Ingenue Mom

(Need to catch up? I wrote about Chapter 1 here .) Chapter 2: Magnificent Monotony Quotes in italics are Brennan Manning's words from the book This chapter is all about how big God's love is. It begins with a discussion of the perfection and majesty required to create a universe like ours. Looking at the world around us, it is easy to acknowledge that majesty, but Brennan Manning argues that we have a difficulty attributing that same majestic quality to the depth of God's love. We find all sorts of ways and reasons to make His love smaller. This is another thing Brennan (I refer to him by his first name now because I feel like we're friends) talked about in the video I posted with Chapter 1 - the way we allow God's love to become as small and judgmental as we can be. The God of the legalistic Christian...is often unpredictable, erratic, and capable of all manner of prejudices. When we view God this way, we feel compelled to engage in some sort of ma...

NOVELS:   Reached by Ally Condie This is the 3rd book in the Matched series. I read Matched and Crossed a while ago and finally picked this one up. I had to go back to read a summary of the first 2 so I could remember what happened and it took me a couple chapters to get into it because of that, I think. But by the end, I really enjoyed it! It wasn't my absolute favorite dystopian series, but it was enjoyable! Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver This is the 2nd book in the Delirium series. I read Delirium last year sometime and I remember picking up Pandemonium but not being able to get into it for whatever reason. I think it was during the school year and books are always harder for me to read then. Reading it this summer was perfect because I got into it quickly and really liked it!! The Little Lady Agency by Hester Browne This is a chick lit novel about a girl who starts a life-consulting kind of company. She takes men shopping for clothes & teaches them...

With our library's summer reading program, we have been finding lots of new books for Isis! Here are some of our favorites! Chester's Way by Kevin Henkes I love Kevin Henkes. I love the characters he creates. I love the personalities he gives. I love the way his books always provide such great opportunities to have conversations with kids! I love reading Chrysanthemum to my students at school! Chester's Way is just as adorable and I love how they first are very set in their ways, because Isis can very much have her way of doing things. But then little Lily just switches things up for them! Such a cute book. The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch I can do princesses if they're all strong and independent like this one!! I love how she just sticks up for herself! I'm trying to continually find great female role models like this one for Isis! Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots? by Carmela Lavigna Coyle Again, I just love the idea of introducin...

Continuing with the scripture memory that I talked about previously, I have been really loving how much it impacts me on a daily basis. Just memorizing a scripture causes me to be thinking about it regularly throughout the day because I repeat it to myself so that I can memorize it. 2 Corinthians 12:9, being about God's grace in my weaknesses, has been particularly helpful because I feel like I am constantly reminded of my weaknesses. Repeating the verse to myself helps me remember His promises. So I thought maybe I could utilize this strategy with Isis. We've been having trouble lately with her having outbursts of frustration or anger. She's 3 1/2 and she is fiercely independent, which I really believe is a wonderful thing. I am excited to see how this grows in her personality. I think she will be a very confident teenager and adult - at least that is my prayer if we can help her to develop healthy boundaries.  Lately, we've been really trying to focus with...

I've been memorizing 2 Corinthians 12:9 after reading Chapter 1 of Ragamuffin Gospel . I mentioned before that I haven't memorized scripture like that since high school. I just haven't made it a part of my daily practice. Well, just in the last couple of days, it's made a huge difference!  First I looked at some strategies for memorization & here are the ones that really stuck out to me: 1 - Memorize the Reference This way you can go back & look it up if you forget. 2 Corinthians 12:9 2 - Memorize the Theme or Main Idea This way you know generally what that verse was referring to. 2 Corinthians 12:9 is about God's grace and His power even through my own weaknesses and imperfections. 3 - Focus on the Key Words Again, just a strategy to remember the overall important points and to help you kinda put it together like a puzzle. 2 Corinthians 12:9 important words: grace, sufficient, power, perfect, weakness, boast, gladly 4 - Put ...

First of all, watch this video because it is the reason I wanted to read this book...     I am one of those people who tends to put this list before God of all the reasons why He shouldn't really love me the way His word says He does. I have this running tally of reasons why I'm not good enough, why I'm unlovable. Just reading the back of Ragamuffin Gospel was like, "Oh wow! Someone else like me!" It talks about grace and love, even if we are ragamuffins - dirty, bedraggled and beat up. He still smiles at us, still sees us as the object of His "furious love." I need to read more about this.   Chapter 1: Something is Radically Wrong (quotes from Ragamuffin are in italics) The American Church today accepts grace in theory, but denies it in practice....The emphasis is on what I do rather than on what God is doing.    Right off the bat, he has struck a chord with me in terms of the issues I've always had with the American...

It's been a rough year for some people around me. I've been thinking a lot about it lately and often find that writing helps me sort through it. I'm not even sure yet if I will post this publicly.    A good friend of mine lost her dad this year extremely unexpectedly. Another good friend of my family was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Neither of them were prepared for the fight they've been experiencing the last several months. I don't think we're ever ready to fight like that. But they're fighting. I've been having such a problem with guilt ever since finding out about both of them. How do you do enough for someone you love in those situations? How do you do anything? I feel like I tend to feel so overwhelmed and helpless and I have a tendency to retreat. My friend with pancreatic cancer doesn't live in Lexington, so just finding a way to visit her has been my struggle. I have such guilt for not being there. And then not being there, I...

First of all, let me tell you, there are lots of things my family is working on. There are lots of things my family doesn't do well. There will always be something that I can find to improve on, but lately I've been feeling the need to just sit back and appreciate the things that we have done well. To celebrate and emphasize the positive as I continue to seek to improve. My family does well at serving each other. I think every family tends to emphasize some aspect of life, discipline or behavior. Every family has their language they use with each other, whether spoken or unspoken. For us, it's service. My husband is the pillar of this in our family. I truly am blessed by his serving heart with me and my girls. He is actively serving us in love the whole day. He just tends to find whatever way he can to do things for us to demonstrate his love. No one would question the love he has for his family because if you walk into our home, you'll watch him demonstrate it...