• Play cherades
• Sing songs like Father Abraham; head and shoulders, knees and toes
• Play Simon Says…or Daddy says
• Make popcorn
• Play Candyland
• Make play dough
• Play dress up
• Make and/or play with puppets
• Read books
• Learn portions of scripture
• Sort laundry together. The older one(s) can make sock matches, fold washrags, put clothes away, identify clothes
• Play with bubbles
• Make pictures for grandma
• Set up a fish tank and enjoy it
• Make instruments with paper plates, oatmeal boxes, etc.
• Plant some seeds
• Visit the elderly
• Make butter
• Make ice cream
• Make yogurt
• Bake cookies
• Dance with music
• Play with cars. Make roads.
• Color with you.
• Find a paper plate craft book and make crafts
• Play a board game with them making up the “rules”
• Finger paints
• Play “hide the battery”
• Play hide and seek
• Do sommer saults and stand on your head

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Activities With Littles

God’s Way:
Dad
Mom
Child

Culture’s Way:
Child (Smartest, proved through “kid power” and disobedience towards a good outcome is accepted because “kids know better” and the ends justify the means.)
Mom (Wiser than dad. Lets the kids get away with more, which is made to appear acceptable and compassionate and “reasonable”, when she is actually tearing her house down.)
Dad (Dumb oaf that is not involved with anything in the family’s life. He is the dumbest member of the family and not to be honored or revered. He just “doesn’t understand”.)

As Tedd Trip, author of Shepherding a Child’s Heart, states, “God has established authority structures in the home. Men are to provide loving leadership, laying down their lives for their wives. Wives are to receive and follow the leadership of their husbands (Ephesians 5:22–33). Children are to honor and obey their parents (Ephesians 6:1–3).”

Let’s not get this messed up anymore.

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Kid Power

I passed by them and continued to get the item I needed, turned around and headed back, following them to the checkout where, in fact, the little girl had the item.

Another example: A family member had her daughter in the shopping cart seat. She decided to stand up and do a little tap dance. She fell out of the cart, sustaining a concussion.

We are out in town, maybe the grocery store. A child talks back, throws a fit, wanders away, won’t listen and/or just makes a big scene. What is a mama to do?

When my children were small and in the major training stage, I would VERY CALMLY tell them to stop whatever they were doing. If they continued as I shopped, I peacefully and calmly took the children home…leaving my cart behind and dealt with them as needed.

We don’t want the child to consider that their actions are okay when we are not at home.

When my first 3 were small, it seemed like I disciplined all day long. I hated it, especially since my hsuband was on the road a lot. I am so thankful for cell phones! My husband would encourage me to remember the goals we had to raise up a heritage. He’d remind me that we were not, and still are not, doing a “one day at a time” thing, but rather, we do everything with a purpose with clear boundaries, nothing is arbitrary. And that training isn’t only the rod, but it is teaching the children about the Lord Jesus Christ as we rise up and when we sit down… and that we are a reflection of just a little of what He might look like, too! (frontals on your forehead). He reminded me that we were treading into new territory since our parents didn’t follow God’s Word.

Proverbs 13:24
He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.

Do you see it? Diligently… to be up early with earnestness is the literal translation of diligently. Wow! God’s Word encourages us when the times get tough!

What an inspiration to have others in the body of Christ, to go to and encourage you to keep on keep’n on. I know it was a great help to me and many continue to be an encouragement to me.

Now that those particular kiddos are 22, 20, 19, respectively, and we’ve gone on to have many more, the fruit of those long, long days, has shown that it was oh so worth the time, the diligence, the patience, the love, the prayer, the teaching… everything. The younger ones watch the older kids’ example. There is so much peace in our household!

Last story: I was in another major grocery store chain last week. I noted that on several aisles, there were abandoned carts.

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Empty Carts Or Empty Promises?

Sanctify:

hagiazō
hag-ee-ad’-zo
To make holy, that is, (ceremonially) purify or consecrate; (mentally) to venerate: – hallow, be holy, sanctify.

From Webster’s:

SANC’TIFY, v.t. [Low L. sanctifico; from sanctus, holy, and facio, to make.]

