The Season of Giving: Operation Christmas Child

https://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/buildonline/

This is the second year we have done Operation Christmas Child with the girls. For anyone who has never heard of it before, it is part of Samaritans Purse which was founded by Franklin Graham. Operation Christmas Child's goal is to spread the good news of Salvation along with toys and essentials these kids need. 

The boxes are given to kids in very poor regions, often in war torn areas.Many of these children have never and will never receive a Christmas gift. It is a wonderful opportunity to share the love of Christ. 

We built our shoe boxes for around $15 a piece. We hit up the dollar store for some fun items, and also more practical items like soap, washcloth, toothpaste, toothbrush, and a hair brush. The girls enjoyed picking out items for a little girl around the same age as them. 

You can still pack your shoe box. Just go online at https://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/buildonline/ and they can pack it for you. 

We want to teach our kids to have a giving heart. Giving them opportunities such as this, will help cultivate that giving heart.

21 Days to a Simple Christmas Challenge: Day 3

 

Today is Day 3: Making a list and checking it twice. I had a list in my head but now it's time to write down who I have to buy for. We have a small list because we are trying hard to get out of debt and so buy for the bare minimum. There has been years past that I have done this because it really does help organizing thoughts and time making it less stressful. Plus I love lists!

Here's my list:

• My Husband
• My girls
• The dog
• Siblings
• Parents
• Nephews
•  Cousins (names that were drawn)

It may be short, but we keep things simple. Christmas isn't about how many gifts you give but the spirit that the birth of Christ brings to us each and every day.

21 Days to a Simple Christmas: Day 2

Today's day 2 of the 21 Days to a Simple Christmas Challenge and probably the hardest for many out there: BUDGET. If you have been following my blog you'll know that we have been going through the My Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. It truly has been life changing and this year we head into the Christmas season with money set aside and many gifts already bought. 

To set enough money aside I had to sit down and figure out what we spend on gifts for everyone for Christmas, Birthdays, and Mother's and Father's Day. After I figured that out I divided it by 12 and so every month we set aside $75 for gifts. 

This year we are looking at spending about $365 on siblings, nephews, and our parents. Some of those gifts have already been purchased. This may be the last year we exchange with my siblings and spouses and instead exchange names and donate to a charity instead.

On our kids we spent around $50 a piece which includes blankets I made them and a few toys.

I use gift cards I've earned from Amazon and the cash back on our credit card (which we use like a debit card and I track EVERY SINGLE PENNY) to pay for my husband's gift. He uses cash he's gotten here and there often times money he's gotten donating plasma.

We've always known what we'd spend on each person and have stayed on our sort of budget but this is the first year we will not have to come up with the money after the fact. We have the money up front, just sitting there waiting for Christmas to come around. I cannot tell you how much less stress I feel about that.

Weekly Goals

Last week my goals were simple since it was going to be a busy week. I didn't stress about the holiday and tried to spend my time enjoying it.

We had my in-laws at our house on Thanksgiving day, Friday morning we packed up and headed to my sister's place in Duluth, and Sunday headed out in the morning to take the two oldest to Disney Live.

This week I need to get back into things. So here are my goals:

Personal:

• Daily devotion/prayer time
• Work on my diet: meaning drinking more water, watching snacks, and watching portion sizes
• Write at least one blog post
• Try something new: craft, sewing project, recipe
• Read one chapter in Reshaping It All

Family:

• Read every night with the girls
•  Have a least one night of game night as a family

 Around the House:

• Complete my cleaning list
• Get my kitchen cleaned up every night
• Have the girls spend time cleaning toys up every day

How Do You Protect Your Child in a World Gone Mad?

For my first session at Hearts at Home, I had the privilege to hear Susan Merrill from iMOM.com. The session was titled The Passionate Mom: Protecting Your Child in the World. It stood out to me because the world I was raised in was so different then world that I am raising my children in. With my oldest approaching her 5th birthday, I didn't want to wait to long to get ideas on how to use, but limit the available technology. They already are exposed and know how to use the technology around them, I need to learn how to teach them how to be responsible. 

