by Donna | Aug 5, 2010
Last summer our-now-missionary daughter was the camp nurse for a summer teen camp for several weeks between her junior and senior year of college. She had been an RN for over a year (she was on her second degree—this time in biblical studies) and had worked during the school year at the large, outstanding Baylor Hospital in Dallas. She was so excited to have the opportunity to give her summer to over six hundred young people each week—and to hopefully learn some “outdoor” emergency skills that she might need on the mission field. (There were experienced EMT’s also serving, but Kayla would be the only nurse and, thus, would have the title of official camp nurse.)
I was excited for her, but I also felt such a burden for her. It seemed like such a huge responsibility for a twenty-three year old. Kayla had worked in an ER, worked full time as a nurse for a year, etc., but it still felt “big” to me. I prayed and prayed for the safety of the campers and that nothing devastating would happen as Kayla was in charge this summer. (Obviously, I didn’t want anything bad to happen period, but I especially felt heavy-hearted for Kayla’s critical role in the summer camp.)
Early in the second week of camp, the phone rang first thing in the morning, and I felt butterflies in my stomach as I saw that it was Kayla’s number. She had been so busy during the first week that she could only call at ten or eleven at night after all the campers were in their cabins. I quickly answered the phone, feeling that something was amiss.
And something was. In the night, Kayla got called to a cabin in which a sixteen year old boy was having CPR administered to him by one of the EMT’s (whose cabin was closer). The EMT, Kayla, and the counselors knew the young man’s chances were slim to survive, but the EMT continued to work until the ambulance got there and rushed the camper to a local hospital. The hour in which the medical personnel worked on the man had to have been the longest hour of Kayla’s short life thus far. Here she was, camp nurse—and one of her campers was lying in front of her dying.
I cried and cried that day—for the counselors, fellow campers, the boy’s family—and for my camp nurse who was hurting like she had never hurt before. There was nothing any of them could have done. The young man died of an acute asthma attack of which nobody could have prevented or resuscitated him from. Yet still the burden and responsibility of this young boy’s death weighed heavily on Kayla.
During the days that followed I wished so much that I could pull out my imaginary secret weapon: the “mombrella.” You know, that invisible umbrella that we moms can just open with a click of a button and spread above our dear children. That fool-proof, repellant dome that protects our kids from all of the horrowing things this world dishes out to them. The hiding place that we can create under this beautiful mombrella that no pain, sorrow, or hurt can break through.
And yet, I couldn’t. I had to enter Kayla’s dark, stormy days with no umbrella of any kind—much less the secret, perfect mombrella that I envision carrying into my kids’ turbulent winds and hail.
Or did I? I mean—maybe I can’t give my kids the “mombrella” that I would like to give them…but maybe I can give them something even better—that is, if I can get past the fact that I myself have nothing to offer, no mombrella, no hiding place that I create. If I can see beyond myself as my kids’ savior in dark days—and trust God to take them through whatever comes their way. I mean, after all, isn’t a “God”brella so much better than any “mom”brella that I might create, even if I could fashion a large, colorful, full-protection one?
by Donna | Aug 2, 2010
“The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it.” ~James Bryce
Jakie and I have been enjoying some awesome story times this summer! Instead of going to the library, getting armloads of books to read aloud, we have been doing something unique: reading our way through our bookcases.
We have well over a thousand books (used to have two thousand before we got rid of half of everything we owned and moved to our small house eleven years ago). There are many of these books that I have read to my older kids; some I have read to my middle kids; and some that I have never gotten around to reading with Jakie! So we are correcting that this summer.
I pulled several of our collections off the shelf and put them in my room on my “current reading” shelf. We pull these off every reading time, start where we left off the last time and read a story or entry or two. Then we move on to the next one. (I will share our current “collection” list tomorrow.)
Additionally, we each choose a couple of picture books to read during that session. Jakie is choosing from all over the bookcase, but I am being a bit more systematic, in the hopes of getting through all of our picture books again this summer. I started at the top shelf of the picture book bookcase and pull off the next one we haven’t read yet this summer.
It’s not too late to institute a story time this summer! So….read your way through your story books. You will, like me, not regret the time you spend sharing stories with your kids.
Just a couple more days on reading story books and collections. August will be “organization” and “back to school” month with tips for getting organized, raising diligent workers, and back to school tips for all! Thanks for joining us at Positive Parenting 3*6*5!
by Donna | Jul 30, 2010
”A good library will never be too neat, or too dusty, because somebody will always be in it, taking books off the shelves and staying up late reading them.” ~Lemony Snicket
Jakie and I are the only ones who regularly enjoy story time nowadays (sniff, sniff). However, sometimes we can talk Josiah into joining us, and occasionally, if we are reading a chapter book, Jonathan will listen from the dining room as he does school or works on a project. Of course, we all enjoy listening to chapter books and devotional type books together, especially when we are traveling.
