Advent! It’s right around the corner, and I have to confess I got a little giddy when I realized there is less than a month until we put up our Christmas tree! Advent, meaning “Coming” is the season between Thanksgiving and the Day of Epiphany on January 6th when we celebrate Jesus’ birth and 2nd coming for more than a whole month! SO. EXCITING.

It’s probably pretty obvious that we are not Catholic, and you might be a little confused since many people associate Advent with Catholic holidays. But, Y’ALL…I REALLY get into this! Celebrating Advent, celebrating Christ’s coming and His return all month long, doing Advent related crafts and activities throughout the month… it really helps to keep perspective through the coming rush and bustle of Christmas cheer and good tidings. Oh, gosh, I think I just smelled a whiff of pine needles and peppermint just saying that…

Even before December gets here, throughout the Thanksgiving holiday and before, we begin planning our Advent season and so our hearts are thinking ahead, looking forward to it. So even during Thanksgiving, it’s easy to prepare our hearts with thankfulness and joy. (And on top of that, we have Thanksgiving traditions and activities, too, of course.)

Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas Day, this year on November 29, 2009. We use an Advent Wreath to mark each Sunday and Christmas morning, and we use it along with special bible readings. We use various crafts and activities through the week in between to further enjoy and looking forward to the coming holiday, and to remember why we are celebrating.

Last year, I did a big series about our various Advent traditions, with pictures, recipes and other links, and I’ll include links to those at the bottom of this post if you want some Advent ideas (I’ll also be doing another one this year in about a month!). I also have a section for Advent on my Holiday Celebrations page with links to informative websites, such as:

• http://www.cresourcei.org/cyadvent.html
• http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByOccasion/2/

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, and now that we Celebrate it through/by celebrating Advent, I love it even more. It’s still hard not to get caught up in the moment when we open gifts on Christmas morning, but I think it’s okay to enjoy each other for a little while, as long as we can come together and remember not only why we are celebrating but how blessed we are to be able to celebrate it together with our family members. Celebrating Advent helps me keep perspective and focus in an otherwise busy time of the year. What works for you?

Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by Kristen @ We Are That Family! Hop over for more holiday related WFMW tips!

For more Advent information and ideas, check out these related posts:

• Our Advent Calendar, Advent Wreath, Traveling Nativity & Other Traditions
• Decorating With Intent
• The Spirit of Baking
• Giving: Taking time to give to others.
• Keeping Christ in Christmas; Christmas morning.

Drama Queen, in the pilot seat, getting ready for takeoff.

Little Prince taking off into the sky - that's my baby!

Little plane. Little Boy. BIG sky. BIG clouds. Little Mama, BIG God!

Princess after flying and taxiing back to the hangar.

{I have to add a note making it not-so-wordless (because I never count the captions anyway!): My aunt is an instructor with her own plane, all three kids sat in a backed-booster seat so they could appropriately buckle into the harness. The older two actually got to take the controls a little bit, and the oldest got to take them a bit during takeoff and landing. YES, this Momma was a bit nervous - but did you SEE the note about God?? They had a blast and hope to do it again real soon!}

Wordless Wednesday is hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom!

Working around the room.

When the room is just a MESS and you don’t really know where to start or don’t really even want to start… pick a corner and just. start. working. In my kitchen, I always start on the counter by the back door. Clean off the counter, the whole counter and nothing but the counter. YES, grab as many things as you can, don’t you dare walk away with only one thing in your hand. Load up everything that needs to go in the sink or in the trash can and take them in one trip (just don’t get confused!)

I don’t know about you, but I always work clockwise. I don’t really think that’s a rule. I wonder if a left handed person or a left brain person would do it differently? (Since I am a righty for both..) Hmmm… Anywho….

When that counter space is done, I move to the sink, then the counter on the other side, and so on and so forth around the room in a circle. I do the same thing in the other rooms, too. I know I am not the only one who does this, experts have recommended this for years, and it really does work for me.

This week while the kids are gone, I’m applying this principal but on a deeper level- instead of just picking up the space, I’m cleaning the space thoroughly. I started in the living room at the bookcase and took that opportunity to declutter it, dust it, and reorganize it. Moved to the chair next to it, cleaned behind it, under it, under the cushions, etc, and kept going. Yeah, okay, so I had the vacuum on half a dozen times instead of doing it all at once, but it felt good. I could visibly see the room getting cleaner piece by piece and once I was done with a space I never had to go back over it for something else.

The older I get, (or after having 3 children and using up all my brain cells), not only do I often have trouble focusing but I also frequently suffer from a serious Lack of Want To. I know you know what I am talking about. That’s why this really works so well. I don’t really have to think about it. I do have to get up and do it, but it gets done quickly and easily and truthfully,… I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER ONCE IT’S CLEAN.

Oddly enough, I can think better when it’s clean too.

Huh.

Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by Kristen @ We Are That Family!

Sponsored Link:101 Uses of Hydrogen Peroxide {Click here for my Disclosure Policy}

Learning to read begins before a child is actually able to read the letters on the page and decipher their meanings. Before children learn to read, they learn what books are, what they are for, how to hold them and how to copy reading. They learn that they are supposed to turn the pages from right to left, and that the reading goes from left to right. Before their little brains can interpret the meaning of the markings on the page, they come to understand that there IS meaning in the markings on the page waiting to be interpreted.

A young child sitting down and pretend reading to himself is both preparing to learn to read and also building a love for reading. Loving to read at an early age only comes by one method - by being read to. Again and again and again.

It’s through storytime, being read book after book, that young children begin to understand that those pages hold some mysterious code that unlocks the door to any number of adventures. Being read book after book, introducing a variety of storylines and characters feeds a young child’s natural curiousity. Reading and re-reading favorite books and favorite themes feeds a young child’s desire for the literature that most interests them and provides a sense of comfort and security as well. Toddlers do well with routines and constants, and that favorite book fits nicely into that need because it is the same wonderful story, over and over and over again.

As tiresome as they can be, the words “just one more story, mommy?” are also a very beautiful thing. How comforting to know that we are laying one more brick in their road to reading success, and more importantly, their loving to read.

