Gifts for Mom

(These are the things I bet YOU would like to have, so be sure to share this post with your hubby!)

Now, on to the best gifts for mom…

HOMEMAKER'S DEPOT

Homemaker's Depot provides resources to encourage the Christian Homemaker, including the popular Homemaker's Friend Daily Planner.

The Homemaker’s Friend Daily Planner was designed by Sue Hooley during her years of motherhood and homemaking. Sue understood that a homemaker’s day can rarely be scheduled and structured the same as the one before, nor can every task fit neatly into the time-slot allotted by other planners. Since her first publication in 2010, thousands of homemakers have benefited from the daily planner. The Planner is spiral bound for easy use and the cover is laminated for durability. 5.5X8.5 Two pockets included. It has seven sectional tabs as follows:

• An overview of the year by month.
• Two-page spreads for entries each month.
• Two-page spreads for entries each week. This allows you to sketch out an entire week, day by day.
• A section to enter projected tasks.
• A section to enter specific projects.
• A section to keep a listing of personal contact information.
• A perforated shopping list section allows you to take the list with you.

Be sure to sign up for the Homemaker's Friend newsletter for future notice of sales and new products!

TODDY GEAR

Add a fashionable and useful accent to the kitchen with the eco-friendly Ice Box Toddy Towel Set. Made from high-quality dual-sided microfiber, plush on one side for cleaning and silky microfiber on the other side for polishing. Toddy Towels tackle dirt and grime on hard surfaces, appliances, and even windows without the use of harmful cleaning chemicals and sprays while adding personalized touch of style to the heart of your home.

• The towels are ideal for cleaning everything from dishes to tough grime to polishing delicate glassware.
• For tough grime and grease, wet the Toddy Towel and clean with the plush side. When dry, use the stylized silky side to polish.
• Wash as needed with like colors. Tumble-dry low. Do not use fabric softener. Iron if desired.
• The only microfiber towel set that offers stylish design options for kitchenuse while also delivering an effective, eco-friendly cleaning solution
• Perfect for cleaning and polishing everything from dishes to countertops to appliances
• Fun patterns are a stylish addition to any kitchen
• Dual-sided – clean with plush side and polish with silky side
• Scratch free – gentle on delicate surfaces
• Lint-free, streak-free clean
• Boasts a protective coating that traps dirt/grime and prevents the buildup of mold, mildew, and odors
• Machine washable
• Made from 100% microfiber
• Handmade in the USA

Order your set here.

Follow Toddy Gear on social media: Facebook  |   Twitter

LILLA ROSE

Lilla Rose offers a line of hair accessories that are as pretty as they are practical!  They make perfect stocking stuffers for busy Mamas or for little girls!  Their Flexi clip is a great accessory for quickly and conveniently adding a bit of glamour to your everyday ponytail, half up-do or full up-do hairstyle. It's easy to use, comfortable to wear and works in all types of hair from baby-fine to super-thick.

Lilla Rose also offers bobby pins, hair bands and more!  You can learn more here or learn how to style your hair beautifully in seconds by watching the sizing and styling videos here.

Did you know that anyone who hosts a Facebook party can earn free Lilla Rose goodies?  Contact AlinaJoy through her website GoodOldDaysFarm.com for more information about hosting an online party.  It's easy and fun!

PARENTING FROM THE HEART

Learn from the wisdom of a mom of 14 children in Parenting from the Heart.

Some chapter titles include:

• “So Now You`re a Mommy!”
• “Gotta Love Those Toddlers”
• “Building a Sense of Destiny in Your Child”
• “Building a Heart of Obedience”
• “Character Counts”
• “Guard Their Hearts”
• “Turning Problems into Projects”
• “Keeping the Peace”
• “Keep it Simple — Home Education at its Best”
• “Building Patriot`s Hearts”
• “Give Them Your Heart” and many, many more

Pick up your copy: Click here

LOVINGKINDNESS ETSY SHOP

Lovingkindness is a charity based website with a mission to connect people worldwide through design and gifts. These unique pieces of art are made here in the United States in the Atlanta, Georgia area to be wall decor, prints to be framed, stationery, & pillows. Strengthening and giving back to the community is one of their missions in sharing God’s love.

Though it hasn't quite made it yet, this little beauty should be finding its way to my doorstep any day now:

Some other fabulous finds from their shop include:

1. Isaiah 9.6 Pillow

2. John 3:16 Pillow

3. Christmas Artwork Downloads

4. Set of downloadable Christmas patterns

Follow Lovingkindness on social media: Facebook  |  Instagram  |   Pinterest

BLOOMING WITH JOY

Blooming With Joy Tea is a family owned and operated company. We do everything as a family from designing the site, creating the label, and blending the tea. It is a lot of work but we love it! Every order you place for your family, helps our family.

