Happy Fall, Y'all!

"O,it sets my heart a-clickin'
like the tickin' of a clock,
When the frost is on the punkin
and the fodder's in the shock."
James Whitcomb Riley

Autumn is such a beautiful season. We've had a Harvest Moon the last few evenings--awesome!! The leaves will soon be turning colors, geese will be flying south, pumpkins and mums are everywhere. The smells of wood smoke, burning leaves, hot spiced apple cider, and pumpkin pies baking make fall special,too. At my house on the edge of a small town,the sounds of fall are: farm trucks heading to the elevator full of corn or soybeans,snatches of the announcer and band from the football field at the other end of town,and the honking of geese as they fly over.(we're near Quivira National Wildlife Refuge)
Enjoy this season with those you love!! It's time to "cozy up" your world--see Home Matters blog for more on that.

This is also a good time to:

-carve jack-o-lanterns with your kids--or just by yourself.
This can be a great lesson for kids-cut out the eye, nose and mouth openings and then scoop out the goopy stuff and seeds--explain that this is like sin in our lives and the light of God's love can't shine very well in us with all that mess inside.Save the seeds,wash off and roast in the oven with a little salad oil drizzled over and some salt. (You can sprinkle other seasonings over the seeds,too) This is a good way to teach kids the verse that says "You are the world's seasoning(salt)to make it tolerable. If you lose your flavor, what will happen to the world?" -Matthew 5:13
The Bible also tells us we are the salt of the earth. Salt adds flavor,stops decay or preserves, and heals(soaking in salt water).

-make pumpkin pancakes,cookies, pies, bread--yum!

-Take a quilt outside after dark and look at the constellations. The big dipper will be just above the northern horizon.

-Serve warm apple juice or cider with cinnamon stick stirrers and a pinch or brown sugar and cloves.

-Go on a "fall gathering" walk--collect leaves to press,and weeds to dry--make arrangement or display.

-Go for bike rides--roads out in the country are great,or around town to check on the prettiest trees.(Wear your bike helmets)

-Roast hot dogs, brats and/or marshmallows over a grill--or better yet,a small fire in a fire pit. I grew up having lots of fun roasting lots of hot dogs and marshmallows, as my family enjoyed eating outside-- and in southeast Kansas,there's always wood that needs to be cleared and burned. I always wanted a fire pit and my husband got me one for Christmas. We have had such great times sitting around a small fire in our backyard,talking,singing and roasting marshmallows for s'mores. We invite the neighbors or friends and there is a feeling of warmth from sitting together around the fire that doesn't come just from the burning wood!!

-Let your inner cheerleader out-Go to a football,volleyball game,cross country meet, school play or musical, church youth group function and cheer them on!! We all need support and recognition, someone to recognize our efforts and accomplishments--you can be that someone,a cheerleader, for people around you--especially young people!
I just read the book Our Boys by Joe Drappe,the story of the Smith Center Kansas Football team and their winning season(s). (if your class 2A high school football team is good enough, you will eventually play Smith Center in playoffs--my son's team did in 2008--a lot of character was built by our players that game!)The author explains what those of us in small towns already know: kids are encouraged by the support of the people around them--win or lose! Many years ago, our town newspaper had a letter to the editor by a newcomer who was pleasantly surprised by the townspeople who cheered on the teens in town instead of complaining about them.

-Plant some spring bulbs--tulips or daffodils--to remind you that beauty comes in some pretty unusual packages--teach your kids this also.

I know that our theme is Changing Seasons of a Woman's life, but God wants us to enjoy each and every season--with those we love. Enjoy Fall!!

"From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities- his eternal power and divine nature...Romans 1:20

When will I ever learn?

In the great classroom of life, I am often sitting in the corner wearing a dunce cap. This was a punishment in the old days when a student did not learn their lessons. Or maybe I would be standing at the blackboard writing "I will trust God no matter what" 100 times. In some things,I am definitely a slow learner with memory problems. No matter how many times God has proven Himself faithful in the past, I have trouble remembering--and trusting, and letting go.
God just let me have a remedial lesson in trusting--read on.

Whether you're sending your kids off to school as kindergartners--or college and post grad students(me), some things remain the same.
Three weeks ago, we sent our youngest son off to school--in Brazil, at the University of Santa Maria. This is an exchange between the Ag colleges there and at KSU. As we prepared him for 5 months overseas in a country where he does not know the language, I was struck with how it really was like sending him off to school when he was little.(Or high school, or college for the first time,etc.) Do you recognize the process?

1. Get the paperwork in order--health and immunization records,shots(for Josh a yellow fever shot),enrollment,list of supplies(VISA,Passport) Teach emergency phone numbers and contact names if they need help.(I put Josh's contact phone numbers for his professor and the boy,Diego,who was picking them up at the airport,with all his other information in a notebook)

2. Acquire the needed supplies--book bags, paper, pencils--clothes. If you haven't already,this is a great time to go through each child's closet and drawers-gifting outgrown items to someone else or a thrift store,making a list of what is needed. (Like underwear/socks that aren't gray and/or full of holes) When you can only take one 50 pound suit case, a book bag, and a small carry-on, you pare it down to the essentials--he wore his boots and packed his sneakers!

3. Rehearse problem scenarios and make Plan"B"s. In grade school, we talked about not lying or cheating, what to do if you're bullied, not to ride home with people other than your parents unless told, and which streets to take to walk home. We warned about "stranger danger", and staying out of "bad" neighborhoods. We talked about those things again with Josh--even printing out bus schedules of the town he would fly into, which was 5 hours away from the university. But what do you do when everyone is a stranger, even the person sent to pick you up at the airport, and very few even speak English? Instead of what to do if you miss the bus at school, we went over being bumped from your airplane flight (which happened!)

4. Pack book bag with needed items--besides school supplies, tissues,l ip balm, and snacks,and love notes!! A little extra money may be needed,too. Josh ate all snacks in the airport in Sao Paulo due to an unplanned 10 hour delay. I also snuck some Bible verses into his information notebook--love notes from home. When they were little, I sometimes wrote love notes or a "hi" message on napkins in their sack lunches on field trips.

5.Celebrate the first day of school! We made a special granola for breakfast, laid our clothes out the night before, packed supplies and took pictures. For each of the kids' graduation from high school, we displayed their first day of school picture and their last day of school picture. (Too cute--but about the undoing of their Mother!) We took pictures of the boys at the airport, and they sent pictures at their new school in Santa Maria.

