Rage Agaist the Mini Van

I hope you take time to read this post that was written by a sweet young woman. Her words are well placed and need to be heard. YOU can make a difference in the life of one like her.

The topic of single adults who's desire it is to be married yet for some reason God has not opened that door is one that is not acknowledged much at all in life and in 'church.'
I was single for 10 years longer than I would have planned and I can tell you that depression, anger and loneliness were a dark cloud over me constantly. Always wondering 'Why?'

I am married now and have the family I cried out for all of those years and I rejoice, thank and praise God for where He has allowed me to walk!

My twin sister is 37 and still longs for companionship. My heart aches for her. Truly.
The blog post link below sheds a clearer light into this life of adult singleness and it's pain. I share it with you hoping you can and will be more sensitive to those in this situation in your life and can minister to them more effectively.
Read the post here: http://www.rageagainsttheminivan.com/2011/04/what-i-want-you-to-know-being-33-and.html

Resurrection Sunday!

We all have our little quirks. I will flat out tell you that I believe Easter is not real (nor is the Easter Bunny nor is Santa). But, the resurrection of Jesus is REAL! I prefer to say "Happy Resurrection Day!" It really helps ME to remember the most important things that Jesus asks us to remember ~ his Death ~ his Burial ~ his Resurrection!

I am sure most of you have heard of the cute little resurrection eggs that most christian bookstores sell. They really are a neat idea. We have a set and my kids love to play with the little pieces. But I tell you, I have the darnedest time trying to keep the right trinket with the right number on the egg and that is if we can find all the eggs! So, this year I started something new.

THE TREASURE BOX

This has been gleaned from the children's book
Benjamin's Box: The Story of the Resurrection Eggs


This great little book is about Benjamin who lives in Jesus time and he has an empty treasure box. One by one he follows Jesus just before he is crucified and collects items that he will treasure as he remembers.

I read the book to my kids and with each page we added the same item that Benjamin adds to our own treasure box.

One by one they added these pieces (from the resurrection eggs) into the box.

What a fun time they had with it. What a wonderful keepsake to keep our treasure box on display on our bookshelf to interact with and to remember Him.

Heaven on My Mind

Heaven is for Real

A little boy's astounding story of his trip to heaven and back.

This book has gripped me from page one. Thanks to a long wait at a doctors office, I read it in two days. This book is definitely worth the read. My eyes have been opened to a more real place called Heaven. I was raised in the church and in fact my own dad was a minister/pastor but heaven seems so.... far off... so... vague.

The interesting thing about this book  is that these things come from the mouth of a child. He says things no 4/5 year old would know. I am convinced this really did happen to him. I love that the things he passionately talks about that he saw in heaven dealt mostly with relationships! Not golden streets or gorgeous waterfalls but relationships!

I pray people across the nation will read this book and I pray it will trigger a revival!
If you do buy it, read it, and DON'T put it back on your shelf. Lend it out or pass it on. Share it with others! In fact, I plan to share bits and pieces with my 5 year old.

Let's keep heaven on our minds!

I would love to hear your comments about this book once you have read it.



April brings beauty!

I am thrilled that April has arrived! Although it is still gray and damp where I live, I see evidence of the beauty to come! There are little green shoots popping up in our front yard!

I am also thrilled to share with you something else that I think shows it beauty.
During the month of April, Lilla Rose has a special one time offer of  this flexi clip.

It is called "1 MAJESTIC CROSS"
They come in six sizes to suit various hair types. Click here to see more.

Another reason this hair clip is so beautiful is because of what it represents.

The MAJESTIC CROSS.

My heart pounds a little harder in April because of Easter.  I daily think of the sacrifice Jesus made for our sin, His POWER over death, and the eternal life He has offered us. But in the month of April, we see more people and more things that continually remind us of these truths.
I want to shout it from the roof tops.
HE HAS TAKEN YOUR PUNISHMENT.
HE HAS OVERCOME DEATH!
HE IS ALIVE!
HE IS COMING BACK AGAIN.
HOW CAN YOU IGNORE THESE FACTS?
PLEASE LISTEN AND RESPOND TO HIM WHO IS CALLING YOU
TO HIMSELF!

