Monday, May 31, 2010

Fruit of the Spirit: Self-Control


Week Thirty-Three: Self-Control
Day One:
* Pray
* Review
* Sing
* Pray

Day Two:
* Pray
* Read Proverbs 25:28
* What is self-control? (to hold back the things we want, what we want to say or do, if these things do not please God.)
* Learn the sign for self-control.
* Sing
* Pray

Day Three:
* Pray
* Read Proverbs 25:28
* What is self-control? (review from yesterday, another word is restraint.)
* Here's an example of restraint: When we take our dog for a walk what do we snap onto her collar? (A leash.) This is so we can restrain her if she tries to run off. In the same way, we need to put a "leash" on ourselves to show restraint and self-control.
* Sing
* Pray

Day Four:
* Pray
* Read Proverbs 25:28
* Walls around a city helped keep it safe, so self-control helps keep us safe. And, when we don't have self-control we are like a city whose walls are broken down.
* Sing
* Pray

Day Five:
* Pray
* Read Proverbs 25:28
* Journal
* Sing
* Pray

Week Thirty-Four: Self-Control
Day One:
* Pray
* Review
* Sing
* Pray

Day Two:
* Pray
* Read 2 Peter 1:6
* (Note: refer back to journal entry about the train in the Goodness section)
* Remember when we talked about adding goodness and faith?
* This is the same verse and it talks about lots of good things - one of them is self-control!
* Sing
* Pray

Day Three:
* Pray
* Read 2 Peter 1:6
* When we are friends with God - we have asked Him to live in our heart.
* After He comes to live in our heart, we will spend the rest of our lives growing. Just as a little baby grows and learns, so we as God's children will grow and learn!
* Self-control is one of the things we learn as we grow!
* Sing
* Pray

Day Four:
* Pray
* Read 2 Peter 1:6
* Journal
* Sing
* Pray

Day Five:
* Pray
* Read 2 Peter 1:6
* Review
* Sing
* Pray

Week Thirty-Five: Self-Control
Day One:
* Pray
* Review
* Sing
* Pray

Day Two:
* Pray
* Read Ephesians 4:26a
* What is anger? (When we get mad or upset about something or at someone else.)
* It is not a sin to feel angry - but how we handle that shows that we have self-control or shows that we do not have self-control.
* Sing
* Pray

Day Three:
* Pray
* Read Ephesians 4:26a
* Let's remember when we read Proverbs 15:1. Do you remember our story about John and Amy? (Found in Gentleness section, paraphrase story if necessary)
* When Amy used a gentle answer, she showed self-control and did the right thing. John did not have self-control because he got angry and upset and yelled at Amy.
* Sing
* Pray

Day Four:
* Pray
* Read Ephesians 4:26a
* How can I be angry and not sin?
- When you feel angry, remember God's Word and verses you have memorized.
- Pray and ask God to help you show self-control and not sin.
- Remember the way we treat others is the way we treat God.
- Self-control is the right choice and takes God's strength to help us.
* When we don't show self-control and do sin, what should we do?
-Ask God for His forgiveness and tell Him we are sorry.
* Sing
* Pray

Day Five:
* Pray
* Read Ephesians 4:26a
* Journal
* Sing
* Pray

Week Thirty-Six: Self-Control
Day One:
* Pray
* Review
* Sing
* Pray

Day Two:
* Pray
* Read Psalm 34:13
* One of the ways we show self-control is by being careful about what we say.
* God's Word says not to speak lies or say things that are wrong, unkind or not true.
* Sing (Oh, Be Careful Little Eyes What You See, etc...)
* Pray

Day Three:
* Pray
* Read Psalm 34:13
* We know not to say evil or untrue things - so what should we say?
- nice, true, kind, right words
* If we can't do the right thing - should we say anything? (NO!)
* Sing
* Pray

Day Four:
* Pray
* Read Psalm 34:13
* Journal
* Sing
* Pray

Day Five
* Pray
* Read Psalm 34:13
* Review
* Sing
* Pray

Friday, May 28, 2010

Fruit of the Spirit: Gentleness

This is the next to last installment in this series - the final post will be up on Monday! Thanks for your patience!

