Intentional By Grace

Making the Time to Bond with our Spouse {A Surrendered Marriage Challenge}

Jami Leigh-Young Wife's Guide — Fri, 25 May 2012 11:00:06 +0000

This post is by contributing writer, Jami from Young Wife’s Guide.

My husband and I love to spend time with each other. However, we are both very busy people, and more often than not, we get wrapped up in our own obligations and interests. In the 3 years we have been married, the Lord has blessed us. I love my husband more today than when I married him and enjoy doing every day activities together. He is truly my best friend and no one even comes close to that special spot he holds in my heart.

However, in order to foster a loving and “best friend” environment, we have to make a conscious effort to spend quality time together. We try not to have many activities that are “my activities” or “his activities.” We do things together as a couple and will strive to continue this on when we welcome our first little one into our home.

So we try and do things together, we try and find things that we BOTH love doing. Or, we learn to love {or at least tolerate} the things the other loves to do.

3 Tips for Spending Quality Time Together

1. Learn what your spouse loves to do

Find out the details of your spouse’s favorite activities. Does your husband love sports? Then you should get to know the rules of the game, and maybe even the players and statistics of his favorite team.

Is your wife a blogger? Then learn the lingo of the blogosphere, lend a listening ear to her online activities, and encourage her in her writing endeavors.

Credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This way, you will be able to talk and relate to each other about your passions. This can be very encouraging to your spouse. You might even find yourself eventually enjoying your spouse’s interests more than you thought you would.

2. Find activities that you enjoy doing together

By finding common interests, it becomes easier to spend time together because you both are invested in the activity, and want to do it. My husband and I both enjoy biking, and going on a bike ride in the evenings is a great way to spend time together. Plus, it’s a great way to stay in shape!

Another example of a common interest from my own marriage is games. We both love to play games. Card games, video games, board games, any kind of games! Playing games gets us laughing and talking and enjoying one another’s company. {Check out Leigh Ann’s 5 Board Games to Play As a Couple.}

Reading is another area of common interest in my marriage. My husband and I really enjoy curling up on the couch together and cracking into a great book. Even though reading may seem like a solitary hobby, just sitting there with my hubby and silently reading fosters closeness.

Credit: flickr, ekelly89

3. Make time to spend together doing what you both enjoy

Now, learning about your spouse’s interests and finding common interests to share is great, but it is a complete waste of time if you don’t do anything with that information.

So you know a little bit about your spouse’s passion. Now what? Make a concerted effort to invest time in talking about it with them. The fact that you are interested in talking about it, and that you have done your homework on it, will make your spouse feel important and loved.

Credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Put those activities that you both enjoy on the calendar. Start with simple goals, such as bike riding 2 nights a week and playing a game together once a week. From there, try to increase the amount of activities that you do together as time goes on, and before you know it, you will be spending much more quality time than before with your spouse.

What do you do to make time to bond with your spouse?

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Deals and Events You Don’t Want to Miss

Leigh Ann — Wed, 23 May 2012 11:00:03 +0000

If you have been a part of our A Surrendered Marriage Challenge, then you know that June 1st, the last day of the challenge, is quickly approaching. A Surrendered Marriage Challenge was inspired by Ashley Pichea’s book 31 Days to Pray for Your Marriage ebook.

I’m really excited to see that your prayer accountability does not have to end on June 1st because Ashley is now taking registration for 31 Days to Pray for Your Marriage Challenge to begin June 4th! How about that timing? It will be a simple daily reminder (no groups) to help you remember to pray for your spouse daily.

To participate in the challenge, you do need to purchase her book 31 Days to Pray for Your Marriage {purchase your copy here}. Then, head over to Life by Ashley to sign up for the new challenge. This is one of my favorite ebooks, and a helpful tool to build your arsenal of prayers for your marriage.

On another note, Keeper of the Home has a great series going on called Eating from the Pantry and Freezer. Her ebooks will be on sale for the length of the series (through June 18th)!

If you purchase them separately, use the code CHALLENGE25 to get 25% off at checkout. If you want to purchase all three of her ebooks, then you can use the code BUNDLE50 to receive 50% off all three!

I have thoroughly enjoyed all of her books, and if you’re looking for helpful information on how to eat real food on a budget (or just simply make better stewardship decisions and don’t know where to start) these books are incredibly helpful. You can get your copies here.

Finally, don’t forget about 4 Mom of 35+ Kids Ebook sale. It ends today! You can get the book for 60% off it’s regular price with the code “3DAYSALE” at check out.

