Fun Things for Friday! Or all weekend long!

Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.

Dr. Seuss

I love this picture! Rachael shared it with me on Mother's Day. It is me and her precious mom, Allison, as we bubbled our children away when they drove away to their honeymoon.

I have always loved bubbles. It reminded me of fun things I would stash away for the kids when it rained or they were bored or we just needed some surprise.

Here are some of my fun Friday Ideas that I used in our family.

Bubbles, of course, always made fun when we had not used them for a while.

Sidewalk chalk and give each child 5 pieces and have a mural contest.

Buy the little whirly sticks that blow in the wind. This kept Joy busy for hours when she was little.

Invite a couple of families over for a long, rousing game of capture the flag. The mamas can sit and talk and the kids will keep occupied for hours.

I have a basket of wooden Easter eggs and I would use them all year round inside our home to hide for the kids when they needed something fun. Painting wooden eggs is also fun, and they never break. Toddlers love to roll them on the floor, and my children loved hiding them in the house until they were pretty old! Mine were from my missionary years in Poland, and I bought them for 10 cents apiece and they have lasted us all these years.

Tents under dining tables or card tables. Once we put a blanket hall way of tables and had a whole network through 2 rooms of our house. Each child had his own table and they visited each other all day long. (And of course ate snacks and lunch under the tables.)

Camping out on your own porch.  It is a lot easier than camping out for real and especially when there was a meteor shower.

Having a picnic dinner anytime outside, by the fireplace, in a bedroom, wherever we could pretend an adventure. And of course, we didn't have to make a real meal--just finger sandwiches, and fruit was enough to have fun. (they always tasted better when they were in shapes of hearts or logs or stars--I used big cookie cutters)

Going for a ride in the middle of the day with a rousing book on tape or Odyssey and ending up at the frozen yoghurt shop.

These are just a few things I would do when I needed a break.

What about you? What would you do?

Are Christians addicted to mediocrity? A Self-governed Self-image.

Rembrandt, The Money Changer

”Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” --Aristotle

Self-government begins with the way we treat our children. If we pay attention to their needs, feed hungry babies, touch and south little ones, speak in gentle tones, exercise patience and constant training every day, all day long, then our little ones are immersed in the oxygen of our ideals. The way we treat our children, and monitor their own emotional needs and care for their overall well-being established a basis for them to have strength and a mental picture of what it looks like to see an adult who  behaves in a civilized and self-controlled way. Our children take in, almost by osmosis, the ways that we choose to live and exercise our own values through the ways we related to our days, moment by moment.

What we practice with them--honor, respect, kindness, gracious words, gentle and patient help and instruction, are the very ways our children can begin to emulate us. On Monday, I spoke of children who were all over their mother. They had no boundaries, direction or parameters--and they were both hungry and sleepy, so they fidgeted more. If a mama cares for her children's present needs all the time every day, their little nerves will not be frayed and they will not be overstimulated and they will be able to hold it together better.

Second, though, preparing my children ahead of time helped them to know what to expect. "Mommy is taking you to a big girl (boy) coffee shop. I will give you a little drink from your mug, (sipppie cup), and a few bites of cereal of fruit I have brought along. You can play with the little lego set I brought or color with pencils. Which one do you prefer? We will be here for a half hour and I would like you to use your big girls manners--sit with me, play or color and drink quietly as there are lots of grown ups trying to study and read. Can you do that with me today? I will be right with you and we will play when we are through." (Whatever is age appropriate--if you have a baby, feed them before you get there and change their diaper--or if a toddler, don't push them--bring treat, blankie, whatever and attend to their needs, as often times parents are the ones who do not lead their children to security and comfort.)

 Building a Self-image of a Self-governed child

Rembrandt became a master of light and  a detailed painter, exquisite faces by training, practice, and years and years of painting, over and over and over again--practice. And so it is with any craft, skill, degree or accomplishment.

However, it is also true of character and a Christian testimony--the character that is habituated to improving, developing integrity by practice, stretching to work hard, to do the best, to exceed expectations comes from daily practice and personal integrity. This does not happen immediately overnight, but is developed over a long period of time where the values and habits are shaped little by little. Those whose ideals are set high and aim, each day to pursue those ideals will have the opportunity to become excellent in any field.

This comes from an inner grid, the way one learns to see life and expects himself to live. We called this "self-government," when we trained excellence of character into the very fiber of our children's souls--a vision for what they could become..

