Mother of Seven + 2

I'll be taking a break from blogging this week.  Sometimes I just need to stop and enjoy the blessings around me.  Last Thursday I took my younger five on a hike.  We had a great time!  Sometimes, honestly, the computer is a distraction.  I don't want to miss out on these wonderful blessings God has given me.  Amber Alex Troy Michael Cory I am posting a couple devotional posts on Wednesday and Friday that I previously posted on Devoted.  So if you haven't read them before maybe you won't even notice I'm not here this week.  :0)  Blessings to each of you and thank you for following and reading.  --Natasha

Image: Exsodus / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Lying awake, Staring into the darkness, Wondering... What pain my words had wrought, What heart was broken, What relationship was lost. Wishing, Hoping, Desiring... To have thought first, To have spoken less, To have listened better. A knot twists my stomach, My heart hurts, Knowing... Words cannot be taken back, Erased, Wiped Out. "My dear brothers, take note of this:  Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires."   James 1:19,20 Thankful for God's... Mercy, Love, Forgiveness. "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."   Psalm 103:11,12

Image: Vlado / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Having the right words to say and setting a good example will go a long ways in parenting, but children will still need something more. My children sure don’t behave just because I talk to them. They need reinforcement for the truths coming from my lips and the truth being lived out in my life. I have a football lover in my home. I have told him over and over not to wear his good clothes and shoes to play football. I have always set a good example by wearing play clothes for play and work clothes for work. Still he heedlessly persists in coming in with grass stains on brand new jeans, holes ripped in his good shirts, and good shoes with the soles torn off. He is in need of learning from discipline. Paying for some new clothing may be needed to reinforce my words and example. Finish out the article on Parenting by the Book Pt. 3 at Raising Arrow s .  This article discusses the dreaded "D" word...Discipline. ...

 As I stand peeling potatoes, my peaceful thoughts are interrupted by screaming in the next room. “You’re ugly.” “Well, you’re uglier, and I’m never going to play with you again.” I quickly rinse my hands and put on my referee shirt. Standing between the two opposing parties, I try to get to the bottom of the situation. However, I’m irritated. I’ve been forced to stop what I’m doing. The children are being irrational, and it is taking too long to establish peace. Suddenly, I’m yelling too, “You kids never think about the other person. It’s all about you. Won’t you ever learn to treat each other kindly? Yelling and screaming is no way to…….” I gulp and shut my mouth. The children look at me with huge eyes as I realize I’m acting just like them. I’m certainly not being an example of what I was saying. Finish reading Part 2 of Parenting by The Book at Raising Arrows .  It's all about teaching by example. Image: Vlado / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image: Vlado / FreeDigitalPhotos.net  Sleep escapes me as I stare into the darkness wrapped snugly about me. Thoughts are whirling through my mind like a merry-go-round that won’t stop turning. “Why didn’t I listen better to my troubled child today? How should I have handled his dishonesty differently? Why did I yell? Will these children grow up despite my shortcomings as a parent?” A blanket of doubt begins to smother me. During my growing up years, there were many things I could do well. I loved school and tended to be an overachiever. Handcrafts and sewing came easily. Cooking was as natural as breathing to me. For the most part, if I set my mind to something I could do it. Then I married and began having children. Parenting has been the most humbling and daunting task I have encountered. This is the beginning of a series of articles I wrote for my friend Amy at Raising Arrows over a year ago.  Thought I would share links to this three part series this ...

Money Saving Tips for the Week: 1.  Reinvent leftover bread .  There are a couple different things I do with leftover toast or bread that is getting dried out.  If I have a whole loaf of bread that for some reason didn't get used quickly, I make french toast.  Sometimes I'll have just a couple pieces of bread that are getting dry.  These I rub over my grater and make bread crumbs.  I store the crumbs in an airtight container in the freezer until I need them for salmon patties or meatloaf or some other dish. Sometimes I have a hard time gauging how much toast I need for breakfast.  Often there will be a slice or two left on the plate.  I throw these into a baggie and store them in my freezer.  When the bag gets full, I cube the bread, sprinkle it with Italian seasoning and garlic, and place it in a warm oven to dry out.  (It already has butter on it.)   It makes the best croutons.  Leftover slices of toast and bread fo...

Trials are a part of life, but I've found that sometimes what I've considered a trial has turned out to be a blessing. My husband and I were thrilled with our very first apartment back eighteen years ago.  It was perfect for us, and best of all at $225 a month we could afford it.  While we were engaged, we had looked at housing and found much of it out of our price range.  Many apartments were falling apart, had bugs, or were in bad neighborhoods.  It seemed God just placed this apartment in our laps, and it was perfect.  Then just one month later, the landlord asked us to move out because he had some personal family issues come up.  I was crushed.  How could we afford something else?  Why did God seemingly supply this place and then take it away? Living room of our first apartment.  I thought it was perfect for us.  The church my husband worked at heard of our plight and offered to let us live in the old parsonage....

God most certainly has a sense of humor and a way of timing things just perfectly.  Over a year ago, I shared some verses with our Ladies Prayer Group from church.  It was Paul's prayer for the Ephesians.  For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.   Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all gen...

