Favorite Christmas Studies & Countdowns

This month I plan to share a few of my favorite things to do over the holidays.  To start off I wanted to share some resources that will make your life so much easier and help you to focus in on the true meaning of Christmas.

A few specific things I love about all these resources:

• They all focus on the true meaning of Christmas and make it easy for parents to teach it to their kiddos.
• All can be purchased as PDF downloads, so you’ll get them immediately.
• A lot is provided for you to make your life simpler.

Grapevine Studies – Birth of Jesus: (Focus Bible Study and Stick Figuring) This 7 lesson bible study is a perfect to way to learn more about the Birth of Jesus.  Preschool and kindergarten students will travel back in time to study the events that surrounded the Nativity.  They will study each lesson by listening as you read passages from the Bible.  They will then draw each section of Scripture, also known as stick figuring. (Stick figuring is using stick figures, symbols, colors, charts, and words to illustrate each Bible passage.) This method allows students to interact with the Bible passage and be as creative as they desire.  On top of there is very little prep, making it a plus for busy moms.  I plan to include several of the lessons into our Christmas countdown.

Use the following coupon code MT2012 and receive a 20% discount on all items not already on sale until November 30th!! (Make sure you grab the Teacher & Student edition.)

Truth in the Tinsel: (Focus Bible Study and Crafts) Impress the true meaning of Christmas, while counting down to December 25th with your kiddo at the same time.   Spend December impressing God’s Word on your kids’ heart! You’ll get 24 days of Scripture reading, ornament crafts, talking points and extension activities. Plus fun printables and templates!  Read my full review here.

Amanda just released PRINTABLE ORNAMENTS!  This is a new additional supplement for when you need a quick craft or a break from your normal activity.  To purchase just scroll down to the bottom of the page.  These printable ornaments are not mandatory for using Truth in the Tinsel. 

What’s in the Bible? – Everyday Emmanuel: (Focus Family Time, Advent Devotionals & Big Questions About Christmas) Is a fun, easy-to-use family Christmas Countdown experience designed to help families make the most of Christmas and better understand the true meaning of the season.  It includes Countdown to Christmas Calendar, Weekly Advent Devotionals & Ornament Activity, Weekly Big Questions About Christmas & Discussion Guide, Family Activity Ideas, Seven “print and use” activities, Online access to videos & additional resources, and Helpful tips to save you time & money.

Also make sure and check out Buck Denver Asks Why Do We Call It Christmas? It's the perfect companion to Everyday Emmanuel and makes a great Christmas gift, too! Besides that you can score a great deal if you buy them together. (Apply discount code on the last page of checkout.) Read my full review here.

What are you favorites?

A Mommy Talks Disclosure:  Please be aware that affiliate links may be present.  If you purchase anything through an affiliate link, you give back a percentage to our family…thanks!

Waiving the White Flag

I’m so excited to have Brooke from A Life in Need of Change guest posting today!  I hope after reading her post you’ll be joining me in her challenge.

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Are you the mother of boys who often finds herself ready to waive the white flag in defeat?

 

Do they drain you, overwhelm you, steal your heart, break your heart and cause you more anxiety than you ever dreamed possible? Maybe you only have one boy amongst a sea of estrogen and you just can’t figure out how to respond to him in a way that affirms all that is good about his masculinity.

You're not alone.

Last May, over 1300 women and a few dads in SEVEN different countries joined together to pray purposefully and passionately for the hearts of their sons in a challenge called 21 Days of Prayer for Sons. 21 Days is based on the best-selling eBook Warrior Prayers: Praying the Word for Boys in the Areas They Need it Most.

Even our best parenting efforts don't come with a guarantee. As much as we might wish we could change their hearts of stone to hearts of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26), we can't. But we serve a God who can. Knowing this, it becomes quite clear that there is only one thing we can do…

Plead with God.

Pray.

“The fervent prayers of a righteous man avails much.” James 5:17.

It’s our hope. The next 21 Days of Prayer for Sons challenge starts September 6 and ends September 26, 2011. How can you participate? Easy!

1. Purchase your own copy of Warrior Prayers: Praying the Word for Boys in the Areas They Need it Most (just $5.97 as a PDF download or on Amazon Kindle!) You could, in theory, participate in the challenge without a personal copy, but your experience will be much deeper and richer with it.
2. Commit to praying for your son(s) or grandsons 10 times a day for 21 days straight. This is a huge commitment, so if you feel God leading you to participate, pray and ask Him to give you the strength and endurance you need.
3. Consider leading your own group on your blog or in your community!
4. Sign-up HERE!

Get inspired by recent participants!

“This challenge…has given me my joy back in mothering” ~LaToya “Thank you for giving me a tangible method for transformation in my family!!” ~Anne “Thanks, Brooke for your help. I’ve always known that God was listening; I just didn’t know what to say!” ~Laurel “So many heart changes are going on in our home and I’m just so thankful…” ~Ashley

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Brooke is a mom of two young boys who leave her desperate for God’s grace. Her pursuit of being a better mom has left her at the foot of the cross, knowing that if God doesn’t show up … nothing happens. This dependence upon God to turn hearts of stone to hearts of flesh leads her to her knees in prayer. She’s the author of the best-selling eBook Warrior Prayers: Praying the Word for Boys in the Areas They Need it Most, creator of the 21 Days of Prayer for Sons challenge and co-founder of the well-loved online community for mothers of boys, the M.O.B. Society. She offers hope for change to the hearts of women at her main blog, A Life in Need of Change.

