurt their friend deeply. My child could not understand why their friend was so mad and hurt. Clay and I had to sit down with all the kids and explain about honoring a friendship, being loyal to those we love, and that girlfriends and boyfriends will be a dime a dozen most likely until college. We wanted the kids to understand that you never turn on a friend – they are there to the end – truly! I am so thankful for Clay’s examples of Jeff Neal, Reed Jackson, Paul Black, etc. that shows this to be true. (Because of my often moving growing up I really don’t have that so much to show for!)

We left that “meeting” with the kids wondering if they “got it”. Later that night my child came to me explaining that they had just broken up with the love and could not wait to mend things with the friend! Honestly, initially, I wanted to force the situation, but my patient husband was able to remain calm and do the training in a way that the right choices were sure to come. I am so proud of my child for their actions, but even more so I am proud of the way Clay trained them in this particular incident! Parenting is not easy, nor for the weak, but I am so thankful for the instruction manual God left for us to follow!

624 - I love You!!!

Wow, what a week and it is only Wednesday. But as I sit (or lay) here today and I am so grateful I can hardly hold back the tears. Not emotional tears, these are happy, thankful tears. Today is my 14th wedding anniversary to my man!!

What a patient man! It really is not ironic that I have been put in this situation (the boots) especially on my anniversary. It is quite indicative of our relationship. He is patient with a very spontaneous person and one that can deal with whatever life brings him - or whatever his wife brings him. ha ha!

I think the greatest quality of our relationship is that we are a team! The kids do not question if we are together or not together on certain decisions. We are team! We even clean and cook together. There is not much we don't do together or at least try to do together. We gave up running together a long time ago - for 2 reasons - I started having too many babies and let's face it I run at a snail's pace. But we do celebrate at Dairy Queen together after each of our running is over.............together!!!

My Clay is my man! I love him. He had me at hello just about 16 years ago. He is my tall prince I always wanted! God has grown him so much! He is so handsome! My Clay is my man!

I love you!

2 posts today - picture day! Cruise recap

I WILL BE BACK LATER TODAY TO POST AGAIN AND TO EXPLAIN EACH PICTURE. BUT RIGHT NOW WE HAVE BASKETBALL CAMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANKS FOR CHECKING BACK THIS AFTERNOON!