91% of Parents Ignore This Warning

A Daddy Draft

(For those of you intrigued with the title of this post, please understand that 87% of all statistics are made up, and such is the case with my title.)

Time and time again people look at my kids and tell me, "They grow up so fast!" I think the reason people say that may be because they realized it too late. It's almost like a warning to parents everywhere saying,
"Pay attention!"
"You're kids will be gone before you realize it!" 
"Don't waste a moment!"
"Be intentional with the time you have with them!"

Intentional...how can you be intentional as a parent? How can you be intentional when you have four little ones wreaking havoc on the house and wearing your pregnant wife down to exhaustion and all you want is to get them to bed so you can have a moment of peace and quiet? Lindsay and I have fought very hard to be intentional with our kids, always asking, "Why and How?" we do what we do. It was out of one of these many conversations that God gave me a fun idea that helps us be intentional at twenty different times in our kids lives.

"Daddy, my tooth is loose!" my daughter joyfully announced to me one day. My first thought was, "Are we going to talk about the tooth fairy in our family?" While I would say there's nothing wrong with pretending there's a tooth fairy, we decided in our family we are going to do something different.

When our kids lose a tooth, it is a reminder from Jesus that I need to be intentional with my kids. When one of my kids loses a tooth, I set aside time to sit down and talk to them about how our spiritual life is similar to our teeth. You see, we will lose all twenty of our baby teeth to make room for our new grown up teeth. In the same way, we are commanded in scripture to put off our sinful nature and put on our new nature (Col. 3:5-15). So, when Marie lost her first tooth, we sat down and talked about kindness and I gave her a pair of work gloves to remind her to be kind to others and serve them. I've also talked to her about love, joy, peace, and patience as she continues to lose teeth.

Jack just lost his first two teeth, almost within the same twenty-four hour period. For his first "Tooth Ceremony" I put all the kids to bed, made a fire outside, made milkshakes for him and me, and then went and got him out of bed to sit around the fire and chat. I spoke to him about being a leader and being a warrior. Jack was on cloud nine as he got to stay up late and have a milkshake when none of his other brothers or sister were allowed to. It was such a powerful moment to hear him take to heart the principles I was teaching him as I asked him to reiterate what I was talking to him about to see how much he was understanding. One of my key messages to him was that good leaders are not to be selfish, but to consider others above themselves (Phil. 2:3-8). When I went to put him back to bed that night, his younger brother had crawled into Jack's bed and was sleeping on Jack's pillow and had Jack's blanket. I told Jack just to sleep in his brother's bed and he said, "But I want my pillow and blanket." To which I responded, "Good leaders give up what they want so that others can have what they need."

With pride in his eyes Jack simply said, "Ok" and crawled into his brothers bed. It was an amazing time of speaking truth into Jack's life and being intentional with him.

"They grow up so fast!" I've never doubted this statement, but I feel an urgency in my soul to be intentional with my kids. I know my time with them is slipping away and I don't want to miss those important moments to speak truth into their lives. 

Parents, heed this warning: don't allow business to steal away these precious moments of intentionality with your kids. Have a plan, because without one you cannot be intentional. Every time you hear someone say, "They grow up so fast!" may it be an alarm ringing in your soul that forces you to ask yourself, "How have I been intentional with my kids lately?" Children are a blessing from the Lord; may we all cherish that blessing and not waste it. 

mlkh

That title is no typo.

"mlkh" is the Hebrew word for "work."

Work is really important in our family.

Derek's motto is "work first, play later." I'll be honest, I'm not real good at that. I'm especially not good at making the kids live by that. But I'm working on it!

Jack has said for the last couple of years that he wants to be a "worker" when he grows up, just like his daddy. It's interesting given the fact that Jack is... well... not the worker in the family. He can always find something to distract himself with when he's supposed to be working. Doodling snails on his math pages. Picking his nails. Observing and crushing every bug he comes in contact with in the garden. Staring at the wall has been more entertaining for him than doing his schoolwork! "Worker" is not how I would describe him. But because he wants to be one, we keep pushing him, encouraging him, reminding him of his dream of being like daddy.

