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Nourish Your Marriage: 20 Fun Date Ideas On The Cheap

By on May 26, 2010 in building the family

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

Going out on “traditional” dates with your hubby can be a challenge if you have small children. There’s having to find a babysitter, paying the babysitter, and then having to shell out money for a pricey dinner. And because you’ve spent so much money on all of that, there’s an added pressure to make a spectacular date night out of it.

Maybe it’s just me, but I prefer a much more laid-back (and frugal) approach to date nights. Not having to worry about the expense opens me up to more creative ways to hang out with my hubby. And I know it makes me a better mommy when I do. Many of the ideas below are mostly for afternoon dates, when other fellow moms, trusted friends or other family are able to watch your kids.  Enjoy!

1. Pack your favorite sandwich, drinks and snacks and go for a day hike.

2. Go out for a drive to a nearby scenic view, bring some chocolates (fair-trade of course) and sweets, and kiss!

3. Play your favorite board game at home after the kids have gone to bed.

4. Trade a happy-hour early dinner date with another couple.

5. Have a cheese-wine picnic in your backyard while the kids are asleep.

6. Go to your local bookstore, pick a book and read to each other.

7. Pour yourself a cup of cocoa, grab a big blanket and do some serious stargazing in your lawn.

8. Pick a sport your husband likes and play with him. Or vice versa. Winner gets to step in the shower first, and the loser shortly thereafter.

9. Eat your favorite ice cream on the patio together. Of course, feed each other!

10. Head out to your hubby’s work and bring him lunch.

11. Watch a movie together. Make homemade popcorn, or something healthier if you’d like, dim the lights and give it a go.

12. Go for a swim at the local community center.

13. Look into local coffeeshops hosting free live music. Dress up and go.

14. Take a bubble bath together.

15. Make smores in the backyard.

16. Go somewhere scenic, bring a camera and take pictures of each other.

17. Give each other the gift of massage.

18. Make a fancy dinner at home after the kids have gone to bed, light up some candles and pretend you are on your first date.

19. Or reminisce.

20. Go for a long walk on the beach.

What about you? Do you have any ideas to add to the list? Or share something you’ve done on this list and how it turned out.

Comments { 39 }

April at Our Home

By on May 3, 2010 in building the family, news & giveaways

It has been a full and eventful weekend with the launching of our updated blog design on Friday night, a quick day trip up to Seattle on Saturday to visit relatives and a celebration of the engagement of Aaron’s brother, Nate, on Sunday, so I am just now sitting down again and sharing with you all.

I am so blessed to see another month pass by and reflect on God’s goodness once again to our family! We spent a weekend at the beach this month enjoying a time of rest and lots of reading (our favorite activity!). Aaron and I have been prayerfully working on developing our family mission statement, which we were able to make significant headway on thanks to the inspiration of Stephen Covey in 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families. Thanks in part to Kat’s inspiration, I have also been working on my own personal mission statement, which has been so refreshing and edifying. What a difference it makes when you define your mission and develop purposeful plans to accomplish that mission. We also did some thorough decluttering around the house this month in preparation for a garage sale this week. I am blessed!

You may have wondered with the new update that I changed the byline of my blog slightly to: Loving simple, natural, and intentional living. Why the change? What is the significance? By “intentional” I wanted to encapsulate more fully my goal to live a purposeful, God-centered, mission-minded lifestyle. My hope is to continue to use this blog to inspire women to be intentional in every action in their homes – to cultivate strong relationships with our family and others, inspire our children to love and serve the Lord, pursue joyful homemaking, being good stewards of the earth, and opening our homes to minister to the lost and needy around us. I like to call it “missional” living or missional homemaking. When I shared what the Lord was opening my eyes to see in What is the Purpose of the Home?, I was aiming to pass on the challenge to maintain a high and holly calling to be purposeful in all things that we are called to. My goal is to encourage us all to ask ourselves in everything we do, from natural living to simple living, to making a home, to making decisions, what has this to do with the goal of glorifying our Lord and furthering His kingdom? That is what I mean by living intentionally. It reminds me afresh of the poem: Only one life, twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last. Let’s labor together to live without reserves or regrets.

