Family Scripture Memory Verse: Psalm 118:24

After a phone call with Benjamin where he encouraged the boys to rejoice in the day, it was decided that Psalm 118:24 would be our March family verse.

Family Scripture Memory Verse: Romans 5:8

If you remember, in January we set a goal to memorize one verse a month as a family.  We started with Philippians 4:8.  I'm happy to report we all memorized the verse!  {Truman needed a little help with the order of the longer words, but he did fabulous!}  

Family Scripture Memory Verse: Philippians 4:8

For 2019 we set a goal to learn a Bible verse every month as a family.  Benjamin and I want to be intentional about weaving God's word into our routines.  Also it's never too early or too late to start hiding God's word in the little buddies hearts.  We decided that at the end of each month if everyone can say the verse then we will all go out for an ice cream treat!  It's a reward that everyone can enjoy!

Lent: Preparing for Easter

Growing up, the Baptist churches I attended did not put a large emphasis on Lent.  The emphasis was always on Holy week and the stations of the cross, walking through the death and resurrection of our Lord.  I remember my Catholic friends talking about Lent because they were required to give something up for 40 days.  I have always treated Easter and the days leading up to the celebration as a time to remember the sacrifice of love and the miracle of the resurrection.  Easter for me is the reason I believe.  My God loved me so much that he sent his only Son to walk on the earth, die for my sins, and to conquer death so that I may live a life rooted in Him! 

Since one of my personal goals is to be more intentional in spending time in the Word, I felt an interest in participating in Lent.  This year I am excited to be participating in the Naptime Diaries Lent devotional, Follow.  It is a forty day study designed to guide the reader through Lent in preparation of the celebration of Easter.  There are eight sections each with a devotional and Scripture to read and meditate on throughout the week.  

Through Instagram I found out about the Children's Lenten Guide designed by OodlesDoodles Print Shop.  Complete with coloring sheets and accompanying Scripture, the downloadable files also come with memorization cards.  While Winston is a bit small for the memorization and will more than likely not quite understand the full meaning of Lent and Easter, I am excited to spend time telling him the story of Jesus and the wonderful gift he so freely gives.  I feel that it is a great time to be intentional about speaking these truths into his little life.  My goal is for us to do the color sheets and one craft that ties in each week.  

But more important than my goals, is my prayer is that this season will be a special time of worship for my family as we intentionally focus on the life and ministry of Jesus, the road to His death on the cross, and His miraculous resurrection from the grave triumphant over death.  I pray that Winston's heart will be soft to the Scriptures that we will read and that our conversations would be on a level that he can start to understand.  

Since Lent starts today, you are not too late to jump into a study.  You can purchase {for $12} the PDF version of Naptime Diaries study here or you can participate {for free!} in the She Reads Truth study through their website, app on your phone or iPad.  And for your kiddos, check out OodlesDoodles for your own copy of the Children's Lenten Guide.  

I'd love to know if you are participating in a study and if so, which one.  Also, share if you are doing anything intentional with your kiddos in the weeks to come!

Truth in the Tinsel Advent: Day 7 & 8

Day 7: Song

The set of verses for this day was Mary's Song.  Winston and I talked about how Mary sang as a form of worship and praise.  Our key phrase for this day was "Holy is his name!"  We had already talked about how Mary was to name the baby Jesus so it seemed fitting that he learn that His name is Holy!

We did the exact craft that was suggested and Winston loved gluing sequins all over the CD.  

Day 8: Sun
For this day, we made our sun out of card stock and sticky-backed foam.  Winston enjoys putting stickers on things and it gave us a break from glueing.  Don't want to wear a good thing out!

Our phrase during this craft was that Jesus is the Rising Sun!  We taught Winston to move his arms over his head like a rising and setting sun.  I know I say this almost every post, but it truly is heartwarming to hear his sweet little voice say these Truths.  And its amazing to me that he recalls what we talked about in previous days.

