Purposeful Living Archives - Page 2 of 14 - LeeAnn G Taylor

Parenting With Purpose: Using Music to Plant God’s Truths in Our Children’s Hearts

May 4, 2016 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

As a brand new mom with perfectionistic tendencies, I gobbled up every type of parenting resource I could get my hands on. If it was a tip that promised to help me be the best parent possible, I wanted to know it and put it into practice, pronto!

After I spent hours of those early months Googling every possible parenting ‘best practice’, I eventually realized that each person blazes their own unique parenting path. Best is quite subjective in the realm of parenting.

However, occasionally all my searching would turn up a useful nugget of information that made it onto my parenting Pinterest board and eventually into action in our home.

One of the most helpful ideas was a suggestion to turn every day activities into opportunities to incorporate music in our home. It seems that people smarter than me have figured out that our brains process information in the form of music differently from the spoken word.

{You can learn more about the music-learning connection here.}

A peak into our home during those first few years of my daughter’s life would have surely given you multiple opportunities to giggle as you listened to me sing made up songs about everything from diaper changes and bath time to picking up toys and getting dressed.

Those songs may not have rhymed or ever made it into a songbook somewhere, but my kids got a kick out of them and they seemed to clue into my requests more so than if I just jabbered alone.

Kids’ brains are already little sponges, but music opens up their minds in a whole new way. As my children have grown, I’ve used music to teach them basic important information such as our address, phone number, and how to spell their names.

It wasn’t long after implementing this teaching method before I realized I could tap into this God-given natural ability of children to memorize through music for even more important lessons.

As parents seeking to impart God’s truths into our kiddos as they grow, we have an incredible opportunity to capitalize on this natural ability and use music to plant seeds of truth into their hearts!

Those of you who have been around here awhile know that I love to find and share helpful resources to use as we all seek to parent (and grandparent!) with purpose and create God-centered homes.

Today I’m excited to share with you the CD/Book combo My Sing-Along Bible: 50 Easy-Read Stories + 50 Fun Bible Songs.

If you grew up going to Sunday School, you’ll recognize many of the songs sung by the kids on the CD. You’ll hear Jesus Loves Me, Jesus Loves the Little Children, and Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho, plus traditional hymns like All Creatures of Our God and King.

The book has beautiful brightly colored images, a small little devotional for each topic, a scripture verse, and the lyrics to each song. The book works perfectly as a morning quiet time tool for little ones since the sing-along aspect keeps their attention, even when they’re too little to read.

My daughter already has her favorite songs memorized and is working on learning all the books of the Bible by singing along with the two bonus songs at the end, one for the Old Testament and the other for the New Testament.

My son loves to follow along when we listen to the CD in the car. And I love seeing his little chubby hands flipping through the pages while he sings along with the music.

I’m so thankful we have quality tools like this to help teach our kids the Word of God! What are some of YOUR favorite resources for teaching young kids scripture and Biblical truths?

Thank you to Tyndale House Publishers for sharing this book! Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

If you’re interested in connecting with others who are also passionate about creating a God-centered home, I’d love to have you join the Parenting With Purpose Facebook group for encouragement, resources, and inspiration! You can also subscribe to posts by email here.

Parenting With Purpose at Easter

March 24, 2016 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

With Easter upon us in a few short days, I wanted to share a few ideas we’re using this year with our kids to make sure we’re focusing on Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, the true meaning of Easter.

But first, here’s a glimpse into our reality right now with three kids ages 6 and under. This was our attempt at teaching them to share last weekend. I’ll let you guess how long that lasted…

Sharing or not sharing, we still attempt to teach them, right?

It’s the same with Easter. While I know my kiddos won’t understand everything about Jesus’ death and resurrection while they’re still so young, I can still begin to teach them at an age appropriate level.

Now don’t get me wrong; we still enjoy our church’s Easter egg hunt too, complete with bounce houses and face painting because my 6 yr old thinks getting her face painted is truly the best thing ever and who am I to deprive her of that joy?

But it’s so important to us to make sure we’re planting the seeds of truth in their little hearts and minds during a time when the world around us already recognizes that there’s something special going on.