Week Twenty-Nine: Gentleness
Day One:
* Pray
* Review
* Sing
* Pray

Day Two:
* Pray
* Read 1 Peter 3:3-4
* What does the word gentleness mean?
- Think about when you are around a little baby and mama says to be gentle: soft; quiet.
- It also means not acting unkindly or in a way that would hurt someone.
* Learn the sign for gentleness.
* Sing
* Pray

Day Three:
* Pray
* Read 1 Peter 3:3-4
* These verses tell us that a gentle and quiet attitude in our heart is more important than wearing fancy clothes and lots of jewelery.
* Because when we have a gentle and quiet attitude, it makes God very happy!
* Sing
* Pray

Day Four:
* Pray
* Read 1 Peter 3:3-4
* What does it mean to have a gentle and quiet spirit?
* Does complaining show a gentle and quiet spirit? (NO!)
* Does asking forgiveness show a gentle and quiet spirit? (Yes!)
* Does pouting when you don't get your way show a gentle and quiet spirit? (NO!)
* Does keeping quiet when you want to do or say something unkind show a gentle and quiet spirit? (Yes!)
* What makes us truly beautiful is what shines from inside us!
* Sing
* Pray

Day Five:
* Pray
* Read 1 Peter 3:3-4
* Review
* Sing
* Pray

Week Thirty: Gentleness
Day One:
* Pray
* Review
* Sing
* Pray

Day Two:
* Pray
* Read Philippians 4:5a
* Who are we to show gentleness to? (All!)
* Just to those who love us and are kind to us? (No, to all people)
* Just those who love God? (No, to all people)
* Even those who are not very nice to us? (Yes, to all people)
* Sometimes it will seem easy to show gentleness and other times it will be hard. But, it is something God tells us to do so we must obey Him!
* Sing
* Pray

Day Three:
* Pray
* Read Philippians 4:5a
* How can I show gentleness to those around me?
- If I ask my Mom for something and she says not right now - how can I answer with gentleness?
- If I wave or say "hi" to someone at the store and they frown at me - how can I act with gentleness?
- When I'm playing at a friends house and Mama says it is time to go - how can I respond with gentleness?
* Sing
* Pray

Day Four:
* Pray
* Read Philippians 4:5a
* Journal
* Sing
* Pray

Day Five:
* Pray
* Read Philippians 4:5a
* Review
* Sing
* Pray

Week Thirty-One: Gentleness
Day One:
* Pray
* Review
* Sing
* Pray

Day Two:
* Pray
* Read Matthew 11:29
* What does it mean to learn? (Remember when you learned your ABC's? When you were smaller, you did not know your ABC's - you had to learn them. You sang songs, looked at the letters and practiced your sounds and now you know them. Going from not knowing to knowing is learning!)
* Who is me? Who is the best person we can learn from? (Jesus)
* Sing
* Pray

Day Three:
* Pray
* Read Matthew 11:29
* This verse tells us that we can learn from Jesus! He sets an example for us to follow!
* Do you know what an example is? It is when someone shows us what to do and we follow.
* Let's play a game: Follow the Leader
* Sing
* Pray

Day Four:
* Pray
* Read Matthew 11:29
* Journal
* Sing
* Pray

Day Five:
* Pray
* Read Matthew 11:29
* Remember how we played Follow the Leader? Jesus is the very best leader we can follow! When we read the Bible - we learn about Jesus and then we can obey what it says!
* How does Jesus set an example in gentleness?
- He is kind.
- He does not act unkindly to us.
- He is not rude.
- He would never hurt us!
- He wants what is best for us!
* When bad people wanted Jesus to die on the cross, did He get angry? Did He yell and throw a fit? No, He acted with gentleness.
* Sing
* Pray

Week Thirty-Two: Gentleness
Day One:
* Pray
* Review
* Sing
* Pray

Day Two:
* Pray
* Read Proverbs 15:1
* What is a gentle answer? (soft, kind, not angry, quiet)
* A gentle answer turns away wrath - what is wrath? (anger or trying to get back at someone)
* If someone snatches a toy and says, "That's mine!" - how can you give a gentle answer?
* Let's think of how a gentle answer turns away wrath:

**John came storming into the house and yelled, "Where are you Amy? I'm going to hit you! I'm so mad that you moved my toy!"

Amy came and gently said, "I'm sorry, John - I didn't mean to upset you, I moved your toy because I was afraid someone would trip on it. Let's go outside together and I'll show you where it is, ok?"

John listened to Amy's soft answer and realized he wasn't angry anymore - "Thanks, Amy - that would be great! I did not know my toy was in the way. Thanks for telling me why you moved it! Come on, let's go play!"

* Did you see how her soft answer turned away wrath?!
* Sing
* Pray

Day Three:
* Pray
* Read Psalm 15:1
* The rest of this verse says that a harsh word stirs up anger. Let's think about our story with John and Amy. Let's see how it might work out differently.

** John came storming into the house and yelled, "Where are you Amy? I'm going to hit you! I'm so mad that you moved my toy!"

