This last week has been such a great one….
After having two marvelous weeks with Jamie and Annette and the Farr family, we are settling back into normal routines and the girls and I are catching up with neighbors and friends that we haven’t seen in two weeks. Sadly, Dave is as busy as ever working 2 over night call shifts and a couple 24 hour shifts. Somehow he still finds time to sneak home and have a meal with us or play with the girls. Not to mention he took me out for a surprise steak dinner and even arranged the babysitter!
As most of you probably know already Kara and Emily have been little terrors at night. Sleeping little, waking often, and fighting/fussing at bedtime. Thankfully, God has given me a little bit more of the grace, love and patience that I’ve been desperately praying for. As well, Kara has been responding well to a new positive reinforcement technique that my friend tipped me off too when I was madly calling on all my resources for ideas. We’ll see how long it works… the premise is that I am constantly looking for way to catch her doing good and reminding her that her decision making (whether poor or good) will determine whether she is able to earn this muchly coveted little dollar store toy. This toy sits on top of my fridge taunting her until she’s earned it with demonstrating all the fruits of the spirit (something we’ve been working on a bit). This week, each time she made a good decision I put a letter from the words BE KIND into her “Princess Jar”(because she's a daughter of the King). I had to make it somewhat educational as well, so we practice the letter and the colours of the letters and chat about what positive thing I saw. The same concept applies, but letters are taken out, when she makes poor decisions or for example, when she fusses at bedtime. :)
So far, it’s working…. We’ll see how long it lasts. Today she earned a My little Pony and was thrilled. I’ve never been an advocate for bribery/ physical incentives, but I’m liking this strategy so far, in combination of course with our normal disciplinary toolkit.
In other news, I’ve been seeing a lot of my neighbors and have really been praising God for how our little community feels much like a family already. The other day I went for a walk with one friend and she totally opened up about all kinds of personal things and I was able to bring her a little lunch and spend some time praying for her.
Another lady called to ask Dave some medical questions and we ended up talking for quite a while about her health issues and I struggled with the idea of praying for a miracle for her. I’ve never actually seen miraculous healing, but I believe they happen. I guess I just chickened out because we are new friends and I didn’t want to scare her off…. You guys can pray for her though. She has a herniated disc.
Last night I was hopping my fence all evening to hang out with my neighbor Shay and her friend. Again, I was blown away with how open they were with me and I was able to share my testimony and speak very freely about my faith and God’s transformative power. Those two were truly a blessing to me last night when Dave was working and I would have been alone at home.
Yesterday I had lengthy talk with another neighbor about a valley he’s in and today I spent some time praying for him with my neighbor, Sarah. (Sarah is the one you’ve likely heard the most about as she is the one I pray with each week and work out with, and attend the same church with, and have dinner with, and the list goes on, she’s a huge answer to my prayers). Anyway, Greg was so thankful and yet it was such a small and natural thing to do.
Tonight, Shay and another friend came over and I offered to watch Molly for a bit while she had some down time. Then we all had impromptu icecream party (right before bed…eeek) initiated by Sarah.
So yes, my little neighborhood is wonderful. There are so many interesting people here. So many cute kids running around all the time. So many people who have things to teach me. So many people who have stories and hurts that they seem to want to share. I’m so thankful God brought us here. From impromptu dinner guests when I’ve made far too much, to funny conversations at the neighborhood park with kids, to shared impromptu potlucks where all the “single” mommies feed our kids together in the back yards, to late night garden chats with some of the older green thumbs in the neighborhood….. I was made for suburbia. Francis Chan’s book Crazy Love might have brought it out in me, but there is this genuine love and interest that I have for my neighbors that I know only comes from the Holy Spirit. I feel like God has been breaking my heart for his children and has been giving me just the tiniest glimpse of his eyes and his love for them.
So prayer request….
That I’m obedient and attentive to his leading and on the flip side (since I tend to be social butterfly who likes to “fix” or help people) that I don’t forget to follow God and not to lead. I don’t want to start following my own agenda or pursuing my own goals. That’s why last weeks verse was from Galations 3:3 “Are you so foolish? After having begun with the spirit you are now trying to attain your goals by human effort?” Very good reminder for me to remember who is at the drivers seat.
