Loyal, being Loyal

I am sitting here feeling groggy (due to some pain meds) and pondering this word Loyal.

The dictionary tells me this, the word Loyal is an adjective that has four meanings.

1. Faithful to one's sovereign, government or state.
2. Faithful to one's oath, commitment or obligation.
3. Faithful to any leader, party or cause, or to any person or thing conceived as deserving fidelity. and
4. Characterized by or showing faithfulness to commitments, vows, allegiance, obligation etc.


So have a subject, cause, conduct and vows.  These are all part of being a loyal individual.

I currently have a friend, a mom of one of my son's best friends, who is going through a trial separation, but looks to be leaning toward divorce.

This has lead to some interesting conversations between my lad and I.   He doesn't understand it, and our most recent conversation brought up this thought.

Marriage, christian marriage, is a sign of God's love to us.
When Christian people marry we are showing the world an example of how God loves his people.
Too often folks forget that and they think it doesn't matter if Christians divorce.

God loved us so much that he sent his son to die for us.
So when a husband and a wife set aside their own selves for each other, they are showing love for each other, and by extension they are showing God's love for us to the those around them.

Our loyalty and commitment to each other shows the world something.
It also shows our spouse something.

When my hubby sets aside his own stuff because of a need that I have, he's showing God's love for the world, for his people.  He's also showing me the depth of his love for me.

When I set aside my own wishes and bow to his... I am showing him that I love him and that shows the world how the church loves God.

When we as Christians marry, we make a promise before God and before the church that we will love each other through good and bad.   And marriages.... they are NOT always easy.  They aren't.  We are a fallen people living in a fallen world.  It's not an easy thing.

It is SO hard to curb ourselves in favour of another.
But God did this eh?   He sent his son to die for us.
He curbed his love, his need for his son, so that we might have a right relationship with him.

So our VOWS as Christians mean something.
We show God's love to the world as we work out our marriages.
So be loyal to your vows.
Be loyal to the one you are called to live with.
Be loyal to the higher calling of your marriage as a believer.

It's important.  :) 






 

Review: Ultimate Guide to being a SuperHero

Admittedly, when I first received this book I thought "HUH?   What am I going to do with this one? I have no interest in superheroes, and now I have a book on them?"

Then I opened the book and I was AMAZED!!!   What book you ask?   The Ultimate Guide to Being a SuperHero.

You know what this book is?   This is a
- boys cooking class
- a co-op class with varied activities
- a semester of learning that encompasses phys ed, coding, math, language arts, arts and so much more.

It's a GREAT book, let me tell you all about it eh?

Exactly what is in the Superhero book?

Chapters
Secret Identity 101

•  This section covers topics like your mask, avoiding detection, changing into your superhero suit and choosing your secret identity

Dealing with villians

• Subcategories of fighting evil, knowing your villains, villain weapons, and more.

 Gear & Gadgets

• Items such as supersuits, cape, accessories, specialty gear, secret messages etc

Moves and Maneuvers

•  flying, transportation, marksmanship, smashing, fighting, jumping

Being a Superhero

• topics like: finding your superpower, training,developing your brand, choosing your sidekick, social media, secret hideout, your commitment to the world

 This book is written for children.   It's focused on keeping them safe and letting them have fun learning all the ins and outs of being a superhero.   For instance, capes are great when you are with your friends, or in a parade, but fighting or flying in a cape.. NOT such a good idea.  :)

There is humour found within the pages, as well as seriousness, like the importance of knowing how to code.

Cooking when you learn about Superheros is so much...and you get to play with your food too!
Think about the math and the conversations you could have, and watching science happen before your eyes!

Remember I mentioned phys ed?
Well you do know superheroes have to be in good shape to do what they do right?
Exercise time!!!!   From learning how to eat smart, to how to keep your body in good shape, superheroes have much to learn and much to do.

At 157 pages, the Ultimate Guide to being a Superhero is packed full of activities, from making a mask and the rest of your gear (sewing anyone?), to building your secret hideout, and  making a target, as well as learning good superhero songs... and so much more in-between.

There is so much information in this guide to boggle the mind (it certainly surprised me!)

I am so pleased that Raincoast Books sent me this item to add to my resource pile... so much to do!  :)
As I went through this book I kept thinking how easy it would to turn this into a book on being a superhero for God, or adding to it to turn it into a health unit (or expanding the phys ed section) and so forth...so much potential in this book to do SO MUCH WITH IT.  Seriously.

