Perfect Weaknesses - Courage to Continue to Change #4

If Christ's "power is made perfect in my weaknesses" (II Corinthians 12: 8-10), then He has lots of opportunity to show His perfection through me.

Instead of being tempted to give up when faced with failure or weaknesses (ours and our children's), think of these times as opportunities to show Christ's strength.  Changing our perspective, can help us realize that we are silly to freak out about somethings, but should confront and be more concerned about others.

For example for my weaknesses:
1. Confront - Laziness and time-wasters such as too much TV. Only God can help me curb my appetite for mindless entertainment and addictive silly sitcoms. Maybe other moms will be inspired to change too, as I admit my weakness and desire to change in this area.
2. Don't Freak out (or be too Concerned) - Yes, at times I am an emotional woman. That is how God has made me. However, getting mad because I am upset for no real reason doesn't help things. I should seek God's strength to respond properly when only supernatural strength can help my hormonal attitudes.

Example for my kids weaknesses:
1. Confront - Dishonesty should not be tolerated. Our God is a God of Truth who answers our prayers for direction on how to discipline dishonesty.
2. Don't Freak out (or be too Concerned) - My daughter will probably grow out of her weird habit of putting her dirty feet on literally everything. I will try to remain calm as I clean the footprints off my walls again or as I wait for her to complete a task that takes three times as long to do with her toes.

"One of the devil's key strategies is to convince a Christian that God has no future for failures. The truth of the matter is, failure is sometimes the very experience that enables God to later use us and still get all the glory." - Jim White (Navigator staff member)

How can or has God been glorified in your weaknesses or failures?

Stop Reading this Right Now! - Courage to Continue to Change #3

I am the queen of overplanning and thus I am also the queen of becoming easily overwhelmed, putting things off, and easily giving up when things don't go according to my precise plans.

I keep telling myself that I will:

1. Do amazing character training activities with my kids right after I make perfect lesson plans for each day of the summer that include all of the possible elements that anyone could ever want.

2. Pray and read the Bible with my kids consistently every night right after I find the perfect Bible devotion book and make cute prayer cards and corresponding questions for nightly study.
3. Do number one and two right after I get my to-do list done, house cleaned, de-cluttered, and reorganized and begin following my amazing cooking and cleaning checklists and schedule.

Do you see the flaw in my over planning, and putting off things until I have all my ducks in a row?

My darn ducks are never going to be all in a row!
I am never going to get all of this done especially if I am just sitting in front of this computer blogging.

So here is what I am going to do:
1. I am going turn off this computer and the list in my brain that is continually reminding me of all the things I am never going to get done. 
2. I am going to get down on my knees for a few moments and seek God's guidance for:
    a. What he would like for me to do as special time with my kids right now, and
    b. then where he would like for me to begin to glorify him in my other daily tasks.

Let me also encourage you not to wait for those darn ducks!
1. Stop reading this right now!
2. Turn off your computer and seek God for what He wants you to do to glorify Him in your home and grow closer to your children right now!

My Native American Name is...... - Courage to Continue to Change #2

     My husband encourages creativity with my girls by coming up with random dinner table conversation. One evening, a couple of years back, he suggested that we make up Native American names for ourselves.

Summer decided that since her favorite color at the time was red and she liked flowers her name would be "Redflower".

Kyah was still too little to talk at the time, but her name means diamond in the sky, and she truly does brighten our home, so we dubbed her "Shining Star".

Well, I am way too particular and not as clever as my husband, so he decided to help me since I was having trouble thinking of a name for myself.  To tease me and give the girls a good laugh, Micah decided my name should be, "Screaming Bear"!  The girls loved this one, and I have to admit it was pretty funny. We laughed for awhile over this one, and all enjoying doing our own impressions of a screaming bear.

Sadly, the reason the name "Screaming Bear" was so funny was because it actually did describe this Mama Bear pretty well, and still does at times. However, I can gladly say that I don't scream as much as I used to. I still have lots of room for more improvement, but I am headed in the right direction.

In order to keep my temper in check I have to remind myself to:
1. Keep things in perspective.
2. Remove myself fom a situation and cool off at times.
3. Seek God's help through prayer and Scriptures such as, "...be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger" - James 1:19

I am glad this name for me was just a joke and did not stick.  Make up positive Native American names for your family, and just think about what your kids or husbands might say would be one of your main weaknesses. How can you strive to overcome this weaknesses?

Wonder or Blunder Mom? - Courage to Continue to Change #1

I have always been a Wonder Woman fan. I still have the thermos and two vintage t-shirts to prove it. I like to wear these when I play on my volleyball league.  For some reason they make me feel like I can move faster and jump higher.

I enjoy thinking of myself as a strong, courageous, and beautiful woman just like Wonder Woman, but just because I like to wear wide metal bracelets and I have long jet black hair this does not make me a strong and courageous "Wonder Mom."

