Wordless Wednesday: Yellow Belts

My Philosophy of Parenting

I'm not often (practically never) asked for parenting advice but if I were there is really only one practical piece of help I could offer.  Pray.  Pray often.  Pray long.  Pray hard.  Pray specifically.  Pray.

In light of my belief in the fact that prayer is our greatest parenting asset, I was delighted to find a parenting trend that fits my outlook very well.  The CTFD style of parenting seems to be just about right to me. Now, for those of you that may be offended by the language just skip the f word and just stick with me.  You may be struggling to understand how prayer and CTFD could possibly work together.  Trust me, they do.

It is absolutely impossible to worry and pray at the same time.  You can worry or you can pray.  You cannot do both.  Only one of those choices provides comfort, assurance, results.  God tells us repeatedly (and repeatedly, and even more repeatedly) in the Bible not to worry.  God also tells us repeatedly (and repeatedly, and even more repeatedly) to pray (without ceasing even!). 

So, CTFD (or CT*D if that's more comfortable) and pray rather than worry.  God's got this and you and your child(ren).  And that's my very best parenting advice.

Then and Now: Happy 24th Anniversary

Celebrating 24 Years!

On Wednesday we combined a business errand with a day of escape and celebration.  In our 24 years together we've learned to take our moments together when we can find them and use them to the fullest.  Rob had to travel to Canton for work.  The two hour drive took him past several vineyards and wineries that I've been wanting to visit.  It was a perfect pairing of opportunities.  The day trip was even more perfect because he'll be out of town for our actual anniversary day.

We drove straight to Canton, took care of business, then meandered our way back home by way of six Ohio wineries.  On the way we did countless tastings, bought sixteen bottles of wine, had dinner and drank one of those bottles, weathered a wind store and arrived home to two disgruntled teenagers and no electricity.  All in all, it was a great day.