Archives for October 2014

Parenting With Purpose: Reflection & Renewal – PLUS, Enter to WIN our Favorite Things {$250 in Prizes}

October 27, 2014 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

I just returned home yesterday from Allume, a Christian women’s blogging conference. It was a beautiful time of connection, reflection, and renewal.

While the logistics with childcare were a bit tricky this week, I’ve found that getting away for even just a day or two for a women’s retreat or conference allows me to return home refreshed. This means I’m a better mom and wife when I come home than when I left. It’s hard to argue with that benefit!

As you seek to parent with purpose, I’d encourage you to start looking at options for getting away for a few days yourself. Plan to attend your church’s women’s retreat or look for one of these in your area: Extraordinary Women Conference, Living Proof Live, Women of Faith.

Invest in your own spiritual development as a mom and you’ll come home a better and more purposeful parent!

Now For the Giveaway!

While away this past week, I met lots of blogging friends in person who I’d previously met only online. It was an incredible time of relationship building with lots of laughter!

There were so many moments of blessings and now I’d like to bless YOU! Some of my blogging friends and I have joined together to provide our readers with a fun giveaway this week of some of our favorite things.

As we head into the Thanksgiving season, this is just a little way to say “thank you” for the incredible blog readers and friends you are.

Enter to win below using the Rafflecopter form {email subscribers, click over to the blog to enter}. There are up to 58 entries available per person, so you have a great chance of winning this amazing prize pack. The winner will receive the items mailed directly to them by each participating blogger.

I’d love for the winner to be from The Mosaic Life community, so enter away! The giveaway ends October 31st, so if you’d like to use any of these items as Christmas gifts and you’re the winner, you should receive them in plenty of time.

Kayse is giving away a collection of Martha Stewart Office Items.
Britta is giving away a Conair Power Facial Cleanser
Jennifer is giving away a “Be Still” print.
Monica is giving away a Let It Go (by Karen Ehman) Study Pack!
Erika is giving away a super cute coffee cozy of your choice.
Carey is giving away Cravings, a daily devotional for moms.
Kristin is giving away 2 books by Angie Smith – For Such a Time as This & Audrey Bunny.
Anna is giving away a candle, tea, and chocolate.
Bethany is giving away a Ginger & Lime Sugar Scrub & a 5ml bottle of Wild Orange Essential Oil.
Jamie is giving away a Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.
Amanda is giving away a framed print and a $10 gift card to Starbucks.
LeeAnn is giving away a set of linen notecards.

Enter to Win! {Rafflecopter}

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Looking for more ideas and resources for Parenting With Purpose as you create a God-centered home? You can find the whole series here.

This post contains affiliate links {full disclosure}.

Parenting With Purpose: Intentional Christmas {Focus on What Matters Most}

October 25, 2014 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

I’m away at Allume this week, a writing & blogging conference for Christian women. Today I’m sharing a guest post I wrote on my husband’s blog last year before my online home was up and running. I hope it gives you some ideas for focusing on what matters most this Christmas with your children.

Want to make Christmas REALLY meaningful this year?

If you are anything like me, the holiday season can quickly get overwhelming! With red and green showing up in stores before the ghosts and ghouls clearance items have left the shelves, we are shoved into the commercialism of everything Christmas.

In our hearts we know that Jesus is the reason for the season, but how do we live that out in front of our children in the days leading up to the annual celebration of Jesus’ birth when our world spins for days around candy, Santa, lights, decorations, Christmas trees, Elf on the Shelf, school parties, and more?!

The answer?

{Click to find out and read the rest of the post on my husband’s site, Sage Garden Care Center.}

Looking for more ideas and resources for Parenting With Purpose as you create a God-centered home? You can find the whole series here.

Parenting With Purpose: No More Yelling {Wisdom from Proverbs 15:1}

October 24, 2014 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

It had been a long day at work and I came home to the babysitter playing outside in the leaves with the kids.

The weather was perfect with a slight breeze and the cool crisp air filling our lungs. Inside my heart though, I was distracted by my ever-growing to-do list and the tiredness caused by the wiggly baby growing in my ever-expanding belly.

The kids, covered in pieces of leaves, needed a bath desperately. I quickly stripped them down and filled the tub with soapy water. The bathroom is attached to the kitchen, so I popped my head around the corner to see what was in the refrigerator that I could turn into dinner fairly quickly. In the 2.5 seconds I was gone, the kids managed to fill the floor with, let’s just say, more than just a few drops of water with their splashing.

Normally a calm momma, I turned into the classic yelling momma. The kids know that bath water doesn’t belong on the floor but they got carried away playing and that’s where the water ended up. Tired already, yelling was my response. Immediately I regretted my words and changed my tone.

We ended up having cereal and fruit for dinner because it was all I could manage. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit brought this scripture to mind and I changed my words and my attitude with the kids. The evening ended with sweet snuggles on the couch and reading our new favorite bedtime book, Treasury of Bible Stories. The evening was redeemed!

Today, I pray that you also are reminded of this truth in Proverbs and that your evenings are filled with gentle answers.

Looking for more ideas and resources for Parenting With Purpose as you create a God-centered home? You can find the whole series here.

This post contains affiliate links {full disclosure}.

Parenting With Purpose: Day 20 – Train ‘Em Up Book Series

October 23, 2014 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

This past weekend we went on a whirlwind trip to the mountains for a relative’s wedding. It was an absolutely gorgeous location and a beautiful time to reflect on the importance of strong marriages as we seek to build God-centered homes for our children.

