How To Raise a Modern-Day Joesph

Develop Spiritual Champions for Jesus Christ with New Practical Guide for Growing Children of Faith

With her newest release, Awana author and staff member Linda Massey Weddle equips parents to build a foundation of faith for their children

Parents long to help their children reach their full potential. They schedule regular medical exams, get them involved in planned activities, help them with their homework, and invest for their college education. Yet while they may plan for their success, they can overlook a vital part of their personal development: Nurturing and encouraging a solid, lasting foundation of faith. Though we often assume that children are growing spiritually through church youth groups and programs, it’s essential that parents take an active, encouraging, and purposeful role in developing their values and morals.

Linda Massey Weddle, the U.S. program senior designer for Awana and established author of children’s books and curriculums, has created How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph (David C Cook, June 2009) as a resource for parents who are longing to help their children find spiritual success. Based on Raising a Modern-Day Joseph, this unique guidebook encourages parents to develop a practical, personalized plan for instilling faith-based values and beliefs in their children that will last a lifetime.

How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph is modeled after Joseph of the Old Testament, who maintained his faith in spite of challenging circumstances. It features insights for growing kids spiritually and plotting out critical milestones from the toddler years through adolescence, while also allowing for the uniqueness of each child.

An ideal target for how parents want their kids to develop spiritually and morally, Joseph of Genesis offers parents a Biblical standard for building children of character. Using his story, How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph will help them do just that. They’ll discover how to instill five Master Life Threads for each stage of life, from preschool through high school. The practical guide helps children:

· Acquire wisdom from the Bible

· Understand God’s grace

· Gain a sense of destiny and purpose

· Develop a life-perspective based on God’s perfect plan

The result: Children and teenagers who know, love, and serve the Lord. How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph is a sure investment in the spiritual development of our youngest generation.

Author Bio

Linda Massey Weddle is a gifted teacher, speaker, and prolific writer. A children’s author and regular contributor to publications including Women’s Day and Christian Parenting Today, she has published twelve books and more than 2,500 articles, stories, devotionals, and radio scripts. Linda also develops Bible-based curriculum for young people and has been involved in children’s and youth ministry for the past forty years. She has two grown children and six grandchildren and resides in suburban Chicago.

How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph by Linda Massey Weddle

David C Cook/June 2009/ISBN: 978-1-434765-31-4/240 pages/softcover/$16.99

www.davidccook.com ~ www.awana.org

My Review:

I really really loved this book! It has some excellent ideas on how to raise kids that not only know about God, but actually KNOW God! I think the suggestions in here can be used in any type of family and I am excited to start implementing some ideas into our own home. I also liked the idea of including the church in how to best raise our kids together with the same goals. This is a book that I will be referring to lots in the future!

Yard Sale Success

Saturday was the big day for our yard sale.

However we were even able to presell a bunch of big baby things (jumperoo, high chair, swing, etc) on Friday to a couple that is expecting twins.

We planned to start at 9 am on Saturday, but I am amazed (and a little disgusted...if I'm being completely honest) at the people who start driving by at 8am.  People, I haven't even taken the stuff out of my house yet because I am getting kids fed and washed, hair brushed, husband woken up (since he worked until 3 am)  Give me time to get those things done first before I start unloading everything outside!!

We forgot to take a picture first thing in the rush to get everything out quickly since people were already getting out of their cars at 8:30, but here's what was leftover later on in the morning.

The day certainly wasn't warm, but we were able to get a little bit of sunshine first thing in the morning.  

And the people just kept on coming!  It was a steady stream of people for the first hour and a half.  

After that the traffic was slow but we kept on selling stuff, which was great!

We still have some stuff left, including a couple of big items.  Anyone need a crib or a baby carseat/stroller combo?  We will be in search of someone who could use these things now!  Then we will be donating some stuff and my house will be much tidier!  It feels great to get all this stuff out of the way.  My basement cupboards have room in them now!

I think we will have to do the yard sale thing every 10 years to clean out our house of the things we no longer need or use.  It's amazing how the sales of those $0.50 and $2.00 things really add up if you sell enough of them too!

Along with the yard sale, my girls were selling freshly squeezed lemonade and cookies.  I picked up this awesome stand from Sunkist a few years ago and was excited to pull it out finally!  I mentioned the idea of donating the money to someone who could really use it and immediately Brie said "Let's give it to Ashly."  

Ashly is the girl we sponsor through Compassion.  

I love that we talk about her enough to make a long-lasting impact on my kids.  They are learning to share and think of others because of this precious girl in the Dominican Republic. And are my kids going to miss the money from the lemonade sales?  Of course not!

So now Ashly and her family will get to buy something that they DO actually need!  

It's a win-win for everyone!

Weekend Surprise!

This past weekend my family was headed to the city.  

John had an appointment and I was excited to go to my mom's purse party.  

I had gone to my mom's first thing on Friday morning to help her do some party prep.  We chopped fruits and veggies and enjoyed a little visit together.  

