Shaving Cream Paint
I found this idea over at No Time for Flash Cards.
Shaving Cream Paint
3/4 cup shaving cream
1/4 cup white school glue
spoonful of paint for color (optional)
Mix together. You now have an awesome 3-D paint for your little ones!
A Year of Family Worship: Getting Started
How do you get started with Family Worship if you have never done it before?
First, I would suggest you seek the Lord out and ask Him to direct your worship. After all, He is the One we are worshiping! We want it to be pleasing to Him, right?
Secondly, choose the best time of day. If you are able to have morning and evening worship – wonderful! I try, but there are days when it just doesn’t work. In our house, we have morning worship at the table after eating breakfast. This works out easiest for us. Evening worship in our house usually happens around 7 pm. If you are not able to do it twice a day, choose a time when the family is generally together – right before bed, before leaving for school, etc. Family Worship does not have to take very long 15 minutes is usually all you need to have a good experience. Of course, if you are enjoying yourselves and time is on your side, why not take as long as you like?
You will want to choose a good devotional book or a book with Bible stories suitable for the ages of your children. You may also want to purchase song books with fun worship songs. In our house we use a book that my husband used in church as a child back in the 1950’s. It is called Happy Songs for Girls and Boys. I was very lucky to find a big stack of these song books for free at a church school book giveaway. We also have a number of praise song books and of course a good number of fun songs right in our heads!
If you have a family member – including a child – who plays the piano or guitar or other instrument, encourage them to play for worship. I am especially partial to guitar music at worship time!!
In our house we like to start by singing songs, followed by story time, discussion, Scripture memory, and prayer. Give your children an opportunity to share prayer requests and then make a point to pray for them. You may want to keep a family prayer journal and record prayer request in black ink and answers to prayer in red ink!
Worshiping God together as a family will bring you closer together as a family and closer to God!
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If you would like to take part in A Year of Family Worship, add your blog to the Mr. Linky below. If you don’t have a blog, you can add your comments in the comment section! You can read about A Year of Family Worship here. And you can see the 52 Weeks of Family Worship here.
Each Wednesday, we will add a new post for A Year of Family Worship and you can do the same. Share your goals, experiences, and ideas for family worship with the rest of us!
If you do not have a blog… you can either post your ideas here in the comments or even join our Proverbs 31 Sisters Network and get a free blog that way!
When you add your link below with the Mr.Linky… please add the link directly to your post on Family Worship – not to your main blog. This way, folks don’t have to go searching for the Family Worship post!
Q & A: Structuring the Day for a Toddler
Q: Melissa, Thanks so much for your reply. I haven’t tried a more structured routine because I fear I cannot keep being consistent with it. He does spend a lot of time alone during the day as I tend my 1 yr old(nursing, changing, (etc.) I have never considered him being alone causing his independence, but I can see where it would. I do not feel an adequate mother because at times I do raise my voice(yell) and get irritated when I am interrupted. I feel pulled in a million directions and often resent the time I have to spend with all the responsibilities I have. Any advice on a good routine for a 3 1/2 yr old, with a still nursing on occasion 1 yr old? Thanks!!!
A: Dear Mom, Toddlers can be very trying or very rewarding. I remember when my son who is just about to turn 19 was 3 1/2 years old and I had a newborn baby girl. At the time I was very young and despite my best efforts I just didn’t know how to handle him. I have learned a lot since then! It’s too bad that sometimes our firstborn children don’t get the best of us.
A lot of things can affect the behavior of your toddler. A calm child is more likely to come from a calm home and vice versa. Keep in mind here, that there are exceptions to the rule! But generally this is the case.
Your three year old knows that when you sit down to nurse the baby that you are distracted. He also knows when you are distracted with other tasks whether it is changing a diaper, cooking a meal, cleaning the house, or reading a book. Three year olds naturally want to take advantage of the situation! Not only that, but three year olds want your attention, so if he is occupying himself for large portions of the day he is going to be harder to handle.
