Category Archives: parenting

August 9, 2010 · 5:00 am

It’s For Them, Too.

Jett looks like he is wondering what kind of family he’s been placed into. 

A fun one.

Seriously. 

We are all pretty hysterical.  Or, at least, that’s the world we choose to believe we live in.

I love these children.  “Well of course, you do.  You’re their mother!”  I worry about these children.  I question my parenting.  I get on my knees and seek God for their lives.  I remind myself that if I could meet their every need, they wouldn’t need a Savior. 

But, when I read scripture, I honestly forget about it applying to my children’s lives.  Is that crazy or what?

“I will never leave you or forsake you…”  (Heb. 13:5) That’s for my kids.

“I will supply your every need….” (Phil.4:19)  That’s for them, too.

“My help comes from the Lord…” (Psalm 121.2)  For them.

“You are my Portion….” (Psalm 119) Forrrrr them.

I could go on and on.  And on.  I can’t meet their every need.  But God can.  And, He wants to. 

But, I can teach them to seek first His Kingdom, so all of those things can be given to them.  I can teach them to put on the full of armor of God so they can stand up to anything.  I can teach them to chase after God’s will more than their own.  I can teach them to love God with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength.

It’s in HIM and through HIM that they will have EVERYTHING they need.  They will never lack.  Because, THEY serve the Creator of the universe.

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August 3, 2010 · 5:00 am

A Life of Worship

The storm knocked out our cable and wireless for a wonderful couple of hours.  I placed the iPod on the docking station, held baby boy, and listened to the big kids sing along to worship song after worship song.  I looked up and saw John Henry raising his hands and closing his eyes. 

“Mom, I’m worshipping God right now, since I wasn’t at church Sunday,” he told me.

“You can worship God any time you want,” I assured him.

And, we did just that.  Tears flooded my eyes as I worshipped the Creator with my children.  Then, we talked about worship. 

“What is worship, Anna?”

“It’s something we send to God,” she answered.

Something we send to Him.  It’s not something we just do on Sunday.  It’s a life lived.  A life lived that brings glory to Him.  A life that honors Him.

A life that gives.

That blesses.

That seeks His Kingdom first.

That chases after God.

Everybody worships something.  But, we were made to worship Him.

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you.  Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable.  This is truly the way to worship him.  Romans 12:1

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June 8, 2010 · 6:00 am

Raising Lion Chasers.

My dad is preaching a series this month on becoming a lion chaser.  He’s using Mark Batterson’s “In the Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day” as a foundation for this series.  Well, that and the bible, of course.  Dad and I have talked a lot about this series.  Mostly, what it means to be a lion chaser.  As a mother of three, yes THREE, children, I am thinking constantly of how to raise my own lion chasers.  Because, our greatest regrets in life will be the lions we did not chase.

Can I just pause right now and insert how much I LOVE being a mother right now?  Today.  In this world.  In this culture.  In this chaos.  In this uncertainty.  In these times labeled as scary.  Uncertain.  With echoes of “this world is going to hell in a handbasket.”  Because, I know that it’s in these times that God does His thing.  HIS thing.  He always prevails.  It IS His world, by the way.   And, I’m so pumped to be raising my children in a time where seeing the glory of God is just inevitable. 

Okay.  Close insert.

Back to chasing lions and kicking, well, kicking tail.

See this awesome kid?

He is my very cautious seven-year old.  He looks before he leaps.  He analyzes his moves long before he makes them.  So, I found it very uncanny that he would be the first kid out of six to leap off of a 25 foot drop into what’s called the “Blue Hole” on a recent vacation to Bahamas.  That right in the middle of our many talks about being a lion chaser, my very reserved son became a fearless….warrior.

So, now?  I’ll tell him the story of Benaiah. 

And, I’ll remind of him of this obscure story for the remainder of his days as long as he lives down the hall from me.  Because, I know…..

I just know. 

God has called him to be a lion chaser.  To conquer his fears.  To conquer the chaos.  And to make known once again that we do not live in uncertain times.  We live in certain times. 

Paid for over two-thousand years ago.

Benaiah chased a lion down into a pit. Then, despite the snow and slippery ground, he caught the lion and killed it. II Samuel 23:20

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May 18, 2010 · 6:00 pm

Because They Need A Savior.

I worry about my oldest.  I carefully watch over his heart.  I try to guard him from anything that may bring him discomfort on any level. 

