Resolve (Pray) To...

Be a good parent.  
Everyday.  
Not just for the New Year.

Looking for some inspirational reads as you journey with your children into 2017? I've got a great book stack for you! 
(all books available from Ancient Faith Publishing) 

I'm very excited about this book on parenting by Dr. Philip Mamalakis.  He spoke at our church a few years ago, and his talk was full of wisdom on the importance of careful child-rearing.

In his introduction, Dr. Mamalakis (a father of seven children) clearly communicates that there is no greater vocation than that of being a parent "...because nothing shapes the soul and the life of a person more than how he interacts with his parents or primary care providers."

Parenting Toward the Kingdom is organized into six Principles:
I: Always Parent with the End in Mind
II: Respond, Don't React
III: Understand Struggles in Terms of the Values and the Virtues of the Kingdom of God
IV: Separate Feelings from Behaviors
V: Teach the Joy of Obedience
VI: Teach the Joy of Repentance

The book ends with a helpful Appendix of Further Reading (more about this book here).

Go here to read my past post about the beautiful prayer book, The Ascetic Lives of Mothers by Annalisa Boyd...

If you are contemplating adoption, Children of my Heart: Finding Christ Through Adoption by Ashley Lackovich-Van Gorp, might be the read for you.

Ashley Lackovich-Van Gorp shares her inspiring journey as a young professional working in Jerusalem who struggled to embrace her Orthodox faith with all her heart. She never dreamed her search for an intimate relationship with Christ would lead her to Ethiopia and into the hearts and lives of two little orphan girls—now orphans no longer. (Go here for more information about this book.)

Lastly, in celebration of our journey into 2017, I'm offering a GIVEAWAY of the book Following a Sacred Path: Raising Godly Children by Elizabeth White.

Experienced educator Elizabeth White offers practical advice on raising children to understand and love their faith.

Focusing on the church year, she offers a new way to talk to children about the faith, along with activities the family can share that encourage children to discover spiritual truths for themselves and own them for life.

To enter my New Year Giveaway, please leave a comment with your first name and last initial here on this post before midnight on January 9, 2017.  Winner announced Tuesday, January 10, 2017 - be sure you check back! 

There and Back Again

“When going back makes sense, you are going ahead.” ― Wendell Berry

Hard to believe it's already mid-September! Traveling is always an adventure, but it's nice to be back home.

With my daughter and grandsons in tow, I had a lovely trip to my mom's in Indiana (see my last post) en route to our destination in New York - where I helped my daughter, her husband, and their boys get settled into their new home as my son-in-law attends seminary there for the next three years.

My airplane read, while flying the friendly skies back
to my husband and my quiet house.

For my daughter and her little family, "going ahead" has meant moving and going away from their families and friends in order to follow what God has for them.

But for me, "going ahead" - moving forward - has meant going back - to my dear husband and a very quiet home.

My two little grandsons were especially hard to leave, as we now have to love each other from afar. But we're all "going ahead" and being brave!

My grandson heading up to story hour at their new neighborhood library.

Today I'm giving you a peek into my journeys, which included adventures not only in Indiana and New York, but also Hawaii!  (Nice how that worked out: the beauty of Kauai really helped sooth my soul after our sad good-byes in New York!)

Back porches and lightning bugs.

We must be in Indiana...

My mom in her new white rocker -
aren't back porches and rocking chairs the best?

Moving on, and moving in...unpacking in New York.

Coffee break!

 Super cute coffee place, yummy pastries.

Antique tables and chairs and a "book" shelf, to complete the vintage French shabby chic atmosphere.

And Latte Heart Art, 'cause he melts mine.

Home again to unpack and re-pack for a quick trip to Hawaii, where my husband and I saw...

Sea Turtles

A "Tunnel of Trees" and gorgeous waves

Waterfalls, cliffs, sunsets...

And a rainbow on the beach!

All good things must come to an end, but like I said, it's good to be home!  My friends wonder how I'm doing - making the adjustment of my grandchildren being gone. I'm happy and at peace, and "going ahead", because I know they and their Mommy and Daddy are where God wants them to be.

And it's probably helped that "saying goodbye" was the "norm" for me as a child...

If you've followed my blog for very long, you know that my Dad was a priest and writer.  He dedicated his life to helping people find the Kingdom of God on this earth, and he had to travel all around the United States to do that. He missed us, and I'm sure he often wished he didn't have to travel so much. I know we missed him!  But we all knew he was doing God's work.

After I was grown and married (I am the oldest of six), Dad once told me his goal as a parent was to someday be able to say (3 John 1:4):

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 

My Dad's goal wasn't that we should or shouldn't have certain careers, or that we had to live close to him and my Mom.  He never tried to pressure us like that; he knew that life - and God - could take us all in different directions.  He let us work out our own salvation.

