It’s 11 p.m. and do you know what your kids are doing?  One of mine, my oldest boy, just bounded for the bathroom in a flu-riddled flurry in search of an appropriate receptacle for his dinner, which was protesting the whole event.  That’s right.  He vomited.  You can wince if you want, but if you’re a parent, and I bet you are if you’re reading this, you won’t have a problem “stomaching” this topic.  

I held the poor boy’s head as he leaned over the toilet heaving and I just thought how pleased am I that he is now old enough to know to run to the bathroom first, then seek out parental assistance.  How many times, parents, have you been awakened in the middle of the night by a child, “Daddy?  I think I’m gonna be…BLEEECCCHH!”  I expressed my great satisfaction in his course of action and told him how proud I was of him and that I really hope he feels better soon.  

My wife and I pulled out an extra mattress onto the boys’ bedrooom floor for him to try and give him and his brother some space (they share a bed).  I asked him to lay with his head opposite his brother’s (the mattress is on the floor between their bed and the door.)  After dealing with this as much as we have, I know it’s only a matter of time before the culture growing in our other little “petri dishes” bears fruit in much the same fashion, so I wanted the path between my next oldest son and the bathroom to have the least resistance possible.  We tucked him in and laid the baby back down (he was awakened during the “upheaval”) and came back downstairs.

So, we’re stocking up on bedsheets, towels and making sure there are plenty of extra pajamas, clorox wipes and washcloths around for the coming storm.  To try and defeat the coming bug we have several weapons in our arsenal.  Mainly, probiotics for good digestive health, lots of handwashing, tinctures and plenty of water.  Oh yeah, and if you’re fighting the 24-hour flu, it never hurts to remind all of them, when your tucking their little full tummies into bed, where the bathroom and nearest garbage cans are and that you will come running if you hear them.

My biggest struggle in these situations is having a good attitude at 3 in the morning when I’m standing in the driveway hosing off a comforter.  Many times I’ve jumped out of bed in a huff because somebody just sat there, in bed, mouth gaping open.  I can’t stay mad long, though, because they’re so sad (especially the little ones) and really need me.  My wife and I made a deal, she takes care of the giving birth part and I clean up vomit.  Funny enough, when we’re in the middle of either, the other one feels like they got the better deal.  Well, I’m off to stock up on some sleep…it’s going to be a long night.  God bless.

By Cindy Nabb

Avocados, I love them.  There are so many reasons to love avocado.  The are a great source of good fat, fat without cholesterol,  vitamin K, and many others.  Avocado is a perfect baby food.  My little guy trembles with joy when I am cutting into his daily avocado.  It mashes to a perfect texture for little ones and it even comes in it’s own bowl, how great is that?  Most of us just eat guacamole and call that good but consuming more of this wonderful fruit could change our overall health.  Avocados contain more potassium than a banana and are full of vitamin E.  Avocados are not only good in our bodies but on our bodies too.  Mash up half an avocado, 1 tsp lemon juice and an egg white use it as a facial mask, add some oats for an exfoliating scrub.  Replace the lemon juice with 1Tbsp olive oil and apply it to your hair (use more avocado for longer hair),  makes for silky, moisture rich hair.    The oil of avocados have been used to make cosmetics and soap.  We use avocado oil in a soap that we make and it has become my favorite soap.  It is so silky and smooth.  It leaves my skin feeling clean yet rehydrated.   

Next time you are at the grocery store pick up a few slightly firm avocados if you plan on eating them right away.  Put them in the fridge to slow down the ripening.  If you find your avocados need to be ripened/softened a little place them in a paper bag on the counter and they will ripen faster.  Make some guacamole, slice it on a salad or sandwich, add a little salt or dip in sour cream and ENJOY! 

Check out  these avocado recipes for more avocado fun!

also www.purelightsoap.com

By Jason Nabb

Recently, I had an experience that shook me up quite a bit.  I am a huge advocate for purity as it has been a struggle of mine.  I have Covenant Eyes installed on my office computers and home computers as well.  Covenant Eyes is software that reports all of your online activity to “Accountability Partners” that you designate.  An email report is generated at regular intervals that allows your APs to check up on your online activity.  Very detailed reports.  Well, one of my APs today sent me an alarming, yet open-minded email making me aware of some indecent searches carried out on one of my computers.

I revealed this discovery to my wife immediately and began to investigate.  Several searches were made on lewd terms on one of my computers.  It was horrifying!  I felt a suspectful eye on me immediately.  It wasn’t from my wife or my APs.  It was from God.  I know I didn’t committ those searches.  It turns out they were made by malicious spyware I am in the process of removing from my computer with a scan as we speak.  However, it really made me think.  What if there was software that reported on my thought life activity?  What if detailed reports were generated on everything I let into my brain?  I hardly think I could blame “malicious spyware” for what those reports may say.

I would like to encourage you to consider the impact your thought life and struggles have on your wife and children.  You might think that your struggles with pornography or online gambling don’t have any bearing on your kids because they “don’t know.”  But the fact is, these things that you let occupy your mind leave little room for God or your family.  Your God, your marriage relationship and your children need to have your thoughts if they are to have your heart as well.

TIPS:

Put a photo of your wife and/or kids on your computer desktop.  Get online accountability.  Never, ever, ever delete your history.  Talk about it with your wife and get some accountability partners that you can relate to in terms of this struggle.  The book “Every Man’s Battle” by Stephen Arteburn has been a great resource for me.  If you need help with sexual addiction or would like more information, a great resource is www.joedallas.com.  I pray that you seek help if you should need it.  And if you don’t think you need it, please re-examine your thought life and make sure, as we deceive ourselves first.  God bless.

By Cindy Nabb

This is a relatively new topic for me. I was given a book (“Making Brothers and Sisters Friends” by Sarah, Stephen and Grace Mally, Tomorrow’s Forefathers, Inc.) by a dear sweet friend of mine who loves to encourage me in the raising of my children. My children and I are reading the book now and have found some interesting topics for discussion. But most of all what I have been reminded of is how God uses our families to grow us. It is no surprise to Him who is in 

our family, how they are wired, their strengths and their weaknesses. He put them there, for our benefit, for our growth. As iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another. Proverbs This goes for our family as well. Not only our children but also our families of origin and our families that we come into through marriage. Paul was sent first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. He went to minister to his people first showing us that our firs

t ministry should be to our families. 

I hope this is encouraging for you and I hope that you will join us this month as we discuss this topic. I am no expert and my children as well as myself are working on this daily. 

The greatest commandments; Jesus replied:”‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the firstand greatest commandment. And the second is like it; ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

It comes down to choice. Who will we serve and who will we love.

Hi, my name is Jason Nabb.  My wife, Cindy and I are knee-deep in raising six kids and loving it.  It’s hard.  Let’s face it, it’s really hard sometimes.  We are constantly on the lookout for information and help regarding the best way to instill our Christian values in our children.  We’ll be posting information here on child training, health, homeschooling and more as well as plenty of personal struggles along the way.  Thank you so much for your time and we hope your time here at PurelightParenting.com is well spent.  God bless your family.