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Do you think your children are too young for you to be worried about what you think about dating and courtship? You think you’re a long ways off from impacting their lives on the subject of marriage? Do you have tweens and teens and you’re concerned about the message they’re receiving from the world and even the church?

Want your thinking turned upside down? I do. I want to be challenged to think Biblically. I don’t want to look like the world! I fail so miserably. Lord, help us as Christians to be the wives and moms that you desire us to be. Help us to raise up Godly men and women. Only by Your grace, only by Your power.
Listen to this and be challenged.

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I am a stay-at-home mom, a keeper at home, and I know how Satan attacks us in that role with thoughts such as: Should I be doing more? Am I making a difference in the world? Is what I’m doing important? Look at that mom who seems to be doing so much more than me.

Planting seeds of doubt, and second-guessing, and misgivings are the weapons of his warfare.

I’m reposting this today, because it’s an important message for you, Mom, especially if you’re feeling your role as a wife and mom is not very important, or “enough.”   You want to make a difference in the world, right? Praying you’ll be blessed and encouraged by reading this.

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“Ten Things To Make Your Children Mind.”

My Children at 10 and 7 years old.

Satan’s desire is to destroy marriages and families, and any fruit they would bear for the Lord. Marriage is the picture of Christ and the Church, and children are the picture of the disciples that a Christian makes.  These are despicable images to him.  He hates your marriage and your family.  There’s no other way to put it.

He is waging warfare not only on families, but on the Home, where family life takes place.  Satan’s goal is to keep families out of their homes. Busy. And separated.  Why?

The Home Is Under Attack

One reason is that throughout Scripture God has instructed fathers to teach their children and their children’s children.  Another is that the Home is where much of real Christian living is taught and caught.  We are commanded in Deuteronomy 6 to sit in our houses together as a family talking about the truths of Scripture and about Jesus.  Satan is desperate to keep families out of their homes so that they won’t be able to obey this command.

“And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”  Deuteronomy 6:5-7

We moms and dads are also to teach diligently the truths from God’s Word and talk to our children about them when we rise up, when we walk (together) in the way, and when we lie down.

We have to be spending much time together in order to accomplish the discipling of our children.  Making disciples of our children, and then being part of our grandchildren’s lives, is God’s will, according to the above and following verses:

“I will open my mouth in a parable:  I will utter dark sayings of old:  Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.  We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.” Psalm 78:2-4

“That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.” Deuteronomy 6:2

“Just” A Homemaker

Being a keeper at home, a wife and mom, “just” a Homemaker, shows and teaches our children a million things, some of which are:

• That God is a God of order
• How a wife is supposed to treat her husband
• The relationship of a child to his father
• How a family acts and how to treat your brothers and sisters
• How to problem-solve, as a Christian
• As we pray and ask Him for guidance, parents and children learn that everything we do is in dependence on God; we are not acting in our own strength or wisdom.
• As we begin our day with the Lord and commit it to Him, they learn that everything we do is for His glory and in response to His commands or instruction.
• That God gives each family goals and purposes to accomplish and that how we order our home and lives is a reflection of that: how we schedule and plan and carry out His purposes for our family may be different from another Christian family’s, but will still be orderly, exhibit peace, and show God’s love to others.  There are certain commands and instructions which will cause all of us to look somewhat the same; because we are sisters and brothers in Christ and that means there will be a family resemblance.

A myriad of messages about the Lord and from His Word must be communicated verbally, while living life as a family.  But, a lifetime of lessons are taught and caught without saying a word!

“Just” by being a keeper at home, loving your husband and loving your children.

The Home: The Most Important Place

God established marriage and the family to illustrate the most important spiritual relationships and showed His honor for the home and family and its ordinary everyday raising up of children, by placing His Only Son in a Home and a family.  He placed His highest blessing upon Home life by placing this Baby in a Home and giving that most important job of raising that Baby to a young couple who’d never had a baby before.  He didn’t give that Child to a group of Specialists, or place Him in a Daycare or in a school with teachers or skip any one of the moments which would make Him Who He was by growing up in a Home with a family.  Ordinary moments just like yours in your Home.

You are doing the Most Important Job in the World when you stay in the Home, teaching and training your children about the Lord, being “just” a wife and a mom.  God Bless You!

Linked up with the Homemaking Linkup at Raising Homemakers.

