Family Play Date…ASAP

Posted on September 7, 2015 by fromthecommittedheart

We (Mamas) are our family’s thermostat. We can sense when our family is growing cold (each family member doing their own thing, all the time) or hot (short tempers and short remarks).

When either happens, you have the power to regulate the environment!

A couple days a go I planned a beach day for the family, for Labor Day. We needed some play time, without the tv and without chores! I woke up this morning and there was a 100% chance of rain, but we headed that way anyways and I’m so glad we did!

What’s the temperature of your family’s heart? Maybe you need a family play date…..

Throw It Away

Posted on January 22, 2015 by fromthecommittedheart

A youth leader once told me, many years ago, “tell me what your room looks like and I can tell you how your spiritual life is.” You have to know she was talking to a group of high school students, we all know high school students aren’t the cleanest bunch, but I personally think this can be true for adults too.

We have an abundance of “stuff” in our house, to the point it’s hard for us to focus and to manage our daily activities efficiently. I would love to purge our entire house in a day’s time, but that’s not possible. So, today we started with the school, gathering bags, and bags of trash (three little girls equals lots of random art work, did I say LOTS). We also, bagged items to give away. I dusted the fan, blinds, desks and the air vent. Taking this time to invest in our house and get things in order, brings clarity and productivity back into our home. The room looks amazing and my spirit is beaming inside.

Don’t allow that overwhelming feeling, like where do I even start, come over you as you look around your house. Take one room at a time, a day or even a week at a time.

The same goes for your spiritual walk. We allow “distractions” to sit on the shelves of our heart and negative thoughts to take over our minds, like dust and cobwebs, making everything filthy. It’s time to clean house, spiritually. We must spend time with God, purging the “stuff” of worthlessness out of our heart and mind. You know what I’m talking about…anything that speaks against God’s word…
I can’t forgive…THROW IT OUT!
I’m not good enough…THROW IT OUT!
My marriage will never change…THROW IT OUT!
I’ll never find a job…THROW IT OUT!

What are you waiting for, it’s time to clean house literally and spiritually.

“I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”
~Phil. 4:13

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
~Romans 8:37

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;”
~1 Corn. 6:19

Homeschooling During the Cold

Posted on November 20, 2014 by fromthecommittedheart

My favorite thing about homeschooling during the cold weather is all the time we have to snuggle! We are Florida girls, that can’t take anything below 70 degrees so, half of our schooling is completed with lots of blankets!

*Does your schooling change during the winter?

True Hospitality

Posted on November 18, 2014 by fromthecommittedheart

This man in the picture below, has been a friend of the family for a very long time. Three years a go he and his family obeyed God’s call to start a church and be missionaries to PR.

Our kids were ecstatic when they heard we were having a “missionary” over for dinner tonight. When I was thinking…what will I cook, I need to clean the house, what if the dinner taste terrible….thankfully, those thoughts settled as quickly as they rushed in!

Hosting is not about a special dinner or decorations or even a perfectly clean house, it’s about the fellowship! I can read stories to my child about missionaries, but to hear the stories first hand is powerful and life changing.

In this picture they are blocking the door, they are protesting Arnel leaving. Every now and then they will do this when certain family members or friends try to leave. It touches my heart every time I see them do it!

~My prayer is that the “me” never allows negative thinking to hinder fellowship. God help us to keep our doors open, may all that enter feel your love and comfort and leave refreshed. Amen

Waiting vs Attitude

Posted on November 3, 2014 by fromthecommittedheart

Patience is not about waiting, but your attitude while you wait.

Is your marriage struggling? Do YOU feel like you are the only one putting any effort into the relationship?

Friend, don’t grow weary…seek God and He will give you the strength to push through, because it is His will for your marriage to succeed. But he doesn’t desire for you to just wait with a spirit of hastiness and irritation. He wants you to wait with love, peace, faith, and patience (with a good attitude).

You won’t be able to do this alone. Your attempts will only lead to frustration. Call on God and allow him to fill you with new hope and love everyday.

Corn Maze FUN!

Posted on September 10, 2014 by fromthecommittedheart

Last year we conquered our first corn maze and right NOW livingsocial.com is having a GREAT DEAL. If you live in Central Florida, I recommend Scott’s Maze Adventure. Click HERE, to take advantage of Livingsocial.com’s offer.

*To see our first corn maze adventure, click here.

Are you killing your family’s soul?

Posted on September 7, 2014 by fromthecommittedheart

“See Daddy,” Josiah said excitedly. He was so proud of his drawing and wanted to make sure his daddy saw his masterpiece.

More than half our day, yesterday, consisted of us lying around in our pj’s! At first I felt guilty for it, shouldn’t we be doing something. I mean is this good for my kids to just sit around on Saturday morning? The answer is, YES!

Our kids aren’t ADD our world is! Jim Burns calls it the ‘attention deficit world.’ You are so busy doing good things that you are missing the best things in life. The pace of life is killing the soul of families. It makes good people act crazy and makes otherwise healthy individuals become vulnerable-vulnerable to sickness, vulnerable to broken relationships, and vulnerable to sin.

Too often families are poisoned by a hypnotic belief-that good things come only through unceasing activities and are heightened by the pace of life. I encourage you today to go against the grain of the culture and find time for replenishment. Someone in the family has to have the courage to change the pace of life and your kids are’t going to do it.

*Interested in reading more on the Confident Parenting by Jim Burns, Click HERE.

Teach them to Your Children

Posted on April 26, 2014 by fromthecommittedheart

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth. Deut. 11:18-21
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Everyday allows new opportunities to teach God’s word to your children. How do you share His word with your kids?

Making Memories (Donuts with Dad)

Posted on March 13, 2014 by fromthecommittedheart

“When is Donuts with Dad,” asked Kayla on the first day of school. She had heard her older sisters tell her all about Donuts with Dad and she couldn’t wait! For the past six months she has been patiently waiting for this day and it is finally here!

Some of our strongest memories come from our childhood. Remember that when you are investing into your own child’s memories. Make today special, because we aren’t promised tomorrow.

“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.” ~Psalm 127:3-5

From The Committed Heart

Category Archives: Family