A Book Surprise- Take Back Your Family
By Kendra | January 5, 2009
Recently I was hanging out at a bookstore with friends (a rare experience) when I spied a book that caught my attention. The title, Take Back Your Family, seemed like the type of parenting/family book I’m accustomed to reading, but the photo of the family on the front set it apart.
I picked it up and read on the flyleaf about its author, Rev Run. The lead singer for Run DMC? Are you kidding me? See, I’m not super savvy about the shows produced and aired on MTV, but lo and behold Rev Run and his family have a reality show.
I was curious about the book because its chapter titles intrigued me: Making Your Marriage Work First, Putting Family First, Clean Out Your Clutter- Not Your Children, Examples Move the World More Than Doctrine… but what really piqued my interest was the comment the librarian made when I checked the book out: “I LOVE his show! Talk about family values!”
I have not been disappointed. Although their family has made choices vastly different than ours (Rev and his wife Justine absolutely love hip hop music and I, well, don’t), the principles put forth in the book are spot on. I actually laughed aloud when I read the line they tell their children when they are seeming ungrateful, entitled to stuff, spoiled, and discontent: “I’m rich and you’re not”!
Sometimes it’s good to hear the same message in a new format, retold so that we gain insight into different facets of the same issues. I love that Rev and Justine love their kids so much that they want to give them the very best they know how, establishing high expectations while creating their home environment to be a place where fun, laughter, and joy abound. Walking alongside, letting them make mistakes, discovering joy in the journey.
The book is great, but if the reality show isn’t for you, then by all means don’t watch it. How’s that for solid advice?
Topics: Resources | 1 Comment »
Just Live Your Life With Your Kids
By Kendra | January 1, 2009
I wrote the following post several weeks ago, not knowing that yesterday our five-year-old would fracture her pelvis in two places, the result of hopping out of the van as I parked it in the driveway. We have returned after 24 hours of ERs, ambulances, and hospitals to a month of rest for her (can’t put a cast on a pelvis) and again, boundless thankfulness to God for preserving a child of ours yet again.
One of the PICU doctors who treated Mighty Joe’s Enterovirus this past summer visited us today before our little girl was discharged. I don’t know if this skilled man of medicine whom we have come to respect and appreciate greatly believes in the God of the Bible, but as we stood and talked today about the fact that two of our children’s lives were spared in 2008, he said, “Thank God”.
Yes, thank God!
———
I’ve done a lot of thinking these past few weeks I haven’t been blogging. My husband and I have been mulling many things over, including our parenting, our children, and our family life.
We’ve been homeschooling for 12 years now, and we’ve seen many things come and go. We’ve jumped on a few bandwagons ourselves, some to our detriment, others to our benefit. Here’s the thing: there is no one right method of parenting/homeschooling/churching for every family. Some of us get so caught up in a system, an ideology, or a paradigm that we can’t just live life.
Ever since Mighty Joe battled fiercely for his seven-week-old life, my whole entire perspective has changed. I feel ill-equipped to give anyone advice. Some of you have emailed me over the break asking for my opinion or wisdom and you know it took me weeks to reply. I just don’t feel worthy of that position. You’re free to continue emailing me, but do so with the understanding that I don’t have all the answers. Actually, I only have one: love God.
And live your life! Bodly! With great joy! Passionately!
Because as my dear friend Heather whose husband Eric passed away a year ago this month will tell you, there are no guarantees. Their family took up Point of Grace’s How You Live as their theme song. That never seemed so poignent as the night we knew Eric was not going to live another day on this earth.
“Make peace with God, make peace with yourself. Because in the end, there’s nobody else…”
Happy to be back sharing my life with you all-
~Kendra
Topics: Uncategorized | 32 Comments »
And the Winner is…
By Kendra | December 25, 2008
HEATHER! Heather wrote:
“I’m going with the others who said “O Come Emmanuel”. I thought it was uncommon for a first choice!”
Random.org chose Heather as our winner- congrats! I’ll pop over to your blog and contact you, Heather.
Topics: Contests | 2 Comments »
Christmas Contest!
By Kendra | December 21, 2008
The wonderful, talented, creative folks at Classical Academic Press sent me their Veni Emmanuel Christmas CD to offer to my readers, and there’s no time like the present! You know I just love the products this company puts out, and the Latin carols CD is no exception.
Tell me your favorite Christmas Carol in the comments and I’ll pick a winner on midnight, Christmas Eve.
Merry Christmas!
Topics: Contests, Resources | 87 Comments »
Pssst…
By Kendra | December 11, 2008
Thanks to Amy at Split Decisionz, Preschoolers and Peace now has a button you can put on your site or blog, just for fun! Look on the left sidebar, copy the code, then paste it into your HTML. Easy peasy!
Topics: Musings and Miscellany | 5 Comments »
Overheard
By Kendra | December 1, 2008
A sweet four-year-old singing:
“Glo-o-o-o-o-ria, i-i-i-i-n pistachio!”
Topics: Life with Preschoolers | 8 Comments »
Mighty Joe, Caught on Tape!
By Kendra | November 25, 2008
A little blog break break to bring you this footage of Mighty Joe being very, very normal!
Topics: Mighty Joe's Story | 8 Comments »
It’s That Time of Year Again
By Kendra | November 10, 2008
Christmas 2006 — It’s true- they grow way too quickly
The annual break. Because my brain can only hold so much info, and the details of Christmas and eight kiddos push everything else right OUT of my brain.
May I ask a small favor? If you are doing any Christmas shopping online, would you consider shopping through the Preschoolers and Peace Amazon Store? Whenever you do, the profits go toward the cost of maintaining the site. And you don’t even have to purchase anything from the store itself! If you get to Amazon and decide to purchase something entirely different, Preschoolers and Peace still gets a referral fee. That goes for any time you purchase anything through one of the Amazon links on the site.
Or Vision Forum, too 
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas, everyone. See you in January!
~Kendra
Topics: Uncategorized | 23 Comments »
I’m giggling…
By Kendra | November 10, 2008
Because someone out there nominated Preschoolers and Peace for the Homeschool Blog Awards, but this year it’s in the “Best Nitty-Gritty Blog” category! Wow! Maybe I need to stop sharing so much about my life…
Go vote! My hubby’s in the Best Homeschool Dad category, too. But he’s already won that one in my book
Topics: Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Realistic Christmas Expectations
By Kendra | November 9, 2008
What are your expectations for Christmas? Do your expectations match reality?
All of us want the focus of Christmas to be on Christ, and we tend to be appalled when our children tear through presents but sigh with sleepiness as we read through the story of Christ’s birth. But they are children.
“When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child…
Don’t misunderstand what I am saying. We don’t toss the deeper meaning of Christmas aside and say, “Oh well. Someday they’ll get it.” We continue to draw the focus of Christmas back to Christ. This is our holiday, not the world’s. We celebrate the coming of Christ because we as believers know the impact and magnitude of Christ’s arrival most poignantly.
We must also realize, however, that our children are just that: children. If we expect them to respond to Christmas like children, our expectations will meet reality. Then we can joyfully lead them by the hand into a more mature understanding of the Gospel. We can smile at them with the sweet knowledge that God has much work to do in their lives. We can acknowledge that we adults, too, have but a vague, dimly lit understanding of the fullness of Christ’s ministry while on earth.
Enjoy those little ones. Their wide-eyed wonder at our earthly celebrations will fully mature someday when they are struck by the gravity and meaning of the grace of God in the midst of their sin.
…but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” I Corinthians 13:11
Topics: Life with Preschoolers | 10 Comments »
« Previous Entries