6. Pray!!! Because no matter how prepared you think they are, no matter how many bases you try to cover--the unexpected happens--whether you're 5 or 21! About everything that we warned about happened to Josh and his friend Derek--they were bumped from their flight to Brazil,which messed up their arrival time in Port Alegre where they would be met. The emergency telephone numbers we had did not work--no one was in either college office to get our e-mails about flight changes. (All of my pride in organizing that information for Josh was for nothing--God once again proved He could manage without me!) Thankfully, Diego waited many hours for them--and then their truck broke down in the middle of the night in a bad part of town. People in the neighborhood came to the truck, (stranger danger!) the police came, and the boys spent the night in a questionable motel. Yet--at every step of the unknown and unplanned God was with them, protecting them and sending them the help they needed. (Which was what I really prayed for.) We didn't know where they were for about 48 hours--yet instead of frantically worrying as I usually would, I realized that God knew where the boys were and what they needed.

I opened my devotional that morning and it was called "At Home with God." What a truth to hang on to--wherever we are, wherever our children are, we are "at home with God".

Back to my corner and the dunce cap--last summer our daughter traveled to South Africa with a group on a mission trip. On her return trip, she was bumped from her flight with one other member of the team and re-routed through Paris instead of directly to Atlanta and then Wichita. We did not know this and went to Wichita to pick her up. The airline's computer was down and huge lines of people were waiting to fly to Atlanta. We met the next two flights from Atlanta--no Laurie. It was afternoon now, and only one more flight coming in. We began to be a little anxious about what had happened, then she called. I asked where she was--why wasn't she in Wichita? She then told me she was just getting back to the States and was in Atlanta hoping to get on the last flight back to Wichita. She had been awake over 24 hours traveling and was tired and alone. I was worried about her having to stay the night there. We were still talking when she said-"Oh,my gosh--the Holmes's are here." The Holmes's, Mitch and Michelle, are a couple who attend our little country church. I said,"Oh,honey--it must just look like them"--and she said,"No,mom--they're coming over!" It's true. They were in Atlanta for a State Representatives meeting and their flight had been delayed. What an awesome God to send people from home to my tired daughter in the Atlanta airport--she and I both relaxed. Laurie was able to get on the next flight but Mitch and Michelle had to stay the night and come home the next day.(Sorry, guys) This answer to prayer just blew our socks off!!

And this (plus many other examples) is why I need to remember to trust God, no matter what! "Oh ye of little faith, why dost thou doubt?"--Jesus reminds me, just as He did His disciples, to have faith in Him whatever the circumstances.

I am trying to let go--we can't follow our loved ones and make their paths smooth, but we can rest in knowing God is there with them.
Pray not only for your children (and do a dedication prayer for the new school year)
but pray for your schools,too. You may even want to start a Moms In Touch sort of group where you pray for your schools and communities.

For all you Moms sending chicks out of the nest, give'em a hug,a kiss,a smile and a prayer! No matter how old they are (or we are!)"first days" are hard.

Other lessons learned: Reduce Back-to-School stress
Set up a Staging Area-a place for book bags, instruments, shoes, jackets, etc. Something as simple as a board with hooks, an ottoman(with lid for storage), or chairs would work. Lay out clothes for the next day the night before. (This serves to alert you to no clean clothes,underwear,etc., plus saves time in the morning)

Have a routine--morning,after school and bed-time
List any morning chores or just what needs to be done-dress,wash up, brush teeth, get book bag.
After school--train your kids to empty book bags with you--look at homework, graded papers, and especially check for school letters or permission slips that need your attention. Sign and return permission slips, enter dates of activities on your desk calendar,etc. Do this while having after school snacks--you'll know what to schedule for your evening. (How many math problems, spelling words, reading pages or cupcakes you have to do!!)

Bedtime--here a routine will really save you arguments. Take baths, lay out clothes, find what's needed for tomorrow, read aloud, and have bedtime prayers.

Whew--this was a long one! May God bless your "lessons" this month--pay attention and learn them well the first time--don't be a slow learner like me!!

Are Your Branches Groaning?

If I had my friend Kim Fritzemeier's (Food for Thought blog) photographic abillities and techno-savy, you would see a picture of my peach tree with its limbs dragging the ground, loaded with peaches. Unfortunately,you'll have to imagine it--branches so laden with fruit that I had to prop them up with boards. Our Lovely Branches Ministries is celebrating a year of harvests, too, and we're praying that we can all abide in Jesus to bear more fruit.

How about you? How's your harvest? Being a gardner, I've got too much of a good thing right now. We just picked sand hill plums to make jelly and jam. I have corn, cucumbers, green beans and blackberries to do something with also. But in my spiritual life, or in my relationships with others, my harvests aren't so impressive. I'm not bearing much fruit because I'm not abiding with Jesus as I should.
One of my grandmother's favorite hymns has lyrics telling of meeting with Jesus in a garden alone in the morning, the chorus says: "And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own. And the joy we share as we linger there, none other has ever known."
Spend some time with the One who tells us that "apart from me, ye can do nothing."

Gardening season is also a great time to explain these Biblical principles to children. One of my favorites is the parable of the sower and also that you reap what you sow. (plant)
Clearly, if you plant watermelons, you don't get green beans. This is the tie-in to show children that what we "plant", our actions, thoughts and words, will be what we reap, or get back. If we plant kind words and deeds, that's what we get. If we plant selfish deeds, that will be our crop, too.
This is also how you can introduce the concept that what we "plant"or let into our minds is what we "reap" or have to think about. The book of Proverbs tells us that, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." We become what we think about.

I am a strong believer in the GIGO concept, Garbage in, garbage out. If what we and our children see and hear is garbage, that is what we have to think about . My kids knew I was a real stickler on this--fortunately, they understood the concept and didn't really test us, even as teens with music or t.v. Movies, maybe. It's hard to go against the culture, but so much of what we hear and see is not encouraging or uplifting, let alone portraying values we should have as Christians. I can't tell you how often I would come into the family room and one son would change the channel--he knew he was watching something not worth his time.


If that is a form of censorship, then I was guilty. I tried to read good books to them, and we watched some movies and shows together. We would discuss whether choices were God honoring or dishonoring and the results. I would even read some of the books they were reading if I was unfamiliar with the author. Only once did I ask one to not read the rest of the book--I explained why, and he was o.k. with it.



Moms, you are the "gatekeeper" of your home. You (and your husband) decide what can come in and stay--be it magazines, books, music, movies, t.v. or computer/videogames. It's like an obnoxious or evil person passing by your house--you don't have to invite them in!
This means we have to be accountable in our own habits as well--we turned off programs we might have wanted to see because we knew they weren't the best. You have to hold yourselves as parents to the same standards! Your kids will be watching and listening to see what you watch and listen to.
When our kids were in grade school and started going to other homes, we had a special arrangement. If they were watching a movie that was scary or they didn't think was o.k., they could call me and say they had a headache or didn't feel good and I would come get them. Maybe that wasn't completely honest, but I didn't expect them to explain their discomfot at that age. (And it made for a quick solution--most moms are glad to send a little guest home if they don't feel good--which they didn't, if they were scared by a movie!) This only happened once.

