As all of you know I have been blessed with 6 boys. I also have two brothers who are still teenagers. At 18 years and 15 years old, they’re not that much older than my own boys so as you can imagine, getting them all together can be an interesting adventure.

I could go on and on about all of the ins and outs of having sons and brothers so close in age, but I’ll save that for another day.  This weekend we went to my parents’ house to celebrate the oldest brother’s 18th birthday and as I was playing inside with the twins I spotted a book laying on one of the tables.  The title of this book caught my eye and DEFINITELY my interest; Do Hard Things!

Just three little words were the title for a book written by Alex and Brett Harris for young men.  I have not read this book, nor have I been asked to review it.  But I have taken a few minutes to visit the website and it intrugued me even more!  You can find them at www.TheRebelution.com! 

You see, these two young men began their blog The Rebelution when they were 16 years old (they are now 19).  It is based on 1Timothy 4:12 (”Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” ).  Here’s a small explanation of their purpose taken from the site.

The official definition of the ‘rebelution’ is “a teenage rebellion against the low expectations of an ungodly culture.” When you look around today, in terms of godly character and practical competence, our culture does not expect much of us young people. We are not only expected to do very little that is wise or good, but we’re expected to do the opposite. Our media-saturated youth culture is constantly reinforcing lower and lower standards and expectations.

They have a fascinating survey on their blog! As the mom of so many boys I am instinctively drawn toward things that might be beneficial to my sons so I want to share them with you … cuz I know you’re just like me . They surveyed over 1500 Christian young men …. it’s called the Modesty Survey and the results will confirm beliefs for some and astound others. That many boys from that many different walks of life has to prove something. When you go to the page, just click on “Survey Results”, select a category, then a question and view the results in the frame below. Just some food for thought.

Besides this though, you will find information on their book, upcoming conferences, speaking engagements and you can look through their blog and more.

I told all of you about Ethan recently and just wanted to let all of you know that today is THE day for him!!!

Over the last week Ethan has been undergoing tons of treatments to prepare him for today’s transplant!!!

The results of that treatment have been rather miraculous so far in that he hasn’t been bothered by the usual side effects.

If you think of it, please be praying for this little boy today and especially for the rest of the week as the cells begin regenerating and creating a new atmosphere in his little body.

Just wanted to report that Lion appears to be doing amazingly well!  We were told that despite the antibiotics there was a possibility that he would get worse before he got better, but it seems to be going better than expected. 

He started the antibiotics late Friday night ….. VERY late considering we had to go in search of the pharmacy AFTER we left the ER.  But he didn’t mind.  He had fallen asleep about an hour before we left the ER and woke up as we were dropping off the prescription at the pharmacy (yes we FINALLY found one).  He was happy though because while we waited for the prescription to be filled he finally got his promised ice cream (shake actually, but he didn’t care).  He hadn’t eaten since about 2pm earlier that day, so he was very hungry.

I was amazed when out of the blue he walked over to me on Sunday afternoon and said “Look Mom” as he looked up to the ceiling fast and easy.  He hadn’t been able to look up AT ALL!!!!!!!  Then he follows that little feat with “and it doesn’t hurt anymore Mom!”.  As a Mom this was a HUGE DEAL!

I know I’m using caps A LOT, but I HAVE to under the circumstances!!!!!!  This is really and truly a BIG THING!  I’m sure you understand! 

So as we pray for this wonderful improvement to continue, I’ll be offering up a Mommy Reality a little later today

Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. (Romans 13:14 NIV)

How many times do I find myself wishing that I could have a nicer *insert item here* ….. Shows, hairstyle, clothes, house, etc. You get the idea. Instead of being happy with what I have, praising and thanking God for all of the wonderful provisions he’s given me, I’m often wishing I had more.

Then I read a verse like this one specifically speaking to this type of … well … sin. Telling us to “clothe yourself in the Lord Jesus Christ”. A rather pointed calling for us, especially as women when we find ourselves searching the closet and saying we have absolutely nothing to wear. Simply not the case for most of us.

So I had to stop and ponder what would it mean to clothe myself in the Lord Jesus Christ? I honestly think that to some extent this would look different for each of us so I’m not speaking for everyone here.

For me, it would start with daily spending time in the word, not just reading it, but truly applying it to my life and trying to walk it out each and every day. It would also require an attitude of praise and thankfulness.

Learning how Christ lived and striving to be like him, in the way I treat my family and those I come in contact with especially.

What does “clothing yourself in the Lord Jesus Christ” look like for you??