Story time is one thing that I for sure do not regret spending the hours upon hours in the past twenty-seven years of parenting. When I had several small children, we would get the babies to sleep then cuddle in Mommy’s bed and read for one to two hours, then drift off for afternoon naps (including Mom!).
My first reaction to that is “How did I ever find time for that nearly every weekday afternoon?” And my answer is that I found the time because it was a priority to me. We find the time for everything that is truly important to us. (And I found the time for the nap because it was essential during the fourteen out of seventeen years that I was nursing and/or pregnant!) I stayed home most days and just invested in my kids and home—and I don’t regret it at all!
Obviously, storytime does not have to be just before naps. However, just like anything else we want to do, if it is important enough to us, we will put it somewhere in our schedule where it will for sure get done. For us, this meant attaching whatever we wanted to add to our schedules to something that was already in our schedule. (Another Gregg Harris tip from long ago!) For me, this meant attaching story time to just after lunch—right before naps. There in that spot for twenty years it got done “more often than not.”
I am forever grateful to good friends who taught me the art and beauty of the afternoon story time—right before naps—which we have adhered to during all of my days with napping kids. In the past several years, Jakie and I no longer nap, so we have our story time just whenever (oftentimes at night). I mark it on the calendar nowadays, making sure that we have three or four sessions each week of thirty to ninety minutes. (If I don’t keep track of it carefully, I can easily go a week or two without story time…it’s harder to fit in with only one child who is still at the storytime age, especially with so many olders and their needs.)
by Donna | Jul 23, 2010
Today when I was cleaning out some old files, I found two tattered sheets of notebook paper from nearly twenty years ago. It had three columns I had made with pen–with each of Joshua (now 27); Kayla (now 24); and Cami (now 22) all written at the top of each column. Beneath each name was a list of things–songs, verses, rhymes stories, etc.
What was this twenty year old list for each of my first three children? It was a list of things that I was going to put on cassette for each one of them that year. A cassette that each one would have for himself or herself with my voice singing (!), reciting, etc. things that I wanted them to learn, things they loved, things I wanted them to hear over and over again.
Guess what? I never made that tape. Now, thankfully, I don’t have tons and tons of regrets as a parent. I wasn’t always perfect by any means, but I don’t look back over my nearly twenty-eight years of parenting with long lists of things that I wish I could change. (Everybody has some regrets, of course.) However, I regret not making these cassettes. I mean, really, how long could have they have taken? An hour each perhaps? They weren’t going to be studio quality, have sound effects or music, etc.
Obviously, it’s not a huge deal–and they all still love me (talked to each of the three for thirty to sixty minutes each one-on-one today, for example!), and they eventually learned their ABC’s, the words to “Victory in Jesus,” and many, many Bible verses in spite of my laxness. However, I want to use this tattered sheet of notebook paper to encourage all of our Positive Parenting 365 readers to not put off those awesome things you want to do for or with your kids. To not get to the end of your kids’ childhoods and wish that you had done this or that–especially to wish that you had or hadn’t done something that would have truly made a significant difference in the lives of your kids.
Read some of the cool stuff I was going to put on each child’s tape below…so fun just thinking about it!
Joshua–
1. WW II facts
2. “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”
3. “Lord’s Prayer”
4. Old Testament book song
5. New Testament books
6. Hard addition facts
7. “Victory in Jesus”
8. “For Those Tears I Died”
9. 21 Rules of This House
10. Name, Parents, Phone, Address
11. Odd numbers; even numbers
12. Skip counting
13. Twelve Disciples
14. Micah 4:8 song
15. Fruits of the Spirit
16. “Count Your Blessings”
17. Proverbs 15: 20
18. Character definitions
19. “O Little Town of Bethlehem”
20. “We Three Kings”
21. “Go Tell It on the Mountain”
22. “Are You Washed in the Blood?”
23. Proverbs 1
24. Some trust in chariots verses
25. The Christmas Story
26. Psalms 61:1-3
27. Ten Commandments
28. Verses: Be Kind, Obey, Happy Is the Man
29. Psalms 100
30. Pledge to the Flag
Kayla
1. ABCs
2. Numbers 1-50
3. Old Testament book song
4. Twelve Disciples
5. B I B L E song
6. Twelve Men Went to Spy on Canaan song
7. A says a and a rhyme
8. When Mom or Dad says come….
9. “Happy is the man” verse
10. “Friend Show Self Friendly” verse
11. “Lord’s Prayer”
12. Serving from Galatians 5:13
13. Ten of Twenty-One Rules
14. “Count Your Blessings”
15. Sunday School Rules
16. “We always…”
17. “Go Tell It on the Mountain”
18. “Thanks for the Blood”
19. The Christmas Story”
20. Name and Parents
Cami
1. “Eyes of the Lord are everywhere”
2. Bible Time Nursery Rhymes
3. ABC’s
4. Numbers 1-20
5. Only a Boy Named David
6. When Mom or Dad says come…
7. “Obey Mommy and Daddy”
8. Church rules
9. “Kindness”
10. Twelve Disciples
11. Character qualities
by Donna | Jul 18, 2010
“Preach Christ always, and if necessary, use words.” Francis of Asissi
We have been having an interesting summer at the Reishes! While our almost-eighteen and twenty year olds have gone away for the summer working and traveling with a drama ministry, our next-to-the oldest has been home for the summer itinerating for her first full time missionary appointment.