I have been surrounded by mediocrity, compromise and substandard Christians in several public arenas and personal situations lately. I have asked myself, with the image of the living God imprinted upon my very being, shouldn't I, and all true believers,  be able to call forth excellence and integrity as a reflection of Him in my life.

"As a man sows, so shall he reap." Galatians

Yet, excellence and integrity is a personal issue. One can only become this way through a personal commitment, a vision of oneself, and a decision that says,

"Regardless of what is happening around me, I will be the best I can be, work the hardest I am able, pursue the highest standards--especially for my personal life where no one but God sees--because I have been bought with a price and have His Holy Spirit residing within. So my worship of Him requires that I pursue the standard of His Holiness as an affirmation of His reality in my life."

Whether as a mother training the character of children, filling their minds with excellent writers, artists, thinkers, or as a woman being a steward of every aspect of her life, one can only become excellent by stretching, determining to obey His still small voice and then using every resource to pursue bringing His light and imprint upon this world.

This labor of excellence, personally and in the lives of our children, may/will take many long years--but if we are not committed to pursuing whatever it takes to build this excellence, then what hope does our future have--and even more, how can we represent Him, who has given all?

Paul said, "Follow me as I follow Christ." We are called to become leaders that others can follow and emulate.With every year of faith, there should be more of Him reflecting through our lives.  It is not a choice, it is a call on our lives. We cannot say, "I am a Christian, but I think I will make "c's or d's" in my character choices. We aim high because the love of Christ compels us.

More in the months ahead--but have just been pondering--why are so many believers falling so short of His best?

I am not talking about being a pharisee, gathering Christian law for people to follow, but instead understanding our heritage of  our capacity with which we were born. We are made in the likeness of the living God and have potential of exercising strength and influence far beyond what we can imagine.  We should expect as royalty--children of the most high God--to be able to develop and strengthen to become competent, strong, vibrant human beings. When we set our standards by contemporary culture, e have set our standards far too low.

More to follow soon!

Raising Self-Governed Children

“He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.” Proverbs 16:32

Not too long ago, a sweet mom brought her two children along to our meeting in a coffee shop. They were sweet children, but they were all over her and ran her ragged! Later, I described the situation to my older children, and asked them what they thought we had done differently that had prevented them from behaving quite so crazily as littles. It was humorous to hear how opinionated they were, as each reminded me how intentionally we taught them to be patient and to wait their turn–because they all remembered it the same way. We were (and are!) strong believers in a concept I call self-government–probably a Victorian character quality that I read about along the way in a book about the principle approach to life.

Self-government is defined this way: a person learns to command himself, his impulses, his work habits, emotions, intellect, and talents, and to rule over his will in a productive way. Children can begin this at a very early age, and I have found it to also be of utmost importance to adults–as one cannot be a mature believer unless one has mastered self-government, self-control and patience--or is at least growing in that direction.

The idea behind self-government is that all of us have power and authority over our own lives. This power comes from within, and can help us master problems, surmount obstacles, and use our self-will to achieve great things. Self-government doesn’t mean working out life in the flesh without the power of God, but affirms that we have a moral character that can be strengthened by our will, through practice. The person who has cultivated this kind of strong character is useful and productive in every area of life.

This quality helps a believer exercise faith, courage, and perseverance in the midst of trials. It is what helps a pianist to practice long hours, an athlete to exercise rigorously in order to become a champion, a missionary to master a language and remain faithful in a foreign country until there is a multiplying ministry, a wife to bear up with grace when married to an immature husband, a mother to continue over and over to practice patience with a sick or rebellious child–the unseen power of governing life by mature, faith-based choices as opposed to temporary, self-centered feelings.

Self-governing isn’t the natural default of a child’s behavior, of course. We taught it to our children intentionally. We can see the biblical principle for self-government in this passage from Deuteronomy: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants.” (Deuteronomy 30:19)

God tells the Israelites to obey Him, and if they do, they will be blessed. If they don’t obey, they will be cursed–there were consequences to their decisions. In life all choices have consequences. Our children need to understand that they will reap what they sow.

I used to say to my children over and over again, “Daddy and I cannot make you into great people. You have the power to determine how strong you become by how you exercise your will. We can train you and teach you how to be good and how to be righteous, but you have to decide to obey, and you have to decide that you want to become a person of godly character. God made you such a wonderful child, so I hope you will decide to do your best to become all that you can be. It is in your hands. It is yours to decide to respond, but I am praying and hoping that you will.”