We started this with Salem, our oldest, when she was tiny, just 2 years old, by reading the simple board book What is Easter? (thank you Noni!), a book that acknowledges the bunnies and eggs kids see during this time of year while at the same time introducing the concept that it’s really Jesus that we celebrate. This year it’ll help Kai, our 3 year old, remember that Easter isn’t just about candy and eggs.

I’m trying something new with him this year too. It’s a simple activity called All Wrapped Up Like Jesus. Now, you need to know that I will never, ever, ever call myself a “crafty mom” but this is the kind of activity that only requires supplies you already have on hand. Okay, are you ready, fellow non-crafty moms? This activity’s supply list is….toilet paper. That’s it! Here’s the drill, and I promise, your young kids will love this “active” activity!

Read Matthew 27:57-61.
Take the toilet paper and wrap your child up in “grave clothes”. If you have more than one child, have your kids take turns playing the part of Jesus and wrapping one another up.
After each child is wrapped up, have them try to break loose from the toilet paper. Talk about how Jesus’ followers must have felt when they found out that Jesus was alive.

My older daughter’s favorite Easter activity is to make Resurrection Rolls. These little treats are baking-challenged (that’s me!) mom approved…just 4 ingredients…crescent roll dough (from a can!), marshmallows, sugar and cinnamon.

For this activity, start with reading the Easter story from the Bible. Our favorite Bible for preschoolers is the Jesus Storybook Bible. As you work through the steps of the activity, remind your child about what you just read.

Spread out the crescent roll triangles individually on a baking sheet. These represent Jesus’ tomb.
Next roll one marshmallow first in butter and then in the sugar/cinnamon mixture. This represents Jesus’ body being prepared for burial with oil and spices. If your child is like mine (not okay with cinnamon), then try using red sprinkles to represent blood.
Place the spiced marshmallow in the center of the crescent roll, wrap it up, and press the edges together so the crescent roll seals. This represents the tomb being sealed with the stone.
Bake the crescent rolls according to the directions on the package.
After they cool a bit, let your child open up one of the rolls. The marshmallow is gone – Jesus is alive!

We also use some of the activities from the e-book A Sense of the Resurrection to help bring the sights, smells, and tastes of the Easter story to life. The author, Amanda White, has been a children’s pastor and is fabulous at breaking down complicated concepts into tangible activities that impress God’s Word on our kids’ hearts! She very generously has offered us a discount – use the code MOSAICLIFE for 20% off. This is also great curriculum to use in churches with kids at Easter!

Finally, one of our favorite traditions we started last year is to have what Amanda calls an “UnEaster Basket” or what we call a “Jesus Basket” instead of the traditional Easter basket.

I felt like this was the first time they really “got” the concept of Jesus paying for our sins. I know personally I learn better with object lessons and this one was impactful to my adult-heart too!

I just love it when we can use what’s happening in our world around us to teach biblical principles to our kids and Easter is the perfect time for it!

Whatever you decide to do, I pray you are able to sow seeds of truth into your little ones’ hearts this Easter!

LeeAnn

Parenting With Purpose: 5 Tips on Being Present With Young Kids

January 28, 2016 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

I’d just walked in the door from a mentally exhausting day at work, my body weary from lack of sleep (thank you teething 9 month old baby girl), when Kai, my 3 year old little man, tugged on my shirt. “Mommmmmy, I made a tower.”

“That’s great, honey!,” I replied, still setting down my work bag, breastfeeding pump, and lunch bag from the day.

I heard it again. “Mommmmmmy, I made a tower.” I responded with, “I heard you sweetheart; I’m so glad you had fun today!”

When he retorted with “But mommy, you didn’t look with your eyes,” I quickly realized my son needed more than verbal acknowledgement. He needed me to be present with him.

Sometimes in the midst of the daily routine, the things that keep both our hands and our minds busy, we forget to truly be present with our kids.

