While our family doesn’t celebrate Christmas we do appreciate the opportunities at this time of year to share our wealth with those in far away lands who are less fortunate than we are.  Last year our children were blessed to participate in a program similar to the one listed below, purchasing bunnies and chickens for the poor in India.  They can’t wait to buy animals for people in foreign countries again this year.

When I was contacted to help promote the Hands of Hope gift cards that provide assistance to children and women in Africa I jumped at the opportunity.  I haven’t received anything for this post, I just want to spread the word!  100% of the funds from these card purchases go directly to the use specified whether chickens, goats or wells.  No administrative costs are deducted.

Hands of Hope, a charity of Women Helping Women A World Away, is announcing that their Holiday Gift Cards are available for purchase. These cards provide food, income and water for impoverished women and children in Zambia, Uganda, and Southern Sudan. They can be purchased on the Hands of Hope website
www.handsofhopeonline.org for $15.00, $30.00 and $50.00. Purchasing these cards will provide goats, chickens or wells to help change lives. What could be a more meaningful gift for holiday giving for family, friends, and customer appreciation?

Hands of Hope helps mobilize communities to respond to the needs of women and children around the world. With an ever-expanding support base in the Chicago area, Hands of Hope works to raise community awareness regarding poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa and its relevance globally. We are confident in the integrity of the channels we have established so that contributions provide the highest possible impact for the most critical needs.

$15.00 - A Chicken Card will purchase a gift of twelve chicks and be given to an impoverished family in Africa. As the flock multiplies, a struggling family will be given the hope to survive. Your gift will help those in need for generations to come.

$30.00 - A Goat Card represents an actual goat being purchased for a needy family. Beyond providing much needed milk, a few goats can quickly become a herd, providing sustenance and additional income that can make the difference between whether a child goes to school or not.

$50.00 - A Well Card will go toward funding a well in the Western Province of Zambia. Statistics show that nearly half of all people in developing countries suffer from health related problems caused by unsafe water.

The cards: http://www.handsofhopeonline.org/goat.asp

Purchase cards: http://www.handsofhopeonline.org/goat.asp#purchase

How HOH got their start: http://www.handsofhopeonline.org/history.asp

Current Projects: http://www.handsofhopeonline.org/ourwork.asp

Contact at Hands of Hope:

VickyWauterlek, Hands of Hope

VWAU@aol.com, 847-381-7367

I don’t think I’ve shared this resource before, but it is a vital one!  No more paying $10 per pregnancy test.  I have purchased from this family a couple of times, and can vouch for the test accuracy, as I tested pregnant with my third daughter with one of these!

Another Blessing offers pregnancy tests and ovulation strips for $.50-.85 each with free shipping in the USA.  The owner Amy Wingfield is a stay-at-home, homeschool quiverfull mom of 4 blessings so far. She’s also a writer. Read her daily blog at http://amywingfield.blogspot.com/.

One of my blogging friends, Penny Raine has an e-booklet about family devotions for homeschoolers that will be available for FREE tomorrow at Homeschool Freebie of the Day.  That’s Friday, October 03rd, so don’t miss it!

Here is a short review I wrote for her:

Whether you are new to family devotions or a veteran, Penny Raine will challenge and encourage you in her new e-booklet, First Things First: The home schooling parents guide to leading family devotions.

Penny calls families to set their priorities straight, starting the day by worshipping the Lord and learning of His ways.  From getting started to suggestions on scriptures to start with, Penny’s suggestions are sure to bless every Christian family.

So, head on over there tomorrow and download away!

A Quiverfull Family blog reader sent me this link through a comment, thank you Kristie.

Are Big Families Causing an Ecological Crisis?

I’ll admit that my immediate knee jerk reaction was to go into defensive mode.  Thankfully as I read the article I realized that, while the author doesn’t make a strong statement advocating for large families, he himself seems to have a family that includes 4 children, and points out that children are a blessing from God.  I let my defenses down and found a balanced, well presented article, take a peek and let me know what you think.

