Pregnancy is not an April Fools Joke

1 in 8 of your friends Struggle to get pregnant

Some of your friends have lost a baby

1 in 4 Pregnancies is lost in misscarriage 

 

I saw a post on Facebook today that touched me and I wanted to share the words of truth I saw there.  I've made my own graphic because...

I am 1 in 8

I spent more than a decade waiting for two pink lines...

Every four weeks...the reminder of another month of emptyness

A little one who asks... Mommy can we have a baby?

Sadness... Watching a child grow up alone

The guilt... at least you have one

The pain... a heartache that never leaves

Menopause ... the death of hope

I am 1 in 4

One day those lines did appear...

And a few weeks later I joined the statistic...

Words not to say to a grieving mother...  

Don't worry you will have another... I did not.

I watched other mothers go on to have multiple children

Empty arms on a due date ... Mother's Day

Mothers Day ... a birthday missed

The heartache ... that returns uninvited

The grief ... of empty arms

Navigating the Rapids of Parenting {Review}

One of the things our family has walked through is immigration.  Both Paul and I had immigrated once before we met.  Since getting married we have immigrated once and migrated to another country after that. These have been huge transitions for our family and at times rather traumatic.  I was reminded of this while watching Navigating the Rapids of Parenting. In the opening scene Carla says: "During transitions our children are changing and so are we, because they are moving through a phase that for them they are growing into new things that they don't know how to handle." This is exactly the heart of parenting.  It's a road of transitions for you and for your child.

I first encountered Joey and Carla Link around twenty years ago in New Zealand while attending the local GEMS (Godly Encouragement for MotherS) group. I was really excited to be gifted Taming the Lecture Bug and Navigating the Rapids of Parenting from Parenting Made Practical.

To Encourage and equip parents to raise obedient, respectful and responsible children in today's world. - Parenting Made Practical

What we received
We were given the following two video's from their Parent's Night Out serries.

• Taming the Lecture Bug (Read My Review Here)
• Navigating the Rapids of Parenting 

Navigating the Rapids of Parenting

Length of video 1:26:00 (2.21 Gig in mp4 format)
Divided into two sessions

1. Session One: Birth to Middle School - Phase One and Two
2. Session Two: Middle School to College (starts at 41:45) - Phase Three and Four

"During transitions our children are changing and so are we, because they are moving through a phase that for them they are growing into new things that they don't know how to handle." - Carla Link

The goal in this class is to equip parents to proactively go ahead of our children before they walk through the changes that happen rather than tailing behind them and therefore trying to figure out what's going on as our children are trying to figure out what's going on.

• Phase 1 - Birth to 5 Years old This is the time that we have in teaching them what they can and can not do.
• Phase 2 - 6 to Elementary Years.  The training phase.  Teach them how to grow in the fruits of the Spirit.
• Phase 3 -  Middle Years (up to 8th grade) (11 - 18).  The Belief system years. These are the years that they begin to question you. They need their questions answered well. Helping our children to grow biblically and mature into adult hood. Fill in the why answers because Biblical Principles never change but what they look like changes as you age..
• Phase 4 - High School to College Years (19- 22)- Coaching Phase. Guidance and Council. Evaluate your goals. Discipleship years.

Cost of Parents Night Out downloads

• Taming the Lecture Bug - $12.95
• Navigating the Rapids of Parenting - $12.95

Recommended Age Range

• Taming the Lecture Bug - For parents of 5 yrs. – college age
• Navigating the Rapids of Parenting

Connect with Parenting Made Practical on Social Media


Over All I thought ...
Joey and Carla use scripture as the plumb line for instruction to us as parents. They help you to understand the phases your children will walk through on their way to adulthood.  You are empowered through scripture and insight to understand what is happening in your child's life as they walk through each of these phases and empowered to make informed decisions in your parenting. This is one video that is worth having on the shelf to listen to time and again as a refresher and an encouragement as a parent in the work we have in raising our children. 

Blessings
Chareen

Taming the Lecture Bug {Review}

This year marks 25 years of parenting for Paul and I. One of the things I often joke about is that parenting is the only employment I've never managed to conquer.  Every time I think I've got it figured out something changes and I'm back at the beginning. I first encountered Joey and Carla Link around twenty years ago in New Zealand while attending the local GEMS (Godly Encouragement for MotherS) group. One of the highlights was borrowing teaching tapes which Carla had recorded (Mom's Notes) and having something to listen to during the intervening days between one meet up and the next.  So I was really excited to be gifted Taming the Lecture Bug and Navigating the Rapids of Parenting from Parenting Made Practical.

To Encourage and equip parents to raise obedient, respectful and responsible children in today's world. - Parenting Made Practical

What we received
We were given the following two video's from their Parent's Night Out serries.

• Taming the Lecture Bug
• Navigating the Rapids of Parenting (Read My Review Here)

Taming the Lecture Bug

Length of the video is 53:16 min.  (509 mb in mp4)

The title of this video jumped at me as I am sanguine by nature and hate confrontation so I end up nagging and lecturing my children.  As Carla said "We lecture because we don't know what else to do."