On the way, I took a new book I received from Tyndale House Publishing for review. Normally I’m reviewing spiritual development books to find the great ones to share with you; but this time, knowing this parenting series was coming up, I signed up to review a kids book instead. I’m so glad I did!

Tell Me About Prayer is a book in the Train ‘Em Up book series. I loved so many things about this book!

Geared for kids ages 4-7, even my 2 year old loved the songs on the CD that accompanies the book. My 5 year old kept asking to listen to it over…and over…and over…until we decided it was time to take a break!

8 Reasons Our Family Loves the Train ‘Em Up Book Series

Here’s what we loved about it:

1. A train conductor named Steve narrates the story. They just won over my son for sure! It’s complete with all the important train “noises” you would expect from a “choo-choo” adventure.

2. The overall concept of prayer is a difficult one for kids to understand but the book is broken down into simple explanations about what prayer is and what it’s for.

3. There is a sticker page. All kids love stickers. No more explanation needed!

4. My daughter is just now learning to read so listening to the words and following along in the book was an academic exercise in addition to a spiritual growth one.

5. In addition to the narration and music included in the book there are extra songs at the end that support the concept discussed.

6. Kids sing the words but I found myself impressed with the quality of the background music behind the words. Let’s just say with kids music, this isn’t always the case.

7. The Train ‘Em Up book series covers a variety of sometimes challenging topics on a kid’s level. Other topics include: Tell Me about the Bible, Salvation, Church, Baptism, Faith, Grace, and Praise & Worship.

8. The books are affordable. With each one priced at $5.00, these make fabulous birthday or Christmas gifts!

More about the Train ‘Em Up book series:

Train ’Em Up is an interactive, fun-filled, and affordable series that uses a train locomotive theme for teaching kids core Christian beliefs and principles. In Tell Me about Prayer, a friendly train conductor, Mr. Steve, teaches kids what prayer is all about, how we should talk to God, and why our conversations are so important to Him. Through bold graphics and interactive songs and stories, Train ’Em Up makes it easy for parents and teachers to explain biblical concepts like prayer in a way that helps with attention, memorization, and recall while building a solid faith foundation. Each book in the series includes a CD with sing-along songs and narrated stories with sound effects, plus a colorful sticker sheet!

Looking for more ideas and resources for Parenting With Purpose as you create a God-centered home? You can find the whole series here.

This post contains affiliate links {full disclosure}.

Parenting With Purpose: Day 19 – How To Teach Kids About Jesus’ Resurrection

October 22, 2014 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

I’m headed to Allume this week, a writing & blogging conference for Christian women. Today I’m sharing a post I wrote back in the spring.

Below you’ll find links to 10 different hands-on activities and books to help you teach your kids, a Sunday School class, your homeschool group, or any other group of kids all about Jesus’ resurrection.

Jesus’ resurrection can be a difficult topic even for adults to wrap our minds around, but these ideas from around the internet will give you some practical ideas to help kids understand the concept a little easier.

10 Ways to Teach Kids About Jesus’ Resurrection: Hands-On Activities & Books

1. Resurrection Rolls

2. A Sense of the Resurrection: An Easter Experience for Families

3. Read a Children’s Book about Easter

4. Wash Each Others’ Feet

5. Resurrection Eggs

6. Read the Easter Story from a Children’s Bible

7. The Legend of the Sand Dollar

8. Easter Scavenger Hunt

9. All Wrapped Up Like Jesus

10. Easter Jesus Tree

10 Ways to Teach Kids About Easter

Looking for more ideas and resources for Parenting With Purpose as you create a God-centered home? You can find the whole series here.

Parenting With Purpose: Day 18 – Scripture Wall Art

October 21, 2014 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

On Day 5 of the Parenting With Purpose series, we talked about 3 Key Ways to Make God’s Word a Priority in Your Home.

The keys to making God’s word a priority in your home are found in Deuteronomy 6:6-9.

These words that I am commanding you today must always be on your minds. Recite them to your children. Talk about them when you are sitting around your house and when you are out and about, when you are lying down and when you are getting up.Tie them on your hand as a sign. They should be on your forehead as a symbol. Write them on your house’s doorframes and on your city’s gates.

As parents, we are instructed to:

1. Fill our own hearts and minds with God’s Word first.

2.Talk about God’s story and His Word in our homes and read God’s Word out loud.

3. Fill our homes with visual representations of God’s Word.

Ways to Fill Your Home With Visual Representations of God’s Word

In this series, we’ve talked about filling our own hearts and minds with God’s Word first by cultivating a morning quiet time.

We’ve also talked about some ideas for sharing God’s story and His Word in our homes with our kids:

Today I’m sharing a few resources that will help us fill our homes with visual representations of God’s Word. This is an area I’ve wanted to focus on in our home for awhile. I think it’s such an important way to impress God’s Word into our hearts and minds on a daily basis.

Here are a few options I’ve found:

DIY Bible Verse Wall Art for Under $9 – free do-it-yourself tutorial (update: link no longer available)

DIY Bible Verse Wall Art for Under $9

Scripture Wall Art on Amazon – prices start at $7.00 for wall decals

Red Letter Words: Faith Inspired Art – check out the Print of the Month for 20% off

All Good Things Collective – a family-based business – Scripture Prints section

Do you have a favorite place online to find scripture based wall art? What other ways do you ensure you have visual representations of God’s Word in your home? Share in the comments so we can all benefit from your great ideas!

Looking for more ideas and resources for Parenting With Purpose as you create a God-centered home? You can find the whole series here.

This post contains affiliate links {full disclosure}.