18 Things to do Before You Turn 18 by Chelsea

This is what my daughter posted on Facebook today :) I am very blessed!!

18 Things to Do Before You’re 18 by Chelsea

A few weeks ago I got a little booklet in the mail from USAA. The title of it was, “18 things to do before you turn 18.” Since it was from USAA, it had 18 things that were like, “Cook a dinner,” “Learn how to change the tires on your car,” etc. Though not totally impressed with the booklet, I was inspired by the title. So I’ve written an article with the same name, but with different things to do.

1. Develop a respectful attitude with your parents. If we start working on good relationships with our parents, we will be more likely to continue it in the future.
2. Develop a long-lasting relationship with your siblings. In addition to our parents, our siblings are some of the most important people to establish strong bonds with. They should become our best friends.
3. Get a mentor. A godly Christian mentor is also very essential for life.
4. Start meeting with at least one godly accountability partner. Accountability partners (or groups) are one way that we can keep track of each other and pray for one another. This will get us used to confiding in other believers.
5. Get used to consulting God. We need to get used to praying and asking God what his will for us is.
6. Memorize one or more verses that will stay with you. We should each find at least one verse that means a lot to us and we should recite it until we can just say it off the top of their head. It will encourage you when you really need it.
7. Learn to Biblically discern. One way that is good to do that is to read a classic and analyze the spiritual aspects of it and see if the book has anything that contradicts what is in the Bible.
8. Decide what you believe. Instead of just taking for granted what our parents believe, we need to decide for ourselves what we believe and what we are willing to defend. We need to adopt our parents’ beliefs and make them our own.
9. Learn to drive responsibly. What? I thought these were all things about getting closer to God. Well, most of them are. But this is very important as well.
10. Learn to handle money responsibly. Even though we might not have jobs yet, we can still learn to handle money responsibly and make sure we’re not spending birthday or Christmas money on little things that don’t matter.
11. Start tithing; it’s never too early. Again, even if we don’t have jobs, we can still start giving God part of our money.
12. Practice obeying in even unfair circumstances. We’re not always going to be able to make everything fair, or argue with our bosses, so we should start accepting orders even though they might not be fair.
13. Start practicing for your career. We need to think about what we’d like to be someday and begin practicing it. That way we’ll be better prepared when we get to college.
14. Write a list of qualities to look for in a spouse. At some point we need to write a list of things we would look for in a spouse.
15. Set a goal and accomplish it. This is a good thing to do again, to practice.
16. Begin to interact with people of all ages. This will prepare us for when we are adults and won’t always have people of our own ages to talk with. We can talk to older people as well as little kids.
17. Work hard in school as Jesus would. WWJD—we need to get good grades because that’s what Jesus would do if he were in our shoes.
18. Do your part to elevate expectations of teens. Teens aren’t really thought much of. However, if we act like Christians, maybe people will start to think more of us.

The spirit of Advent....I don't think so!

Today I decided to have the kids give me a list of neat things they might like considering Advent season starts in a little over a month. Last year we began the tradition of reading a special advent story with Bible verses, using candles and giving the kids one small present each Sunday of advent and one slightly larger gift on Christmas Day. The spirit of Advent of course is to think about Christ and what His coming to earth meant more than we think about the gifts we get.

What made me laugh today....

One child wrote as #2 on his list "Assassin Droid Lego set"...ummm I think we have some work to do here on keeping the spirit of advent! He looks at me like what is wrong with that? Yes killer droid legos for Christmas...I don't think so :)

What I've learned in one year...

Corey last week

Corey's homecoming one year ago - September 23, 2008

Sometimes smiles are deceptive...we assume the person smiling is OK but sometimes they aren't. This past year of being Corey's mom has been more difficult than I could possibly imagine. The picture I had of him showed a cute, vulnerable little toddler in need of a family and then the reality hit me within the first week of his homecoming that this was going to be HARDER than anything I had done before. This journey has led me on a path that involved huge life changes for us, going into missions then withdrawing due to Corey's difficulties, blaming him and sometimes regrettably blaming God.

But now as we passed the one year mark with Corey, it isn't honestly that things are better because they aren't really. It's that adopting Corey changed me...sometimes at first for the worse. Perhaps it's just that it truly revealed what was in my heart all along. There have been other circumstances and attacks from people which have further emphasized what I need to change. These are the things that I know now after a year: 1. I care too much about what other people think, 2. I have trouble enduring hardship and want a way out when it seems to be too much 3. I have trouble loving unconditionally someone who can't or refuses to love me back. These things apply to my life in a way that extends beyond a little boy whose birthmom drank excessively and caused his brain to be damaged. It applies to some of those tough times when Christians in your life chose to attack you as well.