Keep reminding your family and yourself that we can't bear much fruit unless we're abiding in Jesus and His word, and not filling our hearts, homes and minds with the garbage of the world.





Summer vacation is winding down, so aim for a harvest of good times and memories before the rush or school again.





May we all be "groaning" under the weight of a huge harvest of fruits for God.

Free Spirits

Happy Fourth of July! The Declaration of Independence was signed July 4, 1776 and it proclaims that God gives every person a birthright of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The original document is housed in the National Archives in Washington D.C.

Talk with your family about what "freedom"means. Look at the Home Matters blog for some of my ideas about freedom--especiallythe freedom of choice we enjoy as Americans and as
Christians.

Freedom is never free, it always has a cost. The men who signed the Declaration of Independence paid dearly by putting their signatures out there for everyone (the British) to see. Some were killed, others imprisoned, their families imprisoned, their homes/farms/businesses destroyed.

Reading aloud their stories, and the Declaration of Independence is a good way to explain the importance of the 4th to children.

Here are some other ways to celebrate the 4th:

-Stage a parade/plan a neighborhood party--we decorated bikes, wagons, strollers with flags, red/white/blue, gave the kids kazoos or drums and had a parade up and down our cul-de-sac. Neighbors can bring food for a potluck. We would make homemade ice cream in the evenings and line our lawn chairs up near our alley to watch the fireworks all over town. (Plus let kids shoot off some with supervision.)

-Wear red,white and blue. Fly flags on your porch. Eat red,white and blue food- make red jello and blue jello in 9x13 pans, then cut into cubes.Serve in layers in clear glass bowls with whipped cream on top, or use blueberries and strawberries with ice cream, or on top of a cake.

-Do some"porching". No kidding, this is a bona-fide new word coined by Dr. John J. Buchino in his book written to praise the benefits of sitting on the porch. It lowers blood pressure and prolongs life!!! Serve ice cream, root beerfloats, or ice tea! (with mint and lemon)

-Have water wars. Fun in your back yard

-Hum"Stars and Stripes Forever" while twirling lit sparklers (makesurenooneisnear!)

-Play patriotic music, have everyone sing "The Star Spangled Banner" and explain its origin

Here are some other fun things to do in July:

-Celebrate July 20-the anniversary when man first walked on the moon in 1969. Serve moonpies, star-shaped cookies, Milky Way floats( ice cream and fruit juice) Go outside under the stars and lie on a quilt and do some star and moon gazing. Look for the man-in-the-moon!

-You celebrated Outer Space, now celebrate your family's Inner Space. Give the kids a trash bag, send them to their rooms, and see how much "Space" they can reclaim!!(check contents before giving away/pitching!)

-have a Christmas in July day--my kids loved this! We watched Christmas movies, wore a Christmas shirt, ate eskimo pies or other type of food.

-Go to your county fair--oooh and aah over exhibits and eat some fair food

Keep enjoying summer and your family--thank God for our freedoms !!!

"Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer..."

Those are the only words I remember to that song--aren't you glad? I thought our theme this month was to be vacation and summer break and then Edna, our coordinator, sent me an e-mail saying our theme is "Take a Rest". What??? Are you kidding? I love summer, but one thing it isn't is restful- -and maybe not so much at your house either. The kids are home from school needing direction, the house/yard/garden needs attention, and getting ready for a vacation is enough work to make you wish you could stay home...take a rest, you say? Right.

Actually, while summer is still busy it does bring a change of pace and a variety of new challenges and activities. So, I offer you "Suzanne's 3R's of Summer Survival", or "How to have a Sane and Sensational Summer."

1. Relax. Relax on the porch and outside, relax your schedule and relax your standards. (Sometimes my standards are so relaxed you'd have to get a backhoe to retrieve them) Summer fun is going to get messy--welcome some mess as a sign you're busy, happy people--dirt will be tracked in--embrace it! I'm probably the worst offender at my house because of my gardening, but we had a sandpile for the kids, too--if you don't have a sand pile, make one. This is one of the great pleasures of childhood--I still enjoy putting my bare feet in the cool sand! (A sand pile seems redundant here where we live as most of our ground is sandy!)
While we're on the subject of summer fun, I do have some standards by which a backyard's fun quotient is measured. This is not the place to relax standards. Besides the sand pile, you also need a wading pool or lawn sprinkler to run through, trees or ropes to hang sheets over for tents and forts, a tree swing and/or a hammock. (We postponed the joy of a hammock for years because we thought they were $200--wrong! We got one at a sporting goods store last year for$50) A fire pit or place to build a small fire is also a big hit--maybe not so much in the summer, but we have used ours(my Christmas present) many evenings to roast hot dogs and marshmallows. We invite the neighbors or friends over and there is no substitute for sitting around a fire, under the stars talking. These are small investments in making big memories! Comfortable porch or outdoor furniture invites sitting and relaxing also.
I have mixed news for you about relaxing your schedule--cut down activities some so you can hang out in the backyard, but summer also provides opportunties for your family. I grew up in a town of about 12,000 with a great Recreation department. My mom didn't believe in children sitting around the house all the time, so our mornings were spent in swimming lessons, summer band, the library reading program(always a fabulous place to be--this year's reading program theme in Kansas is "Make A Splash"), children's theater, modern dance and Vacation Bible School. (We did our church's and then spent 2 weeks with my Grandma going to her VBS) As we got older, we added 4-H when we moved to our farm and had project meetings and the fair to get ready for plus summer camps! Strive for a balance between unencumbered time and things to do. Either way, children and even us adults, need and appreciate a routine. We had a morning routine of breakfast, doing chores, playing and activities.The afternoons were for quiet reading/rest in the basement(where it's cool)or swimming, and in the evenings we were back outside doing yard work, gardening or porch sitting--with root beer floats! As my kids got older,we had 4-H and sports, too.
Relax whatever you need to so you can enjoy summer. (A random thought--"relax"is a verb--a word that shows action, but can it still be a verb if when you relax you show no action? Hmm.).
Also while we're talking about 'relaxing" standards, running through the sprinklers at the end of the day before bedtime is a great "shower", and an ice cream supper is a memory maker,too!)

