Posts Tagged ‘Family’
Posted on November 24, 2008 - by kelly
Thanksgiving
“How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?” 1 Thessalonians 3:9
I thought it would be appropriate to take a moment during this Thanksgiving week and thank my family for who they are and the joy they bring me.
Shannon- I am thankful for your friendship, your unending patience and love. You know the real me and love me in spite of it. You are kind and generous and I love spending my life with you.
Emma- Thank you for your kindness, you are a beautiful girl inside and out. I love watching you bring out the good in your friends and your brother (even when it is hard). You have the ability to find the good in all situations and your caring attitude changes those around you.
Ethan- I am thankful for your humor. Your smile has the ability to change my day. You are funny and smart and I love to listen to your stories. Thank you for the innosence in the way you spend your day.
God has blessed me with a wonderful family. I encourage you to take time during this week to let your family know how much they are loved by you.
Posted on September 5, 2008 - by kelly
Back to School
I am a sucker for the back to school season. I love this time of year; school buses on the road, kids at bus stops, new back packs, the smell of new crayons, you get the idea. Even before I had children, seeing kids at the bus stop put a smile on my face. Now that I have children of my own, I still feel that same excitement but there’s a twist.
Sending Emma to school 4 years ago for the first time just about sent me over the edge. The thought of someone else being responsible for my baby during the day, teaching her lessons, making sure she remained safe, keeping her from getting her feelings hurt… This did not sit well with me and I moped around feeling quite sorry for myself for days. She was thrilled and thrived in the school environment and slowly I came around too. What other choice did I have?
Well, fast forward a few years and it is now Ethan’s turn. I felt very confident that I wouldn’t be effected in the same way. He is a boy and I had been through it before, so the night before school when I turned into a crazy whirling tornado I was taken by surprise. As I was packing enough lunch for him to last a week and making sure all of his forms were in his bookbag for the 5th time, my husband looked over at me and laughed out loud. I knew what I was doing and I was not happy. I sat on my couch and had a good cry.
New beginnings, as exciting as they are can be very painful too. That’s where I feel we are in Valley Kids. We are entering a new beginning. As our church continues to grow it is exciting and awesome, but at the same time painful. We need more volunteers and people are use to doing things certain ways, change is difficult but the benefits are huge and the rewards immense!
God gave each of us this incredible gift and the coolest part is, we can give it away as many times as we want and it never runs out. I look forward to sharing the exciting plans for the upcoming year in Valley Kids this weekend, Sept. 7th at 1:00pm. I hope you will join us as we explore the year ahead. It’s going to be a great one!
Posted on July 29, 2008 - by kelly
Inappropriate
Yesterday my children and I were watching television when one of those funny wireless commercials came on. It was the one about being on vacation and not getting the call that the family was headed to a nude beach on accident. Well, in my family no question is off limits so my eight year old was full of them… “Why would anyone want to go naked on the beach?” “Wouldn’t you get sunburned?” “Do you think they put sunscreen on their behinds?” You get the point….
Well I tried the route of “In other countries they do things differently.” But my 5 year old piped up and stated that he thought it was inappropriate to be naked in front of other people. The statement was an interesting one because it was such a big word, I wondered if he even knew what it meant.
We discussed what it meant to be inappropriate and I was impressed and his ability to articulate what that means to a five year old. He was right on. I walked away with a clearer understanding that my kids are listening. They do hear the lessons I try to get across, and even when it appears that no one is home, they are.
Posted on April 29, 2008 - by kelly
Grace through my child’s eyes
School can be a cruel place for children of faith. They are bombarded from an early age of the “ways of the world” and then we ask them to make good choices and do the right things. A task that I find impossible on most days to accomplish.
One Sunday morning as I picked up my eight year old from her Sunday school class her eyes caught mine and gave me the “deer in the headlights” look. She casually (or as casual as an eight year old can be jerking her neck from side to side) motioned for me to check out the visiting classmate for the day. As my eyes glanced across the room they rested on the sight no mother ever wants to see in her child’s “safe place”, the school bully.
I casually whispered, “Let’s talk about this in the car.” On our way outside to the car my mind was racing with thoughts of frustration and anger. This child has been responsible for countless tears and hurt feelings, I didn’t want her at our church too. This was our place, this was our sanctuary from bullies!
And then my eight year old daughter taught me a valuable lesson in humility. She said, “Mom, I am so glad she was there today.” I looked at her with a shocked expression and said, “Really, why?” “Because mom, if she learns about Jesus, I know she will learn to be nice.”
God’s grace was shown to me that day through the eyes of my child.
