Category Archives for "parenting"

February 4, 2012 Week in Review

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This week, I’m going back to a written recap as opposed to the video “throw down” that went on last weekend.  (Thanks for the feedback, I don’t think video posting is dead for me, but I need to take it in steps.)

At any rate, it was a pretty good week here on The Stretched Blog.  Traffic was on par with other weeks (maybe a bit higher than average).  Comments seemed to be up from previous weeks.  I’m not sure if the topics covered in the posts were more engaging or if more people decided to add more feedback to the community.

Here’s a run-down on the posts from the week:

Here’s some of my favorites from around the blog world this week:

Don’t forget to subscribe to The Stretched Community on the right of the main screen.  Also, stop over and join Jon Stolpe Stretched on the Facebook Fan Page.  Thanks as always to the regular readers and to those who leave comments.  You make this Stretched community so great!

How was your week?  What was your favorite post on your blog and elsewhere this week?  Please share, so we can all enjoy!

 

Log Eye Lessons

Last night, our family devotion was titled Log Eye.  The devotion was about judging others, and the title came from Jesus’ comments about removing the plank in our eye before we call out the speck in the eye of someone else.

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”  Matthew 7:1-5

As we sat around the dinner table, we talked about what this means and how it applies to each of us.

The night before, I had snapped at Hannah for picking on and nagging her brother.  Hannah was scolding Isaac for putting too much hot sauce in his soup.  So I scolded Hannah telling her that she wasn’t the parent and that she didn’t need to get on Isaac’s case for how much hot sauce he wanted to use.

Hannah quickly stopped, and the conversation was over.  But it still went on in my head.  I felt awful for jumping down Hannah’s throat.  As I thought more about it, I remembered having similar interactions with my brother.  As the oldest brother, I always believed that I knew best.  Throughout the day, I pondered how much Hannah and I are really alike, and I realized that this can sometimes create friction between the two of us.

I see some of my faults in Hannah, and I cringe when I see my attitudes echoed by my daughter.  I cringe because it reminds me of me.

The whole Log Eye discussion gave me a great opportunity to apologize to Hannah.  I couldn’t see clearly with the log in my eye!  I’m blessed to have a wonderful daughter who keeps me humble and a loving Father who is full of mercy.

Do you struggle with judging others? 

How has God used your kids to teach you?

January 22, 2012 Week In Review

The week in review for was pushed back a day thanks to the wonders of our winter wonderland and the need to take care of some things at home.  It was a good week on The Stretched Blog.  On Wednesday, The New Stretched Blog experienced the highest traffic day so far!  I will be traveling this week, so I’m turning the blog over to some great guest bloggers for a few days.  Please read the excellent posts by Diane Karchner, Chad Jones, and Kevin Stone and join the conversation in the comments.

Here’s a recap for this week:

Your continued contribution to the blog through comments is greatly appreciated.  Your comments are what makes this Stretched Community!  Please remember to take the time to Subscribe to the NEW blog, so you can have Stretched delivered daily to your e-mail inbox.  Also, don’t forget to stop by the Jon Stolpe Stretched Facebook fan page.  Become a fan to keep up with some additional Stretched stuff.  I am sharing more blog highlights from other blogs that I read regularly.  I think you’ll find some great stuff here.  Thanks!

Here are a few of my favorites from around the blog world this week:

How about you?  How was your week?  If you’re a blogger what happened over your way this week?  Did you read any great blog posts this week?  Share with the rest of us!

Introducing A New Group For Parents of Middle School Students

Leanne and I have been involved in many different small groups.  We’ve been involved in parents of elementary children groups, couples groups, marriage groups, men’s groups, women’s groups, Texas Hold ‘Em groups, service groups, and mixed groups.  Small groups have played a key role in each stage of our lives and our marriage.

Early last fall, we were perusing the groups catalog that our church had published for the Fall Roll-out of groups, and we realized that there weren’t any groups available for parents like us – parents with middle school students.  With two middle school students of our own, this gap was obvious as we were looking to plug into a group of people in this similar place in life.

When we reached out to our groups pastor and our middle school pastor, we soon learned that they had been praying about this area and opportunity.  We also learned that there was another couple who was also interested in establishing and leading a group for parents like us.  And so…last week, we kicked off our new group for parents of middle school students!

