5/11/06 MOMS, MARRIAGE, TRAINING, TODDLE TIME, TEENS, TIDBITS
Posted by: jhbreneman <jhbreneman@...>
ENCOURAGEMENT TO WOMEN
Compiled especially for you with love by Lois Breneman
BATTLE CRY FOR YOUR FAMILY
OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF THESE PRECIOUS BOYS!
WHY GOD MADE MOMS
ACTIVITIES FOR TEENS - A GREAT RESOURCE
MISCELLANEOUS TIDBITS FOR MOMS
THE DA VINCI DECEPTION, SOFT CONTACT WEARERS, SWEET TATER, BEST GAS PRICES, WAXED SINKS, QUOTES
A FUN FAMILY DEVOTIONAL IDEA TO USE WITH CHILDREN
BATTLE CRY FOR YOUR FAMILY
Manners of the Heart - By Jill Rigby - [email protected] - Copyright 2006 - Used by permission
I believe with my whole heart that God made us without answers for our parenting questions, so that we would be wholeheartedly dependent on Him. Every answer we need for life is contained
within the pages of His Holy Word. We cannot dispute the absolute Truth, even though we spend a lot of time trying to escape from its reality.
Let me encourage you to pray this prayer as believing parents for your children. It's God's way of arming you to stand in the gap for your families:
Lord, place upon my head the helmet of salvation,
To protect my mind.
Place upon my chest the breastplate of righteousness,
To protect my heart.
Buckle around me the belt of Truth,
That I would know the Truth and speak the Truth,
That I would not be deceived, nor would I deceive.
I will carry the sword of the Spirit,
Your Word, as an offensive weapon.
Enable me to walk in the path of peace
You lay before me this day,
Not stepping to the left or to the right,
But walking in its narrow way.
With the Holy Spirit dwelling within,
With Jesus Christ, my brother, standing with us.
And with the Lord God Almighty empowering us,
We will stand and hold the shield of faith for our children, (Name each one)
Until each can carry it in their own faith. - Amen
**For single moms, stand boldly before the throne. The Lord will bless you with an extra arsenal of protection when you're willing to allow Him to be the head of your home. Take a stand for your children, in spite of your loss and pain.
Read Proverbs daily beginning with your middle school children and continue through high school. Begin with Proverbs 1:1 and read a few verses. If at all possible, try to read it before school in the mornings. If you have worked to plant seeds of goodheartedness in the younger years, fertilizing their hearts with the Proverbs will help your children mature into beautiful and handsome young adults!
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Jill Rigby is the author of Manners of the Heart, a manners and etiquette curriculum for elementary school children that teaches the moral principles of respectfulness toward others. She conducts workshops and seminars across the country for schools, civic organizations, and parents' groups. To learn more visit:
http://www.thecommunityofmanners.com
Our family was at a Fall Festival and while a man was sharing a devotional several other men brought in the roasted pig and laid it on the table. The shop was pretty quiet at the time, when Jenson, then 2 1/2, rather loudly proclaimed, "That's a big chicken!" There were lots of people who got to enjoy that "chicken" that night! =)
Also when Jenson was 2 1/2, during prayer in our family devotions, he said, Thank you for making our sins so they're not sins. What a precious perspective of God's love and forgiveness for us. ~ Annette, mother of 3 boys
By Mia Cronan - Main Street Mom - [email protected] - © 2006 - Used by permission
The following list represents but a few of the things that some parents tend to put off until a rainy day. Chances are, by that time it's too late for the children to be able to appropriately incorporate these behaviors into their repertoire of good conduct and virtuous activities. This is something of a potpourri of things for them to learn. Nonetheless, they should be taught -- and early.
PRAYER. Children should understand that, as much as you love them, there is a God who loves them even more. Prayer builds that relationship, and if started early, can lead to a life of
spirituality that will guide them through the tough and the great times.
MONEY MANAGEMENT. Just simple talks at the grocery store about why you don't care to purchase certain items can foster an early appreciation for money and how far it goes. Or while your child is dropping coins in his piggy bank, you can explain how money should be handled so that it's not wasted.
VIRTUES/FABLES/PARABLES: HONESTY, INTEGRITY AND CHARACTER. Aesop's Fables are a great way to introduce children to the virtues in life. Bill Bennett also wrote a book called The Book of Virtues which offers great stories for kids on the less tangible things in life that offer us value and give us character.
ETIQUETTE. Mealtime, respect for adults, saying "please," manners and writing thank you notes ... Sadly, these are lost arts in some families. As parents, we need to teach them early so
that they are a built-in part of our kids.
THINKING OF OTHERS' FEELINGS BEFORE OUR OWN. Here again, this is something that our culture no longer promotes, unfortunately. We now live in a society which grossly supports getting all we want for ourselves, regardless of how it affects others. We can see it today in road rage, for example. If the parents of the up-and-coming generation do we all we can to reverse that, maybe we can turn our culture around and back to the days when people had consideration for others, too.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND EXERCISE. Many children are encouraged to park themselves in front of a TV for hours on end because it's a convenient babysitter for the parents. Granted, there are times like the very long and cold days of winter when there simply isn't anything else to do. Video and computer games are another culprit. And we wonder why there are so many overweight, slothful children out there! As a rule, there are much healthier ways for kids to get entertainment. It takes some imagination on our part, but it's well worth the effort. And it will teach them to get active and creative at an early age.
MODERATION. Here again, our society is really into "bigger and more is better." Not always -- not when it teaches a child to be self-indulgent and possessive. If taught early that moderation is appropriate, it will become commonplace for our children to limit the bad things that seem so good at the time, but in reality are bad for them.
Mia Cronan is a happily married at-home mother of five children, living in Ohio. She owns and edits http://MainStreetMom.com, the magazine for modern mothers with traditional values.
WISDOM FOR MARRIAGE
Marriage is not so much finding the right person as being the right person. - Charles W. Shedd
Then, noticing our two-month-old son, he mentioned that his daughter had just had a baby, and he wondered what hospital our son was born in. "He was born at home," I answered.
The man looked at me then and said, "Wow, you don't get out much, do you?"
NEW FRONT LINE IN PARENTING
Homebodies - By Cheryl Gochnauer - [email protected] - Copyright 2005 - Used by permission
I sometimes write or design websites.
their children into day care sick - since they have important meetings and appointments. My niece has had over 100 different providers in the centers she's been to. She never knows who will be taking care of her in any five-minute time period. She whines, cries, and we have watched her go from the bubbly baby new to daycare to the sullen first grader who looks as if she knows too much about getting lost in the shuffle.
Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.
How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.
What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.
Why did God give you your mother and not some other Mom?
1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.
What kind of little girl was your Mom?
1. My Mom has always been my Mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.
What did Mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year?
4. Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?
Why did your Mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.
Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.
What's the difference between moms and dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home, and dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.
4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.
What does your Mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my Mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on her back.
We instinctively protect our eyes. We shield them from too much sun with sunglasses. If sand, or some irritant, is blowing toward us, we guard our eyes with our hands. God wants us to be that protective over His word in our lives. The word of God should be the center of our focus. As we daily meditate on God's word, it is deposited into our spirits and builds faith.
"...keep my words, lay up within you My commandments, ( for use when needed), and treasure them." Prov. 7:1 amp.
Our loving, heavenly Father guards, protects, shields and treasures us, His beloved children. We are the center of His focus.
"For thus said the Lord of hosts...to the nations who plundered you - for he who touches you touches the apple or pupil of his eye." Zech. 2:8amp.
Wow! I love that! As God's children, he who messes with us, messes with the apple of God's eye! Another definition of "pupil" is: the little man of the eye. When we look into someone's eyes, we see our reflection in their pupils. Since we are made in the image of God, when people look at us, they should see God's reflection in us.
"Keep and guard me as the pupil of Your eye, hide me in the shadow of Your wings." Ps. 17:8
ACTIVITIES FOR TEENS - A GREAT RESOURCE
By Julie Druck in PA, Editor of "A Heart for Home" - To subscribe: [email protected]
Wayne Rice, co-author of this book, is the brother of Mary Rice Hopkins in CA! http://www.maryricehopkins.com
Both Julie and Mary are "Heart to Heart" friends!
"Play It! and Play It Again! by Wayne Rice and Mike Yaconelli have been valuable resources in my constant search for games and activities to do with our Junior High students. Many game books tend to have the same ideas, but I found a bunch of fresh, new activities to put to the test! These books contain games for large and small groups, outside and inside activities, mixers, relays, and quiet times.
Note: Many used books written by Wayne Rice, including countless activities and family time ideas with teens, can be found at this site. Share this with your youth leader.
http://www.alibris.com/search/books/author/Rice,%20Wayne
MISCELLANEOUS TIDBITS FOR MOMS
The Da Vinci Deception by Erwin Lutzer ~ Type these words in and do an Internet search as to the many ways you can obtain this book! Fill out a book request form at your local public libraries and personally ask the librarians to carry one or more copies of this book. Many Christian leaders advise us not to see this blasphemous movie and I would certainly agree. I do not intend to see it. The Word of God tells us the real Truth about Jesus. Every word of God proves true!
Soft Contact Wearers ~ If you are not already aware that of this, please take note. The Food and Drug Administration has recommended that soft contact lens wearers stop using Bausch & Lomb's ReNu with MoistureLoc, after it has been found to cause serious eye fungus for many users of this product. It can cause scarring of the cornea and blindness. Return or throw it out!
"Sweet Tater" ~ Enjoy this little ditty sent by Karen Coughlin in Florida. Turn up the volume. See what kind of tater you are, but no matter what, I know you are a sweet tater!
http://www3.telus.net/public/a7a55952/sweettaters.htm
Best Gas Prices in Town ~ Just enter your zip code in the site below, and it will tell you which
gas stations in your area have the lowest gas prices (and the highest), along with the name of the gas stations and their locations. This site is updated every evening.
autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip=&src=Netxhttp://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip=&src=Netx
"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant."
- Robert Louis Stevenson
A FUN FAMILY DEVOTIONAL IDEA TO USE WITH CHILDREN By Lois Breneman, © 2006, Heart to Heart Newsletter, [email protected]
Did you know the original Play-Doh just turned 50 years old and is still going strong? Most of you moms probably grew up with Play-Doh yourselves and I hope you are still going strong, even at 50 years of age! Here is a short version of a great homemade playdoh recipe, that I think lasts even longer than the store bought, as long as you wrap it well in plastic wrap when your children are finished playing. Why not try it today? Then talk together about how God is the Potter and we are the clay.
Homemade Playdoh
1 cup flour - 1 cup water - 1 Tbsp. oil - 1/2 cup salt - 2 tsp. cream of tartar - food coloring
Blend in blender. Cook about 5 minutes in a Teflon pan sprayed with Pam. Let cool. Wrap well in plastic wrap and it will last a long time. If it dries a bit, just add a few drops of water and work into the dough. Does not need refrigerated. It is fun to make blue, yellow and pink. Then mix colors to make orange, purple and green. Coconut or peppermint flavorings may be added for fragrance. Another method of adding color and fragrance would be to add Kool Aid.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY - AND HAPPY DAUGHTER'S DAY!
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