The Words This Mama Could Listen to All Day Long

"Love you, too, Mama"

Your Family, God's Way

This is the best book I've read about communication in the family, as well as communication in general.  Wayne Mack's writings reflect His love for the Word and a desire to move his readers beyond knowing....he wants to help you actually apply what you're learning.  His writing is clear, and his suggestions at the end of each chapter are very practical.  You don't finish his books inspired and yet clueless about what to DO.  Most of that "doing" requires being in the Word and knowing what the Word says. 

Your Family God's Way is must reading for anyone desiring more Godly communication in the home and victory in taming the unruly tongue.

Chapters include:

**First Things First--The Maximum Husband and Father

**Something's Happened to Sally--The Fulfilled and Fulfilling Wife and Mother

**How to Grow Olive Plants--Insights into Parent-Child Relations

**I Hear What You Didn't Say

**How to Hear What's Not Being Said

**Small Talk:  The Silent Menace

**Enough is Enough and Too Much is Too Much

and many more.

There is no man-centered counsel going on here, and the book is so rich that it might be overwhelming to consider the many aspects of communication.  I simply read the book through the first time and will now go back through the chapters with more depth while completing the exercises suggested.

Here are just a few of the quotes that caught the attention of my trusty highlighter....

"Simply put, the fear of God is the inevitable response to a growing, Biblical understanding of and relationship with the true and living God who has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ."

"Develop the attitude that God is speaking to you as you read the Scriptures.  Read them as you would a letter from your dearest friend...Receive what the Bible says as coming from your heavenly Father, your personal Savior and LORD, the great and awesome God of creation and redemption.  Don't regard its teachings as abstract rules about life--mere duties to fulfill...see everything in Scripture as an invitation to enter into a deeper relationship with your majestic, infinite Father and Redeemer."

"Real personal fulfillment is a by-product of a God-centered life in which a person becomes and does what is pleasing to God."

"The secret of her fruitfulness is not her dynamic personality, her strong will power, her physical beauty, her pleasant situation, her unusual resources, her good training, her natural gifts, or her exceptional husband or children.  Her admirable life stems from her vital and deep relationship with God."

"A God-fearing wife and mother is a family-oriented person.  Psalm 128 says she is a fruitful vine within the house.  Proverbs 31 emphasizes that this woman takes excellent care of her family."

"In your parenting, provide fences, not straitjackets."

"You can't know the needs of your children unless you give them your focused attention.  You've got to study them, listen to them, talk to them, play with them, think about them, and pray over them if you're going to know what provision they need from your table."

"We must realize that we may misread the nonverbal communication of others.  It's one thing to grant that others err in understanding our actions.  But for some reason we are reluctant to take seriously our own potential for misjudging the actions of others.  All too often, we quickly and dogmatically assume that we have accurately heard what the other person didn't say."

"That's double-bind speech!  We slap people with one sentence and then turn around and cuddle them with the next.  The result is often confusion, frustration, and resentment."

"The person who wants their words to be like apples of gold in settings of silver will deliberate over the what (content), the why (motivation), and the when (timing) of their speech."

 Your Family God's Way encourages you to fix your eyes on Him, bringing honor to Him in all the ways you communicate, ultimately resulting in more communicative and peaceful families.  As always, be discerning.  There are a few areas in which Mack and I diverge, but that doesn't dilute his teaching about communication in any way.  I highly recommend this book, and it's already been added to our "You-Can't-Leave-Home-Until-You've-Read-This-Book" list that we have for our children.

Psalm 8

I'm a bit behind on recording our Scripture memory. :) Here's Whistler reciting Psalm 8, our passage from a couple months ago.

Weekly Rewind 5/3-5/9/10

~Several doctor's appointments last week brought more reasons to praise God for His goodness to us.  My c-section date has been firmed up, and all is looking well thus far.  Whistler had her mouth appliance put on, and other than some pain this weekend, she is adjusting nicely. 

~My Mom was hospitalized mid-week and was able to come home on Mother's Day!  She still needs prayers for completely healing and restoration of strength. 

~I had a wonderful Mother's Day, getting two of the best presents on Saturday.  Everyone tackled the laundry room, cleaning it up and organizing it.  I even have a hanging system for the mops and brooms! :)  As a bonus gift, Mountain Man fixed the dryer for me.  I can now dry clothes in a fraction of the time, and this Queen Mom is so, so, so, so happy.  With a family our size, it really is depressing to only be able to get through a couple loads a day.  Washed laundry is beautiful, you know!

