Eat: Tiffany's Italian Salsa

So I don't have a real name for this dip, but I just know that it is DELICIOUS. Sometime in the late 90's I found this recipe in some church cookbook and it has become a family favorite (wow, that makes me sound older than I am). I've tweaked it over the years, so I don't even remember what the original recipe called for. But nevertheless, it's a fast salsa to make and it is filled with protein!

Play: Summer Reading List for Preschoolers

Today is the day when summer is un-officially here. Memorial Day marks the beginning of pool openings, snow cone stands, and summer travel. In case you're working on getting a summer reading list ready, we wanted to share some of our family's favorites. 

1. Elephant and Piggie series (Mo Willems)
 How we looooooove Gerald (the elephant) and Piggie (the Pig)! Their friendship and funny conversations are entertaining to the parent and child alike. The books are written in a comic-like form and are fantastic for learning about how to read conversation. Willems uses different font sizes and bold and italic in order to emphasize different words.

Source

By listening and eventually reading the story, kids learn how to read conversation. After reading these books a few times, the kids like to "read along", yelling when one of the characters is yelling in surprise, whispering when the text is really small, and making facial expressions to go along with the mood of the conversation.

Grow: The Elliots + Friends (May Missionary Series)

This is the last in the May missionary series. You can also check out one about Amy Carmichael and George Muller. 

Back in 2005 there was a semi-popular movie (in some circles) called End of the Spear. It was based on a true story of five missionary families going into the Waodoni tribe in Ecuador to share the good news of Jesus with them. Up until this point, the tribe was unreached (meaning no one had ever told them about the gospel). The movie tells of this story, and then expands on what happens after the men of those families were speared to death by some of the tribesmen. It's an incredibly powerful story of redemption and forgiveness.

The Elliots
One of the men was named Jim Elliot, and I think he's typically the most known of all the men because he was a writer. Over the years, it seems like if you wrote journals and books, people remember you better than those who were not writers. Anyway, I also want to include Elisabeth Elliot in this post because I think we too often forget that while the men were heroic and gave their lives in this mission, so did the women and children who were courageous and spent many years of their life working with the Waodoni tribe, sharing about Jesus and offering forgiveness to the men who killed their husbands/fathers. I think they are no less heroic for their actions, yet not a lot of books are written about them.

But, for some primers, here are some resources that you don't want to miss:

Eat: Bake Sale Tips and Ideas

Last Sunday, May 20th, we held the Missionary Bake Sale at our church. Remember I passed out these little gems the Sunday before? Well, the advertising worked, because we had an phenomenal turnout.

I only have pictures of the before we sold, but I am happy to report that nearly everything got sold. We were able to raise over $1500! I am so blessed by the generosity of my church. I love you guys!

Some of you might be thinking, why do I need to read about a bake sale? I have no intentions of putting one on. But I'm here to encourage you to at least think about it. I got lots of grateful responses saying they were so glad that I did this (which was the first one our church has had in over 30 years) and they were so glad for the opportunity to get involved with helping the missionary teams in a tangible (and sweet) way. So yes, maybe the idea of a bake sale is not on your radar yet, but, would you pray about it?

Play: Homemade Toys - Milk Jug Toss

This is the next installment in our Homemade Toys series. So be sure to check out the pattern play blocks, the button spinner, and the cloth marble maze. Making toys can be a fun, cheap alternative to getting some from the store. And if you can get the kids involved, they will likely treasure it more and, thusly, enjoy it more. So win-win-win!

As with most things I do these days, this all began with a pin. And that pin, turned into this!

This milk jug toss toy was a cinch to make. And free. I love free. You can't beat free. Well, maybe you can if someone is willing to pay you to take something. That could be better than free. But anyways, the point is, you can do this one. :)

Grow: Amy Carmichael (May Missionary Series)

This is the second post in the May Missionary series. Be sure to check out the first and third weeks too.