To be truthful, I feel like "Blunder Mom" way more than I feel like "Wonder Mom". The good news is that a "Blunder Mom" can be strong, courageous, and beautiful as well. I can still shows strength and courage by:
1. A - admitting that I make mistakes
          and asking for forgiveness
3. B - brushing off the past hurt -
        learning from my mistakes and moving on
4. C - continuing to try to again to become
          a better wife and mom.

This week I am going to share how we can learn from admitting our mistakes and move on. Do you have any mistakes you would like to admit you learned from?
Hopefully we can learn from each other's mistakes. 

Super Hero Courage - Courage #6

Well, I can't do a series on courage without talking about super heroes.  Pick one or two of these courageous Bible heroes to talk about this weekend, and then do some of the fun super hero activities from one of my very favorite bloggers below.

Heroes of Faith—Hebrews 11
Apostles—Acts 5:12-42 & 16:9-40

                                                Joshua & Caleb—Num.14:6-12
                                                     David—I Samuel 17:32-50
                          Esther—Esther 4–7
                                              Daniel and Friends—Dan. 3 & 6

I would be wasting my time if I came up with a bunch of my own activities for super heroes when Amanda at impressyourkids.org has already put together an amazing link party with multiple fun ideas. If you haven't been to Amanda's blog before, you are in for a real treat!

Here is just the beginning.
Go to http://impressyourkids.org/how-to-be-a-super-hero/ for more.

 

Our kids want to be super. And you know what? As a parent? I want my kids to be super, too. I want people, even adults to look up to my children because of their relationship with the Lord!
This Super Hero series is based on 1 Timothy 4:12,

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young,
but set an example for the believers,
in speech,
in life,
in love,
in faith and
in purity.

These activities will guide you and your children through exploring how to have SUPER speech, FANTASTIC conduct, to have INCREDIBLE love, LIGHTNING FAST faith and MAGNIFICENT purity.

Go to  http://impressyourkids.org/how-to-be-a-super-hero/  to see the rest of Amanda's blog and the great superhero activities.

I would love to hear about any superhero activities your kids like

or super bloggers like Amanda that you like.

A Lesson on Lions - Courage #5

craft from giggleberrycreations.blogspot.com

Do some fun lion activities to get your kids talking about how a lion is courageous, and how we could be courageous too.
1. Read Prov.28:1- "...the righteous are bold as a lion."
2. Visit a lion at the zoo.
3. Daniel in the Lion's Den story
    a. Read Daniel 6 from the Bible or just tell the story
    b. Watch one of the many Daniel and the Lions Den cartoons on youtube
4. Do this simple lion craft pictured here made from just a paper plate, noodles, googly eyes, and a marker.
5. Watch this silly skit about homophones from the educational TV show "Between the Lions"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3prL9EHifw0
6. Watch this cartoon of  Aesop's Fables "Androcles and the Lion"
http://www.storiestogrowby.com/stories/androcles_frame.html
7. Play Lion and Lambs - this is just tag except the lion is "it" and the lambs all run away. Of course you could just all just pretend you are lions. The most simple ideas seems to almost always be my kids favorite.

Have fun with your little lions.
Do you have any lion ideas or any other great ideas about teaching courage?

What are You Afraid of? - Courage #4

I am unecessarily afraid of many things.
Often our daily fears are as silly as my first real fear. I am afraid of sharks. Fear is usually caused by Satan's lies. All we need to do is remind ourselves of the truth.
Example:
Lie - I am in danger of being bitten by a shark.
Truth - I am not in danger since the nearest beach is about eleven hours away.


Below is just the beginning of my list of fears. Make one for yourself and/or talk to your kids about their fears.  Then find some of God's truths to combat your fears. I have listed some courageous verses at the end to help you get started.

I am afraid of:                               See photo of my view above vs. God's view below.

What people think of me
My children's and husband's safety
failure (mine and my children) 
getting old
being left out

God's comforting truth:

1.Joshua 1: 7 & 9 - "....Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

2. Psalm 34:4 - "I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears."

3. Psalm 56:4 -"...In God I put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?"

4. Isaiah 41:10 - "Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, surely I will help you.  Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."

5. II Tim. 1: 7&8 "For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and of love and discipline (sound mind)..."

6. I Peter 5:7 -"Cast all your anxiety on him because He cares for you."

7. I John 4:4 - "Greater is He that is in you, than He that is in the world."

What are you afraid of? How do you combat your fear?

"So long Status Quo" - Courage #3

BRAVE  - by Nichole Nordeman

The lyrics to this song by Nicole Nordeman are inspiring and convicting.  If we aren't doing anything in our lives that requires bravery, then are we really living the abundant life?  Ask yourself if you are taking the easy road and blending in with the crowd, or following Christ wholeheartedly? He makes me want to be brave!

Wanting to be brave and being brave are two different things. Next week we are going to talk about some heroes who overcome their fears and how we can to.

