Archive | building the family RSS feed for this section

Training Little Disciples – A Work of Grace & Patience

By on July 23, 2010 in building the family, faith & womanhood

“But you, O Lord, are compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” - Psalms 86:15

I have two little disciples – one sweet boy and one sweet girl. They have been specially assigned to me. I’m training little hearts today through my every word and deed. Daily I struggle to instruct, nurture, and guide my little disciples with grace and patience. But these little eyes are watching me. How easy it is for me to erupt in frustration when I must repeat a command after multiple attempts, and my own laziness delays a prompt response. These are the moments I must stop, step back, and remember, these are my disciples. This is my assignment: train these little disciples to love and follow Jesus. Can they see Jesus in me?

Jesus is our example. His twelve disciples continually had so little faith in His power, they fought over positions of glory, before abandoning Him altogether in the garden at His deepest hour of need. And yet, Jesus patiently loved, taught, confronted, and exhorted them. He gave three years of unceasing devotion to equip them in turn to go forth and make disciples. Our little disciples are watching us – they need patient instruction even if it has to be repeated on multiple occasions and locations. The same was true of Jesus. He faithfully planted the seeds which in due time following His accession into heaven, it bore much beautiful fruit for the Kingdom.

Patience and humility go hand in hand. The reason I loose my temper is tied to pride. It is when I feel I need to be in control, or things do not go the way I plan or prefer, that my children don’t behave. Confess your weakness and be open and honest before the Lord in repenting it. Fruit is born when we stop and acknowledge our short comings and apologize before our children. That is when they are attracted to such grace and humility in Jesus.

Never cease praying for patience and grace. Pray daily! Pray at the start of each day that God would supply you with divine grace and patience in your mothering. He is faithful to answer and equip you for the task. God gives such supernatural strength to those who ask.

Stop dwelling on the “tough” portions of your day and focus on the beauty around you. Look at the sweet gifts around you and the little blessings that took place during your day. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord! It does wonders to our spirits.

I deserve the wrath of God because of my sin, and yet God extended such patience and forgiveness again and again. Likewise, can I not extend mercy and patience when such love has been lavished on me?

It is said of the Proverbs 31 woman, “When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness (Prov 31:26)”. Is kind speech flowing from my tongue today?

I’m training little hearts today, through my every word and deed.
May they see Christ in me, and by grace be understood.

I can rejoice today because training these little disciples is all apart of that greater beautiful picture of God’s divine grace, pruning, and refining in my heart – equipping me each day to be a better mother tomorrow.

Meditate further: Proverbs 14:29; Ephesians 4:26-27, 31; James 1:19-20; Galatians 5:22; Romans 15:5

Comments { 27 }

Developing a Family Mission Statement

By on July 16, 2010 in building the family

“Every decision we make is ultimately governed by some kind of interest or goal or objective or value or principle, whether we know it or not. A Family Mission Statement is an effort to bring to an explicit level what your goals and values are so that people are on the same page.” – Stephen Covey

Proverbs 29:18 states, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keeps the law, happy is he,” which has always challenged me in the importance of casting a vision and mission for our family. Without vision and direction, we could easily wander aimlessly through life and waste precious hours and moments that could be invested in the things of the Lord. We can get easily distracted in the superficial issues and lose sight of the greater purpose. I am often such a person, desiring great things in my heart, but never practically writing this out on paper and making a purposeful plan to review it regularly.

A mission statement is not something that is developed overnight, but it is invaluable frame of reference to use in making the everyday decisions in addition to the long term goals and plans. It is the inspiration that can encourage you when you have a challenging day. It can help refocus your family when you get off course. It answers the question: where are we going as a family? Where are we gifted that we could facilitate greater service to one another and the world around us? How can we purposefully accomplish that?

Where to Begin?

I encourage you to read 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families by Stephen Covey as an excellent source of inspiration and purpose for beginning this assignment. Here is the steps we took to develop our family mission. Make sure to make this a family affair, if possible, or if your children are young, you and your spouse. We will be far more effective if we seek to work together as co-labors in the mission God has assigned us.

1. Pray

Developing a mission statement cannot be completed without prayer. Spend as much time as necessary on this step, just seeking the Lord as to the direction he would desire for your family to take. Spend several days in preparation in this manner. We spent several weeks praying and thinking about the questions below individually before coming together to discuss it.

2. Ask Questions

Sit down together with your spouse and family and evaluate your passions and desires with these questions. Take lots of notes.

