How We Pleased Daddy Today

Just a tip I thought you all might like!  My husband works a later shift and usually doesn't get home until around 2-2:30.  Sometimes, we are already in bed when he gets home (depending on what time we have to get up the next morning).  In those cases, I like for DH (dear husband) to have an idea of what we did for the day.  Therefore, we have started writing some of the things we accomplish on a dry/erase board and place it on the fridge (but a plain old sheet of paper left of the table would be sufficient).

It is also great accountability for me to make sure I'm doing what I need to be doing, knowing that my husband will be reading it.  We might not write down every little thing, but I love for my husband to be able to have the "run down" of what the kids are doing, without me talking his ear off as soon as he comes home :)

What are some ways you let your husband know what you and the kiddos have been doing all day?

Read More

Homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent

DIY Homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent

It seems like everyone is making laundry soap on Pinterest these days. I even tried to make some of the Duggar liquid laundry soap. While it seemed to clean, it was very difficult to make, hard to get the right consistency, and it was time consuming. Plus, I had to have 2 five gallon buckets (which became heavy). As much as I love saving money, it just wasn't for me!

Later, I made my own powdered dishwashing detergent. If you use the proper rinse aid, it works like a charm! I spent about $12 for over a years worth of detergent! I loved it!

So that got me thinking. Why not use a powdered laundry detergent? There are many of these recipes on Pinterest, but this is one I came up with on my own and it works really great! I use it in my Front Load HE Washer. I was using the All Laundry Packs, but they actually left lots of suds behind.  This recipe is super simple, takes very little time, and it cleans and smells great!  I'll also throw in some optional ingredients so you can make it to your liking!  What's great about the powder is that you can easily half this recipe if you don't want to make so much at a time (which is more difficult to do with the liquid).  This recipe will fill a 2.5 gallon tub.

What you'll need:

One 2.5 to 3 gallon tub to store your detergent  (I just used a Rubbermaid tub from Wal-Mart)-$3.00
One Smaller tub to keep by your washer so you don't have to keep your detergent in such a large tub (optional)-$1.00
One 4lb 12 oz box of Borax- $5.00
One 4lb box of Baking Soda -$2.50
One 3lb 7oz box of Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda -$3.50
One 2lb container Clorox Oxi Magic Stain Remover (optional)- $4.50
2 bars of Fels Naptha Soap (grated)-$2.50
One 55 oz bottle of Purex Crystals (optional)-$9.00

Total Cost $16.50 to $31.00 (depending upon what all ingredients you choose to use) for about a 6 month supply of laundry detergent (depending upon your family size).  I don't know about you, but I spend that much on my All detergent in about two to three purchases!

Mix all ingredients together in layers.  For example, you might want to mix one quarter of each ingredient in, then another quarter, then another, and then another.  This allows the detergent to mix together well (so you'll have all of the ingredients in every scoop).  I like to mix this with a spoon, but also with my hands as well!  Get it good and mixed!

Add about 2-3 tablespoons (yes tablespoons...this stuff will last for about a year, depending upon your load average) directly to the wash.

*TIP*  As far as grating the soap....I despise using a cheese grater.  My knuckles always hit the sides and bleed and it takes so much longer.  It's too much work.  I like to take a large knife and chop the bar soap up into cubes and then put it in my blender and pulse it about 30 times.

After mixing my ingredients, I put some of it in a smaller container (you could actually use your Clorox Oxi Tub for this) so I don't have to keep that big tub of detergent near my washer (I don't have the room for it).  It's up to you how you store it!  Just keep it in a closed container.

I also like to add some vinegar to my bleach compartment.  You can also add about 5-6 drops of scented oil to your wash.  These are optional, but vinegar will be great for keeping your washer clean as well as your clothes and the scented oil is a must in our family.  My husband works in a chicken plant and it's hard to get that smell out!!




That's it!  Your detergent should last you at least 6 months!  You might have to purchase a lot in the beginning, but you'll save so much in the long run.  If it's hard to purchase it all at once, consider buying one or two ingredients at a time each grocery trip until you have all the ingredients.  After you make your first batch, go ahead and start saving up to buy each ingredient again for backup for when you run out (that way you don't have to purchase it all at once).

Read More

How to Teach Your Children Weekly Bible Verses

Knowing God's Word is vital nourishment for our spiritual well-being.  Not only must we know It, but we must hide God's Word in our hearts.  When the enemy comes in to devour, we must be ready to fight with the Word of God.

I have been a Christian since a child, but I must admit, I had never really learned Scripture.  Even in reading my Bible, I never made memorizing Scripture important.  The only time I learned Scripture is when It was in a song I heard often or I had to learn It for church.  If I were to make a guess, I would estimate that I only could quote 15-20 Bible verses off of the top of my head, on the spot, much of my Christian life.

