“Let me ask you something…”

Self: "Is it working for you?" (I think I heard Dr. Phil ask this of one of his guests and this is what I begin to think as I look at all this laundry that I have to do.) Self: "Well no it's not." Self:"Don't you think you might want to try something new then?"}in my best Dr. Phil impersonation. Self: "Yes, yes I do." And my brain starts to rattle around a couple of ways to help defeat the laundry clutter once and for all. Self: "I need something that will work for the long run and not have me doing all the work. After all my children are 8, 5, and almost 3, they can help out, they N-E-E-D to help out. They can fold their laundry and put it up!!! And I'm the mom, not the maid and I want to do more with my day than just laundry and dishes. I want to enjoy actual T-I-M-E with my kids while teaching them practical life lessons as well as math lessons."

Okay, sometimes we need to be our own cheerleader cause let me tell you it is so easy to get stuck in the routine of laundry, dishes, lessons, naps, dinner, dishes, house clean up, bed times…… it can become more than boring it can become overwhelming, depressing and feel rather pathetic. And when I get to this point I just yell:
"Stoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooop, focus! Where is your focus?" I can usually get more of a perspective when I ask myself how I can involve the children in what needs to be done. And that is how I came up with my latest attempt in conquering The Laundry Monster. Today, with computer and T.V. off, each time a load is done we will all gather in the living room with our own personal laundry basket by side to claim our clean clothes. I'm thinking this will also be a good time to review AWANA verses, math memory work, or have some fun discussions. And here I am starting to get all excited about laundry again!!!!!!

 

Speaking of focus today is December 1^st and if you haven't already started Advent, the countdown to CHRISTmas has begun!!! If you have never done an Advent or Jesse Tree countdown for Christmas I would suggest that you prayerfully consider taking time to do it this year. A couple of weeks ago, after neglecting my quiet time God posed this question to me: "L2L, if you are too busy to keep me in your daily life, you are too busy doing things that just don't matter!!!" So to help you get started here is today's reading from this Jesse Tree devotion and here is my post on other things you can do. And to show you how simple it really can be, here is all you need to read today:

Genesis 1

Heaven and Earth

^1-2First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don't see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God's Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.

 ^3-5 God spoke: "Light!"
      And light appeared.
   God saw that light was good
      and separated light from dark.
   God named the light Day,
      he named the dark Night.
   It was evening, it was morning—
   Day One.

 ^6-8 God spoke: "Sky! In the middle of the waters;
      separate water from water!"
   God made sky.
   He separated the water under sky
      from the water above sky.
   And there it was:
      he named sky the Heavens;
   It was evening, it was morning—
   Day Two.

 ^9-10 God spoke: "Separate!
      Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one place;
   Land, appear!"
      And there it was.
   God named the land Earth.
      He named the pooled water Ocean.
   God saw that it was good.

 ^11-13 God spoke: "Earth, green up! Grow all varieties
      of seed-bearing plants,
   Every sort of fruit-bearing tree."
      And there it was.
   Earth produced green seed-bearing plants,
      all varieties,
   And fruit-bearing trees of all sorts.
      God saw that it was good.
   It was evening, it was morning—
   Day Three.

 ^14-15 God spoke: "Lights! Come out!
      Shine in Heaven's sky!
   Separate Day from Night.
      Mark seasons and days and years,
   Lights in Heaven's sky to give light to Earth."
      And there it was.

 ^16-19 God made two big lights, the larger
      to take charge of Day,
   The smaller to be in charge of Night;
      and he made the stars.
   God placed them in the heavenly sky
      to light up Earth
   And oversee Day and Night,
      to separate light and dark.
   God saw that it was good.
   It was evening, it was morning—
   Day Four.

 ^20-23 God spoke: "Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life!
      Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!"
   God created the huge whales,
      all the swarm of life in the waters,
   And every kind and species of flying birds.
      God saw that it was good.
   God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean!
      Birds, reproduce on Earth!"
   It was evening, it was morning—
   Day Five.

 ^24-25 God spoke: "Earth, generate life! Every sort and kind:
      cattle and reptiles and wild animals—all kinds."
   And there it was:
      wild animals of every kind,
   Cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile and bug.
      God saw that it was good.

 ^26-28 God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them
      reflecting our nature
   So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
      the birds in the air, the cattle,
   And, yes, Earth itself,
      and every animal that moves on the face of Earth."
   God created human beings;
      he created them godlike,
   Reflecting God's nature.
      He created them male and female.
   God blessed them:
      "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
   Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
      for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth."

