Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Tasty Tuesday: Resurrection Rolls

Resurrection Rolls are a creative way to tell the Easter story and provide a teachable moment for your kiddos!  Below is the recipe and the story to tell while assembling the rolls.  The recipe is simple enough that children can actively help and of course you can modify the story to make it age appropriate.  As an added bonus, the rolls are quite tasty!  Enjoy and have fun celebrating Easter with your family! 

photo source


Ingredients

1 Cans of Crescent Rolls
8 large marshmallows
melted butter
cinnamon sugar

Directions/Story

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

The story:   (Note: you may want to modify for younger children)
Jesus is God’s son who was sent to earth to pay the price for our sin. He never sinned. The white of this marshmallow represents the purity and sin-free nature of Christ.

After Jesus died his body was prepared for burial. After he was buried, his friends prepared him to be buried with oil and spices. Dip the marshmallow in butter, then in cinnamon sugar.

Jesus was wrapped in linen and placed in a tomb with a large rock rolled in front. Wrap the marshmallow in one triangle of dough covering it completely like a ball (rock).

Complete the process for all 8 triangles and marshmallows.

Place in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

Allow rolls to cool. Say after 3 days, his friends went to visit the tomb but the rock was rolled away and two angels said, “why are you looking for the living among the dead?”

Reveal that when you cut open a roll or take a bite that the marshmallow has disappeared, leaving an empty “tomb.”

Remind children that the rolls are sweet just like the love God has for us.

Follow-up by reading the Easter story together from the Bible so that children know that it is true and that Jesus died for them and wants to be their savior. Pray with children, thanking God for the gift of Jesus.



Recipe adapted from this Lifeway post.  

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Guest Blog Post: Parenting... Enough Said (by Samantha LeMonds)

We have so many talented and wise women in our MOPS group!  Today we have the pleasure of featuring a post from Samantha's blog "Whatever is Lovely".  She shares some great advice for all of us undertaking this parenting endeavor!  

 

Thanks for sharing Samantha!  If you want to read more her writing, click here to be directed to her blog. 


 

Parenting...  enough said


When you become a parent no one tells you about the constant struggles you deal with or the many, many decisions that have to be made. It seems like every day one of the boys are hitting a new milestone in life which comes with its own set of struggles and decisions. It was doable when we just had Westyn, but now we have two different kids going in two different directions. Literally. Outside playing today Lincoln was running towards the road while Westyn was going towards the woods. All of a sudden I had a choice to make. Which kid to physically stop and which kid to ask to stop. Luckily, this decision was easy. Obviously, I ran and grabbed Lincoln before he could get smashed by a car and I yelled at Westyn to wait.

This got me thinking though. As a parent there is going to come a time when we have to move beyond being able to physically stop our children when they're making poor decisions, and move more towards having a conversation with them. I feel like with Westyn, my four year old, we are getting more to this point. I no longer have to pull is hand away from a hot stove, I just have to explain to him that it will burn him. Those things are easy. What's not going to be easy though, is when he's making decisions that will will effect his Spiritual life.

Just last week we had our first incident with him stealing. Okay maybe stealing is a strong word. He was merely attempting to sneak a small toy out of someone else's house after I told him he wasn't allowed to take home any of their toys. Okay yea, he was stealing. Thankfully he was caught, had to return the toy, apologize, and then we had a talk. When having these talks with him I wonder if he really gets it. A little while later while we were walking into Aldi he stops me and says "Mommy please don't tell anyone I tried to steal something" in the most pitiful voice I've ever heard. Stick a knife right into my heart. I had to hold back tears of sadness and of joy because I realized that he got it. His little amazing heart felt the wrong that he did and he was ashamed of it. No parent wants their child to feel shame, but sometimes that's the only way we learn.

This entire incident just proves to me how very important it is for us, as parents, to instill strong morals into our children. We can't depend on others to do this for us. We made the decision to plant this little tiny tree, now it's time for us to allow the roots to grow as deep as possible in a strong faith filled environment, so when the day comes that we release this tree into the world they will not be able to shy far away from their foundation. They will have the ability to go into the world without being influenced by worldly things. They will be able to make good decisions based on knowledge instead of the whims on the people.

