More on Sharing

Mom with girlTeaching little children to share sometimes feels like a never-ending pursuit. Here’s some ideas to consider when teaching your children to think of others:

PREPARE AHEAD OF TIME.

Write up some simple questions and answers to memorize with your children. In other words, catechize them. This simple form of question-and-answer learning can take place at the lunch table or at other teachable, non-emotional moments when conflicts are not occurring. Little children will memorize quickly if you simply repeat a question and answer over and over at different times until it becomes familiar. Help them memorize one question until they know and understand the answer. Then move on to memorize the next question and answer.

Here are some questions and answers to get you started:

Q: How does God want you to treat others?

A: God says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 19:19b). 

Q: Does God want you to serve others?

A: Yes, God says, “…through love serve one another” (Gal. 5:13).

Q: Who should you do good to?

A: The Bible says, “Let us do good to everyone” (Gal. 6:10).

Q: What does God say about honoring others?

A:  “Outdo one another in showing honor” (Rom. 12:10b).

Q: What does God say about giving?

A: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

HELP YOUR CHILDREN PRACTICE.

Take time to help your children learn how to think of others. Help them practice. Ask them questions to help them think. Do this at times when they are not already in the midst of a disagreement.

Act out different situations with stuffed animals or dolls. What should happen when one person wants what the other person has? What should happen when several people want to play with the same item? Help them act out the right behavior and say the proper words. This can be a time of formal instruction, or just done casually when you are playing with them.

Walk the children through imaginary scenarios and have them practice doing and saying the right things while you coach them. What should they do and say if little brother wants to play with their new toy?

Stop them in the middle of a disagreement, quietly take them aside, and ask them what they should do. Ask some of your “catechism” questions to help them think. Then go back to the situation with them and walk them through the proper steps. (Doorposts’ Brother-Offended Chart can help with this.)

GIVE CUES WITH QUESTIONS AND CONVICT WITH SCRIPTURE

When a disagreement arises, ask your children the questions they have memorized. When a child is refusing to share a toy, ask him, “How does God want you to treat others?” He will then have the opportunity to instruct himself with God’s Word by answering, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” With these words and his previous practice and role playing, he may immediately know what he should do, or you may need to coach him a bit. If he needs help, give him instructions, and then expect him to follow them. Don’t allow him to disobey you while you instruct him.

With a little preparation ahead of time, you and your children should be better prepared to deal with the challenges of sharing with others.

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What I’m Glad God Has Done

I’m glad God chose to give us six children! We got a late start. I was twenty-eight when we married. In the twelve years that followed, God blessed us with six little ones and the strength to care for them!

I’m glad God is a God of mercy who has carried those little ones through the “perils of childhood.” He spared the life of our firstborn, who would have died his first night if God had not led our midwives to recommend taking him to the hospital to have him checked. He protected a trio of boyish boys whose adventures are still being revealed, now that they are all grown and married. (Gasp.) Bike crashes, pill samplings, disappearances in airports, nursing difficulties, ruptured appendixes, escapes from the backyard – God’s been there watching when we couldn’t see, giving wisdom when we were clueless,  protecting when we were powerless.

I’m glad God is a God of grace who shepherded my husband and me through those years of pregnancies and diapers and spankings and math lessons. I’m glad He has continued to hold our hands as we’ve navigated career decisions, courtships, and marriages. He was and continues to be our strength and our purpose, our sustainer and our life.

I’m glad God is a God of love who gives what we could never earn or deserve.Less than five years ago, eight of us used to gather around our table. This past Sunday, gathered in our home to celebrate the joy of Christ resurrected, the victory of Christ glorified and at the right hand of His Father, we had seventeen around the table! Surely we’ve done nothing to deserve such blessing!

Ruby "decorating" the cookies that Aunt Rebekah made for the girls.

