Step into My Shoes

Here's a fun summer idea ...

We are sponsors with Compassion.  So I love ways for my kids to feel more a part of what that means to be a sponsor and learn about children around the world.  Compassion has a family toolkit that they are offering right now.  It comes with a DVD about Pastor Tom and his family in Uganda, a map of Uganda, a journey guide, prayer shoelaces, and the Compassion Explorer magazine.

"Step Into My Shoes™ delivers a peek into the daily life of Ugandan Pastor Tom, his wife Nancy and their 12 children, as they gather water, prepare food, find safety when they sleep, go to school, and enjoy time together."

Would you like to go on the journey too?

Fasting: Habits of a Child's Heart

Another habit:  Fasting from  Habits of a Child's Heart:  Raising your kids with the Spiritual Disciplines by Valerie Hess and Marti Watson Garlett.

I have fasted for brief times in my life.  I have seen a peace in it and how it is a way to humble ourselves before God in worship.  I would like to try to do this with more intention.  Fasting is typically done by giving up food for a period of time.  Of course we can fast in other ways.  Fasting from Facebook is one that I see people doing today or maybe it's giving up caffeine.  The interesting thing about fasting from food is that so many of us do use food as a replacement for something lacking in our lives or a way to deal with stress.  By fasting from food (for a short period) - something that we do need (we don't need Facebook) we have to look to God when we would normally just eat.  If we are stressed, instead of eating  ice cream we can pray - a much better response to stress anyway. 

Now I love tea, but I don't need tea.  It is my little "sereni-tea" during the day among family chaos.  I could fast from tea, and I have at times.  But I also like the idea of having my cup of tea in a quiet time with my prayer journal.  I usually pray and ask God if he is asking me to fast before I do.

Anyway, there were several ideas in this chapter of how to share this discipline with your children. 

Maybe you can give up sweets or snacks for a day or two or more.  I like the idea of putting some Bible verses in a cookie jar in your kitchen and when you are feeling like you need a little sweet treat, pull out a card from the cookie jar of Bible verses and see what sweet truth God may have for you.

I like the idea of fasting (if you can call it that) from complaining.  Every time we feel like we want to complain we give it to God and replace it with a blessing.

Have you fasted with your family?

The Christian Caregiver

 

I'm sharing today about my dad's Christian Caregiver support site.  My dad started this site after caring for my granny in her last years.  The site is filled with devotions, resources, devotional blogs, etc..  The site includes suggestions on how to start a local support group.  These resources are applicable to caring for aging parents, sometimes even for adoptive families caring for their children from hard places, for spouses caring for ill or disabled spouses, for those who may be caring for siblings or whoever God has placed in your life. 

 

 

Caregivers need each other and support to be strong and faithful to those they care for.  God is strong and faithful to us as we are caring for our loved ones, and He uses others in our lives to carry us along.  Sometimes it is even just a book of devotions that keep our eyes on Him.  Sometimes it is connections with others on the same or similar road that we are on.

 

 

I love that God used my dad's caring for my granny to bless others.  I saw how God blessed him and carried him through that journey that at times seemed overwhelming.  It was a holy time.  A time of weakness when he needed to lean on God and was able to see and know Him in new ways.

 

 

I see little bits of that just in my parenting of my children on the hard days.  Thanks be to God.  He loves us and our loved ones SO very much.

Prayer: Habits of a Child's Heart

 

For February we read chapter two on Prayer from  Habits of a Child's Heart:  Raising your kids with the Spiritual Disciplines by Valerie Hess and Marti Watson Garlett.  It has been a great way to move into the Lenten season.  Prayer has been so central to my faith and relationship with God.  I have kept a prayer journal since I was a teenager.  It is my "Ebenezer" of sorts - a marking of God in my life.  I have been able to see how God has been working in my life and answering ALL my prayers.  I am in awe and amazement any time I think of it all.  Seeing His faithfulness in my life in the past gets me through the times when it is hard to see what is going on.  It has built my trust when I am in a wilderness or when I cannot see ahead of me or understand my circumstances.

