Want a easy and delicious granola that can be eaten any time of the day? This is hearty and healthy and protein packed, to sustain you throughout your day. It is great with milk for breakfast, served with yogurt for a fruit salad bar, and mixed in with raisins and nuts for a crunchy trail mix. It is also my daily bedtime snack! We love it. It can be sweetened as you prefer, but I love xylitol made from birch trees (rather than from corn as many brands are) because it doesn’t spike your blood sugar and tastes so yummy.

Ingredients:

8 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cup coconut flakes
1 1/2 cup xylitol (or replace with your favorite sweetener –raw honey, maple syrup, or coconut sugar works too!) My favorite combo: 1 cup xylitol and 1/2 cup coconut sugar.
5 Tbsp vanilla extract (Amazon subscribe & save)
1 Tbsp caramel extract (optional, but so delicious for an added caramel boost!)
2 scoops protein powder (I use Tera Whey’s Bourbon Vanilla Protein Powder or Jay Robb’s stevia sweetened protein powder), optional
1 cup coconut oil (extra virgin, cold pressed), melted
1 cup egg whites (for added protein and a good liquid binder)
1 cup raw mixed seeds, ground in coffee grinder (pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, chia seeds/flax seeds, and or sunflower seeds – I usually do a 1/4 cup of each) - Lately, I have been loving adding hemp seeds for some of their fabulous nutritional benefits.
2 teaspoons sea salt

Directions:

Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl until thoroughly mixed. Spread out evenly over two large 12×17 baking sheets. Bake at the lowest temperature you can set your oven to (150-175 degrees) for 1-2 hours, till just lightly browned. Rotate the pans at least once while baking, and mix up the granola on the tray a couple times throughout the baking time to get it evenly toasted. It will still be soft when you remove from the oven, but will harden as it cools. Makes about 1 gallon.

My hormones have been seemingly on strike these past weeks while my baby has been weaning, sleep lacking, my emotions creeping out of control, and my spirit has been tempted to wallow in self-pity, discouragement, and despair. Why is it so easy to loose my joy at the bad attitude of a child, or a seeming unproductive day where nothing was checked off my to-do list, or at the late hours required of my husband to get a business off the ground?

Because I keep forgetting what is true and real (Philippians 4:8), and not loving God with all my mind.

Our God is the author and creator of laughter. He rules in the heavens in perfect control of the future. He controls the striving of the wicked who arrogantly fight for their own glory and success. Psalms 2 reminds us of this truth. The nations are raging war against the Lord, and yet “the One who rules in heaven laughs, the Lord scoffs at them” (Psalms 2:4).

Our God sees and knows all, and yet He laughs.

I am His daughter, created and fashioned in His very image (Genesis 1:27). Laughter is a part of my design! One of the ways I can imitate God is by practicing and walking in a spirit of laughter. Laughter is a distinguishing mark of a strong godly woman.

Proverbs 31:10, 25 describes this woman. “Who can find a virtuous woman? She is more precious than rubies…She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.”

She can laugh, because she is confident that God is fighting for her (Exodus 14:14).

She can laugh, because she has rejected fear, and has cast every care upon the God who desires to carry her burdens (2 Timothy 1:7, 1 Peter 5:7).

She can laugh, because she is confident of God’s control over all events and circumstances past, present, and future (Isaiah 14:26-27).

She can laugh, because she is confident of God’s everlasting and adoring love for her (Jeremiah 31:3).

She can face tomorrow with a smile, because she knows without doubt that her God and Father will always be working all things together for her good (Romans 8:28).

She can delight, because her future is secure. Her eternal future is being prepared for her. (Psalms 16:5, Psalms 23:6, Jeremiah 29:11, John 14:1-3, Philippians 3:20-21).

She can rejoice, because she will never face condemnation, and can boldly reject every lie, guilty fear, and condemning thought from the enemy (Romans 8:1, 33-34).

She can laugh, because she is assured that her God is always watching over her and His ears are ever attentive to her prayers (Psalms 34:16, Philippians 4:6-7).

She can smile, because she has chosen to turn every wandering or negative thought about herself, her God, or her circumstances and turned them rather towards what is true, real, right, pure and beautiful (Philippians 4:8-9).

She can laugh, because she has been given the gift and privilege of God’s peace and she has embraced it (John 14:27).

She can smile at the future, because her hope is anchored in Christ (Hebrews 6:19-20).

“For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening” (1 Peter 3:5-6).

In a recent sermon, our pastor, Matt Cunningham, shared the following challenge: “A Christian woman is not one who puts her hope in her husband, and she’s not one who puts her hope in getting her husband. She is not one who puts her hope in looks, but she’s one who puts her hope in the promises of God…[quotes Prov 31:25]..The future doesn’t make her fearful. The future doesn’t cause her to be afraid. She looks at the future not with anxiety. She looks at the future and she laughs at it. She trusts in God so much, her hope in God is so secure, that she looks at the future, the uncertainty of it, and she laughs at it. Now that is a strong woman! That is a woman who finds her hope and her identity in Jesus Christ alone. She looks away from the troubles and the obstacles of life. She focuses her attention on the sovereign power and love of God. She looks at the one who rules in the heavens and does whatever he pleases. Whose favor is towards her, whose favor is towards her family, and she laughs at the future. How God longs for these kinds of women to be in His church!”

Oh Lord, help this to be true of us, your daughters! May we be known as women of God who laugh at times to come because we are confident in our identity in Christ, and are resting in a firm and unshakeable knowledge of God’s control of all things, including each one of our children, every penny and possession, every moment of our future, every circumstance, and every success or failure.

What beautiful women we can and will be by the power of the Holy Spirit! Who knows how it may impact a watching world around us? I believe without a doubt that they will be attracted to Christ as they witness our joy and confidence in the Lord!

That is the kind of strong woman I want to be!

Footnote: One of the resources that has really helped me through this journey of overcoming fear and my identity struggles, teaching me instead to take my thoughts captive to the obedience to Christ, is Elizabeth George’s Loving God with All Your Mind. I highly recommend this book along with the study guide to take it to a deeper heart level. It really has been life-changing for me. Really useful book for a one-on-one accountability relationship or small group study. 

Easter Activities:

Jesus Tree Lent Activity - Make your own Jesus tree! Here is a printable file that includes 40 lovely ornaments that correspond to the story of Jesus in the book of Matthew or John. A fun visual reminder of the life of Christ.

Resurrection Eggs - This 12-piece set of symbols are a fun way of learning about Jesus’ death and resurrection, especially appropriate for littles. Each symbol is contained in a colored Easter egg and tells an aspect of Christ’s story and can be hidden around your home to be discovered and discussed together. Can also be used with Benjamin’s Box or Lily’s Easter Party picture book. Scavenger hunt on Easter is a fun activity.

Resurrection Rolls - Every Easter Sunday, we celebrate by eating our dyed easter eggs and Resurrection Rolls for breakfast. They are a tasty treat of marshmallow, butter, and spices, wrapped in a crescent roll. These are just a simple fun object lesson about how Jesus’ body was buried in the tomb and vanishes from the tomb once resurrected, as demonstrated through the marshmallow melting while in the oven, leaving an empty tomb/roll when cut open. Not healthy in the least, but something my children anticipate to every year!

Calvary Hill Planting - Another tangible visual experiment in growing grass and building a garden picturing Jesus’ cross and tomb. Throughout Lent, the grass seeds grow, and new life begins! We had a blast making this a few years back.

Chalk Pastels Art Tutorials - We love the online tutorials with chalk pastels during every season of the year, but this free Crown of Thorns tutorial or Easter Cross tutorial are lovely. You can also purchase an Easter Chalk Pastel Art Course. My kids of all ages enjoy these tutorials with teacher Nana.

Family Lent/Easter Devotionals:

The Wonder of Easter: An Easter Journey for the Whole Family by Ed Drew - I am super delighted to be using this resource for our family devotions this Lent season. It is easy to use and doable. It has thoughtful discussion questions broken down into age groups for all levels of understanding. It also includes skit ideas and other fun interactive ideas.

These are other various devotionals we have used over the years and heartily recommend:

Mission Accomplished: A Two-Week Family Devotional for Easter by Scott James
Desiring God’s Lenten Lights: Eight Biblical Devotions to Prepare for Easter by Noel Piper - free download.
Lent Guide by The Village Church - free devotional for Lent that centers around fasting from different things.
Love to the Uttermost by John Piper - free devotions for Holy Week.

