Our Godly Fruit

God has been good to us. I am so thankful for our children. What an awesome responsibility I feel to set a good example before them. I know that everyday I make mistakes--my prayer is that even in that they will learn and find themselves gracefully righting their wrongs.

Clowning Around

Last Saturday Jeremi, Tiffani and I had a blast volunteereing as "Deaf Clowns" entertaining the children. Tiffani was "Bubbles" I was "Troubles" and Jeremi was Juggling JO. My theme for the day was to be just like Bubbles. I tried everything I could to imitate what she was doing. When I grow up, I want to be like her. "Where did you get your shoes?"


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Holiday Youth Convention

Pastor prayed for the kids before they left. Can you believe there were 3 vans and 60 people!!!




This is apparently the latest trend. Too bad I don't have a picture of the final "Do". Must have been beautiful!

Jeremi's Lawn Care

This week is Holiday Youth Convention for the teens, and this year, they are earning their own money to pay their expenses. (Well, Grammy did send a sizeable check to help them along...)

Jeremi is a bit shy when asking people for anything, so I was there to help push him along. We decided that since it is spring and time to jump start the lawns, he should mow our lawn first as a sample of his quality work. So, on Saturday when he finished our yard, he and I jumped in the car and started driving around our neighborhood looking for neglected lawns. We found several. The first house had no answer at the door. The second house had a son who is capable of mowing himself, but the third house was his answer. He bravely knocked on the door, explained that he was a neighbor looking to fund a church trip next week and was willing to mow grass. "Would you believe it" the man said, "I was just talking with my wife about what to do about our broken lawn mower blade. I would really appreciate your help."


Well, Jeremi was so excited! He was now in business. You can imagine how excited he was when the man said he was going to pay him a lot more than just the suggested $15. In fact, he came home with 2 crisp $20 bills!

I asked him later, "Doesn't it feel good to do a good day's work?" He admitted that it did and added, "I just don't like to ask for work."

Flying Bicycle??

One valuable thing we learned last week?

Jeremi's trick bike canNOT fly. Just ask him.

(Better yet, just get a good look at his arms and hands.)

Shoe Organizer

Today we overhauled Jeremi's room. You know, sorting through the closet, removing outgrown clothes; dumping out drawers and organizing, removing junk; sorting through his bookshelves, passing down books too juvenile. In the process he informed me that his 'shoe keeper' on the floor was bending his expensive size 10 shoes, and he couldn't use it anymore. Apparently we needed a new shoe keeper solution.

Now, I know that these can be purchased, and in fact, we have several in our house now, but isn't it much more fun to create your own?? I crafted this from material I had on hand and a cardboard box from the barn. It isn't perfect, but it is certainly functional--and free!



Overheard in the school/sewing room:

"Mom, what are you doing?"

"I'm creating. I learned it from my dad."

"Did Papa make things?"

"Oh no, my heavenly Father."

"Moooommmmmmm"

XMTX

Extreme Mountain Top Experience

Brought to you by SALT:

My teens are involved with SALT: Student Action Leadership Team. It is a group that trains teens to minister. SALT has challeneged my kids to rise to the occasion and take ownership of their generation. It has motivated them to pray, fast, and focus on ministry.

For the past 2 months, we have been driving our kids back and forth to SALT practice in preparation for a huge production. Last week was the event. The SALT team put on an outstanding program for kids called Extreme Mountaintop Experience. Tiffani together with Tiffany were clowns trying to make it to the top of the mountain. Jeremi, playing the devil's advocate, convinced them that they needed alcohol, dirty magazines and videos in order to make it to the top. They soon realized that their load was too heavy, and they needed to get rid of the worldly 'stuff.'

I am proud of my kids. I know that God has a calling on their lives, and if they continue climbing, and never give in to satan's deception, they will make it all the way to the top.

VBS

This week has been VBS at our church. Bethani was the only child young enough to register, but the SALT (Student Action Leadership Training) team worked with the adults to make it a smashing success. There were about 120 children registered, and I believe 10 children received the Holy Ghost. In our family, however, the most exciting thing was how SALT transformed my teens. They were forced to rise to the occasion, and rise they did!

