A great resource for praying for our children from Melissa at the T-moms lounge group

From the lounge group:

I praise the Lord for a Godly Mom who taught me the ways of the Lord at an early age. She also has a Mom, my Grandma who I am very close to, and tells me she prays for me every day--she is 87 yrs old this year! What an honor to come from a Godly heritage, and I want that so badly for my own children. It is my desire to teach them the Word of God so they will know how to stand against the enemy. Satan wants to destroy our homes and take our children. I am so thankful for the freedom we have to share God's Word and teach them at home. I am proud of all you Timothy Moms out there who are striving every day to train up our children in the way they should go..God bless you! I wanted to pass on these virtues my Mom gave to me on how to pray for our children. There are 30 and she takes one a day and specifically prays for each grandchild(she has 20) to instill that virtue in their life. Prayer is a powerful thing, and I believe it is the best gift we could ever give our children..Have a blessed day.~Melissa

Here's the link to the tool Melissa's grandma uses...it's great, lets use it! 30 Biblical Virtues to Pray for Your Children

Thanks Melissa! Go visit Melissa on her nook at the Homeschool lounge.

Resurrection Cookies from Captivated

I love Easter. For me it is a reminder of the new life I have (and can experience daily) in Christ. It's the beginning of a new season... brighter colors, vivid sunshine... a clean slate. Jesus was crucified for my sin and for yours, but He didn't stay buried. He didn't stay dead. He conquered sin and death forever! And that victory is evident by the empty tomb on the morning of the third day. (Thank you, Jesus, for your redemption of me!)

I'll be honest: one fun aspect of Easter for me is puttin' the babes in some crisp clothes & headin' to church (and then going to my favorite little road to take spring pics). This year my husband will be gone on Easter Sunday, but we'll still do that even with Dad on the road (Day 2 somewhere in Cali headed to Baja with our 35 other kids for the Spring Break Mission Trip). And I'll still make ham and yummy potatoes and rolls.

But really, for reals, it's not about what we wear or what we eat. It's about the event that changed the world, the Man, The One True Living God, Jesus, Who changed the world and made such an impact that history is literally divided into Before and After (based on His first coming) so I wanted to do something with the kids to show them how big of a deal Resurrection Sunday really is.

We have been playing with our Resurrection Eggs for the past couple weeks (something we do even throughout the year if the kids ask for it). But something I read last year from a MOPS publication inspired me to try these Resurrection Cookies with my kids. They're going to looooove helping out AND they're going to totally digg the "pictures" behind each of the elements of the story/recipe. I can't wait!

I couldn't find the original MOPS resource, but I did an online search and I'll copy and paste the recipe and story here... just click the link to go to the original page to print out your own instructions. And let me know if you and your family bake these together this weekend! I can't wait to hear what my kids will say (and yours too)!

(I wasn't able to find any images online of the cookies, but you can bet your buttons I'll post some.)

Homemade Crafts and Gifts (featured column by various authors)

Resurrection Story Cookiesby Michelle Jones

I'm not sure where this recipe first originated, but it has been passed around the globe for many years. It's a very meaningful way to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus with our children. These cookies are made the evening before and cooked in a warm oven overnight so they will be ready to eat on Easter morning.* * *

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Ingredients & Supplies Needed:3 egg whites
1 c. whole pecans
1 tsp. vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. sugar
Zip plastic bag
Wooden spoon
Tape
The Bible

Place pecans in the plastic bag and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Discuss how after Jesus was arrested, He was beaten by the Roman soldiers.
Read John 19:1-3

Put the vinegar into a mixing bowl and let each child smell the strong aroma. Talk about how when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink.
Read John 19:28-30

Add egg whites to the vinegar (eggs represent life). Discuss how Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.
Read Luke 23:27

So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 cup sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him.
Read Psalms 34:8 and John 3:16

Beat the ingredients together with a mixer on high speed for 12-15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.
Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3

Fold in the broken pecans. Drop cookies by a rounded teaspoon onto cookie sheet covered with waxed paper. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid.
Read Matthew 27:57-60

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door.TURN THE OVEN OFF.

Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door together. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed.
Read Matthew 27:65-66

Now it's time to go to sleep.

Explain to the children that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.
Read John 16:20 and 22

On Resurrection (Easter) morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie.Notice that the surface of the cookie is cracked.Take a bite.The cookies are hollow!On the first Resurrection, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.
Read Matthew 28:1-9

Editor's note: I'm also including the scripture for anyone who would like to read it right now...After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.

And continuing with Matthew 28:10-20

Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me." While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, "You are to say, 'His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.' If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said. "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

--Posted By Captivated to Trenkle Toes at 3/18/2008 05:24:00 PM

God's Design: Contribution from Captivated

So, two things on my mind and heart in the past weeks. I'm pregnant. And I've also inherited a pseudo-mama-bear role for 35 teenagers. So on two fronts I'm thinking and meditating on God's design for sex and sexuality, purity and integrity, the pregnancy and birth process and the dating and marriage process.

My babes are fascinated by my belly and are asking "when I was a baby?" type questions. It's been so fun to tell them stories about when they were "babies". Like how Kennady would NOT sit down in her high chair, so Bryson would holler "'Poon! 'Poon!" (for spoon -- aka: rod of correction) and for her to hear our theory of why we think Jesus gave Kennabear her Brown Eyes (because Mommy ate so much "chyockyate" when she was in my tummy. And how Kev cried like a pterydactyl (sp?) when he was a newborn. So we've been to the library and checked out books about a new baby sibling that's living inside my belly, but will be coming to live with us in June.

We ordered a book from Amazon called "The Story of Me " and it's BOOK 1 from a 4-Part GOD'S DESIGN FOR SEX series. This book is for ages 3-5 and introduces the basics. It lays the spiritual foundation for the child's understanding of sexuality and how God loves the human body and called it "very good" and that our bodies and our sex organs are gifts from God.

What I liked about the book was that it is a dialogue between a boy and his parents, sittin' down for a chat on their couch and he's asking questions... "Tell me the story of me!" he says. And the parents tell him how God took "a piece of Mommy and a piece of Daddy" and made him. That his Mom pushed him through the birth canal (with proper anatomical verbage) and how his sister was born when the doctor opened Mommy's belly to take her out.

It covers breast milk and the umbilical cord and then, which is really cool, it also introduces the fact that "Not all hugs and kisses are good... If you don't want to share a kiss or a hug or a touch with someone, you don't have to. God does not want anyone to take love from you that you don't want to share."

We've been talking to the kids about good touch/bad touch a lot lately. At bathtimes especially. I really liked how the authors worded it. This book backs up what we've been teaching our kids already. And so I'm sure we'll take our kids through the whole series and take a pro-active approach in showing them God's best in a culture that has tainted and perverted and counterfeited sex and sexuality. We want them to hear the truth from us before they hear the lies of the world.

Anyway, if you have kids ages 3 - 14, there's a book in this series to assist you in having this essential (but maybe awkward) "talk." Check it out!

New Favorite Book ideas from Captivated- a Timothy Mom

Captivated at Trenkle Toes purchased some books she's enjoying using in teaching her kids God's word and has shared them with us. Here's an excerpt from her post. Please read the full post here:

I bought these two children's books last year at a conference featuring Elizabeth George, author of A Woman After God's Own Heart. I was really excited about the content because there is such applicable wisdom in the Proverbs for parenting.

I took the books home and the kids weren't really all that excited. But I pulled them out again a few weeks ago for my oldest two babes, and at ages 3 & 4, these are now the pages they want to behold at bedtime. They are fascinated by the illustrations and by the rhythm and rhyme that Elizabeth uses to spell out these truths.

God's Wisdom for Little Boys: Character Building Fun from Proverbs highlights characterics that make men wise and smart. Bryson's favorite pages are the ones illustrating that God's Little Boy is ...