These days my 3 year old son (nearly 4!) can be found with a book in hand several times a day, quietly turning the pages and pretending to read it to himself - or perhaps to some unseen imagined companion. At bed time the request is always the same: ” I want three stories, mommy. THREE.” And the request is always followed up with the most bewitching grin, adorable dimple and twinkling eyes. Who could resist?

We are poised at this most delicious moment in time - a point in time where he is both old enough to pay attention for the whole story, and young enough to still need me to read it to him, a point where he is still momma’s little boy as he rests he head on my shoulder to look at the pages but old enough to make astute observations of the illustrations and ask thoughtful questions about the characters. These days are not here for long.

We read a lot of books about Kings and Knights, Princes and Dragons these days. Little Prince (how fitting, right?) has a crazy vivid imagination and a fascination with any kind of knight, soldier or pirate (basically any character with a weapon!) Some of his favorites are Snoring Beauty, Max Lucado’s The Way Home: A Princess Story, The Squire and the Scroll, and Rapunzel by Zelinsky.They’re all really good books and they all have excellent illustrations, possibly one of the reasons he loves them so much.

Before I know it, I’ll blink and he’ll be this lanky 10 year old on the couch reading Treasure Island and he’ll probably scoff if I ask him to lay his head on my shoulder while I read to him. All the reason to read “just one more, momma!” right now. In the land of foregone lullabies and forgotten rocking chairs, where the Im-So-Bigs have vanquished the big stuffed puppy and exiled the plastic firetruck toddler bed into the land of I-Want-A-Big-Boy-Bed - a prince and his mother rule the kingdom of Storytime, slaying dragons and rescuing princesses to the fullest and wildest extent of one little boy’s imagination.

Same daughter, another brand new white shirt, a coffee stain that’s been through the dryer, and the same solution:

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“Shout it Out!”

Originally posted January 23, 2008

Remember that slogan? Today’s tip is a quick one from my laundry room. I hate (I really do) spending money on expensive clening products, they just really cut into the budget. Sometimes they’re worth it. And this one really is. A four dollar bottle of Shout Advanced Gel is definitely worth it when it helps me save half of my four-year-old’s wardrobe. (Yeah, you thought it was going to be the BOY, didn’t you?? Not this time!)

Drama Queen is notorious for stains; always has been. She stains at least half of her stuff the very first time she wears it. Can we say frustrating??

Not anymore.

I had several cute and new things with stains that didn’t come out so I took a shot and bought a bottle. And boy am I ever so glad. I’ve been using it a little over a month and it has removed every thing my four year old has thrown at it, including set in stains that got missed in the wash, AND half-removed stains from who-knows-when. The older the stain the longer you need to pre-treat it, so be prepared. I sprayed it, folded the shirt and left it on top of the washer until the next day. I just kept checking it each day and adding more gel if necessary until I felt confident enough to wash it. A couple of times I washed something and saw a small amount left and sprayed it again. But man, this stuff works.

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Works for me Wednesday is hosted by Kristen @ We are THAT Family

Observe: two wild things in their natural habitat. We'll peek through the lattice and zoom in so as not to disturb them in their natural state.

Notice how the wild things show no indication of fear or danger.

See how the smaller one is ready for adventure in pjs and red cape, barefoot and wild.

This post happily submitted to Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom!

Pumpkins are NOT just for Halloween - they’re good ALL SEASON LONG! In fact, I think pumpkins have more to do with the autumn harvest - even though they’re used for both the jack-0-lanterns and the common shape for the trick or treat bags. But Pumpkins are a common fall harvest vegetable, good for Halloween, Thanksgiving and all throught the fall. They’re good for baking, decorating, and yes - for jack-o-lanterns, too.

For many years, I’ve bought and painted pumpkins - it’s easier than carving, the pumpkin lasts longer, and it disassociated with the Halloween jack-o-lantern. Any kind of acrylic paint will work, and you can paint any kind of happy or silly face that you want. Top it with a wig or yarn hair, a hat, whatever you want. Have a blast with it.

Several years ago, I decided that I wanted to actually carve one, harvest the seeds, harvest the flesh and make a pie and roast the seeds. So we did. Now, let me tell you - if you just want fresh pumpkin there is an easier way to do it. But I remembered carving a pumpkin once as a kid and I wanted to do it. So we did. We carved a castle on the front. We saved and roasted the seeds. We scraped and scraped and scraped and cooked and froze the pumpkin to use the next month at Thanksgiving. The kids really enjoyed it. And it got me thinking.

The next year, we carved pumpkins again. This time, I carved the girls’ faces, a pumpkin for each. I carved their names also. As we placed a candle inside, we talked about how the pumpkins represented each of them, and we read the passage in Matthew about not hiding your light but letting it shine before men. I’m pretty sure I also threw in the passage from Philippians about shining as lights in a crooked and depraved generation and the admonition to shine so brightly by doing things without grumbling and complaining. ; ) We prayed together and declared that these pumpkins would serve as our reminder to shine brightly for God, for as long as the jack-o-lanterns lasted, and beyond.

We did this two years in a row before I found the book, The Pumpkin Patch Parable. I LOVED IT. It took what I was doing just a little bit farther, but it fit in so well with what I had in mind. The story line and the illustrations are simple and sweet and it’s a story that any kid would enjoy. I’ll admit that we don’t own this book - yet. When I found this book, I didn’t have the money for it. But I read it, I held it in my hands, I looked it over…. it’s a GOOD book. I’m hoping to pick it up for this year, even though I’m not sure we’ll have a chance to carve any pumpkins, as the kids will be with my mom until the night before Halloween.

Pumpkins are for more than carving, too, as I’ve already mentioned. I like to decorate with pumpkins as well. You can use an assortment of pumpkins outside, on your tabletop, a mantle… wherever. You can paint them, use a pumpkin as a head and make a pumpkin man/scarecrow. You can fill a bowl with mini pumpkins. Mini pumpkins and GOURDS. I adore mini pumpkins and gourds. With some wheat. Or hay. And berries. You get the idea.

