"I have a senior party at a professor's home in Winter Park. Can you meet me there?" Diego asked Rose. "The directions are complicated so meet me at the park."

Rose, knowing it was a dressy party, wore a beautiful red dress.

When she got to the park, Diego met her at her car. "Can I show you something first?" he asked. 

He led her to the park's gazebo which was covered with rose petals. Along the perimeter of the gazebo were photographs of Diego and Rose together. 

There was also a basin of water and a towel. 

After sharing with Rose why he admired her as a woman of God, he washed her feet. 

As he washed her feet, he told her that he wanted to serve her, to lay down his life for her, and to always point her to Jesus. 

"She should be out by now," I said to my husband. I wasn't worried; just noting that I was expecting to be in the recovery room with her by now. 

"Don't worry! Everything's fine," my husband reassured me. 

Only it wasn't fine. 

An hour passed. The simple surgery to remove her gall bladder was now past two hours. 

When the doctor came out and asked for me to sign a release to give blood, I felt panic rising in my heart. What was going on? You don't give blood during a simple surgery. Unless...

I began to pray. I found an empty spot and sang to Jesus and cried out to Him to keep my baby safe. Texts were made to my children, sister, and closest friends, begging them to pray. 

During that time, my daughter was bleeding out on the operating table. They had no idea why. They gave her one pint of blood and then another. Still she was bleeding out. They made plans to airlift her to another hospital, making calls to arrange for another surgeon. 

Not knowing any of this was going on, I just kept praying. My daughter Julianna arrived. Then, Jenny Rose arrived. We waited. We worried. We prayed. 

A transplant specialist, famous in central Florida, just happened to be free and decided to drive an hour to the hospital rather than have her airlifted so she could be kept stable. There was another consent to be signed. I still didn't know what was going on and I was scared. We all just kept praying and asking God to save our little girl. 

My sister was getting on her horse one day when she noticed weakness in one of her legs. She had to help the leg over to climb up. Later she noticed weakness in her hands on the same side. Her friend, a physical therapist suggested she go to the Emergency Room the next day. 

Meanwhile, I hurried off to homeschool co-op to teach my Economics and Human Anatomy classes. Between classes, my phone rang. It was my sister. She told me that she was in the E.R.

I asked why. 

She told me. 

I sat down stunned. My baby sister in the E.R. I worried about the possibility of a stroke. I didn't even think about a brain tumor. When she told me the news hours later after several tests, I felt like I had been sucker-punched. The world was spinning around and around. I couldn't quite find my footing, process, figure things out. 

Three weeks later, I was flying north to be with my sister as a surgeon removed a tumor from her brain. They didn't think it was cancerous, but the thought of surgery...on the brain..was a lot to handle emotionally. I was worried, afraid, fearful. All the things I'm not supposed to be. Where was my trust? When the doctor told me the surgery had gone as well as they had hoped and she was recovering, I burst into tears. How is it that I was so sure she would be okay, yet so afraid at the same time. Oh, dear.

As I processed the whole thing later, I realized that the hardest part was knowing how scary this was for my sister to go through. Her pain made me feel terribly sad. Isn't it always harder to see our loved ones suffer than to suffer ourselves.  

Several years ago, my niece was spending the summer with us and it was her birthday. The problem was that Mike was in seminary and we had NO money, not even money for extra food. We were living on hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, and eggs for dinner. I really wanted her birthday to be special, but so far--nothing. I woke her up that morning and told her that I wanted to bless her for her birthday but had no money to buy anything for her, even food for a special dinner.       

"But God has lots of money," I told her "And He can give us a special birthday dinner."  Katie Beth nodded her head--even at the age of two she trusted the Lord. The three of us prayed together.          

Later that day, we went to a food pantry (a ministry similar to Harvest International) where we paid two dollars for two bags of food. That was the only day ever (it never happened before or afterward) that they had cake mixes there. I chose a cake mix (her favorite flavor) from the "pick one" table and then a frosting can from another "pick two tables". God was soooooooooooo good!!!!!!!