1. In a general sense, to cleanse, purify or make holy.
2. To separate, set apart or appoint to a holy, sacred or religious use.
3. To purify; to prepare for divine service, and for partaking of holy things. Exo 19.
4. To separate, ordain and appoint to the work of redemption and the government of the church. John 10.
5. To cleanse from corruption; to purify from sin; to make holy be detaching the affections from the world and its defilements, and exalting them to a supreme love to God.
6. To make the means of holiness; to render productive of holiness or piety.
7. To make free from guilt.
8. To secure from violation.

Can we do this? 1 Peter 1:13-16 tells us to… 13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”

5:25-27 also says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

John 17:17 says, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” AHA!

Oh what a beautiful picture…being washed in God’s Word! I think that’s why I love to listen to it read to me out loud. I love to hear it quoted. I just soak it in, every syllable of it!

In light of the idea of keeping our children pure…and even ourselves, what steps can we do to be sanctified…holy…set apart?

Even if our husbands are not washing us in the word, we can be washing our children in God’s Word. It’s a whole lifestyle change….remember…we are aliens and strangers here….this world is only temporary. Where do we hang our hat? We can be keeping them set apart by:

• Getting rid of the television
• Getting rid of social influences that thwart holiness (this may include neighbors or family members)
• Get rid of reading material that is opposite of purity
• Know where your children are at all times and be with them
• Protecting our sons’ eyes from immodest women, clothing, magazines at the stores (how about turning magazines around at the checkout? I do.)
• Not taking our families to beaches or swim areas in which immodest apparel is worn.
• Make sure we and our daughters are dressed in purity, which includes swimwear or running around the house in anything see-through, too short, low cut, etc.
• Speak to each other in love, encouraging each other

Proverbs 16:3 Commit your works to the LORD And your plans will be established.

Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

Romans 8:12-14 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh–for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

The time we have with our children is oh so short!

Ephesians 5:3-20
But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.” Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.

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Training Children In Holiness & Purity

We recently added a new baby to the family and I can’t keep up with kids, homeschool and the house. I am about ready to throw in the towel and send the kids to public school.

A.

When I was about at your place, we realized some things needed to change. These are what helped us. Your mileage may vary.

• Changed homeschool curriculum so my time wasn’t spent, exhaustively, continually, helping. We switched from Bob Jones to SOS
• We incorporated MOTH scheduling into our lives. This is coming from someone who has never been a schedule person. I find it flexible.
• We evaluated what the kids were doing to carry a lot of the load and made sure that they were all being trained as per their level of ability for chores.
• We reevaluated to be sure us parents were diligent to discipline the children (mostly me!).
• We got rid of a lot of toys and clutter.
• We reevaluated what activities we were doing and how/where we were spending our time. We had been busy with a lot of activities and realized we needed to focus on being a family unit. Going out all the time caused a lot of stress involving clean clothes, chores being done, meals prepared, just everything.

I know there was more, but that is just what I could think of first. I hope you and your husband communicate a lot.

Oh… and another thing… this is really a short season in your life. Enjoy your children and hold those babies. You may also gain something from this post.

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Homeschooling: Throwing In The Towel?

You may recall we do not charge, nor do we ask for donations. Our music style is eclectic and we enjoy can accommodate any type of audience. We also have our own set, which includes originals not on our cd that we hope to put in our next one, Lord willing.

Soooooo, if you are up to seeing me and my family, and think your fellowship or group or party might enjoy having us, please send me an email on my brand new, fancy schmancy contact page. We have promotional material for you, as well. You can hear us here.

It would great to meet up with some of you!

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Invite ElectricChurch To Your Event/Group

I am so excited to share our big news! Our second son, third child, is now engaged to the sweetest young lady! And look, I have a few photos for ya!

First, the couple!

So now you can see what a sweet gal she is

and what a clown I have for a son. ~grin~

Ahhh! This one’s a bit cuter. Don’t you think?

The ring!

Okay, so she took it of for just a *minute*. It was for the picture. It was for you.

She put it back on. Don’t worry.  Breath a sight of relief now.

Now, with my new daughter-in-law’s permission, I get to share with you  something she wrote up to share about how they got together.