Adult Devotionals:

I love reading a Easter themed book during my personal devotion times alongside my Bible reading, and so I usually choose one from this list. Great materials for families with older children or just for your own personal reading.

From the Grave: A 40-Day Lent Devotional by A.W. Tozer
Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter - by various authors (Lewis, Chesterton, etc)
Preparing for Easter: Fifty Devotional Readings from C.S. Lewis
Journey to the Cross: Devotions for Lent by Will Walker

Easter Picture Books:

Every year, since my kids were tiny, I have been adding one new picture book around the theme of Easter to our collection, just like I do at Christmas time. We now have a wealth of books and I love pulling them out every year at the beginning of Lent. Many of these may also be available at your local library!

The Garden, The Curtain, and the Cross by Karl Laferton - See the story of Christ throughout the whole Bible, and why Jesus had to die and rise again.
God Gave Us Easter - by Lisa Bergren - I love both the holiday themed books in this delightful series!
The Legend of the Easter Egg by Lori Walburg - This series of legends around Easter symbols is delightful and a favorite for all my kids.
The Legend of the Easter Robin by Dandi Mackall
The Legend of the Sand Dollar by Chris Auer
Humphrey’s First Palm Sunday by Carol Heyer (this author also wrote The First Easter)
The Week that Led to Easter by Joanne Larrison - An excellent re-telling of Resurrection week.
The Berenstain Bears and the Easter Story 
The Berenstain Bears Easter Sunday
The Easter Day Surprise by Jane Fryer
J is for Jesus by Debbie O’Neal
That's My Colt: An Easter Tale by Dandi Mackall
The Donkey Who Carried the King - RC Sproul - A bit more lengthy picture book, but with an excellent message!
The Parable of the Lily by Liz Curtis Higgs
The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Hunt - One of my all time favorites!
Peter's First Easter - Walter Wangerin - A look at the Easter account from the eyes of Peter. Insightful.

Favorite Biography: Steal Away Home: Charles Spurgeon and Thomas Johnson, Unlikely Friends on the Road to Freedom by Matt Carter - This biography of Spurgeon was remarkably well written and had me enthralled from beginning to end. These are two incredible men of faith and their lives intertwined in a remarkable way. Love the beautiful fictional style that it was written in. Highly recommend!

Favorite Non-Fiction: Risen Motherhood: Gospel Hope for Everyday Moments by Emily Jensen & Laura Wifler - Emily and Laura have done a fabulous job pointing the hearts of mothers to the gospel as they apply the truth to every day struggles of diapers, educational choices, traditions, relationships, service, self-care, and so much more. If you haven’t checked out the Risen Motherhood podcast, please do!

Favorite Quotes:

“Through his death and resurrection, Christ has perfectly fulfilled everything expected of us as mothers. He’s been the “true and better mom,” so to speak, and he sends a Helper to make us more like him.”

“Developing a deeper understanding of the gospel is less about crafting the perfect quiet time and more about seeking him throughout our whole day—crumbs, stains, screams, and all. It’s less like jumping in and out of the pool and more like learning to live in the ocean. It’s not getting wet and drying off time and time again, but adapting to a whole new environment, living with full immersion in the things of God. Let God’s Word permeate your whole life and soak through all your clothes.”

Homeschool Bravely: How to Squash Doubt, Trust God, and Teach Your Child with Confidence by Jamie Erickson - I have already shared about this book previously here, but heartly wanted to recommend it again!

Favorite Historical Fiction: We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter
Based on a true story of a Jewish family from Poland and their heart gripping fight for survival during the Holocaust. It was mind blowing that the whole family survived after numerous close calls. An incredibly miraculous story during this terrible time of history. Beware: a few small references to premarital sex.

Favorite Memoir: Educated by Tara Westover
A memoir of a modern survivor of incredible childhood abuse in the backwoods of Idaho and her fight to educate herself. This story was hard to read and yet I couldn’t put it down at the same time. Gave me a lot of perspective, compassion for recipients of abuse, and also reminded me of the power of self-education. Not for the faint of heart.

What was your favorite read from 2019?

Discontentment is a deadly enemy. God hates it. Throughout the Israelites wilderness years, we see the Israelites complain again and again, and we see how God rewards such complaining…plague, pestilence, death, and destruction.

William Farley, in his excellent book, The Secret of Spiritual Joy, says, “God even said that their [Israelites] complaining was an act of despising him (Numbers 14:11)…The truth is that grumbling, complaining, and self-pity are rampant and violent statements of unbelief. They are opposite of godward gratitude. They reject the gospel. They reject the reality of my sinfulness. They say, ‘I deserve only good things from God.’ They deny my absolute dependence on God. They deny his sovereignty and his goodness - essential aspects of deity. And they are guaranteed to leave me a far weaker, far less effective, and far less joyful Christian.”

William Farley goes on to say, “Thanksgiving is the language of humility - because true gratitude arises from a realization of our weakness and need. People with grateful hearts live with an awareness of just how much God has done for them.”

What a powerful challenge for us.

1. Number your thanks one by one.

Ann Voskamp called us to this habit years ago in her book, One Thousand Gifts. She challenged readers to literally start numbering those gifts you observe all around you and come up with a thousand beautiful gifts and watch to see if your life isn’t changed in the counting. I personally did this for many years and found it truly life changing. I stopped for awhile now and it is time to pick up this habit again this year and do it alongside my children. During our morning devotion time, we are each individually writing down a few things we are thankful for in our personal journals and then sharing them out loud with each other.

“To bring the sacrifice of thanksgiving means to sacrifice our understanding of what is beneficial and thank God for everything because He is benevolent…We give thanks to God not because of how we feel but because of who He is…It’s counting the ways He loves, this is what multiplies joy.” - Ann Voskamp

2. Read a few Thanksgiving picture books.

I love reading picture books just as much as my children, and there are a wealth of wonderful books available to us that help draw our attention to the beauty of thankfulness. A simple message of thanksgiving can speak volumes to our souls in the simple text of a book. I love adding a new book to our collection each year. Here are a few of our favorites:

A Very Thankful Prayer by Bonnie Jensen
God Gave Us Thankful Hearts by Lisa Tawn Bergren
Sharing the Bread by Pat Miller
Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wendy and Harry Devlin
This is the Feast by Diane Shore
Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson
Give Thanks to the Lord by Karma Wilson
Thankful by Eileen Spinelli

3. Write thank you cards.

Make a point to sit down to write a list of those people in your life that you could write a simple note of thanks and encouragement to this month. Teachers, leaders in the church, neighbors, grandparents, parents, siblings, etc. Pick up a stash of cards from your local Dollar Tree. Make it a family challenge. Notes of thankfulness could cover all your writing, cursive, and copywork practice this month. :) We are even having a competition to see who can write the most thank you cards this month for a special prize. A little note can go a long way to bless someone.

4. Make a thankfulness tree.

As you gather around the table as a family, start your conversation by expressing things you are thankful for and write them on leaves to be hung on branches at your table. For many years, we have made a thankfulness tree, that included writing our thanks on leaf printables that included Scripture references about thanksgiving. We laminated them and hung them year after year with new gifts. This year, we will be using a chalkboard that hangs in our dining room for this purpose. It will be our family collection of God’s good gifts to us as we reflect back on this year.

“The holy grail of joy is not in some exotic location or some emotional mountain peak experience. The joy wonder could be here! Here, in the messy, piercing ache of now, joy might be — unbelievably- possible! The only place we need to see before we die is this place of seeing God, here and now.” - Ann Voskamp

“Over time, choosing gratitude means choosing joy.” - Nancy Leigh Demoss

5. Read a book on Gratitude.

Please pick up a copy of either Secret of Spiritual Joy, Choosing Gratitude, or One Thousand Gifts, and see God transform your heart into one that is amazed again at the beauty of our Savior and how much we can rejoice in His goodness! It is time well spent.

For more fun picture books ideas:
Favorite Thanksgiving Picture Books

Chicken Ranch Tenders

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

• 2-3 pounds boneless chicken tenderloins

• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese

• ½ cup rolled oats (ground to a powder in a blender is my preference, but you can also use any type of flour, THM Baking Blend, Almond flour, etc.)

