How to be a Good Neighbor

I want to take just a minute to talk about the Orlando shooting. First, let's stop arguing about whether the shooter is an American extremist, or a Muslim extremist. The point is, he killed people and their families are hurting.

You know what hurts the families even more? Everyone arguing over whether this guy hated their loved one because they were American or because of their LGTBQ lifestyle. Those people don't care why their loved one was killed, but they might care what we are all going to do about it.

And, before you go there, I am NOT going to say increase gun control. That's not the answer folks, and it never will be. (Unless, of course, guns begin loading, aiming, and firing themselves.)

What I am referring to, is being the change this world needs. If each and every person who reads this post will commit to loving others the way that Jesus loved, it could spark a small movement. If everyone who reads, also shares it, the movement would grow.

As the Lorax said, "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." So, what about it? Do you care "a whole awful lot?"

Christians these days are being portrayed as haters of Muslims, Gays, Trans, Blacks, Mexicans and so on. Let me ask you, Christian, is that who you are? No?

So tell me how you are showing God's love to those people then? Do you preach at them? (Not love.) Invite them to church so they will see the error of their ways? (Not love.) Boycott their business because of their political affiliation, race, religion, or lifestyle choices? (Also, not love.) Refuse to make their wedding cake because you disagree with their choices? (Still not love.) Maybe you really believe that you have every right to refuse them service, and maybe that's true, but does it further the kingdom of Heaven? Does your refusal to make their cake reflect Christian love and forgiveness? Those people you refused to serve, God loves them too. 

And they aren't the only ones looking at you. The eyes of lost people everywhere are on you too. Are they thinking, "Wow, I want what she has--that kind of conviction about my beliefs--to be able to just turn down that order and their money?" Or are they thinking, "Wow, Christians are bigots and terrible people. How can they be so heartless?"

So, like I asked, are your actions furthering the kingdom of Heaven? Or paving the road to Hell? Personally, I don't believe that God is going to turn me away from heaven for choosing to love others rather than alienate them.

Here are a few ways that you can love your neighbor.

-Invite them to places (not just to church, but to family dinner, BBQs, and hanging out at the pool.

-Accept them where they are--this does not mean you have to agree with their lifestyle, or religious or political views--just that you value them as a person.

-Let your kids play together. (This may necessitate a conversation with your child beforehand about how Jenny has 2 dads, and we should show them love and kindness even though we may not agree with their choices.)

-Stick up for them when you hear others talking down or gossiping. (This may make you unpopular with the modern day Pharisees.)

-Pray for them--not just that they realize their choices are "wrong" but pray that God moves in their life and blesses them abundantly.

Remember Matthew 22:39 "Love your neighbor as yourself." Not, Love your neighbors with similar political views, or love your neighbors if they are straight, or love your neighbors if they are good people. NO! It says Love your neighbor.

Remember the story of the good samaritan? (Luke 10:30-37). The Samaritin was supposed to hate this guy he helped--maybe he was a Trans man or woman who got beat up/robbed/raped because of his/her lifestyle. Maybe he helped a mama that has been shamed about allowing her child to fall into a gorilla pit. Let me ask you, can YOU be the Good Samaritin to THAT man or woman?

Lord, help me to learn to Love like Jesus. Help me to be willing to look past the labels and lifestyles, and to rise above the name-calling, judgemental person I can sometimes be. Help me to be the change that my community needs. Amen.

The Great Bathroom Debate

Okay, so someone somewhere passed a law that tells us where we can legally use the bathroom.

Wow, can you say “micromanage?” I mean, really? Can you tell me which brand of toilet paper to use? Oh, and I would love to know which hand I am supposed to be wiping with. Should I use soap afterward? Or hand sanitizer? I’m not really sure.

Why on earth are we giving someone else this kind of control to micromanage our lives?

I know some will say, “But I don’t want those perverts in there with my daughter,” and I could agree, but I won’t. Hear me out…

Men that identify as women will be dressed as a woman (maybe to the point where you wouldn’t even know the difference, barring a physical check of parts…which is just “eww” to even think about). Most of them have been using the women’s restroom for years. If they were in a woman’s dress and walked into the men’s room, wouldn’t that seem just as strange?

These people may have a perverted sense of self, but probably are not “perverts” in the way that we use that word. It’s not the man in the dress that is taking pictures of our daughters in the public bathrooms. It is some other deviant who has snuck into the bathroom for purposes other than relieving their bladder.