I pray for a deeper love for HIM and HIS word.
And for a love for people.

I think He wants to answer a prayer like that.
To God be the Glory!

Christian Kids Radio Online

I know it has been a long time since I posted anything ~ no excuses here.
But I did want to say Happy 2011 to you all and I also wanted to share a great FREE resource for you and your children.

While my kids are at the table for eating or playing playdoh I play Karen & Kids radio online. Check it out I think you may be pleased. I am all for filling my children's heart and mind with godly things. Let no time be idol.

International House of Prayer (IHOP)

Have you ever heard of IHOP? No, not International House of Pancakes. It is the International House of Prayer.

In Kansas City, there is a group of believers who have gathered from across the globe to be a part if 24 hour a day prayer and worship. There is always someone there to pray or sing at all times. The leads take two hour shifts and they sing all kinds of songs and often sing as the Spirit leads. It is amazing to hear what comes out when you devote this kind of time to the Lord. It has been going non stop for about 10 years now. I had the privilege of going for 6 days a few years ago and boy did it do big things for my spiritual life.

When you spend that much time uninterrupted and focused on God, and calling out to him, it is life changing. Recently, they have made it viewable via Internet! At no cost!

So go to www.ihop.org and you can read about it or go directly here to get to the Prayer Room live webstream.

My personal favorite singer is Misty Edwards. Talk about anointed! I have seen her sing the book of Song of Solomon and have heard she also sings other stories in the bible. She is on Saturdays at 2 til 4 pm. You can go to their archives to find her.

Tonight I had the house to myself and I turned on IHOP - Misty Edwards. I was blessed.

I hope you are too.

Ads on my Blog

I noticed that there is a YouTube video ad on my blog that says "I am a Mormon."
I wanted to make it crystal clear that this is an ad that google has put on my blog with my permission.

I also want to make it clear that I (the writer and founder of Shaping Little Souls) am NOT a Mormon. I am a Christian that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Not just a mear man but that he was perfect and sinless in every way. I believe that he was crucified, was buried and rose from death to life on the third day. Because he has the power to over come death he also had the power to raise us into life from sin and death.
And that he will return to take those who believe into eternal life in heaven with Him.

If you have any questions about this or about me leave a comment. I will respond.

A New Favorite Quote

"It is easy to die for Christ.

It is hard to live for Him.

Dying takes only an hour or two, but to live for Christ means

to die daily.

 Only during the few years of this life

are we given the privilege of serving each other and Christ...

 We shall heaven forever,

but only a short time for service here,

and therefore we must not waste the opportunity."

-- Sadhu Sundar Singh

NOTE: "We shall heaven forever" is not a typo.

 Think about the power of this entire verse and the reality of the idea of  'heaven forever.'

A Great Book for a Christian Home

Leading Little One's to God: A Child's book of Bible Teachings

So where do I begin when I want to tell my children all about the Lord and his goodness, his power, his might, is love, his forgiveness, his mercy, his omnipresence, his majesty, and everything else that he is?  THIS BOOK IS A GREAT PLACE TO START.

Each chapter draws the attention of the child and keeps it! I was surprised how well my 4 year old (when we started reading this) boy actually listened to each devotion. At the end there are questions you can ask and a prayer, a memory verse and a hymn or song that applies to what was just read. There is one picture for each short chapter. I will warn you, the pictures are a little outdated but the kids don't seem to mind.  

Below I will list one chapter of each section covered. I am telling you, this book is FULL!

Here are some of the topics covered. Again these are only ONE from each section of part of the topics:

We can not see God
God is Everywhere
God Made all things for his Praise
What is means to be a sinner
Why we disobey God's Law
God Gave His Son for Us
Jesus came from heaven
Jesus Died for us
The Holy Spirit Has a Special Work
We Must Believe the Jesus is Our Savior
God's Children Love One Another
We Need Help to Live for God
What it Means to Pray
Why We Go to Church
Jesus is Coming Back

Oh, it is so good. I know if I were on my own I would never have thought to give this much detail.

Each reading takes less than 5 mins.

Let me encourage you to start when they are young. My two year old even sits in and listens! At first I thought my son was not hearing what I was reading. I can't tell you how many times he has asked questions or mentioned something about the reading later in the day. It is sinking in!

