7 Ways to Know God’s Call
There is a myth today that says we must get our life organized and in order before we follow God’s call. Our kids must have adequate time with us. Our debt must be paid down. Our days must have space … and peace.
After all, how can we do great things for God when we don’t even have time to spend ten minutes in prayer? How can we give from a empty well? How can we spare what we don’t have: whether it be time, money or energy. Yet God’s call never waits for us to unclutter our lives. In fact, He usually calls us when we have nothing to spare. Why?
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How to Adopt for {Almost} Free
John and I adopted a baby girl from an amazing birth mom in 2010, but as everyone knows adoption is not cheap. Since it was a direct placement there were numerous fees, to the tune of about $6,000 – $7,000. Our daughter is worth every penny, of course.
The cost of most private adoptions cost $20,000 – $30,000. Our adoption was cheaper because we had a connection with the biological mom through a mutual friend and we didn’t use an adoption agency. Instead a lawyer handled the adoption.
Private adoption is a wonderful option if you can afford it!
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15 Christian Novels to Read in 2015
Read a good book lately? I have. 15 in fact!
Below are fourteen Christian novels that I read in 2014 … and the one I’m currently reading. (I’m enjoying it.)
All the books that I read last year were awesome–honestly! I loved them so much that I’m recommending them to you!
I’ve included 15 GREAT books below with a 3 or 4-sentence review!
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7 Ways to Teach Your Toddler About Jesus
Hi, I’m Anne and I’m the mother of a talkative little two-year-old named Joe-Joe. And the older he grows, the more he wants to know. Growing up the second of four kids, I always thought of kids’ learning things as osmosis. You hang around smart people who have bookshelves full of interesting books and you end up educated—and entertained, and fed, and owning a driver’s license, right?
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15 {Untypical} Questions to Verify Your Purpose in 2015
I am one of the busiest moms I know. I write three to four books a year, blog, homeschool, and lead a teen moms’ support group. Oh yes, and I’m working with an amazing production company that’s making huge progress in having one of my book series turned into a TV series! (I know; it blows me away too!)
Sometimes I can’t believe this is my life. I’m a former teenager mother. I have no college degree. I live in Arkansas, not Hollywood, Chicago, or New York. Yet all I do and have goes back to one thing: realizing God’s designed purpose for my life . . . and having the faith to run with it.
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Training to Prevent Childhood Sexual Abuse – Are We Overreacting?
When I first had kids, if someone told me I should talk with my children at an early age about good touch/bad touch, private parts, and rules about what to do if an adult crossed the boundaries into inappropriate behavior, I’d have probably shrunk away and thought that was over-the-top paranoid. I protect and shelter my children, and that should be enough, right? Besides, what would I say and how would I bring up the topic without telling them way more than they needed to hear?
Not anymore. Now that I know that 90% of childhood sexual abuse cases occur with someone the child already knows, and more than half are with an adult or older child the family trusts, I don’t assume that strangers are the only danger to my children, and if I keep them from suspicious people, they will be safe.
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6 Ways to Pray for Your Husband: Pray for Strength & Right Living
There are many things we can pray for our husbands, but one thing we continually need to pray for is strength. We live in a world with darkness all around. Everyday our husbands are assulted with unholy attitudes, foul displays of ungodliness, and temptations that appeal to his flesh—even as his spirit battles against them.
Friends, we need to pray for strength for our husbands to stand against temptation. We need to pray that our husbands will have tender and repentant hearts so that when they do stumble and sin—because all of us stumble and sin—our husband will turn to God. We need to pray for our husbands to stand strong on earth but also look with expectancy to heaven, and the gift of eternity with God. These are things that I’m praying for my husband, and these are prayers I urge you to pray for your husband, too. And because I know that the word of God is powerful I’ve wrapped these prayers around Scripture verses. I’ve also included Scriptures to reference, too!
Won’t you pray along? I guarantee that your soul will also be touched and transformed as you pray for your husband.
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Bible Reading Plans for the New Year
Careful planning is part of what makes a person wise and productive.
Not to plan is considered foolish and dangerous.
This is true even though the Proverbs teach that we do not know what the future may bring.
‘A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps’ (Proverbs 16:9).
The fact that the Lord is ultimately in control of the future does not mean we shouldn’t plan.
It means we should commit our work to the Lord and trust him to establish our plans according to his loving purposes…He (God) planned for our joy; we ought to plan for His glory.” ~ John Piper
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14 Reasons Why I Homeschool
I’ve been a homeschooling mom for 20+ years. I’ve homeschooled three children all the way through high school, and my youngest child is 5-years-old, so I still have a long way to go.
Why do I homeschool? Not because I want to hide my children away from the world. Not because I don’t have any dreams or goals of my own. Just the opposite. I sacrifice a lot to spend this time and effort on my kids. As a successful author, with a flourishing career, I could spend a lot more time writing more books if it wasn’t for homeschooling. I’d have more quiet and more peace. I’d have a cleaner house! Yet since I first started in 1994 the reasons why I homeschool has grown as my kids have. I homeschool for many reasons, and here are the first 14 that came to mind:
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Great Read Alouds for K-2nd Grade {+ Printable!}
I LOVE reading aloud to my kids. And they love it, too! According to Jim Trelease, author ofRead-Aloud Handbook, reading aloud is not only fun, it gives your child a huge advantage when it comes to learning. Children who start school with a larger vocabulary tend to do better than the child with a low vocabulary. And how do children learn and expand their vocabulary? By hearing words used at home! Often, our conversation speech is “verbal shorthand,” whereas books offer complete sentences and more complex language.
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What are some of your favorite blog posts from 2015?
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Great list! There are lots of well-written blog posts. For example, Writing Your Way to an “A”, I saw recently, proved to be very interesting and informative post to me and to all readers, I think!