One More L O N G Day

Does this title speak a thousand words or what? Even though it may be made up of different things for different people..we ALL know what it means and the dread that it sometimes can conjure up.

When my children were small (my first 8 came in 8 years) I remember sitting on the side of my bed and saying under my breath to God "Please don't make me go out there!I just don't think that I can do it another day...." My husband ran a tree service and I would think about how he and his crew could take a tree down, rake it up and drive away ..never to have it reappear. Moms and homemakers ~ HA!! ..the same dishes AGAIN... the laundry AGAIN ... the meals AGAIN... the toys AGAIN... the cleaning, the mopping, the runny noses.. etc etc etc. (I surely hope I have not put any of you over the edge seeing this in writing!) I used to think that a somewhat trained ape could accomplish the "mounds of mundane" that I faced daily.

LADIES or (Mr Moms) ~ It is NOT TRUE! Every little detail is being noted by Someone. None of it is going to waste. Your energies, your diligence, your loyalty to life and your family in making an immense impact on those within your home. You are erecting a foundation that your family will build on for their whole lives.

Don't give up! Don't despair! This IS a season and things WILL change.
So I give to you the words that the Lord whispered to me that morning. "Marnie, just start..."

Yes, just begin. Do what you find to do. Follow through, stay involved and interested. I beg you, don't check out thinking the commitment it too long. It will be just long enough.

Words from the scriptures became dear to me at that time in my life:
" In your weakness HE will be your strength" "His grace is sufficient for you" He will make a way where there seems to be no way" "Nothing is too difficult for God"

Hold on ... wait on Him, trust, and spring will come. The season will change. The time of singing birds is near.

Bless you all.

One More L O N G Day

Does this title speak a thousand words or what? Even though it may be made up of different things for different people..we ALL know what it means and the dread that it sometimes can conjure up.

When my children were small (my first 8 came in 8 years) I remember sitting on the side of my bed and saying under my breath to God "Please don't make me go out there!I just don't think that I can do it another day...." My husband ran a tree service and I would think about how he and his crew could take a tree down, rake it up and drive away ..never to have it reappear. Moms and homemakers ~ HA!! ..the same dishes AGAIN... the laundry AGAIN ... the meals AGAIN... the toys AGAIN... the cleaning, the mopping, the runny noses.. etc etc etc. (I surely hope I have not put any of you over the edge seeing this in writing!) I used to think that a somewhat trained ape could accomplish the "mounds of mundane" that I faced daily.

LADIES or (Mr Moms) ~ It is NOT TRUE! Every little detail is being noted by Someone. None of it is going to waste. Your energies, your diligence, your loyalty to life and your family in making an immense impact on those within your home. You are erecting a foundation that your family will build on for their whole lives.

Don't give up! Don't despair! This IS a season and things WILL change.
So I give to you the words that the Lord whispered to me that morning. "Marnie, just start..."

Yes, just begin. Do what you find to do. Follow through, stay involved and interested. I beg you, don't check out thinking the commitment it too long. It will be just long enough.

Words from the scriptures became dear to me at that time in my life:
" In your weakness HE will be your strength" "His grace is sufficient for you" He will make a way where there seems to be no way" "Nothing is too difficult for God"

Hold on ... wait on Him, trust, and spring will come. The season will change. The time of singing birds is near.

Bless you all.

BEEN THINKING

I was having a chat with my daughter the other day about movies. Don't you just LOVE those chick flicks?? They can be addicting. Women, ladies and girls love all the romance, kissing, sweet bantering and honey! It seems we can't get enough!

I was suggesting to my daughter that as much as we love these "feel good" movies we need to be very wise and careful that we do not become desensitized to the lack of morality that many of them pose. You must admit that the huge percentage of this type of movie portray the couple having sex almost immediately in the relationship. It would seem that the "old" rule of waiting till marriage just does not apply anymore or at the very least is out dated!

Thus the conversation continued something like this:

"It's kind of like frosting. We love the looks, the decoration, and the sweetness. It satisfies our senses. It is gooey and sugary. It is down right Yummy! But unfortunately, all too soon, the frosting comes to an end and all we are left with is cake. Ugh! But I don't like carrot cake!!
We are now dissatisfied. We are thinking constantly about the "cake" that is at home and how it just does not satisfy..it is not yummy and sweet anymore. It is only a matter of time before, during our normal routine, we notice some nice looking frosting; might be at the grocery store, Home Depot, work or the coffee shoppe. Looks good, we knows it tastes good (we've had it before) and we need to be fulfilled....so we dive in ... aah the memories...the same tingles, phone calls, texts, notes, flowers etc etc etc loving it all and denying ourselves nothing until we again reach the CAKE...oh no it's spice cake....we don't care for spice cake!!

Am I making any sense ladies? Are you following me? We must decide FIRST what kind of cake we like!! That is what we will have to live with!

My daughter at once realized that this picture story was about the majority of girls at her school. Jumping from guy to guy, one after another, always looking for the sugar high of frosting. Reaching cake...they start all over again on and on never to be truly satisfied.

Ladies, what are we looking for? Talk to your daughters or better yet talk to yourselves! Let's become and raise women of substance who choose to go the distance and not be satisfied with a sprint in a relationship.

Taking the Time

I had a short conversation today with a friend about a talk that she had with her son last nite....It got me thinking.