Amy came out and yelled, "Well, if you had put your toy away where it goes I wouldn't have had to move it! I don't care if you do hit me because I'm going to hit you!"

"Fine!" John yelled, "I am so angry with you and don't want to play with you today."

"Fine!" said Amy as she stomped away.

* See how awful it was when Amy did not have a soft and gentle answer?
* Sing
* Pray

Day Four:
* Pray
* Read Proverbs 15:1
* Journal
* Sing
* Pray

Day Five:
* Pray
* Read Proverbs 15:1
* Review
* Sing
* Pray

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Waiting Gracefully: Ministry

In addition to bringing sunshine to the lives of others, my time of waiting as a single young woman was a great opportunity to serve God.

A few ideas:

~ sign up to help deliver meals to people in your church. New moms, ones who have recently lost a loved one or undergone surgery are so blessed by not worrying about what their family will eat that night!

~ volunteer at church! If you know me, you know that I love to smile - I helped as a greeter at church for a few years during this time.

~ invest in children! Being able to utilize the church nursery and children's Sunday School now, I know what a blessing it is to parents to be able to take advantage of! Then, it was a blessing to me to help in the nursery, teach children's Sunday School, help in VBS, etc... Now, it is a blessing to me to know that others are willing to serve in this way.

~ be open to opportunity. One of my room-mates was asked to teach two little girls about God as their mom was not a believer but wanted her girls to have the opportunity to decide for themselves. After my room-mate moved, I continued this study and it grew to four little girls every Friday night! What a sweet opportunity!

~ embrace your flexibility. I can remember numerous times where I was able to go help someone or a group because I was available last minute. Yes, sometimes it upset my personal plans, but I was always glad that I had responded to the call and thankful that I was able to do those things for others.

~ get involved in your community. I love being involved at church, in my neighborhood and at home. But, I also really like the idea of doing something that impacts my community. At the time I was single, I joined the Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary and it was a mutual blessing to be involved like that.

The ideas could go on and on - you get the picture and I'm sure you have lots of great ideas of your own to add!

Reach out! Invest yourself!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

A Sweet Surprise!

We have heard many friends share about finding wild blackberries in their yards and to our surprise, we found a few too! They were quickly washed and popped into Rachel's fruit-loving mouth!

Have you ever found something growing by surprise in your yard?

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

A Sweet Morning

Are you like me? Do you ever feel like the things that come out of your mouth are more negative than positive? And, I mean in how we relate to our littles...

Don't touch that.

Stop playing with that.

Get down from there.

Please do not eat that.

Take that out of your mouth.

Pick that up. Put that back. Negative. Negative. Negative.

Know what I mean?

I've recently been reading Teach Them Diligently and while the writing is not my style and way over my head, I am gleaning good things from it. While reading it, I was laying in bed and asking God to help me be more positive to my children. To increase the number of positive things I say and the ways that I encourage them.

And, He brought an idea to mind to plan a sweet morning for them - where I was focused on just being with them and on their level. Positive.

I woke early Monday morning and set my plan in motion ...

A couple of cozy quilts, a few pillows off of our comfy couch, a basket of books including crayons, coloring books and bubbles. Plus a tray of breakfast dishes and a canning jar of flowers (is anything complete without either a canning jar or flowers or both?!)

The girls are greeted by this sight when they waken and wander out from bed ~

~ we head outside even though Samuel is still conked out... and the girls know just what to do! Find a cozy spot and just sit ~

Soon they have each grabbed a book and are cozily turning pages ~
I am hanging freshly washed linens on the line and watching the sweet scene unfold.
I go in to bring out breakfast and am met with more sweetness ~

Doing things a bit fancier says you are special!

Emily's favorite muffins lately ~
Rachel wishes for a roof ~ and I exclaim over what a beautiful roof God has provided for us to enjoy on a lovely lazy morning ~

We open our Bible together and read about the way God takes care of His people ~ then we act it out, running across the yard and standing in awe of the parted waters!

A sweet face thanks me for this fun morning and for the special treat of eating breakfast outside!

I can't resist the beckoning to come and see these blooms any longer! I head over to the garden to admire God's creativity at work here in this space we call home!

Good morning, sleepyhead!

Together, we color ~

~ we blow and chase bubbles!

And, then we come to the best part of the sweet idea God has provided. To bless. To encourage. To speak positive words that build up!

Emily and I sat together and wrote a list of things we love about Rachel. Then, Rachel and I did the same for Emily. We came back together and enjoyed reading the lists. Kind words were said. Lips dripped with blessings. And, grateful hearts received the blessings and turned them back into thanks and praise.