You can use real pumpkins, or fake pumpkins. I have an assortment of fake gourds mixed with real gourds and mini pumpkins on my piano - you can’t really tell the difference, but I get to reuse some of them year after year without replacing them. Truthfully, if I had been able to find decent looking faux gourds at the time, I wouldn’t have bought the fresh ones, but I want my money to be spent on items that are worth it - even if it is only a dollar. So I’ll look again next year.

And of course we all know pumpkins are great for baking! There’s the most famous pumpkin dish of all - THE PIE. I love me some pumpkin pie. Why is it that we feel the need to reserve pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving? Have it in October I say! Or if not, there are always pumpkin cheesecakes, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin breads and pumpkin soups. YES, I said pumpkin soups! My favorites would be the pies and the cookies - YUM!

And the pumpkin crafts are endless! I adore these tea light candles made with mini pumpkins! A quick search of the internet will give you tons of craft ideas. How about these pumpkin funny faces, any one of these fun pumpkin crafts, or this “Bear-y” cute Pooh Bear lookalike craft complete with honey pot! (or any of the other 14 craft ideas - Bear pumpkin pictured above.)

GET CREATIVE. Pumpkins are part and parcel of the fall season, through Halloween and into Thanksgiving. Don’t be afraid to use pumpkins around your house for fear that someone will mistake them for Halloween decorations. Add some corn stalks or even a hay bale and add a sign - “Fabulous Fall!” Pumpkins are yummy, and pumpkins are beautiful and pumpkins are good!

Do you have a favorite pumpkin recipe, craft or decoration? Tell me about it!

This post is a part of the Hallow-What? Halloween Special. Hop over and join in!

Halloween: What’s a Christian to do?

Halloween. A holiday rooted in ancient pagan (meaning non-Christian) traditions, transformed by modern society into a garish and brightly colored parade of children in search of a good take. Every major tradition and symbol (the jack-o-lantern, the phrase “trick-or-treat”) represents the hoiday’s origins. Commercialism has taken that and run with it, of course. By late September, consumers can find Halloween costumes, treat bags, decorations and other paraphernalia lining the store shelves, serving as a constant reminder that Halloween is coming and we need to be ready for it. While many Christians know exactly where they stand (either on one side, avoiding and boycotting the holiday completely, or on the other side, participating in safe alternatives at churches and around the community) many others steel feel confused and pulled between the two options.

No judging here.

I want to make it clear that Christians will find no judgement here from me, regardless of what decisions you make with your family. I believe that God leads us and convicts us each on our own paths in His own timing. While He may have convicted you of something you now feel strongly about, I may not feel convicted about it at all yet, and vice versa. I also believe that as Christians we should encourage and uplift each other and not tear each other down. I encourage each of you to stand strong in your convictions for or against, and to YES go ahead and share them, because it is often through personal testimonies that the holy spirit can begin to work on someone else’s heart. I also encourage you to avoid judging others who don’t share your convictions or even outright argue them. Instead, let’s love each other just as Christ has loved us, in spite of our imperfections and sins.

More on Halloween in the Oliver household:

I already shared what Halloween looks like in our household, about how I began participating in Halloween alternatives, but a few years ago God began pulling me away from that. For the last few years we’ve been slowly building our own “Halloween” (but mostly FALL) traditions. I have found several good ideas online and in books and thought of and prayed through many of my own. I didn’t really go into a lot of detail about specific activities and traditions, because we’re going to get into that in just a minute. First, some questions and answers:

1. What do you do about trick-or-treaters? We live in the country and we always have, so we have never had to deal with trick or treaters. However, there are a few different ways I can see to go on this one. You could go out on a family date to avoid the masses. Dinner and a movie should be long enough to get you through it. You could participate and use the opportunity to reach out to the kids in your neighborhood – along with a piece of candy, you could give them an invite to your church’s next Sunday School or youth event, or something small such as a pencil or bookmark with a bible verse on it. (That option will probably get you “labeled” as the holy-roller on the corner, but it’s definitely an option.) On the other hand, you may not want to pass out candy so you don’t appear to condone the holiday–in which case you could leave a sign on your door politely saying that you don’t participate in Halloween. What would YOU do in this situation, are there any other suggestions?
2. How do your kids handle not Trick-Or-Treating with their friends and neighbors? Honestly – they handle it really well. They’ve never really cared much about traditional trick-or-treating, but they did want to go to the festival to get their share of candy. Last year we started a new tradition that we’ll probably continue until the kids get older. Since the real goal was the candy, I bought four or five different kinds of candy and put them in a tub on the top of the refrigerator. The kids got to have 2 pieces a day until they were all gone. They got to get their candy, I got to pick the candy – everybody is happy.
3. What do you do when confronted with all the Halloween costumes, decorations and other paraphernalia at the store? I take advantage of it! We may not do Halloween, but all three of my kids like to dress up and pretend. There is not better costume selection than at Halloween. Go ahead, shop those clearance aisles after Halloween is over and see what kinds of costume pieces you can find to add to the dress-up box. I also like to browse the home décor looking for items that represent fall/autumn and just skip right over the Halloween stuff.
4. What do you do when family or friends invite you to something or give your kids something Halloween related? It depends. Most likely we will turn down invitations to parties, politely explaining that we don’t participate in Halloween events. Depending on the thing my kids are given and who it is from, I may let them keep it. If it’s candy, I’ll moderate it. But if it’s something that I wouldn’t approve of, (and I’m not able to intervene before they get their hands on it) I will most likely end up getting rid of the item and apologizing to the kids while explaining my position. If someone gave my son a devil costume, we would not be keeping it. Parenting: it’s hard. But it’s what I do.

Ideas for Activities & Crafts for Fall/Halloween:

1. Many Christians choose to celebrate Reformation Day or All Saints Day in addition to or instead of Halloween. Both of these being separate holidays, I’ll being going into these in separate posts for each of them. However, you can find information about them right now, on my Holiday Celebrations page (just scroll down to their section.)
2. Holiday baking - BAKING IS ALWAYS GOOD. =D The thing about fall is there are bountiful harvests everywhere! If you don’t grow your own (I don’t) take your family out to a local farmers market or you-pick-type farm. Turn zucchini into yummy zucchini bread. Convert those pumpkins into pies, breads and chocolate chip pumpkin cookies. Be adventurous and try a new squash or fruit that you’ve never tried before. Teach your children to appreciate all that God has blessed us with.
3. Take a trip to a pumpkin farm. We have a pumpkin farm within driving distance that has mazes, playgrounds, hay rides and a huge selection of pumpkins to pick from. What a simple way to have fun together with your family! Pick out a handful of pumpkins to bake with. Go ahead, pick out some carving pumpkins too. I have so much to say about pumpkins and pumpkin carving that written a completely separate article for it - read it here!
4. Decorate for fall. As early as the 1st of October, I begin decorating for fall. I don’t go over the top with it, we don’t have much in the way of fall decorations yet. Not only am I trying to frugally add a little each year, but I’m also extremely picky about the decorations I like. I don’t want something that looks Halloweenish, but I also don’t want something that looks cottage-crafty-country-whatever. Take your time and be discerning as you shop through the store aisles. Be wise with your money. Choose pieces that you feel reflect your style and represent the changes in the seasons, giving honor and glory to God who is sovereign over them. If you’re crafty, make your own. Most importantly, just take time to enjoy God’s creation and thank Him for it.
5. Make fall crafts with your kids. Fall is abundant with craft supplies. Pinecones, fall leaves, evergreen sprigs… take your pick. From simple leaf rubbings to natural centerpieces - the options are numerous! Check out the links at the bottom of the post for specific craft ideas.
6. Take the opportunity to share a family devotional. Whether you choose to have a specific Halloween-related devotional, or seize many teachable moments to share devotionals with your children while you are out and about in God’s creation or cooking up the fruits of your labors in the kitchen - keep your eyes open for moments when you can glorify God and give Him thanks for all that He has provided. Even when you’re explaining the science behind a white and tufty dandelion head or sharp and pointy pinecone, you can give glory to God in all his wisdom for creating a world that functions to rhythmically and beautifully.
7. Read with your children. There are many wonderful stories to read with your children this time of year. Children love to be read to and it’s a great way to strengthen your bond with your children and build memories that will last forever. (Not to mention that “they” always say that children who are read to more frequently are smarter and happier!) A list of good books to read is included at the bottom of this post.

More resources:

1. Books

• The Pumpkin Patch Parable
• Mommy, Why Don’t We Celebrate Halloween?
• My Happy Pumpkin: God’s Love Shining through Me

1. Websites

• Halloween Ministry Resources - a great list of books, lessons and articles to read.
• Halloween Alternative Ideas for Family Fun at Kidology
• Activities for Autumn at FamilyFun

1. Craft Ideas

• Fall crafts at About.com
• Fall crafts (and some homeschooling type activities) at Enchanted Learning
• Fall crafts at Kaboose.com - I love the paper bag scarecrow!

1. Extended Reading

• What Does Your Heart Worship? (What does the bible say about worship/Halloween? Written by myself back in 2007)
  
• Christian Halloween - All Hocus Pocus?
• Halloween: Trick or Treat? (In the lefthand sidebar, click on the article under “Halloween Helps” and it will automatically download the .pdf file.)
• Halloween Thoughts
• How is Carving a Pumpking Like Being a Christian?
• Halloween - Should Christians Participate?
  

Share the Love:

What favorite activities, crafts, recipes and other fall/halloween alternative traditions do you share with your family? If you have a favorite book or craft idea that you’d like to share you can leave it in the comments. If you have a blog post that you’ve written (recently or in the past) about your family’s fall and halloween time traditions, about how God led you to your current convictions, or even about just one craft or activity that you’ve done together, feel free to share it in the MckLinky below to encourage others who are looking for direction to navigate through this can-be-tricky holiday. Include a link back to this post so that readers can easily return here and so that your readers can find their way here also. Feel free to download the image above to include in your post or sidebar. And please do spread the word!

There’s also a “backstage” type event going on at the Fan page. I’ll be posting more links and pictures there, so if you’re not a fan already, come join us!

I’m going to leave the linky open as long as I can, hopefully up through Halloween night. If I start seeing links that look spammy, I’ll start deleting them. If it gets to be too much for me to keep up with (which I don’t expect) then I’ll have to close it before Halloween.

It’s about your heart:

In the end, the decisions you make are between you and God (and your spouse if you have one) and no one else. Ultimately I believe God is more concerned about the state of your heart than about whether or not you went to a Halloween party. I believe He is most pleased and glorified when your heart is seeking His will. God sees the inmost parts of our hearts and knows their every desire. Regardless of where you stand on Halloween, regardless of what He has or has not convicted you of thus far in your life - every day including Halloween is a day the Lord has made, an opportunity to honor and worship Him and give Him all the glory. In all that you do, may God be glorified!

Hello, Friday! Another weekend is here. Our plans? Not much. This was “the week of very little sleep.” Last night, for the first time in at least a week, I actually got 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep! One night really isn’t enough to recover from a week though - so I’m really hoping for a repeat tonight.

Since I missed last week, I really have a lot of good stuff for ya. I think I’ll try to categorize it a bit. Here goes!

Classic Housewife News:

• I posted my Homemade Baked Potato Soup Recipe on the fan page.
• I’m still open for discussion on this topic at my discussion board.
• Don’t forget to come back on Monday for my Halloween special. Get ready to link up your traditions and feel free to send me links to good articles.
• I’m asking for your bean suggestions at my other blog. Coffee beans that is.

In the News:

• There’s been a lot of talk about Google Wave around the internet this week. What is Google Wave?
• You probably heard them: Gasps as Obama Awarded Nobel Peace Prize
• A sad story: Faith-healing parents charged with death of their infant son.
• Mark Driscoll on ABC Nightline: Celebrity Culture and Worshipping False Idols
• Yahoo! Finance: FTC-Bloggers, testimonials need better disclosure
• Fox News: Woman Disabled By Seasonal Flu Shot Reaction

Good Blog Posts:

• Real Life: Flirty Apron Review and Giveway
• Vita Familiae: A Quick Columbus Day Lesson via Youtube
• Keeping the Kingdom First: Fighting the Flu the Frugal Way

Homeschool Related Stuff:

• Funny Homeschool Mom Cartoon
• November is National Novel Writing Month. Participating in the NaNoWriMo’s Young Writer’s Program would be a great way to build creative writing skills. And their downloadable workbooks are really great!
• Texas Homeschool Coalition: Preparing Our Sons to Serve
• From HSLDA: Sweden - The next Germany for Homeschoolers?

Other Good Stuff:

• Youtube: Rapping Flight Attendant on Southwest Airlines
• Download the latest version of Tweetdeck here, it’s better than ever. (And then follow me @AmberOliver
• Steamy Kitchen: No-Knead Bread Recipe
• Youtube: The Voca People
• Snopes: Ingestion of alcohol-based hand sanitzer CAN result in alchohol poisoning in children. TRUE.

So now what? Now it’s YOUR turn! You can do one of two things (or both!)

1. If you have a link-love post you’ve written sharing good links you’ve found, link it up!
2. Or if you’ve got a favorite article you’ve written this week that you’ve like us to read - anything at all - link it up!

(Don’t you like how easy this is?!) Plus, I like to Stumble posts I like. =) Add a link back to this post at the bottom of yours and your readers can get back here to find all the other good stuff. MckLinky will stay open all week!

“I love life, because it’s FUN, and um, my mom helps me sometimes.”

I’m watching my son son play when I see him put a roly-poly in his pocket. When I commented, my daughter informed me he’d put a worm in his pocket when they were playing outside the day before. Immediately my mind wandered to whether or not I’d washed any of his laundry since then. Nice.

My son asked why my husband took his sister to her event and I told him it was because I didn’t want to do it so daddy said he would. Son says seriously, “Well I’m a good driver,” as if to say, so let’s go then and I’ll do it for you!

My son’s new thing is catching moths. I pity any bug he catches because it’s probably not going to survive unless I have him put it back outside immediately. He’s not mean to them, in fact he tries to be very gentle. There’s a steady stream of moths, roly-polies and flies being brought and shown to me. A couple of days ago, it was a millipede. Two in fact. I’m just getting ready for him to come back in with a toad or grass snake in his pocket.

Listening in on his two sisters talking while we were pulling out fall clothes and putting away summer clothes, my sons hears one of his sisters say “It’s Fall.” He looks up at them as if to say, Wait, what? and asks, “What’s falling??”

On an unusually warm fall day last week, my son wanted to play outside in the middle of the day but I told him we could play outside later because, “It’s too hot right now.” With dead serious and honest eyes, he answers. “It’s okay, I won’t melt. I have bones.”

After explaining trash can chore etiquette to my oldest, I ended with “You just do whatcha gotta do, and life goes on.” to which my son replied with wide eyes, “Yeah, and when you don’t it doesn’t.”

I have heard many a great sermon preached from 1 Corinthians 12:

²¹The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²²On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, ²⁴which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, ²⁵that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. ²⁶If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

And while I have always agreed and understood the application, “Oh, sure, one little paper cut can cause misery to the whole body…” it’s hard to TRULY appreciate how important one of the smaller, “lesser” body parts is until it’s compromised. I’m not just saying this. I KNOW this. I know this well.

Take your toe, for example. People can live with nine toes, it’s true. But a tenth toe, IN PAIN, causes the whole body to suffer. At the end of July, I broke my big toe. (Watch those cast iron skillets, people, they don’t play well with big toes.) I hobbled around all day, convinced I could tough it out and make due. I didn’t really think it was broken. But after the pain and swelling didn’t go down for a few days, I suspected trouble. By the end of that week (VBS week,) it was hard to walk. My feet and legs hurt from holding my foot and leg differently to avoid putting weight on my big toe. At the end of the week I borrowed crutches so I could get around without using my foot at all. I used them correctly, for several hours on the last day of VBS, in my out of shape and not so healthy condition, and the next day… I COULDN’T MOVE. Every single muscle in my body hurt. A lot.

Funny how one little toe had caused so much trouble.

Finally after 3 months, I can walk without pain, I can bend my toe, I can stand on my tippy toes, I can walk without a limp! It has taken a long time, and it came with some setbecks. In the first two weeks I could not stand for very long at one time, and I had to sit for a long time in between before I felt like standing again. I gained 10 pounds in that two weeks because of my decreased activity, adding to the existing 50 pounds I NEED to lose. But I wasn’t able to exercise and wasn’t going to be for a while. I was very depressed about that for a couple of weeks - I now weigh more than I have ever weighed in my whole life, ever. And naturally, having a broken toe interfered with chores and cleaning house. I am still recovering from that. I told my husband that even after I felt good enough to get up and get some cleaning done, it was hard work. I had gotten lazy and I had no stamina. It was very difficult to get up and work on housework without wanting to sit down and rest after about 15 or 20 minutes. I admitted that at that point it was a struggle against laziness more than anything else, but it was…IS… still a struggle. Naturally, it also interfered with dressing, bathing, grocery shopping, intimacy, driving, cooking, and other daily tasks.

One little toe.

Of course, the lesson here is that in your church family, the church body functions like your phycial body. And that when you’re truly functioning like a church body every member is a part of that body. When one member of the body hurts, the whole body hurts with it. When one member of the body rejoices, the whole body rejoices.

This can extend beyond your local church body as well. It’s not uncommon to find the ability to connect with other members of the body of Christ–in news stories, online blogs and articles, in print via magazines and newsletters, and even visiting missionaries, etc– and be able to hurt and celebrate with them as they relay all that God is doing in their life.

Yes, we are all human, and far from perfect. So like our own bodies, sometimes the church body is flawed. Sometimes we fail. But there is also Grace and Forgiveness, just as there is healing for our physical ailments. Still, we have this picture, this example of how the body of Christ should be. A living, breathing, loving body, that hurts together through the trials and rejoices together over the praises, a body that comes together and lifts up the body member in need and carries it through in prayer and love. We have that to strive for and live out, and it takes every member.

This is one of the things that I’m currently looking for in a church. It’s at the top of my list. A functioning and loving body of Christ. Probably not perfect, but a church that can really become my family, a place to serve and grow. I really feel hopeful and positive about the church I’ve been going to. I say “going to” loosely though, as I’ve been more staying than going. I’d only attended two or three times before I broke my toe. I’ve only been back once since then. I went back about a month ago, after I felt like I could stand up on my feet long enough to navigate attending church with three kids by myself. And since then, we’ve had a variety of setbacks in going.

I really NEED to go next Sunday. I’m a toe, in need of a body. You know what happens when a toe gets cut off from a body? It’s not pretty. I need a body. I’m praying for no more setbacks. I’m praying for overcoming any hurdles that arise to prevent us from going. I’m praying for no illnesses, no sleep issues in the middle of the night before, no nothing. I. Need. To. Go.

I’m also hoping and praying that this will be the church that God uses to draw my husband back into church with me, the church that James will find appealing and acceptable. Kind of like the body with nine toes, I know I can survive if that never happens, because God will always be there, and He’ll always get me through it. But like the body with a tenth toe in pain, life would be more complete, functional, and dare-I-say less painful, if that tenth toe was happy and healthy and fully a part of the body. The toe would be happier too, don’cha know. It works both ways.

When all the members of the body are healthy and working together and functioning appropriately, the whole body is happy and healthy. And that is true of so many things, in so many ways.

Not me.

Obviously, I don’t want to be at odds with my husband over spending large amounts of money on “frills” and honestly, I don’t feel the need to spend large amounts of money on name brand items or valuable antiques. Besides, bringing an expensive decoration piece into MY home would be like, like.. like throwing an injured lamb in front of a hungry lion. It’s ASKING for trouble.

With the onset of Autumn and the recent spurts of cooler weather, my home decorating gene is kicking in. I FEEL URGES. I browse the home and linens aisles at the store and feel the soft, shiny, smooth, textured, vibrant fall colored items stacked in matching stacks in long rows of home decor goodness. I put things in my basket, and take them back out and in the end, I exercise huge amounts of self-control and walk away with our budget relatively unscathed.

Most of the time, anyway.

Last week, I eyed many many things but in the end settled on bringing home a 5$ floral bouquet and a 2$ faux-suede maple leaf placemat. Re-using a plain glass vase from a previous floral gift and a string of fall leaves purchased last year, I assembled our new fall centerpiece for this year:

It’s not much, but it makes me happy. I’ll probably buy a couple more things over the next couple of months and I’ll pack them away after Thanksgiving. Next Autumn, I’ll pull them back out and repeat - browsing the stores searching for a couple of new things to add, breathing in the air of possibility as I window shop through all the beautiful things that won’t be coming home with me.

Last night I told Hubs that I could go window shopping on a bad day, with no kids, and no money and not buy a single thing, and come home happy. He said, “I don’t get that.” I know, Honey, I know…we really are quite the opposites, aren’t we?

Sponsored link: Home Decorating Made Easy {Click here for my Disclosure Policy}

Note: I noticed that it was a little hard to hear on my laptop, but plenty easy to hear on the desktop speakers. I apologize if you can’t hear me well, I did try to speak louder this time! But don’t give up — a pair of headphones will do the trick. =)

I couldn’t get this hymn out of my head. Over and over it reminded me that I’ve been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, free to throw off the sin that so easily entangles and cling to the cross of Christ in the midst of these struggles. I felt compelled to sit down with my Macbook and make this:

I cannot do this on my own. I need God. I need Jesus.

I came out of the shower feeling not only clean, but feeling new again.

Oh God, I seek you. Cleanse me from my sin, wash away my human nature, fill me with your spirit, create in me a clean heart, O God.

Immediately we felt very welcome, and it’s an added bonus that my friend has children who are the same age as mine (and then some.) My children had a friend to feel comfortable with right off the bat.

Sunday school was good - there’s a class for young parents with young children which my friend’s husband leads. The discussion was good - and there was coffee. I was happy to learn they’re beginning a new book for the summer and that I came on the first day - I don’t like coming in late on things.

And today’s lesson?? Fellowship. What is it, when does it happen, why is it important. (Umm,…HELLOOO??) I’m just sayin. Or in this case, not sayin cuz it should be obvious without me sayin. So.

The service was good, too, though I’m used to (and prefer) a praise and worship type service, I grew up Southern Baptist so I’m not unfamiliar with it - and it’s good to hear some of the old hymns from my childhood sometimes.

At least the preacher opened the bible, read some scripture (they’re working their way through the book of Acts) and preached a sermon off of the text we read. I’m not a fan of the “I’m preaching on this (possibly perfectly fine) topic and I may or may not read a scripture to support it” approach. (See, I know there are terms for these different kinds of preaching, I just don’t know them.) At any rate, I believe the one I like is called expository, and while the preacher may have admitted he’d digressed from his sermon notes to hang out on one topic he felt important to discuss further, it was still inspired because of the text and it was still in agreement with scripture and that’s what I’m looking for.

The sermon? Ananias and Sapphira. The point? They had one foot in the church and one foot in the world - they were not “All In” for God. And God is not calling us to halfway. He’s calling us to be all in, to serve, to live, to go, to do, to bear fruit, to worship him WHOLE-heartedly.

I don’t think the pastor knew it, but what he was saying was a follow up of what we’d been talking about in Sunday school, about how important it is to be a part of a fellowship of believers, and about how true fellowship stems from true fellowship with God on an individual basis. You can fake one but you can’t fake the other.

And it all gave me hope because these are the things I am looking for. I don’t HAVE to have a certain music style, or a certain order of worship, or a certain way of doing things. Just like now knowing what you have until it’s gone,.. you learn what’s really important in a church when you don’t have it.

I need teaching that comes straight out of God’s word.

I need fellowship with like-minded believers.

