26 days

This is the first morning I haven't got up and jogged this week. It's good to take a break. I don't think I will jog on Sundays. David called me on my way to church. I was late to church. But if I hadn't been running late, I would have been inside the church with my phone off when he called. So it all worked out perfectly.

I could her Brooke saying," just try bear" from the other room.. 

I wish I could say I got a lot done today, but I really didn't. It takes a lot just to keep up with what I should be doing at a minimum some days. My house is clean, and the day wasn't stressful; so all in all it was an okay day.

I am really excited about the new bible study I am doing with Debbie and Teresa. We just started, but I really like it so far. It is going to be a challenge, but I am really excited!

Wearing mommy's necklace 

Warning: I got on my soap box after this..... I didn't mean to go there, but I ended up there 
 I also started reading a new parenting book that is written by a pastor. So far I like it, but I haven't gotten through the 1st chapter yet, and I have a hunch that he is going to advocate spanking. I like being well rounded, and challenging my opinions; so I will give the book a chance by reading it. So far I like what he is saying about not parenting our of fear. It is so easy to be afraid of all the bad in our world that we become defensive as parents, and try to completely avoid everything possible. Or as Chip Ingram puts it, "We are easily guided by the land mines we want them to avoid rather than the character we want them to develop." He points out that when we do this, we are putting more emphasis on the negative aspects of life, and less on the positive. He also believes this makes our children dependent on us as parents for their survival, and that our job as Christian parents is to be teaching them to be dependent on God. Honestly, I can't say that I am not overwhelmed with the fear that horrible things can happen to my daughter. Naturally, I don't want anything bad to happen to her. I can't stand it when she gets hurt, or doesn't feel well. I believe I would be prone to be guided by fear, and I haven't ever looked at it like this before. All of which is why I like to read a variety of parenting books; there is always something new to learn. Even if I disagree with the book, I take away a stronger conviction in what I do believe in. Parenting my child is one of the most important jobs God can give me. In any given job, from complicated science to how to make a burger at restaurant, you are put through training and required to have a base knowledge of the field. So why is it that reading parenting and development books seems so outrageously unnecessary in our society. It's not that I think every parent needs to get a book to be a good parent. Every individual has a different learning style, so giving everyone a book wouldn't be a very good solution; I am aware of that. There are other alternatives, and people come into contact with them all the time. I believe that every parent should recognize that every child is different, and every child needs their own customized parenting style. There isn't a one size fits all, or we all would know about it by now, and there wouldn't be any troubled teens out there. There isn't a parenting style that makes parenting easy. So if we know parenting isn't going to always be a smooth road, why don't we equip ourselves as well as we can, and be ready for the bumps in the road.  I am not talking about the morals, and the belief systems we are trying to teach our children. I am talking about evaluating whether or not your child is receptive to whatever it is you are trying to teach him/her using the method you have chosen to teach him/her with.

I just have to stop now... David would have heard about this today if he had been home, so I thought I would leave it for him.... it's a win win really.. I got it out of my system, and he gets to choose how closely, if at all, he pays attention to it..