"Thank you, Mommy and Emily for saying such nice and special words to me!"

My heart was singing. And, rejoicing in God's goodness to show me the way.

We spent over two hours outside together and were only driven in by the beginning rains.
The investment of time on my part was small - but I feel the benefits of choosing God's way, speaking kindness and encouragement and blessing as well as focusing gently on my little ones will reap abundantly more than I have sown.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Nina and Pinta

We recently had the opportunity to go aboard replicas of the Nina and the Pinta! I could hardly imagine traveling across the ocean on such a vessel - and knowing that much work and hardship awaited them on the other side of the voyage. It gave me a new perspective on the sacrifices made even to embark on such a journey... enjoy the pictures!

Can I just say that I adore this photo? It is not anything spectacular in many ways - but I am in love with how Samuel's little shaved head is turned my way - his eyes fixed on me and his sweet smile hindered only by a finger in his mouth. My other two have outgrown gazing at me so adoringly - I just love this:

Can you imagine traveling across the ocean in a boat like one of these?

Friday, May 21, 2010

Porch Fluffing: Table and Chairs

Here is the completed table and chairs for our new porch! Before pictures found here. These pictures were taken the day I hosted a tea party for a few friends!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Waiting Gracefully: Bring sunshine to others!

The season of being single is a unique opportunity to be able to share of ourselves with others! I used to love to come up with creative ideas to bless others!

* Bake blueberry muffins: wrap individually and add a ribbon and tag, "Have a Berry Special Day!" Surprise your co-workers by secretly leaving a treat on their desk!

* Have more than you can use of something? I had extra peaches one summer and tied them with twine and a tag, "Have a peachy day!" and left them at my neighbor's doors.

* Celebrate May Day!

* Make a casserole for your dinner and share some with a neighbor. I used to take a plate of dinner to my neighbor below me every once in a while!

* When I was a cheerleading coach, I used to do all sorts of things for my cheerleaders. Make a fun lunch of cute shaped sandwiches, make crafts together, bake cookies together for the teams, etc...

* Invite others over for dinner, pack a charming picnic or take a meal to someone who needs it!

Who is around you now that could use some sunshine in their days?

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Seasons

I'm over at Offering Hospitality today sharing on ideas for celebrating with your children!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Sweet Family Mornings

Several weeks ago I was contacted by a media rep for Pillsbury asking if I'd like to participate in a webinar with Sandra Lee. She was going to be sharing easy ways of dressing up canned cinnamon rolls for what they called, "Sweet Sunday Mornings."

I love what they are trying to do with this! Creating sweet family memories by fixing a little something special for breakfast! I wasn't available the day of the webinar and knew that on Sunday mornings we were at church!

But, their rep did not give up on me. One frustrating day, I heard a knock at the door and it was the UPS delivery man with a big box from Pillsbury! What a fun surprise -

Included was a pan to bake cinnamon rolls in, two super cute coffee mugs, a new dishtowel, a throw, rubber spatula, some recipes and lots of coupons for free cinnamon rolls! This motivated me to create a sweet morning on our new porch when my parents were here!

Word to the wise number one: do not anticipate what time your family will be up and have everything all ready only to have them sleep in another hour! Oops - wait until everyone is up and then bake it!

Word to the wise number two: apparently there are all kinds of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls. If you get the Grands Cinnamon Rolls - please do not bake them in a round cake pan or they will still be doughy. Ok. Now you know!

Step into our sweet morning ~

I made one pan of cinnamon rolls just according to the package directions and then used one of the featured Pillsbury recipes for dressing up the second can.

Apple Walnut Sticky Buns (you can watch a video of the recipe here)

1 can (12.4 oz.) Pillsbury refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing
2 Tbsp. butter, softened (I omitted this and just sprayed my pan with cooking spray)
1 apple: peeled, cored and cubed
3/4 c. chopped walnuts (I used pecan pieces)
1/2 c. brown sugar

Prepare muffin pan (note my word to the wise above! I used the Grands cinnamon rolls and they would not fit in a muffin pan so I used a round pan. Do not follow my example!)

Combine brown sugar, nuts and apple in a bowl. Divide among eight muffin cups. Top with cinnamon rolls and bake at 375 for 12-14 minutes.

Place a tray or baking sheet upside down over muffin pan and invert rolls on to serving dish. Ice and serve - mmmmm, delicious!

How do you bring the idea of a sweet family morning into your home? I was very interested to see the good ideas listed on Pillsbury's site for creating these special times together! Plan a special breakfast and create a new memory!!