God, Please Fill In Where I Erase

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I just got off the phone with a dear friend of ours. She is struggling to make some choices concerning the education of her son.

Maybe education isn't the issue at hand, but all parents have struggled over decisions concerning their children. Sometimes I struggle several times a day!

But then my friend said something very key.  She said, "God has given us two kids to raise and I don't want to mess up this important job."

Can you relate?  There are times that the weight of the responsibility can make it hard to breath!

God has blessed us with four beautiful children. They are on loan to us. It is our jobs to "train them up in the way they should go." (Prov. 22:6) This means that we are to train them up in the way God wants them to be trained up.

It's not how other people are training their kids.  It doesn't matter what "normal" training looks like.  It is all about the individual child and his or her personality.

We are to mold our children's personalities so that they will serve God the way He has created them to serve Him. And that will look different for each child.

Huge responsibility.  A job that can only be done by the leading of the One who created them. 

Dear Lord, please fill in the holes that I create in my children's training and erase the mistakes that I make. Give me the wisdom that I need to train each of our blessings in the way that they should go.  To God be the glory! In Jesus' name, Amen.



What parenting decision are you struggling to make?

What God Declares about Me #8

For the next several months, I will be sharing truths from the scriptures.  Promises from God taken from specific verses.  I encourage you to write each promise on a note card.  Keep these promises together to read on those days that the enemy is hitting you with lies.  Declare the truth! Begin here...

I have been chosen and set apart!

I Corinthians 1:30 - It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

I Corinthians 6:11 - And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Ephesians 1:4 - For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love

Next, truth #9...


What verses can you add?

Parenting Points to Ponder

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My mom attended a seminar several years back and gathered these parenting points. I thought that each were very good when thinking about raising and training your child. 

AS (Attention Span) = Age

How many times I forget the age of my child - especially my first born.  Sometimes my expectations are much higher than the child is capable.  This is notably important when thinking about the child's attention span.  Let me put it in perspective.  According to the seminar speaker* "an adult can only listen for 20 minutes." Something to think about the next time we ask our children to sit still for long periods of time.

Rules Without Relationship = Rebellion

Where is the love?  The child has to know that you love and care about them before they will obey you.  Trust and respect must be involved.
 

He Who Angers You Controls You

Often times in hearing this quote we think of relationships with other adults.  But, I believe this applies to toddlers too!  Once I get angry, my child has won the battle.  This is especially true of older kids who like to "push their parents' buttons."

Q-tip = Quit taking it Personally

Love this reminder!  It is so easy to take disobedience personally.  Like my child always ____ just to get to me.  In honesty, my child sins because he/she is testing boundaries and has a sinful nature.  My child forgets to _____ because he/she is a child.  Taking the personal aspect out of the situation can help keep the problem from erupting.

When They Get Louder, You Get Softer

Volume escalates volume.  The louder the child gets, the louder the adult gets, and the louder the child gets.  Stop the cycle and do the reverse. 



Which point is most important for you to ponder?



*I do not the name or the speaker at this seminar.  Please contact me if you know the source so credit can be given.  

Put the Fire Out!

Need a fun outside game that incorporates gross and fine motor skills...and water?  This activity is great for this time of year when it may be too cool to swim but the kids are begging to play in water.

Several years ago I found the idea of "Put the Fire Out" on YourTherapySource.com.  This website has several great ideas to include gross and fine motor activities into play.

"Put the Fire Out" is a sidewalk-chalk and water game that can involve the whole family.  We liked the game so much that I have included it as the gross motor skill activity in all of the ABC Jesus Loves Me curriculum Week 1 Lesson Plans.




A couple things to remember when doing this game:
1. Ask the child what he thinks will happen to the fire when water is put on it
2. Allow the child to think about what activity is next
3. Encourage the child to wring out the sponge - this is a great fine motor activity
4. Talk about fire safety

On our ABC Jesus Loves Me Facebook Group, Brandy shared the idea of "making it more like a hop scotch game. I put an "a" or "b" in each box and called out a letter so my daughter had to choose the box I was calling out to go up the ladder to the fire."

For written directions on this activity, click here.  Check out this great activity and others from Your Therapy Source. 


Share another outside game that your family likes to play.

Updated Laundry Detergent Recipe

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One year supply made in 20 minutes.  One years supply for a total cost of $17.78. 

Making laundry detergent is one of the easiest ways that I have helped cut our budget.  While it isn't huge, it is helping!

Just a few days ago I replenished my supply of laundry detergent.  Actually a year's worth of laundry detergent.  By using my KitchenAid Food Processor, I made 2 1/2 batches of laundry detergent in 20 minutes from start to finish.  This made 20 cups of detergent.  That is 320 T or 320 loads of laundry.  Doing 6 loads of laundry a week, this 20 minutes of time will provide me with almost a whole years worth of laundry detergent!

Pretty cool!  I would spend more than 20 minutes throughout a year writing detergent on my grocery list, going down the detergent aisle at the supermarket, and putting the container in the laundry room.
 
So what is the price breakdown (with tax)?

10 (5.5 oz) bars Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar Soap = $10.57
1 box Arm & Hammer Super Wash Soda, Detergent Booster 55 oz = $3.53
1 box 20 Mule-Team Borax 76 oz = $3.68
Total = $17.78
Per load = $0.05 per load (Minus what was left for the next batch - I used almost all of the soda (minus 1 cup) and had about 3-4 cups of borax left.)

Liquid vs Powder

There is a lot of debate over liquid vs powder detergent and there are some great liquid detergent recipes out there.  The reason why I make the powder detergent is because of space.  I can easily store 1 year's worth of powder detergent.  It would take many, many containers to store the liquid. 

Still have questions...there are over 35 comments on the post. 

Try it and let me know!

Click to see the Homemade Laundry Detergent recipe and picture instructions.