Well, the first giveaway on this blog was a super success! Thanks for all of your entries and comments! I love hearing from my readers! :)
I'd love to offer more giveaways in the future so if you or someone you know has an Etsy shop, hobby, or business and would like some extra advertising AND have something kid or infant related you would like to share with my readers, please let me know! :)
I also plan on hosting a link party at the end of July/beginning of August to showcase homeschool rooms and spaces! I would LOVE to see yours so please link up then! :)
As I mentioned in my title above - the winds of change are blowing this way! The Nature of Grace blog is about to have a makeover! I am excited about the new look and to be able to offer readers the opportunity to follow along in different ways. :) I'll even have a grab button for those of you looking for a way to share this blog with others! :)
Also, I will be taking a blog break over the next two or three weeks as I take time to work on stuff for the new homeschool year and get things settled with the new blog look. I still may post one or two small things during that time, but I won't be doing any major posting. Thanks for your patience and understanding! :)
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Review & Giveaway: The Child Training Bible
Today I'm excited to be sharing my review of a GREAT tool AND hosting a giveaway for the same! It's called the Child Training Bible (CTB). I recently received the kit in the mail, made one, and tried it out. I am hooked! Here's why:
A few years ago, I read a very convicting book by Lou Priolo called "Teach Them Diligently". It detailed how to raise and discipline children in such a way that they would eventually begin to use scripture and questioning to examine their own hearts, leading to repentance and resolution of the situation. A parent's important role in this is to provide guidance and direction - looking up verses with your children, discussing how the scriptures apply to what has just happened, asking the right questions, etc.
For many, trying to accomplish such things may sound daunting at first - BUT IT IS WORTH IT! I was determined to try at the time, but found it very difficult to follow through. It was really hard in the heat of the moment or when some other little one needed me at the same time, to remember what scriptures to use for which circumstance, much less think of what questions to ask at the time to probe my daughter's heart and help her to understand her own sinful motives. I grew a bit discouraged, and often found I would slip into my own reasoning as to why she should or should not do something instead of bringing her to the Word of God and letting HIM touch her heart.
Then one day, I found the Child Training Bible online. It has been such a HUGE help to me as I have sought to use verses to help my daughter understand her relationship with Christ, how her sin affects others, and how to exhibit a more thoughtful and loving attitude! Here's how it works...
The color coded tabs match items listed on an insert you glue into the front of a 6 x9 Bible (we used a large print ESV one which was slightly bigger I believe, but still seemed to work well). The tabs show you where to search for verses (highlighted in the same color as the matching tab) that address the problem your child is struggling with at the time (complaining, anger, selfishness, quarreling, etc.). AND it doesn't stop there.
Remember how I mentioned it is important to ask your children the right questions - more specifically, ones that will help guide their thinking and resolution regarding a sinful behavior? Well, the Child Training Bible helps with that as well. There are separate inserts you can clip to the back of the Bible and pull out as needed. Each contains a list of the character struggles, heart probing questions to go along with each item, and prayer suggestions.
What a great resource! If I am rattled or upset by the moment (probably nine times out of ten), I will sometimes send my daughter to a time-out spot to give us both a moment to calm down. I will use that short time to grab the CTB and look up some of the scriptures alone to focus my own thoughts on what I am about to read with her. I can then sit down to go over the verses with Miss A, asking her questions and working toward repentance and resolution.
Yes, it means a sacrifice of time - so does teaching your children how to tie their shoes. But once they begin to learn it on their own, it will eventually become second nature to them. The same holds true here. Once you begin to go over related verses with them, using heart probing questions to get to the root of the sinful behavior and teaching them how God's word applies to their lives, they will eventually begin to think of the verses themselves and know how to examine their motives (holding them up to the penetrating Word of God), and will better understand how to resolve the problem.
Any sacrifice is difficult at the time - but this IS one worth making. I have already noticed a change in both myself and Miss A through using the CTB. Nothing convicts and directs like God's word - it is the best tool you can use for training your children in the way they should go!
(Note: making a Child Training Bible does require a bit of time initially, but it is important to understand that this time is a precious heart and soul investment when it is poured into something which will help you guide and direct your children to a closer relationship with the Lord and with those around them as well).
For those of you wanting to learn more or wanting to purchase your own kit and all the items needed for making your own Child Training Bible, please go here.
