Today I came across this reading and felt encouraged in a mighty way.  I often feel at the end of a day that I have not measured up.  I have not read enough books, I have not been patient enough, I have not taught enough for school that day to cause them to excel, I have not spent enough quality time with each of them, or I just haven't lived the Gospel before them.  While some of these question or reflections are good some are just plain guilt.  Christ does not call us to a life of condemnation but to a life of freedom.  These moments should cause me to move to the cross and be reminded that 2 Corinthians 12:9 is true and life giving.  Today I praise him because he is a forgiving God and because his mercies are new everyday.  Because of Christ I can be a better mother tomorrow.

http://theresurgence.com/2012/04/24/forgiveness-for-moms-who-fail

Raising sons

While praying over my sons and asking for wisdom on how to raise them I came across this article and found it encouraging.
http://theresurgence.com/2012/04/09/10-ways-for-moms-to-respect-their-sons

Reflections from Good Friday

Friday April 6, 2012, we celebrated Good Friday. This time around I was determined to not waste the opportunity to share the heart of the Gospel with my children. It seems as though ever Good Friday in the past it is a struggle to meditate on what took place and apply that to my life in a fresh and life changing way. Really, everyday is that battle because with three children it is hard to find alone time to spend with Christ. I have come to learn that at this stage of life, I can't beat my children out of bed nor can I put them down for a nap and go spend uninterrupted time with Jesus. I just know that I must somehow start my day with Jesus so the overflow of my heart is his character and not self. I want so badly to show grace and love to them but when I have not had the time with Jesus then circumstances begin to control my heart and attitude and well that's not doing anyone any good! So thanks to the prompting of the Holy spirit, I have now realized that I can start my day in the word with my children. What a great way to fill my heart and mind with his word and at the same time begin to train my children to start their day with Jesus. It has been very eye opening to me to see just how powerful scripture is, in that it can speak to a 2,4,6, and 34 year old no matter how simple or complex. A simple children's lesson can be something that Christ uses in a mighty way in my heart as I take that nugget of truth and meditate on it all through the day. Well this Good Friday accomplished just that. I began to use a cookie recipe that step by step told the story of Christ death and Resurrection. We read from the Jesus Story book bible and the wording was so beautifully pointing us to Jesus over and over again in such a romantic way. I was gripped by the sinners that Jesus was surrounded by, the treatment he was receiving from them, and yet he showed nothing but compassion to them. He was broken over their sin and had such a desire for them to know the joy in a relationship with God the Father that he gave his life for them. At great cost to himself, he laid down his life for them (us). He prayed over those at that the cross that God would forgive them for they did not know hat they were doing. It struck me because we are struggling with Andrew right now, he is battling some sin in his heart that is really taking its toll on him and us. I felt the Spirit speaking to me through his word that day. I want so badly to be so broken over Andrews sin or any of my families sin, including my own that I deal with them with such compassion and brokenness that I am willing to go to all lengths so that they may know the riches of Christ Jesus. That I would cry out on their behalf with such desperation that shows I believe in the power of prayer. That I would no longer react with anger and frustration because their sin struggle is inconveniencing me but I would find joy in giving my life away for them to see the Gospel lived out. Christ calls us to be imitators of him and He showed me his character in the way he dealt with the sin that surrounded him while he hung on the cross that painful and gloomy day. The same power that rose Christ from the dead is the power that has been given to me at great cost to Jesus. I can because of Christ, love Andrew in his sin and deal with him with compassion and patience beyond my strength. This is how I hope the celebration of the death and Resurrection will change me and cause me to live differently. May I find joy, compassion and patience in laying my life down for my children as I seek to show them the Jesus I pray they will follow! Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

My so-called “quiet” time

My so-called “quiet” time

Andrews Story

So we were working on language lessons last week and Andrew who continues to be my student who works me pretty good was asked to make up a story about 4 kittens. We were studying a painting about 4 kittens and in the painting the 4 kittens were playing with Beatles. When we began to discuss the painting he was slumped down in his chair saying, "I don't want to do this, I am tired, I don't like cats, cats are yucky." The "I am tired" is a funny saying that we hear a whole lot. The "Cats are yucky" is something he has picked up from his Nana because she is allergic to cats. He began to realize he was going to have to complete his assignment before going back to play doh, so he began to tell us his story. "Once upon a time there were these beatles that God was watching so they would not bite anybody. Then four kittens came walking up and the people said, "Get the cats away, they are yucky." So God sent the cats to live with Satan and Satan said, "achoo achoo achoo, forever!" What a funny story that has so much to unpack in it. He has adopted his Nana's dislike towards cats and associates them with allergies and believes they are from the devil. So he sends them to live with Satan and he suffers forever. My favorite is that we were not even talking about God and yet he brought him in to his story. If someone asked me why do you homeschool, I would answer, "because I want my children to not compartmentalize Christ and think that bible is over here and then there's math and science and so on. I struggle this way and I want them to delight in all of his creation and see his Glory in all things and without a doubt know that everything points us to His glory." What a funny guy Andrew is and continues to be for us. As I continue with homeschooling I see how incredibly different my three children are and how I must rely on Christ for his Grace and wisdom to love them and train them according to their individual needs and personalities. Homeschooling has been a joy for me, something I never thought I would say or do. I am so thankful not to miss these moments and to continue to be stretched with patience and sacrifice to make it happen. This is the path Christ has chosen for me and I see my need for Christ everyday as I surrender to this calling and realize how I can't do it alone. What precious children we have been blessed with and I pray that I can be a part of helping them know and understand the love the Father has for them and how amazing the Gospel truly is.

