What is TV Teaching Our Kids?

The girls I watch were sick a while back. Which meant I worked all day, which also meant the TV was on a lot. They watched kids shows, but the commercials are not so good for kids. First, they are either selling the kids something (almost everything these girls eat, I see commercials for everyday. Coincidence...I think not....) or influencing the kids in some way. One commercial was just for a shampoo and of course it made the woman seem like shampooing her hair was a sexual experience. John and I went to the store and we like to look at the "As seen on Tv" isle for fun. I knew that the girls had a lot of things that they had seen on commercials, but never realized just how much of their stuff was off of things they had seen on TV.

Grateful for my husband

I don't tell him enough. Nor do I tell others enough. I am so grateful, blessed, amazed, awed, in love with, and just absolutely twitterpated with the man I get to lay next to each night. Last night we had a lazy evening filled with Britain's Got Talent, Survivor, and cuddling. I loved it. This evening, we all went to the park together and walked while John played disc golf. We also got to meet a hero dog named Leila who helped us find a disc that got lost in the leaves. I was going to write a Mundane Monday post, but instead I want to write a post on why I am so grateful for my husband. Now some of you may be going through some rough waters in your marriage, and I want to let you know, our marriage is by no means perfect. We have our rough times....every other night. lol It seems like it's that often. It also seems like we have a big fight once a month. By God's grace, we are having less and less of those times and when we do, we make up much quicker. God definitely uses marriage to sanctify us, and for that I am grateful. I hate those "bad" times, but I am grateful that God is using them to grow us closer to Him and more Christ-like despite the sinful attitudes. So, if you are struggling and things seem rough, I want to let you know that we have those times as well. Don't lose heart, and even when you are in those times, instead of finding the bad in your spouse which is so easy to do, write a list of the positives, even if it is just the fact that your husband provides for your family, or that he smells nice, write it out. Write something, and pray. Pray hard. Pray that God would humble you and hold you and don't loose hope. Even though my husband is amazing and I am blessed, he and I are both only human. Even so, here are all the reasons he makes me smile. :)

-Even when he is mad, he is amazingly humble and accepts my apologies when they are sincere.
-He apologizes often.
-When I am napping, he comes in quietly and holds me while I sleep.
-He tells me that when we go to bed at night and he holds me, how it's his favorite time of day. Heart smile!
-He appreciates my cooking.
-He likes doing things as a family.
-He randomly meets us at the park.
-He's the only dad at the park actually playing with his kid.
-He challenges my thinking.
-He helps me do, dry, and put away the dishes when I am tired and stressed without being asked either.
-Not only does he work very hard (this week he has not had a day off yet), but he genuinely cares for all of his clients.


There are so many others reasons, but I need to finish up this post so I can go spend time with my man! :) Have a wonderful Sunday everyone!

Having a Marriage that Rocks!!

I read this today  and I am honestly not sure where this came from so I can't give credit BUT it wasn't from me. Though, I thought it was fantastic and some things we really should implement  :) Check it out and try to do a few of these things for your husband or wife today. :)

60 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR MARRIAGE ROCK! 

1. PRAY TOGETHER ALWAYS 
2. READ THE SCRIPTURES TOGETHER ALWAYS 
3. Go on regular date nights
4. Hide notes in secret places
5. Go to bed at the same time
6. Listen to music together-share ear-buds
7. Buy him gifts he will love
8. Revitalize the romance with intimate dates
9. Wear shirts that tell the world you love your spouse
10. Praise your spouse to other people
11. Read a marriage devotional
12. Sleep in his t-shirts
13. Renew your vows privately with whispers and memories
14. Renew them publicly with cake and bubbly
15. Go away together at least once a year


For Women Only
16. Hang pictures of the two of you around your house
17. Make his favorite dessert
18. Make sex a priority
19. Spend time apart occasionally
20. Learn to enjoy something he loves
21. Surprise each other
22. Meet him at the door
23. Text each other from across the room
24. Set reminders on your phone to remember him/her throughout the week
25. Call him right now and tell him you appreciate him

For Men Only
26. Leave work on time and come home early
27. Engage every day in meaningful conversation
28. Compliment each other
29. Take one day a month to make your spouse your total focus
30. Argue fair: avoid these words “you always” and “you never”
31. Kiss every day
32. Find tangible ways to serve your mate without complaining
33. Forgive quickly
34. Be honest.
35. Get on the same page: plan your budget together
36. Look your best as often as you can
37. Guard your marriage
38. Laugh together
39. When you are together-BE TOGETHER (take a break from phones, technology, etc)
40. Tell her she’s pretty, especially when she’s not feeling it

Both
41. Make each other breakfast in bed
42. Do her chores for her
44. Get a couple’s massage or host your own privately
44. Dance together-soft music (both of you alone) or rocking music with the kids
45. Exercise together- hikes, bike riding, etc
46. Choose not to be annoyed by an irritating behavior/disappointment from your spouse
47. Thank your spouse often even for the least reason or gesture
48. Lay in bed together and stare into each other eyes, without talking
49. Learn something new together-take an art class, cooking lessons, etc
50. Leave a sweet comment on the Facebook wall
51. Support each other’s goals
52. Bring her flowers/gifts (even when she says they are too expensive)
53. Wear something your spouse loves
54. Share furniture-sit in his lap
55. Fight for your marriage
56. Make a point to eat dinner together most days of the week.
57. Never let your spouse feel like they come second place to your career or any other thing.
58. Talk about your dreams and aspirations. Be supportive of each other and dream big together!
59. Maintain a united front as your motto: Meaning- “Me and you against the world.
60. Speak well of your spouse.