I know how easy it is to want to “escape” from reality by sitting down with a book, computer, television, etc. – ignoring the little tyke as he pulls all of the books off the shelf or gets into the refrigerator. You just want peace and quiet!
I also know how easy it is to feel like a three year old is a needy little monster who is sucking the life out of you. So, when you are trying to get your TO DO LIST accomplished, interruptions are not pleasant. You just want to get your stuff done and get on with your life!
Let me tell you though – I have been there and now that my 18 going on 19 year old is practically grown, I really wish I had taken more time to sit on the floor with him and listened to him talk to me, play with me, interact with me. In other words I wish I had spent more time being “present.” I was there, but my mind was elsewhere.
Thankfully, by the time he was school age I had a wake up call because I realized how fast my children were growing up and I have spent the last dozen years or more “being present.”
Jesus has given us the honor of being a mom. Our first and foremost ministry is not to our friends, it’s not to our church, it’s not to ourselves – it is to our family – our husbands and children. This time passes by soooo quickly! I know it seems like forever when all you feel is frustration and sorrow. But this will pass and you will wonder where the years went!!
It’s okay to take a time out from time to time and read a book or soak in the tub. And it is okay to insist that the house be kept neat and tidy. It is even good for your kids to know that responsibilities are important. But don’t forget that being there for your kids, paying attention to what they are doing – even when you’d rather be somewhere else – is in the end going to make everyone happier. Including yourself.
I often hear (and witness) moms who complain about their toddlers creating havoc in the home everyday. The child makes huge messes, throws temper tantrums, insists on having his way all the time. But my question is always this – what is Mom doing when little Timmy is making that huge mess?
If you are in the kitchen cooking supper and little Timmy is in the living room pulling all of the tape out of the VCR tapes – the problem does not lie with the child, it lies with the mom. She has allowed her little mischievous child to be alone for 30 minutes while she prepares the meal (which is a worthy endeavor). Rather than allowing him unsupervised access to the living room (or any other part of the house) put up a gate and insist he stay in the kitchen with you while you cook. Then, give him activities to keep him busy.For instance:
- give him a drawer of pots or toy dishes he can play with
- feed him grapes or carrot stick while he waits for supper
- pull out a special coloring book reserved just for that same time each day
- let him tear up lettuce for the salad, stir the cornbread batter, or shake the “Shake and Bake”
If your toddler helps himself to the fridge every time you sit down to nurse the baby (or whatever), instead of letting him have free reign of the house, put up a gate and give him a box of blocks or other toy to play with. One of my favorite ideas is to make Activity Bags for your toddler. Get them out only when you nurse the baby or at the same time each day when you need to get a chore done.
So, my point is, toddlers are going to get into stuff, if for no other reason than to test your parenting skills! Don’t leave them unattended! The other issue with leaving your child alone to occupy himself is the fact that is causes your child to feel insecure and unsure of himself. He realizes that the boundaries are too wide and what he really wants is structure and solid boundaries to keep him safe. Having reasonable rules and limits to what is acceptable behavior gives children a feeling of being loved and cared for.
Oh, and another note – a lot of moms don’t wake up before their children. Instead, little Timmy has to come and wake mommy up and ask for something to eat. Don’t be that kind of mom.
Here is a good routine for a mom with a toddler and infant:
6:00 am – Wake up. Have devotions and prayer time – if baby is away, nurse her during this time. Prepare Breakfast.
7:00 am – Wake up toddler. Make beds. Get dressed. Eat Breakfast. Morning Worship – sing some fun songs, have a Bible story, and pray.
8:00 am – Chore Time for Mom – Tidy kitchen & sweep, tidy bathrooms & wipe down sinks, start load of laundry,10 minute de-clutter. During this time you can do one of two things with the little ones – put the gate up and let them play with toys. Or let them watch PBS. I know television as a baby sitter [sigh]. It works.
9:00 am - Play time.