Until then, watch this "Brave" video. It will jumpstart your day and your weekend.
Put this on as background music this weekend and see if your family says anything about it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqSs39C3LN8

I would love to hear about your fears, how you have bravely overcome them, and anything or anyone that inspires you to have courage. Have a great weekend!

Witness with Wordless Playdo - Courage #2



http://www.hsprintables.com/wordlessbook.html

http://www.hsprintables.com/wordlessbook.html

I asked myself what do I need courage for most in my daily life?

Answer:
Telling others about Jesus' love. 

So I tried to think of a fun and simple way to help my kids have courage to tell others that Jesus loves them whether that be a neighbor, classmate, or any other friend.

The wordless book came to mind. Yet I wanted to be able to give our friends not just a few colored pieces of paper, but something they would really want.

I believe God gave me the idea of Playdo. What kid doesn't like playdo and how easy to give them playdo in the same colors as the wordless book.

My idea is to invite a friend over for a playdate.  After everyone starts feeling comfortable with each other, present them with your present of colored playdo and the color by number sheet about Jesus' love, and maybe a heart cookie cutter.  Then let the kids play with playdo (have your own set so they don't have to open their nice new playdo) and have your child explain to the other child about the different colors and why we wanted to give them a present - to share with them that Jesus loves them.

Here is a short version of what the colors stand for:

Gold - reminds us of Heaven  - John 3:16
Black - reminds us of sin (anything that displeases God keeps us from going to heaven) - Romans 3:23
Red - reminds us of Jesus' blood took the punishment for our sin- I Corinthians 15:1-4
White - reminds us how to get a clean heart - John 1:12
(A- Admit that you are a sinner
  B - Believe that Christ died for your sins
  C -Call on Jesus to forgive you so you can be saved.)
Green - reminds us to grow to know Jesus more and more through
   the Bible, prayer, church, and telling others

I hope to try this out this week.  I would love to hear how your experience went if you try this!
Do you have any fun and simple ways to help your kids have courage to share Christ with others?

The Basics for Right and Wrong? - Courage #1

It is getting harder and harder to stand up for what is right in a society that is trying to convince us that there are no moral absolutes. The irony is that the only thing that our universities teach as absolute truth is that there is absolutely no absolute truth.

We must courageously continue to teach our children God's truth and teach them to courageously stand alone for what the Bible says is right in a society that is training young people that it is right for them to do whatever feels right to them.

So how do we teach our kids what is right and what is wrong? Start with the basics - The Ten Commandments - which are summarized beautifully in Mark12:28-34

"'Which commandment is the most important of all?'"Jesus answered,'...you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'you shall love your neighbor as yourself...'"

See my Pinterest Pages for some simple Courage activities and Ten Commandments Crafts.

I would love to hear about any ideas you had for teaching your kids about absolute truth.

Free Download - Shining (not Whining) for Jesus in July

My very favorite verse for teaching about shining (and not whining) for Jesus in July is Philippians 2:14-16.

"Do all things without grumbling or complaining, that you may be blameless and pure children of God in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life..."
See this free download for:
    1. Three pages of fun and simple activities for teaching Courage and
    2. 4th of July ideas from Pintentional Parenting Page for
courageously shining for Jesus in July.

I would love to hear about your shining celebrations!

Shine Like a Diamond! - Fourth of July Finale



Made by Jonathon Ogden
for Typographic Verses

Happy 4th of July! 

As Americans we are very blessed to have great freedoms. However, with freedom comes responsibility.  Freedom only works in a society if it is accompanied with self-government or self-control. Talk to your kids about how the less self-control a person has the more laws and rules are necessary.

As Christians we also have freedom. Galatians 5:13&14 says, "For you were called to freedom, brother. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.  for the whole law is fulfilled in one word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"

When we use our freedom as an opportunity to use self-control and show love to others, we are shining for Jesus as bright as a diamond!

So this 4th of July,
1. Thank God and our founding father's for our liberty (freedom to do what is right) as an Americans.
2. Pray that good men and women will continue to fight for our liberties.
3. Thank God also for our freedom as a Christians,
4. And Shine for Jesus by loving your neighbor as yourself and teaching your kids to do the same.

Thank you Lord that we are free to shine for You this 4th of July!
Have fun celebrating your freedoms!

Star Jar - 4th of July Fun #4

I think all kids want to be shining stars!

One of my favorite verse for teaching about shining for Jesus is:
"Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven." - Matt. 5:16

This star jar is one of my favorite crafts for teaching about shining for Jesus (from stylist.com):

Supplies: glass jar, star stickers (we just cut stars and letters out of duct tape), spray paint, votive

Directions:
1. Apply stickers (or duct tape cut into shapes) to jar.
2. Spray paint and let dry thoroughly
3. Remove stickers
4. Watch your little stars face light up.
(This is my shining star, Kyah.  We talk about stars often because Kyah means diamond in the sky).
What are your favorite ways to teach about shining for Jesus?