i’m somewhat particular about my name. particularly when my name is written. here’s the rules of my name:
• you can call me Abraham or abe. (notice that when shortened to abe, i prefer the A to be lowercase)
• growing up my sisters started calling me aber or Aber (they never wrote it so i’m not sure if i like it upper or lowercase). while this feels very natural coming from my sisters, if feels/sounds VERY weird coming from anyone else, no matter how long you’ve known me. my wife doesn’t even call me aber.
• also when used with my wife’s name i prefer that both of our names be long as in Abraham and Deborah, or both to be shortened as in abe and deb. we’re just kinda weird like that, it looks strange to us to see either Abe and Deborah, or Abraham and Deb.
• Deborah isn’t as particular as to whether her first initial is upper or lowercase when using Deb/deb. Although she always initially introduces herself as Deborah, and only after people get to know her do they start calling her deb. she’s mentioned that after she returned from the year she was in the internship at TeenMania, it was weird to hear all my friends who hadn’t met her refer to her as Deb because that’s what i had been calling her. but she also prefers to have either both names long, or both names shortened when used together.
• we do sometimes refer to ourselves as deboraham (only when speaking, not in writing). we’ve heard others refer to us that way, but not when speaking to us directly. and it may be cute the first time or two if you were to start referring to us that way directly, but we’d probably soon tire of it.
anyways, i just thought you’d like to know a little bit more into the quirkiness that makes up the Laras. :)
our niece has definitely worked hard for the money to get this. she’s watched all 6 of our kids several times by herself while we were out on appointments.
congratulations Cathy on your new iPod Touch!
i love creating opportunities to have our girls help us in this MPD* journey.
a little later than we’d like, but we’re finally getting our Christmas cards out today. here’s a video of the girls helping us stuff envelopes this morning.
- – - – - – - – - - *MPD = Ministry Partner Development – that’s the name given to the process of us raising a team of supporters so we can report to Little Rock as fully funded staff missionaries with FamilyLife.
deb and i are creative people. if there’s a project that needs to be done, then it has to be done with creativity and WOW.
when we were in Little Rock this past summer they had some kids of staff members come share their experience in moving to Little Rock and their adjustment to life there. every one of them mentioned that during their family’s fundraising process their parents made some kind of chart for the whole family to see how much progress they’d made.
but for the Laras, we didn’t want to simply do some “boring” thermometer. we liked the idea a family had of making a large magnet of a map from their home to Little Rock that they stuck on their fridge and had a little car magnet that traveled down the road.
but we wanted something even BIGGER. so we figured, “hey, we’re not going to stay in this house forever. why not go crazy and make a HUMONGOUS map on the living room wall.”
so that’s what we did. we announced to the girls that they were going to write on the walls, through a projection of the US on the wall, handed out pencils, and then let them go at it. after we’d put them to bed, mom and dad stayed up outlining it in Sharpie markers, and then we colored in the highway to Arkansas with them in the morning.
i saw this today. and i consider myself pretty “connected” to the social media scene. but there’s still a lot i haven’t been a part of, or simply don’t “get”.
and then i started thinking how i’ve kinda been neglecting my social media “skillz” because of how busy we are with MPD* and family. and then i started to wonder, “can we really afford to let our social media presence take a back burner if it’s turning out to be such an important aspect of the culture we live in?”
what are people saying about YOU?
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*MPD = Ministry Partner Development – that’s the name given to the process of us raising a team of supporters so we can report to Little Rock as fully funded staff missionaries with FamilyLife
for today’s marriage tip I thought I’d share this little interchange that deb just texted me between her and our kindergatener.
———- Julia (5): a boy in my class says he wants to go on a date w/ me.
Deb: what do you think you would do on a date?
Julia: whatever a mom & dad do, I guess.
Deb: we usually just buy groceries :)
———- yeah, sounds exciting huh?!
but seriously, go on dates with your spouse no matter how “unromantic” they sound. not every date has to be a scene out of a movie, or beat the expectations of the last time you went “all out”.
couples need to spend time together. period.
so i talked with my MPD* coach this afternoon and told him that i felt like we were getting to a spot where the “honeymoon” phase of fundraising was coming to a close.
right after New Staff Training we were all fired up, excited to make appointments, and confident with the tools that we’d be given.
now after 3 weeks…we’re juggling a 40hr work week, kids determined to live in a messy house, and people forgetting or rescheduling the appointments they’d previously set with us.
but through it all God is faithful. i have a job that i’m thankful for and enjoy doing. we’ve been blessed with a babysitter who not only watches kids, but cleans as well. and deb have enjoyed getting to spend unexpected time together when our schedule is suddenly “freed up”.
plus, after FOUR appointments this week that were cancelled, rescheduled, or simply forgotten we were blessed with another couple who have partnered with us for $100/month.
that’s exactly what we needed at exactly the right time.
thanks God, you rock! :)
- – - – - – - – - - *MPD = Ministry Partner Development – that’s the name given to the process of us raising a team of supporters so we can report to Little Rock as fully funded staff missionaries with FamilyLife
As a mother or a father, do you ever feel like you’re floundering with the responsibility of raising your children? Do you have a clear strategy regarding how you will ensure that your kids turn out to be decent adults? Many times I feel lost, like the best I can do is keep these kids alive until they move out. However, I also feel that my children need more; God wants me to give them more.
This past week, during my Bible reading, I’ve read again the story of Esther. This book, in the Old Testament, tells of an incident that occurred in Jewish history. The king of Persia, having disposed of his queen, was in search of a replacement. The king’s attendants suggested that the entire empire be searched for beautiful young women; the young ladies would then be brought into the royal harem where they would receive beauty treatments. Following this time of preparation, the girls would be presented to the king. The woman that pleased the king the most would be made queen. The second chapter outlines how Esther was brought into the fortress of Susa, the location of the king’s harem. Esther found favor with the attending eunuchs; she was treated kindly, given a special menu and received twelve months of beauty treatments in the best place in the harem. When it was her turn to meet with the king, Esther was ready. She had been coached and prepared. She smelled good. She looked good. And she had the aura of royalty. The king loved her, even after their first meeting. He was delighted with her and promptly declared her queen.
What does this story have to do with parenting? A lot. It has changed how I have been parenting my six princesses this past week.
My home, anyone’s home, is like that fortress. We all belong to God, but when He calls us into action, will we be ready? Will our children be ready? Will the King be delighted with what we have to offer? Will we exude an aroma of praise or possess an aura of pride? I can prepare myself to meet with the King by reading His Word & practicing a lifestyle of praise.
What about my kids? As a mother it is my task to help my daughters become presentable princesses. They must be ready to listen to HIs voice & eager to obey; they must be beautiful with gentleness & kindness. They must know that their time is coming soon- the KIng will call for them. They must be ready. When a child is alone or hurting, will our children allow God to love others through them? Will our kids be characterized by obedience and gratitude?
There is another, more masculine, example to follow. The book of 1Samuel shows how a mother gave her son to the Lord, to be “the Lord’s helper,” (1Sam 2:18). And, when the Lord called on Samuel to be His prophet, Samuel was ready & obedient.
We are raising royalty. Will our charges be ready when God has need of them? No longer are we nagging parents; it is our privilege & responsibility to make sure that our children are aware of the fact that they were created for a purpose. I am not parenting for my own enjoyment; the mandate is much higher. The King desires that our children know Him and His commands. As parents, we cannot simply feed & clothe our children until they can do it themselves. We must give them the best ‘diet’ & ‘beauty treatments’ so they will be pleasing to the King when He calls for them.
