Will you be remembered for the wealth and possessions you leave behind,
or for the example of faith you pass down?
While our culture stresses the importance of living for today,
God wants us to focus on building a spiritual foundation for the future generations of our families.
In this video, Voddie Baucham emphasizes the importance of leaving a multi-generational legacy. And he provides practical insight into how you can begin investing today in the spiritual future of your family:
(Don't forget to turn off the music in the sidebar before viewing!)
This is called 'Getting Your House In Order' the second part to the DVD entitled Legacy, the first part is called 'Multi-Generational Promise'. You can find it here.
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I believe that the Word of God needs to be everywhere to help transform our minds and culture. That is why I blog and encourage others to as well. The more godly influence there is, the more influenced the world will be for Christ. I also love books of antiquity that soundly preach the gospel and sharply rebuke man's wisdom (especially from the 1800's)--those are my favorite!
Thank you to Mrs. Darcy Mazza who sent this to me!
Also, I am over at Ladies Against Feminism today exposing lies, be sure to drop by and share some lies you would like to expose...
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In early December, we were invited to a Vintage Christmas Party at a church by some friends where six out of eight of my children were able to participate in singing 'Onward Christian Soldiers' to handsigns, recite verses and sing a Christmas carol. We felt really blessed to be able to do this inspite of earlier illness in November and the hospitalization of my 3rd son Joshua.
I hope you enjoy!
(Reminder: don't forget to turn off the music in my sidebar!)
One of the most rewarding endeavors a homemaker can partake of is making her home lovely for those who live in it. We have talked about making our homes lovely spiritually and now we will look at some ways women take extra care to add the loving details in their home.
These two blogs will introduce us to Tablescaping:
I also like that Nesting Place teaches thriftiness using you might already have.
Warm Pie Happy Home inspires us to decorate for fall with a little Autumn Goodness.
I think no matter what kind of a budget you have you can still make your home a lovely place by being creative. I know many women decorate their homes on a shoestring by integrating a bit of ingenuity. It just takes a little thought and love to add those finishing touches to a room.
I have heard of women who framed children's personal art to decorate their childrens or baby's rooms, and women out in the country who like to decorate naturally bring in boughs, berries and pinecones from the forest and fill decorative bowls with them and hang swags on the wall. In the old days Grandma would find old scraps of material and creative beautiful heirloom quilts to hang on the wall. Once I watched a video of a women decorate her whole home in patterned bedsheets!!! It just goes to show you the lengths a women will go to to make her home special to those who a dear to her. Family photos that are framed also are a readily available source to cozying up a room It really is so simple and ideas can be easily found on the internet today. No home should have empty or bare walls, in my opinion, we must make it a beautiful place for our husband and children to be in no matter how small or large it might be.
I have seen cozy homes decorated strictly from thrift stores and stunned by them--so I don't believe you need alot of money to create special places for your loved ones. My home is not extravagant by any means---it is simple and basic. But I try to use what I have to make it special. The idea is to weave and spin a beautiful, cozy, comfortable refuge for our families every day and not look at it as burdensome but instead as a great blessing and honor to be entrusted by God to even have a family and home to care for.
Know that it is not perfection we are striving for--instead we are doing this to bless and be attentive to those we love. It doesn't have to be glamorous, just practical. Do you have a child that loves to play chess or a daughter who likes to sew? Why not set up a little comfortable corner of the home just for that? Have a husband who needs a place to study? Be thoughtful and create a space for him like Brenda, her love for her husband speaks louder than any home decorator magazine could!
Remember Christ must always be center of our homes and hearts as we create this refuge. If there is quarreling and strife we fail at creating such a place. So be careful to mind the 'temperature' of peace in your home as well!
It just takes a woman's touch:
(Don't forget to turn off the sound in the sidebar)
I hope this post has inspired you,
now I am off to conquer some rooms!
Have a blessed weekend as you lovingly make your house into a home!
Yes, it was hard to keep the secret a few weeks ago when our family got an email from the Duggars saying they were expecting blessing #19 and told us to keep it under wraps---but now they have come public with the news and here is the clip to enjoy!
