Tis The Season

Tis the Season, not for tinsel, but in the military world the season to PCS (Primary Change of Station).  This is not my favorite season, just to eliminate any confusion.  We have lived in our home for four years and I have loved every minute of it here at our current duty station.  I have told my husband I want this to be our forever home, I want to stay here, I would love for us to retire here and raise our family here - here is where I want to put down roots.  Being the military family that we are though, I have learned if you want to put down roots, they better be in a pot - the easier to move them.  

So here it is, regardless if it's what I want or not, tis the season to uproot and a time to weep, but in the end a time to embrace and build.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

"There is a time for everything, 

and a season for every activity

under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance, 

a time to scatter stones and a time 

to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace."

After talking about it, my husband and I have decided we will rent out our home instead of outright selling it so that when retirement comes we have the option to return "home", which makes this time of transition a little bit easier.  I love that I am not having to close a door instead we are crossing the threshold of another, while this one remains open to us - happy median.  So maybe this too can be a time to embrace the change of a new place and a new home with a new church family.

I must admit, it is strange renting this time, instead of selling like we did our last home.  I still have an interest in this home and by not letting go it's harder to "loan" it out.  Our property has been listed for three days and already we've had one showing and another tomorrow.  The first showing went well and we may be hearing back from them (which would be a beautiful blessing, prayers welcome) 

While showing these lovely people (really, they were great) asked if we would be willing to change paint colors in certain rooms, which if I were selling it no big deal ... but I like my kitchen yellow and my bedroom sky blue.  When I come home I want it to still be the cheery kitchen I love to cook in and the peaceful sky blue bedroom that makes me feel like I'm sleeping on clouds in the sky.  I know so childish, I will grow up and we will change the face of our walls by making them neutral beiges and blahs but here I am taking just a minute to mourn (attempt at being slightly funny - no real tears over this, just that knee jerk reaction that change inspires in most us - change does this to you too right?)

I am loathe to leave home (no this is not my hometown, but by all means this is home to me) because this is where my husband found Jesus and here is where his walk began.  We have a church home and family we love and enjoy being a part of, it has been one of the most wonderful blessings yet.  I think of this verse: 

1 Corinthians 7:20

"Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him" and

1 Corinthians 7:24

"Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to."

The reason I think of these verses is because this Bible believing blessed church is where his walk with the Lord began and leaving isn't the same as staying where you're called.  Granted it says nothing of physically staying put, just keeping your situation, which that we are.  

We were a military family then and we are now.  We also have faith and a family that has Christ as the cornerstone and that will continue to be the same.  We will also find a new church to love and a new church family to be a part of, I know that - God is good all the time, but it's still a little painful to leave. 

This is not even our first move and so just like always, I will focus forward, have faith and find new things to love about our new place because after all our littles are watching and taking their cue from me and because of that I am spreading joy and thoughts of new adventures and places to explore.  

What about you, how do you joyfully embrace change?  I am looking forward to hearing it, please share.

As always, God bless!

PRAYING FOR BOYS A BOOK BY BROOKE MCGLOTHLIN

“Raising boys brings one adventure after another, but we’re losing the beauty and importance of training up godly men. Our boys need faithful Christian parents now more than ever. We can choose to rejoin the war for the hearts of our sons…today.”

-Brooke McGlothlin, Author, “Praying for Boys for the Things They Need Most”

________________________________________________________________________________

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to review “Praying for Boys” by Brooke McGlothlin, in exchange for a fair and honest review I was given a copy of her book. The opinions expressed below however are entirely my own.

Praying for Boys is a book that talks about how we Mamas can cover our little men in prayer and place their hearts in the hands of an all loving, all knowing and all powerful God. Page by page the fruit of the spirit and other characteristics are written of and shown how each one should be prayed for on the behalf of our little ones. There are even specific scripture references for each trait so that not only are we praying for these christian qualities, but we are taking the word of God and putting that into prayer to cover our sons.

I have been praying for my children since before they were born, a part of being a christian mother has to do with sending more than a few prayers up to God on their behalf. I had never thought however of turning scripture into a prayer itself. I love it, I think it's wonderful to prayerfully battle for the hearts and minds, the christian walk, of our sons (and daughters). Throughout Brooke's book there are scriptures laid out that can be directly applied to our children to pray for them. Unlike other books, this one in particular is not just one you read and implement later, this is a read and use right away kind of book, from beginning to end.