April Reading

7 Habits of Highly Effective Families by Stephen Covey – fascinating and insightful, this book delves into dissenting the popular 7 Habits in their application for the family. Stephen talks about the value of developing family mission statements, being proactive in relationships, and being quick to listen and understand and slow to offer exhortation or advice in the lives of our children. These are just three of the habits discussed in this book. I was very challenged to be more intentional in developing together with my husband what we want to be our family mission and how we will aim to accomplish it. A big book but an excellent read!

Ministry of Motherhood: Following Christ’s Example in Reaching the Hearts of Our Children by Sally Clarkson – another excellent classic for mothers by Sally Clarkson. I loved her challenge of seeing our children as our disciples and following the way Jesus carefully nurtured, patiently loved, and guided His own disciples before sending them out to accomplish His mission. She shares the value of imparting the gift of grace, inspiration, faith, training, and service and how adopting these five truths can impact our children’s lives. I love how she describes motherhood as not just a job, but a calling. Each chapter is short with discussion question so it is an excellent Bible study companion or for a group study. Another favorite to add to my annual reading list!

God bless you all this month! My little girl, Karis, turns 3 on Tuesday! Wow! Time flies…

Comments { 17 }

Resources for a Purposeful Easter Celebration

By on March 22, 2010 in building the family

Need some helpful purposeful tools for celebrating Easter this year?

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of Easter by Nancy Guthrie. It’s a collection of twenty-five short readings with contributors such as Martin Lloyd-Jones, J.C. Ryle, R.C. Sproul and more. A great tool for family devotions or reading together in the evening in preparation for Easter.

The Very First Easter by Paul Maier. Have you been looking for a resource to help teach your children the importance of this holiday? Check out this wonderful story retold in simple and yet powerful language.

Family Bible Readings for Holy Week by Carri Garvey (a long time friend of our family) is a helpful devotional guide for the week prior to Easter Sunday. She shares: The media makes so much more of other holidays, yet to us as Christians, Easter should be THE MOST IMPORTANT. Here is a Holy Week Devotional for your family to help you make the week special and build up the anticipation of celebration on Resurrection Sunday.  Please feel free to print and use it however you like.We invite you to use this resource together with us this next week.

Make your own Resurrection Eggs or purchase a set of Resurrection Eggs- a fun way to retell the story of the Resurrection.

Hot Cross Buns recipe – Traditional bread for Good Friday, with the cross as a symbol of Christ and the resurrection, in a healthy fashion! Fun baking project with kids.

How to Naturally Dye Eggs – ideas for dying eggs naturally!

Easter Cookies – cookies for easter with a purpose!

Let us rejoice together in the wonders of Christ’s coming, death, and resurrection and the glorious grace that was purchased for us!

How do you seek to make your Easter celebrations purposeful?

Comments { 12 }

The Family that Reads Together: Recommended Read Alouds

By on February 3, 2010 in building the family, learning at home

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“The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children.” - Becoming A Nation of Readers

Families reading together is one of the most splendid traditions and habits you can cultivate as a family. You may find it common to read to your little ones throughout the day, but have you considered scheduling family reading time together? I recall snuggling up around a warm fire and listening to a fun story my Papa would read to all eight of us children when I was a child. These were some of my favorite memories! When you read together:

  • You build family relationships in a unique way. You are sharing an experience of entering the world of the story teller, stirring the imagination as you enter the lives of the characters in the story.
  • You grow together as a family. You can interact together, discuss the contents of your readings, and encourage a learning environment in this way.
  • You share a fun, profitable and frugal activity. Many in our generation consider expensive family vacations as necessary to spend time together, but miss out on the day by day opportunities to invest quality time in a free activity. These are far more significant.
  • Your family strengthens reading, vocabulary and pronunciation skills. Taking turns reading aloud will also help strengthen vocabulary and pronunciation. We would do this in our morning devotions as well. Each person would read 5 verses and then make a comment. It built reading skills but also logic, speech and articulation skills. You can even encourage fun modulation and variation in your voices for varying characters which builds confidence and speech skills.
  • Your family will become better writers. Practically every individual in my family loves writing. It is well known that the more you read the better you will be able to write. Reading the classics is especially important for this.
  • Your family will become lifelong readers. Cultivating a love for reading in your childrens’ youth will last a lifetime.

