In our culture, this message is being communicated with increasing fervor. The drum beat has been taken up by every group, regardless of ethnicity, religious affiliation, political beliefs, or sexual orientation. The thing is, we're all correct. We are ALL doing something wrong.
As tension over these differences increases (and it IS increasing all around the world), I don't believe the answer is to say there is no such thing as right and wrong. After all, that would be suggesting it's WRONG to believe in right and wrong. Don't worry. You haven't ended up in a college philosophy class by mistake. My point is simply this: we will never effect change by trying to convince people to adopt our version of what is right and wrong. We CAN change the world by the solution we offer, however.
Jesus didn't spend his ministry time trying to convince people that sin was sin. Instead, He offered a solution for it: Himself. I remember counseling a young woman who had recently become a Christian. Her concern was that she had to quit doing everything she was currently doing. She felt she had to listen to different music, watch different movies (if she watched them at all), quit going to the same places where her unbelieving friends were and on and on. Not surprisingly, she was not joyful about hearing the Good News! In fact, the Gospel for her was more bad news: she was a sinner and everything she wanted to do was sinful.
If we aren't careful, we can change the Good News into bad news for the people we witness to. Are we spending our time talking about how sinful and wrong people are being? (As if this were news anyway!) Or are we sharing the Savior who gives us the want to and not the have to change our sinful ways.
In his book, The Life of Trust, George Muller shares the story of a godly man who paid for the education of promising young men. One particular college student was known to be a brilliant debater and an unbeliever. The older benefactor invited the young man to live with him while he went to school, and provided all of his meals for him as well. Knowing the young man's desire to take him on in matters of faith, he avoided the discussion for months. Instead, he lovingly served him by making sure he had a warm meal and light to study by each evening. Finally, the young man was so flabberghasted by his benefactor's loving treatment that he asked, "Why are you treating me this way? I don't understand!" The kindly man told him it was because of what Jesus had done for him and if he wanted to know more, he could read the book of John. He did so and came to share the joy his benefactor had in experiencing the Good News.
May the Lord enable us to be loving reminders, not of all we're doing wrong, but all that the Savior has done right for undeserving sinners like us.
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. (1 Cor. 13:1)
I don't know what took me so long to make my book available for the Kindle when I'm the Kindle queen! My sweet mom bought me a Kindle for Christmas a few years ago and I loved it. When I got an iPad, I loved the Kindle iPad app even more. Lots of women ask me about the ins and outs of Kindles and iPads but they're not usually the women reading my blog, so I won't bore you with that! If you don't have a Kindle or an iPad, you can still read my book for just 99 cents! Just download this free online Kindle reader.
So You're Not Wonder Woman is a book inspired by God, my life story, and the requests of women I speak to. It's a get-real look at women's issues and how God wants to empower us to deal with them. Here is what I have heard from women who've read it:
I can really relate!
I had no idea you struggled like I do
I am so inspired to finally lose weight
I'm ready to get organized
My husband is just like your husband
I love it!
I've read it three times!
I would love for you to read it, too. If you do, please write a review and feel free to lend it to one friend for free (via the Kindle guidelines). If you prefer to order a paperback, I've recently reduced the price by a third to $9.99. It's included in a buy 4-for-3 promotion right now, too. Click on the underlined, colored links above to find my book on Amazon and thank you for reading!
This is another question my friend who is new to homeschooling asked: how can you motivate your kids to get along?
Sure, we can avoid a lot of the bullying and teasing that goes on at school, but we may substitute more than enough sibling squabbling to make up for it. It can be such a problem that you feel you can’t take it anymore! (Don’t ask me how I know.) Here’s where you can take it:
Take it seriously. Sometimes our kids continue to fight physically or verbally because unlike many schools, we haven’t adopted a no tolerance policy. Let your children know that physical and verbal abuse have serious consequences in your home by promptly administering appropriate discipline.
Take it outside. A significant amount of squabbling is simply to gain your attention. Put the brawling brothers outside, in the bathroom, or anywhere uncomfortable until they work it out so both of them are satisfied.
Take it away. If a game or toy is the object of objection, remove it or the privilege of playing with it. Refuse to let your little attorneys approach the bench once you’ve made your decision.
Take it to Scripture. Remind your children of what the Bible has to say about their behavior and then ask them if they are in the right. Follow up by asking what they would have to do to make it right with their brother and with God.
Take it as training. Working on relationships with siblings is training for dealing with difficult relationships in the future. Rather than getting angry with your kids, realize that conflict resolution requires practice just like long division.
Take it to heart. Sometimes we need to listen for the heart issues involved in conflict and discuss them with our kids. Is little brother annoying you because you ignore him? Did your sister take your iPod because you hurt her feelings?
Take it for a time out. Sometimes things get so heated, that only a longer cooling off period will do. That goes for mom and dad, too!
Take it with a grain of salt. Sometimes we worry excessively about our children’s conflicts and inadvertently communicate that we don’t trust our children to grow in this area. When you see your child handle misbehavior well (for example, when a pet, a toddler, or a close friend hurts her and she doesn’t react in anger), emphasize your belief in your child’s self-control.
Take it to the Lord. God knows EXACTLY how you feel! It’s heart-breaking and exhausting to manage bickering children in addition to all our other roles. Pray for wisdom and for peace.
I grew up eating Hamburger Helper, the Cheeseburger Macaroni flavor, and I've never outgrown my love for it. I still make it because it's cheap, it's fast, and it's tasty. The problem is it's made with stuff I can't pronounce. I know there is no way it can be the best choice for my family.