  • Where are we going as a family?
  • What are our priorities?
  • What are our strengths, gifting, talents?
  • What is the main purpose of our home?
  • What are practical ways we can serve each other?
  • What are practical ways we can serve others outside our family?
  • Name three things you think you could do better as a family.
  • What would people say today about our family as a whole?
  • What would we like people to say about our family as a whole in 30 years?
  • If our home could be filled with one emotion, what would it be?
  • How do you want to build relationships in your family?
  • Name three adjectives we would like people to use to describe our home environment.
  • If we could name one principle from which we want our family to operate, what would it be?
  • What characteristics do we want our children to have as they grow up? What do we want them to be skilled in?

For further questions to evaluate, check out Simple Mom & Family Cornerstone list.

Make note of any quotes or verses that stand out to you. Consider how you might incorporate these as well.

3. Narrow it Down

After evaluating the above questions, we narrowed our list down to our top ten priorities. Here is the list we compiled for our family based upon evaluating the questions above and our priorities:

God must come first (“Unless the Lord builds the house the workers labor in vain”)
Proactively seek to confess sins, love, and be quick to forgive each other
Kind and not ashamed to show affection with one another
Mission minded – joyfully serving the Lord together
Living simply in order to give generously
Love for learning
Good stewards
Hospitable (caring)
Using gifts for the kingdom (computer programming, writing, teaching, music, etc.)
Grateful

4. Write Your Statement

Then we took those priorities and goals and compiled it into a mission statement. Our statement is still in process, but this was our first draft. I seek your help and accountability in sharing this. We do this not for our own sakes for the greater purpose of God’s glory:

We will keep Christ at the center of our home.
We are committed to each other and will proactively practice humility, forgiveness, unconditional love, and share affection and encouragement with each other.
We are committed to living a missional lifestyle by living simply, giving generously, demonstrating hospitality, and cultivating gifts within each member of the family that can be used to further the Kingdom of God.
We will be good stewards of the earth that God has entrusted to our care.
Our home will be a place where grateful hearts abide and where a love for learning is always nurtured and encouraged.
We are raising our children as disciples that love to learn, give, work, serve, and in turn send them out to share Gods love with the world.

Ours is more lengthy at this point than it needs to be. Our short purpose statement has always been: living simply in order to give generously (read more about this passion in my original series Our Journey to Simple Living). Yours can be as short or as long as you desire. Stephen Covey’s family statement is as follows:

To create a nurturing place of faith, order, truth, love, happiness and relaxation and to provide opportunity for every person to become responsibly independent and effectively inter-dependent in order to serve worthy purposes in society through understanding and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

5. Create Action Statements

With each priority listed, develop one or more action steps to complete over the next six months, year, or as you see fits best with your family. For us, we had to ask: how will we keep Christ the center of our home? By having regular family devotions, praying together at meals and the beginning of the day, and evaluating everything we do in our home to make sure Christ is honored. We will live missionally by reaching out in hospitality twice a month, welcoming new neighbors into our community, etc. By making action statements, you will be actively making steps towards the fulfillment of your goals in your home.

6. Set a Plan for Review and Evaluation

Mission statements will not go far without purposing to review them and evaluate your progress. Make a plan for this. Set up reminders on your computer to review it. We plan to review on a yearly basis when we do our year end evaluation, but also when we get away on vacation throughout the year.

With each and every thing we consider adopting or committing to as a family, we need to ask: what has this to do with that? Asking this in light of our mission statement and the glory of God.

7. Pray Again and Never Stop

Finally, dedicate it to the Lord. Commit your mission to Him and trust that He will guide you in the fulfillment of it. Do not trust on your own strength, but in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths (Prov. 3:5).

Since beginning the process of developing our family mission statement, it has provided such clarity and direction to our daily lives. We know what our purpose is and we our passionately working together to accomplish it. By God’s strength, we want to be laborers in the extension of His Kingdom!

For further inspiration: The Benefits of Having A Family Mission Statement by Stephen Covey

God bless your efforts to live purposefully for His glory!

Comments { 19 }

How To Prepare The Day For Our Children

By on July 12, 2010 in building the family


Photo Credit

This post is written by Passionate Homemaking’s monthly contributor, Kat.

Preparations

We set out their clothes, make their breakfast, and tidy the house so that our children can start the day off well.

But there is an even more important preparation we need to make before the day begins.

We need to prepare the day for them. To pave the way in prayer. To prepare our hearts and attitudes to welcome them to a day full of potential.

They take their cues from us. If we wake up late and grumpy, there’s a good chance they’ll be grumpy. If we greet them with a smile and hope for the day, there’s a good chance they’ll be hopeful and happy too.