5 Tips to Be Present With Your Kids

1. Put down the phone.

Even my littlest kiddo knows when I’m looking at my phone instead of focusing on her and she can barely say “mama”. Put down your phone during the times of the day when the kids are your priority. (This is me preaching to myself here, not throwing stones!) Save the scrolling and checking for when your most precious ones aren’t around.

2. Get down on their level.

Instead of standing over your kids while you’re giving instructions, answering questions, or wiping noses, take the extra second to stoop down to their level. Trust me, they notice! They crave that eye contact just like we do as adults with our friends, coworkers, and family members.

3. Give each child your full attention for 10 minutes each day.

When I first heard this suggestion in a parenting seminar I was appalled that anyone would suggest that just 10 minutes a day of undivided attention for each child is enough to make a true difference. After trying it for

After trying it for the last year or so though, I can see a noticeable difference in my kids’ behavior and attitude when I make sure to set aside 10 minutes of special time per day with each child. They truly notice when I’m present with them, focused enough to start and finish the puzzle, playdoh creation, or coloring sheet instead of getting distracted by the laundry beeping or the phone dinging.

4. Focus on making memories.

Instead of giving in to your child’s every little want or desire, focus on creating experiences that allow you to be present with your child and make special memories both of you will cherish.

5. Savor the moments (especially the little ones).

While you’re making memories, be sure to drink in and savor those moments, especially the little ones. Our small kids grow into big kids and before we know it they will be starting their own families and we’ll wonder why we didn’t appreciate the time we had with them when they were small. Take mental snapshots (and physical ones too!) and enjoy these years with littles around!

What’s your best tip for staying present with your young kids?

Sharing with Five Minute Friday.

It’s a New Year: Let’s Train Our Eyes to See the Light

January 1, 2016 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

There’s something refreshing about a new year. I love the anticipation of hanging a blank new calendar and everything all those empty white blocks represent.

A new outlook.

Another chance.

New experiences and new challenges.

An opportunity to see things differently.

For me, the celebration of the start of a new year is the perfect wrap up to celebrating Jesus’ arrival on this earth as a baby during the Christmas season. Grace and perfect love wrapped in swaddling clothes.

The new year beckons. It says, “Jesus came to be here with us. To redeem us and reconcile us with the Father. Now what will you do with that truth?”

This year, instead of focusing on all our mistakes in the past year, the struggles, the challenges, the missteps, and all the things that plain just went wrong, let’s train our eyes to see the light.

This new year, let’s train our eyes to see the light!

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And if you need a little encouragement, take a quick listen to this song J.J. Heller and her husband Dave wrong last year on New Year’s Eve. (email subscribers, click over to watch – they are such a sweet couple and she has a beautiful voice!)

The song is called This Year and it’s my new favorite way to kick off the new year. Give yourself some grace and focus on the truths of God’s word instead of the lies the world tells you about yourself.

It’s time to embrace the power we have as Christians and begin to live in the freedom and grace of His love so we can more freely share that grace and love with others.

Cheers to a new year and a new you anchored in God’s love for you!

Dear Santa, From a Frazzled Mom

December 23, 2015 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

Thank you to Mary Flo Ridley for giving permission for me to re-post this here and share some Christmas humor with you.

Dear Santa,

I realize you haven’t heard from me in a while. I’ve been a little busy the last few decades, but I find myself desperately in need of some Santa help this year. I’m confident I made the Nice List, but in the off chance that I did slip once or twice, surely I can get a rollover from those years before becoming a parent. I’d like to take advantage of that Christmas gift backlog this year if it’s alright with you.

Attached in this email, you will find letters from my children with their Christmas wishes. Please disregard any requests for gifts that include sweets or toys that make loud noises. My children need no help in that department.

Also, I’d really like an extra hour added to every day, somewhere between 8:30 pm and midnight – you know, after kids are in bed. Also, if you could inspire Darling Husband to dole out back rubs and/or foot massages during that hour, I have no doubt I could unequivocally make the Nice list next year.

If you wouldn’t mind spreading some Christmas magic around a few weeks early, I could really use a miraculous and instantaneous tolerance in my kids’ systems to the outrageous amount of sugar they will be given at the Christmas parties they will attend. I could really do with a sugar-rush-free holiday.

