Sweet Summertime!

I LOVE summer!! I really like parts of all of the seasons, but summer is my favorite!! There's really not one thing that I don't love about summer. I love hot weather, a break from school, and the laid-back, easygoing attitude that summer brings!! Going outside barefoot and being warm in a tank top and shorts is the greatest feeling to me! Summer gives me a feeling of freedom, allowing me to have carefree days and almost feel like a kid again! As school comes to an end, my kids and I are looking forward to many fun summer memories!!

I made some goodie bags and teacher gifts for my kids to take to their class for the end of school.

Hannah and Ty had the BEST teachers this year!! They had a great 3rd and 1st grade year! For their gift, I bought two plastic bowls from the summer collection at Walmart. I bought a beach towel, mason jar mug, pool floatie, and the best part, a Sonic gift card!!  I also made a card in photoshop that says "School's out, Summer's here, Thanks for all you've done ALL year!"

For their classmates, I made these cute little alligator tags that say "See You Later, Alligator. Hope you have a cool summer!". I REALLY love alligators! They are my favorite animal!!  I used clear treat bags and filled them with a packet of lemonade, suckers, and bubbles!!

Salt of the Earth

My kids memory verse this week is Matthew 5:13-16. The first part of the verse says, "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men." When I read this part of the verse to them, I began to consider my own saltiness.

Salt has several different characteristics and purposes. It makes you thirsty. It seasons food and makes it taste better. It can be used to preserve food and make it last longer. It is found in your sweat and your tears.  As a Christian, God has asked me to be the salt of the earth. My actions should make people thirsty for the word of God. They way that I live my life should make others want what I have--a relationship with God. I should be seasoning to this world, making it a better place. I should be involved in activities that help preserve morals and stop the moral decay in our society. This is how I can be the salt of the earth, and God never said that was going to be easy. On the contrary, it is going to take sweat and possibly a few tears to get the job done.

Lately, I have been running around like a crazy woman devoting all of my time and my energy to my kids. That's my job right now. To be a mom. But, I don't think God intended for me to sacrifice my relationship with Him to make sure my kids are involved in activities. I feel like I have put God on the back burner and left Him there.

With a relationship like that, there's no way I'm being salt in this wicked world. I have to find balance. I have to focus on my job as a Christian, which will make me a better mom in the end.  Prayer is the first step in regaining my passion for Christ, because without passion my salt has no flavor. God loves for His children to return to Him through prayer. I have to tell Him I'm sorry for losing my passion and for being lukewarm. I have to ask Him to help me regain control of my faith and not let the devil trample me down with worldly things. Once God has set my heart on fire again, then He can use me to bring others closer to Him.

So, how can I be salt? Since I'm a mom, I have a little audience that watches my every move. I can be the salt to them by helping them learn memory verses, taking the to church, and doing service projects that teach them to put others before themselves. I can change simple things like what they watch in the car. This week they started watching a movie called "Theo" that we found at Lifeway. The topics of this particular movie are the armor of God and new birth. This has opened up so many different conversations about baptism and sin. Ty even came out of his room yesterday dressed in the armor of God (or a pillow and football pads and helmet!)

We can be the salt of the earth even when we are busy. We just have to make sure that God is always our number one priority and He will take care of giving us opportunities to be the salt of the earth.  In everything that you do, always look for ways that you can show others how different the life of a Christian is so that they will thirst for that life. Look for ways to influence the world for good and make it "taste better." Try to find things that you can do to bring our country back to the moral standards that were once so important. And, always remember to smile and keep a positive attitude.  Ask yourself, "How many times does the world get a taste of me and it's not Christ?"

Stand by Your Man

I read an article the other day about being a farmer's wife. As I read through, I felt a twinge of guilt because I do not do all of the things she professed a farmer's wife should. I don't feed chickens or milk cows, I don't wake up at the crack of dawn and cook a hearty breakfast. I don't stack hay bales or drive tractors when I get off of "my job in town." However, as quickly as the guilty feeling had arisen in me it left, as I considered "if I did all of these things would that make me any better than a banker's wife or an electrician's wife?"

I hate all of the titles we give ourselves like "farmer's wife," "boy mom," or "soccer mom." Trying to make our lives seem more glamorous or worse, make them seem like we have a higher, harder calling. God has blessed me richly and I am proud that my husband is a hard worker who provides for our family. The fact that he works so hard makes me want to be a better wife (hence the twinge of guilt noted earlier!).

