Fun mail is always a treat to receive, and look what was waiting for me when I returned from a busy day of driving kids to and fro…
These boxes from Purex Insiders always hold something new to try, and to share with others. This box was no different! Inside was a bottle of Dial Miracle Oil Hand Soap Infused with Marula Oil (it was interesting to read about this oil) . We’ve had the bottle of soap at our hand washing station near the back door. Each of us has noticed that this soap does not leave our hands feeling dry at all. That is a big bonus in our family of allergy caused dry skin and eczema!
This New product from Dial is infused with Marula Oil to bring nourishment and skin hydration to our hand washing experience. Enjoy the smooth feel of Miracle Oil as you wash away dirt and germs, and enjoy the feeling of smooth, refreshed hands afterward! I think you’ll enjoy having a bottle of this hand soap by your sink.
Check back tomorrow for a giveaway that includes a FREE PRODUCT coupon for Dial soaps!
If present relationships are not strong, we are not laying a good foundation for the future. Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends by Sarah, Stephen and Grace Mally (Chapter Three)
She does him good, not harm, all the days of her life. Proverbs 31:12 Pondering how I can teach and encourage my precious daughters to begin now, to each do her future beloved, and her God, good, not harm, ALL the days of her life?
Have you ever noticed that God weaves strands of a message in various colors in our lives as He seeks to get our attention? Right now it seems to be prepare for the future by sowing seeds of goodness and faithfulness in our relationships now…to gain a more eternal, less immediate focus.
Quite a few years ago I was a single mom and a college student. It was hard, and my GPA certainly shows that I might not have been studying as much as needed. But I did try. A few less years ago I got married to a good man and gained another daughter, then we added 3 more. All the changes filled my life to the brim and I left school.
For some time now I’ve longed to go back and finish what I started, and maybe be ready to launch a “career” as my youngest daughters launch from the nest. The request has been made more than once, but each time, it just wasn’t “right.”
Well seasons change and guess what I’m doing this summer, among many other things??? You got it! I’ve registered as a student at the local community college and enrolled in one online class for the summer. I’m going to try to knock out some of those less desirable classes first, with hopefully stellar grades to show for the years of learning as a homeschool mom. This summer I plan to get up earlier than my usual early, that’s when I plan to fit in my studies, in the wee early mornings.
It is exciting to see that the credits are still on my account, but it is necessary for me to petition for them to be “active” again. Twenty years is a long time for college credits to have been sitting incomplete. Pray with me? That the faculty member who receives the petition will grant favor to a woman who took time off to raise a family and is back to knock it out of the park now? I speak somewhat boldly, despite the fact that my knees are knocking and there’s a tightness in my neck and shoulders. It’s more than a bit “scary” to be headed back to school as a grandmother!
So, I’m realizing my dream of going back to school, to finish my degree. What are you dreaming of? Does this summer look like a good time to dust off that dream and turn it into reality?
Having been prompted to take inventory of my spiritual health recently, I have realized that an important item has slid off my mornings. Scripture memory work has disappeared from my morning quiet time and it’s absence has had ripple effects! For many years I have memorized Scripture with my children, but this school year changed our mornings drastically and we have not had any consistent devotions & Scripture study together.
What I realized during this time of spiritual inventory (which was prompted by noticing my prayer life is weakening) is that I am now “going it alone” when it comes to Scripture memory. When we were a homeschooling family our mornings were started everyday with time in the Word and Scripture memory work. Now the kids are busier in their youth group and AWANA programs each working on individual memorization work.
The most notable thing I am missing from Scripture memory work is a word bank for nightly blessings. Some years ago I began choosing specific passages, memorizing them and then prayerfully blessing each of my children at bedtime. After a period of time with one passage, I would work to memorize another, and so on. These nightly blessings have become somewhat rote and lacking variety and specifics for the application to the ins and out of daily life.
