Wisdom

Have you ever felt that parental compulsion to make the RIGHT decision?!? Probably if you are a parent, you feel it every day and so you know exactly what I am talking about. We are feeling the bumps in the road with our oldest and I refuse to chalk it up to prepubescent-ness or because he is in middle school now, or because *they just act that way* stage. I REFUSE!

Well, as I was trying to process this with my wonderful Henry...God so used him to speak to my heart. "We are called to lay a foundation right now...that is it!"

Can you hear my sigh? And NOT that, by any stretch of the imagination is that EASY, but...possible and RIGHT! He does NOT have to get every BSF lesson, he does NOT need to understand every memory verse, he does NOT need to *get* every sermon on Sunday, etc, etc, etc. BUT, it is adding up, it is building, it is going to give him his foundation.

Tedd Tripp (which I will expand on soon in a post) said at a conference, that we tend to believe that raising children is a sprint, when really it is a MARATHON. Which happens to be speaking my language, I am starting to get the difference.

Our children don't *get* everything we tell them every time. Imagine God expecting that from us! (God forgive me!) But it DOES build that foundation from them. Our children WILL have a place to draw from in the desert and dry times. They will know God when they leave here.

Foundation building...mother guilt cannot be found today in foundation building. Thank you Henry!

May. 16, 2008
Happy Birthday, (Steve A. Steitz) Babe!
Things that I LOVE about my man!
1. He is teachable.
2. He loves his Creator.
3. He loves his family.
4. He takes his job as a provider seriously.
5. He is punctual.
6. He is a handyman.
7. He is clean (but still a messy...ahem...sorry).
8. He is thoughtful.
9. He likes to wrestle with his kids.
10. He does my errands for me.
11. He picks up the household slack without being asked to.
12. He is courageous.
13. He takes Sunday mornings very seriously.
14. He has GREAT boundaries.
15. He looks good in a suit.
16. Ok, he kinda looks good bald .
17. He is taking up breadmaking.
18. Better yet, he is taking up YOGA!
19. He is a good researcher.
20. He has an awesome work ethic.
21. He cannot be manipulated (I like this now...).
22. He has TONS of common sense.
23. He is a beer snob.
24. He has a soft heart.
25. He supports me and my endeavors.
26. He values character.
27. He is pretty funny.
28. He SEEKS God.
29. He automatically sees us as a team.
30. He is God's gift to ME.
31. God is starting to renew his missions desire, and Steve is letting him!!
32. He is loyal.
33. He is interested in the character of his children.
34. He is good at doing favors.
35. He loves to serve his church.
36. He is not intimidated easily.
37. He knows when to draw the line in the sand.
38. He doesn't let me mow the lawn .
39. He started cleaning bathrooms when I was pregnant and hasn't stopped!
40. He is good at making our huge bed.
41. He is good at pushing people to do better.
42. He tricked me into thinking he was layed back before we were married (only knew him for six months...)
43. He respects my need to sometimes be alone.
44. He's got good (ahem...expensive) taste in clothing.
45. He brushes his teeth for the FULL two recommended minutes at least three times a day.
46. He is a rule keeper.
47. He is a good neighbor.
48. He is really good at poneytails.
49. He was good at taking care of his Grandma.
50. His gift is serving.
51. He washed my kitchen and dining room floors the day before his birthday.
52. He is open to adoption.
53. He likes to laugh.
54. He loves to worship.
55. He likes politics.
56. He wants the best for our family.
57. He loves to do what is RIGHT.
58. He is so much like my mom personality wise, that sometimes we joke that I married my mother;)
59. He is *man* enough to let me decorate our room as flowery as I would like it.
60. He is starting to eat vegetables!
61. Did I mention that he bakes bread for our family?!?
62. He has prayed about our relationship from the VERY beginning.
63. He secretly wants to be Amish.
64. He took a huge risk in starting his own business.
65. He is black and white.
66. He bought a wheatgrass puree-er and knows (because he researched it) the benefits of it.
67. All kids love him as their soccer coach.
68. He loves ME!