"Mommy, Don't Say That!"

I was at Kroger the other day when I witnessed a young girl, probably 9 or so, playing with the underside of her mom's upper arm.  The mom was not a big lady, I am guessing an average size 12, but I could tell she felt embarrassed. She immediately stopped her daughter and said, " Don't," and then added "I am so fat and my arms are ugly." Her daughter looked sorrowful, then concerned and said, "Mommy, don't say that, you're beautiful."

The child's words repeated over and over in my head all day, "Mommy, don't say that."

It made me think about this age's standard of beauty. It also occurred to me that this child felt as if she were somehow responsible for her mother's self esteem and wanted to make her feel better.

To be sure, you want to be healthy. I am overweight and I know that, while I am healthy for the moment, being overweight, obese even, puts me at a greater risk for some unsavory things that could compromise my health. But, negative talk in front of our children, even to ourselves in front of a mirror, is detrimental to our relationships.  It also puts our daughters and sons at risk of falling for the world's idea of beauty and most people will never attain that.

Our kids love us. We are their mommies. My youngest daughter recently told me I was the most beautiful person she ever met.  She really does think that. Instead of saying what was in my head - "You haven't met a lot of people then!" - I only said, "Thank you, Baby!" and gave her a big hug. I told her she was the most beautiful 6 year old ever. She said, "I know!" HA!  :) :) :)

If the children who really believe that we are stunningly gorgeous and the smartest people ever,  hear us criticize ourselves and put ourselves down, they tend to think they will never be smart or beautiful, after all, if the person who currently rocks their world can't be, then neither can they.

I felt sad for the child in the store, who so wanted her mother to be happy with herself.  She felt the burden of her mother's own lack of confidence. When we put ourselves down in front of our kids, they will take that cross upon themselves.  It is not fair to them.

So, Mommy, don't say that. Don't put yourself down, or others who look less than your idea of beauty. Allow yourself to live freely in confidence and know - you are beautiful. You have children who sincerely believe that. Don't let them believe otherwise.  Don't allow them to bear the burden of making you feel better - because they will bear the burden.

Allow them to believe you are beautiful. Allow them to believe they are beautiful.

Why Does Young Living Oils Use Multi-Level Marketing and Do I Have to Sell?

When I share how Young Living Essential Oils have worked for my family, I usually don’t mention the marketing aspect of it, unless I am asked. Let’s face it, the phrase multi-level marketing sends people scurrying! Most people aren’t interested and are even turned off by the idea of direct sales. I wanted to address part of the reason behind Young Living Oils doing things the way they do and to share some good news with you!

Young Living Oils does, in fact, use a direct sales, MLM system for selling their products, but why? While I have met many great people through Young Living and know some women and men who are very high up in the company, and I know they genuinely care about the product that they are giving to you, and I know they care about helping your family becoming healthy, I also know that unless Young Living is selling their products they aren’t going to be around for long! Young Living has some choices: They can pay for typical marketing,  get into some big box stores and sell their products through them, dealing with all of the issues that come from selling to a company that may or may not even care about the product, but are willing to sell because it helps their bottom line, or they could employ actual users of the oils to help “advertise” through word of mouth. They decided that rather than paying advertisers they would rather pay families who are actually using the oils! It makes perfect sense! Families who are using the oils and are seeing real benefits are more likely to spread the word and as payment for taking time to share, distributors are offered the chance to make a cut of the sales! As distributors spread the news about Young Living Oils health benefits, they can choose to make a living from it and let me tell you, the potential is awesome! I casually shared what my family was doing with Young Living Oils and before I knew it I was bringing in a reasonable and steadily increasing check each month plus getting my own oils free!


                                      

What if you wanted to use Young Living Oils but don’t wish to sell? This is what sets Young Living Oils out from many other MLM set ups. Think of Young Living as a club discount. You pay the fee ($150 for the premium kit) in return you get the 11 oils, a diffuser, samples, a roller filament, educational information, the distributor discount and the health benefits of the oils! I don’t know about you, but so far all my other “club” memberships haven’t given me anything but the right to walk through their warehouse! On top of the great things you get with the membership, YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO SELL! That’s right! If all you want to do is order oils for yourself and friends and family, you can do that! And guess what else? You don’t have to make a monthly purchase! You need only to make $50 in purchases over the entire year to stay active, and it gets even better. If you do happen to go inactive, you simply call, place an order and BAM!, you are reactivated. It really is that easy.

If the thought of having to deal with a multi-level marketing "scheme" has kept you from reaping the benefits of using Young Living Essential Oils, I truly hope that this post has helped quell those fears. These essential oils really work. The quality is outstanding and the company is fantastic. If you find out you love the oils enough to want to share and possibly get your oils free and maybe even make a little extra income, that is fantastic. If you just want them for yourself, that is great too! Either way, I am happy to answer questions and to help you get started!

YLO Distributor #1557144

I am Essentially SpOiled with Young Living Oils!