A sore day

Today is a good day, but it is a sore day. Everything aches on my right now. My lower back is killing me, my hips won't stop burning and hurting, and my upper back is sore from working out yesterday. I got a lot of stuff done this morning before my afternoon got really rough. I want to lay in bed with a heating pad all day (I am tied to a heating pad right now lol), but I have work this afternoon. I am so thankful that I didn't have to work this morning though. That has been a huge blessing because I was able to get a bunch of stuff done before I am unable to.
I am thankful for so many things today. One, the fact that it decided to rain so since I can't actually go out and enjoy the weather we were supposed to have, I am able to sit snuggled and enjoy the rain. Comforting soup and potatoes for lunch are another blessing. Great lunch for this weather. The fact that my foam roller helps with the pain. It hasn't been taking it away, but it sure does take the edge off. So does Tiger Balm. That stuff is amazing.

Easter is a Great Opportunity

Had a not so discouraging day at work today. Since today is Passover I thought I would mention it to the girls to spur on discussion, which it did. The youngest asked what it was. I explained how yesterday was Palm Sunday and how Jesus came into the city and he rode a donkey. She wanted to know if I was there and saw Him. So then I tried to explain how He is in heaven now and when he was on earth, it was a long, long time ago and I wasn't alive yet. lol Then I explained how He then was crucified which is celebrated on Friday. She clarified that crucified meant dying....lol Then she said, "and then he became magic!" Well, we are making some progress.

A few days ago I was listening to worship music that had Jesus name repeated multiple times and the girls wanted to know who named Jesus. :) So we had that conversation too. Better than talking about what alcohol drinks they have tried, definitely better!!

Sadness....and Alcohol

I had a sad but good experience at work today. One of the girls had a friend over and this typically goes one of two ways, either they get really bored and want me to entertain them or they get crazy. Today they got bored. lol So they asked me what they should do. I suggested making some Saint Patrick's day decorations. While they were making them, they asked what Saint Patrick's day was anyways so I told them. None of the girls go to church (they HAVE gone before, but don't regularly go at all), so I tried explaining that he was called a saint (which of course ensued questions and one of the girls said "OH! So he was basically a missionary!" Smart girls. ) and I explained what he did and what his life was like. They asked why do we celebrate it like we do now then so I was honest and just said I'm not sure. People use it as an excuse to drink alcohol and get drunk (and this is nothing new to them either even though they are 11, 11, and 6, while the girls have play dates, the mom's have "wine dates."). The talk of Saint Patrick's day didn't last long; the conversation soon turned to alcohol. The one girl stated how her dad gave her some to taste before and she really liked it. The other girl said that she had tried it before too and liked it. Then they proceed to ask each other what types of alcohol each other had tried. It was a very sad and disheartening conversation to hear especially from such young girls. What are those parent's thinking? These girls were so proud of the fact that they had drank alcohol before and were talking about the different places where they would be allowed to drink because the legal age isn't as high as it is here.

It's so sad to see. I don't think I made enough of a difference tonight, but I hope the talk of Saint Patrick and what he did in bringing others to Christ and how he devoted his life to it caused a little tickle in their hearts and will cause them to think.

God please bless me with more opportunities like this precious one tonight!

The Power of Prayer

I was listening to the radio last night on my way home from work and the talk show host was talking about how if you pray that you loose 20 pounds God isn't just going to have you wake up 20 pounds lighter. But that got me thinking, why not pray to God for weight loss? He cares about every area of your life no matter how large or small. And, He is fully capable of making you loose weight over night, though just from looking at history and how He has worked before, I don't think that He will, though He totally could. But He can help you to become disciplined and loose the weight. Then that got me thinking even more. lol Have you ever prayed for something but then get discouraged and quit asking God to help you in that area? I know I get like that a LOT. Or I will fail, get discouraged and quit praying about it.

When I was little, I had always dreamed of getting a horse. I was horse crazy for sure. It was to the point where my mom would stop the car whenever we would pass a field or a pasture with horses in it just so I could look at them. My mom is awesome. :) Well, I determined that I wanted a horse. So I started praying. I forget how old I was, but I was young. I prayed and prayed. Not only did I pray, but I would ask others to pray for me. I remember at our old church, I would go into the library on our way home and tell the librarian that I still didn't have my horse, but if she would keep praying that God would send me one, I would appreciate it. I did this all faithfully week after week. Ah, the faith of a child! When I turned 11, I was blessed with my first horse. I prayed for at least 4 years for a horse. 4 years! You would think that a young kid like I was, would get discouraged and give up, but for some reason, I had faith and just kept asking God. Now, I am not saying that God is a genie that will give you anything you pray for, but what I am saying is that we shouldn't get discouraged when our prayers don't seem to be answered right away. Maybe the answer is no. Maybe the answer is yes. Or maybe the answer is wait which it was for me.

Another example of praying is how I used to pray for my "future husband." Some nights I would be in tears praying that God would guide him and protect him and draw him closer to Him. I would pray for him almost every night. After John and I started dating, we both realized that during that time that I was praying for him, he was going through some really rough stuff and he started turning his life around. While he was struggling, I was praying for him not knowing who he was nor why I had such a heavy burden to pray for him. God is awesome. I think He uses prayer sometimes to mainly change us and show us that he is in control. That He's got this and we need to trust Him. It's so awesome to see prayer answered.

What have you been praying for that you are starting to get discouraged about? Don't give up. God hears you and He ALWAYS answers. It may be a yes, a no, or a wait, my child. Either way, He will answer and it will be in your best interest and it will bring Him glory. Don't give up. Keep on praying. Keep praying for that future husband or wife, keep praying for that friend to turn his life around and come to Christ, keep praying that the longings of your heart be fulfilled, keep praying that you will learn to be more patient and Christ-like. Don't give up my friend; lean on God.