As a former deep ecologist my husband and I initially planned to have 1 child, two at the most.  Since coming to Christ and having God speak to our hearts on this matter I’ve learned that overpopulation hysteria is just that - an unfounded fear based argument to prevent us from filling the world with God’s warriors.  In fact, the earth is far from being overpopulated, just come to Canada and take a look around if you’re not sure :).

The earth is the Lord’s and all that there is in it.  While we should be responsible stewards and caretakers, this planet does not serve it’s own purposes.  Before I get flamed let me say that we heat with wood, drive minimally, live off-grid with solar panels and wind power - we don’t advocate intentionally trashing the planet.  However, the earth is God’s creation, and His to do with what He wills.  His will is for us to fill it, as is clearly evidenced in scripture.  All of the things of this world will burn away, even the earth itself, so why should we seek to preserve it only to circumvent God’s plans for His people?

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Carnival of Family Life! I’m thrilled and honoured to be participating as a host for the carnival this week. I’m a fan of the ‘plain jane’ carnival style (that and I don’t have any appropriate photos), so the carnival is pretty simple in appearance this week. Enjoy all the posts! Thanks for dropping in!

Education

john edelson presents What is an “Accidental Homeschooler?” posted at Home School Online.

Heather Johnson presents Focusing on Dyslexic Needs posted at Center for Disability Resources Library.

Laureen presents Upside Down and Backwards posted at Life Without School.

Rose presents Won’t you keep our neighbor? posted at Learning at Home. Fred Rogers may be gone, but his legacy of quality educational television for children lives on. If you or your children grew up watching “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood,” you will want to read about PBS’ plan to stop airing the program.

Dad of Divas presents The College Application Process posted at College and Career Counseling.

Family Crafts and Activities

Melitsa presents Toddler play activity 5 posted at Play-Activities.com.

HowToMe presents How to Protect Cabinets and Drawers with Linoleum posted at HowToMe.

GrrlScientist presents Harry Potter’s The Tales of Beedle the Bard to be Published posted at Living the Scientific Life. The book of fairy tales mentioned in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be released on December 4, 2008.

mom2my9 presents How to tell if the batteries in your remote control have gone to their eternal rest… posted at 11th Heaven’s Homemaking Haven.

Family Fiction

Jenn presents Still Holding Her Hand posted at Mixed Metaphor.net, a fictional short story about a nervous bride.

Patricia Twitchell presents The Adventures of Penny Pincher: Penny Pincher Helps Patricia with Her Gardening posted at Just Bears and Stuff. Patricia spends a lot of time planting colorful and fragrant flowers, and weeding her garden, with the assistance of Penny Pincher.

Family Finance

Larry Russell presents Financial Planning Reading List posted at Pasadena Financial Planner.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Lessons, Pay Taxes On Your Winnings! posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Families have been eager to join the Extreme Makeover Home Edition show to get a chance to have a brand new beautiful home and to fulfill their American Dream. But what they don’t realize are the headaches and responsibilities that come with a big new house. Be careful what you wish for!”

Raymond presents Why College Students Should Apply For Student Credit Cards posted at Money Blue Book.

Matthew Paulson presents Do Something New?and Save a Few $$$ posted at American Consumer News.

Debt Freedom Fighter presents How Your Credit Report Affects Your Finances posted at Discover Debt Freedom!.

Money Answer Guy presents What are the most fuel efficient cars available? posted at The Money Answer Guy.

Kacper Wrzesniewski presents 37 shortest hacks to save on electricity. posted at KacperWrzesniewski.com.

Super Saver presents Our Daughter is Using her Currency posted at My Wealth Builder.

Family Health and Wellness

Alex Smith presents How to Keep Your Home Secure - Amazing Home Safety Gadgets You Won’t Regret Investing On posted at TBO-Tech.

Health Blogger presents My Exercise Experience With Treadmill Running vs. Outdoor Running posted at Health and Fitness Blog.

GrrlScientist presents The Handmaid’s Tale: Fact or Fiction? posted at Living the Scientific Life, a discussion of a purported United States Department of Health and Human Services draft document redefining birth control.

Family Humor

Jane presents A Quick Lesson in Fursing posted at Kidzarama.

