"crash" the vandal

Boden has earned himself a new nickname - i think we'll start calling him "crash"

In a matter of just 5 days he managed to smack his forehead and cut the inside of his lip while taking a dive at the dishwasher door, bruise his cheek on the corner of a coffee table, and cut his face by falling on a pen. And these are just the injuries that are visable on his face! Poor little guy, I think he got his momma's gracefulness (or lack there of)

He also began a new art project....on the toilet lid! Our first vandalism of toddlerhood. at least this one washed off easily!

little cowboy

7 prayers a day

you may have noticed the little button on the left of my blog that says pray 7x7. i found this idea on another blog that i read, bring the rain, and i wanted to share it. basically it is a challenge to pray 7 prayers, 7 times a day, for 7 days (or more!) over your children. it is incredibly important that we are continually praying for our children, and it is such a privilege. this is a great way to get started, especially if you're new to praying scriptures over your kids.

are you up for the challenge?

here are the prayers (copied from angie's blog, click here to go to her original post):

1. When they wake up: "Let the morning bring (child's name) word of your unfailing love, for she has put her trust in You. Show (her/him) the way (she/he) should go, for to you (he/she) lifts up her soul." (Adapted from Psalm 143:8)

2. When they are getting dressed: "Therefore, as God's chosen child, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Lord, help (him/her) bear with others and forgive whatever grievances (he/she) has against others. Help (him/her) forgive as the Lord forgave (him/her). And over all these virtues, help (him/her) put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." (Adapted from Colossians 3:12-14)

3. While they are eating: "Teach (child's name) the secret of being content in any and every situation whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Teach (him/her) that (he/she) can do everything through him who gives (him/her) strength." (Adapted from Philippians 4:12-13)

4. When they go out of the house: "(Name of child), do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will." (Adapted from Romans 12:2)

5. While they are taking a bath: "Lord, give (name of child) clean hands and a pure heart, and let (him/her) not lift (his/her) soul to an idol or swear by what is false. Let (him/her) receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God (his/her) Savior. Let (him/her) be part of the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob." (Adapted from Psalm 24:4-6)

6. When they are going to bed: "The Lord Your God is with you; he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, be will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)

7. While they are sleeping: "I pray that (name of child) will do everything without complaining or arguing, so that he/she may become blameless and pure, a child of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which he/she shines like a star in the universe as he/she holds out the word of life-in order that he/she may boast on the day of Christ that he/she did not run or labor for nothing." (Adapted from Philippians 2:14-16)


i put these prayers on notecards and taped them around the house in a place that would remind me to pray (over the changing table, on the bathroom mirror, by boden's crib, on the door going out of the house, etc).

i challenge you to do the same.

Interesting - Family & Civilization

I read this last night and had to share it. The chapter in the book I'm reading is talking about the downward spiral of our character and how it happens so slowly that we don't notice it's happening. That was all very good, but what really stuck out to me was the discussion about the downward spiral of cultures throughout history.

Here's what it said:

"Sociologist and historian Carle Zimmerman, in his 1947 book Family & Civilization, recorded his keen observations as he compared the disintegration of various cultures with the parallel decline of family life in those cultures. Eight specific patterns of domestic behavior typified the downward spiral of each culture Zimmerman studied:

1. Marriage loses it's sacredness - it is frequently broken by divorce.
2. Traditional meaning of the marriage ceremony is lost.
3. Feminist movements abound.
4. Increased public disrespect for parents and authority in general.
5. Acceleration of juvenile delinquency, promiscuity, and rebellion.
6. Refusal of people with traditional marriages to accept family responsibility.
7. Growing desire and acceptance of adultery.
8. Increased interest in and spread of sexual perversions and sex-related crimes.

The last one generally marks the final stage of societal disintegration."

-taken from The Quest for Character by Charles R. Swindoll

This totally blew me away. Does any of this sound familiar to anyone else...like maybe a recap of the last 50-60 years of history in America? Notice, he wrote this in 1947. Kinda make me wonder where we're headed as a society.

fun with nana & poppa

nana & poppa (my parents) came to visit last weekend. we had a great time, it's always nice when we have a weekend together without many "plans" - we were able to just enjoy each other a bit. boden showed off all his new tricks and they read many books - his new favorite thing to do. he will just bring you the same book and crawl in your lap over, and over, and over... i'm happy that he's developing a love for books.

unfortunately, we also had to make a trip to the pediatrician to find out that boden had a double ear infection while they were here. thankfully he wasn't too bothered by it, he just slept a lot more. one day last week he took a 4 1/2 hour nap! i was sad that it meant he was sick, but boy did i get a lot done! (normally he only sleeps 1 1/2 hours, maybe 2 hrs if i'm really lucky

friday night we went to the fall festival at church. it was so fun to see all the cute little kids dressed up. boden dressed as a fireman and of course he was the most adorable of them all ;) I made him a little t-shirt that said "Brueseke Fire Dept". we didn't stay too long since we didn't want to push it with him having the ear infections - but he seemed to have a great time with the carnival games and just running around outside.