If you don’t have time to take such adventures together, you need to re-evaluate your schedule. Reading together should be a regular part of the events at your home. Set aside an evening each week for family reading together. Turn off the technology gadgets around your home and snuggle up, and you will not regret it!

I wanted to share a collection of recommended books that are excellent for such times of families snuggling up together and enjoying a good book. This list is compiled because it is highly suitable for all ages.

Little Britches- a series of eight stories based upon the life of Ralph Moody. It begins with Ralph at eight years old in 1906 when his family moved from New Hampshire to a Colorado ranch. Through his eyes we experience the pleasures and perils of ranching there early in the twentieth century. Auctions and roundups, family picnics, irrigation wars, tornadoes and wind storms give authentic color to Little Britches. So do adventures, wonderfully told, that equip Ralph to take his father’s place when it becomes necessary. 

Tales of the Kingdom, Tales of the Resistance & Tales of Restoration by David Mains – This three volume set is a powerful allegorical story set around the Enchanted City.  Each volume consists of twelve fantasy short stories, set in a city ruled by an evil Enchanter who has usurped the throne from the true King. They draw on the imagery of the kingdom that Jesus Christ Himself taught in His ministry. Under the influence of the evil Enchanter, the people of the Enchanted City prefer darkness to the light, and so sleep during the day and work at night. But the King is at work delivering the city and rescuing the poor and needy and bringing them to the Great Park. Great for meaningful dialog!

Freddy The Pig Series by Walter Brooks – for some fun family reading, you must check out Freddy the Pig. This series of stories follows the life and adventures of Freddy and his fellow farm animals. Freddy is a detective, explorer, and adventurer taking the animals all over the place in their explorations. These stories are hilarious and will definitely keep your family laughing together. Classic stories written from 1927-1958 includes 26 volumes. Reading level is ages 9-12, but I believe all levels will enjoy these.

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder – Adventures from the life of a family living on the Prairie in early American. Delightful!

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis - who cannot include this wonderful allegorical series in this list? Need I say more?

Lamplighter Publishing- Lamplighter has republished classic character building stories that have stood the test of time. Many were written in the 1800′s and have powerful moral stories that are well worth reading again and again. They are all beautifully hardcover books. Two of my favorites include: Basket of Flowers & Robbers’ Cave – beautiful amazing stories your kids will be sitting on the edge of their seats especially with Robbers’ Cave. These are my all time favorite family reading materials, but are also great gifts for your children. Many of this collection is available through Vision Forum Ministries.

YWAM’s Christian Heros: Then & Now Series - an awesome inspiring series of stories on historical figures and missionaries. Each inspiring true story of a man or woman who answered God’s call is a testimony to a real-life adventure of faith and determination. I remember devouring these as a child and I believe they had a lasting impact in shaping my life with a heart for missions. These are excellent reading for all ages! These books are also available through Amazon.

I will also add that listening to books on tape/CD is a wonderful pastime for car travel as a family. We listened to many classic stories during our trips around the country and it was a great way to spend the time. Focus on the Family Radio Theater was a huge favorite for this! Les Miserables, Narnia & Anne of Green Gables were classics!

Further Resources:

Why Read Aloud? – Chapter One from Jim Trelease’s The Read-Aloud Handbook
The DO’S and DON’Ts of Read-Aloud – Chapter Four from Jim Trelease’s The Read-Aloud Handbook
Hints for Reading Out Loud – A page from Madame Esme’s Website
Reading Aloud: Tips for Parents and Teachers

What favorite titles do you recommend for family reading?

Comments { 41 }

Letting Go of Unrealistic Expectations

By on January 28, 2010 in building the family

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Aaron and I will be celebrating our fourth anniversary this May, and I believe my love for him has grown twice as much in the last six months as it did in the previous 3 1/2 years. How could it possibly have flourished so significantly in such a short time? It is because God has been teaching me two huge important lessons…let go of the unrealistic expectations and focus on the positives.