2. The next R is Rejuvenate!
Besides embracing more dirt and messes, summer is also a great time to embrace creativity, new projects, interests and sights. Redecorate the kids' rooms--let them choose a new paint color(with some boundaries) and paint the room together. Do artwork together, have water wars, go on field trips to interesting things nearby. ( I took my kids to Yoder on a Saturday morning and we parked in the park and watched the Amish families come to town in their horse and buggies) Learn something new--I read about a family that required everyone to come to the supper table with an interesting fact they had learned that day--they had to look one up if they hadn't learned anything! Go biking, hiking, canoeing, bird watching, put a quilt on the ground and lay out and watch the stars, play flashlight tag, catch fireflies(catch and release!) take a night walk around your neighborhood, celebrate the longest day, have movie nights with food that matches(Westerns, Italian, etc). To rejuvenate, get out of your rut and drag your family with you!!

3. The last "R" is...Reconnect!

Re-establish a feeling of closeness by spending time with your Heavenly Father and your earthly family and friends. Intentionally make times to seek out those closest to you. Some men/teens/children share best when you're engaged in an activity, others when you're sitting on the porch or at bedtime. The key thing here is to be there and pay attention! We always had bedtime stories together with Bible stories and then "chapter books" on a theme. Family trips are also opportunties to see each other in different ways and to share and talk. (Limit iPods, DVD players, etc.) Make a scrapbook/journal to record your trip. We have great memories of trips together--some good, and some not so good at the time, but funny now! Enjoy God's creation, whether on a trip or camping in your own backyard !

For more practical tips, see the Home Matters blog.

As for myself, I do plan to relax (tea on the porch in the mornings is great),rejuvenate(I'm getting a Kansas State Parks pass for myself and my husband to hike/canoe, plus learning about Brazil as my son is headed there for school next fall) and reconnect!

But for right, now, I've got strawberries to pick, my daughter to pack to move to KansasCity tomorrow morning, VBS crafts items to finish and the laundry to do--I'll rest some other day!

Rock Solid

Rock Fans Unite
I'm a big rock fan. Not heavy metal, blow-your-hair-back loud kind of rock fan, but a fan of real rocks. I collect rocks from places I've been. Rocks are amazing--they are all so different and many are beautiful. (I enjoy rock jewelry, too--lapis, quartz, turquoise, and others)
God did some pretty creative things with rocks--Kansas limestone, New England granite, Florida's beautiful white sand beaches made of quartz particles, and even silver and gold flecks and veins in rocks.
When I think of rocks, I think of strength that will endure. The Bible speaks of God and Jesus as being our rock. Consider Psalm28:1, 7
"To you I call, O Lord my Rock...The Lord is my strength and my shield, my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in my song."

Speaking of songs, some of my favorite hymns are rock-themed: On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand, Rock of Ages, and The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock. One of my best moments doing AWANA object lessons is demonstrating the parable about the wise man who built his house on the rock, and the foolish man who built his house on the sand. I use a bird house on a rock foundation and poured water over it, and like our lives, if we build on the foundation of Jesus the rock, we'll stay standing on firm ground, even when the storms of life hit us. Then I put the bird house on a sand base and pour the water, and sure enough the sands erode and the house falls. This is what happens if we build our lives on the shifting sands of what the world says is important--money, fame, etc. When the storms hit and troubles come, everything we built on falls apart. A pretty powerful lesson for all of us!

Rock Pile
This month's theme is prayer, and I really am getting there. Besides calling out to the Lord, our rock, in prayer; rocks are used to remind God's people of what He has done for them. When the Israelites were finally crossing the Jordan river into the promised land, God told them to have a man from each of the twelve tribes pick up a rock from the dry river bed and make a pile of them on the river bank. In the future, whenever their children would see the rock pile and ask about it, they were to tell and remember all the Lord had done for them.

What would your "rock pile" look like? This is a tangible way to see the way God has answered prayer and worked in your family's lives.
Here are some of the "rocks" of rememberance for us: a scrap of fabric from a shirt my husband was wearing when he was piloting a single-engine plane and crashed on take-off. A wind gust caught the wing and flipped them at about 90 miles per hour. Of the three men on board, my husband was the only one injured when the radio came out and hit him in the chin--just a little blood on his shirt. All three men also had pregnant wives, and God knows the heartache He spared us when protecting the "daddies". (That shirt has been hanging in our closet for 22 years, the age of our daughter, and I won't part with it !) A hospital ID band belonging to our youngest son would be another "rock". He had an emergency appendectomy last fall, his freshman year at college. His appendix had ruptured and he had severe infection. After a week in the hospital, he was released--God knows how scared we were and how grateful for his recovery. There would be other items, too, not all as traumatic as these, but symbols to remind us of God's provision and answer to prayers.

Make your own "rocks of rememberance" pile so your family can praise God for His love and care.

Rock-a-bye-baby
This is for all the young moms out there. Several years ago, our church secretary had made copies of prayers for mothers and had us each take one home on Mother's Day. This faded, crumpled little scrap of paper was my prayer for many years, taped to the inside of a kitchen cabinet door where I'd see it everyday. May it serve you as well.

A Mother's Prayer
Oh give me patience, when little hands
Tug at me with ceaseless, small demands.
Oh, give me gentle words and smiling eyes,
And keep my lips from hasty, sharp replies.
Let not weariness, confusion and noise
Obscure my vision of life's fleeting joys.
And when in years to come my house is still
No bitter memories its rooms may fill.
Happy Mother's Day!

Rock It Out--Family Prayer Ideas
-Teach your children to pray. Listen to their prayers(they will amaze you!) and pray with and for them. We had a lengthy bed-time routine--pick-up, wash up, then we all gathered for bedtime stories, then tuck-in bed and prayers with each child. Something about holding hands and praying with and for your child in the dark brings you closer than at any other time. You will learn things they would never tell you during the rest of the day--don't miss it! (I also sat in the hall between their rooms and sang bedtime songs, but that is optional--I had one who would get up and prowl around if I wasn't there!)

-Meal time prayers, or saying Grace, is also a way to remind your family to be grateful for God's provision. My husband prayed the same prayer he heard growing up, as had his father--only in German. This prayer is a lot more common than I realized, or maybe we just have lots of people with German heritage around here.
"Come Lord Jesus, Be our Guest. Make this food to us be blessed."
You can have your own family prayer team, as well. We still call and remind each to pray for one another in certain ways and times.

-Praying Hands
For little ones, a fun way to learn to pray is to hold up their hand, palm facing away from them. Spread their fingers--their thumb should point toward their heart. Pray for those you love, those close in your heart- family and friends. The index finger will be called the pointer finger. Pray for thosewho point you toward God and good--pastors, missionaries, teachers. The middle finger is the tallest--pray for leaders like our president and others. Your fourth finger is the weakest, so pray for those who are weak--the sick, grieving, lonely. The pinkie finger is last--that should be you! Pray for yourself, that God would help you and forgive you.