Truth in the Tinsel Advent: Day 5 & 6

The next few days we pretty much stuck to the suggested crafts and had fun doing it!  It has been such a joy to have this intentional time with Winston each day.  I cannot say how glad I am that we decided to do Truth in the Tinsel! 

Day 5: Mary

By this time in the Advent, Winston now knows our routine: read a story, open the red bag for a craft!  He does a great job sitting and listening.  I try to make it an active learning time having him repeat key verses back to me.  Our emphasis on Mary was that she asked Gabriel, "How can this be?!", that she was to have a son and name him Jesus, and her response to Gabriel was, "I am the Lord's servant."

Peering in his bag for the day!  We normally do our crafts in the afternoon.  This particular day was jammy day at school!

I found these cute little wooden figures at Michael's.  To make Mary's clothes we used sticky backed foam.  Winston said her legs were naked so we made some leggings for her.  He also wanted some sequin.  Our Mary turned out a little jazzier than I anticipated, but hey, he was proud of her!  Here he is giving her some shoes.  :)

Day 6: Mary & Elizabeth

Our main talking point for this day was that Mary and Elizabeth both had babies in their bellies that jumped for joy!

I normally don't let Winston color with markers.  I'm more of a crayon and colored pencil lady when it comes to him coloring pictures.  However today was a special day and we busted out the trusty Crayolas for some coloring.  He remembered that Mary was pink and purple from the previous day so her outfit was repeated!  

Truth in the Tinsel Advent: Preparations and Day 1

About mid-Novemeber my Mom asked if I had thought about getting Winston an Advent calendar.  Up until that point I really had not given it much mind.  I knew that I had pinned a few Advent type things to do with him when he was old enough but hadn't done back to look at what I saved.  

I did some research and rediscovered the Truth in the Tinsel: An Advent Experience for Little Hands. I looked at blogs of others who had done it, watched the videos on the website, and did a quick hashtag search on Instagram.  I liked that each day Winston and I would have a craft to do together that told the wonderful story of Christmas!  Each day we would read Scripture, make an ornament and talk about what we were making and why.  I shared what I had found with Benjamin and we agreed that he was at the right age to start this tradition.  

I purchased the ebook, did a quick scan through all of the days and realized that there were a few of the activities that were a little outside of Winston's skill level.  During one of Winston's naps, I printed out all of the pages and started making notes on what we could do unchanged and what I would need to find alternative ideas for.  Knowing that Winston's favorite craft activities are painting and gluing, I intentionally looks for solutions to include both of those things.  As I went through each page, I wrote down what supplies we would need to make the craft a success.  Then I took inventory of what I already had and created a new list of items to get at our local craft store.  All of the items I needed to purchase I got at Michaels.  

Knowing that its easier to have everything already together when we sit down to make the craft and because I want Winston to get the most out of our time together, I put together bags for each day that contained the items we would need.  There are a few days where the Truth in the Tinsel curriculum provides templates for a few of the ornaments.  Cutting out the templates ahead of time guarantees that Winston won't get bored or loose interest in what we are to focus on for that day.

What really excites me about the Truth in Tinsel is that it is specifically geared for intentional conversations with toddlers about the birth of Jesus and all of the wonderful events that accompany it!  I also love how the crafts given are guidelines and that you could adapt as needed to make it age appropriate!

First Day of Advent

I was quite thrilled when first day of Advent rolled around.  I was ready and so excited to start sharing the Christmas Story with Winston!  All three of us went to the craft room for craft time.  Benjamin opened the Bible and started reading the first set of Scripture for that day.

This picture warms my heart for so many reasons.  The first passage was a longer one to read but Winston did a good job listening.  Then we let him open his bag.  He was so excited to see what was inside!

He was eager to help tear the tissue paper into little pieces and even more pumped to use the glue stick!  He was very specific in where he wanted each color to go.  After he was done, we turned off the lights in the room and Winston said, "Dark in here!"  We explained that how a world and life without Jesus was dark, like the room.  Then we took a flashlight and shown it through the ornament he had just made.  Winston said, "I see!!"  We explained how Jesus is the Light of the World and later in the evening when we asked who the Light of the World was, he answered, "Jesus!"

