Helps for Vacation Bible School

Hello,

I am republishing this post. I forgot to put a title on it yesterday.

I found two helpful books if you or your group are doing Vacation Bible School this year. I found them on amazon.com and they each had some good reviews on them. There was one review that did not give it a thumbs up but the other reviews were good.

I hopefully will be teaching the little ones at our church. Our material was already ordered for us or I would have checked into this. It looks good.

Also, I found a site with free crafts and lessons for either Vacation Bible School or Sunday School.

"Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies." Psalm 60:12

Fourth of July Poem

The Flag Goes By

by Henry Holcomb Bennett

Hats off!Along the street there comes

A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums,

A flash of color beneath the sky:

Hats off!The flag is passing by!

Blue and crimson and white it shines,

Over the steel-tipped, ordered lines.

Hats off!The colors before us fly;

But more than the flag is passing by.

Sea-fights and land-fights, grim and great,

Fought to make and to save the State:

Weary marches and sinking ships;

Cheers of victory on dying lips;

Days of plenty and years of peace;

March of a strong land's swift increase;

Equal justice, right, and law,

Stately honor and reverend awe;

Sign of a nation, great and strong

Toward her people from foreign wrong:

Pride and glory and honor,--all

Live in the colours to stand or fall.

Hats off!Along the street there comes

A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums;

And loyal hearts are beating high:

Hats off!The Flag is passing by!

The Importance of Prayer

How important is prayer? The more you have to do the more you need to pray. We think we can do things on our own but we need God's power. We get this from prayer.

It is important to pray for others. Intercessory prayer is something God wants us to do. Someone may not be able to pray for themselves and need you to pray for them. If God brings someone t your mind, you need to pray for them. Sometimes they don't even realize they need prayer or possibly they are under attack by Satan.

The more we live God's way the more we can discern the needs of others. The closer we walk with God the more we see the needs we have in our own lives.

Prayer takes time. It can be easy to get so busy during the day that we forget to pray. You can pray when you are washing dishes, sweeping the floor, doing laundry or whatever work you have to do. My pastor says you can pray while driving; just don't close your eyes.

Prayer takes time and it takes energy and consentration. We need to keep our bodies healthy to be able to pray and do the other things we need to do.

If God has brought sickness into your life, ask Him what He wants you to learn from it. He has a lesson for you that you could not learn any other way.

Looking for an Expression of God's Love

"Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates; waiting at the post of my doors." Proverbs 8:34

This verse could say, Happy is the woman that hears from God, each day seeing everything coming through her God, waiting patiently at the door to see what God will do.

Sometimes the things that happen in a day don't seem very good. It is hard to see that they have come through God first. It is hard to believe that these hurtful things could actually be from God. But if we believe God's Word, we have to believe God allowed these things for our good and His Glory.

Some of the things that happen can be so painful. Maybe it is hurtful words from family members. Maybe it is sickness. Perhaps a health problem that has no cure. There are so many things in this fallen world that hurt us.

If you are hurting, wait on God. One thing that helps me is to breathe in slowly and then say "Jesus loves me" as I exhale. Wait at the door for His words of love. Be looking for an expression of His love today. It may be a pretty flower, a song, a smile--there will be something today that will show you God's love.

Being Determined

Being determined will help you everyday. It will help you at home as you go about your daily chores and work. It will help you as you raise your children. It will help you in whatever business you might be in or maybe trying to start.

I have published an article on sqidoo on this subject. You can find it here.

If you are trying to lose weight, which is an issue for me, determination will help you meet your goal.

Have a great day!

Coping with Your Teenager's Mood Swings

By Aurelia Williams, author of Understanding Your Teen

If you are the parent of a teenager, you are familiar with mood swings. One minute, your teen is happy and loving, the next they are sullen or angry. These mood swings can happen fast and can seem to come out of nowhere and it's one of the reasons I created my Understanding Your Teen Guide.


