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Tag Archives: Christian education

Happiness Project: Month by Month Roadmap

March 1, 2013

In Gretchen Rubin’s book The Happiness Project  she puts together a monthly focus and specific goals pertaining to that month.  Everyone is going to choose different subjects to focus on.  We all different passions, priorities, responsibilities, etc.  The following are my month focuses:DSC07115

March:  My Kids: My oldest has a lot of extra days off from school in March due to Spring Break and a teacher’s conference.  It gives me the perfect opportunity to bond with my kids and appreciate my role as a mom.

April:  Health & Wellness:  Exercise, healthy eating, routines etc.

May:  My House:  I did a pretty intense “winter cleaning” project this past month, but I know come May all my efforts will be “undone” and there will be other things to tackle…things I have put off for a very long time.

June:  God:  Spiritual life and faith

July:  Mental Health:  positive thinking and learning more about anxiety and depression

August:  Marriage:  My husband’s birthday is in August so I thought this would be a perfect month to focus on him.

September:  Friends:  Now that the majority of my close friends have kids in school, the summer to fall transition is crazy.  I had many stressed out friends in September.

October:  World Missions:  I have always had a heart for mission specifically the places I visited (Eastern Europe & Indonesia).  I want my kids to learn more about missions.

November:  Community:  Over the past few years I have become more interested in community development and how specifically my family can be involved in our neighborhood and community.  God didn’t have us live here for no reason.

December:  Traditions:  I love embracing the traditions of the holidays and focusing on Advent.

January:  Pursue a Passion:  Running:  Only those who are die hard runners will understand it.  My passions have changed over the years or disappeared, but I have LOVED running since I got lost running on a county road by all these cow pastures outside of Coopersville, Michigan in April of 2001.  I did manage to find my way home and I realized I ran 5 miles!  I could run!  

February:   Art:  Last night at youth group the middle schoolers were remarking how good of a drawer I am.  I used to LOVE to draw, paint, etc.  I took extracurricular art classes in middle school.  I would love to try some different types of art with my kids and on my own.

Each month is divided into separate goals.  I will post them at the beginning of that month.  There a few personal goals I am not posting, but the vast majority I will reveal.

Here is the month of March:

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Focus:  The Kids

  1. Have a different “theme” days during the oldest child’s day off like “Craft Day,” “Nature Day,” “Fun in the Kitchen” day.
  2. Speak in the positive.  Have you never noticed how negative we moms are!?  ”Don’t do that!”  ”Stop touching that!”  ”Your room is a pit.”  We CAN speak in the positive.
  3. Focus on the role God called me to be:  As I said, I never thought I would be a full time stay-at-home mom and never for this many years.  I want to reflect more on the blessings of this calling.
  4. Smile in the morning:  My kids can be upbeat and happy in the morning and I can be…well…a grump.  I am trying to smile right after my alarm goes off…and it’s SO hard.
  5. Go roller skating:  I want to do something “vintage” with my oldest.  It helps me appreciate the joys of my own childhood and share it with her.

FYI:  I will be posting about The Happiness Project every Monday.  Please follow along.  If you find it boring, do not read my blog on Mondays.

Posted by in Mental Health & Self Care, Mom Stories, Raising little ones Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

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Happiness Project: Guidelines For Living

February 28, 2013

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I am embarking on my personal happiness project in March.  March is my personal New Years Day as my birthday is at the beginning of the month.  Before I share with you more about my project here is an explanation of my guidelines for living...

1) Love God & love others - When I entered youth ministry at the tender age of 23 with no money and little experience…but ready to take on the world…my senior pastor (and to this day one of my role models) said that my work can simply be summed as this:  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and love kids.  All I need to be is a simple clay vessel ready to be filled with His treasure.  Which is why you will always see 2 Corinthians 4:7 at the end of my e-mails.

2) Seek the Lord in all things.  Cast your cares on him in the small decisions like how I should spend my birthday money, the medium sized decisions such as where I should send my children to school, and the giant decisions such as when should I go back to work and what should I be doing.

3) Be myself.  I am a big picture, somewhat creative, dreamer who is extroverted, needs “outside” time and often sings too loud (and off key).  That is me.  I am not going to try be someone I am not.

4) Listen, listen, listen!  Talking comes much more naturally to me.  I talk through my issues while my husband thinks through everything.  Being in a formal or informal group of people where someone is constantly talking, interrupting, or always bringing the conversation back to them is…well…annoying…and sometimes sabotages a group.  I try to listen to my husband, my kids, my friends, my extended family–I am and will probably always be a work-in-progress.

