Showing posts with label Resources. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Resources. Show all posts

Friday, August 17, 2012

Stranger Danger!

My friend posted a link to this article, "Tricky People are the New Strangers" on Pinterest just the other day.  Sometimes there is a fine line when teaching our kids about "stranger danger".  We want to teach them wisdom, but not instill fear into their hearts.  I thought this was a great article, and something new and different.  Hope you enjoy!

Monday, July 30, 2012

A Project of Epic Proportions {Resources for Roles}

If you haven't been here yet, welcome to the Project of Epic Proportions!!!!  Even though we have about seven weeks behind us, I still have a lot to organize!  I'm not even done with my first binder!  If you are lost or need to get caught up you can catch the previous posts on The Home Management Binder via The Challenge, The Supplies, Contacts, Medical, Account Info, Calendar,  and Budget and Bills.

This week there will only be one or two printouts.  The main thing this week is to look at all the excess paperwork around your house that doesn't seem to have a home and make a home for it.

Mine started out looking like this (and this is after creating all those other sections)...


and ended up looking like this....


Those are all my binders; but not one of them is near complete.  They have all been started in some way, but all need some work!
Most of the paperwork I pick up are flyers, or handouts that I am given, on things that pertain to my roles in life.  IE Parenting, Marriage, Spiritual Life, Homeschool.

Passionate Homemaking best explains the purpose of this section, "I order my binder by roles (wife, mother, homemaker, writer, etc.) and put them in order of their priority in my day, thus my binder acts as a constant reminder of what I really want to focus on. Within each section, you may jot down goals, books to read, ways to grow in that area, and printables you find to help you schedule and plan."

I figured the best way to organize these was to make one large category called "Resources" and then break it down into different sections.  Again, this is my first go around at all of this so I might change the name of it or where I'm putting all these in the future..but for now..here they are. 

Some printables that you might want to consider putting in one of your sections:
  • Book List by Finding Home.  Some like a book list in each of these sections to list the books you want to read pertaining to that role.  You might just want one "Master" book list.
  • Book Wishlist by Life Your Way.
  • Bible Study by Life Your Way.
  • Devotion Guide by Our Portion.  This is a form I made based upon a class we had at our church in Texas.  The questions that are listed really help me to look at a passage of Scripture and break it down to see what it is I need to learn/apply.
  • Bible Verses by Life Your Way.  Have a verse that stood out to you?  Or one that you would like to memorize?  Here's a place for it!
  • Prayer Journal by Life Your Way.  This is a form to keep track of your prayer requests, and the date that prayer was answered. 
  • Prayer by Our Portion.  Pretty much a blank page, but a place for you to write down your prayers if you want.  Just write in a date, stop where you want to and continue where you left off.
  • Family Traditions by Life Your Way.  This would be a great place to keep those ideas that you want to turn into traditions for your family.
  • Inspirational Quotes by Life Your Way.  A place to keep those quotes that inspire you to be a better wife, mom, etc!
  • Lined Notes by Life Your Way.  A blank page perfect for all your extra thoughts!

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Seasons

"Seeing life in seasons enables us to get some perspective in our lives.  In every season there will be trials and joys.  Hardly anything lasts forever.  We need to see our life in seasons and rejoice in the season at hand.  As we relax and begin to soak up the unique blessings of this particular season, we will begin to experience and to enjoy the incredible richness of life."

                                                            -Excerpt from And Then I Had Kids by Susan Alexander Yates


My friend recommended this book to me and I just started reading it this past week.  I'm only in the second chapter, but really enjoying the wisdom she has to share.  I plan on sharing more when I'm done. 

Although the paragraph above is speaking more to the seasons of mothering it fit perfectly to what I knew these last few months were for me in the world of blogging.  A season.  I have thought about it several times these last few months. 

Since we had our Internet connected, about mid-late March, I have had (for the most part) something posted five days a week.  That's a lot!  I have enjoyed every minute of it, but I knew it wouldn't last forever.  I am coming to the end of that season.  I love having this place to write and I'm not giving it up, it just won't be nearly as consistent. 

I am about to head into a new season that I know will take up a lot of my time.  Homeschooling.  I have prayed for his opportunity for years. Starting this coming Monday we will be starting Ryan's 1st Grade School Year (which reminds me I still have to go pick up his Kindergarten records from the Elementary School).  I still have a lot of studying/planning/organizing to do this week!  Praying that in the newness of homeschooling, that I'm sure will bring chaos and frustrations and doubts about the choice in general, that I would be able to step back and look at this as a season and truly be able to cherish the opportunity I have to teach and mold my boy's. 