 ^29-30 Then God said, "I've given you
      every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth
   And every kind of fruit-bearing tree,
      given them to you for food.
   To all animals and all birds,
      everything that moves and breathes,
   I give whatever grows out of the ground for food."
      And there it was.

 ³¹ God looked over everything he had made;
      it was so good, so very good!
   It was evening, it was morning—
   Day Six.

Genesis 2

 ¹ Heaven and Earth were finished, down to the last detail.

 ^2-4 By the seventh day
      God had finished his work.
   On the seventh day
      he rested from all his work.
   God blessed the seventh day.
      He made it a Holy Day
   Because on that day he rested from his work,
      all the creating God had done.

   This is the story of how it all started,
      of Heaven and Earth when they were created.

From the Message Bible

Or present to your family in another format the Days of Creations. Here are some other resources on the web you might want to check out.

DLTK

K4T: Creation video

I pray that this greatly blesses you and gives you just what you need to help you focus on the reason for the season: Jesus!!!

Advent: Day 1 Week 1

Advent: important arrival, the coming of Christ into the world.

Today begins the traditional time of Advent, a period where Christians reflect on the importance of Christ's birth. Each year I take the time to do something each night with my children. One year I found color sheets ,we have lit candles on our Nativity Advent Wreath and read devotions, last year we had a book we read from, and this year we will do devotions for a Jesse tree.

If you would like to do a Jesse tree with us below are some websites that should get you up and running rather quickly. So far what I have found is that there isn't a free template for a Jesse tree and either you make your own, use a christmas tree template, or buy a mini christmas tree. For this year I think we will skip the Jesse tree and just put up the pictures in order and read the scripture that accompany them and do at least one craft each week. Today we will read from Isaiah 11:1-2 and talk about why we take time during Advent to focus on the birth of our Savior.

Jesse Tree devotions and picture ideas

Free pictures and devotions starting from Nov 28.

Sunday readings and ideas from Focus on the Family

Bringing Dinner to the Table Week 2

So last week was very successful, I think.

I had to rearrange some meals, as we were sick on Thanksgiving Day, but all in all my family was delighted in my efforts to put a little more time into our dinners. And to be honest, it felt really good to put more thought and effort into our meals as well!!! So while I'm on a roll, here are another 5 meals for Nov 30 ~ Dec 4:

Day 1: Leftover Turkey Casserole, Carrot Soufflé }I didn't fix on Thanksgiving Day Oatmeal Cookies

Day 2: Turkey `a la king over Cheddar Biscuits, Salad, Pink Strawberry Cloud

Day 3: Turkey Picante pie } veggies inside, Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Day 4: Honey Pork Chops, Yellow Squash Pie, Chocolate Pudding

Day 5: Shrimp, Tomato-Corn Bake, Alfredo Pasta, Citrus Mini Cakes

Drum roll please…………. And the winner of my Note Worthy Give away is:

Email me with your mailing address and I will pop an OAPN notepad in the mail for ya!!!

And my question for this week is: What are you doing this December to prepare for Christmas? Leave a comment and I will put your name into my drawing for 20 Note Worthy Thank You cards; just in time for Christmas!!!

Who knew… God did!!!

Here on the tropical island of Okinawa, Japan it is the day after Thanksgiving and we just made it through one of the sickest days in our family. No turkey was cooked, the kids drank up the fact that we let them be on the T.V and computer all day. Big Daddy stayed in bed and I parked myself on the futon in the living room. JJ was a bit sick also so he didn't ask for much. Thankfully because we don't allow this much electronic entertainment it was a feast , of sorts, for our little ones and I was able to recoup a bit. But pushing past that all, what I find amazing was that not a single invitation to come have Thanksgiving dinner with us had been accepted and now I know why. God knew we wouldn't be able to have anyone over and I see now He turned their hearts against coming to eat with us. Whew right. God answers prayer for me often that I have not even asked and this is one of the most recent answers!!!!! So now I will let God lift me out of my self-pity hole and continue to march on…. After all there is a fest that I still need to cook and a hubby that hopefully can brave the shopping crowds to get some items he needs. (See there is another answered prayer: I H-A-V-E to stay home and cook the turkey today which will not allow me to face all those crowded shopping plazas. Oh darn!!!)

Is this what it’s all about?