I know he'll get there. Because work is actually a blessing. As much as we would like to believe it, it is NOT a result of Adam's sin. It is a purpose to our existence.

The Lord God placed man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. Genesis 2:15

 This is why I love gardening so much. It's the original work. It brings me back to the basics. It connects me with my Creator in a way I don't experience otherwise. And it's an excellent way to challenge my kids to do hard work, wait patiently, and reap delicious rewards.

But it's not just gardening that I'm referring to. It is whatever work God has called you to.

"Work was never designed to be a curse. It was designed to be an invitation by God to participate in His creative nature." -Hugh Johnson (yup, my dad!)

((Trust me, I believe in rest! But that's a whole different post.))

 Now I'm off to become even more connected to my Creator by cleaning the bathroom........




*THANK YOU to my Dadda from whom most of the above wisdom came from. Love you!

Prayers for My Boys: His Marriage {+ Giveaway!}

A couple of years ago a friend posted on facebook about how she doesn't pray for an easy, happy life for her kids. Instead, she prays that they will be dangerous for the Lord, and that He would use them for amazing things for His glory. Even if it's hard.

I was immediately convicted because I was definitely the type to pray for a happy, blessed life for my kids. But I was missing the point. It's not about being "happy," but about finding true joy in following the true Lover of their souls. So I began praying slightly more boldly.

Just days before Amanda was murdered, Derek and I were discussing trials. The idea of them scares me literally more than anything else! At any moment tragedy can strike. I confessed to Derek that I had been praying that God would use the kids in mighty ways but protect them from horrible tragedies. Tragedies like the one that occurred a few days later.

In the last month something totally unnatural has happened.

While the idea of trials and tragedies still scares me just as much as before, I see them in a completely different light. I see a family, who's wife/mom/daughter/sister's life has been cruelly snuffed out from this earth, be a bright, shining beacon in the midst of the darkest time of their lives. I see God work miracles. I see beauty.

I would never ever ever ever wish such a horrifying experience on even my worst enemy, let alone my babies. But the beauty… I wish that so much for my babes.

My blogging plan for November changed in the middle of the month when pure evil attempted to wreak havoc on God's family. But through watching Davey (Amanda's husband) from afar, I was led to pray for Jack and his future spouse in a way I had never done before: with passion. with hope. with excitement. with determination. without fear.

His Marriage

Lord, I know You have a helper, support, perfect match for my Shnook. I pray that while he runs full speed toward You, Jack will find her running beside him. Protect his sensitive heart as he navigates this cruel, ugly, impure world. Give Jack the strength through Your Spirit to flee sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18). Give him eyes to see the way out that You always provide (1 Corinthians 10:13), and the power to take captive every thought and make it obedient to You (1 Corinthians 10:5). So when he meets his wife, he will be able to love her as you love us (Ephesians 5).May he be a good steward of his wife's love, and may he always show her honor and grace (1 Peter 3:7). Please, Lord, help them to love You even more than they love each other. May they change the world- together.

Most of this focused praying for my babes happens in my war room. If you have not seen the film War Room yet, it is a must-see! The movie will be available on December 22, but Family Christian not only has it on sale but is also doing an exclusive pre-buy where you get a free prayer journal along with it! And if you pre-buy it, you can pick it up in store in time for Christmas. So go order it HERE right now! Then come on back here to enter for a $25 gift card to Family Christian! Woot!

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Giveaway ends Friday at midnight!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Jack Edward!

August 2012

Dear Jackman,

Your dimples get me every time. I love that you look just like your dad.

October 2012

November 2012

At 3 you are fully potty-trained. (You did that mostly on your own). You love to climb, swing, ride bikes, and jump on the trampoline. I love your current version of the alphabet...

A B C F G H L M N O 17 18 next time sing with me.

November 2012

You are also passionate about balls, ovals, and the color blue.

December 2012

Your vocabulary is growing by the day and you actually have a knack for colors. You've started singing like your sister... whatever words you think of to whatever tune you feel like. And, just like your dad, you love to hum!

February 2013

Your Jacobs stubbornness and fierce determination to be independent has added a few spankings to your life, but your sensitive heart makes spanking incredibly difficult and something your Dad and I both do our best to avoid!

