Helpful Tip Tuesday: 5 Puzzling Questions to Consider

 *Why is it so difficult to realize that others are more likely to  listen to us if first we listen to them?

* Why is it so much easier to be negative than positive?

* Why is it so difficult to motivate ourselves when we know that results come only through motivation?

* Why is it so difficult to say thank you to someone when those are two of our own favorite words to hear?

* Why do we dread adversity when we know that facing it is the only way to become stronger, smarter, better?

~taken from Wooden by Coach John Wooden with Steve Jamison

As I Grow

As I Grow

Please...

Understand that I am 

growing up and changing

very fast. It must be difficult to keep pace with

me, but please try.

Listen to me and give me 

brief, clear answers to my

questions. Then I will keep 

sharing my thoughts and

feelings.

Reward me for telling the

truth. Then I am not 

frightened into lying.

Tell me when you make

mistakes and what you

learned from them. Then I

can accept that I am OK,

even when I blunder.

Pay attention to me, and

spend time with me. Then I

can believe that I am

important and worthwhile.

Do the things you want

me to do. Then I have a 

good, positive model.

Trust and respect me.

Even though I am smaller

than you, I have feelings

and needs just like you.

Compliment and

appreciate me. Then I'll 

feel good, and I'll want to

continue to please you.

Help me explore my

unique interests, talents 

and potential. In order for

me to be happy, I need to be

me, and not you or someone

you want me to be.

Be an individual and

create your own happiness.

Then you can teach me the 

same, and I can live a 

happy, successful and

fulfilling life.

~Helene Rothschild

Quote on True Friendship

"True friendship is a sacred, important thing, and it happens when we drop down into that deeper level of who were are, when we cross over into the broken...fragile parts of ourselves. We have to give something in order to get friendship like that. We have to give up our need to be perceived as perfect. We have to give up our ability to control what other people thing of us. We have to overcome the fear that when they see the depths of who we are, they'll leave. But what we give up is nothing in comparison to what this kind of friendship gives us. Friendship is about risk. Love is about risk. If we can control it and manage it and manufacture it, then it's something else. But if it's really love, really friendship, it is a little scary around the edges."

~As quoted in Friendships for Grown-Ups, pg.142

Helpful Tip Tuesday: Homemaking

"A Calling to Be Queen 

(...of the Home)

1. Homemaking is a priority-I love Titus 2:3-5 because it so clearly spells out God's will for my life (and yours, too!) as a Christian woman.

2. Homemaking is a privilege-Being a queen is a privilege...just as "making" and "building" a home is a privilege.

3. Homemaking is about people-Home is a place where people live.

4. Homemaking is also about a place-A model home has no people. That's true. But it's also true that if there are people living in your house, then you should make that place a lovely home, a place for your loved ones.

5. Homemaking is a passion-not a prison.

6. Homemaking is a profession-As we all know, homemaking is a challenging and diverse career in itself.

7. Homemaking is a matter for prayer-The simple act of praying for our "palace" and our homemaking and for the loved ones for whom we are "making" the home transforms our physical efforts into a great spiritual work with eternal value.

8. Homemaking is permanent-Our high calling to homemaking is not only an important calling, but it is a permanent calling. Why? Because wherever you are, that's where your home is.

9. Homemaking sets a pattern-Titus 2:3-5 tells us what the older women are to do-they are to teach "good things" and train and model for others what a godly woman is and what a godly woman does.

10. Homemaking is a practice-and is to be practiced. An excellent (and encouraging!) time-management principle is "repetition is the mother of skill."

~taken from A Woman's High Calling by Elizabeth George

Helpful Tip Tuesday: Kids and Their Stuff

"Life Skills Checklist

*Do my children have too much clothing or too many toys or too many saved papers?

*Is the closet arranged so my child can hang up her own clothing? Are my child's drawers organized and not too crammed? If my child needs it, have I placed picture labels on the appropriate drawers? Do my children each have their own laundry basket?

*Do I have an organized place for out-of-season clothing, and do I regularly go through this storage area to keep it weeded out?

* Do we have a system for rotating toys so the children don't have too much out at one time? Do we periodically give away toys to someone who can use them? Do my children have a place for books and papers?

*Have we thought of a creative way to deal with items left lying around the house, like a confiscation box? 

*Does my older child understand why it is important to be organized? Has he spent time thinking about the best ways to organize his room and belongings? Do I regularly declutter with my child, helping him to sort and prioritize his possessions?"

~taken from Life Skills for Kids by Christine M. Fields, pg. 149