Write It On the Doorframe of Your Home

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:5-9

We are a forgetful people! Deuteronomy 6 is a passage originally directed to the people of Israel, not long after they had been freed from the hands of Pharaoh and witnessed the parting of the Red Sea. Yet, they grew forgetful and unappreciative of all God had done for them. We all the more, need constant reminders to keep our focus on God and to keep His Word on the forefront of our minds. Take this passage literally! Surround yourself with scripture. Write memory verses on index cards and tape them in your car. Use window markers to write on your mirrors at home. Write out verses on pretty paper and hang them on the fridge. Incorporate verses into your decor - there are so many nice wall stickers available today at Hobby Lobby, Kohls, etc. Impress upon your children the importance of hiding God's Word in their hearts by living it out in a practical, tangible way.

   

How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word. Psalm 119:9-16

Etsy has a wide variety of these available, plus the option of customizing. Wall decals are also available at Hobby Lobby, JoAnn Fabric, Michael's, and Kohl's to name a few. Check out the variety also available on Amazon: Vinyl Wall Decals on Amazon

Children are great at memorization! Teach Bible verses when they are young and you will be amazed at how well they memorize and retain. There are whole chapters of scripture that I memorized as a child and can still, quickly bring to mind. I am grateful i learned them while young, because it is much more difficult now that I am sleep deprived and have had three kids turn my brain to mush! Many children are great audio learners. Play scripture songs in the background while driving, eating breakfast, etc. Some great options can be found here:

~Sarah

Consumed with Myself

Originally posted 2.4.2012 This little rambling has single handedly received more responses than any other post I have written. So, I thought it deserved a take 2!

I believe I was about 13 years old when I first heard the phrase:  

"Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself, less."

The need for humility hit me hard when I was a teenager, deep in thought and dreaming about the future. I thought SO hard about my future, from who I was going to marry, to what I was going to be and where I would live, what degree to get and where to go to college. I thought myself in circles, which eventually landed me in the ER to be treated for stress induced ulcers and acid reflux. During that time in my life, God taught me a lot about learning His will and trusting Him with my future. He also taught me that at the root of my stress, was selfishness. There was an obvious imbalance in the time I spent thinking about myself, to the time I spent in the Word and thinking of others.

Later on, this same concept hit me in the face as I dealt with self esteem issues. At the heart of my self doubt, lack of confidence, desire to be prettier, skinnier and more popular, was the fact that I was plain old, spending WAY too much of my time thinking about...myself!

I again needed a reminder of this in college, as I got caught up in the stress of classes and work, making more life changes and decisions on what direction to take. I find it most difficult to keep my focus on others when I have decisions to make, and for some reason, way too easily find justification for stressing over the future.

I love how Francis Chan puts it in his book, Crazy Love

"Both worry and stress reek of arrogance."

Did you catch that word, reek? How true is that! Arrogance is pretty strong stuff, and chances are, if you've been infected with it, your friends have noticed! He points out that stress "...says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace towards others, or our tight grip of control."

The human race was born into selfishness, it is our natural tendency and biggest downfall. Yet, I am still amazed at how well it hides itself and manifests itself in so many ways.  

Look hard, selfishness goes by many other names. 

At the heart of your self esteem issue, stress, anxiety, tiredness, many forms of depression, even good things like volunteering at church, serving the homeless, and so on - selfishness may be hiding.  Even on our BEST days, in our BEST intentions, selfishness may be lurking around somewhere. With every "selfless" deed we do, there is very often a small part of our mind that, if nothing else, hopes to be seen and praised. Wow, this all seems rather bleak doesn't it? Read on, you can do something about it!

As a mom, too often I get up in the morning and find the first thing out of my mouth is "uugh, the kids were up soooo many times last night, I hardly got any sleep. I feel miserable." Unfortunately, it usually doesn't end there. Rather than praying for an attitude check and making a conscious decision to be "joyful always" my misery continues through the day as I choose to stay consumed in myself. This is the stage of life I am at right now. God has done some amazing work in my life when it comes to trusting Him and not stressing about things. Lack of sleep is my current greatest offender. I am learning to anticipate the times my selfishness is apt to affect how i handle my kids, answer my husband, or respond to someone in need. I need to frequently take stock of my thought life and ask, is the majority of my time being spent thinking of myself?

Humility is not self deprecation, it is laying aside our own agendas, pity party, stress, bad moods, tiredness and excuses, for the good of others. 

~Sarah 

"Be joyful always; pray continually; 

give thanks in all circumstances..." -1 Thes. 5:16-18

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, 

but in humility consider others better than yourselves." -Phil 2:3 

"...clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." -Col. 3:12 

Progress Reports (revisited)

Originally posted March 1, 2012 This deserves a repeat! 

There are moms that constantly brag about their kid's accomplishments, to the point of annoyance. Then, there are moms that are so focused on what their kids are NOT accomplishing that it's disturbing. Secretly, many of the moms that are bragging about accomplishments are still inwardly comparing their kids to everyone else, hoping to stay ahead of the game. Many mom's suffer anxiety over what their kids aren't doing, what milestones they have not reached and if anyone else has noticed. We live in a society where the comparison game will drive you insane! We're given check lists of what our kids should be doing and when. The problem is, no kid is the same. God has created us all uniquely and individually. Your kid may not fit the mold or even come close to resembling the mold! Click the link to continue:

Early intervention is extremely helpful for some children, yes. But the system is flawed, because it assumes that all children develop at the same pace. Use milestone check lists as a very loose guideline, but don't get too freaked out if your child falls behind in any one area. My girls were slower verbal developers, but they were both running and jumping by 10 months. My 5 year old LOVES art, crafts, activity, reading, words, phonics, etc. (right brained, ya think?) but is struggling with "getting" anything numbers and math oriented. I am the same way! One of the best parts about homeschooling is that I can keep her moving ahead in the areas she is excelling, while taking extra time to focus on the things she is not grasping yet. We work at her pace, not a nation-wide, general pace set by the average student.     

I am one of those moms that got freaked out early-on, when I saw other kids progressing faster than my daughter. Isn't it just crazy that at 6 months, we're already comparing our kids and taking note of the things that they're doing in comparison with everyone else? Wait a second, it starts earlier than that! How about within the first week of life? We've been programed to search for something that will give us bragging rights, something that will immediately label our child as "above average." Whether it be, how early they sit up, how early they say their first word, how early they start reading, at what age they master algebra or graduate high school. It's a never-ending comparison game! Have you lost your mind yet? 

Today, I sat down to write up a progress report for my 5 year old. Initially, I was just curious to compile a list of the academic milestones she has reached and see how it measures up with the national average. I was again reminded of how far she has come. I am so quick to get down about the areas she is struggling in, but God really reminded me how blessed I am by all the things she CAN do! I ended up making lists for all 3 kids, writing down as many positive things that I could think of. I would recommend for anyone that is getting freaked out over what their kids AREN'T doing, to make a list of all the things they CAN do! Pray for your child and thank God for blessing you with their life. Your child may have been diagnosed with a learning disability or have mental and physical limitations - thank God for their accomplishments and talents! These may include things like: being kind, sensitive, having a joyful personality, affectionate, etc. Assessment has it's place, but remember that each child is unique, "fearfully and wonderfully made!" 

~Sarah

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.-Psalm 139:13-16

Help Your Kids Put Off and Put On

All kids are the same, and yet so different.  I have three little ones. Natalie is 5, Noah is 3, and Jude is 11 months.  They each have their own personalities and interests, but they are all my favorite little sinners.

We understand the Bible tells us we need to "train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it", but how do we do that?  Ephesians 4:25 thru 32 gives us the practical solution we are searching for. The Put Off and Put On principle.

 Paul outlines several sins and then explains how to overcome them. For example, stop stealing, start working, and then give.  Stop being angry, and start loving. Stop lying, tell the truth, and then become transparent.  We often fall short when correcting our children. We tell them to stop complaining.  Then what.  Just like if I tell you, don't think about an elephant wearing pink polk-a-dot shorts, sipping lemonade on the beach. What are you going to do?  Exactly. In order to stop thinking or doing something you must replace it with something else.  If you want your child to stop complaining, ask your child to do the opposite = be thankful.  When he is crying because his sibling is playing with a toy he is now suddenly interested in, ask him to tell you five things he is thankful for.  He will most likely need your help because he is used to complaining, but make sure you follow thru with what you've asked.

I created these flash cards about two years ago to help the kids remember verses to go with each offense.  Red means stop. Green means go.  These are my original flash cards that I made as a reminder for me, and a learning tool for the kids.  If you are proactively teaching, you will be amazed what they remember when a similar situation occurs.  BTW: We can learn this way, too :)

 

      Put OFF Selfishness

Put ON Generosity

Update: We now have a completed, downloadable study on putting off tattling and putting on peacemaking. Check it our in our Store! ~Julia

Progress Reports

There are moms that constantly brag about their kid's accomplishments, to the point of annoyance. Then, there are moms that are so focused on what their kids are NOT accomplishing that it's disturbing. Secretly, many of the moms that are bragging about accomplishments are still inwardly comparing their kids to everyone else, hoping to stay ahead of the game. Many mom's suffer anxiety over what their kids aren't doing, what milestones they have not reached and if anyone else has noticed. We live in a society where the comparison game will drive you insane! We're given check lists of what our kids should be doing and when. The problem is, no kid is the same. God has created us all uniquely and individually. Your kid may not fit the mold or even come close to resembling the mold!