Little Calvin, all spiffed up for his first Easter

Victoria loving little Calvin

God loves to give. He loves to bless. He loves to foil Satan and take even what is the result of Satan’s work in this world, and turn it around for our blessing. The challenges, the accidents, the mistakes, the sins — God has used them to bless me. He has changed me as I lean on Him through this journey of motherhood. I am a different person than I was thirty years ago, a different person than I was yesterday.

I’m glad.

 

“He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)

 

(Photos by Susannah)

 

 

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Treasure Hunts for Resurrection Sunday!

Activities for EasterI’m excited! We’re getting all the family together in the same place for Easter dinner this year! I’m having fun planning a treasure hunt for the little girls. I know it’s getting pretty close to Easter Day, but at least a few of you are probably waiting until the last minute like me, and might still be able to use some ideas. I’ll share what I’m going to do with our little girls, and then I’ll also give some ideas for a treasure hunt with older children. (Sorry — this is a  l-o-n-g post!)

These Resurrection Sunday treasure hunts can involve colorful plastic eggs if you want to include the traditional Easter egg theme, or the eggs can easily be replaced with cute little wrapped boxes, tiny gift bags, etc.

FOR THE LITTLE ONES

You will need:

  • A ball or skein of colorful yarn
  • Little treats and surprises that you can tie in with the Easter story (see examples below)
  • Plastic eggs or little gift boxes or bags
  • Basket of goodies at end of hunt

Using a ball of colorful yarn, weave your way through your house or yard, leaving a trail with the yarn as you go. Go upstairs and wind through some rooms and back down again. Go inside a closet or under a bed, into the shower, and into the refrigerator. Be creative!

Along the way, hide little surprises in different places, with the yarn leading to the surprise. When the children reach the gift, stop and talk about it. Read the story, eat the food or tuck it into a basket to save for later.

Here’s what I have gathered to use in our hunt. (I got most things at the Dollar Store and a Christian bookstore.) I’m going to hide them in this order so that we can talk about the Easter story in the order it happened.

  1. A roll and some grapes on a pretty plate (Jesus sharing Passover with disciples at the Last Supper)
  2. An egg with 30 dimes in it
  3. 4 plastic eggs with a Lindt chocolate lamb in each (Jesus like a lamb)
  4. A plastic rooster (the rooster that crowed three times when Peter denied Jesus the night before His crucifixion)
  5. Crosses made out of pipe cleaners and hung on ribbon to make kid-style necklaces (the cross that Jesus died on)
  6. Jesus Lives (a Happy Day book that tells the main events of the crucifixion and resurrection)
  7. Yellow silk lilies – one bunch for a dollar at the Dollar Store, cut apart so each girl gets a flower (the garden cemetery where Jesus was buried)
  8. Flower-shaped glitter stickers (more flowers in the garden cemetery)
  9. 4 eggs that each contain a chocolate covered peanut cluster (the stone that was rolled away from the empty tomb)
  10. Story of the Empty Tomb (an inexpensive Arch book, that tells about the women going to the tomb and finding it empty)
  11. One large empty egg (because the tomb was empty) or an egg with a resurrection roll or resurrection cookie inside
  12. A “Magic Grow” lion (the kind you put in water to make them get larger) and a bowl of water for him to grow in (because Jesus in the Lion of Judah)
  13. 4 paper crowns (because we are children of the King and we reign with Him)

Instead of treats, you could also just hide pictures that illustrate the Bible’s account of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. These could come from a coloring book, a worn or thrift store Bible storybook or an inexpensive Arch book that you don’t mind cutting up, photocopies of pictures from storybooks (I don’t think this violates copyright laws as long as you own the book and are using the copies only for your own family’s use), or simple pictures you draw yourself. As the children reach each picture, you could stop and talk about the portion of the story.

