Deut. 6:5 Prayer (Or how Jimmy Choo leads us to the Lord)

While returning a pair of so-cute-but-so-uncomfortable sandals at Nordstrom yesterday my back was turned to my children. Clearly my love of quality footwear has been passed to my 3-year-old, because when I turned around she was carrying a pair of pumps complete with what were probably real diamond sequins and squealing "Oh, Mommy, you have to get these!!" The lovely salesman behind the register almost yelped, I kid you not. I gently pried away the bedazzled beauties to discover they were in fact $695 Jimmy Choos. And they were exceptionally beautiful.
Upon finishing my transaction (with said-preschooler safely hoisted up to sit on counter) the girls and I sat down to discuss the Choo shoes. It went down something like this, right there in Nordstrom shoes.
Me: "Those shoes you found were very pretty, weren't they?"
Girls, even less-girlie big sister: "YES! Wow! And the sparkles and the heel, etc."
Me: "Do you remember our verse this week?"
Girls: "Huh?"
Me, disappointed, sings "Love Round" very quietly. Big sister is annoyed, Little sister starts singing loudly. We left singing, hopefully quieter, and I prayed while we walked out what I now call The Mall Prayer:
"Lord, your love is even more beautiful than Jimmy Choos.
Help me love you with all my heart."

Play it! with placemats

The boys colored these, then we had them laminated at Kinko's. I'm sure others could be much more fancy with graphic design, but if you'd like a copy of my quick-and-dirty version, just email us at homeschoolvbs@gmail.com .

What activities are going well at your house? Let us know! Post a comment or email us a note or picture!!

Heart, Soul and Might!

Sing along with Elizabeth and Sarah as they share "Love Round (Deut. 6:5)" a song sung at our favorite church camp, Rainbow Trail. (Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp was recently spared during forest fire- yay God!)

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your might and
Love all humankind as you would love yourself...
We've got Christian lives to live
We've got Jesus' love to give
We've got nothing to hide
Because in Him we abide in Love

Seek ye first...

If you've browsed through our 12 weeks of verses, you may have noticed the variety of Bible translations we have used. The Bible translation I prefer is the NRSV, but some verses are just more familiar to us in other translations. Like this week: for those of you who grew up listening to Psalty and Kids' Praise, here's a walk down memory lane!

Here are some pics of my boys enjoying an indoor treasure hunt on a rainy day. Brady got written clues, Connor got picture clues (he still needed a lot of assistance). One highlight of this activity was the 20 minutes I got by myself in my room with the door closed while I wrote the clues! :)

S'more Light

While getting our flashlights ready for our outside walk Sarah asked were we also making s'mores? Because of course that is what my children of think of at night in the summer- what could be better?

We managed just a few minutes of "Look how well we can see these rocks with the light? Almost better than when the sun is shining!" and "See how the beam shows us where we can walk?" Sarah realized it was actually getting dark. Too dark for games, and definitely too dark for any singing of "Thy Word." Sarah begins begging,  "Mommy, please can we GO INSIDE! I am getting scared!" Somehow fear was not supposed to be part of this process- how proud I was feeling that moment. So before big sister had even managed to join us, we had returned inside where even the darkened family room felt too spooky.

The evening ended in overtired tears from a week busy with dance recitals and grandparents visiting and bedtime without even a marshmallow.

Surely there are times that feel too dark even for God. Loving this Word that reminds me Jesus is the Word made flesh and the Word made light.

*We must find profound theological significance of this treat so we can include in Bible learning somehow.The trinity works, right??

A Light Unto My Crabbiness

Doesn't this picture look nice? Our loving family gathered around the Bible, voices harmonious, spirits joined in unity...ahhhh. What a nice idea. In reality, this week was filled with whining, tantrums, fighting and time-outs. At least that's how it felt to "MooOOOMMmmMMMYYY!!!!" The heat? The rain? The new togetherness now that school is out? Probably all of the above, and I found my patience thin and my voice raised a lot more than I would like them to be. Time spent focusing on God's word is just as much for me (maybe more?) than it is for them. A chance to stop, take a breath (or several), and refocus on something positive and life-giving.

Okay, so the week wasn't all bad. We spent a couple glorious days at the pool. We played some games. We worked together to get the house clean for our weekend guest. And we did some fun things together learning Psalm 119:105. The boys loved learning the familiar song that accompanies this verse.

Brady was thrilled to recognize this song at our church's high school choir's home concert this week! Both boys really got into singing it as our mealtime prayer. We also enjoyed staying up late one warm night and taking a walk with flashlights, "lighting our path" and hunting for lightening bugs. We didn't get around to starting a prayer journal this week...maybe tomorrow. Or next week. In the meantime, I'll be working on my crabbiness.

Light unto my path

As this Bible-learning operation unfolds, I am realizing it is already Tuesday, and unlike Molly, I have no chart for stickers and have not yet mentioned the project to my children. Hooray for GRACE, yes?

That said, "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path." What better way to get a jump start for this mommy than to actually open The Word herself? (Had to find it first- took it on family camping trip thinking I might have some lovely God-time by the creek by which we pitched our tents. HA!)  Because God is so good, I opened up to Deuteronomy and my eyes were guided to the story of Moses instructing God's people, "Gather the people together—men, women, children, and the foreigners living among you—so they can listen well, so they may learn to live in holy awe before God, your God, and diligently keep everything in this Revelation." Now surely it was the work of the Spirit that lead me to such a passage, but we know the Word is filled with such urgings to love God's teachings and share them with one another.

Prayer: Thank you for your Word in my life, that I can find your mighty truths turning to simple guidance that feels as if it's meant just for me. Thank you that each word whispers "I love you" to my heart. Thank you GOD for making me a mom, even as I watch Sarah precariously climb upon the counter to reach for a water bottle even after I caution her not-so-gently. Help us to learn to live in holy awe of you.

Why do I hear crying coming from the basement?!

Here we go!

So, a few weeks ago I emailed my friend Jen and told her we had a mission from God to do this summer.  This is how I know Jen is a great friend: she didn't even blink. (Or, I imagine she didn't as she read.) Instead she jumped right in to this project, full of her own brilliant insights and ideas. 

I love summer. I love warm weather, vacations, and a more open schedule. However, I've found that things at my house operate better if we still have a little structure. Not too much, but a little. I'm very excited to work on learning Bible verses with my boys and to have a framework and some accountability to make it happen! Our plan is to learn one verse a week for 12 weeks, using the Say it!/Play it!/Pray it! method (Jen's genuis). We didn't want to make this too complicated, so each week we'll do one activity from each category. We hope some of our friends will join us in this project and also share how it goes in your households. Jen and I look forward to sharing with each other and with you.

I'm getting a jump-start on Week 1-- I've written our verse on the chalkboard and posted sticker charts for each of the boys. At the end of the week, they'll get a sticker in the box. I'm excited to see what ideas Jen has to motivate her girls! Here we go!