She said that she had to meet a friend just after 11:00.  I noticed that she was quite secretive, especially when I asked where they were meeting.  Her answer?

A restaurant.  

How helpful, hey?

I went back to my inlaws house for the afternoon and even commented to John on how strange my mom was acting.  He laughed and said "maybe she is having an affair".

(Now this is not to make light of affairs, but if any of you know my mom you will appreciate the humor that this statement brought!)

So I went back to my mom's just after supper and was in for a surprise.  The "friend" my mom was meeting was actually my sister.  The "restaurant" was the airport.  Actually both of my sisters were there, but the one I knew was going to be there anyways.  

They explained to me that I was getting whisked off for the weekend (after the purse party) to Moose Jaw with them!  It was my belated 30th birthday celebration.  

My birthday was in February, so I was NOT AT ALL expecting this!!  Everyone had been planning this for months and they pulled if off spectacularly!

We had a fabulous time at the Temple Gardens.  We ate yummy food, enjoyed a couple of spa treatments, went through the Tunnels (neither of my sisters had been before), went in the spa pool and gazed at the stars outside, and we even went to a concert.

The concert was Jeff Straker, who I have actually heard about through our small town.  He was very entertaining to listen to.  I was completely impressed with his amazing ability to play the piano (and so well at that!), sing and entertain the audience all at the same time!  Just this past month, one of his songs hit the Top 10 on Much More Music.  

He has a slight "Elton John" sound to his music and I think that he is super talented.  But we had a great laugh with the group of guys sitting next to my mom.  They were quite enamored with both Jeff and the drummer, if you know what I mean!  

Afterwards my mom called up Ray, her husband to tell him about our day.  One of the first things she said was, "Well.....I took my girls to a gay concert tonight!"  This was one of the funniest things I have ever heard!  This was on Saturday night and I am still laughing about it now.  Certainly not something I ever thought I would hear my mom say!!

I am so blessed to have a wonderful family.  Sure we all have our quirks, but it was a great weekend to be together just us girls.  

Thank you SO MUCH ladies, especially Mom,  for spoiling me this weekend and for the great laughs!  This is something that I will remember forever.  

Now to plan our next ladies-only getaway.....

They're Back!

Yesterday I was sitting outside on my deck while talking on the phone with my mom.

She was in the middle of telling me something when I spotted my first hummingbird of the year.

If you don't recall, I have a slight obsession with these particular birds!

So I excitedly announced to everyone yesterday that they are back.  Typically they do arrive in Saskatchewan in May, but with our super cold "spring", I wasn't expecting to see any for a long time.  Plus I don't have any flowers blooming, except for some lovely tulips in my front yard.

So while I continued to talk with my mom, I hurriedly dug out my hummingbird feeders and took them into the house to fill them.  

Today?

I saw 2 hummingbirds feasting from the feeders today.  

You have no idea how excited I am!

I think the pleasure comes in the the challenge it is to attract those tiny little birds.  They are particular about what they like, and they are quite jittery and anxious too.  So it's difficult to find them and especially to bring them back.  

This is the first time that I have seen 2 birds at one time in my yard.  Usually they are quite territorial and will fight to protect their feeders.  So I actually have 2 feeders in my backyard, on opposite ends from from each so that I can hopefully attract more at a time.  

Now I'm dreaming of feeders in the front yard too.

Everyone must think I am completely nuts!

Thinking and Processing

Well tonight is the last night for This Is My Story.

We have 6 weeks of journalling to compile into a scrapbook album. I am currently working on week 4 which is almost complete. Then I just have to finish the last 2 weeks and my "work of art" is complete! It's actually a really great study, for those that want to try something different.

I am a little disappointed with the lack of participation from some of the women in our group though. They aren't journalling and they aren't scrapbooking either.

So then why join the group???

This makes it difficult to try to pick new material for a bible study in the fall. Funds are VERY limited in our church but I want to pick a quality study like Beth Moore's books. But those require a good 45 min a day to journal. Is it even worth considering?

On a different note, our church is excitedly moving forward with some great things! People are working on defining our growth with a mission statement and a clear set of values.

Until this month,the local preschool has rented out our church basement, but they will be moving out shortly. This frees up a lot of space for us. Some plans are in the works for a "indoor playground" of sorts for our community. Some type of meeting place for moms and kids during the week. We are just in the browsing stages for some play equipment, but I'm really excited to see some growth and purpose in our church!

And now to the personal update....

I am currently considering taking some type of online class or classes this fall. I won't give specifics until I make a clear decision but I just sent away for my transcripts yesterday.

I know that most likely wherever we live next, I will need to work at least part-time in order to finance whatever size mortgage we end up with. Since we most likely only have a year left in our current town (gasp! I'm not ready!!) my mind has been on jobs a lot. I know that with my experience, I could get a job with a bank fairly easily. Or something clerical.

But is that something that I want to do for the next 25 years?

God has put something on my heart quite recently and although I am not ready to share anything until I make some clear decisions, I am definitely feeling like some doors may be opening up for this to become a possibility.