Please note this post does include my affiliate links. You can see my disclosure policy here.

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Ultimate Blog Swap: Talking About Marriage and Babies

Leigh Ann — Tue, 22 May 2012 11:00:37 +0000

Today I’m participating in the Ultimate Blog Swap. You’ll find me posting over at Mom’s Mustard Seeds about the importance of looking beyond bath time as moms, and I’m excited to welcome Karyn from Graceful Girls Brave Boys to Intentional By Grace to share wisdom from her 15 years of marriage:

My husband and I have just celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary and it has been such a rich, exciting journey – more so than we could ever have imagined. I have been reflecting on marriage and have a heavy heart for the many people that we have seen struggling in their marriages.

It is only by God’s grace and goodness that we can have good marriages – He deserves all the glory.

But we need to co-operate with God as He shapes our marriages to reflect the wonderful relationship between Christ and His church.

Here are some things that I feel are key to a good marriage…

12 Pillars of a Good Marriage

REALIZE THAT MARRIAGE IS TO BUILD CHARACTER. We need to realize that marriage is not primarily for our pleasure. We serve a good God and He uses marriage to shape us and to build character in us! We need to recognize that we will sin and be sinned against. We need to determine to love as God loves: sacrificially, by His grace and to forgive: as Christ forgave us.

“But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.” Isaiah 64 v 8

STUDY GOD’S WORD. Any struggles we may have in our marriages are not meant to be faced alone or without help. God has equipped us with His Word; and with His Holy Spirit who helps us. He wants to lead us through each trial and difficulty and He wants us to rely completely on Him. Surrender yourself and your marriage to God. Let go of how you would like it to be and let Him work in you and change you and you will see the fruit in your marriage. Read, memorize and study His Word so that you grow in wisdom and understanding of His will. How close you are to God will determine how close you are to your spouse.

With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Psalm 119v10-11

IT MATTERS WHO YOU MARRY!! Before committing to marrying someone, we should look carefully at that person’s character. What is most important in their lives? Whom do they serve? What are their priorities? A person’s heart and whom or what they serve is revealed by what they spend most of their time on.

The saying, “keep your eyes wide open before marriage and half closed after”, is very appropriate.

After we are married, we need to lean heavily on God’s grace. We cannot change our spouse – but we can obey God in being a loving wife / husband and we can pray that God would change us and then leave Him to work in them.

BUILD ON THE RIGHT FOUNDATIONS. Marriage needs to be based on a commitment to love one another unconditionally – no matter what. Marriage is deeper than a contract – it is a vow and a covenant. If a marriage is based on unconditional love, then it is so much easier to be vulnerable to one another.

REALIZE MARRIAGE TAKES HARD WORK. Marriage is like a garden – if we leave it unattended it will slowly wither and die or be choked with weeds. We need to take time to enter into our spouse’s world, to find out their struggles, fears and thoughts, encourage them, pray for them and be close. Marriage is intended for intimacy of thought and heart as well as body.

We need to learn how to really talk to each other and to push through in the painful conversations. If we learn to talk early on in marriage, we will find it much more possible to trust and be vulnerable with our spouses.

CHOOSE TO NEED EACH OTHER. God wants us to enjoy and delight in our spouses – rather than focus on their faults. He wants to be glorified in our marriages as we accept each other unconditionally and choose to need each other. It is so important that we make room for each other in our lives and include each other even in areas where we are quite self sufficient.

MAKE TIME TO BE TOGETHER. There are consequences to how we choose to spend our time. Time together is important – it doesn’t need to be time out at restaurants or away from our children on weekend retreats – it needs to be time together to talk and to connect.

Pray together, read together, have fun together, exercise together, cook together, teach your children together – be creative, but live life together.

If you are passing each other in the night your relationship will die even if your commitment doesn’t. Being close takes time and energy. {Check out Leigh Ann’s list of 42 Date Night Ideas for inspiration.}

LET GO OF EXPECTATIONS. Realize that you and your spouse have different ways of doing things and different expectations of many things in life. Only as you talk through things together will you learn to know one other better and come to understand how the other thinks. There will be lots of times when you misunderstand each other and will need to give each other grace – and laugh about it together! Don’t expect your expectations to be met – rather be willing to adjust your expectations!

ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER. Build each other up, don’t break each other down. We are not meant to be wrecking balls, but rather like rain and sunshine to our spouses. We are all people who need kind words and encouragement.We need to encourage our spouses daily and make sure they feel our unconditional love and support.

GUARD YOUR SEXUAL PURITY. Guard your sexual purity and be vigilant – no sexy novels, no Facebook chats with the opposite sex, no car rides alone with the opposite sex. Pornography, even so-called ‘mild’ is unfaithfulness to God and to your spouse and is a marriage KILLER and usually leads to adultery. Be wise as a serpent in this area, and don’t take this sin any less seriously than God takes it. Pray that God, by His grace, will keep your heart pure before Him. If you have messed up in this area, acknowledge your sin and break its power by not hiding it from God or man. Acknowledging our weakness and sin is half the battle. Find a godly friend who you can be accountable to that your husband / wife is happy with.

“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Cor 12v9

UNDERSTAND YOUR DIFFERENT ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES. Understand that you have different roles and responsibilities as husband and wife. Respect each other in that and honor God in your treatment of each other. As a wife, serve and help your husband wholeheartedly. Be encouraged by Titus 2 mentors and be careful who you measure yourself against. God’s standard is the one that counts.

COMMIT YOUR MARRIAGE TO GOD. We need to commit our marriages to God and trust Him to preserve them. We need to rest heavily on His amazing Grace! This is only possible if we ourselves are committed and surrendered to God through faith in Jesus Christ. If you have messed up, don’t give up – but surrender the mess you have made to God and recognize that he is a God who makes all things new. Don’t give up on your spouse or your marriage. Come broken before Him and ask Him to heal your marriage.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5 v 17

Karyn is blessed to be saved by God’s grace and to be a joyful mother of four and wife to an amazing man. She loves life with her family, homeschooling, homemaking and growing through all the struggles and challenges along the way. She blogs at GracefulGirlsBraveBoys.com.

Don’t forget to hop over to Mom’s Mustard Seeds to read my post about looking beyond bath time! Also, visit Life Your Way to see all of the Ultimate Blog Swap participants!

6 of Grandmaw’s Tried and True Homemaking Tips

Leigh Ann — Mon, 21 May 2012 12:00:13 +0000

I quit my office job to be a stay-at-home-wife when I was in my first trimester of pregnancy. I didn’t know the first thing about homemaking, at least not full-time homemaking. Without hesitation, I called my grandmother (aka, Mamaw) and begged for tips on how to make a house a home. She’s going to be embarrassed, but I’m going to share her homemaking wisdom with you.

Join me today over at Homemakers Challenge. I’ll share six of my Grandmaw’s Tried and True Homemaking Tips that Work! {Click here to continue reading …}

Also, in case you’re interested, The 4 Moms of 35+ Kids: Your Parenting Questions Answered Ebook is on sale for the next 3 days for just $3 (starting at 9am CST)! You can get the book for 60% off it’s regular price with the code “3DAYSALE” at check out. So for the price of a latte, you can get several parenting questions answered.

They answer questions like …

How do you get your family to church on time?
How do you keep things fair for all of your children?
How do you keep your patience in the midst of chaos?
How do you teach your children to do chores?

And many more! You can get your copy here.

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4 Steps to Having a “Good” Fight {A Surrendered Marriage}

Nikki — Fri, 18 May 2012 11:00:26 +0000

This post is written by contributing writer, Nikki from Christian Mommy Blogger.

As we all know, marriages aren’t perfect. We struggle and sometimes we want to give up. Learning some solid principles and tools to keep your marriage on the right track is key. When your marriage is on the rocks, a fight can make or break you. With A Surrendered Marriage Challenge, we are trying to help arm you with the tools to “make” it, so let’s talk about how to turn your fight from a negative to a positive.

1. Speak the Truth in Love

Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Ephesians 4:25

Don’t you wish your spouse could read your mind? Well, maybe that wouldn’t be such a good idea all of the time! I would however, love it if my husband were able to understand what I wanted to say when I struggle with knowing how to say it.

To have a productive fight {this doesn’t mean yelling} I need to remember that my spouse cannot read my mind. I must remember that I need to speak the truth. This means I need to be 100% open with what I am saying. Don’t waste time sugar coating or leaving certain details out.

But do remember, you need to be sure you speak these “truths” in a loving way {Colossians 4:6}.

So say it with me: Speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth – in a loving way.

2. Deal with Today’s Problems TODAY

Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. Ephesians 4:26-27

I honestly feel that after reading this passage, you likely need little explanation.

