Heart vs Behavior

I follow our church's Children's Ministry blog and they posted an excellent article this morning and I wanted to post a link here to share. If you have ever read Shepherding a Child's Heart by Ted Tripp or Don't Make Me Count to Three by Ginger Plowman this concept will not be foreign to you. I struggle myself with finding the balance between simply trying to control behavior and delving into my children's heart issues to find the root cause of their behavior. But I totally agree with these authors and the author of this article in the link I am posting that it is essential to get to the "heart" of the matter else we are raising little Pharisees.... those that knew how to behave on the outside but whose hearts were wicked. I have found that great discussions occur with my children when we start discussing the heart issue(s) at hand under the sea of "That's mine!" and rolling of the eyes and then I have a great opportunity to share the gospel with my children. There are numerous occasions daily to show them their need for a savior, Jesus! I have to add also that in the process of peeling back the layers of their heart issues... I have revealed many of my own.. or, more accurately, the Lord has! At the ripe age of 30almost1, I must say that parenting has been the most sin revealing and sanctifying life experience I have encountered thus far. Well, sanctification is the hope!

Enjoy! This is from Grace Church in Greenville, SC:

Heart vs Behavior Article

Homemade Sling

Want to know what you do when you are in a foreign country where you don't speak the language well and may have a need to go to the doctor and you would almost rather walk on needles that have to try to communicate only in French?


Don't worry... it must have only been a sprain because by midday the following day she was using her right arm normally. :)

Shared just because. :)

Puy Mary with Friends

Since we enjoyed driving over the Puy Mary so much with Mom a little over a month ago, we decided to go again with Freddie and some new expats from Greenville. There was a field across from the lookout point where we lunched filled with cows grazing with cow bells around their necks. A few yards down the street there were horses grazing on both sides of the road. It wasn't quite as breathtaking as the waterfalls were not flowing and the clouds weren't descending upon us but it was still very beautiful and we had a nice time.

Look Ma... No Training Wheels!

Birthday present was bestowed a week early to my Lil' J... his first big boy bicycle sans training wheels! Daddy took him out for a lesson thinking it may take a few days of practice and our little guy took off on his own after one or two runs with Daddy hanging onto the back of his shirt. He is ready to ride!

Our First Visitor to France

Our first visitor to France was my Mother almost a month ago. It seems like she was just here and she is greatly missed! As mentioned in a recent post, Joshua and I traveled to Paris to greet her at Charles deGaulle bright and early one Saturday morning. We spent the day touring Paris and had a wonderful time despite the rainy weather. Mom was a trooper staying awake being jet lagged although she one time she did almost fall asleep sitting down on our relaxing boat ride down the Seine River.

While she was here we made the most of her week long stay by touring Clermont-Ferrand and she promptly fell in love with our quaint little town. She boldly braved the grocery store and patisseries alone and practiced her french with no fear... I was impressed to say the least. She and the kids visited the "goblin church" and made many trips to the sidewalk cafes for "la glace" (technically "ice" but in every day french it is "ice cream"). The entire family met the Cabes one day to eat at a scrumptious Italian restaurant and another evening Mom and I had a girl's night out and ate at a fabulous creperie in the old part of town where the food is divine and the atmosphere in the centuries old building is trop cool.

We made a day trip one day to the old cheesemaking village of Salers, France. I thought it was going to be an hour long trip but it turns out we traveled into the Massif Central mountains and with the twists and turns of the narrow roads it took us about two and a half hours to reach our destination. The drive was well worth it though. One thing about our time in France thus far... our trips - near or far - have never failed to surprise us with stunning jaw-dropping scenery and landscapes. On our trip to Carcassonne.. it was the Gorge de Galamus. To Bonnassola.. it was the French Alps. And, to Salers, France... the Puy Mary. Puy Mary is a volcano in the Massif du Cantal section of the Massif Central mountains. Massif du Cantal is the largest strato-volcano in Europe with an area of almost 2700 km ² in a circle of 70 km in diameter.* Thinking back at it now, I really can't even find the words to describe to you how incredibly beautiful the drive was up and over this volcano... frightening, yes, with the huge cliffs to the left with no railing... but stunningly awe-inspiring, as well. We kept climbing higher and higher and we could see some snow capped mountains in the distance. Then we came to this clearing, so to speak, when we were on a mountain yet there were taller mountains surrounding us with cascades of water spilling down the sides... one, two, three, six water falls swishing down these moutains on all sides of us. There were lush green fields and adorable little ancient stone homes and wooden barns. At certain points, we were literally in the clouds as they settled down over the mountain tops. In the distance we could see the "peak" and later found out that was the top of the Puy Mary.. one of the main peaks of the Massif du Cantal volcano. After that it literally was all down hill and we finally found the sweet little town of Salers, France. We ate lunch and wondered around for a while but by then we were all pretty exhausted and really felt like the climax of the trip was the drive itself. Thinking I was going to have to wind our way back to Clermont I had to gear myself back up for the treacherous drive but TomTom took us a different, safer, route home.

It was a great week with lots of family time, food, wine, pastries, cheese and lots of laughs. Thanks for coming and for all of the American goodies your brought to us Mom! Sophia and I are still enjoying the real grits loaded with butter (because, like Sophia says, it makes everything better). Love you lots .




*Random facts about the Puy Mary came from http://www.puymary.fr/*

Massillon Kermesse 2009

Joshua and Sophia's school Kermesse (End of the Year party) was in June. Each class performed in front of all of their family and friends and classmates on one of the hottest days Clermont has had this year. Despite the sun and sweat it was super fun and a blast to watch my petite indian and African warrior dance on stage. I was so impressed with how well all of the children did... minimal tears and lots of smiles. Everyone did a fabulous job!

Paris in June

Last month Joshua and I took a mother-son trip to Paris to pick up my Mom from the airport and take a whirlwind one day tour of Paris. It was cold and rainy so we didn't get to do as much as we would have liked but it was memorable, nonetheless. Joshua's dream of making it to the top of the Eiffel Tower was postponed until our next trip to Paris at the end of this month with Susan, Janet and Josh. The line to get onto the elevator to get to the top was about 3 hours long. Yes, you read that right. So, next time, we will be getting there very early to try to get a spot in the front of the line.

Mom, Josh and I took a cruise down the Seine River on one of the many river boat tours available in Paris. We saw the Louvre, Musee D'Orsay, Voltaire's home, Eiffel Tower, numerous bridges and statues and other various Parisian sites without ever having to leave our seat. We made it all the way to Paris and didn't get a taste of any french fare but Joshua did get to munch on a hot dog in a baguette... that was a first!