Swim Lessons

The last two weeks I have been taking Madeline to swim lessons at the Morrisville Aquatics and Fitness Center.  Though timid the first week, she did great.  Then the second Monday hit. We had drama before we even got out the house door and into the car.  I reassured her as best I could and we prayed together.  Though she did not want to get into the pool, she did.  Just as the swim lesson was starting I whispered in her ear that I was proud of her.  BIG mistake.  The tears started to flow, the sobs began, and she began exiting the pool.  What was I to do? Immediately I comforted her, and then tried to coax her back into the water.  This was met with greater sobs.  My mind was frantic--at this point Ryan had climbed up a flight of stairs and I could not see him, and I was not sure how to handle this situation with Madeline.  I did not want her to think that if she cried, she was able to "get out of" swim lessons, but I also wanted to acknowledge and reassure her real fear of swimming.  Finally, after sitting in the water with her for 10 minutes, I told her that she needed to sit on the steps through the lesson even if she did not do anything.  I then went back to my seat a few feet away (of course, after I retrieved Ryan from the upper deck).  The mom next to me then told me that she told her son that if he tried his best each week, she would take him out for ice cream at the end of the week. Desperate, I went to Madeline and gave her the same incentive.  Immediately she began participating.  I'm still not sure I feel right about having done this. . .actually, I know I don't feel right about having done this.  I don't want to teach my children to perform for the sake of external reward.  Next time I hope to be better prepared to help her through a situation that elicits fear.

So, $50 later, Madeline is really great at putting her whole head under the water, doing the back float, and swimming with a kick board.  I am so proud of her because she really did try her hardest.  Well. . .guess what Ryan does today.  Swims. . .no lessons, no nothing.  After watching his friend Jackson jump into the pool from the edge and watching his friend Ty swim with his face under water, Ryan does the same thing.  And not only does the boy jump off the side of the pool, he does forward flips, belly flops, and side ways dives (all of which ended after Mommy had a conversation with him. . .his head was almost coming into contact with the concrete edge).  My biggest heart attack was when he asked me to take his floaties off. . .by the time I had turned my body to put the floaties down on the edge of the pool, he had gotten out of the water and jumped back in without any flotation device.  Thankfully he popped right up.  From that point on, I stuck to him like glue.  

Isn't true that when children are ready to do something, they do it naturally (not always, but often).

I'm so grateful for my sweet babies.

Last Week of Breaking Free

If you are looking for a Bible study that will draw you near to the Lord and challenge you to look more like Jesus, please consider Breaking Free by Beth Moore.

Here are some truths that spoke to me this final week:

"We are never more beautiful portrayals of mortals who know and believe God than when others can look at our lives, hear out testimonies, and say, 'It is true'."

How true these words are.  I yearn to one day be this mortal.  There are a handful of people I think of when I read this statement.  The person who comes to mind most vividly is my high school Latin teacher, Alice Guppy (there was only 1 in my high school, so I had her for 4 years).  From the moment I met her, I knew there was something different about her.  She was filled with joy, had great peace, genuinely loved her students, although she had her own children, and enforced justice.  Mrs. Guppy was my first glimpse of Jesus and she will forever be etched in my heart.  I can say about her, 'It is true'.   

"Without doubt, the more you know God, the more you want to know God.  The more time you spend with Him, the more you will yearn for Him.  The opposite is also true".

Wow.  Why do I ever choose not to spend time with Him???  I hope to one day say that I yearn for Him daily, hourly, and momentarily.

"People who know God well want God well-known.  No one has to force a person who is intimately acquainted with God to be a living witness.  Those who truly know His Name (and all it implies) always want his fame".

What a great gauge for where I am in my relationship with Christ.  Do I want His fame at all times?  Am I always a living witness?  Do I want God well-known?

OBEDIENCE to God's Word results in RIGHTEOUSNESS, which results in PEACE and JOY.

"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion--to bestow on them a CROWN of BEAUTY instead of ashes, the OIL OF GLADNESS instead of mourning, and a GARMENT OF PRAISE instead of a spirit of despair.  They will be called OAKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, a PLANTING OF THE LORD for the DISPLAY OF HIS SPLENDOR.  They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations".  Isaiah 61: 1-4

Tagged

Was tagged by Jen J.  Here are the rules:

1) Answer the questions using only one word.

2) Tag four others.

Where is your cell phone? purse

Your significant other? bald

Your hair? thin

Your mother? strong

Your father? smart

Your favorite thing? Bible

Your dream last night? hmmmmmm?

Your favorite drink? dr. pepper

The room you're in? bedroom

Your hobby? running

Your fear? sharks

Where do you want to be in 6 years? wiser

What you're not? adventuresome

Muffins? bran

One of your wish list items? elliptical

Where you grew up? Virginia

Last thing you did? email

Favorite gadget? gps

Your pets? bugs

Your computer? awesome

Your mood? sober

Missing someone? mom

Your car? minivan

Favorite store? Borders

Like someone? Roxann

Your favorite color? yellow

Last time you laughed? tonight

Last time you cried? tonight

I tag. . .Tara D. , Megan S., Katie S., Amanda P.