5) Act the way I want to feel:  You really CAN choose the way you want you to feel.  Although sadness, despair, and wallowing has its time and place, you are not destined to stay in a slump forever.

6) Follow through:  Follow a task from start to finish.  There is ALWAYS interruptions, but pick up where you left off.

7) Do the work that needs to be done:  I would much rather surf facebook for 45 minutes that put the breakfast dishes away and wipe down counters.  Keep priorities in the right order.

8)  Say what you need:  Don’t beat around the bush.  If I need help, I need to ask for it.

9)  Accept and move on:  There are people (sometimes mean) and situations (sometimes crummy) I have absolutely no control over.  Acceptance breeds contentment.

10) Tone it down:  I am a loud person and I come from a noisy family.  I tend to overreact and create drama.  Some of this part of who I am, but I have learned to turn the volume (and the drama) down over the years.

11) Think it about:  If I do not have to make a split second decision, it’s not a bad thing to process it for awhile and consider all sides of the coin.

12) It’s not about you:  One of my husband’s catch phrases I have made my own.  You should not have to try hard to impress people or find your allies.  Instead ask how you can reach out to others.

Posted by in Mental Health & Self Care Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

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Why “Reading the Bible More” Is Not My News Years Resolution

January 1, 2013

DSC04935Many of you are making New Years resolutions right now.  So often I see people say, “I want to read my Bible more.”

I have stopped making this my resolution.  For one I know I will never get to that point where I have attained this goal.  I no longer believe that if I climb the spiritual ladder of reading the Bible everyday that my life will be less chaotic than it already is.

I have met countless Christians in my lifetime who tell me they need to attend church more and feel guilty when they skip services.  They want their family to attend Sunday School, but they have many excuses.  They tried to read the whole Bible in a year, but never made it past Leviticus.  They thought about joining a Bible Study, but they have too much on their schedule anyway.

Normal, loving people who want do good.  They live moral lives and reach out to other people.  I can relate because I have been there too.  I daresay my Christian school upbringing emphasized the moral code (don’t drink, have premarital sex, do drugs, go to church, read your Bible, pray etc.) more than what it means to know God and have a relationship with Him.  I honestly don’t think I figured out “the relationship part” until college when my anxiety and depression spiraled out of control and my feeble relationship with the Lord was the only thing keeping me afloat.

Are we chasing after a moral code or are we trying to know a God who loves us that he made the sacrifice of His son?

Hayley Di Marco in her book The Fruitful Wife says:

“When we are willing to believe, we seek to understand.  And when we seek to understand, we look to God’s Word for that understanding.  When we move through this progression, we begin to discern what pleases God, and as we discover what pleases him, we begin to want it more and more.”  (134)

Face it.  If my goal is simply to read the Bible because it is a nice thing to do and it is going to make my life happier, I am going to lose my motivation quickly.  I am going to be more inclined to tune in to facebook or watch another episode of Glee.

Julie Ann Barnhill says it best when she talks about trying to read the Bible in the trenches of mothering little ones in her book, “She’s Gonna Blow.”

“I’m not saying it’s an easy thing to do—this goal of reading and studying the Bible in the middle of motherhood. I would guess that your first inclination is to read anything but the Bible. I understand, trust me..at one time I had more than ten magazine subscriptions and probably picked up that many more off the rack while waiting in line for the grocery store! I was an information junkie, craving empty calories of junk-food trivia. It was much easier to grab a dose of Regis and Kathie Lee in between morning baby naps than to discipline myself and study the Word of God…But I’ve learned the hard way that it is simply impossible to grow in faith if the only source you’re tapping into is cultural junk food.” (138)

When you seek the Lord in his Word, you quickly understand that your faith is not simply this thing you hold on to that makes you into a better person.  Instead you realize how broken you are.  How desperately you need to be healed. How you cannot imagine walking alone without the guidance of your Lord and Savior.  How you have this capacity to love other people even those who turned against you.  How every single decision can be brought to the Lord in prayer.

You look at church attendance, Sunday School, Bible Study, youth group, prayer meetings differently.  All the sudden they aren’t obligations, guilt factors, or things to cross of “a to-do list.”  You yearn for them.

I think we get so comfortable with having a watered down faith.  We excuse ourselves for not seeking to know the Lord because everyone else seems to be living this way.  I have been there.  I have had weeks, months, and even years in this state of mind.  And I have been in the ministry my whole life.  Never think that we in the ministry have it all together.

So I would say my New Years resolution is to continue to walk with the Lord and seek to know Him more.  And really it’s not a News Years goal, but a lifetime resolution.

