Taraleigh’s Cake Phobia October 31, 2006

I love reading and I LOVE baking. But I do not love baking cakes.  For my husband and children’s birthdays I usually come up with some other kind of dessert. One year it was even a cinnamon bun with a birthday candle in it! Now you may be asking, "Why would you be afraid of making a cake? It’s just 2 eggs and some oil mixed in with a cake mix!" Well, my fear of cakes started many years ago. [A comment from Sheree:  I hear Taraleigh is also afraid of bridges and Walmarts so cake phobia isn't really that suprising...smile.]

Let me explain.

Early in our marriage, I tried to make a little extra money in the evenings doing home parties.  My friend invited me over to do a demonstration for some cooking products.  I was so excited that I had learned to bake a cake ~ in the microwave.  I practiced a few times with my family at home so I was ready! Well…the night before what seemed like hundreds of people I started my demonstration. I mixed the oil and eggs and set the timer. I proceded to talk at length how easy it was and how yummy the cake would turn out.  When the buzzer on the microwave sounded and I went to remove the cake out of the pan part of it oozed out, part of it was almost burnt, and part of it was unrecognizable. I was so embarrassed I don’t even remember how I recovered. I probably didn’t! That was the last time I ever tried to do that!  To this day I am mercilously mocked about my microwave cake when opportunities arise to sign up to bring something to a shower or event. 

In case you’re wondering, I can testify that I DID NOT bake a cake in the microwave for the cake walk at the fall festival tonite, so you can cake walk to your hearts content!!!!

Posted by Taraleigh

Sheree’s Concussion October 30, 2006

This week our blog team will be pursuing humility "CJ Mahaney style"…laughing at ourselves by sharing humorous or embarrasing things we’ve done.  We hope you have fun laughing at us, too!  (And don’t forget to post comments about your own motherhood funnies for us to enjoy.)

In last Friday’s post I mentioned we would be having a family discussion that night to vote on my contributions to this week’s "Motherhood Funnies."  My children (ages 12 through 28) enjoyed the discussion way too much.  What was I thinking?  What mother in her right mind would initiate a self-imposed roast???

Even with numerous recollections of my mothering blunders, the vote was unanimous.  They insisted I share about my concussion.

Close to 15 years ago I was in my late 30′s and my oldest was 13.  Having a large family has many advantages, including ready-made athletic teams.  One of the kids favorite things to do was play street football with dad as all time quarterback.  After years of pregnancy I decided it was time for me to join in on the fun.  The kids were thrilled…and amused.

I didn’t find out until this past Friday night that they were going to LET me score a touchdown!  I thought the pass I caught was amazing for a going on 40-year-old! Imagine my surprise on Friday when Josh told me it was "only a 3 yard pass."  But I caught it!  As I turned to sprint like the wind unguarded by anyone to the endzone, my feet suddenly stopped cooperating.  After only a couple of strides I started tripping…and tripping…and tripping. 

The next thing I remember is lying on the street with a woozy headache.  I had fallen and hit my head on the curb.  My street football career ended with a mild concussion. My children didn’t laugh then.  But they have laughed since — alot. I recovered quickly from the concussion…but I continue to receive the affectionate ribbing of my children. 

P.S.  I cannot miss this opportunity to say, though, that at age 50 I won a 3-point shooting contest at my son’s basketball game.  There…I feel better.

Posted by Sheree

Fabulous Fall…Week Three October 27, 2006

HEAD’S UP…You won’t want to miss next week’s blogs…there will be lots to laugh about as our blog team shares our most humorous or embrassing moments as mothers.  No, we won’t be talking about our kids antics, but our own!  So tonite over dinner I (Sheree) will be polling my kids to decide on what to post.  Narrowing it down to one won’t be easy, I’m sure! (And, hey, don’t leave us thinking we’re the only clutsy, goofy mothers…help us feel better. Poll your own family and post a comment so we can laugh at you, too!) Now on to Debi’s great "Friday Favorites" idea for this week.  Your husband will love it!

This is the third in our series of celebrating fall!  Beginning this week and each week remaining you will find a BONUS RECIPE posted at the end that celebrates fall in the kitchen! Bon Appetite!

So much of our lives are dictated by the demands of time. As busy moms, we rush from one activity to another. Is it any wonder that many of us never seem to have time to plan something extra special for our husbands?

What if you could have some time given back to you? Even an hour? Wouldn’t that be wonderful? What special ways could you bless your husband if you were given just one hour of time? There are plenty of ideas that quickly come to mind, but this isn’t really possible…or is it?

