Memorizing 1 Corinthians 13 - Let Love Abide (video)

There are 3 things I want my kids to know more than anything:

1. Who God is and what He really said.

Which is why we read and memorize Scripture. As we read, study and memorize the Holy Spirit will reveal more and more truth to us. You can’t really grow in truth if you only hear a sermon once a week. As we learn whole chapters at a time we are learning verses in context. This makes it easier when we do hear preaching or teaching on a verse to have discernment whether or not it is being taught in the context of all of God’s word, and it also gives us a deeper understanding for the groundwork already laid.

That being said, I will be honest with you. Our family does not do near as much reading and memorizing as we should, but we are consistent in moving forward little by little. Sometimes we get very busy with things such as weddings, grand-babies, a heavy work load or whatever, but the important thing is that we get back on track and move forward. It has taken us two years to learn three chapters of Scripture, the 10 Commandments and the Apostle’s Creed.

We are a family of doers, only a couple of us are readers (read because we love it and can’t get enough). And while quantity is important, quality is even more important. Most times while others are studying how to put their hand to the plow you’ll find us out behind the plow. The world needs both kinds of people.

The point is, don’t set unrealistic standards for your family and then give up because you are discouraged. Don’t compare yourself to others. If it takes you a three years to read through the Bible you’ve already done more than most people. If it takes a year to memorize one chapter you are WAY ahead of the majority.

2. They are loved and wanted by us and their Heavenly Father.

Everyone wants to be loved, and especially loved by their parents. If you know your parents love you and want you, then that sets a security in you that can not be shaken. A LOT of people do not have this security.

And if you are given a hard providence in life such as your parents rejecting you, as our three youngest have experienced, then it is even more important to know that your Heavenly Father loves you and desires fellowship with you. Once you have that security you can face anything!

3. How to serve others through love (even if it has to be tough love).

In our day of self-esteem and feel-good theology we need to know how God said we should live. We need to know HOW to love others, HOW to serve others, HOW to walk in the spirit and not in the flesh. If we are not denying ourselves and loving/serving others then we do not know the Gospel.

It took us about 8 months to learn this, but they have it now and all three of them know it from start to finish! We have had MANY great object lessons as we’ve worked to memorize this.

They also know Proverbs 3 and Romans 12.

Family Update - Announcements

It’s been a very busy couple weeks here for the Brodock family! Our son was married in a private ceremony this weekend! We celebrated with a small reception at their home yesterday.

wedding cake orange flowers

One of the coolest things about being able to make cakes is being able to do cakes like this for people you love for very special occasions.

This weekend was also Jeff’s birthday and our 28th anniversary. We celebrated with a steak dinner at Emma’s house. (No people pictures, we were too busy relaxing and enjoying ourselves. )

Spice Cake Run Icing

And I made Jeff his favorite spice cake with a Rum Cream Cheese icing.

Icing Recipe

8 ozs cream cheese, soften
2 tbsps butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup spiced rum

And the other BIG news…

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I get to be a Nonnie again!!!

Javelin is going to celebrate her first birthday next February with a new baby brother or sister! Due date is 2 days from her birthday. We are over the top excited!

You may look at us and think it is all good … filled with so much happiness… and it is. But there are also many…MANY struggles, conflicts and heartaches along the way.

Yet, in the midst of pain there is much to be grateful for.

In the depths of struggle there is hope.

All of it the Lord uses to bring us closer to Him as He is faithful to purge away our selfishness, our pride… our hay and stubble.

I have to choose to learn through the struggles and find the beauty in it all.

In the words of my dear sweet friend:

“Family is pain, drama, fear, failure, abandonment, fracturing, roaring, and silence.

Family is healing, joy, hope, success, nurturing, binding, fullness, and love.

How are they both? Family is humanity. Humanity is sin and grace.”

- Ana Smith

After one of the busiest summers we’ve ever had we are back on a much welcomed school routine. While we never stop learning I enjoy the rhythm of structure.

Wedding Cakes and Family Business

Last weekend Olivia and I were vendors at a local bridal show. It was fun to meet so many brides and their family and friends. I also had a great time making connections with other vendors.

For this show we represented the place Olivia is chef at (while she works towards her dream). They contract me out for their cakes and out-of-house catering. This allows me an industrial kitchen when I need it (most cakes I can do from home) and the catering licence.

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On Saturday Cherish, Peach and I went to set up our booth. Ya know… it IS a lot of work, but I love that I can do this WITH my kids and I can do it from home. My kids are learning about many aspects of business from product creation, to customer relations, to the sale.

