I cannot take credit for finding these precious t-shirts but a friend of mine always has on the cutest tees with the sweetest sayings. She posted her favorite web site this morning on facebook and I couldn’t wait to take a look. Now I know where she gets all of her precious tees!! http://wildolivetees.com is the place to go! They sell women’s classic and fitted tees and children’s tees. All of them are wonderfully made with cute designs and sweet scripture or parts of a bible verse. These are also a great idea to get your friend for a birthday gift. Something they won’t find locally and not everyone will be wearing them. Get your verse on…literally! Read it, wear it and share the word of God!
Most children started school today in our area. What a memorable day for parents and kids! I remember getting dressed in my new outfit and taking pictures outside with my brother and sister under our pine tree on the first day. We were so excited about seeing our friends, wearing our new clothes and meeting our teachers. I know today a lot of parents had mixed emotions about their kiddos going off to school. Some started kindergarten for the first time, others growing up so fast we just don’t know whether to cry or go with it. Such an emotional time. And honestly, as a kid it never phased me that the first day of school might be a hard day for my mom and dad. Now that I am a parent and hear so many of my friends hearts, my views on first day of school have changed. Yes, still exciting and proud my child is entering the next phase of life, but how sad to think how quickly the time goes by.
I am in the middle of reading the book called Fearless, by Max Lucado. Highly recommend it! I came across a quote today of his that really spoke to me. I thought I would share with you as a lot of you have sent kiddos off for the first day of school.
“Feed your fears, and your faith will starve. Feed your faith, and your fears will starve.”
This is our chance as parents to faithfully pray for our kids. Pray for wisdom, boldness, good choices, new friends and a self confidence that allows them to blossom as they grow. If we stay faithful to our God our fears will wash away! Stand on the Rock and know that He is ALWAYS with us.
God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has give you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has give you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. Romans 12:6-8
After reading this verse today I feel inspired! I know we all go through hi’s and low’s with our walk with Jesus and times when we may feel luke warm. My goal for all of us Savvy Mommas is to love Jesus like crazy! An easy way to do this and to show others the love that Jesus has for you is to do exactly what this verse calls us to do. Use your gifts that God has given you, and use them well! I would hate to be face to face with Jesus as I enter heaven and know that I didn’t give it my all while I was here on earth. I know He has given each and everyone of us a talent of some form. So instead of sitting around and being jealous because my friend is really good at one thing, I am going to find the gifts that God has given me and use them. God calls us to be a light for others and this verse just inspired me to step up, be bold and do things better than I have been doing them. Hoping the verse speaks to you in a way that you will see your gifts, use them and thank God for what He has given you!
The Lord is my co-pilot,
I shall not rush,
He maketh me to hit all the green traffic lights
He leadeth me through shopping hassles
He restoreth my composure.
He giveth me strength to make
ends meet for my family’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the
valley of laundry,
I will fear no evil, for Though art with me.
Thy perspective and sense of humor,
they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me
with the assistance of takeout.
Surely clutter and confussion
shall follow me most of the days of my life,
but I shall dwell in a happy home forever.
Amen!
The answer to traveling on this journey called Motherhood… is making
Christ the PILOT and Mom the co-pilot!
“Evening and Morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud; and He
shall hear my voice.” Psalm 55:17
As an information junkie, becoming a mother meant reading every recommended parenting book I could get my hands on. Then I decided they were making me crazy and swore them off. I was through with the guilt I inevitably felt with every turn of the page, tired of the feelings of ineptitude that haunted the ending of each chapter, and finished with the uneasiness that lingered when the suggestions offered did not gel with my experience. I decided—ENOUGH!–my Bible and my mom would be my resources.
Then I stumbled upon Dr. Tim Kimmel’s Grace Based Parenting. Intrigued by a book that unabashedly claimed a place for tenderness and mercy in parenting, I took it home and dove in that night. To my delight, I found, in plain words and with great reliance on Scripture, a revolutionary plan for parenting: follow God’s lead. The premise is simple. God raises us with a profound, life-changing grace. It is His grace that frees us, empowers us, and ultimately saves us. Shouldn’t we then pass it along to our children, creating for them the same kind of foundation we find in our heavenly Father?
Kimmel believes that the goal of graced based parenting should be to meet the three “driving inner needs” for our children—for security, significance and strength. This is accomplished through a “delivery system” that allows them the freedom to be different, vulnerable, candid and to make mistakes. With careful use of Scripture and entertaining personal anecdotes, Kimmel helps to make clear both theological and philosophical ideas.
Lest you think grace based parenting “allows children to make their own decisions at the expense of moral absolutes,” Kimmel argues that any grace absent of truth is not grace at all. He makes a clear case for discipline and consequences. Just as God disciplines us because He loves us, grace based parenting demands that we discipline our children in love.
My only complaint—I wish Dr. Kimmel had given me a few more concrete suggestions for the daily implementation of grace based parenting. Since this is more of a parenting philosophy than a set of step-by-step instructions, he does not spend as much time giving examples of what to do in specific situations.
That said, Kimmel’s book did encourage and challenge me, helping me to realize that while I walk on clay feet, God’s example of mercy, grace and truth in my own life can be a great guide to raising my little loves.