The stores are filled with hearts, chocolate, and roses in every shade of pink and red imaginable. As a lover of pink, chocolate and roses, this just may be my favorite time of year to shop!  It's St. Valentines Day! Yes, St. Valentine's Day--I know that sounds a little odd to your ears. When I was a little girl, that's what we called it. But in recent years, as all holidays are secularized and materialized more and more, St. Valentine's Day became Valentine's Day. 

Who was St. Valentine and why do we celebrate love on the day we've set aside to remember him?  Valentine was a priest who lived in Rome during the reign of Emporer Claudius. He was know for his kindness and selfless love. He was arrested for his faith and imprisoned, but managed to send and receive letters from his friends and fellow Christians. Emporer Claudius tried to convert him to Roman paganism to spare his life, but Valentine shared the Gospel with the emporer instead. Before he was martyred for his faith in Jesus, he healed the eyes of his jailor's blind daughter.  

In the Late Middle Ages, when courtly love and romance became the rage throughout Europe, St. Valentine's Day became associated with love and romance. Both romantic love and Christian martyrdom are things to celebrate.  St. Valentine stands in the "great cloud of witnesses," in Hebrews 12, cheering us on! St. Valentine's Day can be celebrated in either direction, or both directions. We can celebrate the romantic love we share with our sweethearts or we can remember those who have given their lives for the Gospel of Christ.

If we are celebrating St. Valentine's Day with our sweetie, there are many options.  He, of course, can buy us a dozen long-stemmed roses and a big box of Godiva chocolate.  We can go out to a lovely dinner and gaze into each other's eyes.  But, of course, those things cost money.  So, what are some inexpensive ways to celebrate the romance you share with your husband?  Here are some things Mike and I have done:

• Pack china, crystal goblets, a tasty lunch, and sparkling grape juice. Go on a picnic in a pretty spot.  Bring a beautiful comforter to sit on and be careful with the china and crystal!
• Buy a package of Valentines for children.  Write little notes to your husband on each one and hide them throughout the house.  Make most easy to find, but hide some so that they won't be found until later
• Make a CD of romantic songs and dance outside on the patio in the moonlight
• Make a scrapbook of your relationship from its conception until now. Look at it together. 

• Tell your children how you met, how your husband proposed, and other fun stories. Your children will love this!
• Wait until the children are in bed and have a romantic dinner by candlelight ALONE!
• Read old love letters out loud to each other!

I love meeting moms who have raised godly children who are raising godly children. You see, I want to learn from women who have done it right and have good fruit to show for it. I also love meeting moms who are funny and spunky.

So, for me, reviewing this book was not like other reviews because I got to meet a happy, energetic mom who has run the race and is now enjoying her grandchildren. Her daughter is carrying on the principles her mother lived by and heartily endorsing them.

Secret Cody Time: Creating an Unbreakable Bond between Parent and Child by Sky McNeill and Paula Stevenson is a book about relationships. This lovely book is not just for homeschooling families. Any parent that wants to forge a close relationship with his/her child will appreciate this book.

Secret Code Time is written by Paula and Sky, a mother/daughter team who believe in the relational principles of Secret Code Time and practice what they preach. Well written and engaging, the book is 142 pages long. Not a long book to get through. You will enjoy all the photographs through the pages of the authors and their family. The book itself looks lovely and would make a great gift for another homeschooling mom for birthday or Christmas.

When Sky was a baby, Paula purposed in her heart to begin building a lifetime friendship with her daughter. The foundation of the this relationship is loving communication.

When Sky needed to talk to Paula, she would say, "Secret Code Time 305." Paula would drop everything. Sky was able to say anything she wanted without fear of punishment, reprimand, or any other reprisals. Sky could talk to Paula about anything, any place, any time.

This established complete trust as the foundation of their mother/daughter relationship. They remained close through the middle and high school years. Today, they remain dear friends and Sky has continued this tradition with her own children.

Paula did instruct, encourage, and help Sky walk through issues in her life with Biblical principles, but Secret Code Time was simply a time that Sky could share her thoughts and feelings freely.

Another relationship builder was a weekly date with Mom and a weekly date with Dad. Though Paula admits that weekly dates would be impossible with large families, she does encourage monthly dates instead for parents of many children. Paula did everything she could to make these dates special by dressing up, going some place fun, and even shopping for special treats.