A favorite this time of year is White Christmas Tea –  a luxurious blend of premium black tea, peppermint leaves, and crushed candy canes. Best selling, full flavor, seasonal tea. A guaranteed crowd pleaser.

I hope you came away from this post with the perfect gift idea!

2-in-1 Thanksgiving Blessing Board Plus Christmas Photo Display

Behr sponsored this blog post. The opinions and text are all mine.

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I wanted to have a place for our family to display our blessings in an attractive fashion.

I've also been wanting (ever since last Christmas!) a place to display the photos we receive in Christmas cards.  I want to be able to display them year-round, and I wanted something to remind us how blessed we are to have these precious family members and friends.

I knew I could combine both of those wishes into one easy project, and I also am making the “blessings” banner that I used available to you as a free printable!

First, I pulled this old frame out of the barn.  It had been a mirror that got broken, so I saved the frame for when I got around to this project.

Then we got down to business sanding it with 150 grit sandpaper.

Yes…I said “we”.  I can't do anything by myself around here. 🙂

Once the sanding was done, I just had to do a quick dusting of the frame and then I was ready to paint!

I chose BEHR MARQUEE^® Paint & Primer in the color “Rumors” with an eggshell finish.

Starting at the corners and working outward, I painted the frame.

An extra paintbrush came in handy!  It was very hard to keep curious kids occupied while I painted!

I let the first coat dry for about an hour and then did a second coat just for good measure (and to try and smooth over some of the spots that got knicked by curious kids!)  I wish I'd had a bigger piece of cardboard, but we made do.

After it was all dry, I took it inside and measured twine and stapled it onto the back at equal intervals.

Then I hopped onto the computer and designed my “Blessings” banner, printed it out, and hung it with mini clothespins.

I also cut out tags for our family to write down our blessings each day and hang them on our board.

(You can print the pieces for the banner by clicking on the image below.)

Now we have a place to hang our blessings during the month of November, and when the Christmas cards start arriving next month we can switch over to remembering the blessing of friends and family!

This post is brought to you by BEHR. Color that’s True to Hue. If you feel it, you can find it. Visit True to Hue.

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My Favorite Resources for Christian Parents

I've been asked by a couple different readers about some good resources to help direct them in their quest toward Biblical parenting.

First and foremost, if you want to parent Biblically, the very most important thing you can do is get to know your Bible better! 

Study what the Bible says about the parent/child relationship.  While books are very helpful, it's even better to know for yourself exactly what the Bible says; not just what someone said the Bible says.

Study what the Bible says about Christian living.  We can't teach our children properly if we don't know for sure what God says about how we should live.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to spend the majority of your time in the Bible and not reading man's words.  He has truly given us all things that pertain to life and godliness.

However, there is a time and place where books written by men are appropriate.  When men are putting forth Biblical truth and helping to explain what God's Word says rather than just spouting their own ideas, that is good and helpful.  When they give practical ideas for applying God's Word to everyday situations, that is very helpful also.

I know there are many, many books about Christian parenting out there, and I surely haven't read all of them.  I'm sure there are some really good ones that are not on this list.

But…I have read a lot.

This is one of our bookcases.  The top 3 1/2 shelves contain books about marriage, parenting, and the Christian home.  I haven't read every single one of them yet.  (Side story: we walked into a thrift store one day, and there was a sign that said ALL of their books were FREE.  They had a book section the size of a real bookstore!  And the limit on free books was one full cart.  Oh my!  Talk about the need to say, “Pinch me!  I think I'm dreaming!”  So we went 2 different times and brought home boxes and boxes of books!  That was several years ago, and I still haven't read them all.  I'm gradually working through them and weeding out the ones that are no good.)

Anyway, all that to say…out of all the books on Christian parenting I have read, I've whittled my favorites down to the best of the best, and here they are:

Update January 2020: This post was written five years ago, and as I hope is the case with you too, I have grown and changed over those five years. Unfortunately, due to things the Lord has taught me over those years, I can no longer wholeheartedly recommend a couple of these books. I will add some notes to each resource I have listed.

1. Shepherding a Child's Heart

*Update: I no longer recommend this book as of January 2020. In spite of the fact that I thought it was teaching to reach the child's heart, and yes, there are some good nuggets in there, there are subtle concepts in the book that actually focus on controlling a child's outward behavior more than truly teaching a child how to develop his own relationship with the Lord. Additionally, there are things that I have come to know about the author's personal life that trouble me enough to no longer be comfortable recommending this book.*

I was introduced to this book long before I was married or had children, and I'm so glad I was.  It really helped give me an understanding of the need to reach the heart of the child rather than just making sure their outward behavior was right.