Let's be honest. Being a mom is hard! If your days are anything like mine you often AWAKEN with no EN-R-GEE, but you are determined to have the day you ENVISION, full of JOY and fun with your GENTLE BABY! But let's be FRANKENCENSEable. Our days are not always as ROSEy as we would like and THIEVES try to come in and try to CYPRESS your desire to LIVE WITH PASSION. If you only had and EXODUS from the PRESENT TIME! All you want is to PANAWAY to some PEACE AND CALMING! Well, friends, no more need to PINE for some DEEP RELIEF. The THYME to BREATHE AGAIN is now! DILL with your busy days with Young Living Oils. The StAGE is set for you to live with ABUNDANCE and be Essentially SpOILed.

Corny? Maybe. But the truth is that Young Living Essential Oils have truly been a blessing to our family. We have used our oils daily to boost our immune systems, treat minor ailments, to clean house, and more. If you have been thinking about giving them a try I would love to help you. This is a great time to go ahead and become a distributor! On top of the fantastic deal you get by purchasing the Premium Kit, I will be sending the next 5 people who use me as their sponsor a free copy of of The Quick Reference Guide for Using Essential Oils, plus you will now have access to the distributor discount on all of Young Living's Essential Oils!

 Have questions? Leave me a comment or email me at molder.anna@gmail.com and I will answer any questions you have! Be sure to read about how I decided on Young Living Oils!

Virtue Training Bible Giveaway!!!

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17

I believe that verse with all my heart. But sometimes I forget to dig out the verses that are going to be helpful for instruction to my children (and let's be honest, to myself as well!) I have plenty of books that offer topical studies. But is there anything better than just opening up the Bible and letting God's Word speak?

You may remember my blog post in 2012 about the Child Training Bible. I believed that tool to be a 'must have' in every parent's tool belt. And I still believe that! But I'm pleased to introduce you to the latest creation from Mindy... The Virtue Training Bible!

This system works exactly like the Child Training Bible, but has an entirely new set of verses to highlight. This time you will find 42 virtues with topics including Honesty, Humility, Kindness, Faithfulness, Endurance, and Purity. Each of the 42 virtues has a list of bible verses that you highlight in colors according to the charts provided. You'll then tab that page with the same color so that you can easily open the bible to that particular virtue. This is not only a time saver when you are looking for a specific topic, but it also allows you to address an issue quickly and directly from God's Word! As if that weren't enough, there are also prayers to go along with each virtue! So you can sit down and immediately cover a virtue from the Bible and then pray about it. Beautiful!

Much of the benefit (and fun!) is in the building of the training bible! I love it as much as my kids. I really enjoy pouring over the various scriptures and highlighting them. Like the CTB, you will need a Bible of your choice. The exact size of the VTB Charts is 8.75” by 5.75”. So you'll want to keep that in mind as you choose which Bible to use for the VTB. You'll also need highlighters and tabs. You can use colored pencils, twistable crayons, or the suggested Sharpie highlighters. I like to tackle this project one topic at a time and read the verses together with my sons as we highlight them. What a great bible study as we're preparing a fantastic tool to be used over and over!

You can find the card kit, Bibles, highlighters, and tabs here.

Want a chance to win your own Virtue Training Bible card kit? Mrs. Dunn is generously offering one card kit to be given away!! (bible, tabs and highlighters not included) Follow the rafflecopter instructions for a chance to win a VTB kit! ~Christa


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TruthQuest History Review

I was never a fan of history when I was in school. Ok, if I'm being honest, I was not much of a fan of school when I was in school. Perhaps that's why the Lord then put me in a position of teaching Kindergarteners for a year and then mentoring elementary students for another six years. And now, He has blessed me with homeschooling my own sons! (Which includes history...) We are in our tenth year of homeschooling and I LOVE it! And guess what, I LOVE history! Imagine that.

Because I have come to love history so very much, you will find my book shelves lined with fabulous read alouds from every era. I've had the opportunity to try several different approaches to teaching history. And at the end of the day, our family always comes back to hands-on activities and excellent literature.

TruthQuest History is just such an approach. In fact, it can be used almost any way you prefer! In our home, we use the Tapestry of Grace. But the information found in the TruthQuest books really helps us to dig just that much deeper and bring to life the people we're studying! The flexibility makes it an easy fit for many homes.

The guide begins with a few pages just for mom and dad. These pages are loaded with terrific advice, but it will never tell you one specific way to use this curriculum. It allows you, the parent, to decide the best way to learn in your own home... reminding you that you are in charge, not the curriculum. Sometimes we need just such a reminder. It suggests that you decide what fits your family. If you have younger children, it encourages the use of hands on activities with building blocks, paints, etc. If your child is older, they are encouraged to go deeper on a subject by doing more research. This makes it an easy fit for all ages!

After a lengthy table of contents you will find the 'read aloud' parts of TruthQuest. An older child could feel free to read these pages on his own and then discuss them together with his parents. If you are working with multiple ages you could read aloud to everyone at one time. These pages are not full of the dry, dull text that I so disliked in school. It is as if the author is sitting down with the reader and explaining history in an easy to digest style.