Paula began these all these habits with Sky when she was a very young child and calls it "Advanced Parenting." She set the stage early in life for Sky to know that she was valued and loved unconditionally.

What about Boys?

While some boys are great talkers, willing to share their emotions with Mom and Dad, others would rather visit the dentist than share their feelings. So, can this work with boys too?

There is advice given to help with boys who are more active and less likely to want to sit and chat. Recommendations include throwing the football together or engaging in an active pastime together first. But, the authors believe that Secret Code Time is just as important for boys as it is for girls.

Does the Book Talk about Anything Else?

Sheri Graham is a busy homeschooling mom with a houseful of children. She also runs her own business and writes books. Somewhere in all that hard work, she manages to post a blog each day. I am encouraged and challenged by Sheri and her ministry.

To do all that she does, and to do it all so well, Sheri must be a very organized lady! So, when she sent me her Intentional Planner to review, I was eager to see it. I like to learn from other homeschooling moms who do all things well.

The Intentional Planner is an E-book that you can download the minute you purchase it on Graham Family Ministries online store. You can make as make copies as you need and put together as many planners as you need for your family. Before I tell you any more about it, though, I have to give you some really good news! The Intentional Planner only costs $5.00. Yes, that's right, only $5.00 for 247 pages of wisdom from Graham Family Ministries. I could not believe that you could spend so little and get so much!

With a desire to combine her planner, calendar, journal, and home management binder into one notebook, Sheri created the Intentional Planner. It is everything you need to manage your home and home school in one neat package. There are fields on the pages available to customize your planner too.

This planner is laid out very simply.

• Front Section:  Daily Planning Pages
• Tab #1:  Monthly Calendars
• Tab #2:  To Do Lists
• Tab #3:  My Daily Journal
• Tab # 4:  Miscellaneous Lists
• Tab # 5:  Menu Planning & Cleaning Schedules
• Tab # 6:  Homeschool:  Lesson Plans
• Tab # 7:  Homeschool:  Reading Lists
• Tab # 8:  Homeschool:  Current Year
• Tab # 9:  Homeschool:  Long Term Plans
• Tab # 10:  Homeschool:  Articles/Information

There are 4 different covers to chose from: blue, green, red, and purple. The same covers are also available with only the border so that you can make up your own title for your planner. Throughout the planner, there are several opportunities to personalize your planner.

The daily planner pages are the "heartbeat" of The Intentional Planner. The Weekly Evaluation and Planning Page touches my heart every time I read it. There are spiritual examination questions. One question is "Where am I lacking in the fruits of the Spirit?" Ouch! I forget to ask myself questions like that. The page goes on to ask you to come up with practical ways to:

• Strengthen my relationship with the Lord
• Bless my husband
• Love my children
• Serve others
• Encourage others
• Simplify my life

I love the idea of starting each week with these questions and challenges. I commend Sheri for making this planner intentional by bringing prayer and self-examination into it. 

The daily planning sheets that follow have 4 sections: Daily Schedule, Appointments, To Do Items, and Notes.

Next, comes the monthly calendar pages, monthly plans pages, dates to remember pages, birthday/anniversary chart, to do lists, Bible reading schedule, memory work prayer list, personal reading list, and personal reading journal.

The goals section follows with room for family/ministry goals, health goals, handcraft goals, personal goals, and business goals. A daily journal section is a nice touch in this planner. I like to carry around little notebooks to journal in, so I liked the idea of this section.

The miscellaneous section has lots of neat, rather random pages.

• Membership websites
• User names and passwords
• Thankful Page
• Photograph pages
• Books to review
• Blog ideas
• E-book Ideas

The Menu Section has a master shopping list, shopping lists, menu pages, and weekly chore charts.

This year  I will be making gifts instead of buying them. I will dig out my trunk of material and my serger and make some napkins.

Napkin Directions

To make Christmas napkins, buy 1 yard of Christmas cotton fabric. Cut it into 4 equal size squares and iron until wrinkle-free. Then simply serge the edges of the napking with a contrasting thread color to give you the nice finished edge you find in stores. If you don't have a serger, you can do a hankerchief hem around the edges.

