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!

Narrowing The Path

It's been a while since I have posted anything on this blog. Our family has been busy "getting back into the swing of things" as we attempt to bring structure and routine to the day. Homeschooling two children this year is proving to be as time consuming as I thought and yet I see the beauty of God's hand in it all... the struggles, the joys, the relational building that is occurring and the failures. I am so thankful for these four precious lives God has placed in Steve's and my hands to care for and nurture. It has caused me to think of our priorities, my priorities, and share these thoughts with you.

I began to think of the "new school year" as I prepared the little "school room" we have in our downstairs family area last summer. It's not much, but it has been fun to add a school desk and bulletin boards, a place to put all our supplies and post the artwork that is made. I cleared the walls to begin fresh and moved a few pieces of furniture around trying new arrangements. I didn't make any major changes, only minor ones. I began to go over the curriculum we'd be using and putting together the supplies I would need. At times I felt overwhelmed and even wondered if this was just too much to tackle with two smaller children in the house as well.

It was at that moment that I remembered to assess my priorities. Well, I'm sure it was the Holy Spirit giving me a nudge, so I stopped preparing and just sat in the little school room for a minute. I asked Jesus to guide me each day in what he wanted from me to invest in my children. I asked him to strip away the things that were worthless, material, shallow, selfish and deceptively "good." I asked him to put my feet on the "ancient path... to walk where the good way is." (Jer. 6:16) I knew that meant doing things very differently than the world, than those around me. But I knew it was crucial to my children's understanding in who God is and deciding whether or not they would want to follow him.

For my husband and I it is not as important whether our kids "fit in" or are popular with their peers. We don't mind if they don't know what all the other kids are talking about when it comes to t.v. shows and characters, musical stars or the latest must have collectible toy. We know that the "ancient path" we are choosing will distance them from others, but we believe God's word when it says "narrow the road that leads to life." (Matthew 7:14) We believe that preparing our children's hearts for eternal salvation far outweighs the commitments we as parents often feel our children need to be involved in. We trust that as God shows us this unexpected path that he is doing so for our good. It might not be the easiest, the most convenient or the most comfortable, but we are keeping our feet in the race and our eyes on the prize. We are looking toward the day when we will meet him face to face and account for every decision we made as we trained up our children.

It causes me to wonder... as we live our lives in this lost world, how have we been misguided? How have we been pulled in and pressured to blend in. If we could take just one step back what would we be stepping away from? What "important in the world's eyes" commitment or habit or lifestyle choice would we be most relieved to step out of? Or maybe you don't think you'd be relieved... maybe it would feel like a loss to step back. But maybe that loss would open up a new space for the Lord to fill. A space to allow you to push further into knowing Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. A space that would allow you to further walk the ancient path with your children, guiding them and teaching them in His ways, not the world's.

I want to challenge you as I further challenge myself. Steve and I are both laying down things that the world and sin has imprisoned us with. Old habits can be hard to break, but with the Holy Spirit's help we are to be full of "power, love and self-discipline." (2 Tim 2:17) "Living in the world, not of the world" can sometimes become blurred to a very dangerously comfortable level and without us really noticing. Our priorities, however, can be very revealing. Take some time today and ask the Lord how He wants you to prioritize your family time and re-evaluate the choices you are allowing to influence your children's lives. Let's all encourage one another to take a step back from the world and one step closer to the cross.

Are you believing a lie?

We are so excited to announce our study for Fall 2010. We have chosen to go through another counter cultural book, this time by author Nancy Leigh DeMoss. It is titled, "Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free." There is a companion study guide that is optional for you to purchase on your own, but as a group we will only be ordering the book itself. Together we will look at scripture and the questions Nancy challenges us with as Loretta leads us through the book. We hope that you will come join us in discovering these lies and how we can transform our thinking based on God's Word. Whether you have been a part of a bible study before or not, whether you are an Eastridge attender or neighbor in the community we welcome you in our time together and hope to encourage you as you grow in your faith.

A new look!

Have you noticed? Something is different around here! I thought it was time to update the look of our meeting place here in blog land. What do you think? All the information is the same and is in the same place so don't let the new look confuse you.

I hope we will continue to use this as an additional way to connect and encourage one another. Remember that we can share recipes, prayer requests and other information related to moms here on this blog. All you have to do is email me and I will put it on here for everyone to read. It's that simple. I received an email just this week with some fun popsicle recipes that I thought I would post. (Thanks Jenn!)

I pray everyone has a fun and safe summer. I'd love to see you at the Tuesday playgroups we will be having at different host homes around the area as well as the Friday ParkDays we have at various parks. Both are great ways to connect with other moms and allow your kids time to run off some energy. It's all free and you can come and go when you need to. So please stop by!

And, if the sun ever decides to come out and stay try these tasty popsicles!

Purple Cow
Whisk 1 cup milk with 3/4 cup grape juice, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup lemon juice.

Quick Berry Pop
Puree in blender 3 1/4 cups fresh or unsweetened thawed frozen strawberries with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water.

Banana Pop
Puree in blender 1 1/4 cups orange juice and 1 cut-up large banana.

Cafe au Lait
Boil 1 cup water, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp instant coffee for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup half-and-half.

Creamy Peanut Butter Pop
Boil 1/2 cup water and 1/4 cup sugar for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup peanut butter, then 1 cup milk.

Pineapple Yogurt Pop
Whisk smooth 1 cup vanilla yogurt, 1 cup pineapple juice, and 1 tsp sugar.