To Be or Not To Be....

Do I encourage my son to be friends with a boy at school who was sent to the principals office for choking another boy or do I advise him to steer clear??
I think most parents would be justified in telling their child that this boy will only create trouble for their son. To stay away from him would be understandable, right?
Wrong...

I told my son that this boy probably needs a good friend. Something is probably really wrong in his life right now that is causing him to act this way. I told my son that this would be a different kind of friendship then he was used to. He would have to be a strong friend to this boy. This boy will most likely want you to do things that will cause you to get into trouble. You must try to help him find the right path.
Being grounded in Christ, he understood. I told him that we are called to love our neighbors and have compassion on them like Jesus did for us. That God puts people in our circle of influence so we can shower them and share with them the GoodNews. So I explained that this was an opportunity for him to love on this boy. We need to treat people the way we want to be treated, right....He said yes mom, I have copied that verse soooo many times...lol
I would have him copy this verse when he wasn't being very nice to others....
Anyhow, I hope and pray that he can be the light that he is called to be in this place....pls keep him in prayer....
Thanks!!

What's in a Name??

Short and sweet, the public school offers much needed laughter..
My eldest son comes home from school yesterday and says,"Mom, there is a girl in my class that thinks I am cute."
Mom: Oh she does huh(seems to be my catch phrase when I am caught off guard..lol) So what's her name..
Son: Oh her name is Jezebel.................Trying to keep a straight face I simply said, "Oh Wow. Interesting name" Here is what I wanted to say" Are you freaking serious?? Who names their beloved child Jezebel??"
So of course he followed by asking me if her name means anything. As much as I wanted to have this conversation with him, I refrained...nxt time. I didn't want this info to somehow get back to her and have her think poorly of herself because her parents weren't smart enough to name her something other then Jezebel...why not name her Prostitute. Or naming your son Lucifer....Oh my goodness.

All by Himself!!!!!

Let it be written....my son pulled out his very first tooth at 8 1/2 yrs old......lol. If you aren't familiar with the tooth saga then you must look at the label "Tooth Tales" in my other posts to get caught up.
So last night he came to me and told me it was loose and he wanted me to use dental floss to pull it out. To be honest I was tired and didn't want to deal with his "oh it hurts" drama. I told him we would look at it again in the morning.
See I already knew it was loose, I already had an appt made to have it pulled. This tooth fit the pattern of the adult tooth coming in behind before he lost the baby one. So he knew, once again, if he or dad didn't pull it, the dentist was going to. His appt was for tomorrow.
So this morning I had to try my best, because dad was sleeping, to pull it out. My son was insistent on using the dental floss so I honored his request and did my best. A couple yanks, a couple slips, some blood, and we were out of time. I told him to mess with it at school and it would probably come out.
So he looked one last time in the mirror pushing and pulling and then.....it spun 180 degrees....it was hilarious. Um mom.......now what do I do(arms flailing at his side)...I tried to swallow my laugh and say..YANK IT!!!!
I had to walk out....then out of the corner of my eye, I see this flash run by! I did it mom , I did it.....LOOK!!!
Success!! He yanked his own tooth out finally. funny thing is he doesn't look funny. Ya know why....his adult tooth is already in...no silly pics...
Now for the bum news... He went to brush his teeth and went to pick up his tooth, while brushing, and dropped it down the tooth down the drain. Poor guy. I felt so bad.
He now has a great story to take with him to school. So maybe today they will talk about loosing teeth instead of how to get a girlfriend..lol

So it begins....

The kids have officially started their first year of public school. Today records the completion of day 2. Drop-off and pick-up has gone well, as expected. Filling out ALL of the paperwork last night, also went as expected.
What wasn't expected was the conversation that my 8 yr old son recounted to me in the car right after pick up today. Here is how it played out....
Son: Hey Mom, you see that boy over there? He is my new friend. His name is $#@!( keeping the youth protected)
Mom: Oh yes..Well great. You made a friend and you remembered his name, even better.
Son: Well today he was teaching me "How to get a Girlfriend." (At that I took another GOOD look at this boy who was full of information and thought he had lessons to teach. I wanted to make sure I could pick him out of the line-up, so to speak. Yep, can see him now.
Mom: ::looking up at my son in the review mirror I spoke to my son:: Really?? He did, huh. .....that was all I could collectively speak. I was ambushed with this conversation that took place on the playground. I figured something like this was bound to happen. I just wasn't expecting it the 2nd day of school.

Then my son decides to finish retelling the lesson this "boy" had taught him. Good cause I needed to hear how this whole thing played out...

Son: He says you tell them you don't like them and hit them and then chase them. Then you ask them out and they say "Yes" and then they kiss you. He says he has had like 5 girlfriends already mom.
Mom: Oh really. He has huh.

Ok so here I am with this "lesson" that was learned on the playground, no more then 2 days into our public school career. I didn't want to make a big deal about it so I simply said
Mom: Well what did you say to him??
Son: I told him he was crazy and we were too young to have girlfriends.

Praise God!!!!
When faced with a topic like this he took the high road. I don't know if he really understands that yet though. I talked with him again tonight before he went to bed and explained again when it was appropriate to date girls and kiss them............NEVER!!!! lol...ok I didnt say never but I definitely said when you are much older...He says, "Like when I am an adult mom?" I plainly said "Yep!!" I told him how proud of him I was and that God was proud too! It was great too because when he came home and shared this very story with one of his closest friends, his friend(IC) affirmed what my son had said to be right. YAY for friends who have the same set of values.

