Train Up Tuesday: Thanks to Teachers...and Moms

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

I don't know if this is relatively "new" to this generation.  I don't remember anyone participating in this when I was growing up, but it is a lovely thought - thanking teachers. Teachers have to have great patience.  I know it's tough having patience with teaching my own children, and they forgive me when I "lose it", so I can't imagine what it would be like to try to get a dozen or more students on track that don't belong to me personally and not "lose it" with them!

Today, I'd like to thank the teachers who made a memorable impact on my life.  Certainly all of them did in their own way, but there are a few that stick out to me.

In first grade, Mrs. Dixon taught us many things, but it was memorizing John 3:14-19 that sticks out the most.  Imagine being a 6 year old and learning to quote 6 verses!  It felt like such a huge accomplishment.  I remember that as being one of the first things I learned that made me truly proud.  Thanks to those teachers who know that their students are capable and give them what may seem to the little minds "big things" to learn and to do.  It sets new levels of confidence in abilities AND, especially in the case with Scripture memorization, it plants something in their hearts and minds that they will never forget.

In second grade, (don't worry, I'm not going to take you through EACH grade), Mrs. Deal made learning so much fun.  I remember the joy of it being my turn to do a small task (line leader, anyone?), the "freedom" of going to the back table for exploring after completing my classwork, but mostly, it was the songs she taught us.  Silly songs.  Songs about God and Christ.  I can remember to this day almost each one.  And thankfully, I have children who are learning these songs from me now.  Thanks to the teachers who make school days something to look forward to, even in the smallest details without ever having to spend an extra dime to do so.  Thanks to those who teach things like music that are forever in our hearts and become a joy to share with others later in life.

There were certainly others who provided other wonderful things to my life throughout elementary school and junior high.  I mostly enjoyed school during those days.  As I moved into a new school with kids and teachers I didn't know as a freshman, my life took a hard turn.  As a new kid in a new school, along with other hard things my heart was going through, I was relentlessly picked on by a couple of students.  A boy in my grade and a girl a grade above me.  Mostly, it was this boy who made my life most miserable.  I had to start the day off with this kid in my homeroom, which was also my Bible class.  I think I was one of the few students who actually liked Bible class (in a Christian school!).  Even though starting the day with this boy's tormenting words was not something I liked, it was the teacher, Mr. Sandidge who helped make homeroom a safe place for me.

Honestly, I don't know if he was even aware of it.  I ran into him a few years ago and am certain he didn't remember me, but I thanked him for being the teacher he was in those days.  He didn't spend any special time talking to me in class or out of class.  He didn't try to "protect me" in front of the others.  But it was the fact that he seemed to notice that this little introverted, awkward girl seemed interested in the subject he taught and recognized my thoughts and ideas as something of value.  I can clearly remember him reading my papers or ideas aloud (something I would NOT have done myself in front of that class).  So, I'm thankful for those teachers who make "safe places" in their classes for kids like me who may be getting bullied but aren't speaking up; teachers who recognize ideas and thoughts of the new or introverted and share them in a way that doesn't make the child feel further terrified, but rather valued.

I also want to thank the public school (or even Christian school) teachers who reach out to students that they know need the Lord and even help in discipling them or fostering a love for things that are godly.  My husband was one such student attending public school.  After a radical conversion, it was a public school teacher who would pass him gospel music and fueled his love for Christ and godly music.

Just yesterday, a Facebook friend posted "Happy Teacher Appreciation Week" on my wall.  I'm a homeschool mom, so this is probably the only time I've had this said to me.  It was well received ;-)  This friend, though her children aren't home schooled and she and I don't get to connect in the "real world", recognized the value of the work I do.  I'm sure you have at least one friend who is a home school mom who could use your words of appreciation today!

I would be remissed if I didn't also thank mothers everywhere, especially with Mother's Day just around the corner.  Whether you homeschool or not...you are teaching your children.  Teaching them is a command we are given.  Often, our "teaching" (along with other duties) is overlooked by others, not seen as having "worth", and often isn't given the appreciation it is due.  So, thank you, Mothers for all you do in molding your children.  It can be a thankless job...but you are appreciated ;-)

-Ashlie

Train Up Tuesday: TIME OUT for Thanksgiving

The last couple of weeks, we've been considering "Advent" and "homemade gifts". But this week, I HAVE to take a TIME OUT! I definitely want to get the "Advent" message out there (because in years past, I haven't given enough time in advance to actually allow readers to prepare before Advent). However, I do not like what the over-commercialization (and even well-meaning preparation) of Christmas has done to other important November holidays (can you say "Veterans Day" and "Thanksgiving"?).

So, this week, take some time and re-visit some previous Roof posts on "Thanksgiving". You'll find some great old and new traditions to consider and some fun ideas to celebrate THIS season.

Don't get so caught in the hustle and bustle of buying or making gifts that you fail to be thankful for here and now!
-Ashlie

Train Up Tuesday: Ten

No doubt you've read many a post related to September 11 already. The encouraging thing is that it shows we don't have short memories about everything (I've heard it said that Americans tend to have short memories regarding many things, especially politically), though this is probably a memory that we all wish we didn't have to have.

Unfortunately, as Christians, we too can have short memories about some great things. We may "forget" because the pain of the past still hurts far more than what we feel it's worth recalling. Or we often tend to "forget" the good things and only dwell on the negative. I'm challenging you today to make an effort to make all those things a marker of sorts in your life, for the benefit of pointing others to Christ.

September 2001 has some powerful markers for me. Of course, I am forever impacted by September 11th, but there are a couple of days leading up to that that have profoundly influenced my life as well. The first is the salvation of a gal who was (and still is) my hairstylist. God had given me and other Christians opportunities to be a witness to her while getting our haircuts and color jobs. She was certainly seeking, that was obvious to us. But we were all anxiously anticipating the day she would see her need for Christ and make Him her choice. And then, it happened, and oddly enough, it happened about 2 weeks BEFORE September 11th.

I remember talking to her shortly after that date. She said she knew if the Spirit had not led her to Christ before then, September 11th may have made her heart more hardened and she would not have had His peace on that day. Ten years later....she is a most amazing woman of God and witness for Christ, still doing hair and encouraging those she comes into contact with. On a personal note, she is one of my best friends, and even better....she is my sister-in-law. I will ALWAYS remember September 2001.

The second story is related to the day BEFORE September 11th. That was a very hard day for me. It was the realization that things weren't as perfect in my marriage as I thought. It wasn't for the sake of something hugely immoral, but it was the realization of the track of debt that we were on, mostly due to medical bills related to our first year of marriage (when my husband was diagnosed with cancer). It was sobering and a revelation for us that we had to dramatically change our course of action.

Debt isn't its only problem in itself. The managing of it, or the poor attempts can bring up issues of trust and doubt in marriage in general, even if they are unsubstantiated. I recall that night quite vividly. How in this world would we make it through it?! But God is so faithful. It was the beginning of a "healing" per se and the birth of something so beautiful in my marriage....total trust and openness and finding true contentment with what we did have. Ten years later...we have such joy. Yes, we have very little debt, which is great in itself, but more than that, we do have that contentment. Our house maybe be small and our family is ever growing, but our children are learning to feed their hearts and souls with more than material possessions or even the desires for them. I will NEVER FORGET September 2011.

Coincidentally, for a class my husband is taking he recently had to write out a one page salvation testimony and a one page recovery testimony (the latter being something "fresher" that God has brought you through since salvation). I encourage you to go back and look at some things that have happened in your life and the lives of those close to you. Recall them and actually talk about them, especially with your children. As huge as September 11th was for all of us, if we don't continue to remember it, eventually there will be a generation for which it has no meaning. Similarly, if we don't take time to revisit salvation of friends and relatives as well as "recovery testimonies" our children will fail to see the spiritual struggles that we've faced and that God has been faithful to bring us through.

My hopes for the future of "Patriot Day" in our family is to take time to recall September 11th AND the days leading up to it.

NEVER FORGET,
Ashlie

Train Up Tuesday: Reflecting on the Year

“You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.” - Psalm 65:11 (ESV)

In just a few days, we wrap up what we knew as 2009. For some, it is a relief, perhaps due to a difficult year; others will reflect on it for the joys that it brought. In either case, believers in Christ can thank God for his provisions, grace and mercy. As parents, we should take this opportunity to look back at the year with our children. So here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. Thankfully for digital technology, it is easier now more than ever to look through a years worth of photos chronologically. You may already have a feature on your computer that allows you to set a slide show. Even if you don’t have time to sort through favorite photos, perhaps you can set computer up to show pictures from 2009 all day on New Year’s Eve. This may prompt you to remember what you and the kids may otherwise forget that you are thankful for this past year. The kids will love seeing themselves and recalling favorite events, activities, and occasions.
2. Make a calendar for next year using this year’s photos. My family did that for a few years as Christmas gifts for grandparents. It was always a joy to see how far the children have come developmentally or physically from the previous year.
3. Look through your 2009 calendar and talk about the events and moments of the year. What are you thankful for as a parent? How has your little one changed for the better? Let him know about that. What does your child like about the last year? Also reflect on the difficult times that the Lord has brought your family through or is bringing you through. Talk about the hope that awaits in a new year when you have Christ in your life.
4. Store things in a time capsule, or make a special journal entry, scrap book page, or a cute placemat to commemorate favorite events from the year.

This year, I am so thankful to have watched my small boys grow together, playing together, teaching and learning from each other. I’m thankful for a husband who adores God, and loves his family and works hard so I can be home with my boys.

What does your family do to reflect on a year that is coming to an end? What are you particularly thankful for this year?

Join me next week as I offer ideas for starting a fresh new year with your little ones!

Much love,

Ashlie

Train Up Tuesday: 5 Kernels of Corn

No doubt you are busy already this week - cleaning, grocery shopping, baking, cooking, perhaps packing for a trip. I’ll make this week’s excerpt pretty short but sweet (though a little late...so sorry). In reading “The Light and the Glory,” I came to learn (or re-learn) that although the first Thanksgiving was historical, it isn’t the only Thanksgiving that we should remember of the early Pilgrims. It was the second observation that I present to you today.

It was another harsh winter met with loss of lives due to starvation and to the severity of the bleak environment with which they were faced. Things were so tight among their meager food rations, that there were months when all they had to “sustain” their hunger were five kernels of corn. Can you imagine? Yet, as we often see among God’s children, these struggles continue to knit these men and women together with each other and closer to the heart of Christ. They survived the winter, thrived in the spring and summer, and once again, were compelled to observe with gratitude the day that we now celebrate annually.

Then from perhaps a bit of wisdom, humility, and true gratitude, someone presented an “appetizer” for the feast that was truly unusual - five kernels of corn “lest we forget”.

What have you been through this year that you never want to forget? I hope this year to begin a new tradition with my family - serving five kernels of corn at the beginning of our annual celebration. What a great way, too, to share five things for which you are grateful each year! Hope this inspires new traditions for you!

Much love and with many thanks,

Ashlie

Train Up Tuesday: Lessons from the Mayflower

Well, did you have a chance to get a copy of “The Light and the Glory” after reading last week’s mini-review? I hope so! I’m learning so much from it, being reminded of our nation’s true heritage, and am being challenged in my own life.

I’m sure those of you who honor the Thanksgiving holiday in true form with moments of giving thanks are looking forward to sharing what God has done for you in the past year or how He has ministered to you. An attitude of gratitude is indeed a beautiful thing.

In your reflection over the last year, don’t forget about the moments when you have been squeezed tightly. What “juices” have oozed from you in those moments? I hope they have been precious ointment and a lovely fragrance (like Glenda wrote about last week). I wish I could say that’s always the case for me. Even if I thought I could get by and say it is the case...my kiddos could tell you it didn’t always go that way.