When we appeal to our children’s hearts for excellence and choices of good behavior, then we are giving them the will and desire to be excellent for themselves.Their desire comes from within and their motivation is from the heart. But if we train them behaviorally by always forcing them to do what we want them to do because they might get a spanking or some other kind of threatened discipline, their motivation is to avoid spanking or harshness, not to please God or to please their parents by having a good heart and responding in obedience.

My desire as a mom is that my children would internalize all the precepts we have taught them over the years. I want them to love God and obey Him because they earnestly love Him and desire to please Him. This foundation will carry them throughout all the decision-making processes they will face for the rest of their lives.

If you have the desire to go deeper today, feel free to complete the reflection and application below:

• "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants.” Deuteronomy 30:19 It’s our job as mamas to set before our children life and death—and to encourage them to choose life! What are you doing to draw your children toward life?

• “Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit.” Proverbs 25:28 What a frightening picture this was at the time this scripture was written! A city without walls had no protection; no vantage point to watch for enemies; no means of defense. And so we are, when we have no self-control. Is self-control an area in your own life that could use some work? How can you build your own “city walls”?

• Do you tend to try to motivate your children’s choices through behavioral training, or through reaching their hearts? How can you change the way you instinctively respond to your children? Spend time in prayer asking the Lord’s help in this area.

10 Gifts of Wisdom came out of my desire to define areas for moms that will prepare their children to flourish in the world. Without training, a child flounders and searches how to live life well. So many young adults I know have never had the kind of training that lends strength and vision and confidence in character and so they are subject to each whim or opinion that comes out on the internet.

Education of morals, habits, character and faith determine the foundations upon which a life will be built. Strong foundations lend themselves to vast structures. Make a plan today about how you will build those foundations into your own life and that of your children!

Wishing you a Happy Mother's Day! You are the best! :)

Wishing I could give each of you a bouquet of flowers!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you sweet, wonderful, sacrificial mamas who give so much to your children.

For all of you who give over and over again, and overcome the weariness.

To the ones who may not be honored today, but will have rewards in heaven.

For you who are the servant leaders that Jesus understands.

Your lives are not invisible--but so very precious to the one who chose you to be the mother of those sweet ones in your home. I wish you rest, peace and love today! (and a maid and someone to wash your dishes!) You are my heroes!

May your hearts be blessed and filled with an understanding that your love is the best kind of love. May you have a long nap, and a peaceful heart, and an inner sense that you are so very precious.

Mothers: Civilizers of Nations, Creators of Culture & The Winners!

 

Carl Larrson

Mother's: The Civilizers of Our Nation

civ·i·lize 1.    to create a high level of culture 2.    to teach somebody to behave in a more socially, morally and culturally acceptable way Enlighten, cultivate, improve, advance, subdue in terms of a people or nation.

“The home is the fountain of civilization. The value and character and appetites of a people are greatly determined by the reading, training and cultivating of moral and spiritual appetites in the home.

Mothers, you are the divinely-appointed teachers and guides of your children; and any attempt to free yourselves of this duty is in direct opposition to the will of God. If you neglect them, the consequences are swift and sure. …, Spend most of your time with your children. Sleep near them, attend and dress and wash them; let them eat with their mother and father; be their companion and friend in all things and at all times.”

From Golden Thoughts on Mother, Home, and Heaven: From Poetic and Prose Literature of All Ages and All Lands. Copyright 1878-1880

The above quotations were gleaned from a wonderful book that a friend gave to me at our Dallas conference. The words written over a hundred years ago are still very powerful today. This, in a culture where the imagination of the importance of mothers to the overall well-being of soul of the next generation has been lost. How affirming it is to see that truth of past generations still applies to us today.

Often, I find that in the absence of a clear enough vision for their children and homes, mothers replace conviction and vision with lots of activities and distractions for their children. This hyper-activity and rushing around to an endless list of expensive lessons and experiences and the buying of the newest expensive curriculum and technological options make moms feel like they are accomplishing something. However, when the home-life of children is rich with excellent, classic literature, passionate Biblical devotions, rousing dinner-table discussions around sumptuous, tasty meals, lots of love and affection given and household chores attended to—and a child will become committed to all that is good and excellent and develop a moral and compassionate soul for all the divinely important values.

From the beginning of time, God created the home to be a place sufficient to nurture genius, excellence, graciousness and grand civility. But the key factor is nothing that can be purchased or owned. The accomplishment of this grand life is found only in the soul of a mother, through the power of the Holy Spirit, personally mentoring her children.

It is a personal relationship with a real person whose soul is alive in which the deepest imprints of life are given. The secrets and deep emotions shared during the goodnight hours in which a the soul of a child is tender and open; the comfort of warm, home-made food shared in the early evening as ideas are shared and discussed and prayers and devotions given; the laughter, stories, advice given in the midst of washing dishes together or sharing of a meal; the heroic and riveting  stories read aloud and shared together that establish common patterns of morality, values and  dreams in the comfort of the blazing hearth, mugs of steaming hot chocolate and squishing against each other on a den couch are those heavenly things which are food to the soul and nourishment to the mind and conscience of a child fully awake to all that is important in life.

There is no computer, television, software or text book that can pass on such passion, love and motivation.

It is indeed the personal touch of a mother’s heart that creates grand civility, deep affection, care and commitment to the foundations of a family. When the invisible strings of a mother’s heart are tied to the heart of her children through loving sacrifice and nurture, the stability and foundations of a nation become secure and stable. A mother, living well in her God-ordained role, is of great beauty and inestimable value to the future history of any generation. Her impact is irreplaceable and necessary to the spiritual formation of children who will be the future adults of the next generation. Fun, comfort, humor, graciousness, spiritual passion, compassion for the lost, hospitality, chores, meals, training, life-giving words, hours and hours of listening and playing and praying and reading—all are parts of the mosaic which go into the process of soul development.

Moms, God is calling us to a work that is quite important--He will give us the strength and supply us with wisdom one day at a time. He will listen to our prayers. But most of all, we have to be willing to bend over backwards to meet needs and to encourage and to figure out a new game plan, because we are His guard in a fallen, tempting world; we are His hands and words of comfort and wisdom; and we are His voice to tell our children that we love them and believe in them, even in the midst of their immaturity. May He give grace to each of you today! Happy Mother's Day!

Thanks so all of my wonderful friends for helping our first week of launching our new book a great week. Love to you all! Have a lovely weekend with your loved ones!

Here are the winners:

The e-conference winners are:

Alia Regier

Bonita Penner

Trista Shah

And the audio book winner is:

Annette Blanch

The Winners of our new book, You Are Loved

Entry #50423Debora J.

Entry #26220Shelley B.

Entry #22995Ashelyn D.

Entry #66748Lavinia M.

Entry #22751Christina V.

Entry #28285Jannell N.

Entry #23227Cheryl O.

Entry #1001Natalie W.

Entry #6012Amy W.

Entry #10046Brenda S.

Entry #76527Trisha

Entry #59203Marietta T.

Entry #45737Betsy H.

Entry #58610Brooke M.

Entry #11319Mary S.

Entry #44822Andrea M.

Entry #74613brittany g.

Entry #3029Jennifer L.

Entry #39435Ashley R.

Entry #37905Sara D.

Entry #5452Heather D.

Entry #11376Kim V.

Entry #3681Jennie C.

Entry #36678Alyssa Z.

Entry #36681Sarah A.

Entry #39255Sasha L.

Entry #4806Heather '.

Entry #15418Holly K.

Entry #12874Holly W.

Entry #43987Terri B.

Mothers: The Civilizers of Nations, the Cultivators of Cultures & The Winners

Most of you who know me, know that I love international ministry and have been seeking to start Women's small groups, Bible studies all over the world, and how much I love missions for having had the opportunity to be involved overseas as a young woman. Angela and I have partnered in some ideas of how to reach more women in more countries with some of these Biblical messages in their own countries. For one, when you buy a book here in the US, we will donate one book for free to our translator's groups in their own countries, all over the world. I am so excited about the ministry vision that God has given Angela and me to train leaders of other countries to start women's Bible studies and to lead in their own countries.

But we are hoping to have some special training times for women in other parts of the world. I would love to see the Lord open doors for me to do some intensive leader's training in different countries. But Angela and I also have a more practical dream for next summer. Read about our vision HERE!

And now for a special Motherhood message! 

Carl Larrson

Mother's: The Civilizers of Our Nation

civ·i·lize 1.    to create a high level of culture 2.    to teach somebody to behave in a more socially, morally and culturally acceptable way Enlighten, cultivate, improve, advance, subdue in terms of a people or nation.