Posted by in Mental Health & Self Care Tags: , , , ,

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December Photos #23 Church Christmas Program

December 25, 2012

DSC07862The first Christmas we have all three kids in the church Christmas program.  What a blessing to see our little ones leading in worship during this blessed Advent season.

Posted by in Friends & Get togethers Tags: , , , , , ,

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December Pictures #9 2nd Sunday in Advent

December 9, 2012

Years ago when I was a college student living in Grand Rapids, Michigan I had to drive to the northwest side of town (that I was not familiar with), pick up a fellow student, and we attended a youth ministry meeting.  After the conclusion of the meeting, I dropped her off.  She said, “Do you know how to get back to the campus?”  I said, “Oh yeah–I’ll figure it out.”  So I took a road that I thought would lead me east back to where I lived.  I got very turned around and ended up on these country roads that seemed never-ending.

This was “pre-cell phone” and “pre-GPS” days.  The more I tried to figure out how to get back to the main road, the more lost I became.  I started crying and prayed to God that I could somehow see a sign to lead me home.  Not too long after that, I saw city lights way off in the distance. I knew if I went towards those lights, I would eventually hit downtown Grand Rapids.  As I followed the lights, I saw another sign.  It was the I 96 Interstate sign.  I was relieved as I found the on ramp and headed east to my home.  I was lost well over an hour and was headed further west well into the next county.

Rob preached this morning on Revelation 21:15-27 and how Jesus has come to bring renewal to a global culture.  He talked about how someday all the treasures of heaven will be brought together into a new Jerusalem.  Ever tongue, tribe, and culture will rejoice together in our new heavenly home in God’s presence.  Rob talked about how thinking of that day makes us “a little homesick” here on earth for the new city.

It made me instantly think of Michael W Smith’s song from the late 1990′s I’ll Lead You Home. Especially the ending which says:

So let it go and turn it over to
The one who chose to give his life for you
Leave it to me
I’ll lead you home

Many of us wander aimlessly through this life.  We are lost.  I have taken notice the last few months of all the people I come in contact with who complain about being too tired and too busy.  I think my eyes are more opened to it because I was convicted that I was living that kind of life too.  Directionless.  There is so much on my schedule, but am I even doing what God wants me to be doing?  Is the way God really wants me to live?

Rob talked about each one of us has a role to play in this cultural renewal.  God has given each one of us gifts and talents we are to use within his kingdom.  How are you playing your part?  Have you lost focus and you are going the wrong way down the wrong road?  Are you trying to do so much that you feel like you are doing nothing?  Look to the Light. He loves you and will guide you in every single area of your life–big and small.  Embrace the promise of a new city that will one be HOME.DSC07769This is no picture of heaven. Entering through my front door after a time away is a small picture of what might be like to enter heaven…we will eternally be home.

Posted by in Mental Health & Self Care Tags: , , , ,

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C is for Cat Day

September 28, 2012

There is something about a girl and her cat.  I think our cat, Salena, gets the most love from my youngest daughter.

So we knew when our preschool co-op made it to “C” week we had to do a “Cat Day.”  Here are some of the activities we did.  They could be incorporated into a small preschool, homeschool preschool, or even cat themed birthday party.

We made these “treat holder cats.”  It could be a fun halloween craft!  I used a half circle template I created with a half of lid. I traced the top of the two plates and cut out the half circles.  I painted the plates black with poster paint.  I also did a couple orange ones.  I stapled the two plates together.   Older kids could do this on their own, but we have kids ages 3 - 5.  Then I made triange ears, green circles for eyes, black rounded diamonds for pupils, a small diamond nose, and whiskers.  I had all the kids glue all the parts of the cats on with glue sticks or regular glue.

My youngest insisted on doing all the gluing herself.  She would not let me help at all–not even touch it!  A true work of art.

We read several “cat book.”  I had no problems finding any in the library.  The children section was full of them.  C is for Curious was one of their favorites.  The book is an “abc” book of feelings.  We talked what each feeling meant and when we might have felt that way.  Other great cat books:

The Cat in the Hat

Millions of Cats

Cat’s Night Out

I Love Cats

and one of our family’s absolute favorites:  Cookie’s Week  If anyone has a crazy hat like ours who was stuck under the house for five hours, you will relate to this one!

We did “Show and Tell” cats.  Each child brought a cat stuffed animals or picked one from a pile in my daughter’s bedroom.  They had to come up with a name for their cat, choose if it is a boy or girl, and say one thing they like about it.

I usually sing a few songs with them.  We sang, “If you’re happy you know it.”  We changed some of the verses to “If you’re happy and you know it, pet your cat” and “If you’re happy and you know it jump like a cat.”  You could even do “lick your paws,” “stretch your legs,” “purr,” or “meow.”

