How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph: A Practical Guide for Growing Great Kids

If you are a parent, you know that a parent does what a parents gotta do-that is just the way it is. We drive the kids around, we make sure they brush their teeth, we take them to school (or even Homeschool them) we aim to do everything short of coddling them in order to have them turn out into able bodied adults and well rounded individuals. However from so much scheduling and activity the most important aspect of a whole person, which is the spirit and soul is many times neglected, or passed off as “the Sunday school teacher’s job”. We aren’t doing our job as parents who love Jesus if we aren’t intentional in instilling faith into our children.

How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph is a book, or even more a type of help manual which goes through each age and stage of the child from preschool through high school and equips parents with the tools necessary to pour a passion for what is right into their children. It is called How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph because no matter what the situation, Joseph (yes as in the Joseph with the coat of many colours) was able to make the right decision even when life really was not seeming to move in his favor. God gave him a dream as a boy and he must have thought many times that it was just a hoax and that God was no where close- however the faith that he kept when it came time to make the right choices is to be admired. He was surrounded by a people who didn’t know God, who worshiped all different sorts of gods and he didn’t even have a local home Bible study to go to, or a youth group and still he stood strong.

That is what every christian parent should aim to nurture in their child, not that everything is up to the parent, but it is nice to know when your kids grow up that you did what you could with the gift that God blessed you with. It isn’t up to a youth leader to train your children spiritually, just as much as it isn’t up to the pastor make you grow. The biggest problem with kids and adults alike is that they think they go to church to be challenged and to grow- and the result is that church has never been so full of saggy and faithless Sunday-only Christians. It is up to the individual to trust God, to place their feet on steadfast ground, no program for adults or kids will ever fashion that on its own. With or without programs and church events, we as parents are called to guide our children into a real relationship with Christ.

How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph is not a step by step guide on how to raise all children, it is a guide for creating a personalized and practical plan to best help your children bloom into teenagers who know, love and serve their Lord. I will use this book with my kids. We have started working with it and I love the scripture verses that it has for each different age group. Modern-Day Joseph is an excellent book for parents to keep on hand.

Title: How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph
ISBN: 9781434765314
Subtitle: A Practical Guide for Growing Great Kids (An Awana Resource)
Author: Linda Weddle
Publisher: David C. Cook
Subject: Christian Life – Family
Publication Date: June 2009
Pages: 220

I am an affiliate of  TOMS SHOES and Powell’s Books and I do receive a percentage of the sales of any item you buy using my links. Thank you!

During the holidays we got to visit the Corvallis Society of Model Engineers. These stinkin’ sweet grandpops take their model trains super seriously and we got to reap the benefits! This place has been around since 1959 and it is very neat to watch the men up in the booths with their headsets on communicating to each other and using “railroad slang”. It was almost as neat to watch them play with the trains via commands as watching the actual trains come and go all around us- nearly, but not quite.  The boys were fascinated by everything, the smallness of it all and loved looking at all the miniature buildings, cranes, bridges and farm houses. It was the perfect thing to do with the boys. Thank you Grandma Canfield for taking us!

And we did finally spot the highly anticipated Spiderman Train. We looked everywhere and then just broke down and asked.

In 2009 I read 100 books. I was trying to make it to one hundred,and I scrounged to get there. Because of homeschooling, crafting and cooking there are tons of odd books on my list. That is just the way life is right now, and I make no excuses because I wouldn’t want it any other way. Sometimes (many times) after a long day of “working” around the house it has been hard for me to want to pick up a deep book or thought provoking one. What you see is what I read, for better or for worse. I wish I had some more intelligent books there-but I haven’t wanted to ready them so I don’t. Yep, that is that. Still I have some great favourites from what I read this year. I’ll have to think about which are the top of the top, there are many that I loved this year.

For now, some cover art.

Kids in the Holiday Kitchen: Making, Baking, Giving

The holidays are a time when everyone just wants to create. Weather it be crafts, gifts or yummy treats to eat- the time that we get to spend together is so much better spent when we get our hands sticky, right!? Kids (and even adults) of all ages will find some eye-catching pictures in Kids in the Holiday Kitchen, pictures  that will reel them right in to want to make the recipes/crafts. From the Stuffed French Toast (on page 14), the Sugarplum Lollies (p. 36) to the crafts of Stellar (felted) Stockings (p. 81) and the Let There Be Light (colourful beeswax candle) (p. 88) there is more than enough so that everyone  in the family will find a “must make”.