God did not specify in the Bible that a farmer's wife should do this and a factory worker's wife should do that. God gave us directions to follow as a WIFE. As far as God is concerned, each of us is called to the same thing--to be the best that we can be with the situations He chose to bless us with.

Proverbs 31:10-12 says "An excellent wife who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life."

Instead of making our lives and our circumstances seem more important than others, we should focus our energy on being the wife that causes her husband no evil but only good. To be the wife that he trusts. To be the wife whose husband says "you excel them all."

God has given each of us different circumstances and situations in life. But, one of our most important jobs is to stand next to our man and help him stay faithful to our Father...no matter what occupation he has chosen.

Penny Cross

Today's Scripture: Jesus is put on a cross--Matthew 27:32-44

Grace is receiving something you don't deserve. When Jesus died on the cross, he paid for our sins. Christ's death on the cross was a sacrifice. There was a price that had to be paid. We are sinners and do not deserve to go heaven. But, thankfully, we have a loving heavenly Father who was willing to sacrifice His Son. And, we have a Savior who was willing to pay the price for our sins. We are washed clean. We are forgiven. Our debt has been PAID IN FULL!!

The craft today, a cross covered with pennies, is a great reminder of this.

Supplies:  Wooden or cardboard cross
Glue Gun
pennies

Glue the pennies to the cross.

Resurrection Rolls

Today's Scripture: The darkness at noon--Matthew 27:45

Since I'm not the greatest cook in the world, I was a little hesitant to do today's project. I was unsure of the results, but we decided to go ahead and try. Resurrection rolls are supposed to be another illustration of the empty tomb.

Supplies: crescent rolls
large marshmallows
cinnamon
sugar
butter

Melt the butter in a bowl.

Give each kid a triangle crescent roll to represent the tomb and a marshmallow to represent the body of Christ.

Dip the marshmallow in butter and roll in cinnamon and sugar mixture. This represents the oils and spices the body was anointed with upon burial.

Lay the marshmallow on the dough and carefully wrap it around the marshmallow. Make sure that all seams are pinched together well so that the marshmallow doesn't ooze out of the seams.

Bake according to the instructions on the crescent roll package.

When done, let cool. Then, have the kids break open the tomb and see that the body of Christ is no longer there!!

Service Project

Today's Scripture: Judas Kisses Jesus--Matthew 26:46-49

For our Easter service project, the kids and I made Easter baskets filled with plastic eggs. We placed goodies in the eggs, leaving one egg in each basket empty. We tied a card to the baskets explaining that the empty egg represents that the tomb was empty because Jesus defeated death to save us from our sins. We took these baskets and gave them to some of our neighbors! Hopefully, this brightened someone's day and may have even sparked a fire in someone's hardened heart!!

We also placed two plastic eggs in clear treat bags. One egg filled with a treat and one left empty. We tied the bags with ribbon and the same little tag to take to school to their classmates! It is so important to teach our kids to let their lights shine in little ways wherever they are! 

Easter Bunny

Today's Scripture: Matthew 28:1-11

Every Easter morning, the Easter Bunny visits our house. He brings goodies to fill the kids baskets and he hides the eggs we dyed in the front yard. It's funny to look at pictures and remember the differences in each Easter morning. We have hunted eggs in the dark. We have hunted eggs in the freezing cold while other times it has been warm enough for bare feet!  One Easter morning we hunted eggs in the rain and last year it was foggy!  No matter the weather, the Easter Bunny always shows up to surprise the kids!

The Easter Bunny brings the kids goodies to fill their baskets. They get plenty (way more than they should). However, I don't want them to feel like Easter is another Christmas. They get small things that will fit INSIDE their Easter baskets! There is no reason for the Easter Bunny to feel like he has to be Santa Claus, he doesn't even have a sleigh to carry it all in for goodness sake!!

From Hannah's Basket (2nd-5th grade girls)

Notebook
Colored pens
Water balloons
Water balloon catapult
Tennis balls
Scented markers
Frisbee
Candy

From Ty's Basket (K-3rd grade boys)

baseballs
batting gloves
eye black
Small Super Soaker
Water balloons
Water balloon catapult
Frisbee
Candy

From Lila's Basket (0-2 years old)

Little People
Board Book about Easter
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD
Bathtub boat
Pacifiers
Sippy Cups
Goldfish crackers