Valentine's Day Fun

          Valentine's day is here yet again, but in our house this year, we decided to celebrate things a little differently than the usual chocolates and cards. With the website and YouTube channel being built, School, the pregnancy, the superbowl and just......life in general, its been a really busy month thus far. My husband, Josh, and I discussed that I would take charge of Valentine's day fun while he worked on Today's Disciples He still had to make his own plans for me though ;) I love crafts and planning fun things for us to do so I was all for this trade! The kids are easy to plan for, Josh on the other hand, is a little more difficult as he's really stubborn and doesn't like to receive gifts. Especially for Valentine's day. "It's a holiday for men to give to their women. Men should shower their wives with affection and not receive anything in return." Yea, Yea, Yea, I say to myself. While I cant quite argue with what he says, I mean, how can I? A girl who LOVES to know shes loved and appreciated after all. But, I cant help it! I love to show him how much I love and appreciate him too! As said in Ephesians 5:33 "let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband." He's getting something whether he likes it or not. Buying a gift is pretty much out of the question so the search was on to find a handmade project he would accept and love. I had recalled seeing a post long ago I thought he'd like. The project is called Two Little Lovers Sitting In A Tree. As with any project I recreate, I always try and change mine up a bit to fit us more. If your husband
is a bit of a romantic, I recommend this project for him as well. As for his gift from the kids, they of course each did their own drawings for him. Art is a big in our family, we all love to draw and craft, even the kids! I also had them each do a hand print, which I cut out and glued onto separate paper and framed with the quote "Trust the Lord with all your heart." Proverbs 3:5. Now, the only way I can buy my stubborn husband a gift is if I surprise him with it and don't spend much on it either. Him and our son had just finished a video game called Kingdom Hearts together and I was able to find a box set of Keyblades for just a few dollars using the offerup app. :) As you all will learn in future posts, my husband truly loves and spoils me like crazy. I couldn't be more lucky, appreciated, or thankful for him and all that he does. Josh is terrible with surprises though, once he has something in mind to buy he'll get it and give it to you then and there so my presents always come before the actual occasion but that's okay by me. This year he really outdid himself though, I got a full spa day! What girl doesn't love that? I got my hair done, a pedicure, and a massage! It was so relaxing, I told him I'll take the same thing next year ;) As for the kids, two of the four don't care for too many sweets (I know, weird right!?) I came up with the idea of giving them juice boxes and jello or pudding instead of a box of candy that will just sit on the counter till it gets thrown away next year lol. This got my wheels turning though, I wanted it to still be fun to open and that's where the robots were invented. With just a little hot glue I made them all their own little robots to open, enjoy, and consume. Not only was this a little healthier then the usual chocolates and cookies, it was a big hit too! I can not stress this enough to parents out there. Spend time with your children! There are so many fun things to do that even you, as an adult, can enjoy! It's so very important that you put work, your friends, and stresses aside and make time for your kids everyday to do something enjoyable with them. For, if you do not, the Devil may. Remember how easy it was for Eve to eat the forbidden fruit when persuaded to? You are your children's best and most trusted role model. To make Valentine's day fun and spend time with them we began by a special trip for donuts! Followed by

going to Lowe's Home Hardware Store for their free building class made for children where they each got to make their own Valentine's day picture frame where we let them each choose who they wish to give it to, decorate, and give as a gift. We reminded them how rewarding it can be to give to others by using the verse 2 Corinthians 9:7 "Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." and explained to them the meaning and power behind it. I also, found Valentine's Slime to make with them. This was really fun for them! I made it like a science experiment. They had to hypothesis how it was created, mix it together and see the reaction of the ingredients together, then get to play with it! All in all, it was a fun and rewarding day for us to get to spend together. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!!