You may find yourself wondering what you did or said to cause this shift in your teen’s mood. The truth is, you probably didn’t do anything wrong at all. Your teen’s mood swings are normal, and there is not much that can be done to stop it.

Your teen is slowly becoming an adult and they are developing the skills the need to handle the pressures of the adult world, but this process takes time. They may have a school project due, have chores around the house to complete, and then they get into an argument with their best friend.

Some of these things may seem silly or trivial, as you have work to do and a lot more housework on top of that. Try to remember that your teen’s brain is still growing and they may simply not have the ability to handle all of those pressures and keep a smile on their face at all times.

While you may not be able to end your teen’s mood swings all together, you can use these techniques to help both you and your teen learn to cope:

· Encourage your teen to talk to you when they feel upset or overwhelmed. Let them know that you are there for them, and that you have experienced those same feelings from time to time.
· If your teen doesn’t want to talk, encourage them to express their feelings in a creative way, such as painting, drawing, or writing. Let them know that they can keep this private, that they do not need to show anyone. Once they get their frustrations out, they will feel a lot better and will be able to move on.
· Try not to react to your teen’s mood swings. Sometimes, they say things just to get a reaction. If you ignore the bait, they may change their attitude.
· If you and your teen do get into an argument, diffuse the situation by getting up and taking a break. When both you and your child are calmed down, you can finish discussing the issue.

At times, it can seem like your teen is from a foreign country. They have different behavior and customs and sometimes, and sometimes it can seem as though they are speaking a different language.

Even though there are difficult times, try to enjoy this period of your child’s life as much as possible, because these years will go by very fast.


Next Steps
1. To gain a little more patience and whole lot more understanding of your teen, pick up Aurelia's Real Life Guidance to Understanding Your Teen - it's a lifesaver for so many parents.

2. If you're gearing up for another summer with your teen and want to dread trying to keep them occupied, happy and out of trouble, check out School's Out for plenty of expert resources to make it a great summer.

A Tribute to Fathers

I found this poem and it expresses what a Father is and how important he is to his family. My Dad is gone but I think about him everyday.

DADS are special people

Dads are special people
No home should be without,
For every family will agree
They're 'SO NICE TO HAVE ABOUT' -

They are a happy mixture
Of a 'SMALL BOY' and a 'MAN'
And they're very necessary
In every 'FAMILY PLAN'

Sometimes they're most demanding
And stern, and firm and tough
But underneath they're 'soft as silk'
For this is just a 'BLUFF'

But in any kind of trouble
Dad reaches out his hand.
And you can always count on him
To help and understand -

And while we do not praise Dad
as often as we should,
We love him and admire him,
And while that's understood,

It's only fair to emphasize
His importance and his worth -
For if there were no loving Dads
This would be a 'LOVELESS EARTH'.

~ Helen Steiner Rice ~

Flag Day

Today, June 14 is Flag Day. There are flags flying all around our city and our country today. This is the day we honor our country by honoring our flag.

May we think about those in the military today and their families. I think today has a special meaning for them. They are making sacrifices for us. Our soldiers are missing there families and their families are missing them. May the Lord keep them all safe from harm and bring them home.

Trust God to Provide

As you proceed through your day in faith and expecting to see God work, God will provide for you. He gives you wisdom and strength.

Prepare, plan, pray, and proceed. God will enable you to do the things you need to do. This will help you to go through the day without worry, knowing He will provide.

In review of "Loving God With All Your Mind" by Elizabeth George, I learned a lot about keeping my mind on truth and what is good. Mrs. Elliot has been in the trenches for many years. She was a missionary's wife until he was killed. She has suffered many things in her life and she told how she had bouts with depression. This made me realize that I was not alone. I was not a terrible person because of it.

Her suggestions and advice on thinking right and focusing on the moment have helped me to see some of my own problems are because of the way I think.

It is a well written book. I will have to read it again.

