Mercy

I originally wrote this post back in April and have been saving in my drafts.  For some reason, I never felt like posting it until today.  I'm not sure why...but here it is, finally.  :)

     Christianity was founded on mercy.  That is so easy to forget.  Without God's grace and mercy, we would be cut off from him because of our own sin.  We love to talk about God's grace and his mercy.  We do Bible studies on it and sing songs about it.  But, as Christ followers, we are called to show mercy to others as well.  I think if you were to ask most people if they were merciful, they would say yes.  Most people are quick to show mercy to the less fortunate.  We send money, donate blood or clothes to the hurting people in the world.  We take in stray animals.  We hate injustice, and stand up against it...we even fight wars to defeat it.  We give people 2nd chances...and 3rd chances.
     I have always considered myself a merciful person.  But, lately, God has been revealing to me that I have some room for improvement.  It's easy to show mercy to orphans, hurricane victims, the abused and the forgotten.  We excel at showing mercy when it makes us feel good; when we can pat ourselves on the back for it.  But what about when it feels better to not show mercy...what about the woman at the grocery store.  You know, the one with the screaming kids, or the one with 25 items in the express lane.  It's so easy to judge them...terrible parent, inconsiderate...even though we don't know them.  Or, what about the person that cuts you off in traffic...idiot.  Don't forget about the person with the out of style haircut and frumpy clothes...no one shows them much mercy.  Even if we don't say it out loud, we think it. I do it all the time...never in word or deed, but in thought...making snap judgments about strangers.  I can judge someone's entire character based on a 30 second snapshot of their life.  It's so easy to judge people when their only flaw is they are not like me, or they are not doing something the way I would do it.
     I'm so glad that God is not like that.  I'm so thankful He doesn't make snide remarks about me when I do something that does not reflect His character...when I'm lazy, or foolish, or sinful.  I'm glad he shows me mercy.  I'm glad he judges my actions, but not my person.  I'm glad that he is patient with me.  I'm so thankful that he gives me multiple chances to get it right...that he recognizes that I'm on a journey and that I'm not perfect, and that he loves me anyway.  I'm trying hard to be more merciful and more loving...to show others the same mercy and grace that God has shown to me.  The world needs more safe places, more safe people...where you can just be yourself...free to make mistakes sometimes and be loved anyway; free to be imperfect.  I hope I can become that person for the people I encounter in my life.  When we show mercy we become a living testimony of God's love for each of us.

"But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.  Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness."  James 3:17-18

Pirate Week...week 3

I decided to make week 3 pirate week when I heard Ella walking around the living room one day saying "Arrr mateys!  I'm a pirate!"
This is what I've come up with...please add any other ideas you have.

Monday:  Make our pirate costumes.  You can make these newspaper hats, or tye dyed bandanas (or just use any bandana).  Make a pirate hook and get an eye patch to complete the look!

Tuesday:  Make a pirate spy glass and/or a catapult

Wednesday:  UA Fossil Creek is showing The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything for free at 10 am (June 22 and 23)

Thursday:  Make pirate treasure chests.  You can do this with whatever materials you have, but if you need ideas, here's an easy example.

Friday:  Make treasure maps.  I am going to let the kids make their own, creative treasure maps.  But, I am also going to make one of our house with the location of Thursday's treasure box marked with an X!  Then, we can hunt for treasure while dressed up in all our pirate gear!

Also, this week the Saginaw Library is doing something called a mobile dairy classroom in the parking lot. I'm not sure what it is, but if you're interested it is Wednesday at 10:00.

Supply list: (this is quite a list, but you probably have most of this at home)
newspaper
scotch tape
glue
black marker
tin foil
2 sturdy paper or styrofoam cups
black or grey duct tape
toilet paper roll
paint and brush
construction paper
12 craft sticks
2 clothes pins
plastic spoon
rubber band
cotton balls or marshmallows
tissue box or shoe box for treasure chest
1/2 c. coffee or tea
eye patch (optional)
candy or small toys/treasures to put in the treasure chest

If you want to make a tye dye bandana, you'll also need a plain bandana or white cloth cut to bandana size and one of those tye dye kits.

For a fun pirate snack, you can scoop the fruit out of a cantaloupe, watermelon or even an orange and fill it with your favorite fruit salad.  Use a skewer or craft stick and make a flag for your pirate ship and enjoy.

Summer Fun Pictures

Here are some pictures from our summer so far:

Watching Spy Kids 2 from our secret spy hide out:

Sea World and San Antonio:

Art Week:  Finger Paints

Summer Fun: Week 2 (again)

I got a little out of order, so click here if you want to see the activities I planned for week 2 (art week).  I changed the day for the museum visit to Wednesday.  They are doing story time at the museum every Wednesday in the summer from 10:30-11:30.  (Thanks Gwen!)

In addition, here are some other free activities you may want to take advantage of:

Tuesday, June 16:  David Slick, juggler, unicycle, fire breather  (Saginaw Rec Center 10:00 am)

Tuesday and Wednesday, June 16-17:  free movies at UA Fossil Creek
10:00 am, first come, first served
This week they are showing Charlotte's Web and Ice Age:  Dawn of the Dinosaurs


Fort Worth Libraries have a ton going on this summer.  Check their web site to find what's going on at the one closest to you.


If you sign up for the Saginaw Library's summer reading program, you get a free child's admission to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History.  You can also earn a free circus ticket if you read 5 books.  (If your child reads the books...not you :)

Summer Fun: Week 1...Spy Week

Being a mom teaches you to be flexible...so, I'm moving all my previously planned art activities to week 2.  Instead, for the first week of summer, we'll be doing Spy Week!  I made this change because I found out our library was having a secret agent magic show AND the movie theater was showing the Spy Next Door for free...so, naturally, I thought, Spy Week!


So, here's the break down for spy week.  


Monday:  Make a book safe to hide our spy gear.  Click here for the instructions.


Tuesday:  Go to the free movie at UA Fossil Creek...The Spy Next Door starts at 10 am.  (they are also showing Kit Kittredge for free that day)


Wednesday:  Go to the kick off of Saginaw's summer reading program.  James Wand--Secret Agent Magic Show @ 10 am  (it's free!)


Thursday:  Make invisible ink and write secret messages to each other


Friday:  Make fingerprint powder and lift fingerprints from all around the house, make a spy hideout with chairs and blankets; Eat lunch in our spy hide out


Shopping list: (you probably already have most of this)


old hard cover book 
Exacto knife
lemons
starch powder
candle
clear tape


For additional spy activities check out http://www.topspysecrets.com

Summer Fun: Week 2

Summer break officially begins on Friday!  My husband is teaching summer school this year, so I'm on my own with both kids...at least for half the day.  I'm very excited to get to spend time with Aidan.  I've missed him so much since he's been in school.  But, I want to be purposeful about the time we have together this summer...and not just let it fade into a blur of Spongebob episodes and video games.  So, I'm planning one easy, VERY cheap activity each day for us to do.  These will not be a huge hassle, and they won't cost hardly any money...and since it looks like it will be a hot one, they'll be mostly indoors!
I thought I'd share my activities in case anyone else needed ideas.  I would love for you to leave comments with your ideas also...I'm sure I'll run out before summer is over!

Week 2:  Fun with Art

Monday:  painting...we are going to make our own finger paints and then create our own works of art  (the recipe for finger paints is below)

Tuesday: Sculptures...we are going to make our own clay, and then make sculptures (recipe for clay is below)


Wednesday: visit an art museum (we're going to the Amon Carter in Fort Worth, because it's free!), have a picnic (at the park if we can take the heat, in the living room floor if it's too hot)  Story time at Amon Carter is 10:30-11:30 every Wednesday

Thursday:  Bubble Art (directions are below)

Friday:  Make our own art museum.  We will make brownies and lemonade together and display all of our art.

Shopping List:
(you probably have most of this on hand already)


salt
cornstarch
food coloring
finger paint paper
baking soda
bubble mixture (store bought or make your own)
liquid tempera paint
white construction paper
paints

Recipes:

Finger Paints

1/4 c. salt
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 c. water
food coloring

Mix the water, salt and cornstarch in a pan and bring it to a boil.  Keep stirring until the mixture is the consistency of yogurt.  If you want to make a variety of colors, divide the mixture and place it in different containers and add the food coloring.  Let the mixture cool before painting.  Store in tightly sealed containers (or plastic bags) in the refrigerator for several weeks.

Self Hardening Clay

1 c. cornstarch
2 c. baking soda
1 1/4 c. water
food coloring
paints

Mix the cornstarch and baking soda together in a mixing bowl.  In a microwave safe bowl, mix the water with the food coloring.  Slowly add the dry mixture to the water and stir.  Microwave the mixture for several minutes, stopping to stir every 30-40 seconds.  Or cook on the stove over low heat for 15-20 minutes.  This play doh will harden if air-dried and may be painted.

Bubble Art Instructions:


Pour the bubble mixture into several small paper cups.  Add just enough liquid tempera paint to color the bubble mixture.  Stir gently.  Blow bubbles and try to catch them on the white paper. When the bubbles "pop" on the paper, they will leave paint splotches and patterns.

You can also catch these colorful bubbles on a paper plate and put them into the freezer before they have time to pop.  Leave them there for at least 3 hours and then go back to see what happened!

Let me know if you try any of these and how they turn out.  I will post pictures of all of our fun next week!

I'll post more activities for week 3 early next week...I would love to hear your ideas also!

The Newest Member of Our Family

Meet Habiyamuremye Adrien, the child our family is sponsoring.  He is 5 years old and lives with his parents in Rwanda.  We had compassion Sunday at church a few weeks ago, and Mark and I both felt strongly that this was something we needed to do.  For a very small monthly contribution, this child will have access to food, education, and other services that help his family.  For less than my family spends on hamburgers each month, we could make a big difference in this child's life.  We let Aidan pick out which child we would sponsor.  He picked Habiyamuremye because he was the only one that didn't have shoes.  He really wants to buy him some shoes.  (It's possible that he HAS shoes, but just wasn't wearing them in this photo).  It has been such a blessing for our family to be able to help.  I love hearing Aidan pray for "Habi."  I hope it means as much to Habiyamuremye as it does to us.  We will be sending him pictures and letters soon.  I would love to meet him someday, and Compassion will allow you to travel to your child's home to meet them, but I'm not counting on us ever being able to make that trip.  Please join our family in praying for this little boy, or go to Compassion's web site to sponsor a child of your own.