He’s my sensitive one.  He’s the one who will forgo something he wants so someone else can have the something he or she wants.    

So, I can worry.  And, I guard him intensely. 

Which pretty much means I don’t trust my Heavenly Father with him. 

My sweet friend, Kim Heinecke, reminded me that if I could protect my children from everything, they wouldn’t need a Savior.

Whoa. 

I recognize my need for a Savior.  So, I seek Him with everything that is within me.  I want John Henry to seek Him that way, too.  I know He loves Jesus.  But, it is also my job to make sure he sees his need for Him.

So, our latest conversation went something like this:

“John Henry, you are going to have to trust God with this.  Let’s pray about it.”

This might be his first lesson in really seeing the faithfulness of God.  And, I pray it’s the beginning of John Henry recognizing how much he needs the Savior.

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May 6, 2010 · 6:00 am

Who Am I?

My dad is in town visiting this week.  And really, his timing was certainly ordained by God.  For real.    Anyhoo, we were sitting outside on my patio a couple of nights ago watching my two oldest play, while dad held Jett.  (A job he didn’t mind being tasked with at all.)  John Henry and Anna began to sing, “I Am A Friend of God.” 

They sang these lyrics:

Who am I that you are mindful of me
That you hear me, when I call
Is it true that you are thinking of me
How you love me, it’s amazing

I turned to my father, and I said, “Isn’t it truly amazing that He really is mindful of us?  Isn’t that the most beautiful scripture?”

That the Creator of the universe thinks about me. 

He thinks about you.

How can we not fall in love with Him even more every time the sun rises?

 3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
the moon and the stars you set in place—
4 what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
human beings that you should care for them?
5 Yet you made them only a little lower than God
and crowned them with glory and honor.  Psalm 8:3-5

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April 28, 2010 · 6:00 am

Shhh…

That’s what I’d tell your right this second if you walked into my house. It’s 9:43pm on the bottom right of my computer screen.  Jett is in bed making little grunty noises.  I hear an occasional whimper.  I go into his room to soothe him.  Um, like now….hold up.

Okay.  I’m back, and now it’s 9:46pm.  We are doing the whole “lay him down awake” technique in hopes that this little man will learn to fall asleep on his own.  In the meantime, I sit up in my soft, living room chair and pass the time reading, writing, and wondering how in the world I can give my older two children the attention they need from me while caring for this little person who can do practically nothing for himself.

So, I feel guilt.  I feel guilty that I have to tell my son, “Buddy, I can’t right now.”  I feel guilty that by the time I made it to my daughter’s room to pray for her tonight, she was already asleep.  I know this only a season.  And, I wouldn’t skip this season if I could.  But I wish I could press a pause button sometimes, so I didn’t miss any moments with any of my children. 

And, John Henry and Anna are both so gracious to me.  They are gracious to their new little brother.  I hear John Henry singing Jeremy Camp’s “Beautiful One” to his little brother.  I see Anna brushing his cheeks with her hand and trying to make him smile.  Of course this afternoon, Kris and I overheard her telling him about Jesus and God.  How they live in heaven.  How we’ll all die one day and live in heaven, too.  Poor kid just got here, and already Anna is preparing him for the sweet by and by. 

Nonetheless, they have been gracious.  And, I can’t help but think that God has given them grace for this season, too. 

Do you ever feel guilt as a parent?

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April 26, 2010 · 6:00 am

The Secret of Her Success.

My young athlete scored 8 of her team’s 11 goals at Saturday’s soccer game.  She told her Nan,

“I just turned on my speed and asked God to help me.  But, don’t tell the green team.”

When I later asked Anna if she prayed to ask God to help her, she responded, “No, I didn’t pray, I just asked Him.” 

This is where her knowledge of God becomes relational.  Where talking to Him becomes second nature.  And, that makes a momma’s heart happy.

Except for when she shouted, “We win!  They lose!” 

Today’s Parenting Lesson:  Humility.

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February 26, 2010 · 6:00 am

These Are Things Money Can’t Buy.

If you’re tired of reading about how sweet my seven year old is, feel free to click the “x” in the top right-hand corner.  But, I just had to record this day with him.

I was completely exhausted yesterday due to one little Jett Takle preparing for the 2028 Winter Olympics inside my belly the night before.  But, I wasn’t going to dare miss out on watching John Henry receive his Servant Leadership Award yesterday afternoon at school.