 

Anyway, I only want the same prayer life or even better for my children.  I try to pray with them regularly and spontaneously.  I encourage them to record in some way God in their lives.  This chapter has many suggestions of encouraging and sharing the prayer habit in your and your children's lives.  Some ideas include:  a prayer "rule" (a regular time of prayer whether we feel like it or have anything to say or not), a prayer journal, memorizing prayers, and more.

 

How do you pray as a family?  How do you encourage your child's prayer life?

 

I feel prayer is so central to our faith.   I am hoping to share more prayer resources and books over the next couple of weeks that have really shaped our prayer life in our family.  Do you have any recommendations?

Pockets Magazine

 

We love this magazine - Pockets.  Lila is even on the advisory board this year.  When Kyle was younger he also got the opportunity to be on the board.  But that's not what we love.  We love all the stories, devotions, games, recipes, poems, jokes, etc.  My kids have been reading now for maybe 10 years.  And we've been saving the magazines - they even reread them.  It's nice to have a magazine come in the mail that reinforces what we believe and teach at home.

 

Habits: Trying to be Soft Noodles

We were talking about Meditation - our spiritual disciple that we are focusing on this month.  The kids really liked the example about how meditating on the things of God softens our hearts like pasta in boiling water.

We are memorizing:  May me meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord.  Psalm 104:34.

Would you like to join us this year as we focus on Habits of a Child's Heart?  Each month we will focus on a different spiritual discipline using the book Habits of a Child's Heart:  Raising your kids with the Spiritual Disciplines by Valerie Hess and Marti Watson Garlett.

Habits of a Child's Heart

I'm reposting this because I am trying this again this year.  We just got too distracted last year ...

I wanted to share a book, Habits of a Child's Heart:  Raising your kids with the Spiritual Disciplines.   I've used it years ago with my older kids, and I am planning on using it again this year.  It has twelve chapters which makes it perfect to focus on one habit a month as a family.  The book also has practice and teaching suggestions for different ages of children.

Chapters include:  Meditation, Prayer, Fasting, Study, Simplicity, Solitude, Submission, Service, Confession, Worship, Guidance, and Celebration.

So, this month we will focus on Meditation.  I will meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.  I will delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.  Psalm 119:15-16.

An example to share about meditating in God's Word is using tea.  Brew tea with your children and talk about "how we are the hot water and the Word of God is the tea bag.  The longer the tea soaks in us, the more we become stained with the likeness of God."  Then use a tea bag as a book mark in your Bible for the rest of the month.  Of course, I love tea and my kids know this, so this is a perfect way to share this discipline with my children.

This seems like a great way to start the new year! 

Twinkle and Twilight

Our cats when they were kittens!
We had to leave our cats behind when we moved.  We miss them, but they are with a wonderful family and well loved!

 

That Reminds Me

found at Amazon
 

That Reminds Me by Jean Brown Eittreim is a great little book filled with 200 story-starters for passing on your faith.  I have pulled it out at dinner times, holidays, vacations, visits with grandparents, bedtime or tea time.  Sometimes all we need are some prompts to help us share what is important or has shaped our faith.  I could only find it for Kindle on Amazon right now, but that works - especially if you have Kindle on your phone like I do.

Tell Me a Childhood Story

Almost every day my daughter asks me to tell her a childhood story.  Today we were driving in Rocky Mountain National Park and she says, "Tell me a childhood story in the mountains."  Of course, I've told her this story before because when I was little I only went to the mountains one time. 

I've always told my kids stories about when I was growing up, and it seems to give them comfort.  Comfort knowing that I made mistakes just like they do.  Comfort knowing I remember and maybe understand what it's like to be 9 years old.  Stories are a chance to teach lessons we've learned so maybe they don't have to learn the same way.  Stories can just be fun.  Sometimes when my daughter has a hard day or something funny that has happened to her she will say, "Now I have a story to tell my kids."  I love that!

