Olympics Splink! - Welcome Wednesday

I wanted to share this great resource as well as these great ideas about learning faithfulness through the olympics with you. Don't miss the website at the end with stories about God-glorifying athletes.

Splink is a great family fun resource from D6 (Deuteronomy 6) Ministries. I would highly recommend signing up for this free weekly           service at d6family.com

August 5 - 11 Faithfulness

Finishing Well Pick a job or chore the whole family can do together; one you may have been putting off all summer (clean garage, organize family room, clean a closet and get rid of clothes that don't fit, wash the deck, etc.). Work together until the job is done and then reward yourselves. Go out for lunch or for ice cream, go on a picnic, play mini-golf; do whatever your family enjoys. Talk about it: How do you feel now that the big job is completed? How did you feel while we were still working? Why is it important to keep going, to stay with a job until it is done? (It will never get finished if we quit; it feels good to be faithful even if it is not easy, etc.) Why is it important to stay faithful to God? (He deserves our best, He is faithful to us, it feels good to know that we are pleasing Him, He will reward us someday, etc.) Staying the Course Invite the neighbor kids or friends to have an Olympics celebration. Play some of the following games: Discus throw--–see how far you can throw a paper plate or Frisbee Trike race—line up at a starting point and see who can cross the finish line first Races—three legged, egg and spoon, relay races, etc. High jump or long jump Javelin throw—with pool noodles Hit the ball—put a tennis ball in the toe of a sock or pair of tights, attach it to a kid's belt or waist and run a relay to see how quickly the team can make the ball in a sock swing (without using hands) to hit a second ball toward the finish line Hockey—choose two teams and try to be the first team to hit the potato with the hockey stick to a designated point and back Swimming activities if a pool is available   Don't forget to make or buy some medals. Make a winner's grandstand and give out the medals. A healthy snack idea: make barbells by sticking grapes (if you have older kids) or marshmallows on each end of pretzel sticks. Have plenty of water or juice on hand. In order to win, one has to stay the course—stay faithful. One cannot win by quitting. Cheer each other on to stay with it! A Medal of Worth Watch the Olympic events together, and talk about athletes that are faithful to God. Share the stories of some of the Christian athletes. Look for more stories at http://beyondtheultimate.org Sanya Richards-Ross, a Christian athlete who may be the fastest female runner in the world, is representing the United States for a second time in the 2012 Olympics. Sanya became a Christian when she was 12 years old. She desires to be faithful to God and she recently committed to reading through the entire Bible. One verse she says frequently to herself is, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). She says that her faith encourages her to give her best. She says, "I know that my talent is God's gift to me, and how I use it is my gift to Him." Ask: What do you think athletes need to do to compete in the Olympics? (Talent, work hard, and to stick with it even when they don't feel like it) Many Olympic athletes practice all day every day so they will be ready to compete. They give their best to win a medal. Read 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. Why do athletes run or compete? (To get a prize that will eventually fade away) What qualities do athletes need to win? (Self-control, determination, willingness to practice and work hard, etc.) What do we need as we live for Jesus? (Self-control, determination to do what is right, faithfulness to follow Him, etc.) Paul says we should run the Christian life with the same determination and self-control an athlete has when he or she competes for a medal that fades away. We will receive a reward from God some day if we are faithful to do what He has asked us to do.

Listen to Your Juggling Coach

(Day 6 continuation on Faithful Follow Through)
 Step 5: Have more Faith in Christ   
       As a mom, I am always juggling. I don't know why I tend to be such a control freak about the things I am juggling - keeping them all to myself.  Especially, since I tend to drop things often and tire easily.  I need to replace my prideful faith in myself  (thinking that I know everything and that my way is the best and only way) with a humble faith in the best juggler of all time - Christ. He is my caring coach who helps me build strength and guides me to know which items to hand off to my partner, or to set spinning somewhere else.  He will even daily hold up my tired arms, spot me whenever necessary, and take care of all the things I drop.  Juggling is just like basketball or any other sport, in that if you want to work on your technique - follow through, hang time, etc.- you should always listen to your coach. To faithfuly follow through this year, I am going to need to have more faith in Christ my Coach. He really knows what He is talking about.
       If you get a minute this weekend, I would love to hear about the areas in which our Coach has been giving you tips and techniques.

