Survey

We have a whole lot of this in our home…

Linsey Driskill

We sure have a whole lot of forgiveness in our house. We are so in need of the Gospel. Of His forgiveness. 

I think sometimes we can get this image in our heads that other families have it all together – that there is only stillness and perfection and peace. 

But, when you put a whole bunch of humans in a house who fall short, that’s just not the case. Yes, there can be a whole lot more peace when we have Jesus connecting us and when we seek Him. But, let’s not be fooled to think that as humans, we will arrive to perfection here. There is something very freeing about that, isn’t there?

That we don’t have to have it all together and act perfectly – We are forgiven.

That we don’t have to have all the answers – Jesus is it. 

That there is grace when we misstep – Bountiful grace.

That as we seek Him we will become more like Him – Redemption.

All because of Jesus. 

In our imperfections, when voices are raised, when we let rude comments leave our lips, when tones are anything but kind, when we haven’t given one of our children the attention they need but have been absorbed with other things, one of the very best things we can do is point our kids (and ourselves) to the Gospel and to our need for Jesus, by simply asking for forgiveness. 

I think that is one of the reasons God prizes humility so dearly. It shows our great need for him.

In pride, we think we have it all together and don’t see our need for Him as clearly.

In humility, we see the gaping need we have for Him, our imperfections glaring, His forgiveness beckoning us and redeeming us a moment at a time. Helping us to start over. 

When our kids also reach out to us in humility, saying their sorry, let’s not forget to also forgive them, giving them the same grace God has given us. 

Jesus took it all for us on the cross that day. All our sin. We are forgiven in Him when we believe in Him. That is why Paul said in Galatians 5: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” Galatians 5:1 

One of the beautiful parts about it all, is when we come and bring our hearts, unveiled before the Lord, raw and open, He will begin transforming them to be more like His. 

That will bring more peace and joy. But, when we do fall short, as we all do and will, let us be quick to ask for forgiveness, to forgive, and to have a whole lot of love and forgiveness in our homes.

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Fun Announcement!

Linsey Driskill

Good morning, everyone! I’m excited to let you know that I just started working with For Girls Like You, a non-profit ministry to tween girls (7-12 years old) and their parents. We were founded by the late Wynter Pitts (mother of four daughters) to provide a simple way to encourage young girls to know their worth in God. We publish a bi-monthly, Christ-centered magazine for tween girls (forgirlslikeyou.com), various devotionals, fiction books, activity books, and digital resources for tween girls.

We partner with churches, schools, and nonprofits all over the country – if you know of any who might like to get the magazine to girls they serve, that would be great if you’d connect us or email me at Linsey@forgirlslileyou.com (no “d” in Linsey) to let me know.

If you’d like to subscribe to get the magazine, you can use the Promo code Friends5. My girls have really enjoyed getting the magazine and seeing other girls their age who love Jesus! Click below to check it out:

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If you are looking for a fun way for your kids to keep some Scripture in their hearts, check out my Creative Fun activity from chapter 3 of my Devotional (a Focus on the Family resource): “Courage and Compassion-Jochebed, Shiprah, Puah, and Pharaoh’s Daughter”. The “Words for Your Heart” memory verse is 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 “Stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” You write each word in the hop scotch squares and say each word as you jump in the square. When we finished playing, we all had memorized the verse!

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Give it to Him Again

Linsey Driskill

Some of you might have heard the phrase, “Give it to Jesus,” if there is something you have been struggling with. You’re venting or expressing your heart, and then you hear, “Give it to Jesus.” As though you haven’t done that because you’re still struggling…

We are meant to come to Jesus again and again. If the Lord thought we didn’t need to come to him daily about things, He might have said, “Give us this year our yearly bread.” But, that’s not what He says at all. In Matthew 6:11, Jesus says, “Give us TODAY our DAILY bread.” We are meant to come to Jesus again and again.

{Read my full article by clicking the link in my profile. Thank you so much Girlfriends in God @gigpix for sharing my article!} ❤️

https://girlfriendsingod.com/give-it-to-him-again/ ‎

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Happy Fourth!!!

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Start the Summer off with this / Happy Father’s Day!

Linsey Driskill

Start the summer off with doing sweet devotions about women in the Bible like Lois & Eunice with your daughter! You can find my Devotional here: LinseyDriskill.com/Devotional The “Creative Fun” activity for this devotion is making heart-shaped pancakes, yum! And the “Daughters in Action” Activity is making bubbles inside of huge bubbles on your kitchen counter! Your kids will love it! 🥞😊 🙌

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A super simple way for our kiddos to appreciate their dads on Father’s Day- have your kids write a bunch of reasons why they love him and then tape them on his bathroom mirror. 😊 Happy Father’s Day to all you dads! We’re grateful for you.

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Thank you, God, for the grace you give us day after day, moment after moment. Help us to walk in forgiveness, in freedom, and in joy. 

Memorial Day / Giving our Kids More Responsibility

Linsey Driskill

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As our hearts grieve for the families in Texas right now who were affected by the tragedy, I wanted to share a very helpful video with you by Sissy Goff, A Christian Counselor – about how to talk to your kids about what happened and what we can do. Our hearts are with you and we are praying for you. https://www.facebook.com/sissy.goff/videos/978196789541695

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For the life of me, I cannot remember who said this to me – just that she was a mom of grown kids. The mom wasn’t saying she wish she’d been there less for her kids, but that she wish she had given her kids more responsibility as they were growing up so they would have been more self-sufficient. Isn’t that one of our goals as parents?

To prepare them for the real world the best we can. To help them become mature adults, so they are ready to fly when they leave our homes. I think many times we don’t give our kids enough credit for what they are capable of doing.

It can so easily happen… It’s easier for us to do the dishes, clear the table, clean the floor so we don’t have them clean up. We do it ourselves. They learn that someone does it for them. We clean their rooms – they learn that they don’t have to. We step in to solve their problems instead of letting them gain confidence by learning they can solve it themselves. There are such subtle ways that we can tend to do too much for our kids. 

I’m not saying we can’t do any of the above, but when our kids have an active role in things like cleaning up after meals, cleaning their rooms, initiating problem solving to name a few examples, they learn how to do it, see they are capable, and are less likely to feel entitled and more likely to be appreciative. 

My kids normally make their own lunches, but if I make it for them one day, it becomes a gift instead of an expectation, and they are so appreciative. 

We can start small. It can be:

– Our kids making their own lunches. 
– Setting an alarm to wake up. 
– Picking out their clothes to wear that day themselves. 
– Keeping their room clean throughout the week, and cleaning it themselves.
– Helping out around the house. 
– Putting their dishes in the dishwasher.
– When they have a problem with a friend or with school, asking them what they think they will do about it (we can guide them of course, but when we put the ball in their courts it helps them become more confident problem solvers as they see we have confidence in their abilities.)

Each family of course has to decide what responsibilities are best for their kids to have as it’s not an equation, but the point is to begin giving our kids more ownership as they grow older so when they do leave our homes, they are prepared to. When we give our kids more ownership and responsibility, they will see that they are capable, that they can make their own choices and don’t need someone deciding things for them – which is definitely a muscle we want to help flex so that in their middle school and high school years they will grow in confidence and know how to be an independent thinker among their peers. To see a practical way to help our kids grow in responsibility, see my post on How to Do “Allowance”.

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