You don't have to be limited by Christmas fabric. You can make everyday napkins, Thanksgiving napkins, spring napkins, St. Valentine's Day napkins, or Fourth of July napkins.

A set of 4 napkins with 4 homemade napkin rings will make a nice gift.

Jar Gifts

Or maybe I will make cookie mixes in a jar. Directions for these projects can be found online. I have other options to fill my jars with. There are soup mixes in a jar, baking mixes in a jar, and casserole mixes in a jar too. These all make lovely gifts.

Gifts of Time

Thought to be inspired by the Swedish Crown of Lights. An Advent wreath is a wreath with five candles. There are four purple candles place evenly around the wreath and one white candle in the middle. You don’t hang this wreath up. It sits on a table.

Families light one purple candle the first Sunday of Advent after devotions. The second Sunday of Advent, they light two candles, the third three, and the fourth all four purple candles. Advent wreaths are used in many churches, including Lutheran, Methodist, Episcopal, Anglican, and Roman Catholic churches also. Families usually do the devotions and lighting before dinner and let the candle burn during the meal.

Each candle is symbolic. The first candle represents hope. You can sing O Holy Night.

Jesus, You are our Hope! Please guide us and protect us in trials and difficulties. Our hope is in You! Amen.

The second candle represents peace. The second week both candles are lit and prayers of hope and peace are prayed. You can sing Silent Night.

Jesus, You are our peace. We are right with a Holy God and we have peace with our brothers and sisters in Christ because of what you have done. Please bring your peace to our hearts, homes, churches, and the world. Amen.

"The cheerful heart has a continuous feast!"  (Proverbs 15:15 NIV).

"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones," (Proverbs 17:22 NIV).

Okay! It's time to share my deep dark homeschooling secrets with you! There are many!  Here are my confessions!

I don't fix breakfast for my children. Yep, it's true. As soon as my children leave the high chair, they are on their own for breakfast. If they want a hot meal they have to pull a stool up to the stove and cook it themselves or bribe an older sibling. My children don't even realize that there are mothers in the world who cook breakfast!

I would rather be shot in the head than teach my teenagers to drive. There! I admitted it! My children are all great drivers, but I am a terrible passenger. By the time we have backed out of the driveway, I am ready to be committed to a psychiatric hospital. I beg and plead with my husband to teach the children to drive. They seem to like learning from him better, anyway. Go figure.

There are millions of paper piles around my house. When I get rid of one, ten more take its place. My heart is to keep my home neat and tidy. File folders in the untold millions are labeled and in file cabinets, but still these piles appear! You can tell where I am and where I've been--just follow the paper piles.

A day at the beach by any other name is a field trip. Yes, it's true. I have put away the school books, loaded up the minivan, and driven over to the Florida coast for a day in the sun. Forgetting my cares, and sometimes my name, I have fallen sound asleep while the kids play in the sand and body surf in the waves. Sometimes they look for shells or capture poor innocent sea animals. I will go home, lather on aloe, and convince my husband that we went on a field trip.  "The field trip was a nature study on marine life." I can look my husband straight in the eye and say this. He begins to have doubts after the tenth nature study on marine life in one school year.

Technology is a necessary evil in the world we live in, but it is not my cup of tea. There are too many remotes in my house to understand what each one does, so I can't even turn on the  DVD player by myself.  I don't even like mechanical pencils. My computer can do fifty million things that I can't even comprehend, let alone make them happen. I force myself to learn one new thing each year on my computer. One year I learned that you can hit "reply to all" and respond to EVERYONE at the same time. It was a miracle and changed my life. This year I've already learned three new things--I'm way overwhelmed!

Starting a project is more fun than finishing one. Things are much more fun at the beginning of the adventure than when it is winding down. I have millions of unfinished sewing projects, novels, craft projects, and songs that I have never finished. Likewise, I enjoy the beginning of the school year more than the end. I love the fresh new start when we are eager to begin again after a long break. By February, I'm counting the days until summer.