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This week's spotlight is on Amy Carmichael, "mom" to orphans and missionary to India. I first read a biography about her high school, upon recommendation of my aunt. And I couldn't put it down- I read the whole thing in a weekend. I was captured by her courage and perseverance in the face of suffering and discouragement. She was committed to following the Lord's calling in her life, and she fiercely loved the children who did not have parents to care for them.

Amy was a fiesty woman. As a child, she loved adventure and was always finding herself in some sort of trouble. In the Torchlighter's book about Amy, Can brown eyes be made blue? (again, GREAT BOOK), they highlight some of her troubling antics- stealing a boat and getting lost at sea, getting stuck on a roof, and eating things that made her sick, just to see if it would actually make her sick. Amy wasn't one to sit back and let life pass her by. She also wasn't one to allow other people to tell her what to do...well, except God, that is.

When reading this book, I couldn't help but think of one of my daughters, and how her personality and spirit already remind me a lot of Amy's. While parenting a child like this can be trying and worrisome (what in the world is this child going to be like as a teenager?!), it's also exciting to see an example of a wild child who has matured into a woman who lives surrendered and in abandonment to the Lord.

Free: Customizable Tote Bag

I just saw an offer for a great deal that I had to share with you all! You can customize your own bag with pics....a fun gift idea for mom or grandma!



You can get a custom bag from Ink Garden for only the cost of shipping (which is $4.99). Just use the code FREEBAG. Offer expires May 31st.**

**This is an affiliate link**

Eat: Bake Sale Brownies and Blondies

We're having a bake sale! It's being held at the church that both Tiffany and I attend, and it's going to benefit the teams from there going on short term mission trips to Bosnia and Burkina Faso this summer.

The idea was just one that kinda popped in my head after reading the book Christian Atheist. In one chapter, the author, Craig Groeschel, encourages the reader to be the church for others by reaching out to them. The one way I felt I could reach out is by using my baking and generosity skills to organize a bake sale.

And so that's what I did. With the approval and encouragement from the church staff, I have been working on organizing this bake sale. The sale is set to be held next Sunday, May 20th, in between the church services and afterwards.

But these little goodies were what I handed out this past Sunday.

Play: Travel Busy Bags

A bunch of us moms recently got together and did our SECOND busy bag exchange, this one focusing on activities that will be travel friendly. For those of you who haven't heard of these, busy bags are activities that are contained in a bag that can easily be given to a child to do while mom or dad is working on something else. We bring these bags when we go out to eat, wait in a doctor's office, or hang out at a friend's house who doesn't have kids (and hence no toys). Each activity is also designed to help with different developmental skills.

In our exchange, nine of us moms each chose one busy bag (actually, one mom choose to do 3 activities), made nine copies of it, and then we all exchanged our bags so we got to go home with one of each activity. Most of the bags we put together this time are good to do in the car, and a couple of them are more geared for on-site play (because who wants to pack a bunch of toys when going on vacation?).

1. Number Wheel (number recognition, fine motor skills, counting)

2. Lego matching (problem-solving, visual skills)

Grow: George Muller (May Missionary Series)

This is the first post in the May Missionary series. Be sure to check out the second and third weeks too. 

I am always encouraged when I read biographies of women and men who have lived lives of faithfulness, deep trust, and courage in their walks with God. Their stories inspire me to more faithfully live out the calling that God has placed on me and my family's life. This month we are highlighting a few missionaries who are known for these characteristics. All of the missionaries we are sharing about have lived or are living in counties other than our own. We do this not because we want to lift up the life of an overseas missionary as a higher calling, but because most of the missionaries who have biographies written about them are ones who lived and labored overseas. Hopefully this series can be an encouragement to us as we live faithfully wherever God has planted us in a way that deeply trusts God and extravagantly loves those around us.