At the end of the yarn trail, I plan to have a basket with more goodies:

  • An Easter color and sticker book
  • Crayons
  • Plastic eggs that contain fresh strawberries and dried fruit pieces (for the sugar-sensitive little girl), and pastel colored M&M’s
  • Play-doh in plastic eggs
  • Chirping chicks and wind-up hopping chicks from the Dollar Store
  • Lamb cookies (these look so fun!)
  • Lion cookies
  • Bubbles (in a bubble bottle that is shaped like a princess with a crown on, because our girls, when they trust in Jesus, are princesses of King Jesus)
  • Bath bombs (the big balls that fizz when you place them in the bath water) For some reason, baths at Nana’s house are big entertainment. These should make it even more exciting!

If I had known earlier that we were going to all get together, I would have spent some time on Christian Book Distributors’ website to find Easter stickers and storybooks, or Bible stories on CD or video.

FOR OLDER CHILDREN

Use all or some of these verses, depending on the age and attention span of your children. The bold words are for your use; don’t bold these in your clues. (You can print out a ready-to use sheet of the verse clues here.) Or, if your children are old enough, just write the references on slips of paper, and let the children look up the verses in their Bibles as they search.

Give the children the first clue, and it will lead them to the next. As they find the clues, they will be reviewing the main elements of the Easter story. Review the story with them as you go.

Mark 11:8 “And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way.” (Hide the next clue in a clothes closet or in the branches of a tree.)

Matt. 26:15 “And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.” (Hide the next clue under a piggy bank or in a change jar.)

Luke 22:39 “And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him.” (Hide the next clue under a can of olives.)

Matt. 26:26 “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.” (Hide the next clue where you keep your bread.)

Matt. 27:29 “And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!” (Hide the next clue in a thorny rose bush outside.)

John 19:17 “And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha” (Hide the next clue with a cross in your house. This could be a literal cross or just a place where a cross is formed by intersecting boards or lines.)

Matt 27:48 “And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.” (Hide the next clue under the sink where a sponge is stored or in the cupboard where you keep vinegar.)

Matt. 27:45 “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.” (Hide the next clue in a dark closet or basement.)

Matt.  27:59 “And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth.” (Hide the next clue in the place where fabric is stored for sewing or where towels and sheets are stored.)

John 19:41 “Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.” (Hide the next clue in the garden or in outdoor flower beds.)

Luke 24:1 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. (Hide the next clue in the spice rack or cupboard.)

Luke 24:2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. (Under a large stone on your property, hide directions to where the treasure is hidden.)

End your treasure hunt with one surprise or with a basket or box of treats, books, videos, Bible-related games, or stickers, etc., like those described in the younger children’s treasure hunt.

 

Have a blessed and joyous Resurrection Sunday!


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What I Would Do Differently, Part 3

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7).

What else would I do differently if I could go back to my early days of mothering? I would memorize 1 Corinthians 13 sooner and pray for God’s grace to take things less personally:

  • The “oversights” and “blunders” that are simply a husband thinking like a man instead of like a woman. He’s not trying to hurt me. He’s just different than me.
  • The furrowed brow and the little hand that reaches out just one more time to touch the “no-no”. He’s not trying to drive me crazy. He’s a sinner. He’s doing what comes naturally. He’s finding out who’s in charge. He needs God, and he needs me to teach him.
  • That ankle-eating grocery cart that got me again. My eager helper didn’t plan to injure me. He was just keeping his baby sister entertained while he pushed the cart for (and into) me.
  • The dirty footprints all over the finally just-mopped kitchen floor, left by precious children that are still just that – children. They usually don’t even see dirt. They’re not trying to make more work for me. They’ll learn to take off their shoes eventually.
  • The barefaced lies of a little one caught “in the act”. She doesn’t think I’m stupid or blind. Foolishness is just bound up in her childish, fallen heart, and part of my job is to work with the Holy Spirit to weed out that foolishness.
  • The tantrum in front of that mother, the one who has it “all together”. He’s really not trying to make me look like a failure, and she doesn’t have it all together nearly as much as I think. God’s just using his sin to confront me with my own sinful pride.
  • The forging of their own style – clothing, décor, music. God made them unique. They’re not my clones – thank God! They’re not rejecting me when they like something that pleases God but doesn’t particularly please me.
  • The complaints about math or grammar or any other school subject they don’t happen to like. They’re not trying to make my job harder. They’re still learning – math or grammar and how to do something they don’t like and to do it cheerfully.
  • The hurtful words, spoken in haste, just as I have often spoken before I have taken time to think. They don’t hate me. God is using them to help me see myself.
  • Their “other plans” that simply mean they are growing up and living their own lives.They aren’t abandoning me. Their lives just don’t revolve around me.