10:30 am – Snack time.
11:30 am – Pick up toys. Prepare lunch.
12:00 pm – Eat lunch. Tidy Kitchen.
1:00 pm – Playtime with Mommy.
2:00 pm - Nap/ Quiet time. Afternoon chores for Mommy – fold & put away clothes, mop floors, tidy house, etc.
4:00 pm – Play Outside time in good weather. Or Play Inside during bad weather, in which case at 4:45 have children pick up toys. Don’t just tell your toddler to clean up his toys. Work beside him. Also, having toys well organized makes this much easier. Teach your child from an early age to only get one toy out at a time. HUGE timesaver!
5:00 pm – Prepare supper.
6:00 pm – Eat supper.
7:00 pm – Family Worship.
7:30 pm – Bath time. Story time.
8:00 pm – Bed time for kids. Let me say that bedtimes can be really difficult. I still remember the frustration of putting my first three children to bed – the crying, the spankings – it was horrible. I wised up with my fourth and fifth kids. I laid down and snuggled with them. Those memories are precious to me – the conversations we had! The hugs and kisses! The sweet, happy bedtimes! I wouldn’t trade it for the world!
9:00 pm – Tidy kitchen. Prepare for tomorrow.
Once you do a routine everyday, your child will begin to know what to expect and when. Eating at about the same time is really helpful and can prevent a lot of temper tantrums caused by low blood sugar (hunger)! Patience in dealing with your children is really key – a calm mommy is more likely to have a calm baby/ child. If you always respond with a tense/ angry voice why should you expect any different from your child?
Don’t not try to get into a good solid routine just because you afraid of failing. Never forget that tomorrow is a new day! God can give you the strength to be the best mom possible for your children. It isn’t easy. Raising kids just isn’t. But it is worth every bit of effort!
A Year of Family Worship: Church History
“O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.” Psalm 95:6
For the last few days, we have been reading a book each morning for worship called Angels on Horseback and Other “Grandma Stories.” I found the book at a church school library giveaway last year. It is not a fancy book. In fact, the printing is very basic and the binding looks homemade – but the stories are wonderful!
They are full of our church history. I didn’t grow up learning about church history. I want my children to know about those people who changed the course of the world through their faithfulness to God!
Stories of great leaders – stories of their real lives – show our children that despite the odds and despite the struggles we can all lay down our lives for Him. These kind of stories show our children where they came from, the legacy of faith and the spirit of truth that has lived in men and women down through the ages.
That’s what family worship is for – to inspire our children (and ourselves) to live for Jesus everyday – at home and away. As mothers we have been commissioned first to be ministers to our families, our husbands and children. We are to care for them in a way that Jesus would care for them. We are to show them that true faith is demonstrated in a life of service to those around you.
Family worship strengthens our relationship with each other and gives us courage to face the day with determination to live a consecrated life, to live a holy life. It brings into focus why we worship our Savior and show us the purpose He has for each one of us.
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If you would like to take part in A Year of Family Worship, add your blog to the Mr. Linky below. If you don’t have a blog, you can add your comments in the comment section! You can read about A Year of Family Worship here. And you can see the 52 Weeks of Family Worship here.
Each Wednesday, we will add a new post for A Year of Family Worship and you can do the same. Share your goals, experiences, and ideas for family worship with the rest of us!
If you do not have a blog… you can either post your ideas here in the comments or even join our Proverbs 31 Sisters Network and get a free blog that way!
When you add your link below with the Mr.Linky… please add the link directly to your post on Family Worship – not to your main blog. This way, folks don’t have to go searching for the Family Worship post!
52 Weeks of Family Worship
“O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.” Psalm 95:6
Each week, over the course of this year, we will be looking at ways we can worship together as a family. You can Join in A Year of Family Worship here. Come back each Wednesday to join in!
