He is Greater.....John 3:30 says He must become greater, I must become less"

Yes in the bank..... We have this thing we do here.  Its somewhat based on the theories of The Connected Child parenting...and the work of Karen Purvis.  Its also part of the "Roger Kredit" philosophy on parenting.....and just time.  And grace.  The idea is to put as many "yes" s in the bank as possible.....so that when we have to say "no" it's not so hard.  If you have been parenting awhile, you know that it is much easier to say "no" than "yes" most of the time.  I want to challenge you all out there to consider that some of the "no" could actually be a "yes".  It may require some effort and time.....but everyone......everyone.....needs more "yes" than "no".  We, as parents, have the power to say "yes". The Roger Kredit part is this.  Long ago, he decided that if we asked a child to do something and they did not do it, they were giving us a "no".  If that happened, w

There is a phrase I've heard, called "the witching hour" and it was in regard to babies who have a fussy time of the day.  When we started parenting, we called it the "squalk and walk" time of day, meaning no one could settle in for the night until the baby settled in.  When I googled "the witching hour" it spoke to the time of day/night when the supernatural powers were strongest, meaning witches, etc.  I guess I maintain that if there is a "witching hour"....it is also the "hour" when the powers of God and the heavenly are also at their strongest....... I'm gonna write about my witching hour. (its over 60 minutes) Precious Maryn turned 7 on Sunday.  She started First grade on Tuesday.  Tuesday night she thrashed and wailed because she had kept a lid on all of her feelings all day.  She needed about a half hour to hate everything and everyone......and then I diffused lavender and cedarwood oil, I prayed for her, I read her

We visited a church yesterday out of town, in Sioux Falls.  We have friends who attend there and we were planning to spend Precious Maryn's birthday in the city so we packed up at 8am to make it to the service.  The church is called The Ransom and you can find them on social media......and the sermons are so, so good.  Yesterday, the sermon was about worship. Worship is not just the 3 songs at the beginning of the church service on Sunday mornings.  It isn't even the hour long service.......worship is a lifestyle of seeking God.  When our days include opportunities to think about God, pray, sing and serve.....we have days and days of worship.  The hour a week in church is really just a time to connect with other believers, and join hands and hearts in Jesus' name.  Everything before and after this hour......is also worship. Earlier this week, I was wondering if Roger was planning to say "yes" to the youth group leader at our church, and agree to be a sponsor

This little bitty girl turns 7 tomorrow.  I cannot believe it.  In these first weeks with her, she was sleepless, and sweet and so much to take in.  7 years later, she is sleeping peacefully beside me because she still cannot handle sleeping alone.  Its ok.  We bought a bigger bed.  Her eyes are huge and full of wonder and feeling and significance.  They were from the start. Precious Maryn, the Lord called you Precious to your birth mom, before you were born.  We honor His name for you and agree that you are, in fact, Precious. You are smart and sensitive.  You care about others, especially those who are hurting.  You remember absolutely everything.....except what you had for lunch.  Or where your shoes are.  Or what mom asked you to do an hour ago.  You get nervous and anxious very easily.  You worry a lot.  You always find friends to play with, wherever we go.  You are a true extrovert. You will start first grade in a few days and you will do great.  You will.  I promise.  Y

Ephesians 2:10 says "For we are God's masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."  I am claiming this promise tonight.  I heard God whisper the phrase "you are a masterpiece" and so I think this is what He wants me to know and share.  Bear with me, folks. I came home from a 10 hour work day today, and the house was, again, in shambles.  Dirty dishes cluttered the kitchen and August flies were reproducing at an alarming rate over the residue from a day's worth of cooking and eating.  Dirty dishes and cups were scattered around the house.  Wet towels and little kids clothes were strewn about the floor.  The boys were babysitters today....and had extra kids around because it is still summer for a few more days.....and I wasn't mad.  I wasn't.  It is the signature of summer here, to come home from work to the evidence of a day lived in this house....by many, many children.  Roger got