• 3 Tablespoons Ranch Dressing Mix

• 1/2 cup melted butter

Instructions:

1. Turn oven on to 375 degrees. Cut up 1/2 cup butter into 2 or 3 chunks and put in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Place in oven to melt as it heats up.

2. In a bowl, stir together parmesan cheese, ground rolled oats or flour, and ranch dressing mix.

3. Stir in the chicken tenderloins until they are coated.

4. Spread the prepared chicken pieces into the butter in the pan.

5. Bake for 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink (20 minutes usually is perfect!).

6. If desired, broil chicken for about 2 minutes to crisp it up before serving.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Heavenly Homemakers.

As I look back on a full, hard, and yet good year, I am thankful. I am amazed at God’s consistent upholding of my little sphere, home, and family.

I have a lot more white hair this year that I’m choosing to embrace. It’s wispy, wild, and out of control, but it’s a reminder that my days are limited on this earth and each moment is a precious gift.

We have been through some of our hardest financial challenges this year as we walk through another business closure. We’ve experienced many work transitions and multiple startups throughout our marriage, and numerous late night hours my husband has poured into multiple businesses. We end this year with our greatest amount of business debt to date. It’s a reminder that our confidence cannot be found in financial security, but only in Jesus Christ’s care for us, in His promise that He will never allow the righteous to be forsaken, or His children lacking bread.

We’ve seen some of our toughest child training issues to date, from trying to figure out how to help my eldest daughter learn how to handle many tears, disappointments, academic struggles, fatigue, and fearful lies of the enemy, to a rambunctious toddler who hasn’t slept consistently through the night and is always finding ways to escape out into our neighborhood and explore the world. He’s just shy of two years old and he’s already managed to fall out of a tree! It’s a reminder that God is in control of the hearts and lives of our children. He guides His young (Isaiah 40:11). God loves them more than I ever could and knows their future and it is good (Jeremiah 29:11).

Yet…despite the wild adventures of this past year, I’m more content and free from anxiety than I’ve ever been, and more happy in Jesus and deeply in love with my husband.

It is a testimony to God’s persevering grace continuing to teach me more of Himself and how to meditate on truth and fight hard against the devil’s lies.

This is what God has taught me, a mantra He has put in my heart to sing: believe and rest, dear one, instead of strive and stress.

Believe that God is fighting for you, and you can hold your peace and be at rest (Exodus 14:14). Believe that God has already paid the penalty for our sin, and won the battle for me, so we are free to fail. Believe that our victory is assured because we are in Christ (1 Cor. 15:57, 1 John 5:4). Believe that you are loved with an everlasting love (Jer. 31:3) and God is working all things together for your good (Romans 8:28). Believe that He’s got this! Whatever it might be. He is God and I am not. Do you believe it?

Rest is His peace that He promises to those who reach out and embrace it (John 14:27). Rest is His finished work on your behalf (John 3:16). Rest in the knowledge that He was condemned so you wouldn’t have to be (Romans 8:1). Rest in His sovereignty. Rest in His goodness (Psalms 10315-19). Rest in the knowledge that the good work He began in you, in your husband, and in your children, will be completed (Phil. 1:6). He didn’t just start it, He didn’t just help it along; He will perfect the good work He began! It’s guaranteed! He is enough and sufficient to carry you through every challenge and difficulty. Do you believe He is enough?

“Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalms 46:10).

Stop stressing and fighting for control…in your domain, over the hearts of your children, over financial control, independence, and stability. Stop stressing and losing sleep because you’re trying to solve all the problems around you. They are not problems for you to solve in the first place. God will be exalted in all the earth, and even in your domain. Could it really be that we are just pretending to be the god of our own domain?

I’ve been the one who stresses over every little mess in my house, over every toy out of its place (and finding myself more often throwing it away instead of putting it away), and every little person that is getting distracted from their duties as they goof off with one another. Could there possibly be more tears around here?

These are truths I have had to run to again and again and the act of running and choosing to believe yet again instead of allowing my thoughts to run down the wild unending anxiety train, has lead to unspeakable contentment.

I can testify that the more you are anchored in the Word of God and taking every thought captive to obedience to Jesus Christ (2 Cor 10:5), the more confident you will become in God and His good plan for you. The more your heart will sing for joy in the Lord!

But it all comes down to what you set your mind upon. Are you setting your mind on what is true and real? Or are you focusing on the “what if’s?” and “If only’s”? What if we had done something different in our business management? If only I hadn’t exposed my child to such and such, then this would never be a problem….These thoughts are fruitless! They only stir up anxiety and unrest.

Certainly I still struggle, but God has been faithfully leading and directing me and keeping me anchored in His Word and surrounded by a wealth of Godly friends and family in my church community speaking life and truth into my life for whom I’m so thankful. God is kind. 

Can you believe and rest instead of strive and stress today, dear sisters?

“Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” (Psalms 46:10)

And it doesn’t need to be limited to tea either. We have enjoyed refreshing lemonade or kombucha in the warm summer months, or hot apple cider in the fall, or hot cocoa in the cold winter months. We love baking muffins, cupcakes, or scones to enjoy together for this special occasion. We’ve also bought treats at times, including cider donuts in the fall to go with hot apple cider. When we need to keep it quick and simple, we just toast some bread with butter and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon for an easy treat! Popcorn is also a hit!

We’ve done Valentine Day themed poetry teas or Christmas themed teas and made wonderful memories together, sometimes even inviting friends to join us, which adds another level of fun and delight. This year, we are pairing tea time with lunch once a week. This works well to simply add a few sandwiches to the table spread.

So how do we do it? First, I put a whole stack of various poetry books on the table. Each child and adult picks out their favorite. Then, we each take turns going around the table and reading aloud from their selections of choice. If they are non-readers, Mommy or another big sibling reads for them. I also pick out my own favorites to share on my turn.

I try to have the kids stand up or read the poem while showing the pictures to their audience, so that everyone can understand and enjoy it more visually and effectively. We rarely discuss the poem, for this is simply a time to make poetry enjoyable. The more laughs the better. Thirty minutes may be as long as their attention spans allow, or before all the beverages and treats are consumed, but that’s all it takes to enjoy poetry together.

Some of our favorite titles include:

Poems and Prayers for the Very Young (favorite for 5 and under, worth finding used!)
Eloise Wilkin’s Poems to Read to the Very Young (sweet for 5 and under, also worth finding used!)
A Child’s Book of Poems (illustrated beautifully by Gyo Fujikawa)
The Random House Book of Poetry for Children
Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes (highly recommend the illustrated version by Gyo Fujikawa, but any nursery rhyme collection is great fun for tea time as well)
Jack Prelutsky (any of his books)
Shel Silverstein (any of his books)
Carnival of the Animals
Poetrees (and other poetry collections by Douglas Florian)
A Mix of Wet Cement
If You Were A Chocolate Mustache

For a wealth of other ideas and resources, check out Poetry Tea Time by Brave Writer, or Mary Hanna Wilson’s many poetry tea time posts.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I like to use half whole wheat flour to increase the nutritional value)
3/4 cup sugar (I use xylitol and coconut sugar for my sugar free alternative)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted or olive oil
1/4 cup milk (I use almond milk)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup shredded zucchini
1/2 cup blueberries (frozen berries from the freezer work just fine)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners.

2. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Mix egg, oil, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract in a bowl; stir into dry ingredients until just moistened. Fold in zucchini and blueberries. Fill prepared muffin cups 2/3 full.

3. Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.

I wanted to share some of the wonderful resources we are using this year. We will be reading Big Beliefs by David Helm, which contains short devotional readings about the core values of our faith (they take maybe 10-15 minutes to read and discuss, so short and sweet).

Next, we have Catechism recitation time, using the New City Catechism. We memorize one of the 52 catechism questions each week alongside our church for the whole year. The New City Catechism is an excellent modern catechism based on and adapted from Calvin’s Geneva Catechism, the Westminster Shorter and Larger catechisms, and especially the Heidelberg Catechism, shortened a bit to fit in a calendar year. They have an free app available or you can find printed resources as well on their website. Highly recommend this resource!

We are about halfway through Big Beliefs already, since we started earlier this year, so after we finish it this fall, we will move on to Wise Up: Ten-Minute Family Devotions in Proverbs by Marty Machowski, and work on memorizing some specific Proverbs passages. Marty Machowski has produced a wealth of great family devotional resources.

