Where did Summer go???

Why is summer going by so fast??? It feels like we just had the last day of school and started summer vacation! Yet in a few weeks julia has starts 2nd grade... Where did summer go???

We got Julia's supply list in the mail today. Fortunately we have almost everything on that list because we started buying everything early this year! Last year we waited until the end of August and had a hard time finding certain supplies, especially the composition notebooks. Well so far we have all the folders and notebooks she needs. We also bought her bookbag and lunch box in July. She got a Hannah Montana backpack and a High School Musical lunchbox. I miss the days when everything she picked out was Disney Princess :(

We have not been able to do much this summer. Every time we make plans it rains! But I got Julia and my brother Marc tickets to go to Arthur Ashe Kids Days in August. It was a great deal... $5 per ticket!!! There is going to be lots of fun activities for the kids and a concert. I'm excited to take them! I'm dragging my sister along with me because she is visiting from Georgia with my beautiful niece for a whole month! We also have plans to go go the beach! I just want to make the end of the summer fun for Julia. September 3rd is right around the corner and then it's back to school and homework and studying and trying to get her out of bed to go to school!

Saturday was an exciting day in our household! Julia got her library card!!!! The church on the corner of our block held a back to school block party and the Brooklyn Public Library had a book mobile come so Julia is an official member of the Brooklyn Public Library. I was so proud when she wrote her name on her library card! :) She took 6 books out and has already finished 2 of them!

I remember when I first got my library card. I was so excited and felt so grown up signing my card! The library was always my favorite place to go. It was a magical place that transported me to world's where I discovered King Arthur, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Anne of Green Gables and other great characters and stories. I would spend hours looking at all the books I had to choose from and by the time I was ready to check out I had a huge stack of books! My Mom would always tell me I took out too many and wouldn't be able to finish them but I was almost always done with them way before they were due back at the library and bugging my Mom for a return trip to the Library to take out another huge stack of books.

The day Julia got her library card and brought her stack of books home, she was immediately asking when she could visit the library again! She is reading and enjoying quite time (as she calls it!) and it just reminds me of the days I had my head buried in a book and didn't want anyone to disturb me! I am so proud of her and love having an avid little reader in my house! I can't wait to take her to the library and let her explore :)

Faithful Friday

I had such a great experience last night at church. Maria Durso spoke to the women in the congregation about sex... yes, you read that correctly! We spoke about sexual intimacy, marriage and how God made us to enjoy sex in the boundaries of marriage. How I wish that this had been addressed when I was young! She spoke candidly about herself and how after she was saved and married she had lots of guilt about her past sexual experiences when she was single and also the feeling she had because she was molested. But she said after prayer those chains of guilt, fear and sadness were broken and she was set free by God!

How awesome is God that we he can break those chains and set us free! I know I felt blessed and received so much from her testimony and preaching last night. I feel renewed in my marriage and I felt my own chains breaking.

The church actually did a 3 week sermon series called "Sexual Revolution" and yesterday was the cap off for the women in the congregation. The week before Maria Durso spoke to the men of the congregation. They are releasing a DVD of the sermon series and I'm hoping it will be available on the website so everyone can purchase a copy! I know I will be getting a copy at church on Sunday! If it is available on the church's website I will post a link :)

I think it is important that churches are addressing this subject because we our culture is saturated by images of sex and the images we are being exposed to are not positive and do not embrace marriage and family. It is so sad that the divorce rates in Christian families are almost as high as households that are not Christian. Families are being shattered and in the past all we heard from the church is don't have sex before marriage. I think our youth, our singles and our married couples need to hear that good created sex and marriage to be "very good" We have such high rates of teen pregnancy and other issues that plague our society because our culture says "Just Do It" without talking about all the implications and consequences that go along with making such a big decision. So sit down and talk to your teens about sex. Their are so many books and materials out there for us to use! And read the books out there about marriage and intimacy. Use all the tools God has provided for us!

I hope everyone has a blessed day and a great weekend!