Through the books I've read God has taught me a lot about life!
Great Inspiration!
1. Say Please.
2. Say Thank you.
3. Do not interrupt grown-ups who are speaking with each other unless there is an emergency.
4. Say excuse me.
5. Ask permission first.
6. Keep negative opinions to yourself.
7. Do not comment on other people’s physical characteristics unless, of course, you compliment them.
8. When people ask how you are, tell them and then ask them how they are.
9. Thank people for allowing you to spend time at their house.
10. Knock on closed doors, and wait to see if there is a response, before entering.
11. When you make a phone call, introduce yourself first then ask if you can speak with the person you are calling.
12. Be appreciative and say “thank you” for any gift you receive.
13. Never use foul language.
14. Don’t call people mean names.
15. Do not make fun of anyone for any reason.
16. Even if a play or an assembly is boring, sit through it quietly and pretend that you are interested. The performers and presenters are doing their best.
17. If you bump into somebody, immediately say “Excuse me.”
18. Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, and don’t pick your nose in public.
19. As you walk through a door, look to see if you can hold it open for someone else.
20. If you come across a parent, a teacher, or a neighbor working on something, ask if you can help. If they say “yes,” do so — you may learn something new.
21. When an adult asks you for a favor, do it without grumbling and with a smile.
22. When someone helps you, say “thank you.” That person will likely want to help you again. This is especially true with teachers!
23. Use eating utensils properly. If you are unsure how to do so, ask your parents to teach you or watch what adults do.
24. Keep a napkin on your lap; use it to wipe your mouth when necessary.
25. Don’t reach for things at the table; ask to have them passed.
This is a great article about how we just need to get started on our next project. We can always work to make it better. We need to just to take the first step!
I am in the middle of the third book in The Hunger Games series and I just love these books! They challenge your thinking and keep you on the edge of your seat! Check them out!
God’s Promises for Boys is a small cute inspirational book for young boys. The illustrations are done well and make the book appealing to young boys. There are many different topics throughout the book that provide quick bits of insight and encouragement, along with Bible verses as well. It is a great way to begin having daily devotionals with your young boy!
I. We confuse our priorities.
II. The priorities we all believe, but struggle to put into action:
1. God
2. Marriage
3. Children/Grandchildren
4. Other/including vocation
The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.
III. The problem: Over-committed and Under-Connected
- We must be intentional with our connections.
- Kids need emotional connection
- We get into crisis mode living and marriage
IV. Repair the past
- Be ruthlessly honest about your brokenness
- Focus on your stuff, not his/her stuff
- If the tooth is infected, pull it. Ask is it (schedule, rule, expectation) working? Get rid of the bad.
- Seek forgiveness and give forgiveness
V. The goal: The Ephesians 5:21 marriage. Mutually submit to one another
VII. Deuteronomy 6:4-9
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up
Ok, here is a video but I had to do it from a link to my Facebook page. Hope this works!
I just realized that I took the video wrong from my phone! The videos are sideways! Oh no! I’ll see what I can do!
Wow! What a weekend! The speakers were amazing. Such honesty and vulnerability! The music was incredible as well. Thanks to Book Sneeze I had the most fantastic seats in the house! I’m going to post some videos I took of some of the music (once I can figure out how to do it!) but for now here are some key points I came away with:
- Your circumstances do not determine who you are, your character does.
- Just when you think you have reached the end, God may have something beautiful in store for you.
- We all have a God shaped void that we try to fill with other things like our husband, kids, friends and stuff. We will always be disappointed in all of those things unless we fill our void with God.
- Sometimes being invisible to others is just where God wants us. In these moments I can serve my family and others better. This is a BIG area of struggle for me. God help me to be content in all circumstances and to serve my family even if no one notices!
- God wants me to lay EVERY burden down at the cross. I do not need to hold onto anything.
I’ll post more as it comes to me. Great weekend, and I hope to go again next year!
God is at work with the children in my church, as well as my own. This week is Vacation Bible School and the children are GROWING with God. This morning my kids emptied their giving jars to support the children of Ecuador. Their faces light up as they sing about God’s love. I LOVE seeing my kids so excited to learn about God and be in His presence. My prayer is that is desire for Him will continue throughout their life!
This book is designed to look like a vintage book sitting on your shelf. Fortunately, you get the vintage look without the loose and missing pages. This book is filled with 250 of the greatest stories of the Bible. The stories are listed in the order in which they appear in the Bible and each story quotes the verse the story is taken from. This is not a summarization of the Bible story, but the actually verses from the Bible. This is an excellent resource to turn to when looking for a specific Bible story, yet you don’t want to take the time turning through the pages of the Bible to find exactly where it is in that specific book. The translation is easy to read and my children enjoy reading about some of their favorite Bible stories. This is a book every house should have!
Tallest of the Smalls by Max Lucado is a decent book with a good message. The story is about a boy learns it is unnecessary to be accepted by the “cool” group because he has been and will always be accepted by God. I think it’s a great message, but the delivery is uninspired. The words of the book are predictable and frankly the rhymes are not that interesting. I would say of all of Max’s work, this is the most uninspired. In fact, the message of “Tallest of the Smalls,” is almost identical to another book of his, “You Are Special,” yet not as well-written.
If I were to recommend this book to someone, it would be to the parents of pre-teens who are just about to hit that awkward junior-high age where they try so hard to fit in. This being said, there are probably better choices than this.
All in all, I would say that this book is a half-hearted effort by a beloved Christian author. If you are looking to buy a book that will someday be a classic, look elsewhere.
I absolutely loved The Well-Behaved Child. In fact, I don’t think I have ever enjoyed a parenting book so much. The author, a well-respected lecturer and child psychologist, is bringing back “old-school” parenting. He argues that almost 40 years of psychobabble has created a generation of wet-noodle parents who allow the child to be the center of the household.
The author begins the book by explaining the logic behind his parenting advice. While parenting theory has never been something that I’ve found particularly fascinating, I did thoroughly enjoy this section and realized that I already agree with much of what the author had to say. In summary, children respond to and appreciate more a discipline program that is simple and precise (as opposed to a wishy-washy “tell me your feelings” approach). Another way of putting it: Children behave better and are happier when they have clear boundaries.
Next, the author gives strategies, concrete examples, and testimonials to illustrate his methods at work. It was amazing to see such little changes to my approach make such a difference. For example: Do you ever have to ask your child 4-5 times to do something? You shouldn’t. Why wait until you’ve asked them 5 times until they get a consequence for not putting on their shoes? If they don’t respond after the first request, give a consequence. After a few times of this, they learn something that will make you and your child’s life easier: respond to mom/dad the first time they ask.
Finally, the author goes over the seven most common struggles that parents have with children and gives instructions on how to get them on the right track. They are: Bedtime battles, food fights (finicky eating, etc.), stealing/lying, sibling warfare, defiance, tantrums, and refusing to use the potty.
To conclude, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book to anyone who believes that children aren’t “little adults” who can be reasoned/bargained with or “dogs” who need treats to perform. This is a book that brings parenting back.
