The Friendliest Boy

OK, since I started my blogs the weather has been awful and our internet hasn't worked but just here and there.   So whenever it is working I will have to try my best to write because I never know when it will go out.  So my apologies.

When my 7 yr old got in the car after school he reached in his bag and pulled out an award he received that day.  It said, " The Friendliest Boy".  I was so happy to read that!  His teacher had recently told me how he had encouraged another classmate who was having a hard time.  She said she saw him put his arm around the other student and tell them, " It will be alright, you can do it".  He is really an encourager.  He knows just the right thing to say and the right time to say it.  He has encouraged me so many times.  He is very in tune to  others are feeling and has a HUGE heart.  He is my child who I can reason with and explain something to and he gets it and is easy to handle. He likes outside, but if he has to stay in because of the weather or whatever he is okay with that too.  He is a pleaser.  He will argue until the death if necessary, though.  My older one, bless his heart (and mine for being his mom) doesn't argue or say much but will do whatever he has his mind on and not make a fuss about it.  All of the sudden he will be gone on one of his ideas and I won't hear from him without texting him until my fingers are about to fall off. He is a charmer though. Handsome as can be and a true boy(almost man). He has always been a magnet to mud, to this very day.  He is the daredevil.  I blame myself for letting him watch to much Tool Time, with Tim the tool man, remember that show.  Isn't it crazy how much children differ?  I find myself constantly comparing them, instead of focusing on what uniqueness' they have to offer.  I must encourage them each in their different ways.   They both have wonderful things to offer to the world, but in different ways.  I must learn to  encourage their gifts and help them grow and develop into the men God called them to be. 

Lord, help me and all the other moms of boys to see our boys potentials and gifts and unique personalities.  Help us to encourage them and mold them in the ways you want them to go.  Give us strength and wisdom to be great moms.  Bless all the moms and their boys and help them to develop close relationships with you and with each other.  In Jesus name, Amen.  


Bless You, 
Shari
 

God Bless all the Mothers of Boys

God Bless all you mothers of boys.  We have a special job and I can't imagine doing it without God's help.  Can you imagine how much harder it would be?  God picked us because he knows we have what it takes to survive all the adventures.  That's exactly what it is, an adventure.  
Have a Great Day!!


Shari

Brotherly Love

My boys are 9 1/2 yrs apart.  They very rarely get along.  Most nights when they are both home it's some kind of arguing and then crying and then I get angry and just feel like giving up.  Sometimes it seems like a hopeless task to try to help them get along and do things together.  I don't seem to have much imagination or creativity anymore so I have a hard time coming up with ideas of things for them to do.  I don't know if it's all boys or what, but mine are very active and get bored easily.  I on the other hand never get bored and don't like to have to do stuff.  We are total opposites.  I only wish I had just a little bit of their energy.  Conflict is something I can't stand,  and arguing just makes me crazy.  I am pretty quiet and my boys are pretty loud. We are constantly having to tell Billy to use his inside voice and Cody plays the television and music so loud I can't even think.  Why is this? I wonder why most kids are so loud?  When I used to substitute at school that was one of the worse parts, the loud chaos! In the high school it was the sneaky stuff that worried me.  Middle school, well, I don't really have the words for them, they are a combination of it all.  It was always the boys that were getting into everything, climbing, running, and whatever else you can think of  and they were doing it.  I prayed for a boy, and I got two.  I have a sister (she was quite a tomboy) but I really didn't know anything about boys. What a difference in boys and girls. From the way they eat to how they play and so on, and so on.  Mine are so far apart,  I have one in elementary and another in high school.  I have to say I'd take the terrible two's back any day.  I think I already said that before, but it's so true.  Having a teenage boy is like living in a nightmare.  It's not occasionally a catastrophe happens, it's weekly, sometimes daily.  Boys are such daredevils and adventurous believe me prayer is a constant thing.  God says never cease praying, and trust me I have gotten to the point that even when I wake up at night I find myself praying really without even thinking about it.  It just happens.  Psalms 91 is just a part of my daily routine.  I just insert my boys names. 
He (Cody and Billy) who dwells in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the almighty.  I (Cody and Billy) will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.  Surely He shall deliver you(Cody and Billy) from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.  He shall cover you (Cody and Billy) with his feathers, and under his wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your (Cody and Billy's) shield and buckler.  You (Cody and Billy) shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.  
A thousand may fall at your(Cody and Billy's) side, and then thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you.  Only with your eyes shall you look and see the reward of the wicked.  
Because you(Cody and Billy) have make the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you(Cody and Billy), to keep you in all your ways.  In their hands they shall bear you(Cody and Billy) up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.  You(Cody and Billy) shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. 
Because he(Cody and Billy) has set his(their) love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him(them); I will set them on high, because they have known My name.  He(Cody and Billy) shall call upon me, and I will answer him(them);  I will be with him(Cody and Billy) in trouble; I will deliver him(Cody and Billy) and honor him(Cody and Billy).  With long life I will satisfy him(Cody and Billy) and show him(Cody and Billy) My salvation.  