And because our Dad walked in truth, we knew we shared a common bond in Christ that would never be broken - no matter how far away any of us lived.  That was the example my parents set for us, and I try to have the same faith in my kids as they make their life decisions.

My grandson visiting his (namesake) Great Grandpa's
graveside in Indiana.

A Nun's Advice on "Letting Go"

I happened across a very pertinent quote from the book Becoming Icons of Christ (my airplane "read" pictured at the top of my blog post) - it's a good reminder for Sundays when I am in church participating in the Divine Liturgy:

As we are present at the liturgy, we bring our lives, ourselves, our loved ones, the whole world to offer in sacrifice - to make holy - before God.  As we do this, we learn that the truest relationship we can have with others is to allow them to be themselves and to place them in God's hands. Liturgy teaches us that this is true prayer. It is the way of radically letting go rather than always attempting to control.  

-Mother Raphaela

A good place to end this post!  If any of you are struggling with being far from family, or "releasing"  your grown children to live their own lives, I hope this helped a little.

I highly recommend Mother Raphaela's collection of talks and essays, Becoming Icons of Christ.  She is the abbess at Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery, which is on 220 acres of pastures, woods, wetlands, and a four-acre mill pond in Ortega, NY.  You can read about it here.

  

LETTING GO OF DISTRACTIONS

Lately I've seen more and more parents on their phones checking and sending text messages when they're with their kids - at the park, at restaurants, at the library, at home...

source here

Last night I came across a blog post from Hands Free Mama, poignantly titled, "How to Miss a Childhood".  This mom enumerates the damaging ingredients for lost moments, as she offers: "All it takes is one child and one phone and this tragic recipe can be yours."

One of her tips in following this Recipe for Missed Moments?  Keep your phone turned on at all times of the day.  Allow the rings, beeps, and buzzes to interrupt your child midsentence; always let the caller take priority.

But then she recommends another recipe, "How to Grasp a Childhood". (It's very easily followed if you just put down your phone.)

One of her steps for this Recipe: Take time to be with him -- really be with him by giving your full attention...The gift of your total presence is love to your child.

I've linked to this not-to-be-missed post, here.

Happy Mother's Day and happy reading with your children. I hope you pick up a book and put down your phone!

 

GOOD BOOKS FOR CHILDREN WHO LIVE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITES

Reading aloud to children helps with language development and literacy, as well as listening skills.  This can be especially important for kids with various developmental disabilities, including ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), because understanding and using language can be very difficult for them.


Dr. Monica Ultmann has created a "Developmental Disabilities Literacy Promotion Guide", that can be obtained here at ReachOutAndRead.org. This guide (specific to seven different disabilities) includes handouts, activities and reading tips, suggested books, and lists of resources for parents.

CLICK HERE for the "Doctor Recommended Book List" for children who live with developmental disabilities...the seven that are addressed include: Speech and Language Problems; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Intellectual Disabilities (mental retardation); Inattention and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder; Cerebral Palsy; and Vision and Hearing Impairments.

A CLOSER LOOK AT AUTISM & READING
As a follow-up to my post on Library Story Time for Autistic Readers, I want to highlight some specifics about Autism Spectrum Disorder and how books can help.  ASD  impacts the way children react to situations and people.  Children with Autism often have trouble making eye contact and sharing their thoughts with words or gestures. Non-verbal communication is especially difficult for a child on the autistic spectrum.   Body language, gesture and facial expressions are not understood as clues to communication.

TIPS FROM REACH OUT AND READ:
 Borrow books from the library that have photos and drawings of babies and people’s faces. This can help your child recognize emotions.
 Read the same story again and again. The repetition will help her learn language.
 Read aloud. Talk about the pictures and read the text.
 Find books that have lots of repetition of phrases. Also find books with rhymes. Softly clap your hands and help your baby clap along to the rhythm.
 Find books that have buttons your child can press that have sounds.

PREDICTABLE STORIES ARE IMPORTANT:
"Predictable books play an important role in developing early language and literacy skills for infants and toddlers (Miller, 2000). Books that allow children to guess what will happen next in the story, books that provide repetitive catch phrases (e.g., Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Martin/Carle, 1996),
and books with a predictable rhyme pattern (e.g., Fox in Sox by Seuss/ Geisel, 1965) contribute to language and literacy growth. Cumulative patterns also contribute to predictability, with new events being added with each episode, as in the book I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly (Westcott, 2003). 
All books become somewhat predictable with repeated readings and children enjoy hearing them over and over again. Books with familiar sequences and those in which pictures exactly match the text are usually predictable for children. Predictable books provide the emergent reader with a satisfying and enjoyable first experience."  -from the article Birth to Three: Building a Foundation for Literacy, SpeechPathology.com

Even MORE book recommendations...from AbilityPath.org


Leave a comment to let me know your favorites!