Until recently, I had never even considered this option.

So I am terrified and excited all at the same time.

I realize that this won't make sense to any of you, but this is my blog and sometimes I just need to type things out in order to process them.

So for now, I am praying lots. Trying to determine the path that I need to take. Trying to figure out how it will all work out, if I choose to go this particular way. And lots of research.

I would appreciate any prayers that you send my way too! I promise that I will send a clearer blog post sometime in the future. Sorry I can't be any more specific.

Sorry

Sorry for the lack of posts lately!

I have been having great difficulty with our internet provider, and although right now I have a connection, it has been choppy at best.  But I'm told that they can't get to my house before Friday to take a look at it.  So for now, I have to suffer with the lousy connection.

Also, John and I have decided to have a big yard sale in a few weeks so we have been madly going though the ENTIRE house, sorting stuff, washing things, pricing everything.  

I knew that we had a pile of stuff to get rid of, but after today I am completely surprised by how much stuff we have!  My rules for this garage sale are "Have I used this in the 4 years we have lived here?"  or "Have the girls outgrown this?".  

WOW.

Lots of stuff.

Aka crap.

Boxes of books, CDs, even some DVDs.  Then there's the candle holders.  Yes this gets its own category.  The toys, the baby stuff, the big items...the list keeps growing.  

My closets are feeling very happy.  

Well who am I kidding?  I am feeling happy at the prospect of cleaning out our house.

This year we will have been married for 10 years and we have never done a big purge.  It feels really good!

Now to keep at it until it's done!!

Teary-Eyed Parents

I used to sing a lot of solos in church.

And every time that I did, my mom would be wiping away the tears.

I really never understood the need for her to cry every time.

Was I really that bad???  (Just kidding mom!)

I guess this is one of those things that just doesn't make sense until you have children of your own.

Like the very first night that Brianna was born.  

Now obviously I was a little exhausted, what with the labor and delivery and all, and the hormones were all over the place.  But I remember John walking the hallways with this tiny little being snuggled up on his chest.  I remember eating my jello (the best tasting jello in the world too...which may have something to do with the exhaustion) and bursting into tears.  

Those tears were truly tears of joy.  I felt elated at the prospect of my husband snuggling with our firstborn.  And there is something truly beautiful about the gentle way a man becomes with his daughters.  

Take yesterday for example.  

We were all outside doing some yard work.  I was pulling weeds (yes weeds!!) from the garden and John was bagging some leaves from around the yard.  

Suddenly Brie sends off the alarm that a mass murderer is holding her at ransom.  She screamed louder than she has ever screamed before and we assumed that she was losing limbs and was being completely tortured.

The enemy?

A ladybug.

A totally and completely harmless ladybug.

You know those cute little things with the black spots?  

Yeah, our sweet little girl thinks that these monsters are going to kill her, and therefore she needs to alert everyone in a 50-block radius as to the presence of those evil insects.

I was not very patient with her fear, working away in my little garden, but all of a sudden I see John with her.

He gently spoke with her and eventually worked up her courage to look at a ladybug from a distance.  He asked me to find one to show her.  I think God knew she would need a hand in this area so my eyes fell on a ladybug that had just been swatted by our cat Bailey's tail.

It was an injured bug.

John picked it and kept saying "Ah, the poor little guy.  Look, his leg is hurt.  Poor guy".  

Well that sure appealed to her sense of compassion.  She lost her fear for this particular bug because he was hurt.  

My mommy heart swelled in that wonderful moment!

Anyways, back to my mom crying....

Tonight, we had the privilege of watching Brie perform in the year end dance recital.  Last year was her first year and I remember getting all teary-eyed seeing her grinning up on the big stage.   Silly me kinda thought that I wouldn't do this again this year.  But the sense of pride, joy and love is so strong in those moments that I just about fall apart!

Apparently this will be an ongoing thing for me over these upcoming years!  I guess I should just learn to bring kleenex with me from now on.

Brie's group did a fantastic job dancing to the "Mickey Mouse" song.  She looked absolutely beautiful and her wonderful smile lit up the whole room.  Afterwards, I had a card and a carnation ready to give to her but I knew that John was waiting in the lobby to give her a little greeting before heading to work, as he came in his uniform.  So I quickly handed over the card and flower before going backstage to pick her up.  

She was ecstatic at performing so well and she literally dragged me down to the end of the long hallway, but she didn't know that John was at the end.  He had snuck around a corner and at the last minute came out of hiding.  With tears in his eyes, he handed her the card and flower.  She was beaming from ear to ear!  

Minutes later, John told me that I could have been the one to give it to her, but I much prefer it this way!  Sure I get all choked up watching him kneel down to hug our little girl, but it is such a beautiful moment that I wouldn't want it any other way.  I think that for little girls, those kind of gestures are more meaningful if they come from their dads anyways.  And my mommy heart goes into overdrive.  

But it's so worth it!

So for now, I will continue to pack the kleenex.