Hearing God's Voice - Summer of Structure

{ **Okay, just a little side note ... I LOVE BACKWARDS BASEBALL CAPS. AS IN, CAN.NOT.GET.ENOUGH.OF.THEM. Jackson has fought me on it for years but THIS summer will be the summer of backwards ball caps for the little man. And little does he know, if he just cooperates I might buy him the MOON. I mean really, I love that look THAT much.}

So this summer will be dubbed "Summer of Structure." I need it. The kids need it. It's gonna be GOOD. Oh, don't you worry. We'll still be having all sorts of spontaneous fun, because, well, I'm the mama and I get to incorporate that into our daily lives. And it wouldn't be "me" without a healthy dose of spontaneity.

Transition.

I've been asked numerous times over the last few years this question: "How do you hear from God?" So I thought I'd give you just a really simple, recent example.

You know when I posted here about struggling with Maddie just last week? Well the next day, within minutes of each other, I received separate emails from two very close friends who both said basically the same thing. They both stressed the importance of structure in my summer and ALSO, having the kids work. As in chores each day. Hmmm. That's a novel concept. =)

And then, I kid you not, the next day (or it might have even been that day) on Moody Radio (90.1) there was a guest speaker and if you're quick you'll already know what the topic was. Yep, building structure AND work into your child's daily life. Especially as summer approaches. Hmmm.

Now couple these separate incidents with the fact that I had been praying, asking God to help me know how to handle this summer. I was overwhelmed with the prospects of summer. So when I'm discouraged I pray. I cry out to God. And after I posted last week I did just that. I was asking Him to help me come up with a plan to be able to have a successful, enJOYable summer. A summer where we thrive and don't just survive.

{And I want to say one thing about this. One of the reasons I surround myself with people that love the Lord and want to raise their kids like I want to raise mine, is for just this type of situation. I know the things they share are going to line up with what the Bible teaches. And that's important to me. I respect their stance on mothering. And parenting. And growing kids up to love Jesus.}

And so, today, I am coming up with my strategy for the summer. If I know anything about myself, I know that if I'm not intentional it just simply does.not.happen. And I'm coming up with my strategy not because a couple of friends told me to do so, but because I feel like God used these friends to help me hear His voice in the midst of the noise of my frustrations. I love how He does that.


Transition to practical.

So part of our summer structure will be doing several reading programs in our area. I LOVE these programs because the kids see tangible rewards - free to me - for their efforts.

Half-Priced Books - this one is fantastic. The kids read 15 minutes a day, 5 out of 7 days in the week and then the following week they can go to the store, turn in the little form and they get $3 credit to go and pick out anything they want. *The only bummer is you can't save them up and compile them into one large amount - they have to be used separately. But that's okay. The kids loved it last year and this year we actually started on time - this past week.

Your local library - the kids get a little folder and each week we go to the library, doing book reports and coloring and then when they've met the requirement they get a t-shirt. Great stuff.

Barnes & Noble - the kids get a free book out of this one, at the end of the program.

Anyone else know other programs out there?

And I'd also love to hear your ideas about how you incorporate structure into your summers. I love a good brainstorming session!

Here's to a super-duper-this-summer's-gonna-ROCK ...