Self-control is so sorely lacking in our society! Troubles caused by lack of self-discipline range from littering to illegitimate babies to college shootings. We must start very young in teaching our little children to master themselves. They can never call God “Master” until they can call themselves the “King of Me”. [Read more…]
The King of Me
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Training A Child in the Way He Should Go
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I feel close to Hannah from the Bible. Hannah wanted a baby—a feeling that I fully comprehend. I don’t understand, however, how Hannah was willing to give him up (back) to the Lord when he was weaned. I can imagine that lengthy and emotional nursing relationship!
Gratitude Journal
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Grumpy attitudes?
Kids complaining?
You getting weary?
Here’s a quick fix! I read my Gratitude Journal whenever I need a lift!
A Gratitude Journal can just be a document on your desktop of your computer, that you write on every Sunday, for example. Or a list on your fridge or bulletin board that you try to jot on daily. As a title I have written at the top, “What am I grateful for today?”
Facing the First Day
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Brothers Ammon and Nathan arm wrestling!
It’s fall time—back-to-school season—and many mothers are facing the first day of homeschool for the very first time. Talking to a few of these mothers made me yearn to write to any mother who is in that wonderful and overwhelming position! If you are bringing children home from public school to homeschool, you may be wondering how you’ll ever manage. Maybe this quick how-to will help you evaluate where you are and what you need to be thinking about. [Read more…]
Don’t "Un-train" Your Kids!
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This past week, we visited Sea World in San Diego and enjoyed ourselves! I couldn’t help noticing the children in the crowd—and the training their parents were unknowingly giving them—in contrast to the sea animals and the purposeful training they were carefully receiving.
When the walrus even turned his head in the right direction, the trainer responded with a big handful of fish, stroking his skin, and praising him. It was obvious that if the trainer ignored good behavior, or approached wrong behavior with a slap or criticism, the walrus would quickly “un-train”. It took constant positive reinforcement to keep the animals willing to do the trainer’s bidding.
Saturday Lists
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My husband, Rick
All week long, little mishaps such as a broken pan handle or a burned-out light bulb can cause some frustration that dampens our joy a bit. They are little things, but they can be very annoying and inconvenient. I know I’m not the only mom who has lived with a broken drawer handle for months (or years) just because there is never time to fix it. And when it is finally fixed in 5 minutes, I find myself moaning, “Is that all it took?”, as I had fumbled with it constantly while doing my homemaking.
Picking Away at Happiness
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Such is the nature of kids: if there is a little hole in something, they pick away at it and the hole grows bigger by the day.
I had a tiny hole in the fabric on my living room sofa. It was on the arm of the couch where someone had snagged their jewelry perhaps, and made an eensy tear in the fabric. It was when my house was busy with my 7 kids, and although I reminded them not to put their finger in it until I could repair it, it got bigger day by day. Soon a little wisp of stuffing was coming out and day-by-day that hole increased unbeknownst to me until I suddenly noticed that the couch arm looked deflated. The little ones had found it just right for their finger to poke in and pull out a bit of stuffing. Day-by-day, it had eroded.
The Girl I Used to Be
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The Girl I Used to Be
She came tonight as I sat alone,
The girl I used to be.
And she gazed at me with her earnest eye
And questioned reproachfully,