We don’t need to wake up 2 hours early. 5 minutes will do wonders. Just a focused window of prayer, thanksgiving and a little “pep talk” from the Coach before the “game” begins.

I love to meet the day before sunrise (or kid-rise or husband-rise). In the early morning, It’s a truly blank canvas. The day laid out in all it’s vastness – full of possibility.

3 Steps For Preparing The Day For Your Family

1. Start With A Grateful Heart
I’m not always chipper in the morning. I don’t always feel like praying. It’s amazing how much my attitude changes after just a minute of thanking the Lord for all the wonderful blessings He’s given me.

2. Focused Prayer for Each Person
I use this calendar to pray for my husband and this calendar to pray for my children. In the fog of the early morning or the rush of a late morning, they give me direction and focus as I pray for my family.

3. Worship
One of my favorite songs to listen to in the morning is by Christy Nockels and it’s called Invade. I’m pretty sure Christy could sing Father Abraham 128,897,979 times in a row and I think I’d soak in every single repetitive note. She has such a gorgeous voice. Combine that voice with these amazing lyrics and that makes for a wonderful morning anthem.

Jesus, come and walk the halls of this house
Tread this place and turn it inside out
With Your mercy…
Jesus, teach us the prayers that open these doors
Until Your light floods in and illuminates these floors
And let Your truth be on our steps and in these rooms
Jesus invade…

Welcoming Our Children to Today

What an honor we have as moms to greet our children with all the hope of a fresh, brand new day.

Today could be one of the best days of our entire lives.

Today could be the day our patience overtakes our impatience – for good.

Today could be a day we make memories my children will laugh and talk about for 50 years.

Today could be a day God uses us to change someone’s life – forever.

Let’s take seriously our opportunity to prepare our children for the wonders of Today.

Comments { 61 }

Read Aloud: The Best Education

By on June 28, 2010 in building the family, learning at home

“You may have tangible wealth untold: Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold. Richer than I you can never be – I had a mother who read to me.”
-Strickland Gillian, ‘The Reading Mother”

Do you take those precious moments to read aloud to your children? Again and again perhaps? Did you know establishing this simple habit can greatly impact the future success of your children? What tender moments these are snuggling up with your kiddos.

I recently completed The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease and what a convicting read it was for me! His emphasis throughout the book is proving the point that reading aloud to your children throughout their childhood and teenage years can make the greatest impact on their education.

Story after story is told in this book detailing these successful students and they trace back their success to the consistency of their parents (both mother and father) in reading alot to their children, even for just 30 minutes each day, even well after they learned to read for themselves.

I recall night after night scaling the heights of many adventure stories with my daddy as a child. What treasured memories these were for us.

Why Read Aloud?

The Commission on Reading, performed a study in 1985, titled Becoming A Nation of Readers, which discovered that:

  • “The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to your children.”
  • “It is a practice that should continue throughout the grades.”

The experts discovered that reading aloud was more important than work sheets, homework, assessments, book reports, and flash cards. One of the cheapest, simplest, and oldest tools of teaching was being promoted as a better teaching tool than anything else in the home or classroom.

“The more you read, the more you know; and the more you know, the smarter you grow.”

Reading is the single most important social factor in American life today

Jim states: “A nation that doesn’t know much is more likely to make poor choices in the home, the marketplace, the jury box, and the voting booth. And those decisions ultimately affect the entire nation – the literate and the illiterate.”

Reading builds relationships in addition to increasing vocabulary

“Whenever an adult reads to a child, three important things are happening simultaneously and painlessly: 1) a pleasure connection is being made between child and book, 2) both parent and child are learning something from the book they’re sharing together (double learning), and 3) they adult pouring sounds and syllables called words in the child’s ear.”

The speaking vocabulary, reading vocabulary and writing vocabulary – all have their origins in the listening vocabulary.

Some important points that stood out to me:

Encourage the daddies to read to their children.

A study conducted in Modesto, California, showed that boys who were read to by their fathers scored significantly higher in reading achievement, and when fathers read recreationally, their sons read more and scored higher than did boys whose fathers did little or no recreational reading. Fathers have a great influence on their children and what an opportunity to invest in their lives.

Lead by example – become a reader.

Our children are like little sponges, soaking up the values of their parents while they sit in living rooms, kitchens, and cars. The more the parents read, the more your children will read. The more we talk about what we read, the more our children will be intrigued as well. Place books, magazines, and newspapers, all over your home. Saturate your home with books. Find snippets of time to read personally while you wait, in the bathroom, before bed, and watch your children’s interest grow. When reading is our hobby, it may very well become their hobby.

Fill your home with a wide range of reading materials.

