Child 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

A mother’s heart skips a beat when her 11 year old son asks for more time to study the Bible. And not only more time, but more time studying God’s Word together with the family. My quest to find a good way to study began. I was prayerfully looking over different options when The Child Training Bible appeared on my computer screen. I’ll admit, I’m a homeschooling mom with a true appreciation for office supplies. So when I saw that it required sharpies and post-its I was instantly interested. I sent an e-mail to Child Training Bible and asked a few specific questions, and I was pleasantly surprised when Mrs. Dunn sent me a personal response almost immediately. I ordered the kit on the spot and rushed to the store to buy the sharpies and post-its, and then waited on my son’s kit to arrive.

When you decide to use this program you will need to either order the Sharpie highlighters and post-it flags, or go to a local office supply store to purchase these items. Then you’ll need to order the kit from www.childtrainingbible.com. Some families use colored pencils instead of the sharpies. I found that the Sharpie Accent Liquid Highlighters do not bleed through thin Bible pages. You will see a slight shadow of the color on the opposite side of the page. But we’ve had no bleeding at all in our experience. When your kit comes to your home the first thing you’ll notice is the quality cardstock and bright colors on each card. The first card is to be attached to one of the first pages of a 9” x 6” bible. This card will have color coded topics on the top, side and bottom. The topics include Anger, Complaining, Defiance, Discouraged, Disobedience, Fear, Fighting, The Gospel, Impatience, Jealousy, Laziness, Lying, Making Excuses, Not Listening, Pride, Quarreling, Selfishness, Stealing, Tattling, Unforgiveness, and Wrong Friendships. You’ll eagerly tape this in the front of your child’s bible, and quickly reach for the remaining three cards.

Your remaining three cards will have the topics listed on the top, side and bottom of the bible. You’ll look up the first verse in the first column titled ‘Anger.’ Proverbs 14:29 is the first of eight verses listed in this category. You’ll look it up, highlight it in your yellow sharpie highlighter and put a yellow post-it flag on the top left side of that page. You’ll continue this till every topic has been highlighted and tabbed. Your child will be so excited!

When you see your child displaying anger you will pull out the Bible and flip open to the first tab in Proverbs 14:29. You may continue reading verses as long as you feel necessary depending on the child’s age and the time you have available. Now you’ll turn over that card and find some questions to discuss. For example, “Did you have a godly response to this situation?” And you’ll find a prayer for each topic, as well. Is there any better way to get to the heart of a situation? Using God’s Word, having a heart felt discussion, and praying together is not only brilliant, it’s biblical. At your fingertips you have all you need to lead your child in righteousness according to God’s Word. You are teaching her that every answer to every situation is found in God’s Word. Is there anything more important to teach your child? I can’t imagine anything more vital.

So, that’s what you’ll do, but what have we done in our family? My son, as I said, is 11. So he is finding, marking and tabbing on his own. And I did the same with my bible. I have a younger son who isn’t reading fluently enough yet to have his ‘big boy bible.’ So I know my bible will be used with both boys. And I’m adding another tab or two to my own bible with topics I want to study more deeply. We use it as a bible study by studying each topic together. We use it as discipline and training when issues come up. For example, my oldest son struggled with some fearful thoughts, so we simply turn to the light blue tabs on the top of his bible and read the verses together and pray. And we use it for further study on the topics given. If you are like me, you tend to think outside the box. So don’t feel limited to the example verses given on the cards. When you come across a verse that fits one of the topics, grab your highlighter and matching flags and add to your list. My son has already begun doing this without my leading. God’s Word is living and active, so don’t feel limited.

You may be asking yourself why you couldn’t just make your own. Let me give you some food for thought on that question, because it did cross my mind. First, it’s about my time. My time is stretched very thin, and I suppose your time may also be limited. Why reinvent the wheel? Someone else took the time to do it and I can benefit from that. Second, quality and customer service is valuable to me. These cards are heavy duty and laminated, so they will last quite a while. And Mrs. Dunn has given the best customer service. Third, supporting other moms in their home based business is important to me. The cost isn’t too much to ask for such a wonderful tool for my parenting, and by making my purchase I am helping support this home based business.

My youngest son is already asking when he’ll have a chance to put together his own Child Training Bible. This has encouraged my boys to dig into God’s Word daily. Each morning they pick a topic and read a verse or two together! And that is the most important reason to order the Child Training Bible Kit.

Want a chance to win your own Child Training Bible card kit? Mrs. Dunn is generously offering two card kits to be given away! Follow the rafflecopter instructions for a chance to win one of these two kits!



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Christa

Perfect Parenting

No one prepared me for children.  I did think that after a full 10 years of infertility, praying and essentially begging God for them, that I was ready.  I read every manual, handbook, and website I came across that concerned child rearing.  I spoke with other mothers as if I had real knowledge about all things children and childhood.  I pitied them in both their successful and futile efforts of parenting their kids.  Pitied their success because surely, it was dumb luck that got the results, as they did not do what I would have done according to the all knowing book writers and of course common sense.  Pitied their failures because their first mistake was to *not* ask me for advice.  They just did not know the expert that I was, and could not be, because of our misfortune to be unable to reproduce our own offspring.
 
HA!

Then I picked up my first baby.  A 10 month old bouncing baby boy, whose birthmother, in a moment of wisdom mingled with desperation, grief, and despair, placed him for adoption.  As I took this child in my arms, I imagined I could feel her loss and felt so sorry that I was gaining from her pain.  But, this was the baby I dreamed of and I was going to do this parenting thing perfectly.

Yes, Game On!

We took our baby home, put together his “Nursery in a Box”, while he watched on from a high chair, and began our foray into the world of parenting.  At this point in time, my only “real life” experience with parenting consisted of the afore mentioned books, and my year and a half of being a foster parent.  The foster parenting experience did lend itself to increasing my knowledge of parenting, but I was parenting the way that the State of Tennessee told me to.  There is a remarkable difference.  I did not feel the weight of responsibility, the burden that knowing that, yes, yes you can screw you child up for the rest of their life, and that only after years of therapy and multiple Oprah appearances can they ever be “normal” or “happy.”  I just did what I felt was right in my heart. For me this consisted of me constantly carrying the 1 year old girl, that I currently had courtesy of the state, around on my hip.  I did not worry that I was going to spoil her, did not worry that she was going to expect to be treated like a princess at 12, and did not worry about anything I had read in a book.  I just did what felt “natural”, within the boundaries the state of Tennessee set for me as her foster mother.  (I probably would have even tried to lactate and feed her breastmilk, but the state would have certainly frowned on that.)

Yay! This living life thing is fun! Now, servant mommy, pick me up!

My son did not receive that luxury.  He was loved and deeply cherished. But I felt the responsibility for him to “turn out right” to not “spoil” him and to “do it right.”  I did not do what came naturally for me, which looks more like attachment parenting.  I let him “cry it out”, put him to sleep and fed him at the appointed times.  I did not hold him all the time, even though I was desperate to do so.  I refused to let him whine or fuss about things.  I confess, I was hard on him.

Then, I got pregnant.  This is where some may think, “That always happens when someone adopts.”  Let me assure you, it doesn’t always happen, and as a matter of fact, rarely happens.  When you say this, it also cheapens adoption and it insinuates that adoption is a means to an end, suggesting that we only adopted to achieve pregnancy.  That is certainly not the case.  Anyway, I was fully aware during my pregnancy, that this was probably the only time that I would ever be pregnant, the only other baby I would ever have, and I threw the idea of perfection out the window.  I was going to enjoy it, darn it.  I chose to live every moment of my pregnancy (save the 40th week) in joy and satisfaction.  I knew that there were no guarantees that I would actually bring a baby home (my sister says I was jaded). So, I had pregnancy pictures taken, I took pictures of my pregnant self every week, talked about being pregnant to the point, I may have run off a few friends, and just generally lived in a constant state of gratitude.

This was a couple days before I delivered, I briefly considered putting was I was actually thinking while this picture was being taken, but you go running from the blog saying, "My eyes!" So, dear reader, I will not traumatize you with the reality that was this picture... *snicker*

I delighted in every ultrasound, cried every time we got to hear the heartbeat, and reveled in the attention and glory that pregnancy bestows on otherwise boring and plain women.  I bought an entire wardrobe of maternity clothes, started wearing them almost immediately and perfected the pregnancy waddle very early on.  Even though pregnancy was extraodinarily hard on my 30+ year old body, I relished the experience. 
Then, I brought home the baby.


I know!  So stinking cute!

 I knew from seeing the differences in the my son and my foster daughter, in terms of confidence, security, our bond, and general disposition, that I had indeed failed my son miserably.  I had already been moving to rectify the errors my perfectionist ways had caused, and was working on bonding more with my son.  I know enough not to continue repeating bad ideas, and knew that the way I parented my daughter was a far better “fit” for me.  Besides, I could not have put this new baby down, even if I wanted to, which I didn’t.  I did not worry about spoiling her, I was just so GRATEFUL that she was here, that I determined to live every day in the gratefulness that I had.  I put aside the desire to do everything “right” and decided to do what I felt my God & my heart told me to do.

Kids have this habit about them.  They all grow and change, and you as a parent have to grow and change.  That first little girl I mentioned, has an older sister.  She is now 11.  She is one of the girliest girls you will ever meet. 

I am so girlie! I love all things frou frou and fluffy and princess...

The other day I walked by the bathroom and smelled singed hair and sweat, I glanced in and my beautiful preteen was trying to flat iron her very kinky curly hair into straightened submission.  I tried to give her instruction on the “proper way” but she is determined that her way is best.  She popped out of the bathroom for a quick break from torturing fixing her hair, and asked, “Hey Mom? Can I get my eyebrows waxed?” I think her eyebrows are beautiful.  My first response was to laugh hysterically and say no, I can’t even get my OWN brows waxed, but I did not.  I took a deep breath, reminded myself that she was getting bigger and told her that I would pluck them for her.  After answering her questions about the procedure and assuring her that ripping your eyebrow hairs out by their roots did, in fact, hurt like.. Well, that, she declined.  She then asked about having a new face.  She is obviously beautiful, so why in the world does she want a new face?  She said that she wanted to look like the model on the front of the make up book.  The model has the perfect, botoxed to frozeness, look of serene happiness on her face.  So, I see in my daughter the desire to be what she considers perfect, and I want to hold on to her as tightly as I can and keep her from a quest that will be never ending.  I want her to know that she is perfect the way she is, and when she accepts that, she will find a level of peace that not many others can say they have.
 
I ended up adopting the little baby girl and her older sister.  Now I am the proud parent of four of the most beautiful children you have ever laid eyes on.   I want to live in peace about the way I parent. I don’t want to feel resentful of my kids or their demands on me because I am their mother and I am defined by that and that is okay.  I will never achieve an award from Parents magazine for being the perfect parent, for coming up with the newest discipline technique that “really works”, or have kids that always behave and make the right choices. Above all, I have to do what I feel is best for my children and live in peace with that.

This is my life - And I am thankful....