I always read a Bible story as a devotinal.  We read the creation story and talked about how God made everything including the vast sky and small things like little cats.

We did not get to it (partially we because ran out of time and also because it was a nice warm morning and I wanted to give the kids some “backyard playtime”) but I had planned on showing some funny cat videos from AFV.  We will have to save that for another time.

 

 

 

Posted by in Arts, crafts, and games, Education Tags: , , , , , , ,

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Preschool Homeschool Ideas

September 24, 2012

I am homeschooling my almost five year old and almost year old (my seven year old is in Christian school).  What started out as something intimidating has turned into something I am loving!

Since I was clueless on where to start, here are some things we have done the first few weeks.  It might spark some ideas for other moms.

We played a fun number recognition game that I found on The Mother Huddle.  It is very simple.  All you need is an egg carton, sharpie, several small snacky foods, and large numbers.  For the numbers I use a Leap Frog puzzle we already have.

I wrote the numbers 1-9 in the egg carton spaces and then gave my son a tray of snacks.  I had five marshmallows, three Cherrios etc.  He had to count each snack and put it in the numerical space where it belongs.  Then he got to eat the snacks afterwards.

For letter recognition we are working on an alphabet scrapbook.  My son has to find items in the house or in the backyard that start with each letter.  We have almost completed this project and can being working on the actual book.  This is one of my favorite pictures…

I also formed a preschool co-op with a friend.  Every Tuesday we have four kids ranging in ages from three to almost five.  I teach for a month and then it will be my friend’s turn.  We are doing a different letter each week.  We just finished “B” week.  The kids made boat pictures.

You can tell which was made by the almost five year old and which was made by the almost three year old.  I love it!

The co-op days are pretty structured since we have a big age range and want to create a more “school” environment.  The other two days I homeschool my son are more laid back.  For instance yesterday we read library books for a half hour in the morning.  Then we worked on a math workbook in the afternoon during my oldest’s swim lesson.

I get my ideas from anywhere and everywhere.  For worksheets I have found Kid Zone to have some great resources.  Especially if you want to take something along to a swim lesson or soccer game for your younger child to do.  Bright Beaming Resources Letter of the Week Curriculum is providing me with good ideas for activities, books, and simple crafts.  I found more craft ideas for our co-op at No Time For Flash Cards.  It is fun to see my little ones learning and enjoying it!

Posted by in Education Tags: , , , , ,

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Our fall routine

September 5, 2012

Two weeks ago I was wishing the summer was longer and complaining about the sun going down earlier. Then last week my kids were bouncing off the walls and fighting.  So I suppose I am ready for fall. But not ready for the wet Oregon late fall/winter & spring.

Anyway there are some new items on the agenda this fall.  Last March I was at the end of the “stay at home mom” rope clutching on for dear life.  I told my husband my son needed to be in preschool. I needed a break.  We originally agreed to homeschool him for preschool like we did with our oldest.  I did great with it last fall.  We practiced numbers and counting, learned our days of the week, made Thanksgiving placemats etc.  By January I was tired and overwhelmed with life in general.  Unfortunately his preschool activities were one of the first things I dropped. I felt like I was drowning in guilt.

The first day of my younger kid's "preschool at home."

The first day of my younger kid’s “preschool at home.”

Needless to say I made a little game plan for him and I am very excited to try again.  I am going to include the youngest as much as she is able to participate.  Plus I am teaming up with a friend and we’re going to  take turns teaching one day a week.  It is wonderful to have that support.  I am not a teacher by trade, but the older I get, the more I enjoy it.

My oldest began second grade.  She has a brand new teacher straight out of college.  For a small Christian school, her class is huge with eighteen kids.  This is our third year in this school and we are beginning to form relationships and get to know other families.

My oldest on her first day of second grade

As for fall activities, my oldest tried soccer last year.  She did not hate it, but she was not overly passionate about it either.  Swimming is still her favorite activity.  This child is always the first in the pool and the last one out since she was six months old.  So we will continue with swim lessons.  The middle child is going to try a tumbling class which I hope will be a good outlet for all that energy.

My oldest loves the water!

And as for me I have no marathons on my radar. At least not yet. I have greatly enjoyed biking, swimming, and shorter runs.  I am trying to attend a power lifting class twice a week.  I have actually made the 5:30 AM class a few times.  Who in their right mind gets up at 5 AM?  Lots of people!  I showed up five minutes early last week and I almost did not get a spot. Starting next weekend I am taking an adult swim class.  My goal is to do my first triathlon next spring but I need to be able to swim at least nine laps without huffing and puffing and/or using a kickboard.

