Count Down Has Begun

It is hard to believe my oldest son will be graduating from college in 10 days. There are so many emotions crowding around me ranging from excitement to sadness. There is a part of me that is excited about his new chapter. He will be going off to Oklahoma University next year on a Navy ROTC scholarship (proud and a bit boastful I apologize). I know he will do well academically there because he is a driven and focused young man.

Someone told me the other day that when you have a child you have eighteen summers. That doesn't sound like much. I can't help but look back over the past seventeen summers and wonder if we have done enough with him. I don't mean vacations and camps but did we do enough with him to make a difference? Did we do enough to mold him into a man of honor and one that will love God and love others? Did we spend enough time talking about the things that mattered?  I have often teased that he was our rough draft kid since he was the first and we made all the mistakes with him. We probably were too nice at time and too strict at others and yes, dare I admit it, I might have hovered at times too.

My oldest son is the one most like me and the one that I seem to have the most conflict with out of all three of my kids. Lately he has pushed more of my buttons than I dreamed I even owned. I was talking to a woman at my church and told her about my growing frustration with him and she told me that her son did the same. Just knowing I wasn't alone was comforting.  I think this tension between us is a way to begin to break loose the bonds. A mechanism of his to use to spread those wings and perhaps my irritation towards his behavior is just me wanting to push him out of the nest. However, I don't really want him to leave the nest and will bribe him with his favorite food and washing of clothes to get him to come home to visit next year but I know for him it is time even if I am not really ready.

Only 10 more days until his high school career will end.  I still have one more summer with him before he leaves for college and he spends more time away from us than with us. I plan on making this summer count. I plan on being deliberate in my relationship with him. 

Mother of Boys Advice

I am a mom of two boys and one girl. I have only raised one teenage boy  to the cusp of adulthood and have another knocking at the door of being a teenager and I would like to share some wisdom about my boys. I grew up with only a sister so my knowledge of boys or men if you will, was limited to my dad and my husband. I have learned a few things that I wish all girls knew about boys.

1. They feel as deeply as a girl does. Their little hearts break with sorrow or burst with happiness but they show it differently. You have to be really watching to understand it. They don't always cry in front of others but I assure you their hurt is just as deep as yours. So treat their hearts as gently as you want yours to be treated.
2. They have been told to treat girls with respect and kindness. Often this is confused with weakness. I promise it is not. Perhaps we should spend more time teaching girls the same but that is for another post.
3. Good boys really are better than the bad boy image romanticized in movies. These are the men that will grow up to be faithful. These are the men who will be by you even when you are being snide and ugly when the monthly visitor comes and changes us into people we don't even recognize. So realize that when you brush them aside because they are just too "sweet" later you might be wishing you hadn't.
4. Sometimes they don't really have anything to say but that doesn't mean they don't want to be around you or that they are mad. This took me a long time to understand and sometimes it still drives me a bit batty.
5. When they do want to talk, pay attention to them even if it is about corvettes or mustangs because if you ignore them or brush off when they are sharing something they love you will probably miss something important.
6. They really are visual but they don't respect you if you show all of your goods. They would rather date a girl with confidence in who she is . Don't confuse this with don't put in the effort to look good, just cover up a bit. They might think you are fun now but the don't respect you anymore than you are respecting yourself.
7. There mom is their number one right now even if they don't always act like it. They still come to us when they are hurt or happy. This will change when the women that is right for them enters their lives but we will always be the first woman they loved and the first one to love them.
8. Know that I have prayed for him since he was born that the right girl will come into his life at the right time.I believe this to be my most powerful advice to you. If you are not right for him leave early. Don't play games because once I decide you aren't the right one my prayer life goes into overdrive.

NIV Faithgirlz! Bible Revised Edition

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!




You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card contributor is:

Nancy Rue

and the book:

NIV Faithgirlz! Bible (Revised Edition)

Zonderkidz; Rev Spl edition (March 6, 2012)

***Special thanks to Rick Roberson of The B&B Media Group for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR:

Nancy Rue has worked as a public school teacher, church youth director, theater workshop developer and camp director. She has written more than eighty books for young people, including the beloved Faithgirlz! Sophie series, The Skin You're In and Everybody Tells Me to Be Myself but I Don't Know Who I Am. Nancy lives with her husband and two dogs in Lebanon, TN.





About Faithgirlz!: Faithgirlz! is a collection of books, Bibles and resources designed to provide transformational Christian experiences for tween girls. Faithgirlz! encourages honest tween-girl empowerment by providing engaging, relevant, high-quality offerings, helping tween girls understand their world, learn biblical teachings, become closer to God and grow into godly teenagers. Faithgirlz! offers excellent content and contributions from leading Christian tween writers and spokespeople including Nancy Rue, Melody Carlson, Kristi Holl, Naomi Kinsman and more. Faithgirlz! is also supported with a website (www.Faithgirlz.com), Facebook page and mother and daughter live events across the country.



SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:



Every girl wants to know she’s totally unique and special, and contributor Nancy Rue helps them do just that in the revised edition of the NIV Faithgirlz! Bible. As a leading tween expert, Rue teaches girls that the Bible is real and relevant and, best of all, that the story of God and His people is also their story. Girls can now grow closer to God as they discover the journey of a lifetime, in their language, for their world.

The new Faithgirlz! Bible was developed especially for girls ages 9 to 12. Everything in it is written with a tween girl’s experience in mind, and it features the most popular Bible translation in the world, the New International Version. The features explain hard-to-understand things in the Bible and guide girls to put the Scripture to work in their own lives. The Faithgirlz! Bible focuses on sharing faith with friends and gives real ways for girls to do that.



Each book of the Bible has activities that make God’s Word more relevant than ever. And, of course, because it was developed for Faithgirlz! readers, they can expect to find it jam-packed with customized content and artwork that really makes the Bible stand out. Girls will love the cool design, the interactive features and the feeling of knowing that God’s Word is there for them whenever they need it. Some of the features included are:



· Book Introductions—Girls will read the who, when, where and what of each book of the Bible.



· Dream Girl—Girls will use their imaginations to put themselves in the story.



· Is There a Little (Eve, Ruth, Isaiah) in You?—Girls will see for themselves what they have in common with women of the Bible.



· Words to Live By—Girls will discover great Bible verses for memorizing.



· Oh, I Get It!—Girls will find answers to Bible questions they’ve wondered about.





Nancy Rue says, “I hope the Faithgirlz! Bible will help girls grow a friendship with the Bible, their own relationship. It asks questions, asks them to think and challenges them to apply what they’re learning. That’s how they’ll find a deep, personal relationship with God, rather than just by following rules or saying what they’ve been told without really thinking about it. Rules are important, of course, but they only make sense when they really believe the message of the Scriptures. That’s what this Bible is about.” The Faithgirlz! Bible is the perfect Bible to support girls in their journey into the “beauty of believing.”



The main edition of the Faithgirlz! Bible is hardcover, but it is also available in two Italian Duo-Tone designs. For better portability, there is also an NIV Faithgirlz! Backpack Bible. This compact edition does not include the in-text features that the full-size edition has, but it does have twelve full-color pages of Faithgirlz! fun, the words of Christ in red and a ribbon marker. An ebook version is also planned for electronic use.

Product Details:

List Price: $27.99



Reading level: Ages 9 and up

Hardcover: 1504 pages

Publisher: Zonderkidz; Rev Spl edition (March 6, 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0310722365

ISBN-13: 978-0310722366

AND NOW...A SAMPLE. PLEASE CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO VIEW THEM LARGER:

NIV BOYS BIBLE

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!




You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card is:

NIV Boys Bible

Zonderkidz; Special edition (March 6, 2012)

***Special thanks to Rick Roberson of The B&B Media Group for sending me a review copy.***

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Getting into a routine of reading the Bible can be challenging for anyone, but trying to keep the attention of pre-teen boys is especially difficult. So now there is a Bible especially developed for them. The NIV Boys Bible is designed with boys ages 9 to 12 in mind. Fun in-text features help boys dig deep into the Word and learn about amazing people, facts and stories of the Bible. The NIV Boys Bible will help boys grow into the young men God wants them to be. It will appeal to boys and cause them to desire to spend time in the Word with its unique features such as:



* Introductions to each book of the Bible



* Hundreds of highlighted verses worth memorizing



* What's the Big Deal?-Need-to-know biblical stories and people



* Check It Out-Interesting and fun facts about Bible times and characters



* Grossology-Gross and gory stuff they never knew was in the Bible



* Makin' It Real-Help for applying Bible stories to their everyday lives







This Bible includes the full text of the New International Version, the most popular Bible translation in the world, and 12 color tip-in pages introducing content that shows boys how they can grow to be like Jesus. Each book of the Bible has activities that make God's Word more relevant than ever. It is jam-packed with customized content and artwork that really makes the Bible stand out.

Product Details:

List Price: $27.99

Reading level: Ages 9 and up

Hardcover: 1504 pages

Publisher: Zonderkidz; Special edition (March 6, 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0310723086

ISBN-13: 978-0310723080:

AND NOW...A SAMPLE. PLEASE CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO VIEW THEM LARGER: