Are there any more questions?

God's Boys will be good boys!

What, my son? What, son of my womb? What, son of my vows?

Fewer questions and more determinations. The twelve's are a season of, "I'm not going to do it that way." It looks like to me. How do you stay respectful to your parents when your mind is taking their deeds apart and weighing them as to their validity in your life, long-term. It is hard! I love you mom, but what you are saying is not valid to this point...Sometimes that is the case.

Sometimes mom is talking to her little fellow, on the knee and you are a man. Sometimes mom is just gabbing to her rambunctious jumping bean and you are a settled man. I didn't ask you that, mother? I know you didn't. Just humor my answering the questions that are unasked, son. It is a habit and I love you and sometimes it is just mother talk. Keep weighing our validity and make your determinations and become a better man for it.

Happy New Year!

Did you have a good Christmas?

As I watch you enjoying your recent Wii acquisition, I do wonder if you are able to articulate anymore, with all of the visual technology to engage you? If you are, could you send me a podcast of your most memorable delight of this 12th Christmas. The joy of seeing your happy face, on Christmas morning can only be outdone, by your own words telling me of what is the engagement that delights you most. I do hope you will share this with me.

7th Grade Chorus

Grooming with braids or plaiting of the hair!

Now to unbraid them:)

Thanksgiving at the Leaders'

I heard you got a spankypoo, the other day...OOOOOH or ouch!

I am sorry that you got a spanking for not listening. But, I am grateful for your father who loves you enough to tell you something and follow through with the spanking for not listening. Don't miss the beauty of the relationship that you have with him and enjoy, even these annoying little reminders that you are not grown yet. You will be grown for a very long time. Stay a boy for a little while longer, please.

Life With Father

LWF Don't miss the beauty of the testimony of Clarence Day Jr. 1936 was a good year for fatherhood. It seems to have been a year that was before people forgot what fatherhood looked like, for wars' sakes.

My poor father was born in 1939 and he lamented daily his lack of a father. His cry was felt by his daughters. You have us, we tried to console him. You have a mommy and a grand mommy and a sister and "Auntie"{I say she was better than any father, I've met} remind me to tell you of her. None of these great gifts could comfort him. I think William Powell's acting out Father was some comfort to my dad. I've seen much of my father trying to imitate this character. That's what He was going for. He reached into the darkness of his imagination to try to find what he was to be as father. I knew my father, very well. We shared and talked much to each other. All that he wrote, he shared with me, though not much of it was very memorable.

Knowing your own father gives you choices. You can choose pieces of him that you want and you can cast off things that you don't like about him. The younger children see the effects of father's treatment on each elder child and can choose to follow closely or not at all. You can go your own way, but even this is a reaction to what your father has done. Without your father, imagination reigns and leads. There is no temperance from your own extremities. That was my father's plight. I respect that he made an attempt at the impossible. I respect that he made an impact on our lives, for his own lack's sake. I share this great story of fatherhood, not for fatherhoods' sake, but for mother. I have grown to respect motherhood more for Clarence Day's testimony of his mother. I love that she touched them so deeply. I hope that you will be challenged to be more than any of us could have been as a "Man of God", for having read this.

"I may falter in my steps, but never beyond Your reach..." Rich Mullins

We gotta get up, from falls and know that His hand is on us, right?

Reminiscing

Last night was a concerted prayer and mulling over the week before 12

This morning I told you of the cloud formations that I saw. One like a bowing praying person and the other like a black panther bowing in prayer. What a beautiful conversation we had about creation submitting to God's authority.

The baptism behind us, you and I are in sync praying for God to confirm His Word in your soul. You looked for your baptism certificate to remind yourself that it was behind us. There is always much tumult in a mother's soul at the spiritual development of her sons. I had this tumult with all of your brothers.

You couldn't sleep and I was exultant in spirit beyond measure that Christ is so held in your testimony. I hadn't this kind of confidence at the other boy's moving into manhood. There is always a duality of feelings in my mothering travail. Confidence that Christ is faithful and fearful of the outworking of His divine plan in your life. Requesting from God, the easiest path possible, but Lord, Thy will be done. I used to pace the floor, in the night and God has taken that from me and given me a confidence that His eye and hand are pacing enough for both of us.

I see great things in store, from God, but I also see hard things in store to make you a man for His using. No whiskey! and I hope no warfare of guns and knives as was the way of our patriarchs.

"The weapons of our warfare are not carnal!"

All Heaven and all of our believing predecessors are in fellowship of prayer for your holding onto God's unchanging Hand. I believe in the fellowship of the saints and the forgiveness of sins is the Apostle's Creed verbiage. It is a wonderful blessing of knowing God in the confidence of the pardon of your sins. They are not just passive bystanders in the cloud of witnesses above. They are already finished their personal battle, but in the fellowship of warfare with the Church militant on earth. They are prayerful and worshipful and extending their arms to welcome us in our victory when it is all over.

Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.

Keep your eyes open to what God is doing in your life in the happy things and in the difficult things. Becoming a man is a labor. Becoming a man of God is arduous and painstaking. Don't miss the joy of knowing God's Hand in your teen years. He is able to guide you through the tumult of your emotions and growth. Mental and emotional and spiritual guidance belong to God. Confusion belongs to our human condition, as Daniel reminds us in his prayers. But, wisdom and guidance belongs to God alone. Don't look to teachers and parents and counselors to ultimately show you what God alone can show you of His plan. His Word is where His heart is. His Word is the ultimate authority, although we have many educated and wise instructors. We must always cast our care and our plans before the Lord, for His direction and find confirmation in His Word for your directions.

God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life! I am grateful to have gotten to know you.

Ethan's parallel encouragements and thoughts Your Bible discussion was about Cyrus, in light of the sermon that we were hearing. Who was Cyrus? Is. 44 and 45 was the passage of thought. Everyone's guidance is different.

We've made it through the first week of seventh grade.

The first week is behind us. Now, we've got the rest of the year to work on.