Tomorrow night is the time once again to fall back with our clocks. This is the day when you get back the hour you lost in the springtime. Yea!!! So we DO have an extra hour – it happens every year in the fall. Why not make the most of this opportunity!

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Bake your husband’s favorite cookies after the kids’ are in bed, so he can lick the bowl, spoon, and eat as many hot-out-of-the-oven cookies that he wants. 
• Draw him a hot bath with soft music, candles and a relaxing massage to sooth his tired mind.
• Dance with your husband to his favorite music.
• Take a walk around the block holding hands.
• Play a card game or board game with "special" prizes if he wins – let him win!
• Rent a concert DVD and watch it together using only candlelight. One I really like is Jim Brickman’s My Romance.

If this list wouldn’t suit your husband, then, pray for God to give you an idea as to how you could best bless your husband with just one hour.  He’ll be faithful to give you the best ideas!! You  might be surprised to see what a difference an hour can make!  Have a wonderful weekend romancing your husband!

Bonus Recipe #1 – Stained-Glass Cookies

Please note: The recipe calls for star-shaped cookies, but I like to use them with apple or pumpkin shaped cookie cutters using cinnamon candies for the stained glass; the cinnamon candy with the ginger tastes wonderful!!! 

Posted by Debi

Andrew Murray on Humility October 26, 2006

"The only humility that is really ours is not that which we try to show before God in prayer, but that which we carry with us, and carry out, in our ordinary conduct.  The insignificances of daily life are the importances and the tests of eternity because they prove what spirit really possesses us.  It is in our most unguarded moments that we really show and see what we are.  To know the humble man, to know how the humble man behaves, you must follow him in the common course of daily life." Humility by Andrew Murray

If I could go back and change one thing when I was a mother of young children and pre-teens, it would be to diligently pursue humility in the "unguarded moments" of my daily life.  Pride so often kept me from the help that I desperately needed.  The Lord regularly allowed my children to confront my idols of comfort and ease.  Rather than respond to these interruptions with humility and repentance, I was too often harsh and irritable. 

This became a habitual routine — one that for years I was embarrassed for anyone to know about.  I was being resisted by God because I was too proud to let others know the real me. As the Lord has allowed me to grow in this area, one of the greatest benefits of humility I’m experiencing is the ability to laugh at myself, and to include others in on the humor.  I can remember years where I took myself far too seriously, especially when things weren’t going my way.  Laughter is a wonderful deterent to pride.

I have learned that God gives more grace when I am willing to embrace the trials and struggles of parenthood and trust Him for the outcome.  It is true that every test I face matters for eternity, and I want to pass this test – not so that I’ll look good to others, but that God might be glorified in my life as a wife and mother (and soon-to-be grandmother!!!).

Posted by Debi

John Charles Ryle on Prayer October 25, 2006

One of the child-training books on my shelf that gets read at least once a year is "The Duties of Parents" by John Charles Ryle.  There is much Biblical wisdom contained within the pages that have served my heart well in the area of child-training. 

I’d like to share an excerpt from this book on teaching our children to pray.  It has encouraged me to not take lightly the opportunity I have as a mom to teach my children from a very young age to commune with the Savior through prayer.

"Parents, if you love your children, do all that lies in your power to train them up to a habit of prayer.  Show them how to begin.  Tell them what to say.  Encourage them to persevere.  Remind them if they become careless and slack about it.  Let it not be your fault, at any rate, if they never call upon the name of the Lord.  This, remember, is the first step in religion which a child is able to take.  Long before he can read, you can teach him to kneel by his mother’s side, and repeat the simple words of prayer and praise which she puts in his mouth."

I’ve taught my two sons to go to the Lord in prayer because we are taught to do so in the Word of God.  Romans 12:12 exhorts us to "be in constant prayer."  They are learning to pray about the big and small things in life.  They have experienced God answering their prayers and this has helped to cultivate faith in their hearts to continue praying.  It makes God very real to them.

One answered prayer came in the form of a much desired snow fall while visiting our families in Maryland for Christmas one year.  At the time we were living in Acworth, Georgia and ice storms were our winter treat….not pretty, fluffy, white, wonderful snow storms.  Michael was longing to play in the snow, so we began to pray several months prior to our trip up North.  A few days after we arrived the snow began to fall, and soon after we were dressed from head to toe in borrowed snow gear, ready for an adventure.

We spent the next few hours enjoying this precious answer to our prayers.  Many wonderful memories were created that day.  One of the greatest is that Michael still recalls God answering his prayers for snow.