Money Saving Tips for the Week 1.   Shop the clearance rack .  I always look at the clearance racks when the seasons are changing to see what bargains I can pick up.  However, I've found that one must watch out for two dangers when shopping clearance.  One is that just because it's on clearance doesn't mean it's a good deal.  The second is if you don't need it, then you didn't really save any money.  With that said, I'd like to share the bargains I picked up last fall. 7 pairs of boys shorts sizes 14-18  These shorts will fit at least three of our five boys, and here is the best part.  I only paid $1 apiece for them. Enough summer clothing to outfit Amber for the summer. I found a rack of girl's clearance again just priced at $1.  I picked up summer outfits for this year and only paid $10 total. This shopping trip was in October last year.  I also found swim trunks for all the boys for this summer and again I only paid $1 a...

When I was newly married I remember a rather intense conversation my husband and I had.  He suggested that we should perhaps pray for trials so we would grow.  I grew angry with him that he would even consider praying such a thing.  I told him he couldn't  pray that for himself because I was married to him and if God was going to send him trials that would surely involve me.   I wanted no part of it. The ironic thing about it all is that I ended up praying a similar prayer without even realizing it.  Back when we had just three children and they were all five and under, I began praying a specific prayer.  I begged God to create in me a desire for his Word.  I was struggling with even wanting to read the Bible.  I was a poor example of a Christian let alone a minister's wife, and I knew it.  God answered that prayer, I believe, by making me desperate for Him and His strength.  We had an unplanned four...

Never dreamed Never imagined This road God would lead us down. At my bedside Kneeling Begging God to hear a prayer. Head cradled in my arms Sobs shaking my body Tears soaking the bedspread.  I cried out "Lord, her faith-- so simple so pure." "What will happen if you don't answer her prayer to stay here forever?" The tears release the pain in my heart.  The tide of emotion subsides. In utter honesty I continue, "Lord, I don't even know if I can do this thing I've asked for." Scripture ministers   "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight."  Prov. 3:5,6 Words spoken to my heart. "My daughter, trust me." Feeling inadequate The Word reminds "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Phil. 4:13 "But Lord, what if we lose them?" "Do not be anxious about anything, but in ...

Money Saving Tips for the week: 1.  Hang Laundry Outside to Dry .  I shared previously how I hang my clothes on a line in our basement to finish drying clothing during the winter months.  Well, now that spring is here, I hang my laundry outside.  This may seem a little strange, but I do enjoy it.  There is something fulfilling to me about seeing the clothes hung neatly on the line, and I love the smell of line dried clothes.  Then there is the added plus that the sunshine and Kansas wind are free.  I don't have to pay a cent for drying my laundry.  However, time is a factor for me, so I've learned to not spend my time hanging out all the socks and underwear.    I wash socks and underwear twice a week.  That means each time I wash them I would be hanging out 54 to 72 individual socks and 27 to 36 pair of underwear (providing everyone changes like they should).   It just takes too much time.  Those go in the drye...

Last week I asked Amber to help me scrub some potatoes for supper.  She jumped right to the task, and before I knew it those potatoes became a part of the family. Let me introduce to you Amber's children:  Diane, Sarah, Anna, Juliet, Bob, Alex, Peter, John, and Tom. Her children needed a bath because they had been playing outside in the dirt.  Notice that the potatoes are all standing in the water.  That was so they would not drown. Once they were bathed, she discovered that they all needed to have their appendix's removed.  So she performed laproscopic surgery (meaning she poked them all with a fork).  Then because they had dry skin she rubbed them all down with lotion (shortening).  Then they were all tucked in bed and put in a nice warm place to sleep (the oven). For supper we enjoyed the company of Diane, Sarah, Anna, Juliet, Bob, Alex, Peter, and John.  As we took our potatoes, Amber informed us who we had.  I asked her how s...

One day I think I scared my oldest son, Ryan.  We were at my in-laws house.  He was standing at entrance to grandma's living room, and I mistook him for my husband.  He's as tall as his dad, and he looks and acts a lot like him.  I walked up beside him, slipped my arm around his waist, and started to lay my head on his shoulder when I realized my mistake.  Ryan looked at me kinda funny.  I told him I thought he was his dad, and he was just lucky I hadn't planted a kiss on him. When I was thinking about this incident I realized that God calls us as his children to look like him.  Romans 8:29 says, "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers."  There is a sense of pride a parent experiences when their children grow up and look like them.  I like to hear people say, "She's just like her mama."  "And we, who with unveiled faces...

Money Saving Tips for the Week 1.  Make your own bathroom cleaner.  We live in an old home with an old porcelain tub and sink.  The best cleaner is the old fashioned Comet or some other generic cleanser.  It's less then a dollar a bottle.  However, we added on a bathroom about three years ago, and the cheap cleanser can't be used on these newer surfaces.  It will mess them up.  I hate paying $3 or $4 a bottle for the cleaner that is required.  Recently I've begun using baking soda and vinegar.  When I compare the cost of vinegar and baking soda to the expensive bathroom cleaners, I find I pay about the same for the two ingredients but that it lasts at least twice as long.  Check out this link for tips on using baking soda and vinegar as a cleaner:  How to Use Vinegar and Baking Soda to Clean .  By the way, it works great, it is safe for our newer surfaces, and it is environmentally friendly as well! 2.  Walk instead ...