Grace=Obedience

Our small group study on The Prodigal God inspired me to write this post. One of the questions we were asked was,

"If God's grace is absolutely free and we cannot earn it or merit it in any way, what motivation is there to live an obedient life?"

I didn't have an immediate response for this one, definitely was a thinker. But on the way home, Sean and I always discuss our conversations further and this is the one we stuck with last night.

Basically what it all boils down to is this. No, we cannot earn it. There is not one thing we can do that would be good enough to even deserve his grace. But yet, he does give it to us, and we choose to receive it. And once we receive something that remarkable, how could you not be overflowing with gratefulness and want to obey his every bit of guidance? It's all in our response. He is the one who watches over us. He is the one who takes care of us. Who else are you going to want to obey? Just think of something in your life that God has shown grace towards you. How does that make you feel?

When I found out I was pregnant with Kinsleigh and the pregnancy continued to go perfectly, I knew it was by God's grace that he had given her to us. We hadn't even planned for her at all. But what a gift of grace she was! Not once did I think, "oh it's because I did all the right things and my health issues must not have been a factor in getting and STAYING pregnant after all." No, I became overwhelmingly more aware of his love and grace he shows towards his children. And I praise him even more for that and in return want to do more to advance his kingdom. How dare I take that for granted and think he should show it towards me again.

He is my Father and therefore I will be obedient as his child.

Happy Daddy Day!

This Daddy is one special guy. One that would fight for his family. One who puts 100% into everything he does. One who loves without fail. One who tries to understand. One who gets down on the floor and plays with his kids.One who I'm proud of in more ways than I can name.

Happy Fathers Day Sean! We love you! Love, April,Kinsleigh and Kyla!

Tough Love

Today we had to take discipline a step further. Kinsleigh has had a hard time lately being "nice"to others and has especially loved to take charge and tell others what to do. She has also become afraid of pretty much anything and everything. Not cool. But the "mean-ness" is the main problem. This is partially due to her age I'm sure but most likely due to having a little sister and not being around many other kids lately. Let's just say she's gotten a little out of control.

Me as a mother is wondering, "Is this because of something I've done wrong in my parenting approach? This is a totally different kid! What is going on?"

Today, she flipped out in her bed while refusing to take a nap and starting throwing herself all over the place and screaming. That was it. I knew we had to take a bigger consequence approach that would really affect her and literally make her sad.

Once we let her out of her room, she had to come sit on the couch with no T.V., no toys, no books for 5 min until she calmed down. Then she had to go in her room with Mommy and Daddy and pick out ALL her most favorite toys and place them in a box to be taken away. She placed all of them in herself one by one. The box is quite full, yes, so I may seem evil but I was at a loss of what else to do. She can start earning them back when she decides to be nice to others. For now they rest in the garage under a huge blanket.

It broke my heart to see that little pout lip come out and tell the toys bye bye but I think it may have a good result when she starts seeing how exciting it is to get them back. I never knew that I would HATE disciplining my children so much. It's called tough love for a reason.

It's a big deal!

I'm going to keep this short and simple. Because I'm going to cherish every moment for what it is worth. This may not seem like a big deal to you, but to me, it's a life changing event. Today, June 6, 2011, I placed both of my girlies in their bed and put them down for nap at the exact same time. And this is what I'm looking at...

I hope to see this again soon. Like tomorrow, and every other day after that. As a Mommy, we love our children to pieces and spending time with them. But we need our quiet time every now and then. So long, while I go enjoy my last half hour or so of peace.

Summers's here. Now what?

Looking for some free/cheap ideas for entertainment this summer for your little one? Here are a few of the things we do to keep busy and get out of the house.

Animal shelter to look at animals or even PetsMart is good enough most of the time!

Lowes Build and Grow projects (Every other Saturday morning at 10a.m)

Library (check summer schedule of events at your local library)

Splash pads all over town (sometimes there are events going on at the parks too!)

Riverwalk movie theatre and BA moviestar have free movies during the day for kids. Here's a schedule of what's showing. (http://www.selectcinemas.com/index.php)

Consider going in half/half for aquarium and zoo passes with a friend. Makes it very affordable. Names aren't on the passes anywhere so you can share them however and get your whole family in on them.

Buy a pass to the community pools which then makes it equal to $3 instead of $5 each time you go. (Children 3 and under are free!)

At home, make sure to get creative with crafts to do or snacks your child can help participate in making. Play in the sprinkler, A LOT. Being stuck at home more often with a newborn now has shown me that I can make staying at home very enjoyable and entertaining for my 2 year old. It sure doesn't take much to make her happy! So get creative and have a HAPPY SUMMER!