There were five of us there for the first meeting, but I’m confident it will grow as more parents in our area and at our church learn of this offering.  We talked about some of our parenting challenges.  We shared about our inconsistencies and imperfections.  If you live in the Perkiomen Valley/Spring-Ford Area and you’re a parent of a middle school student you should consider joining our group.  We meet twice a month – the 2nd and 4th Wednesday nights of the month.  We’re using a book called Candid Confessions of and Imperfect Parent to help our discussion.

If you’re interested in checking it out, drop me a comment, or check-out the on-line groups catalog for directions on how to connect on-line.

Are you in a small group?  What type of group is it?  What are you studying, discussing, and/or doing with your group?  If you’re not in a small group, why not?

Don’t Hold A Press Conference

We all like to be noticed.  We all like to be recognized for doing something good.  We like to hear people say, “Good job.”  We want the praise of man.  I think this is a normal human desire.

The other day, I was reading in Matthew 6 which is part of the Sermon on the Mount given by Jesus.  In part of this sermon, Jesus talks about how we should give to the needy, how we should pray, and how we should go about fasting.  Three times in this passage Christ says, “Then your Father who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”  When we give to the needy, when we pray, and when we fast, we should do these acts so no one knows but God.  We want the recognition.  We want to hold a press conference when we do these things.  But Christ tells us to keep it between God and us.  Surely, God’s reward is far greater than any recognition we get from man.

As a blogger this is a huge topic to ponder.  I often blog about the activities of my family including the activities related to serving others.  I hope that my main motivation in sharing these things is to encourage others to find ways to serve with their families, but I confess that there may be a part of my motivation that wants to hear others say, “Your family is so good.  You are a great parent.  You and Leanne do such a great job.”  These compliments do mean a lot, but my suspicion is that these praises of people pale in comparison to the reward that God promises.

Ultimately, I want to glorify God.  Whether it’s giving to the needy, praying, fasting, working, running, blogging, or whatever, I want my thoughts and actions to bring glory to God.

And so I stretch!  (In a year of being transformed, transformation of my motives is a great place to start.)

What do you think?  Do you struggle with seeking the praise of people?  How do you fight this?

Meet Irwin

Our family has grown in the last couple of weeks.  No, Leanne and I did not have another child.  But we did add another dog to the mix right before Christmas.  Irwin is a golden retriever and Labrador mix, and I believe he turns 9 weeks old today.  He’s not your normal 9 week old family dog.  Irwin has a purpose, and we only get to have him for a short period of time.  You see, Irwin is a Seeing Eye puppy.  He was bred to help a blind person.  As puppy raisers, we will have Irwin until he is 12-18 months old.  Our job is to get him house broken, teach him a couple of basic things (sit, come, etc.), and to get him exposed to public places as much as possible.  From there, Irwin will return to The Seeing Eye in Morristown, NJ where he will go through 8 months of intense training.  This is when he’ll learn the skills required to guide a blind person.  At the end of his training, he will go through a final exam and health check to make sure he’s ready to go to work.  Assuming he passes, he will be matched up with a blind person.  They will work together for a month up at the school before they are sent home to live and work together.

The whole new dog thing has definitely added a chaos to our home, but it has also been fun.  Hannah is the official puppy raiser, and she has been doing an unbelievable job.  She takes him out to “park” whenever it’s time for him to go.  She lets Irwin sleep by her bed at night.  And she wakes up early to make sure he gets outside before any accidents.  If Hannah does this twice before she graduates high school, she’ll be eligible for a scholarship from The Seeing Eye.  So it’s likely that this won’t be the last new puppy we’ll see in our house.

Many people have asked, “how can you raise the puppy for a year and let it go?”  That’s a great question.  I’m sure it will be tough to say goodbye to Irwin when the time comes, but it will be easier to release him knowing that he has a purpose.  As parents, we have a similar experience with our kids.  Sure we get them for more than a year, and those 18 or so years can be filled with all kinds of ups and downs, but I think it’s important to realize that we have influence and responsibility over our children for a relatively short period time.  In essence, they are on loan from God.  There comes a time when we must release them for their greater, God-given purpose.  And so, Irwin reminds me of this.  I want to make the most of the time with my kids while they’re under my roof, and I want to release when the time comes them knowing full well that God has a purpose for them.

