expectations

31 days of training my kids: Fit to Burst giveaway

~ Christie ~ 29 Comments
Fit to Burst by Rachel Jankovic
Fit to Burst by Rachel Jankovic

I’ve already mentioned in this series that one of my favorite blogs is Femina Girls, and that one of my favorite books is Loving the Little Years.

Well, they’ve been featuring all these giveaways over at their blog for the new book by Rachel Jankovic, Fit to Burst… but, I haven’t won.

So I just decided to buy the crazy thing! And I’m so glad I did!

It just came yesterday; I’m only through the third chapter. All that to say, I can’t give you an official review, but I can tell you that it is fantastic!

She describes her book as a “collection of ‘field notes’ from a mom seeking to honor the Lord in her daily life. “I write about what I know, and what I know is the challenges, the joys, and the work involved in raising little people.”

I’ll try to pick favorite takeaways from the chapters so far.

“The Paradox Perspective”

Most of us grew up in a culture that despises this kind of thinking {a life of Christ-like sacrifice} and it may not come naturally to us. But we need to have the language of Scripture define our way of thinking, and not truisms from the world. 

Have you taken on the form of a servant? … This is how we imitate Christ: We esteem others greater than ourselves, and that turns into action. You will be humbled. You will have opportunities to humble yourself further. Choose to do so gladly, not resentfully. 

“The Unbaked Biscuit”

{on mommy guilt} I thought of biscuits. I would like to be a person who makes biscuits for my hungry children. I do not feel like making biscuits right now. I will make biscuits another time. I will have time when I am not tired and feeling fat. The kids won’t know. I wish I had made biscuits. I could have made biscuits. I’m such a bad mom who doesn’t make biscuits. I am not as good as all the moms who are everywhere in this stupid world making biscuits. People who talk about making biscuits are self-righteous. I hate biscuits. They make me feel guilty. Jesus loves me! Biscuits or not! Jesus doesn’t care that I didn’t make biscuits! Home free! Biscuit-free! 

{what she writes after that is even better}

Fruit is intimately connected with forgiveness. When we are forgiven, we do not gallop out into a life of ambiguity and indifference. We do not become great negotiators of whether or not it matters that we aren’t doing things. We become filled with gratitude, love, joy, and peace. And then, having a firm foundation of another’s righteousness, we are free to go out and do. Jesus does not care even the tiniest bit what you do for your salvation, because there is nothing you can do for it. But he cares very much what you do with it. 

“The Mean Boss”

…I was telling him about my expectations. And apparently my expectations were not aware of what my life is actually like. … My expectations were a seriously mean boss.

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The book is short and the chapters even shorter. I’m pretty sure every one could be read in ten minutes or less. (however, when I read Loving the Little Years, I liked to read a chapter and then think about it for a few days before moving on) 

Want some super fun, favorite Friday news? I ordered two books!! Yes, look back at the picture (by the way, if you follow on facebook you would know why the books were in a pile of *clean* laundry). = )

Want to win Fit to Burst? Here’s how.

Leave a comment here.

Leave a comment on facebook.

Share the giveaway on facebook.

Follow the blog on facebook.

Follow the blog by email here.

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There, that looks like some sad kind of modern poetry. But I’ve seen one too many rafflecopters lately, and this is my boycott! = )

I will count every entry, so if you use more than one method you will have more chances to win. If you comment here or on facebook, let me know if you shared, liked, pinned or other such qualifying nonsense.

The giveaway will end at 11:59 pm on October 31, and the winner will be announced soon after!

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And now, I have to go… so I can keep reading!

and may you be more fortunate in your giveaway endeavors than I have been in mine = )

31 days of training my kids: expectations and birthdays

~ Christie ~ 5 Comments

imageMy sweet little Mckayla is turning two tomorrow. (today for those of you reading)

And boy did she ever finish off her year with a bang. = / But we won’t go into that.

So tonight I’m thinking about birthdays. What I want them to be, and what they end up being.

I love looking at pinterest and birthday celebrations just look so fun to me. But… I know that I can’t really do them. As much as I wish I was that creative, organized mom who could pull off an amazing event for her child and be happy and cheerful and actually spend time with said child on that special day, I’m just not. Lest you think I’m despairing, at some point I will hopefully get better. Thankfully for me, my kids are at the age right now where they do not care at all and whatever we do, they love.

I have one major problem when it comes to birthdays: preparation.

There are always tons of plans in my head, but somehow, it’s always the night before and I’m thinking, “Why? Again?!”

So, I have developed a few criteria for birthdays in our house that are well within the realm of something I can do.

1. Do something fun that they will really enjoy that day. I used to try to think of something that would be really cool, like the coolest thing of the whole year; but sadly, toddlers have no clue what a year is. Happily, this makes picking something fun for them to do a whole lot easier.

2. Make a special cake or dessert that they will enjoy. Again, my definition of special is probably a lot lower than most. However, it’s about pleasing my kids, not my unrealistic expectations. And they get very excited for cake!

3. Decorate in a way that the girlies will feel like something is special. We usually don’t do parties, but I still want the day itself to feel festive.

4. Take pictures to remember the day. This is a recent one. It is out of my comfort zone; so see, there’s improvement. = ) See Gracie’s pictures here.

Now with all that said, here are my desires/plans for Mickey J’s special day tomorrow.

1. Go play at the park. Take buckets and shovels and play in the sand. (we don’t normally do this) Be okay with getting all dirty and sandy.

2. Eat a Monkey Cake! (lovingly made by her sisters and Nana) There is no better choice than a monkey for Mckayla this year. = )

3. Decorations have been foregone, but homeschooling has been postponed. No school on birthdays! It’s a new rule. = )

4. Take pictures. I already have her outfit picked out. It’s her red fuzzy hoodie with a pink Minnie Mouse.  I want to remember when I look back at the pictures how much she loved that “Ginnie Mouse!”

And yes, that’s about it. More than anything, I want to look at her, and listen to her, and tickle her, and enjoy seeing how much she is loved by every person in this family.

Do I hope I do better next year? Absolutely. I’m already thinking about sweet Hopey’s birthday. Considering my preparation problem, I should probably start gift shopping for her day after tomorrow. = )

But this is Mckayla’s day and I don’t want to waste it wishing for things that aren’t.

So tell me (and this isn’t just one of those questions your supposed to ask at the end) how do you get ready for birthdays? It escapes me!