Keeping God in the Center of a Busy Weekend

       We have a very big family and I love it, but it can be challenging. In our household on certain days (like this weekend) we have my wife, myself, our daughter Nikkie who is 8, our son Jude who is nearly 7, our daughter Stella who is 3, our daughter Hendrix who is 18 months, and my older sister Britni all under one roof! It makes for a lot of traffic and a lot of noise. Alyssa picked up Jude and Stella from their moms house on Friday morning. I was able to get off work early, so Alyssa picked me up around noon. We were very excited for a weekend with everyone. Once I got home and took a quick shower, then it was time to give all my time and attention, to God and my family. God is always the center of our lives and our home. Which is why the first thing we did was a Bible study! We try to make it as fun as possible for the kids. At the same time it is important to be biblically accurate. We start by reading the children's version of a Bible story, after, we read the story straight from the bible. We've noticed it helps them grasp the story better from the bible while still getting the facts. Next we always do an activity with the Bible study. Sometimes its elaborate other times depending on the weekend its minor. This weekend we studied the story of Daniel, afterwards we asked them to draw with their imaginations what they think Daniel looked like while inside the lions den. They had a great time drawing their lion and discussing the story. Our favorite verse was   Daniel 6:27 He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”
        After the story it was time for some outside fun! Coordinating all of the kids can be difficult especially when everyone has their own agenda. The way we tackle this and to get everyone playing and participating together is to take turns. Everyone has to play each game and everyone chooses one game. Jude chose baseball, Nikkie chose ninja skills (like mini olympics), Stella chose freeze tag, Dad chose soccer. We had a lot of fun with the different games, everyone played and there were no fights or pouting. We ended up playing outside for over 2 hours straight. Mom was able to get all of her school work done in the meantime. Plus being pregnant means she can only play some outside activities. After the 2 hours I was exhausted, but even when we are tired it's important to remember 1 Corinthians 16:14 "Let all that you do be done in Love." Afterwards we had the kids play quietly in their room until dinner was done.
       At dinner we said grace, and then started our best thing, worst thing tradition. After dinner the kids got to have electronic time. While they did this I spoke with my wife and sister. I knew they had a long week and were especially exhausted. I thought of John 15:12 "This is my commandment, that you Love one another as I have Loved you." I had a little extra money saved, and knew just what to do. I called the nail salon nearby our house and made a reservation for my wife, sister, and 2 daughters. I handed my wife the money and sent them off. The girls were excited and very thankful. This gave me and Jude some time to bond as well, in our case, play a little video games :). The girls returned about an hour and a half later. Everyone was tired as it had been a long but fulfilling day. We got everyone changed and ready for bed.
     The next day was just as adventure filled as the first. Like I said the weekends are to stay God centered and focused on the family. We started the day off by going to Lowes, for those who don't know what it is, it's a large warehouse hardware store. The second Saturday of every month they offer a free kids workshop. Mom is pretty crafty at finding out about this stuff and post things like it to our website www.todaysdisciples.com. The kids had a great time with the activity. They were constructing picture frames for Valenines Day. While we worked I explained to them the principles behind wood working and that Jesus himself was once a carpenter. Mathew 13:55 ""Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?"The finished work looked great, Hendrix and Jude didn't want to stop building. Thank you to everyone at Lowes for such a great workshop.
                                                                                    After the workshop I took the 3 older kids hiking with me. Mom needed a little more time for Valentines day without the kids. Hiking with the kids was a bit challenging, in their defense it isn't the easiest hike. Challenges are important though, as I told them. The hike will be worth the view and we'll come back from it stronger. Then I thought to Jeremiah 31:16 "Restrain your voice from weeping and eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded, declares the lord." We reached the top and the kids were amazed at how far they could see and how windy it was. It was an amazing view, but the sight of my three little achievers was far greater.
       You would think that was enough adventure for one day, not for us. I still needed to take my little man out for some father son time. The girls had gotten their nails done, so I asked my son Jude, "What would you like to do?" He replied,"I want to try fishing, so we can catch a really big fish, but hopefully not a stinky shoe like in the movies." "Haha, okay bud sounds like a plan, but just so you know I've only been fishing once. We will have to learn this together." He agreed and was very excited. We went to Wal-mart and bought a fishing pole that came with hooks and bait. It only cost 14 dollars which I though was a fair price. Next we went to a pond I had driven by a few times off of 59th Ave and Bethany Road. It was a beautiful park with a huge pond for fishing. Jude and I read the instructions and got our pole set up pretty quickly. We hurried over to the pond and made ourselves a spot. Jude got the basics down very quickly, between casting and reeling. While we waited for a nibble I kept explaining to Jude that some of the disciples were fisherman. Then I pulled out my bible and read him Mathew 4:19 "Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” He thought it sounded funny until I explained it to him. I told him it was about finding people who were without Jesus or God, they were the lost fish, and teaching them about God and how to Love him. We fished for a little over an hour before we started running out of sunlight. We had one nibble and caught one old bag of trash which Jude found hilarious. We both really enjoyed fishing and telling each other stories. We decided we would try it again in two weeks. We packed up our equipment and hurried home. Mom had just finished making hot dogs and hamburgers and we were starving. After dinner we all watched an anime together. It was another great day.

Parent Teacher Conferences

          When I was a kid I dreaded the day of parent teacher conferences. I knew my report card would be good, but my behavior was shaky to say the least. I was focused on being the class clown. I knew that once my Mom sat with the teacher she would hear all about the things I did and I would be grounded. As I grew I learned that having a sense of humor was okay at the appropriate times. This is a lesson I will be passing down to my son Jude (pictured left). Jude is 7 years old and the second oldest. His teacher informed us he is doing well with his studies, but his behavior can be some what disruptive. Patience has never been one of his strong suites, but it is one we have been working on. After hearing this I was a little disappointed I'll admit, but I knew the best way to handle this was with patience, love, and prayer. Now it will be a stern lesson for Jude, but he will have our support and encouragement as we work on exercise's to improve his behavior and patience. Today I thought back to Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."
          Nikkie's parent teacher conference was actually something new to me. It was a student lead conference. Nikkie would show us where she sat, and the work she had completed that quarter. Nikkie's teacher only had wonderful things to say about her behavior. She even went on to tell us that Nikkie is one of her top students, and even scored the highest reading grade out of the entire second grade! We were very proud, but we know Nikkie worked hard to get there. Just the year before her grades and behavior were below par. We spent that year and that summer working diligently with her. Improving her manners and doing extra work at home. Next, Nikkie showed us the Valentine's boxes her class had made. Nikkie and Alyssa made theirs into a hot air balloon. The competition looked fierce, but were hoping Nikkie wins one of the contests for her hard work.
          I realized after going to the conferences, at Jude and Nikkie's schools, how many absent parents are out there. My more troubling realization is how much worse this issue must be in lower income neighborhoods. I want to remind parents out there that we need to be present for our children. We need to get involved in their lives however we have to do it. We, as mothers and fathers, are their role models. If we neglect our responsibility then the children may find role models on TV or from an older irresponsible group of friends. They could even assume its okay to be an absent parent by example. Remember that things like work, rest, video games, social media, and TV have no eternal value. The lives and souls of our children do. Protect them and nourish their souls to be men and women of integrity. That they will always keep God at the the center of their lives, and share the salvation of Jesus. I'll end today's blog with Ephesians 6:1-4
"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ² “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— ³ “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”  ⁴ Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."