There are several places where I heard about Scriptural blessings, but one in particular stands out to me. Some years ago, I watched a video of a chapel service (Compassion or Focus on the Family probably). Michael W Smith was speaking and towards the end of his time, the topic of spoken blessings was covered. I sought out his book, A Simple Blessing from our local library. Here is a related video, possibly the same one I originally watched, but I’m not sure. I do know the part about “the blessing” begins at about minute 26.
A Reason for Giving A Simple Blessing
These words are one very good reason for speaking Scriptural blessings over people: “If people would change what they are pursuing, they wouldn’t find themselves staring through the shattered window of broken dreams and torn relationships.”
If I speak audible blessings over my children, infusing words of encouragement, truth, value and understanding, seeds of purpose are sown in their minds and hearts. There is a shaping that can take place that will aid in the choices each daughter must make along life’s way. I know the curses that were spoken over me had a negative impact in my life’s choices for too long. I desire to give my children something infinitely better, in the immediate and in the future. Actually, I want to have a life giving impact on others as well, the other people in my life, our sponsored children. There is a whole big world in need of a simple blessing.
All this leads me back to knowing that it is a necessity for me to get back to Scripture memory and blessing writing, blessing giving. It would be a joy to have you join me in this discipline. If you are interested in joining me in Scripture memory and blessings, let me know in the comments. Here’s a blessing to start with:
May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in Him. So that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit, and one day share it with a world so in need of hope. (from Romans 15:13)
These Moments, which are just a snapshot of truly delightful day full of family and friends celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We attended morning services, full of celebratory music and teaching from Hebrews 9.
Enjoyed a mostly gluten free meal (something that has been a real struggle, but I’m learning!), followed by this gluten free Empty Tomb cake made by Mae, with family and friends.
Spent a couple of hours at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, taking advantage of our brand new membership.
feeding the giraffe
This day was truly a delight to my soul. It is quite hopeful to me, that maybe I’ll learned the secret of being able to enjoy a family gathering or day of celebrating. Saturday I spent most of the day preparing “cold foods” for Sunday’s celebration. We used paper plates, and most of the foods were served in the dishes they were stored in. Score! Another bonus…the natural gathering place in our home is now the kitchen. It is big enough, after the remodel, to hold anyone and everyone, so even when I was washing a few dishes or putting away food, I wasn’t tucked back alone in the kitchen. All of those pieces made the difference in my being able to fully enjoy the day!
linking with Amanda and Jessica as I remember and celebrate a beautiful Easter Sunday.
Quick snacks are a must all the time with growing children, but add the warmer weather and those kids get even hungrier. And a house full of teens doing bigger and more things… even more so!
Warmer Weather
Spring has sprung, and the temperature is rising to lovely 60+ sunny degrees most days. A little higher, a little lower, it doesn’t matter. The kids are out the door running, bike riding, heading to the park. And all that fresh air and activity? Makes them hungry. I’ve been pulling out my hair just a little with all the “what’s for…” “when’s dinner” questions. Noon to 6 is a long stretch once the kids head outside so I began thinking about heartier snacks and healthy lunch fillers.
Mini Pizza
We often have home made pizza for lunch or dinner. Recently I doubled the dough recipe and ended up with enough pizza for dinner, with dough left over. Dividing the dough into 3 portions I rolled them out and made 3 personal size pizzas. These pizzas were then loaded with pepperoni and cheese.
After cooling, each pizza was wrapped in parchment paper and slid into a quart sized ziplock bag. The next day when people wandered into the kitchen looking for something to snack on, I pointed them to the fridge in search of those bags. The pizzas were gone in a snap, but they were a hit! One or two heated the pizzas, the other ate it cold. So I do plan to take a few hours in the next week to make up a double batch of dough and turn all of it into mini pizzas. Usually I put things like this into the freezer, but I really doubt that is needed or helpful in this season. The turn over rate in our fridge is pretty high!