It was so refreshing to be reminded that I am my child's parent and that by handing out grace all * of * the * time I was addressing symptoms rather that working on the heart of the issue at hand.  Root issues are tied to character, and most of these issues are tied to lack of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Joey and Carla take the time to explain how we can train our children to use their strengths for good and equip them with ways to overcome their weaknesses.

One of the foundational principles being to ask the right questions because asking questions helps our children to learn to think in the right way so that they will start going in the right direction.

My favourite reminder was "Parents are often focused on correcting their kid's behaviour when they need to be more concerned with the why their kids acted inappropriately rather than "what" they did."

Is there anything I would like to change:  I really would appreciate having a pdf of the notes for the evening.  Especially the questions.  The questions are thought provoking and empowering for me the parent of a tween/teen. 

Cost of Parents Night Out downloads

• Taming the Lecture Bug - $12.95
• Navigating the Rapids of Parenting - $12.95

Recommended Age Range

• Taming the Lecture Bug - For parents of 5 yrs. – college age
• Navigating the Rapids of Parenting

Connect with Parenting Made Practical on Social Media


Over All I thought ...
I appreciated the encouragement to "Keep asking questions that will help my child to think at a deeper level in order to help him deal with the issues that he does not want to deal with."

 I appreciated the practical and empowering advice given in this video class.  I liked that their was no condemnation and that Joey and Carla offered practical hands on ideas that I could use to create my own personalised parenting plan. The class was thought provoking and encouraging.

I would like to thank Parenting Made Practical for gifting me this video class.

Blessings
Chareen

The Busy Homeschool Mom's Guide to Daylight {Review}

Have you ever wanted to sit down and have a heart to heart chat with Heidi St John about homeschooling? Thanks to Real Life Press I have been blessed with Heidi's book The Busy Homeschool Mom's Guide to Daylight.

Recently I have been struggling to keep my life on track and keep up with the tyranny of the urgent and ALL the things that seem to constantly be screaming at me for attention.

This book has been life changing for me in a gentle encouraging way.  Reading it has been like having a trusted friend come sit with me and share her practical encouraging insights over a cup of tea on a beautiful day.

What we received

• eBook: The Busy Homeschool Mom's Guide to Daylight. 

There are eight chapters in the book covering eight different areas of life.

1. Intentional Daylight is about creating a plan for you that works for the current season of life you are in.
2. Organized Daylight this one touched a spot for me it's about taking hold of the physical clutter in your home and organizing all that you do have.
3. Scheduled Daylight this one speaks to the heart of prioritizing your time.
4. Hungry Daylight,  just what and when are we going to eat?  Menu planning anyone ?
5. Discouraged Daylight no matter how long you've been on the journey discouragement is a very real enemy. 
6. Consolidated Daylight Multitasking anyone?  Learning to teach multiple levels at the same time.
7. Wasted Daylight - Social media, telephones and all those things that modern day living has on offer.  Just how do we become the master of these things?
8. Surrendered Daylight. Surrendering to His master-plan for your life.

About the Book
This book is about LIFE

• L: Learn Together
• I: Incorporate Individual Studies into our daily routine
• F: Focus on Relationships
• E: Engage our children each day far beyond academic pursuits.

It's about regaining control of those run away hours in your day shared by a trusted friend who has been there, is still there and has discovered some achievable and practical ways of recapturing daylight hours to bring peace and harmony back into your life and your home.

Heidi's transparency of her own life in the stories she shares from her own days as wife, mother and homeschool Mom are what make this book a treasure for you to read.  She is down to earth and honest at the same time inviting you to gently look into your own life and bring about small changes that will lead to a more peaceful and fruitful life that is satisfying. She offers many practical suggestions through out the book without overwhelming you with things guilt or things to do .

I love to be organized but I've reached a point where clutter is over taking my home.  I have been encouraged to regain my home by taking control of clutter. So far thanks to Heidi's encouragement I have worked my way slowly through my kitchen and am reclaiming school room space. I have a fair way to still go but so far I am really pleased.

Each chapter has brought with it balanced perspective from a woman who has been there along with  encouragement and hope for the future through practical and achievable suggestions.

Heidi's conversational tone make this book an easy read and each chapter is short enough to read in easy bites of time.

Cost of The Busy Homeschool Mom's Guide to Daylight

• eBook $10.00 for your choice of .epub, .mobi or .pdf version
• Paperback $12.95

Book Details

• Paperback: 195 pages 
• Publisher: Real Life Press (2012) 
• ISBN-10: 0984432310 
• ISBN-13: 978-0984432318 
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches 
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces 
• Author: Heidi St John

Connect with Heidi



This book has given me many gems and so far my favouite quote from the book has been this reminder: "Time is a gift, and so are the children God has given us to raise."  I have needed reminding of this on days when it's been hard and for that I'm grateful.  I have been blessed beyond measure with Heidi's book and know you will be too.

I have been encouraged to grow in many areas of my life through this book as a parent, a wife and a christian.

Blessings
Chareen