| Typos in Life | | Posted on Monday, August 23, 2010 at 6:00am | If you received my ezine this week you may or may not have noticed a typo. In  my list of books I read this past month, I messed up on one title. Instead of Missing Max by Karen Young, I typed Mixing Max. The crazy thing is, I kept looking at it, knowing something wasn’t right, but couldn’t see the problem. I even woke up in the night knowing I had sent a typo out, but couldn’t put my finger on it. Then in the light of day, of course I see it! Ugh! (By the way it's a fun, suspenseful read.)
I thought about sending out another message immediately to the ezine list, but thought “Who wants more stuff in their email box?” The damage was done and if you linked to the book you see the title, but it still bugged me all weekend. Hey, I’m supposed to be a professional who doesn’t make mistakes. Then I got busy and forgot about it—until this morning, it started eating at me again.
Isn't this how sin works in our lives? We say something hurtful or do something we shouldn’t. Or our pride kicks up and we dig our heels in and refuse to admit we’re wrong. We see it in our kids too. They do something wrong—don’t make their bed, forget to feed the dog, tell a lie—and they immediately try to cover up with excuses or more lies. If it’s not dealt with we soon forget about it —until the next time.
Human nature is a funny thing. We live in a fallen universe so typos are going to happen. The problem comes when we try to cover it up or deny we sinned or “forget about it.” Unfortunately minor things turn into sin when we make excuses. For example, I could blame spell check or the fact I have so little time to do everything on my plate for “mixing” up Max. But the truth is I was in a hurry. I wanted to send out my newsletter right then. It frustrates me when it’s late—which often happens—and I didn’t want to let it rest, like I know I should. But this is my prevailing sin—not resting. How many times does my husband have to tell me “Slow down?” He’s constantly reminding me that everything will get done in God’s timing. The ezine was about finding rest, for goodness sakes! And I couldn’t let it rest for one night before sending it.
We often refuse to admit our frailties, sins, and typos and convince ourselves no one notices or cares. What harm did it do? Yet, the damage is done in our hearts. When we excuse our sins, our hearts can soon grow cold and hard. We no longer acknowledge or recognize the truth—or see the typos in front of our face.
Praise God for his Light that reveals our sins and exposes our hearts. When we run to the Light and bask in it, then the typos don’t matter. God backspaces our sins away.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin (1 John 1:7).
| | | | | | Ask Mom Resource: Momology | | Posted on Thursday, August 19, 2010 at 9:16pm | 
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him (James 1:5).
This book is packed with lots of "ask mom" types of questions and answers. Designed similar to a “dummies” book, Momology : A Mom's Guide to Shaping Great Kids is a comprehensive course on motherhood. Author Shelly Radic uses her position as chief of staff of MOPS International and 36 years of research based on the ministry. Momology looks at the four core elements of successful mothering. It includes stats, tips, ideas, and stories "voices" from parents, relationship experts, and the team at MOPS International. 
This book addresses topics such as depression, community, sense of humor, discipline, caregivers, understanding childhood, focusing on God, and other “mom” issues. There are “practicums” throughout the book, providing real life action steps for moms. Mix and match and choose the steps and ideas that fit your needs. There is a section focusing on the "grandscape" and God's view on parenting. | | | | | | Daily Weeding | | Posted on Monday, August 16, 2010 at 6:00am |  It’s summer and with summer comes weeds. Our gravel driveway has lots of weeds. Timothy and I are spending this week at our place in the country. I love coming here where it’s quiet and peaceful; the world just seems to move slower. However, since we haven’t been up here all summer, some things haven’t been taken care of—mainly the weeds.
Now this might sound crazy, but I love pulling weeds. There is something about it that is cleansing to the soul. Whenever I pull weeds I ask God to pull the weeds out of my heart as well.
Each day I go out and spend about ten minutes pulling weeds. The gravel keeps the weeds from having too deep of roots, making it pretty easy to pull them up. I’m amazed at how just a few minutes of pulling makes such a difference. There have been times when the weeds are so bad that I have to spend days cleaning out the beds. But once they are clean, it requires very little effort and time to keep them clean.
It’s the same with my heart. There are times when God has to dig deep and work at cleaning out my stubborn roots of pride and opinions. But it doesn’t have to be that way. If I have a soft heart, like the soil under the weeds in my driveway, then it shouldn’t take a lot of pulling to clean out the sin. It should only take a few minutes each day to pull the sin and weeds out of my heart as well.
