25 Things to do with Your Son Before He Turns 13

Just look at him – He’s officially taller than I am. His feet have been bigger than mine for years. He weighs more than I do. He has football and basketball practice before and after school. He has pep rallies. He has homework. Suddenly, his dad is much more interesting than I am. He has to shower daily and use deodorant. He has to wash his face so he doesn’t get zits. His dad’s phrases are constantly coming out of his mouth. Sportscenter is his favorite show. He doesn’t watch cartoons anymore; he doesn’t color anymore; he doesn’t play with toys anymore.

And right now as I’m writing this, I’m a mess.

I’m emotional about my son growing up too fast at the moment, but I must admit, I do love who he is growing up to be. I’m proud of him. I love his sweet spirit, his kind heart, how he tries so hard at school and at sports, how he is respectful of adults. Don’t get me wrong. He definitely has his faults that we need to work on. He still aggravates his brothers and fights with them on a daily basis. But, I know that God is shaping him into the man that He wants my son to be.

As I’m becoming more and more aware of how fast time is passing, I keep thinking of things that I can’t do anymore with my son, or things that I wish I would have done more of with my son, or things that I did with my son that I am so glad I did.

So, to moms of boys, here’s a list of 25 things to make sure you do a lot of with your son before he turns 13:

1.       Kiss him

2.       Hug him

3.       Pray for him every day

4.       Let him hear your praying for him

5.       Cuddle with him on the couch

6.       Teach him Bible stories

7.       Get in the floor and play with him

8.       Dress up and play pretend

9.       Make lots and lots of videos of him

10.   Take lots of pictures

11.   Turn on fun music and dance with him

12.   Take him to the zoo and enjoy his reaction to the animals

13.   Let him get dirty

14.   Let him try new things

15.   Introduce him to new foods

16.   Teach him to clean

17.   Encourage him to sing with you

18.   Sit next to him and color

19.   Listen to his stories

20.   Save the notes he writes to you

21.   Save some of his artwork from school – (I know this is a sentimental list, but there is no way you can save ALL of that crap.)

22.   Let him help you decorate the Christmas tree

23.   Make time for him to get to know his cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents

24.   Hold him in your lap and read to him

25.   Make sure he knows that he is loved



Four Lessons I’ve Learned as an Adult with Braces on My Teeth

Last February I was complaining about my crooked teeth and flabby belly. My normally laid-back, kind husband uncharacteristically said, “I’m so sick of you griping about the same things you’ve been griping about for eighteen years. If you’re so annoyed by those things, then change them!”

His words struck a chord. I think they made a huge impression on me, because he rarely talks to me like that. He usually says things like, “Aw honey, you look great.” Also, I realized that he was right. I had been griping about these same two things our whole marriage, and they weren’t going to change until I did something about them.

It took me a while to figure out how to fix the flabby belly. After a few months I discovered how I needed to eat and exercise to get in shape. My flabby belly isn’t totally gone yet, but it’s slowly leaving!

As for the crooked teeth, I made an appointment with my dentist for the next day, and about a month later I had a set of shiny new braces on my teeth that my dentist said I would need to wear for at least eighteen months.

I am a thirty-eight year old woman with braces on my teeth.

I have currently had these lovely metal brackets on my teeth for nine months. I knew that this experience would change the appearance of my teeth, but I had no idea that this experience would affect me in deeper ways as well. I have learned so much from wearing these braces. So far, there are four lessons I’ve learned as an adult with braces on my teeth:

1 1.)  It Doesn’t Matter What Other People Say – Here are some things people have said to me since I’ve had braces – “You know you ruined your looks with those things on your teeth.” (I’m not kidding, someone really said that to me.) “Why would you get braces? At your age?” I have had a lot of people say this to me. “I can’t believe you did that. Why would you spend money on that?” As if it’s any of their business. I have learned to flash my braces in a big smile at someone who says something like this to me and walk away. It’s liberating to not care what people say.

1 2.)  Don’t Take Yourself So Seriously – When your smile looks like a seventh grader’s, when you are wearing colored rubber bands on your teeth, when you discover you’ve had bits of food stuck in your teeth all day, it’s a great reminder not to take yourself so seriously. Sometimes as a grown-up you can start to forget that you are a CHILD of God. HE is our Father. He is in control. These braces have made me remember what it’s like to be a kid and to recognize that I have no reason to worry, because my Father God has it all under control!

