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Have a Joyful and Happy Day!

So, if you remember my post from yesterday, Have a Good Day, I had started talking about something my mom had said to me at the end of one of our phone conversations.

“Have a good, joyful, happy, productive day…”

For whatever reason, the whole phrase really stood out to me.  Probably because I have been working on the whole joyful and happiness bit.  Not to mention – trying to be productive. But that’s a story for another day.  Namely, tomorrow…

Today, I am going to focus on Joyful and Happy.

There is actually quite a bit of controversy in religious circles about these two words and their meanings, believe it or not.  Some theologians want to separate them and classify them as two entirely different things, while others point out the synonymous ways in which they’re used in the Bible.  So, which one is correct?

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Have a GOOD Day

 

Good Day

Have a good day!

How many times have I heard this in my life? I’d wager millions. But what does it really mean? I think too many people – myself included – have used this phrase as a Goodbye. It’s not that I don’t want someone to have a good day, it’s just what you say.

But, just before hanging up after one of our phone conversations, my mom said the following…

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Parenting Before the Storm

Parenting

Last weekend, Brad and I were asked to participate in a parenting class at church. The topic was Parenting Elementary School Children with a focus on relationships. We are definitely not experts on the matter. But, as we have one who has passed that stage, and one almost through, we certainly have experience!

When Brad and I first started talking about what we wanted to share, he immediately came up with the title, The Calm Before the Storm. I thought that was absolutely perfect. In elementary school, our kids still accepted us as the authority figures, and there really wasn’t that much backlash. Not that it’s been easy easy, but it hasn’t been as difficult as other stages have been and those I fear are coming…

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What I learned on a date with my son

Date

Sunday afternoon I went on a date with my son.  We had a great time!  I let him choose where to eat and what to do afterwards.  He almost couldn’t believe it – he was in control of pretty much everything! You could just feel his excitement!

For our date, Spencer chose a local Mexican restaurant, followed by a movie.  We had a great time just talking and hanging out – just the two of us. In fact, after the movie, he wasn’t ready to go home yet – he wanted to walk around the mall for a while!

Now, we’ve done things without Brad and Ellie before, but it has been a while.  It’s way more common for Brad and Spencer to head to Buffalo Wild-Wings for talks over the hottest wings they can handle.  Or, for Ellie and me to head to Justice or Claire’s in search of the latest toy craze. So, for it to be just Spencer and me – alone for the entire afternoon – it was awesome!

So, as I was reviewing the great time I had on Spencer’s and my date, I realized a few pretty key things.  The time we spent together really shed a lot of light as to what was in his head – and his heart.

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