Buy Here

2. Training Your Children to Turn Out Right

*Update January 2020: I have not read this book in a very long time, so I can't be sure whether I would currently recommend it or not after that radical shifts that have taken place in my thinking. As with any book, exercise your own discernment.*

Another very Biblical and practical book offering insight from an experienced parent.

Buy Here (They don't currently have them on sale from Amazon, but you can purchase it from a 3rd party seller.)

3. Motivate Your Child

This books gives lots of practical advice for reasoning with your child Biblically.  Since younger children do not have the reasoning capability of an older child, it seems a better choice for older children. (My oldest is 7, and I feel he is old enough to understand the concepts presented.) I don't agree with all of the ways the material is presented, but I do agree with the big picture philosophy behind it.

Buy Here

4. Motivate Your Child Action Plan

This book made me excited to put its ideas into action!  It not only gave me hope that we could work through some of the seemingly insurmountable issues one of my child is dealing with, but it gave a step-by-step plan for doing so!

Buy Here

Bonus: This one isn't for the parents, but for the children…

5. Because I Said So

This is a study for children on Biblical obedience.  It teaches children to obey for the right reasons by teaching them biblical truth.  As your children learn about people in Scripture who struggled with obedience, they will learn for themselves HOW, WHEN, and WHY they should obey.

Buy Here

Like I said earlier, I surely haven't read every book available, and I'm sure there are some gems I haven't even heard of.  Please feel free to share your own suggestions!

To the Mom Who Just Served Cereal For Supper…Again

Dear worn-out, guilt-ridden mama who just served your family cereal for supper because it was better than not feeding them at all:

I understand because I've been there.

No…let me rephrase that.  I AM there.

Just last night we went through the drive-through because it was really late and we were so tired and the kitchen was already a mess and I absolutely dreaded the thought of trying to prepare something else in the middle of a messy kitchen.

I said to my husband, “I HATE feeding this food to my kids, but at least junk food is better than NO food.”

If you're feeding cereal to your family for supper, let me tell you something.

It's going to be okay.

Many other moms have walked this road you're walking.  You're not a failure.  Your kids aren't going to die from malnutrition.  And one day you will cook supper again.

Life is full of seasons – seasons of sickness, seasons of playing soccer mom, seasons of packing and moving, and sometimes…seasons of peace and rest.

If you're walking through a “cereal for supper” season, I thought I'd share some survival techniques, because while it's perfectly okay to feed your family survival mode food, I know you'd a whole lot rather be putting nutritious meals into those bellies.

1. Give yourself an honest evaluation

First you need to be brutally honest with yourself.

Ask yourself some hard questions like,

“Am I always scrambling for supper because life honestly has to be this busy and stressful?  Or are my sloppy supper habits a result of my own disorganization?”

“What can I eliminate from my schedule that will help me not to be too busy to feed my family properly?”

“Am I using the fact that there are difficult seasons of life as an excuse or is riding out the storm truly all I can do at this point?”

It may be that you will find the time to feed your family more nutritious meals if you simply make the time to do so.

If not, remember: it's going to be okay.
Don't beat yourself up and never, ever feel guilty for doing your best.

2. Ask for help

Sometimes you're in over your head and there is nothing you can do about it.

There is no shame in asking for help.

When kind folks at church ask what they can do to help you through a hard season, be honest and tell them that some meals would be a huge help!  (Ouch!  I'm stepping on my own toes here!)

It's so hard for us to admit to others that we need help.  I think for most of us it's not necessarily a pride issue as it is an “I don't want to inconvenience anyone” issue.

But if others have offered to help and obviously want to be a blessing, then we shouldn't feel badly about letting them!

Even if no one outside the family offers, it is actually okay to ask your husband to help cook supper. (Gasp!)  Or your kids! (Gasp!)

The other night my 8 year old made biscuits completely by himself while I cooked the rest of the meal.  To be honest, I wasn't sure how that was going to work out, but they were great!  We never know how much our kids can to do help until we let them try!

3. Have a plan

When things are busy or stressful or you're ill, it's pretty much a given that dinner time is going to be a struggle.

Having a plan is critical to surviving the dinner hour during the difficult seasons of life.  And sometimes the simplest of things can help you in a big way.

For example:

• Cook extra meat on the nights you do cook to use for a super-quick meals later on in the week.
• Chop extra vegetables when you're cooking.  Stick the extra in the freezer for easy meals later.
• Triple or quadruple your recipes.  Your cooking and cleaning times are about the same, but you'll have 2 or 3 meals to put into the freezer for busier days.
• Make a list of super-quick meals that are still nutritious. (Scrambled eggs, meatless soups using canned beans, salads, etc.)  Just having an idea of what you can make can keep you from reaching for the cereal box again.
• Plan your meals.  Sometimes just knowing ahead of time what's for supper can help you avoid the suppertime  scramble.  You can stick supper in the crockpot if you know in the morning what you're having.  If you're ill and can't cook, having a meal plan will help your husband or kids know what they can cook.

