Hi there. Thanks for coming back. I apologize in advance for the length of this post…. it's kind of a long one. Put the babies to bed, grab a hot cup of cinnamon-vanilla tea (with honey and cream, of course) and your laptop cord. I hope you enjoy more of From Protected to Projected…. The Learning Curve A professor in one of my early seminary courses spent a days’ lecture on the fact that all biblical concepts can be simplified enough to teach a child. Christian bookstores offer countless Sunday school curriculum options because life-changing truths are easy enough for children to learn. Still, many parents feel inadequate at “training their child up in the way they should go” as we are directed in Proverbs 22:6. Since we are commanded to be living, breathing examples of followers of God, then we need to bring the lessons home with us and teach our children during daily life rather than just for a couple of hours on a Sunday morning. It isn’t as a hard as you might think ...

Thanks for stopping by the blog. Today's Move Over Monday is a story from my old house. I miss that house on Hill Street, for sure. Dust Bunnies 1/29/10 If you sweep my floor more than once with any attention to detail, you will notice that my larger than life dust bunnies accumulate in the same spaces continually. I know the secret spots they use to hide from my broom waiting to introduce themselves to any visitors that stop in for a minute. A quick sweep will get the most noticeable fur and the random clumps of play dough under the table. But a much deeper cleaning reveals these dust bunnies…no, more like dust monsters. Four years of sweeping the same house has offered me the chance to notice how they seem to tuck away under end tables and behind doorways repeatedly. Once, a few weeks ago, I shared my observations about these dust monsters with my husband. He looked up from his iphone and said, “Thanks for telling me. Now I know where to look when I sweep next”. Back to...

Hi blog visitor! Thanks for stopping by. This is a second part of a series. Read part one first if you'd like.  Part 2- A Rusty Plan of Evangelism       A year or so into our marriage, my husband Gil, and I found ourselves bored on a Wednesday night and decided to do something out of the norm- we went to the Wednesday night Bible study at our church. So adventurous, right? When we arrived, we sat down and waited for the Bible study to begin and an older gentleman, someone very well known and respected in our church approached us and asked us why we were there. We were a bit taken back and didn’t quite know how to answer Mr. Rusty because, well, we thought it was ok to attend church on a Wednesday night. So, we looked at each other and somewhat stumbled to say that we just thought it would be nice to come. Without even a second to think about it, Mr. Rusty leaned down and whispered loud enough for both of us to hear,  “You need to go back home an...

In honor of my youngest daughter and her recent birthday, this week's Move Over Monday is a little story about her. My kids teach me the most amazing things about God.  My Voice:  9/13/2008 I observed a great little moment recently. I went to pick up my baby daughter from the childcare room at our gym. Above the chaotic hum of a room full of other kids playing, my little 7 month old heard me calling her name. Her back was to me, but she quickly turned her petite little body to face me, and with a smile bigger than her pacifier, she started her mad-dash to crawl to me as fast as she could. All of this happened in just a few short seconds, but this moment will be permanently secured in the file cabinet of my brain.  As a mom, this makes my heart soar. As a Christian, it reminds me of the importance of our ability to hear God’s voice. Adi was busy playing in the midst of a full room of kids running around. She had so much to keep her attention. But the minute she he...

As parents, we are given our children with the intention that we would parent them according to the plan and purpose of God. Our biggest task in parenting is not to raise our kids needing us to get through life- but needing God. Bottom line, our purpose in parenting is to raise our children to be God’s greatest asset to His Kingdom when they are adults. When they are little, our job is to take care of their physical needs first- feeding, dressing, washing, and loving. As they grow, our job shifts to guiding and directing on a daily basis, then as lessons are learned, it becomes more on an occasional basis that our input is required...if we’ve done our job correctly. Finally, upon adulthood (which is where most of us question the occurrence) our kids should be functioning, additions to our society that draw others to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  So, How do we parent in a way that result in assets rather than liabilities to God’s Kingdom?   How do shift our mi...

(January, 2012) I asked her to go upstairs and pick up the Angelina Ballerina toy set she was playing with earlier. I would be right behind her to start the bath water. She’s about to turn 4 and I knew she could do the task. A few minutes later, she was back in the kitchen and I asked her if the toys were picked up.  “It’s too many for me.”  A little file folder in the back of my mental “mothering” drawer began jumping around and reminded me of time when my first was a toddler. She had scattered all of the offering envelopes and welcome cards found in the pew rack in church. From the other end of the row, I told her to pick them up before giving anyone hugs. Gigantic tears flowed. Someone near and dear simply asked her older daughter to help mine and said, “sometimes the task just looks too big to start.”  This flashback caused me to rephrase what I was asking, so I instructed my brown-eyed beauty to head back upstairs and just pick up Angelina’...

Today launches a new edition to Oaks Replanted. Each Monday, I'll move a post over from my old blog. I selected this particular post in honor of my friend Mia. This story happened to me on my way home from a visit with her. Ready? Wait, before I share it…could you take a second and become a follower of this blog. It's easy, just sign up in the little box --------> to the right. Thanks! Here it is: 26 Followers  I was on the platform first. No signs. No train employees. Just a few benches and a smelly trashcan.  I made my track choice based on the track I arrived on a week prior. Before, I went south and stepped off the train on the far side. So this time, in my limited knowledge of train timetables and track schedules, I assumed I needed to be on this side to return north. I had a 50/50 chance. Now it was time to wait.  My backup plan: Worse case scenario, I grab my bags and make a mad dash down the ramp, under the tracks, back up the ramp on...