**Prayers appreciated!!**

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Book Review {Crazy Love}

O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be make more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, "Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away." Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long.


Excerpt from Crazy Love.  Intro of Ch.6

Monday, July 2, 2012

A Project of Epic Proportions {Medical}

Hopefully last week's "assignment" went smoothly for you!  I got mine put together fairly quickly.  The longest part was transfering our Address Book!  When I was done though, I was happy to be able to get rid of 4/5 random pieces of paper with info on it, plus our Address Book!  I'm down one more book to carry around!!!  Since we've done a lot of the prep work in the previous weeks we can get down to it.  If you are lost and feel the need to catch up you can check The Challenge, The Supplies, and Contacts.

This week we will be putting together the Medical Section. Again, we will be using sheets from two main sources, plus a few that I created myself.  Feel free to look further or to make your own!

In my Medical Section....

1.  General Information
  • Basic Medical Information by Life Your Way. Your Insurance Companies Information to include policy number, contact information, Phyician's Information, etc.
  • Basic Medical by Our Portion.  Your Doctor's/Dentist's/Insurance/Policy Holder's Contact Information.  (I am obviously making most of my sheets to fit my needs specifically.  I have NO idea how the civilian world of medical operates.  This is just what it looks like for us...for now.)  This one is also two pages long.  Here our eye doctor is in the clinic on post, but back in the states we would have to go off post.  I wanted to have room to add other doctor's office's if needed.  IE Chiroprator, OB, etc.

2.  Individual Medical Information Sheets.
  • Finding Home.  This is a detailed sheet you can keep for each person in your family with information on allergies, daily medications, etc.
  • Our Portion.  I went ahead and made my version of this sheet.  There was a lot of excess information that I didn't particularly want on mine.  Plus, I will be attaching one of the Avery Pocket Tabs I mentioned previously to the Sheet Protector of each of our Medical Sheets.  The pocket will be able to hold each person's shot records, and for Tim and I, our glasses/contact prescription.  The pockets are easily removable, but I'm hoping I formatted it correctly to where I won't be hiding any information.
3.  Appointments
  • Appointment Chart by Our Portion.  I will be adding this to the backside of the Individual Medical Sheet.  Let me say we are BLESSED to have wonderful Health Insurance to include yearly eye exams and two Dental exams/cleanings a year!  The biggest trouble is that the older my kids get, and the more we have, I have trouble keeping up with appointments for everyone and remembering when I took them last and when they are due to go next.  For some appointments if I don't get it right, and go too early, we could end up paying out of pocket for it instead of our insurance covering it.  I'm not sure how beneficial this chart will be but I figured I'd give it a go. 
4.  Height/Weight/Milestone Chart.
  • Our Portion.  I'm not sure this is where it's going to stay, or if I formatted it in the best way..but for now this is where it's going.  I figured since you normally get most of the measurements during appointments it kind of went hand-in-hand.  I normally don't do baby books.  I just add it all into one big yearly photo album and type in the information as needed.  The only problem is I haven't had a specific place to write down all that information and so some of it has gotten lost along the way.  I'm still searching out options of what to do with certain papers I might want to keep that the boys make, so it might eventually go there...where ever that may be.  I'll work that out later.

Other forms you might want to consider....
  • Prescription and Supplement Chart by Life Your Way.  A chart to keep track of any medications you might be taking/giving, when to start/stop, and the amount given.
  • Physician Records by Life Your Way.  Trying out a new doctor?  Or have three or four of them?  Keep track of each office's information and the date of your initial visit.
  • Symptom/Medicine Tracker by Life Your Way.  Ever get to the doctor and they ask you what your syptoms have been, when the last time you took meds, etc.?  Or more comonly...for your child?  This will help you remember!  Especially when you might be tracking a high fever or symptoms that seem to go on for days!