Proceed: The Next Step in Loving God With All Our Mind

Preparing, planning, and prayer move us to the base of the mountain of today. Let's begin the climb. Mrs. Elliot in her book "Loving God With All Your Mind" tells us that taking one step at a time will help us get to the top of that mountain. The Lord wants us to do it without worry. We should not worry about tomorrow or the next hour.

Don't worry about the interuptions God sends your way. If you can focus on the task at hand you will gradually get the things done that need to be done. Be open to God's plan. It will help you walk with God.

After you have prepared for the day and made your plans for the day then pray for your day. Trust that the Lord heard your prayer and will guide you. You can make progress in peace. Don't second guess yourself. Just do what needs to be done.

Free Report on Talking to Teens

Ever feel like you don't understand your teen?
Maybe you are a new teen parent and just need some guidance how to handle this new territory.
We've found a good and quick reading report by Aurelia Williams to help you.
Download it here for free.


Below is another book by the author, Aurelia Williams.  I think it would be a good read.

Homespun Wisdom

Homespun wisdom says, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." Although you won't find it put just that way in the Bible, you will find many stories of both effective and poor planning. The Bible teaches that God is a God of both purpose and planning. His purpose is to draw all humanity to himself in order to forgive and redeem. His plan—from Creation, to the Law, to the Prophets, to Jesus and the church—is what we are seeing when we read and study the Bible. Planning is part of all of our lives. The only question is if, in all our planning, we ever consult his perfect and eternal plan.

From the TouchPoint Bible
(Tyndale House) p 1243

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

Hello,

I decided to put a couple of pictures up instead of writing a post. The first picture is of my brother holding up a bass that he caught. The next picture is of a baby calf that was born in the pasture behind my house.

Have a good weekend.

Pray to Win Over Worry

Our next guideline from the book "Loving God With All Your Mind" is Pray. We need to pray as we plan. In prayer give God everything. Say out loud, "Lord, I give you myself. I give You the things in my life; my family, my possessions, my body and my mind." Give Him your schedule. Let His plan be your plan. Then you can say, "Ok God, let's see what is going to happen today". You will know whatever happens you can handle. He will give you the power to do what is necessary.

Stay with me and next week we will go over guideline four which is Proceed.

Win Over Worry by Planning Ahead

Yesterday we talked about how to win over worry. There is five guidelines in the book "Loving God With All Your Mind". We talked about being prepared yesterday. Today I would like to go over Guideline 2.

Plan Ahead. Planning ahead includes short term goals and long term goals. Long range is key to planning birthday parties, weddings, vacations and the like. Adding on to your house and redecorating also require long term planning. Break the projects into day-sized chunks. Add the part you are going to do next onto your daily list.

Short term planning means planning your day. It helps you to meet the day's demands. Lists can help with this. Lists and a schedule can help get things done.

Tomorrow we will go to guideline 3, which is Pray.

Win Over Worry from the Book, "Loving God With All Your Mind"

In chapter three of "Loving God With All Your Heart", Mrs. George talks about waking up and going from barely there to worry and then to panic. It is like, Oh No! That's how I have felt so many times. The responsibilities and the unpleasant things we have to face overwhelm us.

In Matthew 6:34 It says "Do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." This verse teaches us that our responsibilities are today's responsibility. Today is all we have to manage. These words of Jesus tell us we can handle today and not worry about the worries of tomorrow. He will help us to obey Him. It is funny, but we need His help to do what He tells us to do.

Mrs. George gives five guidelines to help with this.

1. Prepare
2. Plan Ahead
3. Pray
4. Proceed
5. Trust God to Provide

Today we will go over guideline one.

Prepare. Prepare in the evening. Look at the next day's calendar. What is scheduled? What is happening in each member's life. What is for dinner? Prepare part of it the night before. Fix lunches, set the table for the next meal. Put everything you need by the door before you go to bed.

In the morning take time for Jesus. It may only be a couple of minutes but it will help keep the day in perspective. Remember the words,"Do not be anxious for tomorrow". Concentrate on doing what you can get done today.