She did WHAT??

I never win anything. It's not sad, just a fact. I enter giveaways. I never win.
I was reading my favorite blog, When You Rise, and briefly scanned through her list of winners for different books that she was giving away. I noticed my name. Well, the "Laurel" caught my eye. Because, #1, is my name and #2, it's not very common. But alas, it wasn't me, it was "Laurel C." But I did go back and look at that because that used to be my name...my maiden is Cowser (there's some trivia for any of you who didn't know that and care to know...as if I have any readers who aren't family or close friends that already know that! ha! I shouldn't flatter myself so!). Anyway, I did think it was an interesting coincidence, but figured that once again I didn't win. No big deal. Then I got an email a few days later saying that if I didn't reply w/ the address that I wanted my book mailed to, my book would be given to someone else. WHAT? I actually did win? And I missed the first email telling me that I was chosen! Too crazy! I must have logged in w/ my FB acct to register for the giveaway and my FB name has my maiden name.
But that is not the reason for the title of this post! While it is unbelievable to me that I won a giveaway, the more unbelievable thing is that the book that I won is the personal story of how a mother read the whole Bible to her children ages 4 yrs old down to 9 months old.
SHE DID WHAT??
Read one chapter a day out loud TO HER CHILDREN. Not her high school children. Not her middle school children. Not her elementary children. Her children that were all preschool age and younger when they began. It took 5 years to read the whole Bible through...the first time...and then they did it again!!!
I had heard the title of this book in passing from different social media sites, blogs, radio, etc. I put it on my ever growing Amazon and Paper Back Swap Wish lists. I had forgotten about it as books like "The Strong-Willed Child" and "Homeschooling With a Meek and Quiet Spirit" were more on my pressing "to-read-now" list.
But then I won a free copy of this book about a mother who read the WHOLE Bible OUT LOUD to her KIDS!!
I love books, I love to hold them, to read them, to re-read them. I like the "new-book" smell. I'm usually reading at least 3 books at a time stashed at different places in the house. The reading goes ALOT slower now as I can usually only read a chapter at a time w/o being interrupted or needed...not to mention the sense of responsibility that overwhelms me and makes me stop "doing nothing" to go do housework or clean or play w/ the kids.
So, of course, I started reading this book right away! It's a smaller/shorter book with cute embellishments on many pages and a nice cover of a bird and her baby chicks. The chapters are short enough to read in about 5 minutes. The author is very personable, very real, transparent, and just overall likable! She doesn't hide the bad and the ugly. She portrays the good times and the hard times.
Here is one of my favorite parts of the book:
I prayed these two requests almost every morning of the whole five years of our first reading of the Bible. "Lord, allow my children and me to remember more than we think we are capable of remembering. And Lord, let us understand more than we think we are capable of understanding. Help us to believe what we read today and give us the desire and strength to obey Your commands. Use Your Word to transform us into the image of Christ.

I am convicted. I am excited. I want to do this. I can do this. I know it's important to teach the Word to my children, so why not start my "teaching" with reading straight from the Bible. Not a Kids Bible Story with picture version, but my Bible. Instead of them just seeing me read my Bible to myself silently. I need to read it out loud to them as well!
Together: Growing Appetites for God by Carrie Ward
I recommend this book hands down! I added it to my "favorites" on my bookshelf to the right side of the blog. (if you are reading this in an email or viewer, you will have to click over to the website here to see the bookshelf)

1st Day of School

3 weeks ago, we had our first day of school!! The boys were both very excited! Wyatt is so happy to "finally" be in Kindergarten, and Levi was excited to go to preschool!
I am homeschooling Wyatt using the following curriculum:
Abeka K5Phonics
Abeka K5Handwriting curriculum
Abeka 1st Grade Math
Abeka Community Helpers
Abeka God's World
Positive Action K5 Bible Curriculum

Levi is going to a preschool program 3 hrs/day 3 days a week at a church just 5 miles away from our house. Wyatt went there last year for pre-k and we were very pleased. They use the Abeka K4 Phonics and Handwriting as well. He has the same wonderful teacher that Wyatt had last year.
All summer long Levi kept insisting in a very grumpy voice and attitude that he was "not going to preschool". He would even say, "Mommy don't sign me up for preschool b/c I'm not going". I was very surprised at this b/c all last year he was very interested in what Wyatt had done at preschool and would talk about it all the time with great curiosity and an almost-longing desire to be there with Wyatt.
Once he realized that Wyatt would not be in the same preschool next year with him, I think he was scared/nervous to go there by himself. I just talked about it w/ excitement and encouragement even though he was clearly telling me that he did not want to go. In my head, I knew that we, as the parents, were going to have him go where we decided and he would not make the decision for us. I prayed for his attitude, and I showed him love, and continued to talk excitedly about it. The night of orientation and "meet the teacher and classmates", he did not put up a fight at all, but when we had to leave his room for a parent meeting, he did cry and pull on Adam's leg asking him not to go. I had to leave first so I didn't start crying too or give in and stay with him. But we did it, we left. He stayed. 30 minutes later, after our parent meeting was over, we came to pick him up and he was smiling! Every night since then, Levi asks, "Do I get to go to preschool tomorrow?" He LOVES it! One time he even told me, "I just had to go that first meeting and then I was ok" :-) such a grown up little boy! sniff, sniff! ;-(
Wyatt and I do his Kindergarten work while Levi is at preschool on MWF. And on Tu/Thurs, Levi joins us for our K5 Bible Curriculum. That system has been working just great for us. Wyatt is already reading and writing, so most of the things that the curriculum has set forth to teach are really just review for him. Wyatt loves math and has for quite awhile. In order to teach him something new in regards to Math, I had to put him up into the 1st grade math book. He is doing just fine with that level and seems to be ready for multiplication already. He loves doing speed tests with addition and subtraction. With his competitive nature, I know he would LOVE a game of "Around the World" w/ flashcards in a class full of students!! But I do not feel like he is "missing out" by not being in public school. Both Adam and I are confident in our decision to keep them home schooled for the younger years and take it a year at a time! Below are some pictures we captured on the first day of school to have as memories as they get bigger and older!

