Memory Monday- #8

We're slipping a little this month. We worked on the verse last week, but don't really KNOW it, like we do the previous set of six. This morning I was reviewing with Quinlan, and talking a bit about what it means. "For all have....what? What has everyone done?" He wasn't sure. "All have sinned. Everyone has sinned in their life." He didn't buy that, though "Nuh, uh! Not everyone!" I expressed my confusion. "Jesus never sinned!" He had me with that one!

Memorize This:
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." ~Romans 6:23

Putting Christ in Christmas

There are many things we could be doing this month to celebrate Christ's birth. I have a few favorite books we use to guide our discussion. My all-time favorite is Lisa Whelchel's Adventure of Christmas. This book goes through many of our holiday traditions and explains how that came about and ties it to Christ.

A few years ago we made an Advent Wreath (from dollar store supplies), that's still holding up to our use of it. Each Sunday we light the candle(s) and talk about what that week stands for. This culminates on Christmas Eve when all four wreath candles, plus the center Christ candle are all lit. This year, we also have A Family Advent, but have not utilized it much, yet. What a great way to keep Jesus as the center of our focus this month!

This is the first year our kids have made a list of things they want. To keep the focus off of presents, we do not put the gifts under the tree until the week of Christmas. The gifts the kids buy/make for each other are wrapped and placed in their stockings, so those are also out of sight. We had a blessing in disguise while my husband was laid off, after we were first married. At that time, there was no money for presents under the tree. We had little ones that wouldn't remember, and had to be creative about the few gifts that made it into the stockings. Since that time, each child gets one present under the tree from Mom and Dad and a stocking full of goodies from siblings. It's so sweet to take them to a $1 aisle and have them ponder the gifts for each other, or watch as they make things, or even wrap up their own toys for each other. In this way, my hope is that the focus isn't on what they're getting, and spending hours staring at presents wondering. My hope is that they are thinking about what will bring a smile to someone else.

What do you do? What are your favorite resources to prepare your heart this season? How are you intentionally passing these things on to your kids?

Need to Order Christmas Cards?

Check out SeeHere.com and photo cards at a great price. This makes me want to expand my mailing list. I ordered mine before Thanksgiving, but these deal is incredible! Use the code 50cards to get 50 free cards. Pay only shipping (about $5). Or use the same code on 24 cards and pay about $2.50 in shipping.

This site also offers free shipping if you order more than 60 cards, so get the best deal by ordering 60, type in the code for 50 free cards and pay $4.90 for your order.

This deal is good through the December 12th.

Check out Freebies 4 Moms for other great deals, too.

Memory Monday- #7

With the Advent season upon us, there are so many good things to ponder. I've decided to continue working through our verse list. Check back tomorrow for some ideas on bringing Christ to the center of your celebrations.

Memorize This:
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." ~Romans 3:23

Memory Monday- Review

The discipline of memorizing verses is a great one. The focus and concentrated effort is good for our minds, hiding God's Word is good for our hearts...so many benefits. And it's been a lot easier to do than I had previously thought. Of course, having kids makes it easier. We're adding hand motions and singing. That's not how I memorized when I was in college :) but it's so much easier! 

It's also really easy to lose verses. How did that one start? What's next? I had that one! ...and now it's gone. We're working our way through a list that will take us just over a year. But after every six verses, I'm building in a review week. This way, God's Word is ever before us and we can be sure we really have it in our hearts and minds. Here's the list of verses we've worked on over the last six weeks. If you don't have them memorized, pick one and hide it in your heart. 

2 Corinthians 5:17

Romans 12:1

2 Timothy 3:16

John 15:7

Matthew 18:20

Matthew 4:19

How do you review memory verses? Any tricks or games? 

Daily Deals

There are so many tips and tricks to saving money and getting good deals. I've discovered that most of it is about being able to wait until the good deal comes along. Because it will. Eventually. We've purchased everything from Mac and Cheese to a van at a greatly reduced rates because we were able to wait for it to hit our price point. It's a little harder when something suddenly breaks, but even there at least one store will have that item on sale or you can find a floor model.

I troll daily deal websites. There are four I currently keep up with, so if you know of any more, please let me know! We've bought a few items- head phones, pull up bar, child's microscope- at great prices. When you see these deals, you have to be able to know something about the product, or be able to do a quick bit of research. They're only up until midnight! It's always better to pass on something you're unsure of. I've been keeping tabs on these sites for a couple of months, and the deal usually comes around again.

My most recent purchase was a Shark cordless sweeper. I HATE sweeping my kitchen, and this thing is great. Plus, the kids can do it- even my two year old! They fight over who "gets" to sweep, so I have to send them to vacuum other rooms with it, too. The reason I'm sharing this, is because it's the daily deal on 1saleaday.com again today. I do not make any money if you buy one. It's just such a good deal on a product I'm falling in love with. I had to pass it on!

Daily Deal Sites:
www.1saleaday.com
www.woot.com
www.tanga.com
www.groupon.com

Memory Monday- #6

I'm so thankful that we have the Word. That here in the U.S. we can pull out our Bible's anytime and anywhere. Many places around the world are not able to do this in safety. Memorizing Scripture allows us to put these verses in our hearts and minds. It does help us now, but it will also help us if we ever find ourselves in a situation where we cannot have our Bibles openly.


Last week, I didn't have an opportunity to spend time reading the Word. I used to guffaw when I heard people say that, but now I'm a mom with five kids, and I've been sick to boot, so no more snickering from this corner! Anyways, I was running an errand in my husband's car with no stereo and the verses that we've memorized just cycled through my mind (in the song form I taught them to my kids!). What a great time I had mulling over those verses and really THINKING about what they meant. I do believe that I now understand what meditation is about a little better. 

This week is our family's sixth verse from the Topical Memory System. 

Memorize This:

Matthew 4:19

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” (NIV, 2010)
"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." (NIV, 1984)

"And He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." (NASB)

Christmas Photo Cards

Have you taken your family photo yet? The time is now here to get a great deal on your Christmas photo cards.

Go to www.seehere.com and upload your photos. Right now there is 50% off all of their photo products when you enter the code cards-39 and get free shipping on a purchase of 60 cards or more for a total of about $15. New accounts also get 25 free 4x8 cards when you use code 25cards, you'll have to pay about $5 shipping. You can only use one code per order, so determine what will work best for you.

Or go to www.vistaprints.com and turn your photo into a postcard. You'll save on shipping, too! Right now order 100 postcards for $17.50. These are often free, so get your cards ready and wait for the deal!
Update, I got an e-mail on 11-17, postcards are now free! Pay only shipping when you order 100 postcards.

I'm not sure how long these promotions will last, so get those pictures taken!

Memory Monday- #5

We've had a great couple of weeks singing our memory verses. How do you get these to stick?

Memorize this:
For where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them. Matthew 18:20