"brueseke fire department"

boden & brody wondering why the other one looks so funny

playing in the duck pond

learning the itsy bitsy spider with poppa

playing outside with nana

reading with nana
daddy, momma & bo at the fall festival



thanks again for coming to visit nana & poppa - we miss you!

thoughts

this will probably sound a bit unorganized…i’ve had a lot of thoughts rolling around in my head for the past few days/weeks and have just been unable to put them in words…but i’m going to give it a shot.

i’m sad. i’ve been trying to figure out exactly what has been causing this feeling, but i don’t think i really grasped it until last night. this election stuff has really been getting to me. i’ve always disliked politics – mostly because i hate lying and i feel like that’s mostly what is involved in political campaigning. i read an article after one of the debates that basically went through and took each point that the candidates talked about and explained the actual truth. in nearly every point they made they exaggerated or twisted something the other had said or what they voted on previously, etc. it made me wonder – why even bother watching the debates and the ads if we’re just going to have to then go figure out what the real truth is? does anyone in america even care about truth anymore?

but i think what has really upset me about this election is the way so many americans are putting their hope and trust in a man. this doesn’t have anything to do with which man, but just that as a nation we are looking to a man to change the world, rather than to God. as we were watching the celebration in chicago on tv last night i saw people sobbing and crying and full of excitement and i thought (and I think I even said this out loud to Michael) “did Jesus come back and no one told me?” i was obviously being sarcastic, but really – why are so many putting so much hope and trust into this one man? he is only a man just like all the rest of us, why are so many acting like he is the savior of the world? Psalm 146:3 says “Do not trust in princes, in mortal man, in whom there is no salvation.”

i feel like we are just like the israelites who didn’t want to look to God anymore – they wanted a king – a man to lead them. trusting God just wasn’t enough for them. that’s where our nation is. we don’t want to take the time and effort in prayer and study to find out what God has to say – it’s too difficult – we want a man that we can see and touch and watch on tv. in fact – i wonder how many “Christians” even prayed and asked God what he thinks about the political issues or who they should vote for? sadly, i think many just looked at what they think would best serve their individual needs and desires.

a friend of mine, kari, posted some thoughts regarding a sermon series done at her church regarding politics and what God has to say about the issues titled Politics, Religion, and the Word. I have listened to 3 of the 4 messages so far and the pastor talks about some very sensitive issues such as the sanctity of life, same sex marriage, war, terrorism, etc. in my opinion he does a very good job of presenting the facts and then comparing them to God’s word rather than someone’s opinion. i think many people, christians included, get our views on these subjects from our friends, family, politicians, and even celebrities, yet never take the time to see what God has to say about it. and if they do see what God has to say about it and they don’t like it, they just decide he couldn’t have possibly meant that, and they skip over that part, yet continue to call themselves followers of christ. i overheard a conversation between two women just a few days ago (one of whom calls her self a christian, the other I’m not sure about) talking about abortion. one (the christian) said – “well, I’m pro-life, but i think women should get to decide if they want to terminate a pregnancy if they find out the baby is sick…that’s just such a commitment and so much work to raise a sick child.” i thought to myself – how in the world is that “pro-life”? does that mean that if (god forbid) my 15 month old became very ill or was in a bad accident i should have the option to kill him because it is just a “big commitment” and “a lot of work” to raise him? do they really think God doesn’t know what it takes to raise a child like that and that he must have just made a mistake? i’ve got news – GOD DOESN’T MAKE MISTAKES! it's these thought patterns that just break my heart and make me sad. what are they saying to unbelievers about what it means to be a follower of Christ? kari said it well, so i’m just going to quote her - she said, “why don't they just say, "i guess i don't really believe God or His word since i obviously think He is being unfair in His ideals and doesn't know what's best for our world." that would be a whole lot better than them giving christianity a bad rap because they say they believe one thing but act in the completely opposite manner.”

in the end – what God says is the only thing that’s going to matter. one day i will stand before my creator, as will we all, and have to give an account for my life, and i certainly don’t want to hear God say “why did you choose to ignore me? you listened to your friends/family/politicians/celebrities and valued their opinion more than my word.” i really encourage anyone who has questions about what God has to say about certain issues to listen to these messages (this link will take you to kari's blog where there is a link to the messages); they are not condemning, but instead full of truth and will definitely give you a different perspective on “the issues” than anything you’re hearing in the media. i realize that it’s too late for anyone to change their vote, but it’s not too late to change your heart…and that’s what matters most anyway.

one final thing – it’s probably pretty obvious that i didn’t vote for the candidate who was elected our next president – but i will be supporting him and praying for him, as we all should. our nation needs to unite and support our leaders, whether we agree with their views or not, and place our trust solely in God – knowing that no matter who is in what office – He is always on the throne.