After our Bible reading discussion and catechism, we will practice memorizing a chapter of Scripture together, which we started with Philippians 2:1-18 this year. We simply read the passage out loud together, or rotate reading each verse, and slowly but surely, beautiful truth gets hidden in our hearts. Lastly, we will sing a hymn. We will learn two new hymns every six weeks. This is the first time we will really be doing singing consistently in our Morning Time together, especially as an entire family, and I love the idea of us worshipping the Lord together! We conclude our family devotion time together in prayer. Verses, hyms, poetry and some art work we will study this year are all in a spiral notebook we printed out this year.

Once a week, my husband is out with his discipleship group, so this morning I lead us through a slightly different assortment of resources, including God’s Names by Sally Michael (I absolutely love all the books in this series and highly recommend!), followed by our character lessons, using Lads & Ladies of Wisdom from the Character Corner. We will conclude with praying through 40 Days 40 Bites prayer guide that leads us in learning about the world and how to pray for different countries and people groups.

All in all, our devotional Morning Time takes 30-45 minutes, and is such a sweet refreshing start to our day! Probably the best start to our day!

Since I wrote the Homeschooling Bravely post, earlier this summer, I have been mulling a lot over the importance of training our children in the Word of God and character. I love making these core foundations a priority in our home, and desire to take seriously the command in Deut. 6:4-9, which is becoming the foundation for our homeschool:

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Talking about God’s Word and commands “when we rise up” each morning seems to be an ideal way to start the day! And how else can God’s words be on our hearts, if we don’t memorize God’s Word with our children, so we have his truth ready and available to fight against the enemy’s lies and temptations?

I also need the regular reminder that true knowledge and understanding can only come through the fear of the Lord, as Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” So academics should always take second place to cultivating the fear of the Lord in our children hearts.

For more Family Devotion resources and methods that we have used in the past, check out this post: How We Do Family Devotions.

God bless you as you seek to train your children to love and serve Jesus!

I use a basic Pages document on Mac, but you can easily use Word documents (pictured above). I use this exact same template/document for each two week schedule, and only change the dinners and the dates for the most part each time I make my menu. Breakfasts and lunches stay the same, which takes half the work out of it. I then look through my evernote notebook of recipes (the free storage service I use for my recipes and other household lists/organization), and pick which dinners I want to prepare for the next two week window. Evernote is fabulous because I can easily copy and paste recipes from all difference sources, use their Evernote Web Clipper feature for easy clipping, or take pictures from various cookbooks and store for easy reference and searchability.

I follow general themes for my dinners: Friday is always pizza night, Saturday and Sundays are typically easy meals (hot dogs, tomato soup & grilled cheese, etc, unless we are having company), Monday is Main Dish Salad in the summer and Soups in the fall/winter, Tuesdays (we have a church community group dinner twice a month) and Thursdays are Taco/Mexican themed, and Wednesday is usually some main dish meat, casserole or pasta salad, with our date night every other week. This obviously flexs and adapts as desired.

After making my menu, I refer back to the recipes and add the ingredients to my Wal-Mart grocery pickup order. I have been enjoying this free service since Lewis came into our lives, and it has been a huge help. It has saved me hours of grocery shopping as they pick up all the items for you and bring them right to your vehicle. I can keep a “favorites” list of all the items I buy on a consistent basis, which helps me not to forget anything. I love that they have a good range of organic, whole food, or whole wheat products as well, based on your preference. So just one stop to the grocery store every two weeks is my regular routine. I do like to hit up Trader Joes and Smart Foodservice (Cash n Carry) occasionally for those special items or bulk meats I can only get there. I also get a monthly order through Azure Standard (which I host a drop for my area). For other grocery lists, I just use the reminders app on my phone and keep a tab for each store I visit. This allows me to keep an ongoing list of items I need.

I then print out my menu, and put it in a sheet protector that I have in a visible place on my kitchen wall (see below). I can then see it easily each day, pull out items from the freezer in the morning, and it also stores a selection of previous menus in the the back of the sheet protector for easy reference if I get stumped for meal ideas.

What about perishables? I have found most everything lasts just fine for a two week window. In general, I use fresh produce the first week, and may use more frozen produce (green beans, peas, corn, etc) the second week. Fruit is consumed as it ripens (and thus not specifically listed on our menu). I stick with romaine lettuce hearts that are packaged in threes, which lasts way longer than other lettuce varieties, or spring mix that are packaged by the 1 pound containers. If it comes in a container of some sort, it typically lasts longer…or if you learn how to store your produce properly (lots of tutorials online), not just loosely in the fridge. I haven’t experienced spoilage like you might suspect.

So that’s how it works for our family! Have any questions? Feel free to shoot me an email or comment below.

Want to try it out and use my template to get you started? Download it here.

I knew it was time to hit the refresh button. While reading, Pam Barnhill’s Plan Your Year, I realized I really needed to revamp and refocus on the mission of our homeschool. “Why are we doing this again?” Was the question I needed to re-evaluate and pray through. I know what God has called us to, He will supply the grace and help to accomplish. For “the real challenge is recognizing that homeschooling is a call from God and then fully embracing His call to do it,” as Jamie Erickson shares in her new book, Homeschool Bravely, which is a powerful little book full of encouragement and wisdom to help squash doubt, trust God, and teach your child with confidence.

God didn’t call you to homeschooling because you could handle it. He called you because He could handle it. - Jamie Erickson

Homeschooling is a powerful opportunity to trust God. It is a day by day call to trust not in our own strength and wisdom, but to daily bow the knee before the Greatest Teacher, and ask Him to gather and teach our young through our feeble efforts. For as Isaish 40:11 says, “He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.”

Scared is just the mask that fear wears to lure a mom into defeat—and defeat never comes from God. Bravery, on the other hand, admits not only who you are, but also who God is. Brave shifts the confidence to God and fully embraces His ability to do it right. God chose you for this task, so don’t question His ability to choose wisely. - Jamie Erickson

Homeschooling is a powerful means of growing in sanctification for me! It’s part of the good work God has called for me to do and grow through. He uses it to prune and refine me as I learn right alongside my children to apply the fruits of the Spirit in my interactions with my children. I continually have to learn to repent when I stumble, believe the gospel, and get back up again by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Here’s a cold, hard reality: sometimes homeschooling is not about your children at all. Sometimes it is about you and what God seeks to do in your life. He wants to use everything about it, even your difficult child, to sand off your rugged edges. It’s easy to assume that home is where your children learn to be more patient, more kind, more mature, more righteous. But don’t forget, home is where you learn to become more too. - Jamie Erickson

So, it was time to remember why I was homeschooling:

• I want my children to be surrounded by the truth of Scripture, the reality of God, and a love for His Word in everything we do. God and His Word is the center of our homeschool (Luke 10:27, Deut 6:7). Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”

• I homeschool in order to focus on cultivating good character and habits in the hearts of my children.

• I want my children to have strong sibling relationships by learning, playing, working, and exploring together.

• I want my children to have freedom to explore things that interest them, cultivating a delight directed learning environment, and not limit them to a core standard that the public school system requires.

• I want to raise young adults that are others centered, servant-hearted, and globally minded children (Matthew 23:11-12).

When I narrowed it down, God & His Word, Character, Relationships, and Service were the four key cores to why we are homeschooling. Reality struck: Why do I then get so caught up in stressing about the academics? Why do I believe the lie that my children are behind? Do they love Jesus and love to serve others? Yes! Then our homeschool is a success. Are they working hard and persevering through learning challenges? Yes! Then character is being cultivated.

If God has led you to homeschool then you are compelled to walk in faith, not fear. Faith recognizes God is bigger than any challenge life sends, including homeschooling.- Cindy Rollins

God doesn’t want—or expect—you to do homeschool like the elusive Jones family. He didn’t give you the same tools that He gave them, so He doesn’t expect you to build the same thing. You have unique gifts, time, and talents. You have unmatched children with one-of-a-kind interests. - Jamie Erickson

Ultimately, my homeschool is not supposed to look like yours, and yours is not supposed to look like mine. So let’s stop comparing and keep our focus on what Jesus is calling for our own unique families. He is fighting for you and your homeschool. If God is for your homeschool, who can be against it (Romans 8:31)? We are either listening to fear or listening to the Voice of Jesus, and His is the only Voice that really matters. God doesn’t make mistakes. You are called to this, and He always chooses wisely.

