Friday, April 17, 2009

Fear Not, little ones

God is a supernatural being. It takes a certain amount of faith to believe in His being, promises, and eternity. Even though we have eye witness accounts of the risen Jesus. We count our time by ”the year of our Lord” in B.C. which stands for “before Christ” and A.D. which means “after dissention” We have other writings besides the followers of Jesus who give testimony of the events in the Bible.

In America, we are so science oriented that we have trouble believing anything that has not been dissected, analyzed, scrutinized, and theorized. And yet, it takes faith to believe a theory.

While focused on the fact of what we can see, hear, touch, and analyze, the supernatural world rages on all around us. Ephesians 6:12 “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

If the supernatural is not real, then we don’t need Jesus.
Why do we read our children stories about ghosts and monsters, and then tell them it is not real? We tell our children, “oh, those are just made up stories, you don’t need to be afraid.” The reason we need not be afraid is because Jesus has given “the keys to the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19

Elisha’s servant was worried “And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they be with them….And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”

So fear not and have faith in God.
Nourish Your Child

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Busy Moms

Busy Moms

Are you homeschooling or a mom with small children at home? Do you need some time to get some things done? Let me share a few ideas that worked for me.
With a new baby, I had a nursing corner stocked with books to read and toys and activities ready for my toddler. This worked so well I made stations in other parts of the house too. I had an art station in the kitchen so the kids could stay busy while I cooked. And it was near the sink for easy clean-up of paint and other art supplies. I have had a science station with science books and activities ready. Things like big magnets, a gyroscope, and a prism were out and ready for easy access. You can switch around the content from time to time to keep it interesting.
Eclectic learning works amazingly well. At holidays and birthday’s I always try to buy learning toys. We have legos, fischertechnik, k’nex, blocks, gears, and lots of thinking games. The Rush Hour Traffic Jam Puzzle has been a big favorite lately. www.Timberdoodle.com has eclectic learning toys for all ages. I found that my kids were ready to begin learning play very young. We started “me too” fun school at home at 2 and 3 years of age. As soon as I started making learning activities available my life was so much simpler because my kids were doing something constructive instead of getting into trouble. My daughter was so independent that she wanted to choose the activity. If it was my suggestion, then she didn’t want to do it. I could get her started on the activity of her choice and then she would stay busy for a long time. Then when she would move on to the next activity she was calmer because her mind was being engaged.
Getting your child started on something works well. You could use a timer. Set the timer for 15 minutes. Tell your child that this 15 minutes belongs to him or her. Then mom gets the next 45 minutes to work on her project. When the time is up then your child gets your one on one attention for another 15 minutes.
For online business stay at home moms you could set up a computer next to yours and have computer learning games ready right next to you.
Do you have friends with kids about the same age? You could take turns watching the kids, your house one day a week, and their house one day a week.
These are just a few suggestions. Do you have any ideas to share?

Nourish Your Children