This is the recipe I currently use for pizza dough. Normally we have bowls of chopped bell peppers, black olives and green onions, as well as pepperoni, turkey or ham to use for toppings. For sauce I often use Classico marinara sauce, a jar goes a long way in pizza making! This sauce is often on sale and when it is I stock up.
I’m looking for more fresh ideas for hearty quick snacks and simple, healthy, filling lunches. The house is now full of strong, active teens and while they don’t eat a lot at one time, they do wander into the kitchen OFTEN looking for something to eat. Surely I’ll get back into the groove, but for now, I need some ideas!
What ideas do you have for simple, healthy and filling snacks for these warm weather days?
High noon in the valley of the shadow
When the deep of the valley was bright
When the mouth of the tomb
Shouted, “Glory, the Groom is alive”
So long, you wages of sin
Go on, don’t you come back again
I’ve been raised and redeemed
You’ve lost all your sting
To the victor of the battle
At high noon in the valley
In the valley of the shadow
Now the demons, they danced in the darkness
When that last ragged breath left his lungs
And they reveled and howled
At the war that they thought they had won
But then, in the dark of the grave
The stone rolled away
In the still of the dawn on the greatest of days
High noon in the valley of the shadow
When the shadows were shot through with light
When Jesus took in that breath
And shattered all Death with his life
So long, you wages of sin
Go on, don’t you come back again
I’ve been raised and redeemed
You’ve lost all your sting
To the victor of the battle
High noon in the valley of the shadow
Let the people rejoice
Let the heavens resound
Let the name of Jesus, who sought us
And freed us forever ring out
All praise to the fighter of the night
Who rides on the light
Whose gun is the grace of the God of the sky
High noon in the valley of the shadow
When the shadows were shot through with light
When the mouth of the tomb
Shouted, “Glory, the Groom is alive”
So long, you wages of sin
I said go on, don’t you come back again
I’ve been raised and redeemed
All praise to the king
The victor of the battle
High noon in the valley
In the valley of the shadow
Copyright 2003 New Spring Publishing, Inc.
This week was crazy upsidedown busy, (so true that a sick kiddo, 1.5 hour unplanned dr visit, and a long dentist appt can upset the balance in a week) but I still made time for some sewing at my newest sewing area. Hubby graciously gave me this area while working on the last bit of the basement remodel.
Fringe Hours
I don’t usually bring my computer down while I sew, but I was running videos to build up my swagbuck bank some more. Most days I try to get the daily meter goal, then consider the swagbuck task complete. That day I squeaked them out while sewing.
The table looks cluttered in this photo, but I was in the midst of pinning and also dashing off to do a school pick up. This is just what it all looked like when I returned. See that soft stack of flannel on the shelf? Toddler winter pjs are in the plans!
Finished or nearly finished projects
The next time I left the sewing area, it looked like this, two projects nearly completed. The tote bag came together on Sunday evening, the dress another afternoon, well the main seam and pinning the hem. I just need to actually sew the hem and attach the ribbon shoulder straps, and the dress will be ready for my youngest sweetie.
Now to top it off, this evening, after dinner we are all heading to the sewing area, to tackle more projects (finish dresses) and fill eggs for the littlest sweetie in the bunch.
Did you claim any fringe hours this week? Feel free to share in the comments!
This was one of the most popular posts on my blog back when I was hosted on blogspot! It used to crack me up that whenever I looked at the stats, there was Mr Gallon, right on top.
Have you ever met this guy? We discovered him maybe 5 years ago when Mae was deep in the learning to exchange cups for pints for quarts for gallons in all those challenging math word problems. Then it was Petal Rose’s turn, then Chica’s.
Since the kitchen remodel I’ve thought about consulting Mr Gallon a few times, so I decided to print a new Mr Gallon to slip onto one of the inside cabinet doors. And since I’m doing that, I’m also refreshing this post to share good ol’ Mr Gallon with new and old readers.
By Quiet Waters 