I completely agree with wanting to keep our children (boys and girls both) safe while using public restrooms. Here are a few ways we can keep them safer:

-Check the bathroom before they enter. (It’s ok to open the door and ask “Is anyone in here?” before physically walking in (if you are not the gender of the child using the restroom.)

-Teach your child to physically check each stall and look under the doors of stalls that appear to be locked and empty.

-Teach your child to be aware of their surroundings—not playing on their phones or listening to music (headphones) while in public bathrooms.

-Have your child use the family restroom.

-Go into the restroom with your child (if you are the same gender or your child is very young).

There is so much hate being spewed about this bathroom “issue” that really was not an issue for transgender people (as they were already using the bathroom they self-identified with). Honestly, non-transgenders did not have issues with the previous arrangement. In fact, maybe we were blissfully unaware that the high heels and pantyhose in the next stall belonged to a man.

We are called to love as Jesus loves.

Jesus came to save sinners, not the righteous. And guess what! “There is none righteous, not even one.” Romans 3:10.

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23

That means that last week, when you looked down your secretary’s shirt, or wished your husband looked like Brad Pitt instead of Danny DeVito, you sinned too. There is no “big sin” or “small sin,” there is just sin.

That means that Caitlyn Jenner’s sin and my sin are EQUAL in the eyes of God. Not only that, but as I am judging Caitlyn on ‘her’ sin, God is judging me on mine.

It is not my business how Caitlyn chooses to live her life unless God calls me to speak to her as a friend to lead her towards Him.

If we are busy judging and spewing hate, we are missing opportunities and closing doors. The Bible tells us in 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from ALL unrighteousness.” (Please note: this does not say “all unrighteousness except being a transgender person.” ALL means ALL. Everyone has the opportunity for God to cleanse them of their sins, including Caitlyn Jenner.)

So, unless you are without sin (in which case, I am very pleased that Jesus/God saw fit to read my blog post), I would propose that we learn to love people where they are and pray for God to move in their lives so that they become who He wants them to be.

Here is another post I wrote on gender identity and guiding your children to biblical truths.

I welcome respectfully worded comments.

Coping with the Death of a Sibling





After chemo and steroids had changed her appearance.



It’s been over seven years since my sister died.

Cancer.

Thanks.

No, I’ll never be “okay” again, but I appreciate the sentiment.

She was diagnosed with cancer at 24 years old and died a few months after her 25th birthday.

One of my favorites from before diagnosis.

 

At the funeral, I felt numb half of the time. That was the easy part; the rest of the time, I felt like my heart was being ripped from my chest. Friends asked if I was okay—of course I wasn’t. A large part of my life had been taken away and there would always be a hole there.

When I walked into the funeral home that morning, my brother and half-sister met me in the entry way. All I could think was that one of us was missing. They must have felt it too and we fell together in a three-way embrace.

We cried, held each other up when our knees buckled, and smiled through our tears at some memory of her. We were safe and loved in this cocoon of arms, heads and tears.

How long we stood there, I’m not sure. Other mourners and family members passed by, but no one bothered us.

We stood for some time not speaking, just holding each other up. Words were unnecessary in our sibling cocoon—this embrace was all that was needed. Words could not replace our loss; but knowing we were there for each other somehow made it more bearable.

In the days following her death, we returned to this embrace several times. We blocked out the world feeling closer to each other, and closer to Rebekah.

It’s been awhile since the three of us have been together. I think it may be time to revisit this hug. And someday in heaven, we will share it with Rebekah too.

Have you lost someone before their time? How did your family cope?

A Writer's Journey of Self-Discovery

I want to be a writer. There it is--in print. No taking it back now. More accurately, I am a writer--I want to be an author. 

Why do I want to add something else to my already overloaded schedule? Well,...I enjoy it. Writing is an outlet for me, a way to experience life through someone else's eyes.

I have loved to read for all my life, and generally liked to write as well. Writing is only fun when I get to choose the subject though, or at a minimum choose between a few options. 

I write about things I love, things that irritate me, and places and times that interest me. 

My current favorite is writing historical fiction; the book I am working on now is set during the Great Depression. (Update: this book has been shelved while I write children's books for awhile but it is still a favorite.)

I am writing this post requesting the support of my family and friends through this journey.

I have a couple of submissions going out at the end of this month which may or may not get published. (Update: they didn't).

I don't have much written that is anywhere near finished, but have begun work on a book, and have a poem or two that I believe may be good enough. 

When I post new blog posts, I would love for you to read them. I hope to eventually post small excerpts of some of my stories and get honest feedback.