It’s been a while since I’ve sent you around the blogosphere to pray for a family, but there’s a family I’d like to introduce you to.

Little Ethan is 6 months old and at 11 weeks he was diagnosed with a rare form of infant lukemia. His mama Kasey has been blogging about it since pretty much day one, but I only met her recently. For all the details and information be sure to visit their blog at http://www.ethankrawiec.blogspot.com/.  

There’s a very specific reason I mention this family now. They will be heading into the front lines of battle with Ethan’s cancer starting on Monday. I know for a fact that they would appreciate all prayer, covet it even!!

He will begin radiation Monday, which will be followed later in the week with chemotherapy. All of this will be done to prepare him for a cord blood transplant that he desperately needs.

This family has been so very inspiring to me! There is no sorrow or mourning going on as Kasey relays the information. In fact despite it all Kasey recently wrote an amazing post about how blessed they truly are with Ethan’s condition.

Through their story you will learn a lot. About yourself, your family and how blessed you are. You may learn something unexpected too, like I did today as Kasey briefly explained what cord blood would do to help her son. I never understood the broader scope of possibility when saving a child’s cord blood! It honestly didn’t occur to me that it could be used not only for my children if needed, but to save the life if a little one like Ethan as well. I honestly couldn’t afford to store it when my little ones were born or I would have, but this sheds even more light on the possibilities for those who can!

If you are a blogger I encourage you to read their story and share it with your own readers. Better yet, hop on over to Faith Lifts and grab Ethan’s button or the button of another child for your sidebar from our Prayers for Children page. If you want a code to use on your blog, just contact me and I’ll put one together for you!

A Frog In My Soup has definitely been lacking in the Meat and Potatoes department.  Lot’s of side dishes and a few desserts here and there, but the real substance of the meal is missing these days.  Blame it on summer?  or maybe on the fact that I’m working my tail off to get the house ready to be put on the market???  I don’t really know, but my daily Bible reading has declined as well.

Ah, now it all makes sense, right?  Isn’t it amazing what a huge difference it makes when we are in the Word of God to some extent each day?  It is for me for sure!  It is the very life and essence of my thoughts and definitely creates much more focus and purpose when I make sure I’m spending time in the Word each day. 

Prayer …. yup that’s in there too, for me these days it’s the quickly-throughout-the-day type of prayer that is getting me through, not the sustained, time-on-my-knees listening to His Voice type.  So the combination has created a rather lackluster theme around here. 

For the longest time I have tried - and failed miserably - to do my daily devotions in the morning.  As a mom, we all know this should be done when the children are still sleeping.  My boys are busy bees first thing in the morning and create as much noise as possible to wake up the day (and the rest of the household)!  If only I could awaken with that much energy!

So finally, a thought struggled it’s way through my foggy mind and I realized that I have been wasting away the quietest time of the day at my house … evening!  I’m always up until 10:30pm or 11pm (or later ), so why not make the effort in those great moments before I head to bed???  The 10:00 to 11:00 hour is the BEST and QUIETEST time around here. 

This suddenly occurred to my crazy mind about 11:30 pm last night so I took a few moments to write a page in my journal while making a mental note to create a more purposeful time tonight.  I am so hungry for the Word of God right now!  Seriously!!!  I adore the devotionals I am priveleged to read and publish for our amazing contributors at Faith Lifts and I definitely get a great lift when I take them to heart.  But they, like Sunday Sermons only take me so far and I’m hungry again.

This month I’m going to focus on reading the word and journaling each evening at about 10:30 or 11:00pm.  The idea that I may actually have stumbled upon something that with only a few exceptions might actually work on a VERY consistent basis is super exciting to me!  The fact that I can potentially do this for 30 days and instill it as a “habit” is even more exciting.  But just being able to rest in His presence during the quiet time of day here simply sounds Heavenly!

One thing that I struggle with a little bit as the mom of 6 busy boys is … I LOVE QUIET.  I am an introvert, the person that is refreshed and filled up when things are quietest.  So being in the hustle and bustle of boyness day in and day out without any quiet wears me down to nothing very quickly!!!  I HATE running on empty!  I’m sure you do too!  There are people (extroverts) that are actually refreshed by being in a crowd, that idea is foreign to me as it drains everything I have! 

The point I want to make is that here I am at 36 years old, with 6 children, been married for almost 15 years (anniversary is in a couple of weeks) and a revelation of change just came to me now!  So often I think we get stuck in what we think is The way or the Right way to do things that we can’t see “outside the box”.  That’s where I was. 