Surrounding our children with a wide variety of reading materials – books, newspapers, magazines and the like, statistically leads to a higher success rate in school and the greatest interest in books in general. Jim Trelease goes so far as to state that series of fiction are significantly beneficial if not for the content but for the love of reading they inspire.

Don’t be afraid to require your children to read.

The author presents the challenge, “we require our children to pick up their rooms and get dressed, why should we not require them to read?” We think that requiring them to do something will discourage their desires, but statistically it is just not true. The more you read, the better you get at it; the better you get at it, the more you like it; and the more you like it, the more you do it.

The Read-Aloud Handbook is thorough and motivating. It includes an excellent “Treasury of Read-Alouds” in the back of the book. Every book we have read from his recommendations have been immensely enjoyed by my children.

The conclusion I came to is you may do nothing else with your children but reading aloud for schooling for the first six years of their life, and they will be well-equipped to jump in, if they haven’t already on their own, to the world of reading, and loving it too!

There is no doubt that reading aloud to your children is a very bonding experience. It is cheap and simple. It only requires time investment – but it is the best investment!

For other quality read-aloud selections, check out these recommendations:

Honey for A Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt

Read for the Heart: Whole Books for the Wholehearted Family by Sarah Clarkson

Comments { 22 }

Green & Simple Birthday Parties for Kids

By on June 18, 2010 in building the family, frugal & simple, natural & green

Carina asked: I was wondering if you have any tips for a frugal, eco-conscious birthday party for a baby.  I thought that would be a great discussion topic, and since your kids are older than mine, you might have some good ideas!

Birthday parties can definitely be a source of great waste from wrapping paper, to disposables plates and such, and it is wise to consider your options more carefully. For one, what are your goals in throwing a party for your child? Personally, I want my child to feel special, loved, and appreciated, but at the same time I do not want it to be focused on the presents. I want it to be simple, relaxing, and refreshing for all parties, but especially me as the mother and planner! For the first two years we have kept it extremely simple by making cupcakes, or a bear cake, and had family over for dessert. That’s really about it. Here are some other simple ideas for those who want a bit more:

Invitations – Use the online options of invitations to keep it simple and free. Evite.com is my favorite method for email invitations.

Decorations - Make a simple homemade “Happy Birthday” banner than can be reused time and time again. This can be made out of colored paper or felt. Buy or make a felt party hat for your child that can be passed down to others in the future. Make a princess birthday hat for the girls, and a birthday crown for the boys (skip the number so it can be reused, or attach velcro to the back of the number so that could be changed). If you want to use crepe paper for decor, choose a biodegradable option. Beeswax birthday candles are the perfect natural candle for your celebration.

Tableware – Rather than using disposables, check out the compostable bamboo plates and bamboo silverware or reusable plastic options. We have a plastic picnic set from IKEA that works perfectly for these occasions. Cupcakes eliminate any need for tableware!

Dessert – When the children are really young, we keep it simple with delicious cupcakes. Make it a fun activity to decorate your cupcakes together at the party. As they get older, I definitely want to make them feel extra special by giving them the opportunity to pick out a special cake that we can make and decorate together. I keep a favorite birthday cake cookbook on hand for them to select their favorite.

Activities

Field Trips – Invite your guests to a field trip to the zoo, science museum, fire station, swimming pool, library story time, or park. This helps cut down on any mess in the home and makes it a fun frugal outing for all. For Karis’ birthday this year, we went to the Children’s Museum in Portland and then provided a sandwich lunch and cupcakes for our guests. It was delightful and simple, and she had a blast!

Games - If games are on the schedule, stick with the old classic games that do not require any waste – hopscotch, musical chairs, capture the flag, and charades.

Give to Others - make something together with your guests that could be given to bless others in your community. Make cookies and decorate for the neighbors, elderly, or the homeless. Help teach your children the value and blessing of serving others rather than focusing on ourselves. You could also make cards to missionaries or those in prison, or simple crafts (knitted, sewed, or crotchet) for the Pregnancy Resource Centers.

Gifts

Gifts can easily be kindly declined and stated clearly in your invitations, but when it comes to grandparents and close family, this can be a different story. Our solution has been to request family to chip in together on a bigger gift item. We compiled a dress up box for Karis for her birthday and everyone purchased an item or two for it. If a friend wants to contribute, it makes it easy for them as well. The previous year we bought a wooden kitchen set and others contributed food items and such. This helps keep birthdays simple without too much extravagance and focus on the gifts. The child receives a special gift that will last and can be shared among others. For their first birthday’s, we honestly only buy them one small gift (Karis received a drum, Titus a sock monkey, and books and clothes from the grandparents). Less is more!

