Abby's Alley

1. Vacation with family &/or friends: other playmates keep little ones busy. And family members are usually willing to watch the children so you can have a break. 2. Bring a busy bag to restaurants: nail polish, cars, string, magic markers, silly putty, play dough, wind-up toys, paper dolls, etc. 3. Create boundaries both physical and mental to maintain routines in every location. Bring the spanking spoon and/or time-out timer as a visual reminder that discipline will happen on vacation. Example: we don't touch things in stores. You stay on your side of the bed. It is now nap time! No demands; say please and thank you. No, we don't have candy for breakfast. 4. Listen to audio books in the car: Adventures in Odyssey, The Box Car Children, The Willoughby's,  JungleJam and Friends, The Jesus Story Book Bible, the Bible Living Sound, The Adventures of Raindrop etc. These stories are for school-age children, but my 3 and 5 year old understood them enough to

There is a rather terrifying story in Matthew 25 about a master who gives money to his servants to invest while he is on a journey. It is terrifying because the servant who buries his money and does not invest it is thrown out into the darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. And it is terrifying because sermons use this parable to teach Christians how we ought to use our talents for the Lord. Don't hide your gifts under a bushel, they say. Let your light shine. However, the sermons rarely explain what might happen if we don't use our talents for the Lord. The whole business has left me feeling terrified of the day when I must give an account of my work to God. Will it be enough? Have I made a good enough return on my investment or shall I be thrown out into the darkness? But if we understand our entry into heaven as something acquired because of what Christ did for us and not something we earn, then this understanding of Matthew 25 is missing something. And

If someone wrongs another—say, I steal your car—there are three things that I must do to make our relationship right again. And even after I do those things, you might choose not to forgive me. The first is that I must receive punishment for my crime. I must serve my jail time or be put in the stocks or take twenty lashes or whatever the law says must be done. Second, I must make restitution. I must not only return the car to you, but I must also pay you for your time without your car. Let's say you had to use a rental car. Then I would have to reimburse you for the costs of the rental. Lastly, and I suppose most importantly, I must apologize and mean it. I must regret my bout of kleptomania and try not to do it again. Likewise, if a man has wronged God—say, he spends his life as if it were his own and not God's—there are three things he must do to make his relationship right again. First, he must take the punishment for his crime. And the only punishment suitable for