~Saturday found us with a total flat on the van.  Praise God, Reaches Up noticed it early in the day, and we were able to get everything fixed pretty quickly.

~After church on Sunday, we enjoyed a nice lunch of Rigatoni, bread, and salad, accompanied by sweet tea, of course.  The children put together these lovely suprises....flowers, pretty cards, and balloons.

~Scribe and Little Big Man creatively put hole-punch clippings in a couple of the balloons and rained down confetti on us all.  It was so sweet!

~~Little Big Man and Scribe surprised me with a gift certificate to Monergism, too, so I can enjoy Meet the Puritans, a book I've been wanting since finishing Doug Wilson's biography of Anne Bradstreet.

Here's a lovely quote the children included on the banner.....

"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts."

~Washington Irving

Our lives and our weeks are far from perfect.  They're full of God's ways of sanctifying us, so that means pain, disappointment, and face-to-face confrontations with our sinful hearts.  BUT, when we learn to give thanks in everything, we can truly always have a merry heart..  He is sovereign, and He is faithful.  There is always something to rejoice about when you know Him.   

So blessed,

Cream Cheese Pound Cake and Bread Machine Crescent Rolls

Here are the recipes from our recent Rejoicing Feast  The pound cake is a favorite of ours...so moist!   I was quite pleased with the crescent rolls...just throw everything in, shape, rise, and bake, but these crescent rolls are still my favorite when I have a more time.  They taste a bit richer.


Cream Cheese Pound Cake

3 sticks of butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese
3 c. sugar
dash of salt
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
6 large eggs
3 c. sifted cake flour

Cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy.  Then add next three ingredients.  When mixed add 1 egg at a time.  Stir in flour.  Spoon into greased pan.  Put in cold oven.  Turn to 325 degrees for 1 hr. and 15 minutes.

Butter Crescents for the Bread Machine

1/2 c. milk

4 T. butter, melted

1 egg

1/4 c. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. yeast

Put ingredients in bread machine in order listed and run dough cycle.  When done, divide dough in half, rolling each half into a circle.  Cut wedges from each circle, and roll wedges into crescents.  Put on greased baking sheet, cover, and let rise for 30 minutes.  Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

What to do With a Cardboard Box~Use #521

Weekend Medley and More

We had a fun and busy weekend.

~We celebrated Little Bit's third birthday, enjoying party games and homemade pizza.

~Saturday Mountain Man and I went on a date that started with a bookstore of course!  We actually explored Page One, Borders and Barnes and Noble. 

I found Boo the cutest pink KJV Bible at Page One of all places (where everything under the sun is in the religion section.)

At Barnes and Noble, on the clearance rack, I found this wonderful book... Poems for Mothers.  It has the loveliest old pictures, too., and I actually bought Poems for Grandmothers as well.

Dinner was at Outback with dessert enjoyed later at Black Angus.  Have you ever had their skillet chocolate chip cookie?  Yum!  Yum!

We even perused the Apple Store to check out the iPad.  Mountain Man entered quite the skeptic and left a bit more sold on it.  Me?   I'll say that it's a good thing the store was completely sold out, or I would have been sorely tempted to make an impulse purchase.  I'm not crazy about laptops (which is why I don't use one), but this seems a perfect in-between.

We came home to a clean home and an ice cream treat waiting in the freezer.  What a blessing to have our children so happy to see us when we walk through the door.

~Sunday was a fellowship dinner day at church, and we were surprised with a sweet, sweet baby shower!  Everything was wonderful...the meal, the desserts, and the many gifts.  We don't have to worry about precious Son-on-the-Way leaving the hospital naked. :)

....the MORE

~we're back to multiple doctor's visits this week...only 4 this time.  I saw my OB today, and all is looking well.  We're scheduled for early morning on the 16th of June, God willing.  I have started having some complications from my herniated disc resulting in sciatic pain especially in my foot.  With my history, the doctor said not to expect it to go away before delivery.  SO, please pray that the pain doesn't get worse.  I'm walking with a bit of a limp, but I can at least get around.  However, if you've ever had this type of pain, you know it can get really bad and be debilitating.  I'm selfishly praying that's not God's will in these mere 6 weeks before delivery while at the same time trusting in the knowledge that He always does what is best.