A Time of Appreciation

We want birthdays to be a time of love and appreciation for the child. We want to focus on celebrating the child and commending them for the good qualities that are being exhibited in their lives. Going around the table and sharing one thing we appreciate about the birthday person is a family tradition and always an encouraging time for the recipient. We also like to write a letter to each child on their birthday reflecting back on the previous year and the Lord’s goodness in their life, highlights, and what character qualities we see demonstrated in their life. I received these from my own daddy while I was growing up and they meant the world to me! We keep these in a special journal for our children to be given back when they grow up.

So overall, my vision is to keep things simple and yet special through the decorated cakes, and expressing our appreciation to our children. Limiting gifts and cultivating opportunities to give to others so our children grow up with a heart to serve and bless others.

Further Resources:

How to Throw a Green Birthday Party
Simple, Frugal Birthday Parties for Kids by Simple Mom

Photo credit

What are your favorite green and simple birthday party ideas?

Comments { 26 }

How To Be Well-Travelled Without Leaving Home

By on June 16, 2010 in building the family, missions & ministry

Photo by Firma

This post is brought to you by Passionate Homemaking’s monthly contributor, Vina Barham.

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

Prior to becoming a stay-at-home mom, travel was a big part of my life. Growing up in the Philippines, we traveled often to nearby provinces but never far enough. I got my first whiff of intercontinental travel when we moved to the U.S. I was 16. It was exhilarating. Everything was new.  Every bite of American food was delicious, even when it just was frozen waffles (I know, crazy huh?)  It was like being born all over again. The sight, the smell, the taste, the touch of everything around me were worth noticing and fully experiencing.

Of course after several years, the novelty eventually wore off. Right before I graduated from college, I went to China for a summer mission trip and it rocked my world. I decided to move there after college for a few years. Having to figure out my identity and purpose in the midst of interacting with another culture profoundly changed me. When I finally moved back to the U.S. I took a job overseeing a short-term mission program for an international agency. My husband and I also traveled to Asia and Europe together our first two years of marriage.  Then we became parents. And you know how THAT goes. The farthest we’ve travelled since then was to Chicago. And so we had to figure out ways how to cultivate our love for travel and all that it offers, without leaving home. For now.

The Awesomeness That Is Travel

Sometimes I feel like I was born to travel. I don’t mind airports and time changes. Feeling out of place is pretty normal for me. I can make do with minimal personal hygiene and I will try about almost anything as long as it doesn’t kill me. I can deal with getting lost in a city if I have a map and a language dictionary. As much as it is the thrill of being in a new place, travel has brought a lot of unexpected richness in my life.

