“Home Should be Heaven on Earth”

I just have to record this moment.

I was leaving the laundry room, and Joshua was in the kitchen digging around for his mid-morning snack. He hit gold when he found leftover Papa John’s cheese pizza in the refrigerator.

And then he said it:

“This house is like Heaven!”

Yeah, I know. He mostly said this because I was letting him eat pizza at 9:40 am and watch Garfield on t.v.

But still! This filled my heart with joy.

Of course, some of you probably don’t think pizza is nutritional…. That boy moves 90 miles a minute, believe me, he can handle the pizza.

I’m just happy he thinks his home is like Heaven.

When we lived in Washington, DC, we had a wonderful pastor, Pastor Bill, who is also the pastor who married us, and I vividly recall that he used to say, “Your home should be like Heaven on Earth for your children.”

He didn’t mean that we should let our kids do whatever they want all day, every day, anarchy style. He didn’t mean that our home needs to be big or fancy. He meant that our home should be a happy place, a comfortable shelter, a refuge, a place where our children know that they are loved and supported.

Joshua’s words took me right back to that sermon, and encouraged me.

We parents need all the encouragement we can get, don’t you think?

Pastor Bill and our current pastor are my two favorite preachers ever. Their sermons are always full of God’s love, wisdom, and truth. All of Pastor Bill’s sermons are even online, and you can watch or listen anytime: click here.  I wish I had a link to the parenting one specifically, but I don’t. Sorry!

If you’ve never read Growing Kids God’s Way or Preteen Wise, I love the way that this author encourages parents to set boundaries and discipline our children, but also reminds us not to frustrate our children. We should only say ‘no’ when it’s necessary, not as an automatic response.

The boys have all been so happy this summer. It has been such a welcome change from all the emotional hardship of last fall, with the moving and changing schools. Oy!

I’ve always said, and I’ve moved a LOT, that it takes a year to truly settle into a place, to have plenty of local phone numbers in your contact list, and a good sense of belonging. It wasn’t just about Alan and me this time. It took the boys a year too.

The biggest reason that I’m still home schooling this year is that I don’t want the boys to have to transition to a new school now, only to move next summer. With our Classical Conversations tutoring group, they already have security in the familiar, and since our life lends itself to a lot of insecurity, we’re going to stick with CC.

I just hope once the school year starts, the boys will still think that home is like Heaven, and I won’t be back on here whining about being called the ‘worst mom ever.’ Ha! The boys are so classic with their distaste for school work.

I’d love to get more ideas for FUN first-week-of-school activities! We start next week! Please share your ideas in the comments below.

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By the way, this has been a pretty crazy week, between our 13th Anniversary, Alan’s business trip (He’s back now.), and my big opportunity to be on MoneySavingMom.com. That was so fun and unexpected.

I have even better news for next week.

My Mom arrives to help with starting school!

*Cue the confetti!*

To celebrate, we will be hosting another giveaway on the blog. Wahoo!

Fun times, right? Here are a few photos from our last few weeks:

We’ve been making our rounds, going to lots of playgrounds:

Yes, we’ve been pretty excited about their sudden interest in playing baseball. They play everyday in our side yard; occasionally, they play it at this park, as in the photos above.

I’d better go. If I don’t cook supper by 2pm, things get crazy, and all hope of a good dinner is lost.

Hope you all have a good weekend!

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.     Ephesians 6:10-13