Charleston GFI Family Newsletter

Who: You! This invitation is to any parent who has taken one of the GFI (Growing Families International) Parenting classes. (e.g. Preparation for Parenting, Growing Kids God’s Way, Reflections of Moral Innocence.…)

When: Tuesday, October 14th, 2008

Time: 7:00pm

Where: The Warehouse, Seacoast Church – 750 Longpoint Rd., Mt. Pleasant

What: We are honored to have Joey and Carla Link (of Moms Notes fame!) as our featured speakers. You do NOT want to miss this amazing opportunity to hear them live and in person. They are a blessing and an encouragement and FULL of God’s wisdom for the family. They will also have their Moms Notes (www.momsnotes.com) with them as well as plenty of other wonderful, Godly family resources for purchase.

Cost: Free!

Childcare: Sorry, there is no childcare available. Please secure your own sitters for the evening. It’s a date night.

RSVP: Please e-mail hankandsherry@growingkids.org letting us know you’ll be there. (***very important***)

The one night teaching on ‘Attitudes‘ by Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo was a huge success. God brought just the right size crowd to fill the room that Faith Assembly of God so graciously provided for us. We did not get an official head count, but we estimate that there were approximately 125 in attendance last night. We hope you were as blessed by this as we were.

Follow Up Information

The Virtue and Vice (PDF) document was referenced by Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo last night.  This document is a great resource to hang on your refrigerator as a reminder of what virtues to encourage in your children as replacements to those forgiven bad attitudes (vices).

Are you asking yourself today, “what is Monkey Talk?” You may have heard several references to this lesson last night. The official name for the Monkey Talk teaching is How to Raise a Responsible Child. Check with your local church parenting ministry to see if they have a copy of this video. You can purchase a copy How to Raise a Responsible Child on DVD or VHS by visiting the GFI online store.

GEMS^® - Godly Encouragement for Moms

Click for more information:
East Cooper GEMS^® - Meets in Mt. Pleasant/Daniel Island
North area GEMS^® - Meets in Goose Creek/Summerville

GEMS^® is a ministry of Christian Family Heritage.

As a parent of an elementary, middle or high schooler, do you sometimes find yourself at a loss in knowing how to deal with that ‘deep heavy sigh’, rolling the eyes, the “whatever” ‘Attitude’? Or even wondering why there is an ‘Attitude’ in the first place? Attitudes are probably the most common issue occurring in parenting during these ‘transition’ years. Come and find out the ‘root cause’ and learn practical suggestions on how to work on your child’s heart which will change your child’s attitude. This teaching is also helpful for those with children transitioning from preschool years to school age. Come learn how to prevent some these attitudes from becoming big monsters!

Moms and Dads should plan a date night for Monday, February 18, 2008 to attend this live teaching by the Ezzos. This one night teaching will begin at 7:00pm sharp and will conclude by 9:00pm.

UPDATE!

Location: Faith Assembly of God - Faith Kidz Room

Address:  337 Farmington Road, Summerville, SC  (MAP)

Please RSVP by sending and email to: hankandsherry@gficharleston.org

Saturday May 19, Smythe Park on Daniel Island

Picnic Set-up Begins at 5:00 p.m.

Picnic Judging begins at 6:00pm

Concert begins at 7:00 - fireworks following the concert

The Charleston Symphony Orchestra will perform a free outdoor concert in Smythe Park on Daniel Island.

A variety of prizes will be awarded for the most elaborate and creative picnic spreads. The grand Prize winner will receive a $500.00 donation to the charity of their choice.

The GFI Community picnic spread will highlight a Memorial Day/Patriotic theme where everyone is asked to bring pies, cookies, and have the guys dressed somewhat 1900’s and children too if possible. All who are coming are asked to bring something red/white/blue for the table.

Please RSVP to Lori Isaacs via email ASAP and no later than Monday May 14, 2007 if you plan to join the Charleston GFI Community at this event.  Lori’s email address is: lynnandlori@gficharleston.org

** Due to the large turnout expected for this event, walking biking or car pooling is suggested Parking will be available in the K-* school parking lot.

The GFI Charleston Spring 2007 Alumni Picnic was a load of fun. Families came together to share a picnic lunch while Gary Ezzo shared some words of wisdom for the parents and the children. After lunch, the kids played games and climbed the observation tower that stands about fifty feet above the marsh at Palmetto Island County Park in Mount Pleasant, SC.

Click on the link below to download a short video clip that scrolls through some of the pictures taken during the picnic.

Picnic Picture Video - Requires Microsoft Media Player

You’re invited to a GFI Alumni Picnic!

Saturday, April 21st

11:30-2:00

Sweet Gum Shelter

Palmetto Islands County Park**

Long Point Road, Mt. Pleasant

Bring your own picnic lunch and enjoy the community of like-minded families!

Call Lori Isaacs with questions 971-5133

**Admission to the park is $1/person or free with a Charleston County Parks pass.

Well, it finally happened. Mr. Ezzo has always said not to bring up or push these parenting classes on other parents, but to wait till somebody asks you how you get your kids to behave so well. I have waited 6 years now for some one to ask. I was beginning to think it was never going to happen. Most parents I met at the park or out somewhere either didn’t pay attention to what their kids were doing, no less mine, or they were so busy chasing theirs around they didn’t seem to notice anyone else, especially children. So, when it finally happened, I was caught off guard. It happened at the pediatrician’s office. Since my youngest had to get shots, I took things for the other two to work on in the lobby, so they didn’t have to listen to the baby scream. I put them at the small table, gave them their backpacks and told them not to get up unless it was an emergency. I was happy they lasted about 20 minutes before my oldest came walking back to the room we were in and said she had to use the bathroom. After she used the bathroom she came back in to chat for a bit, then I asked her to return to the table. She did and added a “yes mommy” for good measure. All was good and I was happy. On her way, she saw that the nurse was drawing up the shots and asked if she could watch, the nurse said yes, and she turned and asked me from the end of the hall if she could. I agreed and then she returned back to the table. Of course, my three year old wanted to know where her older sister was so she tailed along for the preparation of the shots and then back to the table. After the shots were administered and the baby stopped screaming, both girls came in to check and see if their younger sister was okay, and of course, ask for a lollipop. I told them, “No, it’s too close to lunch.” I couldn’t believe it, but neither child objected and both returned to the table while I redressed the baby. The nurse stood there with an open mouth and asked how in the world I got my girls to obey and be so happy about it. It happened! I finally got to share the good news! She was really interested in the program and said she would like to learn more. I immediately went home, got a spare book I had, and took it to her with the GFI website and GFI Charleston website for reference and class schedules. I was so excited! What an opportunity to expand our community through a pediatrician’s office. God works in so many ways in our daily lives, sometimes we forget to stop and give thanks for the little things. Today, I remembered. I thanked God for my wonderful children who had the opportunity today to glorify God and used it. I thanked God for the Ezzo’s and their ministry and I thanked God for all those difficult days I have training my children for just this one opportunity. Then I realized, we have many opportunities every day. You never know when or where they will be, few or far between, but every day in every instant there is an opportunity for someone to notice the light of God in your children. We just have to remember to pay attention long enough to see it.

Summer is over and school is back in session. Whether it be public, private, Christian, or home school, mothers are often conflicted when entering this new season. Those lazy days by the pool are now over, and the daily activities of school reveals how easily we fall out of a structured routine during the summer and my dear 5 year old reminds me through her ‘attitude’.

There is a pattern I’ve noticed in my household over the past five years, that with less structure and routine, there seems to be many more problems during the day. During summer I think we need to relax, be flexible with the daily routine, except I find my children are the ones who suffer. They have no idea what’s coming next, usually because, I don’t. For example, one day, we were on our way to the movies after a plan for a play date fell through. Meanwhile, a friend calls to say that she and her daughter were going to Barnes and Noble. While I was explaining to my 5 year old the change from Plan A : the movies to Plan B: Barnes and Nobles, my 3 year old lost her temper (and her mind) and hit the back of my head. My first reaction was to take the privilege of the movie and/or play date and take her home for chastisement. However, after I thought for a moment about the schedule that was promised and planned for the day, I changed my mind. The changes that were made not once but twice must have been frustrating for my three year old. Of course, she didn’t get away with the bad behavior, but I did make some immediate changes to our daily routine. I was thinking a relaxed schedule and atmosphere for the summer would make everyone relaxed and happy. Wrong!

After much prayer God laid on my heart that these three little ones of mine, need to know what is going to happen every day and generally what time or order they will take place. I started with what came easy, meal times. Then I added in naps, chores and personal hygiene time. After that I made a list of things that are important to our family like, exercise, quiet devotional time, family time, service projects and character training. The time that was left went for play dates, learning and organized sports. Once I started implementing this schedule, my children started reminding me what was next in our day instead of asking me. The children were a whole lot happier and I, more relaxed!

So, be it kindergarten, elementary level or beyond, it is still tough letting go of children having them leave our household and enter the public domain of school; or spending hours of time on the first few weeks of lesson plans for home schooling. I’m looking forward to this new season of life as my five year old starts school for the first time and as I sit down to plan my days events, the Lord Jesus reminds me that He is the power and energy behind our household. He is the wisdom behind our schedules so we must go to Him prayerfully first before planning our days and scheduling our time.

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)