  • Travel has widened my sensory experience. Often when we go outside the confines of our everyday, we are given an opportunity to a new way of seeing, feeling, hearing, smelling and tasting. Jawaharial Nehru, first prime minister of India was quoted saying,“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” Of course we don’t have to travel far and wide, as I am going to talk about more in the next section, but travel has a magical way of ushering us into a new adventure.
  • Travel  has stretched my ability to live simply. Going beyond the borders of what was comfortable for me forced me adapt to the unknown and the unpredictable. I learned that I didn’t need much in this life, and that richness is found in the essentials and not luxury. Cesare Pavese said once, “Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” Exactly.
  • Travel has broadened my understanding of the world. Traveling grounds me in the realities of the bigger world we live in. It broadens my heart and soul to what I welcome as good and it puts me in touch with pain and suffering that I am often shielded from. It helps me see my prejudices and bigotry that I don’t realize I have. It also gives me a more holistic perspective of the culture I grew up in (Philippines) and the culture I am immersed in now (U.S.). My context for living has changed. Samuel Johnson puts it well, “Traveling helps regulate our imaginations by reality, instead of thinking how things may be, we see them as they are.”
  • Travel has deepened parts of me I wouldn’t have otherwise tapped into. There’s something about travel that unmasks and unravels our inner being. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that our life here on earth IS a journey and that we are travelling towards a destination, which I fondly call My True Home. Perhaps deep within we are all nomads and sojourners who have lost touch of what travel does to us because these days, we want nothing more than to stay put, be stable and lock in on the promise of security for ourselves and our families. But travel pulls away that veil and reminds us that THIS isn’t it. There are better things ahead. We don’t fully know or comprehend what is over there, but we hope. And I quote Martin Buber,  “All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.”
9 Simple Tips On How To Live a Well-Travelled Life Without Leaving Home
While I do want to encourage everyone to consider making space for travel in their life, I understand why some will never venture out to another country. If that is you, please don’t take this as a form of judgement, or another reason to feel guilty over something you should add to your list of things to be and do. I’m merely here to share my passion for a lifestyle that is worth pursuing.  And I want to underscore today that travel IS a lifestyle, not necessarily logging in some thousand miles on your passport. I believe that we can live mindfully, as sojourners and travellers, without having to leave home. And here are some ideas:
  1. Cook A Meal. Rudyard Kipling once said, “The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it.” And it is so true. The aroma of what’s cooking in the kitchen is very distinct to each culture and much can be learned and appreciated from the uniqueness of their food. The spices and kinds of vegetation each country grows tells the story of the people. I recommend borrowing cookbooks from your local library that also provides a rich history of food, and those written by people who have lived in the country first hand. Give your family the gift of savoring another culture right from your kitchen.
  2. Shop World-Class. This is not a popular thing to say these days but I think shopping local is overrated. There are definitely things I would buy local, but I also am an advocate of being a thoughtful global consumer, especially if they are made by local artisans who put a distinct stamp of their culture on the products they create. Here are some places I recommend buying from: Ten Thousand Village, etc.
  3. Learn another language. If you are a mom of a small child, why not learn another language with them? You don’t have to master it. But perhaps learn some conversational sentences along with your child. Or learn a popular song sung in a different language. Speaking of music…
  4. Listen to music from another culture. Again, your local library is your friend. I often borrow children CD’s from Africa and South America and listen to them with my little one. We also listen to Filipino music and hope to try many others as well. Although we don’t understand the song, the different rhythms and beats give us a different experience from what we are used to.
  5. Go to museums or event. Often, your local museum will showcase art from another culture. Take advantage of these. Take your kiddos and take advantage of the opportunity to see a little bit differently. Artists are often the prophetic voice of a culture. They often highlight what you don’t read on newspapers and such.
  6. Watch international movies. Many movies made in the U.S. today are increasingly more global but also try to find some movies originating from outside the U.S. They may be dubbed in English or they may have sub-titles, which I think makes for a better sensory experience.
  7. Read stories. Sure, we can read bout missionary biogrpahies. But how about strories told by the “normal” people? Most of us are not going to be “missionaries” in the technical sense of the term, but “normal” everyday people who live out our lives in simple ways It may help us walk in someone else’s different yet familiar shoes.
  8. Read the international section of the newspaper. If you don’t already, head over to The Economist or Reuters or the International Section of the New York Times. Or better yet, scout online for local news originating from the country you are interested in learning more about. 
  9. Open your home. I am very thankful that we live in a very ethnically diverse city. Our husband and I have hosted a student from Asia and plan on continuing opening our home in that way. We are actually in the process of figuring out whether we want to be foster parents to refugee children who are waiting to be resettle in Seattle.

What do you think? Are you a travel-enthusiast or is travel something you’ve never even considered, ever? Do these ideas resonate with you? Do you have more to add to the list? Share your story and thoughts!

Comments { 24 }

Raising Kids With A Heart for the World

By on June 11, 2010 in building the family, missions & ministry

As a young teenager through my junior high and high school years, you could have seen me frequently reading a missionary biography. I was inthralled in the adventures of the lives of missionaries in China, Philippines, and Indonesia. One such account of a young 19 year old single woman in the Philippines inspired my heart with a passion to visit this country one day. In fact, most of my schooling was composed mainly of this delight directed studying. I learned geography, demographics, culture, and people groups. I attended several missions conferences, explored various parts of the world through mission trips, and in time coordinated many outreach events and mission trips to the nations.

To this day, my heart rings with a love for the nations. I desire to make every effort that my children in turn would have a heart for the lost, hungry, and suffering people of the world and want to give their lives to serve them – whether through their physical or monetary service. There is nothing like visiting a third world country to get a life-changing awakening to the abundance we have in our lives, and a fresh call to simplicity in order that our lives might be given as a blessing to others.

Today, I want to share a few simple ideas of ways that you can help inspire your children with a love for the nations, encouraging a respect for all the unique people groups and cultures of the world, throughout their childhood and teenage years. There are many seeds that can be planted in their hearts through which God can change nations. Travel with me to the nations! Continue Reading →

Comments { 20 }

Simple & Frugal Road Trip Fun

By on June 9, 2010 in building the family, frugal & simple, learning at home

This is part 2 in response to Amy’s request for suggestions as she embarks upon a 16-day traveling adventure with her family brought to you by Passionate Homemaking’s monthly contributor, Michele Augur.

A road trip is a great opportunity for new experiences and family bonding. But it can also be a potential for sibling bickering and boredom. Here are some suggestions for a more pleasant trip, with a frugal price tag.