If you’re struggling with getting that all-important one-on-one time with God each day, I seriously encourage you to sit down in a quiet moment (’cuz I know we don’t often get more than that little moment of quiet) and look objectively at your day.  Remove the walls that are boxing you into thinking there is a certain time or way that you need to meet with God and simply search for that time that consistently appears in your schedule that you never considered using as your devotional time.

Let me know how it goes or if you have already discovered this time in your life!

*UPDATE* - Just a note to say that a couple of Wendi’s bloggy friends have setup a band to donate to the March of Dimes on behalf of Wendi and her family.  What a great way to bless this family in their time of need (if you have read her story you’ll understand why this donation means so much to them).   I also truly encourage you to click on the links below to read about Wendi and the amazing woman that she is.  She has experienced a lot of loss and I’m sure this is bringing up memories for her.  Thanks to all of you who have already hopped over to her blog to wish her well.  

I was honored to feature Wendi of Everyday Miracles over at The Sampler the week after Mother’s Day.  She is an amazing woman who has claimed any blessings in her path even in the midst of pain and suffering.

Recently Wendi experienced yet another loss, she found out at a routine ultrasound (at about 8 weeks into her pregnancy) that the baby’s heart wasn’t beating.  She was understandably devastated. 

Through the pain though she has once again remarkably focused on the blessings around her, and I would truly encourage all of you to hop over to her blog Everyday Miracles (http://miraculouschaos.blogspot.com) and offer her a bit of encouragement!

Do you have anything in your life that is a little off kilter?  I know I have plenty of things I could mention, but tonight CJ and I went shopping after he was done with Youth Group.  We went merrily along our way picking out a couple of things for his 6th Grade Recognition assembly tomorrow (major deal for them, dress code and everything, but I’ll save that for tomorrow) and some groceries to get us through the end of the week.  Toward the end of the grocery store adventure I decided to grab each of us a quick drink from the milk section (CJ wanted strawberry milk and I wanted orange juice).

I know I don’t usually walk you through my grocery store wanderings, but I have a point …

I don’t hesitate to frequently pay over $4 for a gourmet coffee, but it nearly KILLED me to pay $1.43 for an orange juice.  Seriously. 

Perspective changed somewhere along the way.  The not-at-all-healthy coffee that takes me a whole minute to order (not really LOL) and costs a small fortune (but ironically now less than the price of one gallon of gas) is considered just a part of life.  While the healthy single serving of nutritious orange juice that costs less than half the price of the coffee (and aforementioned gallon of gas) seems outrageous.

How many other things in life are twisted that way?  How often do I not notice where the perspective has gone off balance.  Far more often than I like to admit.  So I dared to take that thought to my spiritual life and I came to a challenging conclusion …

If I can take the time to write or read a blog post why can’t I seem to squeeze in reading that one little chapter from the Bible a day?  If I can read over 50 emails a day why can’t I spend some time alone talking with my Savior? 

Ooooooh! Ouch!  Reality of the price I’m willing to pay spiritually kind of works in a rather backward way!  I’m the one who pays big time if I don’t take a moment to be filled and refreshed each day.  And since when did all those other things somehow become more important?  Sure, I don’t logically think they are actually more important than my spiritual well being, but my behavior is saying that they are. 

Actions speak louder than words.  So I’m announcing here and now that I am in need of a priority recheck.   Feel free to hold me accountable.  Really.  Ask me next week if I’ve been regularly feeding my soul not just my outbox.  See if I’ve been spending as much time with the Lord as I have writing blog posts.  After all, sometimes all any of us needs is a little nudge here and there to keep us accountable and on track. 

This is not a typical Mommy Reality, but it is a very true one for me!  This is going to be a long post, but a story worth telling … and an ending worth reading.  So without further ado …

Three years ago our oldest son, CJ, had a very rough year at school!  He was in third grade and we had just changed districts.  We knew this would be difficult for him since he didn’t handle change all that well, but we also knew that the district he had been in was NOT one that we were comfortable with them continuing all the way through to Jr. High or High School. 

For quite some time we had been trying to find a way to move back into Hubby’s hometown and raise the boys in the schools there.  So we finally took the leap and registered them in the elementary school we thought they’d be in - in a complete act of faith.

There’s a long story involved in why they were in a different elementary school for that first year in the new district, but it turned out to be an agonizing and long year for us. 

CJ is not a kid that just jumps into action the first month of school, things don’t really click with him until sometime in November … ever!  I’m used to it now, but with a new school, everything was a little odd.  When they tested him in the fall he was on the upper end for scores, but by the first conferences, they were concerned about his “lack of attentiveness” and “need for help”  and they wanted him tested. 