Early intervention is extremely helpful for some children, yes. But the system is flawed, because it assumes that all children develop at the same pace. Use milestone check lists as a very loose guideline, but don't get too freaked out if your child falls behind in any one area. My girls were slower verbal developers, but they were both running and jumping by 10 months. My 5 year old LOVES art, crafts, activity, reading, words, phonics, etc. (right brained, ya think?) but is struggling with "getting" anything numbers and math oriented. I am the same way! One of the best parts about homeschooling is that I can keep her moving ahead in the areas she is excelling, while taking extra time to focus on the things she is not grasping yet. We work at her pace, not a nation-wide, general pace set by the average student. 

I am one of those moms that got freaked out early-on, when I saw other kids progressing faster than my daughter. Isn't it just crazy that at 6 months, we're already comparing our kids and taking note of the things that they're doing in comparison with everyone else? Wait a second, it starts earlier than that! How about within the first week of life? We've been programed to search for something that will give us bragging rights, something that will immediately label our child as "above average." Whether it be, how early they sit up, how early they say their first word, how early they start reading, at what age they master algebra or graduate high school. It's a never-ending comparison game! Have you lost your mind yet? 

Today, I sat down to write up a progress report for my 5 year old. Initially, I was just curious to compile a list of the academic milestones she has reached and see how it measures up with the national average. I was again reminded of how far she has come. I am so quick to get down about the areas she is struggling in, but God really reminded me how blessed I am by all the things she CAN do! I ended up making lists for all 3 kids, writing down as many positive things that I could think of. I would recommend for anyone that is getting freaked out over what their kids AREN'T doing, to make a list of all the things they CAN do! Pray for your child and thank God for blessing you with their life. Your child may have been diagnosed with a learning disability or have mental and physical limitations - thank God for their accomplishments and talents! These may include things like: being kind, sensitive, having a joyful personality, affectionate, etc. Assessment has it's place, but remember that each child is unique, "fearfully and wonderfully made!"

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. -Psalm 139:13-16

Consumed with Myself

I believe I was about 13 years old when I first remember hearing the phrase: 

"Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself, less."

 (Dad, I'm pretty sure I heard this from you!)

The need for humility hit me hard when I was a teenager, deep in thought and dreaming about the future. I thought SO hard about my future, from who I was going to marry, to what I was going to be and where I would live, what degree to get and where to go to college. I thought myself in circles, which eventually landed me in the ER to be treated for stress induced ulcers and acid reflux. During that time in my life, God taught me a lot about learning His will and trusting Him with my future. He also taught me that at the root of my stress, was selfishness. There was an obvious imbalance in the time I spent thinking about myself, to the time I spent in the Word and thinking of others.

Later on, this same concept hit me in the face as I dealt with self esteem issues. At the heart of my self doubt, lack of confidence, desire to be prettier, skinnier and more popular, was the fact that I was plain old, spending WAY too much of my time thinking about...myself!

I again needed a reminder of this in college, as I got caught up in the stress of classes and work, making more life changes and decisions on what direction to take. I find it most difficult to keep my focus on others when I have decisions to make, and for some reason, way too easily find justification for stressing over the future.

I love how Francis Chan puts it in his book, Crazy Love: "Both worry and stress reek of arrogance."

Did you catch that word, reek? How true is that! Arrogance is pretty strong stuff, and chances are, if you've been infected with it, your friends have noticed! He points out that stress "...says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace towards others, or our tight grip of control."

The human race was born into selfishness, it is our natural tendency and biggest downfall. Yet, I am still amazed at how well it hides itself and manifests itself in so many ways. Even on our BEST days, in our BEST intentions, selfishness is usually lurking around somewhere. With every "selfless" deed we do, there is very often a small part of our mind that, if nothing else, hopes to be seen and praised.

As a mom, too often I get up in the morning and find the first thing out of my mouth is "uugh, the kids were up soooo many times last night, I hardly got any sleep. I feel miserable." Unfortunately, it usually doesn't end there. Rather than praying for an attitude check and making a conscious decision to be "joyful always" my misery continues through the day as I choose to stay consumed in myself. This is the stage of life I am at right now. God has done some amazing work in my life when it comes to trusting Him and not stressing about things. Lack of sleep is my current greatest offender. I am learning to anticipate the times my selfishness is apt to affect how i handle my kids, answer my husband, or respond to someone in need. I need to frequently take stock of my thought life and ask, is the majority of my time being spent thinking of myself? Humility is not self deprecation, it is laying aside our own agendas, pity party, stress, bad moods, tiredness and excuses, for the good of others. 

Time and time again I am reminded to stop thinking about myself! 

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances..." -1 Thes. 5:16-18

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." -Phil 2:3 

"...clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." -Col. 3:12