-As a mother and wife, the best and sometimes only thing you can do for your family is pray. It gives your family a certain security to know they have people praying for them, calling their name before God. Start your own prayer group. I have 3 other friends who meet at my house weekly to pray for our children, our schools, churches, communities and country. We've been agreeing in prayer for 12 years now, and 2 have prayed longer than that. We've prayed our children through high school, college and relationships--and spiritual growth. Our kids are used to us asking them their prayer needs. Keeping a family prayer journal is another way to see how God has answered prayer over the years.

Rock Garden

I have an area where I pile the rocks I've collected on trips. (Some people buy post cards, I haul rocks--it's another one of those quirks we all have, or in Christianese," God made us all special"!) They remind of fun times and places, or times when God was indeed my rock, getting me through a hard time. (Such as a very small rock I carried down from the top of a mountain I climbed) Here are some other ideas for fun gardens to make for yourself or with kids.

These Gardens Rock

-Plant a pizza garden. Clear and work-up a circle of ground and divide into pizza-shaped wedges. Plant basil in some, little tomato plants in some, oregano in some or even salad greens. You can make this into a salsa garden by planting different pepper plants.

-Another cool idea is a salad garden--work up some dirt, then trace kids' names and plant different lettuce seeds in the tracings to spell out their names!

-Sunflower house or tunnel--plant sunflowers every 10" apart to make walls of a tunnel, or the four sides of a house. You can tie the tops together to increase the shade/wall feeling. This is really fun.

-Plant a garden in your sneaker--really easy. Choose an old shoe or boot, fill with potting soil and add an easy care plant. You don't have to worry about drainage if the shoe is old enough and has holes in the bottom! We planted some cacti plants in an old hiking boot.

-Did you know plants can tell time? Show your kids how amazing God's creation is that He made some plants that only bloom at certain times. Find a trellis or wire fence and plant morning glories (bloom only in the (guess) morning), and moonflowers(bloom only at night).In front of them, plant some Four O'Clocks. (Bloom in late afternoon or earlier on a cloudy day--you can confuse them into blooming earlier if you hold an umbrella over them!)

-Touch and sniff garden. Plant lamb's ears plants (they're drought tolerant and have fuzzy leaves like, well, lambs' ears), different types of mint to smell and taste, (mint is very invasive, so plant in pots or buckets!), and other herbs like lemon balm.

-Don't forget to celebrate May Day--have the kids roll construction paper into cones, staple the bottom shut and add a handle. Tuck a cookie or two, mints, etc. plus a flower and hang it on a neighbors' door knob--ring the bell and run!

(See other ideas for May in the Home Matters blog)

Pray about summer plans for your family--and now, go play in the dirt--and the rocks!

Celebrate Easter!

Easter is one of the best times to celebrate and share our faith with family and friends. There are many historical traditions in observing this holiest of days. Many people observe Lent with some type of self-sacrifice and fasting to prepare for Easter. The church I grew up in passed out little Lenten boxes for us to put money in each day from giving up something so the money could be given to a good cause. Does anyone else remember the Easters gone-by when we as little girls (and ladies) wore new dresses, gloves and hats? Easter Sunday,the church would be beautifully decorated , the music was wonderful, and you knew this was a very special day. Coloring and finding Easter eggs was also a big part of Easter. (Those chocolate bunnies that were big and hollow inside were amazing!) A big Easter dinner with the best dishes, family and an egg hunt would follow. I was fortunate as a child to have been taught the amazing story of God's love even to sending His Son Jesus to die for our sins on the cross--but coming back to life to live with us always!

Easter is the key to our promise of new life. God puts signs all around us of resurrection--life coming out of the cold, dark dead of winter. Spring flowers, budding trees, birth of little animals and birds are evidence that new life is His plan. I love that God has put such extravagent beauty around us to celebrate His Son's resurrection and the new life we can have in Him!

Help those around you, little and older alike, reflect on the meaning of Easter and new life using some of these ideas.

Palm Sunday-(This Sunday, March 28) Make or order palm branches from a florist for the elementary students at your church. My church did this when I was a child, and I try to do it for the kids at our church. If you can organize them singing Hosanna or waving their branches before church, it really reminds everyone of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. (Be discerning about when to pass them out--no "sword" fights during the service)

Easter tree-At home, find a tree branch with lots of little branches and "plant" it in a decorative or spray painted can held with rocks or plaster of paris. Leave the branch natural, or spray paint it white. You can hang little eggs, ribbon bows, Bible verses, and small silk flowers from the small branches. This makes a great Easter decoration or centerpiece.

Easter Eggs--one of my favorite Easter traditions! I loved doing this with my kids. If you want eggs to last, blow the "insides" out of holes you put in raw eggs, dye in egg color, then tie with ribbons on Easter tree or place in a basket. Use hard boiled eggs for kids to color--you can write their names on the eggs with white crayon first before dyeing and use them for "place cards" for Easter breakfast or dinner. Talk about eggs as a symbol of new life and why we use them at Easter. (Check out Kim's Food for Thought blog for her ideas on the Easter tree and Easter eggs.)
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Resurrection cookies-this was a recipe I received over the internet several years ago and though I can not find the original, it is a great object lesson and fun to do with kids. Use a meringue cookie recipe. Gather the kids/students and proceed. (It helps if you've already read and explained the events of Holy Week, Good Friday and Easter Sunday first)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

Separate the whites from 2 eggs into the appropriately sized mixing bowl.
Give one of the kids a wooden spoon to beat the whites. Explain that this symbolizes the beating Jesus suffered when He was arrested and tried.

Add cream of tartar (1/4 tsp. per egg white, so 1/2 tsp.) and say that this is a bitter substance like the vinegar soldiers gave Jesus to drink on the cross. (Have more kids beat this in)

Next, add 1/4 tsp. salt reminding us of the tears of Jesus' followers upon His death.
(For flavor purposes, you can add 1/2 tsp. vanilla)
Beat egg white mixture with electric mixture until stiff peaks form, then add 1/2 c. sugar. This symbolizes the white of the linen grave cloths and the sweetness that was to come from the grave.

Drop meringue by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet.

Put cookie sheets into oven, which is like putting Jesus body into the dark tomb.
Turn off oven, and put a piece of tape across oven door opening to "seal it shut", just as the stone was rolled in front of the tomb to seal it. (The cookies will continue to dry out in oven overnight)
The next morning, open the oven door after unsealing the tape, and pull out a sweet Easter surprise. Explain how Jesus' followers got a wonderful surprise when they saw the opened tomb and Jesus alive!

