Geico the Frog

The sign says it all:

"In loving memory of  'Geico' the Froggie

January 6, 2012 - February 25, 2012

Jaden found Geico dead around 8;00 Saturday, February 25, 2012.  He was very sad. :(

We love you, Froggie!"

A Plea from an Echo Boomer

In her article "More Than Teacups...a Plea for Biblical Literacy," Megan Gariss practically begs the older generations to teach the twenty-somethings (and younger?) how to study the Bible.  I wept when I read it.  We have failed these young people, and they know it.  I so appreciated her humble request.  I didn't detect any bitterness on her part, only an almost-desperate plea for us "olders" to do what we should already have been doing.  (I think that's what Jesus would call "making disciples.")  We parents must take seriously our responsibility to disciple...starting first with our own children (and granddies).  I believe the Lord will not ask us how many folks we won to the Lord "out there" before He asks if we made disciples of our own little ones.  Sobering.

Get Service

This is a great film. Though it may not have much talking in it and is short, it carries a great message! It will make you cry.

Daily Life~

Well, it has been a while since I have posted anything "personal" but I guess you probably know that I have my own blog which keeps me busy, besides micro-blogging at twitter as well. :) No excuse, I should let you all know what I've been up to lately.

Even though Mom is doing better each day she has still not resumed her full duties - actually, she mostly does not perform any tasks, which is fine. I still do the majority of the housework, cooking and cleaning, which I enjoy very much (especially the cooking). Entertaining guests has become something I enjoy as well, and I have had multiple opportunities here lately to try my hand at becoming a better hostess.

I continue (along with my fam) to do things on the political front, which is almost a full time job! :P Since we get school credit for each minute we spend doing activism, we try to take a few minutes each week to contact our leaders in D.C. to let them know our opinion on certain issues, pieces of legislation, concerns, etc. I was so nervous the first time I called my Representative, but that has worn off to some extent. :)

The last week and a few days we have been vastly enjoying the visit of my father's brother and his wife who serve as missionaries in Tuebingen, Germany. Since they live so very far away, and since it is very expensive to travel, we only get to see them about once a year. Those visits are treasured times for us all, and we look forward with bated breath to each sabbatical. They spent the night Sunday, and were with us until the early afternoon yesterday. Hopefully, we will get to see them at least a couple of times more before they leave for their homeland.

This weekend will find me in Tyler (East) Texas, Lord willing, helping my Aunt Jen celebrate her pregnancy. Her friend is throwing a baby-shower and us girls and Mom have been invited. I am looking forward to seeing family on my Mom's side, we don't see them very often and besides all that, its in the country. :)

I was reading a book the other day about this girl with cancer whose illness affected the rest of her family, causing stress, bitterness, grief and worry to weigh them down - and I was thinking how very similar the young lady's (who's perspective the book was written from) perception of her sister's sickness and my perception of my mother's sickness were. The story is very sad, and yet abounding with hope, because the family had The Hope - Jesus Christ to see them through the valley of the shadow of death as it were. Even when we cannot see the purpose of what we are experiencing at the moment, I was reminded that I should always trust in the sovereignty of God's plan, He always knows best! [the name of the book is: Dana's Valley by Janette Oke and Laurel Oke Logan]

On the first of this month, I read Psalm one and Proverbs one and it struck me how both of those passages speak about wisdom (and her worth) and folly (and its destruction) and I was comparing how many times both speak of wisdom and folly (or imply it at least) and I counted 8 munitioning's in Psalm 1 and in Proverbs almost every verse has something to say, in a comparative way about wisdom versus folly. Obviously, this is such an important concept and I realize that almost every day when my beloved littlest brother does something silly!

Well, lunch awaits so I must be off. God bless your week!

Happy Mothers' Day!

Happy Mothers' Day to all you Mothers and soon-to-be Mothers!!!

Proverbs 31:10-31.

To my Mother:

Thank you for being such a godly example to me and showing how a godly Mother should be. You are such an inspiration to me! I am greatful for your friendship and righteous examples.

I love you,

Johanna

Another quote~

"Opportunity is missed by most because it is
dressed in overalls and looks like work." ~ Thomas Alva Edison

You are welcome to leave your thoughts about this qoute!

~Johanna

A quote ~

Here is a really good quote:

"He that is good for making excuses is seldom
good for anything else."
-Benjamin Franklin

Patience: Lessons from a 6-year old

Jaden is very smart, He has insight into life and is opinionated about many things, far beyond any 6 year-old I know.

Since he has been surrounded by older people all of his life, his vocabulary matured much quicker than children who are around other children of similar age most of the time.

He frequently asks questions that surprise us as to their depth and content, sometimes they leave us stammering as to know how to respond.

Anyway...

Since he was about 5 1/2, he has been asking about learning to read books. For several reasons, I was unable to begin our reading and phonics program with him until Monday of this week.

The first lesson was, to say the least, a lesson in patience. He wiggled this way and that, he got off the couch, he slouched, he looked off into space instead of at the page where the answers were! He got quite noisy at different points and acted like he had ants in his pants. After a rough start, I asked the Lord to help me to be patient and loving in my teaching... and it worked! Jaden strove hard to sit quietly from then on, and listened intently, and came away having successfully learned:

Dan has an ax. Dad has wax. Sam has ham. And several other short sentences.

He thought that the Dad has wax sentence was funny (a family joke) and each time we would read it, he would break out laughing.

He is learning quickly, and I am enjoying this experience. I was too young to assist in teaching Phoebe or Johanna, and I learned to read alongside Caleb, so this has been a totally new thing for me. I am so blessed to have younger siblings, through them I am learning so much that I didn't know before.

Life is a school, you just have to be willing to be taught.