1 3.)  It’s Never Too Late – To those people who’ve said, “Why would you get braces at your age?” I say, I got braces because I’m not dead yet. I want to make myself better in the time I have. There are so many things I still want to do. I refuse to die before I die!

1 4.)  A Little Change Makes a Big Difference – When you change one thing and prove to yourself that you can make a change, it is addictive. You convince yourself that more change and improvement is possible.

Of course these little silly braces are quite unimportant in the light of eternity. Our bodies are temporary. One of these days we will shed these bodies altogether, but I think we can learn something even from something as insignificant as braces. Do you need to make a change? Then do it! Think you can’t? 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away, and new things have come!” This year, I encourage you to seek lasting change in Jesus. It’s never too late to become who you want to be! 

“Make a Declaration for Your Family!”

Summer before last  I saw all of these pictures on Pinterest of wall art people had made for their homes with these great sayings on them. You know the ones I’m talking about – most of them have sweet and clever phrases or scriptures or have family names or important dates painted on rough looking wood planks. Well, after seeing all of those super cute signs, I thought that maybe this was a craft I could actually make.

You see, I’m honestly not much of a crafter. Most of my crafts are definitely not “Pinterest-worthy.” My glue dries lumpy, my handwriting usually slopes upward; I can’t cut a straight line to save my life; I’m too cheap to buy proper supplies. Regardless, I still try to make things occasionally, especially in the summertime. As a teacher, summer is my time that I enjoy dabbling in crafts, redecorating my home, and doing all sorts of fun things with my three boys. I just love summer.

Anyway, my husband had just made a new fence for our family Golden Retriever, Bear, and he had lots of wood planks left over. I thought those planks would be perfect for one of those signs for our home. Then, I had to think about what I should write. I knew I wanted to write a scripture, but which one? I had a hard time choosing. I thought about where the sign would be placed in my home. I had the perfect wall for it, on a wall in my kitchen that I would look at every time I did dishes, and my husband and boys and I would see every time we were in the kitchen; the boys would pass it every time they would go up or down the stairs to their bedrooms, so we would all see it a lot. It would be a huge part of our lives.

I even prayed about it. I felt a strong direction from the Lord that I should use this wooden sign to make a “DECLARATION.”  It would be like our family’s slogan or motto or vision statement.

                This is how it turned out –

According to Deuteronomy 6:9, we followers of God should write His commandments on the “doorframes of our houses and on our gates.”  I love how the ancient wisdom from God’s word still offers up-to-date practical help for raising kids! This simple sign has done something profound in my children. I hear them read it aloud often. They are speaking God’s Word and a Prophesy over our family every time they do that! I love it! 

     

It’s almost Christmas! I love this time of year, and I’ve been thinking about Mary, the mother of Jesus, for the past couple of days more than I’ve ever thought about her for some reason. One thing that keeps going over and over in my mind is this – Mary is a human delivering the King of Kings to the world – isn’t that exactly what we are all supposed to be?

We all have Mary built up in our minds as an untouchable, pristine, porcelain figurine of a person, but, of course, she was a normal, teenage girl. Have you ever thought that, as Christians, we are to be like Mary? Mary delivered Jesus to the world. Isn’t that one of our primary purposes as believers? To deliver Jesus to the world?

It’s my prayer that I can respond to the call to deliver Jesus the same way that Mary did. Mary responded by -

1.)             Saying “yes.” How many times am I guilty of saying “no” or “later” or “maybe when circumstances are better, when I’m not so busy I’ll tell them about you Jesus.” But not Mary. She just agreed.

2.)           Not being controlled by her fear. Obviously she was afraid, but she didn’t allow her fear to control her.

3.)           Receiving encouragement from a godly friend. The encouragement from Elizabeth was so valuable to Mary. Oh, how we so benefit from the encouragement from our godly friends!

4.)            She knew that she would have temporary pain, ridicule, persecution, discomfort, but she also knew the eternal rewards would far outweigh any temporary pain she would endure.

Lord, I pray that my words, actions, and attitudes would deliver JESUS to the people in my world!

Have a Merry Christmas! 

Love, 

Martha 

10 Ways to Help Our Kids Develop a Thankful Heart

As a mom of three boys, I LOVE it when they genuinely appreciate me. When they say, “Wow Mom, thank you so much for making cupcakes for my class.” Or perhaps, “I really appreciate the way you washed my sheets mom.” Or maybe, “Mom, I know that it took a lot of time and energy for you to plan my birthday party, and I just want to let you know that I noticed it, and I think you’re an amazing mom.”

Wouldn’t it be awesome if they talked like that all the time?

Unfortunately, I am more likely to hear the following sentences from my boys: “But why can’t you buy me those new Nikes?” and “Everyone else’s mom showed up at my school party today.” Or “Mom, you haven’t washed my favorite jeans yet?!?!”

It seems that being thankful is not something that comes naturally. I’m learning that it is something that must be intentionally taught and, perhaps if modeled correctly, “caught.” I know that it is much more natural for me to complain about the traffic, about my job, about my dirty house, about my weight, than it is to be thankful for anything.

So, how can we teach our kids to be thankful? How can we model a thankful attitude for them to catch? Here are 10 ways we can help our kiddos develop a thankful heart.

1.)  Pray for them. They’ll be such happier people if they learn to be thankful and content. Pray that God would help them to develop a thankful attitude that will last their whole life.

2.)  Discuss Bible stories. The complaining Israelites (Numbers 11), the 10 lepers (Luke 17:11-19), Paul in prison (Philippians 1 and 4)

3.)  Expose them to people who have less than they have. Take them to minister to the homeless or at shelters or nursing homes. If they’re anything like my kids, they may know, in theory, that some people don’t have homes, but until they actually meet someone who is homeless, they don’t truly grasp that there are people who really live under bridges and on benches. As a family, pray for these people on a consistent basis.

4.)  Make them work . . . hard. Just like you’ve always heard, you don’t appreciate something until you work for it! Teach your kids to scrub the toilet and maybe they’ll be more likely to aim better! (Sorry, I’m a mom of boys. I couldn’t resist.)

5.)  Enrich their lives with relationships with people who are different. I can’t let my kids think that everyone else in the world lives in a house just like ours and in a town just like ours with skin the same color as ours. What kind of self-absorbed adults would they grow up to be if they thought everyone was just like them?

6.)  Let them hear you thanking God. In the car, as you’re waking them up in the morning, as you’re doing dishes, sing songs of thanksgiving. Share with the cashier at the grocery store all about God’s goodness!

7.)  Let them hear you being appreciative of others. “I’m so thankful that my boss lets us wear jeans on Fridays.” And, “Thank you Lord for blessing me with such a hard working husband.”

8.)  Give history lessons. Tell you kids how long it took you to save money for your first house. Tell them how you had to work your way through college. Tell them how their grandma had to share a bedroom with her three sisters until she married grandpa and moved out of her parents’ home. Tell them those stories over and over so they can tell them themselves.

9.)    Work together on projects. Not only will this encourage kids to be thankful, but it will also create memories of accomplishing something together as a family, and provide a story they can then relate to their children one day.

10.)                 Make them pay for things with their own money. There’s no better way to learn to appreciate the value of a dollar. “Want a new pair of those really expensive jeans? Fine, you can use your birthday money to buy those.”

The biggest blessing we can ever thank our Lord for is the gift of salvation that was purchased by His Son. It is an eternal blessing. I’ve been quoting this scripture to myself a lot lately:

James 1:17 – Every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

“Thank you Father God for all of your blessings, especially the blessing of salvation and the promise of eternity with You. May we always have thankful hearts, acknowledging that every good gift comes from YOU!”

My Husband's Favorite Dinner - Chicken n Dumplings

My Husband's Favorite Dinner . . . . . Chicken n Dumplings

It's a cold November night. The perfect night for my husband's favorite dinner, Chicken n Dumplings. I make my mom's recipe, and Kevin thinks it's awesome. It's not too difficult or time consuming to make, which, of course, is a must for me! I put a whole chicken and water in the crock pot this morning before I went to work. By the time I got home the chicken was cooked and there was a wonderful broth. Here's the recipe:
Ingredients:
cooked chicken (boned, take off the skin and fat)
about 4 cups of broth
water
salt and pepper
about 4 cups of milk
2 cups Bisquick
Directions:
Put the chicken and broth in a big pot and bring it to a boil. Add water until it reaches about 2 quarts. Bring it to a boil again. Add about 3 cups of milk. Boil for about 10 minutes. Drop dumplings by spoonfuls into soup. Cook on low for about 10 minutes. Turn off the stove and let it sit for about 5 minutes.

To make dumplings: Stir together 2 cups of Bisquick and 3/4 a cup of milk.

Mmmmmm - Comfort Food!