“The home is the fountain of civilization. The value and character and appetites of a people are greatly determined by the reading, training and cultivating of moral and spiritual appetites in the home.

Mothers, you are the divinely-appointed teachers and guides of your children; and any attempt to free yourselves of this duty is in direct opposition to the will of God. If you neglect them, the consequences are swift and sure. …, Spend most of your time with your children. Sleep near them, attend and dress and wash them; let them eat with their mother and father; be their companion and friend in all things and at all times.”

From Golden Thoughts on Mother, Home, and Heaven: From Poetic and Prose Literature of All Ages and All Lands. Copyright 1878-1880

The above quotations were gleaned from a wonderful book that a friend gave to me at our Dallas conference. The words written over a hundred years ago are still very powerful today. This, in a culture where the imagination of the importance of mothers to the overall well-being of soul of the next generation has been lost. How affirming it is to see that truth of past generations still applies to us today.

Often, I find that in the absence of a clear enough vision for their children and homes, mothers replace conviction and vision with lots of activities and distractions for their children. This hyper-activity and rushing around to an endless list of expensive lessons and experiences and the buying of the newest expensive curriculum and technological options make moms feel like they are accomplishing something. However, when the home-life of children is rich with excellent, classic literature, passionate Biblical devotions, rousing dinner-table discussions around sumptuous, tasty meals, lots of love and affection given and household chores attended to—and a child will become committed to all that is good and excellent and develop a moral and compassionate soul for all the divinely important values.

From the beginning of time, God created the home to be a place sufficient to nurture genius, excellence, graciousness and grand civility. But the key factor is nothing that can be purchased or owned. The accomplishment of this grand life is found only in the soul of a mother, through the power of the Holy Spirit, personally mentoring her children.

It is a personal relationship with a real person whose soul is alive in which the deepest imprints of life are given. The secrets and deep emotions shared during the goodnight hours in which a the soul of a child is tender and open; the comfort of warm, home-made food shared in the early evening as ideas are shared and discussed and prayers and devotions given; the laughter, stories, advice given in the midst of washing dishes together or sharing of a meal; the heroic and riveting  stories read aloud and shared together that establish common patterns of morality, values and  dreams in the comfort of the blazing hearth, mugs of steaming hot chocolate and squishing against each other on a den couch are those heavenly things which are food to the soul and nourishment to the mind and conscience of a child fully awake to all that is important in life.

There is no computer, television, software or text book that can pass on such passion, love and motivation.

It is indeed the personal touch of a mother’s heart that creates grand civility, deep affection, care and commitment to the foundations of a family. When the invisible strings of a mother’s heart are tied to the heart of her children through loving sacrifice and nurture, the stability and foundations of a nation become secure and stable. A mother, living well in her God-ordained role, is of great beauty and inestimable value to the future history of any generation. Her impact is irreplaceable and necessary to the spiritual formation of children who will be the future adults of the next generation. Fun, comfort, humor, graciousness, spiritual passion, compassion for the lost, hospitality, chores, meals, training, life-giving words, hours and hours of listening and playing and praying and reading—all are parts of the mosaic which go into the process of soul development.

Moms, God is calling us to a work that is quite important--He will give us the strength and supply us with wisdom one day at a time. He will listen to our prayers. But most of all, we have to be willing to bend over backwards to meet needs and to encourage and to figure out a new game plan, because we are His guard in a fallen, tempting world; we are His hands and words of comfort and wisdom; and we are His voice to tell our children that we love them and believe in them, even in the midst of their immaturity. May He give grace to each of you today! Happy Mother's Day!

Thanks so all of my wonderful friends for helping our first week of launching our new book a great week. Love to you all! Have a lovely weekend with your loved ones!

Here are the winners:

The e-conference winners are:

Alia Regier

Bonita Penner

Trista Shah

And the audio book winner is:

Annette Blanch

The Winners of our new book, You Are Loved

Entry #50423Debora J.

Entry #26220Shelley B.

Entry #22995Ashelyn D.

Entry #66748Lavinia M.

Entry #22751Christina V.

Entry #28285Jannell N.

Entry #23227Cheryl O.

Entry #1001Natalie W.

Entry #6012Amy W.

Entry #10046Brenda S.

Entry #76527Trisha

Entry #59203Marietta T.

Entry #45737Betsy H.

Entry #58610Brooke M.

Entry #11319Mary S.

Entry #44822Andrea M.

Entry #74613brittany g.