Take this passage very literally. If you have a problem and you have not resolved it, do not go to sleep. The moment you lay your head down on the pillow and decide to put it off for tomorrow, you are sinning. This is very black and white.

And might I add, the problem is never better if you do this. This gives the devil a foot hold.

3. Focus on the Issue, Not the Individual

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:29-30

You need to make sure your words are productive. Any words that take away from the issue are counter-productive. Think of marriage as the two of you being on a team. It isn’t “you win”, “he loses.”

You both lose if you have a fight that does not lead to a resolution.

If necessary, take your problem and define it apart from the individual. What are you really upset about? How can this be prevented in the future? Take emotions and feelings out of this, what really caused this? Define it. Decide, as a team, how you will combat this problem and prevent it from happening again.

4. Act Biblically, Do Not React Sinfully

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:31-32

Kind. Tender-hearted. Forgiving.

If you have those three qualities, you will not have a blow-out. What’s more, if only one of you have those qualities, you will not have a blow-out {how much more successful will your problem resolving be if you both have those qualities}!

Bitterness, wrath, anger, slander…those qualities cause you to act maliciously toward the person – not the issues (see #3). By pushing those tendencies aside and focusing on a kind response, forgiving spirit, and a tender heart, you will remain loving to the person {who you DO love!} and address the issue {which you do NOT love}.

Easy peasy! Your fight will no longer be a yelling match. You will resolve the issue and love the person. Now to put it into action!

Which of these 4 steps will you struggle with the most? Share so we can be praying for YOU!

Disclaimer: These principals were presented to me by my Pastor. I have applied them and paraphrased them on my own accord, alongside my husband.

His Glory Surrounds Us

Leigh Ann — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:00:39 +0000

Written by Kimberly, Contributing Writer

The sunroof is open, and the sun beats softly on my skin. I’m singing my heart out to my favorite tunes as the farmland rolls by, perfectly framed by a pale blue sky. My husband rides shotgun beside me, ignoring the landscape to play on his iPad, but smiling because my joy is infectious.

It’s easy to be joyful on this gorgeous day, to marvel at God’s creation. I admire the long rows of vegetables, the flat stretches of land, and the stark contrast of black on white cows lounging in the warm green grass. What an artist you are, Lord, I think to myself. His attention to detail is breathtaking. The scene stretching out for miles down this Delaware road doesn’t need God’s signature in the bottom corner, everything from the crumbly dirt all the way up to the wispy clouds shouts His name.

I am reminded of Psalm 19.

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

Psalm 19:1-6

Some call me a Creationist, and I laugh. I prefer the term Believer. It is impossible for me to to see the earth’s beauty and assign it merely to science. I run my fingers through the grass, feel it catch and stick to my fingers, see how each thin slice creases perfectly down the center, and imagine God so delicately creating each blade. I see the stars twinkle in the dark and feel the warmth of the sun in the morning, and trust that a loving God made it just so.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of
the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the
waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And
God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the
darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Genesis 1:1-5

I see the bright green tendrils of newly birthed seeds, and the tallest of trees standing stoic in the breeze. I can taste the sweetness of juicy red strawberries from a roadside farm stand. I observe and savor these things, knowing that God made them just so.

And God said, “Let the earth sprout
vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in
which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it
was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed
according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is
their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was
good.

Genesis 1:11-12

We reach our destination. I step out of the car, breathing in salt, sand, and sunscreen. Anticipation heightens in my chest. My husband and I remove our shoes, and he holds out his hand. I take it and together we step onto the soft sand, not yet made unbearable by summer’s fierce rays. We walk to the ocean – close, but not quite touching the lapping water that reaches for our toes. We stand, saying nothing for a moment. I hold out my arms, close my eyes, and take a deep breath. I soak it all in.

Less than one hour ago we passed through farmland, and now here we are at the beach. Each different and beautiful in its own way. Each crafted to perfection by God’s hand. He is so good to give us these gifts. Let us take the time to appreciate them, to glory in their wonder. Let us allow each salty breeze, each blade of grass, to remind us of the greatness of our Father.

Spring is here, and now is the perfect time to praise the Lord for His creation. What reminds you of God’s glory in nature?

Kimberly is a daughter of God, wife to Jeremy, food source to Sox (a curmudgeon-y cat), and future mother of a child from Ethiopia. She adores kids, good cheese, red wine, and crafting. A technical writer by profession, she burns off her creative juices by blogging about faith, marriage, everyday life, and adventures in adoption. She and her husband can be found, together as usual, at The Corner of Birch and Divine.