Madeleine Begun Kane presents My Confession posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

Riley presents Earthquake! at All Rileyed Up!

P.L. Frederick presents Taking A Stand On Lemonade Stands posted at Small and Big, saying, “Learning to be polite from children.”

Kathryn presents It Is Amazing I Could Legally Drive Before Receiving Guidance From My Teenager posted at knittsings. If your child has taken Driver’s Education, you will relate. If not, here’s what you have to look forward to!

Family Pets

GP presents Innside Equestrian posted at Innstyle Montana- Come on Inn. When your child begs for a pony, remember that “horses aren’t just a hobby - they’re a lifestyle.”

Family Relationships and Self-Improvement

David B. Bohl presents How Praise Inspires Others to Succeed posted at Slow Down Fast Today!, saying, “The power of praise has been scientifically documented to help children achieve more than they had believed, providing motivation for them to reach their goals when they thought the task impossible.”

Jim Colitz presents snap, crackle, pop posted at Grandparenting Matters.

Family Travel

Jocelyn presents Laissez les bons temps rouler posted at A Pondering Heart.

Amy presents 13 Things to Do in Chattanooga posted at The Q Family Adventure.

Matthew Paulson presents Freedom to Explore: Royal Caribbean’s Freedom Class Ships posted at The Travel Advocate.

Parenting Tips and Advice

Suzanne presents natural consequences, bunny-style posted at adventures in daily living.

Mansi Desai presents Selecting Childcare - What To Look For! posted at The Daily Tiffin.

Dad of Divas presents Remember Me posted at Dad of Divas.

Kevin Heath presents Motivating Kids to Excel posted at More4kids.

Thank you all for participating in the Carnival this week!

Submit a blog article for the August 11, 2008, edition of the Carnival, hosted by Riley at All Rileyed Up, by clicking here!

The Carnival archive can be viewed here.

Interested in hosting a future edition? Review the schedule here and then drop a line letting JHS know the week you would like to have the Carnival visit your site!

Such sweet words to the ear of a bibliophile and Mother.  I’ve never had early talkers, my youngest turned 2 in April, and she is now starting to speak in complete sentences and phrases.  One of the earliest to surface, as well as one of the most oft repeated is “Readee me Mommy!”, often repeated two to three times in rapid succession if I don’t respond quickly. 

At times this request is followed by the title of a book “Readee me Mommy, JeeJee lubs bee (Jesus Loves Me).”  Sometimes it is the title of the book that is repeated several times, accompanied by book waving in the air.  The incessant demands can become a bit trying, but above all else, I’m thrilled that she has discovered the delights to be found in books, and that their value is already well established in her life.

I am a dyed in the wool reader, which makes me suspect that my parents must have read to me often as a small child, though I have only sporadic memories of this taking place.  Both of my parents love books, and I have followed in their example.  Fostering this love of literature in my own children has proven to be surprisingly simple: regular storytimes scattered throughout the day, consistent bedtime stories and devotionals each and every night, books within easy access of little hands.  Before I knew it my children were entertaining themselves by ‘reading’ books without me.  Just sitting on the floor, quietly leafing through books to look at the pictures, sometimes stopping to ask me questions.  My oldest daughter, K - 5, pointing out pictures and events in storybooks to her younger sister.

How have you fostered a love for reading in your tiny ones?  What are the fruits of your efforts that you are now seeing in their lives?  Please share in the comments of your adventures with literature and children!

Of course, by now you’ve realized that Mother’s Day is tomorrow.  Hard to miss isn’t it?  The blogosphere is abuzz with Mom’sDay contests, posts etc.  When I pause to reflect upon the most precious moments in my mothering career one ongoing theme stands out very clearly - sibling love.  How sweet it is, how tender and how helpful for mother’s!

It wasn’t until our second child was born that I could realize the immense benefits of having multiple children.  As soon as our second daughter (R) was born, our oldest daughter (K) took to her like a fish to water.  The baby was ‘her baby’.  Our oldest was so protective of our new little one, so very tender, gentle and sweet.  I had worried how she would take it - there was a 3 year difference between the two and K was used to being an only child.  The transition was so sweet and easy, we had prepared K for R’s birth by talking together about the coming baby, watching birth videos, reading stories about babies being born, and about little sisters.  The intense love between the two was just amazing to me to see, and it has only grown with time.