While I have you handing out early presents, how about a house elf to clean rooms and children for company, put up and decorate the tree, shop for kids’ Christmas gifts without said dearies ruining any chance at surprises, put the tree back up after children and/or pets knock it over, and make a feast for 14? You must have a couple extra elves you could spare for the job.

And can I schedule them to return periodically through the year to do some babysitting? I hear elves are great with kids. Of course, if it’s too much hassle hitching up the sleigh every time, I can always send the kids to them for a few days.

Can we find a way to rework the vacation and sick-day policies on my Mom contract? Come to think of it, I never did get that contract in writing. I’d like to renegotiate for at least 2 sick days and one week of child-free vacation a year.

If you’re too busy or unable to handle any of these requests, I will understand, of course, as long as this last and most important Christmas wish is granted. That is to see the pure joy and innocent wonder on my children’s faces as we gather as a family around the tree on Christmas morning. Nothing could compare to the gift of that moment….although if you could throw in a trip for one to Aruba after all of this holiday madness settles down, that would be great too.

Sincerely,
A Frazzled Mom

Sent from my iPhone while simultaneously making dinner, breaking up fights, and checking homework.

Parenting is a gift (but truly, it’s hard work!) and we all can benefit from a little humor this time of year. I hope you all have a wonderfully blessed Christmas and you find time to parent with purpose!

LeeAnn

Gratitude :: The Secret Ingredient

November 26, 2015 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

It’s Thanksgiving, and already the scents from the kitchen are tantalizing me as I think of the feast that awaits us.

In our family, Thanksgiving means time with family, cooking traditional family recipes (including my mom’s famous shredded sweet potato casserole) and always trying a new one (this year it’s The Pioneer Woman’s key lime pie). We watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in the morning, share what we’re grateful for around the table, and settle in for an afternoon of football with leftovers keeping our bellies full and eyes heavy late into the evening.

I can’t wait! It’s one of my favorite days of the year for sure.

So, on this day of reflection, can I share a little secret with you?

Many of you are joining me here after connecting with one my of Parenting with Purpose posts.

Others of you are here because, like me, you’re a recovering perfectionist. Or maybe you grew up in a rules-not-relationship church environment and you’re learning along with me to embrace the love and freedom Christ offers as we grow in faith daily.

No matter your reason for spending time here at Embracing the Mosaic Life, we all share one thing in common. We all struggle. Your struggle may not look exactly like mine but the fall from perfection in the garden of Eden put us all on the same playing field. We’re all broken and we all struggle.

My struggle lately has been a struggle with anxiety and fear. It comes and goes in waves at the most unexpected times. Maybe your current struggle is with something altogether different, but I’d venture a guess that most all of us could say we’ve struggled with anxiety and fear in some area of our lives in the past.

But today as we gather for food and fellowship, I’m reminded that we already have the remedy, (the secret ingredient, if you will) to our fears and worries.

All of us can cultivate a grateful heart.

All of us can cultivate a grateful heart. #Thanksgiving

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Being grateful, remembering to reflect on our blessings, not our worries, our failures, or the unknown, is what centers us, pulls us back to the truth of God’s word, and gives us peace.

Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

As I work through my own struggles, I challenge you to identify an area in which you’re struggling and take one practical step to cultivate gratitude. Write in a journal, reflect on scripture, call a friend, or say a prayer.

Enjoy today with family and friends. Take a moment to let gratitude shape your day, your attitude, your mind, and your heart.

And from one struggling but grateful woman to another, have a wonderfully blessed day!

P.S. Check out the suggested gratitude resources below and be on the lookout for a special holiday edition blog post with my favorite online deals, complete with some exclusive coupon codes & discounts just for you!

Suggested resources:

Choose Gratitude Blessings Journal

Printable Scripture Art Printables/Coloring Sheets for Thanksgiving {free}

100 Creative Ways to Say Thank You to Your Husband

Affiliate links are included in this post. When you click and purchase, I receive a very small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you. These funds help keep the doors open here at Embracing the Mosaic Life and support Eva, our Compassion International child in Columbia.

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