Let’s consider those Pilgrims of the Mayflower. No doubt, most of us remember that the 102 Pilgrims were in pretty cramped quarters while trekking through the Atlantic for a new home. As Marshall & Manuel describe it:

“ [they] huddled in the lantern-lit darkness of the low-ceilinged ‘tween-decks’ women and small children allowed to have the captain’s cabin; no hatches open because of continuous storms; all non-essential personnel required to stay below decks; the constant crying of small children; no chance to cook any meals.”

All this for seven weeks, people! It’s almost as if they were sailing in a huge coffin. Just reading this alone almost makes my skin crawl and feel a little claustrophobic! No doubt hidden, buried sins were coming up to the surface and had to be faced, repented of, and cleansed. Fortunately, these travelers were no foreigners to on-your-face prayer.

The most amazing thing of their trials in just getting there is the testimony that they left with the crew members...but I’m not giving that away; you’ll have to read up on that yourself. ;-)

Don’t you wonder about those families? We may elevate them to a “sainthood” status because they were Pilgrims. But, I think they were probably a lot like you and me. When squeezed really tight, their hidden ugliness came to light and had to be dealt with in all humility. Can you think back on those times when you and children faced a storm together? Perhaps you did react in a way you didn’t want your kids to learn to repeat. Did you use it as an opportunity to learn together? In the end, did you see evidence of the impact your testimony had to those surrounding you? The world is looking for examples of God in families thriving together. Don’t forget to celebrate making it through a storm in the last year as you share your victories over the Thanksgiving holiday!

This leads me to share a family tradition in our household. Although we all intend to have a heart of gratitude, the business of the day or the awkwardness of family openness (or lack thereof) often prohibits actually sharing things together. About 3 years ago, I came across the idea somewhere to write out your thankfulness on a tablecloth to be reused each year. It’s been wonderful to see our family expand (seriously...in 3 years we’ve had 2 marriages and 5 children to increase the brood) and to see the progression of thanks. It’s a nice way to preserve those memories.

Much love,

Ashlie

Train Up Tuesday: Teaching the Truth behind Thanksgiving

Sister on the Roof, it is November! Ah, I love this month (and not only because it is my birthday month)! I know that many of you, like myself, love the chill in the air juxtaposed against the warmth of family inside the home, gathering for many holiday occasions around the corner. I have so many things to share in the coming weeks in anticipation of Thanksgiving! Oh, where to begin?

I think of primary importance is to set things straight about the joyous Thanksgiving Day, especially in an age where it has become known as “Turkey Day” or the day before all the good sales start. :( So much of the origins of this wonderful day are almost a mythological story lost in translation. I was raised in a wonderful Christian home and attended Christian schools throughout all of my elementary and high school education. I’ll be honest, history wasn’t my favorite subject, but I do remember some of it...that our country was founded on Christian principles. However, it was pretty basic and historical in its presentation (or at least in the way that I remember it). Though I have always cherished the Thanksgiving Day and have implemented some family traditions (that I will share in the coming weeks) that I believe honor God, this year, my heart has ached for something more. Thanks to some godly men in the faith and some of my own questions, my heart has been pointed in the right direction with information that truly has been a “Light” to me. The book “The Light and the Glory” by Peter Marshall and David Manuel was loaned out to me by my brother-in-law, with two important chapters dogeared for me.

I was eager to devour the chapters relating to the first Thanksgiving. And the timing must have been divine, for my 4 year old was at his Grammy’s and my 18 month old took a 2 hour nap (compared to usually only an hour). I poured through these two chapters with my mouth no doubt hanging open. Yes, I knew the Pilgrims were godly and were seeking a new land with true freedoms for worship...but to see it really spelled out that God truly purposed this embarkment to a new land, that Squanto was saved for “such a time as this” like Joseph of the Old Testament, that the Pilgrims could notice “greed” in themselves and were repentant. From what I read so far in the book (and I intend on reading it all), it is more than simply the perspective of two Christian authors with an agenda (forcing their personal beliefs on history) because much of the content is direct quotes from journals, letters, and quotes from those that were really there. It’s such a great story...no...TRUTH! And it does need to be shared with our children, lest they grow up oblivious and brainwashed into thinking we are not a Christian nation. I also received a “The Light and the Glory for Children: Discovering God’s Plan for America from Christopher Columbus to George Washington” a few days ago. I can’t wait to share this with my children as part of our Thanksgiving traditions.