This was the beginning of a long, grueling and heart wrenching school year.  One where teachers felt like there was something “wrong” with my child and they didn’t know how to fix it or make him better.  By the end of the year I was ready to quit.  They met with us again and still wanted him tested.  We made it very clear that although we would allow them to do some academic testing there was going to be a limit. 

Right before the end of the school year he did receive the testing and basically we found out that he is dyslexic.  Although I don’t think that’s all there was to it, it was enough to get him into some reading help with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) to try and get him back on track.

The following year we switched to the elementary school we are still in and LOVE!!!!  We have met some great teachers along the way.  The first year in this elementary for CJ was a bit shaky too though.  I can’t tell you how many times I said “here we go again” that year!  I met with the principal of the school at the first sign of issues and since it was our first year there she was hesitant to do much to help us. 

The teacher of the reading education he was now receiving was AWESOME … seriously!!!  He has worked with her through 4th, 5th & 6th Grade and WOW!  But I’ll get back to that.  The same CANNOT be said of his 4th grade teacher.  It was her first year teaching full time (she’d been a sub until that time) and she treated him like he was a pain.  I won’t get into it much more, suffice it to say that she wasn’t asked to return the following year. 

The principal “got it” by the end of his 4th grade year.  I think she finally realized that I wasn’t one of those parents that found any little thing to complain about … in fact, she hasn’t heard from me again since!!!  She met with me before final placement for CJ’s 5th grade year and the subsequent results changed our lives!

When CJ started 5th grade he hated school and thought he was stupid.  His teacher that year had worked in the corporate world for many years and when she decided to start a family she also chose to become a teacher.  She was a ray of sunshine who entered the classroom believing that her students were each magnificent individuals with amazing abilities and futures.  I cried the first time we met with her as she perfectly described our child’s strengths and weaknesses and what she was doing to encourage him in both. 

He wasn’t a pain to her, he was an individual and in her opinion he was brilliant and she told him so!  She knew, as we did, what he was capable of and instead of letting him slide by with complacency and lackluster work, she required him to live up to his abilities … and he DID!  By the end of the year he had more confidence than I had ever seen in him before and was doing fantastic.  I could go on and on and on about her and the blessing she was to our son, but I must move on!

Here we are now with him in 6th grade.  Still barely meeting his goals for reading and still in the program.  I had desperately hoped that somewhere along the way the IEP would become unnecessary and would be dropped for the following year, but it never happened.  More than that though I desperately prayed that above all else the IEP would disappear by the time he enters Jr. High in 7th grade.

The test that was given to CJ three years ago has to be given every three years until the child is determined to no longer qualify for an IEP (at which time the IEP disappears as though it never existed).  Time to retest arrived a few weeks ago.  The school counselor set it up with me, conducted the test and scheduled a meeting for Hubby and I to go in and discuss the results.

We arrived at the school understandably nervous.  But when we sat down for the meeting we were immediately told “Well, this won’t take long, we have nothing but good news to report.”  Could it be?  Did I hear her correctly?  What exactly does that mean???? 

The bottom line …. he doesn’t qualify for ANY services.  The IEP is no longer valid and will be dropped immediately.  He will have no special services setup for him as of the first day of Jr. High. 

AN ANSWER TO PRAYER.  Not to be taken lightly in my book!

We couldn’t have been more thrilled with this information, but the good news went a little further for us.  You see in giving the test, the counselor had to work one on one with our son for a fairly long time a couple of days in a row and she said that it was a delight to work with him.  I think we must have looked at her rather blankly (are you talking about my son?) so she told us that she usually has to work with children who are disrespectful and very unpleasant.  “He was so polite and kind and did just what I asked him with a great attitude.  You have a very nice young man there.”  Wow!  So, can I see that a little more at home?

I didn’t actually realize the enormity of this until later that day as I drove CJ to Youth Group.  Suddenly it hit me like a ten ton brick … I prayed for this, exactly this, that all of education plan would be dropped by the time he entered Jr. High …. and it happened!  I was stunned, overwhelmed, and I cried!  Explaining the feelings and the miracle of those results to my son was a blessing for me … and him! 

So, if you’ve stayed with me through this entire book-of-a-post I just want to say … Lean on Him and trust your cares to Him.  Be amazed at His awesome gifts along the way.  He hears the heart of a Mother and Father and wants nothing more than to see His children be blessed.  He loves your children even more than you and sometimes all we have to do is ask and trust and let him take care of the rest.

Be blessed this week!