Book Review/Recommendation: Give Them Grace

I'm probably doing this backwards, since I already wrote 2 posts on my thoughts on the word "grace" which were spurned on by reading Give Them Grace and Grace for the Good Girl...BUT here's a more official book review/recommendation complete w/ quotes directly from the book:

I loved this book b/c it helped me start thinking of my parenting in light of God's Grace. After reading this book, I was really convicted that I have made Jesus into a sort of "Santa Clause" that rewards us when we are good and punishes us when we are bad. The author continually points out throughout the book, that we do have to live by the "law" (as they did in the Old Testament before Jesus came to earth to die for our sin--the laws that we break) to prove that we love God out of fear of what He might do. We only need to rest in what He has DONE...died on the cross for our sin.
Here are some quotes from the forward of the book:
Long-term, sustained, gospel-motivated obedience can come only from faith in what Jesus has already done, not fear of what we must do...The law shows us what a sanctified life looks like, but it does not have sanctifying power. It's the gospel (what Jesus has done) that alone can give God-honoring animation to our obedience. The power to obey, in other words, comes from being moved and motivated by the completed work of Jesus for us. So, while the law directs us, only the gospel can drive us.

One of my favorites part of the book is in the beginning...the author points out the irony of telling people that they can't earn their way to heaven by their behavior (but rather need to trust in Jesus instead of relying on their own "goodness" b/c we aren't "good" we are sinners) but then follow that up with telling them that Christianity is all about their behavior and whether God is pleased or displeased with their actions.
We will never be able to "behave" perfectly, that is why Jesus had to die.

Why are so many of the people who I grew up with (in a legalistic church and school) no longer attending church or having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Because there has to be more than just head-knowledge from following a bunch of rules. There has to be obedience from the heart. Rules will be ignored or bent, or obeyed on the outside, but with rebelling on the inside.

The primary reason the majority of kids from Christian homes stray from the faith is that they never really heard it or had it to begin with. They were taught that God wants them to be good, that poor Jesus is sad when they disobey, and that asking Jesus into their heart is the breadth and depth of the gospel message. Scratch the surface of the faith of the young people around you and you'll find a disturbing deficiency of understanding of even the most basic tenets of Christianity.

The author gives alot of examples of child rearing situations and how we should respond to train our kids to continually think of God's grace. One of my favorite examples is when 2 brothers were fighting and one is hitting the other and the mother said, "stop, you must love your brother". The child responded with "But he makes me so mad! I can't love him". What I would naturally say is what the author says that she used to say as well, "Oh, yes, you can love him and you will! The Bible says you have to, so you can"
That sounds good. I would have said that. I have said that. I default to saying that b/c that is how I was raised. But then the author points out that instead we should say something like this:

Exactly! I'm so glad to hear you say that, because it shows me that God is working in you. It is true that God commands you to love your brother, but you can't. That is the bad news, but that is not all the new there is. The rest of the news is so exciting! You can't love your brother like God is asking you to, so you need a Rescuer to help you. And the really great new is that God has already sent one! His name is Jesus! Jesus has perfectly loved you and perfectly loved his brothers for you, fulfilling the law to love in your place. If you believe in him, he doesn't punish you, the way you were punishing and beating up your brother. Instead of punishing you, he took all the punishment you deserve when he died on the cross for you. He knows how angry you are. He knows that there are times you are hateful and selfish with your brother. Be he has loved you in spite of your sin. And because of this, because of the way you have been lavishly loved, if you believe in him, you will grow to love your brother more and more. Because of Jesus alone, because of what He has already done for you, you can learn how to love if you believe that he will be that loving with you. But you'll never be able to do this on your own.

This should still be followed up with discipline and prayer!

And I love how throughout the book the author points out that no matter how much we work on training on our children in and with grace, our actions will not save our children. There is no formula that guarantees their salvation or obedience. Grace-based parenting is not the "magic" formula to be followed for a certain result. Salvation is of the Lord. He might use us as a means to accomplish His purpose.  But our children will only be saved by faith and it will be of God not of us.

These quoted portions in italics above are only from the forward and introduction sections of the book! There is sooo much more in the following chapters! Everything is backed up with scripture references as well! This is the type of book that I would like to read once a year to refresh and encourage myself in regards to parenting. Read it soon! Or MAYBE I'd let you borrow my copy although it's all marked up, underlined, and dog-eared! And by the way, as with any book, there are parts within the book that I may not agree whole heartedly with or they might *gasp* use a different version of the Bible that I don't personally own or my pastor doesn't preach out of...folks, THAT'S OK!! :-) We are big boys and girls and should be able to discern for ourselves. Compare things to what the Bible says!
I highly recommend this book (and I'm not getting paid or using any affiliate links that provide kickbacks) to any parent and grandparent! I would love to continue to post things I learned from reading this book as it would help cement these truths in my mind, but I don't want to lose the few readers/followers that I have on here! ha! Love to you all and thanks for reading what I write!