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What can a woman do if she just doesn’t quit? If the Lord is in it, just about anything.  When I was young, I was expert in starting things and not finishing them.  The Lord has taught me many lessons in persevering, in discipline and in doing the next thing.  I definitely haven’t arrived.  Sometimes I balk, and complain.  But, at other times, I am like a horse with blinders on, and can do pretty well by just putting one foot in front of the other, and not getting distracted.

I’ve learned a lot from others and I recommend reading books on organization, discipline, time management and obedience to the Lord. (“Sidetracked Home Executives” by Pam Young and Peggy Jones, “Disciplines of a Beautiful Woman” by Anne Ortlund, “Shaping of A Christian Family” by Elisabeth Elliot, and Julie McKim’s seminar on “Home and Time Management” have been life-changing for me!) As a visual learner, I’ve also been inspired by being in friends’ organized homes and seeing storage and decorating ideas online!

The last three months, I’ve been working a little here and there and am continuing to make progress on organizing and decluttering!  These verses mean a lot to me:

Hebrews 12

¹Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

²Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Don’t Let Your Possessions Trip You Up

I’m sure you’ve heard it said that life is not a sprint, but a marathon.  Possessions have the potential to weigh me down and trip me up as I attempt to run this race of life.  Looking around my house and seeing so many “things” and having to clean and find a place to put them, literally tripping over them, walking around them, it begins to feel like there’s a millstone around my neck, and chains around my ankles, weighing me down and keeping me from being a contented wife and mother, used of Him.  My brain becomes befuddled, and I can’t think, and I get stressed out.

My Goals

At the beginning of this year God prompted me to focus on two “houses.”  To turn my attention home, and get my house in order!  First, the physical structure where my family lives, this rambler walkout with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and a lot of stuff needed to be put in order!  Secondly, this home or “temple,” as the Lord calls it, of the Holy Spirit–in other words, my body–needed to lose a lot of weight and get in shape.  These 2 “houses” have been my focus for the last 3 months.

It’s been a time of steady progress–nothing flashy–just continual slow movement forward.  Continuing the metaphor, the saying, “Slow and steady wins the race,” comes to mind.  I thought I would share what plodding away at a goal (like the tortoise in “The Tortoise and The Hare”) has accomplished, and next week I’ll share the specifics and what I’ve been doing with my time, instead of writing blog posts here:)  This week I want to encourage you that if the Lord is prompting you in some area God is faithful and will help you, and little efforts in an intentional, focused way will bring results.

Four Tips for Attaining Your Goals

Set Small Attainable Sub-Goals

One of the motivational “tricks” I use is to tell myself, “I will spend just 15 minutes at organizing today.”  I organize a shelf, or a drawer, or one small area.  Often, once begun, I spend more than 15 minutes.  However, I am amazed what 15 or 30 minutes or an hour can accomplish!  Other times I have set the goal for the day to be, “I will sort out 5-10 things to give to Goodwill.”  I designate an area for these items.  I praise the Lord for any progress made toward accomplishing the larger goal.

Write Your Goals Down

I think that maybe you, like me at times, don’t realize all you accomplish, and need the encouragement of writing it down.  That’s one of the reasons I’m all for written goals. Just writing them down makes me more likely to accomplish them.  Then check off each step along the way, and celebrate progress!

See The Big Picture and Don’t Give Up

You know, life can be so daily that we may not see the big picture of what God is doing in our lives.  God may be changing you, a little here and there, or prompting you to keep at some goal you’re pursuing, (or maybe one you need to pick up again).  If you just don’t give up, you’ll eventually get there!

Don’t Strive For Perfection

I have ceased striving for perfection (it’s an impossible goal), but strive instead for excellence and forward movement.  I can be my own worst critic, but this does not achieve the glory of the Lord and the accomplishing of His purposes in me.  So, I am learning to give to myself the same grace that God gives me.

As you’re running your race, look over and you’ll see me running the race beside you! And, by His grace, we’ll win the prize, if we don’t give up!
Linking Up:
I’m linking up today with the Homemaking Linkup at Raising Homemakers!

and

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We are super excited to tell you about an event coming soon!