The Duggar family, who have 18 children, has been a source of inspiration to many so I wanted to include these videos of them in The Christian Mother Series to give you all an idea of what all of our children are capable of. Their parents, Michelle and Jim Bob, are doing their best to instill a godly heritage in their children and likewise, we should do the same. The videos are not of highest quality but you can still get the picture:
The Duggar children recite scripture at a church they were visiting:
(You can click on the box in the bottom of the video to enlarge it, and don't forget to turn off my music in the sidebar)
We have seen other children do this and have been blessed and *refreshed* by their ministries. See how small the tiny ones are on the end? Yes, mothers, even the smallest of children can recite long passages of scripture! And I love how they added in the hand signs--I think that is important in keeping it fun for them. Imagine the invested time it took their parents to teach this. Remember--they have 18 children. Most of us only have two or three. If they can do something like this with so many, we should not think we cannot. If they can do this with their limited time due to their bigger family size, what are WEsquandering our precious hours away with????? I definitely believe we would be wise to learn from their diligent and steadfast example.
The Duggar girls perform hymns on violin:
Here they minister with siblings:
Young men and women should find ways to serve the Lord with their talents. Too many children today are wasting their precious time in frivolous pursuits---knowing the hottest bands, keeping up with the newest clothes trends, worrying about being like their peers, watching the latest movie....in the end, all these things are meaningless. Instead, they should be about the business of the Lord, growing in Him, learning about Him, serving others, growing their skills and mastering them for the Kingdom.
A godly heritage is priceless and worth the time and sacrifices of all Christian parents, let us be found diligently faithful a in cultivating and providing it.
*For those of you who are new to my blog, you can view more videos of the Duggar family here but clicking Must Watch Webvideos in my sidebar or visit their website here.*
Mothers all across America are relearning how to be frugal balance their budgets during the economic crisis--why not take a few tips from the Duggar Family:
Children are definitely a blessing...but even more so are grandchildren!
Congratulations to our favorite family the Duggar's on the announcement of the pregnancy of their first grandchild! Here they are making the happy announcement:
Isn't this what it's all about? I found this in my inbox earlier this week----
Mrs. Fuentes,
I wanted to thank you for your blog. Because of your blog I got curious about what it was to be a Christian so this Christmas I went to church for the first time in about ten years. I've been going steady for about a month now and last night, with the help of my new pastor, I accepted Jesus as my savior. I wanted to thank you for planting one of the seeds the blossomed into my new faith.
-Amanda
Allelujah! Amanda, you have made a decision you will never regret. I pray that the Lord will continue to help you grow closer to Him through all things whether thick or thin. This song is for you:
(If you click the box in the corner you can view this in full screen)
"In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke 15:10
UPDATE: Amanda has recently emailed me and has shared that the best part of the story is that she brought her fiance to church with her and he was saved as well!!! I got goose bumps just reading about it---God is SO GOOD!
A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year blessings go out to our favorite Duggar family who just recently received what they called 'the ultimate Christmas gift from God' their newest daughter, Jordan Grace...
This past weekend I just finished reading the book Jim Bob is holding '20 and Counting' and I highly recommend it. It gave fascinating and powerful insights and testimony on how they are living and lived their lives for God in areas of stewardship, finances, raising children and so forth.
I personally enjoyed and will implement some of their ideas in my own home this year such as the 'yes ma'am & chore charts' (the children get paid pennies for obedience) and the 'family bank' (which holds each child's account information in a notebook--easy for mom to manage without going to the bank and children losing their money--if the child wants to purchase something simply consult the bank notebook) I especially enjoyed the fact that frequently asked questions they get from emails were answered and frugal family recipes were also included. This book is definitely one you will want to pick up!
You can save $5 off the cover price ordering online here.
I was impressed by their oldest daughter Jana, who you can watch making 15 pies for the holidays---- definitely makes you think about how our daughters should be using their time wisely! Thanks for the inspiration, Michelle, Jim Bob and your beautiful family!
This movie will be out in four days, it is from the same producers of 'Facing the Giants'. My daughter has been waiting for this one to come out. To view the website for more info check out: www.fireproofthemovie.com
My son loves Billy Graham and we often like to call him Stephen 'Billy Graham' Fuentes. He is trying to collect as many books on Billy Graham that he can and he also supports the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Imagine his surprise when I told him they were working on a movie about him called 'Billy Graham--The Early Years' that should be out sometime in October 2008 at select theaters. Here is the trailer:
