Top Signs of Volunteer Burn-out
One of the best things parents can do for their children is to volunteer in the classroom or for an after school sport or club. But sometimes parents, especially moms, can over-commit and that can quickly lead to burn-out and resentment. Post the following list on your refrigerator to help keep your volunteerism in a healthy range.
Never to be Repeated
When my husband went to work in Sydney for three months, I was left at home with the kids. I felt like a single mum and I was quite literally tearing my hair out.
Say What!?
Kids say and parents hear the darndest things…
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Waterslides and Dragons!
Where can you find waterslides and dragons? Can you say The Great Wolf Lodge in PA.
As we drove around the bend of the hill my husband’s mouth dropped. There it was The Great Wolf Lodge and it is really a huge lodge! Our children could not wait to get out of the car to get into the water park. Below is a few observations that will help family travelers about the lodge.
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A Starting Point For Revival-The Heart
The Heart Is The Starting Point For Revival The status of revival will depend on the way the Lord’s people (Christians) respond to the Lord’s voice. Psalms 85:6-9 “Will you not revive us again that your people may rejoice in you? Show us your unfailing love. O Lord and grant us your salvation. I will listen to what God the Lord will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints-but let them not return to folly. Surely his salvation is near those who fear him that his glory may dwell in our land.” (NIV) Revival starts with prayer and seeking the Lord. I Chronicles 16:11-12 “Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles and the judgments he pronounced.” (NIV) This land can be healed if we seek God’s face, God’s strength and God’s person. The next step will be to turn away from wicked ways. Acts 3:19-20 “Repent then and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord and that he may send the Christ who has been appointed for you-even Jesus. He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he has promised long ago through his holy prophets.” (NIV)America needs a fresh touch from the Lord. Here are some suggested areas for repentance: 1.) Set an example for others 2.) Stop watching TV programs and movies that do not glorify the Lord. 3.) Dress modestly 4.) Stop divorcing (Unless of abuse or unfaithfulness) 5.) Stop drinking, going to bars and taverns. 6.) Stop sexual immorality 7. Stop gossip and slander 8. Stop killing unborn babies and anyone who is alive. Only God has the right to decide when a life will end. Humble yourself and pray for America and our town. Fast along with prayer and ask for God’s grace to grant revival. I Peter 5:5-6 “Young men in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud-but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in do time.” (NIV)Jesus prayed for people to be saved. Do you pray for souls to be saved? John 17:20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (NIV) The Lord is looking for Christians to witness for him-that will not shrink back. If it would be a choice between death and denying Jesus would you choose death? If you choose to deny Christ – then I would consider that act cowardly. Here is what Revelation 21:8 says about being a coward: “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the 2nd death.” (NIV) Think about this scripture: Matthew 10:32 “Whoever acknowledges me before men; I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” (NIV) The Lord expects us to be bold and stand up to let others know about the good news of Jesus. Ask yourself: “Are you ready to die for the Lord?” My personal opinion is that it will not work to deny Christ and then repent. The bible teaches we should always be prepared to give an answer about the hope we have for eternity. I Peter 3:15-17 “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.” (NIV)The bible teaches about the consequences of falling away- Hebrews 6:1-6 “Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death and of faith in God, instructions about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment and God permitting, we will do so. It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.” (NIV)Are you on fire for the Lord and giving your life to serve him? If not, why not start today?
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Discipline
DisciplineProverbs 29:15 “To discipline and reprimand a child produces wisdom, but a mother is disgraced by an undisciplined child.” (New Living Translation)
Many years ago (when parents still disciplined by spanking) I helped with my mother’s day care. There was a little girl who constantly told things that were not true. One day she screamed and cried because she was afraid to stay at day care. This went on until we told the mother that she would have to make other arrangements for child care. The next day the little girl came in and acted like a different child. The mother told us the little girl had been spanked by her father for throwing tantrums at day care and with the occasional babysitter at home.Children need to know there are boundaries and limits for their behavior and if the boundaries are not observed-consequences will follow. Children need discipline that is done in love and with constant rules. Rules must be established with consequences following immediately. Are you showing your child love by setting boundaries and giving them discipline when needed?
Lesson from the Crocodile Hunter
Insurance Ensures A Migraine
After the certainty of death and taxes, you can count on insurance companies to drive you mad.
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It’s An Honor, Mrs. McCall
For over a year now, my children and I have been visiting an elderly woman in a nearby nursing home once a week. My reasons: to teach my children how to communicate with older adults, even those who are not in good health, and to do something nice for someone else. Some visits have been good, more have been trying, but it’s worth it, I would say to myself.
After one very trying visit, where my five-year-old kept teasing my two-year-old and making him holler, and the older children kept looking at me saying, “When can we go?”, it finally struck me. My attitude and hence my children’s attitudes towards these visits were wrong. Our approach shouldn’t have been “We are doing this good thing for you, Mrs. McCall,” but rather “Mrs. McCall, it is a privilege to spend time with you. You have so much to share with us, and we are so blessed to have you in our lives.”
What if that is how we treated everyone we met, even the cashier in the store? What if we approached them as “It is an honor to do business with you, and I’m so glad I picked your check-out line”? What if, instead of looking annoyed or exasperated, we gave them a smile and wished them a nice day? What if we honored each member of our family, and then taught our children to do the same?
Now, if there’s anything I want my children to learn from our weekly visits to the nursing home, it’s that it’s an honor to know Mrs. McCall. Our visits are going much better now.
A Lesson For All Parents
Calling all parents…what or how should you teach your child about other kids that may be different from them? In my experiences with my daughter, and from experiences with the general public, I can only say this—lead by example. Teaching differences in general can be challenging for parents. But think about the first time your child asked you a question about a person that looked, acted or talked different from them—what did you say? If you haven’t crossed that road yet, or even if you flubbed it the first time, allow me to be your “mentor” on this subject for the next few minutes as you open your mind and heart.
The definition of empathy is ‘the action of understanding, being aware, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts and experiences of another…and/or having the capacity for this.’ I do not claim to be an expert in the subject; I can only tell you about how empathy has impacted my family and me directly.
I think that some of us have a larger capacity than others for empathy. Maybe it is based on our upbringing, genetics, life experiences, or a combination of all of them. But in attempting to teach your children how to respond to children that may walk, talk or act differently than they do, I think it is vital that you dig deep into that capacity for empathy and relay it to them. This, in turn, will increase their capacity for empathy.
Consider this: you are in a grocery store and see a mom with a child in her cart that obviously has some sort of delay or disability and your child is staring at him. What do you do? What do you say? Here is where your degree of empathy comes in. Instead of staring with your child or trying to hide your child out of embarrassment, set an example by acting and talking to the child as if there were do differences. Don’t speak with pity or sorrow to the child or his parent; instead speak with admiration and honesty. That mom has been through some very rough days and wants so desperately for her child to be accepted just as much as yours. Don’t look at the parent with sadness or heartache, instead look at her with dignity and respect and know that she has gone beyond the realm of courage and bravery in parenting this child.
As we all know, if you model this behavior to your children, you are leading by example, so next time your child may not shun or stare at a child who is different. Hopefully, after the encounter, your child will ask some questions. That will be your opportunity to express the importance of not making people feel different, even when they are. Encourage your child to approach and befriend a child who is different from them. They need acceptance from peers and friendships just like any other kid. Don’t be intimidated by the unknown, just open your mind and put yourself in the other parent’s shoes. Increase your capacity to empathize with them and you’ll be teaching your child one of the most valuable lessons—kids that appear to be different in some way don’t deserve to be treated differently. Things aren’t necessarily the way they seem, so take the time to listen and understand the child before you judge him.
I feel if we can all do this in small ways with our typically developing children, they will have a large inner capacity for empathy and will be able to express it to their peers—and someday, to their own children.
How Do I Love Thee, Teachers?
School is starting!
On behalf of every mother who has spent all Summer covering her children with sun screen, washed every single towels in the house practically every day and wept every night after observing what happens to the house when children are home all day, I just want to say to every teacher out there:
Are Your Actions Glorifying God?
Living in today’s society can be very stressful and at times confusing. I listen to Christian radio stations on the radio (most of the time) and sometimes I am not sure if the news gives the complete picture. For example - remember the great scare about the year 2000 - people were urged to stock up on supplies and a lot of money was spent for things that were never used. I was praying the other night and I realized on judgment day will these things matter? Such as the big controversy of shopping at stores that say Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays. I don’t think they will - what we have done to serve Jesus is what will matter!
Volunteering is Magical
Volunteering at your children’s schools, youth activities, church and anywhere else you see a need, is always a worthwhile endeavor. It can make a huge difference in your community and in the life of your child and your child’s teacher/leader. In addition, it may very well lift up your own spirits.
Does It Matter
Does It Matter?Living in today’s society can be very stressful and at times confusing. I listen to Christian radio stations on the radio (most of the time) and sometimes I am not sure if the news gives the complete picture. For example - remember the great scare about the year 2000 - people were urged to stock up on supplies and a lot of money was spent for things that were never used. I was praying the other night and I realized on judgment day will these things matter? Such as the big controversy of shopping at stores that say Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays. I don’t think they will - what we have done to serve Jesus is what will matter!
The most important thing is to spread the good news of Jesus and leading others to the Lord. How many people are going to come to the Lord by forcing stores to say Merry Christmas? Only God knows for sure - but in my opinion people who are forced to do something are not doing it from the heart. So, why not put Christ back in Christmas by our actions? People are watching Christians everyday. From the world’s point of view as followers of Christ we should be patient, kind, forgiving and helpful.
Many years ago I was delivering newspapers. I found it was easier to deliver newspapers to people who didn’t go to church than to people who held positions in churches. One day ( because of circumstances beyond my control) the papers were extremely late. As I pulled up to deliver one - this man ( who had a high position in one of the churches) came to the car. His face was as red as a beet. He started yelling and using words that definitely did not glorify God and told me he was going to have my boss on me like a dog tearing up a dish rag and that I wouldn’t have a job. I tried to explain - but he wouldn’t listen. My guess is that he called my boss and found out it wasn’t my fault and because of that I never saw him again.
This man may go out and do really great things for the Lord - but to me his words spoke louder than his good deeds. So, as you go through your daily routine - stop and think what matters most to the Lord and what your words and actions are really saying about your relationship with the Lord!