Do I Surrender My Marriage For Me or For Her?

Leigh Ann — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:00:28 +0000

This post is written by A Surrendered Marriage contributing writer, Mark from Chasing Leadership

Why do I pray for my marriage? Is it for me or for her?

Is my supplication to God for my benefit, or do I care more for my wife’s soul than I do about my own comfort?

The truth is that Leigh Ann is a clear example of Ephesians 3:20 in my life. She is more than I could ever ask for or imagine.

Why then do I lose patience with her so easily? Why do I let frustration and or bitterness build up when she does something that I don’t prefer, or acts in a way that bothers me or hurts me? Why do I not view her or treat her like the blessing she is 100% of the time?

Because I am a sinner!

It’s true. I do lose patience quickly. Negative and bitter thoughts can flood my mind in moments of frustration, and I am soaked in self-righteousness. In the moment, I think I actually deserve better.

Two Things God Has Taught Me Through A Surrendered Marriage Challenge

1) Even if I am wronged and sinned against, it is so much less than the way I have sinned against Christ.

I can have hope for change. I can freely forgive and know that God is faithful. He does love me and desires good things for my life and my marriage.

I can accept the reality that my wife is not perfect… just as I am not perfect. When these imperfections show through and my self-righteous frustrations arise, I can surrender to God in prayer. I can let go of the bitter thoughts and lies of the evil one and trust in the promises of God. My thoughts that my wife is never going to change are as false as saying God doesn’t exist.

Let me be clear… this is not about Leigh Ann and her faults, but my sinful response when she is not perfect. I have to combat these thoughts and fight to return my mind to reality!

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. -Ephesians 6:12

I am not in a battle against my wife, but on the contrary, I need her to complete me and be the ONE that God designed us to be together and so win this battle against evil!

2) God has been challenging my process of surrendering.

Even when I do turn to God in prayer in moments of frustration, I have come to realize that I am often praying for change in Leigh Ann to increase my comfort, and not praying for change in order to bring God glory.

God has been convicting me that I am more concerned with myself, and my comfort, than I am with my wife’s soul. God is using every detail of my marriage to accomplish His purpose, and right now I think one of those purposes is for me to die to myself.

“Only love for Christ has the power to incapacitate the sturdy love for self that is the bane of every sinner, and only the grace of Christ has the power to produce that love.”
― Paul Tripp

So I will leave you with this video also from Paul Tripp and my favorite excerpt from it.

Love is willing self sacrifice for the good of another that doesn’t demand reciprocation, or that the person being loved is deserving.
-Paul Tripp

My prayer for my marriage is that we will both start living this definition out, and so be a true light of God’s love. I pray that I would surrender my comfort and trust in His goodness to accomplish all things for our good.

How are you doing at showing the TRUE Love of Christ to your spouse?

Mark is an ordinary guy with extraordinary dreams and has a passion for all things leadership. He is a disciple of Christ, a blessed husband & father, a medical device innovator, an outdoor enthusiast, and is all around passionate about life! Mark loves helping people discover their potential, and then, inspire them to chase leadership right where they are in order to impact the world around them. Find him blogging at MarktDutton.com, on twitter @marktdutton, or on Facebook.

Save Time and Money with These 10 Tips for a Cross Country Move

Leigh Ann — Thu, 10 May 2012 11:00:40 +0000

Moving is hard regardless of whether you are moving across the country or just around the corner. In my lifetime, I’ve moved eighteen times, and no my family is not in the military. Well, my brother is, but he’s not the reason I’ve moved so much.

As you know, we recently moved 1,500 miles across the country from East Tennessee to the Northwest quadrant of Colorado (aka, High Rockies). We traded one mountain range for another. We’re really hoping this is our last move for a while!

With this move, as in all my other moves, I learned a few tips and tricks. I want to share them with you because moving is hard enough without having to worry about whether or not your stuff will arrive in one piece or not. For us, all of our stuff never arrived. It’s lost in transient and probably sitting on some other family’s doorstep just like the pair of dollar store lawn chairs leaning against my garage door. I involuntarily traded a few expensive items for these little trinkets. Thankfully, we have a decent inventory of our things, so we’ll get reimbursed … we hope.

I don’t want this to happen to you. So consider this a big sister telling you all the mistakes she made in hopes that you won’t make the same ones. These tips will save you some sanity as well as some well earned cash.

