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A couple of ideas

January 13, 2009 by Marissa 4 Comments

Occasionally I have a good idea. It doesn’t happen often. In fact, I think in the past year, I have had exactly two good ideas. The second is the reason I’m writing this post, but I’ll share the first as a bonus.

Firstly, I have friends who teach their children the “Interrupting Rule”: when mom is talking to another adult, either in person or on the phone, and the child has something to say, the child quietly puts his hand on his mom’s arm. The mom puts her hand on top of his in acknowledgment, and when there is an opportunity, gives the child a chance to speak. I’ve always admired this rule. Last fall, I decided to teach it to Christopher. As I was explaining what I wanted him to do, I had a moment of brilliance . . . I called it our “secret signal.” There is something intriguing to a 4-year-old boy about having a secret signal, and he caught on right away. He is terrific at giving me the secret signal! Sometimes he even gives it to grandparents and other adults who can’t quite figure out why he is standing there with his hand on their arm. 🙂

My recent good idea has to do with praying for my kids. I have used a couple of different books in the past, and they have been a great help. My struggle recently has been wanting to spend in-depth time each day praying for my children. Last summer, I typed out topics and Scripture from Praying the Scriptures for Your Children by Jodie Berndt. I have used them some, but not as consistently as I’d like.

So the other night I cut and pasted the verses into a small notebook, making a flip calendar for myself. I put it by my bathroom sink, since I spend 10-30 minutes there every morning doing mundane tasks such as brushing my teeth and drying my hair. I realize this is not as ideal as sitting quietly, devoting myself only to praying these Scriptures for my children, but at least I am reminded of the topic and some verses that I can call to mind during the day. I also find the verses to be edifying for my personal walk with the Lord each day. When I’m done with Berndt’s topics, I may cut and paste my notes from
31 Days Of Prayer For My Child
–another great resource about praying for your children.

New Seeds Music CD

November 6, 2008 by Marissa 4 Comments

I’m slowly emerging from the first-trimester fog and hope to be back to blogging soon. In the meantime, I want to tell everyone about a new cd from Seeds Music–“The Power of Encouragement.”

I was fortunate enough to get this cd a while ago, and my kids LOVE it. Their favorite songs are “Take Heart” and “Go.” My favorite is “A Servant to All,” which talks about anyone who wants to be first being last. One day after we’d been listening to this cd, Christopher decided to give up his turn to choose what video to watch and quoted the verse! I have to admit, this has only happened once, but it made my day! This cd is upbeat and the Bible verses are terrific ones for both me and the kids to commit to memory. I highly recommend it! We also have the Faith and Praise cds, and they are excellent as well. Click here to see a previous post I wrote about these great cds.

Proverbs, Part 2

August 27, 2008 by Marissa 2 Comments

I’ve been reading Proverbs this summer and finally finished. It was excellent! (Of course.) Here are some of my favorite encouraging and convicting verses from the second half of the book:

Proverbs 14:29: Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly. Very convicting–the last thing we need around here is more folly!

Proverbs 15:28: The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things. I really stink at pondering how to answer. I prefer to pour out whatever comes to mind. I want to ponder like the righteous!

Proverbs 23:12: Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge. This one is for me and for my kids. I’ve been praying for a verse for our part-time homeschooling next year, and I think this may be it.

Proverbs 27:14: Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! I stink at waiting even more than I stink at pondering how to answer.

Proverbs 29:17: Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart. What a fabulous promise! Did you see that, moms?!? He said REST!!

Proverbs 30:5: Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. What great truth and comfort.

Proverbs 31:11, 26-27: The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

I’ve been inspired by the Proverbs 31 Woman for a long time. This month, verse 11 stood out to me with regard to my spending habits. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. Can my husband completely trust the way I handle our money and run our household? Am I doing all I can to make sure he has “no lack of gain”? Or am I adding to his stress as he works to keep up with my spending? (Answers: No, No, and Yes.) What can I do differently to be more worthy of his trust and add to his gain?

Sowing Seeds of God’s Word

August 14, 2008 by Marissa 4 Comments

Galatians 6:7-9: Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

One of my most important jobs as a mom is to plant seeds of God’s truth in my children’s hearts. Two great tools I have been using recently are Steve Green’s Hide Em in Your Heart CD and my new CD’s from Seeds Music. I love the Steve Green CD, but the Seeds music CD’s are FABULOUS. (Thank you, Julie, for introducing me to them!) They have adults and children singing, but it is so well done that I wouldn’t be surprised to find myself listening to them even without kids in the backseat. Honestly, the Ephesians 2:8 song brought tears to my eyes the first time I heard it. I have the Praise and Faith albums, and I plan to order the others soon.

It is such a blessing for me to watch my kids as they listen to God’s Word set to music. I pray that God will take these seeds we are planting and grow them into living, active faith in Christ. I’ll admit it, I’m becoming a bit of a fanatic. It is hard to get excited about singing about bus drivers and climbing spiders with my kids when we could be singing, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). There’s just nothing better than the Word of God.

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