I’m back!!!

Yes, my blog has been hijacked for the last little while as I helped my friend raise some funds to build a home for boys in Bolivia.

Now, I get my blog back and I have a list of posts that I can’t wait to share with you.  I think I was having post withdrawal or something.

Today I want to post something so special that happened at our fundraiser on Friday night.  I had a few friends donate beautiful works of art and these painting were adorning my home until the night of the auction. 

My daughters (ages 7 & 8) wanted to be able to contribute as well by painting their own picture.  So one day when the girls came home from school I had newspaper covering the kitchen table, 2 canvas’ laid out and paint ready to go.  They got right to work and made their masterpieces.  They were very proud of their artwork and were excited to have them auctioned off to raise money for Ken.

I added them to the Live Auction Program and their artwork was displayed for everyone in attendance.  On the program I had to write a value so of course I said “priceless”. 

Halfway through the auction it was their “work of art” turn.   I had been walking around and displaying the previous auction items as the auctioneer did her thing, I wasn’t sure how the audience would react to the girls paintings.  When I saw that their turn was up, I made an announcement that we were lucky enough to have the next artists in the audience that evening and that they would display their artwork.  The crowds reaction was very gracious and I am so thankful.  I had the girls come to the front to hold their paintings for all to see.

It was so exciting when the bidding started at $20!  Then the bids continued to go back and forth among several people until Daddy ended up winning the bid at $80!  The girls were so proud.

Something that we didn’t notice until that evening was that when you placed the pictures beside each other they had both made a sun in the corner and when you put them together it made a set!

It was an awesome moment; the girls had been seeing all the work that I was putting into the event and it was inspiring and encouraging for me to that they wanted to be a part of it as well.

Why is the grass greener?

I have a heavy heart.  The amount of divorces that I am hearing about in our community saddens me greatly.  My oldest came home from school the other day and asked why you have to get divorced after you have been married for a while.  It is so sad that, that is what is being modelled for her.  We sat down and I tried to explain that divorce is an option and it is an option that my husband and I said doesn’t exist before we got married.

Ever since this conversation I have been thinking about her question, and why so many are choosing divorce?  Why do so many think that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence?Then my analytical brain got to work.   Why does the grass look greener on the other side?  Why doesn’t the grass on my side look green?  Think about it for a minute.  Just because my grass doesn’t look green does that mean that I have to leave to find greener?  Maybe I should try to make my side greener.  What can I do to have greener grass?  I chose this grass, I made promises to take care of this grass in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, till death to we part.  My grass is not dead, what can I do to make it greener.  Sometimes the grass doesn’t react the way that we want it to but out of all the grass in the world, this is the grass that I chose.

No matter what shade of green our grass is, it is our responsibility to take care of it and give it what it needs.  Don’t give up on your grass!  Set an example for the younger generation that you don’t need to get a divorce! 

Marriage is an exciting journey, that at times takes a lot of work.  But all the hard work is worth the green, green grass that benefits your children and the generations to come.

Thankful Thursday- Daughters

Sorry not to brag but I love my girls and they are so darn cute!  You just have to agree!

 

My oldest looks so much like me.  She is growing up to be a beautiful young lady.  And check out my youngest hair, her hair matches the leaves!  She has the most gorgeous natural highlights and curls.

I am so thankful that I can be their Mom.  It is a beautiful journey to see them grow and develop into who they have been created to be.  With their own unique gifts and talents.  Thank you God for the gift of these two beautiful daughters that you have given to us.

Bonnie @ Where did all this come from?     Melissa @ A Penny Saved 

Kim @ Home is where your Story begins

31 Day Challenge, Proverbs Chapter 13

I am loving the discipline this is giving me to actually write in my blog everyday!

On to Chapter 13!

V. 24 “If you refuse to discipline your children, it proves you don't love them; if you love your children, you will be prompt to discipline them.”

I love this verse because it gives me the right to beat my children!  HA HA HA, just kidding!

It does not give me the right to beat my children but it does give me instruction to give consequences for their actions.  Children need to learn the difference between right and wrong.  The home is the best place to learn that.  Too often as parents we want to protect them and guide them through life and then they move out to go to university and they discover a cruel world that they can no longer be protected from.  Home is a safe place to learn how to fail and make poor choices. 

I worked as an Educational Associate at a school for a couple of years and it was a learning experience to see the behaviour of some parents.  One day after school the phone rang in the Resource Room.  I answer the phone to hear an irate parent telling me that their child came home from school today and lied to them and they wanted to know what I was going to do about it.  I am not a person who often find themselves speechless but this was one of those rare moments.  I thought they were joking, but they seriously wanted to know what the school was going to do about this situation.