Entry #3029Jennifer L.

Entry #39435Ashley R.

Entry #37905Sara D.

Entry #5452Heather D.

Entry #11376Kim V.

Entry #3681Jennie C.

Entry #36678Alyssa Z.

Entry #36681Sarah A.

Entry #39255Sasha L.

Entry #4806Heather '.

Entry #15418Holly K.

Entry #12874Holly W.

Entry #43987Terri B.

 

Woman to Woman--We need each other! A Giveaway and Lots of love!

My sweet, amazing friends,

You truly amaze me! Thanks so much for responding to our new book and to the Bible study we will host together. I never thought we would find so many women responding to our message, but both Angela and I believe deep in our hearts that all women need to understand and embrace, deeply, in the core of their hearts, that they are worthy of the forever, unconditional love of their creator and Father, God.

Please read the comments from yesterday. My heart went out to each person who left a comment. So many of us live daily under the burden of difficult relationships, past hurts, inadequacy, and loneliness. I pray for each of you, that as we invest our time pondering, studying and sharing about the importance of love in our lives, and God's willingness to love us, we will truly be changed.

And even more, when I read the comments, it fills my own heart with a love for each of you and a desire to reach out in friendship to let you know how very special you are, and that you are worth being loved.

Today, Angela will be sharing about our ministries and how we hope to keep reaching out to more women who want to know God's love for them. So be sure to read about our story and ministries HERE, as this book and message are going all over the world. All of you have helped us in an opportunity where we will be spreading this message in many different languages and to help start groups all over the world. Let us know what you think about our ideas in the comments below--or just tell us your heart.

But today, I wanted to share another exciting event so many of you who read my blog. Two women from Australia came to an Intensive Leader's training at my home a couple of years ago. They went back to Australia and started A Mum Heart Ministry. They will be hosting a Mum Heart Conference. They will be hosting an encouraging weekend conference on May 24-25 in Twin Waters on the Sunshine Coast to encourage! I wanted to invite all of my Australian friends to consider attending. Last year over 100 women gathered and had a wonderful time. You can read get the information HERE  Barb tells me they will have a couple of my books to giveaway to some lucky attendees! Hope many of you will be able to attend and take pictures to send back to us for my blog!

Our book sales will fund many more outreaches in other countries! I am so excited that Angela will be telling you more about it today on her blog at http://www.goodmorninggirls.org/ And you will find out about the winners of the first 30 books! Hope it is you.

I so appreciate all of you who spread the word. We are amazed at how the Lord is working to use this giveaway to draw women from all over the world--and Angela and I think you are all the bomb.com! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

30 Books to Give Away and a Women's Revolution!

What an amazing time we live in! Even though many dark challenges, and threatening circumstances greet us on the international news each day, as believers, we have an unprecedented opportunity to reach people all over the world with the love, truth, grace and inspiration of our wonderful God. Without even leaving my home, I am learning that God can use the messages I am learning from Him daily to bring hope to women all over the world right in their homes.

My sweet friend, Angela, and I are hoping you will help us reach more women than we could imagine with some messages that we think will be life transforming. It is not so much about the book we have written, but much more! Women gathering together in every region of the world to learn, pray, and worship together. That is what our hope is--and we need each of you to help us reach those sweet women who are praying to God for His encouragement. We can be His voice, His words of life in places beyond our imagination!

So for helping us, we have 30 more books to give away--and I will be giving away more bundles later this week, of my own books!

Angela and Me at the Mom's Conference in Dallas this year!

I love to see God arrange divine friendships and then to see His Spirit bubble up within the friendship to bring kingdom ideas to reality. I have hosted Leadership Intensives at my home the past 5 years as a way to pass on my discipleship training and messages to like-minded moms who are also leading, writing or speaking. Angela came to my home 2 different times for our summer Intensive.

We both love teaching women to study the Word of God, to know Him more personally, to help start small groups and to reach women all over the world in their own homes to be encouraged and inspired. And so, out of our late night talks and many phone calls, a book was born and hopefully a stronger movement than ever to see God's spirit bringing light and refreshment to women all over the world.

Tomorrow, Angela will tell you more about our ministries. But since we are hoping for countless thousands to join us this summer in our book club, discussion and Bible study, we are praying that many of you will help us reach your friends, neighbors, churches, small groups with this very foundational message of God's love.

