“In a Sunday school class, the teacher asked the students to write down the Ten Commandments. For the fifth commandment one boy wrote, “Humor thy father and thy mother.”
Little Suzie : My Sunday school teacher says we’re put on earth to help others. Is that right, Mom?
Mother : Of course, dear.
Little Suzie: Then what are the others here for?
Mom said it’s easier to clean up if I remove my clothes.
“Having a two year old is like having a blender without the lid.” – Jerry Seinfield
Good Moms have
sticky floor,
dirty ovens &
happy kids.
“A lot of parents will do anything for their kids except let them be themselves.”- Banksy
1. Your feet stick to the kitchen floor, and you don’t care.
2. When the kids are fighting, you threaten to lock them in a room together and not let them out until someone’s bleeding.
3. You can’t find your cordless phone, so you ask a friend to call you, and you run around the house madly, following the sound until you locate the phone downstairs in the laundry basket.
4. You spend an entire week wearing sweats.
5. Your idea of a good day is making it through without a child leaking bodily fluids on you.
6. Popsicles become a food staple.
7. Your favorite television show is a cartoon.
8. Peanut butter and jelly is eaten at least in one meal a day.
9. You’re willing to kiss your child’s boo-boo, regardless of where it is.
10. Your kids make jokes about bodily functions, and you think it’s funny.
11. You’re so desperate for adult conversation that you spill your guts to the telemarketer that calls…and HE hangs up on YOU!
12. Spit is your number one cleaning agent.
13. You buy cereal with marshmallows in it.
14. The closest you get to gourmet cooking is making Rice Krispie treats.
15. You’re up each night until 10:00 P.M. vacuuming, dusting, wiping, washing, drying, loading, unloading, shopping, cooking, driving, flushing, ironing, sweeping, picking up, changing sheets, changing diapers, bathing, helping with homework, paying bills, budgeting, clipping coupons, folding clothes, putting to bed, dragging out of bed, brushing, chasing, buckling, feeding (them, not you), PLUS swinging, playing baseball, bike riding, pushing trucks, cuddling dolls, roller-blading, basketball, football, catch, bubbles, sprinklers, slides, nature walks, coloring, crafts, jumping rope, PLUS raking, trimming, planting, edging, mowing, gardening, painting, and walking the dog. You get up at 5:30 AM and you have no time to eat, sleep, drink, or go to the bathroom, and yet…you still managed to gain 10 pounds.
“Clearly this is a tough economic time, and a lot of families are hurting. So when we talk to parents, we talk about small changes for kids and things that don’t cost extra money. Like adding water and eliminating sugary drinks and sodas. That’s going to save money right there. Or adding a few more vegetables.” – Michelle Obama
Wired magazine ran an article on the five best toys ever. Wired is one of the most innovative, bleeding-edge publications you’ll read about all things technological. Which is why at first the list surprised me, but then I realized their angle and couldn’t help but appreciate their wisdom.
5 Best Toys Ever – Dr James Emery White
Here’s the list:
1. Stick
2. Box
3. String
4. Cardboard Tube
5. Dirt
Anybody want to argue with them? I doubt it.
It’s an important reminder that the best things in life – and often in ministry, leadership, business and family – are the simple things.
The dilemma is how our culture seems to refuse to give simplicity a place.
But think about when it insists on intruding and the wake it leaves behind.
For example, a snowstorm brings your town to a standstill. You went out and stocked up on bread and milk and a few other things you didn’t really need, and settled in. The power goes out, so you light the candles and gather by the fireplace for warmth. Board games that had been gathering dust for years are pulled out. You play them and have more fun than you can remember. You then go outside and actually play, throw a snowball, make a snow-angel, build a snowman.
It’s golden.
You talk, years later, about that magic night. You’d give almost anything to go back and relive it, and wish there was a way to recreate it in the here and now.
In a complex, “always on” world, perhaps what we need to remember is that we need to intentionally unplug every now and then.
Even if just to remember that the best toys in the world – like the best times – are the most simple.
And in truth, the most available.
That is my holiday wish for you. May you enjoy the simplicity and holiness that resides in the stillness between Christmas and the new year.
And maybe some fun with a leftover box or two.
I Believe
by Jane Daugherty
I believe in children’s laughter, the sweet perfume of a newborn baby’s skin and that every child is entitled to happiness, decent housing, health care, proper nutrition and good education.
I believe that our schools should be places of discovery and growth, not of danger, that teachers should be paid more than lawyers and that parenting should be a required course in every high school.
I believe that “quality time” is a phony notion that cannot substitute for substantial time spent with our children.
I believe that baseball and other children’s games can be magical and should be wrestled from screaming, competitive coaches and returned to play.
I believe that childhood should be a time of sand castles and celebration and that the defense of innocence is as important as the defense of our borders.
And I believe that our most urgent mission should be putting the needs of our children first.
Sometimes I get caught sleeping on the job. I really can’t help it…can’t you see I’m guarding this baby with my life during the day.
Children these days sure grow up differently from how we were raised.
“I was RAISED!! I didn’t just grow up. I was taught to speak when I enter a room, say please & thank you, to have respect for my elders, to get off my lazy butt and let the elder in the room have my chair, say yes sir and no sir, lend a helping hand to those in need, hold the door to the person behind me, say excuse me when it’s needed, and to love people for who they are, not for what I can get from them! I was also taught to treat people the way I want to be treated! If you were raised this way too, repost this. Sadly, many won’t because they weren’t, and it shows!!” – Author unknown
New Bloggy Cat [NBC] 