Winner Announced!

You guys are pretty good.  You all over-guessed, which makes me feel kinda more special and more well traveled than we really are :)  (I think you were guessing places our luggage has made it to.)

I awarded 1 point for the following ACTUAL countries we have been to (I deducted 1 point for incorrect guesses) :

China
Japan (airport only)
India
Malaysia (airport only)
Honduras
Argentina
Chile (airport only)
Costa Rica
Mexico
Belize (airport only)
England
Estonia
Finland
Canada
and last, but never least, our favorite country...The United States of America

I also awarded half points for countries we have plans to minister in, but have not yet made it to.  They are:

Thailand
Italy
Kazakhstan
Russia
Peru

Smiles...  Good try, you've known us the shortest amount of time so don't feel too bad with 1.5 points.  You were the only one to get Kazakhstan

Crystal Rae... You cannot just say, "I say what Smiles said."  Silly Lazy head ; P (I love you!)

Gloria... You were SOOO close.  Great job with 6 points!  You were the only one to guess USA.

And finally, the winner is.....

Jennifer and Danabanana tied for the win with 6.5 points.  I was impressed. (Jennifer, England is in Europe, but I couldn't give you credit for naming the entire continent.)

Tie breaker Question:  (It had to be something really obscure since you both know so much about me)  I have a scar on my left kneecap.  It is shaped like a letter of the alphabet.  Which letter is it?  The answer with the letter closest (in numerical sequence) will be hold the title and receive the prize.  You have 24 hours.

Also,  If any participant feels that my math is off in some way... Let me know, and I will double check.

Goodnight Everybody!

Like play-doh - By Carl Johnson

Hey there Blogeroonies,

Good friend Carl Johnson is back at the keyboard tonight.  Please enjoy his post about what he is most passionate about.  Until tomorrow,

Christina



Parents, if you want to give the greatest gift to your children, give them this: Teach them honor. Honor in a family has 3 parts.

First, treat people as special. It is so easy to treat our family members as less special than our friends. We find it easy to violate the dignity that we would afford others. It's easy, because our family is stuck with us. But it's important to reach beyond that, to treat each other better than outsiders.

Second, do more than is expected. As parents, take a moment to write a note to your child once in a while. Teach your children to look beyond the tasks you give them to do. Teach them to look for something extra to do every day. This habit will follow them, and they will find favor with anyone they deal with. Imagine the spouse your child will become with only this one habit.

Finally, have a good attitude. Today I taught the children that attitude is like play doh. You can shape it any way you want. Attitude is your automatic reactions to situations. When you want that candy in the store and Mom says no, do you accept your disappointment, or do you badger or throw a tantrum?

In the end, this is how I packaged it for the kids in my class: Would you rather live in a house with happy parents or angry parents? Would you rather live with happy siblings or frustrated siblings?

We recommend discussing this with your children frequently, but not in the midst of conflict. Discuss it over dinner, or in the car. Make this investment when things are going well, and potential conflict may be avoided.

Carrying honor with them will help them in their future, with teachers, employers, and with their own families. And they will expect to be treated with honor, which will help them choose friends that treat them well.

The Bible only gives two commands to children, honor and obey. The better they learn these as children, the easier the rest of the commands will be for them to live by. Make this investment.