He will carry your kids from womb to tomb, and that includes all the parts that come after their education. Their stories belong to God and are covered by the blood of Christ. Homeschooling is not their savior, Christ is. So no matter what trials or temptations come their way someday, if they’ve put their faith in Him, the final line of their story will surely read, “Happily ever after.”

Fear will never lead you well because it speaks in falsehoods and cannot be trusted. Doubt is a bully that will always try to knock you down. But here’s the thing: if you feed your faith, your fears will starve to death. - Jamie Erickson

So be encouraged with me dear sisters. If God has called you to homeschool, read God’s Word, get this book, and cast your concerns at His feet. But do take the time to write out your own mission statement, for it is an excellent centerpiece to help refocus you each time you’re tempted to give up. Making this mission statement also has helped me begin my planning for this next school year, making sure I prioritize what is most important. This temptation will likely circle around again, but I now have truth to fight it with!

Bravery is the courage it takes to say with boldness, “Here is my homeschool, God. Here, too, are my fears, faults, and failures. They’re Yours now to face, fix, and forgive.” - Jamie Erickson

It’s summer and time for our family to update our chore chart (as seen above) and move some tasks around to allow for variety and increased responsibility. I keep a simple document in Pages that I can update each year. Easier chores move down to the next child in line as the older kids become more capable. As our numbers have increased, certain jobs need to be done more frequently, so that must be considered as well (i.e. Our living room now officially needs to be vacuumed daily! Bathrooms need to be cleaned twice a week. Deep cleaning the kitchen needs to be done weekly. Dishwasher must be unloaded each morning). I take the summer time to train each child in their new assignments. This way, we are all ready to go once school starts again.

I typically assign two tasks to each child and they are required to do them before breakfast. We set a 30 minute timer for this purpose to encourage them to stay focused and get their jobs done so they can eat. Obviously, dish clean up falls outside this requirement because it can’t be done until breakfast or lunch is completed.

We talk a lot in our home about the importance that everyone is a valuable asset to our home. We work together to maintain our home, to keep it clean and tidy for cleanliness and also for hospitality. We all work together to help our home run smoothly. We want to teach our kids to work hard and to learn basic life skills in order that they might become valuable contributors to our society in the future. We are called to “work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically,” which is our family mantra and goal in training our children (Romans 12:11-12).

We teach new chores through a 3-step process. First, I demonstrate the steps for completing the chore. Second, we do the chore together. Thirdly, they complete the chore on their own, while I supervise, encourage, and give reminders as needed. Each of these steps may take more than a day, but slowly but surely, they learn and can complete it eventually on their own.

It can be helpful to post a printed copy of the steps for the job in a visible place in the room (i.e. inside the bathroom cupboard for bathroom cleaning instructions) so it is easy for them to review. I laminate this list (see below), and then they can use a dry erase marker and check off each step as they complete it. My eldest daughter was a little overwhelmed at the thought of learning how to deep clean the kitchen this year, so she worked with daddy to score each job with a difficulty rating of 1-3, based on how many minutes she thought each task would take. Then she started with the #1 tasks and worked her way up, checking them off as she went. This was a great idea for those that may be overwhelmed at learning new jobs! She told Daddy later, “Thanks for helping make hard things fun!”

Here is our list of chore responsibilities based on appropriate ages that we use in our home:

Ages 3-4:

• Clean up shoe shelf/entryway: Put shoes neatly on shelves, hang up loose coats, etc. Learn how to put away shoes and coats when we come home.

• Wipe down chairs and coffee tables: With the use of a simple gentle cleaner and a rag, a little one can learn how to spray and wipe down chairs and low tables.

• Put dirty clothes in laundry hamper.

• Help set the table.

• Fold towels: We start around 4 years of age to teach the kids how to fold towels, washcloths, etc., and around 5 years old, they are folding their own laundry and putting it away.

Ages 4-5:

• Make their bed and pick up bedroom (my 4 year old, Helen, has just started this task and I’ve been amazed once again at what a great job she can do at such a young age!)

• Empty dishwasher (Tip: Store your dishes and cups down on low shelves so littles can put them away at a young age. This is also a great time to teach them how to be careful while they carry fragile items to their storage shelves.)

• Make PBJ or other basic sandwiches (at four years old, my littles learn how to make their own sandwiches, which frees up mommy’s time in the kitchen)

• Vacuum (Chose a lightweight vacuum, so that the kids can learn to vacuum around 5-6 years old. We start by assigning them a small room to vacuum a couple times a week.)

• Fold their own laundry: Around 5 years old, we have them begin folding all their own laundry. We wash all our clothes on Mondays and fold them in the evening while we read aloud or watch an educational show.

Ages 6-7:

• Help put away groceries.

• Learn how to make basic breakfasts: One morning a week, they get to make breakfast as one of their chores. My 7 year old is currently learning how to make pancakes and French toast.

• Basic bathroom clean-up: This includes teaching them how to wipe down counter, sink and toilet. Many times we allow them to use disinfecting wipes at this age to keep it easy and simple for them.

• Sweeping & moping: We have a very simple and lightweight Sh-Mop system that makes it easy for little ones to do moping.

• Vacuum stairs: You can use a handheld vacuum to easily vacuum stairs at this age.

• Empty trashcans and take out trash cans to corner on trash collection day.

• Become a “Dinner Helper”: Each child gets a turn to be the “Dinner Helper” each evening and learn how to do basic food preparation, from chopping, to making salads, to rolling out pizza dough, etc.

Ages 8-10:

• Bring down and sort the laundry for washing: This includes making piles of whites, darks, colors, and starting the first load in the washer.

• Full bathroom clean-up: We call this “Full bathroom” and includes wiping down counter, sink, toilet, bathroom mirror, shower/bath, and sweep and moping floors.

• Clean Windows: With a simple squeegee blade and washer brush, littles can learn how to clean windows. A basic step stool is helpful for this if they are not tall enough.

• Ironing

• Vacuum out car and wash outside of car.

• Wipe down kitchen cupboards and appliances.

• Start helping with breakfast, lunch, and dinner dishes.

Ages 11 and up:

• Learn how to clean kitchen thoroughly: My goal is to teach my kids how to thoroughly clean kitchen by age 12.

• Weeding & mowing lawn (Titus started mowing the lawn at 10 years old this year! Yahoo!)

• Learn how to prepare basic dinners.

• Make a weekly meal completely on their own (from planning, adding ingredients to grocery list, to preparing, to cleaning up).

Here is a free downloadable link to my Chore Charts & Dinner Duties for your editable personal use!

For further reading on chores, check out this post from the archives: Training Your Kids to Help with Chores.

This last week, we spent an evening with the kids coming up with our summer bucket list and writing it out on a big blackboard (Home Depot $10 deal!). The kids had a blast, as you can see from the photo.

I like to use summer to do some deep cleaning and decluttering around my house, tackling tasks that I can’t get too during the school year. I make a master list of various areas in the house that need my attention: closets, reorganizing kids clothes (storing away clothes that are too small or out of season that have just been accumulating on closet shelves), deep cleaning kitchen cupboards, and reorganizing our homeschool resources (tossing old workbooks, buying new supplies, and reorganizing our homeschool storage space), etc. I might wipe down doors, baseboards, and the like.

I also like to take summer to make a new chore chart for the upcoming school year. I will shift chores around as new helpers join the ranks and train the kids in new tasks. I’ll share more about this in my next post.

To ensure we keep some good routines going during the summer, I like to make each child their own daily checklist. I want to maintain basic reading, writing, and math skills over the summer to prevent summer slide while keeping it fun and engaging, so we make our own summer reading challenge with fun outings as a reward (for every 5 books read by all), and utilize math facts wrap-ups or online math programs to keep up the skills (khan academy, math seeds & reading eggs). I want to keep helping the kids establish the habit of their own personal devotion time as well as memorizing some Scripture over the summer that is specifically chosen to address various character struggles they are experiencing, so that’s included on their list. We took this check list idea and the free printable from Jordan Page at Fun Cheap or Free.