This is one of those books I will be keeping for my grandchildren. My only regret is that I bought it used. I am a penny pincher and didn't want to spend $3 extra for crip pages. Now I wish I had cause I know I will be reading this book for years. I want to keep it nice for the next generation.

Family

I saw my neighbors and friends strolling up the street, holding hands, the dad was holding their 11 month old son, and next to them were their 4.5 year old son and their 2.5 year old daughter. Yes, their hands are full (and so are their hearts).

Sucking the emotion back at the beautiful sight. My heart beat fast.
A tear drop fell.

I noticed. They did not use a stroller. They were all touching. Dad holding baby, husband holding wife's hand. Little walking ones holding each other's hands and mom's hand.

This young father has 7 months - 2 years to live.

He has stomach cancer. They actually removed his stomach 2 months ago. He looks like he is in perfect health and even feels like it too. Inside he has microscopic cells that will take his life (baring a miracle from God).

We all are dying. Some of us know a little more about when that may happen. I see this family LOVING and ENJOYING each other. Sometimes we need a reminder that our days are few.

I thank GOD for the hope of heaven.

Love. While we have today.

Humility

"Humility is such an elusive virtue. Once you think you have it, you don't, or you wouldn't think you did."

Quoted from Max Lucado's book Traveling Light

Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Intended To Bear.

A Promise of Psalm 23

A keeper!

Character First has some great materials to teach character building! They have lessons for the workplace, schools and for home. At our house we love the character cards. Click on the link I just gave you. You have to see this! I love it! It couldn't be any more simple than this!

They are baseball type cards (and come in a plastic baseball card holder sheets) with a picture of an animal on one side and on the other side is a specific characteristic, it's definition, the opposite of that character, and a short list of specific ways you can live out that character.

Each week we choose one of the cards to work on. It is nice because throughout the day I can repeat the word (new vocab) and point out to the kids that this is an opportunity to practice that new character!

These tools and web site do not mention that they have a Christian background (psst... I think they are but they keep it quiet to reach more people). It doesn't really matter. Their materials are helpful and certainly do a top notch job of stretching us to become better people.

I ordered series 1,2,3 and 4 of just the cards. The total came to about $12.00!
Then the good Lord, our Provider, had me pick up a Character First Cd at a used book sale BEFORE I had even heard of Character First. It wasn't till about 2 weeks later that I realized he had handed me (for $1.00) a cd with all of these characters put into song! Oh, He is so good to us! To God be the Glory.

Go. Check it out! You will not be sorry. And those around you may notice a change too!

Are We Not Expecting Enough of Our Littleones?

Orison is 3 or 4 years old. Orison's parents decided to read Luke chapter 2 (the Christmas story from a Christian perspective) everyday for the month of December.  After about 2 weeks of listening to the readings this is what his parents discovered.



I am encouraged. Can it be that simple to put the word of God in the mouths of our little ones? They may not fully understand what they are saying but I pray that one day, when they need it, the Holy Spirit will enlighten them to the truth about the power of the Living Word of God.

Teach Them To Pray ~ Repost

This is a repost from Monday, November 3, 2008

Teach Them to Pray

An exerpt from:
THE DUTIES OF PARENTS.

J.C. (John Charles) Ryle of Liverpool    1816-1900

"Parents, if you love your children, do all that lies in your power to train them up to a habit of prayer. Show them how to begin. Tell them what to say. Encourage them to persevere. Remind them if they become careless and slack about it. Let it not be your fault, at any rate, if they never call on the name of the Lord.

This, remember, is the first step in religion which a child is able to take. Long before he can read, you can teach him to kneel by his mother's side, and repeat the simple words of prayer and praise which she puts in his mouth. And as the first steps in any undertaking are always the most important, so is the manner in which your children's prayers are prayed, a point which deserves your closest attention. Few seem to know how much depends on this. You must beware lest they get into a way of saying them in a hasty, careless, and irreverent manner. You must beware of giving up the oversight of this matter to servants and nurses, or of trusting too much to your children doing it when left to themselves. I cannot praise that mother who never looks after this most important part of her child's daily life herself. Surely if there be any habit which your own hand and eye should help in forming, it is the habit of prayer. Believe me, if you never hear your children pray yourself, you are much to blame.

