Tag Archives: Children

Do you know you are beautiful? “Kind of…”

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The other night as I tucked my daughter into bed, I looked into her eyes and said, “Do you know you are beautiful?” “Well, kind of” and then she put her head under the covers. “What is it? Why do you say kind of?” “Well, there’s a girl at church in the second grade that is really pretty.” “Oh, I see.” I explained just because someone else is pretty, doesn’t mean you aren’t. “God made each person beautiful in their own unique way.”

I enjoy telling the girls stories of what God was thinking when he designed each of them. For example, God thought to himself…I’m going to make Victoria with beautiful, long, thick eyelashes and eyes that can brighten up anyone’s day, and a heart that is more valuable than any piece of gold. After a few sentences, their faces always brighten up.

I know beauty on the outside is not the most important thing in life, but it is something little girls and big girls think about. As parents,we can tell our children they are beautiful everyday, but they have to believe it themselves.

Encourage your little ones today and everyday. Speak life into the inner and outer beauty, but make sure you ask them what they think of themselves. Don’t over look or take their thoughts lightly. To them their feelings and thoughts of their self-image is as real as the skin on their bodies.

Power Verses:
Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. ~1 Peter 3:3-4

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. ~Psalm 139:14

She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed. ~Proverbs 3:15-18

Value in a Meal

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cooking with mama

“Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:7

Making dinner together as a family can sometimes be a challenge, especially when you have little ones that can’t reach the counter. That’s when we get a step stool and their hands go to work! It’s not only fun to cook with your kids, but I think it’s important to teach them early on how to value the meal you are preparing for the family.

Growing up I remember having big breakfasts together as a family every weekend and every night we would come together again for dinner. This was a time to talk about the day, to share the good and the bad. Our parents were our counselors, they would give us advice, encouragement, and even jokes to blow off the things that weren’t worth stressing over.

Food brings people together, it brings our family together. Our schedules can get busy and electronics suck us in, but when Mama says it’s dinner time, everyone stops and is ready to eat.  I enjoy teaching our children that it’s more than cooking a dish of Lasagna or Picadillo and placing it on the table. That dish is like a glue that connects the family and keeps them close together.

God helps us to see value in cooking for our family. Bless the hands that prepare the meals and give wisdom to the parents as they pour into their children’s hearts around the dinner table and we ask you continue to strengthen and protect our families. In Jesus Name Amen

Proverbs 6:20-23 (The Message Bible)
Good friend, follow your father’s good advice;
don’t wander off from your mother’s teachings.
Wrap yourself in them from head to foot;
wear them like a scarf around your neck.
Wherever you walk, they’ll guide you;
whenever you rest, they’ll guard you;
when you wake up, they’ll tell you what’s next.
For sound advice is a beacon,
good teaching is a light,
moral discipline is a life path.

Below are 10 Benefits of Family Dinners from Webmd.
Toting up all the benefits of frequent family dinners:
-Everyone eats healthier meals.
-Kids are less likely to become overweight or obese.
-Kids more likely to stay away from cigarettes.
-They’re less likely to drink alcohol.
-They won’t likely try marijuana.
-They’re less likely to use illicit drugs.
-Friends won’t likely abuse prescription drugs.
-School grades will be better.
-You and your kids will talk more.
-You’ll be more likely to hear about a serious problem.
-Kids will feel like you’re proud of them.
-There will be less stress and tension at home.

Super Bowl Half Time Show

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My husband is a HUGE sports lover. His two favorite things to watch on TV is football and basketball. I made the decision when we got married, to join him rather than fight him about it, even though I’m the kind of person that would rather play the sport than watch the sport. I might not scream at the TV like him but we dress up and support our team.

With that said, yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday. We went to church, grilled out, played football in the back yard with the kids and just enjoyed our day off as a family. When 6 o’clock came around the girls and I started cooking up some yummy snacks to munch on…creamy spinach dip with pumpernickel bread, fresh homemade salsa, fresh cut fruits and some warm yummy brownies (that was my snack choice). The first half of the game was fun, a little yelling and laughing, everyone was enjoying themselves. There were a couple of commercials that were not rated kid friendly, so the girls walked out of the room or closed their eyes. I was just waiting to see what the half time show was going to be all about, what was Beyonce going to do? I already knew it was something I wouldn’t want the girls to watch because of the songs she would be singing but I never even consider what she might be wearing or the way she would be dancing. Two seconds into the presentation, I had the girls go into a different room.

Big picture, would I want our girls wearing a bathing suit/lingerie on stage? NO! Would I want our girls moving their bodies in a way to get all the wrong attention from every guy out there? NO! Do I want our girls learning lyrics like, “Ladies if you love your man, show him you the fliest / Grind up on it, girl, show him how you ride it.” ? Ummm…NO!

I have told others before that I’m a strict Mama. But it’s more than being strict, it’s about character, about values, about self worth. I have the honor of raising four beautiful children. Their minds have come to me pure and clean, ready to learn and thrive. They were not given to me to be tainted with impure thoughts and lust. Think with me about the saying a picture is worth more than a thousand words, WHAT PICTURES ARE WE LETTING OUR CHILDREN COLLECT IN THEIR MIND?