TRUTHFUL

He recites the scripture before we even turn the page... "We don't use our mouth to tell lies, Mom, huh."

DILIGENT

OBEDIENT

RESPONSIBLE

BRAVE

"Yeah, when I lay down my sleep will be peaceful. And the Lord will keep me SAFE!"

More contributions from THE group

Tereasa writes: I am the mom to a son who is 7, a daughter who is 3, and another son who is 2. My husband is home in the morning, so we spend a wonderful family time together every morning. We sing with the kids, pray with them and over them, read God's word and memorize scripture. We are currently working on the beatitudes. After each reading, the kids take turns standing up in front of the family to retell the lesson in their own words. It is such a blessing to see them "preach the word" - even our two year old gets into it! This is such a small part of our day, yet it is so vital. This time together lays a foundation for each day reminding us throughout the day to glorify God.I look forward to reading everyone else's thoughts!

Contributors from the Timothy Moms' group at Homeshool Lounge

I'm so thankful to the ladies that have shared their hearts over at the Timothy Mom's group at the Homeschool Lounge. Just to see God's heart united in all of us to model and apply God's word to our lives and our kids'...to see Christ formed in them... it's just awesome!

Thank you ladies and thank you Lord for Your Spirit at work in us!

Here are the ideas the ladies from the group shared:

Kristal has son who is 6 and boy/girl twins who are two. She shares: I guess first and foremost I am truly trying to model Christ to them all day, and I really try to concentrate on being who I want them to be, which is Christ. As for the practical: Alot of scripture memorization (in a later post, I'll post them all) learning books of the bible in order, reading the bible, and writing scriptures. Thats all I can think of right now. I'm really looking foward to hearing everyone elses thoughts.

Penny has 9 children, ages 1-17, and the 10th on the way, and she shares: I've been convicted to put the Bible first in our homeschooling by Robin Sampson at Heart of Wisdom. We already prayed together a lot, but I wasn't sure how to incorporate the Word. Her unit studies and resource suggestions have helped a lot.I have 9 children, ages 1-17. I'm pregnant with no. 10. We have 4 boys and 5 girls right now. I've been homeschooling them from the beginning. God is becoming more real to us all the time. I have a blog at www.heartofwisdom.com/BecomingReal that tells more about me and my family.

Moria has three boys, ages 5, 3, and 1. She shares: We work on getting the spirit of what God says and how to apply it to our lives. We may work on a single verse for a week or more trying to get the boys to understand what it really means. We read the Family Bible by Osbourne books and the Day by Day and the Narrated Bible. We color, work on Hebrew, cut and paste verses etc. Thank you for starting this group. I, too, am looking to emmerse my boys into the lifestyle of Christ. He has put so many reminders in our life so that we can constantly think about Him and how he constantly provides for us. This is a hard battle for me because I didn't grow up thinking about God every day or every week. I had an agnostic background and some things that come readily to people regarding the instruction of our children totaly elude me. I have enjoyed learning all about God's feast days and lifestyle. It has made showing Christ to my children much easier. My husband takes a supportive backseat roll in the family; joining us with the feast days and Sabbath but not putting alot into the spiritual edification of the children. I know that God will move on his heart and he will take up that roll. Right now I need all the help I can get(mostly consistency and creativity) and I hope to learn more about what you all do to keep Christ front and center in your homeschooling.

And Nikki writes: I have 6 children all together . Two are step children however they call me mom and I consider them my children. 3 girls and 3 boys . The girls ages are 20, 15, and 10. The boys are 18, 9 and 2. I am still tweeking how I want to help build our faith. Modeling I feel is the key. Living what we see and feel. My girls and I read from a girls devotional book. The younger ones work from Daniellesplace.com . It costs a little bit for a subscription but I have found the lessons fun and worth it. I am also considering purchasing defending the faith for my older teens. (by JoJo) Cant wait to get to know you all and hear what other things you use. I do have a blog also. www.homeschoolblogger.com/Angelheart/ On Thursdays I do a meme called Train up a child. Where I talk about just this topic.