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know I like to use Build a Menu to plan my menus.  I love that they offer the freedom to choose exactly what I want to make.

(Want to see why I love it so much?  Go through this link for a free 2 week trial!)

Did these tips help shine a little light into your desperate situation?  I sure hope so!

It's gonna be okay, mama.  It's gonna be okay.

5 Ways to Cultivate a Heart of Contentment in Your Children

“But I wanted cheese pizza; not pepperoni!”

“Why does she get to do all the fun stuff?  I never get to do anything!”

Do you hear phrases like this in your home?  Is it obvious that your children are struggling with being content?

Here are some ways you can help to cultivate a heart of contentment in your children:

1. Teach them that all good things come from God.

If they are given the blessing of a fun family night with pizza, teach them that God gave it to them as a gift.  When we recognize that the good things we have are gifts from God, we can learn to be grateful for them instead of wishing for more.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (James 1:17)

2. Do not shelter them from the unpleasant realities of the world.

Most children really have no idea how privileged they are.  When you tell them that children in Africa are starving, they really don't have a clue what you mean.

Don't be afraid to show them how people are living and explain to them that the meal they are eating is more than some children have had all day.  Let them be involved in helping the needy and homeless people in your own community so they can truly get an idea of how good they have things.

3. Teach them that joy is a choice rather than a feeling.

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Philippians 4:4

We are not always going to feel happy about our circumstances.  Yet we are told to rejoice always.  There is no way to do that except by making a deliberate choice.  (Don't worry; you'll have plenty of chances to model this choice because you don't always feel happy either, do you?)

4. Meditate on and talk about good things.

Right along with understanding that joy is a choice is meditating and speaking about good things.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:8

If we are always focusing on the negative our children will learn to do the same.  Instead, we must intentionally put our mind on good things even when things are not going our way.

(See also: How Philippians 4:8 is Changing Our Home, Plus a Free Printable.)

5. Teach them and show them that we ought to put others first.

Children (okay, adults too!) tend to be envious when a friend gets something nice that they didn't.

Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Philippians 2:3-4

But we are commanded to put others first.  If we are treating others with more importance than ourselves we can be genuinely happy for them rather than jealous of their blessing.

You may want to take a look at this study for children called A Content Heart.  I just downloaded it and I know it is going to be great!

You can get the Junior version for younger kids or the youth version for kids that are a little older.  (Or you can get a combo pack if you have multiple children of various ages.)  Take a look here.

What are some other ways you can think of to help your children learn to be content?

You may also like:

Science Experiment for Kids: Make a Sundial

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Culturelle^®. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.

The other day, I was thinking about an easy science experiment I could do with my kids. We still had a few days until school started back up again, but I was ready to do something a little more structured with them but still fun. I only had a few criteria for our experiment:

1. It must be outside (simply because I wanted to go outside and enjoy the sunshine.)
2. It must use simple supplies that we already had.
3. It must be something the kids would enjoy rather than endure simply to humor mama.

I ended up settling on making a sundial.  Making the sundial was super easy, but the kids got a big kick out of it! They still use it whenever they go outside.

Here's how you can make your own sundial:

1. Find the perfect stick – the straighter the better.

“I found one!”

2. Gather 12 small stones.

3. Find a spot in your yard that is in full sun at all times of the day.

4. Pound the stick into the ground.

5. Look at your watch or clock. When it is exactly on the hour, place a stone right at the end of the stick's shadow.

6. Place your other stones at equal intervals. Now you have the hours marked from 7 A.M. to 7 P.M.

7. As you are able, go outside at other hours of the day to check each stone's location for accuracy.

8. Now you can use your sundial to tell the time when you are outside! Each stone is an hour, and as the shadow moves between the stones, you can tell the time more exactly (e.g. if the shadow is halfway between two stones it is half past the hour).

The kids loved our little project. It was easy for mama to pull off, but interesting enough for the kids to understand that we were doing something special… not to mention the fact that they got a little science lesson explaining why the sundial works. This activity was one of our favorites out of all the ones we've done! Parents, I'm sure you'll have a blast if you follow these steps!

Now, probiotics are an important part of supporting my children's immune system so that they can be healthy and happy enough to do fun activities like this one! Culturelle^® is the only probiotic with 100% Lactobacillus GG, the most clinically studied strain.†† It works to support the body’s natural defenses, starting in the digestive tract.*

Culturelle^® Kids Probiotic Chewables and Packets are available online and at all major food and drug retailers, including Wal-Mart, Target, CVS, Walgreens and Rite-Aid.

Connect with Culturelle^®: Facebook | Twitter

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Culturelle^® used under license by i-Health, Inc. †† Based on the number of Lactobacillus GG clinical studies, as of May 2015.