Purity begins with Daddy and his son!!!

This past weekend Clay and Christian (14) went away for their Purity weekend. We used Passport to Purity. Let me explain a bit about Purity Weekend. It is a time for the same-sex parent and child to go away and spend extra special time together. During this time there is a great bonding time and time to grow together while learning God's plans for your future with your spouse. It is about making the decision to keep yourself pure for your future mate and best friend. The weekend is to give a sound Biblical foundation for our children to stand on as they go through their teenage years and have to make some tough decisions. We pray that they stand strong and always keep their thoughts and actions pure. We pray that they will always keep God in the forefront and think their decision through with their spouse in their thoughts. We pray that they are in continual and constant prayer and conversation with God in their day-to-day life.

Their weekend started Saturday at 4 p.m. when they headed out. They stopped at Which Wich? This is a new fave for Clay and the kids. I have yet to eat there but I am looking forward to my tomato and avocado sandwich. I have heard it is delicious! They then headed out to Shreveport to the Boardwalk. They stayed at the Hampton Inn. We love the Hampton. We have stayed at some 5 star hotels and find the bed here very comparable if not better most of the time. The boys always want us to buy their sheets and pillows for them because they love them so much. =D

When they made it to the hotel they started up their evening study and did an experiment with a couple puzzles. Clay gave Christian his puzzle. It had no picture to look at and there were puzzle pieces missing which Christian did not realize at the time. Clay had his puzzle and all the pieces were in it and he had the picture to look at. They then raced to see who could finish first. Christian started out strong but of course Clay ended up beating him. Christian got frustrated as he realized he did not have a picture and that pieces were missing. The point of the exercise was to realize that God had given us all of our puzzlle pieces and the picture to go along with it and that is the Bible!! =D When we know what God wants for us it makes this puzzle of a life all that much easier!! After their session and puzzle experiement they ordered pizza and then went to bed!

The next morning they woke up early to get a good breakfast and then get started on their session. The experiment with this session was with a balloon. They poked holes in the balloon to show how poor judgement with your purity leads to less and less of a whole self. It gave the example of handing a full balloon over to your spouse on your wedding day or handing them a leaky or even perhaps empty balloon over. They also did an experiment with a match. Clay had Christian light the match and then put it out in water. He then asked him to re-light the same match. Of course if did not light up because it had been used up and had given itself to the first strike up. Another experiment was having a pitcher of clean water. You then had a couple clean glasses of water and 3 dirty glasses tainted with dirt, coffee, or other pollutants that you can see. The pitcher of clean water represented Christian. The 2 clean glasses of water were good choices and good friends that helped keep him on the right path with God. They were poured into the pitcher and only added to his purity. The 3 dirty glasses represented poor choices and negative friends. Once these glasses were poured into the pitcher it was no longer clean and pure and only led to impurity. (I think this one is my favorite) The last experiment they did was with two different colored sheets of construction paper. You put glue on the two pieces and then put the pieces of paper together. I think the sheets represented relationships. Once they were put together when they were pulled apart (or broken up) they were stained and unclean. They were never the same again. The purpose was another example to show that you save yourself for your spouse so that you two will never be torn apart. You remain clean for each other as God desires for us.

Later Saturday they took off to have lunch at Sushiko and to walk the Boardwalk. Clay raved about the salad at Sushiko....We will probably be making a stop there this weekend as Cullen is going to be in a triathlon over close by....I am looking forward to it. They both enjoyed it very much.



After Sushiko they headed out and watched the new Harry Potter movie. Neither of them liked it that much and said it was the worst one. =( They also watched G-Force and said it was okay. In between movies they stopped for coffee and enjoyed some more quality time talking and hanging out. After the movies they headed to Saltgrass! They loved it!!! We have been wanting to eat here for a long time and just never did. Clay said the steak was fantastic and Christian agreed.
At the end of the weekend Clay gave Christian his purity ring. It is silver and has True Love Waits etched in it.

Here are some comments Christian made about his weekend:
"I thought it was going to be at first all about where we were going and what we were going to be doing. But as we were in the car I thought I was going to have to work and get bored very soon and that it would get old....but I actually enjoyed that part. I also loved just being with my dad. I love my ring and I wear it all the time."

We are so proud of Christian and the young man God is molding him into.

Cullen cannot wait for his weeknd with his dad. We told him it will be a couple years before he gets his turn but we are focusing on doing more "dates" with the boys one on one. Cullen and I went on a "date" Tuesday night and had a BLAST! We went and had sushi. I got a veggie roll and he had a Cruchy roll. He said it was the best he had had. After that we headed over to watch Ice Age and we both thought it was really good. I thought it was the best one so far. After Ice Age we went to Target and got in some shopping. We both got new PJs...we love PJs...and Cullen got some new shorts and shirts too. I so enjoyed my time with my little man and we must do it more often. Next week I hope to be going on a nice "date" with my oldest guy, Christian. It is due time. I will also be going on a date with my Man!! =D Cindy and Clint (Clay's brother and wife) will be coming over Tues or Weds to watch the kiddoes. We have been swapping out every week so one couple gets some time alone together. Clay and I have not made plans yet for our date but we'll enjoy the time together.


I really look forward to Clara's Purity Weekend. What a special time that we will spend together. I still have a few years yet before I have that honor!


I know.....long post...but I felt it was all very important. I pray that my kids will let God guide the way in their decision making as it makes life so much easier and a lot less painful!! God is great!!


I am going to throw in a food post too....(as if this post wasn't long enough). Last night we had a GREAT dinner. I knew Clay liked purplehull peas but I did not remember ever trying them. Since I am not a fan of black-eyed peas I figured purplehull or any pea for that matter was not going to be a friend of mine! I was WRONG!! I have shelled a few purplehulls in my life with my Grandma, Clara, in Oklahoma...but just did not remember trying them as a child. Well, last night was the first and it won't be the last. I made purplehulls, cucumber and carrot salad, vegan cornbread of course I threw in hot sauce and onion/garlic powder, and served this with sweet onion relish, fresh sliced tomatoes, and pickle-jalapeno-cherry fire relish. The cornbread was almost polished off and was finished by the kids for breakfast. It is a keeper recipe. I was worried I would not find a good substitute recipe that would be vegan and have a healthful benefit but I was wrong!! It is yummy, sweet, and cake like. We will definitely be making this meal a weekly occurance as long as I can buy purplehulls at the fresh veg/fruit stand. The relishes we got were great too...that sweet onion relish is something special!!! I bought the dressing to make the cucumber/carrot salad with and it is mmm, mmm good!! This was a hit with everyone (Cullen could do w/o the peas though...I'll let it slide as he likes most everything and is doing great with his healthy choices...LOL) and of couse as usual Clara ate it all up!!

We had tofu stir-fry tonight and we will be having that often too. I still have to find a firmer tofu but I like it in there. It is easy for the boys to pick out and Clay liked it. Clara, as usual, ate it and loved it, tofu and all!!

Okay....I will end this book now...more to come soon I hope!