Do they have sibling rivalry?  Yes, they do.  A couple of years later they do get a bit pushy with eachother and need some careful instruction from time to time to avoid eruptions, but that love is still there.  Now that they are older they love to play together, and I have to say that 80% of the time it is peaceable play that requires little intervention.  These sibling squabbles only serve to teach them to put others before themselves, how to share, how to take turns and other basic skills needed for human interaction.  When I see them playing together, or laying on the floor having a cuddle it brings immense joy to my Mamma heart.

Being a mother is such a sweet blessing, and being a mother to more than one child is even sweeter.  I look forward to meeting the little one that is nearing birth in a couple of months, and any others that the Lord may bless us with!

In our journey to raise our children to glorify God we have used family devotions as a tool to teach our children the ways of God, the history of His people and to talk after Jesus. We are not always consistent, and in fact have gone through periods of very consistent, daily devotions, and periods of dryness when family devotions do not get done. So we are certainly not perfect in this regard, and are in fact going through a period of dryness in our home at the moment. Usually these dry times come as a result of a disturbed schedule, and since my foot has been burned so badly Larry has been taking over most of the domestic duties, and is feeling rather frazzled and distracted. Despite this, family devotions are a burden on our hearts, and something we love to do together!

Over the course of our devotions together as a family there are a few different styles/techniques of devotions that we have tried. As new believers when we first started daily devotions we used them largely as a time of learning and bible study for Larry and myself, expecting the children to just listen in on what we were discussing and to learn from osmosis. We would sing some hymns and psalms, pray, then head on into Bible study. At times we would include a story from the children’s bible story book we were working through - our oldest loved this. And sometimes we would be so intrigued we would spend most of our devotions reading from the story book! In any case, Larry started seeking the Lord as to what he should be doing as the leader of our family devotions, and he eventually heard the word that he should engage the children more actively.

Our devotional time then transformed from a time of adult bible study into the primary means of teaching, and engaging our children in the word of God at their level. Larry started at the beginning and we started working through the bible in an interactive way. Larry discussed the scripture with the children, drew pictures (sometimes a series of pictures in a single day) of it, built models out of lego, asked the children comprehension questions informally etc. And the children LOVED it!! They were so excited when it was time for family devotions! We are now working on a set of figures that we are making to play the role of various bible characters so that we can re-enact the bible stories with them (we have been doing this with people we make out of lego!) This also sparked my oldest daughters creativity, and she would often draw her own pictures of the events that were covered that day in devotions. Of course, we also sang psalms, hymns, prayed as well as the main part of the devotions - the bible lesson as it were. At times Larry woul lightly pre-plan the creative activities based upon the upcoming text of scripture, so we might know for a couple of days in advance that a lego model of the tower of Babel was upcoming, or a model of the ark, but sometimes he just plays it by ear, and either draws or lego models as needed for the days lesson.

We are currently on a break from our creative daily devotions because we noticed our children needed some more intensive training in sitting still during church. So for a time we have now been listening to sermons (downloaded by mp3) on our computer, while we all practice sitting still on the couch. And the children have been making good progress in their ability to sit for extended periods of time - of course they get fruit snacks, books to draw in, quiet time books etc. to look at during this time.

So, these are a few of the different approaches we have tried for family devotions, and each is unique in its goals and purposes. We believe that in the long term the creative family devotions that speak to the child on their level, and actively engage them in God’s word will bear the most fruit for our family. As our children are still pre-schoolers most of their learning is taking place informally, family devotions is the core of their educational experience, and if we accomplish that, I feel we’ve had a successful day. As adults we get to experience the word of God afresh (and since we are new believers, we often cover new material ourselves) and our children will benefit from a deeper understanding of the story of Gods plan for the world.

Enjoy praising the Lord with your family!