We have the checklists hanging in our kitchen in a visible place they walk by every single day. Each day, they will take their list and check it off as completed. We will erase at the end of the day. The list must be completed before they have their 15 minutes of i-pad game time or play dates with neighbors and friends.

So their lists includes:

Bible - We use this Kid’s Bible Reading plan, and our non-reader uses Jesus Storybook Bible (Read and Hear version for i-Pad in Apple Books and then she listens to Psalms 23 read aloud through ESV Study bible app).
Memory Verses
Chores (they each have two chores to complete each morning)
Writing (10 min) - We picked out some fun journals to encourage free-writing/journaling over the summer. They can write about their day, write a letter to a friend, or write about what they read in their current book.
Math (15 min) - Wrap Up’s (math facts review), Math Seeds, or Khan Academy
Reading (30 min)
Typing (10 min)
Act of service: Find one way to serve someone practically (in our family or neighborhood).

It’s looking to be a fabulous productive summer!

This has been an incredible glimpse into the love story of the Elliots, witnessing their beautifully inspiring confidence in God’s plan for their lives, and their deep-seated eagerness to honor him every step of the way. Through a wealth of letting writing, when no other form of communication was possible, we see patient waiting on God’s timing. We see confident trust in God alone. We see an amazing passion to spread the gospel and make a difference with their lives. We see their eagerness to point each other back to Christ again and again. An inspiring story!

A favorite quote from Jim:
I trust that you will let nothing deceive you in the details of your going out—not common sense, experience, advice, ambition for souls rather than adoration for Christ, or any other voice than that of the living God, who will not suffer His faithfulness to fail.

And a quote from Elisabeth:
“Today I found severe temptation (and I yielded) to laxity in prayer and Bible study. Oh, I am conscious more than ever of my desperate need to know the Word—my only offensive weapon—but how very difficult it is for me to concentrate upon that only and wait upon God.”

Susie: The Life and Legacy of Susannah Spurgeon, wife of C.H. Spurgeon by Ray Rhodes Jr

I’ve talked about and reviewed this book here. Easily a favorite thus far!

You Who?: Why You Matter & How to Deal With It By Rachel Jankovic

Rachel doesn’t beat around the bush as she challenges women to see that their true purpose and identity can only be found in seeking the glory of God and walking in obedience to His Word. She stresses that what God calls us to be doing is very simple: obedience. Through obedience we have great purpose, clarity, and calling. It’s not about us…it’s all about Him! He has the best story for our lives…a story hand crafted by the Creator, and it’s through embracing His story that we become our true selves. Excellent and thought provoking!

Favorite quotes:

“His fierce grip on me is the basis of all of my confidence. That is the basis of all my belonging. He knows who I am. He knows where I belong. Nothing more than that. No great confidence in my abilities or my ideas and strategies. No great achievement of self-actualization. No life flowchart that I am managing to get through in a timely and impressive manner. Nothing but God: He mine, and I His.”

“In other words, the more we try to build up an identity apart from God and apart from His Word, the less truly us we become. It doesn’t matter how long or thoughtful or detailed the story you are writing is. If it is written by a character in the story rather than the Author of the story, it can only ever be tiny; it will always be minuscule by comparison. You cannot, as a character, out-write the Author of you.”

”When we embrace the fact that obedience now is always the calling of a Christian, we find that we have more than enough to do. We are not to be the lost travelers hanging out at all the bus stations in life looking for our potential ticket to something that matters. Read the Word. Obey the Word. Obey it now. Obey it again.”

The Simplest Way to Change the World: Biblical Hospitality as a Way of Life by Dustin Willis & Brandon Clements

Easily a favorite book on the importance and beauty of practicing hospitality through your home and lifestyle in our day and age. Hospitality is the secret weapon for gospel advancement. We can be a part of God’s mission right from our living rooms. Practical and inspiring. Pull out the BBQ and cook in your front yard and invite the neighbors! It’s the perfect time of year!

Favorite quotes:

“God’s plan to glorify Himself in the church never consisted of platformed mega-pastors, cutting-edge art, or expensive buildings. The real power in the church is found the Holy Spirit moving through ordinary people as they carry His presence into the streets.”

“If we are ever going to join all our lives to God’s mission to change the world, we need to reclaim all of our ordinary pieces as a part of that gospel mission. We will have to reject the notion that something has to be big or unusual to be significant. We will have to view the ordinariness of our lives as significant and allow God to use our homes as a seed to be planted and grown, not something to be discarded or devalued. If ordinary doesn’t equal insignificant, then even a walk to the mailbox or grilling burgers matters. Everything about your everyday, ordinary, small-feeling life matters. Your meals matter. Your hobbies matter. Your work matters. Your home … it matters.”

“Biblical hospitality is the polar opposite of cultural trends to separate and isolate. It rejects the notion that life is best spent fulfilling our own self-centered desires, cordoned off from others in the private fortresses we call homes. Biblical hospitality chooses to engage rather than unplug, open rather than close, initiate rather than sit idly.”

Add one or all of these to your summer book stack, and you won’t regret it!

Guess what I’m reading this summer?

My Summer Reads:

Finding Holy in the Suburbs: Living Faithfully in the Land of Too Much - Ashley Hales
Steal Away Home: Charles Spurgeon and Thomas Johnson, Unlikely Friends on the Road to Freedom by Matt Carter
Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More - Karen Swallow Prior
A Practical Guide to Culture: Helping the Next Generation Navigate Today’s World by John Stonestreet

Audiobooks in my stack:
Hard Times by Charles Dickens
The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier
The Pioneers by David McCullough - my favorite historian has a new book!

Amongst the fullness, the Lord has met me in some incredible ways. He has planted these thoughts in my mind lately…

The only way I can be a good mother is to point my children to a Good Father. God is fighting for us! Being a good mother is not about my efforts, it’s not about making the best plans for my kids, it’s not about having all the answers to their struggles, it’s about pointing them to Jesus. Jesus is enough. He is enough in the face of every difficulty.

The only true self-care my soul and spirit needs is more of God’s Word. I can’t slack or become lazy about reading his Word. This is the weapon my soul needs daily to fight the good fight of faith. I need Jesus.

I must be anchored in God’s Word, moment by moment, hour by hour, so I can rest confidently in God’s care, plan, and purposes when I am tempted to be overwhelmed by a flood of worldly lies.

Psalms 37 calls us to…

Delight Yourself in the Lord….
Commit Your way to the Lord…
Trust in the Lord…
Be still before the Lord…REST!

In a season of waiting, discouragement, and doubt…God is calling me to rest.

I was listening to this sermon series, God’s Faithfulness in Times of Trouble by Nancy Demoss Wolgemuth, and she shared these quotes by C.H. Spurgeon:

“If hunger brings us to our knees, it is more useful to us than feasting. If thirst drives us to the fountain, it is better than the deepest droughts of worldly joy. And if fainting leads to crying, it is better than the strength of the mighty.”

“We pray best when we are fallen on our faces in painful helplessness.”

Anything that makes me need God is a blessing. - Nancy Demoss Wolgemuth

That’s where I am right now. I am needy. I need more of Jesus. I need Jesus to support and love my husband well during his work transitions. I need Jesus to know how to address the difficult heart issues of my children. I need Jesus to make homeschooling decisions for the next year and not compare myself with others.

And being needy is a good place to be as I get more of Jesus as a result!

By the way, I’m doing the Same Page Summer Bible reading challenge this summer, reading through the entire New Testament starting June 3, and I’d love for you to join me in making God’s Word a priority this summer. More info, visit here.

I failed miserably in my mothering today. Everything from delays in getting coats and shoes on, to going potty in underwear, to getting out of bed before the proper time, to “can’t you get this math problem, yet!” Each situation was responded to with an outburst of anger and frustration.

I experience guilt on many levels in my motherhood. I feel guilty when my house isn’t clean, organized, or I don’t have the energy to design all these glorious organizing tools. I feel like a failure when I don’t spend enough quality time with my children or waste too much time on my phone or computer browsing. I feel guilty when we don’t do family devotions as if my children’s salvation was all dependent upon me. I feel like a terrible homemaker when I don’t get anything done on my to-do list. So in response to my guilt, I get frustrated and the cycle continues. It’s a dangerous pit of self-pity that destroys my joy.

The only means through which we can find deliverance out of this battlefield of guilt, condemnation, and anger is through the power and truth of the gospel. The only lasting freedom can come through acknowledging what Christ has done on my behalf.