It must be a feminine trait connected with our emotional inclinations for love and romance that would incline me as a woman to expect that my husband should surprise me with occasional gifting of flowers, mushy cards, arranging surprise special dates and outings. I desperately wanted him to demonstrate love to me in this practical way. I just wanted him to know what I wanted without even communicating my desires. Have you ever had those moments when he asked you what you wanted to do and you did not respond? You just wanted him to know? How silly of me to expect him to know my every whim and fancy. He is a man. He thinks differently than a woman. I was holding unrealistic expectations over his head that he ought to be creative, only to be disappointed.

Expectations creeped in for him to play his part around the house, to take out the garbage for me, or help with the dishes occasionally. I was focusing on all that I was contributing without considering all the laborious hours of work that he was offering up on my behalf that we might be well provided for. There was a deeper issue in my heart that the Lord had to weed out. I was so desirous of this practical service that I became bitter towards my husband time and time again. It was becoming idolatrous. Ultimately, deep down I wanted him to be consumed with me and my needs. I would hold these little oversights in my heart until they would come out like a floodgate of tears and frustration. I was focusing on the shortcomings.

Did I ever take thought to his needs? He had to do one thing for 8 hours in the day, while I was able to chose a variety of activities to do around my home. Have I ever been thankful for that?

In preparation for my birthday this past year, I originally hoped he would plan this wonderful surprise outing for me. But God began to show me my foolish expectations. Instead, I simply shared what I would enjoy doing for the day. I delight in exploring new places, walking, and enjoying the blessings of nature. I wanted to take the day and enjoy downtown Portland. Walking around, having coffee, touring used book stores, and enjoying a local new restaurant was my ideal. My birthday ended up being one of the best days of my life. Why? Because we were together, enjoying life. I let go of the expectations.

Over these last six months, thanks in part to Revive Our Hearts 30 Day Husband Encouragement Challenge, I have learned and continue to grow in my appreciation for the way God designed my man to be. My husband is amazingly steady, devoted to providing for our family, and that is the way that he naturally shows love to me. I know without a shadow of a doubt that he would rather die that stop providing for me. He is so devoted and loyal. He loves the Lord and delights to serve His church.

Once I started to change my focus away from his shortcomings, I began to see more and more of the beautiful gifts he has. I started praising him more for those qualities. I started cheering him on. When he did take out the trash without my nagging, I would give him a big huge and express my love and appreciation. I learned that even if I had to pick up after him occasionally, this was a way that I was being his helper. God fashioned and designed me for my man and he needs me. Yes, he can pick up after himself, but this is not worth holding over him. I changed my focus to see this as an opportunity to serve and help my husband.

What has been the result? Focusing on the good qualities has caused our love to blossom. Not only that, but my husband started taking more initiative. Just this past week, he totally surprised me with a beautiful boutique of flowers! He started serving me in so many practical ways around house, and caring for the children. It has been so awesome! When I thank him and praise him more for these actions, our love continues to grow.

This is our story…your story will likely look different…but might there be some unrealistic expectations that you are harboring?

We cannot change our man, but we can influence him for the better. We can take the plank out of our own eye first, and then, by God’s grace and wisdom, we will be able to see and help assist removing the plank in our husband’s eye. (Matthew 7:1-5). Many times we will see that it is only a small stone that may in fact vanish when we focus first on our own hearts and actions.

In a nutshell…

  • Keep your trust first and foremost in the Lord.
  • Communication is key.
  • Don’t harbor bitter thoughts. See them for what they really are. Idols!
  • Write out your expectations. Lay them out before the Lord. Some expectations are certainly biblical (that he is to be faithful, provide, etc), while others (as witnessed above) are not. Prayerfully evaluate them.
  • Start praying for your man. Pray that He might grow into the man God would have him be, and not the way you would have him be.
  • Communicate with your husband. Share your desires and leave it at that. Let the Lord work in his heart.
  • Focus on his quality character traits. Take 30 days and each day try to express vocally one thing you admire about your husband to him and others.
  • True joy comes in the service of others, especially your husband. (Matthew 23:11)

Get behind your man, dear sisters. He needs you! He is so much more productive when you get behind him, trust him, and believe in him. But ultimately, keep your trust in the Lord first and foremost, as the holy women of old…

“This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They trusted in God and accepted the authority of their husbands. For instance, Sarah obeyed her husband, Abraham, and called him her master. You are her daughters when you do what is right without fear of what your husbands might do.” (1 Peter 3:5-6).