I don’t know if this church will become our church home or if we’ll keep looking and end up somewhere else. But I know that I enjoyed visiting today, and that I’d like to go back next week.

It’s a good start.

I finally made it outside and ran into somebody I knew (not from the church, just standing outside) who asked if I didn’t like it. “No, I did not.” I replied. “Where are you going now?” they asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t have a church to go to.”

Sounds like a bad dream, doesn’t it?

The church I’ve been going to (a couple times a month since December) isn’t as bad as the one in the dream, but I’m not happy there for other reasons. It’s not the right church for me. The one I went to twice before that one, I liked even less. Now I have the task of finding a different church to try.

It’s not that there aren’t any other options. Maybe it’s that there are too many options. We have at least a dozen churches, maybe two, here in our small town. We just need to start trying them out. In the meantime, without a church to call home, without a steady diet of good teaching to feast on each week, I feel a little lost.

Lost in transition.

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It’s true that practice makes perfect, and that applies to more things than handwriting, cooking and hobbies. It applies to right thinking, too.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8

It’s not easy, at first, to change your habits in thinking. The angry retorts, the selfish tendencies… they slip in so easily. We are so well rehearsed in those things, they come up immediately.

But we CAN change them. We can change our first thoughts. At first we have to practice intentional thinking, perhaps after our first or second or even third thought.

But as I said, practice makes perfect (or at least practice brings improvement) and eventually you will find yourself responding in thought with love instead of anger, selfLESSness instead of selfishess, giving instead of greed.

I can assure you that it’s possible. I surprised even myself a few days ago when my husband consulted me on a matter and before answering I thought to myself, “now what is the RIGHT thing to do here…?” It’s an isolated incident; it’s far from “perfection.”

But it’s progress.

Heart urchins, clam steinkurns, snail steinkurns, round sea urchins -- click for larger.

Yesterday found me standing in the rain, collecting garbage from a wayward bag that had gotten lost on the way up the hill to the dumpster and then had the courtesy to spill its trash all over the side of the hill.

Hubs was off on a Sunday afternoon computer call, Little Prince was napping and the girls were given instructions to “be nice” while Momma was outside getting wet and dirty. And then I was off on a trek up the hill in the light rain with nothing but me and my trashbag and my thoughts.

Collecting the trash wasn’t easy - the wind was strong and it kept blowing my trashbag shut or sideways. I asked myself several times why I didn’t think to bring any gloves along with me. And I realized I was wearing my super cute shoes and hoping I didn’t get them muddy. I didn’t, but still it would have been very easy for me to be very cross by the time the chore was over.

Instead, I realized that outside - wind and rain and all - was very quiet. And when you’ve got three kids, silence really is golden.

If you’ve got several children, you know what I’m talking about.

After lugging the bag of trash the rest of the way up the hill I threw it up into the dumpster and turned to leave. But then I stopped and looked over my shoulder.

The day before, Drama Queen had done a science fair project on fossils, most of which had been collected from the area around our landlord’s stock pond a few hundred feet away. My 6 year old is CRAZY into fossils and has been for years. She’s often bringing rocks and fossils to me with eyes wide round open and a grin across her face, “Momma, look at THIS cool rock I found!!” I’m constantly telling her to leave other people’s rocks alone - otherwise our neighborhood churches, restaurants and friend’s houses wouldn’t have any rocks left - they’d be at our house instead.

I confess that I usually nod and say, “yes, yes, now go play some more.” Usually I do look at the rock, but not very closely. I couldn’t say that I really paid any attention to it. I can say that I didn’t REALLY see it the way my daughter did.

Image collected from the internet - Shows snails (C&D), Round & Heart Sea Urchins (I&J) and Clams (H.) Click for Larger.

But that was before.

• Before learning more about different kinds of fossils with Drama Queen.
• Before finding a list and some pictures of the many different kinds of fossils that our part of Texas is loaded with.
• Before going through our collection (aka bucket) of fossils on top of the bookcase.
• Before finding some really cool fossils in there that I didn’t even know we had.

I confess that “before” I stopped to pay attention, I wouldn’t have been able to tell a difference in some of the tiny little fossils and plain boring rocks.

But that was before. And this was now. Looking back in the direction of home, I turned toward the stock pond and walked about ten feet past the dumpster where the rocky terrain began. I didn’t have to go far. I didn’t have to look long.

I stooped there for about five minutes, scanning the surface of the ground with my eyes and skimming the surface of the limestone debris with my fingers. Picking up small rocks and turning others over I worked quickly - assessing and discarding, assessing and keeping. My hands flew over the small patch of ground as I collected over a dozen small fossils, including two tiny sea urchins - something we didn’t have yet.

In five minutes. Just off the top of the ground. TEN FEET FROM THE DUMPSTER.

They’d been there all along. Undisturbed. Waiting to be discovered.

I had just never looked that closely before.

I felt so very blessed on the walk back down the hill. And this time I was the one, running up to my girls, eyes wide open round saying “Look what I found!” And I can’t help but wonder what other lessons there are for me in this. How many other details, tiny wonders of God’s creation, little blessings in my day, do I not see because I’m not looking?

These round sea urchins looks like round rocks but are covered in bumpy "spines."

About the size of a blueberry.

Amazing little finds.

First, first, first.

On the other hand, we also know that God was displeased with Cain because even though he did bring an offering, it either wasn’t his best or his heart wasn’t in the right place. And we know that God instructed His people to choose the BEST lambs as sacrifices.

So God wants the first, best part of us, our day, our time, our everything.

But what if my first isn’t my best?

Now I’m not going to argue tithing to God first or making him first in my heart. What I struggle with is giving God the “first and best” part of my day. The first part of my day IS NOT the best part of my day. In fact the morning if often my worst and the last part of my day is definitely my best.

I was at my best at meeting with God daily, praying most fervently, studying His word diligently (and learning the most from it) during high school and college when I had my quiet time at the end of the day before I went to bed. You know, before marriage and kids. Getting married changed the pre-bedtime routine as you can imagine. I played around with my routine trying to find a good fit. Prompted by marriage and parenthood and encouraged by friends from church, I have tried to have a morning quiet time. I just can’t stick to it.

