There's a lot of religion in the world today, but I believe that when a home has real religion in it the evidence will show up in the children. There's nothing more precious than being able to look at your children and see the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperence -Galations 5:22-23) in them.

As a parent working hard to develop good character in the children, it's easy to focus on the fruits we hope to see and forget what produces the fruit. We can wear ourselves out trying to teach love and all the rest and forget that Jesus is the seed that brings forth all of those fruits. If we keep "planting" Jesus in our home, He will grow and the fruit will show show up after a while.

For let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Galations 6:9

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I read an interview with Dan Brown, author of The Divinci Code, in the paper yesterday. Who do you think turned him into the religious skeptic the book seems to portray? ...a bad friend, aetheistic teachers, unbelieving parents? Wrong! It was his minister.

According to Dan Brown, at a very crucial time in his life he went to school and heard the Big Bang Theory. Being a very religious kid, he also went to church and heard that God created the heaven and earth. So what was the answer? He was struggling to fit all of the pieces of the puzzle of religion and science together in his own mind. When he asked the question, his minister's response was that nice boys don't ask that question. And guess what? The science teacher was only too happy to explain his theory in a way that made sense to his young mind.

The truth is that kids have questions. The questions are big. At some point every human has to come to grips with how to interpret the world around them. The even scarier truth is that it's not always the person with the right answers who takes the time to answer those tough questions. When we avoid them, they find the answers somewhere. It might be in a book, from a friend, off a movie, or even a teacher at school. But the fact is that we won't have the opportunity to help them understand and leave them vulnerable to very slanted or even perverted viewpoints.

We must never forget that our children will get an answer to their questions! It's just a matter of who or what is providing those answers.

I have a friend who has two daughters. Over the years I've tried to tell her that raising a son is different than raising a daughter. Usually these "lectures" come right after a comment about a mother being soft on her "little boy." Whenever I tell her that parenting a little boy is definitely different she rolls her eyes at me. "Parenting is parenting!" she says and shrugs her shoulders.

But the truth of the matter is that boys are different than little girls. And I know, cuz I haz one!

If you ask a daughter to pick up laundry off the bedroom floor and put it in the laundry basket the process goes something like this....
Step 1 Use hand to grab laundry item.
Step 2 Raise arm and walk to laundry hamper (note two processes at one time!)
Step 3 Release laundry item into basket.

If you ask a little boy to pick up laundry it's a much more intricate process...
Step 1 Use spacial reference to determine the path the laundry will take to the hamper
Step 2 Find a blanket
Step 3 Spread the blanket on the floor
Step 4 Put imagination into gear
Step 5 Allow arm to become a crane
Step 6 Operate crane to put laundry onto the blanket
Step 7 Look for rope to tie blanket shut
Step 8 Tie blanket shut around laundry
Step 9 Look for additional rope
Step 10 Rig a pulley system to hoist laundry
Step 11 Hoist laundry into air
Step 12 Swing laundry to basket (many attempts may be necessary to get the arc just right)
Step 13 Attempt to untie knot on laundry bag
Step 14 Holler for Mom
Step 15 Watch Mom simply slide the rope off the edge of blanket before turning red and beginning the "you're just now picking up the laundry after I told you two hours ago" lecture.

Never underestimate the creative powers of a boy. This morning I discovered several biscuits missing. Besides knowing that my daughter is out of town, I'm sure it was my son who ate them. I found the cutting board, two different kinds of knives and the meat cleaver... all covered with biscuit crumbs. Don't ask! The meat cleaver has been making regular journeys from the drawer since he discovered it. I'm just not sure why you'd need it for cucumbers, watermelon, biscuits, or strawberries.

I was given a precious gift today. A dear friend and former collegue stopped by and we began to chit chat about old times. During the conversation she told me that a comment I made when her oldest child was 8 or 9 totally impacted her parenting techniqes. It's wonderful to know that I was able to bless her relationship with her three children (one of whom was called home one wintery day three years ago.)

The comment....

Now that summer vacation is here, I suspect that the average blood pressure for Mom's across the country is seeing an increase. Dirty little feet are tracking floors, bedroom clutter is mounting, and rules are being broken at alarming rates. Don't dispair! You are not alone.

Here are some of my tried and true suggestions for getting the youngsters in hand without popping a blood vessel or stripping your vocal cords.

1. Outline your expectations in a written format

2. Specifically list rewards and punishment for the behaviors you are hoping to inspire or discourage.

3. Orally address the issues with each individual child and be sure they understand your expectations and understant the rewards and consequences.

4. When a rule is broken: Ask the child which rule he/she broke, what the consequences are, and silently follow through. Follow the same procedure when a rule or chore has been carried out to your expectations and a reward is in order.

Why? This helps the child to understand that reward and punishment is in his/her hands. It's earned, not something you are handing down at random or when you've "had enough!"

In other words, get your hand of the horn and onto the steering wheel and you'll get much better results.

Here's to a blessed and enjoyable summer to you and yours!

When you've got a child who thinks outside the box, Christmas shopping can take on a different kind of challenge. You have to look for "safe" gifts.... the kind that can't be used for an unexpected scientific experiment or worse! lol

This year, I really thought I had managed to get my son a gift that would encourage his amazingly curious 10-year-old mind and keep all of us safe. I found a wonderful science kit that explored experiments with the weather. Cool :)

What I never dreamed was that the real scientific experiment of the season would have nothing to do with the weather. You see, I bought Andrew an IPod and knowing the ear buds would never stay in his ears, I also bought him a set of those kind that you stick over the outside of your ears. They worked wonderfully.

So what happened to the original set? It went something like this....

"Hey Mom, look. I've plugged my ear buds into my CD player so they could get some real volume. Now watch!"

Cringing for his eardrums, I was afraid to look. But that's not what he had in mind! This child who carries my DNA crammed the ear buds up his nostrils (these are about the diameter of marbles btw) and began flapping his mouth open and shut.

What appeared to me to be an imitation of a monkey having a seizures was my son attempting to channel sound up through his nasal passage, down his throat and out his mouth. The flapping mouth was his volume control!

Sigh.... What a kid!!!!

I'm just praying we all survive long enough to see him become the world's next Thomas Edison or Bill Gates.