Did I mention their names? Forgive me! My son is Joseph and the young lady is Kathryn, otherwise known as Joe and Katie.

Without further delay:

Joe and Katie’s Story by Katie

Some of you have been asking about how Joe and I met. Joe and I met two years ago at our mutual friends’ house and later God provided ways for our families to get together and I got to know his sisters. After that, Dad and Joe got together for lunch on a weekly basis for several months. It was a good time for Dad to get to know Joe and for Joe to get to know Dad because they were able to talk freely about their beliefs. These are some points that I’ve kept in mind and that I believe are very important in relationships.

I believe that dating is dangerous because it encourages a false sense of feelings. In dating, there is a greater chance of getting physical before the proper time. Also, when people date, there is no real commitment to each other. People sometimes will date several different people before they marry anyone and by then, they’ve given a little bit of their heart away each time.

I believe that God’s timing is always perfect. When we give ourselves and our relationships to God, He will bring things to pass when it’s best. It is important to always give everything to God, not just in relationships, but in all of life. When we give something to Him that maybe we really want, He will bless that. He will either give it back to you, or He will give you something far better! God knows what is best.

God’s hand has been so evident in my relationship with Joe! He knew just when for us to take each little step. After each step, I would pray that if this wasn’t God’s will, that He would end it right there, and He never did! He continued to open doors and we continued to go through them.

It is very important before even considering someone, to make sure that they are a believer. If they aren’t it causes so much pain and trouble in the long run. 2 Corinthians 6:14

I also believe that parents need to be involved. Joe first went to his Dad before he went to my Dad. Everything we have done has been with our parents’ permission and approval. Parents have so much wisdom and God has placed them over us to train us and guide us. They see things that we don’t, so if they say, no this isn’t a good thing, we need to listen to them and trust them. Proverbs 23:22, 24

One thing that our culture doesn’t seem to understand, is that love is not a feeling. It’s a decision. There are times when we don’t feel love for people, but we must love them anyway. I believe that we must be able to think rationally before we allow feelings to come out. In dating, I think feelings become involved so soon that people are unable to see what the other person is really like. Dad and Joe were able to talk about things and think rationally before feelings came into the picture.

I also think that getting physical too soon is very dangerous. Even something as “innocent” as holding hands, if done too soon can cause problems. It can cause feelings (there they are again!) to show themselves.

Most importantly, I think that in everything we do, our ultimate goal should be to glorify God. If we seek to do things for our own glory or if we do what we want, when we want instead of in God’s timing, he can’t bless that. I have prayed through this whole process that God would be glorified in all that we say and do.

“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12

Rejoice with us!

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Engagement!

We got together the other night and made party favors/place names with toilet paper cardboard, gold and silver tissue and ribbon. We filled them with a handmade bracelet and candy. We were going to put in a seed packet, but forgot until half way through. I guess we will place those on the tables. Our theme is “treasure.” Where your treasure is, there your heart will be, so the gold was on purpose. The girls will be singing a few songs acapella and one instrumental on strings and recorder. Everyone is to bring a salad or sandwich. A friend is doing a devotional. We also asked everyone to bring a special treasure from home to show and tell. It will be fun and our prayer is to glorify the Lord.

One of my daughters already started making chocolate truffles (recipe can be found here). We will also be making Scottish shortbread and a lemon cake for the occasion, along with our usual baking. Busy bees we are!

Also Saturday, my 15yo daughter is taking the ACT. This will determine if she will be done with her home education courses or not.

Further, one of my sons is now graduated and has been hired by Horizon Airlines (part of Alaskan Airlines) and goes in for training Monday. They told him that he won’t have weekends off for a long time, so we have quickly been preparing his graduation open house/party for the 11th, the day before Resurrection Sunday!

We spent yesterday shopping for shoes for him and some last minute clothing purchases. He is excited. His goal, Lord willing, is to be a Mission Aviation pilot. We have been able to help him with memorizing all the airport codes for all the cities that Horizon and Alaskan flies to. He is doing very well and I am sure he will do fine.

We handmade all the announcements/invitations to son’s graduation, had his photos taken (by a dear friend) and sent all in a short time.

We have invited a family to both the graduation and dinner on Sunday. They live quite a distance, so suggested they stay the night with us.