Have you ever had to release someone or something in order to pursue a higher calling or purpose?  What made this transition easy or hard?

Top Posts of 2011 Number 4 – Locks of Love

As I shared yesterday, my plan is to provide links to the top Stretched posts from 2011 over the next couple of weeks.  This provides an excellent opportunity for me to take a small break during the holidays, and it also provides an incredible opportunity for you to catch up on things you may have missed over the past year.  I hope you’ll hop on over to the original post, so you can read the entire post and add your comments to the existing comments string.

The 4th most popular Stretched post from 2011 was a post about my daughter and her sacrificial gift.  The post is titled Locks of Love.  Here’s an excerpt to get you going:

Locks of Love

The generous heart of my daughter never ceases to amaze me.  As you can see by the pictures, Hannah decided several months ago to grow her hair out, so she could donate to Locks of Love.  Locks of Love provides wigs for children who are facing hair loss for various reasons.  Hair is a big deal for girls, women, and kids.  So when Hannah decided to have her hair cut so someone else could enjoy a head of hair, it was quite a sacrifice – at least in my mind.

…

To read the rest of this post and to see more pictures of Hannah’s transformation, head on over to the original Locks of Love post.

When and where was the last time you got your haircut?

What was one of your favorite posts this year?

My Treasure & My Heart

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Matthew 6:21

Where is my treasure?

Where is my heart?

I have lots of interests.  I spend my time on lots of things.  I work.  I read.  I blog.  I run.  I watch television.  I eat.  I sleep – some.

Do I devote the same amount of time, energy, and attention to the people and the things that mean the most to me?  This is the question that stretches me.  My God, my wife, and my kids deserve my focus.

This doesn’t mean that I can’t have interests and hobbies.  But I must always keep these things in check.

Stretch on…!

How about you?  Do you know where your priorities should be?  How do they match up with reality?

(Please add your comment, and remember to come back tomorrow for a great guest post by Jonathan Pearson!)

Our Christmas Ornament Tradition

My first Christmas ornament from 1971

I love this time of year when we break out the family traditions related to the Christmas season.  One of the traditions that I love is when we put up the Christmas tree and decorate it with special ornaments.  Each year, we give our kids a “special” ornament that represents something about their year.  This year, our daughter received a canoe ornament from the Christmas shop in Mont Tremblant.  This ornament will help her remember the fun we had on our family vacation to Canada this summer when she paddled around a small lake in a canoe with her brother.  Our son received a ski gondola ornament also from the Christmas shop in Mont Tremblant.  This ornament will help him remember our hike to the top of Mont Tremblant and the easy trip down in the gondola.

We’ve been doing this tradition since the kids were born, so they are starting to develop quite a collection of these “special” ornaments.  Each year when we set up the tree, they take turns hanging up their ornaments and reminding us all about their ornaments and the memories that are associated with each of them.  It’s a fun tradition!

They're almost as tall as the tree! How did that happen?

I can’t tell you that Leanne and I thought of this on our own, because that wouldn’t be true!  My parents actually carried out the same tradition for my brothers and me.  I still have all my ornaments from when I was a kid, and yes, I still hang them up every year.  And I think my kids actually enjoy hearing the stories associated with my ornaments.  As we were hanging up our ornaments this year, we wondered if the tradition would carry on to our grandchildren some day.  I hope so!

Do you have any tree trimming traditions at your house?  What is one of the “special” ornaments that you hang on your tree every year?

My Little Girl Turned 14 Yesterday

Hannah many years ago during the backyard Easter egg hunt

If you want to talk about a “stretching” moment, my “little girl” turned 14 yesterday.  How did that happen?

Hannah hanging with her brother this summer

We had a great weekend celebrating!  Hannah is turning into quite the young lady.  She’s smart.  She’s kind.  She’s beautiful.  She’s caring.  She’s compassionate.  She is laser focused.  Happy Birthday, Sweetie!

What’s your family celebrating these days?

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