If a woman truly feels and knows and lives in the unconditional, forever love of God, her relationships and her sense of well-being will give her life, strength, energy, patience and graciousness in every relationship the rest of her life. And so, even though love is often overlooked because it is such a common word, we want women to hear of and understand the uncommon love of God that changes people forever. This summer we hope many will give up the baggage they have carried for many years about inadequacy or guilt, and exchange it for a gentle and overwhelming God-love.

So, to make it possible for more sweet women to participate, I am giving away 30 more books--(15 Kindle and 15 print) for women who will help us spread the word about our book and book study! Invite your small group to join and anyone that you know needs to have a fresh dose of His encouragement!

We will tell you more about how you can join the book study in a later post, but above tells you a little about our book study. We can't wait to be with you and spend some time with you on video this summer. Blessings and blessings of His sweet love to each of you today!

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Mother's Day Extravaganza! You are my heroines! A Giveaway!

The precious ones who made me a mother. (Joel, Sarah, Joy and Nathan!)

You mamas are my heroines! You are the backbone of our culture, the angels who keep hearts inspired, the nurses who comfort all ills, the singer who fills little minds with sweet dreams, the cook who creates feasts that delight and please, the teacher who forms genius, the friend who holds all secrets. This is the week we celebrate you with lots of surprises and giveaways!

Stay tuned for more surprises tomorrow. But today, I wanted to thank you for all that you do by giving away some of my resources that I hope will encourage, inspire and help you to know how very wonderful you are to God's divine plan.

I have received so many letters about how many of you have enjoyed Desperate: Hope for the Mom who needs to Breathe! After many requests, it is finally on Audio! Sarah Mae and I both have excellent readers who sound so much like us and make the book come alive!Desperate is now on audio tape! I would love for one of you mamas to have this for yourself and to share with friends.

I have received so many emails and messages about how encouraged you have been through our e-conferences. Lots of you LOVED Sarah's inspiring message that she gave at the conferences and added to last week! We are so encouraged by your many letters! So I would like to give away 3 of these conferences to you sweet moms. This is the most recent course where Sarah and I speak about developing mental muscle in your children and shaping a story-formed child, by shaping their minds on heroes, great stories and faith strong tales that inspire.

This is the first home-education e-course we did for all mamas and filled up so quickly, we had to shut off registration. I would love to give 3 of these to you to share ideas and traditions that shape and developed our own children's lives and created self-motivation and a love for learning.

I held a giveaway for Sarah's newest book, and these are the winners:

Judith Martinez

Loren Sobaje

Melissa Rapp

Also, this week, I will be giving away my newest book, written with my wonderful friend, Angela Perrit. I believe so much in the crucial foundational importance of our message! Can't wait to tell you about it tomorrow! Read about her celebration of our book HERE and enter her very generous giveaway! Stay tuned tomorrow for all the news and more giveaways-

-to celebrate you and your wonderfulness!

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Sarah-strone! ***Almost Springtime minestrone recipe; wait or use anytime?***

There are so many times I approach the dinner time hour and think, one more time, what does everyone want to eat tonight? I try not to use the same recipes over and over again, but sometimes it is just easier not to have to think. Even though I have spring in my heart, it has still been 40's for the high this week!

So, I was thrilled when Sarah whipped this up, as it was easy, warm and so comforting--and with a green salad, a wonderful meal.

Enjoy and hope for spring--it is coming, I just know it! And for those of you who are already there, be glad!

Sarah-strone

2 Turkey sausages slice thin

I whole onion, chopped

a heaping tablespoon of garlic

1 large can (29 ounces?) tomatoes (I like the chopped)

1 full can of water--or a little more to taste

2-3 thinly sliced zucchini

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1 can beans (navy beans preferred--but we didn't have them last night so we used pinto)

1-2 teaspoons salt to taste

1 heaping tablespoon Italian seasoning

Saute sausage, onions and garlic in olive oil in a large soup pan. Add the tomatoes, water, salt and zucchini. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until the zucchini is soft. Add the beans and seasoning and salt. Simmer another little while (I think it tastes better if you just leave it on to simmer while you are doing other things--the tastes blend together better.)

Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and a small dollop of sour cream on top and enjoy!

This was a great treat for us last week that Sarah made up on the spur of the moment! I had to repeat it this week to be sure I knew how! It is a real pleaser.

Home-Centered Learning Part 2 is now available for purchase, as the video has downloaded! We so enjoyed being with so many of you on Monday night. Enjoy! (Here for more information and for ordering.)