Quiet Snuggles

Mornings are crazy around here. Three boys to get up and ready for the day. Coming hair, breakfast time, don't for get the teeth and checking lunches and backpacks; the rush out the door and the traffic filled drive home.
 But then... there is the moment.
The moment when my third little boy, the one who yells everything he says as if you are across a large field from each other even though we are standing in the same room. The third boy who has two speeds fast and faster!  The third boy who has his hands in everything good and bad.
But in the moment ... after we walk in the door, he comes to me grabs my hand and pulls me to the couch to watch cartoons with him.  As the toddler tunes start up each day, he snuggles a little closer and closer. I know he is still and quiet because of the dancing colors on TV, but he wants me there with him!  Those are the quiet snuggles that I look forward to each morning. 


Writing prompt “Quiet” from Lisa-Jo for Five Minute Friday
Also linked up at :  The MOB Society

Work (Together) Wednesdays

With our South Texas Heat reaching an upwards of 105 degrees, afternoons must be spent inside in the air conditioning.  However, with three rambunctious little boys... afternoons get a little crazy! Who are we kidding most afternoons I'm ready to pull my hair out, unless the brothers have structure and a project helps too! 

The boys are natural creators. Sometimes it's Lego's, sometimes it's wooden blocks, sometimes it's dirt from the back yard... but one of the all-time favorite building material is blankets and pillows.  That's right, there not just for bedtime anymore! 

For Work (Together) Wednesdays, I grabbed an empty laundry basket and overflowed it with blankets, pillows, sheets, stuffed animals, and flashlights.  I called in the brothers and stated the challenge

TO WORK TOGETHER

AND BUILD A FORT THAT IS WORTHY OF THREE MIGHTY WARRIORS

After trying several locations... behind the couch, under the bed, in the bathtub... the brothers finally settled under the kitchen table.  Two hours later, that's right they worked together for 2 whole hours with no help or arguing AT ALL! I'm even joking, 2 whole hours!!! I think they rebuilt it 10 times before everyone decided it was up to par. 

then the moving began! Cade enjoyed coloring inside the tent with a few (major understatment) pillows, while Brennan was content with the constant moving... I think every toy/book/stuffed animal/ and shoe he owned was in his designated area. Will, made a comfy spot and enjoyed some reading time.

Making Memories while working together, yes please!

Busy Summer Days

Well, we are now 5 weeks into summer and all my blogging dreams and goals have gone out the window.   I promise I have been doing Memory Verse Monday, and Work (Together) Wednesdays, and even Fun Mom Fridays!  The problem is, I have been so focused on making the most of my time with the kids, that my sweet Cup of Daisies has been neglected.  However, I do not apologize for this... these are sweet memories that I want to experience them fully and I'll catch up with the writing part later.  I have so many notes, pictures and thoughts running through my head, but after all the other running I have been doing I don't have any energy left to get to the computer. How do some of you mom's do it?  I need a clone writer! :)

See you tomorrow! Happy Summer!

Work (Together) Wednesdays

This weeks Work (Together) Wednesday project will hopefully be accomplished without complaining or arguing!! Our focus last week was transforming our lives by the renewing of our minds. So we will be transforming the crazy messy garage into a nice neat one... or at least more nice and neat. And Father's Day Bonus - A project that will help out Dad.  Our Garage is crazy messy and I know Daddy will be very pleased to come home to a nice clean garage.  Of course, I will be pitching in to help and guide the project (the kids are way to young to let them do it all themselves).  But they will get plenty of age appropriate jobs. 

I'm almost embarrassed to say, that yes this is our garage neat... we obviously need to have a garage sale! However, everyone was a huge help, and actually had fun and laughs in the process! I love it when hearts are right and everything comes together!

Look at those red faces! They were so hot, but never missed a beat!

What projects are waiting to be finished aroung your home? What projects can your kids work together to bless someone else?  Up next... helping weed the flower beds!

Memory Verse Monday - Philippians 2:14-15

How in the world did this happen… Only one week in on the summer schedule… and I’m already running behind.   Did I bite off more than I can chew? I sure hope not.  Thank you all for being so patient and I hope your memory verses went well last week. My boys loved Memory Verse Monday, and loved getting Transformer toys… They have been asking me for the next verse!  So here it is Tuesday, running one day behind, as usual. 

This week we will be working on a Memory Verse to help remind all of us (me included) about being joyful. 

Philippians 2: 14-15

Do everything without complaining or arguing,

so that you may prove yourself innocent children of God,

in a broken world.

Sample Devotional:

The Bible is full of situations where God’s people complained and argued about the things that were happening in their lives or things they were asked to do. One example is the Israelites.  Do you remember their story?

The Israelites were slaves in Egypt. God brought them to freedom and they thanked Him by complaining about their food, the time, the weather… to the point that they decided to make an idol and worship it instead of God. 

How do you think God felt about the way they acted? Were they  acting obedient? Were they joy-filled?

God commands us in Philippians to do EVERYTHING without complaining… did he say, “Unless you don’t want to do it then you can complain? “ No, He didn’t. Did he say, "If you have a good enough reason/argument, then you don't have to obey." No, He didn't.  When we complain about the things that are asked of us, we are not only telling our parents, teachers, and others NO... we are telling God "No, I don’t want to obey you."  Just like the Israelites did.  God loves us even we complain, but we can show Him how much we love him by obeying with a joy-filled heart and not arguing and complaining. 

Can you share a time you complained or argued?  How were you feeling at the time? Was your heart filled with joy or frustration?

Can you share a time you share a time you were obedient? How were you feeling then?  Was your heart filled with joy or frustration?