I love how Brooke is honest enough to admit that as parents there is only so much that we can do or as she puts it, control, and because of that we must bend our knees and turn to the one who controls it all. Knowing that we alone cannot raise Godly men of sound christian character alone is already half of the battle we must fight. We must do all we can and then entrust our sons back into the loving hands of the one who gave them to us, our Creator, Heavenly Father, Prince of Peace, the Great and Mighty Counselor – God.

I urge anyone who is a parent of boys to check out Brooke McGlothlin's newly released book, “Praying for Boys” you will be glad that you did. Here are some quotes from Brooke's book “Praying for Boys” that I just loved;

“All it takes to lose the truth of the Word of God is one set of parents who fail to teach it. The result can be generations of men who don’t know and fear the Lord. Imagine the impact for a moment. It’s a lot to take in.”

and

“If their knees are ever to bend to Jesus as Savior, their hearts must bend first. This is the place of a mama’s prayers.”

I am excited to announce that for those of you who have read to this point that I will be GIVING AWAY one free copy of Brooke McGlothlin's “Praying for Boys” (applicable only for residents of the United States), as soon as I receive it from her publishers. I will keep you updated on this fantastic giveaway so don’t forget to check back, or take a minute to subscribe, as I am hoping to announce the start of the giveaway soon and will be sharing how to enter in for a chance to win your very own copy of “Praying for Boys” – Yay!

And yet, here is ANOTHER GOODIE for you all, a question and answer I was blessed to ask Brooke McGlothlin, enjoy!

Me: Hello Brooke, Thank you so much for the opportunity to review your book. I can honestly say that I loved reading it from the moment I picked it up and now that I'm done with it, I am so very grateful for having read it. A few questions I'm excited to ask you are:

As an author having written “Notes to Aspiring Writers: Your Dream, God's Plan”, “How to Control Your Emotions, So They Don't Control You: A Mom's Guide to Overcoming”, “Hope for the Weary Mom” and now “Praying for Boys: Asking God for the Things they Need Most”, which of them would you say you had the most fun writing or that you hold a little dearer to your heart?

Brooke: “I would say I had the most fun writing Hope for the Weary Mom because it gave me the opportunity to work with my co-author, Stacey Thacker. She's been a gift in my life, and I've loved spending time with her. Hope was a total labor of love for us both, and as a self-published book, it's been a treat to watch it succeed.

With that being said, Praying for Boys is probably closest to my heart because it represents my cry to the Lord on behalf of my sons.”

Me: In this book, “Praying for Boys”, you mentioned to let your children find you reading God's word and to share it with them. Amen. The Bible is the ultimate go-to guide when it comes to raising children and I do believe in sharing it with them also. I would love to know if during those moments, when they find you reading the Bible, do you read to them from your Bible or have them grab theirs to read to them a children's (or lighter) version?

Brooke: “I've done both. If I'm in the Psalms or Proverbs that day I'll read it to them. Sometimes, I just ask them to sit beside me while I wrap things up with a prayer, thanks God for His Word and for them. It really depends on the day.”

"thank God"

Me: There's a moment in your book when you mention the combination of the trees, the restaurant, and your boys I must admit I could barely stop laughing and could only think, “boys will be boys”. This moment in your book, and the title “Praying for Boys”, has left me wanting to know what do you believe is the hardest part about raising boys?

Brooke: “I constantly fight the desire for my parenting to be perfect. When I've worked hard on an activity for them, when they're just not paying attention when we're reading the Bible, or when the "boy noise" is off the charts for the day, I can be quick to feel like a failure. Thankfully, God never asked us to win the battle for the hearts of our sons, only to fight for them. I need to be reminded often that God sees and delights in a heart that wants to please Him.”

Me: Do you homeschool your boys? If yes, what has been your most rewarding experience and your most difficult so far? If no, have you considered doing it?

Brooke: We do homeschool our boys! I've often said that teaching my boys to read was one of the most rewarding things I've ever done, outranking even getting my Master's degree! The most difficult thing about homeschooling for me is that I'm not a crafty mom. I hate projects, experiments, coloring, painting...all those things a kid probably needs in life, right? Thankfully, my husband loves science and does most of the experiments with our boys. And we have some crafty friends who feed that need for our boys. God has been so faithful to provide for us in this area!

Me: My last question, do you have a hobby (other than writing), what is it?

Brooke: Reading. If I had no other responsibilities in life I would spend every waking second reading a good book. My favorite author right now is Kristen Heitzman.

Me: Thank you so much for your time, your answers and your amazing book “Praying for Boys”. I sincerely hope you are able to reach as many boy Mama's as possible.

Brooke: Thanks, Chelle!

If anyone of you have already ready Brooke's book "Praying for Boys" and want to share your opinion or what you most loved, I would love to about it, leave it in the comments below.