“Love is patient and kind…It does not insist on its own way…Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

How often have I sinned by assuming the motives of others? How often have I sinned in my impatience, making an issue of something that was simply immaturity or carelessness? How often have I sinned because I simply want things my way? And how often have I made things worse by forgetting that when my children do sin, they are ultimately sinning against God?

I must continually plead for God’s grace and strength to wage war against this stinkin’ old sin nature. There’s hope for me, because Jesus purchased that hope on the cross. If I just keep looking to Him, He will — over time — conform me to His image.

 

 

(Photo from Shutterstock.com)

 

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Family Activities for the Week of Easter

Activities for EasterNext week, we’ll celebrate Easter, remembering Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection. Here are some ideas for focusing your week on Christ and making it fun and meaningful for your family.

 

  • Act out the crucifixion and resurrection story, or stage a play with toys, felt figures, or stuffed animals.
  • Make your own grace garden or resurrection garden.
  • Try these “Get a Sense of the Resurrection” object lessons.
  • Make your own resurrection eggs, or have a treasure hunt that centers on the passion and resurrection story (we’ll post a treasure hunt plan next week!).
  • Make these resurrection cookies or resurrection rolls.
  • Have a Passover dinner (Seder) with your family, or find a Christian/Messianic  one you can attend. Discuss with your children the ways that the Passover traditions point to Christ. We recently published a Christ-centered version of the Passover Haggadah, and you can find others online.
  • Jesus set an example by serving his disciples at the Last Supper. Do a Bible study on “Jesus as a servant.” Read through one of the gospels and use this study worksheet to record each instance of Jesus serving others.
  • Do a Bible Study on “Jesus’ response to suffering.” Read Luke 22-23, Isaiah 53, and Philippians 2, and complete this Bible study sheet from Plants Grown Up.
  • Read Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die, by John Piper.
  • On Good Friday, darken your home to help everyone remember the death of Christ. Turn off or dim most of the lights and put a black tablecloth on the table. Have your children help remove any flowers or plants, and decorate with bare branches or stones instead. Leave the house dark on Saturday, and before everyone gets up on Sunday morning, redecorate with candles, plants, a bright tablecloth, and flowers.
  • Make a resurrection cake decorated to look like the empty tomb. We’ve enjoyed this tradition, sometimes decorating the cake with flowers and toy figures of the angel and women at the tomb.

What’s your favorite Easter tradition? Please share in the comments!

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What I Would Do Differently, Part 2

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph 2:8-9).

If we are saved by grace alone and not by our works, we can rest in the truth that our children are saved by grace alone and not by their works – or ours.

We can quit worrying about whether we’re doing everything right, because we can’t do everything right. And God knows we can’t. He knew we couldn’t when He gave a child to the world’s first parents.

We can quit worrying that we will make mistakes that will derail God’s plan for our children. God knows the plans He has for each of our children, and He will carry them out. We will make mistakes, but He is much stronger than any mistake we can make.

We can quit kicking ourselves for the parenting mistakes we have already made, and rest in the fact that God understands our weakness. “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust” (Psalm 103:13-14). He will forgive when we repent, and He will weave our failures into His bigger picture and still work out His sovereign plan.

We can quit trying to force our kids to conform when they don’t respond to our guaranteed-to-work methods the way we think they should. We can present them with the truth, disciple them along the way, and trust God to keep working, to keep sanctifying.

Yes, I have a job to do. I am called to obey Him, and called to the good work of discipling my children. God will discipline me if I choose to neglect that work. But my works do not bring about their salvation any more than they accomplish my own. I have nothing to boast about.