What I don't want from writing: I am not looking to make millions as an author, but would love to make enough so that I can stay home with my kids eventually.

I would love to make a little money, but mostly I want to share my writing with people who will appreciate it. I love being a home-school mom, and don't want to change that either. (Of course, this means less uninterrupted writing time, but my family will always come first in my life).

What do I want from you? I would love for you to follow my blog, or just check out my posts when I post them. They may or may not pertain to writing but I want to blog at least weekly about writing or share something I have written. 

I also like to exercise my abilities and stretch them to new lengths, so I welcome comments with suggestions you would like to see me do a blog post on. Or you can specify that you would like me to post a poem or short story about your subject. No promises whether it will be good, but it will be fun!

Thank you in advance for your support. I would love for you to follow me on social media also--use the links below to find me.

Twitter
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Scavenger Hunt Sunday - 3/16/2014

I had taken a hiatus from Scavenger Hunt Sunday, and from blogging in general, but I am back now (I think). Here are my interpretations of this week's prompts.

1. Doorway

I feel like this is my #fail picture for this week. I had some neat ideas, but they never came to fruition, so here it is. The doorway to the bathroom. (Edit: changed my picture to sepia tone and I like it much better now).

2. Candid

Daddy put these glasses on me and now Mommy is blinding me with the flash from her camera.

2. Candid (again)

Mama, I play a mean air-guitar.

3. Open

I opened this candy bar...

 4. Look Up

 I love the way trees look in the winter. There is something awesome about looking at the 

bones of the tree. The intricate patterns of branches against the sky just don't exist when the trees are full of leaves.

 5. Stuffed

Mama, I'm stuffed!

I hope you enjoyed my interpretations this week. Join me again next week as I search for photographic interpretations for these prompts:

1. Leading Lines

2. Relationship

3. Good Morning 

4. Together

5. Project

Shared on: 

           

#ScavengerHuntSunday

The Best Thing about Spring!

Spring is almost here and with it comes longer days, warmer weather, and Spring Break Days at Silver Dollar City. Every year, after the Old Time Christmas Festival, Silver Dollar City closes its gates for two long months and fans across the country begin the long wait for spring and the return of our favorite theme-park. Well, the time has finally come! Silver Dollar City reopens tomorrow, March 15 with Family Spring Break Days.

Photo credit goes to +Martha Curtis Thanks Mom!

We have been planning our trip to Branson, MO for weeks now; Munchkin has had her bag packed since the first of March and she packed one for little man too. We plan to stay at the Colonial Mountain Inn in Branson West. We love that it is American Owned and Operated, there is a swimming pool with a slide (when the weather is warm enough), the prices are reasonable, and it's right up the road from Silver Dollar City. We have always had clean rooms and friendly service when we visit. To top it off, the hotel is beside a Taco Bell, so when we come in late from the park, we can get our late-night taco fix with a couple of Doritos tacos and a large Mountain Dew.

Spring Break Days is an excellent time to visit Silver Dollar City; the weather is usually nice, and the crowds aren't as big as they are in the summer. Even if you have to wait until summer to visit, Silver Dollar City has mature shade trees growing throughout the park so, even on hot days, you can usually find a cool place to sit. During the hottest hours of the day, I love to visit Marvel Cave, where the temperature stays cool year round. If spelunking isn't your thing, there are loads of air-conditioned shops too, so you can watch glass-blowers at work, or peanut brittle being made, or just search for the perfect souvenir. With package pick-up services, you won't even have to lug your purchases with you to the Great American Country Nights show in Echo Hollow. Just pick them up on your way out.

Whether you visit for the rides and attractions, the toe-tapping shows, perusing the shops, watching the craftsmen at work, the excellent food, or the one-of-a-kind festivals, Silver Dollar City has something for everyone. I hope your family loves it as much as mine does.

+Silver Dollar City Attractions +Taco Bell +Branson Missouri +Doritos®

 (Disclaimer: I have not been paid or otherwise compensated for my opinion.)

10 Ways to Teach Children the True Spirit of Christmas

In this world of consumerism and blatant disregard for others feelings, wants, needs, and happiness, I think it is time to take a step back an look at what we are teaching the future generation. ( I am guilty also--I'm certainly not pointing fingers.) Knowing many of you out there are facing this same dilemma, I created a list of activities you can do with your children to keep the true Spirit of Christmas alive.


1.  Bake cookies to take to your local nursing home, (some nursing homes may not allow this--you could also knit, crochet, or sew a small gift or ornament, or just go and visit with the residents   there).

