Raising Kids . . .

For True Greatness - I am not good at reading books - terrible, in fact. I loved to read when I was a kid, but I have such a hard time staying focused with all the different things going on in life now. But, we were given a book by Dr. Tim Kimmel last year and I have been determined to read it and have started it several times. It was given to everyone who attends Pine Cove, at least I think so, because his introduction talks about the truly great kids who work there. I kept starting it and was so interested, but then I would not take time to read and would end up starting over because I had forgotten. Well, I picked it up Thursday, determined to finish it by the end of next week, and I have completed more than half of it in two days. I love it, and I think every parent needs to read it, especially in this day and age. (I don't push parenting books, either. I think that can become so controversial and divisive, but this book is different.) I wish I read it even before I had kids, for those of you who are just starting out or haven't even started. I even think it would be beneficial for people who do not have kids because there are so many lessons in it for me as a Believer, not just as a parent.

The main thrust of the book is that we should be raising our kids to be truly great, not just successful, but most of us are raising them to be successful, not necessarily truly great. Obviously, we don't think that consciously, but it is what we do. He raises the question, "Success is important in our society, but was it important to Jesus?" That is what the book is all about. I love how Dr. Kimmel defines true greatness. He says, "True greatness is a passionate love for God that demonstrates itself in an unquenchable love and concern for others." I love that definition! In chapter 2, he explains the difference between success and true greatness. One thing he said is, "The successful come, achieve, and then leave. The truly great touch people's lives in such a way that their impact lasts forever." I could quote Dr. Kimmel all day, but I won't. I just want to highly recommend his book and then quote him occasionally. He does a great job of backing up his points with scripture, and I really appreciated one chapter that focused on the beattitudes.

Okay, enough of my book review. We are doing well - busy as usual. We are into soccer season and have met some nice families. Brent and Eric are coaching Jason's team together. David and Jason have both played very well and are enjoying the activity. Brent's parents were here as I mentioned in the blog about the trees. They were hugely helpful and it was such a blessing to have them here. I am thankful that I have in-laws that I enjoy! We spent two days with them in LA after they returned from visiting Rick and Kylee in Hawaii. There is this restaurant in LA called Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles that we have wanted to eat at so we went there. It is a popular place. The waffles were the most delicious waffles I have ever tasted, and the chicken was tasty also. We ran around and had fun showing Brent's parents some of LA. The boys enjoyed two days out of school. It was a nice, much needed break!

We have so much to do on the church side of stuff, so you can pray for that. Our boundaries had become terrible (working constantly), so we are trying to take weekends off as much as we can. It was a nice day today with soccer and then just being at home. You can see Brent's blog for all the upcoming church events. Thanks for your prayers. I'm going to try to read another chapter in the book before bed.