It’s Harrison’s turn to pray for snow this year.  We head North to visit our families for Christmas and we all have the faith to pray because we know we serve a God who hears the prayers of His children.

Posted by Michelle 

Gary Thomas on the Sacred Call of Parenting October 24, 2006

I love to read…at this stage of my life it seems somewhat of a past time, but I still love it! It’s definitely on my top five list of things to do.  And here’s a secret. On occasion, I have gotten a babysitter so that I could take a book to Starbucks and read (and enjoy a drink…smile).

A book I have read recently is Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas.  It is not a book of how to’s or methods but one that calls us to embrace the "sacred call of parenting." This type of parenting "points our children to their need for a relationship with God and his wonderful answer to this need." Just flipping through looking at different quotes I had highlighted inspired me all over again!

The most impacting quote for me is found in the epilogue.  Referencing Matthew 25:35-36 the author says: "When a mother welcomes a child into the world, feeding her and giving her drink and clothing her and holding her when she gets sick (and, at least with the first child, boiling the pacifier when it drops to the floor, and rushing her to the emergency room when her temperature reaches 99.5), she is doing exactly what Jesus tells us will be most rewarded in heaven."

This helpful reminder has stuck with me in the day-to-day activities of being a mommy. I am bringing God great pleasure as I care for and love my children.  This perspective has helped me to see there is nothing better I could be doing with my life right now!  If you have a few moments to read every so often, I recommend this book.  Just keep a box of tissues nearby…especially for the last chapter!

Posted by Taraleigh

Charles Spurgeon on Trusting God October 23, 2006

This week members of the blog team will be sharing one of their favorite book quotes and how God has used the truth that lies within to encourage and strengthen them as wives and mothers.  Each quote includes the name of the book and the author.  We commend them each to you.

"I have never been so happy in all my life as when I have had nothing to trust but God.  The times when I have been flung into the sea and compelled to swim because I could not trust the bottom have been the most joyous times to my own heart.  In the times when I have been enabled to just believe God and to leave everything in His hands, I have seen the Lord’s hand working marvelously in the midst of the earth, and it has given me the utmost delight.  Happiness is not found when the barns are full and the vats are running over.  Happiness is knowing that whatever you have, the Lord is your provider." The Triumph of Faith in a Believers Life by Charles Spurgeon.

These words accurately express what I know to be true in my own life, but could never have said so well.  Many times I have wondered why the most difficult, challenging and heart wrenching times have been those when I was closest to our Lord.  I believe it is His mercy.  When there was nowhere else to turn and no other hope to find, it was much easier to rest in Him. 

And during such times I have found that He gives me not only peace, but also real joy.  The kind of joy which can only be found in Him.  So when I struggle or face the daily challenges of life as a wife, mother, teacher, friend….it helps to remember these truths.  My happiness is not found in my circumstances which are always changing, but in knowing my God — the Unchanging One — and His continual provision and love for me.

Posted by Elyse

Fabulous Fall…Week two October 20, 2006

More Floridian Fall Favorites!  Those of you "up north" don’t feel sorry for us.  We enjoy fall, too!    But please don’t post ideas about your fall favorites like driving through windy mountain roads admiring the colorful leaves…bundling up around campfires while roasting marshmellows…building piles of leaves in the yard for your children to jump in…

Well, it’s off to a dip in the pool with the kids while you browse the blog!

This week’s Friday Fall Favorite theme is Field Trips. What better way to enjoy the fall than spending time outdoors with your family having fun?  We have two wonderful Fall Field Trips from which to choose.  Hey, maybe you’ll end up doing both…afterall, fall lasts through November! 

First, have you ever heard of a Corn Maze? I hadn’t either until a couple of year’s ago. This is a wonderful activity for young and old alike. The best part is that your family can work together as a team to solve the many challenges presented to you through the maze.

Central Florida has only one maze, and it is located at Long & Scott Farms in Zellwood, FL — about 30 minutes northwest of Orlando off of Highway 441. This year’s theme is “American Heroes” and is not only fun but quite educational, too.

Read the following taken from Scott’s Corn Maze Adventure website:

What is a Corn Maze?

The maze is an ancient art form created by people thousands of years ago. Today the maze has been reborn at Long & Scott Farms with help from Maize Quest. You or a group work together or compete as teams to find your way through a 6.5 acre corn field. Corn mazes aren’t just a walk in the stalks via pathways, they’re adventures! The cornstalks are the backdrop for a themed experience that’s different every year. With a bridge, multiple choices on every pathway and a "Maze Master" the maze provides a safe environment to enjoy an exciting new and outside adventure! Each year’s adventure has an educational theme. You answer questions by finding clues in the corn. You can use Maize-o-Vision our trademarked decoding system to see the map hidden on your game sheet. There is something new to find and a decision to make around every corner.