I wanted to share with our readers a little about Kayla and her upcoming mission work. I think Positive Parenting 3*6*5 readers will especially be interested in how Kayla first felt her calling to missions twelve years ago—while our family read aloud from a “discipleship” book by Philip Yancy. And how did it begin and grow? Through her father challenging her to minister at home first—and to trust God to give her a future ministry. It is an amazing testimony that we thank God for continually.
Please pray for her if you think of her—and if any of you would like to know more about her work; possibly have her speak to your church, missions board, or small group; or learn about how your family can support this new, young missionary girl, feel free to email her at kaylamreish00@lionmail.sagu.edu She is anxious to get on the mission field, but like most missionaries nowadays, is working hard to raise her monthly support to get out there—while working a couple of jobs to help herself through “tent making.”
Check out her website—read articles, poetry, and updates about her work as a missionary nurse all around the world–https://dreamdarereish.blogspot.com/
Here is one of our “parent letters” that Ray and I have written to introduce Kayla’s mission work to friends and associates:
Dear Friend,
You may have heard via Facebook (!) or other source that the Reish family has a newly-appointed missionary in it! It is with great joy that we write this letter to introduce you (or re-introduce you, for those who have already heard from Kayla) to the exciting life and work that God has planned for our daughter.
Twenty years ago (when Kayla was only four years old) we began reading about missionaries, evangelists, and other godly people who “counted all but loss for the sake of the gospel.” We told Kayla that she was destined to do great things —and she believed us.
Not only did she believe us, but she also acted on that challenge throughout her childhood and teen years. When Kayla was thirteen, she was called specifically into missions as our family read aloud from a challenging book by Philip Yancey. About that time, Ray questioned Kayla about her future, what God was showing her, what she thought she should be doing, who she was going to minister to, etc.
She told him that she was going to be a missionary to Central or South America.
Ray questioned her further: “No, I mean now. Who are you going to minister to right now in your life?”
Kayla thought for a quick moment, looked up at Ray and said, “Right now, my ministry will be Mom.”
Kayla had already been the most diligent child I had ever seen, but now she pressed in even harder. She would get up early, before anyone else was up, work in the kitchen, do dishes, fix breakfast. She never tired of it; her “ministry” was not just a passing phase. And she continued this—her ministry to her family has never ended.
Fast forward a few years later and Kayla found herself ministering to homeschooled students through speech, debate, Spanish, writing, and science classes she taught. She, along with her sister and another teen girl, wrote a newsletter for young girls for six years (and earned the money herself to mail it out—she didn’t charge the girls and wouldn’t let her parents pay for her ministry!). Kayla taught and preached at the young adults’ services on Sunday evenings for a couple of years, then she joined a Spanish church for a couple of years to further her Spanish speaking skills—and help those people right here in her own community. She continued to serve in many capacities–holding weekend retreats, mini seminars and workshops; speaking at homeschool conventions; helping us raise and train her younger siblings, and much more—all in an effort to “minister where she was planted” until her time came to “go out into all the world.”
Here we are, ten years after she was called to the mission field and practiced on this mission field known as home, and she has completed the degrees that she felt she needed in order to serve God in medical missions—RN, BSN (nursing), and BA (biblical studies). (She received her associates of nursing first so that she could work as a nurse while getting the other two degrees—and graduate debt free.)
And she is ready to go—as a health educator with Global Aids Partnership, developing materials, going into existing missions to help missionaries learn how to reach out to those affected by AIDS, and training pastors in other nations (especially Africa and Central and South America—she knew she would get there someday, even when she was only thirteen!).
So here we are writing this letter to friends, old and new, to let you know the needs that Kayla has in order to get on the mission field. Because she is a missionary associate with the Assembly of God International Missions, she must partner with individuals, churches, groups, etc. to raise her support herself. She must raise nearly $3,000 per month in order to maintain her home base, travel to train missionaries and leaders of indigenous churches, and develop materials to be used to safely reach those affected by AIDS around the world.
Why should you support Kayla ?