When I was pregnant, I always fell asleep while homeschooling the other children. I would try so hard to keep my eyes open, but he minute I started reading aloud, I lulled myself right to sleep. Once the baby was born, nursing my new little one would put me to sleep too! It was so amazing when I weaned my youngest son. Two months later, I woke up one morning and, for the first time in twelve years, I had energy! It was wonderful! I don't fall asleep anymore while I homeschool. Now I fall asleep watching movies.

My children would rather play than do their schoolwork. They are not as eager to learn as all the self-motivated children in the homeschool books I've read. My children actually complain about school sometimes and I've had to discipline them for complaining. In the books I've read homeschooled children discover new stars, invent computer software, and rake lawns for all the elderly citizens in the town where they live. My children are just normal children, but I do like them!

I don't use math manipulatives--they are too much trouble. Yes, I own them, but I find that dragging them out of their special box onto the table to show my children a visual demonstration is just too much for me to handle. So, though I believe that hands-on math is the best way to learn, my children use workbooks with brightly colored pictures instead.

I had been adding my purchases up in my mind, while I shopped down one aisle after one another, trying to stick to my budget. With joy in my heart, I piled my carefully chosen items on the check out belt. After the last item -- a head of lettuce-- is safely on the belt, a Diet Coke catches my eye. I am thirsty, I suddenly realize. And the Diet Coke is cold. I give in a buy 20 ounces of soda for $1.39. I could have bought four times the Diet Coke -- for much for less -- if I had gone back to buy the 2 liter.

My daughter heads to Kohl's to buy a new pair of jeans and comes home with a pair of jeans, a belt, and three shirts. "There was a great sale!" she explains to her confused father.

"I picked up this home repair book on the way out of Lowe's," my husband says later with delight. We already had a similar book in our home library, but he seemed to have forgotten.

We all make impulsive purchases. Usually they is always something on sale or something near the check-out lane. My husband had a lawn business during his seminary years. After a long day, he was hot and thirsty and stopped every afternoon at 7-11 for a Gatorade. This added up quickly to more than our budget could handle. Solution? We bought Gatorade powder at Sam's Club and he took it in a thermos, saving us lots of money in return.

Figure out what tempts you to spend impulsively. Once you find this out, it will keep you spending responsibly.

Avoid Temptation

Most of us love food.

Happy memories often involve delicious memories and good fellowship includes eating! We all want to eat healthier, but healthy food is so expensive.

How can we enjoy food, try to eat healthy, and save a little money at the same time? Let's look at some practical ways to cut our food budget.

Cook at Home

Cooking at home instead of eating out is the number one way to spend less on food. Pack your lunch instead of eating at a restaurant or hitting the drive-through.

​If you must eat out, use coupons and take advantage of specials.

Eating at home for dinner each night will not only provide a healthier, less expensive meal, but will foster closer family relationships.

Shop the Sales
​

"What are you doing?" my husband asked. "Are you coming to bed soon?  You've been on the computer all night."

"And all day too. I'm making room on my hard drives. They are both full. I deleted 4,000 emails today. Now, I'm deleting duplicate picture files. My camera is 10 megapixels and the files are large. Also, there are a lot of video files from Shine and Phoebe..."

"Okay, Honey. It's fine. Don't explain. I'll see you in the morning."

I had 600 somethings on my computer. My computer friends told me that my computer has enough space that I will never fill it. Hah! Little do they know!

Clutter in my Life

I can fill anything--an empty drawer, an empty bookcase, an empty room, and an empty hard drive. I create piles of papers and books wherever I go. If I walk into a room, I will leave behind a pile of books.

But, filling up my hard drives was a wake-up call to me. I have a problem with clutter. There is clutter in my homeschool room and clutter in my computer. I might join a support group.

"Hi, I'm Meredith Curtis and I'm a pack rat. I hate to get rid of anything because one day I just might need it. How do other people live without collecting piles of things?"

There is just one thing to do. I told my husband that I need to buy a computer with a bigger hard drive and we need to buy a bigger house. He's not buying it. He suggested a family project. My family is not thrilled about the Curtis De-Clutter Adventure.

