Weekend Reflection ... It's Autumn

Isaiah 40: 26-31 (NIV)

26Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one,
and calls them each by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.

27Why do you say, O Jacob,
and complain, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?

28Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

29He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

30Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

31but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Speed Up!

In PreK class today, one student was late getting to school. The teacher thought this would be a great opportunity to talk about what choices could be made to help one get to school on time. So this teacher said, “What would be a good thing to do if you know that you will have people in front of you driving too slowly?" Her hopes were that someone would say leave earlier, but to her surprise someone said, “HONK!” ... From the mouth of babes.

Story by Lisa

ChapStick (part II)

This is a sequel to yesterday's post ... My FIVE-YEAR-OLD-SON tells me he's kissing a girl, in his PreK class, on the lips! So here we are, the next morning, in the car heading to school ... our mother-to-son talk. I explained that kissing on the lips is not a good idea (germs/teacher punishment/inappropriate etc...) but that hugging, holding hands and a 'peck' on the cheek are wonderful ways to show that you like someone. After I say all of this, it is completely silent in the back seat. So much so that I say, "Did you hear what I said?" He replied, "Yes .... (long pause then, with much emphasis) but we're in love."

Even funnier was when I picked him up from school that afternoon. "So how did it go today? Were you able to explain to Andrea about the hug or a peck on the check instead of on the lips?" He says, "Yeah, (sounding a little deflated) but she didn't want any of that."

ChapStick

As I tucked my five-year-old into bed and was walking out of his bedroom he stopped me. In a soft, secretive voice he said, "Mommy ... you know what I did at school today? ... and the teacher doesn't know ... nobody knows..." Eeecckkk ... I braced myself for something horrific and asked, "No honey, what did you do?" "I kissed Andrea - kissed her on the lips." This took me off guard and I calmly said, "Oh, you did, wow ... well, what did Andrea think of that?" Expecting him to say that she ran away or told the teacher, instead he said, "She wants me to do it over and over and over again."

Am I in for it or what? Did I say he is five-years-old?! Get the ChapStick ready girls. Our mom-to-son discussion came the next day ... Stay tuned for that ... his reply was hysterical.

Weekend Reflection ...

"Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times but, Until seventy times seven." Matthew 18:21-22

Ouch ... that means 490 times ... yet I am sure it means even more than that. Not an easy task - I think especially hard within our own families ... a father-in-law that speaks ill against you, the never can please mother-in-law, the take-you-for-granted sister or a sibling that always picks a fight ... you get the picture. Forgiveness is HARD but oh so necessary for spiritual growth.

"Love your enemies, bless those that curse you ..." stay tuned next weekend ... another hard one!

Hats Off

I am a stay-at-home home mom with three children ages; four, two, and eight-months old. To say the least, life can be a bit hectic around here. On top of the daily chaos, we are in the process of building an addition on to our home. It is at this very crucial moment, when I have my littlest one slung upon my side, and I am speaking with our contractor, about something of great importance, when I hear, “No Colton!” Out of her room marches my four-year-old daughter - wearing a dress up hat with some sort of liquid dripping off of it. It is then, in front of the contractor, I learn that my two-year-old son has peed into her hat! And yes, the pee was now dripping down on to the floor in front of me, and mortifyingly enough, right next to the contractor himself!

Cherise C.

Mississippi

My SUV was packed with my two children, a few friends and me. We were driving home from a short day trip and that last hour in the car became extremely boring - so I cleverly occupied my oldest son with a spelling game. He was completely up for the challenge as his two-year-old brother, sitting next to him, listened and laughed along. After doing this game for about forty-minutes I was ready for it to be over - so I began to make my spelling words harder and harder for him to spell. Finally I blurted out, “Okay, spell Mississippi.” As expected, he whined, “Mississippi! ... Mom, I don’t know how to spell Mississippi!” So I began singing it in crazy spelling fashion, “M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I … M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I … M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I.” When all of a sudden my two-year-old yells out, “No, No … No P-P-I, No P-P-I!”
I look in the rear view mirror and my little one is holding one hand over his eye. He most certainly didn’t want his big brother to pee-pee him in the eye! We all laughed so hard the rest of the drive home, and my kids were more endearing to me than ever that day!


Gena

photo credit:
http://www.apples4theteacher.com/usa-states/mississippi/facts/index.html

OM2A™ - Probiotics

The powerhouse of your immune system is your intestines ... so maybe a probiotic will help you attain better health? Have you taken an antibiotic, which kills off the good bacteria as well as the bad? A probiotic will help restore that natural state to your body. Here's the lowdown, on probiotics, from the MayoClinic:

Your body contains billions of bacteria and other microorganisms. The term "probiotics" refers to dietary supplements or foods that contain beneficial, or "good," bacteria that are similar to those normally found in your body. Although you don't need probiotics to be healthy, these microorganisms may provide some of the same health benefits that the bacteria already existing in your body do — such as assisting with digestion and helping protect against harmful bacteria.

In addition to supplements, probiotics can be found in such foods as yogurt, fermented and unfermented milk, miso, and some juices and soy drinks. Dannon's Activia yogurt, for instance, is an example of a probiotic food.

There is a growing public and scientific interest in probiotics. Researchers are studying whether probiotics taken as foods or supplements can help treat or prevent illness. There is encouraging evidence that probiotics may help:

• Treat diarrhea, especially following treatment with certain antibiotics
• Prevent and treat vaginal yeast infections and urinary tract infections
• Treat irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• Reduce bladder cancer recurrence
• Shorten the duration of intestinal infections
• Prevent and treat inflammation following colon surgery (pouchitis)
• Prevent eczema in children

Some researchers believe probiotics may improve general health. A small 2005 study in Sweden, for instance, found that a group of employees who were given the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri missed less work due to respiratory or gastrointestinal illness than did employees who were not given the probiotic.

More research is needed to confirm the effectiveness of probiotics. As with any dietary or herbal supplement, consult your doctor before starting any new treatment.

From OM2A™, my five-year-old son and I take a probiotic every morning. My son's pediatrician frequently comments on how he RARELY sees my son during the year ... just for his regular checks ups -- which astonishes him during the cold/flu season.

A FEW GOOD BRANDS:

NSI Probiotic

Nature's Sunshine Probiotic

Xymogen Probiotic

Weekend Reflection ...

"Watch the river the way it flows and effortlessly passes over the little impediments that get in its way. That is the way to walk through life, unencumbered by the small challenges that happen every day."
~ Daniel Levin, The Zen Book

photo credits: DK Geegan, All rights reserved.

Choices

"Every woman has the ability to choose hilarity or insanity on a daily basis.
Choose laughter."
~ Anita Remfoe

This quote is such a great one for us moms to remember.
Have a blessed day! ~ DK Geegan