Prayer is, of all habits, the one which we recollect the longest. Many a grey-headed man could tell you how his mother used to make him pray in the days of his childhood. Other things have passed away from his mind perhaps. The church where he was taken to worship, the minister whom he heard preach, the companions who used to play with him, all these, it may be, have passed from his memory, and left no mark behind. But you will often find it is far different with his first prayers. He will often be able to tell you where he knelt, and what he was taught to say, and even how his mother looked all the while. It will come up as fresh before his mind's eye as if it was but yesterday.

Reader, if you love your children, I charge you, do not let the seed-time of a prayerful habit pass away unimproved. If you train your children to anything, train them, at least, to a habit of prayer."

The entire book can be accessed online at

http://www.premeditatedparenting.net/downloads/80_the_duties_of_parents_j_c_ryle.pdf

Treasures!

'Treasures' are what I like to call items/resources that truly impact our family.
Over the next few post I will introduce you to some of the resources that our family loves and that I are so good I will hold on to them for my grandchildren (eons from now).
The first is:

A Child's Book of Character Building Volume 1   by Ron & Rebekah Coriell

A Child's Book of Character Building Volume 2 by Ron & Rebekah Coriell This one is out of print but you can find it online. I did a google search for 'OUT OF PRINT BOOKS' and typed in the ISBN which is 080071265x. I got it for $10 cheaper than Volume 1! (and to be honest my kids like it a little better too)

These books are basic. One large picture on one side of the page and a one page story that gives a realistic example of a specific character quality. The neat thing about it is each chapter has very short and easy to understand definition of the character quality and a bible verse. Then there are 4 stories that give the reader an idea of what the character would look like in the bible, at home, at school and at play.
My kids are 4 and 2 and when I tell them to go to the book basket they 95% of the time choose these books. The books really are geared more toward elementary age children but my kids seem to get it!
The pictures are large and actually depicted much like a coloring page. I have a friend with 5 kids who will photo copy the page and they kids color it while she reads the story. This is a great family, table time activity.

I have to resist telling you about the others... These are the rocks of our children's growing spiritually and in godly character!

A 'Must Read'

Hoping you and your family will jump (with both feet) onto
this bandwagon.

Free Character Building Tools!

I am so excited to announce (in case you haven’t already heard), that Focus on the Family has created a character building tool for parents to use at home! All of the materials are downloadable and FREE!

Have a look for yourself!

Kids of Integrity

www.kidsofintegrity.com

Ever Thought about it this way?

I am reading a book called, “Shepherding a Child’s heart” By Tedd Tripp.

I would like to share a bit with you that spoke to me. 

We have all see the families that bend over backward getting each child to their afterschool sports and other lessons. we have all heard to not overdo it and instead say no more to these kinds of activities and try to keep life simple… spend time together as a family!

For me it has never been too much of a temptation simply because we can’t afford all of these extra things.  But I can see how easy it is to slip into the trap.

SOme of the lures nag at me saying….

* it would be a good experience for her

* it will teach her a few things I could never teach her

* her friend is going to be in the class too

~ oh! I forgot to mention…. the she/her I am referring to is 2 1/2 years old!

I had never heard of extra curricular activities explained this way before but to me … it just makes sense!

Author Tedd Trip says about developing special skills,

“What is the problem with having your children involved in a broad range of activities? Many parents who would never allow their child attend public school will send them to dance classes. They will refuse to have them influenced by secular humanism in school, but will expose them to unbiblical ideas of beauty in dance class.

When I ask parents why they put their children in these classes, they explain that it has helped their child’s sense of self-worth. Are their any passages (of scripture) that make the development of self-worth a biblically mandated goal? Shouldn’t we be more concerned with an accurate of sense of self? Is it biblical to build self-worth on a child’s capacity to develop a physical skill? Are we not encouraging  pride that comes from the capacity to perform? Most coaches do not teach the Little Leager who hits a home run to give thanks to God for the timing and coordination necessary to perform such a complex feat.

Many of these activities teach your children to trust in themselves, when the Scriptures say that those who trust in themselves are fools whose hearts turn from GOd. The self-love and self-trust our culture proffers always turns the heart away from God.”

