by Donna | Nov 28, 2010
“Traditions are the key to everything. These are the recurring activities that can be anticipated and enjoyed throughout the year. The great value of traditions comes as they give a family a sense of identity, a belongingness. All of us desperately need to feel that we’re not just a cluster of people living together in a house, but we’re a family that’s conscious of its uniqueness, its personality, character, and heritage, and that our special relationships of love and companionship make us a unity with identify and personality.”
James and Shirley Dobson
Two years ago our oldest daughter moved from Indiana to Texas to get her biblical studies degree (to complement the nursing degree she had already gotten while living at home and attending college locally). Our Christmas decorating family night came around, and Kayla was across the country going to school five days a week and working twelve hour shifts as a nurse at Baylor Hospital on the weekends. I planned the family night as usual—but struggled to get excited about it knowing that we would be one child short that year.
Everyone arrived and we all gathered in the living room when Cami and Joseph (newly married) said they had an early Christmas present for Mom and that I should close my eyes while they bring it in. I was sure they were bringing in a poinsettia plant—something to cheer me up with Kayla away. When they had me open my eyes, I screamed, cried, and laughed all at the same time as Kayla stood before me—home for the family decorating night. Kayla had spent an entire weekend of work’s income to give me one of the best Christmas presents I could ever ask for—a Christmas decorating family night with all of my children at home. She flew in for thirty-six hours, a frivolity, some might say. But it was no frivolity. It confirmed that we had placed within our kids a light of family unity—a warmth that says that the Reish family is a great family to be in—and if you can help it, you don’t want to miss any of the special times we share.
Of course, now with our five oldest kids ages 28, 24, 22, 20, and 18, our traditions are lessening—and we are holding onto the most important ones. (And encouraging our olders to develop their own traditions.) But the memories remain—nothing, not even time, can erase family memories.
We recently had another decorating family night—an evening filled with appetizers, homemade cookies, tree decorating, nativity set up, siblings name drawing, caroling, story read alouds, reminiscing, lively discussions, and games. Christmas decorating night is a special one for our entire family. It makes us, as the Dobsons share in the quote above, feel that we are not just a cluster of people living together in a house, but a family that’s conscious of our special relationships of love and companionship.
Start your Christmas traditions today. Make a list of three, five, or ten things that will be your family’s “things” during the holiday season. Traditions that make your family unique. And the Christmas holiday even more special.
Next blog post: A picture journal of our family decorating night! This year we got photographs!
by Donna | Nov 20, 2010
We have taught our children to cook and do for others since they could stir something up in the kitchen! We have used cooking as a ministry to others in many ways throughout our family’s life: making things for small group, cooking meals for company, making goodies for neighbors and family, preparing freezer meals for those expecting babies or in other needy situations, cooking large amounts for banquets for the disability ministry our kids are a part of, and much more.
Now that we are busy with our family ministry and publishing company (and now that our girls are grown and not here to cook!), we do not cook as much as we used to, though we still love to gather together in the kitchen and make stir fry, pizza, soup, freezer entrees, or cookies.
I will be sharing many of our favorite holiday recipes over the next six weeks (mainly on weekends), but I want to start with some ideas for “quick holiday goody gifts.” These are things that you and your children might be able to prepare (at least package) together—or things that make a lot in a short amount of time. (Other, more time consuming recipes, such as our favorite holiday cookies, etc. will follow later.)
So…to start with, I will give you my four “quickest” (and somewhat child-friendly in terms of kids helping with them) gift goodies—with recipes. Snack mixes in colorful Christmas bags—sized for individuals and for families
1. Peanut butter, chocolate, and “ribbon” fudge poured right into shallow plastic Christmas goody buckets
2. Mini and full sized loaves of quick bread
3. “Easy” drop and other candies to use for “family candy day”—those that do not require molds or a lot of cooking but can be made in bulk to put on plates or in tins for gift giving
Check in often during November and December!
by Donna | Nov 14, 2010
I recently stumbled upon a beautiful parenting blog. In it, the author has a printable document entitled the Ten Point Manifesto of Joyful Parenting available for free. This is an incredible reminder of what Christian parenting is all about—and there is a link to each of the ten points for more teaching/explanation of that particular truth.
Click the link, print, and enjoy!
https://www.aholyexperience.com/2010/11/10-point-manifesto-of-joyful-parenting-free-printable/
by Donna | Nov 12, 2010
According to legend, the daily ration of the Pilgrims in their early winters in America fell to five kernels of corn. (Can you feel your blood sugar plummeting?) The Pilgrims set later Thanksgiving tables with plates containing only five corn kernels in remembrance of God’s sustaining grace. I love that—five kernels of corn holding the village spellbound amidst a table of plenty. Our family also strives to focus on the physical and spiritual providence of our God by setting a family table of remembrance.
The center of our Thanksgiving table is adorned with hand-print crafts, some old, some new. Each place is set with a handmade napkin ring with a photo of the family member and a namecard decorated in “thumb print art.” Each place setting holds a card printed with the words to Psalm 100 and a plate containing five kernels of unpopped popcorn. At the head of the table sits our Thanksgiving jar. Although the table is an eclectic mix of children’s crafts amid “the good dishes” and elegantly designed centerpieces, each item carries special meaning.