Second, many of you may have already enjoyed a day at the fabulous Green Meadows Farm.  This petting farm is packed full of every kind of animal — pigs, cows, geese, ducks, turkeys and donkeys just to mention a few.  The goal at Green Meadows is to allow children of all ages to come and experience a real farm.  The price includes a two hour hands-on tour of the farm including milking a cow! There are picnic areas for lunch, a tractor-pulled hayride, pony rides and pumpkin patch where each guest gets to pick their own pumpkin as a souvenir.  This will be a day your children will talk about for years! 

Do you have a great idea for a Fabulous Florida Fall Field Trip?  Then, we encourage you to post your comments, and share your ideas with all of us! Have a wonderful weekend enjoying the family that God has so graciously given you!

Posted by Debi

Whoops…can you relate??? October 19, 2006

Since we’ve completed our "Preparing for Adolescence Begins NOW" series, I thought it would be fun to take a lighthearted look at the realities of day-to-day life with small children. My daughter-in-law, Rebekah, is known for her attractive and "put together" appearance.  (She’s a lovely young lady, by the way!)  But as with all young moms, the daily demands of motherhood have brought some changes…as you’ll read below.  Those of you from Metro who know Rebekah well will get an especially hearty laugh from this!  I’ll let Rebekah explain…

Yesterday started off as a typical day for me.  I was getting ready in the bathroom, needing to leave to head off to gym day at Covenant Life Church [where her husband, Jesse, is attending the Sovereign Grace Pastors College through next May].  I glanced at the clock and noticed I was supposed to be heading out the door NOW, but wasn’t finished getting ready.  I quickly finished, went to the closet to slip on my shoes, put Samuel in the carseat, drove to CLC, pulled out the stroller and started walking up to the building.  It was at that time that I glanced down at my feet and humorously realized….

So girls…Let the teasing begin!    We’d especially love to hear from any of Rebekah’s new friends at the PC.  (So this means you have to forward this to them, Rebekah…smile.)

And ladies, due to Chris Jessee’s exellent help the message and testimonies from this morning’s Moms Meeting is already available online (see the October 2006 message link to your left).  You won’t want to miss this excellent message on Friendship by Melodye Jones along with three inspiring and honest testimonies!

The Wisdom of Experience October 18, 2006

MOM’S MEETING IS TOMORROW!  See you there at 9:30!

Our final question in this series is answered by Desi Pino.  Her husband, Al, is the Senior Pastor of the Soveriegn Grace Church in Miami.  They have three daugthers and a son.  Desi’s heart for her home and family is seen by all who know her.  And you will experience her pronounced pursuit of humility as you read her winsome and honest response to this question.  Enjoy!

What has experience taught you about parenting that you wish you had known as a younger mom?

In God’s kindness, there has been a measure of ease for me when it comes to planning events for my family or for women’s functions at our church.  However, most of these  events take place within weeks or months.  In parenting small children, however, I needed to look way ahead to the teen years and let God continue to remind me that, like a farmer, I was sowing seeds now that will be in full bloom in about 10 years; both good seed as well as bad. 

One incentive for me was some years ago when Covenant Life Church in Maryland sent an evangelism team to our then newly planted church.  I remember thinking, "If I can just be consistent with my kids now while they are young, then maybe some day they will love God and enjoy serving like this group of wonderful young people."   Unfortunately, I didn’t always have this focus.  My craving for peace and for the approval of my children hindered this God-centered perspective.

I also saw each problem with my children as a huge bummer or obstacle to what I was trying to accomplish academically instead of seeing them as opportunities to train my children in righteousness. As a homeschooling mother I marked off how many pages in history they did.  Why not mark off how consistently I was teaching and training them in the things of God?  When God began to show me that I am called to be a trainer of my children, it really helped me out a lot.  I also had to put to death the craving for their approval and realize that when my children resist me, they are actually resisting God.  This helped to take the focus off me and put it back on God.  It helped me to be more consistent and to not be so offended by their sin, knowing that it was God they were resisting and that I was just His representative.

Parenting hasn’t been the easy street that I longed for, but it has been a street that leads to heaven and the fruit along the way is so sweet, I can only say THANK YOU LORD FOR YOUR GREAT KINDNESS TO ME.  I trust that the sometimes painful lessons the Lord has taught me will be a means of grace to you!