Jolie, My #1 Commitment Today - Fun Friday

(Day 5 continuation on Faithful Follow Through)

Step 4 to faithfully following through:

    Commit to less Commitments. 

         Today is the perfect day to talk about this, because today is my daughter Jolie's birthday.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOLIE!  You are so full of joy, singing, creativity, fun, and love! We are going to have so much fun celebrating you today!
         When I over commit to things, I miss out on the really good things in life that are going on with Jolie and the rest of my family.  My kids can't halt their growing while I get everything checked off my to do list.  My husband and God are both amazingly patient, but their lives continue to pass on, while I am distracted and neglectful. There are ministry opportunities all around me that I am oblivious to when I am overwhelmed and overscheduled.
          One of the easiest ways to keep my priorities in order and follow through with what I commit to, is by making fewer and wiser commitments.  I generally over-commit, and it is usually for all the wrong reasons like guilt, keeping up appearances, poor planning, pride, selfishness, lacking the courage to just say "no", etc.  I need to seek God's direction, and use self-control, the next time I am thinking about adding something else to my calendar that needs to stay free for all the fun birthday party planning, laundry, fort making, diaper changing, church activities, storytimes, dinners, date nights, cleaning, talking time, games, and all the other fun random needs of all the people that I touch daily.
         Join with me in committing to: committing less.  I would love to hear your ideas on this topic.

No More Excuses - Teaching Tuesdays

(Day 2 continuation on Faithful Follow Through)

Step 2 to Faithful Follow Through: No more Making Excuses.

       There is a reason why my children obey my husband right away, and obey me sporadically. They know he means what he says when he asks them to do one task, and he will stand there and respond to their immediate obedience or disobedience with praise or punishment - no excuses. I on the other hand am always making excuses for everything - their behavior and my lack of discipline. "They would have obeyed right away if they weren't so hungry, tired, etc." "It is okay that I ate three brownies, because I am going to exercise tomorrow." "Well, I know that I told the kids they couldn't watch anymore TV if there room wasn't clean, but then my mom dropped by and needed to talk about something important, and I needed to distract them with something just for a few moments." The problem with this logic, is there is alway some kind of "extenuating circumstance" in all of life. Do I really want to teach my kids to make excuses for themselves or their misbehavior?
         When we make excuses, our commands become empty threats, and we teach our kids that mom does not really mean what she says. Instead, I should be focusing on reinforcing first time obedience. Don't miss tomorrows wise words about first-time obedience from one of my favorite authors.

Faithful Follow Through - Mom Mondays

          Happy New Year, Moms! I am really great at coming up with New Year's resolutions and even making great plans to achieve these goals. However, I am not great at following through with these plans. This year I resolve to be more resolute - not just in my resolutions, but in all I say and do! In other words, I am going to work on faithfully following through.
          Just like in basketball where you have to learn and follow several steps in order to make a goal (eyes on the goal, elbow in, follow through, etc.) our daily goals are no different. There are a few things I will have to work at in order to accomplish being better at my goal of being more faithful.
           Step 1: Stop talking so much. The easiest way to mean what I say and only say what I mean is to stop talking so much. As a typical woman, this is no easy task, but I am going to work on thinking more before I speak. This may mean, I have to pause for a moment before I respond to others, or this may even mean not answering the telephone every time it rings. Better yet, I will just turn my phone off every once in awhile, since I am sure that the sound of a telephone ringing triggers some kind of temporary crazy response in my children's brains.
          Come back tomorrow for step two (about no excuses), and in the meantime, I would love to hear about your New Year's Resolutions.