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Tag: practical (page 2 of 5)

Spiritual Life Skills for Kids: Gratitude (PRINTABLE THANK YOU NOTES!)

November 15, 2019 / / 0 Comments
Reading Time: 3 minutes

1. The running list.

At dinner each night of November, see if your family can collectively think of 10 more things you’re thankful for. Keep a running list.

2. Turkey day decor.

A vase filled with your list written on slips of paper, or written scrawled on kraft paper doubling as a Thanksgiving tablecloth—complete with Sharpies or crayons prompting guests to add their own.

I am thankful for... craft paper table cover

3. The classic: Thank you notes.

Set a small, doable goal for yourself to send out a certain number of thank-you notes to people who might be a little clueless as to just how much you appreciate them. You might also consider enclosing a small gift card (think Starbucks, Amazon, iTunes) to add an exclamation point to your gratitude.

thank you notePrint polka-dot thank you notes here.

airmail thank you notes read more

Safe Cooking with Kids: Printable Infographic!

February 13, 2019 / / 0 Comments
Reading Time: 3 minutes

cooking with kidsA couple of weeks ago, my son and I attempted homemade ravioli. I say attempted not because they didn’t taste good. (They tasted great!) I say this because in the midst of chaos–some foreseen, some not-so-much–we didn’t really seal the little ravioli pillows correctly. So ricotta leaked out into the water. Never fear: Every single one of the little guys was still eaten up, and since perfect ravioli wasn’t the goal, I’d consider it a smashing (smashed?) success.

I’ve been pulling kids up on the counter next to me (and sometimes sitting them in the bowl of the sink) for a little over a decade now. Initially, it was a strategy of containment. If I am cooking, I know where you and your fast little feet are, and what those little hands are dumping. But cooking has been a way that my kids and I create rich quality time together.

Near the end of the day, we are creating something nourishing together, learning a life skill, chatting about whatever, laughing, and sealing the memories with taste and sound and sight and  smell and touch. Somehow the mundane, to me, seems to take on a little magic. read more

INFOGRAPHIC: Ideas to Take Back Your Sabbath

September 25, 2018 / / 0 Comments
Reading Time: 4 minutes

Most of the things we need to be most fully alive never come in busyness. They grow in rest.

Mindset of the man too busy: I am too busy being God to become like God.

Mark Buchanan, The Holy Wild: Trusting in the Character of God read more

Makeup, Vulnerability, and 8 Simple Ideas for More Real Relationships

September 7, 2018 / / 0 Comments
Reading Time: 4 minutes

Author’s note: If you missed these previous posts, you might grab them first for other overarching ideas on choosing vulnerability even when it’s hard–and being a safe place for others when they don’t have their act together.

My husband and I were headed out on a date night (can you hear the angel choirs singing? I needed it. As in, bad). It was admittedly last minute, to the point that my curly-turned-cotton-candy hair had been lassoed by a headband and fun-bun. But my kids would have food and it looked positive no one would burn anything down, so the big stuff was covered. Thus I sat in the passenger seat with my makeup bag, aka magic wand. I was just about through patting on concealer when my husband looked over at me. read more

10 Fun Ideas for Kids this Summer!

June 1, 2018 / / 0 Comments
Reading Time: 4 minutes

kids summer ideasSo my kids are home for the summer after their first year in public school. Observations:

a. I’ve been looking forward to quality time with them. That said, if they fight like, one more time? I may be glancing at tickets for four children to, say, Abu Dhabi.

b. I am still working from home. So in contrast to what I wish summer looked like for moms, it’s more to the tune of “more bricks, less straw”. read more

Freebie Fridays: Practical Tips on Humility from a Dead Bishop [INFOGRAPHIC]

March 9, 2018 / / 0 Comments
Reading Time: < 1 minute

This week, I’ve been thinking a lot about humility, as you can see in this post on staying humble when you shine.

I’ve gleaned a ton of great practical thoughts on this from Jeremy Taylor, a guy born over 400 years ago. This guy (1613-1667) was a chaplain to Charles I and a prolific, vivid author with keen insight into human behavior.