Hope this gets you pointed in the right direction.  If there's anything you think I am forgetting just let me know!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

That Was Easy {Breakfast Granola}

Once again, another recipe I put off for no reason really.  I'm SO glad I finally did it!  It's super cheap, fast, and oh so yummy!  I used a recipe that my friend posted on her blog.  Here's what you need:

 
1 cup Quick Oats
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup shredded coconut
3 TBls Vegetable Oil
2 TBls Honey

 
Preheat to 350.  Mix the Oats, almonds, and coconut in a bowl.  Mix the Oil and Honey in a separate bowl and pour over the oat mixture.  Stir it around to coat all the oats.  {I have been mixing my oil and honey in a small measuring cup.  I have also been using local honey which seems to be thicker so I'll pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to make it easier to blend with the oil.}

Pour onto a baking sheet with sides.  A jelly roll pan works well.  I have also been lining mine with Parchment Paper just in case.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Stir it around, then bake for another 8-10 minutes until browned.  Let it cool and store it in an air-tight container.



 
I doubled this recipe the first time I made it..with a little less almonds since that's all I had.  It was amazing!  The boys and I have been eating this for breakfast with Stonyfield's French Vanilla Organic Yogurt (the only yogurt you can buy in the "bulk" size at the Commissary, but I'm not complaining!)!  Ryan even requested it for breakfast the other morning, finishing off the little we had left!

We already made a second batch, and we tripled the recipe!  Honestly, the hardest part is not to eat all of it off the tray when it comes out of the oven!  SOOOOOO GOOOOOOD!!  (Thanks again Krystle for another great, simple recipe to use!!)  Just typing this up is making me hungry and I think I might go eat some right now!

Monday, June 18, 2012

A Project of Epic Proportions {The Supplies}

I'm not going to lie. This project is expensive! And I'd much rather put the money towards fabric, or something prettier (which I do have plans to beautify these later!), but I know that this is what is needed. I believe it will be an investment worth making!  Besides, I have been giving the craft room, soon to be homeschool room, some overhauling and I made around $70 in selling some excess in the last two days! 

I will be ordering most of my supplies from Amazon.com up front for three reasons...#1 There isn't a large selection to choose from at our PX  #2  Paper in Europe is a different size. (Learned this the hard way and am currently having to chop all my printed pages!)  Meaning that pretty much any accessories I find on the economy will also be sized differently. and #3 Purely for my sanity.  Even if each section is completely organized I can hopefully "throw" the binders together and go back and work on each section as needed.  If you don't have the money up front though I would still continue with the challenge this week and then figure out what you can afford and buy what you think is needed most at this point.

Your challenge this week is to look at your Brainstorming list, organize it, and shop for supplies!  Similar to what you would do back in high school/college when writing an essay or an 11-Step Paragraph.  Decide how many main categories and sub categories you want.  How many binders do you want?  What do you need to make that section most functional?  You can look at my list from last week to see how I broke it down.  I'm certain I will be rearranging a few things once I get it in front of me, but your list should help to get you a good start on what supplies you will want to get.

Your number #1 item will definitely be a binder! 
These can get expensive all by themselves. I've seen 3" Binders from $12 all the way up to $22!!! I would check your local Good Will/Thrift Stores for some that you can find at a cheaper price. I didn't have such luck at our Thrift Store, but I did find these online for $6.99 a piece!  For two of my binders I'm also going with a 2" binder.  This could easily be something you only buy one of for now and save the money for the others.


Item #2: Sheet Protectors!!



Sheet protectors can also get expensive.  Tim and I seem to run through these like crazy.  The ones I saw at our PX were around $4.00 for 10!  There are tons of options on these, but I have found the main difference is the "weight".  The first ones shown are the Heavy Weight and are $12.97 for 100. The second ones I have pictured above are Economy Weight and are $9.97 for 100. Not too much difference in price, but the Heavyweight ones are stronger, not as flimsy, and should last longer.  I have some of the Economy weight ones I will probably use those in my Recipe Binder.  I will be putting a lot of my long-term information pages in these, but there will be a lot of papers that I will also just whole punch and throw in there.


Item #3:  A Printer! 

If you don't have an printer at home you can easily save any documents to a USB or disc and take them to your local Library or Office Supply Store.  Our printer has been quite temperamental lately and only decides to print some of the time.  (Not a good time for it to decide to do this!)  So I might be making a trip to our Library on occasion to get some of these pages printed.

Item #4: Dividers!
This is where it can get a bit confusing and having your outline will really help you to decide what you need!  I decided to go with Colored Dividers for my main categories, and White Tab Dividers for my Sub Categories.  I also decided on the 5 Tab sets for my main categories, and 8 Tab sets for my sub-categories.  The goal is to have to visuals in deciphering/aiding in separating each section...color and size of tabs.  (You're probably thinking I'm a bit crazy right now with the amount of thought that I've put into this.)  I also choose tabs that are Write-On!  I really don't like the plastic tabs where you slide in the little piece of card stock; they never seem to stay put!  The Write-On tabs aren't permanent either.  So if you decide you need to rearrange your binder you can just relabel your tabs!