I believe I told them that it was their job as a parent and that we would help the student academically but this issue was theirs to deal with at home.

I have been involved in the school system and as a Pastors wife and I often wonder why so many parents feel like everyone else should be teaching their children morals and values.  As a parent, I take that responsibility very seriously, I want my children to learn from me and I hope that the outside influences (school and church) are reiterating the same things that I am teaching them.

I believe that my children know that when we discipline them it is because we love them.  Funny thing is, today we had to discipline our oldest and she is subject to consequences for her actions.  We have certain family rules and she broke one;  therefore she has consequences.  She is not in favour of the consequences, but we as parents are hoping that she will learn this lesson and we will not have to go through this again.  Tomorrow is the day of  the consequence, I am praying for strength so that I can hold her to the consequence that we have chosen.  Which as parents can be difficult but a lesson needs to be learned.  I would rather her learn that lesson now in the safety of a loving home, then in a unfair world that may hand out an even greater consequence.

Parenting in tough.  This afternoon we were discussing licenses with our children.  How you need a license to drive a car, and another to ride a motorcycle and another to drive a boat.  Even though I am old enough to drive all three I can only legally drive a car.  The reason you need a license for each one is because they are all different and you need to prove that you are capable and responsible to drive each one.  Then I turned to my husband and said, “What if we needed a license to have children?”  He turned to me and said, “Neither of us would have passed.”  Honestly, how many of us would, it is trial by error and a lot of prayer that we are able to parent.

“Discipline doesn't break a child's spirit half as often as the lack of it breaks a parent's heart”

Parents please take the time to Read this Post

Warning PG-13 rating on this link- This is a post by Lisa Bevere on her blog about an experience she had with her son and his school. It is a reminder to us as parents that we have to be involved in our childrens' education.

Blog post by Lisa Bevere

Wake up Call!

Yesterday at school Nevaeh was working on printing in class.  Her substitute teacher told her that she was doing a good job and that maybe she would be an author someday. Nevaeh replied, "So I can be just like my Mom!"

This is the story that I heard when I went to read with the Grade one class yesterday.  It was a very proud Mama moment. And also very humbling as I began to think about our actions as parents and how they affect our children.

I knew in my gut that I need to publish my book, but I never thought about what impact or example I would be setting with my children. 

I have to admit that my book has been somewhat of a headache for me because of my lack of knowledge of the publishing industry.  I wish I could go back and change things.

What I have realized is that no dream is ever too big.  And even though things did not go as I would have liked with my book that it doesn’t matter.  I set a positive example for my children and that is all that matters.

Parent & Youth Pastor Information for Online Bible Study

I am so excited about this opportunity to share my book through the webinar medium. What an amazing way to share the Truth to so many. I wanted to share some additional information about the study to the parents and Youth Pastors.

** Special note to: Youth Pastors- this is a great opportunity to reach the teen girls in your group. Many Youth Pastors are male and have a hard time connecting and understanding the teen girls or maybe you do not have a volunteer to take on a girls Bible Study. If you would like a safe place for them to be nurtured I would appreciate if you would send them in my direction to join my study starting in September 2010.

1. “What Makes You Unique?” is based on scripture. When I wrote the book I studied scripture first and then I wrote the chapter.
2. This is a safe environment for the girls to discover who they truly are. There is no pressure from other girls, they don't have to worry about going to sit in a group of girls and worry about who is wear what, who has the coolest Bible, that no one wants to sit beside them. It is about them discovering the beautiful woman of God that they have been created to be.
3. Throughout the study I will have a group of women from my church praying for each participant.
4. Ages 12-18- I have set this as the ages only because we will be discussing sex. If your daughter is younger and you think they are ready then please sign them up. (As for what we are discussing about sex is why you should wait till marriage. So often it is taught as don’t, and then you get married and it is hard to change your mindset on the topic. So I teach the why, also our daughters are going to be learning about it from somewhere wouldn’t this be a safe environment to reinforce what you have already taught?)
5. Throughout the study they will be receiving things from me in the mail such as a Christmas card, newsletter, small gifts. Because this is done online I want to make the connection as personable as possible. It is my goal to send something each month.
6. If the girls have an issue they want to talk to me about, they are free to email me at anytime.
7. I will also be offering Life Coaching to the girls as well. This is at an additional cost and only available once I have talked to the parents to see if this is suitable for the situation.

Please feel free to contact me at carolyn@cjcarleton.com with any questions or concerns. This is something that we are doing together for your daughter. My goal is that the girls will grow and develop more and more as a Woman of God throughout the study.