An Easy, Beautiful Christmas Ornament You Can Make With Your Kids
I made this using my Cricut Mini cutter, adhesive vinyl sheets, Mop ‘n Glo, glitter, clear glass ornaments, and ribbon.
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10 Tips to Grow Gratitude and Increase Happiness in Your Children
My dear friend, Deb, is guest posting today. She joins me on the podcast for a talk on Overcoming Insecurity. Be sure to listen in, snag a free copy of her amazing book for girls of all ages on December 3-5, 2013, and read more about her at the end of this post.
Thanksgiving is behind us. Christmas will be here soon.
Your to-do lists are long. If you’re like most of us, that little seed of panic has been planted, watered, and is starting to grow. Meanwhile, your children’s lists of wants and gimmes grow and grow and grow, too.
Stop and breathe. Pull your panic weed and throw it away. And remember that the key to happiness is not found in more stuff. It’s found in Gratitude.
So, here are my 10 Tips to Grow Gratitude and Increase Happiness in Your Children, and who knows it may just help you a little too.
1. Keep a Blessing Jar – Put a jar on your kitchen table or counter, set a pen and strips of paper nearby, and ask each family member to add one thing each day for which they’re thankful. Make plans to read them Christmas Eve as everyone settles down and prepares for bed. Blessing jars can be used all year. Celebrate a birthday filling the jar with reasons the birthday boy or girl is a blessing. Celebrate events and accomplishments by adding words of thanks and gratitude.
2. Say Please and Thank you – As soon as your child can talk make the words “please and thank you” part of their vocabulary. Make them important words in your family. A simple family rule can be, “We don’t ask without a please or receive without a thank you.”
3. Write Thank you Note – I know of families who do not allow a gift to be used until the thank you note is sent. That’s actually a pretty good idea. Writing thank you notes is a valuable life lesson that will bless your child long into the future.
4. Care and Share – Another important lesson is teaching your children to take care of what they have . . . how to make things last by keeping them clean and putting them away neatly. A nice thing about teaching them to care for what they have is the ability to share clothing and toys they have outgrown with someone less fortunate. Get them to help you in selecting things to share with others.
5. Simplify Gifting – More and more I read about families who are limiting the number of gifts they give. Our family started giving The Gifts of the Magi each year. (Thanks to Mel for giving us this tip.)
Three gifts:
Gold – A valuable treasure . . . something they want – it doesn’t have to be costly just have value for the recipient. This represents Christ our King.
Frankincense – An incense that represented prayers . . . something to bless their spiritual life – a book, cd, or dvd. This represents Christ our High Priest.
Myrrh – An oil used to treat wounds . . . something for their body – lotions, potions, cologne, etc. This represents Christ our Crucified Savior.
6. Go on a Mission Trip – If your children are old enough, I highly recommend going on a mission trip together. I traveled to Bolivia with World Vision a couple of years ago, and nothing will teach the lesson of gratitude like spending time with those who have nothing.
7. Do a Service Project – Help at your local food pantry, visit a nursing home, make a box for Operation Christmas Child, sponsor a child through World Vision or Compassion Int., babysit for someone who can’t afford it, bake cookies for an elderly neighbor – the list can go on and on. Thinking about and doing for others encourages both gratitude and happiness.
8. Work a Service Job – Everyone should work at a restaurant or store . . . any job that serves the public. Why? Because we each need to be on the receiving end of rude ungrateful behavior in order to know how important it is to be kind and appreciative toward those who help us.
9. Model Good Stewardship – Always say, “Please, thank you, I’m sorry, and please forgive me” to your children. Talk about why you give money and time at church and in your community. Show them how to bless others with their gifts and abilities. Teach them by example that an important part of being grateful is using our blessings to glorify God.
10. Worship Together – Praise and glorify God as a family, not just on Sunday morning but everyday . . . sing in the car, pray, read the Bible or Children’s Devotions together. Help your children realize that everything is a gift from God.
My goal this year is not to have a perfect Christmas, but to have a gratitude-filled Christmas with my children and grandchildren. I’m praying that we’ll enjoy a happier celebration as we give thanks for God’s blessings . . . especially the ones we have in each other.
A Great Gift Idea for Coffee Lovers
If you know a woman who loves coffee and Jesus even more, Coffee Talk with Jesus would make a perfect gift. Tuck it into a gift basket with a bag of gourmet beans or a Starbucks gift card and you’re done!
