Rain, rain go away!!

I choose that to be my title today because it has rained everyday for the last three days! I know that we need it to help our grass and trees and things, but having two boys that are tired of being inside makes it difficult to be excited about. So today I thought I would brainstorm some ideas about what to do with them when we are stuck inside.

My oldest child (who is 4 1/2) really enjoys to do art projects. I used to teach preschool and so I have a lot of stuff that I can pull out and photo copy. So before Easter we did a lot of spring art work. He had a lot of fun painting and gluing cotton balls on a picture of a bunny. Not very high tech stuff but at age 4 he really got into it!

My 15 month old, however, is a little harder to entertain. So for his Easter gift we found a little ball pit for $9.00 on clearance (after Christmas!). So we set that up in our basement and the boys really enjoy that. I also let them kick balls and play really roughly in the basement, it helps to let them get their energy out. Our basement is partially finished but we don't have very much furniture down there so it provided alot of room for them to run and play.

Recently in my parenting "adventure" I have come to realize that my children are my purpose in life right now, and I should not consider them to be interruptions. I tend to find myself putting off their needs to fulfill my own. Like if I want to spend time on the computer or reading or just sitting quietly (ha.. ok that's a dream!), that seems to be the time when they want me the most. Usually I will either tell them to go play or I just tune them out. I have realized that is not the right way to handle this and that I need to remember that they are only little for so long and then I will be begging them to talk to me. I have also been reading a lot about how to help myself grow spiritually and today I learned that my awareness of God's presence in my life grows as my intimacy with Him grows! WOW, what a simply concept that I never considered before. But the more I thought about it the more I realized that it is true. The times in my life that I have felt stress are the times that I don't feel very close to God. But at the same time the times that I feel a great sense of peace I am spending time with God and getting to know Him better!!

So my encouragement for today is John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." Also Phillippeans 4:7 "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."


Sasha