  • For small children, a “surprise bag” of items you pull out gradually throughout the trip is especially effective for preventing boredom. I stock up through the year for travel activities at thrift stores and bookstore sales, typically purchasing books and craft items for around 10 or 25 cents apiece.
  • Schedule plenty of times to “get the wiggles out” and picnic stops for everyone’s sanity. Run races and play games at rest stops or find a park/playground to explore!
  • Encourage creativity and teamwork by passing around a project of “drawing prompts” such as from Ed Emberley or Taro Gomi. Take along some “non-messy” art supplies (don’t forget the pencil sharpener!) and clipboards for holding your papers.
  • Keep everyone looking out the windows, with games like The Alphabet Game, the Cow Game, or Travel Scavenger Hunt (you can glue magazine pictures on index cards ahead of time for non-readers, instead of writing a list of things to find). “Interactive” games such as Sweet or Sour can be especially hilarious, as passengers attempt to get other passersby to smile!
  • Memory games, such as “My Father Owns a Grocery Store” or “Grandma Went to Market” are great group activities. Travel versions of board games, such as Scrabble are also fun. (Check thrift stores and garage sales for these. Or you can often find them during Christmas board game sales. Stock up and stash them away until travel season!)
  • Pack some special homeschooling subjects, such as focusing on a foreign language (which can be used in your destination), such as French or Spanish. Nature studies in new environments can also be fun; pack your nature journals to sketch new flora & fauna.
  • Stop by a thrift store or used bookstore to pick up a bag of 10 cent paperbacks. You can often find some entertaining classic literature to enjoy on the trip. Mysteries (such as the classic Sherlock Holmes books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) are fun to read aloud and try to solve together.
  • If you are taking electronics along, books on tape/CD are perfect for road trips. (Take turns who gets to choose the story.) Focus on the Family Radio Theatre’s productions, such as the Narnia series are entertaining for both parents and children.
  • If you have a video camera, assign the “task” of documenting the trip. (Many cell phones now contain this feature.) You will enjoy your teens’ creativity as they conduct interviews, narrate, and ham it up for the camera! You can also give them a hilarious “scavenger hunt” project list to find and record along the way (such as two siblings standing on their head in a hotel elevator!).
  • Worship together. Pack along some favorite worship CDs (check your teens’ collection, or pack “Wee Sing” for the little ones) to enjoy in the car. Don’t forget “campfire sing-a-longs” if you’ll be camping!
  • Pray together. Keep a routine of family prayer and devotions to stay connected, just as you would at home. This can easily be done after you grab some breakfast and pile into the car, before you drive off. Dinner time can be an opportunity to share about the day’s experiences and address any negative attitudes that might be cropping up in weary travelers. A road trip is a great time to work on Bible memory verses, too!
  • For larger families, institute a “buddy system” or “helper of the day,” to help address sibling issues and keep the trip going a bit more smoothly. (This is a good way to incorporate helping each other, prevent losing someone, and designate who gets the “popular seat by the window” for the day.)

I hope you have a joyful trip! Let us know how it goes, Amy!

What are your favorite travel activities? Please share!

Photo Credits: superhua, jimmiehomeschoolmom

Comments { 15 }

Giveaway: God’s Word from A-Z CD

By on June 6, 2010 in building the family, news & giveaways

Abe and Liza Philip are an internationally recognized husband & wife songwriting team.  They have a strong desire for their children to hide God’s Word in their hearts and recorded a CD called God’s Words from A to Z. They recently sent us a copy of the CD for our enjoyment and review and we cannot say enough how much we have enjoyed this CD. Karis has been dancing and singing the verses repeatedly over the last few weeks. She has mastered several of the verses in just a few short days!

This excellent CD with an assortment of diverse music (jazz, classical, bluegrass, pop, country, rock, celtic) highlights 26 Bible verses that correspond to the alphabet. Their 2 year old daughter, Zoe, and 4 year old son, Zach, memorized all 26 verses in a week and share each verse in turn at the beginning of each song. It is so adorable.

This is one simple tool for your library to help reinforce the planting of the truth in the hearts of our little ones. When we memorize Scripture to song we retain it so much more effectively too! These 26 songs will take you on a journey that begins with our sinfulness, runs to the cross of our Savior and ends with the joy of heaven.

Abe & Liza have offered our readers 5 copies of this delightful CD!

To Enter:

1. Simply leave a comment below sharing your favorite tip or tool for helping memorize Scripture or tell us why you would love to receive this CD.

2. For a second entry, feel free to post about this giveaway on your blog, facebook page, or twitter and let us know about it in a separate comment.