But the gift recipient won’t be. This book will have her feeling as though Jesus is talking directly to her over a cup of her favorite brew. It’s a wonderful devotional for those who want more intimacy with the Lord, those who like to journal, and those who love recipes. Barbie has included many delectable-sounding coffee dishes in the book, including one of my own.
You can also gift Coffee Talk with Jesus for the Kindle.
Author, Barbie Swihart of My Freshly Brewed Life, has a gift for one of my readers. Register to win a copy of the book this week and be sure to visit her blog for a savoring of her encouragement.
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Can Inbox Zero Help You Get More Done?
This is Week 42 of a Year of Living Productively
This week I tested whether Inbox Zero (with the help of Sanebox) could help me get more done. Scroll to the bottom of last week’s post to see exactly what I did. One addition I made was to use Boxer on my iPhone which integrates with Sanebox.
How Inbox Zero Saved My Sanity This Week
- Saved me time . Sanebox sent me an email telling me how many minutes I had saved by using their service. I honestly didn’t need the email to see that. Wow. I was amazed by the difference an empty inbox made. I did not have to filter individual emails or even bother unsubscribing for email that I didn’t care to look at. It was all in folders I could quickly scan.
- Prevented important emails from going unread. I mentioned last week that one of the problems I have had with filtering is that I never look at the filtered emails. Sanebox’s reminder to look at my folders of various emails to see if any should be in my inbox solved that problem. Not only did I look at them, but I was able to scan them so quickly when my important emails weren’t mixed into the bunch.
How Inbox Zero Made Me Crazy This Week
- Surprised and a little depressed. I really couldn’t believe I had that few “real” emails. I kept reloading my email and searching through the folders to be sure. When I really was sure, I was disappointed that I didn’t have more. That may be pathetic, but it’s true!
- I didn’t need many of the options Sanebox includes. I did not use the service to snooze emails. I also found that the various folders such as “bulk” and “black hole” weren’t really necessary for me. The “Later” folder did the job as well as any. I also found that the fee for these extra folders and services was more than I would be willing to pay.
Did Inbox Zero Help Me Get More Done?
Yes! I am delighted that I no longer have to waste my time sorting and filtering my email. So yes, I have decided to subscribe to the Sanebox Snack Plan which is $49/year. The time savings is very much worth it to me, even though I feel a bit lonelier. 😉 If you’d like a free option for doing this, consider turning on Gmail Tabs. The difference is you will have more tabs and will not be reminded to check the emails in your tabs. There is not yet an Android app for viewing tabs, though the Gmail iOS app will enable you to view email this way.
**UPDATE**
I am still using Sanebox and am saving myself tons of time. I enjoy Sanebox even more now that I’m using the @blackhole folder for things I don’t want to see again. It’s so quick and hassle-free. I highly recommend it!
You may also find this article by HubSpot on four different ways of achieving inbox zero useful.
The Productivity Approach I’ll Be Using for Week 43
This week I’ll be testing a resistance list. This article from Lifehack gave me the idea that it might be effective to have a list of tasks ready for when you don’t feel like working. I will be adding my tasks to Laza Lists, a free iTunes app.
The concept. We all have times when we just don’t feel like working. That time would be now for me. It would be great if we could still manage to get things (anything!) done during periods of resistance. Heatmapping helped me a lot with this. Getting Things Done would have us create a low energy context for such tasks. The problems I have with that is I tend not to want to even look at my main list when I’m resisting and I don’t put a lot of good low resistance tasks on my list anyway.
I am interested to see if I can get through my high resistance times by doing productive tasks I’ve added to a separate list. I think any kind of list could work, but I’m choosing Laza Lists because of its ability to randomly choose a task on a list. I think this introduces a gamification aspect that could help.
If you’d like to join me this week, here’s what you do. Read 12 Ways to Still Be Productive When You Don’t Feel Like Working. Choose a list approach. Spend some time adding low-resistance tasks to your list and continue adding them as you think of them. Use your list when you don’t feel like working.
To see how a resistance list worked for me, click here.
I would love it if you’d comment or share this post. It helps me get past resistance.
