summer devotional study

this summer i am participating in such a neat bible study and book study. it started last week and i have already learned so much and been challenged by what God is teaching me. the bible study is only a verse or two every day. i was a little concerned that this would be enough but it really is and makes me think a bit deeper about the verses. i fond the study on a blog i frequently read http://womenlivingwell-courtney.blogspot.com/. it is linked up to another site, www.goodmorninggirls.org. the study is focusing on motherhood, raising a family, and building the home. perfect for me in my life right now! we follow a simple plan to study the verses called s.o.a.p (scripture, observations, applications, prayer).

this is what i learned this week:

•  Christ must be central in building the home/family Ps. 127:1
•  I must be totally dependent on God in all areas of my life, my childrens' lives, and my husband's life Jn. 15:4-5
•  Christ must be first in my life. seek Him first, he will meet all my needs (needs, not wants!) Matt 6:33
• timothy's mother and grandmother had a strong relationship with the Lord. they faithfully taught timothy and passed their faith to him 2 tim. 1:5
• as parents, our commands and laws should be the commands and laws of Christ. obeying the things our parents have taught us keeps us from evil.  prov. 6:20-23

some applications:

• do devotions and pray with my children
•  use verses to back up my discipline as well as when i'm praising them for doing the right thing
•  seek Christ even in the little things
•  be in the Word daily to continue learning about the fruit i should be producing in my life
• strive to put  Christ first: read the bible daily, pray fervently, memorize scripture, seek to serve others over self
• bring my children up to have faith as timothy did: keep my walk in check (be an example), teach them the things of Christ, pray fervently for them and their future families
• practice what i preach

tomorrow starts a new week of scriptures and the introduction to the book study. i will be reading the book the ministry of motherhood by sally clarkson. i'm excited to see what God has in store for me to learn through these scriptures and this  book.

i got hooded!

on saturday i finally graduated with my masters degree! i received the master of science, master teacher. it was a long time coming. i started the program back in 2007 while teaching and coaching and finished with two small children and one on the way. i'm glad to be done and don't plan on taking any more classes, ever! here's the highlights of the day!

walking in. i'm sandwiched between the two tall guys!

waiting in line to be hooded.

receiving my diploma (ok, it's really, hey you attended commencement!) and my stinkin' hat would not stay on. it was so windy!

shaking some lady's hand.

the fam.

molly couldn't wait to get home and try everything on!

today

it's been awhile...so here's an update about today.

it was quite an enjoyable day. matt left early to play golf before work so we invited our friends over to play. we had fun playing and then went to eat at a local chinese restaurant. we've gone before together and get a quite a laugh. 3 moms, 6 kids, all 3 and under! we joked with the owner today that he'll need to get us a bigger table because we're all pregnant and will soon be bringing in 9 kids! the molly and her friends are so cute when they eat together. they make faces at each other and giggle and laugh the whole time. precious memories!

molly and sophie played really well on their own today and i let them. i guess i should have played with them a bit more, but they were having fun and i was enjoying the down time. i sat. it was nice.

during sophie's nap, molly and i made two cards. she loves to be crafty and gets excited to use my stuff and help. after naptime, i finished up a sewing project i should have finished two months ago and i must say i'm a bit rusty in the sewing department. i made too many mistakes.

this evening we took a walk and tested out what it will be like when baby girl #3 gets here. molly rode her bike the mile around our subdivision while i pushed sophie. i think i may have to buy a double jogging stroller...molly's fast! thank goodness she's scared to ride down hills and breaks every five seconds or i'd be in a dead sprint to keep up!

after our walk we went to the park around the corner to play. sophie generally goes down this slide with molly but tonight i let her go down by herself. she loved it! now, it's really high so i go up with her to make sure she doesn't fall down the stairs and molly stays at the bottom to catch her. and after 4 trips up, her little legs get tired but she's determined to keep going!

we came home, picked up toys, vacuumed, and ate cheese sticks and the girls went to bed. i

needed a day like today...it was nice!