I must confess that there have been weeds I like to think are really flowers. I don’t want to pull them out and find reasons to ignore them. Soon the yard is covered and the real flowers are choked out. Once I allow God to cleanse my heart and plow it up it only takes a few minutes a day to keep my “garden” weed free.
Jesus told a parable about weeds and how they grow up among the good wheat. He said not to pull them because it might damage the wheat in the process. I want to daily pull the weeds from my heart. How terrible it would be to find out in the end that I was a weed and not a stalk of wheat.
Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' "(Matthew 13:30).
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Spiritual Pruning
Cleaning up Messes | | | | | | Guest Blogger: Motivating Tween Boys | | Posted on Thursday, August 12, 2010 at 6:00am |  Sara Broers is an avid blogger/writer/speaker that resides in North Central Iowa. Sara is married, has two teenage sons that are 19 & 15. She is an avid supporter of teens, people with physical disabilities, and proud of the fact that she lives in Iowa. You can find her on her blog: All In An Iowa Mom's Day. I asked Sara Broers to give us some pointers on surviving the tween stage.
Motivating a pre-teen boy can be one of any mom's most hair raising, or should I say hair graying moments? As a mom to a 19 and 15 year old teen, I have been there, and trust me, I have experienced it. Video games, Ipods, cellular phones, and just plain old laziness seem to take grip of our pre-teen boys, just when we moms really need to get a hold of them! So, what's a mom to do?
First of all it is of the utmost importance that we get our pre-teen boys outside. Boy Scouts, church camp, local parks and recreation activities and the like! When boys are allowed to get out of the house and actually be boys, they tend to flourish. I witnessed this many times when I attended Cub Scout Camp and Boy Scout Camp with my boys. When boys can toss a rock into a ravine and not be told, “No,” they really do blossom. For some reason, a rock has a calm, cool, sensation for a pre-teen boy.
So, how do we let them know that Jesus is also their rock? A fairly simple process, make sure you and your family are active in a local church. From drumming in a youth praise band to camping with the youth group, your pre-teen boy can experience life in a way he never dreamed of. When I was transporting my pre-teen boys around, I also made sure I had my favorite radio station on in the car. Which just happens to be a Christian radio station~ a good way to reinforce the fact that Jesus is the rock in your household!
It begins with you, the parent. You need to take the initiative and lead by example. Are you showing your pre-teen boy your rock? Take time to share and allow your pre-teen boy to be himself. Get the whole family into the beautiful outdoors that our loving God has surrounded us with. Appreciate the beauty that surrounds us and accept the fact that your pre-teen boy will need you along the way! Most importantly be sure you are there for him when he needs you. Remind him: Jesus told us, “I have come as light into the world, that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness” (John
12:46).
| | | | | | Expiration Dates | | Posted on Monday, August 9, 2010 at 9:02pm | Yesterday I cleaned out our pantry and found several items—nuts, cereal, granola bars etc—had expired. The expiration dates fell between March and the present—the five months I’ve been on the road. I’ve only been home a week or two at a time since the end of February, so of course the pantry is the last thing I take care of. I usually have my daughters clean out the cabinets and take the food before it expires, but that didn’t happen this year. So here I was throwing out old staples.
With that chore accomplished, I headed into my office and dug into piles stacked throughout the room. Each one represented a trip or conference from the past months—notes, books, and handouts I have not had time to sort, file, or pass on.
These things represent five months of my life, packed with traveling. I realized staples and condiments were not the only thing that had expired—my grandchildren’s babyhood was passing by quickly. A phone call with four-year-old Micah revealed how much he is growing up. He no longer says, “Hi Nanny, I wuv you.” Now it’s, “Hi Granny, how are you? I miss you. I love you,” sounding like a little grown up instead of my little grandbaby. And three-year-old Eppie tries to outsmart her Grandpappy, instead of shyly standing off watching him. The two eighteen month-olds, Moriah and Benjamin, no longer waddle along, but run and talk in three word sentences. Where had my babies gone? I can replace the things in my pantry, but I can’t replace those days of my little ones growing.
Timothy and I are truly blessed compared to many grandparents. Our little ones are close by and I can see them at least every other week rather than months or years apart. However, I hate missing anything of their growing up.
I often tell young mothers to enjoy every minute—even the hard days, for time passes very quickly and soon your little ones will be grown with children of their own. It’s easy to take our days for granted, especially when they are filled with so many things to do. As Timothy and I grow older, I realize how precious our time is and how these days are a small part of eternity. When we ask the Holy Spirit to guide our days, they are still busy and full, but the important things such as love, holiness, and wisdom don’t expire.
"Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath” (Psalm 39:4-5).
Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12).
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