- A Year of Family Worship
- Family Worship
- Making the Sabbath a Delight
- Cheerful Homes will be a Light to Neighbors
- Church History
- Getting Started with Family Worship
A Year of Family Worship
“O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.” Psalm 95:6
As moms, we have an incredible responsibility to raise our children to worship our Lord. There comes a time in every child’s life when they must take hold of their parents faith and make it their own. They have to believe for themselves. How do we as parents, insure that our children do not walk away from the faith we have taught them when they are grown? An astounding percentage of children (over 80%) leave the church when they grow up and leave home. This is across every denomination!
It isn’t enough to simply take your kids to church every now and then or even every week. You need to show them how to love their Creator, how to worship their Father, how to have a special, close relationship with Jesus Christ. You need to give them an example to follow as you daily die to yourself and walk a consecrated life for Him.“Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6.
Deuteronomy 6 tells us:
Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged… And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates…
Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee. And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers… And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.
We are to teach our children to worship God and keep His commandments when we wake up and when we sit around the table and as we go through our day. Point out to your children the wonders of God, answers to prayer, miracles that happen. Pray together as a family and pray for your children – in private and with them present. And worship God together as a family.
Family worship not only strengthens their faith. Family worship strengthens your family. Having daily worship gives you an opportunity to show the children how to delight in Jesus.
Each week, over the course of this year, we will be looking at ways we can worship together as a family.
The Heart of Her Husband: Day 13
“The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her.” Proverbs 31:11
With Valentine’s Day approaching in just a few days… I thought it would be fun to focus on different aspects of the marriage relationship or rather, how you and I can be better wives! Proverbs 31 tells us that the heart of the virtuous woman’s husband could safely trust in her. Does your husband trust you or does his hear lie in fear of what is coming?
You can read the rest of this series here.
You love your husband when you love your kids.
Are you tired and anxious, annoyed and irritated on a regular basis with your kids? Do you find yourself being short or yelling at them… all day long? Do you long for time away from your family?
I want to encourage you to take a step and back and think about your children. Really think about them. Not as little monsters who came into this world to ruin your life, but as precious gifts from God.
Nothing will teach us more about patience than motherhood. God has a plan for you and for each of your children. It is up to you and only you whether this season of motherhood brings you joy and peace and patience.
Delight in your children. Spend time with them – just being with them, talking to them, getting to know them. If you are bothered every time your child interrupts your activities or wants your attention, the irritation does not come from God but from the one who seeks to destroy. Stop what you are doing and really pay attention to your children – before it is too late! They grow up so fast and the moments you have right now will be gone forever ten minutes from now.
It’s okay to have quiet time or “me time” every now and then, but during this season of your life, God has given you the awesome responsibility of raising your children for His kingdom. The best way you can do that is to show your children by your example what it means to live for Him and then spend quality time every day training them, teaching them His ways.
Finally, show your children what a wonderful father they have. Instead of rolling your eyes when he makes a request or snapping back at him when he asks a question, love him and teach your children to love him. Make daddy the hero of your home. Don’t waste this time that God has given you. Life is too short to not enjoy the blessings around us.
Rainy Day Fun
This year, it seems as if there has been more rain than ever. Some of you have seen a lot of snow and have been snowed in your homes with the kiddos. If you’ve been snowed in or just stuck inside on a rainy day, here are a couple of fun and edible ways to brighten up your day!
First, on our agenda is a recipe for Play Dough Cookies. I have tried this recipe, and had a ton of fun making them! A friend and I decided to make them during Christmas, although neither of us have children. My nephew thought the cookies “looked cool”, like a large lollipop. I’m sure that children of any age would enjoy this! They are fun, bright and very delicious! We found this recipe on The Secret is in the Sauce blog.
Play Dough Cookies
3/4 cup butter
3 ounces cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 and 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
assorted food coloring (gel or paste works best)
*We used gel food coloring, and it was an absolute success!*
1. In a bowl cream butter, cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
2. In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir until soft dough forms. Divide dough into Fourths. Tint each with a different food coloring.