AMEN.


p.s. Please keep Billy and I in your prayers Monday.  We will be traveling to OK City to the OU pediatrics hospital for some testing on Billy.  He has tummy aches all the time and the doctors want to test him for Chrons Disease.  Please join with me in prayer for this situation.  Please pray for our safe trip.  Thanks!!
My God Bless and Keep You and May He make His Face to Shine Upon You!!

 Shari

8 things no child should leave home without

Here are 8 things no child should leave home without as listed by Joe McGee.  This is what we started studying in Sunday School this past Sunday.  If you have ever heard Joe McGee you know how fast and funny his speech is.  My slow mind starts burning rubber when I try to keep up with him.  
Here is the list:
1. Self Worth-You are worth something, Jesus paid his Life for you!
2. Vision(know what you want to do)
3. Love of Math(man did I leave home without this one!)
4. Meek (be teachable)
5. Organizational Skills(working hard on Cody with this one!)
6. Communication Skills(again working on this one with all of us!)
7. Character(doing what is right)
8. Sense of Humor(definitely need this one, especially if you have boys!)


Love = Time ( quality time) with your family

My oldest son, Cody, took the test of the Love Languages.  Marvin and I still need to take it, but I think Cody's is Quality Time.  After learning this I can see it in him.  I have started to make it a point no matter what time it is ( he is a night owl) to listen and just sit with him if that is all needed.  It is making a difference, I can tell.  I feel so bad, because I guess I thought since he is getting older and a teenage boy,  that he wouldn't want to spend time with me, but I was wrong.  I have had to grow up and not take it personally when he is moody and doesn't want to talk or be around anyone.  I used to get my feelings hurt, then I thought, Okay, Shari, grow up, your the mom.  I have to try not to nag, because I don't want to drive him away, but be a listening ear and a supportive mom.  Believe me his dad and I and grandma have had our times of griping and it gets overwhelming.  I have been trying to just ease up ( without giving up control) and focus on the positive. 
Now, my youngest, Billy, I would have to guess would be words of affirmation or maybe quality time.  I'm just guessing.  All I have to do is give Billy the "Look" and he crumbles.  Now Cody on the other hand,  we could punish everyday and still have to punish everyday.  
Cody would make Dr. James Dobson, author of the Strong Willed Child, pull his hair out, I'm sure of it!  I think God gave me a break with the second.  Marvin and I have come to the conclusion that God makes teenagers so difficult so it won't be so hard when they leave!! Ha, Ha!  You know it's true!!   
GOD BLESS ALL YOU MOMS OF BOYS!!!  We are a special group!  Able to withstand pounds of mud left in the bathtub, sticky chairs and counters, toys dissected and reassembled(always with parts left over), toys and bikes covered with so much mud that it takes a can of wd-40 to get the chain to work again, sticky kisses and handfuls of those little purple flowers that come up before all the grass starts to grow in the spring(you know the ones I'm talking about).  Those days disappear fast so cherish them when you have them.  


I thank God for my boys, and pray he will give me strength and wisdom.  I Plead the Blood of Jesus over Cody and Billy from crowns of their heads to the soles of their feet, every fiber, cell and tissue cover by Jesus' Precious Blood.  Lord, go with all the moms and help us to handle whatever our boys come up with.  In Jesus Name, Amen.


May God Bless and Keep You and Make His Face to Shine Upon You!!


Until Next Time, 
Shari


                                     


 

I just want PEACE!!

Oh what day, full of rain and you guessed it MUD, and puppies which led to wet puppy smell, YUCK!  You have to understand I was the prissy girl, my sister was the tomboy who loved to be outside and muddy.  God has such a sense of humor, I have the boys and my sister has the girl.  I have decided that boys are magnets for mud and water puddles.  I am very anal, and it drives me crazy for everything to be in chaos, which when you have boys that is the normal.  There is always wrestling and fighting and roughhousing,  hardly a moment of peace and silence, then when that happens I catch myself wondering what are they up to, instead of enjoying it.  I sometimes feel guilty for wanting to have peace and quiet but I just NEED IT sometimes!  I find myself constantly praying for wisdom and strength only to feel totally inadequate and weak.  I know satan wants to destroy families and relationships and I constantly have to pray and try to make the right decisions.  You can never stop or let up, not even for a moment.  I Plead the Blood of Jesus over my family and our home, cars, work and school.  I have to constantly keep after myself, because I let bad thoughts and words out.  I have started asking God to cleanse my heart and my mind.  I cannot do it myself, but if I will turn it over to God he will take my problems and deal with them, but the key is to trust him and just Let Go and Let God!!  I  pray that my friends who find that they are weighed down with burdens will let go and let you take over and take care of their problems.  I pray for strength and wisdom beyond my years and help me be a better mom.  In Jesus Name, Amen.