They may not be pretty but the kids had a blast making these cookies.

2.  Volunteer at a local homeless shelter or soup kitchen if your children are old enough (or maybe a food pantry if you have younger children). Or take toys and games to a local Children's hospital and stay to visit and play with the children who have to be in the hospital this time of year. (Please don't take a sick child to the hospital to play with other sick children...we don't want to spread germs around. There are plenty of children in the hospital though who are not contagious--I would definitely call ahead for this one though).

3.  Adopt an Angel from the Angel Tree and let your child help with the shopping. (If you need to answer Santa questions, remind your child of the gifts he or she gets from parents, siblings etc and that these moms and dads also want to be able to give their child something). There are other options here as well, such as Operation Christmas Child, Toys for Tots etc.

4.  If you have the means, adopt a whole Christmas family! They may need everything from tree and trimmings to food for Christmas dinner as well as gifts for under the tree.

5.  Make secret gift baskets for your neighbors. When you deliver the basket, ring their doorbell and run (the kids will love the "secret" part of this one.

6.  Encourage your children to part with gently used books and toys they no longer play with. Explain that you will take them to a store where parents who can't afford new toys can buy them for their children. (Personally, I shop second-hand stores even when I have the means to purchase new...I find excellent deals on books especially).

7.  Have a homemade Christmas where none of the gifts are store-bought. (Or you can allow your child to ask for only one or two special gifts and have the rest be homemade).

I made this "Rapunzel" hat for Munchkin last Christmas.

8.  Shop local businesses instead of big box stores so that area merchants can have a good Christmas too. (Chances are, those gifts are of higher quality as well). Explain to your children why you are shopping local vendors. (I frequently order cupcakes or cookies from a local bakery even though I enjoy making those things for myself...it keeps my money in the community).

9.  Make a big deal of it when your child does something to help someone else. Tell them how proud you are...they are more likely to do it again if you notice and praise them for it.

10.  Take your children to church, not just at Christmas, but year-round. Pray for them and with them, remembering those less fortunate in your prayers. Opportunities to volunteer abound in churches...volunteer! Keep the spirit of giving alive all year. (If you don't like the church you previously attended or visited, keep looking...find the church God is leading you to.)

I hope this list gives you some ideas on how to keep the Christmas spirit alive in your family. Feel free to add your own ideas in the comments section, and stay tuned for more Christmas posts and tutorials for hand-made gifts.

Check out my link party page to see where I am linking.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday 11-17-13

Here are my interpretations for Scavenger Hunt Sunday this week.

1. Pattern

Using patterns I found here (flower) and here (hat), which I modified slightly to fit my needs, I made this hat.

2. Sunglasses

Sunglasses aren't really needed in this picture...which is good because mine are broken. :( 

3. Round

Well, these cookies were round...until we dropped them on the oven door. We called them our thankful cookies...because we were thankful they didn't hit the floor!

 4: Looking In (I couldn't chose between them, so there are 2).

Looking in on my Little Man in his pack and play.

Munchkin looking in the tent I made her using this tutorial. (Tent)

5. Crunchy

Little Man's newest toy sounds crunchy.

I hope you enjoyed my interpretations. Check out my link party page to see where I am linking.

Cooking Lesson - Tuna Salad

Hmm...Ok, so do you actually have to turn on the oven or stove to have a cooking lesson? Technically I did turn on the stove to boil the eggs, but that was before Munchkin got involved. Oh well, I am calling this a cooking lesson anyway.

Ingredients for tuna salad (onion not pictured because...well, I forgot).

Munchkin scrapes our tuna into the bowl.

Adds a few crumbled crackers.

Mayonnaise and relish. 

Eggs (and onion!) And mix it all up.

Then ya get to spread it on a piece of bread and eat it...that's the best part!

Since we were in the kitchen with Mayo, Relish, and Eggs, Munchkin decided she needed a deviled egg. (She has been able to make deviled eggs fairly independently for a couple of years now.) 

Her finished plate...loving the fine china here, aren't ya?

I have kindly omitted the "after" picture here where she stuffs an entire deviled egg half into her mouth!

Tuna salad sandwiches can be a bit messy if you don't hold them just right...I managed to not drop the camera, while reaching over to hold her sandwich together.

When cooking, I have a tendency to not measure anything unless I am baking or following a new recipe...this is both a blessing and a curse. I can make things more quickly and it tastes good each time, but I have trouble sharing my recipes! For teaching Munchkin, I am going to have to start measuring at least some stuff...and writing down my recipes while I am at it!