– She felt the call to missions at age 13 and has been preparing herself ever since.
o Academic Prep
Three college degrees–Associate in Nursing, BS in Nursing. and BA in Biblical Studies
3.83 GPA taking 20-23 hours per semester (while working 24 hrs/wk!)
o Technical Prep
2 yr experience as RN at Baylor Hospital (Dallas)
1 summer as head camp nurse for 700-900 campers per week
o Speaking Prep
Four times national competitor in multiple high school speech and debate categories
National semi-finalist in impromptu speaking
Teaching Prep
Co wrote and produced GRACE – Christian newsletter to young girls
Taught Sunday School
Taught Young Adult group services and Sunday school
Taught numerous science, Bible, language arts, speech classes to home schoolers
o Foreign Language Prep
Five years of Spanish
Teaching high school Spanish classes for homeschoolers
Immersion in Spanish only speaking church for 2 years
o Financial Pep
Worked full time to graduate college – Debt Free
– Her character is above reproach
– You can support someone you personally know (or at least you personally know her family)
Why should you support Kayla in Global Aids Partnership?
– Partnership: Everything is done in partnership with on the ground missionaries and congregations
– Sustainability: Everything has to be carried on long term with resources available to the local leadership
– Christ focused and God honoring: GAP is more than just another relief group because of its consistent and appropriate declaration of Jesus as Lord
– They secure payment of large projects from foundations and grants to offset large project costs
Why get involved with a ministry to people with AIDS ?
– AIDS has ravished lives and families the world over with over 33 million individuals infected
– Jesus commanded Christians to be his lights in a dark and sin-sick world
– It is serving people in their greatest time of spiritual, social, and physical need
Why are you getting this letter?
– Kayla needs to greatly expand her network of friends, family, and churches
o Most of her peers aren’t financially ready to support her
o She need contacts to other churches, groups, etc
– Kayla needs financial support
Kayla needs to raise support (via pledges) of $3000 per month for the next two years. While there are many good people and ministries that can be supported, I can think of no one who has better prepared herself for what God has called them to do. Please consider making a monthly pledge for Kayla’s work. Also consider how you can help her expand her network of friends and churches. She is quite the orator and can speak to churches, civic groups, Sunday school classes, etc. about her mission work (or about another inspirational or motivational subject should you need a speaker). Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Ray and Donna Reish
by Donna | Jul 10, 2010
“Little boys should never be put to bed because they always wake up a day older.” from Peter PanHere are some things we have enjoyed doing for birthday affirmations through the years:
1. Make a big deal of the birthday the day before it. We did little things like the following:
a. When he wakes up in the morning, say, “This is the last morning you’ll get up as an eleven year old!”
b. When you do things with him, say fun things like, “Come and read a story with Mom….it’s our last story with you as an eleven year old” or “Come shoot hoops eleven year old—this is the last day I can say that!”
c. Before he goes to bed, make a big deal of it being his last night as an eleven year old, how he’ll wake up old the next day, etc.
d. Tell him what you loved about him as an eleven year old—“I loved it that you such a compassionate eleven year old…”
2. On the morning of his birthday, say fun things like, “Time to wake up twelve year old” or “This is the first morning I am getting you up as a twelve year old,” and “Do you feel a year older this morning?”
3. Encourage him on the day of his birthday with character qualities that you have seen in him—“Sure hope you are as kind of a twelve year old as you were eleven year old!” and “I know your compassion will even increase when you are twelve—if that’s possible!”
4. Charge him on the day of his birthday with character qualities that you would like for him to work on in the coming year (without making him feeling put down, of course)—“Now that you’re twelve, I know you can become even more diligent with your work” or “You have been getting better and better at responsibility this past year—now that you’re twelve, you are going to become Mr. Responsible!”
5. On the night of his birthday, tell him that you are looking forward to spending “age twelve” with him—that your family is so blessed to have him in it and that you don’t want the next birthday to come too soon!
6. Involve others in the blessing/affirmation. We often have times of affirmation on birthdays in which people take turns saying affirmations to or about the birthday person. It isn’t uncommon to have siblings, siblings-in-law, Mom, Dad, etc., say any of the following:
a. “I like how you always let others go first in pot lucks.”
b. “I appreciate how you help at One Heart.”
c. “I love to watch you read. You have become such a great reader.”
d. “I love how you help the clients at One Heart so tenderly. They feel your love—you are such a great volunteer.”
e. “I like how you use your free time to help others.”
f. “I can’t believe how much you have improved in basketball the past year. Your outside shot is amazing.”
g. “You are such a diligent worker. Our family couldn’t make it without your daily work and contribution.”
h. “I love how you do your devotional every day. You are building good self disciplines that will help you your whole life.”
Use birthdays, special occasions, successes, achievements, down days, up days—any days to affirm your children. Build them up in their character and their faith. They might not say so, but they will come to love it.
Tomorrow—back to more help with academics this summer. The summer is officially half way over for most of us. There is still time to help your kids get ready for school in the fall.