After the commentary, you will find a section titled "Dig In." This is where you can bring in books to read together or have children read independently. These books are all incredible "living" books. And the list is extensive! Not only is there a nice long list, but there are appropriate warnings listed beside the titles. This is a fabulous resource because, let's be honest, how many of us have the time to pre-read every book? They also provide approximate ages for each book so you'll know right away if the book is a fit for your family. Many of the books listed are available at your local library. But if you want to purchase them for your own library, you can easily do so online, in bookstores, or at local thrift stores as well! In addition to books, you'll also find audio and video options sprinkled throughout. If that weren't enough, they'll give you plenty of ideas for activities and art!

"Express Your Heart" is found throughout the "Dig In" sections. In this area you can get as creative as you like! You may use art, music, composition, poetry, story telling/writing, acting, or any other way your child learns best to really grab hold of the ideas taught. This helps us to reach out to our children in ways that they learn and recall information. So if you have a child with a creative bent, run with this section! If you don't, you are certainly never required to complete it.

"ThinkWrite" is a terrific part of the study that allows your student to really chew on the information given to them by thinking, and sometimes, writing. If your child isn't a writer, you could use this section to open up fantastic discussions.

They also recommend various books to be used as 'spines' through your study. You'll easily recognize many of the titles. Streams of Civilization, Story of the World, Greenleaf, and of course the Bible are among the titles in the Beginnings study. This makes it very easy for you to create a history curriculum and style that is your own, using your favorite resources. Or, none at all! You can simply read the study guide on its own and have plenty of information to enjoy together. If you already have a history curriculum that you love, you can easily add the reading from the TruthQuest study guide to deepen your history study time.

However, my favorite part of TruthQuest is the list of living books in the back of the study guide. If for no other reason, this alone is reason enough to own the TruthQuest series. TruthQuest says that they are not giving you books to read and then leading you through a structured curriculum of each book. But instead they are providing a lengthy list of rich history books that you can choose to use to learn history!

I am very impressed with the guide, the list of books, audios, and videos, and the price! You can purchase the book, the PDF or both at a very reasonable price! But how do you choose where to start? This link will be very valuable. There are plans of study for one to eight years as well as how to place multiple children. Tour their site and you'll find supplements that may be a great fit for your family. There are lapbook materials, notebooking pages, mini book ideas, and more!

Whether you use this as your core history curriculum, or as a supplement to the spine you are using now, I believe you will find great value in its pages. TruthQuest has outdone themselves and I'm so pleased to have found such a rich resource!

Debt Countdown Just for fun

We have begun the kick butt phase of our get out of debt plan. This is what we owe until we can consider either selling or renting the house out (yes, we do plan on moving closer to my husband's job). I may amend it to just show all of the debt once I have a chance to look it up.

Molding Mind's Top 3 Cheap Christian Curriculum Choices

We have been blessed and almost always been able to purchase whatever curriculum I wanted within reason. I always try to get it second hand but some things are consumable and you just can't do that. Now that I have been homeschooling for a few years, I am less distracted by the shiny things and am definitely more cost conscious as I add up the amount I have spent over the past 5 years. Since we have tried out so many programs trying to find that perfect fit for our family (which by the way I am sure is mythical), I have come across some excellent homeschool programs and shockingly enough, they aren't always the most expensive!

1. ACE (Accelerated Christian Education). We are really just into our first year of using ACE's English and Word Building programs, but so far they seem to be thorough, easy for the kids to do independently, and cost effective. A typical Ace Pace (about 3 weeks worth of work) will cost you about $3 when you consider shipping and can also be purchased as a complete subject for around $33 plus shipping. If you do a 6 subject school day that works out to just under $200 before shipping for an entire school year! ACE's website can be a bit difficult to navigate and the ordering process was somewhat confusing the first time, but ACE does offer a diagnostics test that helps you figure out where your student needs to start as well as possible gaps.

2. Christian Light Education. Like ACE, Christian Light sells units rather than a complete book at once. This again allows you to purchase a single unit at a time, this time at $3.35 per book before shipping. An entire subject will cost you around $34 per shipping making your 6 subject year $204 plus shipping. We haven't officially started our CLE Math 4, but I have heard so many great things about it that I purchased my son the 1st grade Learning to Read today. My total with shipping was about $53.

3. Rod and Staff. We have really liked Rod and Staff Math last year and this year. We are going to work our way through grade 4 and try out CLE Math 4 since we homeschool year around, and end up finishing books before the school year is officially up for us, but as maths go, Rod and Staff is top notch. It is a no frills curriculum which means you can get it at an excellent cost. Our Grade 4 texts were $15 before shipping and my two teacher's manuals (yes, this one required 2) were about $12 each. Total I paid about $51 after shipping. The complete Grade 4 Program Set will run you $259 before shipping. A little more expensive than the previous two, and prices will vary a bit from grade to grade, but still a great price for an entire year's worth of brand new curriculum.

We love getting new books and while "new to us" is fun, there is something about a crispy new text book that makes the new school year something to really look forward to. These curricula not only give you solid educational choices, but can also give you brand new school books and all you have to do is put back $20 per month for a year!