"Yes it is!" I thought as I held my little girl in my lap, kissing the top of her head and cuddling her after she had crawled into my lap. (Mind you I had just spent the early morning making breakfast and prepping our dinner for the crock pot and only briefly checked my email to see if I had any important emails; I didn't. I still hadn't done my quiet time, no workout, no makeup and heck I still am in my pjs with 3 loads of laundry to do and morning dishes to clean.) We were waiting for Big Daddy to finish his breakfast and head off to work. As I looked over our balcony and watch my daughter and oldest son yelling bye to their dad I think, "This IS what is most important in my life." So why is society trying to tell me what I do has little importance. I even have people looking at me with turned up noses saying "Oh, you are just a stay at home mom." Our society puts such little importance on some of the most important jobs so I shouldn't stand in astonishment at comments such as these. Look at how little our teachers, military, law enforcement and even nurses get paid. I once heard a wise quote: "want to know where your values are… look at where your money goes." As a nation we spend so much on entertainment: sports games, concerts, movies, DVDs, video games, computers and yet I hear a lot of complaining when its back to school and parents have to buy materials for their children's education?!?! (Keep in mind our children hear this.) And what upsets me most are those children who hear their moms say:"I can't W-A-I-T till my child goes back to school." Because I home school I often get the line "I would never be able to have my child at home with me." Ouch. We would not even accept that comment from our spouse yet we are allowed to say these very hurtful words about our own children and in front of them!! It just shouldn't be that way. We need to reprogram our society that it is vital to our nation and our families that moms stay home and raise secure, loved and children that feel wanted. I bet school crime and crime as a whole would decrease. Sexually activity within our young children would decrease resulting in lower teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. I see that more than the latest, greatest new toy our children NEED our time, our attention, our devotion. The same time, attention and devotion we place greater importance on when given to others.

As I watch my 8 year old, the reality of this time being really short becomes very sobering. And unlike a career we only get once shot with our kids. As I have enjoyed my 5 year old change his temperament dramatically this year, I am certain it is because of my loving understanding, continued prayer and deep knowledge of the child he is that allowed him to break down the walls he has had up since a baby. And I am thankful that my 2, almost 3 year old, is able to grow up in an environment that is safe, secure and allows her to be her zany self and not conformed to the ideas of what a 2 or 3 year old should be doing. All this is possible because our actions are speaking louder than our words. Our children know they are one of the most important aspects of our lives. And I'm thankful that I don't have a career, too many commitments, or overloaded schedule that tells them otherwise.

Bringing Dinner to the Table

Most of this year I strived to get dinner to the table the fastest way possible with as little work on my part. It has "worked" but I'm a bit tired of short changing my family to have more time for other things. Most of those "other things" do include service at my church, homeschooling, bible study, and the occasional moments spent on Face book, cough, cough. But when all is said and done I am left wondering do I really want to short change the most important meal in our family's lives? And my answer is "NO!" So starting this week I am going to work on providing at least 5 well thought out meals with a main dish, vegetable or fruit, and desert. Seeing that this is the week of Thanksgiving I could really use your help in the department of turkey leftovers. I would love for you to leave me your favorite recipe to use up turkey leftovers. I will pick 3 to serve to my family and whichever dinner they like the best I will send a special thank you gift all the way from Okinawa, Japan.

But the main reason for blogging is to get people to read your blog, right!!
And in that spirit, I have a chance for those who blog about my "Bring Dinner to the Table" and link back to my blog to win a personalized notepad. Just leave a message in my comments letting me know you linked up and I will enter you in my give-a-away from my new home business Note Worthy!!! Come on, we could all use some extra writing stationary around this time of year and I could use all the blog love I can get!!!!

 

Since it is Saturday here and I don't plan on doing grocery shopping on Sunday I've got to get it in gear for next week and here is what I have come up with for Nov 23-Nov 28:

Day 1: Beef Ragout with buttermilk corn bread and caramel cookies. {veggies are in the main dish}

Day 2: Chinese pepper steak, orange glazed carrots, white rice and ice cream.

Day 3: Turkey, potatoes au gratin {boxed}, carrot soufflé, green bean casserole and bread rolls. {desert TBD}

Day 4: Turkey Tetrazzini, parmesan zucchini and sugar cookies.

Day 5: Steak stroganoff, skillet corn, Italian rice, and apple crumble.

Thankfully we have most of next week off from our normal routine and since my husband will be coming home from the Philippians I want to treat his tummy to food American style!!! Check back in next week to see some yummy food pictures, the winner of the Note Worthy give-away and my three turkey leftover choices to serve my family for the week of Nov 30-Dec 4.

A Winner in My Book

Tonight LJ and Big Daddy went to T&T's Drive-In with his Cardboard Pick-up truck.



And although LJ didn't place 1st, 2nd, or 3rd for his efforts I am very proud because 1) it didn't seem to bother him that he didn't win and 2) he shared his truck with a kid that showed up without a cardboard vehicle. It is always such a blessing to see the fruit of your labor and know that Christ is filling your child's heart with the desire to serve others and think of others their needs above their own.