Good Friday-many churches have special services to commemorate Jesus' suffering and death on the cross. I read once that you can't really have the full joy of Easter until you reflect on the events of the cross and mourn. This is a somber service and a good time for self-examination--what things should you lay at the cross that are keeping you from experiencing the love and joy of Jesus? One idea to observe Good Friday is that evening in your home, everything is quiet and dark, just as Jesus' believers were quiet and their world was dark upon his death. No t.v., computer, ipods, random cell phone conversations, just silence. Light candles, turn down or off regular room lights and gather together to read the Biblical account of Holy Week. Doing this for an evening,or even an hour or two, makes the joy of Easter morning more meaningful.

On Easter moning, be sure to greet each other with the traditional greeting:"He Is Risen", and the response: "He is risen indeed".

Check out other Spring ideas involving kids/family in the Home Matters blog.

Tough Stuff

"I rock my babies, and my babies rock the world." This quote by writer Hannah Keeley sums up the impact mothers have on the world. Sometimes a woman changes history by her direct actions, but often it is through her children or the young she has mentored that the world is changed.

I've been reading a book called, Mothers of Influence, about mothers of famous people and how they shaped their children's early lives. (For readers in the Stafford area, it can be found in the Calvary Baptist Church library)

The take away points are that a mother of influence does these things: teaches her children who they are in Christ, shares her love for God, prays with and for her children, nutures their individual gifts and "bents", teaches them to do what is right, models hard work and learning, teaches them self-control, shares joy and has fun with her children, shows them how to be good stewards of the resources God has given them, keeps them on the "straight and narrow", leads her children to take action in their faith, and releases them to fulfill God's calling for their lives.

One Tough Mother
One of my favorite stories in this book is about Sonya Carson, mother of the brilliant pediatric surgeon, Ben Carson. One of 24 children and with only a third grade education, this African American single mother worked 2 and 3 jobs at a time as a maid to support her two sons. She prayed better things for them, though, and was not pleased with Ben's report card showing failing grades in fourth grade. Summoning her sons, she told them they would end up sweeping floors in a factory and that was not what God had planned for them. She told them she would pray, asking God for wisdom to help them do better in school. After two days, she called the boys to her and explained the plan God had given her. To their great dismay, Sonya announced that the plan would be to turn off the t.v. They could watch only two t.v. shows a week, spending the rest of their time on homework and reading--even having to write 2 book reports weekly for her. You can imagine how the boys objected and tried to argue with Sonja, but her mind was made up. She knew education was the only way out of their poor area in Detroit. Ben tells that reading opened new worlds and stimulated his curiosity for learning. Graduating from the neuro-surgery program at Johns Hopkins Medical School, he became the youngest chief of pediatric neurosurgery in the U.S. He performed successful surgery to separate Siamese twins joined at the head and has performed surgeries treating seizure disorders for many other children. His brother is an engineer. Ben credits his mother with providing them with a loving but disciplined environment and insisting they use their brains and talents in the ways God had planned for them. (Later, Sonja "walked her talk" by getting her G.E.D. and graduating from a junior college)

Just as Sonja Carson had to be tough to bring about the best for her boys, all of us as moms know that we have to balance love and compassion with toughness for our children's sakes.

Being the mom your kids need is not going to win you any popularity contests. Life is just plain hard sometimes, and God calls us not to retreat, but to step up and tough it out, relying on His strength and grace to carry us through. He can not use us if we shrink and retreat from those things that are difficult or unpleasant. We have to let others see that we're willing to do His bidding even when we do not want to, that obedience is rewarded and God will enable us to do what He needs us to do. Let others (especially your kids) see you take a step in trust and obedience that you can take only because you're sure God will catch you!

Side note: Last fall it was AWANA night at our small country church and one of the leaders spied a snake who had come in through an outside door to the game room and hidden behind some bookcases. While the men went to procure snake removal equipment(yardstick and trashcan) one of the lady leaders bent over, grabbed it behind the head and took it back out the door. This act of singular bravery awed the rest of us. Expressing my admiration, I teased her saying, "You are one tough mother. No wonder your son is a marine." (Her son Jake, had just completed marine boot camp)(You go, Nancee!)

Spring Training
I may talk tough, but I am one of the wimpiest shrinking violets around--I would prefer to sit on the bench in the game of life, secure in my spot and routine. (Or be the watergirl--serving in a limited, safe kind of way) But God has this way of tapping me on the shoulder, pointing to the field and saying, "Get in there, kid, we need you to play this inning." To which, I regret to say, I'm like--"God, are you sure you mean me? There are lots of better players to send in", and giving Him my litany of excuses to keep me out of the game. How much would it please God if I answered, "Here I am God, send me"? It helps if you've warmed up already by taking some of the curve balls life throws your way and have seen how God covers for you. God doesn't always call us to hit the ball out of the park, but to just advance the other runners on the bases. (and help them get "home") We can all do that by praying, by acts of service, by giving love and encouragement. There are times, though, when we do need to be ready and willing to "step up to the plate." (I don't know where this baseball analogy came from--I'm pleading Spring Fever)

Tough Luck
I'm on my soapbox now, but I am continually amazed at children I work with at school and church who look me straight in the eye and tell me they don't want to do something, that they don't like whatever. (If my kids are reading this, I can hear their moans--"don't say that to my Mom!") I just smile and tell them, "Well you know what? That's O.K., you don't have to like it to do it. And the sooner we do it, the sooner we get done. In fact, when you do things you don't want to do, it helps you grow!" (Have you ever heard the expression, "What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger?") At our house we joke about it, saying, "Oh good, something else to build character!"

Children need to know grown-ups have to do things they don't want to do all the time, that a person needs to be strong enough to do the things that are right and need to be done.

Tough Times Take Tough Love
Moms and people who work with children have to be strong enough to take the heat to do what is right for their children and to expect children to do their best.

I read another story about a mom whose four year old son broke his left elbow very badly and doctors said he would never be able to use that arm. Unwilling to accept that future for her son, she filled a bucket with sand and had him carry it around their house twice a day. (This would have been fifty some years ago, before advances in physical therapy!) Of course, it hurt the boy terribly and he cried the whole way, but his mom held tough and walked right beside him every step, crying along with him. Not only did he regain complete function of his arm, he had an incredible talent for playing the guitar--becoming a guitarist for the band, the Eagles. If you ever heard the song, Hotel California, (one of their big hits) Don Felder co-wrote and plays one of the best-known guitar solos of rock and roll in that song--all because his mom made him do what was hard for his good . It's hard to watch our children in pain. Our daughter was born with an almost club foot and we had to make her wear shoe braces in her first months of life. Of course, she hated it and by the time I would get one foot into her shoe on the brace and start working on the second, she would pull the first one out. She would kick and cry and I would sweat and cry and think how much easier it would be to quit. Easier, but not better. We kept at it, her foot straightened out, and her senior year in high school she placed sixth at State in Cross Country! (Only God could take a little girl with foot/leg issues and give her a love of running. She's training for a mini-marathon right now. ) God takes our weaknesses and turns them into strengths--Don Felder's arm, my daughter's feet and I'm sure can think of examples in your own lives as well.