Having a Bad Day

         Does anyone remember the book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst? Yeah? Well that's exactly how I felt today. First my alarm went off too early and I couldn't get back to sleep. Which would have been fine if I wasn't so terribly tired from a new medication I'm taking. Well, I got up and showered, then I left to my job. I say my job because my work is what I do with Today's Disciples, God's work. Anyway, work was stressful and very physically demanding. The lack of sleep was really starting to get to me. My wife picked up Nikkie, our daughter, from school. Then came and got me from work, I could barely keep my eyes open on the way home. Once I got home I opened our finance information on the computer to discover we had an unexpected set back. When I say unexpected set back I mean this was a huge loss financially for us, nearly crippling our savings account. The stress sank in as i stared blankly at the computer screen. I told my wife about the issue and she said, "we've been better and we've been worse, so we'll make it through just fine". I felt some relief, until my sister got home. My sister Britni lives with us temporarily. She needed my help moving her belongings into storage tomorrow. Now I don't mind helping my sister at all, she does a lot for us. The problem was I have a full schedule tomorrow and my fatigue was catching up to me. I told her I would help though, no problem. When it comes to helping others, especially family, we should do all we can and more. As the bible states in Mathew 25:40 I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for
 Me. After making the promise to my sister, I suddenly recalled that tomorrow is parent teacher conferences.

Having a family of six makes this a challenge. I began feeling overwhelmed again. I have so much to do this week with so little time. Feeling tired and nauseous wasn't helping either. Then I did what I should've done in the first place. I told my wife how I was feeling and we prayed together. After praying we started reading The Bible until the perfect verse found us. We read Mathew 6:25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?" I went back into prayer asking God to forgive me for not laying it all at his feet. It was the perfect reminder to keep perspective on what's truly important, and to trust God fully. I can say that I am blessed, I have a beautiful and supportive family, I have food, I have water, I have shelter, and I have clothes. God gives me all I need and more. In this short life let us remember what is truly important and never lose sight of it. Let's pray for determination, courage, and faith.

P.s  Included is a photo of my (Josh's) siblings, from left to right we have Britni, Jathan, Jace, and then me.

Not Letting Life Get to Busy

           It's easy to let life take control and turn on
autopilot. Especially when your to-do list is never ending. I mean Superbowl just happened, Valentines Day is just around the corner, and we're launching a new ministry. I'll admit that we are a bit overwhelmed, but in times like these we seek the advice of God from His Word. The first verse I found was Philippians 2:13 it read, "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him." We knew at that moment we needed to pray together and let God set our priorities. Only then will we have the desire and power to accomplish all of our objectives he has put on our heart. After spending time in prayer alone and together we started on our game plan. We would cancel our Superbowl plans to focus on our new ministry. We aren't huge football fans but we do enjoy it just the same. Was it a priority over God's work though? Absolutely not. Next we decided we would divide and conquer. Alyssa would be in charge of Valentines Day for the kids. I would be in charge of the website design. Then we would meet in the middle for dinner, family time, and our ministry. We learned long ago that no matter how busy life gets we sit down at the table, pray, and talk about our days. One of our favorite ways to do this is a tradition that we started. We call it best thing, worst thing. Everyone goes around the table and states what the best part of their day was, and what the worst part was. Everyone gets there own time to speak and then we discuss it before moving to the next person. After Dinner everyone helps clean, then we spend some quality time with the kids. Sometimes we all sit and do things together, other times it's divide and conquer. The most important thing in our household is staying focused on God. He is our families center and foundation. A good reminder of this came to me in Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Spending time as a mentor to our children is critical to keep them focused on God. We learned, over our especially chaotic month, that the trick to not letting life get to busy is love. As long as we make the most of our time together, communicate, help each other, stay positive, and keep God at the center then we can do anything. No matter how chaotic or busy your life may get, we encourage you to make the time for your family or loved ones. Even if it's just for an hour per day. "A (person) who lives with the stress of an overwhelmed schedule will often ache with the sadness of an underwhelmed soul." -Lysa Terkeurst.  Also just to update everyone, Alyssa went in for her most recent ultra sound Monday. We know the gender of baby James and will reveal it soon.