Reading Jars (a way to re-use all the little toys cluttering your house and motivate reading!)

Here comes summer! I needed a way to motivate my 7 year old girls in their reading. They just were not all that willing to sit and read very often, and needed to practice. I got an idea when looking at all the little random things shoved in the corners of the schoolroom. 

Quickly I grabbed two mason jars from the cupboard, one wide mouth for little hands to reach in and the other regular mouth. Next I took a sharpie and wrote on the regular mouth jar, "Reading Jar!" with stars and happy faces, covering it with random stickers from the sticker drawer. Next, I scoured my house for little bits. You know the bits: games pieces without the game, pretty buttons, little shells, broken hair clips, a domino or two, beads,dice and more. I found enough to almost fill the wide mouth jar by looking in our junk drawer, schoolroom and corners of my kids bedrooms. Next I told them the rules. "Whenever you read a book to someone (even the dog!) or when someone reads to you (Mom, Dad, Grandma, brother etc. . .) you get to reach into the jar and pick out whatever you want to go into the reading jar. When the reading jar is all filled up there is going to be a big surprise!" 

I'm saving the Groupons I got for a local kiddie amusement park for that special day! To my surprise and delight they already filled up half their jar! We have been doing a lot of reading! They have fun reaching in and searching for their little choice for the jar. 

TWINS!

I love my girls! They are 3 years old now. Adorable, identical, vivacious, emotional, strong willed, creative, and curious.  They are a handful- or two handfuls, that often I feel like I am juggling. Let me give you a few examples from just one afternoon. This all happened after they woke up from their nap at 3pm.I felt lucky they took a nap at all. Especially since my boys were playing gaga-ball upstairs and it was shaking the whole house. When they did wake up I had already got dinner in the oven and was making my late lunch. They woke up grumpy and crying, but I got them happier with some protein in their bellies. A little while later I heard my boys screaming, "Mom, she has a glue bottle!" I turned to see C. running up the stairs and trapped by the upper gate hiding something behind her back. I pulled her hand out with much effort to find an open Elmer's glue bottle and her hands covered with glue. I am thankful I got to that in time! Just a few later I was helping C. in the bathroom and I came out to find I. with a open bottle of turmeric powder (bright orange) on the couch with it spilt all over her, the couch and on her face. I am so thankful for the microfiber, it didn't seem to stain too much. We had a break to read stories, and dance and sing a long to Hillsong Kids worship videos on YouTube. Then a tantrum over not getting to watch a show during the only phone call of the day, and fighting with the boys over the hammock, biting sister's foot when she wouldn't get down from the top of a ride on toy, C. unrolling a quarter of a roll of Toilet paper because she didn't want to have the small roll, she wanted the big one, and spitting grape juice from their popsicles on to the newly washed white dog (they were curious if the dog would turn purple, they love purple!) Don't get me wrong- they have such great hearts. Oh that curious, determined spirit is going to serve them so well later in life. Lord help me to get through it! Oh how I love them to pieces.
Deep breath, say my prayers, start a new day tomorrow!

New Name Love Name

A few Sundays ago our pastor spoke about how when we accept Christ, we wear His name. It's like we wear "Christ" on our chest. A few minutes later when I went into the nursery to pick up my girls, the Holy Spirit brought my eyes to the stickers stuck to their backs. Their new names were printed on them. Not their old ones that they were born with. Not the old life that they were born into with no father in poverty. No they have a daddy now that loves them so much he gave them his name to wear. The names we chose for them are blessing names, names that carry joy. Their birth names spoke of heaviness and grief.
What a picture of what Christ does for us when we accept Him. I get to wear His glorious, LOVE name.

What does it mean to live a prophetic life?

First of all it is anything but boring! Living a prophetic life means being open to adventure, realizing nothing is coincidence. Most of all it is being in a consistent state of expectation stemming from a life of prayer and trust in a personal creator. It is exciting! God warns me or should I say counsels, advises and alerts me of what is to come. He gives me little hints. I often wonder, was that God? It this really going to happen? But then when it does I am in awe. Our Creator is an Almighty One that is in the details. Little details add up to unmistakenly know:

God is here.

In the photo above I am meeting one of my two little twin girls in Ethiopia for the first time. Just a few years before I would have never have dreamed I would be doing this great adventure and being part of such a grand plan. My family's life being linked and sewn together with little ones in Africa needing desperate help.

Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think- according to the power that works in you- to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:20