Savvy Mommas is proud to introduce Sharla Bell to all of our readers. Sharla will be giving us great insight on books she has had the time to read. The reason we chose Sharla to do the book reviews is because of her complete passion for writing, reading and sharing what she learned. She graduated from Texas A&M with a B.A. and M.A. in English and taught high school english for 10 years. She also has been a writing tutor and has a true passion for helping children. In her spare time Sharla teaches a 9th grade bible study through her church and is highly involved in her 2 boys schools and extra cirriculur lives. Sharla will be bringing great insight to all of us Savvy Mommas and recommend books she finds are worth are time to read. We hope you enjoy what Sharla has to share with us and pick up the books she recommends.
1 cup whole pecans
1 tsp. vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch salt
1 cup sugar
zipper baggie
wooden spoon
tape
A Bible
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. This is important! Don’t wait until you’re
half done with the recipe!
Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested,
He was beaten by the Roman soldiers.
Read John 19:1-3.
Let each child smell the vinegar.
Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl.
Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross,
He was given vinegar to drink.
Read John 19:28-30.
Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life.
Explain that 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 Ps. 34:8 and John 3:16.
Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 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 Isa. 1:18 and John 3:1-3.
Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie
sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus’ body was laid.
Read Matt. 27:57-60.
Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF.
Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that
Jesus’ tomb was sealed.
Read Matt. 27:65-66.
NOW GO TO BED!
Explain 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 Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first
Easter, Jesus’ followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.
Read Matt. 28:1-9
Share “The Easter Cookie Story” With Your Friends.
The prophet Jeremiah of the Old Testament is often referred to as “the prophet of doom and the prophet of restoration.” God called Jeremiah and commissioned him at a young age. Jeremiah was often characterized by his anguish, so often that he is sometimes referred to by scholars as the “weeping prophet.” However, because of his clear and unquestionable divine calling and the Lord’s constant reaffirmation of his commissioning, Jeremiah was fearless and served the Lord wholeheartedly!
Pay close attention to a portion of God’s call and commission to Jeremiah:
“Do not say, ‘I am a youth; Because everywhere I send you, you shall go, and all that I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,’ declares the Lord. Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, ‘Behold I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms; To pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.’” Jeremiah 1:7-10
If the Lord has called you to be one of His children, He has called and commissioned you to be a disciple of Jesus. He has called you to Himself to do the many works He has prepared for you before you were even born (see Ephesians 2:10). Jeremiah was a great example for us in our high calling as disciples of Christ. We are never to use the excuse “I am too young” or “I just don’t know enough” or “I just don’t have the experience” to keep us from the work of the Lord. Neither youth nor inexperience disqualifies us to do His great work or speak His amazing truths to others. The Lord has commissioned YOU and therefore will sustain you and equip you with everything you need to the job He has called you to do. Your confidence and self esteem MUST abide in the Lord your God alone! You have not been called to live in fear of your high commissioning because God, who has brought you right to the place you are now, will deliver you from the hand of evil and of this world. He does not promise, however, that you will not face persecution or difficult times (He actually tells us the opposite in John 16:33 and elsewhere in the New Testament), but that He will be with you and deliver you in those challenging times. Then in Jeremiah 1:9, the Lord tells Jeremiah He will even give him the words to speak! Wow! And He has likewise given us the Holy Spirit so that we may know what to speak in times of uncertainty!
So now I ask, “Are you doing the job that God has put you on this earth to do? Are you living the life He has called and commissioned you for? Or are you hiding behind a veil of fear and uncertainty?
My prayer for you this week comes from Ephesians 1:17-19
“that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe…”
As I mourn the loss of a very close family friend (my Godparent’s son), I wanted to remind each of you to live each day to it’s fullest. Don’t let the small things ruin a friendship or get in the way of a relationship. Let bygones be bygones and cherish the one’s you love. Tragedy can strike at any time. Only God knows when it is your time to go. Only question I have for you…are you ready?
Trust in the Lord your God for He is good. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. When darkeness hides His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace. In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil. On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.
“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: that one lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” John 15:12-14
Jesus commands us in these verses to love each other as He loves us. That is a high calling! Then He continues to say that the greatest love we can show is to lay down our lives for our friends. He loves us so much that that is precisely what He did for us….He laid down His life for us so that we may have life. I love the words to the song Lead Me To The Cross:
Lead me to the cross,
Where Your love poured out.
Bring me to my knees,
Lord I lay me down.
Rid me of myself
I belong to You.
Lead me, lead me to the cross.
Christ poured out His love for us on the cross. He commands us, if we are to be His followers, His disciples, to lay down our lives for Him. If we are His friend, we will do just as He commands. We will give up our selfish, prideful selves to gain life in Him. If we do not lay down our lives and turn all control over to Him, how can we say that we love Jesus just as He loves us? If we cannot or will not turn our lives entirely over to Him, we will never know true love. If we do not know God, we do not know Love. Because God is Love (1 John 4:8). The two cannot truly exist apart from one another. We cannot love others the way Jesus calls us to love if we do not know Him and love Him. It is sacrificial love. Have you laid down your life for Christ? If you have not, you do not know what love He is speaking of. You have never experienced the greatest, most freeing love imaginable. If you have laid down your life for Him and denied yourself to follow hard after Him above everything else, you are experiencing the most amazing love there is: a deep, undying love for Jesus. Love that will literally bring you to your knees!
Heavenly Father, bring us to our knees and teach us to love just as you love us! May we experience true Love, which cannot exist apart from You because You are Love. Thank you for showing us what real love is through Your Son Jesus, who laid down His life for us. Thank You for being madly in love with us and desiring us to be madly in love with You! And Lord, once we fall head over heals in love with You, teach us to love others with the same sacrificial love. We love you. Amen.
