The Principle of JOY

One of the things we focus on in our home is service. What does that mean?

It means we forget about the selfish nature we as humans naturally adopt. We put others’ above ourselves and seek to find ways to serve them. Does that mean we constantly roll over & get taken for a fool? No. Does that mean we don’t have a backbone and are weak? No. Does it mean you never have a say in things that happen in your life? No. What it means is you’re treating other people the way you would want to be treated and while not everyone may reciprocate, they will remember how you treated them. They will know how much you care and will listen to you when you have something to say. They will value your input and they will value you.

So what is this principle of joy I speak about? It’s putting the reasons you do things in life in this order:

Jesus first

Others second

You third

Today, Macy Walker was recognized as Student of the Month for the character trait of Citizenship. Citizenship was defined by her school as helping to make her country a better place to live & looking for opportunities to serve others. They may call it Citizenship but as for the Walkers, we call it JOY!

Have You Been There?

There’s a great retro-chic new lil’ dining place in OKC that serves a

delicious variety of hot dogs, called Mutt’s. Mutt’s Amazing Hot Dogs to be exact. A couple of my friends swear by the Kung Fuey but as for me, I stick with the Best in Show & make my own.

A few weeks ago we took Macy to Mutt’s to enjoy the atmosphere and to dine at a new joint. Yeah, there was only one slight problem I forgot to tell my family about. Mutt’s? …. Er… Um … well, it makes you sort of have to go to the bathroom. No worries, I planned it so we would go straight home. We no longer set foot in our home when each of us darted to an open bathroom. Thank GOD there are enough toilets in our home to cover each hiney.

Excuse the fowlness but hey, it fits the story, okay? After, we joked about our next adventure in dining at “Butt’s”. Shortly after, Macy’s teacher was either talking about her dog whom she referred to as a mutt or talking about her weekend and dining at Mutt’s ... Which of those, I’m not really too sure. What I AM sure about is my daughter’s tackiness! Take a read, you’ll understand:

Macy: “Oooo, Mrs. Myers! Have you ever eaten at Mutt’s?”

Mrs. Myers: “As a matter of fact, my husband and I went there last weekend.”

Macy (laughing): “Yeah, well. We call it Butt’s cause it makes you have to go to the bathroom!”

Wow! Really? Did she REALLY just tell that to her teacher. In class? To her teacher?!? Parent-Teacher conferences are this week. I want to know if this conversation took place as Macy described above but I’m afraid to ask. Maybe I should just buy Mrs. Myers a Mutt’s Amazing Hot Dogs gift certificate & see if she laughs?

A Penny for Your Thoughts

In our home, we believe in being fiscally responsible. Apparently, so does Macy Walker. Early in the week Macy bargained with Casey to earn $10 bucks. They negotiated an agreement on how she could earn the ten extra dollars with the stipulations the task would be completed every day without an adult reminder and that if even one day was missed the $10 would not be earned. Macy completed her end of the bargain & earned a crisp $10 bill on Friday. She also received a card from her Great-Nana with $10 in it. She now had a total of $20 bucks burning a hole in her pocket.

We taught her long ago the importance of tithing but try not to remind her about it when she gets money because it’s her responsibility. She watches us tithe, she watches us budget, she watches us save & invest. We’ve given her the knowledge to do the same, it’s up to her to apply that information.

I was out of town on Thursday & Friday, not arriving back in OKC until Macy was already retired for the night on Friday. Saturday morning the first thing she did was bring to me $18 dollars, saying “Mom, look! I have $18.” I knew about the arrangement she made with Casey to earn extra money but I wasn’t aware she infact received the card from my Nana so I was confused as to why she would have an odd sum of money. Why wasn’t it $10, $15 or $20? Why $18? Before I could ask her why, she pulled another $2 bucks from a separate pocket.

Macy, holding $18 in one hand and $2 in another I heard, “I have $18 and I’m gonna give this (holding up the $2) back to God.” Immediately it dawned on me she must’ve had $20 instead of $10. I asked her about the total sum when she admitted she received Great-Nana’s card.

We went to church, Macy returned God’s portion to the storehouse and we carted ourselves to Barnes & Noble afterwards. We spent a good 2 hours reading books for free (don’t judge us!) but she wanted to make a purchase. We looked and looked and looked and looked some more for just the right book but nothing caught her eye. We ventured back to the CDs area when I suggested the Selena Gomez CD.

Macy asked, “How much is it?” as she flipped it over for the price. “Nah, it’s $15 dollars. I was hoping for something a little more affordable. I’ll only have about $2 left if I buy that.” More affordable? I thought. She’s 8! Since when does SHE care about affordability?!? I shrugged & said oh, okay then I guess we can keep looking. “What else do they have here? Besides all these CDs & books? These are too much money.” In my mind, I’m kind of giggling. It was funny for me to hear her replay all the things I think about when I shop and I’m a little bit impressed she’s trying to calculate the most wise decision.

At this point, I suggested she just save the $18 and go about her business. She didn’t want to do that saying “I already have $200 something in the bank. I asked to make this money so I could buy something.” Wellokaythen. So we kept looking. FINALLY, she found a set of 4 miniature puzzles that was $9.95 plus 50% off. “Mom, how much is 50%?” I told her she’d have about seven bucks or so left and she was okay with that.

The moral of this story is be very careful of your financial habits. Just like your language, your behaviors & your attitudes, your children will emulate those spending habits too! I am far better at 31 years old than I was at even 20 and I DO model all the things I’ve mentioned here but I am so blessed and so grateful our sweet eight year old daughter has apparently learned now to think about her pennies!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

So, what was Macy Walker's most memorable activity this summer? Wanna' guess?

Swimming with Beluga Whales.

All You NEED in Life

One of Macy's assignments this week was to write a poem about herself. I'm pretty sure this gal has the needs vs. wants thing mastered.

Like My Mother Does

During the Summer, Macy goes to daycamp. She loves it, particularly because they swim nearly everyday. Today was no different, I picked her up at the pool but this time I chose to stay for a while so she could swim longer. I got her a snack & she ventured over to a nice loungechair where a friend soon joined. They talked about various stuff in the day while I people watched with my eyes & listened to them converse with my ears. Periodically I asked them questions & acknowledged their conversation. Soon, as another friend passed I heard sweet Macy say "Look at Jack's hair. It's crazy!", followed by much laughter among the two girls. It was quickly met by Macy's friend with "Oh! Mrs. Walkerrrrr, Macy has a crush on Ja-aaack!" I kind of grinned without hesitation or distress and said, "She sure does, doesn't she."

Macy looked at her friend and said "Trinity, you don't have to try to embarass me. I tell my Mom everything!" I think Trinity was surprised because she said "Oh? You do?" Mace replied "Yeah, I tell her everything about me. I love her. She's like my best friend but she's not my friend, she's my Mom."

Let's just hope it stays that way!

If I Should Have a Daughter

Ladies & gentlemen these things, the things in the opening lines are what I teach my daughter. What will you teach yours?



I don't write poetry perse but the words I choose to explain things to my daughter really become spoken poetry in a sense to educate, entertain & inspire.