This is an example of the bag and what was inside for Winston to make!  I was thrilled that Day 1 was a success!  My prayer through this holiday season and trying to be intentional with Truth in the Tinsel that that Winston's heart would be tender and soft to hearing the wondrous story that is the gift of Jesus' birth.  That he would start learning truths about the character of God and the Goodness that He gives, about the greatest gift that He gave us in His Son.  My prayer is that I would be sensitive to Winston's understanding of the Story and make this a meaningful yet fun activity each day.  

My plan is to share our ornaments, the ones that we did by the book {like the first day!} or the ones that I have modified for a two year old!  

What traditions do you have with your little ones?  I'd love to hear!

Remaining

I recently took one of those semi-annoying, semi-addicting quizzes that are popping up all over Facebook feeds these days  This one was simple: answer five questions and find out what color you are.  I answered the questions and the color bestowed upon me was orange.  I like orange.  It was a color in our wedding, we have had walls in our house that color and it was an accent for Winston's nursery.  And like most of these quizzes do, it gave me a reason for the results.  Here is what mine said:

Of all the mind types, yours is the quickest.  You are usually thinking a mile a minute, and you could be thinking about anything at all.  Your thoughts are often scattered and random - but they're also a lot of fun!  You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about esoteric subjects, the meaning of life and pop culture.

Well done, Facebook quiz, you nailed it on the head!  I tend to have thoughts flying around my head  a mile a minute.  I have learned how to focus on tasks at hand, blocking everything else out, but the act of quieting my mind and being still has always been a little challenging for me.

I was reading in my quiet time last week and on this particular day, these words stuck with me:

When you seek my face, put aside thoughts of everything else.  I am above all, as well as in all...  Be prepared to be blessed bountifully by My Presence, for I am a God of unlimited abundance.  Open wide your heart and your mind to receive more and more of me.

The accompanying scripture was John 15:10-11.

If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 

First is the component of obedience which leads to a promise.  Obey His commands and I will remain in His love.  Why is this important?  So that I may have His joy and that it may be complete.  I make the choice each morning to follow the Lord, to obey the commands he sets before me keeping me in His love.  The most challenging thing for me is to remain focused and engaged through the day.  Remain: to stay, abide, wait.  

In high school, I started attaching people or events that I wanted to pray for with objects in my everyday so that as I used that item I would remember to pray.  It has been a good way of teaching myself how to pray continually.  To remain mindful of the Lord's presence and stay in communication with Him.  Its something I work towards daily.  Remaining aware of my dialogue with Him.

Now that I have Winston, I am finding that there are moments when I have a hard time remaining with him.  I find myself playing with my phone when I should be playing with him or Pinteresting when we are watching Frozen (start time 45 minutes...the almost exact time Olaf makes his first appearance!) for the 326th time.  When I do these things I find that I am missing little moments when he starts dancing around, or singing along or is wanting me to notice something he has built or done.  Now don't get me wrong, there are times when it is good for me to be away from Winston allowing him to play and create on his own.  It's healthy.  It's needed for both of our sanities.  I'm talking about when we are coloring and I find myself drifting to check my email instead of remaining engaged with my little guy.

This week I have set a goal for myself to remain.  To stay.  To abide.  To wait.  I am setting aside the phone during play times and family times so that I am all in.  So that I wherever is happening around me, I am all there.  Present.  Available.  Another goal is to wake up before Winston so that I am guaranteed time to read the Word and spend time with Jesus.  To stay awhile with him.  I am eager to put aside thoughts of everything else, opening my mind and heart to what He needs to say to me.  Scary and exhilarating all at the same time.

What about you friend, is it easy for you to stay, abide and wait?  To remain in tune and available?  What have you found that works for you?  I'd love to hear!