AND one lucky reader will also have the chance to WIN a kit here!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
A few years ago, I read a very convicting book by Lou Priolo called "Teach Them Diligently". It detailed how to raise and discipline children in such a way that they would eventually begin to use scripture and questioning to examine their own hearts, leading to repentance and resolution of the situation. A parent's important role in this is to provide guidance and direction - looking up verses with your children, discussing how the scriptures apply to what has just happened, asking the right questions, etc.
For many, trying to accomplish such things may sound daunting at first - BUT IT IS WORTH IT! I was determined to try at the time, but found it very difficult to follow through. It was really hard in the heat of the moment or when some other little one needed me at the same time, to remember what scriptures to use for which circumstance, much less think of what questions to ask at the time to probe my daughter's heart and help her to understand her own sinful motives. I grew a bit discouraged, and often found I would slip into my own reasoning as to why she should or should not do something instead of bringing her to the Word of God and letting HIM touch her heart.
Then one day, I found the Child Training Bible online. It has been such a HUGE help to me as I have sought to use verses to help my daughter understand her relationship with Christ, how her sin affects others, and how to exhibit a more thoughtful and loving attitude! Here's how it works...
Remember how I mentioned it is important to ask your children the right questions - more specifically, ones that will help guide their thinking and resolution regarding a sinful behavior? Well, the Child Training Bible helps with that as well. There are separate inserts you can clip to the back of the Bible and pull out as needed. Each contains a list of the character struggles, heart probing questions to go along with each item, and prayer suggestions.
What a great resource! If I am rattled or upset by the moment (probably nine times out of ten), I will sometimes send my daughter to a time-out spot to give us both a moment to calm down. I will use that short time to grab the CTB and look up some of the scriptures alone to focus my own thoughts on what I am about to read with her. I can then sit down to go over the verses with Miss A, asking her questions and working toward repentance and resolution.
Yes, it means a sacrifice of time - so does teaching your children how to tie their shoes. But once they begin to learn it on their own, it will eventually become second nature to them. The same holds true here. Once you begin to go over related verses with them, using heart probing questions to get to the root of the sinful behavior and teaching them how God's word applies to their lives, they will eventually begin to think of the verses themselves and know how to examine their motives (holding them up to the penetrating Word of God), and will better understand how to resolve the problem.
Any sacrifice is difficult at the time - but this IS one worth making. I have already noticed a change in both myself and Miss A through using the CTB. Nothing convicts and directs like God's word - it is the best tool you can use for training your children in the way they should go!
(Note: making a Child Training Bible does require a bit of time initially, but it is important to understand that this time is a precious heart and soul investment when it is poured into something which will help you guide and direct your children to a closer relationship with the Lord and with those around them as well).
For those of you wanting to learn more or wanting to purchase your own kit and all the items needed for making your own Child Training Bible, please go here.
AND one lucky reader will also have the chance to WIN a kit here!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Friday, June 29, 2012
THANK YOU & SOME FUN CHANGES!
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!
I am pleased to report that even though my blog did not make it onto the Circle of Moms Top 25 Homeschooling Blogging Moms list, it DID make it into the 40's!!! Out of over 220 blogs, I would say that is a pretty sweet spot! So THANK YOU everyone who took the time to vote! I appreciate all of the support! :)
CHANGES COMING SOON...
I am also excited to report that some changes are on the way for The Nature of Grace! Soon you should be able to subscribe by e-mail, follow me on facebook, twitter, etc. (all that good stuff) - that is if you'd like to! ;) AND I decided it was time for a new look as well so I'll be revealing that shortly!
I am pleased to report that even though my blog did not make it onto the Circle of Moms Top 25 Homeschooling Blogging Moms list, it DID make it into the 40's!!! Out of over 220 blogs, I would say that is a pretty sweet spot! So THANK YOU everyone who took the time to vote! I appreciate all of the support! :)
CHANGES COMING SOON...
I am also excited to report that some changes are on the way for The Nature of Grace! Soon you should be able to subscribe by e-mail, follow me on facebook, twitter, etc. (all that good stuff) - that is if you'd like to! ;) AND I decided it was time for a new look as well so I'll be revealing that shortly!
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
THANK YOU! :)
Dear followers and fans! Thank you SOOOO much for your continued support and votes! It is amazing to be where I am so far on the list of homeschool blogging moms!
Only a few more days left of voting so please consider taking a few seconds to click on the voting badge, find my blog's name, and click on the voting hand! I would appreciate it SUPER much! :) It would take about thirty or forty votes to move my blog up into the thirties on the list today - I would love for you to be a part of that accomplishment! :)
Don't forget to check out other blogs while you are there! There are some pretty awesome mommies out there! :)
REMEMBER - you can vote once a day each day until the end of the contest which ends in FOUR days!