I’ve paraphrased some of his practical tips for all of us. (Believe it or not, you can read him on your Kindle for .99--but I like the abbreviated version in this devotional I love.) Check out his wisdom–and print it out if you want!
PRINT IT HERE!  read more

52 Fun, Easy Ways to Flirt with Your Spouse

February 6, 2018 / / 0 Comments
Reading Time: 2 minutes

  1. Text something sweet, sexy, thankful, or playful: Thanks for all you do to get us all out the door in the morning. You still take my breath away.
  2. Check your spouse’s calendar, and then kidnap her from work for a quick lunch or an afternoon romantic matinee.
  3. Bring his favorite coffee shop treat home.
  4. Leave a steamy voicemail.
  5. Load the dishwasher for her. (Trust me. It works.)
  6. Invite him to take a shower with you.
  7. Get a little “handsy” in the kitchen.
  8. Lay your head on his chest or tuck beneath his arm while you watch your Netflix fave.
  9. Compliment her in front of a friend.
  10. Pick up her favorite snack at the grocery store.
  11. Grab her hand while riding in the car.
  12. Encourage him about something he did well at work.
  13. Wrestle.
  14. Borrow the kids’ Nerf weapons.
  15. Encourage your kids to thank her for something she’s done for them.
  16. Write him a love note.
  17. Make her a homemade card.
  18. Give him a massage.
  19. Write her a sappy (or funny) poem.
  20. Read her a love poem. (Ideas here.)
  21. Rub her feet.
  22. Make him a compilation CD of songs that express your heart and relationship.
  23. Give her a scalp massage.
  24. Take a bath together.
  25. Buy her flowers.
  26. Kiss at every stoplight.
  27. Ask to hold her hand.
  28. Play with your kids together.
  29. Light candles.
  30. Wear perfume and pretty underthings.
  31. Speak her love language (free “cheat sheet” here).
  32. Clean up your bedroom.
  33. Take care of that one thing that’s been weighing on him.
  34. Make up a goofy song about her on the fly.
  35. Overlook something he did that was stupid.
  36. Call her to tell her something about your day.
  37. Advocate for her.
  38. Plan a date in.
  39. Remember one of your favorite lovemaking memories, and whisper it in his ear.
  40. Go on a walk.
  41. Paint her toenails.
  42. Thank him for something unexpected.
  43. Listen to her. Ask good questions. (Ideas here.)
  44. Initiate fun sex.
  45. Tell her about a memory you love from when you were dating.
  46. Pick up a bag of her favorite candy.
  47. Play a little jazz while you cook together. Grab her hand and dance for a moment.
  48. Develop a code for talking when the kids are in the room about possible lovemaking.
  49. Come to bed naked.
  50. Go stargazing.
  51. Pick up a small gift that will delight and surprise.
  52. Pray together.

Young love is a flame; very pretty, often very hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering.

The love of the older and disciplined heart is as coals, deep-burning, unquenchable. read more

Spiritual Life Skills for Kids: 10 Ideas to Help you Build Submission and Respect

November 14, 2017 / / 0 Comments
Reading Time: 5 minutes

Like this series? Get more of these here.

I’ve been putting this post off.

It’s pretty much because creating a sense of respect in my kids still makes me want to tear my hair out.  Admittedly, my oldest is now 13, so we’re breaking new ground in this area. read more

Spiritual Life Skills for Kids: 13 Simple Ways to Teach Hospitality

September 28, 2017 / / 0 Comments
Reading Time: 6 minutes

Missed the previous posts and the ideas behind this series? Catch ’em here.

He was barely in the front door, cheeks flushed from the bike ride home. He smelled like the cold and that faintest puff of little-boy sweat. “Mom! Guess what! We’re getting a new kid and his name is Toby and the teacher wants me to show him around and tell him all about the school!” He drew a breath, those Chiclet-sized adult teeth still, charmingly, just a bit too big for his eight-year-old mouth. read more

Guest Post: Helping Kids Learn to Walk with the Holy Spirit

September 13, 2017 / / 0 Comments
Reading Time: < 1 minute
Helping Kids Learn to Walk in the Holy Spirit

Take good care of my baby. (Yep, the kid actually managed to get five front teeth in this photo.)

It’s happening.

After eight years of homeschooling, this year, all four of my children strap on their backpacks and head down to our local public school. read more

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