These are the 5 Tab Colored Dividers for my Main Categories. I need 4 of them at $5.44 each!


Here are the 8 Tab White Dividers for my Sub Categories. I'm a little concerned about the long-term durability on these, but since I need 5 sets...the price of $3.03 a set beat the other ones I found for around $9 a set!
If you are adding a calender section to one of your binders you might want to get a set of these for $5.13.

Item #5:  Accessories!

These next two I'm super excited about!  Since I'm putting in a section for our budget and we use the cash system I'm getting these.  There are 20 pages for $5.33!!  I doubt I will need that many pages but I think these will be vital!  From the reviews I read a lot of couponers use these for their large, printed coupons.  You could add some to your coupon section, try to sell your excess to an avid couponer, or just split them with a friend!



I think this next item will also make a huge difference!  They are pocket tabs that you can add to one of your category dividers.  I plan on using one for my coupon section so when I get back from grocery shopping and I have a few extra coupons I can slip them in here until I have more time to sit down and file them away.  The best thing is that the pocket closes so nothing falls out!!  Right now I just have a regular brad folder with the side pockets.  I will slide any extra coupons in a side pocket and they will always fall out!

I will probably also use these to hold our passports/shot records.  I am also adding a Birthday/Special Events section to one of my binders, I think under the Calender section.  My mom used to have book specifically for holding cards for each month's events.  These will be great for holding cards and hopefully I can get back to sending them out on time!!   These are definitely on the pricey side at $8.15 for a pack of 5.  (I need 3 sets!  Ouch!)
 
If you don't already have a coupon book, but want to add a section you can use the ones listed above or buy some of these.  They are made to hold baseball cards, but work great for coupons!  You can normally find them in Walmart up in the front by the baseball cards!
Hopefully some of these items will help you decide what you need in your binder!  You might want to make a trip to Staples/Office Depot/Wal-mart just to see what's offered before you settle on buying anything.  (I say this bu I, myself, avoid errands as much as possible!) My shopping trip was through Amazon on two different nights.  I probably spent a total of about an hour and a-half, maybe two hours, on trying to find the right products for this project.  Hopefully the above links will save you some time!

Let me finish by saying that you can make this as simple, or as detailed, as you want.  I am obviously going with the more detailed version!  If you want to keep it simple, all you need is a binder, sheet protectors, and a printer.  If you wanted, you could make your own dividers with any extra cardstock you might have laying around your house.  Then you could just buy the pack of tabs that you can attach to a sheet protector.  There are tons of ways you can go about this, I've just shown you what I have found and will be using.
Happy shopping and let me know if you find something worth looking into!!

{All pictures courtesy of Amazon.com}


***Since getting my supplies....I think I overestimated the size of the 3" Binders!  Although I could probably fit everything I need in one---it is not something that I want to have open on my table everyday.  God put two 1 1/2 inch binders at $0.50 a piece at the Thrift Store this week just for me!!!  The size is much better!

One thing I'm quite disappointed with are the dividers..all of them for the most part.  I definitely love the sturdiness of the plastic ones and I love that all of tabs can be re-writable...but I can't see any of them!!!  After I put my pages in sheet protectors and then in the binders, the tabs are hidden by the sheet protectors and I can't see where anything is!!  Two solutions....my friend found some Xtra Wide Tabs Sheets that will stick out further than the protectors.  Look for these!!  Option #2 You can get the tabs that stick right to your sheet protector.  I don't think either of these are the re-writable ones, but will probably be looking for something different for the long haul.

Monday, June 11, 2012

A Project of Epic Proportions {The Challenge}


The Home Management Binder!

Do you have one?  Ever heard of one?  I'm going to introduce you to them, and I am very confident that you will want one!  :)

It's been called different things, but most commonly referred to as the Home Management Binder.  Every person's binder will vary some as far as what it contains, but the core idea will remain the same.  The binder is designed to keep you organized and to keep the major parts of your life in one place to help everything run just a little bit smoother.

I am really excited about this project as I have wanted one of these for the last few years!  I am finding that I can't put it off any longer!  Now is the time!  It has quickly moved from somewhere toward the bottom of the project list to the top!  And I do believe that this is an EPIC project!

Still confused a bit on what it is?  Check here and here, then come back for the challenge!