Sometimes it is very hard to obey without complaining… but remember God commands us to do everything without complaining or arguing… and if we are transforming by the renewing of our mind (Romans 12:2 ) we can be obedient and grow closer and closer with God as well as be a shining light to the broken world around us.  

Activity:

This week, our activity is to make a sticker chart of attitudes.  The paper will be divided in half and will have the verse written across the top. (We are making this tomorrow, I'll put a pic up on Twitter)  On one half the boys will draw a picture of a time they were obedient with a good attitude.  On the other side they will draw a Picture of a time they had an attitude of grumbling and complaining.  For the rest of the week the boys will earn stickers by being obedient without complaining and arguing (this is going to take a little work on my part…I’m thinking I’ll keep stickers in my pockets) and the stickers will be placed on the second side to cover up the picture of disobedience and bad attitude.   At the end of the week, we will see how everyone did… and some sort of prize will be given for saying the verse.  If you can come up with a clever idea of a prize that relates I am open, oh wait, desperate for ideas!!!

Memory Verse Monday

You made it! To the first ever Memory Verse Monday here at Cup of Daisies!  Thank you for joining us and I pray that your family will be blessed and have fun while learning God's word! Go here For more info on what, when, and why; Memory verse Monday!

Do not conform any longer to the things of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind. (Romans 12:2 NIV)

Source

 Here is a quick sample of our devotional:

Conform means to become similar and more alike or the same, while transform means to change from one form ot another, to be different than before.

Now that you know this lets read the verse again.

Can anyone tell me what the verse means?

"Because of who our great and wonderful God is, we should worship Him. Paul says we

should give our bodies as living sacrifices. He is not talking only about our physical body. He

means that we should give God our whole self – that includes our body and our mind

(thoughts).

In the Old Testament times people who loved God offered dead animal sacrifices to Him.

Paul says that Jesus was the greatest sacrifice. So because of what Jesus did for us, we do not

need to sacrifice animals to God anymore. Now God wants us to give our whole selves to

Him. We should put aside our desires so that we can follow Him.

We are not to copy the behavior of the people in the world who do not know Jesus. We

are to even think differently than they do. When we think about Jesus and seek to follow

Him, our minds are changed or transformed. When this happens we can know what God

wants us to do. And we will know how good it is to do what He wants us to do.

Source

Think about the transformer toys you play with.  Optimus Prime conforms to the world by being a semi-truck. He blend in and becomes more  like the things in this world, the things around him. But his true power is released when he is transforms and becomes much different than the world around him.  He becomes a super hero. Optimus Prime is an alien to this world,  just as Christians are. We are here serving worshipping and being transformed by the renewing of our mind and being a living sacrifice or giving our whole selves to God, until we join him in our true home, Heaven. 

Tell me some of the ways you conform to the world. What would that situation look like if you are transformed and sacrificing or giving your thoughts or actions to God? (Some examples to start the conversation might be handling arguments with siblings, what they want to watch on television, obeying parents)


After the boys are able to say the verse to their age appropriate ability. They will each be recieving a small transformer toy for a reward and reminder of the Bible verse.  I hope that this lesson will stick with them so that every time they see a transformer, this verse will pop in their mind.

I love to connect Biblical truth to something so tangible for the boys. What verse are you working on this week?

Memory Madness Monday

I was once told of a woman who, as she aged, had lost her eye sight and also her hearing. It was impossible for her to read and near impossible to hear those around her speaking.  On her 90th birthday she was asked what her greatest regret was,  her response was, "That I didn't memorize more scripture, because now I can't read scripture and it is so hard to hear it read to me." Obviously this woman had a heart for God, and was hearing from Him in other ways, but I was convicted when I heard this story to learn more scripture. To "hide God's word in my Heart" so that no matter what situations or ailments come my way, God's word will always be within! 


I recently went through a Bible Study called ONE ON ONE WITH GOD by Jerry and Marilyn Fine. It is a wonderful tool that really helped me to understand my purpose as a daughter of the God Most High; and  also how to practice and live out that purpose. 

Philippians 3:10 AMP
¹⁰ [For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [^[a]which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]





One of the tools taught through One on One with God is scripture memorization.
Here are a few tips on scriture meemorization, Jerry and Marilyn share in the book.

1. Read the context of the verse in your Bible. This helps you understand the verse in it's proper setting.
2. Read the verse through several times, thoughtfully and aloud.
3. Write the verse out on an index card. Some people find it helpful to write the verse out several times.
4. Meditate on the verse - Ponder the verse, Picture the verse, and the Pray the verse back to God.
5. Break the passage into natural phrases. Learn the reference and first phrase, then the reference first and second phase, and so on until the entire phrase is memorized.
6. Review the verse immediatley after you have initially memorized it by quoting reference, verse, reference 30 times.
7. Share the verse with others - use it or lose it.
8 Review Review Review! Review the verse everyday for the next two month!

Honestly, the thought of scripture memorization is so overwhelming to me. It doesn't come easy to me, which also means that I have to be so dilligent about making myself study and work on it daily.  I do believe it to be a proven tool in growing a closer relationship with the Lord. So,  I will persevere and we will see what the boys and I can accomplish over the next 8 weeks.  The scriptures I have chosen will have a short activity or reward that will hopefully help the verse come to life and encourage the kids to work on it too! Each week I will post the verse we will be working on that week, along with the activity and/or prize for the week.  Please feel free to join us starting next Monday, June 4th!   Learn the scriptures we learn, or share some of your own.  I'm still looking for a few more to finish out the end of summer ... just saying, suggestions welcome!  What are some of your favorite scriptures?


Image Credit:

Horia Varlan