Whew! If that’s not enough, we have begun starting our seeds in our living room window. . Has anyone else started any?

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Spring Goings On

March is the best time to make Eggrolls, as cabbage is on sale for St. Patrick’s Day. Cabbage is one of the most inexpensive vegetables and stores very well for several months.

Eggrolls are not difficult to make. Everyone sits at the kitchen table and island and wraps them. We do about 150 at a sitting and it takes my crew just about 15 minutes to wrap. I’ve never tried freezing them.

This is for a large group:

4 LARGE head cabbage, shredded or cut fine
1 BIG produce bag from the grocery store full of fresh bean sprouts (rinsed and chopped)
About 150 eggroll wraps (You might want to buy extra in case you get a hole and have to double wrap. Holes are caused by too much juice in the filling. See note below about straining.)
4-5 carrots, shredded
1-2 large onion(s), chopped
3 pounds of turkey burger or salad shrimp (YUM!). We usually use deer burger. I’m sure hamburger would be fine.
A good shake of garlic powder (can you tell I’m an eyeball cooker?)
Soy sauce to taste

Cook meat in large pot until done. Add vegetables and cook thoroughly. Place in colander so the juices can drain before wrapping.

Follow directions on package for wrapping. Even a 3yo can wrap successfully. Don’t let the egg rolls sit long after wrapping: Cook immediately, as they will become soggy on the bottom and get holes. Consider lining the pans with paper towels.

Deep fry in hot oil, turning so as not to burn. Remove from heat when there are no anemic spots and place in pan with paper towels for draining.

Do not layer the cooked egg rolls, unless divided by paper towel.

Dipping sauces:

We use the dry hot mustard from the grocery store and add water to a nice consistency.

We have a dish of ketchup with a bit of the mustard in it for a little zip. (See recipe below).

Sweet and sour sauce is another yummy dip. We make ours by using 1 can of gelled cranberry sauce (not the kind with cranberries in it), a tablespoon of brown sugar (or to taste), a teaspoon of lemon juice (optional)…depends on how acidy you like it. Cook over medium heat until cranberry has melted.

Sesame seeds are great to sprinkle on the dipping sauces, as well.

Enjoy!

Oh yeah and if you have mixture left over, add to scrambled eggs. If you have wraps left over, try seasoning some cream cheese with onion and garlic and deep frying those. YUM! The juices that were strained out make for wonderful soup broth.

Here is the recipe to the red sauce we use.

1 cup ketchup
1/3 cup water
1 /4 cup sugar
2-3 tsp hot mustard sauce (or however hot you want it)
Mix well.

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How To Make Eggrolls

• Get 9 volt batteries
• Get water bottles.
• Refrigerate water bottles
• Check to see if the venue has power point.
• Invite friends if it is an open invitation
• Print the list of songs in order with notes
• Bar stool
• Clean music equipment
• Touch bases with my contact(s)
• Make sure the mens’ and boys’ shirts are picked up from the cleaners
• Drop off shirts at the cleaners after performance
• Make sure everyone fits in their vests
• Sew new vests, as needed.
• Pack skirts
• Pack tops
• Make sure the guys’ black jeans are black. Color as needed
• Pack vests
• Rent trailer
• Send posters to my contacts
• Check everyone’s shoes
• Purchase and pack extra guitar strings and picks
• Keyboard
• Drum kit
• Blankets to cushion instruments
• Guitars
• Guitar stands
• Microphone box
• Mic. stands
• Ear buds and head mics
• Hair brush
• A couple toys for Elle
• Tylenol
• Make sure everyone is bathed and socks picked out.
• Preplan and prepare dinner if there is no potluck after the event
• Clean out van
• Harmonicas & microphone
• Harmonica amp
• Guitar amps
• Recorder
• Music Rack (sound system)
• Extension cords
• Speakers
• Make sure littles have brushed teeth
• Cd’s
• Extra music cords
• Kapo
• Tuner

If you are interested in hearing some of our music, check us out at Electric Church. You may freely download and share the music. Lyrics are there, as well as the reason behind the writing of the songs on some. You may also ask for a free cd if you cannot save the songs.

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Electric Church Packing List