“Fresh from a state tax audit to prove that yes, they’re all ours, Hal and Melanie Young, authors of the Christian Small Publishers Association 2011 Book of the Year, Raising Real Men, are parents of six real boys and two real girls. They have homeschooled through eight high-risk pregnancies, three re-locations, two decades, and 181 degrees of longitude. Hal and Melanie have served on the Board of Directors of North Carolinians for Home Education for over 14 years, including three terms as President for Hal. They have published articles with The Foundation for Economic Education, Homeschooling Today, the John Locke Foundation, Homeschool Digest, TEACH Magazine, Homeschool Enrichment, the N.C. Family Policy Council, the Heartland Institute and more. Hal and Melanie have made more than 50 media appearances in venues as wide ranging as The Jesse Lee Peterson Show and the Bob Dutko Show to Mancow’s Morning Madhouse and CBS Evening News with Dan Rather. They are sought after conference speakers who routinely draw standing room only crowds with their mix of uniquely entertaining cross-banter and practical, powerful Scriptural principles. Hal & Melanie have glorified the Lord through some extreme challenges with Hal successfully fighting stage IV cancer and their youngest dealing with a life-threatening heart condition. Despite it all, the Youngs live in noisy familial bliss in North Carolina.”

When: Tuesday, March 27, 7:00-9:30 p.m. (Get your notebook or calendar out and write it down now!)

Where: Lake Union Covenant Church (a newly remodeled sanctuary will make it very comfy).   Map here.

What: Hal and Melanie will present on two topics, Raising Real Men, and Ballistic Homeschooling, (see below for descriptions) with a short break for treats in between. This will be an informal setting, with opportunity (hopefully time) to meet and talk to Hal and Melanie (they will also have a number of their children with them) and get your book autographed, too!

Cost:  The event is free, but we will be taking a freewill offering.

Please Note: Materials will be available for purchase, and their book, audio messages, and other resources are also available to order off their website (www.raisingrealmen.com).

Contact: For more information, contact us, Jerry and Wendy Gunn, faithsfirmfoundation@embarqmail.com.

If you live anywhere in Minnesota or nearby, please plan on attending and let your Homeschool Co-ops and Moms groups and Parenting Groups and Adult Sunday School classes know and anyone else you think of!  Put it on your blog and facebook and tweet about it, too!  We really appreciate it!  We are super excited!

You can listen to a wonderful interview with Hal and Melanie Young that Kevin Swanson aired (click on the link).  It’s very encouraging! And go to Hal and Melanie Young’s website, Raising Real Men to check them out further. (Buy their book, order their messages to listen to, and maybe you can get them to come speak in your area if you don’t live in ours!)

Testimonials:
“This is a book that every family should have… as the book gives tremendous insight into understanding how boys think and why they act as they do. This book meets a crying need in an area where there is very little specific direction. Thank you Hal and Melanie for this outstanding work of the Lord.”
J. Michael Smith, Esq.
President, Home School Legal Defense Association

“Raising Real Men is long overdue… In an era when the church has lost a biblical concept of masculinity and femininity this book is a breath of fresh air.”
Dr. Tedd Tripp
Pastor, Author, Conference Speaker

This event is open to older children as well as their parents, so I hope you will let people know that—and I hope you will come! Raising Real Men is one of the best books I’ve read on this subject. I wish I’d had it years ago!  I highly recommend it! This event will apply to raising and Homeschooling all ages, both boys and girls, so everyone will benefit, but especially if you have boys!

Here are synopses of the two talks they will give:
Raising Real Men
“In spite of what the culture is telling us, boys and girls are different. Have you ever had a war break out in the middle of history, or had a single math lesson take three hours? Then you’re probably raising boys! If the world seems intent on gender-bending and forcing our sons into a feminized mold, Hal and Melanie, parents of six boys, explain the Biblical way out – and a better way to turn homeschool wigglers into Christian men!”

Ballistic Homeschooling
“How to not only live through homeschooling boys, but to love it. Modern day school culture is very boy-unfriendly and it’s easy to carry that over into our homeschooling because that’s all we know. Have you ever yelled, “Stop it!” to a boy tapping his pencil, wiggling in his seat and humming, only to have him say, “Stop doing my math?” Find out why Thomas Jefferson wrote at a standing desk, how a white board can turn on a light bulb, and why in the world your son does the things he does. Make school more enjoyable for everyone and equip your boy with the learning he needs for manhood.”

Thanks for reading Faith’s Firm Foundation!

Leave me a comment, so I can get back to you.
Come back daily for more encouragement, tips, and
practical help being a wife and mom.
www.wendygunn.net

(These girls are practicing the heart of simple hospitality!)

This is Part 2 of Hospitality, No Room for Excuses.  (Click on the link to read Part 1. )  One of my goals for this year of 2012 is to practice hospitality more regularly, in fact, I’d like to do it weekly, inviting families to our home, as the Lord leads.  I want to get to the point where it’s a regular routine to have people in our home every week, comfortable and expected.

I also want to invest in my closest friendships (sometimes we can take these friends for granted!) by making time for them, doing special little things, inviting them over for special one-on-one times together:  dessert, coffee, lunch, or whatever works.

Practicing hospitality takes intentional effort and planning, but it doesn’t require you live in a mansion or have fancy things. In Part 1 I shared practical tips on how to use what you have and still show hospitality. Now I’ll share what to do as you begin accumulating serving dishes and other things used in showing hospitality, and ideas for storing them.

We, and a couple of other families we know, have over the years accumulated items helpful in serving very large groups, such as long plastic and wooden tables, extra folding chairs, large 5-gallon drink containers, large coolers, etc., and we share these with any of our friends or people in our church who need them.

Wedding reception decoration (not our vase, but a similar idea).

We have also found vases, beads, and other wedding reception decorations at a garage sale.  We’ve used them many times when hosting wedding and baby showers at church, and loaned them out to friends for wedding receptions!  It has saved a lot of money, and we know we’ll be using them time and again in the future, so it has been a good investment.  The point is we’ve kept our eyes open for inexpensive items that would be helpful in our showing hospitality in our homes and other places, knowing that we will be doing it often.

You might ask, “Where do you keep it all?”  As you pick up items at garage sales and thrift stores, such as serving dishes, vases, etc., you have to become creative in storing them, too.  (I only recently obtained a china hutch, which sat empty for awhile, but now is filled to the max. I’m currently searching Craigslist for an additional hutch, so I can free up my hall cupboard space!) Another creative idea that my mother-in-law used was to hang folded tablecloths on special hangers and keep them in a spare closet. Being creative helps!

I am constantly getting rid of some things to make room for others and reorganizing what I have to make practicing hospitality easier.  If you are going to keep one thing, another has to go.  I have received much of what I own as birthday and Christmas gifts.  The rest I bought on sale, or at thrift stores or garage sales.  So it didn’t cost me much, but it did take years, but I didn’t wait til I got to this point.

Start where  you’re at.  The Bible commands us to practice hospitality.  With anything you have to practice, you’ll probably want to accumulate at least a few “tools.”  If your dishes are packed away and hard to get to, you won’t use them. So, have the things you will use most often near where you’ll use them, and easy to get out and put away.  I store less-used items in our basement storage area on open shelves.

I store baskets and other “pretty” things on top of my kitchen cupboards.  I use dishes as decorations in my house, and then pick them up and use them on my table when serving company.

Storage ideas that have worked well for me:

• Storing table linens in an old antique dresser which sits in the family room near the dining area.
• Storing my extra dishes in a deep hall cupboard.  One of my cupboards goes way up into the ceiling, and I use that space for less frequently used dishes.
• Using boxes and containers to house like items and to protect glasses.  I have cut strong pieces of cardboard to size so I can stack multiple layers of glassware on the hall cupboard shelf, without them breaking.
• I now have more seasonal decorations and dishes, and so I have a clear plastic container just for fall decorations stored in the entry closet that goes up over the stairs, along with the Christmas decorations, but nearer the front of the closet.
• I reserve the hall cupboard for things I use frequently because it’s more accessible.

I do not believe in storing things that I don’t use.  (*I’m afraid right now my lack of organization in my storage room is keeping me from knowing just what I do have! Organizing that area is one of the things on my “to do” list.)

I think the thing I most want to convey is:  We can’t wait for some magical thing to happen before we can practice hospitality.  We do have to be intentional (I write the goal down in my calendar, with ideas of who to invite), then plan when to do it and follow through by making the phone call to invite. You will accumulate things, and you’ll need to think about where and how to store them most efficiently.

It’s like anything else that you have to practice:  the level of difficulty of what you’re doing must fit how much you’ve been practicing and how many years you’ve been at it.  If you’re a beginner, do beginner hospitality. If you’re at the intermediate level, you’ll be able to handle situations more difficult and requiring more experience and skill.

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Whether serving few or many, love is the most important ingredient.

A Helping of Hospitality

I haven’t been blogging very much lately.  One thing I have been doing is having people over to our home.  Practicing hospitality.  That got me to thinking…

A lot of women think they can’t have people over because they don’t have a nice enough house, or table, or space.

In a recent conversation with a younger mom I realized that the Lord has allowed me to come a long ways in hospitality (not that I’ve arrived, by any means).  But I had to laugh as I recalled how for years we used a piece of scaffolding, which my husband had built when painting our house, for our kitchen table!  He cut it apart somehow to make it work.  It was a very sturdy and large table!  I covered it with a piece of cloth, and it worked great. After regaling her with several stories of our early days and how we showed hospitality anyway, she said, “So, I have no excuses, then.”  I think the Lord would have us show His love to others, and that’s the point of hospitality. So, here are some practical tips from my experience.

Some Ways We Made Do and Still Practiced Hospitality:

To cover wooden tables which were in bad shape, but large (we had bought them cheap at the thrift store or maybe someone was giving them away) I used tablecloths, again picked up at thrift stores, or given to me as Christmas gifts (I still ask for serving dishes and tablecloths for Christmas and birthday gifts). Be creative when coming up with tablecloths, too.  A quilt can make a unique and pretty tablecloth.  Flat sheets also work very well. Years ago I had a beloved plaid country blue “throw” which would lay flat enough to use as a tablecloth.  I loved it!!  I love the way texture in fabric warms up and gives visual excitement to a table.

When a table and sufficient seating aren’t available, I have been known to put a sheet on the floor and let the children feel like they are having an indoor picnic! And for seating for adults, we still use folding chairs.  Don’t wait to have “house beautiful” (it will never happen).

A Very Happy Hospitality Memory

One of my most beloved memories is hosting a Thanksgiving dinner for 50 people (our Homeschooling group) in our unfinished basement!  We set up tables with tablecloths and did a little decorating, but there were open rafters, cold cement floors, and it was pretty dark!  The fellowship, though, was so warm and sweet, and everyone helped by bringing delicious food, and we didn’t have to worry about spilling on the floor,  because it was cement.  The warmth of the friendship and the overflowing of thankful hearts overcame our cold environment!

We sang hymns of thanks, gave testimonies, and stood and prayed together holding hands in a big circle after dinner.  What a wonderful memory!

Practicing Hospitality with Small Children

I feel that if the Lord has allowed me to have a beautiful dish, I should bless others by using it.  I don’t save the “good stuff” only for company, either, and I have always tried to set a pretty table for our family, as well, even if I am only using the everyday dishes.  When the nicer dishes are used, the smallest children are given what I call “training dishes,” such as pretty glass plates and glasses that I bought for 50 cents at the thrift store, and don’t care if they get broken, or pretty plastic dishes that won’t break.  But, my mother taught me that people are more important than things, and if a dish gets broken, it’s not the end of the world.

Even when our children were very small, when we had company we used the good china, so that our children would gain experience in how to behave at a nice dinner.  As soon as they were able, we gave them the real dishes.

I wanted my children to learn appropriate behavior at the table, and how to be well-mannered.  We couldn’t afford to buy fine china after we were married and I hadn’t been given it as a wedding gift, so how did I have china?!

My wonderful husband was able to purchase china in Asia, while in the Army and over in Vietnam, for “dirt-cheap” prices.  So, he bought a set for his mom, one for each of his sisters, and a set for me, though he didn’t even know who his wife would be at the time.  At the age of 21, with no specific girl in mind, he looked forward one day to marriage, and bought a service for 12 of fine china–beautiful dishes–with all the serving pieces, plus a full 72-piece set of stainless silverware and a case, AND a matching tea service with luncheon plates, china teapot (and silver teaspoons).

Yes, I feel very blessed.  I used my china very often in our early years of marriage, because it was all I had for “company,” until I had money to buy a set of more “ordinary” nice dishes.   When I did have the money, I found dishes at the thrift store (thrift stores are a wonderful source if you’re looking for dishes).

Your table set with your everyday dishes can be made to look more special by using cloth napkins, which you can make yourself, or which you can find sometimes inexpensively at the thrift store. I enjoy having a color scheme.  I think color makes a table look more beautiful even when the dishes are plain.  Candles are also a nice touch, and candle holders are something else you can find at thrift stores.

Only we in the USA, though, think everything has to match.  It doesn’t.  If I don’t have enough matching glasses or dishes, I sometimes set out four of this and three of that and so on.  Be creative!

We try to have everyone be able to see each other.

I try to tie things together with themed accessories, or group things by color.  I might have a table in the living room with one set of dishes, and another in the family room with another completely different kind of dishes.  Paper plates are fine, too!

Canning jars can be used for drinking glasses, and one can also be used for holding a flower arrangement to act as a centerpiece.  A ribbon or piece of raffia tied in a bow at the top adds a splash of color and interest.  Be relaxed and have fun, and your guests will, too.

The idea behind hospitality is showing love to others.  Be interested in your guests.  Don’t be worried about yourself or whether you have nice-enough “things.”  Just use what you have and reach out in love to someone else–and practice hospitality–your guests will be blessed.

I’m tentatively planning Part 2 to appear next Wednesday.

(I’d love to hear your ways of setting a nice table, or showing hospitality, on a shoestring!)

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Leave me a comment, so I can get back to you.
Come back daily for more encouragement, tips, and
practical help being a wife and mom.
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¹⁰Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might…” Ephesians 6:10
(And the following verses speak of putting on the whole armor of God, which we all need to do in order to fight these spiritual battles we are in!) 

Yes, I am still here.  And I’m ok, in fact I’m doing great!  Finding out that the earth still turns and life goes on though I have not blogged in two plus weeks.  I needed to know that. Perhaps all bloggers need a vacation sometimes–a break.  In pulling back, I maintained my sanity over Christmas.  The pull of the blog and computer, in general, needs to be balanced.  The past month has been a wonderful time of “catching up” in my real life. So many areas needed attention, either a little or a lot.

PRAYER=purging, reflection, asking questions of God, yielding, evaluation, and refocusing, that’s what I’ve been doing.  I’m looking to obtain margin and order in every area of my life.  Assessing what God’s priorities are for my life right now.

Margin is the “white space” on the “paper” of life.  I need less of all the black marks on the page:  possessions, commitments, pressure, food, and spending.  We need margin in our lives, and if we don’t plan for it, our bodies will just make it happen, one way or another.  Our bodies (minds, souls and emotions, too) can’t live without it.

And what I do have in all these areas must be managed and orderly.  I feel a deep, deep need to have my life in order.

Officially, no New Year’s Resolutions have been made. However, change and earnest resolve is taking place, praise the Lord.

• First of all, I’m getting more sleep!  That was the first thing that resulted when I didn’t feel the pressure to post something!  I guess I blogged when I should have been sleeping! I’ve slept and slept and slept!  And I’ve realized how much more productive and stable emotionally and effective for the Lord I am, how much nicer I think I am to live with, when I am rested!  Really quite amazing!  Now, if I can just get a regular bedtime (earlier), and have a morning routine (shower, dress, hair, makeup, bed made, Quiet Time) solidly in place, and get to morning devotions on time every morning:)  Thankfully, the Lord never gives up, or stops working, on me.
• Reading the Bible through in a  year has begun in earnest using this Bible-Reading Schedule, (there are three plans listed here for you to choose from–I use the third), as well as memorization (working on Isaiah 53 with our church; I think I finally have Psalm 145 down).  Praying for a heart to love His Word more, and to have a hunger and thirst for righteousness.
• People and hospitality have become more important to me.  You may say, “You were having people in your home constantly before! How could it get more important to you?”  I felt God showing me many people who I really wanted to have over, and even some who I had promised to invite, and because of other commitments, “urgent” and “must-do” events in our home and life, it never got done!  That had to change.  So, I’ve been very intentionally taking the initiative to invite and plan times together, catching up on birthday luncheons, having loads of fun with groups of young adults laughing and making music in our home, looking forward to having young couples with little babies to our home for dinner, and making absolutely sure I see and talk to my best friends–who I barely saw last year, because we were so busy!  Lord willing, I go on record that that will not happen this year.
• God gave me a zeal to work on two “temples” that need attention:  my body, the temple of the Holy Spirit, and the “temple” that my family calls home!  As to the first, while walking through a bookstore a couple of weeks ago God ordained that I see a book on the shelf that addressed and taught me to watch how many servings of carbs and grams of sugar I consume each day. In a serious intentional way, I’ve begun planning and recording what I eat which has resulted in 6 pounds lost this past week.  I don’t know if it’s because of this, but I’ve been doing more of the cooking and planning of meals than before.
• Margin and order in my home means I’m determined to go through cupboards, closets, and clothes first of all, though for now in an unsystematic way.
  
