Seven Tips for Building the Christian Family You Never Had

Well, look what I found when I got home! I hopened up a Christian mom's magazine and saw this... (and my mind is still spinning.. I scanned it and it transcribed the magazine page to a word document! Of all things!)

Anyway, This kind of summed up today's meeting for me.. God bless you all, I appreciate the group so very much xox :)

Seven Tips for Building the Christian Family You Never Had

Read parenting books with a caveat of grace. With every book I read, I berated myself for not being a perfect Christian mom, instead of letting the words encourage me to improve my parenting. Offer yourself grace when reading these books.

Find or observe a parenting mentor.

If you notice someone you think is parenting her kids well, ask her questions and observe her.There's nothing better than learning from a real live human being.

Say, "I'm sorry." All parents make mistakes. We say painful words that we heard our parents say. The best way to disarm this is to admit it. Asking our children and others for forgiveness opens the door to improving relationships.

Understand that parenting is not

outside-in, but inside-out. God is in

the business of cleaning, healing and rejuvenating our hearts from the inside out. The greater the healing, the more authentic and effective our parenting will be.

Forgive your parents. Forgiveness sets you free — free to love your imperfect parents, free to give grace to your im­perfect self as you struggle to parent. Holding bitterness in your heart hinders you from parenting freely in the present.

Stop the comparison game. Few acts are more destructive than comparison. God asks us to concentrate on our own families and revel in what he has given us.

Find support. My parenting skills increased when I found other parents who struggled just like me. I realized I was a normal parent with typical strug­gles. I was able to laugh at my mistakes and continue down the parenting path.

Adapted from Building the Christian Family You Never Had by Mary E. DeMuth (WaterBrook, 2006)

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Hi All :)

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Thanks,

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March 3rd

This month we will be exploring our roles as

Keepers of our Children’s Hearts.

One Minute Question: What are two things we can do daily for each child so that they know that we love them?

Topic: What does it mean to “loose your child to the world” and how do we maintain our influence over our children as they grow up?

Pic-Nic: If the weather looks like it will be sunny then pack a lunch to eat at the playground after MCB. The kids have a blast playing in the church’s fully fenced in yard while we continue our conversations in the sun!

Welcome Kayliegh Mae Johnson!

Cari had her girl on Friday(?) via C-sections. All went well. Mom and baby are home and happy. tired, but good.

Kayliegh Mae
7 pounds 10 ounces
19.5 inches


Congrats, Cari, Gregg, and Riley!!!

A Cari Update

I got a call from Cari Johnson today. She's made it to 37 weeks and is officially off of bedrest - woohoo! So, she is schedule for a c-section on Tuesday if Little Girl doesn't come before then. I will be coordinating meals to be delivered to her family for the first few weeks, so if you'd like to bless her in such a way, keep an eye out for me and my sign-up list coming your way soon!

February 24th

This month we will be exploring our roles as Cooks.

Please bring your favorite cook book or recipe book as well as a unique (or not so unique) cooking utensil that you like to use.

Topic: Tell us why this is your favorite cook book and how you use the utensil that you brought.

Pic-Nic: If the weather looks like it will be sunny then pack a lunch to eat at the playground after MCB. The kids have a blast playing in the church’s fully fenced in yard while we continue our conversations in the sun! Some of us stayed until 2pm this week - wow!

February 10th

Cookie Decorating: Come decorate and eat Valentine’s Day cookies!!! Ok, so this is not about being cooks but it is about eating…so does that count?

Marriage Sermon: What does Proverbs have to say about Marriage? We will spend a few minutes watching Pastor Mark Driscoll share his insights about this topic on a DVD.