The Ultimate Guide to being a Superhero,is book that 8.86 x 10.35 and  160 pages long.


It is geared to children ages 6-11 years.

Printed on multi-coloured pages.

The book is a coil book, making the pages easy to turn and stand up if necessary.  It lays flat easily, making it easy to follow instructions when making crafts or cooking.

 This is a hands-on, let get down and dirty and do some learning type of book.    Life skills and superhero skills combined, have fun with your child today.

GET THIS BOOK.  :)

 US Link: The Ultimate Guide to Being a Superhero: A Kid's Manual for Saving the World, Looking Good in Spandex, and Getting Home in Time for Dinner


Canadian Link: The Ultimate Guide to Being a Superhero: A Kid's Manual for Saving the World, Looking Good in Spandex, and Getting Home in Time for Dinner

Five books, five reasons, all about adult colouring.

Have you joined in on the colouring craze?   You know.. colouring for adults?
I have to admit that when I heard about adults colouring, and not just with their children I thought, huh?   What's up with that?

So I went out and bought a book, wanted to see what the fuss was about and discovered something.
I enjoy it.  Not so much that I want to do it every day, but sitting down and colouring when you don't want to read and you don't want to go out for a hike.. it's an enjoyable way to kill some time without watching the tube.

I thought I would take the time today to introduce you to some books that I use and some reasons why it's good to colour.

First book and reason

Peterson Field Guide Coloring Books: Reptiles and Amphibians is a neat book that has colouring images of various reptiles and amphibians and is right up my son's ally for things to draw and/or colour.   It comes with small stickers that you can use as a reference as well.

 This book is actually my son's.  He just grinned when I picked it up.  "Look mom!   It's HalfWay!" (a toad of his).

Reason to Colour: No childish drawing that inspire research into a favourite topic or that simply enhances one's learning about them.  My lad likes the realistic drawings and the colours that match colours in nature.


Second Book and Reason

Coloring Book Be Still


A chance to think on some words of God as you delight in coming up with just the right colours.  A perfect book for rainy Sunday afternoons when everyone is tired and just wanting to chill out.

This book is filled will flowers and birds and words from the Lord.   Not every page contains a verse, or birds, or flowers.   But much of it does.

Reason to Colour: This is my "let's be pretty book" which is not my normal frame of mind, so it's great for Sundays when I NEED to relax and prepare for the coming week.   It's a girlie type book and out of my normal paradigm of thinking and it's good to cultivate that part of me sometimes.  :)


Third book and Reason

Animal Kingdom: Color Me, Draw Me


This book is the one that draws people in when they colour with me.  There is SO MUCH variety contained with the pages.     I've started and stopped with so many pictures as my mood will change with what I want to do.  Eventually I'll get around back to those started.


The pages are thick enough to do pencil or marker.


Reason to colour: Whimsy can take you many different places, and sometimes following whimsy can leave you lost.  In this book, I don't get lost and I can always come back again.  :)


Fourth Book and Reason

Art Therapy Coloring Book Menagerie & More

This is actually one that my hubby picked out.
the pictures in it are mostly just animals, and mostly headshots with clean, clear lines.   No white on black or pictures inside of pictures.   It's a basic interesting colouring.

I find that I start and finish pictures in this book more quickly.  I really enjoy the thick pages and clear images, and hubby is more likely to pick it up and join me in an afternoon of colouring as well.  Which is WAY COOL.  :)

Reason to Colour:  Sharing a hobby with someone I love. The variety of images allows for different tastes in items to draw.



Fifth book and reason

 LIVE LOVED: AN ADULT COLORING BOOK

Admittedly this is my least favourite colouring book.  There are things I like about it, but I find I have to pay more attention to careful colouring with this book.  Many of the lines are quite thin.

What do I like about it?
Mmm... scripture verses that are quite varied.  Blank pages behind each picture means I can rip them out and display them if I think they are good enough for that.  :)

Reason to Colour?
Encourages carefulness and attention to detail, which helps to focus on my mind when I have to do things like planning out a school schedule, or vacation plans.

So do you colour?
Do you have books that are different than mine?
Why do you like them?

Share with won't you?   :)

Five Minute Friday: Team

Join us this week over at Kate's blog as we join together of the word prompt TEAM.

3, 2, 1 Go

Team.
It's hard you know.
To be part of a team.

A team requires working with other people.
I hated team sports as a  child.
Trying to figure out where I fit in best.
Learning quickly that I would always be chosen last or next to last.

I could never figure them out well, and
It seems I am raising a lad with those same lack of skills.
Give us an individual sport and it works much better.
Competing against oneself.