I can honestly begin to say I'm thankful for the valleys in the past year. It hasn't been easy, but they have caused me to look at my sinful heart and call out to God more than ever before for help. It takes supernatural strength from God to be able to love when you are not loved, to extend grace when someone passes judgment on your life without understanding it, when God's plans are not your plans, when things are hard and you need Him each minute to hold it together. So little Corey...thank you for coming into my life, for the joy of being your Mom regardless of what happens and for the lessons I'm learning through being called to adopt you and love you forever.

H1N1 comes for a visit

Here's hoping it leaves us soon! 5 out of 6 kids diagnosed yesterday and Mom is now down this morning w/ fever, body aches, the works. Cameron is considered high risk due to asthma and his heart condition so the doctor prescribed Tamiflu for all of the children to try to help - it took us many hours due to a shortage of Tamiflu to actually get some. Corey is just 2 and on day 8 of high temps. Our healthiest child was Caelyn, but this morning she started throwing up and is in bed (which is not like the symptoms the rest of us have). Pray for Rick as he helps at home today and for God's protection over all of us. We had a great vacation in NY even though half way through some of the kids began to be sick. Pray for our friends in NY who are now also starting to show symptoms.

Blessings

Somehow daily life keeps me from being able to blog much but I wanted to take a moment just to reflect on the blessings God gives us each day! Yesterday was a perfect example of God's blessings to us when I was sick, packing for a family trip to see friends in NY and realized our oldest son had outgrown...well almost everything!!! Because we do laundry daily and just made the changeover to cooler weather clothing I didn't realize how desperate the situation was. We began to make a list..size 9 brown dress shoes, black sweats and perhaps another pair of sweats for outdoor play with friends in NY, a pair of jeans, a white long sleeved shirt that could be used under his tshirts for a nice layered look, a winter coat and perhaps a hat. I prayed that God would give me strength to even make it to the thrift store and allow us to find what we needed. We literally walked through the store, finding everything on our list and it all was PERFECT..we checked out within 20 minutes having purchased all that was on our list for just $21!!! Caleb looked in amazement at how God had provided (and I'm thankful for an almost teen boy who loves a bargain and is glad to be able to save money and be so thankful at the same time).

God also provided a winter coat for Corey and a new dress for Caelyn that was on our need list for the Fall just this week! One of the fun blessings was also a gift and a coupon for a Yankee candle..a little luxury that I enjoy! I bought the candle called "Be Thankful" to remind myself to count God's goodness each day. I could blog forever about the ways He takes care of our family and shows His love and presence each day as we wait on Him...but I'll end with just saying THANKS Lord for all you've done for my family....blessing us when we deserve judgment and giving us GRACE.

M&Ms, My Bible and Some Tea

This is how I sometimes spend an afternoon..coping with the stresses of morning school, a food battle with little man involving choking and screaming, and the uncertainty of what is next and when...then I retreat and cry some, pouring out my heart and my concerns to my Savior.

This passage has meant alot to me this week: Portions of Psalm 77

"I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted...

I said 'Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.' Then I made a diligent search;

Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end of all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?

Then I said 'I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.' I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is GREAT like our God?

I'm thankful God's steadfast love cannot cease nor is it dependent on me and my goodness or lack thereof. I'm thankful that He is not angry with me but has compassion. Please pray for our family...for wisdom and strength during this valley that we will trust Him and remember all the miracles He's done in the past in our lives and have faith for the ones we cannot yet see.

Are we there yet?

The most asked question on any trip is "Are we there yet?" Until I was a parent, I had no idea how frustrating that question can be! As a child, it seemed like a logical request for information. As a parent, it is something completely different, and now with six children, most of whom can talk, all of whom can parrot the same words, it feels like an official itinerary needs to be printed and given to the passengers!! And yet, as I have thought about that question, it is something we seem to find ourselves, as adults, asking God frequently: "Are we there yet?"

Whether you are in adoption mode (waiting for paperwork), transition mode (waiting for the next phase of life), or normal life mode (waiting for ...), we often find ourselves waiting for something. Maybe it is waiting in the line at the store, or waiting in traffic, or waiting for some government official to give you some kind of approval. Maybe you are waiting for a child to learn something that would make your life easier (potty training comes to mind). It seems like we are always waiting for something, and rarely are we happy about it! We may not voice the words but we are asking God, "Are we there yet?"

As Jesus was about to ascend back to heaven, His disciples asked, "Is it now time ...", basically, "Are we there yet?" They were ready to be where they thought Jesus was taking them, but Jesus responds that it is not for them to know the times or the seasons, etc. He was talking about the end times, but the principle applies to other times of waiting. There was a job to do for the disciples right where they were, and there is a job to do right where you find yourself today. Is there a friend or co-worker who could use encouragement? Is there a spouse or family member who has not heard you tell them you love them? How can you use the time God has given you in the lives of those around you while you wait? You may not be "there" yet because God wants you "here".