Nurturing our boys

I have been wondering, as I watch my son grow, what does "normal boyhood" look like? What is acceptable? How should he act? Del Tackett addresses these questions and more on the latest "Cross Examine" episode. If you are raising a little (or not so little) boy you need to watch this!

Singing scripture

The idea of worship is supposed to include all that we do in our lives, doing it for the Glory of God. But there is also the worship where we sing and praise God with our voices. Did you know that could include memorizing scripture? How about with your kids?

I have been trying to find ways I can include my own kids in the worship part of my life. The singing kind. Now, we don't have to be fabulous singers to take part in this. I think it is most important that we do learn how to have a song of joy in our hearts. And if we do it should come out naturally throughout our day. What a powerful thing it could be if at random times our kids hear us singing praises to the Lord. They too might just adopt the same attitude throughout their day. Now imagine how much better it could be if we add scripture to those songs!

I have found recently some of that very kind of music. The kind your kids will gravitate towards as well as the kind you will want to sing along with. It's catchy, has good melodies and will at times, move your heart.

The first is Scripture Lullabies. This is the music that will soothe your child and touch your soul. It is truely beautiful music. I have downloaded one free song and am planning to buy the rest of the album. A must have!

Then there is Walking with the Wise by Sovereign Grace Ministries. This is so far one of my favorites. Full of fun and energy.  Especially the song W-I-S-D-O-M! You won't be able to get it out of your head. (And you won't want to!)  Sovereign Grace Ministries has many other great cd's that I have sampled, both for kids and adults.

Seeds Family Worship is the one I stumbled upon most recently. This one sounds like a lot of fun as well. It has the bible verse and it's reference woven into the song. There are several themed cd's available   like Seeds of... Character, Courage, Purpose and Encouragement. The story behind how this music ministry started in pretty cool too.

So whether you sing along or just listen to these while you are at home with your kids, it really doesn't matter. You will be learning the word of God and impressing His words upon your children's hearts. That IS something to sing about!

Preparing for Lent

It is amazing how we can get so far away from where we want to be... where we need to be. I have wanted to incorporate the event of Lent into my life for many years, but without a reminder or those around me participating I have completely forgotten to even find out more about it. Committed Catholics talk about it enough that I have also thought it is meant more for them than a born again Christian. I was wrong. And this year I am going to be a Lent participant. And if I am going to do it, then I want my children to take part as well. This should be interesting...
I have found a great resource that we can use to explain Lent to our children and help them choose what they might want to give up. Lent starts on March 9th this year, so you still have some time to get ready.
From a personal blog, simply stated- http://imby.net/easter/kids.html 
I'd love to hear what your family decides to give up and what your children learn from this experience!

This is worth it!

Oh my goodness! I just listened to an AWESOME podcast that I think you all should listen to. It's a Focus on the Family podcast with guest Lysa TerKeurst and it was so encouraging. We all need encouragement as moms, right? This woman is becoming a favorite of mine- so real and so walking with Jesus. You will be so glad you took the time to listen... okay, go NOW!

Celebrating God's Love

Clare Bloomfield

You've probably already mailed out your Valentines and bought your box of chocolates, but there is still time to make this Valentines Day meaningful for your children. These days with the help of the internet it is easier than ever to find ways to focus the meaning of Valentines Day on God's love instead of romantic love. What an awesome opportunity that gives us as moms. 


Here are some ideas you can use:
*list the fruits of the spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) on a tree with heart shaped apples
*make a banner of hearts and write out this verse: He has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love. Song of Songs 2:4
*look up verses on love and discover why God loves us... why we should love God... and how we should love others
*a simple paper chain out of red, pink and white paper could be used to list the names of those you want to show love to and how you plan to do it. Example: Grandma~help weed garden, Neighbor~bring in trash can
*make cookies or brownies and deliver them to your neighbors
* I like this idea too, we might just do that today!


There are sooo many ideas out there. You just have to search a little and improvise if you don't have exactly the same materials- newspaper and magazines work well too. Remember, it's God's word that we want to hide in our children's heart. Romantic love is great... when you are married! We want to first set the foundation of God's love in their hearts and allow that to be the focus of this special occasion. Happy Valentine's Day!

Giving HIM your heart

This is a new year. Time for reflection and time for new decisions. Time for a fresh start. Of course we can make these "new starts" any time of the year, but we often look to this holiday time to re-think who we are and how we live our lives. I think we all know that most often we ladies desire to "lose a few pounds" or "get more organized." But I think our heavenly father would ask us to go deeper- straight to the heart- and ask what "weight" can I shed here? What "trash" can I let go of, what "waste" do I need to clear out?

Let's make our new year's resolutions to be resolutions of the heart. Resolutions like: spending less time participating in fruitless activities, spending more time in the word and less on the computer (or reading God-less books), putting music that glorifies the Lord on my I-pod instead of last years Top 20. How about giving more of your time in service to others than to your own self? The list could go on. These are only the tip of the iceberg of what the Lord could be trying to say to you. He desires your heart. He desires your service. Let's do all that we can, even as we are tending to our families and little ones, to bring Him more honor and glory in 2011.

Advent at home

As we approach Christmas we all want to find simple ways to remind our kids what this time of celebration is really about. Here is an example of how you can do advent with your children at home starting now through Christmas!

This first idea was sent to me by a friend. It is a picture of a stable (that your child could color) and some additional pictures you cut out and tape onto the stable picture, one picture for each day of advent.
I then searched online and found this advent scripture reading list  that you can use along with the stable picture activity.

I also thought it would be easy to make a paper chain with the scripture references already printed on them. Then as you tear them down you can read the verses until Christmas day. If you google "free printable advent calendar for kids" you'll see there are a number of different ways to incorporate this meaningful tradition into your home. And I hope that you do!