We have to steep ourselves in the power of the gospel. We have to soak it in.

I have to remind myself that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). Yes, you and I will surely fail. But we have a glorious Savior who bore our condemnation. He bore our guilt. It was nailed to the cross. So in our failure, we can have hope. Christ Jesus has replaced our sinful record with His perfect righteous record.

As Elyse Fitzpatrick, in her book, Because He Loves Me, says, “When you are tempted to slide down into a miry pit of self-condemnation, you can remember Jesus’ sinless life and the perfect record that is now yours. Yes, it’s true that you sin heinously and consistently, but you have a perfect record before God, the only one who opinion really matters.”

“Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins (Romans 3:24).”

You have a perfect record. So, repent! Confess your sin before the Almighty God, and before your children, and then rest in the finished work of Christ of your behalf.

Colossians 1:16-17 says, “The Father…has qualified you [past tense; it's finished] to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us[past tense again; the deliverance is completed] from the domain of darkness and transferred us [past tense once more: the transferal is already concluded] to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have [present tense; this very moment we possess it] redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

My outbursts of anger were nailed to the cross before I even walked this earth. My fear of failure is a waste of my energy. I am now free to fail. He paid the greatest price. In order to experience true freedom from guilt, I must stop focusing on all that I need to do in order to become a better mother. I must first turn my gaze upon what He has already done for me.

The only way to become a better mom is to preach the gospel to myself every day. It’s not my behavior that makes me a better mom, it’s through believing the truth more deeply about what what He has already accomplished. Believe and rest, and not strive and stress. Repent, rejoice, repeat…that is the lifestyle that God calls us too. Cultivating a lifestyle of repentance before my children is a powerful witness of the gospel for them to see too! “Mommy’s not perfect. Mommy needs Jesus too.”

God doesn’t call me to be perfect. He calls me to embrace my standing before him, and to run in that freedom he has already granted to me! I am adored by Christ! I am redeemed! I am accepted!

Ultimately, when I enslave myself by guilt I am mocking what He did on the cross, I am denying the grace and mercy purchased for me through his sinless life. This guilt is witness to the fact that I am depending upon my own strength. I am believing that my children will only grow, flourish, and follow Christ if I do this certain set of practices.

So when you are tempted to put another brick of guilt on yourself, may I encourage you to stop, and declare with me:

“Because Jesus was strong for me, I am free to be weak;
because Jesus won for me, I am free to lose;
because Jesus was someone, I am free to be no one;
because Jesus was extraordinary, I am free to be ordinary;
because Jesus succeeded for me, I am free to fail.” -Tullian Tchividjian

Praise God for the full and abundant life I have in Christ!

Jesus loves me just as much today as He did yesterday!

If you need to soak in a deeper understanding of the gospel and what God has already accomplished for you, I recommend Elyse Fitzpatrick’s, Because He Loves Me, and A Gospel Primer for Christians by Milton Vincent, and Christ in the Chaos: How the Gospel Changes Motherhood by Kimm Cranball.

I was introduced to Trim Healthy Mama shortly after my fourth child, Helen, was born in 2015. I had been able to lose pregnancy weight fairly easily for my first three pregnancies, but number four produced a more difficult challenge. I began looking into healthy weight loss options, and Trim Healthy Mama stood out among the many trending options. Why? THM authors, Serene and Pearl, are two lovely God-fearing sisters, who have sought to support the Christian community by offering a simple balanced healthy lifestyle, as opposed to a weight loss diet. I love THM because it is doable. It doesn’t eliminate any food groups, but teaches you how to enjoy all the food groups in their proper balance and proportions. I appreciate how they believe all the food groups are part of God’s creation, and therefore to be enjoyed. I followed their recommendations pretty faithfully, with a little grace and flexibility and was able to lose my pregnancy weight.

Two miscarriages and a fifth pregnancy later, I was having a hard time loosing extra weight. I was still 35 pounds over my healthy weight recommendation, even after one year postpartum. I knew it was time to take some more aggressive action. With the help and accountability of my husband (who also needed to lose 20 pounds), and a useful free app, Lose It! (I just used the free portion and did not pay for premium), for calorie tracking, I went back to a more strict THM lifestyle. What I found is that following THM without considering portion control, can be very difficult. Many healthy recipes can still be pretty high in calories, so if you aren’t taking that into consideration, you can easily over eat! All things in moderation is the key.

My favorite cookbook from THM is the Trim Healthy Table cookbook, as it has so many easy family friendly recipes. If you want to get started with THM, the Trim Healthy Mama Plan book is the most useful in explaining the whole lifestyle. Their facebook group and free web-zine emails and podcasts are also very useful.

This time, I decided to exercise more consistently through walking and biking (using my bike on a trainer with Zwift app for indoor exercise), and tracking my calories. I exercised three times a week for at least 30 minutes, usually 45 minutes to an hour on Saturdays.

What I enjoyed about Lose It! was that I could set a weight goal for myself, based on the healthy weight recommendation reflecting my height and age, and then the app would set a finish line for me if I stayed within the recommended daily calorie count. So basically, it recommends you lose 1.5 pounds each week (which is the healthy weight loss recommendation), and then it will set a daily calorie budget for you. For me, I needed to get within 135-155 pounds, and I decided to shoot for 145 pounds, right in the middle of that range. My daily budget was around 1250 calories. It took a few weeks longer than initially projected, as I had some stalls in my weight loss, but ultimately it worked! Many THM recipes were already set up in the app, and I could easily scan products and make my own recipes by scanning individual ingredients within the app as well. This enabled me to track my food intake pretty easily.

My personal menu over the last few months has consisted of the following:

Breakfasts: Eggs with bacon or turkey sausage with my coffee and cream (limiting to 1 Tbsp half n half with liquid stevia drops for sweetener, my favorite being the English Toffee flavor), 1/2 cup or so of oatmeal with about 1/4 cup plain non-fat greek yogurt and THM sweet blend to sweeten, or THM pancakes or my own banana pancakes with monk-fruit maple syrup.

Lunches: Main dish salads (with any combination of lettuce, veggies, lunchmeat, pepperoni, cheese, hard boiled eggs, or roasted chicken on top for protein) or THM dinner leftovers for lunch. I’d stick with a non-fat salad dressing or just a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. I also enjoyed THM smoothies from the Trim Healthy Table cookbook a lot! They have a fabulous Cinnamon bun shake, pina colada shake, frisky, lemon-blueberry cheesecake shake, and triple-berry power shake that we all love! The shakes alone are worth the cost of this cookbook :).

Snacks: Larabars!! Yes, I am obsessed with them. They only have 5 ingredients and are THM approved. They are tasty too! I used the Amazon subscribe & save on these babies, and was able to get a great price. My favorites are the Coconut Cream & Key Lime Pie flavors. Alternatively, I’d eat 1/2 apple with 1 Tbsp peanut butter.

Dinners: THM dinners (see below). I stuck with high protein and veggie combinations for the most part, and avoided white breads/carbs, etc. I also eliminated alcohol and desserts for the most part. Calorie tracking has enabled me to sneak in a few treats along the way as well, as I could adjust my food intake based on the treat of choice. Yes, I did enjoy a few donuts along the way!

THM is family friendly as well, especially in their newest cookbook, Trim Healthy Table. Every recipe is super simple and has adaptations to make in slow cookers or instant pots as desired. Or tips on how to add more carbs for growing children to serve alongside the meal. For us, this usually meant, I served brown rice a lot with dinner for the kids.

Our Favorite THM recipes:

Easy Chicken Fajita Casserole (Joy Filled Eats)
Easy Taco Casserole (Joy Filled Eats)
Simply Crunchy Ranch Chicken Strips (Heavenly Homemakers) (I use THM baking blend instead of flour in this recipe to make it THM, but you can also easily use some ground up rolled oats for an alternative)
Low Carb Zuppa Tuscana
THM Cheeseburger Pie
Pizza (I’d use whole wheat crust for the kids, and make mine on a Joseph’s Lavash bread)
Spaghetti (Kids would have brown rice noodles, and I’d use the Miracle Noodle Shirataki Pasta)
Omelettes (an easy breakfast for dinner option)
Egg Roll in a Bowl (from Trim Healthy Table)
Chicken Fried Double Rice (from Trim Healthy Table)
Tuscan Cream Chicken (from Trim Healthy Table)
BAM Waffles (from Trim Healthy Table)
THM Pancakes
THM Double Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies (Trim Healthy Table Cookbook) - These are incredibly delicious! My favorite find in the cookbook! I do use 1/2 cup each of xylitol & coconut sugar (coconut sugar is not THM approved, but I find its more delicious and a good healthy option in moderation), and just 1/2 cup chocolate chips.