After just doing a 10 wk or so study on the book of Esther I am believing that "for such a time as this" my kids have been placed in public school. I pray Lord that you would use my children to further advance your Kingdom. Let them be the light in the darkness of the world. I pray they would be able to encourage their friends and be set apart.
My Pretty Princess has to bring in a "Bag it Report" and share with the class some things about herself. The first thing she thought to put in the bag was a cross she just purchased, with her own money, to support out upcoming women's retreat. She said I am going to show them all my cross and tell them how much I love Jesus. ::SIGH:: Child like faith!!!! I pray that it would be received!! She is strong in her faith even though she is only 6.
She did already befriend a girl in her class who was severely punished today because she through a fit and not only wrote on the wall but tried to break the window. We had the chance to pray for her tonight and had a good talk about it. She is anticipating seeing her friend tomorrow and trying to love her despite what today brought!

Lions and tigers and bears....

So while is Zambia we were able to go to a beautiful resort called Protea Lodge. We were able to dine and also visit the LIONS!!!!



So my dear husband just wanted to get inside the cage and cuddle. She had her nose pressed up against the fence. You could hear the rumble of the lioness purring. The game keeper gave a mild warning that the claws COULD come through the fence but wasnt too worried.


Keep in mind, these aren't like the Lions you see at the zoo. These are VERY wild simply separated by a chain link fence. Really?? You think a chain link fence will hold 'em huh....crazy. They have no human contact other then when people walk by or when they are fed. No vet, no one cleaning out the "cage."





Our guide was so awesome. The lions only get fed every other day. They eat 10 chickens each. We happened to be there on the off day....bummer. He was nice enough to go and grab 3 chickens and throw them over the fence. The Lions looked pretty funny with the feathers coming out of their mouths. It could've been straight out of a cartoon. We really wanted to hear the male ROAR so our guide threw 2 chickens by the male. The male ate his and when one of the lioness' came to get the other....you could just feel the deep baritone roar inside. He didn't even get loud but it was enough for us to imagine what it sounds like in full force. The female submitted and she went and layed down, chickenless. He proceeded to eat his and then hers...lol .......It even transfers in to the animal kingdom..lol


An interesting fact we learned is that once a male lion is castrated, he loses his mane. Apparently all the testosterone is lost and so then, his mane disappears. Poor guy, not only does he lose his "STUFF" but he goes bald....that's funny and sad at the same time.

Change...

The winds are changing in our neck of the woods. It has been a bit of a cool breeze,pleasant in nature. It has allowed much needed flexibility and freedom. We have been in a position of choice.
We also have been feeling the pinch of the economy. I have been a stay at home mom for the last 7 1/2 yrs. My husband didn't work for about 7 months and upon returning, he took a large pay cut. Aside from the pay cut, we were just happy that he was back to work, PRAISE GOD!! We have been in prayer for the last few weeks and trusting that God would lead us in the right direction. The right direction being any that He would have us be in.
After fasting and much prayer we feel that we are entering into a season of change. We feel the Lord is leading me into full time employment. This of course means that I will no longer be able to homeschool our children. ::sigh:: I was a bit thrown to say the least. See, I feel its our responsibility to raise up our children and teach them biblical truths and make sure they are properly educated.
I feel like the Lord has been preparing me for this for the last few months, without my knowing of course....Because had I known the direction, I would've tried to change Gods plan, as if mine would be any better. Isn't that what we do, figure out a "Better" way. A few weeks ago I came to the realization that our kids don't belong to us. See, they are simply a gift from God, given to us on a temporary basis. They truly belong to Him on loan to us. Because of this I had to release them to Him. Man, talk about shedding some tears... That was probably one of the hardest things I have EVER done. To declare that they aren't mine but His and trust that He has their best interest at heart. It's a good thing the Lord catches our tears.
See it doesn't matter where the kids are, its more about who the kids' parents are. He picked us to be their parents. They can still learn the Biblical truths and go to public school. As difficult as it will be , for me, I know God has them all under His wing.
The world is the world and it is fallen. We cant escape that. It's my goal now, as it was before, to make sure that they are grounded in Creationism and the Truth!!
Pls pray for us as we seek out the right school and the right job for me.
Thanks in advance!!! And praise God...I know He has bigger plans that are just not yet revealed...remember, if we knew what it was we would probably try to come up with something better...lol
We are praying for His peace that passes all understanding!!!

Preach it!!

Here stands my husband, preaching in the church of Kalingalinga , walking his calling!! When he was done preaching he asked me, "How did I do?" I simply said, "This is what you are called to. You are a natural. I have been praying for this for the last 6 years. Praise God for being sooo faithful and knowing that His timing is ALWAYS perfect." I was so proud of him.

The man standing next to Leon is Pastor Lazorous. This is his church and he is translating. He is one of the nicest people we met there in Zambia. You can see how the Holy Spirit just rests on him.

Please pray for him and his wife. They are newly married and while we were there we he told us that his wife was ill with malaria. Pls keep this man of God lifted up. Pray his wife would be healed completely by the Lord and be able to give Him all the glory!!

These are some of the children that were playing outside of the church. This church was precious. At the end of service we walked out and stood by the entrance way to greet everyone as they left. I thought it was just because we were guests but come to find out, this is what they do every Sunday. They begin to worship and as each one greets the pastor, they join the line. The continue to worship until everyone is out of the church. Everyone is greeted. I love this because sometimes in America, our church can get so big that there can be Sundays where nobody knows who you are or if you even attended.

We thank Pastor Lazarous again for allowing us to bring the teaching of Truth to his church!!