My heart goes out to single Moms and those who are mothering special needs children. Theirs is a type of tough love I will never know. Not just to keep loving their children through the challenges, but to be tough with themselves as well--too keep on when they want to quit.

There are several ladies in my life who have my sincere thanks and admiration for showing me how to get through tough times. My mother-in-law became a widow in her forties with children 15, 13, 11, and 8 years of age. She was able, with the help of God and others to keep her family and herself together. She told me she would go into her closet to cry so the children wouldn't be upset. Sometimes we have to be tough enough as women to hang on and get through for those who are counting on us.

So, Moms, (and ladies) you hang tough. You can change the world through the lessons you teach your children and others. No pressure, right? Keep asking for God's help to give you the wisdom, patience and strength you need to love and help others for Him.

P.S. Did you know that Orville and Wilbur Wright's mother was the one with the mechanical abilities in their home? She passed them on to her sons and guided/encouraged their tinkering. (I would have been, "You boys get these greasy tools out of the living room right now".) A good reminder to work with our children's gifts!

Spring Break
(Do you notice how I work in Spring topics in what is supposed to be "Women who make a Difference/History" month? It's not like I'm anxious for Spring...)

Watching the Olympics has been great (and those athletes have some moms who made a lot of sacrifices for their children! I want to talk to the mother of a snow boarder--wow--I'll bet those kids were escaping their cribs, falling off roofs--they probably had an express pass at the hospital emergency room)

Anyway, seeing Vancouver with all the ice and snow is a lot like looking out the windows here, minus mountains, water and Canadian Mounties. Changing channels during a break, I made the mistake of watching the travel channel's "Best Mexican Beach Resorts". White sands, turquoise waters, palm trees, SUN, and warm people soaking up the Sun. I made my own little resort and you can too. (It helps if you have a lot of imagination, but the price is right!)

Tropics Day
We created this celebration for some dreary winter day when we needed a change and some fun. Here's how it works: The kids colored a huge beach scene on some recycled paper we taped together, and hung in the dining room. Spread some beach towels in front, and if you have some beach shells, sprinkle those around. Some inflatable beach balls or air mattresses are another nice touch. The kids wear swimsuits and lay on "the beach". Run some nice warm water in the bath tub, add a few drops of blue food coloring (just a few--we did this several years and nobody turned blue)and the kids hop in "the pool". Let them make waves but do supervise. (The last year we celebrated Tropics Day in this manner, my youngest son was seated in front and brought his head up under the faucet, resulting in a 2" gash. The blood in the water looked like sharks were circling. We had to bundle all three kids up, with wet hair, and head out in the falling snow to our emergency room ten miles away. It was a little difficult and embarassing to explain the circumstances of the injury!) After a dip in the pool, dry off, play Caribbean type music and read children's beach or summmer books. We would have fish for supper, along with whatever tropical fruits we could find. Kiwi, mango, fresh pineapple and starfruit are great. Bonus points if you find a coconut and hammer it open (show the little face in it first) and drink/pour out the milk, then saw and serve. This alone brings forth awe from the kids--sawing your food--Wow! Talk about God's creativity in thinking of such amazing trees and fruits in the tropics. (The teacher in me can't let this go without reminding you, please, get out the map/globe and explain what and where the Tropics is/are!) Serve pink lemonade spiked with 7-Up and a maraschino cherry with (and this is key) those little paper umbrellas in the drink. (We started having a Tropics Night at AWANA and I took those little umbrellas and the kids loved them--who knew?) Make a little beach centerpiece for your table by pouring sand in a square baking dish, add some shells and one of the little umbrellas. Let the kids walk through it with their fingers!

What fun! I love to use imagination and have a good time on the cheap. Except for the year of what lives in family lore as Josh's "shark bite", this is is an inexpensive way to have fun. Be warned, though, they get in high school and decide a spring break trip to Florida to see the real deal beaches is in order!

Meanwhile this year, I poured some of my Florida white beach sand in the bottom of a candleholder, added a blue candle and some shells and am sipping my pink fizzie lemonade complete with umbrella until Spring really does get here! Enjoy!

Stay tuned for ideas for Spring Break II--coming soon.

Heart's Ease

I love the month of February. We celebrate some great things this month:

-Groundhog Day--have a supper of pancakes and sausage (ground hog, get it?)

- Washington and Lincoln's birthdays--make a lincoln log log cabin on your table for a centerpiece and serve cherry pie. Be sure to talk about these great presidents.

- Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day has always been one of my favorite holidays--a day set aside for showing love. Remember the white paper bag "mailboxes" you had in grade school to collect all your valentines? As you got older, you may have even received flowers from someone special. (I received a purple passion plant for Valentine's day once when I was at K-State--what a great combination of quirky and cool!)

This is the time to "wear your heart on your sleeve" and tell others how much you love them.

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."-Matthew6:20

Show others you "treasure" them this month. I am calling this blog Heart's Ease (I think it's a flower or an herbal potion,or maybe a quilt block--I just like the name) because all our hearts are eased when we know we are loved and treasured. Our hearts would be eased as well in expressing God's love to others.

How do you say,"I love You"? Cards are great, but we can be more creative than that!

Let Your Love Show

According to author Gary Smalley, everyone has a different "love language".

These are:

-Acts of Service. People with this love language feel loved when you do things for them.

-Gifts. These folks equate being loved with receiving gifts--they don't all have to be expensive, just little things that say you were thinking about them.

-Physical touch. Hugs, kisses, backrubs, holding hands.These people absorb love through their skin! If you have a "clingy"child, this may be their love language.

-Words of love, praise, and encouragement. Well,duh. You would think this would be everyone's love language, but not so. I tell my husband," I love you", but I'm not really speaking his language. He's more of an Acts of Service (making a lemon meringue pie) /Quality time kind of guy.

-Spending quality time together--these people feel loved just by having you around. Spending time together makes them feel loved, and puts their hearts at ease. One of my children was especially this way at bedtime. We read stories, sang songs, and then would sit on his bed to pray. He would hold our hands to prevent our leaving--at the time I figured he was just looking to prolong going to sleep, (and he probably was) but I also think he enjoyed having us to himself . This one still says "I love you" by making it a point to spend time with people.

There you have it. Work on becoming "fluent" in all these love languages. This makes for great supper table discussion and explains a lot in our relationships. The classic "you don't love me because you didn't ....." and the reply,"Of courseI love you,I did this...." Unfortunately, we often expect people to know what makes us feel loved and they do what makes them feel loved instead! Don't turn down love however it's offered to you!