Experiencing Christ this Christmas

Christmas 2010 was a very busy and wonderful time. We had the opportunity to spend great time with family and friends. We were able to go stay with my sister and watch Santa Clause the Movie in their movie theater with all the cousins. Our boys thought that was the coolest`,so did Marty and I! We then had Marty's parents come and stay through Chritsmas with us. On Christmas eve we had a dinner for several of our friends and family. It was a great opportunity to see God's grace at work in me. Christ has been working on my heart for many years now with the issue of treasuring traditions and rest above the incredible opportunity to give Christ away. So this Christmas he called me to be flexible and trusting to his plan. I tend to get overwhelmed with the unexpected and detail, so just when everthing was all set up for the evening he sent three unexpected guest to our home and gave us the opportunity to invite them in to experience the love of Christ as we gathered to celebrate his birth. Three young life guys who had left for college this year came over and then joined us, it turned out to be a blessing to me in many ways. Though unexpected, it reminded me of the call to give our lives away in the hopes of others seeing the beauty of the one who came and gave his life away for sinners like me. There is a time for rest and a time for laboring, a time to let go of those things we find our identity in that are not of Christ, a time to be reminded that everthing is his and he has given us the priveledge of caring for our family,home, and other resources in a way that shows him to be worth it, a time to love and not expect anything in return, and a time to remember that he will provide all we need according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. He blessed me with those opportunities through the many planned and unexpected guest he brought to our home that evening. We then had the privelege to stand before the congregation of our Chrurch and light the Christ candle as we read the scripture as a family. Caleb was so excited to read his portion of the text that he almost stole all of Marty's lines, but my all time favorite is how he pronounced trustworthy- trustwhirly and that he read "behold" with such enthusiasm. Andrew decided to lay on the floor and then use his candle as a gun and sword to aim out at the congregation, a moment that I am sure we will treasure down the road! Elizabeth hung out quietly on my hip until the very end when she decided to add a little shout out in the microphone.

Here is our Andrew with one of his Christmas decorations that he moved all over the house and yard. He loves christmas decorations, but we are short many decorations because he ends up breaking them in the process. We joked that when he grows up, he will be like Clark Griswald and have lights all over his house! We love is funny little personality!

Here is Elizabeth on christmas morning with here new kitchen! I think I loved it just as much as she did. It is a dream come true to me to have a little girl!

Here is Caleb with his new LSU t-shirt and football. LSU is now his favorite football team! A sure sign that he is growing up becuase he wanted more of this stuff than acion figures.

Christmas day at my parents with all the cousins. A whole lot of fun and chaos!

The Journey Begins

Team Sineath has begun the blogging journey....We felt it to be good and right to record the work of God's grace in each of us and in our family as a whole as we march on this journey ahead in our life together. Today is 23 Dec 2011 and we will celebrate the birth of our Savior in 2 days. There is much for which He deserves praise in our life. First, that He is God and we are not. Second that He was pleased to reveal Himself to us in the God man Jesus Christ and draw us to himself for inexpressible joy and glory and the redemption of our souls for the glory of His Name. I am so thankful that he has shown us the immeasurable riches of His grace to myself, Heidi and Caleb in our salvation and we pray the same for Andrew and Elizabeth. With that said, we desire for this blog to be more than a theological treatise but a real time experience and record of God's grace and how it is working out in our life in very concrete and practical ways. So our first entry we will celebrate His giving to us the sports medicine fellowship that we have desired for years but have been providentially denied. We received the news 14 Dec 2011 and are overjoyed. Though every joy in this world will be linked with some form of sorrow, it is a sweet sorrow. We can look back and see many reasons He has kept us in Sumter SC for 2 extra years, growth in Christ, growth together as a husband and wife, opportunities for growth in ministering Christ to others through Young Life, our church, etc. We have developed many wonderful and cherished friendships during our 5.5 years here in Sumter and will find it hard to leave. Were it not that we believe that Christ is moving us towards something else and not just away from Sumter, it would be impossible to leave. But with God all things are possible and we certainly feel that He is moving us towards our long term goals and vision for life/ministry on a medical campus somewhere and cross cultural world missions. This step forward with the sports medicine fellowship is just the next step in that progression and growth in our life. In each step we serve and grow and worship and rejoice, and we have been so stretched and blessed during this stage of our sanctification in Sumter SC and it has been good and necessary for us and the glory of God and the good of others. We are thankful that the plans we have prayed over and proving to be part of God's plan as He determines our steps. We have much to prepare for in the coming months. One of our main prayers and desires is that we would finish well in Sumter and continue to fight the good fight. We want to continue to pour into the relationships with our friends and family prior to leaving. Also, we hope and pray that people will not pull back from us as they know that we are leaving. Though we are leaving, geographically speaking, we pray that we will continue to be encouraged by the many friends that we have made here in Sumter. So we journey ahead and are so thankful for God's wonder working grace......