Only a few more days left of voting so please consider taking a few seconds to click on the voting badge, find my blog's name, and click on the voting hand! I would appreciate it SUPER much! :) It would take about thirty or forty votes to move my blog up into the thirties on the list today - I would love for you to be a part of that accomplishment! :)
Don't forget to check out other blogs while you are there! There are some pretty awesome mommies out there! :)
REMEMBER - you can vote once a day each day until the end of the contest which ends in FOUR days!
Monday, June 18, 2012
Mommy and Me Activity: Ballerina Tee!
I was inspired to try this by a shirt I saw in a store window last year - thank you Gap or whichever store it was. The material they used for the ballet skirt on the shirt reminded me of some shabby rose ribbon I had. And thus, the idea was born.
However, it is so much more cute, not to mention special, if you have your own little ballerina help design it herself. Here's how we made ours:
Materials:
- One blank shirt (find one at craft stores for $2-$5 dollars)
- Small piece of shabby rose ribbon (also can be found at some craft stores like Hobby Lobby in their ribbon section).
- One squeeze bottle of black fabric paint
- One Mark-B-Gone Pen (the pen I used one with two ends - Disappearing Ink and Mark-B-Gone. You will want to use the Mark-B-Gone end with ink that disappears when touched by water. These pens can be found in the sewing section of some craft stores and in sewing stores).
- A piece of cardboard or heavy paper to provide a barrier under the shirt (not shown in the picture above).
- Fabric glue (also not shown in the picture above).
Directions:
1. Slip the cardboard or paper in between the front and the back of the shirt to provide a barrier which keeps the ink and glue from seeping through the top of the shirt to the back of it as well. You may also want to make sure your shirt is in a place where it will not be disturbed for a few days once you are done, or on top of something which can be moved with ease to a different location as needed because your shirt will need to dry for a few days undisturbed.
2. Let your child used the Mark-B-Gone pen to draw her ballerina on the front of the shirt (you may want to let your child experiment with a cut piece of rose ribbon to come up with an idea of how large to draw the ballerina to fit the "tutu"). If she makes a mistake or gets frustrated, just wet it down, wait until the shirt dries blank again, and start over (you may also want to make a square or rectangle out of tape on the shirt to give your child some drawing boundaries - otherwise her design might end up all over the shirt.). When everything is dry, you can easily remove the tape from the shirt.
3. Once your child is done, take the fabric paint and carefully trace over your child's design.
4. Use the pre-cut piece of shabby rose ribbon to be the tutu on the ballerina design (or you may need to cut a new one for a better fit) and glue it to the design carefully with fabric glue.
5. Follow drying instructions for both the paint AND glue. Chances are that this will be 48-72 hours at least.
6. Wash the shirt, and it is ready for wearing! :)
This idea could easily be adapted in many different ways for a child to make his/her own t-shirt design so don't limit your thinking to just ballet! :) Happy designing to you all! :)
Linking up:
www.tipjunkie.com
www.cleanandscentsible.blogspot.com
www.gingersnapcrafts.com
www.momontimeout.com
www.bearrabbitbear.com
www.handsonaswegrow.com
www.houseofhepworths.com
www.happyhourprojects.com
www.kitchenfunwithmy3sons.blogspot.com
www.joyfulstamper.blogspot.com
www.livinglifeintentionally.blogspot.com
www.tatertotsandjello.com
Friday, June 15, 2012
DIY Newspaper Bow!
Yesterday, I posted about some secret message wrapping paper we made and mentioned the bows were homemade as well! So here, as I promised, is the tutorial.
BTW - I cannot claim credit for this inspiration, I once saw an awesome paper bow on www.whipperberry.com. I went there to check for the tutorial but couldn't find it so this is my own attempt. I chose to use newspaper because that seemed like a fun "father-like" bow. If you want to make the child colored bow shown on the gift picture from yesterday's post (I believe I saw this suggestion on Pinterest or on another website somewhere long ago) - just have your child scribble on some paper and use that instead of the newspaper I used below.
1. Cut three pieces of newspaper to your desired length and width (I used roughly 1 1/2 inch width and 22 inch length strips for this bow). Fold one strip as show in the first picture above.
2. Fold the other end of the same strip and secure both in the middle with a staple. Cut off the excess ends. Follow the same method for the other two strips of newspaper.
3. Layer the three pieces of looped newspaper on top of each other (experiment with the placement of them until you achieve the desired effect - I have layered the first two in the picture above) and staple together in the middle.
4. Following the same steps listed above, make a smaller looped newspaper and place it inside the middle of your stapled stack. Staple or glue in place.
5. Make one small round loop with a leftover piece of newspaper and glue or staple closed. Use this for the center of your bow. Place on top of the other stacked looped newspaper pieces in the middle and glue or staple in place. All done! :)
Linking to:
www.tatertotsandjello.com
www.diyhshp.blogspot.com/
www.makingtheworldcuter.com
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Father's Day: Secret Message Gift Wrap, Homemade Bows, & Homemade Gummy Bites!
Father's Day is just around the corner so I thought I'd share a little of what we did to make it extra special for Daddy this year. :) To make the gift wrapping just as wonderful as the gift inside, I decided to spice up some plain white wrapping paper by having us write secret notes on it for my husband.
UPDATE ON THIS METHOD: The lemon juice method did not work well on the wrapping paper we used. The notes we wrote with the juice didn't seem to show up very well using a heat source. It is possible that this was due to the type of wrap we used so I suggest if you try this method - you may want to make a little sample first using the type of wrap you intend to give your gift in to make sure it works well first. Please let me know if you try this and have a successful story to share as I thought this would be a fun idea for kids. :)
On the second gift, we used homemade finger paint to write a secret note to Daddy. In order to read it, he will have to open his present VERY carefully so as not to mess up the paper.
By the way, if you try any of these methods, make sure you measure and cut your paper to size for your gift FIRST so you don't end up having to cut off part of your message after the paint has dried.
Don't you LOVE the bows we used? They are homemade as well! I will be posting a tutorial on how we made these (with pics) tomorrow so make sure you check back!!!
P.S. A follower recently let me know about an article which might be of interest to other readers concerning ways to wrap a gift. Here is the link: http://www.aupairjobs.com/articles/10-ways-to-wrap-a-gift/ Thanks for the tip, Jacqui! :)
By the way, if you try any of these methods, make sure you measure and cut your paper to size for your gift FIRST so you don't end up having to cut off part of your message after the paint has dried.
Don't you LOVE the bows we used? They are homemade as well! I will be posting a tutorial on how we made these (with pics) tomorrow so make sure you check back!!!
P.S. A follower recently let me know about an article which might be of interest to other readers concerning ways to wrap a gift. Here is the link: http://www.aupairjobs.com/articles/10-ways-to-wrap-a-gift/ Thanks for the tip, Jacqui! :)
Last year, we made Daddy some homemade chipotle gummy bears which he loved! SOOO this year, in addition to some items that my husband wanted, we decided to make him another batch of chipotle peach gummy goodness! AND I decided to try a new flavor combination which I am happy to report, was also quite tasty: mango lime gummy bites!
For the recipe and post from last year, just click here (to make the mango lime flavor, I used lime jello with a tiny bit of lime zest mixed in and tiny pieces of mangos sprinkled on top before the mixture could cool and firm up).
These are AWESOME because they are so unique (how often do you see mango lime or chipotle peach gummy candy in a store?), AND because your kids can help make them for Dad! You could even let them come up with their own flavor combination for him - if you dare! ;)
Linking up to:
www.momontimeout.com
www.houseofhepworths.com
www.atthepicketfence.com
www.cookienut.blogspot.com
www.happyhourprojects.com
www.joyfulstamper.blogspot.com
www.sunscholars.blogspot.com
www.homeschoolcreations.com
www.livinglifeintentionally.blogspot.com
www.whipperberry.com
www.kitchenfunwithmy3sons.blogspot.com
www.tatertotsandjello.com
www.diyhshp.blogspot.com/
www.makingtheworldcuter.com
These are AWESOME because they are so unique (how often do you see mango lime or chipotle peach gummy candy in a store?), AND because your kids can help make them for Dad! You could even let them come up with their own flavor combination for him - if you dare! ;)
Linking up to:
www.momontimeout.com
www.houseofhepworths.com
www.atthepicketfence.com
www.cookienut.blogspot.com
www.happyhourprojects.com
www.joyfulstamper.blogspot.com
www.sunscholars.blogspot.com
www.homeschoolcreations.com
www.livinglifeintentionally.blogspot.com
www.whipperberry.com
www.kitchenfunwithmy3sons.blogspot.com
www.tatertotsandjello.com
www.diyhshp.blogspot.com/
www.makingtheworldcuter.com
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