I am interested in your thoughts on this.

 

Yes! Jesus Loves Me!

Last week I watched my friend's school age children because they had their mid-winter break. I witnessed a sad and eye opening fact of our kids in today's churches.

My 2 year old has a stuffed animal that sings "Jesus love me this I know, for the Bible tells me so..." (and so on), when you press the button on his tummy.
Well the kids pressed the button and the kids stopped to listen. Then one child said to her brother, "What movie is that from?" And they were racking their brain to think of where they had heard that song! I was bumbfounded! What? These kids have been going to church for the 8 to 13 years they have been alive and they don't know the song Jesus Loves Me? I was sick.

SING TO YOUR CHILDREN! Sing to them simple Sunday school songs! Sing to them old hymns of the faith! Sing to them modern day worship music. Sing unto the Lord!!!!

If you teach a sunday school class, SING JESUS LOVES ME! If you don't teach them who will?

Arrows

It is truly an amazing thing to be a parent. It may not always feel amazing, but it always is amazing. I’ve lately been looking into my family heritage and I’ve been touched by the things I’ve found. I’ve found Christians and pagans, rulers and slaves, individuals who changed the world and others who let the world change them. I’ve been struck by the variety and also the similarities. Probably few of those I have researched ever imagined that some quirky descendant hundreds of years after them would be reading their life story on Wikipedia! That’s one of those amazing things about having children: Legacy.

Truly the Psalmist said it aright when he penned that, “Sons are a heritage from the Lord” and they are “like arrows in the hands of a warrior.” After all, what exactly do arrows in the hands of a warrior do but go beyond that warrior? They shoot from the warrior’s position and accomplish what the warrior cannot from his location. They are more than knife or sword that stay with the warrior. They fly from the hands reaching places we cannot reach and perhaps never even imagined.

I don’t know about you, but that’s what I want for my children. I want to them to go beyond me, to accomplish more than I have, to experience more of all God has for them. But why is it that so many only seem to repeat history? I’m afraid a good amount of the responsibility could go to the warrior. After all, he was the one who was aiming and shooting. While children eventually have all the responsibility for what they chose to do in life, the warrior has some responsibilities while the arrow is still in his hands!

The Arrow. While we are not expecting to release perfect “arrows” or children, we need to be inspecting them and, to the best of our ability, be smoothing out the barbs and flaws we can see. Of course, we are not God and we are dependent on Him to do the heart-work in our children, but we are responsible to help our children in being prepared to fly — not only in the natural areas, but also the spiritual. We need to be the ones instructing our children in righteousness. We need to be seeking the Lord, listening for Him to tell us what He wants us to work on with our children. When my arrows fly off the bow, I want them to fly straight, not wavering because they were not smoothed well by me.

The Target. Where are our arrows flying to? Are we just releasing them without aiming them, hoping they will hit something … anything? We need to be training and encouraging our children in the direction they are headed. Again, this needs to be our focus not just in the natural, but also the spiritual. Does your child have a career aspiration you can help him/her develop? Does your child have a ministry calling you can help him/her launch? What are your child’s hopes for the future? What are his/her spiritual gifts? Your children will go far when they are released with purpose!

The Shot. When shooting a bow and arrow, we must have sure footing, careful aim, strength to go the distance and the skill to let go at the proper time. What is the foundation you are standing on as you shoot your arrows? When we have a foundation other than the Word of God, we will be shooting in vain. What is your aim? Speak words of life and hope over your children. Do you have the strength? When we are too busy and distracted to take aim and shoot with purpose and strength, I’m not sure we can expect to hit the target or even send the arrow flying. Are you ready to release? Releasing either too soon or too late will negatively affect your arrow’s flight. Release too soon and it won’t fly far. Release too late and it will drop at your feet.

Yes, being a parent is amazing. So much hangs on what we do. There is so much purpose and calling locked up in each child and the Lord calls upon us to help release it! I want my children to be instruments of change in the world. That’s what legacy is all about. So fly, my arrows, FLY!

SCRIPTURE:

“For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just.” Genesis 18:19


Post by Ami Loper under Parenting/Society, Spiritual Life
Growing Kids