KIDS
WILL BE KIDS
My husband and
I had been happily married (most of the time) for five years but hadn't
been blessed with a baby.
I decided to do some serious praying and
promised God that if he would give us a child, I would be a perfect
mother, love it with all my heart and raise it with His word as my
guide.
God answered my prayers and blessed us with a
son.
The next year God blessed us with another son.
The
following year, He blessed us with yet another son.
The year after
that we were blessed with a daughter.
My husband thought we'd been
blessed right into poverty. We now had four children, and the oldest was
only four years old.
I learned never to ask God for anything unless
I meant it. As a minister once told me, 'If you pray for rain, make sure
you carry an umbrella.'
I began reading a few verses of the Bible
to the children each day as they lay in their cribs.
I was off to a
good start. God had entrusted me with four children and I didn't want to
disappoint Him.
I tried to be patient the day the children smashed
two dozen eggs on the kitchen floor searching for baby chicks.
I
tried to be understanding...
when they started a hotel for homeless
frogs in the spare bedroom, although it took me nearly two hours to catch
all twenty-three frogs.
When my daughter poured ketchup all over
herself and rolled up in a blanket to see how it felt to be a hot dog, I
tried to see the humor rather than the mess.
In spite of changing
over twenty-five thousand diapers, never eating a hot meal and never
sleeping for more than thirty minutes at a time, I still thank God daily
for my children.
While I couldn't keep my promise to be a perfect
mother - I didn't even come close... I did keep my promise to raise them
in the Word of God.
I knew I was missing the mark just a little
when I told my daughter we were going to church to worship
God, and she wanted to bring a bar of soap along to 'wash
up' Jesus, too.
Something was lost in the translation when I
explained that God gave us everlasting life, and my son thought it was
generous of God to give us his 'last wife.'
My proudest moment came
during the children's Christmas pageant.
My daughter was playing
Mary, two of my sons were shepherds and my youngest son was a wise man. This was
their moment to shine.
My five-year-old shepherd had practiced his
line, 'We found the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes.'
But he was
nervous and said, 'The baby was wrapped in wrinkled clothes.'
My
four-year-old 'Mary' said, 'That's not 'wrinkled clothes,' silly.
That's dirty, rotten clothes.'
A wrestling match broke out between
Mary and the shepherd and was stopped by an angel, who bent her halo and
lost her left wing.
I slouched a little lower in my seat when Mary
dropped the doll representing Baby Jesus, and it bounced down the aisle
crying, 'Mama-mama.'
Mary grabbed the doll, wrapped it back up and
held it tightly as the wise men arrived.
My other son stepped
forward wearing a bathrobe and a paper crown, knelt at the manger and
announced, 'We are the three wise men, and we are bringing gifts
of gold, common sense and fur.'
The congregation dissolved into
laughter, and the pageant got a standing ovation.
'I've never
enjoyed a Christmas program as much as this one,' laughed the pastor,
wiping tears from his eyes.
'For the rest of my life, I'll never
hear the Christmas
story without thinking of gold, common sense and
fur.'
'My children are my pride and my joy and my greatest
blessing,' I said as I dug through my purse for an aspirin.
Jesus
had no servants, yet they called Him Master.
Had no degree, yet
they called Him Teacher.
Had no medicines, yet they called Him
Healer.
Had no army, yet kings feared Him.
He won no
military battles, yet He conquered the world.
He committed no
crime, yet they crucified Him.
He was buried in a tomb, yet He
lives today.
Feel honored to serve such a Leader who loves
us.
GOD BLESS YOU
ALL!!!
'If you can
read this, thank a teacher;
if you are reading it in English, thank a
soldier.'
The Price of Children
This is just too good NOT to pass on to all. Here is
something absolutely
positive for a change. I have repeatedly seen the
breakdown of the cost of
raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen
the rewards listed this
way. It's nice.
The government recently calculated the cost of raising a
child from birth
to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income
family. Talk about
price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.
But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down. It
translates into:
* $8,896.66 a year,
* $741.38 a month,
* $171.08 a week.
* A mere $24.24 a day!
* Just over a dollar an hour.
Still, you might think the best financial advice is;
don't have children
if you want to be 'rich.' Actually, it is just the
opposite.
What do you get for your $160,140.00?
* Naming rights . First, middle, and last!
* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night..
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm
cookies..
* A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the
boss said or
how your stocks performed that day.
For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to:
* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs,
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.
You have an excuse to:
* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watch Saturday morning cartoons,
* go to Disney movies, and
* wish on stars.
You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under
refrigerator magnets
and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas,
hand prints set in clay
for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for
Father's Day.
For a mere $24..24 a day, there is no greater bang for
your buck.
You get to be a hero just for:
* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and
* coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets
treated to ice
cream regardless.
You get a front row seat in history to witness the:
* First step,
* First word,
* First bra,
* First date,
* First time behind the wheel.
You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to
your family tree,
and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your
obituary called
grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an
education in psychology,
nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human
sexuality that no college
can match..
In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under
God.. You have all
the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under
the bed, patch
a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them
forever, and love
them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love
without counting
the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!
Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren &
great-grandchildren!!!!!!!
It's the best investment you'll ever make!!!!!!!!!