Resources:

Praying for Your Man – 31 Days of Prayer – a free helpful tool for praying for your husband.
30 Day Husband Encouragement Challenge - take the challenge! It’s worth it. God can transform your marriage too!

NOTE: My husband has reviewed and approved this post.

Comments { 91 }

Establishing a Morning Routine – Maximize Your Mornings

By on January 11, 2010 in building the family, making a home

Photo by j.anne4

I have always loved the benefits of rising early; but over the last few months while dealing with sleeping issues, rising early has gone out the window. To be completely honest, I often would lie in bed past 8 o’clock and wallow in self-pity. The longer I would lie there the inevitable result would be increased tiredness. When I would finally be dressed by noon, half my day was gone and the most profitable hours are also lost. Thus I would encourage the entrance of depression and discouragement. Aaron and I determined together that one of our new years goal was to plan and purposefully begin rising early TOGETHER. Accountability is key. Sitting down together to plan out our morning routine was also essential. I determined, by God’s grace, that I needed to rise early, whether or not I slept well. Why do I believe rising early is important?

1. The morning hours are your most profitable moments of the day. You are fresh and energized. You can accomplish more in one hour than most people accomplish in an entire day.

2. It takes time to mentally prepare for the day. As Kat in her e-book, Maximize Your Mornings states, “Professional athletes don’t roll out of bed and stumble into the game. They warm up, talk to their coach and get mentally focused for what is ahead. We need to do the same thing.”

3. Personal quiet time can help maintain peace and harmony in the home. I can testify that without my morning devotions, my flesh tends to be more prone to anger and frustration (my sinful weaknesses). If I don’t focus on the Lord first thing, I often lose sight of my mission as a wife and mother.

“Ever plan for yourself in simple dependence on God. It is nothing less than self-idolatry to conceive that we can carry on even the ordinary matters of the day without His counsel. He loves to be consulted. Consider no circumstance too clear to need his direction. In all thy ways, small as well as great; in all thy concerns, personal or relative; temporal or eternal, let Him be supreme. Who of us has not found the unspeakable ‘peace’ of bringing God matters to minute or individual to be entrusted to the most confidential ear?” - Charles Bridges

Our Plan:

First, we determined what we wanted to include in our morning routine. For us, this included personal devotions, exercise, shower, get dressed, make breakfast, eat breakfast together while having family devotions, concluding with sending Aaron off to work.

Secondly, we mapped out these activities according to our priorities. If nothing else, personal devotions are the most important to us. We believe strongly in beginning our day with the Lord. Sitting at his feet keeps Him the center of our lives and the Source for our strength for the upcoming events of the day. We listed them in order of priority above.

Finally, we mapped out the time frame they needed to take place by. Aaron needs to be out of the house by 8:30am, so we worked back works determining how much time each of these events would take.

Start small. We were previously waking up by 7:00am. Our new goal was 6:00 am. Rather than jumping into that significant adjustment, we started by waking up 5-15 minutes earlier each day. This way it was manageable adjustment and able to be maintained more effectively. Since exercise is one of our priorities for the morning, we also determined to start small here. If we jumped into a strict 30 minute routine, we would fall out relatively quickly, as we have experienced in the past. So we adopted the starting small technique again here – 5-15 minutes each day. Doing a smaller amount more consistently has been proven to be more successful in developing the habit. Exercise in smaller more consistent chunks is also better for your body than random extensive exercising periods.

Collect things for your morning routine the night before. Get things set up in advance for your morning routine so you are not blindly hobbling around at 6:00am trying to find your Bible, exercise clothes, etc.

Make a plan for your devotional time. Choose a Bible Reading plan. You must have a plan to really effectively grow in your faith. There are many different Bible reading plans available free for download at Discipleship Journal or Revive Our Hearts collection of plans. We have used all of these plans at different times in the past and they are very effective.

