So for a lot of the world, boredom is real. I read in a meme that pandas can eat 13 hours a day…hence calling this a “pandemic.” Need a couple of fresh ideas while you’re bored in quarantine?
Try these jigsaw puzzles from White Mountain with icons from the 80’s and the 90’s–serious conversation starters. (“Dad, who was Michael Jackson?”)
My daughter’s headed to winter camp soon, which she adores. This morning, over an increasingly plain-looking Greek yogurt parfait, she gushed about camp’s breakfast buffet. She loves the free time, the reconnecting with old friends.
But in light of her anxiety issues, and apparently a night last year when she laid awake till 2, she’s already nervous about getting to sleep.
(All those suggestions in the Help! My Kid Can’t Sleep post? Those are hard-won, peeps.)
Several weeks ago, I sat in a back room of the church amidst some storage shelves, music stands, and VBS material. Though the walls are cinder block, the seating leaves something to be desired, and the carpet perches on concrete, it’s been a good place for me.
It’s a good place to have a think.
Someone asked me recently how I talk to my daughter about modesty. It was a conversation morphing into how to help our daughters see their bodies as important, but not too important. (See this post, Naked Truth about Body Image.)
Incessantly telling her she’s beautiful—though I honestly believe she is–doesn’t seem to be the answer: “Don’t worry about looking beautiful. You’ve got that one down!”
In my last resource review, I mentioned my oldest was three when he memorized the story of David and Goliath. And it was from this Bible. The mental image of him in his toddler bed jutting out from the corner, the blond ringlets you could stick your finger through, the PJ’s that read “I heart Dad” with the matching striped pants.
“I am not afraid to fight the giant,” said David. King Saul called for David and told him, “You cannot fight the giant. You are too young.”
David replied, “God will be with me.”
Some of the times I’ve felt most connected with my kids–since they were very, very small–have been enjoying books together. Grant it, this was often right before naptime. So there could have been good vibes all around. But there was something about their warm heads smelling of baby shampoo…and boy sweat. My kids sweat a lot. Maybe it’s because they were so rowdy that I loved this time when we were at last not moving or wiggling as much. My daughter was the only one who was much of a cuddler, so finally, we were feeling connected. At one point I calculated we were reading about 45 minutes a day.
And I know I’m not the only mom amazed by the steel trap that is a child’s mind. Before my son could read, he could “read” me, pretty much verbatim, the story of David and Goliath we’d read over. And over. And over in his children’s Bible.
That’s the thing about reading together, right? Reading, in its own way, catechizes our kids. We’re connecting building their brains and their character with a relationship. Over and over, we’re lining their minds with thoughts that form worldviews.
Switching out what’s on my fridge is a lazy easy way to continue to help my kids meditate on Scripture without even knowing it. And let’s face it; I feel really dumb when I refer to the “4:29 Rule” when my kids’ mouths need some work, and they look at me like they have no idea what I’m talking about (see poster #1). Here’s to Friday for all of us who could use a low-ball.
I’ve written a lot lately about spiritual disciplines for real families (check out the series here for lots of practical ideas). This summer, I’m creating some incentives for my kids to squirrel away a few more verses in their minds–and hopefully even deeper than that.
Because summer’s here and it’s a great time to try something fresh, I’ve made some more Scripture memory cards (they’re great for wallets and pockets, but great scotch-taped inside the medicine cabinet and the cupboard, too, or even dropped in a lunchbox).
I’ve written a lot lately about spiritual disciplines for real families (check out the series here for lots of practical ideas).
Because I want this in my own family, I spent a bit of last Saturday scouring Pinterest for some Scripture memory cards (they’re great for wallets and pockets, but great scotch-taped inside the medicine cabinet and the cupboard, too, or even dropped in a lunchbox). It’s harder for me to find Scripture memory cards where you don’t have to subscribe to a site. So today, a few pretty Scripture memory cards for you from Colossians 3:1-6, 12-17.
I’m tickled pink about today’s freebie. And I’d love your help in passing it on, pinning it, or sharing it with people who might use it.
After teaching refugees for three years, I had a wish list. I wanted a free, printable discipleship guide that could take students through basic concepts of Christianity. I wanted it to be useful for a single person or in small groups. I wanted discussion questions and verses to memorize. But as much as I love to play with words in my own writing–I needed something without complex idioms or words that would discourage or confuse an early English speaker.
![Now You're Speaking My [Love] Language](https://www.janelbreitenstein.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/love-languages-text-1.jpg "Now You're Speaking My [Love] Language")
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