Wrap in plastic and chill for two hours. (I stuck it in the freezer for 15 minutes because I hate to wait!)
3. Preheat oven to 350. Shape colors into 3/4 inch balls.
For each cookie place one pink, one orange, one green, and one blue ball together and roll to make one giant ball. Roll into a 12 inch long snake, and then starting at one end coil roll to make a cookie.Place cookies 2 to 3 inches apart on greased cookie sheet to allow for spreading.
4. Bake for 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool and store in an airtight container. Enjoy!
We found that by placing the rolled balls back in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes, they were easier to roll out into snakes for some adorable cookies! Here, they are – the finished product!
Next, we are going to make homemade Play-Doh! Since it is homemade, it is also edible. I know that, as a child, my brother and I often considered eating the store bought kind. So mothers, never fear! Your child is safe to eat your “Play Dough”.
Play Dough for Kids
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tbsp. oil
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
Food coloring/flavoring (optional)
Directions:
Mix all ingredients. Cook over medium heat for 1 minute or until mixture begins to get thick. Pour onto wax paper and knead. Put into a zipper bag to keep fresh and soft.
To color:
Put amount of dough you wish to color in a zipper bag. Drop food coloring into bag with dough and knead while in bag.
I hope you have a fantastic time making the “Play Dough” and Play Dough cookies! The cookies are absolutely delicious, and definitely picture worthy! I have had a great time making each of these recipes. It might be said that I, too am just a big kid.
So, if you ever find yourself (and your children) stuck inside on a cold, nasty day grab up these recipes and prepare to brighten your day!
Tips for Teaching Your Children to be More Thankful
As the mother of five children, I have realized that children are not always as thankful as they should be. In fact, children can be downright greedy at times and you may wonder how it was possible that you gave birth to such a selfish creature.
So, how do we, as moms, teach our children that life is not always easy and they should be thankful for all that they have and that they should appreciate what others have done for them or given them? Here are some easy ways you can incorporate being thankful in your everyday life.
1. Model Thankful Behavior. This may seem like an obvious one, but how often do you remember to say thank you when someone does something for you? How often do you tell your children how thankful you are that have a warm home, or a full fridge, or even a friendly pet? We should be thankful for all things in this life. Tonight as you sit together at the dinner table begin a new conversation with the words, “I am so thankful for …” even if all you can think to be thankful for is the fact that your family is together. And remember to be thankful all year round – not just during the holiday season!
2. Let Your Children Contribute. Kids like to feel they are contributing something worthwhile to others. Whether it be helping you set the table, or baking cookies for a neighbor, or raking leaves for an elderly person, children will be more thankful if they feel they are helpful to others. A good lesson can be learned from volunteering time at a local soup kitchen or other charity. It never hurts for children to realize there are others who are less fortunate than they are.
3. Don’t Bombard Children with Too Much Stuff. Kids are like sponges. They will grab up as much stuff as they can. Has your child ever had a case of the GIMMES? Once they get it, it can be a hard task to change their selfish attitude to one of thankfulness. One word: PURGE! Give excess to the needy.
4. Keep a Family Blessings Journal. Record happy events, fun memories and other notes on Friday evening after supper. From time to time reread the entries.
Home is the Heart of All Activity
Society is composed of families, and is what the heads of families make it. Out of the heart are “the issues of life”; and the heart of the community, of the church, and of the church, the prosperity of the nation, depend upon home influences.
The elevation or deterioration of the future of society will be determined bu the manners and morals of theyouth growing up around us. As the youth are educated, and as their characters are molded in the childhood to virtuous habits, self-control, and temperance, so will their influence be upon society. If they are left unenlightened and uncontrolled, and as the reult bcome self-willed, intemperate in appetite and passion, so will be their future influence in molding society. The company which the young now keep, the habits they now form, and the principles they now adopt are the index to the state of society for years to come.
– Ministry of Healing, Ellen White, p. 349