It feels great to settle into a fall routine again.

Posted by in Raising little ones, Stay at home moms Tags: , , , , , , ,

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My hometown

April 24, 2012

I recently returned from Michigan.  I am a news correspondent with the Banner magazine.  We have a conference every two years typically in Grand Rapids with all the other news writers.  Grand Rapids is one of  my hometowns.  I lived there from 1989 – 2000 and then from 2005 – 2006. Part of my visit included spending time with family members who live there and reconnecting with old friends.

When you return to a place from your past, hundreds of memories flood your mind.  Things that you do not think about on a given day.  My friend Tricia and I explored Kuyper campus where we both went to college.  I graduated from there in 2000.

This is the very spot where my husband Rob and I had our first conversation.  It was following a 90′s style Coffeehouse/Talent Show.  He was talking to a mutual friend.  We began conversing together.  I walked back to my dorm room thinking, “He seems really nice.  I could date him.”  He walked back to his room thinking, “She seems really nice, but she’ll never date me because she’s a senior.”  Rob was a freshmen.Rob and I were married on May 19, 2001 in Kuyper’s chapel.  This is the room where I got ready on my wedding day.  It was not a cardio room at the time!  It was a big open room where we would watch movies on Friday nights.  Apparently Rob started watching Judge Judy in here on afternoons.  He acquired a few Judge Judy followers who watched it together on a regular basis.I also ventured out to Fruitport, Michigan where I lived from 2001 – 2004.  It is a cute little town seven miles from the Lake Michigan shoreline.  One of my closest friends Beth lives there.  I miss eating large bowls of ice cream and watching silly teen movies with her.  She is a mom to two beautiful kids she adopted from Ethiopia.

This is what Tulip Time is going to look this year!  While in Oregon we got a cold and flooding winter, Michigan had one of the warmest on record.  The tulips all bloomed way too early!

And I always love hanging around Calvin College where our conference took place.  Calvin is my other “alma mater” where I spent my first two years of college.  My siblings, parents, various aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents are all Calvin alumni.  I broke the trend by graduating from Kuyper.  I am forever grateful for the two years spent at Calvin–some of the best years of college.

Now that I have lived in Oregon for almost six years I see how I have shredded some of my “Michigander” identity and have become immersed in the Pacific Northwest culture.  Or else I have become a bit more well rounded.  There are parts of Michigan I will always miss, but I am grateful to return to Oregon which is the place I refer to as “home.”

Posted by in Travel, Leisure & Special Moments Tags: , , , , ,

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Homeschooling for Preschool

March 13, 2012

I greatly appreciated this post from Life As A Mom about Planning For Preschool.  To preschool or not to preschool has been an issue my husband and I wrestled with for years.  I was a preschool kid.  My husband was not.  We both agree we had positive experiences.  So the ”I turned out fine” argument does not work.

The fall that my oldest turned four, I got together with two friends (who also had four-year olds with fall birthdays) and we created our own preschool co-op.  They each had a toddler and we were all pregnant with our third child.  We attended the same mom’s group.  Our preschool met once a week and we each took turns hosting.  It worked and our children thrived on the routine.

Our preschool co-op group from 2009

I also started working with my oldest child two or three days a week.  The whole idea of homeschooling intimidated me.  I had no idea where to start and was overwhelmed by curriculum choices.  Did preschoolers need to be homeschooled anyway?  She needed something.  So we read books, memorized Scripture, did math worksheets, and practiced handwriting.  It did not come naturally to me and it still doesn’t.  But we did it for several months.

Now my middle child is four.  We tried a co-op preschool, but for various reasons it has not worked as well.  Although I am still friends with my preschool co-op friends, there is less weekly contact.  We are now at different churches, different mom’s groups, and juggling other projects.  I  picked up a part-time writing job, am doing more volunteer youth ministry and striving to get involved in my now first grader’s school.  Life changed in two years as it usually does.

I feel like homeschooling is still not “me.”  I have met many moms who are passionate about it and driven by all homeschooling has to offer.  While I appreciate what they have to say, I often feel intimidated by it.

We committed to homeschooling for preschool.  My husband has understood my challenges (and my intimidation) and agreed it is something we can both share.  All the homeschooling responsibilities need not fall on myself.  I also realized there is no magic way to home school my son.  Whatever we try (and probably change and try something else), he will grow and learn.  When we do send him off to kindergarten in the fall of 2013, he will be better because of the extra time he was given at home.

Posted by in Education, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , ,

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