The napkin rings with their photos and the center crafts with their variously sized handprints remind us how God faithfully supplies our needs. Faces change, hands grow, and faiths stretch and strengthen, all due to the providence of a gracious God. The personalized namecards and thumbprint art remind us that each of us has a special place in our family and in God’s family, having been uniquely knit by Him, called by name, and preserved for His special purpose.
When we read Psalm 100 aloud together, we remember to whom we owe our thanks. We hear at Thanksgiving that people are thankful, but rarely do we hear to whom they are thankful. We sadly wonder if many even know who grants them life and sustains them. We want our children to intimately know the God who feeds their bodies and souls, and to recognize Him, not their own labors or good fortune, as the source of all blessings.
Finally, the five kernels of corn. As the Thanksgiving jar travels around, each person states five things for which he is thankful to God, while placing five kernels into the jar. The same jar is used each year and is never emptied. As the years progress and the family grows, new kernels are piled atop the remembered blessings of years gone by.
Our Thanksgiving table decor is tucked away after the holiday. Our Thanksgiving jar, however, is a constant presence. When the heaviness of life weighs on us, or when God feels distant, a glance at the jar reminds us of His providence and nearness. It nudges us to give thanks for all things at all times, not just on Thanksgiving. There is a lot of room left in that jar, a lot of room for the workings of a mighty God throughout the future generations of a grateful and God-focused family.
Christy Bagasao
https://www.notableblogger.com/
by Donna | Nov 10, 2010
One of the things that we have done nearly every school day ever since Joshua was three or four was to read from biographies. Now, on days that we do not get to read together, the boys often listen to audio biographies or stories of great people. With many people out there today that kids idolize who are less than worthy to be idolized, I can’t say enough about including biographies in your life. Today and tomorrow I will introduce you to some resources to help you implement biographies in your life.
To begin with, if you do not read biographies (or anything much) together as a family, you will want to start with exciting and short ones. We often read entire short biographies (i.e. 100-150 pages that maybe take six hours aloud) over a period of time, but you might do better starting out with biographical compilations rather than full length biographies.
Who to read about? We love godly heroes (Jim Elliot, William Borden, Charles Spurgeon, Billy Graham, Joni Ereckson Tada, Brother Andrew, Amy Carmichael, Corrie ten Boom, Mary Slessor, Gladys Aylward, etc.). We also love heroes of history. We are currently reading people from the Civil War era, including Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, and Clara Barton. (When my older kids were little, their two cats were named Clara and Florence after Clara Barton and Florence Nightengale!)
You can also use dvd’s to introduce your family to heroic people. True life movies are a good way to get your kids interested in people who did great things (like “The Hiding Place” about Corrie ten Boom) or “Cross and the Switchblade” about Nicky Cruz). Animated movies/programs are excellent for introducing little kids to heroic characters. Our favorites are NEST. (See link below.)
As for audios, Adventures in Oddysey has radio programs that are just historical in nature (i.e. volume of nothing but historic people and events) as well as ones that are just Bible characters. Talk about a fun family way to learn about godly people and heroic deeds! (Great for car trips!)
You don’t have to be a homeschooler to teach your children via godly heroes. Make your “mandatory three or four dinners together” end with a chapter out of a biography. Or use audio biographies (or Adventures in Oddysey historical or Bible programs) while you are cleaning dinner together. Make a Sunday reading hour in which you read a short biography about a godly hero and discuss it.
Tomorrow I will gather some links and resources of dvd’s, audios, and biographical compilations to get you started! Have fun expanding your kids’ heroes while reading, listening, and watching together!
by Donna | Nov 9, 2010
“There’s no such thing in anyone’s life as an unimportant day.” Alexander Woollcott
I have been on Face Book for a little over a year now, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Sharing pictures with my grown kids; connecting with old friends; getting messages out quickly to students and their families; “talking” to friends that I often do not get to; and so much more. It has been an awesome experience. Of course, just like anything else, it has be controlled and have accountability—and if it were consuming my life or taking too much time, etc., I would not have it—just like we have not had television programming (i.e. dish, antennae, etc.) for almost all of our married life. (Life with our children is way too short to let “things” get in the way of what we need to be doing to raise them.)
One thing that always strikes me as funny about FB statuses is the “nothing to do today” syndrome. It is especially apparent in children and teens, but adults often have this same mindset. It is the mindset that if nothing exciting is going on today, it’s a bum day. Ultimately, I think we need to address this with our children. If our children go through their growing up years living for experiences and fun—and dreading days that do not contain activity and excitement, they will indeed be disappointed adults.
For today, however, we should consider this in our adult/parent lives—and the root of this view. Obviously, I love exciting days. I love to look forward to being with my grown kids, going on vacation, ballroom dancing on Saturday, spending an evening with friends, and even my favorite movie coming to the theatre. But we have to be careful as parents that we do not get into the rut of living for the exciting, the unusual, or “activity.”
The quote at the beginning of this post sums it up. Every day is important. Each day is another opportunity to invest in our kids; to do the mundane excellently; to live life with them; to model Christian living; to point them to God; to teach them the character of Christ; to help them learn to live relationally with each other and those they encounter in work, school, church, and play.
When we wake up with nothing exciting on the schedule, rather than looking at it as being a “bum” day, we should welcome a day without “extras”—as more time, more opportunity, more relationship, more love, and more training. An unfilled day (as far as “unusual” or “extras”—most days are pretty full already!) is really a wide open day. It is a day to pay special attention to our children, our home, our spouse, and others that God has put in our lives. Truly, there is no such thing as an unimportant day when it comes to parenting.