I’m not just dragging them around with me, they are part of the family business. Cherish is developing a good eye for what looks good and becoming much more hands on with me. She is a detail and numbers girl, which are areas I am weak in. I see us making even a better team as she gets older.

We always included our older kids in all of our many ventures while they were growing up, and now… they are far exceeding what we have done. I love when Olivia and I can work events like this, or work a wedding together. We know each other and have different strengths and weaknesses that work good together.

Yes, it’s hard and about 95% of it is NOT glamorous. It’s long hours. It’s constant cleaning up messes and hauling heavy loads.

Yes, there are always issues that have to be resolved, personal conflicts, etc… but don’t we deal with that in any “job”? I’d rather be fleshing it out with my family as we build a future together.

Maybe if more families worked together while the children are growing up they would be closer? Stronger? Happier? Maybe… maybe not. But I do believe that their marketable skill level would be greater and that kids would understand the value of a dollar and hard work.

Think about it… kids that grow up on a farm know how to work and work hard. Sad we’ve lost most of our family operated farms.

Kids that grow up with their families owning and running a business know the blood, sweat and tears that go into it… usually. That is unless they are shuffled away to a classroom all day, shielded from real life, from real work. Unless they only reap the rewards of mom and pop’s hard work with vacations, cars, clothes, iphones, all paid college life, etc… with no real time or labor invested.

Why are we as a culture lacking character, work ethic, honesty? Perhaps it’s our own doing because we have created this insane, self-centered bubble for kids to grow up in, forcing them to really believe’ it is about them’, their wants and their comfort as we keep them far from reality, the reality of lasting relationships and the responsibility of hard work? The reality that there is no free ride in life.

Up the Creek - A Saturday Adventure

We live in a very beautiful part of Alabama and our lake, Highland Lake, is about a 5 minute walk down the road for us.

After a long day of canning and yard work we decided to go down to the lake and let the kids throw in a fishing line, but instead they ended up adventuring up the creek with their older siblings.

First we spent a little time on the walking trail and playing on the swings.

Here is Auntie Liv and Javi!

The sweetest thing on the planet!

This.

This is part of why I can’t blog much. I want to soak in every minute I can being Nonnie. There is also being a wife… and a mom… and cooking and cleaning and canning. I have a LOT I want to blog about, just can’t find time right now.

Olivia, our photo-journalist, ready with her camera.

So the big kids took off up the creek…

the creek that has snakes in it.

That’s me and Jeff up on the bridge taking care of Baby-Girl.

And at this point I just had to hope they’d have a great adventure

and trust God to keep them safe.

I think Mommy was having second thoughts here about leaving Baby-Girl behind. She is such a good mom!

One son by adoption and another son by marriage.

God is good!

Cherish! The perfect name for this girl! She kept trying to take care of her baby sister but Emma insisted that she go ahead and have adventure with the big kids and that she’d watch out for baby sister. She is growing like crazy!

My two baby girls, one by birth, the other adoption.

Love this picture!

Glad I didn’t know they were in this deep until I saw the pictures!

Olivia took all of these pictures.

So much beauty!

I never take for granted that we have family… ever!

Father’s Day

Last Father’s Day Josh and Emma surprised Jeff with the news that he was going to be a grandpa.

This Father’s Day we are all enjoying PaPa’s Baby-Girl!

God is good!

Fishing Birthday Cake and Aaron’s Birthday

Last week was Aaron’s 9th birthday.

His passion right now is fishing. He’d fish all day every day if we’d let him!

So a fishing cake was perfect for him.

The icing was a buttercream and the fish and rocks were fondant,

and I used a real fish hook.

We had a family dinner with cake on his birthday, and then that Saturday we went to play putt-putt golf, out to eat and to Bass Pro Shop. It was a full weekend!

This was the kids first time to play golf.

Dad giving the boy some tips.

Josh helping sweet Cherish.

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Total Sweetness!

And his biggest surprise… Big brother Josh (brother-in-law) gave him a new weed eater of his very own, complete with string and a gas can! He was so excited!!!

A Widow’s Wedding Cake

We doing some catering for the place Olivia is chef at. Last weekend Olivia and I catered a small wedding that was so sweet. The family was a joy to work with. The bride was a widow with three young children. It was beautiful to watch her with her new husband as she glowed… and I think he was as radiant as she was.

Her mother told me, “She never thought she’d love again.” This was one of those weddings you were glad you got to be a small part of.

Maybe it was the hardship of unexpected loss when her first husband died, but she was a non-demanding bride as her mother did most of the organizing. You could tell she was just so happy to just be with her Love, little else mattered.