Learn to say " I love you" in a foreign language.

Learn to say "I love you" in sign language.

Practice makes Perfect

Our family would draw names to be our secret valentine. For 3 or 4 days before Valentine's Day we would do "loving" things for the person whose name we had drawn. This is a great way to practice your love languages and teach creativity and even self-sacrifice. You may have to model/suggest ideas to young children. They can do a chore for the other person (acts of service),write a love note (words), leave a favorite kind of candy or gum (gifts), spend time playing with that person, etc. This can really be fun, and you don't want to get caught. You reveal who had which names on Valentine's Day. Again, this teaches kids to show love without spending a lot of money, but by being creative and attentive to another person instead. I still have some adorable "love notes" given to me, and one child spelled out "I Love You" on my desk using packing peanuts! Caution: girls usually love this, but most of the boys/men in our family would become pathetic whiners, "I never know what to do." You may need to be ready to "even up" the loving exchanges if someone has an unexpressive secret valentine.

Some Like It Hot--Red Hot

What would Valentine's Day be without jars of heart shaped red hots sitting around?Perish the thought. I give these out at AWANA when kids memorize Bible verses during this time.

Have an all-red dinner for Valentine'sDay. Serve red foods-red jello, spaghetti or chili, strawberry jelly on bread, fruitpunch, strawberries,etc. (If you're really brave, beets are a great red vegetable--or radishes!) Don't forget dessert: strawberry ice cream, cherry pie, red frosted cake or cookies. Be sure to wear red (or pink).

Love In A Jar . This is great to make for your husband/wife, grandparent,etc. Cut out hearts about 2" in size. Write on each heart something you love and appreciate about the person, fold and place in a clear glass jar. Tossing in a few Hershey kisses makes it even better! These love notes can be re-read over and over.

One last supper conversation topic. The French mathematician Blaise Pascal said that everyone has a God-shaped vacuum in their hearts that only He can fill. (In other words, we all have holes in our hearts that only God can fill) Talk about what this means and what happens if people don't fill that emptiness with God and even try to fill it with other things instead.

Be sure to put their hearts and yours at ease on this--God wants to fill all our hearts and He loves us more than we can ever imagine. And that, more than anything else, is worth celebrating this month...with your whole heart.

Good Sports

Between all the college bowl games, basketball games and the SuperBowl coming up, sports have been a big topic at our house. This brings me to one of our family's most cherished traditions (much to my chagrin.) Several years ago, I thought, "wouldn't it be fun to make a chart of several college bowl games and predict who will win?" I bought a big, blue plastic bowl for 99 cents, used green fabric paint and printed "Hildebrand Family Bowl Games Championship Bowl" on it and filled it with snack foods. The winner of the coveted bowl each year gets the goodies and their name engraved on the side with permanent marker. (I'm all about quality, cheap entertainment). Well, I seriously underestimated how intensely competitive the rest of my family is. (With State 2A finalists and champions in cross country, basketball, scholars' bowl, music and track , I don't know what I was thinking--) Actually, I was thinking "fun", but these people are cut throat: consulting win/loss records, refining the rules in case of ties, making other stipulations about choosing teams,etc. I just choose the school/mascot I like best. (It infuriates the rest of my family that my haphazard method has earned the bowl 2 times in 8 years and I was runner-up this year!) This brings me to my point(finally). We were watching the national championship game between Alabama and the University of Texas. If you watched, you saw Texas's quarterback Colt McCoy get injured toward the first of the game. It was a crushing blow to this young man and his team. Texas did lose, and after the game they interviewed Colt, asking "How did it feel to be injured and not play in your last college game?" On national television, with thousands watching, the first words out of his mouth were to praise God . He said how disappointed he was to not play and help his team, but that he gives glory to God whatever happens. What a testimony to his character! Tim Tebow, the quareterback for the University of Florida Gators, is another very outspoken Christian . I noticed several other college players had Bible verse references written on their arms or in their eye blacking. They put their faith out there for everyone to see, and so much for the argument that religion is only for the weak!


If you have older elementary up through high school kids, you can have some good discussions about sports. People may expect winning athletes to praise God, but I pondered the impact Colt McCoy's words would have, that while keenly disappointed, he still praised God.


We are fortunate to have many athletes who are truly "good sports", using their fame to bring glory to God and to help others. Tony Dungy, the former coach of the Indianapolis Colts has written a great book, "Quiet Strength". Kurt Warner, the quarterbackof the Arizona Cardinals is an amazing story of perserverence and faith. He and his wife Brenda have a foundation to help others. My kids had a "shoe ministry" in their high school sports, writing Philipians 4:13 ("I can do all things through Christ who strenghtens me") on their shoes. We all need a reminder that whatever our endeavors, we can call on God to help us perservere and do our best.


If you live with some sports fanatics like I do, don't even try to beat them, but join them in talking about the good in sports and the people who rely on their faith in God to help them be truly good sports.


(By the way--the Super Bowl is coming right up, and then the Olympics!)

January 10, 2010

CARING FOR KIDS AND OTHERS-by Suzanne

Hi-it’s me again. If you read the Home Matters blog, you know improving the quality of home and family living is my thing. I like kids—I mean, I really like kids. I feel energized being around them which means I should be like the Energizer Bunny because working with kids has been my ministry for a very long time! After teaching high school Home Economics (FACS now), I got my certification to teach Learning Disabilities—I’m a Learning Specialist!! I taught K-12 students in a resource room setting for 5 years. I enjoyed the challenge of problem solving to help kids learn better. Next, I was a preschool teacher/director and Mom’s Morning Out program director. Continuing stints as Sunday school teacher, VBS Crafts director(for 20 years—is that crazy, or what?) and AWANA Sparks director give me my “kid fix”. This year I am working with elementary students as a Speech/Language para and am coaching our high school Scholars’ Bowl team. In this space, we’ll explore ideas to have fun family times, make memories, teach our children, honor others, and pass on a spiritual heritage.

THERE’S “SNOW” TIME LIKE THE PRESENT FOR FAMILY FUN

January is a great month for soups, hot coca mix and snow ice cream. You can make snow ice cream by getting bowls of snow and adding sugar, milk and vanilla-stir and eat. Slushies can be made with snow and frozen fruit juice of your choice.

Serve both after snow angels, snowball fights and fort building.

Devotions-have 2 bowls of snow and add drops of red food coloring to one, start with just 1drop and mix—compare to the “pure”, all white bowl. The drops of food color represent our sins—even one sin makes us less pure, and we all sin much more than that!

“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” Isaiah 1;18

These are also great nights for family movies (homemade pop corn) and reading aloud.