For years I have struggled with making my quiet time a regular habit. I keep up with it a while, I fall out of it a while. And to be honest with you, most of the time I don’t really feel like I’m getting anything out of the reading, like I need a crash course in how to study the bible because all I’m doing is reading a passage and then going on about the rest of my business. But that can’t be true because there are other times that I read God’s word and He reveals truths to me and teaches my heart and I walk away feeling FULL. I just never feel that way in the mornings.

I have tried so many things and I’ve gotten to the point of wondering, and then back, and then returned again: Do I REALLY have to do this in the morning? Am I just beating myself up over not achieving something that MAN has decided is the way things should be? Or am I just trying to justify my lack of self-discipline by claiming the morning routine is just a form of legalism and instead I should just be praying harder that God would make me a morning person?

So do I? Have to have a quiet time in the morning? Because honestly I don’t feel like my quiet times can possibly be all that pleasing to God as they stand right now - either non-existent or non-intimate. And honestly I feel like I have the best time with God when I am cleaning my kitchen in the evening and listening to worship music or a sermon online. I know that those can’t be all I do alone, that I need to read and memorize God’s word, too, but I try (or plan to) do that in the mornings and well, we see how well THAT is going. I just always feel like there’s this “pressure” to fit into this mold I don’t fit into.

Do you have any testimonies in this area, encouraging scriptures or sermons you’ve heard or books you’ve read on this topic? Inquiring minds and late night owls everywhere (or at least in this house) want to know.

Hey, y’all - Inspired Bliss has one of my articles up today! How to Love Your Husband, Head to Toe.

Winter. A time for the earth to rest before blooming in spring.
A time to bundle in fuzzy socks and favorite sweatshirts.
Sipping coffee. Or hot chocolate. Or both.
The glow of a fire, or the hum of a space heater nearby.
Indoor fun, board games, movies, crafts.
Paper snowflakes and maybe real ones, too.
Comfort foods and soups and stews.
Cold and gray and dead outside.
Inside, warm and cozy and waiting for spring.
God, how I’m thankful for winter, that every season has it’s purpose, that we have to go through winter to get to spring, but that spring comes after. Thank you for being a faithful God.

Thankful Thursday can be found at Grace Alone.

{Photo Credit: National Geographic}

The Christmas Lizard is a story about a pet lizard, Oscar, who was given as a Christmas gift one year, and his experiences with his first Christmas on the following year. The lizard has many questions about Christmas and late one night sets out on an adventure outside of his cage to discover just what Christmas is about.
To get a better view he decides to climb up the Christmas tree, meeting various ornament characters along the way. They each tell Oscar what they believe Christmas is about. By the time Oscar reaches the angel at the top of the tree, he has learned that Christmas is about traditions, parties, gifts, and helping the needy. Confused, Oscar quizzes the angel about the true meaning of Christmas. “How can it be all those things?” he wonders.
The angel directs Oscar’s attention to the nativity scene on the mantel, and lovingly explains that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus Christ, and that all the ornaments were right — that these are all different ways that people can celebrate Christmas and Jesus’ birth — but that the main reason we celebrate Christmas is that it’s Jesus’ birthday. She adds “the best way to celebrate Christmas is by remembering Jesus and loving others the way he loves you.” The story is so touching that by the end I’m all weepy and mushy inside.
I love the story, but I love the illustrations just as much. The artwork is beautiful, the colors are fantastic. Whimsical and fun, simple and true, sweet and touching, this is a Christmas story that is sure to remain a favorite for years to come. I give it five stars, for sure!

The Christmas Lizard is one more tool that I use to keep Christmas all about Jesus. Tell me what YOUR favorite Christmas story is! Merry Christmas!

Amber

Buy The Christmas Lizard
Read other reviews for The Christmas Lizard

{Originally published December 19th, 2006; republished December 19th, 2008}

The Story of Me is the first book in a series by Stan and Brenna Jones called God’s Design for Sex. This book for ages 3 to 5, with lovingly written dialogue and soft, appealing illustrations, explains how life is created and how babies are born as a young boy asks his parents to tell him the story about when he was born.

Laying a foundation of information, The Story of Me explains:

• God’s love and the goodness of all He has made
• the nurturing family as God’s context for love
• why God wants each baby to have both a mommy and a daddy
• pregnancy as God’s way to care for a baby until birth
• the specialness of being made a boy or a girl
• proper names for private body parts

If you’re like me, talking to my children about sex isn’t easy - especially at such young ages! I want to begin giving them knowledge now, without overwhelming them with too much or overprotecting them and giving them too little. The Story of Me has been a great tool for broaching this subject.

If you’re not like me and you’re more comfortable with it, this book is still a great tool. The pictures are sweet and soft, the story is told from the parents to the child in a loving manner. The questions posed are asked the way children would ask them, making it relevant for their ages.

I haven’t read the next book yet, Before I Was Born (ages 5-8), but I have the whole series here already, waiting for their turn to educate and enlighten.

The thing I like most about this series is that is presented from a biblical point of view. It isn’t just biology. It isn’t just theology. It is both together, which I think is an important balance, necessary for preparing my children for the difficult decisions they will have to make when they get older.

• You can find this series at Amazon.

The Princess Bible by Tommy Nelson, is a smallish-sized (7.3 x 5.5 x 1.9 inches) bible fit for little hands. This full-text International Children’s Bible helps your daughter feel as if she has graduated from “training wheels” to the “real thing.”

The outside cover, with rhinestone-embellished magnetic clasp, is durable and a good choice for young girls. Inside you’ll find a beautiful presentation page, ribbon marker, and two Princess sections to record favorite verses and songs, etc. The back section includes a dictionary, a topical index, scriptures for various topics, and memory verses.

Our Princess still loves this bible and carries it with her to church regularly. It really is a bible that any Princess (Princess of God, that is!) will treasure and enjoy.

• Find The Princess Bible at Amazon.
• Find more books by Tommy Nelson.