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Mother’s Day & Gratitude

Linsey Driskill

 

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A few days ago, I was headed out the door to donate blood and my daughter said, “Wait Mommy!” She had made a card for the Red Cross workers telling them thank you and that we’re praying for them without my prompting.

Far above being the most talented dancer in the recital, getting the highest grades in school, or being the best player on the basketball court, I care about her heart. Her character.

While I fall short many times, that’s what I’m doing my best to invest in.

It is tiring as a parent when we work hard at guiding and loving our kids, and then they make disappointing choices, but that does not define them. And, let’s remember that we’re not exempt from doing that ourselves. We all fall short sometimes.

Take a look at something your kids ARE doing well, and recognize that. Tell them you see it and that you are proud of them. Better yet, tell them they should be proud of themselves.

For those of you who are practical mamas, here are three things we’ve done to try to encourage gratitude in our kids (would love to hear your ideas too):

1. We’ve started each school day in prayer. We go in a circle and we each say a short prayer- either one sentence or a few. Some days we focus on praise, other days, confessing our sins, giving thanks, and/or specific prayers. The point is just to make time to talk to God together.

2. We talk often about ways to love others well, like the Lord tells us to.

3. We’ve read the story many times about the ten men with leprosy in Luke 17:11-17. After Jesus healed all ten men, only ONE came back to say thank you and praise Him. “Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then he said to him, ‘Rise and go; your faith has made you well.'” We talk often about the importance of being thankful to the Lord and others and how it’s a simple way to love well.

There will be times when our kids don’t make the best choices since they’re not robots, but let’s keep investing in their hearts – in what matters. And when they do make a great choice, let’s not forget to notice.

“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 on 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.” Deuteronomy 6:5-7

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Creative Activities, To all the Tired Mamas, & Take a Break 😊

Linsey Driskill

Creative Activities to do with your kids:

  1. Soap Foam These next two activities are from the book, 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids. Add 2 Tbsp dish soap, 1/4 cup water, and a few drops of food coloring to the mixture. Use an electric mixer for 1 – 2 minutes on high to mix and create foam. If it doesn’t make much foam, mix a few more minutes. Brooklyn had fun making bubbles from the mixture.

2. Moon Sand It’s crumbly, but when you pack it together, you can form shapes. Combine 4 cups cornmeal with 2 cups cornstarch. If you use white cornmeal, you can color it with food coloring. Add 10 tablespoons of Vegetable oil into the mixture, mix well, and knead. If it stays too crumbly, add a little bit of vegetable oil at a time. Mix and enjoy!

3. “Put-put/Croquet course”: If you have a little bit of space in your yard and a putter (we only had one), you can play “putt-putt/croquet”. First, we collected sticks, then made notecards to tape the goal number onto each set of sticks. We used paddle balls, but if you don’t have those, you could color polka-dots on tennis balls – one color for each tennis ball so you can tell whose ball is whose. I thought golf balls might go too far and we didn’t have any. For each “goal”, line up two sticks close together and tape the number of the goal on it. Pick one person to start and putt the ball. I gave each kid two hits per turn, but if they shot the ball through the sticks, they got one more try.) If they don’t hit the ball through the sticks after two tries, the next person gets a turn. Have fun!

Faith & Parenting Content

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Lord, I pray for each tired mama right now. I pray you would renew her strength, her spirit, her heart. Remind her that you chose her to be her child’s mother for a reason and that she is just the mom her kids need. Help her smile as she sees the awesomeness in that. When she feels done, please carry her by the power of your Spirit. Give her your strength, your power, your love. Thank you, Lord, for the ways you will meet her needs. In Jesus’ name, amen. ❤️

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My kids were so excited when I mentioned this idea to them.

The funny thing is that they started planning right when they heard about it and two of my kids’ plans were tougher than my own, while my third child’s plans were fun, and as simple and short as possible. 😂

I gave them three rules:
1. They have to run their plans by me and so I can approve them.
2. It can’t be more than 3 hours.
3. All the kids have to respect the “teacher”.

I know this might not work for every family depending on school assignments and the ages of your kids, but if your child could be in charge in some way during that day, they’d probably have a lot of fun with it.

Our kids might surprise us with their ability to be responsible and lead. Have fun and let me know how it goes!

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I pray the Lord would meet you right where you are, go ahead of you this week, and fill your cup. Lord, would you let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Project About Long Walks for Water

Linsey Driskill

This is a practical project to help our kids have compassion for those who have to walk long ways for water and to be grateful for the simple gift of water. {Subscribe in the sidebar to receive once-a-week emails about faith & parenting.}

  1. Reading: I read the book, The Water Princess, to my kids. I looked up “read aloud for Water Princess.” Then I muted it and read it to them.
  2. Social Studies – Part 1: I shared a short video clip of a child in Zambia named Violet who has to walk one mile to get water, carry the bucket on her head, and walk the mile back. It was a great video because it doesn’t try to produce guilt from the viewers – instead it makes you aware, and shows the hope the organization is offering by offering wells and water purification systems.
  3. Social Studies – Part 2: Then, we walked almost 2 miles carrying our water bottles. While this didn’t compare to carrying a bucket on our heads, I wanted them to get a sense of walking with something for a long way. This was not meant to create guilt, but through gently sharing the reality around the world, I want them to be aware of what a lot of families deal with – to have compassion and be moved to help as Jesus tells us to. My kids were excited to participate. IMG_9147
  4. Geography: On our interactive globe, we looked up information about Zambia. If
    you don’t have an interactive globe, you can look up information on the Internet. They also had to figure out the coordinates of where Zambia is located.
  5. Art: They created a model of Zambia’s walk to water on a cardboard box I took apart using paint, cotton balls for clouds, play dough for hills, cut up straws for birds, pipe cleaners for the hut roof, cut up pieces of coffee filters for the path, puffy paint for the river, perler beads to create Violet and the bucket, and a pasta box they painted for the water filter. IMG_9212
  6. IMG_9153Math: a) They created a scale on the map so her walk to the river could be measured and calculated as one mile. b) Violet walks one mile to the river each day and one mile back home, three times a day. They figured out how many miles that is each day, each week, and each month. c) In the video they saw, the organization said that every 30 seconds they reach someone with clean water. So, the kids figured out how many people they reach in one minute, 1 hour, and 3 hours.
  7. Science: We talked about the parasites and other harmful things that can be in dirty water and how that can make the people very sick. We talked about how to filter water and what the process looks like. We watched a short clip on an organization filtering water. We also talked about why wells are very helpful to a village, save lives, and how they w

We spent one school day doing most of this project and spent a week I spurts creating the model of Violet’s walk to water.

My prayer is that when our kids and us turn the tap water on, we are in deep appreciation to the Lord for the gift of water, that we are moved to compassion as we think about what some people deal with around the world, that we pray for these people, and that we are moved to take action and help them however we can.

Lord, draw our hearts to care about the things You care about. We are deeply grateful for the gifts you’ve given us. Please provide for those who go without and show us specific ways we can help them. Please be with each of these people and bless them greatly. In Jesus’ name, amen.

A Church Service for Kids

If you’re looking for a “church service” for your kiddos, I just came across this one that’s about 15 minutes. There’s one for preschool, elementary, and older kids. We watched the elementary one and they loved it. It had a song, an entertaining talk about humility, and one more song. If your kids think the song/dance part is cheesy, just skip over it. My kiddos loved the part with Jake. 😊https://mailchi.mp/51fafe73f05a/gateway-kids-sunday-morning-worship-12447294

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It Just Takes One

fullsizeoutput_91c5It takes one person to change someone’s world. One.

For my dad, it was Sister Mary Aloysius at his military school.

With his mother being married seven times and dying young, there wasn’t always someone right there to guide him.

He spent Saturdays in detention crossing and uncrossing his arms and failing classes.

Then, one person at the military school, a little old lady, noticed him.

Sister Mary Aloysius.

She asked my dad what subject he hated. That was easy – English.

She said, “It’s because you don’t understand it. We’re going to write a book together and you will grow to love it.”

I don’t know that it was the book that made the great difference, but that she noticed, cared, and invested.

He showed up in detention less and less – he saw there was another way.

His grades soared, he made wise choices, joined the Naval Airforce, and became a successful man.

Successful in the greatest way – loving Jesus, having integrity, loving others, and making a difference in their lives.

All because Sister Mary Aloysius noticed, cared, and invested.

Who can you notice?
Who can you care for?
Who can you invest in?

Who needs to know that even if they are in the darkest valley, there is always hope in Jesus?

Always.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him so that you will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

 

A Prayer from Psalms

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Enjoy connecting with your kiddos this week with this project of awareness!

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Lean on One Another, This Day, & Fun Activities to do With Your Kids 🌟

Linsey Driskill

Hi, everyone! You can find activities to do with your kids after the content below.

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“That’s true love – when you have to lean on somebody,” my dad told me as he recalled a tough time. The Stock Market Crash of 1987.

He was tough as nails and thought he’d be fine. But, ten days later, he couldn’t hold it together. He realized that we all have a breaking point. And this was his.

He walked into the bedroom and looked at my mom, tears fighting to let loose, and said: “Dianne, I don’t know if I can get through this.”

0-1The worry pulled the tears from his eyes.

My mom put her arms around him and said, “I don’t care about a car or house. I care about spending the rest of my life with you and the kids.”

What a woman of strength my mom is.

My dad told me, “Linsey, that is true love. When you have to lean on somebody.”

Those surrounding you right now, closest to you, lean on them. And, let them lean on you. We all have our breaking points and we all need each other.

And, lean on Jesus.

Whatever worries are consuming you, give them to Jesus because he cares for you.

Seasons do come to an end and new ones begin.

We will get to a new season soon, but in the meantime, lean on Jesus and lean on one another.

Because that is love. ❤️

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” John 15:12

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Some activities to do with your kids this week!

IMG_87591. Create a town of stores with chalk and have fun visiting them with scooters. They had fun imagining and pretending!

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2. Create textured Art. Bring a small bag with you to collect items on a walk. Glue the items down to create a picture of textured art.

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3. Create an ice land. Fill different-sized pans with water and add a few drops of food coloring to add color. Freeze them over night. The next day, take the ice shapes out of the pans by using warm water or pulling the pan apart slightly from the ice. Put them in a large, container that has low sides. Our cups of crushed or regular ice around them. Put little figurines to play with in there. Then, add some cornstarch on top of parts of it to look like snow. As the ice melts, it will create ooblek (slime). I got this activity from the great book, 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids. 

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Have a great week! I’m praying for you. ❤️

 

 

 

 

 

After the Waiting, Comes the Good News!

Linsey Driskill

My darkest time was April 19, 2011. The pain stung raw and deep.

BrooklynThree weeks earlier, I was on hospital bedrest, pregnant with triplets. At 29 weeks, I went into labor and our triplets were born, weighing 2.5 pounds each. As I looked at their tiny bodies covered in tubes, I felt both overjoyed and shocked.

Three weeks later, on April 19th, the doctor told us our middle daughter, Brooklyn, had contracted a life-threatening infection that was quickly killing her intestine.

She laid there in her isolette with a swelled belly, helpless. I couldn’t touch her or hold her. Every day, I would put my hands on the isolette and sing, “I Love you, Lord,” over and over. I didn’t know what else to do.

The doctors told us to stay at the Ronald McDonald House to be closer since they didn’t know how much longer she had. I remember standing in that room, doing what I could to breathe and take the next step.

The phone rang as we stood in that barren room. The doctor said Brooklyn’s intestine had perforated. The infection was spreading and she needed surgery immediately to try to save her.

My piercing screams carried through the hallway as my husband held me up. The weakest moment of my life.

After Brooklyn had surgery to remove the infected segment of intestine, we waited.

I think about Jesus’ followers witnessing his sufferings on the cross; waiting in that empty place for the resurrection moment. I think about the emotions that must have ripped through their hearts.

We continued waiting. Waiting to see if my daughter would make it.

Each time we spoke with the nurses, I hoped for any word of improvement, but there were none.

The surgeon told us our daughter was getting sicker. If they didn’t take her into surgery again and try anything, she wouldn’t make it.

Brooklyn was fast asleep in her incubator as the nurses rolled her down the hall. They stopped before the double doors to give us a moment with her. My husband and I looked into the incubator at our three-pound, baby girl, and Brooklyn’s courageous eyes opened for a few seconds and met ours. It was a beautiful moment branded in my heart.

I told her, “Jesus is going to heal you, Brooklyn. You are strong and you can do this. We love you.”

They wheeled her through the double doors into surgery.

During those grueling hours in the waiting room, we poured our hearts out to the Lord for our baby girl.

I wonder about the tears, pain, and prayers that rose from the souls of Jesus’ disciples and family as they waited for Jesus to rise.

fullsizeoutput_912cAfter a few weeks, Brooklyn started showing improvement and the nurses told us, “Brooklyn is a miracle baby.”

Brooklyn fully recovered and is now a thriving nine-year-old. A few weeks later, my son, got the same intestinal infection. But, after surgery, he recovered quickly. I am so grateful to the Lord for healing Bates and Brooklyn.

The pain we went through has not left my heart. I think of those of you with a different outcome, and I hurt for you. I think of those experiencing difficulty as I write this sentence. I don’t know what pains your heart so deeply it physically hurts when your mind wanders there. But I know Jesus meets you when you call out to him, in whatever way you are capable of doing.

Those agonizing days between Jesus’ death and resurrection were full of darkness, pain and longing, but light and hope would soon prevail. Jesus would not be defeated; He would be lifted high.

If you are in that hard, middle place waiting for your resurrection moment, it is at hand.

The Lord’s redeeming promise is waiting for you, if you reach out to him.

The Lord raised Jesus out of the darkest places this world has ever seen, and he will do the same for you.

I have never felt more pain and weakness as I did during that time.
When I didn’t have strength to walk, words to speak, thoughts to think, Jesus carried me.
When I was with my daughter, speechless, the Lord sang a song of praise through me.

I reached through the darkness and gripped Jesus’ hand, and he brought us through it.

Jesus’ followers and family mourned for a time, but they rejoiced on that third day, celebrating his resurrection.

In whatever place you’re in, reach for Jesus.

He can redeem you and set you free.

For the greatest miracle of all has happened – He has risen!

“Put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is FULL Redemption.” Psalm 130:7

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Jesus (Matthew 7:7-8)

For more on Faith & Parenting, join me at LinseyDriskill.com

[Previously published by ForEveryMom.]