Mother of Seven + 2

If your family wants to get started memorizing Scripture, there is a great tool available on the internet.  It is called Scripture Typer.  Three of my children invited me to join them in a group, and I've memorized 4 verses in the last two weeks.  That is good for me, but my children are memorizing whole chapters.  I am amazed at how quickly they are memorizing with the use of this tool.  And they are excited about it!   The way Scripture Typer works is first you Type It.  The program calculates your words per minute.  The second step is Memorize it.  The program gives you the verse with every other word left out.  Again you practice the verse by typing it and filling in the blanks.  Once you are able to type the verse at 80% of your original words per minute and without using any hints, then the program allows you to go on to the last step which is Master It.  Now you get to type the entire verse from memory. photo ...

"Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Mark 10:43-45 As summer began, I found myself frustrated. The children were fighting more, as they had more time on their hands. They did their chores cheerfully most the time, but if I needed some extra help, I was met with groans and complaints. In thinking about the problem, I realized the root of it was selfishness. It was all about what each individual wanted and not about what was good for the family as a whole. And quite frankly speaking everyone was unhappy. I remembered an acronym I learned as a young girl. J esus first. O thers second. Y ourself last. For our family Bible time one morning we talked about joy and service to God. Then I set up a "Joy Bag." The challenge was to write on a sli...

Sometimes it can be downright embarrassing to have company over.  I have looked across the table to see one of my children shoveling the food in with his fingers.  On another occasion I caught grandma discreetly trying to wipe some food off her shirt that her grandchild had splattered on her.  Or there was the time one of the boys spit food on the company while talking with his mouth full. I tried to teach the children table manners but I was met with groans and complaints when correcting them.  Finally I invested in a little game entitled Manners for Mealtimes .  It comes with two sets of cards.  There are 10 cards in each set.  The cards have manners listed on them, and they are laminated in order to protect them while in use at the dinner table.  The first set of cards has basic manners on them like "No rude noises."  The second set of cards adds more manners to the first set like "Always thank your hostess for the meal."  Each fa...