My problem runs deeper than filling up space. This is a problem that only God can handle. I need wisdom from Heaven on what to keep, what to give away, and what to throw away. There are many things that I should hold on to or I will just need to spend money to replace them in a few months. Homeschooling requires many books, file folders, and computer files.

My Plan for Clutter

They were back in Israel after a long journey. There was no money left and enough food for one more meal. Ruth tried not to think of her hometown in Moab, but she felt a little scared. She had promised her mother-in-law, Naomi, that she would never leave her, she had chosen to follow the God of Israel, and had trusted Him to take care of the two of them. Had God brought them this far to die?

"I will go get a job," Ruth announced the next morning. She was putting on a brave front, but inside she doubted that anyone would hire a foreigner.

That morning, Naomi patiently explained the gleaning laws to Ruth. Ruth relaxed and set off for the field of Boaz, a member of Naomi's family. She would glean in his field and there would be plenty of food for both women. 

What is Gleaning?

"When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen.Leave them for the poor adn the alien. I am the Lord your God," (Leviticus 19:9-10 NIV).

The gleaning law fascinates me! It is so creative and makes so much sense. What a great way to take care of the poor and unemployed.  

Imagine that you are a farmer or a vineyard owner. You are gathering in your harvest, trying to get every piece of fruit, grain, or crop that you can. You end up missing some. And, some of your harvest falls while you are transporting it to the storehouse.

What should you do? It would be a lot of work to go back over the field, especially because you just went through the whole field or vineyard. So, you LEAVE it for the poor.

The poor, unemployed, and foreigners can now come through and gather what is left. The poor people follow behind the workers and pick up what is left behind.

Here is what is so wonderful about the gleaning law.

• The poor are given food
• They work to provide it (it is not getting something for nothing)
• The poor are required to work
• The farmer doesn't have to collect the food for them
• There is no paperwork or forms to fill out
• The field or vineyard is left clean and tidy

What a great idea that the Lord had when he made up the gleaning law. It fulfills all His commands ("He who doesn't work doesn't eat" and "Take care of the poor"). God is so wise and amazing.

Fruit of the Gleaning Law

"Just do it!" Nike shouts! Do what? you wonder, confused. "I'm loving it!" Mc Donalds declares. You are loving what? Advertising slogans dazzle and repel us from billboards to glossy magazine pages, from sides of buses to television commercials.

The Power of Advertising

We live in a culture that is heavily influenced by advertizing. It drives our holiday celebrations, influences our standard of living, and shapes our desires and dreams.

Advertizing in America dictates when we decorate for Christmas, what foods we serve at Easter dinner, and what defines an acceptable St. Valentine's Day present. If "all kisses begin with Kay Jewelers," then does the poor husband get no kisses? If using Crest toothpaste will get us the gorgeous girl or guy, then should we even think about another brand?

New products entice us through their promotional ads. Suddenly, we need something that to this point, we didn't even know existed.

How Advertising Works

 Advertising appeals to our fleshly desires. It often will link a product to a universally desired thing. We all want to get married and live happily ever after to the perfect mate, so a product will be shown as one that will bring success in the "meeting the perfect member of the opposite sex" department. All people want to be loved and admired, so shoes or clothing appears in an ad as a sure-fire way to garnish admiring glances from everyone in your life.

Most advertisements are geared to a certain segment of society and placed where that group of people are most likely to see them. Life insurance and stock brokerages ads can be found in financial or news magazines, often read by upper middle class business men and women. Athletic ware and gear are advertised in sports magazines so that athletes will be sure to see them. Snack food and drinks are advertised during sporting events because families are sitting around snacking and watching the game.

Men are attracted to beautiful women, so ads geared to men will plant a lovely girl in a strategic location, usually wearing very little clothing. This not only appeals to the flesh, but often stirs up lust.

How Jesus Responds to Advertising

If we were forced to live off the land, certain skills would help us survive. Starting a fire to keep warm, using plants for food and medicine, catching food to eat, purifying water for drinking, and building a shelter would all help you live longer if you had to live off the land.

What about economic survival skills? Are there things that you can do to survive rough economic times?