I've done my research and I'm ready to start!  Taking the advice of one blogger, I'm going to work on this one section at a time per week until I get it done.  I'm REALLY hoping that some of you will do this with me!  I promise most of the leg work is already done for you!  I'll get you to where you need to go! 

Let me share with you a bit about my need for this book and hopefully it will help you understand it's purpose a little better.

I have an address book.  I have a Warner Barracks phone book.  I have a phone roster of numbers of friends/family back in the states.  I have a Calender.  I have a small address book just for online logins/passwords.  I have lots of various documents.  IE Grocery lists, information on traveling in Germany/Europe, information on the Klinikum (the German hospital), Cooking Tips, VAT forms (tax free forms we can use on the German economy, Praying for Your Husband chart, Budget, Orders, Marriage Resources, Thrift Store Consignment Account, papers/craft the kids make and I want to keep, etc, etc, etc.  I also have a Coupon Folder, a messy cookbook, a cash folder, multiple lists of projects/goals and the list goes on and on.  And guess what?!  None of them are in the same place!

I am ready for easy access to the information I need when I need it! 

  
We do have a filing cabinet that we use for a good amount of information, but I really think I'm going to like the binder instead!  Plus, if there is any type of emergency (for whatever reason)  all I have to do is grab the binder and go!

So have I won you over to this idea?!  Do you want one?!  If you want to make a binder your goal for this week is simply to brainstorm! (and maybe to set some money aside for materials.)

  
Think about all the information, loose papers, you have around your house.  I had a whole laundry basket full of stuff that needed to be sorted through.  By laying all of it out it helped me to see what I needed in my binder.  4 Binder's to be exact! (Don't freak out...we'll take it slow!)  Here's what I came up with....


  
Binder #1:
 (I might possibly break this into two folders.  One more for daily use/personal items, one for more "business" files.)
*Containing but not limited to*
  1. Contacts.  *Emergency Info, Phone Book, and Address book
  2. Calender.  *Birthdays and Special Events list, Monthly Overview, Weekly Goals
  3. Medical.  *PCM info, shot records, glasses/contact prescriptions
  4. Important Documents.  *Orders, POA, Birth Certificates, Passports, Titles
  5. Finances. *Budget, Cash Folders, Bills, Acct Info
  6. Projects.  *Short term/long term list, plans, shopping list
  7. Blog.   *A place to jot down ideas.
  8. Resources.  *On Motherhood, Marriage

Binder #2:

Food!  (This will probably be the binder that takes the longest!)
  1. Grocery List
  2. Weekly Menu
  3. Tips/Good to know
  4. Recipes.  To include a section for home cleaning recipes.  IE Laundry soap.
  5. Coupons

Binder #3:

Living in Germany!  (Once we move back to the states I will probably condense this section and add it to the first binder, but I figured it has enough to stand on it's own at this point.)
  1. Post resources
  2. Local Bamberg
  3. Travel
  4. General

Binder #4:
Owner's Manuals (any and all owner's manuals, receipts, pics of serial #'s, etc!)
  1. Furniture
  2. Kitchen/Household Appliances
  3. Electronics
  4. Outdoor
  5. Other

I'm still brainstorming on what to do with all of the boy's art projects/papers.  I've seen a few really cute ideas that I'm considering.  I currently file them in 3 ring binders, as well, but I can tell already that it's not going to last that way.  I'm pretty confident that I will also need a section or a binder of it's own for homeschooling.  I'm waiting till the homeschooling packet I ordered gets here before I make anything for it. 

In the meantime, my goal is to organize the rest.  Again, I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to have some company on this project!  Please let me know if you are going to do this!  Most of the print offs I will direct you to online, but there are a few things that I will make/have made myself and I can email them to you!

I can't tell you how excited I am about this project!  I really believe it's going to be life-altering!!!


Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Easter...For Next Year

Does anyone else feel like they are always behind?  Easter was a week ago, I know.  The last few years I always feel like the holidays sneak up on me and we seem to be a week out and I'm scrambling to find good ideas of solid, Christ-centered activities for our family to make a tradition and ways to prepare our hearts.  Looking back at this Christmas and this Easter I'm ashamed at how little we (and more I) prepared spiritually for these great holidays that remind of us of our Great Savior.