Here are the links to the productivity hacks I’ve tried so far:
Week 16: David Seah’s 7:15AM Ritual
Week 17: Another Simple and Effective Method
Week 18: Daily/Weekly/Monthly To-Do List
Week 19: Ultimate Time Management System
Week 25: Make it Happen in 10 Minutes
Week 33: David Seah’s Ten for Ten
Week 34: David Seah’s Emergent Task Planner
Week 35: Steve Kamb’s Do It Now
Week 41: Problem Solving Approach
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8 Lies That Lead to Holiday Weight Gain
I asked my friend, Barb Raveling, a guest on The Homeschool Sanity Show today, to write a post for Psychowith6 readers. I know you’ll be blessed by her wisdom here and on the podcast. Be sure to scroll down to enter the I Deserve a Donut giveaway and to find links to her blog.
It’s that time of year we all know and love: The Holiday Eating Season.
Pumpkin pie. Sugar cookies. Mashed potatoes and gravy. Candy canes. Turkey and stuffing. The list could go on and on.
So how do we keep ourselves from gaining five or 10 pounds in the next month or two? Simple. We renew our minds as often as possible!
Here is a chart you can use to renew your mind with both practical truth and biblical truth. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go renew my mind!
Lie | Practical Truth | Biblical Truth |
| It’s a holiday. I should be able to eat what I want. | I can eat what I want. But would that really be a good idea? Probably not since what I want to eat is 5 pieces of pie and 2 pieces of everything else. | All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. 1 Corinthians 6:12 |
| It won’t be as much fun if I don’t eat what I want. | It won’t be as much fun for only 5 or 10 minutes. The rest of the day will be more fun because I won’t feel so stuffed and regretful. | Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue. Psalm 120:2 |
| I don’t know when I’ll get this again. I better eat as much as I can now. | Chances are, I’ll get the same thing tomorrow for leftovers, but if everything is gone, I can always make it again. | But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. Romans 13:14 |
| This food is so good that I should have seconds. | This food is so good that I need to concentrate on thoroughly enjoying each and every bite. It’s hard to truly appreciate large quantities of food. | Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. Philippians 4:11 |
| But everyone else is eating. | Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn’t mean I need to do it. (Remember that old cliff saying.) | And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2a |
| But they expect me to eat. I don’t want to draw attention to myself. | You can’t please everyone. Besides, it will be so busy, they probably won’t notice what I’m eating. If they do, oh well. | Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. 2 Corinthians 5:9 |
| I can’t help myself—it’s there, and I’m going to eat it. | If I keep renewing my mind, chances are, I won’t even want to break my boundaries. | I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 |
| It’s a holiday. This is my opportunity to eat, eat, eat. Bring on the food! | It’s a holiday. This is my opportunity to relax, visit with people I haven’t seen in awhile, and thank God for His many blessings. | O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Psalm 95:1 |
Create a Zentangle Notebook (with free download)
Last year I bought my daughter, Elaina, a Zentangle book and some pens for Christmas. I bought myself a book, too, and discovered that I was zentangling when it was called doodling.
It turns out that doodling is good for you and produces some pretty cool looking art, too.
The problem was, I didn’t have any place to put my zentangles. I Googled for notebook templates so I could make my own notebook using my Zutter binder, but couldn’t find any. You know what they say about necessity! Microsoft Word to the rescue. I downloaded and installed this script font and block font for the initial. I then created a cover and inside page template, copied them onto acid-free cardstock, added an acetate cover and bound the book with silver coils. The finishing touch was some black and white ribbon I had lying around.
My daughter saw me making my notebook and begged me to make one for her, which I promptly did. We zentangled the front covers of our notebooks in pencil first and then used acid-free black marker to go over the design. The inside pages allow you to add four zentangles each. 
If you need a gift for a kid or someone who’s at all crafty (not artistic, because no art skills are required), you’ll love a zentangle notebook. It’s fun to make and would make a great accompaniment to a zentangle book and pen set. If you don’t want to create this yourself or if you don’t have a binder, you could have it put together at an office store.
You can download the cover for the zentangle notebook here and the inside page template here. You will have to download and install the fonts referenced above to edit the cover. If you like this, I hope you’ll share it on Pinterest and Facebook. If you do Project Life, you may enjoy this post where I share free weekly cards. I will be linking subscribers to this year’s cards soon!
read moreAbout Me
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.
-Dr. Melanie Wilson
Join me at GHC!