A Title Won’t Do it Justice

Taking time this morning to remember what my Jesus did for me today. Proving that He loved me and you so much that he was willing to suffer and die. Words aren’t enough.

Anticipation

Every few months I find it hard to sleep.  I toss and turn through the night, checking the clock to see if it is time yet.  I’m anxious with anticipation.  Why all the excitement you ask? Well, I’m looking forward to taking my temperature.  Yep, it is exciting stuff. 

You see for the past 2 years we have struggled with secondary infertility. Secondary infertility is the inability to conceive or maintain a pregnancy after having successfully done so before.  So, every few months I find it hard to sleep because I want to see if my temperature stays up past my luteal phase, an early sign of pregnancy.  As the day gets closer, the harder it is for me to sleep.  The more I look forward to waking up to discover if this is our time.  Wondering, “Will this be the month that we are blessed with another baby?”

But this post isn’t about infertility, it is about a conviction.  My conviction. While in church, my mind began to wonder and something said brought me to my mornings.  It made my heart sink.  I began hearing questions in my head from a familiar voice. 

“You don’t toss and turn because of Me.  You’re not anxious with anticipation to be with Me in the morning.  You don’t look forward to getting into My word. In fact, you dread waking up other days of the month.  You rather just sleep in.”

Ouch.

His words hurt because they were true.  All of them.  And it leads me to the ask the question, “Why?”

• Why am I not so anxious to be with my Savior, who gave His life to be with me for eternity, that it wakes me up in the morning with anticipation?
• Why am I not looking forward to waking up to listen and see what He wants to share with me?  (Because when I do, I’m always amazed by what He is teaching me.)
• Why am I not full of  excitement to wake up and greet the One who never gave up on me, who stood by my side, who meticulously planted seeds in my life, so that I would one day know His great love?
• Why?

God has sure left me with a lot to think about and to improve upon.  But I am so gracious that my inconsistencies and selfishness doesn’t keep my God from loving me.

What things tempt you from getting in the word daily?

Must See- Don't Stop Believing

This video is definitely a MUST SEE in my book.  Listen closely to the words…as it shares the message of a savior’s birth!

Wasn’t it awesome?  I loved it!

Shower Connections

Preface:  I am not eloquent in words.  I get flustered in thought and my fingers often stumble.  I re-think and re-word the thoughts and ramblings in my mind.  I’m not a story creator, even though I long to be entertaining.  I’m plain, straight to the point and sometimes blunt. 

With all this said, I’ve learned something a few weeks ago, but since I didn’t have a story or a way to present it, I’ve yet to share it.  But, I’m not going to wait any longer.  I’m just going to be blunt to spit the words from my mouth and let God do the rest because He is the one who brought it to my attention.  So, here it goes…

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I was enjoying my quiet time, in the only place I can get it…the shower.  I was catching the water in my hand.  As I carried the water up closer to my face, I noticed how much louder the water got.  I was immediately given a visual. 

A waterfall.  Have you ever had the pleasure of standing near the bottom of a waterfall?  It is quite loud! 

Well as I made that realization, I made another connection. 

God is like a waterfall. 

You see, the closer you are to a waterfall the louder and clearer it becomes.  And the further you get from it the harder it is to hear.  The waterfall never moves, it is always there.  It is always loud. 

The same is true with God, as I have learned throughout my life.  The closer I am to God, the more I can hear and understand Him.  And in those moments when I cannot hear Him, it is me not God who has moved away.  For God is always there.

I find it so wonderful…being able to see God and to know Him.  He is declared all around us.

Psalm 19:1-4 (NIV) The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.

Check out what others have been learning at:

Live Deeply

A couple of weeks ago was the official start to my women’s bible study for the Fall.  I have to confess that I was really excited!  I took the summer off and I was counting down the days when the Fall session would start.  In this session we are using the book Live Deeply to help us focus in on the Parables.

The first parable we discussed was the Parable of the Sower.    (Follow the link to read its entirety for yourself.)

It's always fun for me to look back at something I’ve read many times before and discover something new.  I never realized how easily I can relate to each seed in this story.  In fact, my “new discovery” was that at one point or another in my life I have been each and every one of those seeds. 

I have been the seed that was sown along the path.  I heard the message, but I didn’t get it.

I was the seed that fell on the rocky places.  I heard the word and it filled me with excitement for a short time, but I quickly lost faith and was easily swayed in my beliefs because I had no root. 

I was and sometimes I still am the seed that fell among the thorns. Life’s distractions and worries can often cause me to focus on me, instead of doing what I am called to do.  To share the good news.  Many times the thorns prevent me from reaching out to the ones I love the most, for fear of rejection.  I worry that if I share my Hope, I will lose them.  My heart aches for them.  I love them so.

I have had moments and hope to one day remain the seed that fell on good soil.  I understand the message, I know what it says. I know the truth.  I know my future.  What I don’t know, is how much fruit am I bearing.  Not much yet, but there is still time. 

I pray that I am a seed that produces a crop that yields a hundred times what was sown.  I pray that I don’t just see and hear, but that I understand and I perceive always.

Check out what others have been learning at: