She Buildeth Her House

Parenting

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A Simple Way to Bring Jesus into Your Beach Vacation

My kids LOVE the thought of buried treasure. What kid doesn’t, right?

Well, my 9 year old came up with such a fun idea that I just had to share it with you!She wanted to bury “treasure” for kids or maybe those metal detector seekers to find. We had some cheap plastic containers with lids. She put a Bible tract from our church, $1 and some change so the metal detectors could find it, and a handwritten note from her about how much Jesus loves them.

Melt. My. Heart.

We prayed over them and asked that Jesus might even let us know if someone finds it and gets saved. So if you’re looking for a fun idea, just do it. Seriously.

Only heaven knows what sort of impact it may make.

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A Easy Nighttime Game You AND Your Kids Will Like!

So, one night a couple years ago my kids and I went for a walk on the beach with a spotlight to look for crabs for fun.

The kids started chasing the light at some point and somehow it became one of their favorite nighttime games!

So if it’s nighttime, you’re in need of a break, and your kids have too much energy, take a spotlight outside and a comfy chair and let them chase the light around the yard, or wherever you are.

Maybe my kids are just weird.

Or maybe this is totally a mom hack.

Either way, try it and let me know if it works for you!

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A Quick Easy Way to Reinforce Learning the Alphabet

Sometimes we as moms can make things so complicated. I know I do.

So I thought I’d share this fun way to bring learning into play with your child who is learning their ABCs

Take whatever they are playing with and have them make a letter out of the objects!

If it’s dinosaurs or dolls, challenge them to make a “D” or a “d.” If it’s cups or cars, go for a “C.” Or a “b” for bugs like we did. And so on!

So quick and easy that it’s kind of embarrassing to write about, but hey, that’s what this blog is for! Teaching our children at home doesn’t have to be hard!

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Two Truths to Lean On When the Pressure is Too Much

Have you ever felt like you may just collapse from all the pressure you’re under? Or maybe like you just want to sit down and cry?

I sure have.

But I have good news! 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says speaks of God as One who comforts us in our tribulation. The word “tribulation” in the Greek according to Strong’s concordance literally means pressure. And if you look up pressure it means “the continued action of a weight or force” in Webster’s dictionary.

The society we live in puts so much pressure on us. We put pressure on ourselves. Sometimes the pressures are weight from our own sinful choices. Sometimes the pressure is from things far beyond our control.

Whatever the cause, the pressure is real.

The word comfort in this verse means “to call near.” I looked up call and found that among its many meanings are these: “a command; an invitation; to ask to come.” And the word near means “close; not far away.” I know this may not seem profound to you but I’m going somewhere, I promise!

From this verse, the God of the universe commands…invites…asks me to come close to Him when I’m under pressure. Not to go far away, but to come close. And that coming close IS comfort. Being close to Him is what comfort actually IS. He is the Comforter.

Satan likes to isolate us. Make us feel alone. Unloved. Uncared for.

But friend, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

He’s ready. Waiting. Inviting you to come close to Him so He can give you all the care your heart needs. After all, contrary to what so many of us believe and feel, God isn’t out to get us. If we are His children, He can can bring joy beyond what I can express! “In thy presence is fullness of joy and at thy right hand there are pleasures forever more.” Psalm 16:11

So today, take a breath if the pressure feels too heavy…and remember these two truths:

1. Comfort IS being in His presence. You won’t find true peace or comfort anywhere else on this earth no matter how hard you look. You won’t find it in work or in leisure. In perfectionism or in no giving up altogether. In doing all the things or in hiding from all the things. Only He can soothe your heart’s deepest cries. If you’ve never trusted Him, do it today! You’ll never regret it.

2. When the pressure is so very heavy, run TO Him, not away. Run toward His presence. Not hiding. Not ashamed. Not fearful and ashamed. Not trying to fix it all on your own. Not trying to earn His blessings or favor. He’s waiting and inviting you to come. You don’t have to be fancy. If you’ve sinned, just repent and come. If you make a choice to come to Him…He’ll never turn you away.

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A SUPER Simple Idea for Improving Your Relationship Your Child (WARNING: May Improve Writing & Reading Skills…NO Nagging Required!)

Sometimes life is crazy.

And in the crazy we can forget how much our little people NEED us to actually pay attention to them. To hear them. To affirm them. To answer their questions. To treat them like HUMANS and not just little annoyances.

Not just be in the room with them while they watch a cartoon.

Not take them to the park while we are on our phone.

Ouch.

But to be present. To listen. To ENGAGE .

Ever thought about how hard it would be to be a kid in this crazy time?? Or how it would feel if every time you try to figure something out, someone fusses at you or hushes you or ignores you? Not very pleasant.

And I fully understand how hard it can be to be present.

But friend, that doesn’t negate our responsibility as parents to give our children that attention. If they don’t get it from you, they’ll get it from someone… and that someone will have their heart instead of you. And I don’t think you want that anymore than I do.

So, if you’d like to do something to meet the need your child has of feeling connected to you…let me share something I recently started with my daughter.

A journal. A mother-daughter journal. It wasn’t fancy. It wasn’t expensive. Just a composition book with a cute little kitten on it (her current favorite thing ever).

I presented it to her in the form of a treasure hunt that involved completing “challenges” (which were actually homeschool lessons in disguise!) but do whatever works for you.

The concept is simple. Just take turns writing notes to each other! It can be anything from random fun questions to something that you wanted to share in the day but got too busy and couldn’t. It could be a prayer request. A secret. Something scary that they faced that day. Maybe something they’d like to talk to you about more in depth. Some genuine heartfelt encouragement from you to them…or them to you. Use your imagination to engage with them.

The goal is for your child to know that this is a way to share their HEART with you and it won’t get lost or overlooked.

You could hide it for them to find. Or just give it to them. Ever how you do it, just make it fun.

I’m hoping this will be something that we can continue into her teen years and even adulthood. Can you imagine the treasure it will be? Reading about the first time we saw a dolphin together or how hard she worked to learn to do a cartwheel?

And the bonus…improved writing and reading skills with no nagging!

Happy journaling!

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Fun Activity to Give Mommy a Minute to Rest!

So I had read about this idea online. And yet I never did it. Sometimes all the ideas just blur together…they seem fun, but too much work. This idea is NOT like that.

My sweet girl has been on an archeologist kick lately. And so it seemed like a good time to try it.

I don’t know what to call it. Maybe a dino dig. Maybe ice digging. But whatever you want to call it, your kids will love it!

Just find some random little toys.

Trucks.

Rings.

Dinosaurs.

Even coins would work!

Then put them in ice trays or Tupperware containers or both and add a drop or two of food coloring if you really want to go all out 😉

Freeze it.

Collect a couple paint brushes, salt, and maybe a cup of warm water. Tell then they are archeologists and have to dig out the artifacts. You can even google facts about archeologists and read them while they are doing it if you’re feeling really motivated.

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Even my two year old who WON’T sit still was mesmerized. Like it bought me at least 30 min or more of time not having to chase him around the yard.

With older kids, you could use money and they get to keep it!

They are begging to do it again.

You’re welcome.