These projects are made to be kid friendly and most kids preschool age and older could do a portion of the work with a parent helper. Older kids could do them completely by themselves.  It is a way that children can take ownership of making their gifts for their teachers, aunts or that special friend that needs a little encouragement. It is never to early to encourage giving and Kids in the Holiday Kitchen encourages a season of giving all year round, even from the littlest hands. This books gets two thumbs way up from me. I am leaving you with a recipe from the book that would be perfect for your New Year’s celebrations!! Yum.

New Year’s Nuggets

Chocolate-Caramel Popcorn, from Kids in the Holiday Kitchen (p. 45)

You’ll Need:

1/2 Cup Dried Yellow Popcorn
Scant 1/4 Cup Water
3 Tablespoons Canola Oil (optional)
1/4 teaspoon orange extract (optional)
1 Cup Sugar
8 Ounces Milk Chocolate
1/2 Cup Light Corn Syrup

What to do:

1. Pop the popcorn.

2.  Line several cookie sheets with parchment paper.

3.  In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water. Heat over medium-high heat until golden brown, and 5 minutes. Stir gently, add the orange extract, if using, stir again. Add some of the popcorn and coat it with the caramel. use a wooden utensil to help coat the corn. Place the coated kernels on the parchment paper to cool. Repeat.

4.  When cool, break up the clumps of caramel corn, keeping the corn clumps on  the parchment.

5.  Heat the chocolate over low heat in the top of a double boiler, or in a metal bowl over a saucepan filled with 1 inch of hot water (creating your own double boiler). Heat the chocolate until it’s smooth, 3 to 4 minutes. Make sure the chocolate doesn’t burn.

6.  Fill a ladle with the melted chocolate and lightly drizzle over the caramel corn. Let the chocolate caramel corn cool for 30 to 45 minutes. To make gifts, put small batches in cellophane bags; otherwise, wrap in parchment paper and keep in a Tupperware container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.

Makes 4 Cups

Watch Chronicle Book’s Kids in the Holiday Kitchen book trailer:

Title: Kids in the Holiday Kitchen
ISBN: 9780811861397
Subtitle: Making, Baking, Giving
Author: Jessica Strand & Tammy Massman-Johnson
Photographer: James Baigrie
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Subject:Holiday – Christmas, Crafts for Children, Handicraft, Recipes
Publication Date: November 2008
Pages: 95

I am an affiliate of  TOMS SHOES and Powell’s Books and I do receive a percentage of the sales of any item you buy using my links. Thank you!

I looked around for a bit and found some good ideas on natural hair care here, and was excited to see that she was using tons of other ideas that I already loved-such as the coconut oil, I just can’t get enough of that stuff!!

After a bit of browsing, I came up with this recipe and it works for all of us.  Since we are trying to simplify one shampoo for us all is a good step to take. Before this we used the Burt’s Bees tear free for the boys, no-residue dreadlock shampoo for me, and Brad used an anti-dandruff shampoo and conditioner. We’ve eliminated all of those (well the boys are still finishing up their last bottle of Burt’s) and now just have this nifty spray bottle thingy. We all love the lather that comes out of this green bottle, and knowing what is in our products makes life even better.

It works so well for Brad and I, it isn’t anti-dandruff and (as I predicted) he hasn’t had a problem with dandruff in the last 3 months since our switch-over.

A Homemade Recipe for  Natural Shampoo

1/4 Cup Water
3/4 Cup Lavender Doctor Bronner’s Multi-Purpose Soap
4 teaspoons of Apple Cider Vinegar
1 teaspoon of Glycerin
6 Drops Tea Tree Oil
6 Drops Lavender Oil
6 Drops Ylang Ylang Oil

Combine all in a bowl or Pyrex measuring container (I use the one with the spout for easy pouring). Stir together and then pour into your spray bottle. These can be purchased anywhere. I got this one at Bi-Mart. You are done, now go wash your hair!

This recipe can be tweaked to meet your needs, it will leave your hair with more of its natural oils in it as it is not a commercial shampoo meant to strip all oils out of your hair- however if you find it just too much leave out the glycerin the next time around.

Also check out my Homemade Bath Salts Recipes!

If you make this recipe, or have your own-please share! I’d love to hear from you.