I remember as a child, my mom took me "back to school" shopping.  We had a list and we followed it.  Gym shoes, "school" shoes....you know, those ugly, clunky brown ones?  (super sturdy, those school shoes. )  Socks, underwear, 2-3 pants and several tops......all purchased in one trip to JC Penny store in downtown Sioux City, Iowa.  It was a mixture of feeling excited and feeling aweful because there was never enough money to get fun stuff.  Just the basic stuff we needed.  My mom would stand at the counter and rub her head and I knew she had a head ache and was stressed out about how much everything costed.  I worried that what I got would not be the same as all of my friends but I didn't dare say that.  After we finished spending our money, we would buy a bag of swedish fish and sit and people-watch and make up stories about their lives.  "See him?  I bet he just got his first job as a teacher...." etc. My experience as a mom to 5 is a bit differe

Here is my Top 10 reasons why I am ready for the end of summer and Back to School....... 1.  Every time I go into my bathroom, there is someone else's poop/pee that I need to flush.  Every time. 2.  Wet towels.  Wet swimsuits.  Wet carpet. 3.  The sliding glass door never gets shut.....and all the heat comes into my living room.....and I am already, almost always.....hot.  (and I mean my internal mid-life temperature, not my physical attractiveness.) 4.  I am out of meal ideas for lunch and dinner 7 days a week.  At least during the school year one of those is pre-determined! 5.  Vacation was over 2 weeks ago. 6.  My house is not very big and the kids are all getting sick of seeing each other all day every day.  Especially for the past 3 weeks when I have not had daycare.  Ugh.  Fighting.  Sooooooo much fighting. 7.  I have to go to work and do my job whether it is summer, fall, winter or spring.  I haven't had the past 3 months to sleep in and lounge around.  I am gro

Practice.....hospitality.  I love this version of the bible....see my verse for the year listed on the right side of the blog.  God calls us to practice hospitality.  It doesn't say "Be hospitable."  or "Master the art of inviting people to your home and making them feel welcome and loved...."  but God says to practice this blessing.  Hospitality.  The welcoming in....so, so hard for some of us, especially the stoic Dutch culture I am born into. It takes practice......to do hospitality.  It takes work and trial and error and fumbling and failing and sometimes success.  I just got done refilling the water jug for the dogs...at 8 minutes til midnight.  The tray that holds the food and dog water is filthy and I thought to myself...at 8 minutes to midnight....I should really have cleaned that.  It's gross.  I turned around and saw the sink full of dirty dishes from tonight's supper.  They didn't get done.  I had to leave for a meeting..... Tonight R

very important song to me....

"Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life.  and if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it."  1 Peter 3:15. He leads me.....through harder days......and when I am about to settle into a pity party, He says.....INSTEAD........worship Christ as Lord of my life.  Be ready to explain my hope as a believer.  No one has asked today, mostly because I have been trapped at home much of today with a house full of kids who are tired of babysitting each other, or being watched by older siblings.  I have no back up daycare when my sitter is on vacation.  My mom is out of town and my oldest, most responsible child is serving at a camp this week.....which leaves Isaac and Jeremiah who often do a great job.......but if the 2 little kids are snarky and out of sorts, well, you know.  I left twice today.  The first time I returned to screaming and some covert facial expressions from Ms. P.  The second time I returned, I warned the big kids that

Last week at my reunion, a former classmate asked me if it was weird living here......and I think she meant, is it weird living here as an adult with a family, after being here as a student.  She moved away after high school.  I did too, for a few years, but then I came back and married Roger who was not from this town but had graduated college here and was working here and wanted to stay.  It made sense to stay here.  We had family here and people here think the way we think. In my late teens/early 20s I lived on the west coast in southern California for awhile.  They don't think like mid-westerners.  I am a mid-western soul.  I can't say exactly what that means, but I can say this..... In August, in Iowa, we buy sweet corn from vendors at the park.  We buy fresh veggies and honey and pie from farmer's market vendors and delight at watching the crop duster planes do their acrobatics over fields.  We smile at people we meet on the sidewalk and we greet each other warml