Start a Fire to Keep Warm

Don't let your heart grow cold. God's Word is still true and so are His promises. Just because we are in a recession doesn't mean that Biblical principles have stopped working. Obey Biblical principles (tithing, giving, saving, budgeting, contentment, thankfulness) and stand on His promises.

Make declarations each morning to stir up your faith. When Mike and I were entering our fifth year of financial difficulties years ago, I began making financial declarations. I simply inserted our names into the following passages and read them aloud each morning in a personalized way. Soon my faith was soaring, affecting my prayer life, and our financial situation began to turn around in just six months. Yes, for years (not days or weeks), I made these declarations, standing on His promises.

Deuteronomy 28:1-4; Isaiah 54:10-17; Psalm 112; & II Corinthians 9:6-15.

Our business has been hit hard this year and the Lord is reminding me to start making declarations again. What a joy it is to remind God of His promises. Reminding myself warms me up inside too!

Use Plants for Food and Medicine

When military pilots are shot down in enemy territory, they are taught to survive until they are rescued, avoiding capture. Part of this survival involves using plants for food and medicine. Poisonous plants must be recognized and avoided. Certain plants provide pain relief, while others can treat infections. Re-think the way you feed your body and take care of your family's health.

Adding one or two vegetarian meals a week to your family's diet will lower your food bill and probably their cholesterol too. Herbs can be used to treat pain, infections, and minor illnesses. Check out a book on herbal remedies from the library. We have used herbs effectively with our family to avoid expensive doctor visits.

Catch Food to Eat

Who doesn't long to be beautiful? As moms, very little times exists in our lives to dedicate to outward beauty. We are rushing, moving, working throughout the day, making the world a better, brighter place for our family. When we finally get some make-up on our face and a pretty outfit on our body, it is more than likely to be spit upon or spilled on by one of our little ones.  

If we have several children, our bodies are not as trim and firm as we would like them to be. There are also those pesky bags under our eyes from sleepless nights of nursing a sick child or comforting someone who's had a bad dream.

Beautiful Moms

Yet, I think that there is nothing more beautiful than a mother!

Motherhood is beautiful. The gaze of love that a mother gives her child is breathtaking to behold. The look of joy on a young woman's face when her little one learns to read, or pee-pee on the potty, or recite his multiplication tables is lovely.

There is a beauty about pregnancy, nursing, and motherhood that is impossible to duplicate. Moms lugging a load of laundry to the washer, washing dishes at a sink full of suds, or bandaging a boo-boo are pleasing to the eye. How delightful to watch a mother giggle with her toddler or gaze in wonder at a butterfly with her young child.

Kingdom Beauty Queens

Let's throw away Hollywood's definition of beauty and embrace the Lord's definition of what is truly lovely. Grandma used to say, "Pretty is as pretty does." She must have read the Bible!

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful," (I Peter 3:3-5).

Hollywood focuses on the outside. God is more concerned about the inside. A gentle and quiet spirit can make us beautiful and not just lovely for a season, but with a beauty that won't fade away.

If you have spent any time around God's church family, you have heard about a gentle and quiet spirit. You have probably prayed, like me, "Lord, please give me a gentle and quiet spirit...NOW!"

Cultivating a Gentle and Quiet Spirit

Do you ever stop to imagine what Heaven is like? What sounds, smells and sights await us? What a joyous moment it will be when we finally arrive home!

God has prepared Heaven with His beloved bride (that's us!) in mind! Though first and foremost,Heaven exists for the GLORY of God, it is also our eternal home where we will live in the very Presence of God!  Unlike earth, where we see through a glass darkly (I Corinthians 13), in Heaven we will see face to face!

Temporary Models of Eternal Things

Marriage, a temporary relationship, is a picture of the relationship that Jesus has with the church, a permanent relationship that lasts forever! (See Ephesians 5:22-33 and Revelation 21:2) Our marriage is a picture for our children of how Jesus loves His bride and how she loves him! Our marriage gives our little lambs a picture of the love relationship between Jesus, our Risen Lamb, and the church.