What would I do differently if I were starting again?

I would, by God’s grace, remember more often that He is in control. I’m notI would trust Him more, knowing that I and my children are in His strong and gracious hands. It’s not about me and my works, and that’s good news. It’s about Jesus and His finished work on the cross. It’s about grace — God’s undeserved favor poured out on our household because of His Son.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

 

(Photo from Shutterstock.com)

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Hope for the Liar

Lying comes naturally. We shouldn’t be shocked when our children lie. They’re born with old sin natures, and that’s what old sin natures do. Man has been lying ever since Adam and Eve believed the lies of Satan, the father of lies.

Because it is sin, lying should be taken seriously. But we must resist our own temptation to sinfully over-react when our children lie. At best, sinful anger, scolding, or belittling will only tempt the child to lie even more to avoid our wrath. At worst, our sinful responses will provoke him to become bitter and unrepentant.

Instead of panicking over lies, we should get excited about the opportunity a child’s lie (or any other sin) gives us to point him to Jesus. We should discipline the liar (“Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him” Proverbs 13:24, ESV). But we shouldn’t fail to give him hope, the hope that only comes from the gospel. We all sin. None of us is good enough to please God. (. . . “for  all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23, ESV).

Remind him that God sent His Son to pay the penalty we deserve for our sin. Jesus didn’t lie so that He could pay the penalty for our lies. When we put our faith in Jesus and His finished work on the cross, God declares us righteous. He sees Jesus’ righteousness, not our sinfulness. He gives us new life and the grace and power to obey Him. He helps us to “put away lying” and to speak the truth with those around us (Ephesians 4:25).

Pray with your child. Thank God for providing His Son to pay for our sins. Thank Him for His grace and the Holy Spirit who will give us strength to obey Him. Thank Him for His love and mercy that freely grants forgiveness when we confess our sins.

Rejoice with your child! If he has put his trust in Jesus, He has a loving heavenly Father who is eager to show mercy, and a compassionate Savior who is faithful to intercede for him.

“For we do not have a high priest  who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been  tempted as we are,  yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:15-16, ESV).

 

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What I Would Do Differently, Part 1

“. . . I began to speak less to the kids and more to God. It was actually quite relaxing.”

Wow. That statement stopped me in my tracks.

The words are from Paul Miller’s book, A Praying Life. They are quoted in a book I’ve been working my way through over the last few weeks, Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus, by Elyse Fitzpatrick and her daughter, Jessica Thompson.

How often have I stepped in and tried to play the role of Holy Spirit in the lives of others – especially in the lives of my children — when I should have been praying?

Who do I think I am? If I can’t change my own heart (and I can’t), I’m certainly not going to succeed in changing my children’s hearts.

Far too many times I rely on my own “wisdom” instead acknowledging from the get-go that God is the one doing the work in the lives of every sinner under our roof – me included.

Far too often I tend to think it’s all up to me. If I just do this right, everyone will turn out right, so I’d better jump into action.

Far too often I wait until I’m desperate before I wake up to the fact that there’s nothing I can do but rely on my Lord. Then I remember to pray.

What is one thing I would do differently if I were starting over in this glorious job of motherhood?

I would try, by God’s grace, to pray a whole lot more and say a whole lot less. I can still, by God’s grace, do it differently today. I can again confess, repent, be forgiven, and move on in the power of the Holy Spirit. I can interact with the members of my family in a constant state of dependence and prayer, asking God to work in me and through me, and resting in the fact that He will accomplish His will in spite of me.

It’s His job, not mine, to change hearts.

“And I am sure of this, that he who began  a good work in you  will bring it to completion at  the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

 

 

(Photo from Shutterstock.com)

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Our One Year Anniversary! Time for a Giveaway!

It’s been a year since we launched this blog! It’s been fun getting to “know” some of you a bit, and our prayer is that God will use what you read here to encourage and equip you. I know I’ve grown and have been encouraged as I wrestle through one post after the other, and as I read some of your stories. The blog world certainly helps us connect more with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ! Thanks for joining us here, and taking the time to read at least some of the time!