  Every day I try to put something in a state of more order, and the places that bother me the most are getting dealt with first.  So far, that has resulted in my upstairs freezer and oven cleaned out, the floor of my closet almost in order, two shelves in my upstairs pantry straightened and organized (though they won’t stay that way–it still makes me feel good:), and dozens of little corners which had been ignored too long have now been looked into.  I’m not sure anyone but me would notice.  There’s still so much to do!  I’m also attempting to use up food from my freezer and downstairs pantry, rather than going to the grocery store.  I’m making plans of organizing other areas after that.  It’s really the same principle, gain more margin and order in my life.  There’s so much more to do, that I can’t see when I will be stopping or get “done.” But, I’m excited at the progress.
• Plans are in place for completing and crossing off “To-Do” items that have been on my list for months, freeing my mind to be able to think better–decluttering my brain!  I keep throwing away and sorting, planning systems of organization, moving things around, storing them differently, trying to have a sense of being on top of things again.  Just seeing progress in my home: decluttering, organizing, and getting rid of, feels very good!

I’m determined that the hidden spaces of my home will receive my attention!!  I will get rid of, give away or put back in an orderly fashion what I keep.  I am on a mission! And I don’t want to lose momentum.

And that’s why you haven’t seen me here.  When I’ve finally been able to be really focused and have an urgency that, “I’ve got to do something about this now!!”  I know that it’s something that the Lord desires me to do for His glory, and I have to become single-minded and push away any distractions in order to see it through to completion!

Many new thoughts and feelings have come, for instance, no desire to blog (for the first time in almost 3 years!). I don’t know what the Lord is planning for me to do.  I just need to put some things higher up where I can see them:  My family, my home, stewardship of my body, being a good testimony in how I handle my responsibilities…

I’ll post when God moves me, or I specifically sense there’s something I’m supposed to say.  Please stay in touch through comments and on facebook.  Love you all and miss you!

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Leave me a comment, so I can get back to you.
Come back daily for more encouragement, tips, and
practical help being a wife and mom.
www.wendygunn.net

Giveaway closed

Well, I know everyone is still getting back into life after Christmas. Since there were no entries in the giveaway, there is no winner to announce, and I’ll talk to Phyllis and we’ll decide if we’ll do the giveaway at a later time or not.

Linked up today with the Homemaking Linkup at Raising Homemakers–join in!

There are a lot of great posts to read, and you can linkup your own!

Enter my

Giveaway

now to win the

New and revised: Purposeful Planning – E-Book

and Dan’s Doodles

It’s the time of year for setting goals and thinking about the future, things you’d like to do differently next year, making “resolutions” perhaps…planning.  I like to spend time thinking and praying, and not dive into anything.  I also like to do this several times a year.  For one example, I used to do “school-year planning” before our homeschool year began, and then I again would evaluate and take stock, setting new goals in January.

Would you like to be more intentional about where you’re headed, what you want to accomplish, and the goals you set? Would you think it a dream to sit down with your husband and really have his ear, and discuss your dreams, and goals? Would you like to include your family, and at least talk about how you’d like to see things be different?  Here is a great ebook by my dear friend, Phyllis Sather, that will help you and your family, called Purposeful Planning.  Phyllis has generously offered one copy for this giveaway, and also a copy of her husband’s popular “Dan’s Doodles”!  Read on for descriptions of each, and how to enter!

Purposeful Planning

Phyllis says:

This issue still contains all of our original material, but with the help and encouragement from our faithful readers and people who have put these methods into practice in their own families we have added even more suggestions and ideas.

We have also added more thought provoking questions to help you to relate well to each other and your children.

The goal is still the same: to discover the Lord’s plan for your family.

Does having your spouse’s undivided attention appeal to you? Planning weekends give you time to dream, to talk together about what you wish, or want, at a time when the other person is really listening.

Do you need a plan to keep your family moving in the direction the Lord is leading you? Perhaps you don’t know where the Lord is leading you. Phyllis takes you step-by-step through the process of planning a time together for your family to help determine the path the Lord is choosing for each area of your life. Her family has followed this format for over 12 years and has found that it provides the compass they’ve needed to plan and stay on course.

This time-tested method of planning will give your family new direction for the future. Start today! Choose the dates for your planning weekend, read her book which has the entire “how to” included, and go for it!

Finally, help to discover the Lord’s plan for your family.

Dan’s Doodles

For years my husband has been doodling every time he has to sit and listen for any length of time – sermons, teachings, school. One time our pastor thought he was taking great notes, until he saw his doodling. Over the years, 24 in July, I’ve come to think of it as art.

