Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter!! :)

It's Easter... Come Awake!!!

(the video)

Easter Resurrection Eggs

There's still time! You can prepare these on Saturday (the night before Easter) with your kids! A great way to go through scripture and the story of Jesus' death and rescurrection! Below is the link:

EASTER RESURRECTION EGGS

Holy Week

During this special week, spend a lot of quiet time with the Lord and let His presence fill you with love and peace. Think about His commitment and loyalty to you by shedding His blood for your sins. We are new people in Christ, pure and clean before Him. Remove old thoughts of insecurity and frustration with yourself. Christ died so that you may have abundant life ,and it all starts with knowing your identity in Christ. Stop trying to change yourself. Christ accepts you and can you use you just as you are. You are His beloved. You have His favor. Your spouse and children are in His plan of emotional freedom, spiritual peace, physical healing, healthy relationships and blessing others. Praise Him this week. Dare to step out in faith like you've never stepped out before and believe that God totally and completely loves you.

Let's Play!

It seems like we let our kids play all the time. From the moment they wake up, they are playing! They are always excited to play. Yet, how many minutes or hours do we, as parents, get down on eye level and fully interactively play with our kids? It's much easier to just sit and watch and say, "be careful!" or " that's very good!" However, participating in activity with your children shows that you care, that they have value. The most important people in your children's lives are you. Let them do what they love best with the people they love most. Speak their love language. Their emotional IQ will increase, and they will be more confident and secure in themselves.

Daily Reminders of God's Love

Sticky notes and white boards and calenders are constant reminders of our to-do list. Our memory is not always perfect. In the same way, our children need constant reminders of the image and qualities of God on a dally basis. about His love, beauty and kindness. Repeating

Appreciating Differences

"Do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." Ephesians 6:4 It's always good to remember that there are differences in your children. One might not show love the same way the other child does. Pray for discernment to understand your children's unique personality traits, communication styles and love language.

Looking Past the Now

(Excerpt from HomeWord Daily Devotional April 12, 2011)

Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope. Matthew 12:18-21

Life’s not fair. I’ve heard that phrase since I was a kid. Honestly, I don’t like it anymore now than I did then. Truth be told, the phrase is legitimate. Life, flat-out stinks some times. It’s not fair and it’s not easy. A painful breakup, a lost loved one, a phone call reporting cancer, losing a job or not getting a promotion at work, difficulty with the kids, financial strain…you name it, we have all struggled. Life isn’t easy for any of us. In college, I watched two friends on the football team struggle with injuries. One of them had chronic problems with his feet, wincing in pain with each step he took. The other blew out both of his knees within a year of each other. The difference between them: one is a Christian and one was not. One had hope, and one did not. One knew that football was temporary and did not define him; the other did not. As Christians, we can look past the now. God sent His Son, Jesus, as the Servant who, by His death and resurrection, makes all of the difference for us. It is He Who will bring justice and mercy. It is He Who is the hope of the world. What a gift we have in Jesus! Through Him, hope motivates us to store up treasure in heaven, not treasures on earth. Through Him, we have the promise that God works for the good of those who believe. (Romans 8:28) Through Him, we have the hope that this life – with all of its struggles – is just our temporary home before moving onto the glorious eternity with our Father in heaven. Life will present us all with seasons of challenge, but when the bad news and difficult times come, as a Christian, you can rely on hope. This is the hope that helps us look past the now and focus on Christ’s presence with us, and our future treasures in heaven.

Neat Book/Story Sites

A couple of neat sites that were recently introduced to me! :)

www.storynory.com

Listen to stories on this site for free! There are classics, fairytales and original stories!

www.mightybookjr.com

If you go to this site now, you can sign up for free one year subscription ($99) value and have access to interactive/read along books, games, puzzles and lessons!

Just sign up and enter coupon code "learntoread"!

Totally Transformed

I believe that repentance is the key to being totally transformed.

Last week in bible study, I was listening to our lecturer talking about repentance...

and in my mind, I was thinking about the need to not only repent of my own sins..

but the sins that have NOT been recognized and repented by my parents,

my grandparents, and their parents....

While in my parenting, I some times see my parents' bad habits.. and it honestly scares me..

Things that I did not like about what they did or say, now I'm doing... ugh..

My kids and I were listening to Jana Alayra's song "Totally Transformed",

(you can listen to it here),

the lyrics go like this...

"I don't want to be, don't want to be the same.

I don't want to play, play the same old game.

I want to be transformed.

Totally, by you my Lord."

These lyrics were again speaking to me about these old habits..

not just with parenting, but in all areas of my life.

So Lord, I want to be totally transformed by you.

Help me not get stuck in the same cycles of bad habits and sins..

I completely repent of all my sins...and unrecognized sins committed in the past..

Change me and mold me into the person you want me to be.

Easter Story Eggs

~The source for this page is "15 Minutes-Family Traditions & Memories" by Emilie Barnes.~

What are Easter Story Eggs? How do I make them? What are they for anyway?

"To remind your family of the Easter story, prepare an Easter basket with 12 plastic eggs that can be opened. On the outside of the egg write a number (1-12) and fill with the corresponding message and Scripture (see chart below). Open one egg each day, starting 12 days before Easter. Read the message aloud to the family and look up the Scripture in the Bible. Pray together, thanking the Lord for that particular aspect of the crucifixion and resurrection."

Message (Front) Scripture (Back)

1: Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. The people waved palm branches. Matthew 21:1-11 (Piece of palm branch)

2: Mary poured expensive perfume on Jesus' feet. John 12:2-8

(Small perfume sample or cloth with perfume)

3: Jesus shared the Last Supper with His disciples. Matthew 26:17-19

(Chex cereal)

4: Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Matthew 27:3 3

(Dimes)

5: Jesus carried His own cross. John 19:17

(Popsicle stick cut and glued in a cross form)

6: Soldiers placed a crown of thorns on Jesus' head. John 19:2

(Small thorny branch)

7: Soldiers parted Jesus' garments and cast lots for His coat. John 19:23

(Swatch of burlap and a nail)

8: Jesus was nailed to a cross and pierced in His side. John 19:18,37 & John 20:25-29

(A nail)

9: They gave Jesus vinegar mixed with gall on a sponge to drink. Matthew 27:34

(A small sponge)

10: Spices to prepare Jesus for burial. John 19:40

(7 or 8 whole cloves)

11: The stone covering Jesus' tomb was rolled away. John 20:1

(A small rock)

12: The napkin around Jesus' head was lying separately from His linen clothers. He was not there. He has risen! John 20:6-7

(A scrap of linen-type fabric)

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Prayer for Children

This prayer speaks to me especially when I'm having one of those days when I'm discouraged as a parent. God bless!

Heavenly Father, I surrender everything in my life including my children unto Your mighty hand. I know that it is not easy to look after a child, especially with my human abilites. Lord, I need Your wisdom to teach my children. I need Your patience whenever they make me impatient. I need Your strength whenever I am weak to bring them up. I need Your love, to care for them and encourage them. Teach me Your ways and I will obey Your commandments and do whatever that will please Your sight.

God's Promise

The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him.

Proverbs 20:7

by Pocket Prayer iPhone App