To celebrate our one year anniversary, we would like to give away a few things!

We’ll randomly draw a different winner for each of the 14 prizes below on Monday, March 19. The only required entry is to comment on this post and tell us one topic or question you’d like to see discussed on this blog.
Continue reading

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Get Ready for a Wedding!

When our children start to marry, we enter an entirely new season of parenting. It’s a season of great joy and a season of letting go in a new and emotion-packed way. It’s also a season of much preparation and decision-making, as the couple and their families work to prepare a joy-filled wedding celebration.

Our most recent family wedding, Benjamin and Rebekah

We’ve had four children marry in the last five years. Our daughter, Johanna, was the first of our children to marry, so we had a lot to learn about planning a wedding! Needless to say, we looked for help along the way. We were disappointed when we failed to find a uniquely Christian wedding planner. So we pored through the secular books and magazines and browsed online. We spent hours making lists and charts. And we asked Amy Hayes, an amazing lady in our church, to help us coordinate all the details on the wedding day. She is one of the primary reasons we were still sane (or at least semi-sane) when John and Johanna drove away from their reception.

Flower girl meltdown at Johanna's wedding

The wedding took place at the church where John’s parents were married, seventy miles from our home. That church required us to work with their wedding coordinators, and Amy stepped in and graciously acted as our liaison with these ladies who didn’t know us or our families, while we kept working on the other details. Amy quietly helped us think of things we hadn’t considered, calming directed the rehearsal that involved a couple dozen musicians in addition to the family and wedding party, sweetly coached and encouraged the little ones who were part of the ceremony, got everyone down the aisle fully dressed and on time, and smiled all day! She was the perfect blend of super-organized and super-laid-back. No wonder she’s coordinated so many weddings!

So when Amy approached us about publishing a wedding planner, we were immediately interested! Now, a year or two later, we have the finished books in our warehouse and we’re excited to offer Amy’s great advice to everyone who wants to take advantage of her wisdom and years of experience.

All Things Are Ready is a unique wedding planner, different from others on the shelves in secular bookstores:

  • It’s built on the premise that a wedding is for God’s glory and that it celebrates what God has done in the lives of the bride and groom and their families.
  • It’s not organized around a rigid timeline, but around priorities. What needs to be done first? What needs to be done before you can move on to other tasks?
  • It’s organized so that you can plan and have a wedding three months after the bride says, “I do,” if you want to have a wedding that soon. (It does include a specific calendar that outlines what tasks need to be done by which weeks in order to accomplish this amazing feat.)
  • It focuses on Scripture and what it has to say about weddings.
  • It includes devotionals especially written to the bride, encouraging her to keep a God- and others-centered approach to her season as bride.
  • It is committed to helping families plan a wedding that they can afford.

Amy coordinated Joseph and Hannah's wedding, too!

Amy walks you through the maze of wedding decisions that must be made; offers dozens of helpful checklists, charts, and forms; suggests elegant and creative ways to weave biblical themes into weddings, and outlines many different options for decorations, flowers, reception fare, photography, invitations, venues, and more. I am so glad I won’t have to plan another wedding without this great tool!

(Photos: Peter Mahar Photography, Jenn Lynn Images, and His and Her Photography)

Giveaway!

To celebrate the completion of All Things Are Ready, we want to give away one free copy!

To enter our giveaway, briefly describe in the comments one of your favorite wedding memories (from your wedding or someone else’s). The winner will be announced next Tuesday, March 20, 2012.

Even if your children are still young, enter now! Browsing through this book will help you better prepare your children for their future wedding day, will help you have a more biblical perspective about weddings, and will help you start preparing now for the day when your children marry. It would also be an excellent engagement gift for someone special, or a practical and well-used resource in your church library. So spread the word, share your comments with us, and check out our website if you would like to see more about this great wedding planner.

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