Saturday, December 23, 2017
Five and a half years
I made this cute little 6 inch cheesecake to celebrate our five and a half years anniversary. #anyexcuseforcheesecake
#5andahalfyearslater #thankful
Thursday, December 14, 2017
Parenting laughs
"I’ve stated publicly that every author of parenting books should be slapped.
Repeatedly.
With a blunt object, such as a frozen cod or old Dream Theater CD.
Why?
Because they all make Christian parenting seem so simple. As if “Step 1 + Thing 2 = Godly, Obedient Children”. Like godly parenting comes down to a holy formula that, if followed correctly, will produce venerable saints on par with Mother Theresa and St. Francis of Assisi.
As every parent of real, human children knows, parenting is muuuuccchhh more complicated. In fact, every day, Christian parents progress through the THREE stages of parenting.
SHEPHERDING A CHILD’S HEART
This stage, which lasts anywhere between 4 minutes and 4 hours, is the Promised Land of Christian parenting. I am cheerful, gentle, and heavenly-minded. My children are wonderfully compliant, and get along with each other like hipsters and insisting you’re not a hipster.
If an issue does arise, I patiently guide my children through the caverns of their hearts, helping them explore motives and repent appropriately. Discipline is administered out of a purely benevolent heart.
My house is a little utopia. Like Eden, except we’re all wearing clothes.
NETFLIXING A CHILD’S HEART*
This stage is birthed from the collapse of STAGE 1. The utopia has shattered and now we are living in a post Berlin Wall fallout.
Peaceful relations start to break down between the parents and children, and the parents begin to get slightly desperate. Panic begins to set as the parents forsee the complete war that is on the horizon. A storm is brewing. Winter is coming.
A buffer is needed. A mediator. Something to temporarily distract the children from the general angst that is beginning to foment in their hearts.
That something is Netflix.
While not quite as biblical as shepherding the hearts of my children, Netflixing the heart of my children is a legitimate option when things begin to go south. If I can’t tame the sinful hearts of my children, perhaps Fluttershy from My Little Pony can (yes, I am a grown man who can name the ponies in My Little Pony).
This stage is the tipping point. At any given moment, peace and order could be restored.
Or all hell could break loose.
PRISON RULING A CHILD’S HEART
At a certain point, usually at bedtime, all bets are off. Anarchy has descended upon the house, and my children are behaving like the girl in The Exorcist. There is no shepherding. There is no Netflixing.
It’s time for prison rules.
You will stay in your bed at all times. You will not talk. You will not joke. You will not make farting noises. You will not smuggle contraband toys under your covers. Anything you say, do, or think, can and will be used against you.
If you break my rules, you will feel my wrath.
After bedtime, I am not to be toyed with.
I am a dictator, and this is my regime.
THE CIRCLE OF PARENTING
Eventually my children will return to stage 1, restarting The Circle of Parenting (patent pending).
Then it all starts again.
Now that I think about it, The Circle of Parenting would be a great book title.
—
* I owe this title to Ted Kluck"
Monday, December 4, 2017
Lord's day thoughts
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| Thanksgiving day prayer. |
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| All too well. We have lots to be thankful for! |
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| Birthday morning thought. |
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| "A sinful state is a wilderness, remote from communion with God, barren and dry, and in which there is no true comfort it is a wandering wanting state. Out of this wilderness we are concerned to come up, by true repentance, in the strength of the grace of Christ, supported by our beloved and carried in his arms....A soul convinced of sin, and truly humbled for it, is in a wilderness, quite at a loss and there is no coming out of this wilderness but leaning on Christ as our beloved, by faith, and not leaning to our own understanding, nor trusting to any righteousness or strength of our own as sufficient for us, but going forth, and going on, in the strength of the Lord God, and making mention of his righteousness, even his only, who is the Lord our righteousness." #matthewhenryquote |
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| Communion thoughts......"He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love." He brought me, wrought in me an inclination to draw nigh to God, helped me over my discouragements, took me by the hand, guided and led me, and gave me an access with boldness to God as a Father. ~ Matthew Henry on Song of Solomon 2:4 |
Hunting season 2017
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| I'm thankful to repor that we got through the week of hunting season with no major problems, etc. I did need some major patience pills, and was very over "solo parenting," but everything went well, and we even have a deer in the freezer. Many prayers were answered. |
November days
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| Taking a walk! |
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| Giving Daddy good night kisses. |
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| Making birthday cake! |
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| Dukie "deer hunting." 🦌🔫 "I'm looking through my scope. Yup, yup, I got it!" |
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| Coaching the kids on the fine art of creating house layouts with blocks. I used to love doing that when I was little! |
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| Helping! |
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| Over the river and through the woods....to Beepa's house. #doesnteveryonetakeselfiesintheexwifesdriveway |
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| Add caption |
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| Snickerdoodle picnic. |
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| Caroline is in helpful mode and decided to hold her "baby brother" for me while I was cooking dinner 😅. |
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