kids no flushy

Are you one of those parents that complains about your kids not flushing the toilet? You nag your kids day in and day out, but nothing changes?
I am a creative thinker and this spreads into our parenting too. You sometimes just have to find different ways to get through to the kids
Here is one I did recently. You might wanna try it, but don't tell them it was my idea.

We have dog as most of you know and he is large, ok he's not only large but he's hairy, lots of fur around his chin and mouth area. Since he is so big, when the toilet lid is open it is the perfect bowl height for him to quench his thirst in. Even though he has his own water bowl right next to the toilet, for some reason the savage beast prefers the toilet water. Not such a big deal maybe if that water was constantly fresh and in a clean toilet bowl. But that's not at our house. Now for any mother(or father for that matter) who has spent the last decade of his or her life working at ways to keep the house somewhat clean and fresh smelling, like I have, would agree that when toilet odor walks into the room you are comfortably lounging in, it's enough to make you crack. Crack down on the problem.
The problem
- kids no flushy
- kids no put lid down
- dog does as dogs do(very disgusting creatures)
- dog drink poo water
- dog fur near mouth soaked in smelly water
- dog drip water all over house
- poo smell wafting through the house
- mom smells it
- mom sees dog with wet face
- mom not going to nag again
- mom has fresh idea
....and so I got up from my spot, grabbed a paper, a marker, and some strong tape. I wrote a note and marched to the bathroom with no announcement of my actions.

Fast forward 1 hour-- Seraya went dashing to the bathroom, hand in position to prevent leakage, she paused to investigate my vandalism of the toilet, while dancing the pee dance. In dismay she looked at me with disbelief "but,..but,... mom!"

The note read:

Do you need a Jillian?

I want to tell you why I love the show "The Biggest Loser" If you don't know this show it is another reality show that takes up peoples real time(like mine and Ben's), with other peoples "real" lives. :).... Hey but Ben and I have had so much fun together watching a few episodes, plus I've got an insight from it. (If you don't like the show I may have just dropped a few rating points -but oh well)
On the show there are people who are obese - really,really over weight- and they want to loose weight but have lost the power to do it on their own. There are two trainers on this show who motivate them to exercise. Their names are Bob and Jillian. Jillian in particular is very firm with them ... that might be putting it little mild - She's mean. She'll work them until they cry, want to give up or throw up. She is totally insane all over them. I think the first impression you might get of Jillian is that she is really awful, but then you see how the show contestants start to change and actually go back for more of her. They want her to push them, they need her to whip them into shape because otherwise they wouldn't do it. This got me thinking about something, with my spiritual growth. I try so hard on my own to change things that I want to change but I don't, I come up with excuses and believe them. I feel like I need a Jillian to help motivate me to change those things I just am too lazy to change. If I had a Jillian on my back yelling at me and not letting me excuse my way out, time and time again, I think I would change. I also want to be a Jillian, I want to help people get real and affective in their faith and be right with God.
I've been a mentor to others and had mentors since Bible school and they've all been good and helped me grow but nothing like a Jillian, I think us Christians are just too nice to each other sometimes, we keep sympathizing with each others struggles, which of coarse is good but somehow in a loving way can't we get into each others space and face and maybe get ticked off enough to move from our comfort zones. I wonder how I would really respond to a tough mentor?
Now you know the only way Jillian has any credibility on the show is because she is in really good shape, right? I guess that is why it is so hard to be the one to get into some one's face on spiritual matters, because we ourselves have to be credible, walking the talk.
Face to face it's hard to be tough, besides some people would not appreciate this approach so maybe I won't go all "Jillian" on you in person but in this blog I can. It's really up to you if you come and read, and no one has to take it personally. :)
Question for you:
Do you sometimes wish you had someone who cared enough about your spiritual growth that they would get in your face on some issues?

Honest + Open = Vulnerable + Free

Why? Why do I open up my life on the world wide web? Why open up to anyone at all? Is there a difference in how open one should be, blogging or in person? What kind of openness, vulnerability or transparency is appropriate or acceptable on a blog?
or Maybe if you don't have a blog, how vulnerable or transparent should you be with others?

I find it funny that I have a blog were I talk about personal things, things that leave me vulnerable. Why? Why on earth would I tell you, strangers and friends alike, all this stuff about me and my life? Then I sometimes wonder, Where do I get off thinking people actually care about my writings? Do I really have anything worth while to say? --- don't answer that! I guess you are the only ones who know the answers to why you read but for me, why do I write my stories here for the world to read? Why am I honest about what's in my life? I started thinking about this when I had someone tell me that they would never share openly on the Internet, they just read other peoples comments on facebook and blogs, but they don't let people know where they are at; not their strengths or their weaknesses. I felt sorry for this person because the best thing, the most freeing thing, I have ever done in my life is to share my greatest weaknesses openly. I think being real and honest about life is very freeing and it does leave you vulnerable at times, but I don't have to pretend to be someone I'm not and wear a mask. For me blogging is part of this, it helps me feel free.
But that said I still don't write everything here.. **a grateful sigh is heard across the land**
This is how I decide what to write, I either am going about my day and I have a thought or an experience that I instantly know I need to blog or I know it's time to blog so I sit down, start writing until something worth posting comes to the surface. Not everything I want to say do I write ***another grateful sigh is heard across the land**
So I blog and that's for me .... Some of you don't, so why do you choose to be open and vulnerable with people in real life? Or why are you not open with people?(if you'll share) And some of you do blog, what about you? Why do you do it?
How vulnerable are you? Have you found that being real, becoming unmasked is freeing?

Christmas on the Brain

I don't know if you've started thinking about Christmas yet, but it has been on my mind a little these days. We are trying to think creatively about our gift giving this year, gifts that don't add to the commercialization of Jesus Birth, and this takes a little more time than going with the allotted cash up to the nearest mega store just so there'll be "stuff" under the tree. Last year we found this site called Advent Conspiracy, their slogan is "Christmas can [still] change the world", and change it for the better, not the worse. Maybe your kids are like mine; I know my kids say the meaning of Christmas is Jesus and that that is why we celebrate but why then is it that they have already begun making their wish lists, wouldn't this show that subconsciously they have learned the meaning of Christmas is "more for me"? When did Christmas change to this and how do we change it back? These are some of the things Advent Conspiracy helps people work through. Check it out if you also want to change Christmas.
Advent Conspiracy links:
Advent Conspiracy
rethinking christmas