During much of my life, despite trying to grow closer to God, I found discouragement and discontentment controlling my thoughts when things weren't going well.  I didn't have God's Word hid in my heart (Psalm 119:11), so I didn't have the encouragement of it to remind me of God's care for my life during any hard times.

As an adult, learning Scripture is not much different for me than learning It as a child.  I find it difficult to sit and read a verse to try and remember it.  Even if I do, it usually doesn't stick as long.

Now that we have children, we have learned over the years that learning Scripture needs to be apart of our everyday life.  Not only will this help us to remember it easier, but it will help us to USE it in our everyday lives.

So, I want to share with you the techniques my family uses for us to learn Scripture as a family.  We encourage you to do this as a family.  Mom and Dad can't both help the children if they don't both know the Bible verse the children are learning.  In the same sense, there is no confusion on everyone focusing on different verses.  You may use some of our ideas and you may not use any of them!  I just want to encourage you to begin learning God's Word as a family and hopefully you'll gleam ideas as well.

We have began learning a weekly Bible verse to learn as a family.  On Monday, I write our new Bible Verse on our kitchen door.  Here is this week's verse:

Before anyone can exit the door, we must read aloud the Bible Verse.  The more we say it, the easier it is to remember!  The more we go outside, the more we say it!  Of course, you don't have to have chalkboard paint and be ready to slather up your nice kitchen door.  A simple piece of tape and paper will do to put your Bible verse on.  Just find a spot that works for you.  You may decide to put the Bible verses over the snack cabinet, in your car where it must be said before you leave...wherever you decide, find a place that you use a lot so your verse will be said a lot!

I also take several times throughout the day to ask my child her Bible verse.  In doing this, she and I are both learning the verse.  At the beginning of the week, when she doesn't know the verse, I simply have her repeat each word after me.  As the week goes on, she gets better and better.  I then begin just helping her when she's stuck on what the next word is.  By the end of the week, she's got it down!

 

"Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." 1 Peter 5:5

As a reward for each time she says her Bible verse (even if she's just repeating after me), she gets a treat.  It may be a piece of candy, getting a sticker, reading a new book, or blowing out a candle.  Find a few things that your child loves and mix it up (you don't want your child eating candy all day long) and certainly you want age appropriate rewards!

I usually remember to ask Araylah to say her Bible verse when she asks me for something.  If she's asking to color,  I say, "Sure!  While I'm getting out your colors, can you tell me your Bible verse?"  It's a great way for me to remember to ask her!
For our family, we primarily have chosen verses that will pertain to her.  Sometimes her verses are long, sometimes they are short.  I've been asked, "why don't you just have her say, 'Jesus wept'?"  Certainly that is a powerful and important verse in the Bible, but it's not a verse that my child can understand yet at her age or that I feel I can relate to her everyday life.  I want to try to only use verses that are relevant to her everyday life or that I feel I can explain on her level.  Otherwise, it's just for a show.  Learning other verses, as she learns more and more about Jesus, will come.  But Mark and I decided we just want to use verses that our children will presently understand.

I'll give you an example of this with another way we choose to learn Bible verses.  One of my main disciplines for my two year old is time-outs.  When she does something inappropriate, she is to go to the couch and sit quietly for 3 minutes.  I explain to her, her offense, report to her, her punishment, set the timer and go about my business.  When the timer goes off, I return to her.  I remind her of what she did and how it is not appropriate nor acceptable.  We then go to a chart I have on the wall (The If-Then Chart).  If she was being disobedient, we read Ephesians 6:1.  She would repeat it after me (as soon as she was old enough to repeat me).  I would then explain to her what the verse means and why it is important.  I would then ask for an apology, hug, and kiss.  If anyone else was wronged, she would make it right with that person as well.

So you see, we are saying Scripture throughout the day.  When you say it so much, it is BOUND to be memorized.  We don't do anything real creative when it comes to memorizing it, we just say it aloud a lot!

"Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord." Leviticus 19:30

***There are some resources that we do use to help us along.  For example, we love to sing in the car, but we only want to sing songs that are edifying.  We love to listen to our CDS from Bible Truth Music.  They are cute songs of children singing Scripture (KJV).  Music has a way of making verses easier to remember.  It has even benefited me!  Now when I'm humming a catchy tune in my head, it's God's Word!  It is such a blessing! 
You can also get FREE CDS and/or downloads of passages being sang by the beautiful Tirzah Joy by emailing her through her website here. It's called Sing The KJV. You can also visit her on YouTube here.