Check out my link party page to see where I am linking.

What Can We Learn on Vacation?

What can you learn on vacation? Anything you want! Today I will be sharing pictures of some of our many trips to Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO. (I am not being compensated for sharing my opinion.) SDC is my favorite theme park because it has something for the whole family, and so many opportunities to learn as well!

This picture was taken inside Marvel Cave at SDC. The cave can be used to teach Geology, Stalactite/Stalagmite formation, Early exploration (especially if you take the Lantern Light Tour), Rock Layers, Temperature differences on and beneath the Earth's surface, animals found in caves, etc. There are many possibilities here for learning.

Map Reading and Navigation skills can be taught with minimal planning. Let your child lead, and help him reorient himself if he gets lost. Or, you lead, while pointing out landmarks and then see if your child can trace the route you took while looking at a map.

You may have to teach a little democracy as well. With more than one child, it is always interesting to see how they deal with the problem of what to ride first.

You could teach a lesson on flowers and plants, which are native, and which are not. Teach names of flowers, what types of soil are necessary to make flowers grow...or, in the case of these Hydrangeas, you can even work in a lesson on acids and bases, and what makes which color flower. 

Learn about how candy was made at Brown's Candy Factory (don't forget to try a sample while you are there!)

Learn about the old west, and uses for things like the stage coach. (Munchkin is dressed up here for a costume contest).

Learn about pulleys and gravity.

Learn about other countries culture and customs.

These pictures were taken during various times of the year, so not all things pictured are available year round. Many coincide with the festivals and events throughout the year at Silver Dollar City. There are many things to do besides what I have pictured. Visit the homestead and learn about the animals there, visit the schoolhouse for a history lesson, or the Wilderness Church for a Gospel Sing Along (Music and Music Appreciation). You can dip your own candles at Carries Candles, or make your own rag doll with Wagon Train Dolls. Watch a bladesmith fashion a blade, or a blacksmith make a horseshoe.

We also use vacations to learn about money. Leading up to vacation we list extra chores which can be done to earn spending money, and at the park we remind them to make wise choices, and to not spend all of their money on the first day. We remind them how long it took or how hard they worked to earn whatever amount they are thinking of spending on a potential purchase, then they decide if it is worth it to them. Wherever you go, remember that learning does not have to be done at the kitchen table!

I want to thank Crystal's Tiny Treasures for featuring this post I did about learning about money.

Check out my link party page to see where I am linking.

Post-It Note Clue Hunt

When I decided to begin this adventure of home-schooling, I knew there would be days when I didn't feel like doing "normal" school work, and days when Munchkin wouldn't feel like it either. That is the beauty of home-school...if you don't want to do school on Monday, you can add it back in on Saturday, or do a little extra each day to make up the difference. When we do fun activities, it gets Munchkin excited about learning, and we wind up way ahead of the game. (When this happens, we normally do not take days off, but save our days off for when life gets in the way or when we want to do something different on a "school day."

One such activity that Munchkin has really enjoyed is the Post-It Note clue hunt. It takes a bit of prep work, but it is definitely worth it. I wrote all of my clues on Post-Its and hid them around the house...each one leading to the next.

I used sight words and words that could be easily sounded out so that she could follow the clues with minimal help from me. This clue said "Dad is the man to see."

So she figured out that she had to get her next clue from Dad.

The "Look on the flag" clue led her to this one. She is doing first grade work this year and still learning to read, so we were focusing on short vowels and sight words. 

"Look under your bed"

She gave me the last clue each time she found a new one so that she didn't get mixed up. All together, she had to read about 25 sentences to get to her prize at the end.

We even took the game outside!

"Look in the back of the big red truck"

Munchkin loved her prize. This was something we had already planned to buy her, not a prize just for this game. She enjoys the game whether she is playing for a big prize or a dollar store prize...or even just a hunt to find a stuffed animal she already owns.

Enjoying her bean bag chair!

Sometimes she even gets to sit in her chair while we do lessons or read together. Also, we have used this game for math facts as well. To do that one, I wrote a problem on the first sticky note, then the answer on another...and a new problem on the back of the answer to the first one. She was only doing math facts up to 10 when we did that hunt, so I used 3 different colors of sticky notes and wrote "change to green" etc when the next answer was going to be on a different color. (So we did all pink, then all green, then all blue.) Again we had about 25-30 sticky note problems.

Hope you enjoyed this learning activity. Check out my Link Parties page for a list of all the parties I link to each week.