So I was particularly intrigued by Laura's ability to break up with HH and start a new love affair with a recipe made from scratch. Honestly, after the taco corn fritter meal, I was pretty skeptical. But I made it exactly as directed, using whole wheat pasta (not my favorite because it can tend to be tough) and white cheddar cheese that I shredded quickly using my Pampered Chef Ultimate Mandoline. I happily used whole milk to ensure it would be as creamy as possible. I served it up, took a bite, and…
It wasn't exactly like Hamburger Helper. I was worried. But the more I ate, the more my old Hamburger Helper was like a high school honey–long forgotten! The whole wheat pasta was tender, my husband loved it, and the kids who normally eat it were satisfied (c'mon, if everyone ate it, I'd think I was dreaming). Leftovers were particularly yummy I thought.
The great news is it's good, it's better for us, and it doesn't take long to make. I cooked the noodles 15 minutes from the time they started simmering. That's when the milk and cheese mixture really started to thicken.
Do you have any other healthy meal makeovers to share with me?
I believe that good nutrition is a vital part of being a motivated homeschooler and I bet you do, too. The problem we typically have is that shopping for and preparing healthy meals is time-consuming. Then there’s the issue of dealing with picky palettes. As a fellow traveler on the road to healthier eating, here are some of my motivators that might help you overcome your good eating obstacles:
Ditch denial. Just Google the risks of childhood obesity and you should have a harder time pulling into the fast food drive through today. Read up on the health risks of eating too much sugar and fat and too little fiber and you’ll have an easier time making your way to the kitchen.
Start small. I’ve given extreme eating and cooking a good try and I can tell you it’s not the best approach. Healthy eating doesn’t have to be an all or nothing phenomena. In fact, the most fit and energetic people I know are not food extremists. Making one food from scratch a week that has no preservatives or artificial additives is a great start!
Take time. I won’t lie to you. Healthier eating DOES take more time. But I think it’s well worth the investment. Consider and pray about which areas you could take time from to allow you to provide better meals for you and your family.
Add alternates. Rather than clear your pantry of all the unhealthy foods your family loves, introduce alternatives first. Once the good food is accepted, they’ll have an easy time letting the junk food go.
Request ratings. If you come at your family like a drill sergeant, insisting they give up their favorite foods (or die!), your efforts will be for naught. Instead, help your family feel a part of the process by asking them to rate new recipes. If the majority do not like something, respect them and try something else.
Try teaching. You already know that the best way to learn something is to teach it. Why not study healthier eating with your kids? Use the opportunity to give your kids an education in health, math (measuring), and practical arts (cooking). My kids studied Eat This, Not That for Kids religiously with no prompting from me.
Ease expectations. Even starting small, it’s easy to expect that we ought to be making all our own bread, canning our own veggies, and when we really get crazy we think we ought to be making our own cheeses, too! It’s OK to use some packaged foods and even to choose the lesser of two evils when it comes to eating.
Honor hunger. Because our number one nutritional problem isn’t vitamin deficiency or even pesticide side effects, but being overweight, remember that one of the healthiest things we can do is not overeat. God gave us hunger and satiation so we wouldn’t have to weigh and measure our food. Honor it and you’ll surely be healthier than if you don’t.
Prepare portions. The easier you make it for you and your family to eat healthy meals, the more likely your nutrition will improve. Consider making breakfast for the next day as you prepare dinner. Cut up fruits and veggies after a grocery trip and consider using a fun presentation to make them more palatable to the kids. Double dinners and freeze one. Prepare what you can in advance. For example, brown all your ground beef and freeze it in dinner-size portions for a quick staple during the week.
Enjoy esteem. If you’re anything like me, cooking just seems like a lot of work! What I didn’t realize until recently is that it’s also a great way to get the thanks and praise that so seems lacking in our homeschool. My kids and husband have been singing my praises as I’ve been making new, delicious, and healthier recipes.
Make memories. My mother’s home cooking comprises some of my favorite childhood memories. I doubt that our children will have similar memories of fast food or prepackaged chicken nuggets and fries. As I was writing this post, my son came in and saw my cinnamon rolls and exclaimed, “Those are so awesome!” While they aren’t the healthiest fare (and you wouldn’t want to eat them every day!), they do make wonderful memories.
Want even more healthy eating motivation? Follow me at Wonder Women where I will be regularly posting my food forays.
I've definitely lived the extremes where eating is concerned. But now I would like to eat and serve healthier fare without becoming looney about it. Know what I mean? To that end, I'll be posting some of my food forays in the hope that it will be of some help to those who would like to do likewise.
During one of my healthy eating frenzies, I accumulated a grain mill, a 50-pound bag of whole wheat, and lots of raw sugar. I didn't want to feel like my investment was all for naught, so I decided to include Heavenly Homemakers in my healthier eating journey. I love that Laura makes kid-friendly food, provides weekly menus, and uses many of the staples I've acquired.
My first meal attempt was her taco corn fritter recipe. My mother made delicious corn fritters and the idea of adding cheese and ground beef to them really appealed to me. The good news is I've enjoyed some of Laura's recipes. The bad news is that this wasn't one of them. Pretty much everyone hated these fritters. I think the problems were a) the honey makes them brown before they're cooked through and b) Fritters are better when made out of flour rather than corn meal in my opinion. Even though my first effort failed, I did not give up! Stay tuned for more adventures in healthier eating.
I’m a Christian psychologist turned homeschooling mother of six. My life can be a little crazy, so I look for sanity-saving ideas to use and share. I hope you’ll read my About page to learn more.