When I told him he was going to be receiving this award, he responded, “Wow!  That’s the award for putting others first!” 

By the way, Anna’s expression in the background of the pic just makes me laugh.  Sweet Anna Takle, you would definitely get the award for “Most Artistic in Fashion” or “Most Social” or “Most Likely To Make Her Mother Laugh.” 

Proud, but still so stinkin’ tired when we got home, John Henry gave me a letter. 

Dear Mom I hope you are ok.  You are the best mom ever.  I can not beleve your my mom.  I am going to let you chose what you want to eat if we go out to a restront.  If Dad is flying I will pertect (protect) you.  I am glad you are my mom.  You chose the right man.  You chose Chris.  From John Henry

*Disclaimer:  He is referring to Kris….not some other Chris.  Thought I should clarify before this blog lost its family rating.

What is in a seven year old to acknowledge that I chose Kris?  To say, “You chose the right man?” 

At the beginning of the school year, John Henry needed some answers about why he has two dads.  I explained the best I could so he would understand.  In the back of my mind, I’ve always wondered if he would one day struggle with the fact that he has two dads and his siblings have one. 

But, in letters like this, I see a young man who is thankful that Kris is in his life.  I see two dads who love him so sweetly.  And, I see a Heavenly Father who has never let him down.

And, that is redemption.

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February 22, 2010 · 6:00 am

It’s Girls’ Night Out.

Actually, it was Girls’ Day Out.  Y’all know I can’t stay out past 5:00 these days.  Momma gets tie-red.  Kris and I are trying to squeeze in some one on one time with our kiddos before their little brother gets here and consumes a lot of it.  So, Anna and I, well, Anna planned our Girls’ Day Out day.  And, John Henry and Kris had a Boys’ Afternoon Out.  I only have one picture of Kris and John Henry’s time together.  Boys just don’t take pictures like us girls do.

The boys went to Laser Quest to play laser tag, of course.  Kris came home quite enthused and insisted that he and I go back together after Jett is born.  Absolutely, that is the destination I was thinking.  It’s like we are constantly thinking the same thoughts.  Weird.

They left Laser Quest and picked up pizza to enjoy with an evening of Darth of Vader finally telling Luke, “I am your father!”  They had fun.  And, good conversation – the really added bonus of it all.

Anna knew exactly what our day should like from start to finish. 

Nothing begins a Girls’ Day Out quite like the short stack at Jimmy’s Egg.  We drive by Jimmy’s Egg daily.  And, daily I hear, “Momma, let’s go to Jimmy’s Egg!”  She got her wish.  Along with the next three hours spent at the Paint ‘N Station.

Yes.  THREE HOURS.  I had so much time on my hands, that I painted this little Easter platter using Anna’s handprint.  I’m hoping that once it’s fired, it’ll look a bit more presentable.  Anna could pick out ANYTHING in the store to paint.  Of all the options, she picked a sugar dish.  Because, every little girl dreams of having her own sugar dish.  I think I was so delirious from paint fumes or waiting THREE HOURS for her to finish that I just clearly forgot to take a picture of her finished product. 

We finished up at McDonald’s for ice cream.

It was not an unusually warm day in Oklahoma.  A tank top was just her attire of choice.  It was Girls’ Day, after all.

Kris and John Henry closed the weekend building John Henry’s Pinewood Derby car for Cub Scouts. 

Thank the good Lord Kris was around to help cut out this baby.  The only thing I can cut from a block of wood is…. 

Hmmm.  Well, I don’t think I can cut anything from a block of wood.

So, I’ll stick with pancakes, painting, and ice cream.  I am accomplished at eating.  That is for certain.

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February 12, 2010 · 6:00 am

Her Ability To Make Me Laugh Is Often Redemptive.

I told her the brown leggings with the peach flowers looked hideous with her shirt.  She disagreed.  I told her to change pants.  She did.

Sort of.

So, when I picked her up from school, how in the name of all things Vogue, did she manage to have on the brown leggings again? 

Because, she wore them under the pants that won my stamp of approval. 

“Besides,” she said, “My teacher liked them.”

Any and all advice on raising a strong-willed little girl is appreciated.  As are prayers.  And boxes of chocolate.  And a vacation for two to the Caribbean. 

But, I do have hope.  You see, I was a very similar five-year old.  And, my mom still loves me today.

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