But I have learned as I watched my lad,
that even individual sports have a team component.
The striving to be like others.
The working together to show you have learned a new skill.

I see that and then I look at my own life.
And I see the times when I am part of a team.
When I help at things like Co-op days.
When I have whole families over so my son can play with others.

It's hard sometimes when you'd rather not.
When it's easy just to be an introvert.
and not be part of a team,
But it's a learning growing calling thing.

The Lord calls us to be more than we are.
He promises us his everlasting support.
He promises that he won't ask us to do something,
that won't end up being an okay thing for us to.

Consider this.
The Lord God calls us to be family.
To be a part of a working unit.
A body.   A team.

The strong with the weak.
Weak becoming strong as they
are supported and aided.
A body.  A Team.

That's what we are part of...
even as we remain individuals set on
meeting a standard.
The Team helps.

__STOP_____

This post is part of the Five Minute Friday challenge.  Can I write, without fretting over editing and what not, just write for five minutes on a word provided?   It's a great community and for the most part we support each other, which is a good thing is it not?   It's what makes a community a community indeed.  :)   Why not come join us?   The linky is usually open over the weekend.... so it's not too late.  Come on, join in the fun won't you?

Raising Boys with Purpose

I have a son. He's my joy and delight. And I don't know about you, but having a plan, a long term view, an end vision of what I hope to instill in him is part of how I raise him. I want to raise a boy who knows how to think, to reason, to work, to care for those around him, to be called after God's own heart. That's what I want in my son when he's grown up and not needing his mother so much. BUT how do I plan for that? What types of things should I be considering? To that end, I read two books. Raising Real Men by Hal and Melanie Young, and Raising Boys by Design by Gregory L Jantz and Michael Gurian.

The approach is this, how do you use God's word and God's principles to raise up your boys to be men?

 Raising Real Men by the Young's is a book with a ton of personal examples from life, showing how a principle could be put into action.

14 chapters, divided into two parts.   Talking about the joys and the challenges of raising boys, and the way we need to talk to them, shape them, work with who they are.   Boys are meant to be leaders in their households, to hold down a job, to learn to how cherish their loved ones and to rely on the strength of God.

When talking about how to deal with temptation, we were told of the fist principle.





Dealing with temptation
1. Leave the situation
2. Pray, ask the Lord's forgiveness and help
3. Read your bible
4. Sing praises or Hymns to God
5. Go to your authority and ask for help

These are five ways to make a fist to knock away temptation.

Doesn't that sound so doable?   Easy lessons to teach your son and to apply to your own life!

At 255 pages it is not an overly long book, the text is easy to read and quite personable.   
Recommended reading.  :)

Raising boys by Design.
This is a more scholarly type book, with the science behind how men and boys think explained.     12 chapters, divided into two sections.

The first section is mostly the brain stuff.   The science behind the workings of the male brain and body. In this section you will find chapters such as "what a boy learns from mom", "what a boy learns from dad" "how boys develop differently than girls" etc.

The second section deals with helping boys develop good heroes, to do their best in work and school, to the building of character and self-discipline.    We also learn the importance of marking off stages in a lad's life... giving them good markers to show that they are maturing and not a young child any more.  To the importance of giving a vision of what a strong Christian man looks like.

I appreciated this section "Making Faith Work for Boys"
1. faith must be individual, not merely institutional
2. faith must be flexible
3. faith must be interactive
4. faith must be relevant
5. faith must be muscular
6. faith must include room for questions
7. faith must include room for doubt
8. faith must be active
9. faith must be intergenerational
10. faith must cost something
11. faith must be relational.

It's a meaty book with a less personal touch, but a very good book none-the-less.   It has good examples and stories of how to help a boy become a man scattered throughout it's pages.

I Love the combination of these two books.

The end result they have is the same, the turning of boys into men called after God's own heart.
The approach is different, but the result the same.  They compliment each other very nicely.

I am so pleased that I chose to read them and be able to take the truths contained within it's pages to help me in the raising of my son.

I hope that you will find them useful to you as well.  :)

Great Canadian Sale coming soon

Looks what is coming out way! A sale of Canada based products written by Canadian people! How cool is that!!!!! It runs from August 3-8 (ending on my birthday how great it that eh?) Anyways, history, geography, science, language and more. Tons of stuff for your schooling needs!

ALL Canadian Learning Sale!

To learn about this marvellous sale, made just for us Canadians BY Canadians.  GO HERE.