Our family has greatly benefitted from the family reformation taking place within the church today. The emphasis on viewing the family unit through a literal, biblical lense, and the importance of modelling our family lives based upon the instructions found in scripture are at the heart of the family reformation movement.

Today I learned of a new conference based upon the principles of family reformation - A Puritan Family Reformation being held May 9 - 10th in Wake Forest, North Carolina. You can find all of the details, including a video at the conference website.

Here is what the conference host, Scott Brown, has to say about the purpose of the conference:

On May 9-10 we are having a really unusual conference for the reformation of family life. It is called, “A Puritan Family Reformation,” which seeks to document the biblical doctrine of the family as the Puritans understood it and to put it into practice in our times. It will be a very practical conference for the reforming of marriage, child raising and the relationship between the family and the church.

This is just the sort of instruction that the church today can benefit from - clear, practical biblical teaching to restore the family to the model clearly presented in scripture. If God has placed a burden on your heart for the retun of the family to His clear plan, this is a conference you should seriously consider.

If you would like to promote this contest on your blog, there is a contest taking place at Life in a Shoe, but the contest closes today. Here are the details:

In order to help get the word out about the conference I will be having a drawing for 3 copies of “A Church in the House” by Matthew Henry and “The Joy of Family Worship” cd by R.C. Sproul Jr. IF you blog about the conference.

Together - one of each to 3 people - The conference starts the 9th so we’ll close entries on this drawing on the 30th of April!

Sometimes my husband has to have a good chuckle, our children are 5 and 2, and yet, I am quite interested and indeed concerned that they are able to find and choose a marriage partner that will allow them to have God honouring marriages. And we often pray for them in this regard, that God would lead them to spouses who fear the Lord and honour Him with their lives. If you have been reading our blog for awhile, you’ll know that neither my husband nor I were raised in Christian homes. - Jesus saved us in the Fall of 2006, and our lives have never been so exciting :)! I will have to post our testimonies in upcoming blog posts.

Due to the fact that neither of us knew Christ, the time period leading up to our marriage was very typical of the sorts of relationships you find in the world. Neither of us were virgins, neither were physically or emotionally pure. I had even co-habitated with a young man on an extended basis. We had a very intense dating period, knowing each other physically after a couple of weeks, Larry proposing after 3.5 weeks, and marrying after 3 months total (Larry would have liked it sooner, but I needed to find a replacement at work etc.) No, I wasn’t pregnant, we used barrier methods of contraception until we conceived our first daughter 9 months later. In any case, now that we are saved, we both want a better way for our children - one that is honouring to Jesus, and will prayerfully result in a Godly partner for them. We long to guard their hearts from emotional entanglements, and guard their physical purity as well. As a result, we are VERY interested in courtship and betrothal, and love to read on the subject. Though of course, we don’t have all the details and plans worked out, I’m certain that God will see to that when the time comes and we seek His will prayerfully, we do tend towards a hands-off, platonic relationship until marriage is agreed upon.

A recent article online (April 11th) explored betrothal: They Plight Their Troth — And Mean It that you may be interested in reading, a very brief overview that doesn’t really do justice to this biblical concept. There are a couple of areas that can be easily misunderstood until you look into betrothal in depth, such as the misconception that it is similar to an arranged marriage.

So, I would like to share some further resources that are either betrothal or courtship related for you to glean more insight from. My favourite speaker on the topic is Jonathan Lindvall, mentioned in the article. He has written a series of articles available online, as well as recorded some teachings on the subject. He has also recorded the testimony of Matthew and Marantha Chapman’s betrothal that is mentioned in the above article, you really must listen to it, it is just such a beautiful picture of the Love that Jesus has for His bride, the church.

Charity Tape Ministries also has some recordings that are more courtship focused, that have also inspired us - particularly The Overtaking Blessings of the Second Generation, where the fruit of raising children for Christ and the advantages it gives to them are explored. I cried with the beautiful vision presented in this message.

They also have a category of courtship messages that you can download and listen to, lots of courtship testimonies too! I love testimonies!

I pray that these resources will be an encouragement to you in your walk with Christ, and I hope to publish some reviews of courtship books in the future.