I am allowing myself some grace though.  I realize that, although we've been married 7 years, Tim and I are still searching out the things that God is calling our family to do during these holidays.  I'm not sure there are a whole lot of people that have it all figured out before they have kids.  I think it is just part of the "learning as you go" thing.  As God is growing our family, He is growing our hearts and stretching us to be more thoughtful in how we prepare.  I feel like we are still "babies" in this area.  I realize that what we choose to do this year and maybe next, might be different than what will work for us 5 years from now. 


For the last few holidays Tim and I have also had A LOT of discussions on what we want to be communicating to our boys by how we choose to celebrate.  We want Christ to be the utmost and forefront of both Christmas and Easter.  The easy part for us was saying, we won't do Santa or the Easter Bunny.  The truth shall be known.  Just like Spiderman or Superman, they are fun characters; but they are not real. Christ is real.  He is enough to get excited over.  The hard part is all the other excess.  We cherish tradition and family time so we don't want to void the holidays of the other things that we enjoy.  We will continually seek the Lord for the balance he wants our family to have in these areas.

In the mean time, I have been putting a lot of thought into other activities that will help us remember what Christ did for us and to help us to remember to slow down and prepare our hearts to allow room for Him to speak.  We definitely didn't get around to all of these this year, but I figure this gives me a good jump start on next year.


The boys and I did read through most of  The Story of Easter:Read and Share by Gwen Ellis.  It has 13 (I believe) stories in it from Jesus riding into Jerusalem, the Lord's Supper, the crucifixion, resurrection, and His ascension.  The stories are paraphrased but have their Biblical references.  It's pretty short and sweet, great for a 2-3 year old.  Sometimes we read the actual Bible passage as well.

We also read An Easter Gift for Me by Crystal Bowman.  It was given to us as a gift last year.  It is a simple but great book, in a poem format, speaking the truth about Easter.

We attempted Resurrection Cookies with the boys this year as well.  There are tons of tutorials out there for these as well, but I'm sending you to Mama Jenn's as she is awesome and has a free printable for the project!  The activity in itself was great...the cookies themselves...not so much.  We can try again next year.


Another great alternative to try are Resurrection Rolls.  You can find the tutorial here.  They look real easy and super yummy!


For next year, I also ordered Benjamin's Box: The Story of the Resurrection Eggs by Melody Carlson.  This book is meant to be used in correspondence with the Resurrection Eggs (by Family Life).  If you haven't heard of Resurrection Eggs they are a great tool to use in going over the story of Jesus' death and resurrection.  You can order the eggs here or make your own version using this tutorial.

Another thing that I would like to try in the future is a Passover Dinner.  I know I participated in one as a teen, but I saw a friend link to this on FB the other day and it looks like a great kid-friendly version.  Depending on the ages of you kids, I'm sure you could shorten it as needed too.


There are TONS of other great hands on activities to do with your kids during the season of Lent.  You can check out Passionate Homemaking's List here.  Also, if you go here and scroll to the bottom of the entry you will find multiple links to other blogs with more than enough.


One of the things that I definitely want to be more intentional about next year is Lent.  Lent was foreign to me until I was a teen and was encouraged by a youth leader one year to give up something for Lent in preparation for Easter.  It's been a while since I've used that time wisely.  Some of the books/resources that look inspiring are Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and EasterFrom Trail to the Tree: A Family Devotional for Lent by Ann Voskamp, and The Season of Lent from The Village Church (just scroll to the bottom to download the Lent guide).


How do you and your family prepare for Easter?!   I'd love to hear!!!
 

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

The Mother List

Today I'm sending you over to my friend's blog, The Philpot Family.  I met Jenn during my first year at Liberty University.  Our rooms were right across the hall from one another.  Jenn has one of the biggest, most compassionate hearts.  Right away she struck me as a wise follower of Christ.  One whose goal was truly to seek first after Him.  It was easy to see she had a heart for service.  She also had a beautiful singing voice and I loved watching her in the school plays!  She is a woman of many talents!  We even went to Argentina together on a missions trip during Thanksgiving break that year.  I was so excited when I joined Facebook a few years back and found Jenn again!  I was even more excited when I found out that she and her husband were headed to Ethiopia to pick up their son & daughter!  You'll have to skim through her blog to read their story.  Jenn always has great articles/posts on adoption that make my heart churn and I come away amazed, encouraged, and challenged. 

I specifically wanted to share with you the list she came up with though.  This truly is the "Mother List" as far as resources go (in my opinion)!  I have some of these.  Heard of most.  But I feel like she did all the leg work for me!  I plan on using this list and just adding a few of my favorites to it!