Journaling through the Bible: Mother's Day

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The Bible provides so much wisdom for mothers to pass along to their children. Our own eyes can be opened as to how we can parent our children through the examples provided by God. In the past, it seemed like many more parents would seek the advice of their Bibles when they had trouble raising their children. Today ,we have a plethora of resources to aid in parenting but sometimes it is best to return to the Bible for wisdom and advice. A great place to look is in the Book of Proverbs: 

"My son, if sinners entice you,
Do not consent." 

Proverbs 1:10 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, 
And lean not on your own understanding." 

Proverbs 3:5

"The wise shall inherit glory, 
But shame shall be the legacy of fools." 

Proverbs 3:35 

"A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, 
But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken." 

Proverbs 15:13 

"Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it." 

Proverbs 22:6

Building love, patience, kindness, joy, peace, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in our children is one of my goals as their mother. If I can teach them to hold these character traits in their heart, then I will feel I have been successful as their mother.

Sometimes it is not easy to find the words to pray for our children. Soon I will share a review of Warfare Prayers for Women: Securing God's Victory in Your Life in which there is an entire part devoted to praying for children and grandchildren. The prayers range from praying for the unknown born to stepchildren closing with a declaration: "I declare that my children will see the light of the Gospel of Christ" (118). 

This Mother's Day, I pray that my children will not only celebrate me as their mother but also celebrate God today and every day. I want to be a good example for them as a mother and follower of Jesus. I pray that they will find as much wisdom in reading the Bible as I have found myself.  

May Peace and Mercy be Upon You. 

Crafts: Mother's Day "I love you to pieces" Card

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Are you looking for a quick card that your children can make for a mother, grandmother, or aunt in their lives? My daughter and I made this cute card for her two grandmothers for Mother's Day.

Materials 

• Construction paper
• Markers 
• Tissue Paper 
• Glue Stick 

Steps 

1. Gather all your materials. 

2. Cut a piece of construction paper (lengthwise) in half and fold into thirds. 

3. Write out your phrase on the front and inside. We wrote the name of the person we were giving the card to on the front, and "I love you" in the middle, and "to pieces" on the last panel. 

4. I drew a heart on the last panel for my daughter to use as a guide for the pieces of tissue paper. 

5. After tearing some pieces of tissue paper, glue them into the heart. 

6. After your card's glue is dry, present it to the special Mom on Mother's Day. 

References 

You can similar cards on many sites including:

Teach With Me's "I Love You to Pieces!" Craftivity

The Best Ideas for Kids' I Love You to Pieces Craft 

Learning and Exploring Through Play's Love you to Pieces Suncatcher Card 

I linked up with the following blog(s):

Mother's Day: When Does Being a Stepmom Feel Like Being a Mom?

What makes someone a mother? It is often up for debate because there are many women who hold the title mother who have different types of children: biological children, stepchildren, adopted children, foster children, and children in heaven.

For my first several years as a stepmom, holidays were a difficult time – especially Mother's Day.
My stepson's mother died a few years before I met his father (my husband) but it still felt awkward to me. As is the case for most families, there is a lot of information and details regarding our personal lives that must remain private and personal but I do want to share my feelings regarding Mother's Day.

To be honest, during those first few years I didn't feel like a proper mother. Sure, I was a stepmom and I took care of my husband and stepson but it still didn't feel quite real. I was a teacher so I knew what it was like to care about children who were not my own biological children. I had been a camp counselor seeing many kids start camp at 6 years old and 'graduate' from our camp program at 14.

I love my stepson. When I married his father, he was only 7 years old. So small. Not the towering teenager that he is today. I cared about him and his welfare. Was he eating the right foods? Did he drink his juice that morning? How was he doing in school? How do we get him to read more books?

I also didn't want to erase the memory of his mother. There were so many outside pressures on our family that it was hard to find the balance. And to be honest, I don't really know if it became easier when my first biological son was born in 2013. (Our daughter joined us in 2015.)

So I may have become a mother in 2010 with a marriage but I don't know what really made me feel like a mother. Was it my marriage that made me a stepmom? Was it carrying a child for a few months before suffering a miscarriage? Was it carrying our son for 9 months? Or our daughter? I do not know but after taking care of our three children for almost eight years, I know I am a mom. I love our three children – each in their own ways – and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for them.

Crafts: Mother's Day Wreath

For Mother's Day, my son and I made wreaths for my son's grandmothers and his Godmother.  I originally got the idea from spring wreaths made of egg carton flowers.  Since I knew how great cardboard egg cartons are for crafts, I had been saving our old ones for quite a while.  I used a total of three and cut them into separate sections.

Materials 

• Cardboard egg cartons
• Scissors
• Paper plates
• Paint and supplies
• Fasteners (or other attaching supplies)

                               

Steps 

My son painted the flowers in two sessions.  The first time he had to be encouraged to paint the inside of the flower and during our second painting session he was really interested in painting the plates.

 

After they dried, I attached the flowers to the paper plates using fasteners because it was a material I had at hand.  One could use glue or pipe cleaners and buttons to make the wreaths even fancier or if your crafty kid is older than mine (almost 3).

 

All told the project would take maybe two hours painting with 10 minutes prep time and 20 minutes to attach them to plates.

I wasn't concerned that they look too perfect because they are supposed to be from a toddler - not his mom.


Inspiration
Creative Egg Carton Crafts

I linked up with the following blog(s):

Other Mother's Day Posts on A Mom's Quest to Teach