The first way to battle the world's influence is to BE PERCEPTIVE. What are your kids saying or not saying that you need to pay attention to? How do you do that? Be alert, be available, and be attentive. You know your kids better than anyone else. You know your child's patterns of behavior. If you are being attentive, you will notice changes in behavior which often means there is an issue that you as the parent need to address. If you strive to be Mary rather then Martha, you will better recognize your child's needs and be more available for their conversations. Sometimes that means turning off all distractions including your phone.

Can you be less perceptive? There are 3 ways Susan says you can be less perceptive:

1. Stunted perception: This is the "everything will be ok syndrome". Parents who are less perceptive are more likely to make the comments, "boys will boys" or "everything will work itself out". As parents we need to be aware of those behavior changes. Children who are acting out have issues that need to be dealt with. The best time to work on those issues is when they first start appearing.
2. Selective Perception: Parents who have selective perception chose to focus on one issue, which is often a more minor issue, and miss a bigger issue. If your child is getting bad grades and bullying a kid at school, which issue needs parents to deal with first? Selective perception would have a parent addressing the bad grades and ignoring the bulling. If you take a look at the minor issues, it may be a by product of a more major issue. 
3. Politically Correct Perception: These are your children and if you know and don't do anything because you are afraid of offending someone, you are not helping your children. These parents have a hard time giving consequences and often worry more about others then what is right and wrong. 

Now that you know there is an issue to deal with you need to HAVE A PLAN. Susan uses the book of Nehemiah as an example of how we as parents need to guide our kids as they grow and enter the world. Nehemiah built the wall to protect the Temple. Today our temple is our bodies and as parents we are in charge of those bodies of our children. Nehemiah also knew that building a wall with no gate would only hurt the people. He established "gate rules" in order to guide the people. As parents we must do the same thing. 

Gate Rules (taken directly from Susan during the session):

1. You are the gate keeper and you report God not your child
2. A gate is opened as a privilege, not a right
3. A gate should not be opened based on age
4. A gate opened can always be closed again
5. Once opened a gate must be carefully guarded

I really loved the idea of the wall and gates. We as parents report to God and your child needs to realize that. If that means sitting down and looking at all internet searches your children do, then you do it. It may mean you have all your child's text sent to your phone. You are the parent, you are not their friend and if your child thinks they can sneak past your gate they will. 

It is really hard in our culture that teaches parents to be their friends and respect their privacy. Until they are adults, they are your responsibility and you have be strict in a day in age that the world is climbing over your walls and breaking down your gates trying to get your kids. This world is so very different then it was 20 years ago when I was a kid. We went from kids hiding diaries from their parents or notes passed in class to cell phones with kids sexting, downloading porn, and little control from parents over things that have always been harmful to children.  

iMOM.com and allprodad.com have great resources for all ages including cell phone contracts, driving contracts, pet contracts, and so much more. There are articles for parenting all ages and family relationships. 

We are the parents and we need to prepare for battle against the forces of darkness that are trying to take our children. You as a parent need to stand strong or you'll be knocked down.

21 Days to a Simple Christmas Challenge: Day 1

 

I am happy to announce I will be participating in 21 Days to a Simple Christmas Challenge over on moneysavingmom.com. I am very excited to see what Crystal has come up with in her new book to make Christmas simple and give us the opportunity to enjoy this time of year.

If you would like to participate check out Day 1 which gives directions on how you can participate too.

Today's Challenge: Write a mission statement for the Christmas season.

This Christmas season I want to make Christ the center. Instead of worry over food and gifts, I want to slow down and take time to remember that miraculous birth over 2000 years ago. Along with that, I want to take time to spend with my family, specially my husband and 3 girls.

What are we reading this month?

Here is a list of the books we are planning on reading this month. Since it is December they are all Christmas related books.

• Corduroy's Christmas Surprise 
• One Snowy Night by M. Christina Butler
• An Orange for Frankie by Patricia Polacco
• Clifford's First Christmas by Norman Bridwell
• Christmas Angel by Quinlan B.Lee
• The Christmas Donkey
• The Sweet Smell of Christmas by Patricia Scarry
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
• Christmas Storybook Collection from Disney

What are you reading this December?