Join me over at Stacy Makes Cents where I share 10 tips (including a free printable) for saving time and money when planning a cross country move (or any kind of move)! {Click here to continue reading…}

What tips would you have included on this list?

10 Reasons We Opted to Give Birth at a Birth Center

Leigh Ann — Wed, 09 May 2012 11:00:44 +0000

There are few things more special than the birth of a brand new life. The miracle of life never ceases to amaze me. We start out as a little tiny dot, no bigger than the period at the end of this sentence, and then we transform into this person, this life, this wonder.

The birth of our little boy was a day of so much joy, as is the birth of any baby, of course! One of the things that I love about where we live is the freedom to choose the setting in which we would like to bring our bundles of joy into this world.

My friend, Erin, from The Humbled Homemaker, is in the middle of a natural pregnancy and birthing series. I have been learning so much! She has asked me to share about our wonderful experience with labor and delivery in a birth center. We chose a birth center over a hospital and home birth for several reasons. Join me at The Humbled Homemaker today where I share 10 reasons we opted to give birth at a birth center. {Click here to continue reading…}

What about you? What do you think of giving birth at a birth center?

7 Busy Bags to Engage Your Toddler {12-18 months}

Leigh Ann — Tue, 08 May 2012 11:00:51 +0000

Samuel, who is just shy of sixteen months old, loves to learn. He’s always busy discovering, playing, and exploring. He’s not one to play all day in the corner with his toys. He likes to be engaged and given a task to complete. Therefore, along with coming up with fun indoor activities for my toddler, I started putting together little busy bags for him.

I found clear plastic zipper bags at the Dollar Tree in the bath and body section! I literally squealed in the middle of the aisle they were so perfect! All of the items for each bag fit perfectly inside, and once zipped the fact that it’s clear makes it easy to tell what is inside. We keep all of our busy bags in a basket on a shelf. Samuel uses his sign language to request busy bags during the day when he wants to play with them.

7 Busy Bags to Engage Your Toddler {12-18 months}

1. Pom-Pom Stuff It In – This is as easy as up-cycling a plastic container, making a couple of slits in the top, and grabbing some pom-poms. This is great for working on fine motor skills. Samuel loves pushing the pom-poms through.

2. Pom-Pom Freedom – I give him a couple of bowls and sticks. He creates and plays with his imagination. I have found that he loves to transfer, dump, and stir. Oh, and repeat.

3. Magna Doodle – He loves his magna doodle. I use this for car rides. He’s learning cause and effect. It’s cute. Bonus? I got it for less than a quarter at our local thrift store!

4. Mini Ring Toss – This is by far Sam’s favorite busy bag. Eventually, it will be a great way to teach colors. For now, we’re working on our fine motor skills. He’s really super at getting the ring on the pawn. I found these at the Dollar Tree in the party favors section.

5. Magic Ribbon Pull – I sewed several strands of ribbon together that I had lying around the house. Then, I stuffed them in an empty diaper wipes container. We used them on our recent plane ride, and Samuel loved it. It’s like having a tissue box, but less messy.

Before

After

6. Manly Paper Dolls. I was thinking about how girls get paper dolls, but boys get the short end of the stick. Of course, from my womanly opinion that is. Since we don’t live near either of our families, I’m trying to find creative ways to work pictures into Samuel’s play. My brother is in the U.S. Army. I found several pictures of my brother, along with some magazine cut outs, and laminated the pieces. I stuck magnets on the back, and now, Samuel has a portable G.I. Joe set.

7. For the love of buttons. This stage of learning is all about button pushing. Samuel loves to flip switches, press buttons, and turn things on and off. We gathered items from around the house that we thought he would enjoy and put them in his bag. These every day items are a huge hit.

Busy bags are a great way for a little extra structure while still having fun. The added bonus, it helps Mama get a few things done during the day.

We pop a few in the diaper bag for church, long car rides, and even the grocery store on occasion. However, the best time to use busy bags is during dinner preparation!

As I’ve been preparing 20 Minute Meals: Giving Weary Chefs Grace While Keeping Families Healthy (to be released at the end of this month!), I have found busy bags to be a life saver. Generally, one or two busy bags will keep Samuel occupied for at least 20 minutes! The key is putting him in his high chair so he stays focused longer.

For more busy bag ideas, be sure to check out my Teaching Moments Pinterest Board!

What busy bags have you used for occupying your little ones?

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