9 posts tagged “sydney”
As Sydney, Terryn and I were leaving the church on Sunday, we saw all of the motorcycles about to head out for a tribute ride to remember our friend Mike Wallace. Sydney was wondering why. I explained that they were taking time to ride together to remember him and how awesome he was. She said she was sad. I told her that I was too and so were all the people going on the ride. She asked if they were doing it because Mr. Wallace used to ride a motorcycle. When I told her, "Yes," she asked if he had ever ridden a bike. I explained that he had ridden his motorcycle a lot. She clarified that she was asking about a bicycle. I told her that I figured he probably did when he was a kid. Her response was, "Maybe if I ride my bike a little bit tomorrow it will make me feel better." I told her I thought that was great idea.
As much as I do love the candy, I'm referring to the children's ministry at our church. As you know, our family (Nash, the kids and I) spent last weekend at our extended family beach cabin on the Tulalip reservation. There was much sand, water, rock and shell related fun.
But on Saturday evening when Grandpa and Grandma got ready to head home, because they were going to church the next day, Sydney was almost in tears. She begged to go with her grandparents so she would not miss the stories that would be told in her class. It was awesome! To have our daughter beg to leave the beach to go to church! Hallelujah! You guys rock!
The best part was the next morning when she asked us if we were ever going to church again. Nice! So, we had "church" during breakfast. We each shared one of our favorite bible passages and sang a song that we thought went nicely with each one. It is such a blessing when our children acknowledge their need for God and have a desire to honor Him no matter where they are.
That's right, vacation!
The kids and I are at our family beach house with my mom. We had originally planned to be gone for a week, but we shall see. :-) It may be an indefinite arrangement.
Terryn is loving the beach. Throwing rocks in the water, watching the planes fly overhead and yelling "bow" (boat) every morning about the same boat that is anchored in front of the neighbor's place. I don't think it has even moved since we've been there. Who knows what he will do when a motor becomes involved. This morning we went out and read books together on the deck lounge chairs. I had my bible and he had a stack of Dr. Suess and Dora. Then we went for a walk. He rocks!
Sydney and I have been sharing a bed the last few nights. A rare treat for her and she is loving it. It's been great to just snuggle and chat. However, last night I left the room to brush my teeth and she was out cold when I got back. Could have had something to do with it being 11pm. Hmmm. I vow to put her to bed earlier tonight. 10:30 should do :-).
Hope you all enjoy the sun this weekend! I know I will be glad to be near the water and enjoying the breeze.
Friday
Sydney was a flower girl for the first time. We had lunch with the bridal party and moms, grandma, sister, etc. She felt like such a big girl.
Then we curled her hair for hours :-). It was worth it!
This is a pic of Syd & Nash dancin' to "Brown Eyed Girl". She told him it was the only song she would dance with him to. :-) That didn't last long. When they were slow-dancing I had to try not to cry. You know, the whole "some day they will do this at her wedding" thing. Yeah! Wow!
Saturday
I was a snack mom for the first time! It made me feel like such a grown-up.
As you can see, Sydney was particularly focused on the game today. That's her Yankee hat. Gotta love T-ball for 3 and 4 year olds.
Do you think it would offend the Everly Brothers that she keeps calling them the Elderly Brothers?
We recently had a visit with our friends who do a great work in South Africa. Our four year old, Sydney, has been supporting their ministry for some time now. Last year she sent $10 to help rebuild their campus cafeteria after it had burned down. This year her grandmother had given her supplies to make and sell necklaces to raise money for missions. So, when Niel and Alece were here she was able to give $20 directly to them to help kids in South Africa hear about Jesus. Here is Alece's post about Syd with some fabulous photos of them together. :-)
You have no idea how excited Sydney is going to be when she sees herself on Alece's blog! Last week Tina, one of the interns at our church, posted a video for her. And now this. She'll have her own blog in no time. LOL!
I am so proud of my daughter Sydney! She is such a giver! The great thing is that she has so many opportunities to give, because she is part of such a generous church.
The Rock Church is currently in the midst of my favorite season of giving. Every year we give out school supplies at our local fair's parade, turkey dinners at Thanksgiving and gifts for children at Christmas.
Last year Sydney wanted to give everything in her hippo bank (it's not a piggy) to purchase Christmas gifts. She was so excited to bring them to church and put them under the tree. I even took the opportunity to teach her about getting more for her money when things are on sale :-). See, she had originally not had enough to get as many gifts as she wanted to. After encouraging her to pray that God would make a way for her to give more, I told her that one way He does that is by giving us great deals. She was able to give the number of gifts that were in her heart to give.
Since then, she has had a whole new vision for her finances. She gladly puts her money into savings, because she knows the bank will give her even more money to give. So, she was very excited to have $50 in change to put towards school supplies. We pitched in and purchased all the supplies necessary for 2 kids (including backpacks). Again, she was able to bring them to the church and put them in the big pile to be given away.
Last Thursday we were able to spend some time helping assemble the bags for distribution. Then she participated in the parade on Saturday where they were given away. A full circle of generosity has been etched on her heart. And now our eyes are set on turkey dinners. We plan to do some blackberry picking and selling to raise some extra funds.
I share this to say that generosity must be intentionally instilled in our children. It is important to make them active participants in giving. It helps them know the heart of God & His desire for them to reach out. If you are a part of The Rock Church, start raising funds now for Thanksgiving, do a neighborhood drive to gather more donations, take the kids to the store to purchase the meals and definitely have them help you bring the food to the church. If you don't attend The Rock, there are lots of other opportunities in your community to help others. The time to start is now, no matter what age they are! Let's develope great habits in them now that will be automatic later. Generosity is a must!
Yesterday, my daughter asked Jesus to come into her heart! Here's how it played out:
We were in the midst of, yet another, discipline moment. Suddenly, she said, "Mom, I need to ask Jesus into my heart, cause I never did it." I asked her why she wanted to. Her reply was, "I just need help with stuff." We prayed together. It was awesome, but she still doesn't get why everyone's so excited about it :-).
Isn't that the truth, though? Don't we all just need help with stuff? I know I do. One of the greatest benefits of knowing Jesus is having a "very present help in trouble." That's in Psalm 46:1. He really is always there. No one else can give that kind of support. Even if you don't know Him yet, He's listening. Waiting for you to invite Him in, and let Him help you with your stuff.
Yesterday Sydney asked Nash to get her a butter horn while we were at Starbucks. When he explained that they were too messy to eat in the car, she said, "If you get me a butter horn, I'll give you five bucks."
When that didn't work, she told him that if he didn't get her one, she was never giving him five bucks. Isn't 3 year old negotiation a crack up?