We are living in such a busy society. There is never any time.... Well let's put it another way...There is No time to do anything... else..out of the ordinary.. intentional.

OK Marnie what are you getting at?

I'm talking about taking time to talk to your children/child.

Have you ever noticed that many times days go by without any REAL TALK taking place in the family? The kind of talk that is stimulating...back and forth...two people sharing thoughts and questions? This is where learning takes place, where relationships grow, where memories are made.

This mom shared that a conversation had started in the car and later she invited her son into the hot tub (which he first said no to and then showed up with his bathing suit on!) and how the conversation went into a long discussion about sex. This guy was almost 12 and had a TON of wrong facts. She was able to answer his questions, ask questions and listen in a very non threatening and easy atmosphere.

Rarely do these moments appear by themselves. We need to create an atmosphere for talking and sharing. Children, and adults for that matter, many times need to warm up to the idea.

Offering a cup of tea or hot chocolate at the table can be an opening. Playing a board game or taking a walk work well also. Inviting your child to take a drive with you...etc You get the idea. Get creative. Take the time. In years to come you will wish that you had.

Give it a try you may find some interesting things out about your child.

Blessings
Marnie

Just LOVE Them!

Just finished cleaning up after serving a big spaghetti dinner to my family. My son is visiting from out of town and I decided to invite a few of the kids over that hadn't seen him yet. There were actually only 8 of us...but delightful all the same.

It does not matter how old or young a person is....they just need lovin'

A touch of the hand, a hug and kiss, an encouraging word...personal stuff ~ All things that are so often overlooked in this busy life of ours.

Moms, lets be intentional today! 

Hug all the kids....

Sit down with them and chat. 

Play a game together. 

Go out for ice cream or better yet pick apples.

Cuddle chase and tickle. 

Life is all to serious and sometimes it just sucks up all the joy and pleasure.

No one is more fortunate than you. You live in America, you have a roof over your head and some food in the fridge. 

Lets look at the blessings and just be thankful.

You are all blessings to me
See the back log of blogs at
http://marniesparentingfamilyblog.blogspot.com. and a daily devotional atwww.musingswithmarnie.blogspot.com.

 

Blessings
Marnie
www.comeinandrest.com

Just get them through it...

I had the opportunity of meeting a new friend this weekend. She was telling me of the advise she has been given on getting her child through the teenage years.

These well meaning ladies have said:

Let them drink as long as they don't drive.

They can sleep around as long as there is no pregnancy.

Cheating is not so bad if they don't get caught.

If they're disrespectful they are learning to use their voice
and on and on...

THIS IS NOT CORRECT THINKING!
Moms you have a very important and serious job and it is WAY MORE THAN JUST GETTING THROUGH THE TEEN YEARS

We are training future adults, citizens, parents, and leaders. Discipline is key to training your children to be a vital part of society.
In past blogs I have talked about when there is an absence of parental involvement someone or something IS parenting your child. The television, music, peers, computer, games etc all have vital roles in your child's life....

Are you keeping track of what your kids are being taught ?

Are these true statements?
Its ok to drink
Its ok to spend all your money
Its ok to be disrespectful
Its ok to ignore authority
Its ok to be sexually active
etc

Are we just biding time.... waiting to pawn them off on someone or something else?

Take the reigns back...Read some good books and begin to train your child. It will be worth it and the world will say thank you.

Blessings
Marnie
www.comeinandrest.com

PS  I am going to be offering parenting classes and discussions at my house if you are interested please drop me an email!  marnie.gileadsbalm@gmail.com

The OnLookers

What will they think???

Have you ever noticed how often we have a "crowd of witnesses" when we are disciplining our children!
It has been something that has been standing out to me lately.

The parent needs to discipline for something and when there are people around the scene. Often the situation becomes a comedy routine for the onlookers. The parent roll their eyes, say sarcastic things,(directed to the audience in ear shot) while always looking to see how they are being perceived.
The child feels like he/she is on center stage and many times can feel embarrassed, belittled and confused about what is happening.

THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO DO IT.

It is not difficult to remove the child from the onlookers, to step away into a more private setting where the child can have your undivided attention and you can have theirs.

"Johnny, Stop bugging that dog!" (parent looks around) smirks, makes a wise comment
"that dog is just going to chew your hand off if you don't stop...You're going to be dog food boy" hey hey
Johnny either watches the "show" that you are putting on for the crowd... OR he ignores you because he does not feel you are talking directly to him.

SIMPLY take Johnnie by the hand and walk away, behind a car, tree or go to another room. There take a few minutes to tell your son of your concern and that you are asking him to stop. You may need to tell the consequences of not stopping depending on your child. This needs to be eye to eye with a "Do you understand?" at the end.
Ask him to repeat what you have said and go back to what you were doing.

I want to let you know it does not look funny (although you may get some of the crowd to laugh) or mature when you put an act on for others. Most can see through what's going on: that you don't have a real grip on disciplining your child.

Discipline your child in the most private setting that you can find at the moment. I have taken children to the car and even into a corner of the room. Make sure that you get on their level and that they fully understand what you are asking. Get up close and personal and stay private! Keep you voice low.

This will tweak the whole process and you will see your child take you more seriously when the time comes.

It's all part of the job!!
Blessings