Easter Activities

As we reflect this week upon the true meaning of Easter I thought I'd share a couple activities I'm doing w/ my kiddos!  I bought some Resurrection Eggs at Mardel and everyday this week we've been opening a couple eggs.  Each egg contains a symbol of the Easter story. It comes with a booklet that tells a little bit of the story w/ the corresponding egg.  The kids look forward to opening a new egg each day and reviewing the previous days.  You can purchase them HERE or make your own with instructions HERE.

Something else we plan to do is make Resurrection Cookies!  You will need to make these the night before Easter Sunday.  Here's the recipe...

You need to preheat the oven to 300 degrees (this is important--don't wait until you are half done with the recipe!)

3 egg whites
1 cup whole pecans
1 tsp. Vinegar
A pinch salt
1 cup sugar

Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was beaten by the Roman soldiers.
Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink.
Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life.
Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.
Read Luke 23:27.

So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1cup sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him.
Read Ps. 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.
Read Isa. 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid.
Read Matt. 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF.

Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed.
Read Matt. 27:65-66.

GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.
Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Resurrection morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Resurrection, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.
Read Matt. 28:1-9

HE IS RISEN!!!

Called to be a Keeper

I have an amazing bible study recommendation!  The first time I took this study it was called Keepers of the Home.  I'm taking it for the second time and it's now called Called to be a Keeper.  If your church offers this study TAKE IT!!!!  If not, look into starting one!  The basic idea of this study is to encourage women to see the value of their role according to God's Word as they carry out Titus 2:3-5 and Proverbs 31.  Some of the topics include:  prayer and obedience, our relationship w/ our husband, our role as a mother, hospitality, spiritual growth, household management and cooking.

There is a study that you can order at http://keepersministry.com/   Then there is a book that we read along w/ the study called A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George that you can order HERE.  I LOVED this book.  If you are not able to do the study soon....buy this book!

More than anything, this study changed my heart.  It changed the way I looked at housework.  It changed my priorities.  It gave me a new outlook as a wife and mother.  It made me think less selfishly.  I was to take JOY in the role God had given me.  Here are some key take-aways I took from this study...

• What I am today is what I am becoming!!!!  What I am at home is what I am!
• The impact of my ministry to people will be in direct proportion to the time I spend w/ God
• I create the atmosphere of my home with my attitude
• Everyday I am called to manage what God has given me, what HE has provided through my husband's efforts and my own.
• Does my attitude say 'Here I am' or 'There you are'?? ...become other-oriented!
• Do my children see me run to the Lord first?
• Everything I do AND don't do teaches
• Ask of my actions, will this help or hinder my husband?  Begin a habit of asking yourself before you speak, "is what I'm about to say building my husband up or tearing him down?"

These are just a few of the MANY wonderful things my heart has been taught.  I could go on and on.....really.  It really will change your perspective on your "job" as a mother, wife, and daugher of God!

Prayer Calendar

How do you keep track of who you need to pray for and what you should be praying for them?  A couple of years ago I found myself feeling overwhelmed trying to keep up with all the different things I should be praying for my hubby and children.  I had a couple lists of "30 things to pray for_____", but I still didn't put them to great use.  Sooooo.....I figured I needed more structure. I needed just one thing to look at for all my peeps!  So I printed off a copy of a 31 day calendar (doesn't matter which month as long as there is 31 days).  I started off with things I needed to pray for my hubby and added one thing to each day.  For example, the 1st day of the month I would pray for his choices, 2nd day his faith, 3rd day his health, etc... Next, I added the items I wanted to pray for my children for each day. Then I went back and added members of our family and friends, one for each day.  On some days I pray for our nation, pastor, church, our children's teachers, etc...  I look at this calendar kind of as my permanent calendar for the year.  I will committ myself to pray for these items all year.  I keep it in my bible or prayer journal so I see it everyday. I made a separate one for my girls that I keep on the fridge that I've shown below.

If you are looking for specific things to pray for your husband, children and more please visit these sites:

Revive Our Hearts

Biblical Virtues to Pray for your Children

Books by Stormie Omartian also are great as they go into more detail of the different virtues.

You can see some of them HERE.

Click HERE to download a free printable calendar.

"I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer."  Psalm 63:4

Children's Book Recommendation

These are two of my favorite children's books!  My friend Sarah, of Wildflowers-Growing Character, recommended them to me last year. 

I'd Be Your Princess, by Kathryn O'Brien  is about a little girl imagining her life as a princess.  Her dad plays along and uses the opportunity to admire each godly quality of his daughter's royal character. There is also a scripture verse that references that certain character on each page. One of the young girl's stories is that she would cheer for the knights as they practiced jousting. Her father replies with the scenario if one fell off his horse she would help him up because she's a good friend.  The scripture used is "A friend loves at all times." Prov.17:17

I'd Be You Hero, also by Kathryn O'Brien is about a young boy who imagines his life as a hero.  His mother supports his tales of adventure by delighting in his aspirations and godly character.  One of the young boy's adventures is to protect the castle, to which his mom applauds his bravery. The scripture used is "Do not be terrified...for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."  Joshua 1:9

Both of these books teach your children the importance of developing godly character at a young age.  It encourages the parents to inspire and encourage their children's imagination and increases their self-esteem.

These books can be purchased at your local bookstore or by clicking HERE.

Growing Character

Hello fabulous mommas!!!  I am so excited to tell you about a valuable resource to use...Wildflowers Character Resources!  My friend, Sarah Holmes, started this amazing ministry to moms a couple years ago.  She emphasizes how we should be intentional about the character training of our children.  Statistics state that 80% of character has already been developed by age 6!  How important it is for us to plan and equip ourselves with solid teaching. 

Part of Sarah's ministry is to provide free email consultation about the character needs of your family. She has a wide range of resources available to address many character traits.  My favorite resource she provides is a monthly WILD IDEAS e-newsletter spotlighting a certain character trait. These are filled with goodies! They are only $1 per month ....and believe me, they are worth a million dollars far more than that!  Sarah has invested an enormous amount of time researching ideas for these different traits.  Her newsletters include:  family traditions, crafts, games and activities, songs, object lessons, conversation starters, stories, book/multimedia resources and scripture training.  How can you pass up this great resource at such a low cost??!!  If you would like to see what an e-newsletter would look like, Sarah has graciously allowed me to show you this month's letter addressing Obedience.  Just click HERE to view.

Sarah will be visiting towards the end of the month to share with other moms encouragement and direct them towards valuable training resources. You will leave feeling encouraged - with new resources and methods under your belt!  Please contact me directly if you would be interested in attending!

Welcome!

Hi there!  I am so excited about starting this blog about being encouraged as a momma!  I've felt like the Lord has been laying it on my heart for awhile.  I believe it is so important to have fellowship w/ other women who are in the same stage of life as yourself.  We can really learn from, inspire and encourage one another!  That's what my hope is for this blog.  When I come across resources, workshops, books, websites, activities, (and even recipes!) I will be sure to pass it along to you!  I named the blog Intentional Legacy because I believe we have to be intentional about what we want to teach our children....about the Lord, about life.    I want them to see me responding in faith, trusting in God's promises, reading His word throughout the week, showing forgiveness, praising His name, ministering to others.  I want my legacy to be a Godly one so my children can model Godliness for their children.

I would love to share w/ you a workshop I attended this past weekend in Dallas.  It was called the Mom Heart Conference with Sally Clarkson of Whole Heart Ministries.  So encouraging to my soul!  Here are some of the great things I came away with...

• My children need to see in me what I want to see in them!  (convicting!!!)  We must show them our love for the Lord and our love for His Word. Our children need to see us living by faith!
• My discipline needs to be consistent.  To train their will to be obedient I need to work on developing their conscience! I had honestly never thought much about that!  So, for ex., If my daughter disobeyed I might tell her to go sit on the stairs and I will be there in a few minutes to speak with her.  All the while, her little conscience is telling her right from wrong!
• Enjoy life w/ my family!!! Set out candles on your table for dinner, use your "good" dishes, put out fresh flowers.  Make the time to have tea w/ your girls w/ some dishes you bought at a garage sale or the dollar store (just in case one gets dropped!).  Wear fancy boas and invite their dolls to join in!  With your boys, build a castle out of legos or go outdoors and have a scavenger hunt.  Make home a place your family LOVES to be!  Fill it with good smells of a nice candle or cookies baking in the oven...let them help!  Sally told us if we don't spend quality time w/ our children they won't respond to our discipline.
• Inspire our kids!  Read to them, encourage their imagination!  Tell them, "maybe you'll become a great _______ !  Get their wheels turning of what they could be!
• Praying...  pray specifically, creatively and confidently!  Ask your child if you may pray for them.  Then pray for them outloud.  Pray outloud, taking turns, on your way to school.  My girls love to practice their bible verses on the way to school.  It really is amazing how much they are able to memorize!

I plan to do at least one post a week, so please come back to visit!!!  Up Next...  a spotlight on my friend Sarah's character resources!

Be encouraged this week!  Changing the world....one diaper at a time!!!!
~Kristin