***Another resource we use is in the form of a DVD!  Moore Family Films produces wonderful movies for the entire family!  One of their great films is the A-B-C Say It With Me Bible Memory Verses.  It's a wonderful DVD filled with children saying a Bible verse for every letter of the alphabet.  My two year old learned all of those verses in two weeks!  You can read my full review of this product and watch the trailer here. 

*** If you're looking for another DVD resource, you may want to check out Scripture Talk!  This DVD offers a way to memorize, not just KJV Bible Verses, but passages.  My just turned two year old learned 1 Corinthians 13 in just 9 days (way faster than me)!  They put the Bible verses to motions and keep it very entertaining for children (and adults) of all ages!  You can read my full review here!

***If you're looking for something while you travel or tangible, this next resource is wonderful!  I am so thankful for Christian moms who share their work for FREE to help the rest of us!  You can get an ABC printable with KJV Bible Verses for your little one for FREE!  Just hop on over to Andrea Hamilton's blog to print them!

***To Memorize Psalm 23, we found a KJV children's book.  We would read it many nights before we went to bed.  We didn't push it, but eventually, it became natural and memorized.  When we felt she had most of it memorized, we made it her weekly Bible Verse for that week (all 6 verses):

Unfortunately, these books are hard to come by.  So, I made a cheesy notebook with the Passage we  learned next (The Lord's Prayer):

Obviously, I would have made the pictures horizontally, but my printer is giving me fits right now.  Luckily, my three year old doesn't mind one bit!

One thing I encourage you to do is to plan ahead the Bible verses that will be memorized.  I just took the same day out of every week and typed it out.  Then I wrote verses alongside each day that I wanted Araylah to memorize.  It's great to have a printout of the verse you want for a few reasons:
 1) You don't have to go looking hurriedly for a verse when you realize you haven't picked one out for this week and
 2) You can be confident that you are giving your children verses that are relevant to them because you took the time ahead to plan it out.
Print it out and put it up high so you can see it.  If your children are having issues being obedient in church, you can move up Leviticus 19:30 on your list.  Don't be afraid to change the schedule based upon your children's current needs.

To my shame, my two year old probably knows more Bible verses now than I did most of my Christian life.  I feel confident she knows more than many adults sitting in pews every Sunday as well.  I don't say this in pride for her.  I say it because it pleases my heart knowing that when she is facing a difficult time, Scripture will be in her memory to comfort and guide her.  I didn't have that in often cases growing up.  The Word of God is our friend.  It is our help.  But if we don't study It and cherish It, It will just collect dust on a shelf.  I encourage you to begin instilling the Word of God into your home, regardless of the age of your children.

*****If your child is old enough for writing, you might also consider this next resource.  What better way is there for your child to practice their penmanship than with writing Scriptures?  Not only is their handwriting improving, but so is their vocabulary, as well as memorizing God's Word!  I stumbled upon this resource, and though I haven't used it yet, it is King James Scripture and it appears to be a great book if you're wanting some a little more formal than just telling your child to copy "Romans Chapter 12."  You can view the book here.*****

The newest way we are learning Bible verses as a family is during Family Bible Time!  We each read four verses during this time of verses we have already learned.  This way, we don't forget them!  I found this method here.  But you can watch the video below!  It has been great for our family!

 


My goal in this post is to encourage you.  We are a normal family and we have been blessed by the countless other families who are teaching their children the Word of God!  Your child can do it!  Work at their speed and on their level, but don't underestimate how much they can learn.  Young minds are like sponges.  If you're like me, your little one will be correcting you when you miss one little tiny word in 1 Corinthians 13!

What are some ways you choose to teach your children Bible verses?  I'd love to hear what works in your home!  It might help other families, including my own, to have some more ways to memorize God's Word.

Read More

Legitimate Ways to Earn Cash and Rewards From Home for Free!

Just found a great way to earn free gift cards.  No it's not a gimmick.  I don't believe in that.  Much like my Big Crumbs, this is another way to earn rewards for doing what you love to do.

Many of you know I use Big Crumbs, Credit Card Rewards, and Retailmenot.com to earn and save a little money.  This is another great way:

Basically, you get rewards for using Bing as your search engine and for referring friends.  They also offer other ways to earn rewards.  Rewards can be redeemed for gift cards and such.  It's free, and if you're going to go online to search anyway, you can earn rewards while doing it. 



You can check it out by clicking here!

No, it won't make you rich, but by doing all of these little things, they can really add up!


If you have any tips you can give, let me know!  I'd love to hear ways you earn rewards and cash! If you know a way to earn rewards doing things you already do, comment below!

Read More