I love childhood stories.  I guess because at heart I am still the same person I was at 10 years old or 16 years old or 4 years old.  And I love to hear other people's stories, especially those that I love.

Do you tell family stories?  Do you write them down?  Scrapbook?  Keep a journal? 

I will be writing about telling our stories and creating keepsake stories at my other site Tell Me a Childhood Story.  I will share story prompts, some of my story projects, ways to publish or make keepsakes, and more.  I hope you'll visit me there.

Happy 2015!

Ringing in the New Year with a cup of tea!  And I'm ready to begin celebrating National Hot Tea Month.  Would you like to join me?  Grab a cup of tea and join me on Tea Tuesdays when I'll be posting about all things tea!

 

Here's a couple of National Hot Tea Month links to share:

About Food:  31 Days to Celebrate Hot Tea Month

January is Hot Tea Month

 

Here's some other fun days to celebrate this month: 

National Oatmeal Month

National Soup Month

3rd Festival of Sleep Day
6th Epiphany
8th Bubble Bath Day
15th National Hat Day
18th Thesaurus Day
18th Winnie the Pooh Day
19th National Popcorn Day
20th Penguin Awareness Day
23rd National Pie Day
24th Compliment Day
25th Opposite Day
28th National Kazoo Day
29th National Puzzle Day
29th Kansas Day
31st Backward Day


 

Settling In

The open space with view walking distance from our house.

 

Whew!  It sure is a lot of work to move more than half way across the country.  We are now in Colorado.  We've been here about a month and beginning to feel like it is becoming home.  Cody seems to have stopped asking to go home or go to our old grocery store. 

We are meeting more people and having fun discovering new places.  We've done some activities with some homeschool groups like visit Hammond's Candies.  We've visited several churches, and I think we have found our church home hopefully.  But, we are still praying about many things and looking to see how God's plan for us here is to unfold.

Moving makes me think about how this world is not our home.  I have had a hard time being in this rental home while waiting for our house to sell and knowing our lease ends this spring and the home will be for sale.  How much do I unpack or decorate?  To make it truly our home I would do so much more.  Will we have to move to another rental?  Will we be able to buy another house or do we want to buy this rental house?  Do I really have to pack everything up again?

But, that's all part of the adventure and part of trusting God.  I was out for breakfast with Lila last weekend, and we were asking each other questions from a mom and me book.  One of the questions was:  Would you rather be able to see the future or be able to read people's minds?  That's a tough question - do I really want either?

I am hoping to write a little more often.  It helps me to feel settled.  So, as Levar says on Reading Rainbow - "Until next time ..."

Our rental house.  We only had a little snow that didn't last long.  Most days have been sunny and pleasant!

We're Moving!

I have been away from Thankful Bunch for quite a while!  At the end of July we took my oldest to college, and then we took a long vacation to visit relatives.  I thought when we got home we would get into the swing of things - the end of summer, the start of home school, the beginning of fall.  I knew we'd have a little adjustment not having Kyle around.  I didn't know that right after arriving home my husband would have an interview half way across the country and then be offered a job.

Life has been a whirlwind these last 2 months, and in one week we will begin our moving trip across the country.  Hopefully life will settle down soon thereafter and life will get to a new normal.

I hope to get back to sharing a little more soon.

A Family Blessing

 

Every night when I was a little girl I was hugged, kissed, and sent to bed with a blessing.  A blessing from my mom, my dad, and even my grandparents if they were visiting.  It was short and simple and the same most nights.  And it ended my days with peace and a reminder that Jesus loved me and I could rest in Him.  I am thankful to my parents for this gift of a blessing.

And so I have continued what my parents started by blessing my children each night.  No matter what.

Here are a couple of blessings from the scripture ...

May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious unto you.
May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26

May the God of hope
fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him,
so that you may abound in hope,
through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13

I've been thinking about leaving my son to go to college in a couple of weeks, and I think I am going to leave him with a couple of blessings to keep in his room.  Especially since I won't be there to bless him at night anymore.