~Whistler gets her orthodontic appliance put on this Friday.  Please pray that she'll adjust well and won't be in much pain.  Hopefully, she'll just have to wear this for a year. 

~If you didn't notive this on the delicious links, you really must check out these most amazing pictures of His creation.

~Because doctor's appointments have had us on the road a lot lately, I've been trying to use those times as special dates with different children.  Today, Boo and Little Bit joined me.  We had a great time, and they did quite well.  We ran some errands, went to the doctor's appt., shopped at Target for shoes, ate lunch out, and enjoyed some Icees together.  (Yes, I was limping all the way, but it was worth every minute.:))

~Our book reads are coming along, and I've actually finished three works of fiction so far...Pride and Prejudice, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  I especially loved the first two and read the last because dear Scribe recommended I do so.  It was most definitely a quick but dark read.  Mountain Man recently finished Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad on audio and is currently wading through The Compleat Angler.  On the lighter side, he's enjoyed reading The Wine Trials and trying the recommendations.   The only book I've read so far this year that seemed like a waste of time was How to be the Family CFO.   Our book lists have definitely been great motivators to be more intentional about our reading.

Love to all,

Happy 3rd Birthday, Little Bit!

It was an "UP" theme for Little Bit's third birthday.  She started the day, though, being dressed up as a princess by Miss Whistler.

~Yes, that's right.....a back scratcher for her scepter.

~She enjoyed pancakes for breakfast on the special birthday plate

~For dinner we had our favorite homemade pizza....cheese, sausage, or pepperoni.

Little Bit then enjoyed her "UP" Cake...

~I tried a new buttercream frosting recipe and was quite pleased with it.

~I made a special cake just for her.

~She enjoyed her birthday song, but couldn't quite understand why the candle wasn't cooperating....it took three cute tries to blow it out.

~Little Bit enjoyed the cake, and so did Claire...no coaxing needed this time to get messy.

~We then moved onto the gifts.  Isn't this a cute "Up" centerpiece?

~It was time for Little Bit to have her own Bible, and we found a pink KJV in just her size.  Of course she can't read, but this gets her into the practice.  Now when the others do their Bible reading in the morning, Little Bit can snuggle right next to them and do hers.

~Did we really need another baby doll?  Guess so.  This one is a "newborn" and the accompanying stroller is a perfect size for Little Bit.....and Claire, who couldn't quite understand why it wasn't hers.

~Meet Squirrel.  Alas, he's a simple cardstock imitation of what we were really looking for.  It seems that bears and dogs are easy finds, but we couldn't manage to find a stuffed squirrel anywhere.  So we adapted.

Remember the dogs who loved chasing squirrels in "UP"?  Well, in our game, if you're caught with this sturdy fellow when the music stopped, you were out.  Such a simple game and yet so much laughter.  Little Bit had a great time with this one as did we all.

We then moved onto "Pin the Balloon on the House" (although a better title would be "Pin the Balloons in between the Balloons" since that is the goal.)

Happy 3rd Birthday, sweet Little Bit!  We thank God for choosing us to be your parents, and we're grateful for the many ways you love to help, the many ways you make our daily lives such an adventure, and the many ways you've encouraged us to keep our eyes fixed on Him and His wisdom and grace.  How blessed we are to call you daughter.  May you love and serve Him all the days of your life.  We love you!

 

***all these fun party ideas courtesy of Family Fun magazine

And You Thought You Knew Desert Life

Mountain Man and I are earnestly trying to resume our nightly walks.  Wednesday we endured 40 mph winds, but we managed to make it two miles.  Last night we thought the winds had died down, so we headed out only to face some bitter, bitter cold. 

Having mercy on his 8 months pregnant Princess, MM gave in, and we turned back after just a mile.  Just so you know I really wasn't trying to wimp out on him, I woke up this morning looking quite sunburned.  Yep, I discovered my lovely wind-chapped skin after peeking out at the SNOW on the ground this morning.

And, even as I type, snow is in the air....just blowing through, but it's SNOW nonetheless on this last day of April.

We've got the heat on and the tea brewing as we get ready for yet another celebration......wow, with so many people in our family, life seems like one continuous celebration!  Praise God! :)  Today is Miss Little Bit's 3rd birthday.  I'll post pictures later tonight, hopefully. 

It's going to be an "UP" day, if you know what I mean. :)

Love,