That’s all for now, but come back next week for a few glimpses into our real history! Oh, and buy the book this week so you can be prepped for the day of thanks!

Much love,

Ashlie

Train Up Tuesday: Snail Mail Expressions of Gratitude and Love

It’s an age of all things electronic when it comes to almost all forms of communication - instant messaging, texting, Skyping, Facebook. Good, old fashioned letters and cards seem to fade from thought, yet who doesn’t just love it when a “thank you” or love letter is written in pen or even crayon and delivered unexpectedly? I say “unexpectedly” because it seems so much faster and easier and normal to type/text/Facebook.

I want to give you a few ideas on how to teach your little one the value of these types of notes. First, consider the simple “thank-you” card. After my husband and I were married, I tried to be intentional on getting out thank-you cards to those who bestowed their love in gifts to honor our marriage celebration. I never “seemed to have time” to do them all at once, so I did what I could when I could. I thought I had gotten them all out until MONTHS...and I mean MANY months later, I found probably 30 or so under the seat of my car (oh, did I just say that?! Guess now you know how often I was cleaning out my car, too)! YIKES! I was embarrassed...too embarrassed to give those cards out even at that point! That was a kick in the right direction, however. When my oldest son was born, notes went out a little quicker...but come on, I was a new mommy and hadn’t quite adjusted my time management (still working on that, too by the way). For his first birthday, though, I took extra care and time to have his photo made with a message “from him” thanking people for helping make his day special and handed them out as guests would leave the party or would mail them to the few who mailed birthday wishes to him. It was evidently a hit. I would go to friends’ homes and see that thank you on their refrigerator. Now, I do it each year for both my boys.

Now that my oldest son (whom I’ll refer to as CA) is 3 and loves art (like his momma!), we try to be diligent to send thank-yous to anyone who gives him something or does something that he is grateful for. I’m already seeing appreciation develop in him. He will say “thank you” voluntarily for things to people, which is what we all want in training our children. We don’t want to have to tell our little ones to say thank you; we want to train them to do that themselves without our prompting.

A second idea is simple letters of love to just make someone’s day. For most of our married life, when I haven’t been able to go on a trip with my husband, I send letters with him for each night he’s away. He says it’s the part he most looks forward to during his trips. Before kids, the letters were mushy, gushy, and sometimes a page long. Now, I’m happy to have a 2 sentence coherent thought to write; not that I love him less, but let’s face it, it’s a little difficult it to complete a sentence with little ones around you. I like our letters now, more than ever, because they are sprinkled with crayon markings, stickers, and other sweet surprises. CA helps me with these notes now for “Daddy”. This year, we started something new. A blank book for CA to draw/write in and for me to write in as well. I bought these fabulous, inexpensive blank books here. We are almost through with the first book. My husband has loved his special book! He told me he often runs his hands across the pages to feel the impressions that his boy has made while drawing for him. In a day where Skype is a great tool, it still doesn’t replace the connection that my husband feels by touching what his son has made. CA is earnest about making sure we write in “Daddy’s book”. He’s equally driven to make certain that daddy doesn’t forget to read it each night he’s away. (My husband does his part to return his love as well, but I hope to share that with you in the coming weeks.)

Now don’t get me wrong, I get happy to see my inbox lit up like most of you, but I’ll take the feel of crayon on construction paper ANY day!

So what creative ways do you have for helping your little ones learn the art and appreciation for writing/drawing letters? How do you help teach them the value of expressing gratefulness and love to others? Post links to your favorite ideas, please.