Sunday, April 22, 2012

The Power of Words - Going to the Prom?

"Prom" vs. "Ball" (or: Why not the prom?)

Okay, here comes my inner Prude. I've learned to embrace her. Prude is my friend and moral helper. Dear Reader, meet "Prudie".

Maestro made a comment on the way to church this morning that really got me thinking. His comment revolved around my insistence in using more specific words for various things and events in life: "prom" vs. a "Ball" (in this case military); "Dating" vs. "Courtship"; "Young lady/man" vs. "Teen", etc. Since I have talked with my very word-specific husband for hour upon hour, I suppose a bit of his... obsession... has rubbed off on me!

"What's the difference?!" says a very exasperated Maestro.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Growing Through Challenges

We have a lot going on in life this year - well, we will have. We are dealing with physical, financial, and emotional challenges, things that will stretch us to think about, things we worry over and carefully weigh the end results of the decisions made. We're looking at: a move (after 10 years of being here in this same house), a mortgage that is "upside down" (for the first time ever), whether to sell or rent out our house when we move, how to deal with the kids' braces upon moving (do we wait to get them started or do we start now and then find a new provider when we get to where we're going, car repairs (I whacked our car into a tree last weekend and it needs fixing,) new home school laws in the state to which we're moving, and on and on and on.

Positive thinking helps overcome so many challenges in life!
It's a lot - and we can look at it and say it's a lot and focus on the difficulties therein, or we can look and remember that we have a strong family; we have good friends; we have options... We can decide to see this as a time of spiritual, emotional, mental and family growth. A time when challenges will make us stronger all around.

It seems like such a small matter to make these mental shifts but the difference is so important. Here is a challenge: next time you're driving around town, look for other cars that are the same color as your own. If you are looking for only red or blue or black cars you're going to see them in droves!

The same concept rings true for the challenges we have in life. If we're looking for the good that life give us, the blessings, we're more likely to see the blessings before we see the "I can't"s.

Isn't it better to look at life and feel like you have the bull by the horns? Like maybe there is struggle involved, but you have it covered. You're going to handle it, whatever "it" is.

What are you struggling with? Share your thoughts below and we'll pray for your success!


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Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Requiring Respect in Children


As a young child, my mother taught me that children should respect adults ... just because they were adults. That my respect was simply a requirement of my very existence. As an early teen, I had some friends convince me that "adults should have to 'earn' my respect." Actually, I had some adults who believed that as well. I carried some of that "earned respect" belief right up into adulthood.

Then my first child made it to five years old and decided to show that he didn't respect me as his mother. *ahem* His military Papa didn't agree with my earned-respect philosophy and our precocious boy got into trouble. In our sometimes heated discussions about this issue, he pointed something out to me that hadn't occurred to me before - something that I suppose should have been obvious:

A child's respect has already been earned!

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