Plan your day. I have found simply taking 5 minutes to plan my day has increased my productivity. I make a master to-do list of the week during my weekly planning time, but cutting this down to selecting 3-5 things that need to be done today has been helpful. I use a 3 x 5 card to jot down my to-do’s on one side. On the other side, I write out a verse of Scripture from my devotions that I would like to meditate and/or memorize throughout the day. I keep this 3 x 5 card in my back pocket and every time I check my to-do list, I will review the Scripture. It has been very encouraging and edifying!

Our morning routine:

6:00 am – Currently, we are at 6:20 am, working up in 5-10 min increments – Personal Bible reading time individually, plan for the day (make my to-do list)
7:00 am – Exercise (jump rope, push-up’s, crunches, jogging up and down the stairs)
7:15 am – Shower, dress
7:30 am – Kids wake up (roughly), Nurse baby, Aaron get kids dressed
7:45 am – Lindsay prepares breakfast, packs Aaron’s lunch
8:00 am – Eat breakfast, Family devotions (reading one chapter from Proverbs every morning)
8:30 am – Aaron leaves for work, Lindsay cleans up dishes, dinner preparations, quick house pick-up

We committed this plan to the Lord and He has really blessed it. I have never felt so productive in my life! It has been so helpful to develop this plan and carry it out together. The house can be picked up and dinner preparations made by 9:30 am! Formally, this could drag on through lunch. It’s been a huge blessing to our family. I have more energy now in the morning whether or not I slept well the night before. A huge part of this I believe is renewing the priority of quiet time with the Lord. Just getting up and doing the NEXT THING.

I highly recommend and encourage every family to adopt a morning routine, one in which you have quality time with the Lord to prepare your heart for the day, exercise your body to give you health and wholeness, and to prepare and plan for the day ahead!

For more helpful tips for developing your morning routine, please check out Kat’s free e-book, Maximizing Your Mornings.

Comments { 86 }

Favorite Reads from 2009

By on January 7, 2010 in building the family, learning at home

I love reading! It is one of my favorite pastimes to be cuddled up with a good book. I only wish I had a nice fireplace in our home to cuddle in front of (memories of childhood). “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body” is my motto. Mark Twain once said, “The man who doesn’t read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.” I began back in 2008 to record my reading list and goal for the year here on my blog. Since taking this step, I have been challenged and motivated to read far beyond my original goals. I have been inspired again and again through the rich materials published for our benefit. Reading brings such joy and refreshment to my life. I highly recommend cultivating a habit of reading. Here are some favorite highlights from 2009!

Womanly Dominion: More Than A Gentle and Quiet Spirit by Mark Chanski was by far my favorite read from 2009! This book challenged me to really understand the position, domain, and calling God had assigned for me as a women. It was a call to play your position and to play with a win it mentality! Do your work unto the Lord! A must-read for all women, young and old, single or married. Read my full review here.

From Clutter to Clarity: Simplifying Life from the Inside Out by Nancy Twigg was my second favorite book for the year. I was so blessed by the way this book challenged me to root out all the emotional and spiritual clutter in my life. She addresses how to reduce clutter in your home as well, but most importantly starting with your heart! Read my full review here.

In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Poland is my new favorite read on the history and industrialization of food. He gives you all the amazing details as to where most of the standard supermarket food comes from and how you can find the “real” thing. Read my full review here.

Don’t Make Me Count to Three: a Mom’s Look at Heart-Oriented Discipline by Ginger Plowman is a fabulous read for mothers on training your children through the Word of God. She focuses on training the heart by using soul-searching questions and Biblical truth to draw out here children. I love this book!

Radical Womanhood: Feminine Faith in a Feminist World by Carolyn McCulley is a fantastic, eye-opening read on the history of feminism. This was both a fascinating and moving read, stirring up women to come to a proper understand of our culture and times and what we can do about it.

Practical Theology for Women: How Knowing God Makes a Difference in Our Daily Lives by Wendy Alsup is a sort and yet powerful read on Biblical theology written for women. She challenges women to grow deep roots in the Word of God for it affects every area of your life. Theology is for everyone! Read my full review here.