THM plan products that I use:

THM Sweet Blend (I do use this product from THM and love it! Couldn’t find a cheaper alternative that was quite the same for all the shakes and such that we love!)
THM Baking Blend (I used this very infrequently, mainly for our favorite cookies above, or to replace any bread crumbs called for in a recipe, like our favorite Ranch Chicken Strips or Meatloaf. It’s just too expensive to make a lot of THM friendly desserts with it.)
Xylitol (blending in coffee grinder gives the powdery consistency of THM gentle sweet, but a cheaper alternative)
Baobab Powder (I buy from Amazon subscribe & save) - this superfood is amazing! The highest source of vitamin C and so easy to add to smoothies!
Whey Protein Powder (I typically used Tera’s Whey grass-fed, stevia sweetened whey, wherever I could find for the best price).

So thankfully, with my husband’s help and accountability, we both were able to meet our respective weight loss goals! I highly recommend getting an accountability partner if possible. Aaron lost 20 pounds over 3-4 months, and I lost 35 pounds over 6 months. We feel a lot better overall and are really enjoying continuing to exercise and stay in shape moving forward. My husband has gotten so excited about biking as a result…he’s now training for local bike races. A fun side benefit that I didn’t anticipate! I’m preparing to run a quarter marathon in the next month too. Running is the last thing I ever wanted to do…but with a friend, I think it’s going to be fun. Yahoo!

Ultimately, our goal is to stay healthy so we can be fit and ready to serve the Lord in whatever he calls us too. Also, if he calls us to have another baby, I didn’t want the excessive back pain and such that comes with extra weight and pregnancy combined (like I experienced with baby #5). I’m so thankful for God’s grace that made it possible to achieve this goal. It can be really quite fun to set a goal, find an accountability partner, and go for it!

“The Christian’s faith sometimes fails; however, God never forsakes His people. If it seems as if He is asleep while His people suffer, it should be remembered that the pillow beneath His head is His own Omniscience, and, as surely as He ruled those winds and waves on Galilee’s lake and reigned in the tempest with a word, so certainly does He manage all the affairs of His children and appoint or permit all that concerns them.”
- Susannah Spurgeon

I am reading a phenomenal biography about the wife of one of my favorite theologians, Charles Spurgeon and his wife, Susie, called simply: Susie: The Life and Legacy of Susannah Spurgeon. What an incredible couple they were. Through some shocking trials and suffering, much of which included Susie being an invalid and remaining at home through the majority of her life and unable to travel with her husband throughout his extensive ministry, they remained anchored in the rock of our Lord Jesus Christ. They understood that the purpose of suffering was to bring men “near to Jesus” and to a “conscious dependence upon God.”

Looking at Psalms 31:15, “My times are in thy hand”, Susie declared: “Not one or two important epochs of my history only, but everything that concerns me; joys that I had not expected, sorrows that must have crushed me if they could have been anticipated, sufferings which might have terrified me by their grimness had I looked upon them, surprises which infinite love had prepared for me, services of which I could not have imagined myself capable; all these lay in that mighty hand as the purposes of God’s eternal will for me.”

Charles dealt with severe depression throughout most of his life, and may have been diagnosed with biopolar disorder in our day. But through it all, Susie faithfully ministered to him at his side. At the end of a long hard day, she would read to him from other puritan theologians, bringing calming peace to his mind and allowing him to rest. Many of these times, their reading together would bring conviction and tears, and Susie said: “He from the smitings of a very tender conscience toward God, and I, simply and only because I love him, and want to share his grief.” They possessed such tender affection and care for one another. It was a true spiritual partnership as God intended for marriage.

The biographer, Ray Rhodes, Jr, testified: “Their ministry to one another cemented their affections with a bond that no amount of suffering could erode.”

It has been so convicting to me as well, to remain steadfast at my husband’s side through the ebbs and flows of life. My husband also deals with his own set of struggles, and how might I also more faithfully minister to him through reading truth and purposefully praying over him to bring comfort to his soul in these low moments?

It was spoken of Susie: “Never would Mr. Spurgeon have gone through his unparalleled labors, if he had not found rest and reinforcement in his home, and in the society of a brave, noble, loving woman.”

How can we bring such rest and reinforcement into our homes? How can we become brave, noble, and loving women of God who stand boldly by our men and hold to God’s unshakeable truth? God has such beauty to display through a loving marriage. He displays His glory when you lovingly lay your life down for your husband and children.

It is drawing near to the anniversary of the anticipated arrival of my own precious baby (was due April 2017), that we bid farewell to at a mere 14 weeks conception. I look upon the blooming, beautifully fragrant Daphnia in my yard, that we planted over our little one’s grave, and remember and grieve. It was a precious little one, with perfect tiny fingers and toes. It was a very difficult season of my life, as my body clung to the leftover tissue and wouldn’t let it all go until eight long weeks, anemia, and multiple ultrasounds later. I had never experienced such pain and heartache, such unsatisfied longing, and my soul cried out to Jesus like it had never done before. We felt Jesus in that time in incredible comforting ways. He alone was enough. We could testify to that “conscious dependence upon God” that Charles and Susie testified too. I’m also thankful for the promises of God, a loving and tender husband, and a faithful church that poured out abundant love to us in practical ways; all of which helped carry us through this storm.

As I look back on my own suffering, I am reminded once again, that we serve a good, good Father. He gives us inspiring examples throughout history, like Charles and Susannah Spurgeon, a great cloud of witnesses to inspire and point us upward and onward.

Press on, dear friends. God is in control. “The pillow beneath his head is his own Omniscience.”

“Admist a thousand snares I stand
Upheld and guarded by thy hand;
That hand unseen shall hold me still,
And lead me to thy holy hill.” - Isaac Watts (quoted as a favorite hymn of the Spurgeons)

“Though we may not at the time, see His purpose in the afflictions which He sends us, it will be plainly revealed when the light of eternity falls upon the road along which we have journeyed.” - Susannah Spurgeon

It has worked wonderfully! We are all taking vitamins and we have been healthy! Yah! I prefer choosing vitamins that are ideally made from mainly raw whole food ingredients as much as possible rather than synthetic components and also free from artificial sweeteners or loaded with sugar. These varieties tend to be more expensive, but the benefits outweigh that, as your body is able to digest them and receive much more benefit from whole food ingredients.

Here are the ones we are using currently:

For Mama - Vitamin Code Raw Prenatal (My midwife recommended that all mamas should be taking a prenatal during all their child-bearing years, so I have decided to keep taking these, whether I am pregnant or not!)
For Daddy - Vitamin Code Men’s Raw Whole Food Vitamin.
For Teens - My oldest daughter, who is almost 12, takes the Naturelo Whole Food Vitamin for Teens.
For the Younger Kids (3 and up) - SmartyPants Kids Complete and Fiber Gummy Vitamins - I love that this vitamin has Omega-3 fish oils and prebiotic fiber all in one, without having artificial sweeteners or sugar. My kids love these! My four year old calls them candy, and even requested them on her birthday cake! These kids vitamins also have Vitamin D, which we especially need in the winter time in our climate. This is one of the few vitamins for kids that I have found that doesn’t use sugar or artificial sweeteners to make them taste good.
For Baby - Mommy’s Bliss Baby Multivitamin Organic Drops or NovaFerrum Multivitamin Drops with Iron for Infants and Toddlers.

In addition, if our vitamin doesn’t already have Omega 3’s, we are taking some sort of Omega 3 supplement to get the valuable addition of fish oils in our diet, that help support skin, eye, joint health, and balancing hormones. Ideally, pick an option that is made from wild caught fish, and free of mercury and other harsh metals. I also take Vitamin D drops in my water each day, to help fight my natural tendencies towards depression, and this little bottle lasts forever!

I love that Amazon sends me a price update each month, so that I can decide which option is the best price and adjust accordingly for my order, if needed.