Thought for the Day - from 'Nana'

Jesus said, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand." ~John 10: 27 -29~

Just like we know our children, the Lord knows us, better than any earthly parent. As we walk with our Lord, we are safer than being anywhere else; safer than being with anyone else. Walk with Him.....today and everyday!

Looking Up

Lately I have been feeling overwhelmed. Our family is in major transition. There are so many things that I need to do, but for some reason I am not motivated to do them. Decisions to make and challenges to face daily, yet I feel like just hiding away and not facing anything. It is as if I let the weight of the world bury me before even trying to fight back.

Today I was reminded of 1 John 4:4 which says, "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world!" What an amazing thing it is to know, even while we are in the battle, that it has already been won for us. We all need to remember this, and I know I will be reading this passage over again soon.

Right now I am feeding the kids lunch and trying to clean the bathrooms too (ok, and blog) while they eat. But I also need to clean many other rooms in my house as well as sort toys, clothes and just general 'stuff' into boxes to giveaway, throw away, store away or pack away. Lots of pre-work before we get to the actually job of packing up the house to move. I also have several calls to make, friends I should connect with, details to review for a wedding I am coordinating, reading and prayer time that is overdue, dinner to plan....and as you know the list goes on and on.

As moms, we always have things to do; the list can be never ending. But my challenge is to remember to keep my eyes focused on Him, and on the big picture that He is in control of. Sometimes I get bogged down in the many details I need to attend to at the moment, and lose sight of the fact that I am looking at just a tiny, immediate glimpse of what God is unfolding in my life. And the view from my perspective can be confusing and even scary. If I rely on my own sight and try to conquer all the obstacles in my world I feel lost, defeated and attacked. But if I look up, to Him, I will find help. I will find strength, peace, rest and wisdom.

I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?

My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber
~Psalm 121: 1-3~

Playground Jumping Day - by Wendy T

Need something to occupy your active children for the day. Well try a 'Playground Jumping Day!' It's a fun day that doesn’t cost any money.

Make a list of the playgrounds in your town or area. You can just include the school playgrounds or the town playgrounds, or both. Bring a timer. Tell the children that they have a certain amount of time to play at each playground (10, 20, 30 minutes, you decide). Go to each one on the list.

Then end with a picnic lunch or go for Italian ices or ice cream and talk about which playgrounds were best and why. If you have older children, make a sheet that they can rate each playground. Then discuss the results at the end. (Ex: only a few still have see saws, not many have swings, which has the best monkey bars, which had shade, which one had the highest slide, which was the best overall, etc.)

So head to the playgrounds and have fun!!

Summer Tips: Beach Safety by Wendy T

Follow these important tips to keep your kids safe at the beach:

• Have children wear bright color bathing suits, rash guards and shirts so that you can see them easily. Have all you children wear the same color if possible. Make sure that their bathing suit is not the color or the pool or bay or ocean. Bright colors can save their life if they are drowning or being tossed in the waves. (stay away from light blue or teal in the pool, or Navy or black or dark colors in the ocean or bay)
• Discuss a meeting place or procedure if they get lost or separated.
  
• Have a whistle or specific signal that your children know they need to respond to.
  

Thought for the Day - from 'Nana'

"Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." ~ Ephesians 4:32


Remember that we are forgiven, when we ask, for anything and everything! So it is very important that we forgive others for their transgressions against us.