March 2013

March 2013

I've always prayed that God would protect your sensitive heart. I am still learning how to handle that "duper" sensitivity! But I love it and love you more than life.

April 2013

April 2013

I will always continue to pray for you every single night as your beautiful blues rest and you breath heavily through your pug nose and perfect little mouth. I pray for your health and protection, but most importantly for your adoption into the family of Christ followed closely by a life passionately lived for the Lord.

May 2013

May 2013

Never stop giving "big hugs" and air kisses.

May 2013 

May 2013

I love you so very much, Sweet Schnook.

June 30, 2013

July 1, 2013

Hearts, hearts, everywhere!

Valentine's Day never meant a whole lot to me. But now that I have kids and am homeschooling, I can't get enough of it! So if you're like me and trying to stuff in as many hearts as possible before the big day (tomorrow for those who weren't sure!), here's some ideas.

Craft:

Paper heart necklaces.

Perfect for today or tomorrow because you probably have all the supplies that you need already. Excellent way to work on fine motor skills and sorting/patterns. Find the directions HERE.

((Refer to THIS post to find a quick list of other Valentine's crafts))

Verse:

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:11

If you go to my church (First Baptist of Elkhart), your kid is either learning or has learned this verse. Set the verse to the tune of Row Row Row Your Boat and he/she will have it down in no time! Make sure to spend some time talking to your babies about how much you love them, and how God loves them even more!

School:

Just today I found these two pins on Pinterest...

Source: moneysavingmom.com via Rachael on Pinterest

Source: moneysavingmom.com via Rachael on Pinterest

(Thanks, Rachel!)

Of course I immediately printed out a handful of must-do activities and put the kids to work. I saved some for tomorrow.

Most of this stuff was a little easy for Marie but she still enjoyed the review. It was perfect for Jack. I'm so proud of these babies!!

Read:

This is Derek and my all-time favorite book. The first time we read it, we were just dating and we were in a library in New York City. We sat down against some book shelves and read it aloud.

One of those memories I hope never fades.

We've been reading this to our babies since Marie was still in the womb.

Bake:

Does puppy chow count as baking? I don't care. This picture has been taunting me for days. Unfortunately (read: fortunately), I don't have all I need to make this so we won't be making this. But I had to share so someone out there can enjoy this whilst I only dream.

Source: lifeloveandsugar.com via Derek Lindsay on Pinterest

There, I just planned your Valentine's Day with your kids. You're welcome.

Happy Valentine's Day!

My God is so BIG!

We finally have our mac back! It was our own fault that it had to go to the mac doc but thankfully we paid nothing and we got lots of help from the best little brothers a girl could ask for!

((I hope Marie's little brothers are just as amazing!))

So to get back into the blogging world (I have plenty to say!) I'm gonna share this quick thought that popped in my head this morning in light of the recent tragedy and some personal financial frustrations...

I sang this song all growing up and now I enjoy listening to my big kids singing it. Unfortunately, at 28 years old I'm finally beginning to truly believe the words. My prayer is that it doesn't take nearly that long for my babies to grasp and cherish this truth...

"My God is so BIG! So strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do. My God is so BIG! So strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do. The mountains are His. The valleys are His. The stars are His handwork, too. My God is so BIG! So strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do."

(I guess Marie wanted to do jumping jacks instead of the motions!)

This is the most beautiful and for so many the most painful time of year. Take some time to treasure the fact that our God, who sent His Son for us, is SO BIG! And make sure to tell people about it!

30 Days of Thanksgiving {Day 8}

Thank You, God, for my job.

This is the life.

Letter Lacing

Found this on one of my favorite blogs...

Source: icanteachmychild.com via Derek Lindsay on Pinterest

You can print the little cards for free if you follow the link!

My kids are loving this so I had to pass it along. I love the idea of using pipe cleaners because even with the little holes, Jack has had no problem stringing them on.

I found these letter beads in color which adds the possibility of color sorting which Jack did without any instruction! I was so excited to find he had put three green beads on one end of the pipe cleaner and three yellow beads on the other end. That kid blows me away regularly.

Marie did amazing with matching up the letters, and having the pictures on the little cards helped her feel like she was really reading. This is a super cheap and fun school or busy bag activity that both my 4 yr old and 2 yr old loved!

Family of 5

We love being a family of 5. I mentioned this on facebook, but I felt like elaborating mostly for my own benefit :)

When our first squishy girl made her appearance... wow, there's nothing like becoming a parent for the very first time. You experience emotions that only parents have the blessing of experiencing. That saying becomes overwhelmingly true...

Source: 3.bp.blogspot.com via Derek Lindsay on Pinterest

Our whole world changed drastically and beautifully when this baby girl entered it.

Then came my little man. I could barely see him, I was crying so hard. Love at very first sight. There is something so special between a momma and her boy.

Now we have Tiny Baby Kemp. To preface this... while I was pregnant, I was struggling a little with messing up our "perfect" little family. Why did we feel the need for more kids when we already had our beautiful girl and handsome little man?

Enter this little mister and suddenly we all knew that this family would never be complete without him.

Each new baby brings on a new, intense, overwhelming, beautiful emotion that I'm totally unprepared for. It's amazing. I don't think this family is "complete" yet but for now it is perfect.

'Night 'night time.

 First of all, I highly recommend Biblically based parenting classes/seminars/etc. Of course you need to think through everything you're taught, but there are people out there that actually know stuff. I've learned a lot from godly moms and dads over the last 4 years. One tip I very recently learned just proved accurate tonight!

Of course you know we've recently become a family of 5. This along with having a cold and a couple run-ins with mastitis have caused my poor big kids to feel neglected. When kids feel neglected, they tend to act out. The tip was to spend quality time with the kids before bed time. We usually do the reading, singing, praying thing before bed. But it wasn't cutting it. So the past few nights we tried to be more focused. We read to them together, sing several songs, and have each of them "thank Jesus." Lots of lovin's and kisses later and sweet silence! It's not a ton more than what we were doing, but they can tell that we are focused on them, not just going through routine, and they love it.

I feel like I'm constantly learning this, but it's so important to remember... when the kiddos start acting out, especially in unusual ways, dropping everything to focus on them even just for a few minutes, makes all the difference!

The babies are so much more important than the dishes.

Or "me time."

Note to self.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Jack Edward

Dear Little Man,

2 years ago today you entered our world, improving it by leaps and bounds. It's so fascinating seeing how different you are from your sister and yet just as amazingly wonderful!

 

Your vocabulary is amazing, and your athletic skills are undeniable. You were once my perfectly obedient boy, but over the past few months you've become incredibly independent which has gotten you into a little trouble! In spite of that, I already see how you are going to have a sensitive heart to the Lord's leading.

You never tire of giving great big hugs and that melts this momma's heart every time! You adore your dad and are happiest when we are all together as a family. That is what you have in common with mommy.  But otherwise you are just like your dad. Your laid back demeanor, athleticism, matter-of-fact-ness, love of sleep, quiet sociableness. I wouldn't have it any other way. I love it!

You also are such a big helper! You like to help mommy clean and do laundry. You didn't get that from mommy or daddy, but that is just fine with us! Don't ever change.

I pray for you every night, that the Spirit will draw you to Himself. I pray that you will spend your life glorifying the Father, growing in Him, and impacting the world. I have confidence that you will do just that by the grace of God.

Very soon you will be a big brother. It breaks a little bit of my heart thinking about you no longer being the baby. Sometimes I worry a little that you will feel left out. Please know, Sweet Schnook, that there is nothing in the whole entire world that could possible cause me to love you even a smidgen less. I learned that the moment I laid eyes on you at 7:57am on July 1, 2010. I learned that I could love your dad with my whole heart, your sister with my whole heart, and still have so much love for you that my heart burst with it. I still get teary thinking about that moment. And somehow I love you more each day.

Jack Edward, I pray you live up to your namesakes. Continue the legacy of God-fearing men in the Jacobs and Johnson families. Love God with all you are.

And don't forget to always love your momma, too :)



We love you so much, JackJack.

Happy 2nd Birthday.