Teachable Moments...

Tonight as I was snuggling with Grace, we discussed how her ballet class (that resumed today) went. As she was telling me about it, she said she had a little disagreement with her best friend, Julia, who also happens to be in the class with her. According to Grace they had a minor disagreement about who would go first in line. Well, as she was telling me this story, the "teachable moment" light bulb went off in my head and I reminded Grace how Jesus told us that those who want to be first should go last (i.e. wisdom found in Luke 14:11), and that she should have not squabbled with her friend about going first, rather, she just should have gladly let her go before her.

To my surprise, Grace proceeded to inform me, "Mom, we don't need to listen to "God's Word" (and yes, she actually put up her 2 fingers and made the quote sign) ALL the time."

I wasn't sure whether to laugh (I mean, c'mon- the whole dramatic quote sign was pretty funny)- or, to be dismayed that somewhere along the line I failed to teach my daughter a fundamental truth that YES, actually, we do have to listen to God's Word "ALL" the time.

So, I explained to her, ya know- that core fundamental belief I have - in the Bible and trusting, relying and obeying ALL of it, ALL the time. And, lest I further aggravate my 1st born daughters inborn Type A, OCD personality, I did, of course, also make a reminder and reference to the truth of us being human (i.e. sinners!) and that we cannot be perfect, but that is where God's grace and mercy and forgiveness comes in. BUT- the point being... YES! We are told to listen to God's Word ALL the time.

But as I left her room, while I was still finding myself a little bit in shock that she actually thought we didn't need to follow the Bible all the time, I found myself in a revelation of irony of how, indeed, I have so many times in my life been convinced of that exact same false notion. It is so easy to pick and to choose and to find what suits us at any given time in our life. It is easy to make excuses and assumptions that the Bible just isn't relevant to today's "modern" society... or, at least the parts we don't want to agree with.

I found myself walking out of my 6 year old's bedroom with a powerful reminder...

God is the same yesterday. and today. and FOREVER.

And so it stands that His word is valid and true and holy and right yesterday. today. and FOREVER. God's Word is the ultimate expression of His love for us. It's His handwritten guide for me. For you! For anyone who chooses to receive and believe. What He speaks to us through His word may not always be easy to follow, but it is always- ALWAYS- meant for our good, for our protection and, most importantly, for His glory.

I am always amazed and amused how God continually uses my own parenting to teach ME lessons about Him. And I am thankful that in those teachable moments, I am not, always, just the one doing the teaching, but also the one who is taught.

her mother's daughter...

Ahhh.... yes.




She is definitely...


her Mother's Daughter...



and loooooooooves Guacamole Night,almost as much as her Mommy...

i love nature...

If i could take my kids on a hike every single day, I would.

God's creation never ceases to amaze me. To the contrary, I think that the older I get, the greater appreciation I gain for God's creativity and the works of His hand.



We are very fortunate to have the Arboretum close by. It is a breathtakingly beautiful place to wander and explore. I love bringing the kids there.

Ariana is fascinated with water. Baths, lakes, sprinkler systems, faucets, little fish ponds...



While we lunched, we sat under a huge (what we agreed to be) Sycamore tree. We are trying to learn the different types of trees by their leaves. So far we've got the Maple Tree down- but we're working on expanding our knowledge database...



The kids found this to be, perhaps, the most exciting moment of our hike- when we discovered a common garden snake. Grace was so impressed, she included a drawing of it in her nature journal.


I love these girls.



These are the coolest chair. I wish we had some for our own backyard!

who's that guy?

Some interesting conversation can always crop up completely out of the blue at our house...

Alex: Who's that guy again who dressed up in that snake costume?

Me: Hmm? Who??

Alex: You know- that bad guy?

Me: Oh- you mean, Satan?

Alex: Yeah!! Satan.

There you have it. Always have to be on my toes!