George Muller

Sometimes George Muller has been called "the man of faith" because of his deep trust in God to provide for his needs on a daily basis. However, Muller certainly wasn't always like that. He grew up in a Prussian household that was privileged and without God. It wasn't until while he was in divinity school (many people back then went to divinity school to be a clergyman of a state church even if they weren't really Christians) that he realized his need for salvation. It's kind of a fun story- he was invited to a prayer meeting/Bible Study by one of his classmates, he agreed to go, and he it was through this experience that God showed Himself to Muller. 

Muller has all kinds of adventures after this, but there are two parts of his life that I think are particularly interesting.

The Infamous Pew Rental System

The first is during his first real pastoring job in England. He was invited to be the pastor at Ebenezer Church in Devon. It was during this time that he also met and married his wife, Mary Groves. During this time, pew rentals were very popular. Basically, people would pay money so they could sit in a certain pew. The pews toward the front were the most expensive, and they got cheaper the farther it got from the pulpit. After being at Ebenezer for awhile, Muller began feeling uneasy about this practice, and eventually demanded that it be done away with because it was unfair to those who were poor, and was in direct violation to James' words in James 2.1-9:

2 My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism. ² Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. ³ If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” ⁴ have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

This was huge! From what I have read, this practice was pretty much uncontested up until this point. Calling this out and eliminating this practice took great courage and perseverance. The pew rentals were a main source of money for the church, and Muller knew before he said anything that this could mean that he would have no salary. To us this is an obvious problem- why in the world did they let this happen? But I can guarantee there are things going on in our churches today that people years from now will say the same thing about. Sometimes it's difficult to see outside of our environment ("the way things have always been done"), and it takes a ton of courage and perseverance to stand up for the convictions that we have, even if people don't "get it" for awhile.

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 Care for Orphans and Praying for Daily Needs

Later on, after this pastoring job, Muller and his wife felt called to start an orphanage in Bristol, starting in their own home! They never asked for financial assistance, and never went in debt, but they ended up building five homes, raising and serving over 1,700 orphans at any one time. Instead of asking people, they continually prayed, asking and trusting God to provide for their daily needs. One time, the orphans were all sitting down for breakfast and the table was empty. They didn't have any food in the house, but they decided to sit down to breakfast anyway, and pray and thank God for the food He would provide. As they were finishing their prayer, a baker arrived with a bunch of loaves of bread that God has woke him up to make earlier that morning for the specific purpose of bringing them to the orphanage. Also around the same time, a milk cart broke down outside of the orphanage, so the milkman asked if they wanted it...otherwise the milk would go bad before he could fix his cart. God's provision and the Mullers' trust in his provision not only speaks to us, reading about them today, but I'm sure it affected all those orphans as well- continually seeing that the Lord is faithful to take care of them, something that they both experienced through the orphanages and through seeing the hand of God provide them for their needs. I love that the Mullers were brave to step into this calling, even though they only had about 50 cents (adjusted to dollars) when they said yes to God.

Resources for Teaching our Kids about George Muller

Stories are really good way to teach kids (and ourselves) about the nature of God. I was thinking the other day that I haven't really come across many resources for preschoolers/early elementary students about women and men who have gone before us, a "great cloud of witnesses"- whether that be church leaders, theologians, or missionaries. I wanted to share some that I did find, as well as throw in a few ideas about how we can teach our kids through Muller's life.

1. Books, Websites, Articles
Christianity Today's quick biography sketch: George Muller, Orphanages Built By Prayer
George Muller The Children's Champion (good for later elementary/junior high)
Photos of the orphanages in Bristol
A few free books, from Project Gutenberg
The Autobiography of George Muller

...aaaand, with the help of a fellow blogger, we were able to find this set of children's books from Christian Focus Publications!

George Muller: Does Money Grow on Trees?

I just got this in the mail and it is great! The length of the book and the sentence structure is perfect for preschoolers and early elementary. This story tells of Muller's life- from his stormy childhood to his salvation experience and onto working in orphanages and losing one of their own children. This story draws out the theme of trust in God for everything. The illustrations are colorful and the book is hardbound and quality. Asante and Aly really enjoyed reading it! **

2. Movies

I love Veggietales' rendition of the baker and the milkman providing food for the orphanage. Check it out! 

For teenagers or adults, here's an hour documentary called Robber of the Cruel Streets.

3. Role Playing
I think it'd be fun to role play the story of breakfast at the orphanage with the whole family. Perhaps it could done at breakfast, with the kids sitting around the table, waiting for the parent to serve them breakfast. One adult could be the narrator, the other parent could be the "baker" and "milkman" (have her/him waiting outside with some muffins and milk as the kids come down for breakfast). Have the kids sit around the table, the parent inside explain what they were going to do, and then act out the story.

4. Related topics to talk about in when talking about Muller

Prayer:

Spend time praying for kids who have no mom and dad.
Include your kids in "daily needs" prayers.
Have your kids lead prayer time.
When a kid (no matter how small!) is worried or anxious, lead them to prayer.

Favoritism:

God doesn't want us to treat someone better than another person because of how much money they have, where they live, where they're from, or who they know (or don't know). God wants us to love everyone in a way that shows respect to all people.

Generosity:

Those who were led to help the Mullers with the orphanages practiced generosity. They heard the Spirit speak to them, and then obeyed. A fun question to ask- what would have happened if they hadn't obeyed? When we are blessed with resources, it's always so that we can bless others as well. How can we bless others today with our money and time?

Trust/Dependence:

While God doesn't promise food three times a day or a roof over our heads, He does ask us to trust Him. He is enough, He cares deeply for us, and that He will take care of us. In what ways is it hard for each of us to trust God? Let's remember a time when we practiced trusting God even if we didn't want to or it was hard.

Obedience to Calling:

God primary call for all of us is to become more like Jesus. After this, He calls us to do and work and live in different jobs, places, and people groups. Sometimes we're called to a task or place that is uncomfortable to us, or we feel like we don't have the resources we need to do the job He has asked us to do. But God asks us to take the next step of obedience to that calling, no matter what. It might be fun for the parent to share with the child a time when we have stepped out in a calling, even if it was challenging or scary. How did it turn out? Maybe even share a time when it didn't really work out that well. What did God teach you through that?

5. Other
For older kids, you could have them research and create some sort of lapbook. Mater Magistra had her kids do one back in 2007 and she has some good ideas to get your brain going.


Any guesses on who next Friday's missionary will be? Here's a hint: This person served in India.

** Thank you, Christian Focus Publications, for your generosity in sending me this copy to review!

Eat: Cinnamon Pull-Apart Loaf

Mother's Day is just around the corner, and some of you might still be in need of a good breakfast in bed (or at a nicely set table) idea. This is the one. That is, if you didn't like my breakfast bouquet idea.

But this, my friends, is a delicious choice for a breakfast or brunch table. And your mother would be so impressed that you tackled a yeast dough item just for her.

You don't have to be afraid of making things with yeast. Here are a few tricks I use when I make a yeast dough:

Yummy yeasty goodness just before baking

{Guest Post} Play: DIY Mother's Day Photo Albums

We are so thankful that our friend, Amy, agreed to share how to make this fun photo book for a Mother's Day gift. She's done this several times over the years, and her mom and grandma have LOVED them! You could take pictures of an event (i.e. hiking trip, playground, etc.), and make the whole photo book around that theme. Another fun idea is to get all the grandkids together and make this a joint gift! Either way, this is a cute idea that's easy to do. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks again, Amy!

Supplies: 

12x12 heavy scrapbook paper

Scissors or a paper cutter

Tape

2 pieces of Cardboard, foam board or other heavy stiff material cut to 7x7

3 ½ x 5 photos

Stickers, markers, decorations (optional)

Step 1 – take your 12x12 paper and cut in half to form 2 pieces of 6x12

Step 2 – take your 6x12 paper and fold it in half to form a 6x6 square

Step 3 – Repeat steps 1 and 2 to make as many pages as you want.  Always make an odd number of squares (3, 5, 7, etc.).  Each square will give you room for at least 2 pictures.  So 3 squares=6 pictures, 5 squares=10 pictures, 7 squares=14 pictures.

Step 4 – using tape (I recommend archival safe double sided tape), attach the back of one square’s side to the back of another square’s side, like this:

Step 5—once your pages are all connected, you can tape in your photos.  You can either attach the photos directly to the page or you can mount them on a slightly larger piece of coordinating paper (for 3.5x5 photos, use a 4x5.5 piece of paper) and then tape the paper onto the page.  It’s best to use archival safe double sided tape.  Don’t forget that you can put pictures on the back side too.

Step 6—decorate the pages as desired.  Write directly on the page or on a scrap of paper and tape in the scrap.  Label the photos with names, dates, descriptions, etc.  Use stickers or markers to liven up the pictures.  Be careful to use archival safe products and it’s best to use flat objects.  Thicker items don’t work well in a paper album.

Step 7—make your cover.  Take a 12x12 piece of paper and put the good side face down.  Take your first piece of 7x7 cardboard, foam board, whatever and put it on top of the paper.  Wrap the cardboard like wrapping a present.  Try for neat corners since they will be visible.  You can use the full sheet of paper so that you cover as much of the back as you can or you can use a paper 8x8 so you have less bulk.  Repeat for the other piece of board.

Step 8— Using tape or glue, attach a ribbon to the underside of the front cover.  Repeat for the back cover.  This will let you tie the album shut.  Any kind of ribbon will work as long as it’s long enough to tie.

Step 9—Using tape, attach the starting side of your chain to the center of the back side of your cover.  Once that is secured, attach the ending side of your chain to the center of your other cover.

Step 10—Decorate the cover if desired.  Add stickers, text, ribbons, etc to decorate the outside of the cover.  Try to leave the backside flat. 

Tips:

• These books make great gifts (Mother’s Day, Christmas, birthdays, etc.) and can be done with lots of themes (family vacation, pictures of the grandkids, family history). 

• 3.5 x 5 photos fit nicely in a 6x6 album but you can make the album any size you’d like.  

Thanks again, Amy, for this fun Mother's Day gift idea. What mom or grandma can get enough pictures?! :) 


{This is Christina here: I was so inspired by this tutorial, I tried it myself for a present for my mom, mother in law, and grandmothers in law. I made it smaller and was able to complete it all in one day. I think it turned out great! What do you think?}

Linked up on Polly Want a Crafter and CraftoManiac and Show it Off and Sundae Scoop.

$1.00 off two Greenworks Products:

{Guest Post} Grow: Cleaning Up in the Spirit

We are beginning what we are calling "Missionary-Minded May". To kick it off, we have a post from my friend, L, who is working in a closed nation right now.

My husband’s and my job requires us to travel often and live overseas.  In the last 3 years we have lived in our home country, America, for only 4 months.  We also have a 16 month old son. When we first started our travels, a friend shared with us the idea of praying over each new room we would live in.  Since then, every hotel room, hostel room, and new apartment has been prayed over.  Just this past week, we moved apartments and had a time of worship and prayer with friends in each room to cleanse it and place Jesus as Lord over our home.  This recent move is what spawned my interest in sharing this tip with other Christian parents out there.

Often, we as parents will pray over our children, pray for a trip, but maybe we don’t specifically pray over the new hotel room we will live in for one night or weekend.   When you think about it, these are places where anything could have happened, and any spirit invited to make a home.  As it says in 1 Peter 5:8,9a-  “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert.  Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  But resist him, firm in your faith.”

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Eat: Homemade Edible Arrangement

Have you heard of Edible Arrangements? Probably so, but if not, they basically send you a bunch of cut up fruit that looks like a bouquet of flowers. I have never gotten one, but I've always wanted to. But I'm sure they come at a pretty penny. And therein lies the problem. I don't think I have to remind you of how stingy I've become.

And so, true to form, I decided, "I can make that", and so I did.