The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections by Amanda Soule was such a delightful read in encouraging fun, interactive, creative play as a family. She gives a wealth of ideas for supplying your children with the tools necessary to strengthen imagination. I appreciated the focus on building relationships – the most important thing. Read my full review here.

The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness by Dave Ramsey was another book that was very valuable to our family this past year. I had heard so many good reports from this book and his methods that we knew we had to read it. Dave Ramsey offers valuable principles in helping individuals and families get out of debt and be financially free. The principles are practical and his step by step system works. We were able to save our $1,000, get out of debt, and now we are making strides on step 3 to build our emergency fund more strategically this year, thanks to Dave’s motivation!

Check out my new 2010 Book List.

Previous reading lists and recommendations:

My Book List 2008

My Book List 2009

Recommended Reading List

“The more that you read, the more things you know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” -Dr. Seuss

“No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.” –Atwood H. Townsend

Have you made a book reading list/goal for yourself this year? What books would you like to read?

Comments { 25 }

Only One Thing Is Necessary this Holiday Season

By on December 11, 2009 in building the family

What are you focusing on this holiday season? Are you taking time to sit at the feet of Jesus like Mary, or are you being more like Martha getting overly consumed with the gift-giving, decorating, parties, and preparations? (Luke 10:38-42) I personally have gotten overwhelmed with the gift-giving list, and the many invitations to events, but I have been graciously reminded today of the most important thing. And what is that? I would strongly encourage you to head over to Girl Talk to catch up on their current series called Martha Moment, to keep your focus this season. It’s all about Jesus! It’s about sitting, listening, and enjoying His presence. Here are some quotes to wet your appetite: 

“But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.’” Luke 10:41

What is the “one thing” that is truly necessary?

“Serving is important. Our Lord also taught us: “The greatest among you shall be your servant.” But serving is not the most necessary thing. There is only one thing that is truly necessary—listening to the Lord speak. So as we head into the holidays, as we face the temptation to be distracted with much serving, or tempted about many things, let’s remind ourselves of Jesus’ words. Should I be serving? There is one thing more necessary! Should I be worrying? This is completely unnecessary! There is only one thing that is necessary. And what is that? To sit and listen to the Lord’s teaching, that’s what!

“Let’s take our cues from Mary. We shouldn’t wait until things settle down after the holidays. We shouldn’t postpone listening to Jesus until January 1. We must choose to sit and listen to the Lord’s teaching today: right in the middle of the Christmas craziness. And we must strive to do so every day after.”

To read the full series, visit here.

Comments { 17 }

Treasuring God in Our Traditions – Book Review

By on December 9, 2009 in building the family, making a home

Today I welcome a guest post by Sherrin Drew. Sherrin is a wife and mother of one little boy and blogs at Home Based Education where she strives to make a joyful home based learning environment for her son.

Treasuring God in Our Traditions by Noel Piper would make a great Christmas gift for somebody you love. The book is designed to inspire readers to look to God in fresh ways. A thriving relationship with God can lead to faithful traditions and joy filled celebrations. Noel provides many ideas of how to create God-centred traditions, but her goal is not to write a “how-to manual” (p.16). Instead, she prompts readers to ask themselves how they can show forth Christ as their treasure.

Firstly, Noel Piper encourages readers to develop “everyday” traditions that turn their hearts toward God. Christians need to plan to focus on God’s word and prayer, because such activities “are too close to the heart of God to be left to choice” (p. 49). The second half of the book is devoted to “especially” traditions. God can be placed at the centre of each celebration, whether a birthday or a Christmas dinner, because he is the giver of all these good gifts.

Memorable stories of God’s dealings with the Piper family are used to illustrate each example of a God-centred tradition. If you enjoy reading about what God is doing in the lives of other families, you will love these sections of the book. Family recipes, poems, letters and songs are incorporated in burgundy text boxes, adding to the beautiful presentation of the book.

Noel’s experience of family life and faithfulness in raising children make this a valuable child-training resource. Noel particularly recommends repetition and tangible symbols as learning tools. The Pipers always keep the key goal in mind: children are adults in training. The book includes an appendix about children worshiping with their families throughout the church service. In this essay John and Noel offer reasons to work toward this and practical suggestions.

