Archive for Family and Finance
Guest Post: Teaching Your Kids the Power of “I’m Sorry”
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My husband and I are not screamers. We might raise our voices from time to time, but we aren’t ones to yell at each other or our kids.
Now I am not saying we are perfect parents. Not a chance. You see, we have our own parenting areas that need attention. Yelling, however, just isn’t one of them.
When my kids were much younger, I remember one time in particular when I did scream at them. It wasn’t a little scream. I didn’t just merely raise my voice.
I… screamed.
Believe me, it wasn’t my finest mommy moment. Read More→
Guest Post: Successfully Growing a Family and a Business Under One Roof
Posted by: | CommentsIdentify the highest and best use of your time. If you’re in direct sales, the highest and best use of your time is probably when you are setting appointments or actually selling. If you’re a tutor, you make money tutoring. If you teach piano lessons, your teaching time is most profitable. Identifying the highest and best use of your time is essential so that you know which actions create income for you—and which actions don’t. This is essential for profiting from the next tip.
Hire help when possible. Early in my work-at-home career, I asked a successful Realtor® this question, “If you had one piece of advice to give someone who works for herself, what would it be? She was so certain of her answer she didn’t even pause to think. “Never do yourself what you can pay someone else to do,” she responded.
I asked her to explain. “I’m a Realtor®,” she said. “And the best use of my time is listing and selling houses. I hire someone to do everything else I need done.” A graphic designer creates all her mailings for her, and a mailing house applies the postage and sorts the brochures according to postal regulations. An assistant sets up showings and confirms appointments. She focuses on securing listings, working with buyers, and selling properties. And that’s how she has become successful. Read More→
Guest Post: Practicing Spiritual Disciplines: Prayer, the Starting Point
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Spiritual disciplines, such as prayer, confession, or meditation, go beyond teaching biblical truths, but impart godly habits to such a measure that God’s Word becomes part of our character. Disciplining our children’s lives takes hard work, however practicing the spiritual disciplines lead to inner righteousness and a longing for God.
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. -Hebrews 12:11
Like many parents, especially as a busy CWAHM, I struggled to practice the spiritual disciplines in my own life and found it overwhelming at times to instill such habits in my children’s daily lives. But now that my three sons and numerous foster children are grown, I can see the harvest of righteousness that such training produces. It began with a determination to make Deuteronomy 6:5 my guiding scripture in their lives.
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
In my upcoming blogs we will look at how to teach our kids to practice different spiritual disciplines, such as study, solitude, confession, fasting starting this week with prayer.
Prayer
Prayer is the starting point for all spiritual disciplines. The disciples, seeing the power in Jesus’ prayer life asked, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). We forget that prayer must be taught and doesn’t just happen for our children.
Here are a few things to think about when you teach your kids to pray.
- Pray beyond the usual times of meals and bedtime. This will teach your children they can communicate with God throughout their day.
- Pray with your children often. My children often tease that someday I will cause a wreck with my spontaneous praying out loud while driving. They learned, however, that they could pray anywhere, anytime. Don’t worry when your toddler or preschooler mimics your words. He will soon find his own expressions toward God.
- Make prayer posters of pictures of people and situations to pray for. Allowing your children to choose what they want to pray about connects them to God in a real way.
- Demonstrate, coax, and encourage, but never force older children to pray. Encourage your child to journal prayers or list the things he wants to talk to God about in his quiet times. My husband left notes, especially for our older children, on the bathroom mirrors encouraging them to pray each morning.
- Ask your children to pray for you in specific ways—situations in your career or a personal struggle, such as anger or impatience. This will help your child feel that his prayers are valued.
- Rejoice and acknowledge when prayers are answered. Keep a family prayer journal, recording your prayers and making note of how God answers—including when he answers in ways we didn’t expect or desire.
Share ways you teach your kids to pray.
About the Author:
Carla Williams, writer, speaker, and mentor has writing credits in curriculum, devotions, articles, and books. She and her husband have been in ministry for over thirty years. Carla now enjoys working closely with her family in the Christian publishing industry. Her website can be found at www.thespiritualmom.com.
Guest Post: Setting Your Kids Up to See It
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Children usually take their cues from how their parents act. No pressure, eh?
So when we find ourselves in a tough situation, my husband and I are very intentional in living our faith out loud and involving our kids as we prayerfully seek God’s will for our family.
This essentially gives our kids a front-row seat to watch Him answer.
- Rather than teach our kids to stress and worry, we teach them to pray.
- Rather than teach them to complain about things being unfair, we teach them to pray.
- Rather than teach Sam and Sara that they must take matters into their own hands, we teach them to pray.
And we remind them of the times they prayed, and God answered.
With my husband recently laid off, we have been praying for God to provide Wayne with a new job. We thank God for His promise to take care of our needs. We remind each other about times in the past where God has delivered our family from difficult situations.
We are setting them up to see God work… again.
And sisters… if you are trying to raise Godly kids, then including them in prayer prepares them to see His goodness and provision in all things.
In our current situation, here’s what that looks like.
- We ask for God to “give dad a good job” at mealtime prayers.
- The kids pray for God to take care of our family during nighttime prayers.
- We talk about how excited we are to see God work.
- When we do see Him move, we make sure the kids see it, too.
- We thank God for how he has showed up for our family in the past.
So when the Lord does provide Wayne a job, we will give Him all the glory. We will comment about how God is good all the time. We will discuss the power of prayer.
We will make sure the kids see God in it.
Why? Because we want Sam and Sara to live this verse:
“Never worry about anything. But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks.” (Philippians 4:6)
In a world of change and uncertainty, my children need to learn that God is their only constant provider.
Sisters… yours do, too.
Where can you include your kids in praying for God’s provision, healing, deliverance, or goodness?
Know that when you do, you’re setting them up to see it.
About the Author:
Carey Scott is an inspiration speaker and writer honest about her walk with the Lord stumbles, fumbles and all. Her passion is to challenge women to be real with themselves, others and God. You can learn more about her at www.careyscotttalks.com or subscribe and follow her blog Let’s Get Real. Carey lives in Colorado with her husband and two young kids.
Guest Post: Eight Ways A Parent Can Answer their Kids’ Complaints on Summer Vacation
Posted by: | Commentsby Cheryl Moeller
1. “This is boring…” Answer: Pretend you are one of the Irish Tenors and sing “Danny Boy” at the top of your voice while occasionally dabbing your eyes with a Kleenex.”
2. “It’s taking too long to get there…” Answer: Tell the kids, “The people we’re going to visit serve stewed spinach and frozen ox tongue for breakfast and lunch every day. Still want us to step on it?”
3. “I’d rather be back home in my own room…” Answer: Hold up an envelope and tear it in half again and again and say, “You’re absolutely right. I always told your grandparents these tickets to Disneyland were a stupid idea from the very beginning.”
4. “I think we need to stop, I’m feeling sick…” Answer: “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. But don’t worry…look up… I’ve taped a lunch bag on the car ceiling, above each seat.”
5. “She’s sitting on my side of the seat. Tell her to move over…”
Answer: Crawl over the back seat between them and attempt to stand on your head on the floor of the car while flailing your legs in the air shouting, “Danger…danger…Will Smith…intruder detected….danger….”
6. “You promised this would be fun…” Answer: Produce two oxygen masks from the glove compartment, putting one on your husband’s face and the other on your own. Breathe deeply then start laughing hysterically. Keep laughing until you are crying, While you both are still unable to speak scratch out the words, “Laughing Gas” on a piece of paper. Offer to share your masks with the kids.
7. “There’s nothing I like to eat here…” Answer: Bring along some large granola pieces poured into a dog food bag. Pour them out in a dish at the restaurant and start eating with just your mouth. Look up occasionally and bark. When you’re finished say, “Hmmm…you’re right. This tastes so much better. Here, you try some.”
8. “We never have enough money to have any real fun…” Answer: “Money doesn’t grow on trees.” Second Answer: “Actually money does grow on trees, because it’s made out of paper.”
More on: http://www.momlaughs.blogspot.com
Christian Work at Home Mom: Avoiding Bookkeeping Drama
Posted by: | CommentsThen he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” -Matthew 22:21
I don’t know about you, but every year I dread – and I mean DREAD – tax time. As the appointment with my accountant draws near I lie awake at night worrying about whether or not I’ve messed anything up and what might possibly be coming my way.
I wasn’t always afraid of my accountant, but several years ago, when I was transitioning CWAHM from “hobby” status to “business” status, I got caught offguard when tax time came. I had made quite a bit more income than the previous year, but it had never dawned on me during the year to send more in to the IRS along the way. I sent in to the IRS what the accountant told me to each month and assumed that would take care of it.
That year I left the accountant’s office in tears, nearly hyperventilating, promising myself it would never happen again. We owed several thousand dollars in taxes and I had no idea where it was going to come from.
God provided for us, but it was an incredibly difficult time. And now each year at tax-time I’m reminded of my previous mistakes and I begin terrifying myself about what I may have done wrong this year.
I learned a few tips along the way – maybe they will help you, too:
* If possible, use an accountant. I would have missed a lot of deductions these last few years if it weren’t for mine.
* Keep all business receipts. I have a folder in my filing cabinets specifically for business receipts so that I can simply plop them in there in case they are ever needed.
* Ask your accountant or tax professional exactly what you need to be tracking throughout the year (mileage, utility costs or other things depending on your business) and make sure that you understand how to calculate any monthly or quarterly payments that need to be made to the IRS.
This year was still stressful for me. My appointment with Mr. Accountant was on a Friday and I spent that week alternating between worrying and peace. It felt like every time I gave my worries to the Lord they showed right back up an hour later.
The difference this year is that God had people in place to call me on my attitude. My husband repeatedly reminded me to stop worrying and lay it at God’s feet. Several friends also realized that I was struggling and encouraged me to look not at my mistakes, but at God’s provision over the years. He has never failed me. Even in the messes I create for myself, God is there and He is faithful.
The day of the tax appointment has come and gone and (praise God!) all was pretty much fine this year. Going forward, I am committed to focusing on God’s faithfulness instead of my mistakes.
If you struggle with worry – about taxes or anything else – here are some things I’ve learned the hard way over the years. Maybe they will save you from some of the struggle:
Tell someone you’re struggling and ask them to pray with you
*Be honest with your spouse or significant other about what’s bothering you
*Be careful not to take the stress and frustration out on your kids
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Jill Hart is the founder of Christian Work at Home Moms, CWAHM.com and the co-author of So You Want To Be a Work-At-Home Mom (Beacon Hill Press, 2009). She graduated from Grace University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Development/Family Studies and Bible. Jill has worked from home since 2000 and started her own home-based business to assist other Christians who desire to work from home while maintaining a godly life. Jill is the host of the podcast, Christian Work at Home Moment and co-host of the LIVE internet radio show, The CWAHM Network.
Family Movie Night Interview
Posted by: | CommentsFamily Movie Night Interview
I had the opportunity this week to talk with Brian Wells, one of the forces behind the Family Movie Night movement on NBC. Brian oversees Creative Development for Flyover Studios LLC, focusing on creating great prime-time television entertainment for families. After beginning his career in public affairs with Illinois Governor James R. Thompson, Brian spent 9 years working in Brand Management at Procter & Gamble.
In 1996, Brian left P&G to help start Crossroads Church in Cincinnati, which has now grown to over 15,000 weekly attendees. While at Crossroads Brian created and led their work to combat child trafficking and exploitation in South Asia and the U.S.
As Executive Producer, Brian has led the development of Secrets of the Mountain, one of the most watched television movies of 2010 and A Walk In My Shoes, airing December 3rd on NBC.
* Enter the December Contest on CWAHM for your chance to win a copy of A Walk In My Shoes on DVD! *
Labor Day History For Kids
Posted by: | CommentsBy Nicola Kennedy
Of all the things our teachers teach our children, they do not often touch on the idea of Labor Day history for kids. How much do our children know about this important holiday? If anything, they only know that it is a holiday for workers, but that is the extent of it in most cases.
The designation of Labor Day as a national holiday prior to the turn of the 20th century is historical enough for our children to know about the history of the holiday, and not just that it is a holiday for working class Americans and Canadians. It is an important part of their heritage as Americans to know that the celebration began in 1882 in New York for those working under labor unions. From its conception in 1882 to its later designation into a national holiday in a bill signed by President Grover Cleveland, it has become an important part of our history.
Some confusion may exist concerning the adoption of the first Monday in September as the official Labor Day celebration. Some sources say it’s to differentiate it from the Socialist Labor Day on May 1st, a date that later became May Day, and others indicate that it was chosen because it is halfway between Independence Day and Thanksgiving. Regardless of which version you accept as truth, it is still important to know that Labor Day is not just a holiday to celebrate the unofficial end of summer, nor is its purpose to signify the beginning of autumn and a return to school for our children. Read More→
Simple Summer Marketing Ideas
Posted by: | Commentsby Michelle Shaeffer
Summer time means we’re usually outside more, away from the computer, and getting some sunshine. That can make it difficult to stick with some of the marketing plans that rely heavily on the internet. Not sure what to do to stay active with your marketing while busy enjoying summer with your family? Here are a few low-tech and off-line ways you can get in some business marketing while you’re off to the beach or park.
Write Thank You Notes: Real, old-fashioned pen and paper note cards are still available at your local stores. Pick up a few packages and some stamps. Then write a few while you’re watching your kiddos play outside in the yard. You could send them to your top customers, the ones who’ve been with you the longest, vendors who make it easy to work with them, or even bloggers who you enjoy following online. A hand written thank you note can go a long way towards building a relationship with key clients or those you want to connect with.
Carry Your Business Cards & Let Them Out of Your Purse: Keep your business cards ready so you can hand them out when you meet someone who could use your products or services, or who knows someone who could. Business cards are a very inexpensive marketing tool. I like Overnight Prints. Vista Print is also very popular. Read More→
by Sheila Wray Gregoire
The answer to the question, “How are you?” has traditionally been “I’m fine.” Over the last few years, though, a new answer has supplanted the old one. It’s now in fashion to say, “I’m just so busy!”, before lamenting how exhausted we are.
Are we really that busy? After all, we still seem to find time to spend thirty hours a week in front of a television, and that doesn’t even include other screens we glue ourselves to. But perhaps this is in reaction to how busy we are at other times: we rush and rush and rush, and then when we get home we collapse. Hardly a fulfilling life, is it?
Busyness Distracts
Author Mark Buchanan wrote recently that “busyness causes people to care less about the things they care about.” In other words, when you’re busy, your priorities get distorted. What happens when you’re busy and your daughter wants you to read to her? You get annoyed. What happens when your spouse wants to talk about her mother’s cancer diagnosis? You figure out how to placate her so that you can move on to something more important. What happens when your son wants you to coach Little League, or your daughter wants you to come and see the play she’s in? You get angry, because people are adding to your already full schedule and assuming they can count on you. They don’t understand all the demands you face! Read More→