Giveaway Closed.

To hear song clips, please visit here. To purchase, please visit their website at Phillip Music.

For other CD recommendation of Scripture put to music for families and children alike, check out this post: Christ-Centered CD’s for Kids
Comments are closed

10 Keys To Patient Motherhood

By on June 4, 2010 in building the family, faith & womanhood


Photo Credit

I am not a patient person by nature. And Motherhood has magnified this particular weakness of mine ten fold.

Ok. Maybe a gabazillion fold.

Times infinity. Plus one.

But even though I have a long way to go, I have also come a long way. If you struggle with patience, I hope you’ll glean something from the tricks I’ve employed to keep my sanity.

1. F-O-C-U-S

Just wanting to be more patient isn’t enough. Most of us want our house to be cleaner or we want to get in shape, but wanting doesn’t make things happen. We need to focus. So take a week and focus on practicing patience.

For example, I’ve been doing a Bible study on patience and journaling each day about how well I keep my frustrations at bay. Search google for what the Bible says about patience and anger, along with your Bible concordance, and you surely will be challenged. I also have a chart on my refrigerator where my kids can mark how well I did for the day. Kids are great at accountability.

2. Recognize Your Frustration

Too often we have fully given in to our impatience before we recognize it. By then, we’re no longer thinking rationally and we’re much less likely to act and speak in love. The earlier we can recognize when we’re becoming impatient the easier it will be for us to calm ourselves down and control our emotions. Be honest and open about your weakness, seek accountability from your husband or close friend. The quicker you are to confess your weaknesses, the easier it will be to conquer them.

3. Recognize That Acting Out Frustration Is Pointless

When I notice that I’m becoming impatient, I remind myself of James 1:19-20

“My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”

It’s such an excellent reminder that the fruit of my frustration is bound to be rotten.

4. Identify Frustrating Situations

What situations tend to frustrate you the most? Running late for events? Kids waking up too early? The need to repeat instructions to a child? Write them down. Keep a running list. Identify trends. If we can anticipate a frustrating situation, we can work to counteract our emotions.

5. Prevent Frustrating Situations

Now that I’ve identified my most frustrating circumstances, I can think about ways to avoid becoming impatient.

I find I get impatient a lot when we are running late. The obvious remedy here is to get started MUCH earlier. Even after 7 years of motherhood, I forget how long it takes small children to get ready to go somewhere. I need to begin getting them going well in advance…even if it means taking the chance that their hair or clothes get messed up before we actually leave and I need to fix it again. The extra work is worth avoiding the likely frustration.

6. Take Time Out

Two year old’s aren’t the only ones who need time out. If I feel like my emotions are getting the best of me, I’ll tell my kids that mommy needs time out and I’ll either send them to their room to play or I’ll put a video on and I’ll go in the other room to calm down.

7. Ignore It

Sometimes the best thing to do is just ignore whatever frustrating activity your kids are doing and redirect to something else. If we’re not going to respond in love, perhaps we should just move on.

8. Fake it Til You Make It

Here’s another silly tactic that totally works. If you’re losing it, pretend you’re being featured in a tv show and every word is being aired across the nation or will be viewed at your church on Sunday. Odds are, you’ll get your emotions under control rather quickly.

This might sound crazy, but sometimes, if I have no other options, I just pretend I’m patient. I basically pretend I’m up for an Oscar and do my best impression of a sweet, grandma preschool teacher. Sometimes all my frustration being channeled into acting, allows me to calm down and then truly feel relaxed again.

9. Pray. A lot.

This is a method of first resort. When I wake up in the morning I pray for a patient spirit. When I begin to feel frustrated, I pray for patience. If I’m having a hard time, I often stop and have my children pray for me.

It is also important to pray for wisdom. None of these tactics is perfect all the time. Pray not only for patience, but for the best response to your children and your own emotions.

An added thought by Lindsay…

10. Review your Mission Statement

When you feel a frustrating situation coming on, take the opportunity to step back and review your mission (if you have a mission statement in written form, post this in an obvious place that you could review quickly). What is your goal in mothering? What kind of example do you want to lay before your children? Take a moment to reflect on the fact that your desire is to nurture and disciple, love and train them to love the Lord. How does my actions reflect on the love of Christ?

Time To Take Action

Let’s all work together today to identify situations that make us impatient and ideas for counteracting our emotions.

If we each share an idea or two, we can all learn from our experiences and wisdom and we’ll be one step closer to being the patient mothers we long to be.

1. What situations tend to frustrate you?
2. What is one way you can prevent that frustration?

Comments { 59 }