Our family, a temporary group, is a picture of the Family of God, a permanent group. (See Ephesians 2:19-22 and Ephesians 3:14-15). Our family models to the world what life in the church should look like with strong ties of love, loyalty, and commitment.

Our home, a temporary dwelling, is a picture of Heaven, a permanent home. (See Philippians 3:20) We can prepare a small-scale model for our husbands, children, and friends of Heaven itself. So, let's take a quick look at Heaven and then we'll talk about imitating Heaven in our homes!

"Be imitators of God, therefore as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God," (Ephesians 5:1-2 NIV).

Heaven is a Prepared Place!

Jesus told His disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them! When we glimpse Heaven in Revelation 21 and 22, we see a lovely place that has been laid out with order and precision. Our Heavenly Father started with a plan and carried that plan out completely. Heaven is clean, sparkling, and in perfect order.

"In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am," (John 14:2-3 NIV).

This side of Heaven, we have an opportunity to reveal Heaven to our little ones. Cleaning and organizing our home is one way to prepare our homes in imitation of our Heavenly Father. Our homes don't have to be immaculate, but they should be organized and ready for life to happen. A realistic schedule also provides security and order to our busy lives.

But beyond, cleaning and organizing--have you ever considered what it is you want your home and family to look like. What things do you want to do with your husband and children? Are there dreams you have that you feel are unreachable or unaffordable? Don't underestimate God!  He may just surprise you!  Or He may have an alternative that is just as wonderful as your dream. Prayerfully and purposefully, plan your home and family.

Heaven is Lovely to Behold!

Read Bible

Luke 24:45-50
Acts 1:1-11

Give the order of the places that the disciples are to spread the Good News to starting with where they are in Jerusalem.
Locate these places on a map.
How far are they going to have to travel?

Driving it Home

Take out a map of your city, state, country, and the world. Talk about how your family would have to fulfill the Great Commission from your city. What kind of people are “Samaritans” in your city?

Read Bible

Matthew 28:16-20
Mark 16:14-20

What is the “Great Commission?”
Who has the needed authority to get this job done? Is He with us?
How long will it take for the “Great Commission” to be accomplished?
What three things are involved in making disciples?

Driving it Home

Take a piece of paper and write “Make Disciples” on it. Turn it over and fold it in thirds, making three columns. 
At the top of one column write, “Go!,” at the top of another column write “Baptize,” and at the top of the third column write “Teach everything.” 
List ways your family can fulfill these three different aspects of making disciples. When you are finished, cut out pictures for the other side of the paper that represent making disciples.

Read Bible

John 21:1-25

How would you feel if you were Peter, after denying Jesus?
How does Jesus treat Peter?
How does He restore him to ministry?

Driving it Home

Act out 3 parts of this song together: Jesus predicts Peter’s denial, Peter denies Jesus, and Jesus reinstates Peter).

Read the Bible

Luke 24:13-35

Who was traveling on the Road to Emmaus?
Why didn’t Jesus reveal Himself right Away?
How do you think the disciples felt after Jesus had left them?
Has God ever revealed things to you and you just didn’t get it for awhile? Share some of those things with one another.

Driving it Home

Take a walk with one another and show each other something using Scripture only, not your opinion or experience.

Read Bible

Mark 16:9-15
Luke 24:36-44
John 20:19-31:

Why didn’t Jesus call FOX News or CNN to make a very splashy, public display of His Resurrection?
Name all the people Jesus appeared to.
What did Jesus say and do?
How do you think His disciples felt when they saw Him again.

Driving it Home

Discuss a friend or family member that has already died. Imagine that they came back to life. What would you want to ask them? What would you do with them? Remember that people who had died came to life when Jesus died. It was an exciting time to be alive!

Read the Bible

Matthew 28:1-15
Mark 16:1-8
Luke 24:1-12
John 20:1-18

Who saw the risen Lord first?
Why did Jesus appear to them first?
Why did John and Peter run to the tomb?
How did Jesus show His disciples that He had risen from the dead?

Drive it Home

Hand everybody an empty egg. Have them go outside and find something to put into the egg that represents new life. You might find a flower or a budding twig. A small rock might represent the rock that was rolled away. This is fun when everyone shares what they chose and why.