Here's a couple that I thought might be good ...

May the Lord watch over you.
May He be a shade at your right hand
  so that the sun will not harm you by day
  or the moon by night.
May the Lord keep you from all harm.
May he watch over your coming and going,
  both now and forever.
Psalm 121:5-8

To this end I bless you in the name of the Lord:
That the Lord may make you worthy of His calling
  fulfilling every good resolve and work of faith,
  by His power.
And may the name of our Lord Jesus be glorified in you
  and you in Him,
according to the grace of our God
and our Lord Jesus Christ,
  to whom be glory forever and ever.
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

Does your family share blessings with each other?

A Little Sibling Water Fun

I love to see the four kids play and have fun together even though there's such an age difference!  I'll have to remember super soakers bring them together and keep them on hand.

Relaxing with Cody

 

Relaxing is not the first word that comes to mind when I think of Cody.  He's usually tackling, jumping, running, flopping, etc.  But every now and then he can chill and relax (and cuddle).  Always a sweetie.  And if Lila is in the room, I quickly add - just like his sister!

Photography Party

For one of Mara's recent parties for the family, she created these candle photos.  The theme of her party was photography.  She used these photo lights as center pieces for our dinner table.  She printed photos on vellum paper and then used popsicle sticks that she painted to make a 3-sided photo holder.  Inside each photo holder she placed a battery operated tea light to make the photos glow.  We loved them.

 

She made a fancy dinner:  chicken marsala, lemon butter asparagus, rice pilaf, and for dessert a mocha parfait.  It was delicious.  (We had dinner after Cody went to bed so it was slightly more relaxing.)  Then we all did a photo scavenger hunt and had fun sharing the photos.

 



Mara's Mystery Party and Brunch

Mara's most recent party was a Mystery Party for the family.  She contrived a whole story of a party gone awry when someone at the cake for the party.  She made clues all around the house.  She used cards from the game Guess Who as characters for her story.  She wrote bios that she read to us that included clues to follow to determine Who Ate the Cake!  She even had a sound track to listen to with clues on it.

So, when our family came home from an outing (we thought we were coming to some kind of party), Mara informed us all that we had a mystery to solve.

It was so much fun!  She did a great job with her story and plans.  And her party included decorations (crime tape around the table where the cake disappeared) and yummy food to eat.

I am so thankful for these family memories that Mara is making for us.

This last weekend she also made a Spring Brunch for us - making us homemade bagels, oatmeal muffins and Summer Berry Smoothies (with our Tealightful Tea, Summer Berries).

Get Your Family Talking

I love conversation starters or story prompts, especially when friends or family are joining us for dinner.  I have several story starter prompts, including one just for Spring. 

Here are a couple of prompts for spring gatherings ...

*What do you most anticipate about Spring?

*Do you have favorite Springtime decorations?

*Do you take special trips during the Spring?

*Spring smells like ...

*A perfect Spring day would be ...

*My favorite Spring flower is ...

*A taste of Spring is ...

*What is your favorite Spring celebration?  How do you celebrate?

*The color of Spring is ...  because ...

*How does your mood change during Spring?

These prompts came from a book I got from Cherish Bound.  I also have Chat Rings that are great for getting your family talking from SimplyFun.

I'd love to hear what you love about Spring!  Leave a comment and share.  I love Easter, and my daughter was born in the spring.

Longwood Gardens, PA

A friend of mine suggested a stop for us on the way home from our vacation.  It was near Philadelphia, PA where we would be spending the night.  She said her girls loved it.  My kids weren't so sure when they heard it was a garden, but they knew Mom loved flowers and needed a flower fix to get her to spring.  So, we stopped.

It ended up being a highlight of the trip!  The kids went crazy taking pictures and trying out all their settings on their cameras to get amazing pictures.  They took all the artistic pictures - mine were just for fun.

Here's some of them: