Want fun and meaningful ideas to bring parenting with Scripture into the holiday season?
Scroll through these ideas to see our family favorites!

And, don’t forget to consider Parenting with Scripture: A Topical Guide for Teachable Moments when planning your gift list for friends and family.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

It makes me sad that Thanksgiving is often overlooked or underappreciated because of Christmas coming on its heels.  I want to take advantage of the premise of this thankful holiday and help my children be so enchanted by a experiencing gratitude that it sticks with them all year long.

Here’s how our family does it:
(Click on the blue links to read details for each idea.  Or, to skim down all former Parenting with Scripture Thanksgiving ideas, including the ones below, click here.)

Thanksgiving Traditions
Family rituals are the things that your children will look back and remember.  We try to create a few of these for each holiday.

Thankful Travel Time involves no supplies…just some purposeful car time.
Thankful Turkey is a must-have member at our annual family gathering.

Thanksgiving Teachable Moments
Keep an eye out for examples of thankfulness to use as teachable moments.  I share my favorite one here…contagious thankful hearts.

Thanksgiving Hands-On Crafts
Thankful Tree is a fun and tactile way for younger ones to visualize gratitude.
Grateful Hearts is a way for all ages to express thankfulness through Scripture.

Looking for meaningful Christmas presents for friends, family members, or teachers?  Consider gifting copies of Parenting with Scripture: A Topical Guide for Teachable Moments.   If you are local (Dallas area), I’m happy to sign them!

Does this title make you squirm a little because you wish you were doing a better job connecting God’s Word to everyday life? Maybe you just aren’t sure how?

Let’s break it down to the “when” and “how” along with a few pointers, and hopefully any intimidation can be weeded out.

The rest of this article is featured HERE on www.ChristianParenting.org. 

I’m excited to partner with this site and hope you’ll take a moment to browse around after finishing reading my piece.  It’s a wealth of resources. 

Plan ahead for Christmas presents and consider gifting copies of Parenting with Scripture: A Topical Guide for Teachable Moments  to friends, family, teachers, and church staff.

With just 4 ingredients and a few minutes of prep, you’ll have a fun and yummy Bible treasure hunt ready for your family.

Ingredients for Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread:
1 Box Spice Cake Mix (Duncan Hines brand works best)
1 15 oz Can of Pumpkin
1/2 Cup Water
1 Bag of Chocolate Chips (any kind, but Durbins prefer Dark)
Recipe can be made without chocolate chips, buy why would anyone do that?!  😉

Prep Ahead Instructions:
Gather your 4 ingredients and print out the list of verses consolidated at the bottom (in maroon).
Cut the verses apart and hide them as follows.

• Spice Cake Mix –
  Carefully open the box, insert John 6:35, and reseal the box with glue or tape so it looks unopened.
• Can of Pumpkin –
  Carefully take off the label, tape Matthew 5:16 to the back of the label, and put the label back on the can so it looks untampered.
• 1/2 cup water –
  Fold and tape Psalm 42:1 to the bottom of the measuring cup so that the cup sits as flatly as possible.  A measuring cup that isn’t see through is preferable.
• Chocolate Chips –
  Tape Psalm 119:103 to the seam of the back side of the bag, folding it so it will show as little as possible.
• Big Mixing Bowl –
  Tape Psalm 34:8 to the bottom of the bowl so that the bowl sits as flatly as possible.

Pre-heat oven to 350.
Grease & flour 2 loaf pans. (Spray works fine.)

Teachable Moment Time!
God’s word is like a treasure hunt.  We have to make time to dig into it and explore its depths.  Doing so will bring priceless blessings.  Today we are going to remind ourselves of that by going on a Scripture treasure hunt with our recipe!  As I tell you each ingredient to put into our big bowl, you have to find the hidden verse.

Box Spice Cake Mix
Read and discuss the verse once it’s found.  Then, dump the mix in the bowl.
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.   John 6:35

1 15 oz can of pumpkin
Read and discuss the verse once it’s found.  The connection here is that pumpkins are often used at jack-o-lanterns this time of year.  Then scoop the pumpkin into the bowl.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.  Matthew 5:16

1/2 cup of water
Read and discuss the verse once it’s found.  Then, pour the water into the bowl.
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.  Psalm 42:1

NOW blend these ingredients with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer for a full two minutes.

1 Bag Chocolate Chocolate chips 
Read and discuss the verse once it’s found.  Then, pour the bag of chips into the bowl and mix by hand with a large spoon.
How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!  Psalm 119:103

Pour the batter evenly into the greased loaf pans.  As your child is helping pour and scrape the batter into the pans, see if he notices the verse on the bottom of the bowl.  Read the verse, discuss, and then ask him if he sees a clue in the verse as to what to do next. 
Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.  Psalm 34:8
Taste the batter!

Bake both loaves at 350 for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
It’s delicious eaten warm.  We often microwave it a bit if we are eating slices later on.  It can also be made into muffins or mini-muffins.  Just adjust the cooking times.  This bread freezes well, but ours never makes it to the freezer!  We love that it makes two loaves, because often we eat one and give one away.  I watch for sales this time of year for the ingredients and stock up.  It’s not unusual for us to make as many as 15-20 batches of this between Sept – Dec each year.  We LOVE it and it’s the aroma of fall in our home.  I bet it will become a favorite of yours, too!

For further discussion –
“I hid verses in our ingredients for fun, but where does the Bible say we should hide God’s Word?  And, why?”
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:11
Consider following that up with finding a verse or two in Parenting with Scripture: A Topical Guide for Teachable Moments to memorize and continue discussing.

Cut and paste verses from here into a printable document for use in your own hunt:
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.   John 6:35

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.   Matthew 5:16

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.   Psalm 42:1

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!   Psalm 119:103

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.  Psalm 34:8

Kalli’s Junior High Volleyball team was getting crushed last year.  They were a young, inexperienced, small (only 7!) team that usually played much larger teams with older, more experienced girls.  The first couple of games were brutal and the girls were quite disheartened.

Then a mom came up with a brilliant plan!

Set small goals:
Shauna realized the girls needed smaller, more attainable goals to work toward rather than actually winning a game.  She promised them cupcakes if they could get to 15 points in a set.  Once they achieved that, the next goal was 20 points in a set for chicken nuggets.  I’m sure it was amusing to those not in the know to hear us fans yelling out “CUPCAKES!” or “NUGGETS!” as encouragements!  A win, which they amazingly finally achieved, meant an end of season slumber party!

Celebrate incremental victories:
The opposing teams had to have been completely befuddled by our extreme joy, cheering, and pride in our girls after each game…especially all those “lost” games.  What they didn’t know is that we were elated about the improvements and increasing victories of calling the ball, working as a team, growing skill, and more points!  By the time our team actually won a game, we were so thrilled you’d think we had taken the state championship!

Thus, the season became less about winning and more about growth.  It was a blessing to see the girls’ confidence increase and attitudes brighten with each game. Yes, we will all remember how hard that season was.  You can’t lose that often and badly and it not make an impression.  However, I’m thankful Shauna saw an opportunity to teach the team (and parents!) lessons of persistence, encouragement, and keeping positive when things are down.

Here’s a way a teammate encouraged the remaining 6 girls when she was injured and unable to play.
See?  Encouragement is contagious!
Seems there was a food trend going.  🙂
I’d love to hear any non-food ideas you’ve seen or tried.  Please share!

 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.  1 Thessalonians 5:11
For other topical verses, refer to your copy of Parenting with Scripture: A Topical Guide for Teachable Moments

I had never really stopped to consider that little blip in time (the last words we say to our kids before school) as a teachable moment until I watched this quick video by Dr. Kathy Koch. (It’s less than 3 min.)

Hmmmmm…makes you think, doesn’t it?! 

Whether sending your kids out the door to walk to school, catch the bus, dropping them off in carpool line, or even sitting down to a day of homeschool, you probably have some line you typically say to set the tone for the day.  “Have a great day!”  or something like that.

I began to ponder biblical encouragements that could replace my well intended, but shallow send-offs.
How about…

• “Grow in wisdom today!”  (Luke 2:52)
• “Be a friend who loves at all times today!”  (Proverbs 17:17a)
• “Walk with the wise today!”  (Proverbs 13:20)
• “Be quick to listen today!”  (James 1:19)
• “Bring joy to yourself and others with cheerful looks today!” (Proverbs 15:30)
• “Trust in the Lord today, with whatever it brings!”  (Proverbs 3:5-6)
• “Have a thankful day!”  (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Try using some of these.
Or, flip through Parenting with Scripture: A Topical Guide for Teachable Moments  to find ideas for whatever area your child may need an encouraging word as he starts his day.

Tired of frenetic, joy-sucking days?
I was, too!

That’s why reading Hands Free Mama: A Guide to Putting Down the Phone, Burning the To-Do-List, and Letting Go of Perfection to Grasp What Really Matters! and Hands Free Life: 9 Habits for Overcoming Distraction, Living Better, and Loving More was a breath of fresh air. 

I was doing life in a way that made me oh. so. weary.  I clung to each chapter as if it was life support. 

I know this sounds melodramatic, but it’s absolutely true. 

Rachel’s words were so nourishing that I read only one chapter a week because I needed to let them sink deep.  I also wanted this new way of looking at and doing life to stick. Each Sunday, I looked forward to being reminded and renewed of my purpose for making these changes, along with discovering new points to chew on and helpful tips to implement.  

I’m not going to list specific ways these books helped or changed me, because I don’t want to pigeonhole them.  I believe that everyone will have different take-aways depending on where you are in life.  What I feel like she wrote just for me may not be the chapter that will blow your mind. 

God’s timing in my life for these books was perfect.  No surprise there!  I can honestly say that through Rachel’s books and other ways my precious Heavenly Father has worked on me over the last year, I’m in such a better place.  Frenetic no longer defines my way of life or mental state.  WHEW! 

The flip side of that is that when I look around, I can now see so many others in the same state I was in.  I’m afraid that if you looked up frenetic in the dictionary, one of the definitions would read…

FRENETIC:  adj.  – The state of the average American Mom

If you are feeling this way, I encourage you to take advantage of this offer to get your hands on this material and pray that God would help use it to reveal areas where you can grow, find healing, relief, and best of all, more joy in life!

Here’s how to get BOTH for the price of one! (and I highly recommend reading BOTH)
With any pre-order of HANDS FREE LIFE comes a free e-book download of the New York Times bestseller, HANDS FREE MAMA. The offer is good until September 7. Here is the link with all the details ==> http://www.handsfreemama.com/hands-free-life-pre-order-goodness/

What does this have to do with Parenting with Scripture: A Topical Guide for Teachable Moments?
We parents can only do so much and keep so many things spinning in our heads.  I want to have the time and mental space to do a better job of parenting with Scripture!  Living Hands Free is helping me with that! 

Does your child know that she can encourage her teacher(s)?

1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Encourage one another and built each other up.”

Why not have your kiddo help create a back-to-school surprise for each of her teachers?

Here’s what we came up with and have enjoyed doing for several years…

• We found these cute people magnets at Mardel in store or online for just $1.50 each (price may vary).
  They can also be found HERE and HERE on Amazon.
• We discussed clever ways to word the notes and have stuck with the wording pictured below.
• Then, we make and tie on the tags.
• Most importantly, we pray for each of the teachers by name and discuss how the kids can be an encouragement to their teachers all year long through their actions, words, attitudes, and continued prayers.
• Finally, each of my kiddos puts them with their backpacks to take on the first day of school to give to their teachers.

I’m taking off from blogging this summer, but wanted to leave you with some ideas from the past to help equip you to make the most of parenting with Scripture through the summer.

If you look in my blog categories (right column on my blog page), you’ll see that I’ve categorized all the topics for easy reference.

Click on “Seasons: Summer Fun” and you will find these ideas in addition to the posts from the last three weeks.  Enjoy scrolling through and see what might be a good fit for your family’s summer.  If you’re Type A like me, you’ll even make notes on your calendar so as to be purposeful and not forget to do your favorites!  😉

• Good Deed’s Day (a day centered on others)
• Media with Scripture (think library day)
• Playing with Scripture (think whipped cream!)
• Cooking/Snacking with Scripture (think Cheez-Its!)
• Singing with Scripture (what’s your sound of the summer going to be?)
• Praying with Scripture (think mail)
• Vacationing with Scripture (what’s your vacation Scripture going to be?)
• Do you have a spiritual growth plan for your kids this summer? (maybe these ideas will get you thinking)

I’ll be popping back in a couple of times this summer to share articles that I’ve been asked to write on the topics of “Motherhood” and “Legacy” unless I decide to save them for next Mother’s Day. I’m looking forward to sharing with you how my mom and others impacted my spiritual life growing up.

And, I’ll be back to my regular Monday morning posting schedule in September (aka – when I have time to myself again!)

Happy Summer!

Oh, and don’t forget that Parenting with Scripture: A Topical Guide for Teachable Moments could be an easy themed idea book for your summer!

I love expanding my kids’ concept of “church” by visiting other churches when we have occasion to do so.  They see first-hand that it doesn’t matter whether the church is big or small, has a building or not, worships with different kind of music than we are used to, etc.

The beauty in this teachable moment is that the church is the  PEOPLE!  And, we’ve found that worshiping with brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter the mechanics of the church, can be a precious experience.

Did you grow up with this hand motion rhyme like I did?  If not, click here to see it in action.
Here is the church.
Here is the steeple.
Open the doors,
And there’s all the people.

Well, my fabulous youth minister turned that around and taught us teens the more Biblically accurate, though non-rhyming version.

Use the same motions, just change the words…
Here is the building. 
Here is the steeple.  
Open the doors, 
And there’s the church! 

Use both versions for a fun way to teach your kids the truth of the “church = people,” NOT the building.

The blessing of visiting other churches while on vacation –
I have wonderful memories from growing up of visiting my grandparent’s church, my aunt and uncle’s church, and even a sweet little frame church surrounded by palm trees in Hawaii on a vacation my dad won.

We’ve tried to be deliberate about taking our kids to other churches as we’ve had the opportunity.  Our kids have had the experience of
– visiting their cousins’ huge church,
– their other cousins’ very formal church,
– Florida friends’ more contemporary church,
– Aunt and Uncle’s church in Indiana (where they quickly picked up we were from Texas because of our accents!)
– And our favorite…

–  The church pictured above is made up of travelers from all over who happen to be in Keystone, Colorado on a Sunday.  We worship, not in a building made by man, but in our Creator God’s majestic mountains!

The blessing is that my kids have seen first-hand and learned that it’s our common bond in Christ that matters and not the how, when, or where. 

This summer, consider visiting another church as part of your travel or staycation plans.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
1 Corinthians 12:27

For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Romans 12:4-5

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:12

For more teachable moments, don’t forget to refer to your copy of Parenting with Scripture: A Topical Guide for Teachable Moments.