I’m starting a half time super bowl tradition next year, “Paper Football Zone”. Basically, you take a paper football and try to flick across a table into the uprights a person makes on the other end of a table or you could see who could flick the football the furthest. I have a year to plan it and I know it will not include sitting in front of the TV watching the “half time show!”

If you have a half time tradition, let me know. I would like to see what kind of fun I can come up with for the kids next year.

WHAT THE WORD SAYS:

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the gentiles who do not know God;”

Matthew 5:28 “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

M & M Experiment

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Here’s a fun colorful experiment and the leftovers are tasty! Go through your stash of Halloween candy and find some plain M&M’s.

Take a screw top lid (we used the top off of our olive jar) add four M&Ms, one each of red, orange, green and blue, then add some water.

Make your prediction. What do you think will happen when the colors meet?

Observe.

When the colors meet, they will form a solid line (at least at first until the water is disturbed, someone eats an M&M or until enough time passes). This is because the sugar is dissolving off all of the M&Ms. Where the food dye meets, the concentration of sugar is the same and the sugar/food dye will stop moving outward.

Now you can chow down on all the M&M’s you didn’t water 🙂 Enjoy!

Children’s Spiritual Object Lesson:

Explain that the M&M’s represents us as Christians, the water represents storms (trials & the pressure of the world’s views). Place the M&M’s in the top, pour the water over the them, notice after two to three minutes the M&M’s fade and all the colors mix. Now ask the question, “Do you think you will have enough of Jesus in your heart to withstand life’s storms or the world’s pressures or will you melt/fade under that pressure and your beliefs be compromised by the world’s views?” 

My prayer for our family, is through trials and tribulations, through the rain and wind, we will be full of God’s strength, love and wisdom to stand firm on His word and not fade into this world, as the M&M did when it was immersed in the water. Instead, may we shine bright, like stars in the sky, for all the world to see.

Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Philippians 2:14-15 “Do everything without grumbling or arguing,so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.”

Yes, they are all mine.

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Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates. 

Psalm 127:3-5 

Are they all yours? This is the most common question I hear when I am out and about. I always smile big and say, “Yes they are!” The next thing that comes out of their mouth is, “I don’t know how you do it?” I only have four kids, is that a lot? If I didn’t have c-sections I might have had six or seven, then people would really think I was crazy.

There is no greater thing (material item), blessing or gift, than a child. My prayer is that the fathers and mothers of today would realize the amazingly beautiful little or even big person they have in front of them and to treat them as such. Our children are not collectibles, burdens, annoyances, or something we take out every now and then to play with, they are our pride and joy.

Lord help us to keep our children close, let us be ready at any hour to listen to their hearts, may we be the fuel to their fire when they set off to conquer their dreams and may we never treat them as a hindrance, for they are a gift from God.

God Broke the Mold

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“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful I know that full well.”

Psalm 139:13-14

Presenting Alayna Boy, now presenting Victoria Boy, and last but not least presenting Kayla Boy. Each princess dressed up in a lovely princess dress and walked down the stairs to the living room to show off their beautiful attire. They twirled and danced around, smiling from ear to ear, each one in their own way saying, look at me mama, look at me daddy, don’t I look beautiful?

Most women deal with some kind of self esteem issue at some time in their life. Why is that? Well, I think first of all we as women believe the lies in our heads that tell us we are too fat, too skinny, not tall enough, or too short.  Second, I think we put too much pressure on ourselves when we see all the junk (let’s call it what it is) Hollywood puts in magazines, on billboards and media. In 2 Corinthians 10:12, it says, “…When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.”

Raising three little women and one little man, challenges me to encourage them everyday. I want them to know that society will always have a certain image out there for everyone to follow, but as for our house we will follow the image God sets before us. What a relief for them to know they are fearfully and wonderfully made, period! They are unique, they are special, God broke the mold after he made them. What a relief to know they don’t need to look like anyone else or try to be like anyone else, but part of them knowing this truth, requires us as their parents to tell them weekly or sometimes daily. While we brush their hair in the morning, look into their eyes and quote Psalm 139:13-14 over them. When they are helping us around the house, remind them of what Ephesians 2:10 says, “I am God’s  workmanship.” As they are growing into the teenage stage, make sure they know a boy or girl will never complete them, for we are complete in Christ, Colossians 2:9-10 and when times get tough, Philippians 4:13, is there to encourage them, they can do all things through Christ who strengthens them.

My prayer is to consistently speak encouragement and life into their heart, so that when society screams at them and the devil whispers lies, it will be like a ball bouncing off a wall, it will have no affect because they will be full of God’s words and promises.

Special Delivery

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Do everything without grumbling or arguing…

Philippians 2:14

Special delivery! When the kids were younger we would play UPS with our laundry. Each of my daughters would have a baby stroller or basket or kid grocery cart, to pick up their “special deliveries” (a.k.a. their laundry). One by one they would pick up a delivery and take it to their room. This would go on for twenty minutes or so, until all the laundry was put away. They loved playing this deliver game and I enjoyed the help with the laundry. I think teaching our kids about responsibility and chores at an early age is important but I also think it can be fun. It’s hard to grumble and complain when you are enjoying what you are doing 🙂

Now they have foldable totes with their name and pic that describes them. Even though there is only one delivery, they still enjoy picking up their special package.

On a side note, these totes also make it easier for Mama to organize the laundry as each load is done drying. I see a blue tote in the near future for our prince, Josiah.