Okay, that all sounds great Sam, but how do we do this? I'm still working on that part out but this is what I have so far.

-- Prayer- Prayer is my struggle so I have a specific day that I pray for exactly this, the whole parenting thing and how to not fail at it.

-- Team Work- If you're luckily enough to have a spouse who shares the same beliefs that you do, then you are winning already. Talk with each other about this, how to handle situations that come up, and how to discipline/construct your children. God specifically put the two of you together for a purpose. Start trying to figure out what that purpose is. If you're a single parent (or just single in faith), then you have your work cut out for you, but I promise you are not alone in this. " Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord YOUR GOD will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9  I suggest printing this verse out and posting it up somewhere you can see it daily. God will give you the strength to handle the hard times to come. He never promised life would be easy, He only promised that He would never leave you to do it alone.

-- Surroundings- This one is so important and one that Joe and I are struggling through right now. To homeschool vs public school vs private school. The list goes on and on. The people we allow our children to be around, not only can influence them, but will influence them. We have a small moment in time that we still get to choose their friends and the adults who watch them. Think hard and choose wisely. The biggest influence, however, is you. If you don't think your kids pay attention to what you're listening to, watching, and reading, then you are greatly misjudging them. As Rachel Cruz always says "more is caught than taught".

My husband and I will have to depend on each other, and together we will depend on God to get us through this thing they call parenting. I myself like to call it "jumping hurdles". You know, where you're constantly jumping over things (like toys) until that one hurdle comes up and you fall flat on your face. If you're like me, I tend to fall, a lot, but I've surrounded myself with enough wonderful people to help pick me up when I can't do it on my own.





Samantha LeMonds is a stay at home mother of two boys. The main goal of her blog is to inspire women and to be inspired by women. She also has a slight obsession with coffee.

You can find more of Samantha's writing at Whatever Is Lovely.

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Tasty Tuesday: Irish Soda Bread

Since St. Patrick's Day is this week, I thought it'd be fitting to post a recipe for something Irish-y.  And since many of our families are not too keen on cabbage, this recipe for Irish Soda Bread seemed a good choice.  Homemade bread is soooooo good, and this is an easy recipe for anyone to try.  Enjoy!   

photo/recipe source   

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted 

Directions 

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
  2. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda. Blend egg and buttermilk together, and add all at once to the flour mixture. Mix just until moistened. Stir in butter. Pour into prepared pan.
  3. Bake for 65 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the bread comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Wrap in foil for several hours, or overnight, for best flavor.

Friday, March 4, 2016

Sharpie Paint Pens Craft Tutorial

This year we've done several really fun and cute crafts using Sharpie Oil-based Paint Pens.  The how-to is easy and the possibilities are endless!  We used the same method to complete several different crafts.  Read on for examples and instructions. 

Sharpie Mugs

In October we created personalized mugs... great for gifts or for yourself!  Just start with a clean dry surface and draw on the design of your choice.  (We were able to find all the mugs we needed at local thrift stores!)  Sharpie paint pens are available for purchase at any craft store and come in a variety of colors and line widths (fine point, extra-fine, etc.)  To set the paint so that it doesn't come off during use or washing, place mug on a cookie sheet in a cold oven and bring the temperature to 350 degrees.  Bake for 30 minutes and allow to cool in oven before handling.  Hand washing your mug is recommended to help preserve the design.



Celebration Plates

In January we made family "celebration plates"...  You can design a plate to be used for someone's birthday or to celebrate a special day or experience.  For these we used clear plates (again procured at local thrift stores) and the same Sharpie paint pens as above.  Choose your design - you can create something yourself using Publisher or a similar computer program, or you can find an image or graphic on-line.  Once you have chosen your design, you need to reverse it to a mirror image (so that it looks backwards when printed).  Print your template and then tape it face down to the FRONT of the plate.  Use your Sharpie paint pens to trace your design onto the BACK of the plate.  Writing on the back of the plate will keep the ink from coming into contact with food and prevent the design from scratching off.  Use the same baking method as described above to set the design and hand wash after use. 



These crafts are easy & fun and personalize ho-hum dishes into something special!  Give it a try!