After posting some of them on my website several people suggested that they would make a great coloring book – so here it is! ! I’ve included a dozen of my favorite doodles in this first edition.

Reviews:

“Wow, I can’t believe this guy just doodles these kinds of pictures! Dan’s Doodles are very intricate, so not for the younger child, but tweens and up would have lots of fun coloring the designs. I also think it would spark the creativity of the artistic child to try and draw like this. Kelly”

“My 7 year old son and my 10 year old daughter both enjoyed these delightful doodles. The intricate designs lend themselves to long coloring sessions…perfect for long car trips or other “waiting” times. Fun enough to do more than once. Deb” 

How To Enter To Win

Mandatory:  Follow Faith’s Firm Foundation via Google Friend Connect.  If you already follow FFF, then it’s mandatory that you go to Proclaiming God’s Faithfulness (Phyllis’ blog) and follow her (www.phyllis-sather.com).  If right now you follow neither of us, then choose one of the two (or both) and follow and don’t forget to leave a comment for each thing you do!

One Additional Entry Each:

1. Share a goal or new year’s resolution in a comment (one that you would allow me to share with my readers as an example in a future post on goals, planning and the new year).

2. If you have not already done so, subscribe to Faith’s Firm Foundation via RSS or subscribe via email.

3. Visit Phyllis’ blog and go to her bookshop and tell me which item you would like to own and why.

This giveaway is open to all, and will close on January 7, 2012 at 11:59pm.  I will draw and announce the winner here on January 9, 2012.

Subscribe and don’t miss a single post.
Like my page on Facebook to receive a free copy of
“Ten Things To Make Your Children Mind.”

Thanks for reading Faith’s Firm Foundation!

Leave me a comment, so I can get back to you.
Come back daily for more encouragement, tips, and
practical help being a wife and mom.
www.wendygunn.net

I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas!

We traditionally spend Christmas Day just us as a family. We read the Christmas Story from Luke 2, and open gifts.  As our kids have gotten older, this has happened later and later in the day–they’re less impatient to open gifts:) and they prefer to sleep in.  This year I had time to clean up the kitchen and put on my makeup before celebrating!  We didn’t have church today, because our church did an unprecedented thing this year, and we had our Christmas service yesterday morning.  It was fine once. I believe we worship on Sunday mornings for a Biblical reason, Jesus’ resurrection. That event changed everything!  It is a quiet day today, and relaxing.

If your day is a little more laid back and you have some extra time to read, here are inspirational, thought-provoking and encouraging posts that will help you celebrate the real reason for Christmas–Jesus!

• Now is the time to plan for a more organized and less stressful Christmas next year, so you can concentrate on celebrating the Lord!
• Celebrating CHRISTmas–excellent Christmas message which David, our friend and one of the elders of our church, gave in our family-integrated church yesterday, posted on his family’s blog.
• If you’re lonely or going through trials this Christmas.

Our weather is very unlike “Christmas” in Minnesota! We have no snow, and the high is predicted to be 40 today.  It’s unknown how the ice on the lake will be for skating, but Dane and Kelsey will try.  Since my husband is off work, we have a few days to relax–my favorite time of Christmas–and invite families over!  My son has to work, though, so we will perhaps have to adjust to that.  Life changes, and traditions have to bend with changing times, but one thing remains the same, Jesus Christ was sent into the world for a fallen humanity, to save us from our sins!  I rejoice and celebrate His birth, I celebrate Jesus today, and am so thankful for the Greatest Gift ever given!!

Merry Christmas!

Thanks for reading Faith’s Firm Foundation!

Leave me a comment, so I can get back to you.
Come back daily for more encouragement, tips, and
practical help being a wife and mom.
www.wendygunn.net

Congratulations, Heather, on winning a pair of Lisa’s darling handmade mittens!

The winning comment was:

“I like FFF on Facebook.”

To those of you who didn’t win or enter, please visit Lisa’s Etsy shop and order–I know you won’t be disappointed.

Heather, Lisa will be contacting you right away to arrange for delivery of your choice of mittens from her store!!

Thank you to all who participated in this giveaway:)  Come back for the Purposeful Planning Giveaway this week!

Thanks for reading Faith’s Firm Foundation!

Leave me a comment, so I can get back to you.
Come back daily for more encouragement, tips, and
practical help being a wife and mom.
www.wendygunn.net