"Modeling...", "...getting the spirit of what God says and how to apply it to our lives...", "...putting the Bible first in our homeschooling...", "...try to model Christ to them all day long..."

AMEN! AMEN! AMEN! Ladies. Wise, you are!

Thank you so much for sharing.

Welcome Mom to four blessings, so far!

I met Mommy to four blessings at the church family I was part of in Oregon awhile back, but never really got to know her. Recently, I've been following her blog from Uganda through a link I got at another friends blog. Blogs are great! You can visit her blog, 4 Colorful Kiddos, here.

Anyway, after leaving a comment with her the other day she emailed me and left me this great idea about teaching our kids to pray and geography at the same time. She writes:

Hello again,

I was just at your 'timothy moms' blog and thought I would send you a quick idea.

Now that I have two three year olds I thought it would be fun to incorporate their learning in with Eryn's (my 5 year old). We have a book of world puzzles--Eryn is learnig her continents. We choose a continent each day, put together the puzzle, learn a few facts and pray for a people group within that continent. We also use a book called "Opertion World." As well as a children's book put out by Wycliffe Bible translators--praying for a people group from A to Z. What an overwhelming blessing as I asked if any of my children would like to pray for the people of China (we were studying Asia). Ezekiel, my three year old prayed a heartfelt prayer, "that the people of China would obey Jesus." Amen!

Amen is right! I haven't done much in that area with my boys but sounds like a great idea. Something I'll have to begin incorporating. Now to find a world puzzle... :-)

Thanks again Mom to four blessings!

Welcome Q&Q

Welcome Q&Q!

She shares some of her preschool/homeschool day:

My Peanut is 2 going on three. I have the Little Hands to Heaven but we just kind of use it as a guide right now. I read the scriptures at breakfast and we go over the letter of the week and the number of the week all day long. We just stay in 1 to 10 (over and over and over again). She knows her alphabet and numbers but I'm working to enforce how the fit into words and daily life. We sing a lot of hymns and Sunday School songs since I'm the church pianist. The music is a big part of her learning. I have fillers of computer software and DVDs but she mostly wants to do what mom is doing.

Thanks for joining us and sharing Q&Q. I hadn't heard of Little Hands to Heaven so I Googled it and found this site. Sounds like a great resource.

Thanks again to Captivated, Gina, Lea and Q&Q for sharing here at Timothy Moms!

The Lord bless us as we labor for our little children in birth again (spiritually) until Christ is formed in them. (Galatians 4:19)

Welcome Lea!

Lea from Farmhouse Blessings shares her February plans:

This month my older boys & I are memorizing 1 Corinthians 13 ~ often known as the love chapter. For my younger son Colton, we are cutting out construction paper hearts and writing all the characteristics of love that are presented in that chapter.And of course, they will cover our refrigerator with love!

Thanks Lea for sharing! And welcome to Timothy Moms.

Welcome Gina!

Gina commented and joins the Timothy Moms list to the side!

She writes, "Sheila,I have been following both of your blogs for a while and I would love to be on your list of the Timothy Moms. God bless you and yours!"

Welcome Gina! Please feel free to leave a comment with something you'd like to contribute to the posts here.

Anyone else out there???

If you'd like to share something you do with your kids to teach them God's word or something on your heart which is edifying and applies to the subject of being a Timothy Mom (as described in this post) please leave a comment with a link to your post or post your content in the comment itself and I'll be glad to post it.

CALLING ALL TIMOTHY MOMS!

If you have a heart like I do, to teach your kids God's word though you may feel the obstacles are large (i.e. you have a husband like Timothy's mom did according to scripture- see Acts 16:1), then would you please consider contributing what your plans/ideas/what you've done in the past/things that work for you, etc. to this blog so we can all learn from each other and grow as Timothy moms.

If you'd like to join me in contributing to this blog please contact me here and send me an email or leave a comment and I'll get back to you ASAP!