1000 Books Before Kindergarten

I took the littles to the library yesterday as we haven't gone in quite a while and we came home with a nice stack of books!  I dug in with Bub today after I picked him up from school.  I grew up with a love of books and reading instilled in me; I saw my parents read and they always read to us; I still remember our "reading chair".  Reading can take you places, especially as a kid while your imagination is wild and new and fresh, that you never dreamed possible!  It opens up so many doors and worlds!  I want to pass that onto my littles and hopefully they'll pick it up and love it just the same as I do.

I love our library and all the great programs it has to offer for both the kids and myself.  (This year, I also plan on taking them to more of our libraries programs.)  While the kids were playing and I was looking for a book for us to read together, I came across a program called 1000 Books Before Kindergarten.  Bub just started 3-pre-k this year so in just about a year and a half, he should be starting kindergarten.  I showed Hubs the informational paper I brought home with us and he pointed out that it's going to be quite a reach.  I am well aware of that but I am going to try my hardest to help us meet this goal and frankly, I'm excited about it!!  Even if we don't reach our goal, we will have gone on plenty of adventures so it will be well worth it!  Will you join us?!

Taming the Tongue

As Pastor explained what his sermon was going to be about today, (taming the tongue) I immediately thought of swearing.  "How ironic, I was just talking to Hubs about how we need to work on swearing a lot less."  It went deeper than that, though and opened my eyes.

As Pastor put it in church this morning, "our culture is a greenhouse for destructive talk."  It's not just the swearing that's a danger; it's the messages we're putting out as well.  We live in a world where it's all competition and tearing each other down.  That's the norm now and honestly, it's sad and scary.  The destructiveness is ALL around us; our music, magazines, social media, news, work environments, even home environments.  No wonder it's not a shock anymore to degrade someone and tear them down.

Our tongue is tiny but it has mighty power.  Sometimes more than we even realize, I think.  Today, it was compared to the rudder of a ship.  That tiny instrument determines which direction the whole giant ship sails.  Think about their sizes and the power that little rudder has.  The same goes for our tongue.  Your tongue can determine whether you go up or down in life and the feelings of those around you.  That is a lot of power for one mere person to hold.  Proverbs 25:15 talks about how soft words can break bones.  If soft words can break bones, what do harsh words do?

I'm sure that we're all well aware of the fact that words hurt.  Whether it be from a coworker, parent, friend, bully or even a stranger, we have all felt, to some extent, the effect words can have.  Think about that.  Then think about the fact that the closer you are to someone, the more their words can hurt; the bigger the influence their words will have.  We need to take that to heart.  I'm starting at home.  "Your tongue has the power to make your home a healing home."  Another great quote from Pastor that got me thinking.  Although I could be worse in the way that I talk to Hubs and our Littles, there is still PLENTY of room for improvement.  With the littles especially.  Their minds, souls and personalities are so incredibly impressionable.  I have got to start building them up more.  Paying more attention to not only what I say to them but how I speak to them as well.

I had the perfect opportunity as we were coming in the house from church.  It may have been minute but that's where it all starts, correct?  Our backdoor is broken and the bottom panel is missing so when it snows or even when the wind blows the snow, it will build up in the doorway.  I was the last one to go into the house so I was holding the door open for Peanut who was in front of me.  Well, as she was stepping over the threshold, she hit the pile and knocked some of the snow into the house.  My immediate reaction was, "Come on," in an irritated tone ready to continue lecturing.  I looked at Hubs and right there, I caught myself and was able to stop.  Did she do it on purpose?  No.  Was she trying to avoid it?  Yes.  There was no need to continue.  Granted, I didn't have to respond that way to begin with but, stopping myself was a great first step.  After all, it's just snow.  It will melt and be gone.

"A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.  What you say flows from what is in your heart."  -Luke 6:45

In the words of Pastor, "Your tongue is not just attached to your brain; it is attached to your heart too.  If you want to control what's coming out of your mouth, you have to let God control what's going on in your heart."  It is impossible for a human being to completely tame their tongue.  We can not do it without God's help.

What Am I Doing Here?

I've been working on setting up this blog all night and now that it's come down to writing my first post, I can't quite nab an answer to that question up there.  Let me grab some coffee and really dig deep.

Yup, I really went and made coffee at 10 pm
Aren't you glad we're friends?!

When I was in middle and high school, I used to write all the time.  Composition notebooks full of poems and journals up the wazoo.  As I grew older, it seemed to take a back burner which led to it completely falling off the stove so-to-speak.  Although I lost touch with writing, I never lost my love of reading or words.

Now that I'm older and my life is starting to fall into place (a more permanent place), I want to pick up my writing again and share my experiences.  Along with that, I'm learning who I want to be but more importantly, who God wants me to be.  If you knew me in my middle and high school days, even up until about 6 years ago, you know I was not the same as I am now and I'm darn proud of that.  I'll be the first to admit I could be a pretty rotten person making selfish decisions.

Which brings me back to the title of this post.  What am I doing here?  Like most people, I changed and grew but, within the last few years, I've felt a bigger and better change in the making.  As a wife, mother of 4 and someone who has rediscovered their faith, I have a purpose now!  A direction and I want to take you along for the ride!