Treasuring God in Our Traditions is not just for families though. Noel makes an effort to draw in singles, childless adults, and those from troubled backgrounds. The book is also an appropriate gift for men. They would enjoy its many insights into John Piper’s role in family traditions. All Christians, regardless of gender or situation, can benefit from considering whether their lives communicate that God is their treasure and joy.

Note from Lindsay: For my personal review of this title, visit here.

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Christ-Centered CD’s for Kids & Giveaway!

By on November 20, 2009 in building the family, learning at home, news & giveaways

My daughter loves to sing! A dear friend prayed over her an infant that she might be a singer and worshiper of Jesus, and I believe the Lord is answering that prayer! Recently, I set out on a mission to find some good solid CD’s of music, especially Scripture verses set to music that we could fill our home with. I decided this was going to be her Christmas present: a Portable CD Player(one that she could carry around the house with her) and a few good CD’s for her enjoyment. Here are some great finds and a fun giveaway!

Songs for Saplings - Songs for Saplings is a ministry of a home school mother (who actually lives in my area), Dana Dirkson. Her vision is to supply families with solid Christian music that would teach children about God. Thus far she has released four CD’s that are simply wonderful! The Songs for Saplings ABC’s puts Scripture verses to music that can be used while you teach your children their ABC’s. It includes a Scripture verse song for every letter of the alphabet, in addition to verses that can be used throughout the year for all the holidays. Very simple verses so great for toddler and preschoolers especially. I did give this CD to Karis already and she absolutely loves it! She can sing many of the songs already and it fills my heart with such delight as she learns simple Bible verses. It is never too early to plant God’s Word in their little hearts. Her other CD’s are a series titled Question & Answers that go through God & Creation, the Fall & Salvation, Christ and His Work, teaching basic doctrine to children in a catechism of sorts. Dana also offers chord charts that are free to download from her site. Highly recommended!

Steve Green’s Hide Em in Your Heart- I loved these CD’s as a child! Steve Green sets Bible verses to music in a fun, entertaining way. I can still sing many of the songs from these CD’s from my childhood. Music is so powerful! This set includes the DVD video that are enjoyable to watch and teach the verses and character qualities more visually. Check out Hide Em in Your Heart Vol 01 & Hide’em in Your Heart Vol. 2.

To Be Like Jesus - by Sovereign Grace Ministries. A fabulous solid collection of worship songs for children. To Be Like Jesus contains twelve worship songs that teach the fruit of the Spirit in a creative and memorable way. Through these songs kids will learn that Jesus is our perfect example of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. They are theologically sound and engaging. We use alot of Sovereign Grace worship music at our church and always enjoy their albums. You can also purchase this album directly from Sovereign Grace here.

Hymns for A Kid’s Heart – by Bobbie Wolgemuth – An excellent series of books and CD’s that will help teach your children the beauty of hymns. Hymns are packed full of solid gospel truth and are such a tool to be used in teaching your children the Word of God. Each book in this series includes a story about the history behind each hymn, lyrics, verses to be discussed and prayers. We recently purchased the Christmas Carols for a Kid’s Heart to be included in our preparations for Christmas. I want my little ones to hear and understand the wonderful gospel truths that are proclaimed in some of the traditional carols and the history behind them. Also, check out Passion Hymns for a Kid’s Heart.

Seeds Family Worship - I just stumbled upon these CD’s through recommendations by the readers and after listening the samples, I just had to add these CD’s to the list! Wonderful Scripture based songs for all – adults and children alike! There is a lot of variety in style and voices, including voices of children and adults. I can definitely see myself really enjoying this music as well and learn Scripture together with my little ones. Series includes: Seeds of Courage, Seeds of Faith, Seeds of Purpose, and Seeds of Praise.

Now, for the giveaway!

Dana Dirkson has graciously donated one copy of Songs for Saplings: ABC’s for us to giveaway! You can have the chance to add this awesome CD to your family collection.

TO ENTER:

1. Simply add a comment below and share your favorite resource for teaching your children. It could be your favorite music CD, book, or resource.

Giveaway closed.

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