The second day into VBS, after the children went home, the SALT team had practice from 3:30-5:00. Jeremi called me around 4:30 and said that they had started with prayer before practicing, and they were still praying!! They hadn't yet gotten around to practice. He was so fired up about how God was moving and ministering to him and his peers. When they got home, Tiffani was bubbling over with how God had used the Gifts of the Spirit to speak a specific word to them, and it was the teens who were operating in the Gifts!


The week continued in this same way everyday this week. God used Tiffani in the Gifts of the Spirit. I encouraged her not to seek after the Gift of the Spirit, but to seek after the Fruit of the Spirit, and the Gifts will naturally follow. It is awesome to see their enthusiasm and love for the Lord.

Sunday night, the entire youth group rallied around one another, and it was a beautiful thing to watch them pray and support each other. For a while, they set aside their differences, and worked together for a common goal. They asked Jeremi to stand and tell what he felt about the week. He talked about unity and working together to achieve a common goal. I saw the man he is becoming, envisioned the minister he will be, and I felt so proud of him.


Raising Godly fruit can be a long and tedious process. It seems that the fruit will never grow, and then when it does, it seems it will never ripen. I have to confess that there have been many occasions recently where I have wondered if any of what I have been trying to teach is actually getting through to my children. It has at times truly felt FRUITLESS! However, it is the times like this week that I am so thankful that I have not given up. "For in due season, we SHALL reap if we faint not." Thank you Jesus for giving us a hopeful peek into our children's future.

Happy Birthday Jeremi!

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Well, it finally happened! I am now officially a mother of teens (in the plural). Yesterday Jeremi turned the monumental 13 and was thrust along with millions of other young men and women into the Sea of Turbulent Teen Years. Now, don't get me wrong, the change didn't happen overnight. Oh no, my friend, we have been witnessing many changes over the past 6 months. When he answers the phone, it sounds like a grown man on the other end of the line. When I take off my church heels, he stands just a bit taller than me, and (Shhhhhh he has shaved his upper lip once.) Well, needless to say, there are a lot of emotional highs and lows around here, but with the grace of God, we are plowing through it all. His sweet spirit comes shining through from time to time reminding me that underneath the dark clouds called hormones my sweet little boy/man is still intact.

Nana and Papa flew in to help celebrate this birthday mile-marker, and they helped to make his day very special. From lunch at the Grand Luxe, to ice skating at the Galleria, to ice cream from the Marble Slab, to a rodeo in Mesquite with the youth group, his day was filled with all the things he loves most.

Happy birthday Jeremi. I am so proud of the man you are becoming. Always know that you are special to dad and me. We love you so much

Mother/Son Date

And now it was Jeremi's turn. Tiffani spent the day with Rochelle on Sunday afternoon so that Jeremi and I could have some alone time. He picked an Indian restaurant that some of our Indian friends had recommended called Chettinaad Palace. It was a buffet, so we were able to sample everything and then go back for the things that we really liked. I'll have to say, most of their food is incredibly hot! Our favorite turned out to be the coconut curry chicken. (I tried not to think about how many fat grams it must have.)

Jeremi was a perfect gentleman, holding the door, waiting for me, picking up 2 plates from the stack and offering me one, a young man I am proud of. We don't get to go out very often, but when we do, it is very special. After dinner, I asked him what he wanted to do, and he suggested that he would like a new tie to match his new shirt. We went to Syms and found a great match.

This was our last day of Teen Week. Craig and Bethani landed at DFW at 11:18, so now it is back to our usual routine. Something feels different with Jeremi though. He seems to have matured some as a result of our 'date.' I know these are rough and turbulent adolescent times moving from childhood into adulthood. I continue to ask God to give me wisdom to help navigate these unchartered waters.

Teen Saturday

Our Saturday morning started out verrrrryyyyy slooooowwwww, just like all Saturdays should. You know, no scurrying around to get to school. Just nice and easy. We managed to make and eat our traditional banana pancakes by 11:00, and then headed out to the DPS to get Tiffani's driving permit. How disappointing to get there only to find out that they don't have Saturday hours. We decided at that point to go shopping at Old Navy to soften the blow.

On the way home we took a poll for lunch. We decided on sushi at home. Lex got a crash course in rolling his own, and now he claims that he will be hitting his mom up to buy the paraphanalia to do it at his house.

I took them all to Bro. Dyral's house later that evening for a youth party, and then headed out to Firewheel for some shopping of my own. Jeremi is going home with Lex, so it will be just us two girls getting ready for church in the morning.